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Read Brian's interview in Visible Soul's "People You Should Know." (click to read interview).
REVIEWS
"Santaland Diaries move over; there's another seasonal satire on the Christmas stage!"
"Perhaps most impressive is his shift from the winking
social critic his reputation has earned for him to earnest
heart-on-his-sleeve sentimentalist!"
"Dykstra is neither Marley nor Scrooge. Dykstra reconceptualizes Santa as an omnivorous corporate predator who owns the holiday. This is not St. Nick, Kris Kringle or Father Christmas but rather a pompous Grinchwith a red hat and a pot belly who seeks to maximize the franchise so that girls named Holly and Noel would have to pay a licensing fee to hold their names. Once the outrageousness of the notion is on the floor, Dykstra raises the stakes by bringing Santa and his legal team into conflict with another big man of a different color, the Jolly Green Giant. Not only is this a rival marketer with a lot of muscle, but his tagline sounds like copyright infringement three times over, "Ho! Ho! Ho!" This rises to a corporate battle of the titans until the shocking (well, startling) denouement."
Ho! Named Top 5 Holiday Shows
On Broadway & Beyond by City’s Best
“The energy in Brian Dykstra's plays and stage persona is very specific. For one thing, he looks like he'd be more at home at a sports bar, or parked in front of a wide screen TV on Sundays, telling each player how to retool his or her strategy.
But in Dykstra -- who's a veteran of Russell Simmons' Def Poetry franchise -- there are no airs and no pretensions. He emits a tough-guy honesty, a mixture of don't-fool-with-me and show-me-what-you-got. He's Everydude, which means he can do anything on stage, and very often he does.
Take his latest play, a Yuletide rip called Brian Dykstra's Ho! First, it takes guts to pop your name in front of a title, but it's good marketing: Something about the guy makes you want to hop on the ride, knowing you're going to catch some cool and sardonic sights along the way.
Staged by his longtime director, Margarett Perry, Ho! is actually a two-for-one proposition. In Act I, the commercialization of Christmas hits an all-time high-low point when Santa and his lawyers launch a nasty branding dispute. In Act II, we meet a fine Vermont pine tree named Sammy who awaits his destiny on a holiday-time sidewalk. Go ahead, count the rings.”
FLAVORPILL
EDITORS PICK!
HO! has several possible definitions and Brian Dykstra puts them all to good use in his two-monologue show that finds both the irony and true meaning of the season. Santa's World is a rhyming rant of corporate greed, pitting a less-than-jolly Santa against a bitter Jolly Green Giant over usage of the catch phrase "Ho-Ho-Ho!" Dykstra's imaginative product placement is as dazzling as a set of blinking Christmas lights. The mood shifts in A Christmas Tree Story, an urban myth about Sammy the Vermont pine. He has waited his entire life to be the perfect Christmas tree, and the unexpected turns in this deceptively simple tale has the makings of a memorable, oft-recited, Christmas tale.
"If you go for the Grinch before Jimmy Stewart, and just cannot get enough of seasonal lore like David Sedaris' Holidays on Ice, HO! could be just that new item to add to your holiday repertoire. Celebrating the season by looking through a slightly off-kilter lens, it takes a satirical yet adoring approach to the genre."
“Brian Dykstra’s ‘Play on Words’ is a play about words. And meaning…Mr. Dykstra’s play owes a debt to “Waiting for Godot.”…There are tangents and striking riffs for Mr. Boyett, an excellent actor with crack timing, who can reel off long, tongue-twisting speeches that gain in speed and virtuosity…We are meant to think about the language of plays.”
“It goes great places!
As his two characters quibble endlessly about definitions and word choices, Dykstra sneaks in some incisive political commentary and arrives at conclusions both commonly held and rarely spoken…It's a grim play with a happy face, and when it really gets down to business, it makes an uncomfortable amount of sense.”
“This is a very funny play!
An astonishing sort-of stream-of-consciousness path that leads very purposefully to a place Dykstra intends to take us—a place where we're forced to confront the obfuscations and incendiariness of the words people in power hurl at us.”
“The playwright Yasmina Reza would not only recognize but probably salute A Play on Words, Brian Dykstra's corrosively funny two-hander. That's because he steals a page from her playbook, devising a seemingly realistic scenario that's actually a loony, lovable paean to absurdism.”
“True to its title, Brian Dykstra's A Play on Words is an English major's idea of non-stop fun. A Play on Words engages two long-time dorky friends in a bout of rhetorical
fencing where every word is parsed to its fullest and colloquialisms are dissected under a linguistic microscope. It manages to be both high-brow and low-brow — and thoroughly entertaining — yet underneath all the semantic and etymological arguments lies a thoughtful examination of how language both succeeds and fails as a means of communication”
"Dykstra outdoes himself here. The rapidity and studied verbal miscues will remind old timers of classic Abbott and Costello routines, but the dissection of everyday expression sounds like vintage George Carlin."
“There’s no question that Dykstra can twist, tatter and interrogate any phrase of language.”
“When old Polonius asks the disaffected Hamlet what he's reading, the prince perversely replies, "Words, words, words." Something of that same insurrectionary spirit toward language - as both invested with and barren of meaning - persists in all of playwright Brian Dykstra's works.”
"In the autological 'A Play on Words,' Dykstra distills his love of linguistics into a play about - and positively spilling over with - language. Best friends since high school, Max and Rusty have a backyard conversation that alternates paces quick and slow, reaches scales epic and trifling, and leafs through just about every aspect of language you can cover in that amount of time. Dykstra's intelligence affords his work a charming wit and a strong current of thoughtful commentary. We typically take language for granted, giving it a transparency in our lives. Word junkies, behavioral scientists, phonologists - see "A Play on Words" once, even twice. You'll give your vocabulary some exercise and chuckle at the confusing, bizarre structures we've customarily adopted.”
"Nonstop Laughter! Ferociously Witty! A gripping experience from start to finish."
"See 'The Two of You' with a friend and you'll be talking about it for a long time."
"[A] zany, delightful flight! Heartwarming! Hilarious! A glorious play!"
"On one level, The Two of You is a glorious play about creating plays, about how all the technical issues encountered in writing the script collide with the growing reality of these fictional beings who absurdly begin acting as if they are actually flesh and blood; as if what happens to them really matters. On another level it is about the terror that lurks in the very sinew of our closest relationships, that wounded place where we fear we no longer matter, aren't sexy or challenging enough for our lover, or even worse, wonder if they feel they gave something important up to stay with us. That they live in that illogical, bitter, frozen land of regret."
As the emotional stakes increase, there's barely chance to catch one's breath - especially since the play's momentum is propelled by that signature dykstravagant love of language. Lots of it, delivered by thinking characters whose mouths move as fast as their minds. Lest this sound overwhelming, be assured it's also very clever, very funny, and tenderly human - this is a love story that has to reinvent itself.
"The Two of You
touches the heart and the mind. It makes you rethink cliches about love and even more those about the theater."
"The ending of The Two of You can not be given away, but suffice it to say, he is on the side of love---What he gives is first amusing and then highly affecting. The opening night's packed house rewarded the performance first with gales of laughter and then not a few tears."
“A sharp, hilarious, and heartfelt work that offers a new take on the age-old mysteries of love and loss.”
“What elevates Spill the Wine to is Dykstra's unabashed adoration of language and its infinite uses. The words that spring from his characters' mouths bite, bark, stab, comfort, punish, console, cuddle, and entertain, often switching permutations within a matter of seconds. And although most of the dialogue is laden with quotable one-liners, it is when he lets his characters breathe into minutes-long monologues that Dykstra truly revels in his talent as a wordsmith.”
Brian Dykstra THE JESUS FACTOR
“Democracy needs defenders who are courageous, outspoken and intelligent. Democracy needs its solid citizens, its citizen-comedians, you could say. And Dykstra's right there. He’s a stump man, a born teacher. An evangelist.”
"Dykstra Strikes Again!
The Jesus Factor is must-see theatre for every concerned citizen, regardless of their political leanings. …engaging in every sense of the word!
“Dykstra is immensely talented, intelligent, and au courant. The Jesus Factor is good stuff. He makes you laugh but it is guilty laughter as you understand how serious his points are."
“Brian Dykstra uses outrage and humor like a blowtorch and kindling to ignite the slow fuse that burns for 90 mesmerizing minutes in his equally frightening and enlightening comic monologue, The Jesus Factor.
“Was no one else offended?”
