tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23424770473748390172024-03-18T22:51:36.060-04:00JAMES KARAS - REVIEWS AND VIEWSJames Karashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12713238235746109608noreply@blogger.comBlogger1363125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2342477047374839017.post-64922636355833508622024-03-18T22:50:00.001-04:002024-03-18T22:50:52.497-04:00NO ONE’S SPECIAL AT THE HOT DOG CART - REVIEW OF NEW PLAY AT THEATRE PASSE MURAILLE<p><b>Reviewed by James
Karas</b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><b><i><span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">No One’s Special At The Hot Dog Cart</span></i></b><span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"> is an ambitious one-actor play written and
performed by Charlie Petch. A big hot dog cart is on stage and we are told it
does business at Yonge and Dundas and at Gerard and Church, two well-known
corners in Toronto. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Petch receives a laudable description in the program listing a long catalogue
of achievements and is also described as “a disabled/queer/transmasculine
multidisciplinary artist who resides in Tkaronto/Toronto.” He is a “poet,
playwright, librettist, musician, lighting designer, and host” and has won
numerous awards and distinctions all of which are praiseworthy. My concern is
the comment that they/he is disabled and I am not sure what if any effect it
had on the performance of <i>No One’s Special.</i></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">The title of the play may lead one to expect a play about interesting, perhaps
humorous and dramatic events while selling hot dogs but there is much, much more
than that in a play that lasts about an hour. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><o:p></o:p></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghZ1tIlj0tNMzREYq0M-17OMBHbeyDt9Y1ZhrElrXMWbAKSXfLl3EUBxVz83_KfL6950x0AUK5PVcOd15D7Df8RAUZU7pFLVI9EwWpDJQNLvVD2UfuORejpiDHRyvG4LKoroZBGquOtjcSk-AqxVXhe1LvjOsjrYNHzwo0kMjfLb4hmez6flSGYwWmRxYJ/s2000/NO%20ONE'S%20SPECIAL%20-%202024%20Passe%20Muraill%20image%20by%20Nika%20Belianina.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1364" data-original-width="2000" height="272" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghZ1tIlj0tNMzREYq0M-17OMBHbeyDt9Y1ZhrElrXMWbAKSXfLl3EUBxVz83_KfL6950x0AUK5PVcOd15D7Df8RAUZU7pFLVI9EwWpDJQNLvVD2UfuORejpiDHRyvG4LKoroZBGquOtjcSk-AqxVXhe1LvjOsjrYNHzwo0kMjfLb4hmez6flSGYwWmRxYJ/w400-h272/NO%20ONE'S%20SPECIAL%20-%202024%20Passe%20Muraill%20image%20by%20Nika%20Belianina.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Charlie Petch in <b style="text-align: justify;"><i>No One’s Special At The Hot Dog Cart</i></b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b><i>Photo: Nika Balianina </i></b></div><span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><o:p> </o:p></span>In addition to selling hot dogs, Charlie (they/he) becomes an emergency
responder, a social worker able to help a troubled, homeless person with his family problems and encounters with
others in horrible situations by using de-escalation techniques.<p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Charlie describes his work as a 911 responder and then as a worker<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>in a hospital emergency room and a bed
allocator in a hospital. That is a long way from the hot dog cart and the play
covers a much wider canvas than my summary suggests.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Petch performs several poems and we hear a couple of songs and have
fleeting attempts at psychological depths. Unfortunately, it does not work.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Much of the time Petch speaks in an almost <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>monotonous voice that expresses a limited emotional
range. Raising your voice’s volume is not the same as being expressive. The
play tries to cover far too much ground in any event and the chances of reaching
all the issues are slim. Speaking over a cacophony of voices does not help.
Humour is almost non-existent and maybe we have the right to expect some
amusing events at the hot dog stand or in Charlie’s other endeavors.</span></p>
<div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">I do not know under what disability Petch is working and I speak of my
perceived shortcomings of the play and the performance with trepidation. But my
reaction was that of disappointment. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> <br /></span></span><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i><span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">________________________<br /></span></i></b><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i><span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">No One’s Special At The Hot
Dog Cart</span></i></b><i><span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"> </span></i><span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">by Charlie Petch, a Theatre Passe Muraille and Erroneous
Theatre coproduction, continues March 23, 2024, at Theatre Passe Muraille, 16
Ryerson Avenue, Toronto, Ontario. </span><span lang="EN-GB"><a href="http://www.passemuraille.on.ca/"><span lang="EN-US" style="color: blue; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">www.passemuraille.on.ca</span></a></span></div>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><o:p> </o:p></span>James Karas is the Senior Editor – Culture of The Greek Press. This
review appeared in the newspaper.</p>James Karashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12713238235746109608noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2342477047374839017.post-89757783238225725262024-03-13T21:35:00.000-04:002024-03-13T21:35:13.453-04:00ROSENCRANTZ AND GUILDENSTERN ARE DEAD - REVIEW OF PLAY AT CAA THEATRE <p> <b>Reviewed by James
Karas</b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Rosencrantz and Guildenstern, as anyone who has seen <b><i>Hamlet</i></b>
knows, are two non-entities in Shakespeare’s play and the title of Tom
Stoppard’s play is a line from that play. Despite the title, Stoppard has given
the two friends more life on the stage and on film than the two fictional
characters could ever have imagined.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Rosencrantz and Guildenstern have been invited to Elsinore by King
Claudius to figure out why Prince Hamlet is acting strangely. Eventually<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>they are sent to England with Hamlet to
deliver a letter to the English King telling him<span style="color: red;"> </span>to
kill Hamlet. Hamlet discovers the letter and changes it to read that Rosencrantz
and Guildenstern are to be executed.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Shakespeare has some fun with the duo but Tom Stoppard has created a
funny, complex and wonderful play around the dumb pair. Nova Scotia’s Neptune Theatre
has landed two superb actors to play the lead roles and David Mirvish has
brought the production to Toronto at the CAA Theatre.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">The Neptune production has thirteen actors but it can be done with many
more. The main characters of Shakespeare’s play appear but Rosencrantz and
Guildenstern dominate the play. In that regard Director Jeremy Webb has the
fortune of having Dominic Monaghan and Billy Boyd, two outstanding actors in
the lead roles. Webb delivers a superb production that brings out the comedy
and the complexity of the play with a light touch.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><o:p></o:p></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjVHvj7qhP9tOtRupoOwFKWNEMlI_1lR9QSNNNqhlQgqJ1a5v6UjjcVRsjmTx0SZJDdR-bEXOUeqBkORJyew3Joo6O51poyqM8yULSBvz_Kz0OLZUOPkc8KlvNTWDcgoSLyZbrcd8CW9Osg8jMHM67mIC8zOH5sGgKkQ58fONaAtprIUQnIkOGi3PRqIuW/s1797/Rosencrantz%20and%20Guildenstern%20are%20Dead%20-%202024%20CAA%20-09.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1797" height="268" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjVHvj7qhP9tOtRupoOwFKWNEMlI_1lR9QSNNNqhlQgqJ1a5v6UjjcVRsjmTx0SZJDdR-bEXOUeqBkORJyew3Joo6O51poyqM8yULSBvz_Kz0OLZUOPkc8KlvNTWDcgoSLyZbrcd8CW9Osg8jMHM67mIC8zOH5sGgKkQ58fONaAtprIUQnIkOGi3PRqIuW/w400-h268/Rosencrantz%20and%20Guildenstern%20are%20Dead%20-%202024%20CAA%20-09.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #191f13; font-family: Roboto, "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; text-align: start;"><i><b>Photo Credit: @stoometzphoto</b></i></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">The opening scene sets the stage and the comic and intellectual level of
the play superbly. Monaghan’s Rosencrantz and Boyd’s Guildenstern are playing
what appears to be a mindless game. They flip coins. Rosencrantz calls ‘heads”
and he wins consistently. This goes on for some ninety tosses and the coin
never lands on “tails.” Have the laws of probability ceased to apply?
Guildenstern wonders. They may wonder about philosophical issues but they don’t
know where they are nor where<span style="color: red;"> </span>they are going.
Aha! They received an invitation to go to Elsinore where Hamlet (Pasha
Ebrahimi), their university friend in Germany has returned because his father
has been killed and his mother Gertrude has married his uncle King Claudius who
has usurped the throne.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">They meet a troupe of actors known as the Tragedians who are headed for
Elsinore. They are headed by one called The Player (a feisty, quick-witted and
agile Michael Blake). <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">At Elsinore they meet King Claudius (Jonathan Ellul) and Gertrude (Raquel
Duffy) who mistake the identity of their guests.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Rosencrantz and Guildenstern have to correct
her as to who they are and they seem to be so lightheaded at times one wonders
if they can tell who between themselves is who. Very funny and well done by Monaghan
and Boyd.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Claudius explains to them that they must find out what is wrong with Hamlet
and the two engage in a question-and-answer game as a possible approach to
Hamlet. They confuse themselves thoroughly and have no way of finding out what
is bothering their friend.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFRNbzWsKgUprREGVnrYA1yC2OVWuTYCNtwM7y4JIG5jGcWxVxuamp0R0ahsSMEvo6hG3_T5IsnR2TztCBQOB8Qd1La_1_R5tAb2IqVe50z6uwoUK324NdCmCiY3l4XiPtdI_O0OTn5GLUSSW-zTDudJ8G9RwPbDMcjlOPtO6YqxVHaghu9nlNpwfS3TLw/s1797/Rosencrantz%20and%20Guildenstern%20are%20Dead%20-%202024%20CAA%2011.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1797" height="268" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFRNbzWsKgUprREGVnrYA1yC2OVWuTYCNtwM7y4JIG5jGcWxVxuamp0R0ahsSMEvo6hG3_T5IsnR2TztCBQOB8Qd1La_1_R5tAb2IqVe50z6uwoUK324NdCmCiY3l4XiPtdI_O0OTn5GLUSSW-zTDudJ8G9RwPbDMcjlOPtO6YqxVHaghu9nlNpwfS3TLw/w400-h268/Rosencrantz%20and%20Guildenstern%20are%20Dead%20-%202024%20CAA%2011.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><span style="background-color: white; color: #191f13; font-family: Roboto, "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; text-align: start;"><div style="text-align: center;"><i><b>Photo Credit: @stoometzphoto</b></i></div></span><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">The two are inept at everything and they find out that they have been
selected to take Hamlet to England and deliver a letter to the King. They
converse about death, suicide and the representation of death (theirs) on
stage. In their confused state of mind, they eventually find out who is carrying
the letter to the King of England and open it. They don’t know where they are,
wonder if they are dead and question how they will deliver it<span style="color: red;"> </span>to the king.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">As the play ends, the Ambassador (Mallory Amirault) announces that Rosencrantz
and Guildenstern are dead and as Horatio (Santiago Guzman) speaks, the lights
go down to end the play. But Webb is not prepared to leave matters there. Rosencrantz
and Guildenstern pop back on stage where they started. Nice touch.</span> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">The play depends on the cleverness and comic talent of Stoppard but its
delivery depends on Webb and the cast especially Monaghan and Boyd. They prove
that they are masters of repartee and the presentation of the two characters who
may be dumb but are also complex. They handle the dialogue with splendid speed,
expressiveness and humour as necessary. The rest of the cast do fine work but
compared to the leads have relatively smaller roles. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Set Designer Andrew Cull uses two sets of rows of seats theatre-style
that can be turned around and pushed off to the sides. There is an indication
of a ship and they serve as the sets for the play. Economical and adequate.
