Another phenomenal Cirque Du Soleil production unfolds in Pittsburgh. This time it’s called Totem but the title and the underlying conception matter less than how everything comes off looking impressive on so many levels, i.e above the heads of the audience, balancing on poles, soaring and gyrating high in the air, walking on perilously thin boards, or surging forth on a vast shell-like stage, leaping, jumping, wheeling, spinning, juggling, balancing in one remarkable act after another. Meanwhile entertaining, physically virtuosic amusing clown acts pop on and off. The other artists come dressed in superb looking costumes as, all over their performance areas, platforms and spaces open close, raise and lower, ensembles colorfully parade or dance, boats and canoes float in and out and vivid images of flowing water or swirling sands of the desert, or crystal white snow cascade before your eyes. And a small percussion-based orchestra thunders, throbs and pulses as if to an accelerated heartbeat reminding us of the anxiety within the dangers these performers face should they lose their footing, stumble and fall.
The underlying visual concept suggests enduring tribal myths reaching back into pre-history, often evoking native North American people, but also stretching forward into space and into present time. You needn’t bother trying to analyze this or even think about it, since it remains more wonderfully and colorfully decorative than profoundly intellectual into which you need to read all kinds of meaning. The concept seems most pointed when a group described as business men try to reach the top of a pole and maintain their balance. But, by the time they start their climb they’ve divested themselves of business suits and briefcases dressed more like you’d expect for circus performers. One act also seems visually odd when a man and a woman dressed like North American natives twirl and gyrate on roller skates, although I’ve no doubt some real contemporary native people would skate, but not in traditional clothing. Overall then, thinking about how well the concept works, or even about what the word Totem means, is something you should leave outside the tent and allow yourself to marvel at what you see, the brilliant spectacle.
I saw the last production here in 2009, called Alegria. I find this one much more dynamic and compelling than that overly clown-dominated show which ran for only one week in the Peterson Center. There too, wretched balcony sight lines significantly diminished the experience for many people. Here, under the big tent, with no doubt fewer seats than at Peterson, it looks as if everyone gets closer to the action. And isn’t that what a circus should be, not confined within the cement walls of a sweaty sports arena?
Some info about parking. This production takes place in the Strip District, close to the Allegheny River, directly behind the Produce Terminal where there is a lot of parking space. However, the evening I was there, an attendant was bunching up cars closest to the lot entrance while the actual entrance to Cirque is about three blocks closer to downtown. So, for $10, you might have an unnecessary walk coming to and to leaving the performance and I saw many empty spaces quite close one half hour before the show started.
The program book, which is not free with admission, gives lots of information about what the acts intend, about the logistics of how the show is produced and much more, but,oddly, my copy does not name any of the performers. But I have what’s called a “Press Kit” which may have less in it than what paying customers get.
Most important, though, everyone gets a magnificent experience.
Cirque du Soleil's Totem continues through Sunday, June 5 , in the Strip District at 20th Street where Railroad Street ends
Tickets online at www.cirquedusoleil.com/totem or by phone at 1-800-450-1480 or at the Cirque du Soleil box office located at the front of site 2 hours prior to show time.
Friday, May 13, 2011
Sunday, May 8, 2011
Theatre review: "Antony and Cleopatra" from Pittsburgh Irish and Classical Theatre. Sunday 8th May 2011
Pittsburgh Irish and Classical Theatre offers a vigorous, imaginatively staged and capably articulated version of Shakespeare’s Antony and Cleopatra. Given that the play is widely considered difficult to render thoroughly and movingly, director James Christy and his sturdy cast have a big assignment. They get across all the surfaces convincingly, but Christy and title role performers Sam Tsoutsouvas and Helena Ruoti do not give their characters compelling heart and soul. On the other hand, James Sutorious and Leo Marks as other important characters Enobarbus and Octavius invest them with admirable dimension.
Unfortunately Shakespeare has written Cleopatra most like a spoiled, willful lover and mistress planting the seeds of comedy, weakening the potential for tragedy which lies more clearly within the more complex, vacillating Antony. The script does do well with Octavius, making him reasonable, tractable, having deeper feelings beneath his controlled exterior. Shakespeare thereby balanced well the opposing forces, making this truly interesting, showing that Antony and Cleopatra’s flaws help to bring them down.
But the play can be a challenge to audiences neither familiar with nor caring about this significant, volatile period of Roman history. This can look and feel like a well-developed documentary more than a tragedy, spending much time on the comings and goings across the Mediterranean by many characters while focusing on the whys and wherefores of the conflicts leading to the protagonists' deaths. Potential audiences, if interested in the background, might benefit from advance preparation. Plus PICT’s always informative and interesting program notes are worth reading.