“There are, of course, many pleasures in going to the theater five, six or more times a week. But one of the nicest benefits of attending so often is that you can really tell when a theatrical artist is stretching himself. Some years ago, Brian Dykstra was an amazing and arresting Eddie Carbone in A View from the Bridge in New Jersey. Because that was my first encounter with the actor — where he played a frustrated and defeated man — I wasn’t prepared for his big stretch in his dynamic one-man show, The Jesus Factor.”
“Every second of this play is perfect-I was enthralled from the opening line and could hardly bear to watch the characters leave at the end. Life-changing, revolutionary theatre.”
“At last! A real, grown-up American play! It poses its ethical dilemmas with a fierce intelligence, creating a slippery drama that is full of meat. Something to really chew on.'
“Clean Alternatives is a sharp and witty analysis of how language is manipulated to serve the interests of the powerful.'
“In more than capable hands, Brian Dykstra's rapidfire script never misses a beat. Unafraid to ask difficult questions, he probes the sleazy, double crossing world of corporate America. Superbly punctuated with slam poetry, this production illuminates some shocking truths about large businesses literally buying the right to pollute.'
“Played out against a backdrop of a giant dollar bill, Brian Dykstra's Clean Alternatives is a fast-paced, wonderfully played piece of agitprop about America's environmental record and the corrupting force of big business.'
"Many playwrights have been trying to reinvent the American language on stage, starting with David Mamet, whose Speed-The-Plow (1988) is kind of predecessor to this play. You hear it also in Aaron Sorkin's new TV series Stuido 60 On The Sunset Strip. Brian Dykstra exceeds them both in bringing vernacular poetry alive."
"Dykstra's Razor-Sharp play 'Clean Alternatives' is a slam dunk! Clean Alternatives is a must see. It's a powerful meditation on social responsibility and personal redemption, mixing razor-edged dialogue with a poetry-slam directness.
"Dykstra writes in a refined, punk beat styleŠthere are moments of genuinely moving imagery and surprising revelations from characters that are stunningly simple."
"Brian Dykstra wields a monologue like a sword!
His work provides the startling immediacy
that makes live performance feel so alive!
Blood pumps through every moment!"
"A bracing piece of agitprop that well displays its author/star's penchant for provocation. Political satire at its best!"
"Ferociously articulate dialogue
in a hail of David Mamet-ian testosterone speak.
Sharp performances across the board.
A fairy tale for our time!"
"A bracing piece of agitprop that well displays its author/star's penchant for provocation. Political satire at its best!
PICK OF THE WEEK!
The thrill of discovering a bright new talent is one of the indisputable joys of theatregoing. A sharp, funny, potent and oh-so-timely play about corporate greed and the environment.
Stimulating, whip-smart theatre that should not be missed."
Brian Dykstra's style is
a winning combination of Lenny Bruce and David Mamet.
The three person cast is rapid fire, word-perfect."
"Satire of a very high order.
Sharp, incisive theater as well as searing political commentary."
"Brian Dykstra is a very funny man. Gifted wordsmith that he is, Dykstra uses language as a powerful weapon send[ing] words bursting through the room like bullets from an invading army's machine guns."
"Brian Dykstra's mastery of language gets a thorough workout in his latest play, Clean Alternatives. Beginning with the Mametian patter of the opening scene, and flowing into the hip-hop poetry and languid monologues of the latter, Mr. Dykstra manipulates and blends English into a fascinating blend of highbrow and lowbrow…Mr. Dykstra works wonders with language. It's scathing, it's satirical and it's scornful."
"An intense, high-adrenaline production. Writing and performances that bring to mind George Bernard Shaw working in Lenny Bruce mode."
Brian Dykstra: Cornered & Alone
a
comedic rant of political proportations
"One Off Broadway production you can be sure Republicans won't be flocking to is "Brian Dykstra: Cornered & Alone," but Democrats and environmentalists are going to find Mr. Dykstra 's EXHILARATING one-man show INTOXICATING and enormously satisfying."
"A bitterly funny barrage of home truths about the plight of American liberals"
"LENNY BRUCE would have saluted -maybe even toked a joint with -Brian Dykstra."
"Brian Dykstra : Cornered & Alone is a hearfelt, intelligent, captivating, uproarious, dignified, and, most of all important work of art. Dykstra is invading the fall 'must-see' lineup and he is not going to stop until he has reached his goal: change....I leave you with an opinion of my own; one which I have told every person i have talked to since I saw this show; GO SEE IT! See it now! Bring friends, bring family,just do not miss this one!"
"Brian Dykstra recently found himself listed on a Rush Limbaugh-affiliated website as an "enemy" of the conservative talk radio host. This seemed strange to Dykstra because there was no indication that Limbaugh or any of his self-styled "Dittoheads" had attended the Brian Dykstra : Cornered and Alone . "
"Listening to Brian Dykstra is simply EXHILARATING."
"Brian Dykstra is damn pissed. His one-man show is about the myriad things that he sees corroding our society. The questions he raises are TRENCHANT and on target. His description of Hollywood's manipulations juxtaposed against the show business of Washington is subtle yet POWERFUL."
"Equipped with a SHARP WIT, a poetic flair, and just the right amount of cynicism, he has put together an engaging and timely performance piece that won't win him any friends amongst Republicans but SHOULD BE SEEN BY EVERYONE."
"BRIAN DYKSTRA FOR PRESIDENT. Liberal and proud, Brian Dykstra will make you think of the Declaration of Independence with a passionately renewed interest. This man should be making the talk show rounds in order to spread his word to middle-America. Bring a politically apathetic friend. They'll thank you later."
“A dark, gritty story with its full measure of sex, violence, profanity and general nastiness. There is plenty of smutty talk and nervy confrontation even before the stranger, Cole (Oliver Conant), questions the twins’ parentage and begins an extended, horrific soliloquy about the last grisly day at Jonestown.”
“Brian Dykstra's play is a knockout psychological thriller with simmering suspense at every turn. There is nary a wasted moment in the script of twists and revelations which raises multiple emotionally charged moral issues. Dykstra's richly drawn characters have complicated connections to each other (including an ambiguous sexual bond between the twins themselves). This is an adult play, not for the feint-of-heart.”
“Tense barroom thriller… Sexually charged… Fiery… Mesmerizing… Riveting”
"A riveting edge-of-the-seat affair shot through with sex, violence and narrative thrills. Hiding Behind Comets will show up again somewhere soon and it will sell a lot of tickets."
A side of America darker than baseball, apple pie, and Satanic manipulation is on view in Hiding Behind Comets!"
"The play has stayed with me longer than most works ... Dykstra knows how to deliver jolts in both plot and theme…Dykstra is a writer to watch."
"Hands down ONE OF THE FINEST NEW PLAYS
OF THE SEASON, this edgy suspense drama is both a superb
ghost story and a joltingly subversive study of human politics. GO
SEE IT…
I love this play."
"SWEATY-PALMED suspense…a lean, predatory production... DON'T MISS THIS LITTLE SYMPHONY OF SAVAGERY "
“To ticket-buyers who reveled in Killer Joe as well as in Letts' Bug, Dykstra's SPEEDING-ON-SHEER-NERVE melodrama ought to satisfy any craving for new shocks. The piece incorporates the kind of TWISTED TWISTS that had patrons in my row GASPING as the theatrical pedal was pressed to the metal. . . As Cole, Dan Moran could SCARE THE PANTS OFF AL CAPONE.”
"A truly HARROWING and THOUGHT-PROVOKING play, the kind that GETS UNDER YOUR SKIN and continues to pester your soul for days after the house lights come up. Cases are made, issues are debated, and as in true life, there is no right answer. That, perhaps, is the most terrifying aspect of all."
"A TENSE PSYCHOLOGICAL THRILLER… Dykstra is a writer with a lot on his mind...If you want a show about apple-pie American siblings, better head uptown and buy a ticket for Little Women."
" Dykstra 's CRACKLING variation on 'So, This Guy Walks Into a Bar...'
"a masterly evening of suspense... Dykstra achieves commanding insights into the characters....It is Dykstra's talent for writing dialogue-now slicing, now vulgar, now sardonic-that provides exciting sparring...There are fascinating explorations, notably the strange symbiotic emotional and physical connections that the twins have for one another...There are also substantive contemplations on larger themes: the manipulation of minds through the perversion of faith, the twisted rationale that extended guilt can cause and the unsettling effects on children when they are deprived of truth."
