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Review: ‘[Porto]’ Features a Bar Regular Looking for Love - The New York Times

posted onFebruary 8, 2018
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Article snippet: “[Porto],” which was presented at the Bushwick Starr as part of the 2017 Exponential Festival, reopens at the WP Theater (in a coproduction with the Bushwick Starr and New Georges), 2162 Broadway, Manhattan; 866-811-4111. Here is the original review which appeared in The New York Times on Jan. 16, 2017. The Edison lights are a tipoff, glowing amber above the L-shaped, dark-wood bar. Also the foie gras sausage on the menu, and the snacks for nibbling: fried chickpeas, jerky popcorn. And no, that is not jerky as in beef. “Venison,” the waiter says. “Duh.” This neighborhood spot, in gentrifying Brooklyn, is “a boushy bar,” the unseen narrator tells us in Kate Benson’s stealthily ferocious, comfortingly hopeful, very funny new play, “[Porto].” The term “boushy” is a portmanteau, related to “bougie.” Its ridiculous pretensions notwithstanding, the place is a kind of refuge for Porto (Julia Sirna-Frest), who would really like to be leading a healthier life in a slimmer body: less indulgence, more moderation. But the warmly lit bar promises company and conversation. And the main voice in Porto’s head — a.k.a. the narrator (Ms. Benson), who wields a godlike influence — makes a compelling argument involving the actress Lillie Langtry, who, in the early 1900s, sued Keens Steakhouse to force it to admit women. “So really,” the narrator says. “You sitting alone at the bar: A feminist act. Do it.” Porto does. The play, too, is a feminist act, placing a Hermione type — a boo... Link to the full article to read more

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