Arts & Entertainment
The  New  Paltz  Oracle
The Show New Paltz Deserves
O’CONNELL’S ‘THE DORK KNIGHT’ IS SUPER By  Katherine  Speller Features  Editor  |  Katherine.speller79@hawkmail.newpaltz.edu
“The Dork Knight� Written and Directed by Jason O’Connell
When  Jason  O’Connell  appears  on  the  Parker  Theatre  stage,  an  ominous  score  fades  out.  He  stares  straight  into  the  crowd,  as  if  there  were  a  mirror,  speaking  in  Michael  Keaton’s  jittery  tone  confessing  he  is,  in  fact,  Batman.  He  turns  back  to  tell  his  mother  to  give  him  just  a  little  more  time  to  rehearse  with  the  bathroom  mirror;Íž  he’ll  be  done  in  a  minute.  It’s  refreshing  to  see  geekery  in  its  organic  form:  that  completely  genuine  love  for  something  without  a  trace  of  iro- ny.  When  O’Connell  performs  his  one  man  show  “The  Dork  Knight,â€?  he  serves  self-Âdeprecating,  witty  and  surprisingly  heartfelt  moments  for  a  work  derived  from  a  comic  book. O’Connell’s  show  builds  a  narrative  off  his  impressions  of  different  characters  from  Batman  canon  including  older  fa- vorites  —  Keaton’s  Batman,  Jack  Nicholson’s  Joker,  Jim  Car- rey’s  Riddler,  Danny  DeVito’s  Penguin  —  and  new  classics  like  Christian  Bale’s  Batman,  Heath  Ledger’s  Joker  and  Tom  Hardy’s  Bane.   In  some  parts  of  the  show,  he  transforms  in  posture  and  YRLFH Ă€ XLGO\ EHWZHHQ IRXU RU Âż YH GLIIHUHQW FKDUDFWHUV KROGLQJ boisterous  conversations  with  himself  as  his  Batman  characters  deliver  harsh  truths  about  his  professional  and  love  lives.  He  later  mentions  that  the  quirks  from  his  Batman  arsenal  have  wormed  their  way  into  his  other  characters  in  his  work  as  an  ac- tor:  Keaton’s  brooding  Batman  hides  in  the  layers  of  his  Ham- let,  Carrey’s  Riddler  is  under  his  Mercutio,  DeVito’s  monstrous Â
Penguin  stance  is  mimicked  in  his  Richard  III. 7KH LPSUHVVLRQV YDU\ LQ OLNHQHVV EXW VRPHKRZ QRW LQ HIÂż cacy,  to  those  they  pay  homage.  O’Connell  knows  his  strengths  and  weaknesses  from  every  angle.  Even  the  newer  impressions  that  aren’t  as  well-Ârehearsed  manage  to  remain  rounded  and  accessible.  Even  though  I  happen  to  think  Bane  sounds  a  bit  like  Grover  speaking  into  the  wrong  side  of  a  oscillating  fan,  O’Connell  plays  on  the  humor  of  the  villain’s  less-Âthan-Âvicious  YRLFH :KHQ WKH OLQHV ZHUH PXGGOHG RU GLIÂż FXOW WR XQGHUVWDQG it’s  done  on  purpose.  A  stand-Âout  part  of  the  show  was  when  O’Connell  took  on  Arnold  Schwarzenegger’s  Mr.  Freeze,  using  the  governator’s  thick  Austrian  accent  and  seemingly-Âhaphazard  approach  to  act- ing  to  encourage  himself  not  to  let  fear  force  him  to  give  up  on  his  own  acting  dreams.  I  also  just  couldn’t  resist  the  ice-Âthemed  wordplay.  Call  me  a  glutton  for  punishment. The  strongest  moments  in  the  show  were  the  rawest:  the  ones  that  hung  over  silence  between  the  punchlines  that  com- manded  laughter.   Toward  the  end,  O’Connell  turns  stage  right,  staring  down  to  his  dream  girl  —  the  much  sought  after  com- panion  in  his  narrative.  She’s  smart,  loves  to  draw  the  way  he  did  and  loves  Batman  just  as  much  as  he  does.  The  heart-Âbusting  moment  is  when  he  leans  forward  addressing  her  —  his  future  daughter  —  telling  her  that  it’s  okay,  girls  can  dress  as  Batman  too.  O’Connell  is  candid  in  discussing  the  women  in  his  life  —  giving  them  each  a  character  pseudonym  and  honestly  and  ma- turely  recalling  his  own  misdeeds  in  the  relationships  with  his  personal  Poison  Ivy,  Vicki  Vale  and  Harley  Quinn.  This  honesty  is  so  powerful  considering  his  self-Âconfessed  tendency  to  place  women  on  pedestals  and  the  general  tendency  for  geek  culture  to  play  the  victim  or  commodify  women. That’s  what  sets  this  show  apart  from  other,  more  narcis- sistic  one-Âman  deals:  O’Connell  doesn’t  always  see  himself  as  the  superhero  of  his  story,  or  even  the  hero  Gotham  deserves.   *Photo  by  William  Edward  Marsh
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oracle.newpaltz.edu 11B
MUSICIAN OF THE WEEK: ABBEY GALLAGHER
YEAR: Second MAJOR: Undeclared HOMETOWN: Brewster, N.Y.
WHAT’S  YOUR  INSTRUMENT  OF  CHOICE  AND  WHY? In  elementary  school,  we  were  able  to  try  out  each  of  the  instruments  and  for  some  reason  I  was  just  drawn  to  the  violin  and  went  with  it  and  now  I  love  it.  It’s  so  ex- pressive  and  beautiful. WHAT  ARE  YOU  INVOLVED  WITH  MUSICALLY? I’m  in  the  College  Youth  Symphony  on  cam- pus  and  during  the  holiday  season,  I’ll  be  playing  with  some  other  groups  off  campus  for  different  events. WHO  ARE  YOUR  BIGGEST  INFLUENCES? The  Beatles  are  my  all  time  favorite  band.  The  Kinks.  The  Grateful  Dead.  Ray  Lamon- tagne.  Grace  Potter  and  the  Nocturnals. WHO  HAVE  YOU  BEEN  LISTENING  TO  LATELY? I  actually  just  bought  a  couple  jazz  albums  that  are  wonderful.  Miles  Davis.  Billie  Holiday. WHAT’S  YOUR  PLAN  FOR  THE  FUTURE? :HOO , UHDOO\ KRSH WR RIÂż FLDOO\ EHFRPH D PX sic  major  in  the  spring  and  go  on  to  pursue  music  therapy.  I’d  love  to  be  able  to  use  mu- sic  to  improve  the  lives  of  others. ANY  ADVICE  FOR  ASPIRING  MUSICIANS? Practice.  Practice  all  the  time  and  with  dif- ferent  people  in  different  genres.  Just  get  as  much  experience  as  you  can.  Don’t  be  afraid  to  take  risks  and  just  keep  playing! CHECK  OUT  ABBEY  GALLAGHER PERFORMING  BY  SCANNING  THIS  CODE  WITH  ANY  SMARTPHONE! Â
Write  a  review  for  the  A&E  sec- tion  of  a  recently  released  album,  movie,  TV  show,  graphic  novel,  comic  book  or  something  else!  Make  them  less  than  500  words  and  rate  them  out  of  four  stars.
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MUSICIAN OF THE WEEK? Contact  Carolyn  Quimby  at  Carolyn.quimby@hawkmail.newpaltz.edu  Contact  Carolyn  Quimby  at  Carolyn.quimby@hawkmail.newpaltz.edu Â
Thursday,  November  15,  2012