The Adventures of Peter Pan @ Synetic Theatre

Another amazing performance (alas, final performance) in the world of DC Theater. The Adventures of Peter Pan at Synetic Theatre in Arlington, VA was simply magical. And I doubt any of the nearly packed audience (30% of which were in the discriminating 7 to 13 year-old-range) would disagree with me. The spinning sets and flamboyant costumes framed the story-telling and empowered the actors to bring to life again this well-known tale of the boy who refused to grow up. As with all Synetic productions the integration between the afore mentioned aspects along with the choreography, sound, and staging creates a seamless package that you just marvel at from start to finish. However, this production had something that many others by this company does not--dialogue. Very funny dialogue with an unmistakable pairing of the good captain Hook as narcissist in the mode of our current incumbent President. It escaped no one's notice and effected great torrents of laughter. Still the standout performances were those of Tinkerbell played by Ana Tsikurishvili, and Peter's Shadow played by Zana Gankhuyag. Ana's comic timing and extraordinary miming techniques often propelled the laughter in many a scene. Zana's command of his body in service to the choreography was impressive in a cast full of impressive, strong dancers. A hallmark of Synetic productions in my mind is that the members of the cast are in tremendous sync with one another. They have chemistry and they project an enjoyment of what it is they are offering to their audience.

If anything pissed me off, it was getting a two-sided black and white xerox flyer in place of a program. I guess they ran out of real programs during the run.

"Our Town" @ Olney Theatre Center

Well I've managed to go and see another final performance of a wonderful play.  Seems like all I can do lately is tell about what you've missed!  Went to see Thornton Wilder's American classic "Our Town" at Olney Theatre today.  It tells the story of the inhabitants of a mundane little town in New England, but in doing so it has set Grover's Corner, New Hampshire into the permanent atlas of American literary places.  Set in three acts that transpire in single days across fourteen years and centered on the lives of two families, the Gibbs and the Websters, it masterfully transforms their mundane lives into profound studies of the human condition both living and dead.  And that's why it holds its own so well all these years later.

Now for the twist, outside of the seven principle cast members, beautifully crafted puppets perform the remainder of the characters.  A fact that didn't stop me from thinking how refreshing it was to see an adult production of this classic play as I have only ever seen it performed in high schools and universities.  The staging filled the center of the theater space with the audience distributed on either side.  At each end was the facade of a home (the Gibbs' and the Webb's) and the over all effect was at times bedlike and coffin like. 

The acting was wonderful without a weak link in the chain.  I have been to final performances that whimpered out, but not this one.  The air was charged with a love for the work and a joy to be performing it.  Jon Hudson Odom set the standard as the Narrator and his fellow cast members seemed only too happy to rise to the challenge.  Most notable among the others were Megan Anderson as Mrs. Gibbs and Cindy de la Cruz as Emily Webb.  While I suppose that the mark of a good director is to be unnoticed, I can't help but credit Aaron Posner with providing his actors the freedom to explore the silences between the lines and use those moments to enhance the dialogue and extend the power of its meaning.  It was such an unobtrusive, but power part of this production--it gave the play a radical freshness to me.

Jon Hudson Odom as the Narrator

Megan Anderson as Mrs Gibbs and Andrea Harris Smith as Mrs. Webb

Todd Scofield as Mr. Webb confronting the puppet of Simon Stimson under the control of Jon Hudson Odom.

Cindy de la Cruz as Emily Webb, Jon Hudson Odom as the owner of the Soda Shop, and William Vaughan as George Gibbs.

If I have one regret, it is that I cannot recommend it to you, I would if I could.

