Play: rap canterbury tales
Reviewer: annika
Reviewer Email:
Rating: 5 Stars
Baba Brinkman does a great job of re-imagining three of the canterbury tales.
This is clearly part of a larger goal, to help bring back oral poetry and
oral performance of poetry. His rap about the history of oral poetry was
especially well- done.
Play: Rap Canterbury Tales
Reviewer: OneHotCynic
Reviewer Email:
Rating: 4 Stars
Brilliantly written, this play really brings 3 of the best-loved Canterbury
Tales to life in a fresh way. The best part, though, is the "lecture
rap," where 40,000 years of oral performance history is telescoped
into a remarkably thought-provoking 5 minute rhymed analysis - better than
school house rock. The performer is a suburban white boy and he raps as
a suburban white boy, appropriating only a minimal amount of ebonics and
gansta mannerisms. This is a bold choice in a genre where ghetto mimicry
is almost a given. While for some this may make the rap seem less authentic,
I think it made the show more honest and more grounded, and Baba Brinkman
should be applauded for it. He needs to work a bit on his stage presence,
however. He is likable and sympathetic, but never commanding, and there
are moments in this piece where he should be.
Play: rap canterbury tales
Reviewer: Liebe Wetzel
Reviewer Email: lunfan@mindspring.com
Rating: 3 Stars
great concept, modern rap translations delivered wtih refreshing enthusiasm.
Character work could be stronger
Play: Rap Canterbury Tales
Reviewer: Claire Scott
Reviewer Email: clairescott@gmail.com
Rating: 5 Stars
Fabulous, funny, and genuinely clever! It took me a minute to catch on that
the not-in-character parts were the Chaucerian narrator, and I laughed out
loud once I got it. That's one rapper who knows his Chaucer inside and out!
I'll pass this on to all my fellow amateur Chaucer scholars.
Play: Rap Canterbury Tales
Reviewer: G.F. Schaub
Reviewer Email: artzar@aol.com
Rating: 5 Stars
Baba Brinkman should get kudos from everybody!. His inventive and educated
update of Chaucer's tales were great for a modern audience who may never
have even heard of old Goeffery. He obviously "knows" his Middle
English Lit. Great energy, and a wonderful handling of material. No wonder
he's been a hit at Fringes around the world!
Play: Rap Canterbury Tales
Reviewer: Elizabeth
Reviewer Email: ecreely@sfsu.edu
Rating: 5 Stars
Great show... intuitive, energetic, proves to me that inspired content is
what you need. A great modern translation
Play: The Rap canterbury Tales
Reviewer: Paul Krohn
Reviewer Email: pkrohn@daemonize.com
Rating: 5 Stars
Even if you're not a rap fan or Chaucer scholar, you'll enjoy this take
on the morality of morality plays. My pick for Best of the Fringe.
Play: Rap Canterbury Tales
Reviewer: Stephen M.H. Braitman
Reviewer Email: braitman@mindspring.com
Rating: 2 Stars
A good idea with enthusiasm, though lacking a certain acting ability to
remain in character. I was frankly disappointed that the language used for
rapping was not going to be Chaucer! He told the same stories, but in modern
lingo. Not what I expected, and perhaps too easy a way out of the challenge.
Play: The Rap Canterbury Tales
Reviewer: Andrew Bancroft
Reviewer Email: andrew@illbilly.com
Rating: 5 Stars
What a dope show. Baba is a captivating storyteller and a stellar lynguist.
Chaucer would be hella hyped. Fa rizzle.
Andrew (Late Night with God |