JINSKY PINSKY–A NIGHT IN TIGHTS
With Jinsky Pinsky–A Night in Tights, Buckley works similar magic with three dancers who are well-known to Chicago audiences: Carrie Hanson, Lauren F. Helfand, and Christy Munch. They have to handle a lot of dialogue and dramatic scenes. In fact their dancing abilities become secondary as they bash their way through this extraordinarily demanding physical comedy, which leaves them literally gasping for breath on more than one occasion. Luckily, all three pass with flying colors. The work never quite comes together, but it’s gratifying to watch performers stretch beyond their usual limits so successfully.
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Jinsky Pinsky is built of intriguing elements and supported by committed performances, but it never quite bridges the gap that separates the performers from the audience. Mr. Inbetween’s title character watches a series of bizarre developments with a sense of wonder and confusion. He’s a counterpoint to the lunacy, standing just outside it, yet drawn to it at the same time. In effect he acts as a surrogate audience member, offering an enlightened point of view on material that might otherwise be wholly confusing. No one in Jinsky Pinsky maintains this important distance from the lunacy, making it difficult for the viewer to find a way into the work.
