My favorite Simpsons episode is "Cape Feare," in which Sideshow Bob gets out of jail and chases the Simpsons, who are in Witness Protection, to Terror Lake. The courtroom scene, the H.M.S. Pinafore performance, the rakes! Genius.
Woolly Mammoth's Mr. Burns, a Post-Electric Play is set at some point in the near future, after an unnamed catastrophe has turned off the power, wiped cities off the map, and caused nuclear power plants to melt down. A small group of survivors spend their time recounting the plot and memorable quotes of "Cape Feare", and we see the shared history of The Simpsons bring the group together--when they're not confronting strangers with guns and patting them down.
The second and third acts bring us 7 years in the future, then 75 years after that, giving us a chance to see how civilization has progressed and how they remember what life was like "before." The longing of people to be able to relive the past was fascinating, and playwright Anne Washburn's details seemed believable (trying to figure out how many cans of Diet Coke were left, for example, made perfect sense).
The third act gives us the final telling of "Cape Feare," blending the story with how the survivors' descendants viewed the long-past disaster. The play moved from largely comical to a much more dramatic tone.
The play appealed to me as a theatre lover, a fan of The Simpsons, and a historian. ("Historian." History major?) How do we remember what happened? How important is pop culture? How does pop culture influence our lives? When we don't have the resources to remember the details of everything our lives--a post-Google world--how do we share what's important?
It was an entertaining play, and a thought-provoking one. If frustrating. I may have spent part of the first act mentally trying to tell the actors various quotes from the episode. It only made the show that much more relevant to me.
Monday, June 25, 2012
Thursday, June 21, 2012
Week of Theater: Summer Edition!
I've apparently given up movies for theater. I can't remember the last movie I saw in the theater, but I've seen three shows in the past week.
(In fairness, I plan on seeing a bunch of movies this weekend.)
Last Thursday, I saw First You Dream: The Music of Kander and Ebb at the Kennedy Center. Other than Chicago, Cabaret, and Kiss of the Spider Woman, I'm not too familiar with their work, but I got a good price for a front-row seat and I'd seen a couple of the cast members before, so figured, why not? And man, I did not regret that decision. What a fabulous night. Three men and three women performed for two hours on a stage bare except for the orchestra--who also managed to become part of the evening, as the cast interacted with them subtly throughout the night. A credit to the show is that it made me want to run out and buy all the songs I heard. Even without context, director Eric Schaeffer created vignettes that needed nothing additional. The first act was a bit more humorous than the second, but both were wonderful. Two standouts in the cast for me were Matthew Scott and Heidi Blickenstaff (though the rest were great, too). Scott's transformation from "She's a Woman" to "Dressing Them Up" (both from Kiss of the Spider Woman) was amazing, and Blickenstaff's balance of belting and singing intimately blew me away. The orchestrations were fascinating; there were some new versions of classics that were extraordinarily well done. Great, great evening.
Tuesday I saw God of Carnage at Signature. The play is actually originally French, but the setting was moved to Brooklyn when the show was translated into American English. Made into a movie with Jodie Foster and Kate Winslet last year, it tells the story of two couples whose sons got into a fight in a park. The play goes into couple dynamics--how they relate to each other, how they relate to other couples--and gender roles. It's a play that is largely very comedic, but has a very serious undertone that becomes less and less "under" as the show goes on. Paul Morella, who plays Alan, reminded me a LOT of Ralph Fiennes. All four actors were excellent; it was a joy to watch them react to each other. A fun evening, though one that I walked out of perhaps a bit more shaken up than I thought I would be as I walked in. I do have to say that while I don't have many complaints about the show, it didn't stick with me the way I perhaps thought it would. I saw it two nights ago, and when I sat down to write this, I had to pause to figure out what that show was that I just saw.