Ruoti inherits the problem of making Cleopatra a strong-willed and sensual woman whom the once powerful Antony cannot help admiring and loving, yet Routi more emphasizes unqueenly petulance and pettiness. Meanwhile, looking glamorous in consistently beautiful, elegant attire, she does little more than frequently languish on pillows to suggest sexiness. Tsoutsouvas, on the other hand, comes across mostly as a big blustering baby, delivering lines with non-stop intensity and high volume, sometimes even bellowing, never looking heroic and never sadly pitiable. As Octavius, Leo Marks seems the best of the three, thoroughly suggesting the man’s interior workings, a good contrast to almost out-of-control Antony but the merit of Marks' performance may get overshadowed by appearing too contained. Enobarbus, a more marginal character in the play, more a commentator than a mover and shaker, but definitely more important in the real story, gets excellent definition by James Sutorius; he delivers his lines with a personality which makes him constantly interesting.
Director James Christy keeps all of the action vivid, colorful and convincing, while getting his actors to deliver speeches with integrity and meaning. No doubt his and PICT’ s choices of this cast make that possible, given so many local actors whose talents have been in constant development and exposure, making this kind of ensemble as close to a repertory company as we’ve ever come. They all do well, even though compromised by the unforgiving acoustics of the Charity Randall Theatre. They include such artists as Daina Michelle Griffith, Jarrod Di Giorgi, Daniel Krell, Mark D. Staley, and Shammen McCune. I do, however, question double-casting the easily recognizable Griffith as Cleopatra’s constant companion Iras as well as Antony’s new bride Octavia.
Christy or PICT’s choice of costuming doesn’t do the play justice, given its inconsistencies, equally suggesting something timeless and contemporary and period-like, although Jen Sturm’s clothing for Cleopatra looks impressive.
At the opening night, a few people in the back rows laughed out loud during the play’s final tragic conclusion. This disturbance included the recognizable sound of a prominent staff member who regularly laughs vigorously there on opening nights. If you can’t help noticing, especially if you’re unlucky to be sitting closely, you might think that this is a deliberate attempt to stimulate the audience to enthusiasm. I don’t think that’s the cause; I think it’s due to genuine appreciation for the actors’ talents. Nonetheless, doing so during an actual performance suggests an amateurishness unworthy of a company of this integrity.
Overall, though, I find reasons to admire much of how this looks and feels.
Antony and Cleopatra plays through May 21st in the Charity Randall Theatre at the Stephen Foster Memorial, Forbes Avenue on the University of Pittsburgh campus in Oakland.
Tickets at: Pro Arts Tickets: 412/ 394.3353 or online at www.proartstickets.org.
More info: www.picttheatre.org
Unfortunately Shakespeare has written Cleopatra most like a spoiled, willful lover and mistress planting the seeds of comedy, weakening the potential for tragedy which lies more clearly within the more complex, vacillating Antony. The script does do well with Octavius, making him reasonable, tractable, having deeper feelings beneath his controlled exterior. Shakespeare thereby balanced well the opposing forces, making this truly interesting, showing that Antony and Cleopatra’s flaws help to bring them down.
But the play can be a challenge to audiences neither familiar with nor caring about this significant, volatile period of Roman history. This can look and feel like a well-developed documentary more than a tragedy, spending much time on the comings and goings across the Mediterranean by many characters while focusing on the whys and wherefores of the conflicts leading to the protagonists' deaths. Potential audiences, if interested in the background, might benefit from advance preparation. Plus PICT’s always informative and interesting program notes are worth reading.
Ruoti inherits the problem of making Cleopatra a strong-willed and sensual woman whom the once powerful Antony cannot help admiring and loving, yet Routi more emphasizes unqueenly petulance and pettiness. Meanwhile, looking glamorous in consistently beautiful, elegant attire, she does little more than frequently languish on pillows to suggest sexiness. Tsoutsouvas, on the other hand, comes across mostly as a big blustering baby, delivering lines with non-stop intensity and high volume, sometimes even bellowing, never looking heroic and never sadly pitiable. As Octavius, Leo Marks seems the best of the three, thoroughly suggesting the man’s interior workings, a good contrast to almost out-of-control Antony but the merit of Marks' performance may get overshadowed by appearing too contained. Enobarbus, a more marginal character in the play, more a commentator than a mover and shaker, but definitely more important in the real story, gets excellent definition by James Sutorius; he delivers his lines with a personality which makes him constantly interesting.
Director James Christy keeps all of the action vivid, colorful and convincing, while getting his actors to deliver speeches with integrity and meaning. No doubt his and PICT’ s choices of this cast make that possible, given so many local actors whose talents have been in constant development and exposure, making this kind of ensemble as close to a repertory company as we’ve ever come. They all do well, even though compromised by the unforgiving acoustics of the Charity Randall Theatre. They include such artists as Daina Michelle Griffith, Jarrod Di Giorgi, Daniel Krell, Mark D. Staley, and Shammen McCune. I do, however, question double-casting the easily recognizable Griffith as Cleopatra’s constant companion Iras as well as Antony’s new bride Octavia.
