Sollie's Cradle.

You could be called either courageous or foolhardy to risk premiering an evening-length work at the Joyce Theater, especially if it is a radical departure from your usual aesthetic. In his new Sollie's Cradle Randy Warshaw virtually abandons his exploration of pure motion in favor of narrative. Unfortunately, the theater experience of his many collaborators has led to little insight regarding continuity and pacing, which might have kept Warshaw from trying to reinvent them. Whether it was rebelliousness or inexperience that got him into artistic hot water here, he deserves credit for probing new ground.

Sollie (Greta Peterman) is discovered sleeping in an outsized, vertical bed that dominates the stage. Five characters (Jennifer Allen, Kim Olsen, Jennifer Lacey, Bryan Kepple, and Robert Martocci) inhabit her nightmare. But who are these people, and why are they popping out of her toilet, reaching through the shower wall to scrub her, partying in her refrigerator? The choreographer gives us no clues, and since their shenanigans seem to affect the heroine so little as she drifts from one episode to the next, it doesn't really matter. Bits of Warshaw's silky dance movement are scattered all too sparsely throughout the overextended narrative. But the dancers--especially the two, obviously inexperienced, new men--seem unfocused and as unclear as we are about what's going on.

Sollie's Cradle was directed by Richard Caliban, who also collaborated with Marcus Stern on the scenario. Music and sound were by John Gromada, lighting by Brian Aidous, sets by Kyle Chepulis, and costumes by Mary Myers.