"CURTAIN
CALLS" #189
By Pat Launer
04/20/07
Enchanted
April means Italian heaven,
Dancers are On
the Spot with Seven,
As we sing Wozzeck’s elegy
New
Plays spring forth at UCSD.
WHISPERS
AND WISTERIA
THE SHOW: Enchanted April, the John Gassner Award
winner for Outstanding New American Play, 2003, and that same year, Tony
nominee for Best Play. A stage adaptation by Matthew Barber,
of the classic 1921 English novel by Elizabeth von Arnim, which was a best-seller in
THE
STORY: It’s a period comedy set just after WWI, when
Victorian England was virtually a country of widows, and women had just
attained the right to vote (in 1919). Still, they were expected to be seriously
subservient to their husbands. Two neglected, melancholic housewives meet up at
their women’s club and one impulsively responds to an “advert” in The Times,
renting an Italian villa on the
THE
PLAYERS/THE PRODUCTION: This is the kind of piece that
Lamb’s Players Theatre does so well. And under the caring, sensitive direction
of Deborah Gilmour Smyth, they do very well, indeed. The cast is excellent.
Kerry Meads is delightfully ditsy and indomitable as the ringleader, Lotty,
whose annoyingly proper husband, Mellersh (a role with which
Mike Buckley has designed a malleable set, aptly
rain-drenched (via projections) throughout the dreary
From a contemporary standpoint, it might be more
satisfying if the women could flourish and thrive on their own, without having
to invite the menfolk into the mix, too soon after the Italian magic begins to
take hold. But the dramatic adaptation of this romantic comedy remains true to
its source and its time. And maybe it’s not so far-fetched even for some
modern-day ‘moderns’.
THE
LOCATION: Lamb’s Players Theatre, through May 13
REVENGE
TRAGEDY
THE SHOW: Wozzeck, the first San Diego Opera production of the
THE
BACKSTORY/THE STORY: The opera was inspired by Woyzeck, the innovative expressionist
drama of German playwright Georg Büchner, about world-weary disillusionment and
the powerlessness of the poor. A fragmentary nightmare, left incomplete when
Büchner died of typhus in 1837, it’s based on a true story of a man who
murdered his mistress. The play tells the tragic tale of an impoverished
soldier who, victimized by his class and his society, the military and the
medical establishment, kills his unfaithful lover in a fit of jealous rage and
then drowns himself. Since courtrooms across the
country have for years confronted the question of whether or not social
conditions play a role in violent behavior, the story remains remarkably
relevant.
A production of the Büchner play was presented at
THE
PRODUCTION: another local ‘first,’ this represents
the opera debut of Des McAnuff, outgoing artistic director of the La Jolla
Playhouse (now designated director emeritus). McAnuff trusted the operatic
casting to SD Opera general director Ian Campbell. Presumably, they jointly
decided to have the opera sung in English, with supertitles, though it’s not
entirely clear why. Franz Hawlata, the bass singing the title role, is German;
he would have been more comfortable singing in his native tongue, and the opera
would sound better in its original language. Despite the fact that he’s sung
the part all over the world, Hawlata had to learn it in English for this
production, and his heavy accent made the rough talk sound awkward at times.
A critical question about this production (and there were
many for me) is, Who is this Wozzeck? As portrayed here, he isn’t an Everyman or a put-upon wretch or a fool or a madman. He just seems to be a
hard-working unfortunate, haunted by his own demons and delusions. His act of
murder seems to spring more from jealousy and vengeance than madness.
Everything we learn about him we get from the supertitled text, not from
clearly delineated characterization, which is what you’d expect from an
acclaimed theater director.
The production does little to underscore the action; in fact,
it often interferes. The colossal, rotating, wood-covered steel-and-plexiglas
set, designed by Sledgehammer Theatre co-founder Robert Brill, is so oversized
(24 feet high, weighing 15 tons), it had to be set up specially off-site. The
intricate wood-beam construction, which some said looked like a bullring,
actually uncannily resembled
The inter-scene projections (video design by Dustin O’Neill)
added little; they just gave extreme closeups of Wozzeck’s expressionless face
that revealed none of his inner turmoil (except for one strategically placed
tear, which oddly seemed to emanate from the outer edge, rather than inner
canthus, of his eye). The black and white, Orson Wellesian video did serve to
foreshadow the final drowning – repeatedly. And the projections provided time
for the massive set structure to rotate creakily from its front, open position
to its enclosed rear, with barely any distinction between the two perspectives.