Ending the week of theater is Double Indemnity, performed at Round House. I've seen the movie, but it's been a few years (or, you know, a decade), so my memory of the details of the plot was a bit hazy. For those not familiar, it tells the story of Walter Huff (Neff in the movie), an insurance salesman who hooks up with Phyllis Nirlinger to kill her husband and get the insurance money. The ending of the movie was a bit stronger than that of the play--and the author of the book, after seeing the play, declared Billy Wilder and Raymond Chandler's version superior. Marty Lodge was onstage almost the entire night as Huff, and he did a good job, but he had zero chemistry with Celeste Ciulla's Phyllis. His asides the audience were fantastic, but I can't help but feel that the character should be about 20 years younger. I would've been fascinated to see how the play worked with understudy Danny Gavigan in the role. Gavigan played a variety of roles in the play, and I enjoyed him in December in Pride & Prejudice, and I can't help but wonder if his youthfulness may have helped the show. I was very impressed with the lighting and set. The mood was there. I also have to give props to Todd Scofield, who played both Nirlinger and Huff's boss who figures out the murder scheme. In watching one character, I had to remind myself that it was the same actor as the other. As with a number of other shows I've seen at Round House, it was a worthy effort, but not something that I'd tell my friends to run out and see.
A hat tip for the week also goes to One Destiny at Ford's. It's a one-act that tells the story of the Lincoln assassination from the point of view of two of the men present (Harry Hawk--the actor on stage at the time of the shooting--and Harry Ford, owner of the theater). They act out the events leading up to the assassination. It was the 500th performance last night. It's an enjoyable show and a great way to tell the story that's more lively than the normal ranger talks--and one that adds an emotional layer. Kudos to Stephen Schmidt and Michael Bunce for their hundreds of performances over the years!
(In fairness, I plan on seeing a bunch of movies this weekend.)
Last Thursday, I saw First You Dream: The Music of Kander and Ebb at the Kennedy Center. Other than Chicago, Cabaret, and Kiss of the Spider Woman, I'm not too familiar with their work, but I got a good price for a front-row seat and I'd seen a couple of the cast members before, so figured, why not? And man, I did not regret that decision. What a fabulous night. Three men and three women performed for two hours on a stage bare except for the orchestra--who also managed to become part of the evening, as the cast interacted with them subtly throughout the night. A credit to the show is that it made me want to run out and buy all the songs I heard. Even without context, director Eric Schaeffer created vignettes that needed nothing additional. The first act was a bit more humorous than the second, but both were wonderful. Two standouts in the cast for me were Matthew Scott and Heidi Blickenstaff (though the rest were great, too). Scott's transformation from "She's a Woman" to "Dressing Them Up" (both from Kiss of the Spider Woman) was amazing, and Blickenstaff's balance of belting and singing intimately blew me away. The orchestrations were fascinating; there were some new versions of classics that were extraordinarily well done. Great, great evening.
Tuesday I saw God of Carnage at Signature. The play is actually originally French, but the setting was moved to Brooklyn when the show was translated into American English. Made into a movie with Jodie Foster and Kate Winslet last year, it tells the story of two couples whose sons got into a fight in a park. The play goes into couple dynamics--how they relate to each other, how they relate to other couples--and gender roles. It's a play that is largely very comedic, but has a very serious undertone that becomes less and less "under" as the show goes on. Paul Morella, who plays Alan, reminded me a LOT of Ralph Fiennes. All four actors were excellent; it was a joy to watch them react to each other. A fun evening, though one that I walked out of perhaps a bit more shaken up than I thought I would be as I walked in. I do have to say that while I don't have many complaints about the show, it didn't stick with me the way I perhaps thought it would. I saw it two nights ago, and when I sat down to write this, I had to pause to figure out what that show was that I just saw.