"Antony and Cleopatra" at the Folger Shakespeare Theatre in DC

It was Shakespeare at the Folger Shakespeare Theater/Library this past Sunday afternoon and a play of the Bard's that I had never read or seen performed before. "Antony & Cleopatra" was one of Shakespeare's later tragedies, and it is based on a translation of a history by Plutarch. The thing about experiencing a Shakespeare play for the very first time--even if you have a basic understanding of the plot (thank you, Richard Burton and Elizabeth Taylor!) is that you're still spending a lot of energy grasping the nuances of the dialogue in order to just come away with a sound understanding of what this version is all about. The advantage that this provides is a generalized understanding of the sense of the production as a whole. There isn't mental room for too much nitpicking and the things that either bother or impress are generally obviously bothersome or impressive. By comparison, if I were to go see Romeo & Juliet AGAIN, I am looking for lots of very specific things from the way particular recitations go to the finer points of movement and chemistry between characters.

Let me; therefore, start with some general observations. I don't really like the play that much--it covers too much ground in too short a time span and the transitions between major shifts in historical events are not always discernible at first--leaving me feeling like I'm playing catch-up in order to understand shifts in the emotional relationships between the characters.  At least in this performance, the first half was slow and had a lot of lack luster plodding. The shining example of the opposite was the character of Octavius Caesar played by Dylan Paul. He landed in every scene with an intensity that was captivating and seemed to energize those around him. Then came the second half; which was like a different play.  Nearly everyone stepped up their game, and things became much more compelling. Granted there were also major soliloquies to be performed and lots of people die--it's a Shakespearean Tragedy, after all. Yet, both the principles Cody Nickell as Mark Antony and, especially, Shirine Babb at Cleopatra just become more real in their emotional portrayal of the famous lovers. I found myself ceasing to think of them as actors portraying characters, and instead I saw them as Antony and Cleopatra. On the negative, and I rarely get personal when it comes to criticisms of actors, there are just some people who can't do Shakespeare. They fucking can't! When they try, they simply become a distraction. That would be Simoné Elizabeth Bart. And while she had the relatively minor role of Charmian (thank the muses!), she was never in the zone. I came to dread the moment I realized she going to speak again. Her resumé is impressive, she just isn't my cup of tea for this genre of acting.  And unless she's just bull-headed arrogant, I fault the director for not correcting her interpretation of the role.

In a bold change for the theatre, the set was constructed in the round and the audience was placed on the sides and where the stage usually resides.  I sat in the middle of the front row in the balcony that would have otherwise been the second level of the stage.  It was an interesting perspective not only of the play, but also of the theatre.  For friends who may be interested in seeing this production I would say, invest in something else.  Having experienced both "Timon or Athens" and "Sense and Sensibility" last season at the Folger, I know what an exceptional production looks like. 

The stage in the round.

Cleopatra (Shirine Babb) and two of her attendants, Charmian (Simoné Elizabeth Bart) and Mardian the Eunich (John Floyd)

Mark Antony (Cody Nickell) and Cleopatra (Shirine Babb)

Octavius Caesar (Dylan Paul)

The wedding of Mark Antony and Octavia (Nicole King)

"M Butterfly" @ Everyman Theatre in Baltimore

Just got back from seeing "M Butterfly" at Everyman Theatre in Baltimore. To think that it premiered in 1988 and gave the talented B. D. Wong the opportunity to earn a Tony award for best actor. I can imagine then its subject matter was far more risqué than it feels today. It's a quirky show told to the audience by the leads with flashbacks and imagined moments spanning nearly 3 decades. The lead of the French Diplomat; whose story this really is, was played by Everyman repertory company actor, Bruce Randolph Nelson. He was wonderful in the role, and having seen him in various roles last year, I was particularly pleased that he came to the stage with a freshness and authenticity unique to the role of Rene Gallimard. The role of Song Lili (a.k.a. Butterfly) was a regional debut for actor Vichet Chum, whose resume has him acting his way to the east coast via Louisville, Minneapolis, and St. Louis! In this role of the diplomat's lover, Vichet was most convincing and fearless in the role's more revealing moments. The rest of the company was likewise well cast and the rolls well performed. The stage itself was tranformed into a giant butterfly under the design concept of Yu-Hsuan Chen. A butterfly whose one set of wings forms the stage floor, while the other pair of wings provides the outline of the opening in the lattice that divides the background from the foreground on the stage. I would highly recommend this production; however, tonight's performance is its last.