“a roller coaster of events that keep patrons on the edge of their seats until the very end.”
The Cincinnati Enquirer
Best of 2003: Theater
Biggest jaw-dropper -The surprise announcement in mid-September that arts patrons Lois and Richard Rosenthal were ending their long-time association with the new play prize at Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park. What would have been the 16th winner, Hiding Behind Comets by Brian Dykstra, was clearly a bone of contention. We'll find out why when it has its world premiere at Playhouse in March. read more
City Beat (Cincinnati)
The Elements of Great Theater
Cincinnati Playhouse makes a splash
with its commitment to cutting-edge plays
But others have been edgy works that made audiences — and apparently the Rosenthals — squirm. For instance, Angus MacLachaln's The Dead Eye Boy (2000) told a tale of domestic violence and child murder; this season's new play selection, Hiding Behind Comets by Brian Dykstra (March 20-April 18, 2004), led to the Rosenthals' decision to stop funding the prize.
"Because of a lack of enthusiasm for this year's selection, we have chose to discontinue the prize," the Rosenthals said in a prepared statement. Indicating a desire to avoid "awkward situations" in the future, they added, "We have decided to discontinue the Rosenthal New Play Prize and instead work to find other vehicles in which we can continue our support of the Playhouse."
Stern is undaunted, saying the Playhouse will continue to stage new works.
"If American regional theater doesn't develop new materials, it really won't happen," he says. "Regional theater is the touchstone of new theater development." read more
About: Hiding Behind Comets
"Hiding Behind Comets will show up again somewhere soon, and it will sell a lot of tickets."
No hiding the pain
'Hiding Behind Comets' makes its world premiere at Playhouse
“Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park associate artistic
director Michael Evan Haney says to consider yourself warned if you
plan on attending a performance of Hiding Behind Comets:
" Be prepared to hold onto your hats."
“Running through Sunday, April 18, Hiding Behind Comets is the name of actor-turned-playwright Brian Dykstra's new play, which made its world premiere at the Playhouse earlier this month. A drama centering around the interaction of four characters in the middle of nowhere, Comets is not what one could consider a "standard" production by any means.”
Playhouse in the Park introduces you to survivors of the Jonestown Massacre
“…Hiding Behind Comets is a well-constructed, tightly wound drama with a plausible but edgy twists to keep the audience completely fixed on the unfolding story until the very last moments of the performance. For Cincinnati's more sophisticated arts crowd, it will be an outstanding hit.”
Rough-hewn 'Comets' invades Playhouse
“…The writer of "Hiding Behind Comets," a new play having its premiere tonight at the Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park, doesn't hide behind heavenly lights or much of anything -- especially controversy.”
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That Damn Dykstra (the Boxed Set)
“Brian Dykstra is working hard to turn ranting into a new genre, and if he succeeds comedy may not be safe…the word flow feels unstoppable…he can make you think as hard as you laugh …Dykstra displays striking comic powers.”
“Seinfeldian …Comedy with this kind of intelligence and edge would be right at home on the sharper satiric cable shows. Fans of The Daily Show with Jon Stewart will be pleased.”
“Playwright Brian Dykstra promotes himself with a short-play collection humorously called ‘That Damn Dykstra (the boxed set),’ and fortunately he has the comedic chops to justify it. If this were Miles Davis The Boxed Set, you'd have an amazingly eclectic mix going from bebop to cool to fusion to funk, many brilliant, all creatively inspired and each in a different way. ‘That Damn Dykstra (the boxed set)’ also contains a number of very different grooves — from poetry-slam verse to veiled social satire to Seinfeld-esque short plays seemingly about nothing.”
“Fast-paced and poetic …Brian Dykstra has more on his mind than garnering laughs.”
“Brutally funny…fast, furious, and intelligent. The overall effect of the production is to use intelligent dialogue to show the contradictions and expose the banalities of our modern lives…a very funny and sharp night of comedy and entertainment not to be missed.”
“Insane, Wacky, strange and downright hysterical.”
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"Brian Dykstra already has an international reputation, well-grounded on his surpassing verbal pyrotechnics and an almost Hitchcockian sense of how an everyday encounter can be rewritten to rattle your timbers. Dykstra is not one of those playwrights who thinks that the American theater is supposed to be an aspirin for the middle class."
"The play at every moment is about real people, real emotions, real strains in the human fabric that arise from and yet transcend racial and class differences…An intense portrait of love and betrayal in a compromised society."
"Viewers perch on the edge of their seats!"
“…highly impressive theater…picture perfect play…more explosive than fireworks on the pier.”
“With the impressive debut of Strangerhorse at Access Theater, playwright Brian Dykstra joins Stephen Belber (Tape), Melissa James Gibson (sic), Christopher Shinn (Four) and Shelia Callaghan (Scab) as an emerging literary talent worth watching. His rich, multi-layered drama explores racism, prejudice and assimilation. It also poignantly addresses homophobia, ethics, trust and self-worth.”
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“ A bold, blunt orgy of lust, mind games, and self-absorption. Very few contemporary plays capture the American obsession for overanalyzing every aspect of sexual relationships as perfectly as Brian Dykstra’s Forsaking All Others.”
“ A dizzying free-fall both fascinating and sickening to watch.”
“A Mamet-like twisted game of moral jeopardy.”
“If you were disappointed by Channel 4’s ‘Sex and the City’, you may well find what you are looking for in Brian Dykstra’s Manhattan-set, Mamet-ish new play… fascinating …intriguing…a mesmerizing merry-go-round of absorbing New York narcissists...all highly plausible and engrossingly depicted. The result is a less clinical, more visceral version of Patrick Marber’s Closer.”
“a chess game…a chain of fast-paced moves.”
“Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? Meets Woody Allen.”
“An intense, and at times, heavy play about infidelity, loyalty, and ultimately the need for honesty in a relationship.”
“Forsaking All Others really does stand out in excellence.”
“Wanting what you can’t have is bad enough, but in Brian Dykstra’s scorching play Forsaking All Others egotistical Alan decides to convince both his best friend and his wife they desire something they didn’t know they wanted in the first place.”
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“Dykstra usually gives his sketches simple foundations: roommates debate how to paint the patio furniture…but each scene soon escalates through looping meta-logic and fast talk, frequently rising into an obsessive-compulsive delirium… Dykstra 's contentious creatures argue over "primary" versus "base coats" of paint, wonder if they can describe a mosaic as "Mexican-y," and catalog insults after a catfight ("You said 'witches' and followed it up with 'wenches'?").”
Lot’s Wife
“pitch-black…often darkly funny…Dykstra puts his characters through the ringer.”
“The attention-getter on Honor's itinerary is Brian Dykstra's Mick Just Shrugs, which opens the evening. It's about a high school student named Mick whose art project features an American flag getting soaked in lighter fluid and then set afire by a Bunsen burner; the press release promises that a flag will indeed be burned during the performance. I wondered how it would feel; Dykstra makes it a supremely cathartic act of desperation, signifying where too many of us seem to be vis-a-vis rousing ourselves to activism against the current regime in this country: Mick Just Shrugs-such the right title, by the way-is about anomie fueled by inertia among grown-ups who ought to know better. It's very much a play for our time.”
“( Dykstra’s) people are both tortuously rational and obsessively doting, and he often builds their conjectures into absurd and hilarious dimensions. An early sequence, pitting a would-be environmentalist against an apparently insensitive lout, even brings to mind Shakespeare's cunning clown scenes; in amicable but competitive verbal sparring, the jester twists his challenger's words and triumphs.”
On Paper
“Dykstra's work was for me the most satisfying item on the program.”
“… looping meta-logic and fast talk, frequently rising into an obsessive-compulsive delirium. What's the difference between designating a stairway "out of service" and "out of order"? A middle-management woman, denied access, wants to know. She interrogates a security guard, and in the ensuing conversation they riff on servitude, servicing, and the "service economy," among countless other fine points… His people are both tortuously rational and obsessively doting, and he often builds their conjectures into absurd and hilarious dimensions.”
“When his compulsive characters find the right words and rhythm, their verbal flights take off in psychological, political, and just plain pathological directions—leaving some badly skewered subjects in their wake.”
“Spreading the Word is about three women (Cynthia Babak, Sarah Baker, and Vickie Tanner) sitting around and comparing notes about their common two-timing mutual ex-boyfriend. It is reminiscent of a Sex in the City episode.”
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“Dykstra’s energy in the role is contagious and you can’t help but like the guy.”