Christy or PICT’s choice of costuming doesn’t do the play justice, given its inconsistencies, equally suggesting something timeless and contemporary and period-like, although Jen Sturm’s clothing for Cleopatra looks impressive.
At the opening night, a few people in the back rows laughed out loud during the play’s final tragic conclusion. This disturbance included the recognizable sound of a prominent staff member who regularly laughs vigorously there on opening nights. If you can’t help noticing, especially if you’re unlucky to be sitting closely, you might think that this is a deliberate attempt to stimulate the audience to enthusiasm. I don’t think that’s the cause; I think it’s due to genuine appreciation for the actors’ talents. Nonetheless, doing so during an actual performance suggests an amateurishness unworthy of a company of this integrity.
Overall, though, I find reasons to admire much of how this looks and feels.
Antony and Cleopatra plays through May 21st in the Charity Randall Theatre at the Stephen Foster Memorial, Forbes Avenue on the University of Pittsburgh campus in Oakland.
Tickets at: Pro Arts Tickets: 412/ 394.3353 or online at www.proartstickets.org.
More info: www.picttheatre.org
Sunday, May 1, 2011
Review: "Dialogues of the Carmelites" at Pittsburgh Opera Sunday 1st May 2011
Pittsburgh Opera offers a superbly performed version of Francis Poulenc and Emmet Lavery’s opera Dialogues of the Carmelites enriched by exceptional singing of several principal roles, nearly impeccable playing by the orchestra led by Jean-Luc Tingaud and dynamic staging by Eric Einhorn.
This work may come as a surprise to people who have never seen or heard it, among which I am one. Although generally known as a story based on true events during the French Revolution and mostly about a group of nuns sent to the guillotine, it actually focuses on a young woman from a noble family, Blanche de la Force and her fearful uncertainties about her own life and what she should do with it, seeking significance as a nun. Much of the opera, in fact, consists of dialogues between her and among women in the Carmelite order about metaphysical and philosophical concepts of spirituality and sacrifice. But it also ultimately focuses on the tragic, brutal end to the lives of those innocent women. During the French Revolution, the Catholic Church, its priests and nuns were seen as extensions of the old royal, exploitative system and therefore a threat to the political new order.
Poulenc wrote much magnificently orchestrated, gorgeous music to amplify the story, the best of it appearing in the second part rather than in the first. In fact, during the first part, which sets up later events, the score sounds almost too dramatic for developments focusing on humility and modesty. But the nuns’ exquisite a capella passages in the second act, appropriate to their unadorned existence, have supreme, everlasting beauty.
The sets from Calgary Opera also deeply add to the sense the fragility and stark simplicity of the nuns’ convent life, only occasionally brightened by slashes of light. Director Einhorn expertly keeps the stage movements consistent with such elemental settings, often clustering the nuns together in clearly isolated, vulnerable groups. And his powerful choice for how the story ends can shake you and move you to tears.
Amanda Majeski in the main role of Blanche sings with memorable beauty as do Shannon Kessler Dooley as another novice Sister Constance, and Elizabeth Bishop as Mother Marie.
Unfortunately the Pittsburgh Opera program book gives readers no background information about Francis Poulenc, whose name and work still is too under-rated and overlooked, unlike the creators of the more standard opera repertory which the company usually offers. He was born in 1899. Writing many jocular, friendly scores up to the age of 39, he then took a new direction, rediscovering the Catholic faith in which he had been born, writing a large number of sacred works, including much liturgical vocal music. At about age 58, six years before his death, Dialogues of the Carmelites made its debut, the second of his only three operas.
The program book also says nothing about co-librettist Emmet Lavery whose name is even less known. He was a French playwright born just a few years after Poulenc, sometimes writing plays about priests as well as writing scripts for movies and television programs as far back as 1942.
Consider this performance a stirring and powerful revelation.
Pittsburgh Opera’s production of Dialogues of the Carmelites continues through May 8th at Benedum Center, downtown. Info and tickets at 412/ 456-6666 or www.pittsburghopera.org
This work may come as a surprise to people who have never seen or heard it, among which I am one. Although generally known as a story based on true events during the French Revolution and mostly about a group of nuns sent to the guillotine, it actually focuses on a young woman from a noble family, Blanche de la Force and her fearful uncertainties about her own life and what she should do with it, seeking significance as a nun. Much of the opera, in fact, consists of dialogues between her and among women in the Carmelite order about metaphysical and philosophical concepts of spirituality and sacrifice. But it also ultimately focuses on the tragic, brutal end to the lives of those innocent women. During the French Revolution, the Catholic Church, its priests and nuns were seen as extensions of the old royal, exploitative system and therefore a threat to the political new order.