"Death of a Salesman"

Fear not, I will still go to some theater, just not 4 to 6 plays each month!  After all, I spent last season going to over 60 productions in the DC, Maryland, Virginia region--learning my way around dozens of theater companies and experiencing well over 100 mostly amazing actors.  Not to use what I've learned to make discriminating choices would be a waste.

The first event of a normal theater season was "Death of a Salesman" at Ford's Theatre in DC. You have to admire this work. It holds up well against the march of time. (I think better than the works of Tennessee Williams, for example.) But then again, growing old and facing one's demons is probably a theme that will always work on the stage.

For this production, Ford's chose a stellar cast of trustworthy familiar faces. The only one of the four principles new to me was Kimberly Schraf. Like the other four members of the Loman clan, she delivered an adequate performance in a role with a lot of wallpaper moments. I felt she hit her zenith in the scene where she confronts her sons Biff (Thomas Keegan) and Hap (Danny Gavigan). And I was lost in her closing soliloquy--the apex of the entire show. It lacked the sense of personal engagement in the words and came off more like a closing whimper. Both Mr.'s Gavigan and Keegan were fine as the brothers--these two actors have been in so many major regional productions, it was interesting to finally see them together on stage in such intertwined roles. The leader of the pack was Craig Wallace as Willy Loman. Wallace is another fixture in the regional theater community and no stranger to the Ford's stage. I suppose for some the fact that Craig is African American would make his portrayal of the icon Willy Loman, but it didn't see revelatory to me in the least. He's a very competent actor with an underlying inextinguishable boyish charm. A fact that left the tragic protagonist in this production with as much the pity you feel for a lost child and you would for a grown man who's summation of his life is that of a failure. I want to believe this was an intentional take on the character; however, I've come to accept that most theatre is not that subtle.

Linda Loman (Kimberly Schraf) comforting Willy (Craig Wallace) in a moment of confusion.

Linda Loman confronting her sons Hap (Danny Gavigan) and Biff (Thomas Keegan) about their attitudes toward their father.

All the Lomans together.

A moment of flashback with the ghostly presence of Uncle Ben (Frederick Strother)

Another shout out goes to the set designed by Tim Mackabee. I had a front row center balcony seat and it was the best seat in the house for this tri-level staging. Anyone who was seeing this show for the first time would certainly come away feeling satisfied by the production. Someone who felt more inclined to consider the deeper meanings of the character's lives and roles in the storytelling might feel less sanguine.

Tim Mackabee sharing the design concept during production process.

The view from the main floor.  

My vantage point from my seat in the front row of the balcony.

The Year Aftermath of My Year of Living Theatrically!

Theater season is in full swing and so far I have resisted the temptation, but the theatre's have me in their sights! About half of what I have received from them in the past two weeks!--and three came today.

What tempts me the most from these:

"In The Heights"
"The Wild Party"
"Death of Salesman"

Summer Vacation Redux #5: Kansas City: Kansas City Actor's Theater @ Union Station

I finished the day (Aug 12) of my Total Eclipse cross-country road trip with an evening at the theatre.  I am a great fan of live theatre and enjoy catching local productions whenever I can.  August is a notoriously slow month for local theatre troops, but I managed to find this production of "Then There Were None" by Agatha Christie performed by the Kansas City Actor's Theatre.  Their theatre space is at the Union Station complex and this performance was actually opening night! 

From the start it was pitch perfect.  Every character--a sort of caricature of who done it suspects was played to a perfect tee by this wonderful group of actors.  Bravo to everyone involved, costumes, sets, lighting, even the crafty special effects of the missing statues was pure delight.