The ungainly movement and noise of the moving set, combined with the robust
orchestral sounds, at times overpowered the singers.
There were two exceptional stage pictures that made
excellent use of the scenic design: the Doctor’s operating theater, with row
upon steeply raked row of identical, surgically-masked students holding
clipboards, looking down on the action below. And the death by drowning at the
end, when Wozzeck, spread-eagle on the second rotating disk of the set, in a
Christ-like pose (or was it da Vinci’s Vitruvian Man?), is slowly and magically
obliterated, sunk beneath the waters of the video projection. Beautiful image, beautifully done. But then, the magical
moment is lost, to yet one more view of Wozzeck’s ultra-large, impassive face
on the face of the water.
Most disturbing about this production (and not in the way
the story should be disturbing) is
that it doesn’t seem to have a point of view. The Captain and the Doctor don’t
appear to take particular delight in demeaning and debasing Wozzeck.
$2.4 million. 110 people onstage (with few choral numbers and only one crowd
scene). It boggles the mind. The extremely provocative advertising image
suggested an excess of passion, madness and blood. But those were only in
evidence in the rather raw, coarse-language libretto (translation by Richard
Stokes). The post-performance audience buzz said it all. Where there were one
or two “Wonderfuls!” proclaimed, mostly it was more like “Root canal!” or “We
survived!” or “The longest 94 minutes of my life.” Exciting, alas, it was not.
THE
PERFORMERS: The most commendable parts of the production were
the voices and the orchestra, and perhaps that’s as it should be in an opera. Though one expected something more from this much-ballyhooed
production. Fortunately, the dark, complex, expressionistic score was
marvelously played by the 84-member San Diego Symphony, under the impassioned
baton of Karen Keltner. The peaks and valleys of emotion were more palpable in
the pit than on the stage. The acting didn’t convincingly convey the nuances of
emotion and extremes of passion, but the voices were almost uniformly
outstanding.
Hawlata’s rich, deep bass was forceful and
compelling in the role of Wozzeck, and as his paramour, gorgeous-voiced soprano
Nina Warren reached the vocal/emotional stratosphere. She seemed to be
portrayed as a vixen from the outset; in this translation, her nasty neighbor,
Margret (Susana Poretsky) calls her a slut. It’s not entirely clear, however,
after her assignation, whether Marie is indeed remorseful. Bass Dean Peterson sings the Doctor with
vocal conviction, but he doesn’t seem to be torturing Wozzeck, or taking
serious advantage of him; he just seems to be trying out a treatment, not
abusing this hapless volunteer with his professional and financial self-serving
supremacy. As the bombastic Captain, tenor Chris Merritt seemed to labor on the
verge of hysteria, even as he strained at the top of his range. Tenor Jay
Hunter Morris cut a robust figure as the Drum Major who attracts and perhaps
rapes Marie; he was both physically and vocally commanding. The rest of the
principals – Joel Sorensen as soldier Andres, Scott Sikon and Daniel Hoy as the
Journeymen, and Joseph Frank as the Idiot – acquitted
themselves well. But where was the edge? The dense symbolism?
The societal commentary? The
apocalyptic vision? Hopefully, the Opera won’t wait another 43 years to
find out.
THE
LOCATION: Civic Theatre; two more performances: April 20 and
22
GOTTA
DANCE…
… There was an impressive turnout at Seven,
The anniversary evening began with a ‘pre-show
bazaar’ that spotlighted other dance companies on the rise. This was a very
informal affair, with few of the dancers dressed for performance (the Lindy
Hoppers, for instance, though talented, looked like they’d just walked in off
the street and started to boogie).
