Lucky Plush performed their piece Punk Yankees at Space Place as part of the Hancher season on March 8. Here are the audience reactions we received:
•
This production was absolutely awesome. The dancers demonstrated very high levels of skill, energy and strength. And the very humorous script was incredibly entertaining. Space Place was the perfect intimate setting for this performance.
Gail
•
First, I want to thank the Hancher staff for bringing Lucky Plush to Iowa City. In my opinion, the Lucky Plush show was a combination of everything that good entertainment should embody. It was enjoyable, thought-provoking, and interactive. (The live stream tweet screen was such an innovative and genius addition, on Hancher’s part, to connect our in-theater arts experience with the entire virtual world. Touche!) Not only was the dancing technically, aesthetically, and creatively pleasing, but the experience in it’s entirety was memorable. I think it is safe to say that the Lucky Plush performance has been one of the best shows, if not the best, that Hancher has presented during my four years in Iowa City.
Best,
Kim Chmielewski
•
They were all very talented athletes. However, I especially liked the way in which they introduced themselves. It was quite unique and because it was a bit confusing at first, very, very funny. We even had an audience member ask to have a question repeated. The performer answered in character and just continued on. The blogging was also very amusing to read. My daughter stated that it was the most fun she’d had during intermission. She also asked me if it was odd that she preferred the times when they weren’t dancing….so they could interact with the audience. It was an interesting and unique experience and highly enjoyable! Thank you for bringing them to town.
Gloria
•
More dance less talk.
Rudy Schulz
•
I left at intermission. It was not nearly as good or entertaining as I was expecting. Not enough dance and too much talking and ad lib.
I also left at intermission last Tuesday at the guitar concert. This might become a habit. Can you sell tickets for just the first half of the performance? LOL. I now have a new appreciation for the Hancher motto “Can’t Contain Us” - for me, it is starting to mean that you can’t make me stay for the second half of disappointing performances…
Thanks for listening,
Randy Kardon
•
Lucky Plus was one of the most refreshing performances Hancher has hosted in the 30+ years I have been in the audience. I hope they are invited again in the future. The Twitter feed didn’t add anything to the experience in my opinion.
Carolyn Stewart Dyer
•
We disliked the performance. The quality of the dancing was variable. Two of the dancers were excellent. The others were no better than the average UI dancer who performs at Space Place. This was definitely not a performance that should carry the Hancher label.
Some of the choreography was excellent; some adequate; and quite a bit was poor, in our judgment. The filler to allow the dancers to recover from their dancing was ridiculous. The whole thing felt like a high school neighborhood group that said, “Come visit our garage for a show.”
The intermission was highly confusing. It was not clearly defined when it started or when it was about to end. After the fact, we were told there was a note on the Twitter board announcing the intermission, but this assumes the audience was watching the Twitter board instead of the film on stage. Sandra was almost refused readmission to the theater as a result, and was not allowed to return to her seat, because the second half had resumed. Someone did get her a chair, but she had to stay by the door.
Well, you asked.... It is unlikely we will attend another Hancher event soon.
John & Sandra
•
Although Punk is more a way of being rather than a style, I don’t think the group did a great disservice in calling the set Punk Yankees. However, I would imagine that any punks stayed a mile away from this event because they would have co-opted in use of the word to describe a non-existent style.
Nonetheless, for us non-punks it was a fun event that busted a few boundaries and was a beauteous display of the way humans can emote intellectually.
Rich Clewell
•
A+ for dancing, C- for whatever the other stuff was!
Sherwood