This is a verbal play and requires very little in the way of sets.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">We get an intelligent and redoubtable production of a marvelous play.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">__________________________________________</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><b><i><span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Rosencrantz and
Guildenstern Are Dead </span></i></b><span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">by Tom
Stoppard, in a production by Neptune Theatre, directed by <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Jeremy Webb continues until April 6, 2024, at
the CAA Theatre, 651 Yonge St. Toronto, Ontario. <a href="http://www.mirvish.com/">www.mirvish.com/</a><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">James Karas is the Senior Editor, Culture of The Greek press</p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><br /></p>James Karashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12713238235746109608noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2342477047374839017.post-64497519885089380072024-02-25T14:14:00.002-05:002024-02-25T14:14:42.280-05:00ALADDIN - REVIEW OF 2024 EXTRAVAGANZA AT THE PRINCESS OF WALES THEATRE<p><b>Reviewed by James Karas</b></p><p><span style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.5in;">Disney’s</span><b style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.5in;"><i> Aladdin</i></b><span style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.5in;"> is
musical theatre on a grand scale. It’s in its eighth year on Broadway and there
is a touring company going across the United States to venues galore. It’s on
tour in the United Kingdom and Ireland as well as Japan and Spain. Disney’s
website tells us that more than 15 million people have seen it. Can
intergalactic productions be far behind?</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">It is a popular show and I for
one would not argue with the millions of viewers nor the enthusiastic full-house
audience at The Princess of Wales theatre last Thursday. They enjoyed a grand
show that may not be to everyone’s taste but they would not give<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>a damn about the opinions of others. Quite
right.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">Unless you have been living on
the outer stretches of civilization you know about the young urchin Aladdin who
lived somewhere a long time ago. He meets a Genie who lives in a small oil lamp
and Jasmine, a pretty princess and the daughter of the Sultan. He likes her and
she likes him but don’t be so impatient.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">We have the bad guys too. The
meanie Jafa wants to eliminate the Sultan and get the throne. He is accompanied
by the silly and very funny Iago. There are ten other characters and an army of
singers and dancers in the plot of the musical but I will not hold you in
suspense. In a couple of hours (plus intermission) the bad guys are defeated
and Aladdin gets Jasmine and we all leave the theatre happy ever after.</p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><o:p></o:p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjg2QoOOWZ3096p_X6gcbzyvZxmtqT4xmYr2C25Vd4fe5zSbNvd-OGecm78JHnGrI0olD5ZR8_Fw4-63-DBte2eWFORnK5poBGGf2mSfALi-hdA8qDjCGFChrDfBVRKrjB0GyXeptxhX2RbOM1G4Z3rj81_FgnKYOtFcPBMwe9oa0Ax5kgDnB-DTRxAqP-7/s1800/ALADDIN%20-%202024%20Mirvish%205.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1036" data-original-width="1800" height="230" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjg2QoOOWZ3096p_X6gcbzyvZxmtqT4xmYr2C25Vd4fe5zSbNvd-OGecm78JHnGrI0olD5ZR8_Fw4-63-DBte2eWFORnK5poBGGf2mSfALi-hdA8qDjCGFChrDfBVRKrjB0GyXeptxhX2RbOM1G4Z3rj81_FgnKYOtFcPBMwe9oa0Ax5kgDnB-DTRxAqP-7/w400-h230/ALADDIN%20-%202024%20Mirvish%205.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><b><div style="text-align: center;"><b><i>Marcus M. Martin (Genie), Adi Roy (Aladdin) and Company </i></b></div></b><div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><i>in the North American Tour of Aladdin. Photo Credit: Deen van Meer</i></b></div><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">But there is still work to be
done so stay tuned. With about 20 musical numbers (some repeats) the evening passes
with some nice songs, some loud numbers and almost non-stop singing and dancing.
All is intended to generate excitement and give us a colorful show. Colorful is
an understatement. Disney has costumes in middle eastern colors, gold and an
array of changes that is intended to simply dazzle and bedazzle and overwhelm
you. It works.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">The show starts with the
exuberant Genie of Marus M. Martin. He starts off on a high note and sings “Arabian
Nights” with the ensemble and never slows down. We have the evil Jafar (Anand Nagraj)
who wants to overthrow the Sultan (Sorab Wadia) and get his filthy hands on the
kingdom and Jasmine. He has his sidekick Iago (Aaron Choi), a solid comic
character from a different era.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">Adi Roy is a handsome and
energetic Aladdin and Senzel Ahmady is an alluring and pretty Jasmine and we
root for them. They sing the simple melodies of “A Million Miles Away” and “A Whole
New World” reasonably well and give us some quieter moments from the boisterous
ensemble singing and dancing.</p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><o:p></o:p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8cAynX0Dc8guxujiNpmQUcWNC3Yta4ug4ZKcBBMgIOUwC22IzosdCwLRVNTXzIfhP8Pm1hkaCc8En8W1b_nhgZbFI0dmq2HYC4XoOEnztAZl3orVcZTu5uOYg3mrdEopf1usKXcSBycIYcb1c4LUuyQwTwxrP5ca0rar0GjkuXCtKDQQT_nfAzlay0L2w/s1800/ALADDIN%20-%202024%20Mirvish%202.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1198" data-original-width="1800" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8cAynX0Dc8guxujiNpmQUcWNC3Yta4ug4ZKcBBMgIOUwC22IzosdCwLRVNTXzIfhP8Pm1hkaCc8En8W1b_nhgZbFI0dmq2HYC4XoOEnztAZl3orVcZTu5uOYg3mrdEopf1usKXcSBycIYcb1c4LUuyQwTwxrP5ca0rar0GjkuXCtKDQQT_nfAzlay0L2w/w400-h266/ALADDIN%20-%202024%20Mirvish%202.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><span style="background-color: white; color: #191f13; font-family: Roboto, "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;"><div style="text-align: center;"><i style="font-size: small;"><b>Anand Nagraj (Jafar) and Aaron Choi (Iago) in the North American </b></i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i style="font-size: small;"><b>Tour of Aladdin. Photo Credit: Deen van Meer</b></i></div></span><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">It is a musical and visual extravaganza
and a relentless onslaught on all senses. I could have done with less (a lot
less) volume but I suppose it is part of the combined assault that enthralls
the audience.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">The show is designed by Daniel
Brodie and Directed and Choreographed by Casey Nicholaw. There is a small army
of behind-the-scenes personnel including an illusion designer, a hair designer
and many others. Nothing is left to chance. And yes, Aladdin and Jasmine do
ride on the magic carpet. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></p>
<div style="text-align: justify;">For those interested in looking
beyond the extravagant showmanship of the musical, the picking becomes very
slim. All the characters are cartoonish. There is no room for development and
the plot is threadbare, being largely expressed through song and dance with lyrics
that are not always comprehensible. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Very
few in the audience may care about that and the 15 million viewers may well be
thrilled with the sensual experience. If you are looking for anything else it
behooves you to understand that this is a show for younger audiences. It
started as a cartoon and it retains much of the flavor of that. So be it. Enjoy
it.<br /> <i>_____________________________________<br /></i><b><i>Aladdin</i></b><i> </i>by Alan Menken (music), Howard
Ashman, Tim Rice and Chad Beguelin (lyrics) and Chad Beguelin (book) based on
the Disney film continues until March 17, 2024, at the Princess of Wales
Theatre, 300 King St. West, Toronto, Ontario. <a href="http://www.mirvish.com/">www.mirvish.com</a></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">James Karas is the Senior Editor, Culture of The Greek Press</div><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><o:p></o:p></p>
</div>James Karashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12713238235746109608noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2342477047374839017.post-79683627378404714812024-02-21T16:46:00.000-05:002024-02-21T16:46:03.564-05:00GUILT (A Love Story) - REVIEW OF NEW PLAY BY DIANE FLACKS AT TARRAGON <p><b>Reviewed by James Karas</b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><b><i><span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Guilt (A Love Story</span></i></b><span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">)
is a new play that is performed by its author Diane Flacks in a solo
performance at Tarragon Theatre. Flacks is a spirited storyteller and gives an
energetic performance full of humour and drama. According to a note in the
program <i>“Guilt (A Love Story) is a story of a mother’s experience dealing
with the end of her relationship and its impact on her family, and the
re-discovery of her own sense of self-worth. Her experience is compounded by
the many intersections she lives, ultimately unpacking the onion-like </i></span><i>layers of what encompass that persistence of guilt.”</i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Flacks starts with the Bible and the murder by Cain of his brother Abel
and being Jewish herself gives us the origin of the feeling of guilt and the
specialty not to say almost monopoly of it by the Jews. The character that Flacks
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>portrays is of course fictional but<span style="color: red;"> </span>she has some similarities<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>to the life of the author. The fictional
character is<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>a lesbian who was married
and had children with her wife. Alone on the stage with only a chair for a prop,
Flacks gives a highly physical and effusive performance, never allowing the audience
to stray from the comic and dramatic stories that she tells.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">She tells many stories from brief, almost one-liners to extended ones. She
tells us about her child being in intensive care for almost a year. She becomes
friends with other parents with children in the same unit and is overwhelmed
with guilt and anger when one of the other children is arresting and bey all
the lights and noise as they try to resuscitate the dying child. But she is
angry because the lights and noise of trying to resuscitate the child keep her
child from sleeping.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiR0XZV8PtoYFE-EzHEECnw6P6rwHVUax52bCsnSnpSRGhpdMbuKinjk12ayBpTG_K6H2rfwVAFseA-NfxxuDuW34i_XqrEG-IYGYl5Q96gMOnQB5h5MgrvsxNeAarbvEBxLv80M_htRBbnFI8LFOkcX4FQ_uJye7Sk9fnKs-ZDDRbHBNLbCLxrEg4ifn5f/s1200/GUILT%20(A%20Love%20Stoery)%20-%202024%20Tarragon.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="854" data-original-width="1200" height="285" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiR0XZV8PtoYFE-EzHEECnw6P6rwHVUax52bCsnSnpSRGhpdMbuKinjk12ayBpTG_K6H2rfwVAFseA-NfxxuDuW34i_XqrEG-IYGYl5Q96gMOnQB5h5MgrvsxNeAarbvEBxLv80M_htRBbnFI8LFOkcX4FQ_uJye7Sk9fnKs-ZDDRbHBNLbCLxrEg4ifn5f/w400-h285/GUILT%20(A%20Love%20Stoery)%20-%202024%20Tarragon.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><b><i><span class="caption-text" style="background-color: #f8f8f8; box-sizing: border-box; color: #333333; font-family: "Merriweather Sans", "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;"><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; text-align: center;">Diane Flacks in "Guilt (A Love Story)" at Tarragon Theatre. </p></span><span style="background-color: #f8f8f8; color: #333333; font-family: "Merriweather Sans", "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;"><div style="text-align: center;"><b style="background-color: transparent;"><i><span class="credit" style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span class="tnt-byline" style="box-sizing: border-box;">Photo: Cylla von Tiedemann/Tarragon Theatre</span></span></i></b></div></span></i></b></span><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><o:p> </o:p></span>Guilt comes from many directions. Her youngest child is upset by the
changes brought about by the separation. She tries couples therapy with her wife
and it does not work and she would not recommend it.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">She and her wife chose an “open” relationship and she meets and is
pursued by a much younger woman that she calls a “racehorse”. She tries to
resist the overwhelming attraction but succumbs.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Let’s not forget that there are some Jews that would make you ashamed or
is it feel guilty of being Jewish. How about Jeffrey Epstein, Harvey Weinstein,
and Woody Allen?</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">When she and her wife separated, they decided to take turns staying in the
house to look after the two children. Her wife did not want her to sleep in the
marital bed when it was her turn to look after the children and Flacks’ character
ended up sleeping in the basement while the ex-wife slept upstairs in their bed.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Jews don’t celebrate Christmas so birthdays are more important. On
birthdays the family made a big fuss waking the birthday person with cake and <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>singing “Happy Birthday.” On her birthday she was
sleeping in the basement and she heard the family moving about upstairs and expected
them to come down with a cake. They didn’t and left for the day. Her ex-wife had
not organized a birthday celebration for her and she phoned her new partner<span style="color: red;">/ </span>lover for solace.</span></p>
<div style="text-align: justify;"><b><i><span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Guilt</span></i></b><span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"> is a rich and
amazing play and Flacks’ ability to deliver the whole thing alone is nothing
less than a bravura performance. She gives us a fine summary of the play saying
"I’m dehydrated, I’m broke, I’m crumbling. I know I should just let go of
guilt. But I don’t understand how." But the play does end on an optimistic
note when there is some kind of conciliation. Her, the ex-wife, her new partner
and her parents take the children for a holiday in the Dominican Republic<br /><o:p></o:p></span><span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">______________<br /></span><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i><span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Guilt (A Love Story) <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></i></b><span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">by Diane Flacks, directed by Alisa Palmer continues until March 3, <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>2024, at the Tarragon Theatre, 30 Bridgman
Ave. Toronto, Ontario. </span><span lang="EN-GB"><a href="http://www.tarragontheatre.com/"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">www.tarragontheatre.com</span></a></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">James Karas is the Senior Editor, Culture of The Greek Press</div>
James Karashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12713238235746109608noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2342477047374839017.post-45796337731861514282024-02-18T22:33:00.000-05:002024-02-18T22:33:25.468-05:00EARWORM - REVIEW OF 2024 PLAY ABOUT IRAN AT CROW’S<p> <span style="text-indent: 0in;">Reviewed by James Karas</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">Several months ago, Crow’s Theatre produced</span> <span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">Natal’ya
Vorozhbit’s </span><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif;">Bad Roads</span></i></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">, a
riveting play about Russia’s brutal invasion of part of Ukraine and its
continuing assault on an innocent nation. Now, with Nowadays Theatre it has
staged a play about the theocratic and equally horrific regime of the Islamic
Republic of Iran.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;"><b><i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif;">Earworm</span></i></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"> by Mohammad Yaghoubi is an indictment of the theocracy
