Company XI's new sexy show

By Meredith Deliso

Austin McCormick and Charles Bukowski may come from two completely different artistic backgrounds, but they have at least one thing in common — women are their muse.

And this month, the choreographer turns to the iconic poet for his own inspiration in the provocative “Lover. Muse. Mockingbird. Whore,” a one-woman show starring Laura Careless (check out the trailer below).

Using movement, video, music, including pieces by Brahms and Tchaikovsky, and recordings of Bukowski reading his poems, the show explores the female archetypes present in the famous womanizer’s work (lover, muse, etc.), as well as tackling themes of voyeurism, sexuality and objectification.

Typically, the Carroll Gardens-based dance troupe has a strong baroque influence and over-the-top flair, so things should get interesting when it strips down — in more ways than one — to explore the women in Bukowski’s poetry. And with Careless, whom we loved in the company’s last production, “Nutcracker Rouge,” at the helm, you can’t go wrong.

“Lover. Muse. Mockingbird. Whore.” at 303 Bond Street Theatre (303 Bond St. between Union and Sackett streets in Carroll Gardens, no phone), April 15-May 8, Fridays-Sundays at 8 pm. Tickets $30 for adults, $25 for students and seniors. For info, visit www.companyXIV.com.

LOVER. MUSE. MOCKINGBIRD. WHORE. from Austin McCormick on Vimeo.

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Theater review: A hot little 'Nutcracker' from Company XIV

By Meredith Deliso

’Tis the season for “Nutcrackers” of all stripes, be them faithful or irreverent. For a sexed-up retelling that’s full of eye candy, Company XIV’s reimagining, “Nutcracker Rouge,” doesn’t disappoint.

The Carroll Gardens-based dance-theater troupe has made a name for itself thanks to its sensual, over-the-top productions that are as much a celebration of the human body as the dance that it performs. And “Nutcracker Rouge,” the company’s vamped-up contribution to the holiday tradition, now through Jan. 9, turns the classic tale into a sumptuous treat that’s certainly not for kids.

At the helm of Company XIV’s version is Drosselmeyer, a dramatic narrator who demands as much attention as the characters he introduces — including his goddaughter, the virginal Marie Claire, upon whom he bestows one fateful Christmas a nutcracker who is actually the prince of the Kingdom of the Sweets whose past deeds includes fending off an army of mice but who is now miserably awaiting his queen.

The kingdom itself is the real sweet here, ripe as it is with half-naked dancers who represent chocolates, cherry truffles, licorice and macaroons. Oh, the macaroons.

The dances — set to a jazzy score based off the original Tchaikovsky music — feature a harem of “Turkish delights,” perfectly synchronized lap dances, and even a rousing can can number. The climax comes, of course, during the dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy, at which point Marie Claire sheds her girlish, stifling dress for a tiny burlesque number, complete with pasties, for the big reunion.

Choreographer Austin McCormick’s sensuous production is playful and cheeky at heart — bubbles descend like snow at the opening dance, sex acts are pantomimed to much laughs, and, in case you missed the cues, there’s even a laugh track and drum roll, however tacky.

As our Sugar Plum Fairy, Laura Careless is mesmerizing, her face appropriately angelic or cloying, and she deservedly owns the stage during her anticipated solo. The production also truly leans on our narrator, Jeff Takacs (who wrote the script, and clearly loves every word). He gamely dresses in S&M dungeon-esque duds, operatic drag and traditional Baroque fair, as is the company’s aesthetic. His theatricality lends itself well to the company’s over-the-top flair, but we were too distracted by the beautiful dancers.

Despite its charms, this “Nutcracker” is not without some sour moments. A big reveal of the Kingdom of the Sweets is underwhelming. Some of the otherwise engaging dancing falls flat; in particular, a Spanish flamenco number. Those eye-popping floor-dropping dances and stripper poles come at a price, and thanks to all that bared flesh, the evident bruises on our poor Careless are a tad distracting.

Still, this “Nutcracker” is a tasty holiday escape, favoring style over substance. And it’s nothing without style.

“Nutcracker Rouge” at Company XIV [303 Bond St. between Union and Sackett streets in Carroll Gardens, no phone), now through Jan. 9, with performances Friday through Sunday at 8 pm. No shows Dec. 24-26. Tickets $30, $25 for students and seniors. For info, visit www.companyxiv.com. 

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Sometimes you feel like a nut...

Besides mistletoe, egg nog and that sweater from grandma, there’s no greater holiday tradition than “The Nutcracker.” But no two “Nutcrackers” are alike, so we checked them all out to give you an insider’s guide:

The Classics

From Dec. 22-Jan. 2, the American Ballet Theatre brings “The Nutcracker” to the Brooklyn Academy of Music. A live orchestra will perform Tchaikovsky’s famous score, while more than 100 performers will bring the magical toy soldiers, sparkling fairies, mischievous mice, and, of course, young Clara and her wooden prince to life. 

In Bay Ridge, the Vicky Simegiatos Dance Company (right) borrows ballerina Jennifer Ringer, principal of the New York City Ballet, once again for a full-length production on Dec. 19. Ringer stars as the Sugar Plum Fairy, while the rest of the cast is rounded out by the young members of the company for a particularly sweet production.