“Brian Dykstra’s Gus is loveable”
Brian Dykstra is the quintessential “knuckle dragger”
“Brian Dykstra as Gus is Hilarious!”
"Dykstra and Boston make a sweetheart Duo."
“They are a perfectly performing team!”
“Dykstra, who somehow manages to portray a blue-collar dude with delicacy while hamming it up (a great costume by Hannah Kochman finds him in a Hawaiian shirt, flip flops and a hilarious apron with an enormous lobster), provides much of the comic relief.”
“The only reason Brian Dykstra, as Mark Rothko, doesn't dominate the stage is because he's matched step for step by Mathew Carlson as Ken. Together they spar over the requirements for good, no make that great art, and it's a constant conversation that sparkles with equal share of wit, sarcasm, and intellectual snobbery, although it rings true more often than not. Dykstra's passionate performance is the kind that draws you in and never lets you go, even after the curtain, if there was one, falls. Carlson acts as an everyman, albeit, one who paints himself, and he asks the questions we can't since we're mere spectators to this magical world of creation. You'll learn more about what it takes to make art watching these two play off one another than you will in some stuffy classroom, that's for sure…Steven Woolf's direction is impeccable, and there are no false moments or dramatic trickery to be found here, just great performers making their work into something completely mesmerizing…The Rep's production of Red is the kind of stuff you simply can't miss if you truly love theatre. Go see it immediately. It's brilliant, engrossing and educational all at the same time.”
“Dykstra's impassioned performance delivers a man who, at the height of his powers, understands that only one thing comes after heights. From the opening moments, when he takes the audience in his long, deep gaze, we realize he sees what we can't…Dykstra's big performance reveals a man as troubling as his paintings, subtly packed with deep shadows and almost-hidden sparks of light…One of the pleasures of theater is its ability to take us to places we can't go, places where we'll hear conversations worth listening to among people with something to say. With "Red," Logan, Woolf, Dykstra and Carlson give us that kind of theater.
"Red" is utterly spellbinding. Dykstra is a ferocious Rothko, larger than life and pricklier than a porcupine. He makes the art titan's motivations clear, grappling for his immortality and his desire to be understood, while hurling insults and bons mots with equal intensity.”
“As Rothko, Brian Dykstra has a ball trying to mesmerize the audience despite his character's excesses. For 90 intermissionless minutes, Dykstra boldly strides around his universe — but he also sits boldly. When Dykstra is still, his body is as charged as it is when he is on parade. At evening's end on opening night, Dykstra began the curtain call with a shrug, as if to say, "That's all there is, folks. What did you make of it?" It was his only self-effacing gesture all night.”
“The performances by its leads were striking. Brian Dykstra's Mark Rothko is forceful, and pulls our attention at the outset with his gaze and keeps hold of it throughout…I was ecstatic when I found out the Rep was doing this show, and the production is no less thrilling than it was when I saw it in NYC last year. RED is a vibrant reminder of why we go to the theatre -- engaging, visceral experiences.”
“The brilliant, egocentric and highly agitated artist is brought to vivid life by actor Brian Dykstra, who stalks the set - evoking Rothko's cramped Manhattan studio - like a caged beast, chain-smoking, playing classical LPs and brow-beating his young hired apprentice Ken…For a true artistic and visual feast for the mind and the senses, do not miss "Red." It packs quite a punch as it reminds us what great theater is all about.”
Both actors give towering performances. Most of the lines involve the two men arguing or giving long speeches. Rothko’s tend to pretentiousness, but Dykstra delivers them from tedium by sheer force of talent.
“Dykstra’s Rothko is a vain, fearful, explosive genius who shows increasing doubt about the commission he has undertaken.”
"Neither the writing nor Dykstra's captivating, larger-than-life performance attempt to manufacture a charming or sympathetic rogue from Rothko's imposing profile. Instead, they create a fascinating, implacable, unpredictable, intellectual bully. Don't even try taking your eyes off him. You can't, and you shouldn't miss a moment of the onstage excellence."
“The role of Rothko is complex, and Dykstra portrays the artist’s pride, anger, beliefs about art, vulnerability and sensitive side with authenticity. The audience never doubts the anger and the fear, and believes the artist’s passion for his art and the art that came before him. Through Dykstra’s portrayal of Rothko, an understanding of art as commodity is also gained.”
“Dykstra embodies Rothko’s bold and bombastic personality, while subtly infusing humanity and insecurities about his art, his purpose and society in general.”
"Dykstra has the most difficult role in the play. He carries it off well; even his darkest, meanest moments exposing his upbringing which shocks his wife and us at the same time are played with a laid-away charm that thrives on such moments. There is so much going on in this performance that the onlooker could mistake gestures and vocal shadings as anything from closet sadist to homosexual to professional skeptic. Mike has worked his way out of the Boston ghetto and into a mainstream existence that is almost always a fiction. Dykstra’s fine performance makes us see that Mike isn’t even aware of all that."
“Brian Dykstra felt very authentic as Mike, convincing as desperation revealed the Southie underneath his polished success.”
“There are many colorful passages detailing Adriana's interactions with successful conductors (perhaps inspired by the playwright's marriage to Lorin Maazel) all played masterfully by Brian Dykstra, who makes us laugh and cringe at the slimy characters he embodies.”
“Brian Dykstra offers us a perfect Southern gentleman-politician. The accent is impeccable, his mannerisms patrician but not without a touch of country-boy charm. A well grounded, portrayal.”
“The worldly divorced couple are larger-than-life presences, of course, especially as delivered by Brian Dykstra and Carol Halstead. They're remarkable for their passion and tempers, their spectacular fights propelling the humor to absurd heights. All four actors shape strong-willed characters, and the final blow-out scene is magnificent.”
“As Elyot, Dykstra, not the conventional type for this part, nails Elyot's superficiality and idleness, that desire to ‘enjoy the party as long as we can.’”
“After Elyot and Amanda elope, they wind up in Paris and fall neatly back into their loved games. Here, they give themselves time-outs when they bicker, conscious of love's fragility, and it's this sweet, rocky self-consciousness that Dykstra and Halstead pull of so well.”
“Kitchen veteran Brian Dykstra, whose characteristic relish for language and haughty disdain for stupidity finds a comfortable nest in Elyot. Dykstra plays Elyot as a sort of untethered balloon, at a loss in act one as to how he arrived at a honeymoon. This particular Elyot lives for the present, the tussle of foreplay, rather than the future. As much as Sybil feeds his vanity, he has no idea of how to proceed with marriage—which implies a future.”
“A much greater surprise for Kitchen regulars is to see Perry’s usual leading man Brian Dykstra as Elyot. Although he is resident elsewhere, Dykstra has been a familiar presence around the company for four years, often in works of his own composition, like last Christmas’s one-man rant, Ho! or his verbal beating of George Carlin at his own game, A Play on Words (February, 2009). When composing his own persona, Dykstra comes off as bearish, irascible and nearing the working classes. His costume often includes a loud sport shirt with the tail hanging out. In building a Elyot, banishing Coward’s savoir-faire, Dykstra begins with a flawless accent and the glint in this Elyot’s eyes implies a barely suppressed madness.”
“Brian Dykstra is convincingly cagey as the boss of this terminal collection agency.”
“Brian Dykstra, as Claudius, is evil as can be, but adds a dimension of remorse.”
“A charming story that only the Scroogiest could resist, and it's told by a master storyteller. Brian Dykstra features his signature wordplay and a surprising amount of heart!”
"Dykstra Paints a Portrait of Stunning Detail! Touching in its Honesty and Simplicity!"
Ho! Named Top 5 Holiday Shows
On Broadway & Beyond by City’s Best
“The energy in Brian Dykstra's plays and stage persona is very specific. For one thing, he looks like he'd be more at home at a sports bar, or parked in front of a wide screen TV on Sundays, telling each player how to retool his or her strategy.
But in Dykstra -- who's a veteran of Russell Simmons' Def Poetry franchise -- there are no airs and no pretensions. He emits a tough-guy honesty, a mixture of don't-fool-with-me and show-me-what-you-got. He's Everydude, which means he can do anything on stage, and very often he does.
Take his latest play, a Yuletide rip called Brian Dykstra's Ho! First, it takes guts to pop your name in front of a title, but it's good marketing: Something about the guy makes you want to hop on the ride, knowing you're going to catch some cool and sardonic sights along the way.