that runs Iran with a viciousness that is reminiscent of Stalinist
Russia or Nazi Germany and so many others. The play has four characters. Homa (Aida
Keykhaii) and her son Pendar (Amir Maghami) live in Canada after having lived
in a prison in Iran where the mother was kept in solitary confinement for four months
and years in captivity. Pendar is shown wearing a University of Toronto sweater
and we may assume that he is a student.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">The two argue about what the mother should wear when they plan to meet
the other two people in the play, Pendar’s girlfriend Fatemeh (Parya Heravi) and
her father Mohammad (Amir Zavosh). The liberated Homa puts on a very short
dress – I thought it was a bathing suit – and declares herself independent of
the archaic attire of scarves and hijab. Her son wants her to be more
conservative to please his girlfriend’s father. For the visit she is dressed conservatively
but without a hijab or a scarf.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">Fatemeh loves her traditional father and is trying to get him to change
his ways. The visit begins with some awkward moments and develops into an
explosive situation when Homa realizes that Mohammad was in fact her
interrogator while she was in prison. It is an incredibly dramatic discovery.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZKey65c6WpFVJOyPhU3Oza0xbuSiAiM_zf9u8xzzP6SJjsLKHBTrp_1m4xeFMamNs0gNBFuVAuLU3HHxU6Xq9boEJep7R_mBWDLQqw_R8d6dl_NcO2t-oRMMaMvwbbncABX3AkSTROhDC1CT56xlP7o2qjU2L_L-_l9EPpbjROntG7VrZ2ZvVvj2ji3kr/s6048/EARWORM%20-%202024%20Crow'a%202.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="6048" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZKey65c6WpFVJOyPhU3Oza0xbuSiAiM_zf9u8xzzP6SJjsLKHBTrp_1m4xeFMamNs0gNBFuVAuLU3HHxU6Xq9boEJep7R_mBWDLQqw_R8d6dl_NcO2t-oRMMaMvwbbncABX3AkSTROhDC1CT56xlP7o2qjU2L_L-_l9EPpbjROntG7VrZ2ZvVvj2ji3kr/w400-h266/EARWORM%20-%202024%20Crow'a%202.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;"><i><b><span class="MsoHyperlink"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif;">Parya
Heravi and Amir Maghami </span></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">Photo by
Dahlia Katz</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; text-align: center;"> </span></b></i></p><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">There is no doubt about the dramatic content of the plot but I suggest
that the play has some basic problems. The dialogue is often awkward,
repetitive and creaky. Conversations that have made their point continue for unnecessary
lengths. There is a lack of cohesiveness and tautness that takes away from the
dramatic plot.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"> <br /></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">The actors may have substantial experience but, in this production, they
appeared uneasy and unable to communicate with the audience. Keykhaii has a
thick accent and she is talking with her son whose enunciation is uncertain. In
real life they would be talking in Parsi and the accent should be modified or
even almost eliminated. Mohammad mumbles more than he speaks his lines as if he
were put on the stage against his will. Heravi’s English is less accented but again
there were issues with her delivery and conviction.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjq77FE54BEStMkGIUG_VuGu3tzlHiA6ttegTHcP56WPtd9AOiYJnmOxufDB4eTVuPXTKN3CNFA4AXU1LO4jU7SVASICReE0zO5jLMfy6Y1cGvNNyswaTi9bImKAPgXn0Im4MFSZS4ZiWoVM62vr4k3iO1nxXrxmz_vRX9TQPfx9WAGcicjgzmvGxNauRYk/s6048/EARWORM%20-%202024%20Crow'a%201.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="6048" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjq77FE54BEStMkGIUG_VuGu3tzlHiA6ttegTHcP56WPtd9AOiYJnmOxufDB4eTVuPXTKN3CNFA4AXU1LO4jU7SVASICReE0zO5jLMfy6Y1cGvNNyswaTi9bImKAPgXn0Im4MFSZS4ZiWoVM62vr4k3iO1nxXrxmz_vRX9TQPfx9WAGcicjgzmvGxNauRYk/w400-h266/EARWORM%20-%202024%20Crow'a%201.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><i><div style="text-align: center;"><i><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; text-align: justify;">Aida Keykhaii in Earworm. Photo: Dahlia Katz</span></b></i></div></i><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">These actors may sound much better if they spoke their native Farsi
rather than English. The play can be seen in Farsi with English subtitles and I
suspect it would sound much better with the actors not struggling with English.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"> </span></div>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">The arrest and torture for not wearing a hijab of the 22-year-old Mahsa
Amini haunts the play and resonates in the life of Homa. Amini is a potent
symbol and a haunting reminder of life in Iran. Her subsequent death on September
16, 2022, in the hands of Teheran’s Morality Police<span style="color: red;"> </span>could
have been Homa’s fate when she was in jail or interrogated by Mohammad. The recognition
of Mohammad by Homa as her interrogator is, as I said explosive, but he reacts
as if he has not been there or had anything to do with her.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">The play falls apart at this point. We get an editorial comment that
Yaghoubi finished the first<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>draft of the
play, and there was a suicide but he decided to change the ending. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">Then another scene follows with Homa giving a speech condemning the ruthless
regime of Iran. The effectiveness of her speech was reduced because she lacked
the eloquence that it demands. Again, I think she would sound much better if she
spoke in her native language without the impediments of uncertain handling of
English.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">The idea of changing the ending or supplementing it is not the best
solution. Yaghoubi could use a dramaturge<span style="color: red;"> </span>for
many parts of the play but writing a version with whatever conclusion he wanted
is surely preferable to the awkward notice to the audience of what he did and
wanted to do.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif;">Earworm</span></i></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"> is a good first draft of a play and there was no
reason to rush to production of<span style="color: red;"> </span>an unfinished
script with a cast that felt uncomfortable with the whole thing.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; text-align: left;">The play is produced by Nowadays Theatre in association with Crow’s
Theatre. It is directed by Yaghoubi who is also the founder of Nowadays Theatre.
</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; text-align: left;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; text-align: left;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; text-align: left;"> </span></p><div style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">_____________________________<br /></span><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif;">Earworm </span></i></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; mso-bidi-font-style: italic; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">by Mohammad Yaghoubi in a production by Nowadays
Theatre and Crow’s Theatre opened on February 13 and </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>continues until February 26, 2024, in the
Studio Theatre of Streetcar/Crowsnest Theatre, 345 Carlaw Avenue, Toronto,
Ontario. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><a href="http://crowstheatre.com/">http://crowstheatre.com/</a></div>
James Karashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12713238235746109608noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2342477047374839017.post-86662489534892855062024-02-14T00:25:00.000-05:002024-02-14T00:25:14.479-05:00MACBETH “A Tale Told By An Idiot” – REVIEW OF ELDRICH THEATRE PRODUCTION<p><a name="OLE_LINK2"><b>Reviewed by James Karas</b></a><b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 17pt; text-transform: uppercase;"><o:p> </o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bookmark: OLE_LINK2;"><span style="mso-bookmark: OLE_LINK1;"><span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">You can’t blame Eldrich Theatre
or Eric Woolfe for the subtitle of their production of William Shakespeare’s <b><i>Macbeth
</i></b></span><b><i><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></i></b><i><span lang="EN-GB">“A Tale Told By An Idiot.</span></i></span></span><i><span lang="EN-GB">”</span></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: black; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; text-transform: uppercase;">t</span><span style="color: black; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">he murderer of <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>King Duncan and usurper of the royal crown of Scotland,
yes, I do mean Macbeth, considered what he and his wife did to satisfy their
lust for power and life itself as a tale told by an idiot and what’s more
“signifying nothing.”</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: black; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Eric Woolfe has decided to lampoon the entire play in
an imaginative and unidiotic way that is his conception and is performed by him
alone. He is the only performer and he acts out all the parts using puppets. He
appears in various attires from wearing ridiculous masks, to holding outrageous
puppets and changing his voice for everyone that he represents.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: black; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">The set in a tiny corner of a tiny theatre looks like
the upper part of a well and there are shelves for puppets, masks and other
items like playing cards for him to amuse us with. He uses Shakespeare’s text
with some modifications when humour is called for but he is largely faithful to
the bard. Full marks to Melanie McNeill for set and wild costume designs and
Gareth Crew for superb lighting design.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"></p><div style="text-align: center;"><o:p> </o:p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhU6FBGx5RhPInOja8vuA6bRMidG-evaVSu70hhEWjPG2gBFY4ion06nK07ajg3qTozeHdek4vBhnaFRQgh_hrkX7Aq7npG725nsuP1jFzeiNyzHZfRLlJQ7yOPiz4PruXxNfE7PnboLPiW7CVpTUcUvjDpg8zvYGNC5Pa7fCcYUtWgMcFFy12v0Hy2nOd5/s940/MACBETH%20A%20Tale%20told%20-%202024%20Sandcastle.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="788" data-original-width="940" height="335" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhU6FBGx5RhPInOja8vuA6bRMidG-evaVSu70hhEWjPG2gBFY4ion06nK07ajg3qTozeHdek4vBhnaFRQgh_hrkX7Aq7npG725nsuP1jFzeiNyzHZfRLlJQ7yOPiz4PruXxNfE7PnboLPiW7CVpTUcUvjDpg8zvYGNC5Pa7fCcYUtWgMcFFy12v0Hy2nOd5/w400-h335/MACBETH%20A%20Tale%20told%20-%202024%20Sandcastle.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><span style="color: black; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><div style="text-align: center;"><b>Eric Woolfe in one of his many faces. Photo:Adrianna Prosser</b></div></span><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: black; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">We meet the three Witches and Woolfe gives them
distinct voices. A rather pathetic puppet is produced representing the Captain
who relates Macbeth’s heroic acts to King Duncan, and the Witches appear again
telling Macbeth the good news (he will become king) and the bad news (his heirs
will not}.</span> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: black; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Woolfe changes masks and dons the head of a
nasty-looking woman, Lady Macbeth of course. We arrive at the Macbeth’s castle,
hear the plans for the execution of the king and listen to the ominous knocks
on the door. Woolfe stabs a puppet and blood (red paper napkins) oozes out and
we know that the king has been dispatched permanently.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: black; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Woolfe introduces the scene of McDuff’s children
speaking in their innocent voices before they are killed and we see a part of
McDuff’s pain and anger. Woolfe can be dramatic in his recitation of
Shakespeare’s lines and evoke humour at will.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: black; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">We hear Macbeth in his hubris saying he cannot be
killed unless Birnam Wood moves to Dunsinane and, moreover, he cannot be killed
by a man of woman born. Surprise, both things happen.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: black; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">The production, directed by Dylan Trowbridge, takes
about 90 minutes. Woolfe keeps up a brisk pace as he goes through kaleidoscope
of voices,<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>magic tricks, masks and
puppets. It is a bravura performance of a piece of imaginative and wonderful recreation
of a famous play. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: black; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Here are Macbeth’s lines on hearing that Lady Macbeth
has died and the source of the subtitle of the play under review:</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><i><span style="color: black; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Life’s
but a walking shadow, a poor player<o:p></o:p></span></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><i><span style="color: black; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">That
struts and frets his hour upon the stage,<o:p></o:p></span></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><i><span style="color: black; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">And
then is heard no more. It is a tale<o:p></o:p></span></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><i><span style="color: black; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Told by
an idiot, full of sound and fury,<o:p></o:p></span></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><i><span style="color: black; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Signifying
nothing.</span></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: black; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">That’s
pretty somber stuff but Woolfe and Trowbridge manage to give them and the
entire play a completely different take.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i><span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">_______________________________<o:p></o:p></span></i></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i><span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">MACBETH “A Tale Told By An Idiot” </span></i></b><span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">based on William
Shakespeare’s play and </span><span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>conceived and performed by Eric
Woolfe in a production by Eldrich Theatre continues until February 24, 2024,</span><span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"> at the Red Sandcastle Theatre. 922 Queen
Street East, Toronto. </span><span lang="EN-GB"><a href="https://eldritchtheatre.ca/"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">https://eldritchtheatre.ca/</span></a></span><span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">James Karas is the Senior Editor, Culture of The Greek Press</p>James Karashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12713238235746109608noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2342477047374839017.post-87419705009190314942024-02-09T23:56:00.001-05:002024-02-09T23:56:30.326-05:00UNCLE VANYA – REVIEW OF 2024 CAA THEATRE REVIVAL OF CROW’S THEATRE PRODUCTION<p><b>Reviewed by James Karas</b><span style="text-align: justify;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">Anton Chekhov’s <b><i>Uncle Vanya</i></b>
was seen in September 2022 at Crow’s Theatre in Toronto. Mirvish has wisely
remounted the production at its CAA Theatre. It is a redoubtable staging as directed
by Chris Abraham based on a version of the play by Liisa Repo-Martell.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">The play is subtitled <i>Scenes From
Country</i> Life and is set on an estate somewhere in the vastness of Russia at
the end of the 19<sup>th</sup> century. Chekhov’s directions are that it takes place
in a garden, the dining room, the drawing room and a bedroom/office of the mansion
but Abraham has chosen a large, musty room for all the action. It is in that
large room that we meet all the characters and consequently the world that Chekhov
portrays for us.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">Uncle Vanya (Tom Rooney) manages
the large estate with Sonya (bahia watson) for the benefit of Professor Serebryakov.
