"CURTAIN CALLS"
By Pat Launer
03/30/07
On the Long
Christmas Ride to Trovatore
Foreign
Bodies reveal a harrowing story.
NO
HO-HO
THE SHOW: The Long Christmas Ride Home, written in 2003 by
Pulitzer prize-winner Paula Vogel
THE
BACKSTORY: Vogel has said she never likes one of her plays
to look like another. She loves to experiment with form and time, as we’ve seen
in other Vogel plays that have been presented in San Diego: the Pulitzer-winning How I Learned to Drive (at the SD Rep in 1998, opening this weekend
at Lynx Performance Theatre), Hot ‘n’
Throbbing and Baltimore Waltz (Fritz
Theatre, 1997 and 1994, respectively) and The
Mineola Twins (Diversionary Theatre, 2000). She is still haunted by the
1988 death of her brother from AIDS, which was the focal point of
THE
STORY: A Father, Mother and their three children take a
fateful trip to church and then to Grandma and Grandpa’s house one Christmas.
At the Universalist Unitarian church (they’re a “Uni-Uni” family, since Dad’s Jewish and Mom’s Catholic), a
substitute minister gives a slideshow presentation about Japanese woodblocks, ukiyo-e (here defined as “the floating world”), to make
some point about the universality of experience. Sensitive, 9-year old Stephen
is smitten (like the playwright) by Japanese culture. Meanwhile, back at
Grandma’s, there’s a terrible battle between Dad and Grandpa (concerning
Stephen’s sensitivity and presumed sexuality) and the family storms out in a
huff, into the frigid night. In the car, there’s another horrible fight,
between the unhappy, sarcastic mother and the dismissive, philandering father,
which results in a near-death experience for all, as the car swerves off the road
and onto a precipice. This is a life-defining, traumatizing incident for the
children, who are played, according to Vogel’s’ wishes, by life-size puppets.
When the kids grow up (now portrayed by actors), events of that night will play
out again in their later lives. It is the collective holding of breath at the
moment of crisis that draws and binds the sibs together, even after death. And
this shared experience provides the sense of hope and redemption in an
otherwise dark and disturbing drama (punctuated occasionally by arch humor).
THE
PLAYERS/THE PRODUCTION: The minimalist Japanese feel
greets you from the get-go. David Weiner’s set entails a few piles of snow and
a bench that converts into a ‘car.’ Each puppet is manipulated by two people,
an actor and a puppeteer from the Puppetry Center of San Diego that designed themr. In order to foster the uncanny resemblance between
the puppets and their ‘characters,’ the Puppetry Center worked from pictures of
the actors at the children’s specified ages (7, 9, 12). The puppet movements
are fantastic (in both senses of the word). Their lifelike actions moves are
offset by their hauntingly vacant eyes (and this, too, was intended by the
playwright). Later in the play, each of the actors steps away from the puppet to
reveal the adult that child grew up to become, seriously scarred by that
eventful Christmas outing, each sib in turn rejected by a lover. There are
multiple distancing effects, from the puppets to the presentational style, most
of the script told in monologues or narration, actors facing forward and
addressing the audience. Still, the drama is riveting. The magical return of
Stephen from the other world, the spiral of life/time in the upstage corner,
the symbolic use of audible, communal breath multiple – all demonstrate how
horrific experiences can be unifying. There’s an element of healing and hope at
the end, in spite of the pain, damage and dysfunction.
As the Man/Woman narrators, Dana Hooley and John
Rosen are saddled with the toughest task, facing front (à la Wilder), never
looking at each other, barely interacting. But when
they do, in that one seminal car-seat moment, it’s chilling. In providing
exposition, narration and all the children’s dialogue, both are highly
controlled – until they explode. Very powerful. As the
adult children, all three actors --- Chris Buess,
Amanda Cooley Davis and Crystal Verdon -- give
excellent performances. Buess takes the most
substantial journey – within his character and across the Great Divide. He
movingly conveys all the anguish, otherworldliness and healing the role
requires. Like his ‘sibs,’ he does a great job with the puppet and then a fine
turn in joining dancer Ozzie Carnan, Jr. in the
brief, expressive interpretive dance (choreographed by Peter G. Kalivas). Also indicated in the text (but to my mind
gratuitous and unnecessary) is Stephen’s anonymous -- and ultimately deadly --
sexual encounter, which is shown in silhouette, behind a screen. I accepted the
scene more after I saw how Vogel had described it: “Stephen and anonymous
partner simulate a sexual act that means this play will never be performed in
Jennifer Setlow’s lighting design dramatizes the
mood and facilitates subtle scene changes. And underscoring all the action,
creating a definitively Asian soundscape, is the music and percussion of Andrew
Jacobs, who plays several instruments and manages to simulate the plucked,
stringy sound of a Japanese shamisen. The whole
beautiful, touching production, one of the best ever at Diversionary, is unified
by the vision of director Lisa Berger, who perfectly captures the spirit, the
spirituality and the heart of the play.
