by Jonathan Warman

The Lost Lounge, the latest from downtown lesbian troupe Split Britches, is hardcore group performance art. How much you like the show therefore depends a great deal on how much you like performance art. If you love it, this is some of the very best performance art out there. If you don’t love it, you may find a thing here or there to enjoy about The Lost Lounge, but ultimately it won’t be your cup of tea.

I like, but don’t love, performance art, so I had a good, but not great, time. It helps a lot that Peggy Shaw and Lois Weaver, the couple at the heart of Split Britches, are skillful and charismatic performers. The subject of The Lost Lounge is the loss of many things that made New York special; I think that it hurts the show that we don’t really get a sense of the things lost, just a generalized sense of angst over their loss.

The show is at its best when Shaw (the suavest butch anywhere) and Weaver (a wry, tough, self-aware femme) sing and dance through the pain, when they deadpan their way through a faux Louis Prima & Keely Smith number (Vivian Stoll providing the music), or put their backs into Stormy Brandenberger’s evocative choreography. This is exceptionally well put together performance art, that maybe needs to dig a little bit deeper and think a little bit harder.

For tickets, click here.

For more reviews and interviews by Jonathan Warman, see dramaqueennyc.com.