FRIGID: Chicken-Fried Ciccone – Location, Tickets, Reviews
Monday night at 5:30 pm is not a prime theater going hour. So when you’re in a tiny basement theater in the East Village at 5:30 pm on a Monday and the house is packed you begin to suspect something interesting is about to happen. Such was the case at J.Stephen Brantley’s performance of his one-man show Chicken-Fried Ciccone.
Chicken-Fried Ciccone, written and performed by Brantley, is the story of his dissent into and recovery from heroin addiction. It is told with the help of some countrified covers of Madonna’s greatest hits, which Brantley strums on his guitar and sings.
The emotional journey covers significant ground, including a series of lovers, the death of a parent, and an immersive dance performance on Long Island. It’s not trite for a second, a significant challenge considering the material. It’s surprisingly funny and uplifting.
We’d love to see a version of this show with a backup band so Brantley could focus on singing and storytelling and, maybe even, throw in a few samples of the much discussed, but not actually demonstrated, dancing talent he possesses.
We enjoyed this show and recommend it for a touching, but not treacly, night at the theater with a captivating performer.
Public Opinion
As we noted above, the house was packed early on a Monday night. There are only a few more performances of this show at the FRIGID New York theater festival and there’s every indication tickets will be hard to come by in the near future.
From the Twitterverse:
@kanejoan1: J.Stephen Brantley “Chicken Fried Coccone” directed by David Drake @Frigid Festival beautiful, fierce, honest, raw See it @indietheaternow
Have you seen Chicken-Fried Ciccione? What did you think? Comment below or tweet to us at @Maxamoo.
Critics’ Reviews
NYtheater Now
Chicken-Fried Ciccone traces a very satisfying arc of transformation, and if anything I wanted it to be longer, to learn more about all the forces and demons and pressures that drove J.Stephen toward heroin in the first place (we find out a good deal, but there’s more to know, I think) and, especially, how his discovery and embrace of spirituality not only helped him climb out of his addiction but also enabled him to establish at least a couple of very healing and beautiful relationships with men.
Theatre Is Easy
A biographical one-man show about a gay man overcoming a heroin addiction through the power of Madonna.
TICKETS
$16.00 (click here to purchase tickets from SmartTix, the official online ticket seller for FRIGID New York)
DATES
Feb 28, 7:05PM
Mar 6, 10:15PM
Mar 8, 12:30PM
LOCATION
UNDER St. Marks
94 St Marks Place, New York City
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NEWS
FRIGID New York Interview – J.Stephen Brantley of “Chicken-Fried Ciccone: A Twangy True Tale of Transformation”, Stagebuzz, February 18, 2014
Spotlight On…J.Stephen Brantley, Theater in the Now, February 19, 2014
CAST & CREW
(partial list)
Written and performed by J.Stephen Brantley
Directed by David Drake