THE
LOCATION: Diversionary Theatre, through April 15
SWORDPLAY
THE SHOW: Il Trovatore, the masterwork of Giuseppi Verdi that premiered in Rome, 1853, with an Italian libretto
by Leone Emanuele Bardare and Salvatore Cammarano,
based on the play El Trobador by Antonio García Gutiérrez.
THE STORY: Though
the plot is often described as absurd and/or incoherent, the main characters
comprise the usual tenor-soprano-baritone triangle. However, Verdi always
strived for an element of surprise at the heart of his stories. In Il trovatore, it’s Azucena, the gypsy. Unnervingly for some, most of the
crucial action of the opera takes place offstage, which creates a surreal
atmosphere. That dark, moody ambiance is perfectly captured in this
high-concept production.
Here’s a brief plot synopsis: In
war-torn 15th century
THE
PLAYERS: Overall, the singing is quite
wonderful. Each performer etches out a character and artfully captures Verdi’s
lush and beautiful score. There was a last-minute cast change, when Nicola
Rossi Giordano, the previously announced Manrico, was forced to leave the
production due to vocal cord damage (singer’s nodule). Argentine tenor Darío Volonté to the rescue! He’s
performed in
In all of Volonté’s solos, he
brought emotion and energy to his performance. His mid-range is marvelous; at
times he seemed to be straining for the upper notes. But he nailed the
long-sustained high-C in his third-act tour de force, "Di quella pira." Still, when he
sang duets and trios, he was overpowered by the other, more potent voices. This
was a stellar array of singers. Italian soprano Paoletta
Marrocu is magnificent as the loving but ill-fated
Leonora, with her crystalline tone, supple versatility and palpable passion.
Romanian baritone Alexandru Agache
matches her in vocal force and nuance, as the brutal and envious Count di Luna, who will stop at nothing to win Leonora, even as
she’ll do anything to be with Manrico. In 2000, mezzo soprano Marianne Cornetti
played an excellent Amneris in San Diego Opera’s Aida. She’s even more impressive as the gypsy Azucena;
her vocal and dramatic range are equally imposing; her
voice is warm, rich and supple. Hao Jiang Tian displays a commanding bass in the show-opening
exposition. "Di due figli vivea padre beato." San Diego-born Priti
Gandhi, who returned to her hometown last year to play Cinderella at San Diego Lyric Opera, where she made her
professional debut, once again showed her earnestness and vibrant mezzo as
Leonora’s companion, Inez. There’s brilliant shading in the vocal work
throughout, both in the principals and the exceptional 52-voice chorus. And the
59-piece San Diego Orchestra, under the baton of Edoardo Müller, does justice
to Verdi with lyrical phrasing and emotional vitality.
THE
PRODUCTION: This gorgeously stylized production
is co-owned by the Los Angeles Opera and Washington National Opera. British
director Stephen Lawless, making his San Diego Opera debut, highlights all the
darkness of the story – and the swordplay. His production is marvelously
designed (Benoit Dugardyn, sets; Martin Pakledinaz, costumes) and lit (design by Joan Sullivan Genthe, executed here by Michael McNamara). There’s an other-worldly feel to the textured, oversized, gunmetal
grey panels that feature myriad openings and configurations, both grandiose and
ominous. Nearly every scene creates a jaw-dropping, often painterly stage
picture; the third-act post-battle castle strewn with corpses resembles a
Rembrandt tableau of shadow and light. Due to the rake of the stage, the chorus
is always at various levels (which always enhances
visual interest); all their inventive staging is a marvel. They huddle in a
confining circle, crawl like vermin from small breaches in the massive walls,
hang perilously from the rafters. In this tale of violence and revenge, Lawless
focuses on one thematic through-line: swords. They are jammed into the floor,
pulled from their mooring, flashed in sword-play, and clashed in the famous
“Anvil Chorus.” In the final scene, when a witch-burning flame blazes up
center-stage, the swords tilt precariously in the half-light, like ancient
cemetery crosses. Searing images in a daring and
unconventional production.