Vanya looks rumpled, unsteady, erratic and perhaps a man who is not all there. He
steals some morphine from Dr. Astrov with the intent of committing suicide, one
assumes, and he is shot at unsuccessfully. He is depressed and a man lost in
the wilderness who<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>falls in love or is
infatuated with Yelena, Serebryakov’e wife. Rooney gives a superb performance capturing
the complexities of Vanya’s character.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">Sonya is the Professor’s daughter
from his previous marriage to Vanya’s sister and seems like a lost soul. She is
of marriageable age but the only possible target of her love is Dr, Astrov who rejects
her. She is a hard worker and finds solace and perhaps a solution to her lonely
life in work. Excellent acting by watson.</p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><o:p></o:p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIS9-CX6rznw432TrfB-5ID5c6ssfI6VJQs4CgvjtGDaN4l_crLJ_16fACrtaqpM7-yvhHY0kzXQlj4NEhoBqCFOL521E9XPwHkfqUmEMIEw0or38Z6VwDFrnMaRMktfGc9o8suDziOpWi4_0ua0tRCPYVr3gXJagiVKadEkEEuX5bfLwKPMglAwFvlt4-/s1607/UNCLE%20VANYA%20-%202024%20CAA%201.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1607" height="299" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIS9-CX6rznw432TrfB-5ID5c6ssfI6VJQs4CgvjtGDaN4l_crLJ_16fACrtaqpM7-yvhHY0kzXQlj4NEhoBqCFOL521E9XPwHkfqUmEMIEw0or38Z6VwDFrnMaRMktfGc9o8suDziOpWi4_0ua0tRCPYVr3gXJagiVKadEkEEuX5bfLwKPMglAwFvlt4-/w400-h299/UNCLE%20VANYA%20-%202024%20CAA%201.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="text-align: justify;"><b><i>(l to r) Eric Peterson as
Alexandre, Carolyn Fe as </i></b></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="text-align: justify;"><b><i>Marina, Shannon Taylor as Yelena, Tom Rooney</i></b></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="text-align: justify;"><b><i>as Vanya,
Anand Rajaram as Telegin, dtaborah johnson </i></b></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="text-align: justify;"><b><i>as Maria. Photo Credit: Dahlia Katz</i></b></span></div><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><o:p></o:p></p><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">Dr. Astrov (Ali Kazmi) is an
interesting character who cares about the climate but has lost his ambition and
in the end is indifferent to everything. Kazmi speaks with a distinguished accent
and is a man who cared about his patients and the world. He falls in love with
Yelena and is rejected by her and there seems to be little hope for him in the wilderness
of Russia.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">Ilia Telegin (Anand Rajaram) is
an impoverished, comic and pathetic former landowner who mooches on the estate.
With his long hair and beard, and his bedraggled clothes, he looks almost
unhinged and pitiful. Rajaram may perhaps overdo it but perhaps he gives us exactly
what Telegin deserves.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">The arrival of Professor Serebryakov
(Eric Peterson) with his beautiful young wife Yelena (Shannon Taylor) throws the
pathetic country life in the mansion into an uproar when he announces that he
wants to sell the state and take the money so he can live better. The professor
is described as a useless man and an academic who writes books about nothing that
nobody reads. Even more important is the presence of his beautiful, young and
aristocratic-looking wife. Her sheer presence lightens the scene and as mentioned,
Astrov and Vanya fall in love with her. She is a cultured woman form St.
Petersburg who studied music<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>at the conservatory
but her effect on “the country life” is passing as she remains faithful to the nonentity
that she is married to. Shannon Taylor fits the role perfectly.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">As usual, Chris Abraham deserves the
lion’s share of the credit for the well-modulated reading of a difficult play.
Julie Fox and Joshua Quinlan get kudos for Set and Props co-designers.</p>
<div style="text-align: justify;">A play and a production worth seeing
as often as possible,<br /> _____________________________<br /><b><i>Uncle Vanya</i></b> by Anton Chekhov in an adaptation
by Lisa Repo-Martell continues until February 25, 2024, at the CAA Theatre, 651
Yonge St, Toronto ON, M4Y 1Z9<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><a href="http://www.mirvish.com/">www.mirvish.com/</a></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">James Karas is the Senior Editor, Culture of The Greek Press</div><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p>James Karashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12713238235746109608noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2342477047374839017.post-68210689274796761472024-02-07T23:48:00.002-05:002024-02-07T23:48:49.335-05:00DON GIOVANNI – REVIEW OF 2024 CANADIAN OPERA COMPANY PRODUCTION <p> <span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; text-align: justify;">Reviewed by James Karas</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB">The Canadian
Opera Company has not deprived us of extraordinary productions of<i> <b>Don</b></i><b>
<i>Giovanni.</i></b> In 2015 we saw Dmitri Tcherniakov’s original and masterly
interpretation. This year we are treated to Kasper Holten’s 2014 coproduction of
Mozart’s masterpiece for the COC and four other opera companies including the Royal
Opera House, Covent Garden.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB">At the Four-Season
Centre the vocal fireworks start with the bass-baritones Gordon Bintner as Don
Giovanni and Paolo Bordogna as Leporello. The tall, blond Bintner display
braggadocio and vocal as well as physical agility to please all tastes.
Bordogna is not the same size physically as Bintner but he presents a superbly
sung Leporello and a fine characterization of the abused servant of the great
seducer.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB">Soprano Mane Galoyan
sings an outstanding Donna Anna. This Donna Anna is a consummate liar. She
shows no anger or distress about what she and Don Givanni did in her bedroom and
then is shocked at what happened to her father without looking at him. She tells
some whoppers to her fiancé Don Ottavio about how she was raped and then puts
him off for a year when he wants to marry her. She has a marvellous voice, full
of lyrical sweetness and Galoyan gives us a Donna Anna to remember.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Don Ottavio, the fiancé (remember) in the hands of tenor Ben Bliss has a
marvelous voice, a fine performance and a sympathetic character but he does not
stand a chance in the hands of the wily Donna Anna. Nice guys sometimes come
last.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNxU7Ok3m81NEvHtlKQWf-0q7VCJnK8DufkcBqfyQk76YmjJaC7mUQjaJ1YRzBtqKkY-1ms7EjkJpW0Pp92UOT0_GuRf_WMDNnCmu3CxSkeuF9d9MuRbg92fmGtQByXPIm4akn6ju9jotWi7i7OpNjPBR_wFhsOSdCjlAKHynGS3wYrigOQ35szMnWZt1V/s3335/DON%20GIOVANNI%20-%202024%20COC%203.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2400" data-original-width="3335" height="288" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNxU7Ok3m81NEvHtlKQWf-0q7VCJnK8DufkcBqfyQk76YmjJaC7mUQjaJ1YRzBtqKkY-1ms7EjkJpW0Pp92UOT0_GuRf_WMDNnCmu3CxSkeuF9d9MuRbg92fmGtQByXPIm4akn6ju9jotWi7i7OpNjPBR_wFhsOSdCjlAKHynGS3wYrigOQ35szMnWZt1V/w400-h288/DON%20GIOVANNI%20-%202024%20COC%203.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><p></p><div style="text-align: justify;"><div style="text-align: center;"><b style="color: windowtext;"><i>Gordon Bintner as Don Giovanni and Mané Galoyan </i></b></div><span class="MsoHyperlink"><div style="text-align: center;"><b style="color: windowtext;"><i>as
Donna Anna in </i>Don Giovanni<i>, 2024,
photo: Michael Cooper</i></b></div></span></div><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">Soprano Anita Hartig has a gorgeous voice and her Donna Elvira, the woman
unceremoniously jilted by lecher Don Giovanni, is full of passion, anger and
vocal beauty. She gets some expressive arias and my only complaint about her is
that she does not display the rage that she says she feels. I have no doubt
that Hartig sang as directed but I suggest that along with the passion, the
regret and her continuous desire for Don Giovanni, she should be allowed to
display some wrath, indeed furor, at the way she is treated.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">The lovely and lovable Zerlina in the hands of mezzo-soprano Simone McIntosh
is a delight to the ear and the eye. Poor Masetto does not stand a chance against
her wiles delivered so beautifully. A vocal and acting delight.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Bass-baritone Joel Allison plays a reasonably straight Masetto as
opposed to a buffoonish or oafish one that some directors give us. He is no
buffoon but he is rightly jealous when Zerlina is tempted by Don Giovanni and he
is beaten by him. But Zerlina has him tied around her little finger and he is driven
by love and not by foolishness. I prefer this interpretation of the role to a
clownish Masetto. Excellent work by Allison.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><o:p></o:p></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzRVRqZHZmboEmZG6IEEbJ-SJMe3CEZ6Um3sKXqU7i3CsQtgiJvjpNtBRSVyxBxnokC5umyg19SOIn4QoXOZAjll9vj4s15EE_2HQHtMudef1MHhXSXqp_bLgzFC2HKKVyaGEBeGxGBQ_mQLI9rWxtJaP0sCOhuaiB7IEgvTd0iMxlq_FWTYvTxZ0QGsJH/s3494/DON%20GIOVANNI%20-%202024%20COC%202.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2400" data-original-width="3494" height="275" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzRVRqZHZmboEmZG6IEEbJ-SJMe3CEZ6Um3sKXqU7i3CsQtgiJvjpNtBRSVyxBxnokC5umyg19SOIn4QoXOZAjll9vj4s15EE_2HQHtMudef1MHhXSXqp_bLgzFC2HKKVyaGEBeGxGBQ_mQLI9rWxtJaP0sCOhuaiB7IEgvTd0iMxlq_FWTYvTxZ0QGsJH/w400-h275/DON%20GIOVANNI%20-%202024%20COC%202.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: windowtext;"><b><i>A scene from the Canadian Opera Company’s production</i></b></span></div><span class="MsoHyperlink"><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: windowtext;"><b><i> of Don Giovanni, 2024, photo: Michael Cooper</i></b></span></div></span></div><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">The set by Es Devlin consists of a cubic two-story structure with
staircases in the center. It is set on a revolving stage with moveable panels. There
are numerous projections on the plain panels including long lists of names presumably
of Don Giovanni’s conquests and a rich variety of colors. The interior of the
cube has staircases and displays great flexibility.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">The lighting, designed by Bruno Poet and handled by John Paul Percox for
the revival, and the projections designed Luka Halls, plays<span style="color: red;"> </span>an important part in the production but trying to
follow the changing lights and projections on the set proved overwhelming at
times and I feared losing my concentration.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Kasper Holten is a brilliant opera director and the COC has very wisely brought
this production to Toronto.</span></p>
<div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">The Canadian Opera Company Orchestra and Chorus were conducted by
Johannes Debus in an extraordinary and unforgettable production. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> <br /></span></span><span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">______<span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">___<br /></span></span><b><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Don Giovanni</span></i></b><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"> </span></i><span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">by W. A. Mozart will be performed a total of seven times
until February 24, 2024, at the Four Seasons Centre for the Performing Arts,
145</span><span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"> Queen Street
West, Toronto, Ontario. </span><span lang="EN-GB"><a href="http://www.coc.ca/"><span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">www.coc.ca</span></a><span class="MsoHyperlink"><span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">James Karas is the Senior Editor, Culture of The Greek Press</div>
James Karashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12713238235746109608noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2342477047374839017.post-36801367164749529242024-02-06T15:04:00.003-05:002024-02-06T15:04:59.888-05:00THE CUNNING LITTLE VIXEN – REVIEW OF 2024 CANADIAN OPERA COMPANY PRODUCTION<p><b>Reviewed by James
Karas</b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">True to its tradition, the Canadian Opera Company <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>for its winter season offers us a well know staple
and and a relatively unknown opera. Czech composer Leos Janacek’s </span><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i>The Cunning Little Vixen</i></b><span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"> was last produced by the<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>COC more than 25 years ago and that is a long
coffee break.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">We are happy for the opportunity for seeing this original and difficult work
again in a laudable production from the English National Opera directed by
Jamie Manton and conducted for the COC by Johannes Debus. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><i><span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">The Cunning Little Vixen’s</span></i><span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"> cast consists of a veritable forest of animals, insects and a few people.
We have the little vixen who is abducted by the Forester, mistreated by his
wife, escapes, grows into a big vixen and has a brood of little vixens. We meet
a stageful<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>of the following: a cricket,
a grasshopper, a frog, a mosquito<span style="color: red;">,</span> a badger, an
owl, a dozen hens, a rooster, a jay, a woodpecker and no doubt a few others. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">Humankind is represented by the Forester (Christopher Purves), his nasty Wife
(mezzo-soprano Megan Latham), the Schoolteacher (tenor Wesley Harrison), the
Innkeeper (tenor Adam Luther), his Wife (soprano Charlotte Siegel) the Priest (bass-baritone
Giles Tomkins) and the Poacher (bass-baritone Alex Halliday). Except for Purves
and Halliday, all the other singers have a role as an insect or an animal as
well.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"></p><div style="text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj963scCndsKjJzHX-9rEV93NBPkVkXcPBt6V32ZCQoDp3ZKA3aoZuagmWH-6fqvBDHhT8o1ID60AKD4Gi-FClaSMRTn53UxNDiL8Eipm3wPaT8F8FMu8lJ7DHB5qWd6ePUpBgw6erHXcjYG3j4JWCM0co5I51zXxjvLggYYLmR1Zt_BPB74CXzGLD53-nd/s3062/CUNNING%20LITTLE%20VIXEN%20%20-%202024%20COC%204.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2103" data-original-width="3062" height="275" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj963scCndsKjJzHX-9rEV93NBPkVkXcPBt6V32ZCQoDp3ZKA3aoZuagmWH-6fqvBDHhT8o1ID60AKD4Gi-FClaSMRTn53UxNDiL8Eipm3wPaT8F8FMu8lJ7DHB5qWd6ePUpBgw6erHXcjYG3j4JWCM0co5I51zXxjvLggYYLmR1Zt_BPB74CXzGLD53-nd/w400-h275/CUNNING%20LITTLE%20VIXEN%20%20-%202024%20COC%204.jpg" width="400" /></a></div></div><span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"><o:p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b><i>(left) Jane Archibald as the Vixen and Giles Tomkins as the Priest</i></b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b><i> in The Cunning Little Vixen, 2024, photo: Michael Coope</i></b></div></o:p></span><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">The vixen of the title is sung by the luscious-voiced Jane Archibald,
while her love the Fox is sung by the lovely-voiced mezzo-soprano Ema Nikolovska.
