Living Here: a map of songs—Theater review by Chris Kompanek
Part monologue, song cycle and site-specific ode to the road, Gideon Irving’s Living Here: a map of songs bursts with a boundless desire to explore the expanses of the globe and befriend the singular characters who inhabit it. The self-proclaimed “21st-century troubadour” has performed more than 500 shows in just as many homes across the U.S. and in New Zealand.
Barefoot and in a suit with suspenders, he weaves anecdotes about his hosts—including a Colorado man who runs a potato-sorting facility with ties to the Mexican mafia—in the spaces between frenzied folk songs written for a range of instruments. The particularly inspired “6am” blends a ringtone seamlessly into the accompaniment as it peers into the imagined future of a billionaire’s iPhone-obsessed son. Content dictates form again in “A Little More Love,” in which he plays guitar, banjo and bouzouki almost simultaneously to illustrate the song’s heartfelt and humorous plea to be able to squeeze more time out of life.—Christopher Kompanek
Various locations (see Off Broadway). Written and performed by Gideon Irving. Running time: 1hr 20mins. No intermission.