How it’s New York: Staged at The Cell Theatre in NYC
How it’s Irish: Part of Origin’s 1st Irish 2023 Femme First series
Making its New York debut at the first ever “Femme First” component of Origin’s 1st Irish, “The Funny Thing About Death” is a story of lost love and grief which is bold and brazen, intimate and emotional and, quite frequently, yes, funny!
An award-winning storyteller and accomplished performer, Kim Kalish commands the Cell Theatre space with meaningful movement and many witty turns of phrase.
As a Theater Major, she had hoped that her mourning might be in iambic pentameter, but she found that, ‘grief is not Shakespeare, grief is Animal Planet.’ Kalish and Director Patrick Cavanaugh make their own nod to Shakespeare by using a bare stage – with just a stool for a prop – as they draw the audience into this world with a disarmingly demure opening and liberal doses of direct address.
Dressed in the timeless student scruffs of ripped jeans, faded sweatshirt and sneakers, Kalish sets the scene for her College love affair with Patrick Michael McMurphy, with his floppy hair, green eyes and ‘thighs of a Greek God.’
Rollercoaster of mock-Disney rom-com
After introducing her leading man and the backdrop to her story with energy and pace she cuts to the chase with a controlled change of tempo. The electricity in the ensuing pause hints at how wrapt the audience is and we trust that we are safe in Kalish’s hands when she warns that, ‘We are in this together.’
And so we strap in for this rollercoaster of mock-Disney rom-com and the reality of dealing with the unexpected death of a true love at just 23-years-old. Along the way Kalish re-creates her friends and family and their coping strategies with hilarious and heartfelt effect.
It is a testament to her storytelling abilities that the audience allows Kalish to take them into the darkest parts of her heart, and it seemed like the whole house shared her grief for the beautifully told memorial scene.
And maybe, in return, the support of the group gave Kalish strength to speak straight to the spirit of Patrick, embodied as a single spotlight. Although she curses him for forcing her to write a show for closure, she also acknowledges he taught her how to love.
Kalish’s funny kind of a happy ending made perfect sense in a play that showed us all how to smile through our tears and hold love dear.
“A Funny Thing About Death” was playing at the Cell Theatre, 339 West 23rd Street until Sun 29th January.
