And now a word from Jack Hitt’s sponsors.
“You know all those corporations we’ve been reading about all year? Foreclosing, destroying banks? I want to thank them tonight for their generosity and artistic vision.”
So New Haven author/journalist/raconteur Jack Hitt opened the sold-out Wednesday night performance of “Making Up The Truth,” his engaging one-man show at Long Wharf’s Stage II.
I won’t tell you what else he said. Because he went on to tell some gripping, hilarious stories. And telling you about them would give away all the surprises.
I will tell you that his show — part of this year’s International Festival of Arts & Ideas — has generated so much buzz that its run has been extended to Saturday at 1 p.m. (To try to grab a ticket, call 203 – 562-5666 or visit here.)
I’ll also tell you that Hitt’s tale about 206 W. 99th St. in New York alone makes the night memorable. It will be the moment that stays with you from the 2011 festival, the way a single distinctive moment or image or performance came to define A&I fests pasts: the “History of Apizza” on the Green, the stilt walkers/dancers, Anna Deveare Smith recreating the riots ...
Oh wait. Smith’s performance wasn’t part of A&I. That must have been my brain recreating a new reality from past memories. “Making Up The Truth”‘s blend of storytelling and scientific discourse gets into some of that. But it’s Hitt’s narratives—too unbelievable for fiction—that carry the day.
Can't say enough about this show. It was fabulous! Entertaining and hilarious for sure, but also very thought-provoking. The weaving of the stories with the brain science research is masterful. Kudos to all involved in bringing this show to A & I.