Michael H.
Yelp
I've had Woolly bookmarked for more than a year. Not because I have wanted to try it--oh believe me, I've tried it--but because I never could find the time to write a review that can capture the magic that is the Woolly Mammoth Theater Company. Eventually, I just decided that I would try my best, put out my untested review, and see what happens.
And that's what Woolly's all about: putting out brand new (or almost brand new), challenging works of theater and seeing what happens. Some are polished, some are raw. Woolly is a laboratory, a place where fairly young yet quite brilliant writers are able to push their own limits. Highlights include plays by Sarah Ruhl, who is becoming to the English language what Gabriel Garcia Marquez is to Spanish.
It's a place where playwrights can take risks, where the audience will not always agree with what's happening on stage, where you will leave, as one reviewer said, contemplating about something you have not thought of before. Woolly is a place where you find new ideas that spawn what comes as close to original thought as I will ever encounter.
But it's not necessarily fringe. Woolly founder and artistic director Howard Shalwitz and his staff do a phenomenal job of finding new talent and bringing forth a quality product. It's as if he went to a fringe theater festival, saw two hundred plays, picked the best, worked with the playwright for a year to improve the work, and then staged it, just for you.
Woolly has put on some tremendous performances over the past several years. I have been fortunate enough to see more than a dozen performances in their newish space, and I've appreciated all but a couple of them. And those few blemishes are so adorable to me; I see them differently, because I'm in love with Woolly.
The actors are solid, too. Sarah Marshall is one of the most wonderful people I have ever had the privilege to see on stage. If you have the chance to see her--go. The topic doesn't matter. She will light up the room. Kimberly Gilbert is excellent, too.
I have heard they have very good classes. I took a one-hour acting class from one of their teachers and found it very enjoyable.
Woolly has a yard sale twice a year where they sell all of their props, costumes, and sets for unbelievably low prices. It's worth showing up for. You can also buy stuff through the theater's website.
They also have had the tremendous foresight to regularly bring in Too Much Light Makes the Baby Go Blind, an incredible troupe out of Chicago's Neo-Futurists, which is sure to delight (memorize the phrase "When we sell out, WE ORDER OUT" before you go).
Woolly is refreshing. Woolly is unique. Woolly is soul-searching. Woolly is community. Woolly is inspirational. Woolly is satiating. Woolly is fresh. Woolly is forward-thinking. Woolly is calculated. Woolly is safe. Woolly is risk-taking. Woolly is home. Woolly is for growth. Woolly is engaging. Woolly is creation. Woolly is intimate. Woolly is accessible. Woolly is sophisticated. Woolly is down-to-earth. Woolly is in the stars. Woolly is dreamy. Woolly is fantastic. Woolly is super(lative?). Woolly is change. Woolly is community organizing. Woolly is grounded. Woolly is idealistic. Woolly is meaning. Woolly exists to expose. To Woolly is to learn, love, question, dream, smile, swoon, ache, groan, wonder, and hope.
Woolly provides ways to make sense of the chaotic world in which we live. Please support this adventure.
And please forgive the inadequacy of my words. I have tried my best in thirty minutes or less.