Staged by his longtime director, Margarett Perry, Ho! is actually a two-for-one proposition. In Act I, the commercialization of Christmas hits an all-time high-low point when Santa and his lawyers launch a nasty branding dispute. In Act II, we meet a fine Vermont pine tree named Sammy who awaits his destiny on a holiday-time sidewalk. Go ahead, count the rings.”
FLAVORPILL
EDITORS PICK!
HO! has several possible definitions and Brian Dykstra puts them all to good use in his two-monologue show that finds both the irony and true meaning of the season. Santa's World is a rhyming rant of corporate greed, pitting a less-than-jolly Santa against a bitter Jolly Green Giant over usage of the catch phrase "Ho-Ho-Ho!" Dykstra's imaginative product placement is as dazzling as a set of blinking Christmas lights. The mood shifts in A Christmas Tree Story, an urban myth about Sammy the Vermont pine. He has waited his entire life to be the perfect Christmas tree, and the unexpected turns in this deceptively simple tale has the makings of a memorable, oft-recited, Christmas tale.
"If you go for the Grinch before Jimmy Stewart, and just cannot get enough of seasonal lore like David Sedaris' Holidays on Ice, HO! could be just that new item to add to your holiday repertoire. Celebrating the season by looking through a slightly off-kilter lens, it takes a satirical yet adoring approach to the genre."
“Convincingly villainous”
“Brian Dykstra as Oscar is one of those characters you love to hate. His overbearing treatment of his timid wife is downright creepy.”
“Brian Dykstra plays the younger brother Oscar with veiled menace.”
“Brian Dykstra shows that Oscar was once a good ol' boy who turned into a bad middle-aged man.”
“Brian Dysktra is splendid as the viciously condescending Oscar”
“Dykstra and Boyett give impeccable performances!”
“‘Waiting for Godot’…‘Who’s on first?’…diverting and clever!”
“These two wield recondite notions the way cavemen once brandished their clubs. And like many a topdog/underdog duo before them -- Abbott and Costello, Hardy and Laurel, Gleason and Carney -- they continually sow doubt as to who's really the smarter. While the snide, condescending Max never lets up on his assumption of intellectual superiority, it's great fun to see Rusty (whom Boyett endows with a Howdy Doody geniality) get some licks in.”
“The actors understand that the humor comes from playing it real, and they do so superbly…Max is nuts. His likability is his saving grace.”
“Dykstra and Boyett deliver bravura work, and chances are you’ve never seen anything quite as demanding.”
"Boyett and Dykstra deliver fast pitches, slow balls, line drives, bunts and all manner of base-stealing. Let's put it this way: if a great sports contest could be waged with words, Dykstra, Boyett and Perry would be in the majors."
“Dykstra's Max is easily recognizable; even if we hadn't seen him onstage before we'd know this loud, manic, labile, overbearing, vulnerable and irresistibly impossible guy.”
“Friends Rusty (Mark Boyett) and Max (Brian Dykstra) feed off the blazing energy radiating from one another. “The Flight of the Bumblebee” could appropriately accompany their conversation, its speedy intricacy complementing Rusty and Max’s highly energetic tête-à-tête.”
"Powerful and astute performances--- real, careful, and exciting work by skilled actors working in concert. That's what theater needs - now, and no doubt 200,000 years from now, too."
"Brian Dykstra is wonderfully creepy and lecherous as Trigorin."
“A cast this excellent could have opened Strangerhorse at any major venue—New York City, London, Edinburgh—but attachment to the Kitchen Theatre brought them to Ithaca.”
“Kitchen Theatre regular audiences easily remember Brian Dykstra as the overbearing, philandering husband in “A Marriage Minuet” or the aggressive lawyer in his own play “Clean Alternatives.” Both roles called for dynamic force and verbal fireworks, and Dykstra delivered in spades. But in his explosive new play Dykstra leaves the clash of personalities to others. His own role is of a contemporary Sioux whose brief story quietly but powerfully bookends the play. None of Dykstra's flashing-eyed comic expressions here, only craggy features and tired eyes squinting against the sun. His speech bears the blunted, lilting Indian cadence. In worn Western clothes, complete with dusty cowboy hat and bandana, Dykstra seems so iconic a Native American that one audience member later asked if he wasn't, in fact, of that heritage.”
“The Kitchen Theatre Company closes its 16th season not with a bang but an explosion - of laughter erupting from the audience. You can doubtless hear it from a block away. All five actors are splendid, with Dykstra as the offensive Rex dazzling the most.”
“The Kitchen Theatre production of David Wiltse's ‘A Marriage Minuet’ is so bubbly and high-spirited that I'd like to compare it to champagne. But it's really more like a great fireworks show!--Rex (Brian Dykstra) looks like a blond surfer who's gone a bit chunky in middle age. He writes sex-filled best-sellers, women fall for him, and he knows that he is a man led by his libido.”
“Rex (Brian Dykstra) is Oscar to Douglas's Felix. If Douglas dips his toes ever so gingerly into the waters of unfaithfulness, Rex, the inveterate cheater, dives in. Dykstra's Rex is brash, loud, and hyper-sexual. Sometimes a skilled physical comedian, sometimes merely a ham, Dykstra punctuates Rex's raunchy language with enthusiastic gesticulations, from fist pumps to pelvic thrusts to karate chops.”
Full Review
The Ithaca Journal
Kitchen Theatre offers a madcap ‘Marriage Minuet'
By Barbara Adams
The Kitchen Theatre Company closes its 16th season not with a bang but an explosion - of laughter erupting from the audience. You can doubtless hear it from a block away. The cause is the sassy regional premiere of David Wiltse's “A Marriage Minuet” - a contemporary comedy of manners that speaks the unspeakable about men and women, libido and love.
Brilliantly directed by Margarett Perry at a madcap pace, the play focuses on two middle-aged couples: Rex (Brian Dykstra), a shamelessly successful pulp novelist, and his quiet wife Violet (Krista Scott), a mild-mannered high school teacher; Douglas (Matthew Boston), a shamefully unread author of “serious” novels, and his supportive, spirited wife Lily (Rita Rehn). (She makes weekly trips to the local bookstore, rearranging the two copies of Doug's last novel so he'll think someone's looked at them.)
Rex lives on his royalties (for adrenaline-pumped prose about “naughty Nazis”); Doug resentfully teaches college literature, sneering at snotty undergrads who pre-empt his lectures on Hemingway's pretentiousness.
Described as a “mink in heat,” Rex is a frenzied philanderer (all bark and no bite); Doug, sounding like Woody Allen on speed, is an anguished, insufferable moralist. Each in his own way is a solipsist, ripe for deflating.
The two couples know each other, rather dislike each other, and of course, frequently socialize. But somehow their superficial encounters get upended: Violet, ripping off her meek demeanor and exposing the fleshpot within, confesses her admiration and love for Doug; and Rex falls so hopelessly for Lily that he spouts loathsome rhymed poetry.
Threading in among all the chaotic action is a staggeringly nubile young blonde (Heather Frase) who appears as multiple characters (a bookstore clerk, a star-struck reader); she represents the impossible ideal conquest and distracts the men no end.
This marital mayhem becomes increasingly complicated as partners exchange and indulge in a “gavotte of flirtation” (test it — it works).
But what propels the action is not only everyone's primal urges — for sex and love, or at least attention — but lush language. Playwright Wiltse is a self-confessed word addict, and his linguistic lust spills over into the characters' exaggerated dialogue.
The two writers, naturally, are occupationally besotted, wrapping themselves in words, but their wives aren't far behind. (“I love it when he speaks in paragraphs,” Lily coos.) The action is rife with wordplay — witticisms, retorts, apostrophes, one-liners, riffs, wrenched quotations, and double entendres, both verbal and visual. Wiltse is a master of both the blunt (embodied in Rex's manly prose, crude jokes, and bedroom behavior) and the periphrastic (as in Doug's long, indirect, deliciously redundant speech and his ethical nattering).
Another cue for comedy is that both dialogue and action proceed at a breakneck pace. Increasing speed is a winning formula for farce, and this play, like Secretariat (much-invoked from the boudoir), is going for the gold. You may want to see it twice to catch all the quips. But if you feel slow-witted or lexically impaired, there's still plenty of broad physical comedy to render you helpless — for example, the booty-shaking group dance to Eminem that culminates the play's sexual complications.
