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ONEymoon: A Honeymoon for One (Frigid Festival 2011)

By Jimmy Hogg and Christel Bartelse; Directed by Jimmy Hogg      


Read more of Theasy's Frigid reviews here.


Off Off Broadway, Solo Show

Runs through 3.3.11

UNDER St. Marks, 94 St. Marks Place


Christel Bartelse as Caroline in ONEymoon. Photo by Shawn McPherson.       

BOTTOM LINE: A comedic solo show that explores how the societal pressure to find a romantic partner can be an unsolvable problem.

ONEymoon: A Honeymoon for One is the story of Caroline, who, having given up on the chance of finding a husband, decides to marry herself. Through a sequence of monologues, songs and skits, Caroline explains her past dating failures and takes us through her solo wedding ceremony and tropical honeymoon.

Caroline is played by Christel Bartelse, who also co-wrote the play with her partner Jimmy Hogg. Bartelse’s performance captures the right combination of chipperness and desperation to make Caroline believable, but with an undertone of neurosis and obsessiveness that explains why she is no longer able to deal with the uncertainties of dating.

Overall, ONEymoon makes for an entertaining and thought-provoking hour. While Caroline’s decision to marry herself is meant to be a kind of declaration of independence, there is an underlying sense of failure that highlights the pressure that people in our contemporary world (women in particular) have to deal with. Caroline, who is probably in her mid-thirties, does not have the kind of glamorous-but-frustrated single life as we saw from the characters in Sex and the City, a group of single women who “at least have each other.” Rather, her story is a parody of a more realistic struggle and her all-around loneliness is made more real for the audience by her isolation on stage. The show is likely to appeal to those who have considered, or are themselves dealing with, the societal pressure to find a romantic partner, but also want to find humor in the situation.

(ONEymoon: A Honeymoon for One plays as part of the Frigid Festival at Under St. Marks, 94 St. Marks Place, through March 3, 2011. Remaining performances are Saturday, February 26th at 7PM; Sunday, February 27th at 2:30PM; Monday, February 28th at 7:30PM; Wednesday, March 2nd at 10:30PM, and Thursday, March 3rd at 6PM. Tickets are $16 and $14 for students and seniors. For tickets or more information visit frigidnewyork.info or call 212.868.4444)