Poulenc wrote much magnificently orchestrated, gorgeous music to amplify the story, the best of it appearing in the second part rather than in the first. In fact, during the first part, which sets up later events, the score sounds almost too dramatic for developments focusing on humility and modesty. But the nuns’ exquisite a capella passages in the second act, appropriate to their unadorned existence, have supreme, everlasting beauty.
The sets from Calgary Opera also deeply add to the sense the fragility and stark simplicity of the nuns’ convent life, only occasionally brightened by slashes of light. Director Einhorn expertly keeps the stage movements consistent with such elemental settings, often clustering the nuns together in clearly isolated, vulnerable groups. And his powerful choice for how the story ends can shake you and move you to tears.
Amanda Majeski in the main role of Blanche sings with memorable beauty as do Shannon Kessler Dooley as another novice Sister Constance, and Elizabeth Bishop as Mother Marie.
Unfortunately the Pittsburgh Opera program book gives readers no background information about Francis Poulenc, whose name and work still is too under-rated and overlooked, unlike the creators of the more standard opera repertory which the company usually offers. He was born in 1899. Writing many jocular, friendly scores up to the age of 39, he then took a new direction, rediscovering the Catholic faith in which he had been born, writing a large number of sacred works, including much liturgical vocal music. At about age 58, six years before his death, Dialogues of the Carmelites made its debut, the second of his only three operas.
The program book also says nothing about co-librettist Emmet Lavery whose name is even less known. He was a French playwright born just a few years after Poulenc, sometimes writing plays about priests as well as writing scripts for movies and television programs as far back as 1942.
Consider this performance a stirring and powerful revelation.
Pittsburgh Opera’s production of Dialogues of the Carmelites continues through May 8th at Benedum Center, downtown. Info and tickets at 412/ 456-6666 or www.pittsburghopera.org
Theatre review: "Superior Donuts" at Pittsburgh Public Theater-Sunday 1st May 2011
It takes until the second act to recognize how well and thoroughly Tracey Letts has written Superior Donuts when you see it at Pittsburgh Public Theater. But it takes only a few minutes after the performance starts to realize that director Ted Pappas and his superior cast make if truthful, engaging and frequently funny.
Much of the first act seems spent on introducing colorful, interesting and well-developed characters who say lots of things, sometimes salty, bound to make you laugh and to like them. But not much else. However when that first hour ends, you have hints that more serious and important developments lie in wait. The next hour delivers surprises, tensions, deeper meaning and warm tenderness.
It’s set in a small donut shop in an almost -transitioning Chicago neighborhood around the beginning of 2010. The shop is a family business run by one-time hippie, Polish-American Arthur Przybyzewski whose personal history includes dodging the draft during the Vietnam War and whose overall approach to life is ruled by being so laid back as to almost lie down and accept whatever falls. Such perceptive writing by Tracy Letts also sets up the possibility of affirmative action and transformation which is provoked by his new hire for the shop, 21 year black Franco Wicks. Franco has all kinds of ideas to make the shop adapt to new times and prosper. Here too Letts has solidly evoked an equally unpredictable and engaging character. As it turns out, Wicks is dangerously in debt to a potentially vicious crook, Luther Flynn. Other significant characters include Max Tarasov, a Russian who owns an adjacent store and hopes to expand it as well as regularly -appearing police woman Randy to whom Arthur is attracted.
In Superior Donuts, Tracy Letts has set up a number of self-revealing soliloquies by Arthur, well-staged by Ted Pappas, with a solo spotlight on Arthur so that other less significant action on stage does not distract. Moreover Pappas superbly paces the early scenes, never rushing things, keeping his actors genuine while saying many amusing things. But when the second act emerges, Pappas and his cast make it all dynamic and vivid. If you look thoroughly at the program book you’ll notice that there is fight direction by Randy Kovitz. And, even though you may know that a fight is coming and that it is theatre and not reality, by that time, if you are as engaged in the story and the people, as I was, you may really get anxious. I did. Credit Pappas and his cast.
CMU grad Anderson Matthews plays Arthur with wonderful naturalness and depth. As Franco, Brandon Gill marvelously conveys his charm and vitality. The Russian shopkeeper Max is equally vigorously and appealingly interpreted by Donald Corren. They stand out in a fine ensemble in which every other role gets equal definition and credibility. Pittsburgh’s Wali Jamal and Sharon Brady are among them as is thoroughly polished Daryll Heysham who has been in many recent local productions. Another out-of-town actor, David Agranov also graduated from CMU.