THE
LOCATION: Civic Theatre,
through April 4
KILLER
PLAY
THE
Vox
Nova associate Kirsten Brandt,
former artistic director of Sledgehammer Theatre (here to direct Hold
Please at the Globe, opening 4/5), coaxed excellent performances from
her cast. The females were fine: DeAnna Driscoll as the frustrated/neglected
wife; Sara Plaisted as the daughter and Whitney
Thomas as her African American girlfriend. But the show belonged to Ralph Elias
and John DeCarlo as Len and Tom. Their interactions
were fraught and intense. Elias revealed all the colors and facets of a bemused
middle-aged man who doesn’t really understand himself or his passions and
drives. The drama was
a stellar showcase for DeCarlo, who did notable work
in Little Eyolf
and Bug, both with considerable
detail and nuance. But he snuggled right into this particular role, an
insightful young guy who might be a toxic misogynist and a sociopath, who seems
forthright but manipulates minds and situations with frightening dexterity. Outstanding performance. I hope he and Elias get to repeat
their turns in a full production.
The play still needs some tweaking and tightening.
The ambiguity of the piece is very intriguing; it would benefit from even more
uncertainty throughout, especially in the case of the girls’ relationship and
the wife’s dalliance. The talk-back gave the New York-based Yankowitz
some excellent suggestions. It was the most content-rich post-show discussion
I’ve ever seen. The house was filled with actors, directors and writers, who
offered thought-provoking recommendations. What was
exciting about the piece, besides Yankowitz’s
marvelously realistic and insightful dialogue, was the questions it left us
with – about guilt and innocence and sexual orientation and whodunit and who
might do it again. The play ended on a titillating note of ambiguity.
NEWS
AND VIEWS…
… WHAT DO YOU THINK??.. KPBS is hoping to increase the
activity on its Arts/Culture website (which is, especially in the theater
section, kinda paltry). So why don’t you go online at kpbs.org, and post a
COMMENT on my reviews? I’ll be glad to have an online chat with you!
… With so many awful acts going on around the world,
it’s a great time to celebrate the Resilience
of the Human Spirit. That’s what 6th @ Penn is calling its Human Rights Festival 2007 (April 8-August
12), which kicks off this weekend with a double bill: Backbone: A Personal Story of
Triumph, a commissioned Butoh dance work by Charlene Penner, and The Heliopause, Eric Henry Sanders’ play about the 1994
atrocities in Rwanda. Sunday-Wednesday nights, through 4/24.
… Bye, Bye Broadway: Local actor/musician Steve Gouveia is ready to leave the
…Also on the road… actor/director Glenn Paris, who’s moving northward
from Starlight Theatre, where he served as box office manager, to the La Jolla
Playhouse, which recruited him to join the Development team.
He’ll start as Individual Giving Officer and will be working with the
.. Now, back to Starlight, they have an opening for a full-time,
12-month Box Office Manager. If you’re interested, email your resume and
cover letter, with salary history/requirements to: jobs@starlighttheatre.org. And speaking of
openings, Young Audiences of San Diego, at 43, the
county’s oldest and largest nonprofit organization whose sole mission is arts education, is
looking for a part-time Office Manger/Event Coordinator. Email or fax
resume to yasd@yasdsandiego.org,
619-282-7598.
… No longer in Our Town.. but
not forgotten. The indefatigable George Flint, founder of the
much-lamented Renaissance Theatre Company, is still going strong in
… Delays and
Re-schedules: Due to illness and other misfortunes, two local productions have
been delayed. Lynx Theatre’s How
I Learned to Drive will open on Sunday, April 1 and will run through
May 6. New Vision Theatre’s production of How the Other Half Loves, directed by actor/director Al Valletta,
will run from 3/30-4/15 at the
… Shakespeare on pointe:
The San Diego Ballet is
presenting Shakespeare's Sonnets this
weekend, one day only, March 31st at 2:30 & 8pm at Mandeville
Auditorium. Sounds dreamy…
…The Divine Miss B… Just confirmed: megawatt
talent Karole Foreman, who’s done
such great work in so many shows at the San Diego Rep, will be returning to San
Diego to take on the role of Josephine Baker in the Common Ground Theatre production of Josephine Tonight!, a
musical about the singer/dancer/showbiz legend who went from rags to riches,
from the South to Harlem to Broadway to Paris. With Common Ground artistic
director Floyd Gaffney at the helm, the show runs May 3-20 in the Lyceum Theatre.
Underwriters welcome now.
