Theater gets its weird back. How REDCAT and CAP UCLA shows celebrate the offbeat

Robin Frohardt’s “Plastic Bag Store: The Film,” courtesy of CAP UCLA, and Elevator Repair Service’s “Baldwin and Buckley at Cambridge (In Progress),” a REDCAT virtual presentation, bring quirky lenses through which to see stubborn social problems anew.

"Plastic Bag Store: The Film" will premiere on Saturday, April 24th at 7 p.m. on CAP UCLA's website.

"What I miss most about alternative theater, the kind of work REDCAT and the Center for the Art of Performance at UCLA specialize in, is the feeling of strange delight. That sense of being in the presence of the offbeat, of being tickled by novelty, of new sensibility dawning.

Group enclosure is an essential part of the alchemy. Gathering in a specially designated space fosters the impression of being in cahoots, not simply with the artists piquing our curiosity but with our fellow audience members.

The charm of these unconventional escapades can only be approximated in the digital sphere. On screen, the weirdness is flattened. Passive voyeurism replaces collusive camaraderie.

But while we wait for live performance to return, let’s at least remind our palates of the taste of the unusual. Robin Frohardt’s “Plastic Bag Store: The Film,” courtesy of CAP UCLA, and Elevator Repair Service’s “Baldwin and Buckley at Cambridge (In Progress),” a REDCAT virtual presentation, bring quirky lenses through which to see stubborn social problems anew."— Charles McNulty, Los Angeles Times, Apr. 22, 2021