Seven.11 2007
My absolute favorite, gimmick-constrained desi experimental theater series is moving up in the world with $18 tickets and what may be a larger location than the railroad apartment-sized microtheater in ‘05.
Eleven-minute plays set in a convenience store… [include] superheroes on a quick snack stop, a Bollywood superstar promoting the latest Slurpee flavor, a historical tour of the quickie-mart from the future, and a wild spin on a classic fairy tale called Bikram & Cheekochio: The Musical. [Link]
Two years back, the musical was a riot! It usually sells out, so do buy before the performance.
on Wednesday, February 28th, 2007, 12:26 pm in Events, Theater › 
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Saw the show a few nights ago. The cast this year is weaker than the terrific cast from two years ago (I did not get to see the show one year ago). The good thing is that Andrew Guilarte is back, and is great in his several roles. The bad news is that his partner in crime, Debargo Sanyal (who I have now spotted on two different “Law & Order” repeats!), is not back. Though he is not onstage, Debargo Sanyal did write this year’s funniest play (which has Andrew Guilarte playing…Debargo Sanyal!!). I also liked the writing of three of the more serious plays: one was about a woman and her gay best friend drifting apart, another was about a teenage girl discovering that she and her father are about to be murdered, and another was about two young sri lankans falling in love. This year’s musical was a silly, puerile disappointment. Another play, about two superheroes, was surprisingly boring. And the first play of the evening, about two quarreling actresses and their director, was just so-so (and poorly acted). I vote for Kavi Ladnier (who I saw on TV’s “Heroes” a few months ago!!) to come back for a “Soooonderlla” sequel! So, overall, I had a relatively fun time, but I also found myself missing the acting/writing quality from two years ago. But, on the plus side, at least the performance venue is larger this year; less cramped than the one from two years ago. Has anyone else seen the show–any thoughts?
Thanks for the report, Sumeeta!
I saw it this weekend. This is actually my fourth year in a row seeing “7-11″. I pretty much agree with Sumeeta about this year’s production. I also just came across two reviews of the show on some mainstream NYC theater websites– http://www.indietheater.org/blog/archives/28 and http://www.offoffonline.com/reviews.php?id=986 –and they both seem to concur, for the most part. The show does have a few great moments, but, as a whole, it’s not as strong as one would expect, based on previous years (well, last year’s production was somewhat bland as well). It looks like many of the stronger actors from past years are off doing film and tv projects (like Kavi Ladnier, Debargo Sanyal, Tim Kang, etc)–I looked them up on IMDB and that seems to be the case. Hopefully next year the 7-11 people will be able to find stronger actors (and better musical writers–I didn’t like this year’s musical, or the two musicals from last year). I thought “7-11″ was brilliant in 2004 and 2005 though…
I thought the show was fun. (I never saw the previous four editions of “7-11″, so I can’t say how this year stacks up to those other years.) But I felt the writing was good, the acting was decent, and the one girl in the cast who strips down to her bra, for the second to last play, totally made my night yaar!!!!
I plan on seeing “7-11″ this week. But last week, I saw another desi-themed play here in Manhattan called “Serendib”. It is set in Sri Lanka, and features some desi actors — like Nitya Vidyasagar and Geeta Citygirl — in the cast. I quite liked it. The reviews have been mixed, but I enjoyed it and recommend it. Here are four of the reviews: http://curtainup.com/serendib.html and http://theater2.nytimes.com/2007/04/09/theater/reviews/09sere.html?ref=theater and http://www.nytheatre.com/nytheatre/sere4992.htm and http://www.theatermania.com/content/news.cfm/story/10434 Has anyone else seen “Serendib”?
