The Tooth of Crime

La MaMa ETC’s 1983 production of Sam Shepard’s The Tooth of Crime is re-presented in celebration of La MaMa’s 45th Anniversary. The production is directed by George Ferencz with music by Sam Shepard and musical direction by Bob Jewett. Ray Wise reprises his Obie-award performance as Hoss. This project was done originally in association with Syracuse Stage.

Sample reviews from 1983 production:

“La MaMa’s The Tooth of Crime is raunchy. obscene, loud, astonishing, different and exciting. It’s about gang war, class war, the pop culture war, where stars are killers. The game is rough, the stakes are high, the language is flash. Inventively staged by George Ferencz, in a stylized fashion, it’s something between Greek tragedy and a rock show. The Tooth of Crime is razor.”
– Pia Lindstrom, WNBC-TV

“A slashing interpretation . . . the imagery is visceral and sexual . . .Ferencz has had the ingenuous idea of staging the entire evening as a rock concert. This production of The Tooth of Crime is very razor.”
– Mel Gussow, New York Times

“La MaMa’s dazzling new production of The Tooth of Crime is a spectacular show. Lean and mean and wired to the eyeballs, this bold new version turns the playwright’s 1972 poetic fantasy about fame and power into a modern rock’n’roll war. It’s all very exciting and unnerving, a stunning show.”
– Marilyn Stasio, New York Post

“Finally The Tooth of Crime is given a production that has its actions and emotions in the right place. All the elements are laid out clearly and with emphatic force and no froufrou by someone who knows every inch of the dramatic action. Ferencz brings out, more strongly than I’ve seen it in any other production, the warmth of Shepard’s despair. Ray Wise as Hoss gives a ferocious, magnetic performance of unyielding energy. The Tooth of Crime is probably the best play written in English in the past decade.”
– Michael Feingold, Village Voice