Hell House Harshes Hipsters
Some of us round here happen to hail from parts of the country where the "Hell Houses" — i.e. scared-straight parades of theological horrors put on by evangelical Christians — are openly staged without a trace of irony. And of course, many people have seen the documentary. Even so, we were at first not much intrigued with the Hell House starting up in DUMBO by the experimental theater company Les Freres Corbusier. It's an ostensibly earnest theatrical treatment, created in full cooperation with the originators of the genre. However, this version does have at least one selling point:
There were several big changes, including — in a truly gymnastic display of irony — a scene in which some hipsters in a cafe decide to put on a show poking fun at fundamentalist Christians (they are quickly attacked by demons).
All we can say is: Go demons.
This show gives 'em 'Hell' [Newsday]
The Road to Hell (and Maybe Heaven) Detours Through Brooklyn [NYT]