I have not seen “Serendib”, Sonalee, but it sounds very interesting. I have not seen “7-11″ yet either (I am going this Friday night). But, last night, I saw a great new play (in the West Village) called “Topsy Turvy Mouse”, which featured two Indian characters–a widowed single mother (named Una) and her 15-year-old son (named Amit). It was a really thought-provoking and well-acted piece of theater. The two performers who played Una and Amit were quite good. Some links about the show: http://theater2.nytimes.com/gst/theater/tdetails.html?id=1154668786959 ; http://www.nytheatre.com/nytheatre/tops5021.htm ; http://www.telecharge.com/tickets_Topsy_Turvy_Mouse_NY_City_Cherry_Lane_Studio_summary.aspx It’s worth checking out.
I just saw “7-11″ tonight. It was okay. Not great. But okay. The funniest play was the Brainfreeze Bonanza one. I think Debargo Sanyal is a great actor, who I have seen in several plays in the past few years, so it was fun to see someone else play him (like on Saturday Night Live). I also liked the play with the young Sri Lankan lovers and the one with the Chinese girl who meets a tour group from the future. I would say the ratio of bad/good, in terms of the writing and acting, was about 50-50. Perhaps the show just needed a better director…? Now I’m curious to see “Serendib” and “Topsy Turvy Mouse”. They sound like they might be better.
Hey, Sonalee, I saw “Serendib” this week and really enjoyed it. I thought it was a better show than “7-11″, which I saw a couple weeks ago, and thought was mediocre. Hima, I just got a ticket to see “Topsy Turvey Mouse” tomorrow night. I’m looking forward to that, so thank you for the tip :-) I am also planning on seeing “Bengal Tiger at the Baghdad Zoo” next week. Here is a link with info: http://www.nytheatre.com/nytheatre/beng5075.htm It is by desi playwright Rajiv Joseph, and has desi actor Alok Tewari in the cast. Moral of the story: if you want to see desi theater in NYC, “7-11″ is not the ONLY ticket in town, so go out and support these other shows as well! As a desi undergrad gal majoring in theater, it is great for me to see desi theater artists involved in so many different types of shows.
I enjoyed “7-11″. The actors were funny, and the writing was imaginative. The only thing was that the theater they chose to do their show in was in the middle of nowhere, and rather difficult to get to (I am a life-long Manhattan resident, and have NEVER in my life been to the area in which the theater was located, in the Lower East Side…). I saw “7-11″ last year as well, and liked the location of that venue much better.
I didn’t like 7-11 very much when I saw it two weeks ago. It had a few enjoyable moments, but they were far outnumbered by the not-so-enjoyable ones. I was expecting a smarter, more polished theater production. 7-11 felt amateurish, like a college student talent show at times. This past weekend, I also went to see SERENDIB and TOPSY TURVEY MOUSE, and I really enjoyed them both. Smart, thought-provoking, but also engaging. Although both were written by non-desi playwrights, both featured some really talented desi actors whose work I enjoyed. Tonight I am going to see BENGAL TIGER AT THE BAGHDAD ZOO, which also sounds quite interesting.
The Seven-11 series is losing steam. I have seen it for the past three years and each year felt the quality drop. It is a shame since the idea of it could be something great. Saw SERENDIB this week and loved it. The 7-member cast portrays both humans and monkeys (with puppet work that is delightful). The story is disconnected at times and I would have like a deeper development at times. The set, lights and music have to be seen. For the $30 price tag (I used the SALAAM discount and paid only $20 — just use code “Salaam”), they do offer up quite a lot. The desi actors are Geeta Citygirl, James Rana and Nitya Vidyasagar. I have been to Salaam events so it was good to see Geeta acting (I last saw her onstage in KALIGHAT). Her monkey role is quite fun-to-watch as are the main guy monkeys. I did not understand her servant role since it wasn’t clear what she was doing in this camp. Nitya is a newbie to the scene and did a good job though looks too young for the part. James plays his role like a caricature which was annoying at times. There are fights between humans and fights between monkeys. It runs just under 2 hours and is well worth the walk ALL the way to the west side (the theatre is near 11th Ave and 52nd St). They close next week I think.