(The following article by Robert Hurwitt appeared in the San Francisco Chronicle on August 11 2009.)
Theater review: 'Farm' a hip-hop remix
Some versions of "Animal Farm" are more equal than others. Jon Tracy's hip-hop-infused "The Farm" is more than equal to the task of bringing George Orwell's anti-Stalinist satire to life in the here and now.
Rap and beatbox rhythms intertwine with gospel and country blues stylings in adapter-director Tracy's "remix" of Orwell's 1945 farmyard parable of the corruption of a popular revolution. The fast flow of percussive rhymed couplets and the energy of the large ensemble in Tracy and movement director Elena Wright's stagings make the Shotgun Players' annual outdoor show exciting and provocative.
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http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2009/08/11/DDI0195NMH.DTL&type=performance