Hater
Off-Off Broadway, Musical
Closed, Show Ran 7.21.10 - 7.24.10
Ohio Theater, 66 Wooster Street
Zoe Winters as Celine and Aysan Celik as Alison in Haters at the Ohio Theater.
BOTTOM LINE: A stylish re-telling of Moliere’s high-society hate-fest that is a lot of fun.
A misanthrope is someone who holds a generalized dislike, distrust, disgust, contempt and hatred of the human species, it's also the name of the Moliere play on which Haters is based. Haters centers around Alex, a gentleman of high society, who has reached his boiling point of hatred for how two-faced human beings can be. Why can’t someone just tell the truth as opposed to masking feelings?
The real question is how you deal with this when you are in love with a woman who exemplifies the behavior. Celine is a cigarette smoking, coke snorting woman with many lovers. One of whom happens to be Alex. It doesn’t make for a healthy relationship when Celine summons her other suitors only to have them slobbering all over her. Celine says whatever her lover needs to hear to keep him happy. It is completely fake and it is very enjoyable to watch Zoe Winters indulge in this two-faced character.
This production is very cool. The music and interludes serve almost as a fashion show for Sarah Cubbage’s stylish yet unique costume design. Dans Maree Sheehan’s lighting design during the interludes really helps the scenes to pop. When combined with Robin Carrigan’s choreography, it all creates some nice eye candy to fill the stage. Although it has a short run in the Soho Think Tank's Ice Factory Festival, it deserves another go with more performances. I'd recommend it as an entertaining night at the theater, full of eye candy, that reinterprets a fun tale.
(Hater played at the Ohio Theatre, 66 Wooster Street, from July 21 - July 24, 2010. Tickets are $15 with $10 tickers for seniors and students. For more show info visit sohothinktank.org.)