The standout pieces of the formal part of the
evening included Quake, a highly
athletic solo set to live drumming by talented percussionist, Twon. Super-agile
Stohl spent much of the piece standing on her hands, with impossibly long-held
splits, then effortlessly shifting to midair
somersaults. Her final whole-body quake-shakes were evocative. The message was
clear in Civil, too, Butterworth’s first political piece, in which
rear-wall projections totted up ‘the cost of war’ in
Origin
was a potent piece, danced to the music of
Hedningarna, a Swedish electronic/folk--rock band with a thrumming bass-line.
The sound of breath was intrinsic to this story of creation, as the dancers
slowly oozed out of the primordial soup, only to evolve into an angular, jerky,
familiarly frenetic and anguished present.
The best of show by far was the finale, Like
Dat, a delicious collaboration between BDC and Culture Shock San Diego,
which provocatively juxtaposed the long, lithe movements of Butterworth’s
modern dance forms (to the luscious baroque melodies of Bach) with the
vigorous, energetic rhythms, moves and music (E40, Digable Planets) of
break-dance and hip hop. The dance community is really heating up in
… More from the dance floor…
Choreographer John Malashock put
himself ‘On the Spot’ last weekend,
inviting an audience in to witness his creative process in the earliest stages
of development of a new work. The title of his latest endeavor, Stay
the Hand, refers to Abraham’s holding back, at the last minute, from
sacrificing his son, Isaac. In the manner of last year’s cross-cultural
“Fathom,” the new work is a major collaboration – this time, with
Iranian-Jewish UCSD composer Shahrokh Yadegari and UCSD video artist/filmmaker
Tara Knight.
For three nights, visitors
watched as Malashock created, shaped and re-shaped the decidedly Middle
East-inspired piece, which is intended to highlight the melding of two
cultures. The six dancers had never worked together as a company. But they
clearly understood and shared Malashock’s dance vocabulary (Michael Mizerany,
who’s danced with Malashock for years, could sometimes complete a new Malashock
phrase as soon as it was begun). The most astonishing moment was when the
choreographer wanted to simultaneously create and demonstrate “a phrase of
movement.” He stood in front of the dancers, and as he was creating, they were
mirroring his moves. It wasn’t that he showed them a series of moves and then
they imitated; they moved with him, and when he was done, they replicated the
entire series. That was a mind-boggling moment of muscle memory and sheer
skill. Breathtaking. With no system of notation
(though Knight was filming the proceedings), the corps would remember each
segment that had just been created, and tack them onto the parts that were
developed the preceding two evenings. This is an exciting opportunity you won’t
get every day. And it’s exactly what was intended in the creation of
Don’t feel bad if you missed
out last weekend. Part two, ‘Persian
Sketchbook,’ is coming up in a few weeks. Then, Malashock, Yadegari and
Knight, along with company dancers, will show the results of their creative
“sketching” thus far. Be there, May 18-20, in studio 200 at Malashock Dance
inside
NEWS
AND VIEWS…
… EVERYONE’S A CRITIC… And you can have your say, too.
Go online at kpbs.org, and post a
COMMENT on my reviews… and I’ll be glad to have an online chat with you.
… Get Write this summer: Mo’olelo Performing Arts Company is
offering 6-week playwriting and acting classes this July and August. “Writing
Gym” will be taught by associate director Kimber
Lee (who penned Mo’olelo’s latest production, the provocative Adoption Project: Triad). “Your Mo’olelo
Playwriting Class,” intended for beginners, will be taught by founder/artistic
director Seema Sueko, who’ll also
helm a series on “Audition Strategies.” Individual Coaching is also available.
Call 619-342-7395 or email classes@moolelo.net
for information/registration.
At the same time, Mo’olelo is
gearing up for its next production, Cowboy versus Samurai, by Michael
Golamco (the first male-written work the company has produced). Set in
Breakneck,
… No more fun, no more
FunHouse… The FunHouse, home to San
Diego TheatreSports, “
… Broadway Superstars, coming
to a theater near you… Okay, not THAT near, but near enough: the Orange County Performing Arts Center (AKA
OCPAC) has just announced its 2007-2008 season, which includes cabaret
performances by Tony winners Victoria Clark, who made her name in Light in the Piazza (Oct. 11-14), Sutton
Foster, who got her big break at the La Jolla Playhouse in Thoroughly Modern Millie (Feb. 14-17) and the ever-popular,
ever-entertaining, San Diego-bred Brian Stokes-Mitchell (March 6-9).