Some of the best humor comes from Wiltse's device of having each character voicing his or her inner thoughts aloud, which exposes all the dissembling, hypocrisy, opportunism, and self-justification that composes their (our?) internal narratives. The Truths about Relationships are up close and personal. Very close: At the tiny Kitchen, the actors are always almost in your lap, but this play makes special use of that proximity. (The bashful might want to avoid the front row.)
All five actors are splendid, with Dykstra as the offensive Rex dazzling the most. (He was seen here last fall in his play “Clean Alternatives,” and will appear again next season in his new work, “Strangerhorse.”) For the set, designer Kent Goetz provides a convincingly faux-chic ‘70s-modern white apartment lined with bookshelves and a curious mix of objets d'art. The white couch looks like the most uninviting piece of furniture in the world until you later realize its true role as a prop - and the acrobatic uses it will be put to. E. D. Intemann's lighting, Ashley Huyge's costumes, and Michael Speach's sound all contribute seamlessly - the energetic action takes center stage.
As one audience member murmured at intermission, “This show is so clever it's almost brilliant.” You won't want to miss it - manic excess never felt so good.
“At last! A real, grown-up American play! It poses its ethical dilemmas with a fierce intelligence, creating a slippery drama that is full of meat. Margaret Perry's production is slick and smart, and the three performances are spot-on. Something to really chew on.”
The Guardian
Winner FRINGE FIRST
“Every second of this play is perfect!”
“In more than capable hands, Brian Dykstra's rapidfire script never misses a beat!”
“Fast-paced and wonderfully played!"
"Ferociously articulate dialogue
in a hail of David Mamet-ian testosterone speak.
Sharp performances across the board.
A fairy tale for our time!"
"Brian Dykstra wields a monologue like a sword!
As Mister Cutter, a sinister attorney in this passionate play about environmental politics, he delivers near-arias about everything from the power of corporate America to his brief flirtation with Eastern philosophy. But though his words are well crafted and his thinking clear, it almost doesn't matter what he's saying. The sheer sound of his voice as it rises and falls offers its own visceral reward. Dykstra's work provides the startling immediacy that makes live performance feel so alive."
“A bracing piece of agitprop that well displays its author/star's penchant for provocation. Political satire at its best!
“The thrill of discovering a bright new talent is one of the indisputable joys of theatregoing. Anyone currently seeking that thrill need not look any further than the new political comedy, Clean Alternatives, which features the work of an exciting new writer and an equally exciting actor—both of whom are the same person: Brian Dykstra. He has written a sharp, funny, potent, and oh-so-timely play about corporate greed and the environment; and he’s also giving a ferocious performance in one of the lead roles as a mercenary, big shot lawyer. In a perfect world, Clean Alternatives would be the vehicle that exposes Dykstra to a wider audience, as both a writer and an actor. This is stimulating, whip-smart theatre that should not be missed… As Cutter, Dykstra is sensational, giving a hilarious, scene-stealing performance that is full of sly smarts and killer instinct…And, what if Clean Alternatives turns out to not be the vehicle for which Dysktra’s considerable talents are “discovered” by the public-at-large? Never fear. At the rate that he seems to work, it’ll only be a matter of time (probably sooner rather than later) before they are.”
“’You’re in lockdown, even if you don’t know it.’ Thus starts a brilliantly written and acted near-monologue by Dykstra in which he manages to make Cutter’s power-tripping narcissism funny and compelling.”
"With a dynamic intensity, Mr. Dykstra makes Mr. Cutter a joy to watch, whether describing tragedy or waxing prosaic on the carnivorous pleasures of corporate law."
“Brian Dykstra is a very funny man.”
“An intense, high-adrenaline production. Writing and performances that bring to mind George Bernard Shaw working in Lenny Bruce mode.”
"Satire of a very high order…With each turn of the plot and with each revelation of character, the audience becomes more intoxicated with Dykstra's talent for tale-spinning.”
“Beautifully performed!”
"The last time I saw Brian Dykstra, he was at the tiny Triad Theatre in New York, doing an exhilarating one-man show…Now Mr. Dykstra is starring in "Rounding Third" a two-man show and putting his rage to good use."
"Michael and Don are a baseball odd couple. Their chemistry is what makes or breaks this play, and here it connects….Dykstra's Don is physically imposing, and he does the regular-guy thing. But he's smart too. Michael fumbles with the equipment, but his nerd persona has a passive-aggressive streak. There's some territory being marked on both sides, and the guy-thing subtext is funny and genuine."
"Brian Dykstra's very sloppiness and cut-the-crap attitude makes Don appealing against the odds."
"'Rounding Third' hits a comedic home run!"
"When macho jock Don (Brian Dykstra) meets his new assistant couch, Michael (Daniel Cantor), the comedy begins! Shaggy, bearded Dykstra's untempered will to win becomes an uncomfortable reminder of too many overzealous Little League parents."
"the bullish Dykstra make(s) it winning!"
“Don (Brian Dykstra in a definitive performance) and Michael (Daniel Cantor, who holds his own admirably against the Dykstra juggernaut) begin "Rounding Third" on opposite philosophical benches, they wind up meeting somewhere in the middle...This is Dykstra's show; a performance that finds rich complexity.”
“a nonstop hysterrical…a grand slam•
Touching The Bases
Fine Acting Helps `Rounding Third' Almost Hit Home MALCOLM JOHNSON,
Special to The Courant
Pitting a blue-collar ex-jock against a white-collar sports reject in a battle for the soul of a Little League team, Richard Dresser's “Rounding Third” slugs it out, even as it suffers from cliché and predictability. Thanks to its two actors - burly, bearded Brian Dykstra and slender, shiny-faced Daniel Cantor - this pop fly of a play almost hits home.
Subbed in for the far more weighty "The Exonerated,” the off-Broadway hit about death-row survivors, the final offering of the TheaterWorks season seems calculated to appeal to those tired businessmen with baseball in their hearts. This is also a time when Steve Campo's valiant little company is signing on subscribers, with “The Exonerated” promised again and another bigger and much more famous baseball play, Richard Greenberg's “Take Me Out,” scheduled for the final slot a year from now.
Campo directs “Rounding Third,” and he deserves admiration for his casting and his pacing. Even as Dresser's play sets up its morals and ambiguities in an all-too-obvious ways, and Campo's blocking slumps, the life of the characters is undeniable.
Though they obviously differ widely in styles and philosophies, Dykstra's Don and Cantor's Michael share a sense of isolation and loneliness as the play unfolds on Ryan Scott's simple setting, with its low wooden fence and the rear end of a beat-up van. Both men suffer from the common male complaint of friendlessness, and neither receives much comfort from women for contrasting reasons revealed in the play's plotting.
"Rounding Third" begins with an awkward meeting between Don, a bully who earns his living as a painter, and Michael, an ingratiating little office bureaucrat. Don, the head coach of a winning team, worships the game and cherishes his memories of past glories as well as regretting one particularly devastating loss. He has another reason for his dedication: His son, Jimmy, is the team's star pitcher. Michael is also on board because of a son, Frankie, who already has been blackballed by Don because of the boy's ineptitude on the playing fields at school (Jimmy is his father's scout).
Physically, the play opens awkwardly; Campo has devised a symbolic game of oneupmanship as Don and Michael prop their feet on the rungs of a stool that then disappears from the set. The first scene also presents Don as a juicy beer drinker and Michael as a dry abstainer. Soon, the big splitting point arrives with Don's declaration on having fun in athletic endeavors: "Winning is fun. Losing stinks." This leads to the matter of the unwanted Frankie, who has a different surname (hyphenated) from Michael, who is his stepfather.
As acted by Dykstra, who sports a faded red baseball cap and talismanic whistle for most of the play, Don represents the politically unconscious American male. He is condescending to his wife and to females in general. When Michael experiences an emotional moment, Don derides it and crows, “We're not women.” Musical theater is the object of ridicule, especially an upcoming youth production of "Brigadoon." Don is also informal, calling his new assistant coach Mike or Mikey, despite the tidy sad sack's persistent wish to be addressed as Michael.
The arc of the two-act play, with its parade of short bits and blackouts, puts Don in the catbird seat. He is the man with the blasting whistle and the big yell to his struggling Bad News Bears, like the bungling Frankie. Gradually, Canton's cooler and more civilized Michael becomes an equal, then a superior as the wheel of fate turns. In the end, Don has become one of those men overthrown by his outdated, backward, father-knows-best values. Yet ironically, Michael has taken on some of Don's desire to win, even cheating in a critical moment, albeit unintentionally.
