Striptease & Out at Sea

In January of 2004, Paul Bargetto directed two one-act plays by Slawomir Mrozek, Striptease and Out at Sea at La MaMa in New York City. These dark and hilarious satires on the nature of power and its corruptions played to packed houses and won sparkling reviews in the press, including a piece by Margo Jefferson of the New York Times.

“Here, too, the actors have physical traits — stances and gestures — that matter as much as their words. Paul Bargetto directs with a keen sense of this visual truth; the truth of cartoons on the page, and of commedia on the stage. The actors respond, and Young-ju Baik’s spare, bold set supplies the right background.”
Margo Jefferson, New York Times

Before arriving at La MaMa, Striptease had already had an extensive performance history. It began at Columbia University in the Fall of 2002 and then moved Off-Off Broadway to the Collective Unconscious where it ran for six weeks. It attracted the interest of the Polish Cultural Institute of New York, initiating a collaboration that saw numerous further collaborations. After an appearance at The Chicago Humanities festival, the play was recast and joined with Out at Sea. This production was presented at La MaMa ETC in a co-production with the Polish Cultural Institute. The plays starred Troy Lavallee, Cornel Gabara, Paul Todaro, Nora Laudani, with costumes by Oana Botez, sets by Young Ju Baik, dramaturgy by Amiel Melnick, and photography by Piotr Redlinski.