Ending the week of theater is Double Indemnity, performed at Round House. I've seen the movie, but it's been a few years (or, you know, a decade), so my memory of the details of the plot was a bit hazy. For those not familiar, it tells the story of Walter Huff (Neff in the movie), an insurance salesman who hooks up with Phyllis Nirlinger to kill her husband and get the insurance money. The ending of the movie was a bit stronger than that of the play--and the author of the book, after seeing the play, declared Billy Wilder and Raymond Chandler's version superior. Marty Lodge was onstage almost the entire night as Huff, and he did a good job, but he had zero chemistry with Celeste Ciulla's Phyllis. His asides the audience were fantastic, but I can't help but feel that the character should be about 20 years younger. I would've been fascinated to see how the play worked with understudy Danny Gavigan in the role. Gavigan played a variety of roles in the play, and I enjoyed him in December in Pride & Prejudice, and I can't help but wonder if his youthfulness may have helped the show. I was very impressed with the lighting and set. The mood was there. I also have to give props to Todd Scofield, who played both Nirlinger and Huff's boss who figures out the murder scheme. In watching one character, I had to remind myself that it was the same actor as the other. As with a number of other shows I've seen at Round House, it was a worthy effort, but not something that I'd tell my friends to run out and see.
A hat tip for the week also goes to One Destiny at Ford's. It's a one-act that tells the story of the Lincoln assassination from the point of view of two of the men present (Harry Hawk--the actor on stage at the time of the shooting--and Harry Ford, owner of the theater). They act out the events leading up to the assassination. It was the 500th performance last night. It's an enjoyable show and a great way to tell the story that's more lively than the normal ranger talks--and one that adds an emotional layer. Kudos to Stephen Schmidt and Michael Bunce for their hundreds of performances over the years!
Sunday, June 3, 2012
But you can win me yet
Arena Stage has continued their run of classic musicals with the current The Music Man. A friend managed to snag free tickets, so I checked out their production last night. It stars Burke Moses, who I saw as Sky Masterson on Broadway YEARS ago, and Kate Baldwin, who I apparently saw in 1776 at Ford's in 2003. (She was Martha Jefferson.)
I hadn't seen The Music Man in years. I'm fairly sure I've seen the play at some point. I know I've seen the movie, but it's been a long time. The songs are incredibly enjoyable; Meredith Willson did just a stupendous job with it. And the music allows Arena the room for a lot of great dancing--one of the company's strong points. "Seventy-Six Trombones," "Shipoopi," "Marian the Librarian" all provide fantastic opportunities for entertainment. I could watch those kids dance all day. (You can see a clip of "Shipoopi" on Arena's website.)
I was surprised at how much I enjoyed the story itself, particularly the journey of Marian. I love that the story for her ultimately isn't that she must get the guy. It's that she's opened herself up, has bonded with people in town, isn't the rather dour woman we meet at the beginning of the show. I LOVE that at the end, she's all, "It's cool, you can take off--not a problem. My life is better for having met you, but I am legitimately OK with you leaving." Seriously, how awesome is that? That just seems incredibly progressive to me for a show that was written in the 1950s.
A confusing element was how Hill hoodwinks the people of River City. He really doesn't seem quite as bad as the show wants us to think he is. It's not like he takes these people's money, tells them for weeks that they'll get uniforms and instruments, and leaves town before they realize the supplies are never coming. They get the instruments. They get the uniforms. They even get instruction booklets on how to play. So, the big con is that...he can't actually teach music? That doesn't really seem like such a big deal to me. I mean, hello! The town has a music teacher. Problem solved!
Possibly the biggest problem in the play is the relationship between Marian and Hill. It's a problematic relationship because we don't really get to see many falling-in-love moments for them. Much of their dialogue is antagonistic. It reminds me of My Fair Lady, in that the relationship relies a LOT on the actors playing the parts. (To date, I've seen one production of My Fair Lady where I felt the relationship worked--at Signature, in probably 2006 or 2007.) Kate Baldwin did an admirable job; she managed to convey Marian's emotions--her doubt, her hope, her skepticism. But though Burke Moses did a good job with the slick hucksterism of Hill, I never bought that he felt anything real for Marian. The chemistry wasn't there.
