Comments on: Jérme Bel’s show must go on

By: Silvana

Silvana — Sat, 13 Sep 2008 17:52:47 +0000

Wasn’t this done in the sixties? what’s the surprise….I was truly bored and even sad to see some of the best performers in the city look stupid on stage. …so is it necesary to expose people and to laugh about it? I can laugh about my self and others without experiencing a performance like this one. The only good moment for me was when the Dj went on stage, the rest make me feel sorry for the performers, the audience being silly and specially for myself after having a terrible head ache for that entire day and having to listen to bad pop songs for quite a while…sorry maybe I had a bad hair day to see this.

By: Melissa Birch

Melissa Birch — Thu, 08 Nov 2007 17:14:55 +0000

Jerone Bel’s The Show Must Go On remains the show of that year for me. That tension of the choreographed stillness, while hit pop ballads tore or tempered us willing audience members was so painstaking and delicious- in this conformist, cynical group-think moment in time.. It was outrageous. That ribald schmaltz was like an earthquake underneath us in that theater.

Bel’s show did that thing which is increasingly hard to do: it spliced the audience into recognizable factions, committed most of (us) there. There was a protest faction who indignation was evident, perhaps despite themselves, whose rejection of it was aimed at disrupting the disruption. I was on board that bus of people who caught a ride on the chaos, the best ride, whose utter delight at whatever inversive subversive transgressions were being presented to us lit some dormant fire and bade us choose. Choose, choose.

Anyway that bus became more like a freight train. I kind of thought there was going to be a riot that night. Ha ha, in this day and age, ha from a dance show, ha Lionel Richie. That’s the oldest trick in the book~ it must go on.

By: Sally Rousse

Sally Rousse — Thu, 08 Nov 2007 04:58:51 +0000

I’m very excited to see Jerome Bel next week. My own wild imagination has taken off now, what with the daring, giggle-provoking info you give, MIchele!

Last time he was here, at the Pantages, the full house sat in wonder, some clearly hating it, some totally lovin’ it, some furtively alllowing themselves to feel differently with each song (which, I was told, had to be a number one hit song in order to be included in the score). Most amusing was when an entire song would play and everyone onstage stood still, unmoved. I think this might have Lionel Ritchie’s “Ballerina Girl” which was embarrassing and painful to endure (I don’t know how it could have n=met the #1 criteria, honestly)

It felt like a mix of teenage dance party, gay bar dance party (for some this is perhaps the same thing), music store browsing, Concert in Central Park, karaoke (”I like to move it move it!” one girl sang, on and on, in off-key french accented splendor).

There were moments of undress, stupid dancing, sexy dancing, barely dancing all by mostly non-professional dancing french people

Many in the audience participated the night I was there: a few stood up and danced at their seats; others sang along while annoyed neighbors hushed them; some left the building; some held up lighters and cell phones. There was the tense exchange of “SHhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!” “You shhhhhhhhhhhhhh!” “Be quiet, idiot” which all became part of the show for me. In fact, the more the people around became annoyed and frustrated, the more I enjoyed the show.

That’s sick isn’t it? Can’t wait for next week.