The singers as humans or humans and animals or insects do excellent vocal work at
times under some constraints with the necessary costumes. There are no slackers
in the cast. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">Janacek based his libretto on the
comic strip fairy tales of Rudolf Tesnohlidek which were of course in Czech. The
COC production is sung in Czech with the attendant difficulty of learning a
language that may be foreign to most singers. The COC to its credit decided to
have it sung in Czech unlike other productions that use English translations.
Bravo COC.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">This is not a pleasant fairy tale
where everyone lives happily ever after. The vixen is mistreated by the
Forester’s wife and it kills their hens. In the forest, the vixen dislodges the
Badger and there is revolutionary talk that is closer to George Orwell’s <i>Animal
Farm</i> than to the Grimm Brothers.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">On the human side, the men <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>talk of love and marriage at the inn but director
Jamie Manton has them sitting at a distance from each other facing the
audience. Would it not be better if they were sitting at a table perhaps
playing cards?</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The Cunning Little Vixen</i></b> contains
some beautiful orchestral music, is an opera and has enough dance requirement
to require ballet dancers. It strikes me as a work that could easily be converted
into a ballet. The COC production does make an attempt at dance, especially
with the gorgeous hens in their white gowns but the ballet requirements are almost
totally ignored. Too bad but the Canadian Opera Company Orchestra and Chorus
and the Canadian Children’s Opera Company under Johannes Debus deserve huge
credit for their performances. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">The set by Tom Scutt feature some
tall, moveable cabinets and unrealistic scenes. The costumes also by Scutt need
to help us identify the insects and the animals and there is only so much one
can do and he did a good job. He avoided the cutesy Disney look and that was
fine with us.</p>
<div style="text-align: justify;">I sat beside a young man who had
purchased a ticket at a good price because he is under thirty. He told me that
his favorite opera is <i>Madama Butterly </i>and asked me if <i>The Cunning
Little Vixen</i> is like that. I told him it is not like that but it has a lot
of different elements that made it worth seeing. I hope he agreed with me after
the performance.<br />_____________________________<br /><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The Cunning Little Vixen </i></b>by Leos Janacek is being performed eight
times on various dates until February 16, 2024, at the Fours Seasons Centre for
the Performing Arts, 145 Queen Street West, Toronto, Ontario. <a href="http://www.coc.ca/">www.coc.ca</a></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">James Karas is the Senior Editor, Culture of The Greek Press</div><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p>James Karashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12713238235746109608noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2342477047374839017.post-77424838852459679802024-02-03T23:34:00.001-05:002024-02-03T23:34:33.903-05:00OTHELLO – REVIEW OF 2024 PRODUCTION AT SAM WANAMAKER THEATRE, LONDON<p><span style="text-align: justify;">Reviewed by James Karas</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">The famous Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre is celebrating the 10<sup>th </sup>year
of productions in the small, enclosed Sam Wanamaker Theatre that made it possible
to have a winter season in addition to the summer offerings in its open-air
theatre on the south bank of the Thames River.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><b><i><span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Othello </span></i></b><span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">is one of
this winter’s main productions and one must give highly laudable and deserved reviews
to the actors. The problem is the choices made by director Ola Ince who has
decided to Improve Shakespeare’s play.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Before I launch my catalogue of dislikes about the production, let me
mention the positive features. The cast is excellent, starting with Ken Nwosu
as Othello, an actor with a sonorous voice who delivers his pentameters with
gorgeous musicality when he is not insane with jealousy and with precision when
he is. When he is murderously jealous, he is truly dramatic. The evil Iago of Ralph
Davis is a venomous creature and a good actor in his ability to convince people
of his honesty and integrity.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Poppy Gilbert’s Desdemona is forthright and beautiful. She knows how to
state her position and defend herself. We admire her and the actor playing her.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"></p><div style="text-align: center;"><o:p> </o:p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWl5HomF0VwDIgUpw776nO0Rr39R6BVzysc14eC2PGr_rz8mm7m6y6shAjzeZYykg2QK8vqdlB6tmnCjzkkm8wc6MMiU_ZZ1vMIEkMGEiBWow0MjtNphUL3yKls0LQDMRItGV2kkccS3WB8IlJXmcpun0nxcwZ7KeBHxubwVcBDoR0HGvb97gBgXyaTiYb/s1400/Othello%20-%202024%20Sam%20Wanamaker%203.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="875" data-original-width="1400" height="250" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWl5HomF0VwDIgUpw776nO0Rr39R6BVzysc14eC2PGr_rz8mm7m6y6shAjzeZYykg2QK8vqdlB6tmnCjzkkm8wc6MMiU_ZZ1vMIEkMGEiBWow0MjtNphUL3yKls0LQDMRItGV2kkccS3WB8IlJXmcpun0nxcwZ7KeBHxubwVcBDoR0HGvb97gBgXyaTiYb/w400-h250/Othello%20-%202024%20Sam%20Wanamaker%203.png" width="400" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><o:p> <b><i>Ken Nwosu as Othello and Poppy Gilbert as Desdemona. <br /></i></b></o:p><o:p><b><i><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span>Photo Johan Persson</i></b></o:p></div><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Ince embarks on a director’s ego trip paying scant attention to the script
and the result is simply awful. Making changes and taking liberties with
Shakespeare’s text is almost de rigueur and most of the time not only do we not
complain but laud the director for his/her imagination and brilliance. Not this
time.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Without mentioning chapter
and verse, here are a few of <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Ince’s
additions/subtractions to the play, let’s start with the addition of a mime to
the play. Othello and Desdemona appear before a priest and are married.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">As we all know, <i>Othello</i> opens with Iago and Rodrigues rioting in front
of the house of Desdemona’s father, salaciously intimating that the Moor has
taken his daughter. Ola has set the play in modern day London and the
characters are mostly police officers in the Metropolitan Police. They are
facing some serious criminals, perhaps terrorists in the docklands and the
problem needs an experienced Police Commissioner like Othello to quell it.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">All well and good. But it is here that things become muddled. Does Ola want
a police thriller or a psychological tale and not what Shakespeare provided? Othello
has a conscience but Ola adds a character, Subconscious Othello (Ira Mandela
Siobhan) who is very conscious and active on the stage. You may recall that
near the end of the play Othello faces the sleeping Desdemona alone in her bed
and decides that he must strangle <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>her.
In this production he is accompanied by Subconscious Othello and there is a
physical struggle between the Conscious and Subconscious Othellos. The murder scene
becomes a threesome.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">When Othello says the unforgettable lines beginning with “It is the
cause” Subconscious Othello repeats some of the lines wrecking the sonority of
the stunning pentameters. Subconscious Othello accompanies Othello throughout
most of the play and to call his presence annoying is the politest thing one
can say. Much stronger words are called for but I will desist.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><o:p></o:p></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgprJ9VXD9zPzhrGcbuF23L8CasG2laSyQAsTKXoSqvPOojgmngzuij4e6_UWMb4PiYXMu2q29reoxHSfWjqYFfIiYeW0kT-yZ3ChrkupDpHuZJPJ3SW9AbGNXj07ZhVi7sKJVnCS3fId2YvqT-YiLXa8EvPgJbAheWAGxuF5Y4uWNfB-I7-4H-JrqvDlI3/s768/Othello%20-%202024%20Sam%20Wanamaker%20O%20and%20I.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="512" data-original-width="768" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgprJ9VXD9zPzhrGcbuF23L8CasG2laSyQAsTKXoSqvPOojgmngzuij4e6_UWMb4PiYXMu2q29reoxHSfWjqYFfIiYeW0kT-yZ3ChrkupDpHuZJPJ3SW9AbGNXj07ZhVi7sKJVnCS3fId2YvqT-YiLXa8EvPgJbAheWAGxuF5Y4uWNfB-I7-4H-JrqvDlI3/w400-h266/Othello%20-%202024%20Sam%20Wanamaker%20O%20and%20I.png" width="400" /></a></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><o:p><b><i> Ken Nwosu as Othello and Ralph Davis as Iago. <br /></i></b></o:p></span><span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><o:p><b><i><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span>Photo: Johan Persson</i></b></o:p></span></div><p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><o:p><b><i> </i></b></o:p></span><span style="text-align: justify;">We know that Othello descends from a noble, self-controlled, high-ranking
officer and becomes an ugly, jealous and murderous being. In the final scene he
regains his composure and nobility. He has realized his crime and the blows he
suffered at the hands of his trusted lieutenant, “honest” Iago. In his final speech
he rises to his previous self and describes a heroic act against someone who beat
up a Venetian and insulted Venice with the words “I took by the throat the circumcised
dog and smote him thus” and stabs himself.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">That unforgettable scene is not good enough for Ince and she has Othello lunge at Iago and he is stopped
by the guards and given a severe beating as he lies on the floor. Yes, that is
how the play ends in a perversion that polite words can barely describe.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">The setting of the play in today’s London is awkward but works if you
take out the serious cuts to the text and the switch to psychological interpretations
or a simple police drama. Desdemona aka Des comes from Chelsea and there are other
changes made to accommodate the script to Ince’s vision.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">The set by Designer Amelia Jane Hankin is simple and acceptable. But
there is one aspect that I found interesting. There is a sign in the foyer that
states Theatre by Candlelight. That’s very romantic but the theater has been
doing simply fine with electric lighting. Several dozen candles are lit one at
a time and later snuffed. I saw no advantage in doing so except for the waste
of time. The script was cut and we would have preferred more of Shakespeare’s words
and less playing with candles.</span></p>
<div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">A horrible night at the theatre.<br /></span><span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">____________________________<br /></span><b><i><span lang="EN-GB">Othello</span></i></b><i><span lang="EN-GB"> by</span></i><span lang="EN-GB"> William Shakespeare continues until
April 13, 2024, in the Sam Wanamaker Playhouse, Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre, 21
New Globe Walk, London SE1 9DT, London. <a href="http://www.shakespeares-globe.org/">www.shakespeares-globe.org</a> <o:p></o:p></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">James Karas is the Senior Editor, Culture of The Greek Press</div>
James Karashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12713238235746109608noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2342477047374839017.post-88405904456544465032024-02-02T21:58:00.006-05:002024-02-02T22:12:02.549-05:00AFTERGLOW – REVIEW OF SOUTHWARK PLAYHOUSE PRODUCTION<p><span lang="EN-GB">Reviewed by
James </span>Karas</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">In the opening scene of <b><i>Afterglow,</i></b>
we see the outlines of three men behind a sheer curtain engaged in a wonderful
sexual act. The curtain is removed, and we meet the three muscular young men,
naked in loving embraces. They are content and happy in the climax of their
encounter. The men are the married couple Alex (Victor Hugo) and Josh (Peter McPherson)
and their visitor Darius (James Nicolson). </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">Josh and Alex are expecting a
child from a surrogate mother and have an open marriage that means they can
have sexual relations with other men provided it does not include sleepovers.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">The inexperienced and young
Darius falls in love with Josh and the latter reciprocates with the rationale
that his relations with Alex are not as frequent as they used to be. Alex
discerns what is happening and demands that Josh terminate his contact with
Darius.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">In other words, <b><i>Afterglow</i></b>
is the classic story of a love triangle only this time it involves only men.
There is a great deal of nudity and displays of affection among the men as the
love between John and Alex is sorely tested as the love between Josh and Darius
increases.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">The author S. Asher Gelman is an
American actor, dancer, choreographer, playwright, and director. <b><i>Afterglow
</i></b>is his first play and it opened Off-Broadway in New York in 2017 and
ran for 14 months. The play has received numerous productions through his company
Midnight Theatricals. He directs and choreographs the current production in the
Southwark Playhouse, London.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVHhdiEazOBEAJKUArwCT6XYlfYh7AZUpMbE5F2B2IqhPFp_mhLOT24rHVbcBtQt-Al0tXdvPHjoyHI1b2MAX_Wv5yQZslaE1CGajcKDqg5EGmPNEibTYRsib1faDC_c3JeqZuSbv-idw4hkgOSd_z9D3LuX7XWeEClmGEqhYpIG23E3MwdOuqDH7mUEQ7/s6782/Afterglow_003_Victor%20Hugo_Peter%20Mcpherson_credit%20The%20Other%20Richard.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4513" data-original-width="6782" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVHhdiEazOBEAJKUArwCT6XYlfYh7AZUpMbE5F2B2IqhPFp_mhLOT24rHVbcBtQt-Al0tXdvPHjoyHI1b2MAX_Wv5yQZslaE1CGajcKDqg5EGmPNEibTYRsib1faDC_c3JeqZuSbv-idw4hkgOSd_z9D3LuX7XWeEClmGEqhYpIG23E3MwdOuqDH7mUEQ7/w400-h266/Afterglow_003_Victor%20Hugo_Peter%20Mcpherson_credit%20The%20Other%20Richard.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><i>Victor Hugo and Pete McPherson. Photo: The Other Richard</i></b></div><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">The play is a love story and a
story about family. Josh and Alex initially take an open view of sex in their
marriage with some limitations, but their main concern is the pending arrival
of their child. The arrival of the handsome Darius acts as a disruption to the
loving family and it shows the limits of free love. Josh complains that Alex
has not been attentive to his emotional and sexual needs. Alex says he has work
pressure and needs some air but that in no way diminishes his love and devotion
to Josh. As they say, this is the classic triangle.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">Darius is a young, inexperienced
gay man who falls deeply in love with Josh and the situation among the three
men reaches a climactic moment where a resolution is required.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">The acting is superb. Victor Hugo
as Alex is a hard-working chemist with a job that makes great demands on him.
