Stephanie Berger

Simple affair: Laurie Anderson drew from her experiences as NASA's artist-in-residence to create her latest work "The End of the Moon," which emphasizes words over elaborate gadgets or set design.

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Laurie Anderson has been called a visual artist, composer, poet, photographer, filmmaker, electronics wiz, vocalist and instrumentalist. But she’s really best described as a metaphysical reporter.

For her 2001 solo show, "Happiness," Anderson stayed with an Amish family in Pennsylvania, went whitewater rafting with Buddhist monks and worked at a McDonalds in downtown Manhattan, not far from Ground Zero. Her current show, "The End of the Moon," which opened at BAM Harvey Theater on Feb. 22, was inspired by her two-year stint as artist-in-residence at NASA.

Although Anderson never traveled into outer space, she did visit the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif.; the Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas; the Space Telescope Science Institute in Baltimore, Md.; and the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Fla. Anderson watched training sessions, took notes and asked questions. But "The End of the Moon" has as much to do with America’s space program as "King Kong" has to do with the animal rights movement.

For Anderson, all reality is personal. And not all of life is reality.

Her experiences at NASA serve mostly as a launching pad for her own thoughts on life on Earth and beyond. The stage in "The End of the Moon" is set with burning candles, an armchair and a small screen displaying the cratered surface of the moon.

Anderson, wearing a black pantsuit with sequin trim, has a voice that is gentle, compelling and sexy. Her stories are ironic, self-deprecatory, funny and mystical. She is accompanied by low but strident background music. When Anderson doesn’t speak, she plays her signature violin, creates striking images with a handheld camcorder and mixes sound on a PowerBook laptop computer.

For the average performer, "The End of the Moon" would be pretty high-tech, but for Anderson, who has previously employed gadgets like the Talking Stick, which produces sounds when touched, and eyeglasses that pick up and echo sounds, this show is somewhat bare bones.

There’s a mournful, brooding quality about "The End of the Moon." Perhaps Anderson’s performance has been influenced by the tragedy of the space shuttle Columbia or the tragedy of the war in Iraq, which she clearly opposes. But even Anderson’s jokes seem sad.

At one point she tells her audience that life is bad art with too many writers. Later in the evening she remarks that people don’t stutter at the end of words because by then it’s too late to be afraid.

Of course, she doesn’t stutter, and it’s hard to believe Anderson was ever afraid. Her entire 90-minute performance is one sure-footed step after another. It is filled with confidence and a sense of purpose.

Anderson has a long relationship with BAM, beginning with "United States I-IV" which was staged in 1983. She was later part of the Next Wave Festival in 1989 ("Empty Places") and 1999 ("Songs and Stories from Moby Dick"). Her return is nothing less than triumphal.

Anderson may not know where she or the nation or the world is going. But she certainly doesn’t believe in standing still. And she’s happy to take everyone else along for the ride.

Back to School

In the days before chat rooms, the best way to spread malicious gossip was over tea at a friend’s house. The British 18th-century playwright Richard Brinsley Sheridan used this human propensity for backbiting to great effect in one of his most popular plays, "The School for Scandal," now at the Gallery Players under the direction of Henry Wishcamper.

As a comedy of manners, "The School for Scandal" returned to the basic style of the Restoration period, but many critics have noted that Sheridan’s play has a moral content not present in works of 17th-century England. Names like Lady Sneerwell, Joseph Surface and Sir Benjamin Backbite clearly demonstrate Sheridan’s disdain for a certain type of individual.

With his brilliant depiction of the manners of his day, Sheridan created a polished satirical comedy that loses none of its charm as a period piece in contemporary times. The Gallery Players, true to their robust treatment of the classics, present "School for Scandal" with all its stylish trimmings - from Carrie Mossman’s simple but eloquent set to Sarah Rizza’s elaborate costumes, complete with 6-inch-high wigs and wired skirts.

Unlike many directors, Wishcamper has resisted the temptation to tinker with the classics. He has chosen instead to let the play’s dramatic structure and accessible humor speak for themselves.

If a moral does emerge from all the backbiting and prevarication in this comedy, it is that true love triumphs. The principal couple is Sir Peter Teazle (Lawrence Arancio), an aging bachelor who has married the young and attractive Lady Teazle (Lael Logan). Their union, however, is threatened by Joseph Surface (Matthew Humphreys), a young man-about-town who flirts with Lady Teazle in an attempt to get closer to Peter’s ward, Maria (Alexis Hyatt), even though she is in love with his brother, Charles (Joshua Bevans).

If Joseph is hypocritical and avaricious, Charles is profligate and reckless and Joseph takes advantage of his brother’s weaknesses while successfully concealing his own. Peter foolishly prefers Joseph over Charles thanks to Joseph’s insinuations.

In the meantime, Sir Oliver Surface (Wilbur Edwin Henry), Charles and Joseph’s wealthy uncle, returns from India determined to find out the true character of his two nephews, whom he hasn’t seen for many years.

Around these basic plot lines, Sheridan weaves a web of misunderstandings, misinformation and miscalculations perpetuated through disguises and eavesdropping. There are a number of hasty concealments behind screens and doors. At the same time the acid-tongued Lady Sneerwell (Brooke Delaney) and her minions keep up an intermittent commentary on the goings-on of these denizens of high society.

In a uniformly excellent cast, Arancio stands out for his ability to remain dignified and sympathetic despite his foolish attachment to a younger woman of dubious moral quality. Humphreys is admirable for his unmitigated rascality. And Henry is the perfect Dutch uncle (transported across the English Channel) who mixes a healthy dose of wisdom and reason with a generous helping of self-interest.

At a time when rich old men frequently woo and win younger women and opinion has replaced genuine news, "The School for Scandal" offers a curiously modern lesson. The Gallery Players prove to be exemplary teachers.

Laurie Anderson’s "The End of the Moon" is performed March 5 at 7:30 pm and March 6 at 3 pm at the BAM Harvey Theater (651 Fulton St. at Ashland Place in Fort Greene). Tickets are $20, $30 $45 and $50. For tickets and more information, call (718) 636-4100 or visit the Web site at www.bam.org.

The Gallery Players production of "The School for Scandal" plays through March 6, Saturday at 8 pm and Sunday at 3 pm at the Gallery Players (199 14th St. at Fourth Avenue in Park Slope). Tickets are $15, $12 seniors and children under 12. For more information, call (718) 595-0547.

©2005 Community Newspaper Group