"CURTAIN CALLS"
By Pat Launer
04/14/05
‘Vincent’s in Brixton,’ opening new portals;
‘Metamorphoses’
spotlights gods and mortals.
While Rossetti, in his
Circle, artistic flag unfurled,
Spies a ‘Woman from the
Other Side of the World.’
Starry, starry night. Not in
It’s
a lovely conjecture. Two tortured souls. The older woman
providing the budding genius with his sexual and artistic awakening. In
lesser hands, the play could feel contrived. But Globe director Richard Seer
has brought a subtle beauty to the piece and has assembled a magnificent cast.
Graham Hamilton is wonderfully charismatic as Vincent; he’s got the energy and
impetuosity, the rash exuberance and lurking depression, the ardor and artistic
temperament. He knows how to make a woman feel lovely and loved. Starkly set
against this ebullient performance is the perfect stillness of Robin Pearson
Rose. She is always solid and credible (unforgettable in the Globe productions
of “Dancing at Lughnasa,” “Wonderful Tennessee,” “All
My Sons” and “Da”). She brings such an aching,
luminous sadness to this repressed and depressive woman, an ordinary woman who
yearns to be a catalyst for greatness. Juxtaposed with Vincent’s reluctant art
is the brash and confident draughtsman, Sam Plowman, another boarder at Mrs. Loyer’s. Ross Hellwig, with his
irresistible smile and sexuality, is delightful, a portrait of mediocrity in
the face of brilliance; he sees it long before Vincent does (if the poor,
agonized soul ever did). Hellwig was also adorably
compelling last year in Seer’s USD production of “Sir Patient Fancy,” and
Hamilton turned heads as one of last summer’s “Two Noble Kinsmen” at the
Globe). Kate Steele plays the pretty, no-nonsense daughter of Mrs. Loyer, and Caitlin Muelder is
excellent as Vincent’s stern, judgmental and fastidious sister, Anna. For some
reason, these sibs seem to come from different families; their accents, while
convincing, bear no resemblance to each other. We miss the two main characters
whenever they’re not onstage; their chemistry, and their halting love scene, are magnificent. Their interactions smolder with passion, as
the young man melts the icy detachment of a woman twice his age. The expository
scenes, and the other relationships, are less thrilling. But Seer handles the
text with sublime subtlety and nuance. He’s expert with these small,
character-driven plays (like his magnificent 2000 production of “Old Wicked
Songs” at the Globe). With “Vincent in Brixton,” he’s struck gold once again.
The
design work is splendid; Alan Muraoka’s set is a
rugged, wood Victorian kitchen, with raw wood beams above and steam rising from
the working stove. Chris Rhynne’s painterly lighting
frames Rose’s face like a loving portrait and suggestively spotlights some of
the great paintings to come: the boots, the chair, the poppies. Paul Peterson
obviously had fun with the sound design; that baby’s cries come right from the
swaddling clothes!
So
what if it’s all speculation and supposition? Wright has imagined the impetus
for artistic zeal and creativity. And Seer’s confident, detailed brushwork completes
the vibrant picture.
On the Cassius Carter Centre Stage, through May 8.
CH-CH-CH-CHANGES
With
“Metamorphoses,” director Mary Zimmerman lived up to her “genius award” (she won
the McArthur Award in 1998, the same year the show premiered). She took 11 of
the 250 myths from Ovid’s Latin poems, written in 8 A.D., and spun them into
theater gold, creating an astonishing, wildly imaginative play about
transformation, the permutations of love and the depth of the human soul. Her
design concept was sheer genius, the entire 90-minute piece set in and around a
large, shallow swimming pool. The characters laugh and make love, splash and
float, drown and weep and disappear into the water, which evokes the serenity
and turbulence of nature and emotion. The only other design elements are a
large, palatial doorway, an elevated platform for the gods and a projected
patch of sky that changes colors and moods. All these features make a striking
appearance in the Lamb’s Players’
Like
Zimmerman’s original, which went from
Smyth’s
chameleon cast spans a much wider age range, and they bring considerable energy
and dignity to their multi-character portrayals. But not every moment or myth
works. The story of Midas, for example, which frames the play, lacks genuine
emotional heft. As played by the typically stalwart David Cochran Heath, this
venture capitalist doesn’t care about anything but money. He’s
repeatedly annoyed by his lively, bouncy daughter (Chrissy
Reynolds-Vogele, charming throughout, winning in her
agility and grace) and he speaks sarcastically about the importance of family.
Then, when his daughter turns to gold like everything else, his anguished cry
seems unmotivated. And when, having traversed the world to find the water to
wash away his curse, his reunion and salvation, which should break your heart,
fail to elicit any feeling, because we can’t see him as anything more than an unsympathetic
materialist. But Heath is aptly imperious as Apollo, in the hilarious scene
with Phaeton (amiable Nick Cordileone), a spoiled brat lounging on a float,
talking to his prissy, poolside therapist (Deborah Gilmour Smyth, consistently
compelling), and whining about what happened when his Dad finally gave him the
keys to the ‘car’ (that is, the chariot of the sun). Gilmour Smyth is
tragically touching as Alcyon, as she mourns for her
drowned lover, Ceyx (Nate Parde). Ayla Yarkut is robust in multiple roles; Paul Maley fares best in his comic moments; Collen
Kollar is especially delightful as
There
is something about these stories, about the power of transformation, about the
emotional intensity, that moves us to the marrow; these myths are locked into
our DNA, woven into the double-helix of our culture.
At Lamb’s Players Theatre, through May 15.