You can get more out of the experience by reading Margie Romero’s excellent, informative and useful program notes about Chicago and about the 1968 war resistance movement and the events at the Democratic Party’s national convention in that city.
After writing the above, I looked on-line at other reviews including some from New York, most of which, although finding the play skillful, compare it to predictable TV situation comedies. That is not my reaction. I find the whole concept and how it’s done superior in every way.
Superior Donuts continues through May 15 at Pittsburgh Public Theater, downtown. Tickets and info at 412/316.1600 or www.ppt.org
Much of the first act seems spent on introducing colorful, interesting and well-developed characters who say lots of things, sometimes salty, bound to make you laugh and to like them. But not much else. However when that first hour ends, you have hints that more serious and important developments lie in wait. The next hour delivers surprises, tensions, deeper meaning and warm tenderness.
It’s set in a small donut shop in an almost -transitioning Chicago neighborhood around the beginning of 2010. The shop is a family business run by one-time hippie, Polish-American Arthur Przybyzewski whose personal history includes dodging the draft during the Vietnam War and whose overall approach to life is ruled by being so laid back as to almost lie down and accept whatever falls. Such perceptive writing by Tracy Letts also sets up the possibility of affirmative action and transformation which is provoked by his new hire for the shop, 21 year black Franco Wicks. Franco has all kinds of ideas to make the shop adapt to new times and prosper. Here too Letts has solidly evoked an equally unpredictable and engaging character. As it turns out, Wicks is dangerously in debt to a potentially vicious crook, Luther Flynn. Other significant characters include Max Tarasov, a Russian who owns an adjacent store and hopes to expand it as well as regularly -appearing police woman Randy to whom Arthur is attracted.
In Superior Donuts, Tracy Letts has set up a number of self-revealing soliloquies by Arthur, well-staged by Ted Pappas, with a solo spotlight on Arthur so that other less significant action on stage does not distract. Moreover Pappas superbly paces the early scenes, never rushing things, keeping his actors genuine while saying many amusing things. But when the second act emerges, Pappas and his cast make it all dynamic and vivid. If you look thoroughly at the program book you’ll notice that there is fight direction by Randy Kovitz. And, even though you may know that a fight is coming and that it is theatre and not reality, by that time, if you are as engaged in the story and the people, as I was, you may really get anxious. I did. Credit Pappas and his cast.
CMU grad Anderson Matthews plays Arthur with wonderful naturalness and depth. As Franco, Brandon Gill marvelously conveys his charm and vitality. The Russian shopkeeper Max is equally vigorously and appealingly interpreted by Donald Corren. They stand out in a fine ensemble in which every other role gets equal definition and credibility. Pittsburgh’s Wali Jamal and Sharon Brady are among them as is thoroughly polished Daryll Heysham who has been in many recent local productions. Another out-of-town actor, David Agranov also graduated from CMU.
You can get more out of the experience by reading Margie Romero’s excellent, informative and useful program notes about Chicago and about the 1968 war resistance movement and the events at the Democratic Party’s national convention in that city.
After writing the above, I looked on-line at other reviews including some from New York, most of which, although finding the play skillful, compare it to predictable TV situation comedies. That is not my reaction. I find the whole concept and how it’s done superior in every way.
Superior Donuts continues through May 15 at Pittsburgh Public Theater, downtown. Tickets and info at 412/316.1600 or www.ppt.org
Sunday, April 17, 2011
Theatre review: "Hunter Gatherers" at Bricolage- Sunday 17th April 2011
Bricolage Production Company offers a special treat just in time for Easter. It’s a play which begins with the sacrifice of a lamb and proceeds to nail the whole conception with fanatic devotion. The offering is Peter Sinn Nachtrieb’s Hunter Gatherers whose title may suggest some kind of anthropological discourse on primitive tribal experiences, but actually posits a modern day parallel in which several human beings revert to cave-person- like rituals and survival tactics. The result roars with gusto and howls with hilarity.
Lion-hearted Richard is preparing to slaughter and then roast an innocent, dewy-eyed, fuzzy, little, bleating creature, reminding us meat-eaters, lest we forget, that people kill animals to create mouth-watering meals. Richard’s wife Pam acquiesces sadly since the forthcoming supper serves as an annual rite of communion with long-time friends Tom, a doctor and Wendy, his wife, whose relationship has long been strained dues to Wendy’s passion and Tom’s timidity and reasonableness. As they gather, Richard and Wendy hunt a reason to be alone together and practice conjugal variations causing Tom to consider murder, if only he hadn’t taken doctor’s vows. Soon the four of them are regurgitating secrets from the past. Such as how Wendy cherishes the joy of sharing the revelations of first menstruation with Pam. Or how Richard and Tom recall the mutual discoveries of their own sweaty teen-age bodies. We learn too that Richard conceives himself as some kind of Johnny Human-seed regretting how, in the past, he always extended himself to support the latex industry instead of peopling the world with self- replicas. Overall, things get way out of hand.