…
… If you’ve missed it
before, don’t miss it again… the SDSU Design/Performance Jury, initiated
and overseen by scenic design-master Beeb Salzer. This is the 23rd
year of the event, which features three student groups presenting their
direction and design ideas (and a scene) from a play chosen by the faculty and
judged by an imposing array of professionals, which this year includes
playwright Edward Albee, South Coast Rep artistic director Martin
Benson, scenic designer John Iacovelli, lighting
designer York Kennedy, costume designer Maggie Morgan and actor/director Sean
Murray. This year’s play selection (which will be adapted by one group in
the form of a film) is Fuente Ovejuna, by
… Local successes: Cygnet Theatre’s production of The Matchmaker has been extended
through 4/15. And over at 6th @ Penn, Glengarry Glen Ross proved to be the highest grossing show in
the theater’s 6-year history. For the show’s extension, the actors,
director and stage manager received over $1800 in bonuses. In the final
five weeks of the run, there was never an empty seat. Perhaps as positive
spillover (and hopefully from new theatergoers, attracted by the David Mamet
name/reputation), The Oresteia, which opens April 5, is already selling well.
... A principal without
principles… In Wilton High School, Wilton, CN, school drama productions,
in the state-of-the-art, $10million auditorium, range from big musicals to
classics like Arthur Miller’s The
Crucible. But for the spring semester, students in the advanced theater
class took on a bigger challenge; they created an original play, Voices in Conflict, about the war in
… Surprising stats: As The Producers prepares for its final
performances on Broadway, it’s interesting to note how it’ll go down in
history. The musical, written by Mel Brooks, won 12 Tony Awards, breaking the record held for 37 years by Hello Dolly!, which had won 10. But neither
show appears among Broadway’s 10 longest-running shows (re: broadwayworld.com).
The Phantom of the Opera is number
one, still running (as of this week, nearly 8000 performances), thankfully
relegating Cats to the #2 position
(don’t even ask what number it’d be
in my estimation!), followed by Les Miz, A Chorus Line, Oh! Calcutta!, and these still-open shows: Beauty and the Beast, Rent and
.. A problem like Maria… Reality
TV doesn’t always have really good results. Case in point: The BBC show, “How
Do You Solve a Problem Like Maria,” that searched for a lead for the London
revival of The Sound of Music, yielded
a novice performer, Connie Fisher who,
it turns out, couldn’t hack the 8-performance-a-week schedule, and had to take
a two-week leave to rest her voice. Now her major competitor,
runner-up/understudy Aoife Mulholland,
will sub for her twice a week. Here at home, the voting was completed this week
on "Grease: You're
the One That I Want," to cast the Broadway revival. The
winners were Laura Osnes and
Max Crumm, neither of whom
has Broadway or Broadway touring experience. Though the American knockoff show
was anything but a success — it spent much of its run in last place in its time
slot — it was fairly effective as a commercial for the $10 million Broadway
production, which opens in July with a comfortable advance sale of $8 million.
Hope the new stars can sing through the run. If you can make it there…..
… My new obsession: John and I have gotten hooked
on the Sundance TV show, “Slings and
Arrows” (a sly reference to Hamlet). It’s
all about a Canadian theater company, struggling top
stay afloat (isn’t every theater
company?). Each season focuses on one production, which is the through-line.
Season 1 was Hamlet, Season 2 Macbeth and Season 3, ongoing, is King Lear. The characters and
performances are terrific (many of the actors have stage experience), and the
onstage and behind-the-scenes intrigue is too familiar and just too much fun.
If you don’t get the Sundance Channel (which we don’t) you can rent it thru Netflix (the preceding was not a paid commercial message). Check it out, though. As a
theater-lover, you’ll get a real kick out of it.
'NOT TO BE MISSED!'
(Pat’s Picks)
Il
Trovatore – a gorgeously designed,
high-concept production, magnificently sung
SD Opera at the Civic Theatre: March 30, April 1, April 4
The Long Christmas
Ride Home, A Puppet Play with Actors - surprising, disturbing,
unpredictable and excellently executed (Note: These puppets and this play are
definitely not for kids)
Diversionary Theatre, through April 15
The Adoption Project:
Triad – dance, art and drama combine
provocatively to capture three perspectives on the complex, multi-faceted issue
of adoption
Mo’olelo at Centro Cultural de la Raza in
Taking Flight – beautiful, funny, tender, dramatic solo
performance by Adriana Sevan, all about the limits of
love and friendship in the wake of 9/11
Lyceum Space,
Restoration Comedy – funny, bawdy, well acted, gorgeously designed and
costumed; the Restoration rides again… and women come out on top!
The Old Globe Theatre, through April 8
Fiddler on the Roof – wonderful nostalgia, wonderfully sung
At the Welk Theatre, through April 1
(For full text of all past reviews, use the Search engine at
www.patteproductions.com)
March
seems to be going out like a lion. But whatever the weather, you can always
duck into a theater!
©
2007 PATTÉ PRODUCTIONS, INC.