Drummer Wanted: Richard Maxwell
Richard Maxwell, artistic director of NYC Players, is the U.S. performance community’s hot new flavor of the month, due mostly, it seems, to his stageworks being performed in a distinctively expressionless, uninflected style. At least, that style is what made his Drummer Wanted so memorable. The story of a young garage musician’s relationship with his mother while deciding whether to litigate over his vehicularly induced broken leg was certainly memorable to the folks drifting out of the theatre after the show. “It’s kind of like,” one student was heard to remark with much inflection, “really bad acting, but on purpose.” What struck this reviewer was that the injured drummer had, according to his mother, $4,209.10 in his bank account. The number struck me, I say, because it seemed so appropriate. Because if I’d seen this show at 4:20 in the afternoon, on Sept. 10, 2001, before the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center but while I was sufficiently stoned, I might have found it as brilliant and enjoyable as others sometimes insist it is. Ah, well. There but for the grace of some kind bud and a time machine go I.
This article appears in January 31 • 2003.