BALANCING ACT
In
At
Asian American Repertory Theatre, director George Yé has marshaled a fine cast
and along with an impressive design team, has created a magical environment. In
the arena configuration of the Playhouse on Plaza, David Weiner’s multiple
playing spaces are separated by darkly transparent walls that force the
audience to see multiple realities. Eric Lotze’s
lighting and Yé’s sound design add to the ethereal
experience. The nightmare fight sequences are wonderfully staged by Sifu Dwight Love, and Sifu Brenton Wynn was the coach for arnis, the stick-wielding
Filipino martial art that Belisario, who moves like a
master, just learned in the weeks preceding the opening.
Philippine-born
Faigao-Hall is saying something significant about
straddling two cultures and two worlds, balancing (as many indigenous peoples
do) the mystical and rational, modern and traditional, supernatural and
quotidian.
At the Playhouse on Plaza in
THE ROSSETTI STONE
More
art and self-destructive artistic genius (see “Vincent in Brixton,” above).
Dante
Gabriel Rossetti was a 19th century
English poet and painter, who was an amoral
iconoclast, a passionate womanizer, and a brilliant wastrel. (His rather
antithetical poet-sister, Christina Rossetti, was a
deeply religious recluse). Inspiring dramatic material for playwright Anne Hulegard, whose “Rossetti’s Circle” was the first of North Coast
Repertory Theatre’s staged readings of New Works. The program is intended to
shepherd new material through the development process, from readings to
workshops to full productions.
The
piece overlaps somewhat with “The Countess,” a 1999 play by Gregory Murphy,
presented at the Globe in 2001. Both relate to the influential art critic John
Ruskin and his protégé, John Everett Millais (spelled
wrong in the program), who scandalously ran off with his mentor’s wife. Millais was part of the PRB, the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood
that Rossetti formed in 1848 to protest low standards
in British art by imitating the innocent style of early Italian painters. The
other creative members of the insular group, also present in this absorbing
drama, are poet/artist William Morris and painter Edward Burne-Jones.
The
intriguing, poetic, chatty but passionate play feels like a work in progress.
There seem to be multiple endings, and there’s more than a bit of redundancy.
But Hulegard makes Rossetti
a charismatic character, and J. Todd Adams (currently winning praise at the San
Diego Rep as Edgar/Tom O’Bedlam in “King Lear”),
makes Rossetti irresistible. He gave a galvanic
performance. He was in excellent company: his girlfriend, Dorothea Harahan
(also an L.A.-based Equity actor), was stunning and pitiable as Rossetti’s devoted/neglected Lizzie. Another offstage
couple, Joshua Everett Johnson and Jessica John, gave solid support as
Burne-Jones and Morris’ wife, Jane Burden. Lance Rogers did an earnest, solemn
job with Millais, Dennis Scott was vigorous as
Morris, and Brooke McCormick, recently wonderful in “Talking With…” at NCRT,
was smashing as the earthy prostitute, Fanny. Rosina Reynolds’ casting and
direction were outstanding; she alternated narrators, and there were enough
moves and costumes to evoke the era and define the characters. The play was
extremely well served, which highlighted the promise it shows for future
development. Watch for the next New Works presentation at NCRT June 29.
WORTH NOTING…
…
Lift Every Voice, The
First Annual Black Playwrights, Poets
and Performers Forum and Festival will be held April 25, 26 and 27 on the
San Diego Rep’s Lyceum Stage. This three-day event “celebrates the Black
experience through artistic expression.” AUDITIONS are being
held April 15 and 16 at The Coffee House on Broadway. The REP’s African American Council is looking for “psalmists,
poets, storytellers, lyricists, choreographers, players of instruments and
playwrights” to present “one-act plays, spoken word monologues and performance
pieces. 619-557-0156.
…”Beast on the Moon,” an American drama
inspired by horrific historical events, opens Off Broadway (at the
Previews
began this week; the opening is April 27. Break legs, Anahid!
…
The Baldwin New Play Festival 2005, continues at UCSD, through April 23.
NOW, FOR WHAT’S 'NOT
TO BE MISSED!' (i.e., Critic’s Picks)
“Metamorphoses” – lovely re-creation of Mary Zimmerman brilliant creation (pool and
all!), extremely well designed, dressed and directed.
At Lamb’s Players Theatre, through May 15.
“Vincent in Brixton” – Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man;
magnificent performances, outstanding direction (by Rick Seer).
On the Cassius Carter Centre Stage, through May 8.
“Woman from the Other
Side of the World” –
culture-crossing, supernatural play; captivating production.
At the Playhouse on Plaza in
“Himself and Nora” – A Joyce-ful love story. A world premiere about James Joyce that may be
light fare for literati but it’s well done, intelligent and entertaining.
At the Old Globe Theatre, through April 24.
“The Waverly Gallery” – heart-breaking family dramedy,
beautifully acted and directed.
New Village Arts (@ Jazzercize in
“Raisin’ the Rent” – hand-clappin’, foot-stompin’, heartstoppin’ jazz and
blues, sung in cabaret style by six killer performers. At
Caesar’s Café downtown, through May 22.
“Pageant”- where the girls are guys and the competition is ferocious. Loads of smarm and charm, and a lot of
laughs.
At Cygnet Theatre, extended through May 22.
“The Male Intellect: An
Oxymoron” – a fun date night,
which shows both genders a few of their more amusing and infuriating foibles.
At the Theatre in
For a little non-Taxing relaxation, try the
theater!
©2005 Patté
Productions Inc.