There I was, just a regular night in New York City. I was going to the dungeon famously named Under St. Mark’s, known for being a staple on the off-off Broadway scene. As I went down the stairs and inside the space, things changed. The atmosphere was different. I was being transported somewhere, and that somewhere had a bizarre clown guiding me through myths unknown to us. And yet, perfectly familiar. Oh yeah, it’s Halloween season and the first stop was the deliciously captivating “Dandy Darkly: Myth Mouth,” a celebration of storytelling hosted by the odd bard himself, Dandy Darkly.
From the very beginning you know you are in for a horrifying experience…what you don’t expect is the beauty of the whole thing. One-man shows are usually self indulgent, falling into the trap of thinking one person’s story would be interesting to everyone. This one is perfectly that without being annoying. Dandy Darkly invite us to his lair to tell the tale of Cha-Cha, a caveman who might or might not be the first storyteller. From there he takes us into a world in which this same cave man invented the wheel and discovered the majority of drugs. Darkly creates a myth while inviting us to do the same.
But it’s not just Cha-Cha’s story! Mr. Darkly intercuts his main story with three different outrageous tales using old myths in modern ways. In one, Persephone is a Kardashian type of mess trying to deal with the divine wenches that exist around her. The other is about cats and their benevolent nature, even though they’ve been misjudged for years. Those two are funny, yet in the end endearing. It’s the last myth that is truly terrifying. A tale of internet addiction and our propensity to be part of it. What it takes from us and what it leaves. These stories serve to arch Cha-Cha and his journey to us, from the weakest male to the drug addled famous storytelling caveman. By the end, Darkly has taken all of this and put a nice little bow on it, finishing with such a powerful and earnest line.
Dandy Darkly is a thrilling performer. Coming in with an outfit that says “LOOK AT ME” and with his face painted as an evil clown, Dandy could not be any less evil if he tried. His voice is commanding, but his timing is perfect. His movement is in sync with his words in a way we could easily mistake him for a computer with queues programmed into it. The lighting helps Dandy tell the stories, but he makes the light shine brighter with every minute that passes. To say I was impressed would be an understatement.
Dandy Darkly will be performing “Myth Mouth” at the Under St. Mark’s Theater until October 25th. This show is part of one of many fringe Halloween shows that take over this city during the season every year. Darkly stands out as one, if not, the best.
Out of 4 stars:
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