… The prestigious Sundance Theatre Lab 2007 includes two
.. Speaking of
…North Coast Repertory Theatre is presenting plays by local writers,
too, under the aegis of the non-profit arts collaborative art2go and The Blue
Trunk Theatre Company. Kangaroo, by Margy Hillman, which
will premiere May 7, is a dark, dysfunctional family comedy. Welcome
Home, Sonny Boy, by NCRT’s theater school director,
.. Return of Unamundo… ion theatre
is presenting a reprise run of its acclaimed production of David Ives’
hilariously intelligent, language-rich comic romp,
… The San Diego Foundation has released its 2006 Annual Report, which
outlines its impressive, octopus-reach of support throughout the local
community. In arts and culture alone, the Foundation awarded more than $197,000
in grants. Recipients included Asian Story Theatre, California Ballet, Centro
Cultural de la Raza, Cygnet Theatre, Eveoke Dance Theater, Malashock Dance,
Mo’olelo Performing Arts Company and San Diego Opera, among others. Congrats to
all, and thanks to the Foundation for doing what it
does.
… Thought you’d like to know…
As part of the Foundation’s “Understanding the San Diego Region”
initiative, the Arts and Culture Working Group pARTicipate study revealed the
following attitudes of San Diego County Residents:
… The 2007 Pulitzer Prize for Drama was just awarded to David
Lindsay-Abaire for Rabbit Hole, his surprisingly conventional, naturalistic
portrait of a marriage nearly destroyed by grief after the accidental death of
a 4 year-old son. The Broadway production garnered a Tony for “Sex in the City”
star Cynthia Nixon. Two of Lindsay-Abaire’s more quirkily comical, absurdist
works, on which he established his reputation – Kimberly Akimbo and Fuddy
Meers —have been produced
locally. There was a bit of a behind-the-scenes flap about the prize. Seems that none of the plays recommended as finalists by a
nominating jury composed of nationwide theater critics was good enough for the
17-member journalistic, non-theater Pulitzer board. It was even worse last year, when the board
chose not to give an award for drama at all, a decision that’s been reached
three times since 1986. A ruffled Donald Margulies, who won a Pulitzer for his
play, Dinner with Friends, said “I’ve
never heard, ‘Gee, there was no editorial cartooning deserving of a Pulitzer
this year.’ There is something patronizing about the attitude toward the drama
prize, that it is something that can be withheld.”
… Calling all actors… Here’s
a new way to get your name and face out there: ActorSpace.com, a free social networking website that gives actors
an opportunity to promote themselves to talent scouts and casting agents
(assuming that they’re primed to visit the site). Performers create their own
web pages, where they can post headshots, résumés, even demo reels. Film
producer Johnathan Ruggiero created the site to help up-and-coming actors avoid
the expense of marketing themselves and their careers. Because the site has
advertisers, there is no charge to actors. A casting notice/job board is
available as well. The site seems to be geared for those just starting out in
the biz, and since it emanates from
'NOT TO BE MISSED!'
(Pat’s Picks)
UCSD New Play Festival
– the theater artists of
tomorrow, right here, today. Catch one of the four full-length plays; they’re
bound to be provocative
Various performance locations on the UCSD campus, through April 28; for
the whole schedule, go to
http://theatre.ucsd.edu/NewSite/season/newplayfest
Enchanted April – feather-light, but enchanting, and very well done
Lamb’s Players Theatre, through May 13
Sailor’s Song – delicate, beautiful production; heart-rending and
thought-provoking
New Village Arts in the Jazzercise Studio, through April 29
The Treatment – searing, intense (if flawed) play; gut-wrenching
performance by Matt Scott
Moxie Theatre in the
Lyceum Space, through April 29
(For full text of all past
reviews, use the Search engine at www.patteproductions.com)
Opera, drama,
romance, improv, dance. How come you’re NOT in a
theater??
© 2007 PATTÉ PRODUCTIONS, INC.