hanging out

‘And later’ by Jan Carroll

Stage

Hemingway’s dubious depictions of Spanish gay men aside, it was hard not to be intoxicated by the New York literary troupe Elevator Repair Service and their adaptation of The Sun Also Rises having its US premiere at the Arts Bank. ERS animate the entire book and it was a moveable feast all Sat. afternoon (3:30 or so) with  Hemingway’s boozywriters, lushes & hangers on listing out of Paris and Barcelona, escaping cafe society with expatriot’s pissing contest. Papa’s romanticized proxy Jake Barnes as played by Mike Iveson is so likable that at points he handily narrates pages of text without tedium. In fact he is so likable that he overrides the length and some structural creaking. Another captivating performance is Lucy Taylor’s Lady Brett Ashley the hard-luck socialite who must rip her life apart to pull it back together. Taylor’s perpetually wind-swept blond mane, her physicality and slumming RAMA cadence makes men of all bents fall in love.