And to make some sort of comment on looking back fondly on "easier" days, the play is set in the 1950s. Kind of. The play itself could never be; it's solidly written in the early 1900s. Hill says he's class of "aught five." They talk about Model Ts. For heavens sake, they get excited about the Wells Fargo wagon. So why stick all these people in clothes from the 1950s? I mean, sure, they look great (who doesn't love 1950s fashion?), but it makes no sense. I hate when theaters do this.
But the singing was good and the dancing was enjoyable. I do continue to have problems with Arena's Fichandler space; I feel like it isn't optimized acoustically. It's a theater-in-the-round, and if an actor isn't facing me while talking, I frequently have no idea what that person said. I don't think I caught a word of what Nehal Joshi's Marcellus Washburn sang in "Shipoopi." I don't think everyone was miked, and it showed. Very badly. I had the same problems during Oklahoma, and I would hope that this kind of thing would be fixed. In this day and age, I shouldn't have to struggle just to make out dialogue.
I hadn't seen The Music Man in years. I'm fairly sure I've seen the play at some point. I know I've seen the movie, but it's been a long time. The songs are incredibly enjoyable; Meredith Willson did just a stupendous job with it. And the music allows Arena the room for a lot of great dancing--one of the company's strong points. "Seventy-Six Trombones," "Shipoopi," "Marian the Librarian" all provide fantastic opportunities for entertainment. I could watch those kids dance all day. (You can see a clip of "Shipoopi" on Arena's website.)
I was surprised at how much I enjoyed the story itself, particularly the journey of Marian. I love that the story for her ultimately isn't that she must get the guy. It's that she's opened herself up, has bonded with people in town, isn't the rather dour woman we meet at the beginning of the show. I LOVE that at the end, she's all, "It's cool, you can take off--not a problem. My life is better for having met you, but I am legitimately OK with you leaving." Seriously, how awesome is that? That just seems incredibly progressive to me for a show that was written in the 1950s.
A confusing element was how Hill hoodwinks the people of River City. He really doesn't seem quite as bad as the show wants us to think he is. It's not like he takes these people's money, tells them for weeks that they'll get uniforms and instruments, and leaves town before they realize the supplies are never coming. They get the instruments. They get the uniforms. They even get instruction booklets on how to play. So, the big con is that...he can't actually teach music? That doesn't really seem like such a big deal to me. I mean, hello! The town has a music teacher. Problem solved!
Possibly the biggest problem in the play is the relationship between Marian and Hill. It's a problematic relationship because we don't really get to see many falling-in-love moments for them. Much of their dialogue is antagonistic. It reminds me of My Fair Lady, in that the relationship relies a LOT on the actors playing the parts. (To date, I've seen one production of My Fair Lady where I felt the relationship worked--at Signature, in probably 2006 or 2007.) Kate Baldwin did an admirable job; she managed to convey Marian's emotions--her doubt, her hope, her skepticism. But though Burke Moses did a good job with the slick hucksterism of Hill, I never bought that he felt anything real for Marian. The chemistry wasn't there.
And to make some sort of comment on looking back fondly on "easier" days, the play is set in the 1950s. Kind of. The play itself could never be; it's solidly written in the early 1900s. Hill says he's class of "aught five." They talk about Model Ts. For heavens sake, they get excited about the Wells Fargo wagon. So why stick all these people in clothes from the 1950s? I mean, sure, they look great (who doesn't love 1950s fashion?), but it makes no sense. I hate when theaters do this.
But the singing was good and the dancing was enjoyable. I do continue to have problems with Arena's Fichandler space; I feel like it isn't optimized acoustically. It's a theater-in-the-round, and if an actor isn't facing me while talking, I frequently have no idea what that person said. I don't think I caught a word of what Nehal Joshi's Marcellus Washburn sang in "Shipoopi." I don't think everyone was miked, and it showed. Very badly. I had the same problems during Oklahoma, and I would hope that this kind of thing would be fixed. In this day and age, I shouldn't have to struggle just to make out dialogue.
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