He tries to be understanding and accepting of his husband’s conduct, but it
reaches a breaking point, and he demands that it cease. A superb performance by
Hugo. McPherson as Josh is a successful actor with great emotional and sexual needs,
and he feels that Alex is not fulfilling those needs the way he used to. Nicholson
as Darius is an inexperienced gay man who falls in love with Josh and is open
to be crushed if the relationship fails. A sensitive and nuanced performance.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">The set by designer Ann
Beyersdorfer is all black with small pieces of furniture rearranged by the cast
to show Josh and Alex’s apartment, with a shower center-stage, and Darius’s
place of work as a masseur and his apartment. All is done on a small stage with
minimal changes. But the showers and lighting
effects by Jamie Roderick are something to behold.</p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><o:p></o:p></p>
<div style="text-align: justify;">A superb production and a
delightful night at the theatre in the small but highly creative Southwark
Playhouse.<br /><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">____________________<br /></span><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;">Afterglow </span></i></b><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">by S. Asher Gelman
in a production by Midnight Theatricals opened on January 17 and will run until
February 10, 2024 at the Southwark </span><span style="font-size: 10pt;">Playhouse</span><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">, 77-85 Newington </span><span style="font-size: 10pt;">Causeway,</span><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"> London SE1 6BD. </span><a href="http://southwarkplayhouse.co.uk/"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">http://southwarkplayhouse.co.uk/</span></b></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">James Karas is the Senior zeditor, Culture of The Greek Press</div><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><o:p></o:p></p>
James Karashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12713238235746109608noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2342477047374839017.post-75987388993556121062024-02-01T12:02:00.001-05:002024-02-01T12:02:15.986-05:00THE MOTIVE AND THE CUE – REVIEW OF PLAY ABOUT THE GIELGUD/BURTON PRODUCTION OF HAMLET AT GARRICK THEATRE<p><b>Reviewed by James Karas</b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="text-align: justify;">On April 9, 1964, a production of
</span><b style="text-align: justify;"><i>Hamlet</i></b><span style="text-align: justify;"> opened on Broadway in New York. It starred Richard Burton
and was directed by Sir John Gielgud. It received a great deal of publicity and
was a successful production, but the brouhaha may have had little to do with
the quality of the director and the star actor. The publicity was generated probably
more by Burton’s recent marriage to Elizabeth Taylor than by the production of
a play by William Shakespeare.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">The production has become
legendary and almost 60 years later it has spawned an outstanding play by Jack
Thorne and a production by the National Theatre of Great Britain directed by
the eminent Sam Mendes. It represents outstanding theatre and a lecture about
the famous play that should not be missed. And it is great to hear what the
great stars had to say about Shakespeare and their views of the iconic play.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="text-align: justify;">The play takes us through many of
the days of rehearsal of </span><i style="text-align: justify;">Hamlet</i><span style="text-align: justify;"> with sections of the script performed
for us in preparation for the opening. We get titillating views of the life of
Burton and Taylor, but the main thrust is the relationship and confrontations
between John Gielgud, the suave, gentlemanly, and brilliant actor of the
previous generation who has undertaken the job as a knowledgeable and masterly director.
He has detailed views of how scenes and soliloquies can be effectively
performed. Mark Gatiss plays Gielgud brilliantly. He has mastered Gielgud’s voice
and his mannerisms including thrusting his head upwards</span><b style="text-align: justify;">. </b><span style="text-align: justify;">It is as if we
were listening to the great Gielgud himself.</span> </p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKufsmIA5ncaddncOhQtiOxEBAmZcn1n7DsU29Ry6Zw8lH9PlP7pFPpobMsavDR3ASXSiRl0YJhFZcnDDI9o7ao6ocOsK0iNV8xr15PleWU_ycFzyc3QOX3M41OmFla0wEzn0Eh3Vda8Ano0G-66ee7krN2wMpz8nLRhPlM0cPK0YiYjOB1nD3V8lag3Cp/s900/MOTIVE%20AND%20THE%20CUE%20%202024%20Garrick%20The-cast-of-The-Motive-and-the-Cue-in-the-West-End.-%C2%A9-Mark-Douet-900x595.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="595" data-original-width="900" height="265" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKufsmIA5ncaddncOhQtiOxEBAmZcn1n7DsU29Ry6Zw8lH9PlP7pFPpobMsavDR3ASXSiRl0YJhFZcnDDI9o7ao6ocOsK0iNV8xr15PleWU_ycFzyc3QOX3M41OmFla0wEzn0Eh3Vda8Ano0G-66ee7krN2wMpz8nLRhPlM0cPK0YiYjOB1nD3V8lag3Cp/w400-h265/MOTIVE%20AND%20THE%20CUE%20%202024%20Garrick%20The-cast-of-The-Motive-and-the-Cue-in-the-West-End.-%C2%A9-Mark-Douet-900x595.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><b><i><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span>The cast of The Motive And The Clue.. Photo: <span style="text-align: left;">Mark Douet</span></i></b></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">Richard Burton is a great or
could-have-been a great actor except for the fact that he preferred the money
of Hollywood to the adulation of serious drama. He is young, brash, opinionated,
occasionally drunk, offensive and disagrees with Gielgud on many points. The disagreements
cause flareups, but Gielgud never ceases to be a gentleman who wants to
persuade and let Burton find his way into the great role.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">There is a large cast that are in
effect satellites to the director/actor differences. Rosencrantz (Huw Parmenter)
and Guildenstern (Luke Norris), the comic nonentities of the play are treated
seriously by Gielgud who points out that they do have a serious role in what
they do. Allan Corduner plays Hume Cronyn who played Polonius in the production.
Ryan Ellsworth is superb as George Voscovec who played the Player King in New York.
David Tarkenter plays Alfred Drake who acted as Claudius in 1964.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">If anyone can direct a play with
masterly results it is Sam Mendes who is one of the best. The play has numerous
scene changes from a rehearsal room to hotel rooms (one of which is used by
Gielgud for an assignation with a male prostitute) to the stage for performance
of specific scenes. Es Devlin is the set designer.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">The production feels like a documentary,
and it is, largely. Richard L Steme took it upon himself to record every word that
Gielgud spoke about the play in rehearsal. He recorded everything including a
private meeting between Burton and Gielgud. Before the session began, Steme climbed
under the rehearsal platform and pulled a cloth over the tape recorder and himself.
He wrote a book, “John Gielgud Directs Richard Burton in Hamlet” which has not only
reliable but verbatim information about all aspects of the preparation of the production
including the private session by Gielgud and Burton.</p>
<div style="text-align: justify;">Who would not want to see Elizabeth
Taylor play a peacemaker between her husband and the great Gielgud? Details
about small points in producing <i>Hamlet</i> and life behind the scenes of a
production are endlessly fascinating and this play has them all. A theatrical
delight.<br />_______<br /><b><i>The Motive and the Cue</i></b><i> </i>by Jack Thorne in
a production by Neal Street and the National Theatre continues at the Noel Coward
Theatre, St. Martin’s Lane, London, U. K WC2N 4AU.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">James Karas is the Senior Editor, Culture of The Greek Press</div><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><o:p></o:p></p>
James Karashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12713238235746109608noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2342477047374839017.post-89198745563377358392024-01-31T18:19:00.000-05:002024-02-01T10:37:30.694-05:00COWBOIS – REVIEW OF ROYAL COURT THEATRE PRODUCTION IN LONDON<p> <b>Reviewed by James Karas</b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">Playwright Charles Josephine’s <b><i>Cowbois,</i></b>
now playing at the Royal Court Theatre in London is, according to a note in the
program, “a love letter to the trans masculine people in history whose stories
have been ignored or erased.” The play takes place in a saloon run by Miss
Lillian (Sophie Melville) in 19<sup>th</sup> century United States. In the
saloon we meet several of her women friends and other characters. All the
husbands are away for a year prospecting for gold.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">Miss Lillian has some interesting
woman friends. They are Sally Ann (Emma Pallant), Jayne (Lucy McCormick), Lucy
(Lee Braithwaite), and Mary (Bridgette Amofah). A drunk Sheriff Roger Jones
(Paul Hunter) arrives, and we learn that he is looking for a criminal called
Jack Cannon (Vinnie Heaven). He is a singing cowboy dressed in gaudy clothes,
not so much a cowboy as a caricature of one. He sings, dances or gyrates his
torso and causes a sensation not just with the ladies but with the audience who
react to him as if he were a rock star.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">The ladies do not allow the
speaker to finish a sentence and they act and overact with frightful consistency.
Some are hot and fan themselves with great vigor, they are religious and cross
themselves regularly and create an atmosphere that the audience found hugely
entertaining. The heat that the fans which they use so vigorously are supposed
to relieve soon seemed to be more sexual than weather-related.<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5SERc32OpQgpPVDhJW6PTgA3IQsLKedxto1RBs90KzePxvg8JDVcUoip_f3gBYGFWqR1u_WJKnwGzt4EG96zYmaNi7ihsDKBh_G3F98EMpGWRlAxzBe1dz8hHotaAnD0gXGs5fEYkTirsdKvESfMSpSY5-AXsoO0hAz4p7nlzKT5CntiQX7X5xPxm6hS3/s899/Cowbois%20-%202024%20Royal%20Court%20%20Production%202.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="599" data-original-width="899" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5SERc32OpQgpPVDhJW6PTgA3IQsLKedxto1RBs90KzePxvg8JDVcUoip_f3gBYGFWqR1u_WJKnwGzt4EG96zYmaNi7ihsDKBh_G3F98EMpGWRlAxzBe1dz8hHotaAnD0gXGs5fEYkTirsdKvESfMSpSY5-AXsoO0hAz4p7nlzKT5CntiQX7X5xPxm6hS3/w400-h266/Cowbois%20-%202024%20Royal%20Court%20%20Production%202.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The cast of Cowbois. Photo: Ali Wright</td></tr></tbody></table></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">The Sheriff acts and overacts in an
equally showy and ridiculous manner. The ladies’ husbands, as I said, have been
away for a year gold-prospecting somewhere and anything can happen. The
handsome rock-star style Jack and Miss Lillian are attracted to each other and
engage in protracted simulated coitus including finding a hot tub on stage. Yes,
she becomes pregnant, and we see her with a grown belly for the rest of the
show.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">We are informed that Jack has
committed an extremely wide range of crimes including murder, armed robbery,
perjury bigamy, extortion, and a few others. He is a deadly shot and shoots enough
bullets that combined with the shots of the other characters would wipe out a
whole town. Remember, this is a rootin’ shootin’ western. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">The husbands return from their prospecting,
and they do not raise the atmosphere of silliness. I am not sure what Josephine
as the author and co-director with Sean Holmes had in mind. Is the play a parody,
a satire, a burlesque about westerns with LGBTQ themes? Yes, we do get the
message about lesbians, transexuals and people of different sexual orientations.
In fact, the author states that if the character is trans, so must the actor,
if the character is queer, so must the actor.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">There are plenty of guns and lots
of shooting (almost too much) and the saloon and some of the costumes and the
presence of guns indicate a western setting, of course. But all the actors
speak with their own English accent and if you are looking for a western, you
are in the wrong theatre.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">There is some singing by the
women and Jack picks up a microphone that is lowered from above or a microphone
stand and sings what sound like ordinary tunes but neither he nor the ladies overdo
it. Thank you.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">The set by Grace Smart shows a western
saloon with the addition of a bathtub that is revealed with the removal of some
floorboards for the sexual activity. This is where Jack and Miss Lillian
consummate their love at some length.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">The farce or burlesque is tamer
in the second half when the men return from their prospecting but not by much. In
all the tomfoolery we do get the laudable message about the treatment of
non-binary people, but I cannot pretend to have enjoyed the play or the
production. I do not hesitate to mention that a large part of the audience followed
the performance with rapt attention, boisterous laughter and gave the players
an enthusiastic standing ovation. I don’t know what they saw in it.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">_________</p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i>Cowbois </i></b>by
Charlie Josephine in a production by the Royal Shakespeare Company, continues until
February 10, 2024, at the Royal Court Theatre<span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">, Sloane Square, London SW1W 8AS. </span><span style="mso-field-code: HYPERLINK;"><span class="MsoHyperlink">www.royalcourttheatre.com</span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><span style="mso-field-code: HYPERLINK;"><span class="MsoHyperlink"><br /></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><span style="mso-field-code: HYPERLINK;"><span class="MsoHyperlink"><br /></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><span style="mso-field-code: HYPERLINK;"><span class="MsoHyperlink"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span></span></span><span class="MsoHyperlink"><span style="color: windowtext; mso-bidi-font-style: italic; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p>James Karashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12713238235746109608noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2342477047374839017.post-76318815022613791652024-01-28T18:21:00.001-05:002024-01-28T18:21:37.502-05:00HAMNET – REVIEW OF PLAY ABOUT SHAKESPEARE’S FAMILY AT GARRICK THEATRE<p class="MsoNormal">Reviewed by James Karas<span style="text-align: right; text-indent: 0.5in;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><b><i>Hamnet</i></b> is a
fascinating view of William Shakespeare’s early life in Stratford-On-Avon and
London. The title refers to his son who was born in 1585 and died at age 11. The
play tells the story of the wooing, impregnation and marriage of Anne Hathway
by William Shakespeare, their subsequent life together including the birth of
their first child Susanna, their twins Hamnet and Judith and the death of their
son Hamnet. It also tells the story of Shakespeare’s budding writing career and
the production of his early plays.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">Perhaps the most interesting aspect
of the play is that Anne or Agnes Hathaway and her children are all of mixed heritage.
