Superpowers at The Adobe Theater

New York is a hub for artistic events. Thank god for the foundations and private people that support the off the radar events. Last night, I went out with 2 people who are thankfully involved in giving and creating events like Superpowers at the Adobe Theater.

First we rambled around Soho and had some appetizers and wine at a cute restaurant at 41 Mercer called The Antique Garage. It’s got a nice vibe, live music. Mediterranean food. We ordered a few places of “mezes”. They were quick and very nice. We had Tzatzikiki which is a rich yogurt spread with cucumbers. Very very garlicky. Way too much for my taste. We also had the calamari, deep fried, simple, nothing great. Rolled phyllo dough stuffed with feta cheese and deep fried. It was ok. The feta was not that interesting and layered with oregano. Our other dish was spicy shrimp in a garlic type sauce. I admit it, our family is one of those rare groups that don’t eat garlic in their home. I do not mind it but I don’t like food that is overwhelmed by garlic. I really liked the restaurant. I’d go there again for a drink but I’d perhaps pick foods like a cheese and salami type platter that would guarantee me, no garlic.

Next stop, the theater. It was a 2 hour production, no intermission. The premise is “be careful what you wish for.” The play starts in a police station with 3 people (an elderly man, a young woman and a young man) and 2 private detectives investigating a car accident with the 3 people who are now all dead. Each person leaves the police station through a door and the stage changes. First, the older man tells his story on how he got to the accident and then other characters follow suit. It helps the audience get a feeling for each character and who they are. At each point, the individual characters meet up with a dog who they take to and then changes each of them into what they wish for. The elderly man wishes to be young again, the young woman wishes she was beautiful and the young man wishes to be invisible so he doesn’t have to deal with society. All of their lives become entangled at different points through different characters and events but they collide at the end with the car accident.

The play was probably longer than need be with each character telling their story. But, I really enjoyed the concept and the acting. The writing of the play was really good and clever. There were some smart, saavy lines. The play was written by Jeremy Dobrish who is the co-founder of the Adobe Theater. I’d really like to see more of his work.

You could see something new and different in NYC every night. The majority of off-off broadway is generally not great but something did strike me last night. I am still thinking about the play today which is more than I can say about some of the huge expensive productions put on Broadway each night.