A Night with the Paris Review - Selected Shorts Performed by Actors Linda Lavin, Jin Ha and Others

A Night with the Paris Review is always a good idea.  The Paris Review is a prestigious & influential literary magazine credited with publishing talented new writers such as Philip Roth, David Foster and T. C. Boyle to name a few.   Last night at Symphony Space, we were treated to a reading/performance of 5 short stories published in the Paris Review. The Review was founded by expatriates George Plimpton and Peter Mathiessen. The stories were incredibly intriguing, funny, peculiar, melancholy & bizarre.  Each talented actor gave voice and theatrics to the varied & remarkable stories.  "How to Travel with a Salmon" by Umberto Eco was performed by Jin Ha recently featured on NBC's Jesus Christ Superstar.  The exasperating "fish" tale is of an American writer's frustrations while staying in a foreign hotel whose operations need modernization and a better system of communication.  Ha's annoyance mounts in this absurdly convincing comedy of errors.  George Fox's "The 26th Second" is a dark comedy of a married couple who bicker over the husband's secret suicide pill just uncovered by the wife.  Marital discord & mistrust was performed with perfection by Tony & Emmy winner Linda Lanvin.  "Marabou" is written by Joy Williams a recipient of the Paris Review's Lifetime Achievement Award.  This was bizarre & morose.  A story of a mother the day she buries her 26 year old son from a drug overdose.  Two time Emmy winner Michael Emerson voiced the grieving mother mourning amongst her son's friends also struggling with addictions.   The most energetic reading came from actress Colby Minifie  currently seen in Marvel's "Jessica Jones".  Her performance of "The Weirdos" by Ottessa Moshfegh, winner of the Hemingway/PEN Award was incredibly entertaining.  It's an odd LA love story.  A young man manages a rundown  LA apartment complex while aspiring to be an actor.  Moshfegh's blend of humor, eccentric characters & discernible descriptions was irresistible.   Minifie's reading brought clarity & comedy to a quirky tale.  The evening was a tribute to talented & unique writers & actors.  It was tremendously pleasing to have these selected shorts brought to life.