The play is based on the novel by Maggie O’Farrell as adopted for the stage by
Lolita Chakrabarti.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">The story of Shakespeare getting
the older Anne pregnant and the marrying of her is familiar, but O’Farrell
gives it a healthy if fictionalized version. The 17-year-old William is truly
in love with her and she is a self-assured, and assertive woman who stands up
for herself in no uncertain terms. The play gives us a mime of their coitus on
a bench in an apple orchard and their nuptials with no suggestion that either
of them is anything but a willing and happy participant.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">William is a Latin tutor and Anne
(Agnes in the play with a silent g) is a healer and she hears voices from her
dead mother. I could not hear what her mother was saying and have no idea what
I missed.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">The most critical part of the
play may be that Anne and therefore her children are of mixed racial background.
The actors playing those roles are of mixed racial background as well. I assume
this is an invention of O’Farrell and a fascinating take on Shakespeare’s
famous family. </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJhX9RFtGRb20l8bxTKh5BKPxDKbJAAb1_aph8C9ofp-GmoBoQfDeegJ19aJpxkTijKM9shUYqrpOyDGB-Ok6b3oD42YmMPghd4ds7iwIjaXkQ5-6CfSLRySUX1DWF6ieT03sA0F0mmFfUE2BMLtJDeqqcbAhMeDNmmRJ6XKtGOtp6f-jpBNdzB2YSE-0p/s1110/HAMNET%20-%202024%20Grrick2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="740" data-original-width="1110" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJhX9RFtGRb20l8bxTKh5BKPxDKbJAAb1_aph8C9ofp-GmoBoQfDeegJ19aJpxkTijKM9shUYqrpOyDGB-Ok6b3oD42YmMPghd4ds7iwIjaXkQ5-6CfSLRySUX1DWF6ieT03sA0F0mmFfUE2BMLtJDeqqcbAhMeDNmmRJ6XKtGOtp6f-jpBNdzB2YSE-0p/w400-h266/HAMNET%20-%202024%20Grrick2.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0 0 0 40px; padding: 0px;"><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0 0 0 40px; padding: 0px;"><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><i><b>William and Mary getting married. Photo: Manual Harlan</b></i></blockquote></blockquote></blockquote><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">We “witness” the birth of their
first child, Susanna, and their twins Judith and Hamnet. Subsequently there is a
plague and Hamnet dies at age 11. It is a catastrophic event in the life of the
parents and the upshot is that Shakespeare memorializes his son years later by
writing<i> Hamlet.</i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">In the second half of the play,
we meet some of the actors in his company, Will Kempe (Peter Wright), Richard Burbage
(Will Brown) Henry Condell (Karl Haynes) and Thomas Day (Ajani Cabey). They
recite some lines from <i>Hamlet</i> that appear to pay homage to Hamnet as
expressed by Shakespeare.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">Kudos to the outstanding cast
expertly directed by Erica Whyman. Madeleine Mantock is a lively and marvelous
Anne Hathaway. Tom Varey is an energetic and ambitious Wiliam Shakespeare who
wants to write and own a big house in Stratford. Sarah Belcher is Anne’s
obnoxious stepmother. Peter Wright plays John, Shakespeare’s unpleasant father,
and doubles up as the actor Will Kempe. Phoebe Campbell and Ajani Cabey do
superb work as the twins Judith and Hamnet.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">The play has 19 characters and
director Erica Whyman handles the numerous roles and scene changes with
expertise. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">The play is done on a set by Tom
Piper that consists of an upside V that rises to the top of the stage. In the
playing area various pieces of furniture are pushed on and off the stage very
quickly at times and it was not always possible to know where the characters
were.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">Most of the script is spoken in
thick Warwickshire accents and good luck in following everything that is being
said. It is not the fault of the actors or the director but the fault of the
untrained Canadian listener. I have not read the novel and that did not help.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">Nevertheless, I enjoyed the performance.
Even a fictional depiction of Shakespeare can hold our interest and I followed
the performance with a keen attention and enjoyment even when the Warwickshire
accent had me baffled.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">_______<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><b><i>Hamnet </i></b>by Lolita Chakrabarti adapted from the
novel by Maggie O’Farrell in a production by the Royal Shakespeare Company and Neal
Street Productions continues at the Garrick Theatre,
2 Charing Cross Road, London WC2. <a href="http://www.nimaxtheatres.com/">www.Nimaxtheatres.com/</a></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p><p> Janes Karas is the Senior Editor, Culture of The Greek Press</p>James Karashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12713238235746109608noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2342477047374839017.post-63809895062631136232024-01-23T19:36:00.000-05:002024-01-23T19:36:02.879-05:00NABUCCO – REVIEW OF 2024 LIVE FROM THE MET IN HD PRODUCTION <p><b style="text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">Reviewed by James Karas</span></b><span style="text-align: justify;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB">A friend, who
has never seen an opera asked me where I was going recently, and I said “Nabucco,
live from the Met.”</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span lang="IT" style="mso-ansi-language: IT;">Oh, “Va, pensiero,” he replied. </span><span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Even
people who rarely go to the opera<span style="color: red;"> </span>know the great
chorus from <b><i>Nabucco </i></b>by Giuseppe Verdi, even<span style="color: red;"> </span>my friend who has never been to the opera and never
expressed any interest in it. But recognizing “Va pensiero” or The Chorus
of<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>the Hebrew Slaves as it is also known
is an indicator of the fame of that part of the opera.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Quite right of course because <i>Nabucco</i> is more famous for its
choruses than its arias and duets (and there are some superb ones) and no one
can claim that it has been over-produced. It was popular in 1842 when it
premiered at La Scala but it was mostly shelved after that until New York’s
Metropolitan Opera produced it for the first time in 1960. It went back on the
shelf until 2001 when it was produced by Elijah Moshinsky and conducted by
James Levine. That production was revived in 2016 and again for the 2023-2024
season. For those who are keeping count, the Live from the Met telecast on
January 6, 2024, was the 74<sup>th</sup> performance of the opera by the
Metropolitan Opera. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">The Met gives<b><i> Nabucco</i></b> a grand production with some of the
best singers and of course the incomparable Met chorus under Chorus Master
Donald Palumbo. The choruses of enslaved Hebrews are an integral part of the
opera and “Va, pensiero” expresses the longing of the slaves in Babylon for
their home, their native land, the beautiful land of Zion and the banks of the
river Jordan. The plaintive tone of “Va, pensiero” contrasts with militaristic
sentiments and and the different tones of the opera that go from fear to triumph.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Baritone George Gagnidze gives an outstanding performance as the arrogant
king Nabucco who goes from sheer hubris (I am a god), to a brief mad scene, to
a gentle convert to Judaism. A superb performance throughout.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><o:p></o:p></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgJm8lgOASDta8EIWJIZKEq0kTvt1aE5LlPpo_MqFo13pIxuuP-ZlcJBQtaqIyKssb-IrLDEMAJpdXUK30zsiZXpeoyS2SyH-xgqZZCzUZwP79AcnB-IMld7vSRXyXbAahoVjww3BulH31fvbB1yxaCuaiXl09CsLvEZLup_mvQIHG39hAcbOezXnRNH5fg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="120" data-original-width="203" height="236" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgJm8lgOASDta8EIWJIZKEq0kTvt1aE5LlPpo_MqFo13pIxuuP-ZlcJBQtaqIyKssb-IrLDEMAJpdXUK30zsiZXpeoyS2SyH-xgqZZCzUZwP79AcnB-IMld7vSRXyXbAahoVjww3BulH31fvbB1yxaCuaiXl09CsLvEZLup_mvQIHG39hAcbOezXnRNH5fg=w400-h236" width="400" /></a></div><p></p><div style="text-align: justify;"><div style="text-align: center;"><i><b>A scene from Verdi's "Nabucco" with George Gagnidze (center) </b></i></div><span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><div style="text-align: center;"><i><b>in the title role. Photo: Marty Sohl / Met Opera</b></i></div></span></div><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Abigaille is the most interesting and treacherous role in the opera. She
is the ambitious and vicious daughter of Nabucco until she finds out that she
is a slave. She wants to clear the deck of Nabucco and his legitimate daughter and
the Hebrews. It is a killer role but soprano Liudmyla Monastyrska has been singing
the role in major opera houses for years. At 48 she is still in her prime,
sings superbly and goes from evil and arrogance (kill everybody) to repentance,
conversion, ingestion of poison and death.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Monastyrska’s Abigaille is a perfect foil for Fenena, Nabucco’s real
daughter. Mezzo-soprano Maria Barakova is lovely, humane and has a superb
voice. But Fenena does have a complex moral life. She is Babylonian, of course,
held hostage by the Hebrews, falls in love with<span style="color: red;"> </span>Ismaele
(tenor SeokJong Baek), a Hebrew, (Abigaille is in love with him too) and
releases the slaves held in the Temple. She is about to be executed and sings of
heaven </span>and God but with a lovely voice and being on the side of the good people
we love her all the way and cheer her release.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">The set by John Napier gives us an opera on a grand scale. The revolving
stage presents some huge rocky walls that are the abode of the Hebrew prisoners.
The stage revolves to show a monumental staircase, one of which leads to a
throne high up with a head of a bull. This is Baal and where we see Babylonian
power and grandeur.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Moshinsky’s grand conception under Revival Director J. Knighten Smit is
stupendous and breathtaking. Whatever shortcomings young Verdi’s third opera
may have, they are all subsumed by the grand conception and execution.</span></p>
<div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">The Metropolitan Opera Orchestra and Chorus are conducted by Daniele
Callegari and the result is a thrilling afternoon at the opera, not quite live
in New York but damn good on the huge Cineplex screen.<br /></span><span lang="EN-GB">_____________________<br /></span><b><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Nabucco</span></i></b><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"> </span></i><span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">by Giuseppe Verdi
(music) and Temistocle Solera (libretto) </span><span lang="EN-GB" style="color: black;">was shown Live in HD from the Metropolitan Opera on January
6, 2024, It will be reprised on February 24, 2024, at various Cineplex theatres.
For more information go to </span><span lang="EN-GB"><a href="http://www.cineplex.com/events">www.cineplex.com/events</a><span style="color: black;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">James Karas is the Senior Editor, Culture of The Greek Press</div>
James Karashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12713238235746109608noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2342477047374839017.post-75189488733926539912024-01-15T20:19:00.000-05:002024-01-15T20:19:19.109-05:00THE MERRY WIDOW – REVIEW OF 2023 TORONTO OPERETTA THEATRE PRODUCTION <div style="text-align: left; text-indent: 0.5in;"><b>Reviewed by James Karas</b></div><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">TORONTO OPERETTA THEATRE, like
the feisty bunny in a battery commercial, does not give up. General Director Guillermo-Silva
Marin continues to provide Toronto with quality productions of operetta since
1985. It is something that no other Canadian city can come close to let alone
beat.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">TOT closed 2023 with four
performances of one of the hallmarks of the genre, Franz Lehar’s <b><i>The
Merry Widow.</i></b> As usual Marin does it with at least one hand tied behind
his back (or does he have hands and feet tied up) and refuses to deprive us of
the pleasure of operetta. The problem, in case you did not guess it, is
financial but there are dedicated lovers of operetta and generous donors to keep
TOT going.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">This is TOT’s sixth production of
that delectable work but some of us still need a nudge of a reminder of its
plot. We are in the Parisian embassy of the famous Kingdom of Pontevedro. Without
IMF, the country is going broke and it can only be saved by Madame Glawari’s fifty
million francs, a fortune she acquired by the timely death of her old husband. She
must marry a Pontevedran<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>and keep the
money in her old country otherwise the great nation will go to<span style="color: red;"> </span>hell in a handbasket or suffer such other simile or
metaphor that you may prefer.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">Issue 1. Where can we find a
suitable husband for her? The problem was faced by librettists Viktor Leon and
Leo Stein and they settled on the great and suitable Count Danilo (Nathan Keoughan)
who is tall, blond, handsome, broke and working for the Pontevedrian embassy<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>in Paris. His stated reluctance to marry will
not last through the third act.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_eAMzWT1fr5ffCWPIst6YEHRX-obdkR0VjjbzZABWp7dJqJuf8jNN2tSUPNAMKfXhAxevPjiGKirPV4JaMMdgc6J8tThOM-FyMseW0g-WtcwvEF1KqYswdd7iZT1yT5_vjTlIr7Lu9jL1iuZ4MvTGQ5xhekGGrGPzg8l7XjO6jNakIMfumh_6uwlnZFK2/s1200/MERRY%20WIDOW%20-%202023%20TOT%20101.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="1200" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_eAMzWT1fr5ffCWPIst6YEHRX-obdkR0VjjbzZABWp7dJqJuf8jNN2tSUPNAMKfXhAxevPjiGKirPV4JaMMdgc6J8tThOM-FyMseW0g-WtcwvEF1KqYswdd7iZT1yT5_vjTlIr7Lu9jL1iuZ4MvTGQ5xhekGGrGPzg8l7XjO6jNakIMfumh_6uwlnZFK2/w400-h266/MERRY%20WIDOW%20-%202023%20TOT%20101.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><i>Jonelle Sills as Anna and Nathan Keoughan as Danilo. </i></b></div><div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><i>Photo: Gary Beechey, DFS Studios</i></b></div><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">Issue 2. Valencienne (Olivia
Morton), the wife of Ambassador Baron Zeta, is more than mildly interested in Vicomte
Camille (Matt Chittick), a Frenchman, and he is unmildly interested in her and
we are<span style="color: red;"> </span>in dire danger of seeing her disobeying
One of the Big Ten Commandments. He even writes “I love you” on her fan and you
know she will lose it and we tremble with the possible consequences. There are
visitors and embassy personnel but let’s concentrate on the main stories and
the songs and dances that they generate.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">Canadian soprano Jonelle Sills makes
a feisty and full-voiced Madame Glawari who sounds fine in midrange and can
belt out high note fortissimo when necessary. Her pretend reluctant suitor Danilo
is represented with vocal vigor and strong physical presence by baritone Keoughan.