In Hunter Gatherers, superbly directed and realized by Jeffrey Carpenter, the cast surges with talent, in constantly off-the wall performances which nonetheless seem like humans rather than cartoons. These characters, as in the best comedies, take themselves seriously and can’t help it if they lose control. Newly-arrived-in-Pittsburgh Jonathan Visser astonishes with his loony, vital and believable version of Richard. Meanwhile, as Wendy, Amy Landis has tremendous, non-stop panache and style. Michael Fuller plays Tom with a deeply sincere projection of the man’s earnest vulnerability within which lies the potential to believably erupt into comic and surprising dimensions. Amid all such vigorous delights, Tressa Glover has the more challenging role of modest, self-effacing Pam. On opening night she hadn’t arrived at something as definitive as have the rest of the actors, as if too influenced by so much high-volume intensity. Instead of shouting so often she would serve the play and the character better by making her gently sympathetic.
At the center of this whole expedition into the wild, writer Peter Sinn Nachtrieb has mined non-stop funny ideas and dialogue. This is the second example of his invention we’ve seen recently in this territory, the previous one not long ago, Boom, produced by Off the Wall Theatre. Keep his name in mind and wait with delight to see what next he has for us.
This important advisory: there is an open range of adult language and a clear-cut display of graphic violence starting with slaughter of meat on the hoof. Don’t bring the kids.
Hunter Gatherers keeps on coming through May 7th at Bricolage, 937 Liberty Avenue downtown. Tickets and info: www.brownpapertickets.com and www.webbricolage.org. 412/381 6999
Lion-hearted Richard is preparing to slaughter and then roast an innocent, dewy-eyed, fuzzy, little, bleating creature, reminding us meat-eaters, lest we forget, that people kill animals to create mouth-watering meals. Richard’s wife Pam acquiesces sadly since the forthcoming supper serves as an annual rite of communion with long-time friends Tom, a doctor and Wendy, his wife, whose relationship has long been strained dues to Wendy’s passion and Tom’s timidity and reasonableness. As they gather, Richard and Wendy hunt a reason to be alone together and practice conjugal variations causing Tom to consider murder, if only he hadn’t taken doctor’s vows. Soon the four of them are regurgitating secrets from the past. Such as how Wendy cherishes the joy of sharing the revelations of first menstruation with Pam. Or how Richard and Tom recall the mutual discoveries of their own sweaty teen-age bodies. We learn too that Richard conceives himself as some kind of Johnny Human-seed regretting how, in the past, he always extended himself to support the latex industry instead of peopling the world with self- replicas. Overall, things get way out of hand.
In Hunter Gatherers, superbly directed and realized by Jeffrey Carpenter, the cast surges with talent, in constantly off-the wall performances which nonetheless seem like humans rather than cartoons. These characters, as in the best comedies, take themselves seriously and can’t help it if they lose control. Newly-arrived-in-Pittsburgh Jonathan Visser astonishes with his loony, vital and believable version of Richard. Meanwhile, as Wendy, Amy Landis has tremendous, non-stop panache and style. Michael Fuller plays Tom with a deeply sincere projection of the man’s earnest vulnerability within which lies the potential to believably erupt into comic and surprising dimensions. Amid all such vigorous delights, Tressa Glover has the more challenging role of modest, self-effacing Pam. On opening night she hadn’t arrived at something as definitive as have the rest of the actors, as if too influenced by so much high-volume intensity. Instead of shouting so often she would serve the play and the character better by making her gently sympathetic.
At the center of this whole expedition into the wild, writer Peter Sinn Nachtrieb has mined non-stop funny ideas and dialogue. This is the second example of his invention we’ve seen recently in this territory, the previous one not long ago, Boom, produced by Off the Wall Theatre. Keep his name in mind and wait with delight to see what next he has for us.
This important advisory: there is an open range of adult language and a clear-cut display of graphic violence starting with slaughter of meat on the hoof. Don’t bring the kids.
Hunter Gatherers keeps on coming through May 7th at Bricolage, 937 Liberty Avenue downtown. Tickets and info: www.brownpapertickets.com and www.webbricolage.org. 412/381 6999
Saturday, April 16, 2011
Theatre review: The Alice Project at CMU. Sunday, 17th April 2011
We have another ongoing theatre piece called a “project,” The Alice Project at CMU. This takes Lewis Carroll’s, as fully titled, Through the Looking Glass and What Alice Found There and goes into a fascinating, multi-prismed exploration of the many surfaces and dimensions of fractured activities and memorable characters Alice finds in a second fantasy world, having escaped unharmed from Wonderland.
