Theatre in Review: Ike at Night (Under the Radar Festival/Public Theater)

	Photo: Courtesy of JACK

We attend the Under the Radar Festival for glimpses of the future, intimations of where theatre may be headed next. Over the years, I have encountered confessional monologues, song cycles, acts of social criticism, and no-holds-barred satires. Some works have simply defied description. But until Ike at Night, nobody has ever attempted a talk show.

You read that right. Ike at Night is a kind of downtown version of the Leno-Letterman format, delivered live and featuring an ever-changing guest list. It's the brainchild of Ikechukwu Ufomadu, an actor and entertainer who likes to describe himself as "the son that Woody Allen and Frank Sinatra never had." Outfitted with a sidekick, B. Brian Argotsinger; a musical director, Jonathan E. Jacobs, aka The Vintage DJ; and a set complete with desk, chairs, and a big curtain for guest entrances, Ufomadu presides over 90 minutes of chat, comedy, and music.

At the performance I attended, the guests were Walter T. Mosley, New York State Assemblyman for the 57th District (which includes Fort Greene, Clinton Hill, Prospect Heights, and parts of Crown Heights and Bedford Stuyvesant); Imani Henry, of Equality for Flatbush, a grassroots organization that focuses on issues of the police, gentrification, and affordable housing in that Brooklyn neighborhood; and John Hodgman, the humorist and minor television celebrity (he personifies the PC to Justin Long's Mac in the commercials), who offered a couple of songs on his ukulele.

The setup may be retro, but the idea is, in its way, oddly fresh: Why not bring together a collection of local political and cultural personalities and set them loose in a live, unscripted format? How many more times do you need to see Jennifer Lawrence and Lea Michele singing paeans to their costars? The possibility for a kicky, stimulating evening is there, but the execution is only so-so. Compared to the hypercaffeinated types who man such shows on the tube, Ufomadu has a notably phlegmatic personality; he may be going for a Johnny Carson-style cool, but, despite a few amusing bits, the opening segment, consisting of a flattish monologue and some mildly hostile byplay with Argotsinger, was notable mostly for its low energy. (In the best bit, Ufomado summoned to the stage Meiyin Wang, one of Under the Radar's directors, and paid to tribute to her, with another woman providing translation in French. Perhaps because it was a total non sequitur, it provided the funniest five minutes of the entire evening.)

The guests are a varied lot. Mosley, who is married to a Korean-Latina woman, noted wryly that he is "the only 100% black person" in his household and his children enjoy treating him like a slave. Ufomadu suggested that Mosley could bully them by threatening to double the length of the school day, but Mosley graciously noted that such an act was beyond his legislative powers. Henry, who has the bouncy, camera-ready personality of a true talk show guest, passed out stickers saying "Take it Back Before It's Gone" to the audience and suggested that they be affixed to expensive buildings in acts of protest. It would have been interesting to see some byplay between Henry, who fears the total gentrification of his neighborhood, and Mosley, who noted that his district, of which he is a lifelong resident, hasn't changed all that much over the decades. It would also have been interesting to hear what Henry thinks of the Kings Theatre, a newly renovated golden-era movie palace in Flatbush, which is expected to draw new stores, restaurants, and hotels. But, like most talk shows, Ike at Night stays mostly on the surface of things.

Hodgman, a real performer, was the most successful guest. I was especially taken with his characterization of the ukulele as "Ayn Rand's favorite instrument," because it really only gives pleasure to those who play it, and both of his songs charmed, especially "Roadrunner," about the joys of Massachusetts roads. Recorded by the Modern Lovers in 1972, the state legislature of Massachusetts recently rejected a bid to make it the state's official rock song; Hodgman made a fine case for it.

All in all, it added up to some mild, scattered fun. The oddest aspect involved three "commercial breaks," during which the action halted, the lights came up to half, and we were encouraged to talk among ourselves and get drinks from the bar. Are such longish interludes really necessary? They may work better at JACK, the Brooklyn venue where Ike at Night began, and where, I suspect, more of a party atmosphere reigns. At the Public, they amounted to so much dead air.

In any case, Amy Rubin's set, which includes a window through which a streetscape of Brooklyn townhouses is visible, is a smart piece of work, and Amith A. Chandrashaker's lighting is nicely done, especially the color washes that transform the upstage wall of crumpled tinfoil. Before the show and during the breaks, Jacobs spins a variety of nifty vintage tunes, ranging from "A Lot of Livin' to Do" to "Son of a Preacher Man" to one of Nina Simone's mordant laments.

Based on the audience reaction, it would appear that Ufomadu has earned a cadre of fans who have followed him to the Public from Brooklyn. But even with them on hand, there were long stretches that played to silence. Perhaps the success of Ike at Night is especially dependent on its guest list. Or perhaps the entire concept needs a little more time to come to fruition.--David Barbour