THEATRE REVIEW:
KPBS AIRDATE: June 02, 2006
Time takes its toll in provocative productions at
our two Tony Award-winning theaters. The world premiere musical, “Zhivago,”
sweeps through Russian history, chronicling the evolution of a country and an
irrepressible love. Set in roughly the same timeframe, the early 20th
century, “The Violet Hour” examines our unquenchable desire to glimpse the
future – and change it. To playwright Richard Greenberg, time is a slippery and
elusive element. In his 2002 play, a peculiar machine spews reams of paper that
look back on the present as past. Greenberg flaunts his erudition in the first
act, which is crammed with self-congratulatory linguistic legerdemain. It takes
an awfully long time to establish the characters, their histories and
relationships before he blindsides us with a neck-snapping, act-ending shocker.
The second act gains momentum and gets engrossing,
as it veers into the sci-fi realm of the fantastical. With winks and nods to
famous figures, such as Josephine Baker, Scott and Zelda Fitzgerald and the
fabled editor Maxwell Perkins, Greenberg talks about legacies and loyalties via
the publishing dilemma of a young, post-War Princeton grad. If he can only
afford to put out one book, should it be the gargantuan tome of his best friend
or the plain-spoken memoir of his secret lover? And will he ever find those
theater tickets for the evening? On this slim premise, Greenberg has
constructed a fascinating contemplation of Time that’s not quite as mesmerizing
as his “Three Days of Rain,” but has much to commend it in the beautifully
designed, delicately crafted production at the Old Globe, directed by Carolyn
Cantor, performed by an attractive and appealing cast.
At the La Jolla Playhouse, it’s not about wordplay
and delicacy, but vast expanses of land, war, politics, passion, class
distinctions, Bolshevism and communism. Like the classics it’s derived from, by
poet/novelist Boris Pasternak and filmmaker David Lean, “Zhivago” has a
wide-ranging reach, from the sprawl of two revolutions to the three men who
love one irresistible woman, and the two unfaltering women who love one
conflicted man. The dialogue, by Michael Weller, is less poetic than its
source, and Lucy Simon’s music is heavy on anthems and lush, sentimental love
songs. The high-tech erector set seems completely out of place, and it moves
hyperactively in the first act. But under the nimble direction of Des McAnuff,
the stellar performances draw us in and make us care -- about the futility of
war and the inexorability of love. At the center, clutching our hearts, is the
throbbing ardor of SDSU alumnus Ivan Hernandez as the principled doctor/poet
Yurii Zhivago and striking Jessica Burrows as his unconventional, irresistible
paramour, Lara. The new Lara’s Theme, “On the Edge of Time,” won’t be soon
forgotten – in La Jolla, or if I can foretell the future – in New York.
©2006 Patté Productions
Inc.