It’s called a project because different perspectives come from collaboration among The CMU School of Drama’s graduate designers, undergraduate directors, graduate dramatic writing students and present acting students as directed by faculty member Marianne Weems.
With so many elements merging you may wonder how this can clearly lead anywhere. Well, it doesn’t. After stating that an intention is to find out who Alice really is, that destination is never reached. Nor does any meaningful interpretation come across as to the potential symbolisms and deeper meanings of Carroll’s concept. Yet, the longer you watch the less that matters.
As The Alice Project gets curioser and curioser, the adventure stays wonderfully creative and alive with visual effects, as if the designers have taken over to make this their project while all the other collaborators came along for the brilliant and dynamic ride. Clearly they’ve all agreed to make the most of modern technology, including live cameras, non-stop projections and soundscapes of various kinds. That creates an always vivid stage environment equally alive with actors swiftly moving into and out of multiple roles, including several playing Alice. Everyone climbs ladders to ascend into or descend from stacked box-like frames wherein to skillfully play out various scenes, like children in a massive playground making new discoveries while playing well with others. These kids, however, are old enough that, sometimes, they needlessly throw in street language which Carroll would never have used; he aimed to reach far more innocent youngsters. But then the script does not stick to the original text, nor intend to.
Director Weems writes that Through the Looking Glass “does not follow a straight line across a chessboard; the story is only the skeleton” that the details do not have to fit. Right. You learn where she wants to go. But I wonder what Lewis Carroll would have thought seeing what has happened to his ideas. He might admire how it all looks and sounds, including some original music. I do. And Carroll might wonder what is the purpose of thus deconstructing his highly original, distinctive tale. A tale which has a lot to offer on its own. Weems says this is “ample room to play.” Yes, I’d say that the participants in this fantasy probably are having a good time. Certainly, being students, they are also learning modern disciplines of interpretation and movement to serve future professional careers, especially in experiments which could resemble this.
For those of us outside the frame, we can marvel at the brilliant visual elements so much so that we needn’t think about what it all means or even if it has to mean something. Weems tell us what she thinks. Maybe afterwards, you might want to ponder her interesting thesis. But maybe too, it doesn’t matter, because what you see is a kind of wonderland. And that’s worth the trip.
The Alice Project continues through April 23rd at Philip Chosky Theatre on campus at CMU, Oakland. School of Drama box office: 412/ 268-2407
It’s called a project because different perspectives come from collaboration among The CMU School of Drama’s graduate designers, undergraduate directors, graduate dramatic writing students and present acting students as directed by faculty member Marianne Weems.
With so many elements merging you may wonder how this can clearly lead anywhere. Well, it doesn’t. After stating that an intention is to find out who Alice really is, that destination is never reached. Nor does any meaningful interpretation come across as to the potential symbolisms and deeper meanings of Carroll’s concept. Yet, the longer you watch the less that matters.
As The Alice Project gets curioser and curioser, the adventure stays wonderfully creative and alive with visual effects, as if the designers have taken over to make this their project while all the other collaborators came along for the brilliant and dynamic ride. Clearly they’ve all agreed to make the most of modern technology, including live cameras, non-stop projections and soundscapes of various kinds. That creates an always vivid stage environment equally alive with actors swiftly moving into and out of multiple roles, including several playing Alice. Everyone climbs ladders to ascend into or descend from stacked box-like frames wherein to skillfully play out various scenes, like children in a massive playground making new discoveries while playing well with others. These kids, however, are old enough that, sometimes, they needlessly throw in street language which Carroll would never have used; he aimed to reach far more innocent youngsters. But then the script does not stick to the original text, nor intend to.
Director Weems writes that Through the Looking Glass “does not follow a straight line across a chessboard; the story is only the skeleton” that the details do not have to fit. Right. You learn where she wants to go. But I wonder what Lewis Carroll would have thought seeing what has happened to his ideas. He might admire how it all looks and sounds, including some original music. I do. And Carroll might wonder what is the purpose of thus deconstructing his highly original, distinctive tale. A tale which has a lot to offer on its own. Weems says this is “ample room to play.” Yes, I’d say that the participants in this fantasy probably are having a good time. Certainly, being students, they are also learning modern disciplines of interpretation and movement to serve future professional careers, especially in experiments which could resemble this.
For those of us outside the frame, we can marvel at the brilliant visual elements so much so that we needn’t think about what it all means or even if it has to mean something. Weems tell us what she thinks. Maybe afterwards, you might want to ponder her interesting thesis. But maybe too, it doesn’t matter, because what you see is a kind of wonderland. And that’s worth the trip.