Similarly, over at the Kingsborough Performing Arts Center, the Brighton Ballet Theater’s Russian American Kids Ballet revives the holiday classic on Dec. 12, with lavish costumes, splendid scenery, and a junior company of more than 50 young dancers in an abridged production. You can catch the Brighton Ballet Theater again at the Brooklyn Children’s Museum, as the company performs all your favorite excerpts from “The Nutcracker”  on Dec. 19.

American Ballet Theatre at the Brooklyn Academy of Music’s Gilman Opera House [30 Lafayette Ave. between Ashland Place and St. Felix Street in Fort Greene, (718) 636-4100], Dec. 22-Jan. 2. Tickets $20-$135. For info, visit bam.org; Vicky Simegiatos Dance Company, Dec. 19 at 7 pm and Dec. 20 at 2 pm at the Poly Prep Country Day School [Seventh Avenue at 92nd Street in Bay Ridge, (347) 517-4169]. Tickets, $25–$35. For info, visit www.vspac.com; Kingsborough Community College [2001 Oriental Blvd. at Decatur Avenue in Manhattan Beach, (718) 368-5596], Dec. 18 at 2 pm. Tickets $12. For info, visit www.kbcc.cuny.edu; Brighton Ballet Theater at the Brooklyn Children’s Museum [145 Brooklyn Ave. between St. Marks Avenue and Prospect Place in Crown Heights, (718) 735-4400], Dec. 19 at 1:30 pm and 2:30 pm. Admission $7.50. For info, visit www.brooklynkids.org.

Cracked

“The Nutcracker” wasn’t known for humor until Mark Morris’s “The Hard Nut,” an irreverent take now celebrating its 30th anniversary, Dec. 10-19. Morris’s troupe transplants the story from the decorous 1890s to the swinging 1970s, and live music will be provided by the MMDG Music Ensemble with the Brooklyn Youth Chorus.

The Gowanus-based Company XIV, known for its sensuous, Baroque-inspired performances, gives “The Nutcracker” an erotic makeover with its “Nutcracker Rouge” (left), running Dec. 10-Jan. 9. In keeping with the company’s opulent flair, this retelling promises to be a hedonistic display of gorgeous and decadent winter entertainment, complete with burlesque that further strays off book as it blends pieces by Tchaikovsky, Vivaldi and Duke Ellington, with text inspired “The Nutcracker” and “Little Red Riding Hood.” That, at least, explains the “rouge.”

“The Colonial Nutcracker,” an annual, hour-long production at the Brooklyn Center for the Performing Arts on Dec. 12, sets the action in wintry colonial Yorktown in Virginia, during the Revolutionary War. That makes for a red-coated mouse army and an enchanted nutcracker prince in, naturally, a powder wig.

“The Hard Nut” at the Brooklyn Academy of Music’s Howard Gilman Opera House [30 Lafayette Ave. between Ashland Place and St. Felix Street in Fort Greene, (718) 636-4100], Dec. 10, 11, and 15-18 at 7:30 pm, and Dec. 12 and 19 at 3 pm. Tickets $25-$70. For info, visit bam.org; “Nutcracker Rouge” at Company XIV (303 Bond St. at Union Street in Gowanus, no phone), Dec. 10-Jan. 9, Friday-Sunday at 8 pm. Tickets $25-$40. For info, visit www.companyxiv.com; “The Colonial Nutcracker” at the Brooklyn Center for the Performing Arts at Brooklyn College [2900 Campus Rd. at Hillel Place in Flatbush, (718) 951-4600 X22], Dec. 12 at 2 pm. Tickets, $6. For info, visit www.brooklyncenteronline.org.

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Under the baroque top

Little Red Riding Hood, meet Lady Gaga.

In “Le Cirque Feerique (The Fairy Circus),” a new production from Boerum Hill’s Company XIV, classic children’s fairy tales are turned on their heads, told through ballet, flamenco, ballroom and contemporary dance, and a range of music, from pieces by Vivaldi to Aphex Twin (watch the "trailer' here).

As befitting the company’s mission, there’s a strong baroque presence, as the group collaborates with a baroque opera trio and sings popular songs by artists such as Lady Gaga in a baroque manner.

“It’s a really eclectic show,” said director Austin McCormick. “A lot of the costumes and design is super-duper over the top, which is baroque.”

For the all-ages show, which opens on May 8 and is performed as a traveling circus, McCormick picked his favorite fairy tales, first infusing them with a 17th-century design aesthetic and then juxtaposing that with more modern elements. There’s “The Ugly Duckling” as “Swan Lake,” “The Princess and the Pea” performed using Indian dance, “Little Red Riding Hood” set to Lady Gaga’s “Monster.” Needless to say, this big top is over the top.

“It could be a giant freak show,” said McCormick. “Hopefully it is.”

“Le Cirque Feerique (The Fairy Circus)” at 303 Bond Street Theatre (303 Bond St. between Union and Sackett streets in Carroll Gardens, no phone), May 8-June 6. For info, visit http://www.CompanyXIV.com.

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