The last of Bridge Street Theatre‘s 2024 SoloFest is Penny Arcade’s “Longing Lasts Longer.”  Ms. Arcade is a noted downtown New York performance artist who has done this play all over the world.

She is a raucous, over-the top personality who starts the show as the audience enters the theatre.  She banters, dances and mugs to prepare them for what is coming next; however, what comes next is a rant that starts at a high octane level and stays there.  Though there is a script Arcade employs some improvisation.  She draws the audience into a sociological, preachy diatribe in which she agonizes over the loss of cultural heritage and the ramifications of social modernization by employing satire and irony.  She focuses on New York City as the prime example of the ills of our time.

According to Arcade, the City has a new population.  People from all over the country have moved to the City and don’t understand the rhythms of life there.  They congregate on the sidewalks impeding others’ progress, whereas real New Yorkers have learned how to “dip” to let people pass.  She has a series of instances decrying the newbies and their lack of understanding of New York.  She then segues into a discussion regarding the difference between nostalgia and longing.  The former is about things recalled from the past… things one has done, especially during one’s twenties.  But she asks, “Who but a moron wants to go back to their  twenties?”  Longing, however,  is the memory of places, people, routines that have disappeared never to be seen or felt again.  In these moments she is at her softest and gently sincere.

Arcade informs us that she is seventy-three years old, but her energy is boundless.  She continuously prances around the stage save for several sequences when she uses a stand-up microphone.  Even then, she delivers her message with a robust relentlessness.  After a length of time, this dynamism becomes tiresome.

From the very opening of the performance there is music in the background.  Her accompanist, Steve Zehentner, is onstage surrounded by keyboards, amplifiers and other sound paraphernalia.  At times the music and effects are of a disturbing high volume. 

The bottom line, however, is that Arcade’s view of life is relevant and true.

Longing Last Longer, written and performed by Penny Arcade; Director and Design: Steve Zehentner: Presented in collaboration with White Horse Theatre Company; Production Stage Manager: Hannarose Manning; Running time: 95  minutes, no intermission.  Bridge Street Theatre, 44 W Bridge St, Catskill, NY 12414. Phone: (518) 943-3894 https://bridgest.org/