Though "Rounding Third" suffers from its agenda, both the bullish Dykstra and the tentative but awakening Cantor make it winning and often funny. The jokes often depend on male rituals, such as wearing socks and underwear for days on end during a run of ballpark successes. In the end, as Don loses some of his cocky machismo, "Rounding Third" even becomes poignant. Men like Don - sports fans and womanizers and Bud guzzlers - move through a benighted world that has vanished before their eyes, even in a Republican era.
Here and there, Dresser shows that he can write sharp dialogue, unlike the babble in the dreadful book he contributed to last season's Broadway disaster, the Beach Boys jukebox musical mistitled "Good Vibrations." Not surprisingly, that credit is missing from TheaterWorks' program bio.
Brian Dykstra: Cornered & Alone
a
comedic rant of political proportations
"One Off Broadway production you can be sure Republicans won't be flocking to is "Brian Dykstra: Cornered & Alone," but Democrats and environmentalists are going to find Mr. Dykstra 's EXHILARATING one-man show INTOXICATING and enormously satisfying."
"A bitterly funny barrage of home truths about the plight of American liberals"
"LENNY BRUCE would have saluted - maybe even toked a joint with - Brian Dykstra."
"Brian Dykstra : Cornered & Al one is a hearfelt, intelligent, captivating, uproarious, dignified, and, most of all important work of art. Dykstra is invading the fall 'must-see' lineup and he is not going to stop until he has reached his goal: change....I leave you with an opinion of my own; one which I have told every person i have talked to since I saw this show; GO SEE IT! See it now! Bring friends, bring family,just do not miss this one!"
"Brian Dykstra recently found himself listed on a Rush Limbaugh-affiliated website as an "enemy" of the conservative talk radio host. This seemed strange to Dykstra because there was no indication that Limbaugh or any of his self-styled "Dittoheads" had attended the Brian Dykstra : Cornered and Alone . "
"Listening to Brian Dykstra is simply EXHILARATING."
"Brian Dykstra is damn pissed. His one-man show is about the myriad things that he sees corroding our society. The questions he raises are TRENCHANT and on target. His description of Hollywood's manipulations juxtaposed against the show business of Washington is subtle yet POWERFUL."
Times Trumpets an "Exhilarating" Evening of Bush-Hating
"The Times pushes yet another anti-Bush art show in Friday's Weekend section. Reviewer Anita Gates has kind words for Brian Dykstra 's one-man political propaganda show, "Cornered & Al one," playing on Manhattan's Upper West Side."
Waiting for Righty
A look at some of the left-leaning shows that will be playing in NYC during
the RNC.
"Equipped with a SHARP WIT, a poetic flair, and just the right amount of cynicism, he has put together an engaging and timely performance piece that won't win him any friends amongst Republicans but SHOULD BE SEEN BY EVERYONE."
With GOP in town, politics treads boards off-Broadway
"It seems like every theater company is waving its arms, saying, 'Look, we're doing political theater,' " says Brian Dykstra , who takes on President Bush, Justice Clarence Thomas and other conservative icons in his acclaimed one-man show Cornered & Al one , now playing at the Triad Theatre."
"BRIAN DYKSTRA FOR PRESIDENT. Liberal and proud, Brian Dykstra will make you think of the Declaration of Independence with a passionately renewed interest. This man should be making the talk show rounds in order to spread his word to middle-America. Bring a politically apathetic friend. They'll thank you later."
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Controversial 'Comets' is masterly, creative, graphic
"Hiding Behind Comets," a new play from Brian Dykstra that opened at the Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park Thursday night, not only provides a masterly evening of suspense but is a creative fictional extension of the 1978 Jonestown murder-suicide..Dykstra achieves commanding insights into the characters....It is Dykstra's talent for writing dialogue-now slicing, now vulgar, now sardonic-that provides exciting sparring...There are fascinating explorations, notably the strange symbiotic emotional and physical connections that the twins have for one another...There are also substantive contemplations on larger themes: the manipulation of minds through the perversion of faith, the twisted rationale that extended guilt can cause and the unsettling effects on children when they are deprived of truth."
'HIDING' EXCITES, DISTURBS CROWDS
New Playhouse play deals with sexuality
"Some plays are comfortable, safe and simply shine new light on our everyday experiences or introduce us to new ones gently. The others are those that get into the audiences' mind and force them to reconsider the world they are living in.
Hiding Behind Comets, the world premiere play at Cincinnati's Playhouse in the Park, takes its audience on a roller coaster of events that keep patrons on the edge of their seats until the very end."
Americana Absurdum, at the Menier Chocolate Factory in London
“This is the fastest theatre I've ever seen. The cast rip through their lines at patter-song pace…the talented nine-strong cast amidst the zaniness and constant activity even manage to lend a sympathetic humanity to their loathsome characters.”
That Damn Dykstra (the Boxed Set) , Access Theater New York
“Brian Dykstra is working hard to turn ranting into a new genre, and if he succeeds comedy may not be safe…the word flow feels unstoppable…he can make you think as hard as you laugh …Dykstra displays striking comic powers.”
“Brian Dykstra is a talented guy.”
“Dykstra opens the show with a vivid performance of 'The Mean Queen and the Thief of Hearts.' He bursts onto the stage, telling the sultry, romantic tale in the style of a spoken-word artist who has been traveling the world for years to hone his skills. Before the audience has time to decide whether they like Dykstra or not, he has already swept them away. Bringing the power of his work to life with magnificent storytelling, Dykstra alters the mood and the moment simply by changing the rhythm of his words. Even if he stood in one place, he would still capture everyone's attention.”
“Dykstra spins wildly imaginative rhymes with an unpredictable sensibility.”
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The Mean Queen and the Thief of Hearts, Pittsburgh Public Theater
“funny, sharp-edged"
Copenhagen, Arizona Theatre Company
“Mesmerizing”
“Dykstra’s Heisenberg is equally brilliant.”
“Without a doubt, it’s heavy stuff. Yet, Brian Dykstra as affable, push-ahead-fast Heisenberg and Ken Ruta as fatherly Niels Bohr banter and argue about quantum physics, the uncertainly principles and fusion with a passion and authority.
A View From the Bridge, Theaterfest, Montclair, NJ
“Eddie, who’s brilliantly portrayed by Brian Dykstra…Dykstra never slips into easy-laugh caricature, and each of his gestures is natural—the shrug of the shoulders while extending the arms wide, smiling through his pain and plopping his forkful of ziti onto the plate when annoyed. Dykstra makes Eddie what Miller intended—a simple, but not simplistic man.”
“What if the new Jersey professional and semiprofessional theaters bestowed their own version of the Tony Awards? …If I were the nominator, here’s the way I’d see the 2002-2003 season: …Best Play Actor …Brian Dykstra for A View From the Bridge (nominee).”
“As Eddie, Brian Dykstra gives a career-defining performance. An actor of remarkable depth and insight, Dykstra captures flawlessly the creeping, corroding sense of loss with which Eddie battles…Film star Anthony LaPaglia’s Eddie, on Broadway in 1997, seemed far too young and virile for the role. It is eye-opening here to watch Dykstra make Eddie his own. Wrapping his burly arms around his character, he comes out slugging with a power and ferocity that leaves one drained watching. His beefy, slightly stooped frame slumped in Eddie’s favorite chair, his face twisted in confusion as he confronts unexplored feelings of lust for his niece, his eyes mirroring contempt for the desperate Beatrice and barely repressed rage at the joyful innocence of Rodolpho—Dykstra’s Eddie is a man in turmoil and pain.
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Dinner With Friends, Philadelphia Theatre Company
“Brian Dykstra is moving.”
“Memorable”
Macbeth, Pittsburgh Public Theater
“Electrifying.”
Twelfth Night, Pittsburgh Public Theater
“Brian Dykstra leads the cast as Sir Toby. He’s the Visiting Guest Artist…I hope they learned from him what precision comedic timing looks like, as well as Dykstra’s almost inhuman ability to know exactly when to pull back.”
“Dykstra is hilarious as the drunken Sir Toby Belch.”
“…tugging everyone’s performance to higher levels whenever he’s on stage…daring bravado and creative imagination.”
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All The Rage, Pittsburgh Public Theater
“Each of us will prefer some performances over others—Dykstra’s soul-less insolence.”
A Doll's House, Asolo Theater, Sarasota, Florida
“Viperish”
“Deft.”
