Performed at Patrick’s Cabaret, Minneapolis
Archy & Mehitabel, and dance and physical-theatre vaudeville, is a social satire based on the poetry of Don Marquis, about the struggle of the poor and underprivileged at the turn of the 20th century in Manhattan as seen through the eyes of a cockroach poet named Archy and an alley cat diva named Mehitabel. Together with the help of a gang of roaches, including an insect jazz trio, Archy & Mehitabel challenge the prevailing belief that only the beautiful and privileged get the best of it in this world.
Credits
Created and Developed by Paul Herwig and Jennifer Ilse with Marc Doty (Museslave)Project Initiator – Paul Herwig
Choreography by Jennifer Ilse
Scenic Design and Props, Text by Paul Herwig.
Musical Composition and Aural Design by Marc Doty (Museslave)
Cast - 11 (Kym Longhi, Marc Doty (Museslave), Jennifer Ilse, Paul Herwig, Larry Pontius, Laurie White, Rebecca Surmont, Rhoda Block), Catherine Campion (cello), and David Lind (percussion)
Reviews
Star Tribune Review"Headed by artistic director Paul Herwig and co-director Jennifer Ilse, the group has a manic energy and zeal expressed sometimes in ragged movement and other times in precise disciplines such as tap... Marquis wrote his Archy and Mehitabel poems to bring attention to social and political problems in New York. Herwig plays Archy, the cockroach who in this imagining raps out the stories on an old typewriter. Kym Longhi is Mehitabel, an alley cat who happens by occasionally to commiserate about life on the lowest rungs of society. Ilse leads the dance ensemble and she's fun to watch. Her energetic partners, led by Laurie White, fuel the physical engine of this piece. Through it all, Archy explores the notion of legacy, worth, freedom and the desire to leave a mark on this earth."
- Graydon Royce, STAR TRIBUNE, Sept 27, 2001