The Alice Project continues through April 23rd at Philip Chosky Theatre on campus at CMU, Oakland. School of Drama box office: 412/ 268-2407
Tuesday, April 12, 2011
Theatre review: "The Amish Project" at City Theatre
Like a classic Amish quilt, Jessica Dickey’s 2008 play The Amish Project unfolds at City Theatre to become a vivid, multi-patterned amazement. And, in her one-person performance of it, she keeps it full of astonishing patterns, moving sideways and up and down in time. She brings forth a work of surprising beauty, emerging from lives full of pain in what is neither a narrative documentary nor a pointed lecture rushing emphatically to an absolute conclusion. Don’t be miss-led; the title seems too simple for what she has created. Perhaps she intends to reflect Amish traditions. Restraint. Modesty. Yet this can warm you and hold you close against the revealed darkness of fragmented lives.
Dickey comes from south central Pennsylvania, not so very far from Pittsburgh and not so very far from Lancaster, PA and its many Amish communities. But her work reaches out in all directions bringing home something to grab us where we live even as we disperse in our many separate ways.
Alone on a deliberately frugally-set stage, she portrays seven people in a tale which weaves together real details with elements of fictional speculation in a pattern of intersecting lives…and deaths…into something bigger than any one component. At the center lie these facts: In 2006, not far from Lancaster, a gunman shot ten Amish schoolgirls, killing five and himself. The Amish community responded with forgiveness and reconciliation. Such a story, as you can see, contains an array of feelings, shock at the horror, sorrow, puzzlement, soul-searching and soul-embracing.
Dickey explores all of that, bringing forth her own perspective in depicting two young girls who were victims, the murderer, his wife, an accidentally involved teen-age supermarket clerk from a nearby town and a college professor who has long known the Amish and tries to explain to outsiders how and why they live the way they do. Somewhere in there, too, Dickey brings out details about an historical precedent of outsiders cruelly treating this deliberately self-contained sect.
Yes, it is a lot to grasp. But, amid your tears and smiles, you want to embrace those wonderfully portrayed, dear departed schoolgirls. And you want to try to understand why the killer did what he did, wondering if you would have equal grace and compassion to forgive him. Dickey deliberately does not answer all the questions but leaves it all for you to absorb and to come away with it permeating your memory. Director Sarah Cameron Sunde continually helps to make it live, although I wish that she or Dickey could have found a better way to physically personify the professor, even if the movements imitate an actual person.
Sitting there before the lights go out, reading Dickey’s eloquent program notes, you may wonder if you can endure what lies ahead, only to find, when the lights go up again, that something bright shines in the night, even as the latest news gives us new reasons to mourn.
The Amish Project continues through May 8th at City Theatre on Bingham Street on Pittsburgh’s South Side. Tickets and info: at 412/431-CITY (2489) or CityTheatreCompany.org.
Dickey comes from south central Pennsylvania, not so very far from Pittsburgh and not so very far from Lancaster, PA and its many Amish communities. But her work reaches out in all directions bringing home something to grab us where we live even as we disperse in our many separate ways.
Alone on a deliberately frugally-set stage, she portrays seven people in a tale which weaves together real details with elements of fictional speculation in a pattern of intersecting lives…and deaths…into something bigger than any one component. At the center lie these facts: In 2006, not far from Lancaster, a gunman shot ten Amish schoolgirls, killing five and himself. The Amish community responded with forgiveness and reconciliation. Such a story, as you can see, contains an array of feelings, shock at the horror, sorrow, puzzlement, soul-searching and soul-embracing.
Dickey explores all of that, bringing forth her own perspective in depicting two young girls who were victims, the murderer, his wife, an accidentally involved teen-age supermarket clerk from a nearby town and a college professor who has long known the Amish and tries to explain to outsiders how and why they live the way they do. Somewhere in there, too, Dickey brings out details about an historical precedent of outsiders cruelly treating this deliberately self-contained sect.
Yes, it is a lot to grasp. But, amid your tears and smiles, you want to embrace those wonderfully portrayed, dear departed schoolgirls. And you want to try to understand why the killer did what he did, wondering if you would have equal grace and compassion to forgive him. Dickey deliberately does not answer all the questions but leaves it all for you to absorb and to come away with it permeating your memory. Director Sarah Cameron Sunde continually helps to make it live, although I wish that she or Dickey could have found a better way to physically personify the professor, even if the movements imitate an actual person.
Sitting there before the lights go out, reading Dickey’s eloquent program notes, you may wonder if you can endure what lies ahead, only to find, when the lights go up again, that something bright shines in the night, even as the latest news gives us new reasons to mourn.
The Amish Project continues through May 8th at City Theatre on Bingham Street on Pittsburgh’s South Side. Tickets and info: at 412/431-CITY (2489) or CityTheatreCompany.org.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