Bobby Gould in Hell, New Hope Performing Arts Festival
“The cast of four in uniformly excellent, expertly catching the snap and crackle of Mamet’s volleying dialogue. At the center of the wordplay is Brian Dykstra’s admirably manic portrayal of the merciless by witty interrogator.”
“Explosively funny”
“Brian Dykstra is quite the powerhouse.”
Gangster Apparel, Off-Off-Broadway, New York
“Brian Dykstra delivers a marvelous performance as Louie.”
Gangster Apparel, Montpieler, Vermont
“Hilarious”
A Most Secret War, Off-Broadway
“Deft.”
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5 Questions I've Never Been Asked: Brian Dykstra
"It has been my view for some time that Brian Dykstra is one of those
American playwrights that we ought to be paying much more attention
to. His plays are dynamic and emotionally charged and distinctively
funny - and they have a sense of pacing, of style, of soul, of anger,
of conciliation, of mindfulness about what does and does not make a
dramatic moment. I'm increasingly fascinated by Dykstra."
“Dykstra brings one-man show ‘The Jesus Factor' to Kitchen Theatre”
Talk Back on Politics and Theatre
"So, I get this offer to write an opinon about "Political Theatre." It's that wide open, "Political Theatre" and I wonder how I got so lucky."
Brian Dykstra: Cornered & Alone
As the Fall Campaign Simmers,
Presidential Politics Take Center Stage
"But where the short plays tackle political questions without a specific agenda, Perry's next effort, "Brian Dykstra: Cornered and Alone," which she will direct and co-produce (with Jack W. Batman and Greg Schaffert) at the Triad Theater (158 West 72nd St.) for an open run beginning Aug. 3, is 90 minutes of pure political theatre."
Times Trumpets an "Exhilarating" Evening of Bush-Hating
"The Times pushes yet another anti-Bush art show in Friday's Weekend section. Reviewer Anita Gates has kind words for Brian Dykstra 's one-man political propaganda show, "Cornered & Al one," playing on Manhattan's Upper West Side."
Waiting for Righty
A look at some of the left-leaning shows that will be playing in NYC during
the RNC.
With GOP in town, politics treads boards off-Broadway
"It seems like every theater company is waving its arms, saying, 'Look, we're doing political theater,' " says Brian Dykstra , who takes on President Bush, Justice Clarence Thomas and other conservative icons in his acclaimed one-man show Cornered & Al one , now playing at the Triad Theatre."
Actors step out of their roles — briefly
HARTFORD — Actors Brian Dykstra and Daniel Cantor are out of character — or maybe not. Each is pitching his view of playing to win, and it's all playing nicely into the context of "Rounding Third," the baseball-based comedy at TheaterWorks, Friday through Oct. 9.
Dykstra plays Don, the bottom-line coach of a Little League team. Cantor plays Michael, a new-to-town assistant coach who's more concerned with the journey than the destination of victory. At least that's how things start out in Richard Dresser's play.
Out of costume, they look their respective parts: Dykstra in all black — T-shirt, shorts, socks, sneakers — Cantor in calmer, non-confrontational, non-athletic earth tones, with granola-ish casual brown shoes.
Dykstra's point, made in the company's rehearsal room but outside the confines of the script, is that it's not up to competitors to enforce the rules.
"If you want to go ahead and try to screw somebody on a business deal, if you can do it, go for it," he says. "But you shouldn't be allowed to do it."
"I don't buy that," Cantor says. "That's the same thing as, ‘Cheating is fine unless you get caught.' "
Dykstra says that's not really what he means. Anti-trust laws and the like are one-thing, he says, but social convention has gone wild with restrictions on aggressiveness — contrary to the animal nature of people.
"I will kill you to take this mastodon meat and feed my family," he says, by way of illustration. "I will kill you."
"That's right," counters Cantor. "But the genius of antitrust (law) is that it doesn't deny competition, it encourages competition."
Steve Campo, TheaterWorks Artistic Director (and the director of this show) cuts in.
"This is kind of a representation of what the rehearsal process is like," Campo says. "Because we ultimately segue into huge, big-picture discussions about politics, society, philosophy — all that."
In fact, Campo says, take baseball out of the "Rounding Third" equation and you still have a play about the ethics and limits of competition, about what the right spot along the cooperative-to-cutthroat spectrum we should groom our kids to occupy. But Little League baseball and kids' sports in general make for a setting a lot of people can relate to.
Out-of-control parents have made a good run at ruining youth sports by attacking each other and coaches, berating opposing players and teaching their own kids that cheating to win is OK. There's been a backlash, a call by some people to a return to youth sports that are really about letting kids have fun — not about stroking the egos of coaches and parents.
On the other hand, does the touchy-feely, everybody-wins tack get children ready for the realities of competitive life? In the grown-up world, we keep score in lots of ways.
"My sister's kids aren't allowed to play ‘Duck-Duck-Goose,' because no child should feel the outsider," Dykstra says. "They don't keep score, and my sister sort of (says), ‘My kids don't know how to deal with losing — they never lose.' "
In "Rounding Third," though, Don and Michael find out that maybe they've got some common ground. When you get down to it, who doesn't like to win?
"We ultimately come away from it with a sense that these guys really had something to give each other," Campo says. "Both of them manage to articulate, fairly convincingly, these very different perspectives."
EDITORIAL
Talk Back
On Politics and Theatre
So, I get this offer to write an opinion about "Political Theatre." It's that wide open, "Political Theatre" and I wonder how I got so lucky. Here we are witnessing the single most mediocre minded, crony-filled, confederacy-of-the-inept to run the country since at least the Jackson administration (he was number seven) and I get to dash off a few words for a readership known to be among the most liberal in the country. Most of the artists in America (and certainly the one's reading Backstage) while not necessarily members of the choir, almost certainly know the songs. Naturally I have to leave out the tiny percentage of politically conservative thinkers (and I'm tempted to put that word in quotes) in show business, as that minuscule aberration is akin to black republicans and progressive fundamentalists.
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"It is the nature of the political theatre to stand up and give comfort in trying times. First to the choir. Then to the fence-sitters." |
In the heart of every political theatre artist there is the fleeting hope that the word will have an effect on the world. We hope to be a small part of the force that swings the pendulum away from the clutches of Intelligent Design hypocrites who want to get their church all up in our state. We wish to accomplish nothing less than changing a world where a Born-Again Christian President routinely breaks a Commandment (you know, that pesky one about not lying) while bastardizing the actual meanings of words so that environmental acts do exactly the opposite of what they sound like. The only thing the "Clear Skies" Act is "clear of," is regulations that might keep pollution out of the skies. But here I am about to open my latest play and the marketing guys have advised that we downplay the political angle in a story about a woman approached by corporate lawyers interested in purchasing her pollution rights. And why do I get this advice? Because it's their experience that "Political" theatre is a tough sell. Even here. Even on the Island of Manhattan, arguably the most liberal strip of land in the country. It is my fervent hope that the content of the play is moot as soon as possible. If this play is still relevant fifteen years from now, that means we're still fucking up the environment like it's our very own chemically contaminated septic system. And even at best, what is it we hope for? That people who already agree might come see something that has the possibility of giving them comfort. Because it's especially nice to hear someone else say something we agree with in a world where we find ourselves feeling like the crazy ones because a million more homeless children since this administration took over isn't acceptable, but no one seems to catch any political fallout from systems successfully designed to make rich white guys richer and poor folks poorer. It is the nature of the political theatre to stand up and give comfort in trying times. First to the choir. Then to the fence-sitters. Then, maybe someday someone will hear something they suspect they already knew. And that thought will be presented in a crystallizing way, or an actor will bring a humanity to a moment that makes someone realize that something in their world is no longer acceptable. And that's what the best theatre is trying to do. Not change minds. But incite like minds to shine their lights on people and corporations who are getting away with making the world a worse place and clearing their throats to say, "No more of that, Mr. Chaney. We want to stand as a country that is united against torture. And not just in principle but in actual practice." Because the political theatre holds out hope that we are those people. Even during the times we are not.
"Brian Dykstra recently found himself listed on a Rush Limbaugh-affiliated website as an "enemy" of the conservative talk radio host. This seemed strange to Dykstra because there was no indication that Limbaugh or any of his self-styled "Dittoheads" had attended the Brian Dykstra: Cornered and Alone." read more
FOR THE PRESS
Press photos of Brian Dykstra, in black & white at 300 dpi are available fom the Acting Page.
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