He has a good voice and he and Sills sound excellent in their two duets, “The
Cavalier” and “Love Unspoken”.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">Olivia Morton and Matt Chittick as
almost-lovers get splendid vocal exposure and they do excellent work. They sing
two duets, “A Respectful Wife” and “Love in my heart” beautifully but we do not
approve of their (happily avoided) adultery.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfUa9Q8Py3n5pssapjwOym_pnWOGr4Gh9G29TCn0KoUz0DwYSeqqLIZxHhRVJ8H2rKkBDHY1v68gM8jhZq0D8VSfutA2pekMRrnAlRYYRAwT_kvKnAqA-OCqDXuFCa_Laqq2paqWCefdABy23mvOJGPYobSEcSFtTrXUBNCFGMNqL3Zhc8LcV4j9vPQfKm/s1200/MERRY%20WIDOW%20-%202023%20TOT%20104.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="1200" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfUa9Q8Py3n5pssapjwOym_pnWOGr4Gh9G29TCn0KoUz0DwYSeqqLIZxHhRVJ8H2rKkBDHY1v68gM8jhZq0D8VSfutA2pekMRrnAlRYYRAwT_kvKnAqA-OCqDXuFCa_Laqq2paqWCefdABy23mvOJGPYobSEcSFtTrXUBNCFGMNqL3Zhc8LcV4j9vPQfKm/w400-h266/MERRY%20WIDOW%20-%202023%20TOT%20104.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><p style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b><i>Nathan Keoughan as Danilo and Gregory Finney as Zeta. </i></b><br /><b style="text-align: center;"><i>Photo: Gary Beechey, DFS Studios</i></b></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">The reason for our disapproval is
the fact that we like Baron Zeta, especially as played by Gregory Finney. Finney
does not get much solo exposure but he is a master comic and as always delivers
a superb performance.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><b><i>The Merry Widow</i></b>
provides some splendid opportunities for some merry kick-your-heels-up dancing
but that is not the forte of the cast, especially the seven <i>Girls at Maxim’s</i>
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>who
do kick their heels pleasantly but unevenly.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>To be fair none of the “dancers” seems to have any training for the
task. They are singers. </p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">The operetta premiered in
December 1905 but Silva-Marin lends a hand to them to give the plot current
resonance by bringing in Premier Doug Ford, obnoxious billionaire Elon Musk and
numerous other current personalities to good effect.</p>
<div style="text-align: justify;">The 11-member “orchestra” lined
up around the skirt of the stage does a fine job under the baton of Derek Bate.
They are a major component for keeping operetta alive in Toronto.<br /> _______________________<br /><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i>The Merry Widow</i></b><i>
</i>by Franz Lehár was performed four times between December 29, 2023, and January
2, <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>2024 at the Jane Mallett Theatre, St.
Lawrence Centre for the Arts, 27 Front Street East, Toronto, Ontario. <a href="http://www.torontooperetta.com/">www.torontooperetta.com</a></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">James Karas is the Senior Editor, Culture of The Greek Press. This review appeared earlier in the newspaper.</div><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p></div>James Karashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12713238235746109608noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2342477047374839017.post-86796655472016394892024-01-08T21:28:00.001-05:002024-01-08T21:28:43.474-05:00PRIDE AND PREJUDICE* (*sort of) - REVIEW OF PLAY AT CAA THEATRE <p><b>Reviewed by James
Karas</b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><b><i><span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Pride and Prejudice* (*sort of) </span></i></b><span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">is a play with a few well-placed songs by Isobel McArthur after Jane
Austen. We can assume some familiarity with Austen’s masterpiece but none with
the (*sort of) by McArthur that is now playing at the CAA Theatre in Toronto.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">My guess is that seeing the latter may have one of the following
effects. You may run home and dig up Austen’s book and start (re)reading it
furiously to get past the send-off of the book by McArthur or never get near
the novel again. Or you can enjoy the spoof where five women servants play
eighteen characters and many episodes of the novel and leave us laughing and
astounded by the brilliance of the play.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">A few words about. <b><i>Pride and Prejudice* (*sort of). </i></b>We start
with the five women servants in the Bennett household busily doing their job,
for a while. They wear plain white dresses but they don’t intend to stay in
1813 England as they grab microphones and start singing modern songs and use profanities
fearlessly and they have us in the palm of their hands.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">That is just the beginning. The “servants” transform themselves into
most of the characters of the novel with speed and irreverence, and sometimes by
donning a bit of different clothing. We are anxious to meet their employers, the
Bennett family of Mr. and Mrs. Bennett, their five daughters, Darcy and Bingley,
the rich suitors or targets for their five daughters. Lady de Bourgh represents
the ultimate snob. </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">Mr. Bennett, you may recall, does not do much in the novel and in the play,
he is represented by the back of an easy chair where he is holding a newspaper.
Perfect representation of the paterfamilias.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><o:p></o:p></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidUW44mGhppf6Lbd1OJtAautS57OODCGG0CHNDy1Jv3uBiGHxySk2coL7_A4mytf-9_sDljc-NffzU6jzb3WIFiZkLPOQ-mFUmefadtSdQWf8b1rsM4SuDKmCuQLiwfyb0q0XaqxoqdesUMUVHS_TnD_rKIvlLXLdATkf1CEEk6GvwLT_ns2BU5s1qE4KN/s1800/PRIDE%20AND%20PREJUDICE%20-%202023%20CAA%20-Leah%20Jamieson,%20Dannie%20Harris,%20Lucy%20Gray,%20Megan%20Louise%20Wilson%20and%20Emmy%20Stonelake%20in%20Pride%20and%20Prejudice%20sort%20of.%20Photo%20by%20Mihaela%20Bodlovic.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1800" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidUW44mGhppf6Lbd1OJtAautS57OODCGG0CHNDy1Jv3uBiGHxySk2coL7_A4mytf-9_sDljc-NffzU6jzb3WIFiZkLPOQ-mFUmefadtSdQWf8b1rsM4SuDKmCuQLiwfyb0q0XaqxoqdesUMUVHS_TnD_rKIvlLXLdATkf1CEEk6GvwLT_ns2BU5s1qE4KN/w400-h266/PRIDE%20AND%20PREJUDICE%20-%202023%20CAA%20-Leah%20Jamieson,%20Dannie%20Harris,%20Lucy%20Gray,%20Megan%20Louise%20Wilson%20and%20Emmy%20Stonelake%20in%20Pride%20and%20Prejudice%20sort%20of.%20Photo%20by%20Mihaela%20Bodlovic.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><div style="text-align: center;"></div></span><p></p><div style="text-align: center;"><b><i>Leah Jamieson, Dannie
Harris, Lucy Gray, <br />Megan Louise Wilson and Emmy Stonelake <br />in Pride and
Prejudice* (*sort-of). Photo Credit: Mihaela Bodlovic.</i></b></div><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">Dannie Harris gives us a wacky, neurotic, silly Mrs. Bennett who is anxious
to get her daughters married off especially Elizabeth, the oldest and brightest
of them to the rich, snobbish Darcy. Harris plays both roles with superb
versatility. She changes from one role to the next quickly and she is
ridiculous one moment and an arrogant, standoffish Darcy the next. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">We have the ridiculous Mr. Collins, a pompous clergyman, who proposes to
Elezabeth and is told in un-Austinesque language to to eff off. Leah Jamieson
is hilarious and dead-on in the role of the cleric where we see snobbery for
the sake of being a snob and a bootlicker of his social superiors with hilarious
results. Lady de Bourgh is snobbish and out of this world in her condescension to
the lower orders (everybody, that is) and she personifies arrogance and is
ridiculously funny.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">With five actors going through eighteen roles, I had difficulty tracking
who played what part. But the actors, Ruth Brotherton, Christina Gordon, Lucy
Gray, Dannie Harris, Leah Jamieson deserve unstinting praise for outstanding work.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><b><i><span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Pride and Prejudice*(sort of) </span></i></b><span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">was adapted by Isobel McArthur who also directs the production with
Simon Harvey. They do stunning work in a high-speed but disciplined performance
that does not miss any of the humorous and satirical aspects of the play. The servants
do not stick to 1813 but jump to current dates and make current references. McArthur
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>and Harvey do not miss a beat.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">The set by Ana Ines Jabares-Pita features an elegant staircase and well-appointed
furnishings that the servants clean but treat irreverently.</span></p>
<div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">The whole enterprise is an astonishing production. To take a masterpiece
and turn <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>it into something as marvelous as
the play is an astonishing achievement. And an English touring company comes
here for us to see it.<br /></span>__________________________________________<br /><b><i><span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Pride and
Prejudice*(sort of) </span></i></b><span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">by
Isobel McArthur, directed by Isobel McArthur and Simon Harveyl continues until
January 21, 2024, at the CAA Theatre, 651 Yonge St. Toronto, Ontario.
www.mirvish.com<o:p></o:p></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">James Karas is the Snior Editor, Culture of Thr Greek Press </span></div>
James Karashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12713238235746109608noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2342477047374839017.post-14160438749717253202023-12-23T22:55:00.000-05:002023-12-23T22:55:34.568-05:0042nd STREET- REVIEW OF 2023 PRODUCTION AT PRINCESS OF WALES THEATRE<p><b>Reviewed by James Karas</b></p><p><span style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.5in;">"You're going out there a
youngster, but you've got to come back a star!"</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">Who can forget that marvelous line
uttered by a director to a neophyte singer/dancer stepping out on the stage to
perform a starring role for the first time? It captures the dream of every
would-be performer. It engages the wish of every audience and provides vicarious
satisfaction when it happens even in a fairy tale on the stage.</p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">Welcome to <b><i>42<sup>nd</sup>
Street,</i></b> the 1980 smash song-and-dance musical that conveyed that fairy
tale to the opening-night audience on Broadway who greeted it with a standing ovation.
When the applause died down, they were informed that Gower Champion, the famous
director of the production had died that day. Reality and fairy tale clashed
head on.</p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">David Mirvish has brought <b><i>42<sup>nd</sup>
Street</i></b> to the Princess of Wales Theatre with the fairy tale intact but
without the unpleasant reality. He has imported the United Kingdom production directed
by Jonathan Church.</p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><i>42<sup>nd</sup> Street,</i>
more than a fairy tale, is a song and dance extravaganza, with spectacular tap
dances, beautiful songs and glitzy costumes to light up everything. </p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><o:p></o:p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmmaqP60U-ptTvShBA-1z09BuT6Z4rz1O9cpEcvG03oK7nfFUyq5xxmALcWMzOurme3fq2TJ8rvcdDpLIjo9anaXVQhTKJnktok9WnPlveTHILd8tzsbH_Jh8wNZSpJqCdBGO8o-_iyKQNqudEr_tmL6T1vpr7PzbbdLw4yFYEjv0G2de5avnFHNkSKLW6/s1800/42nd%20STREET%20-%202023%20Princess%20of%20Wales%201-The%20Company.%20Photo%20Johan%20Persson%20(2).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1179" data-original-width="1800" height="263" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmmaqP60U-ptTvShBA-1z09BuT6Z4rz1O9cpEcvG03oK7nfFUyq5xxmALcWMzOurme3fq2TJ8rvcdDpLIjo9anaXVQhTKJnktok9WnPlveTHILd8tzsbH_Jh8wNZSpJqCdBGO8o-_iyKQNqudEr_tmL6T1vpr7PzbbdLw4yFYEjv0G2de5avnFHNkSKLW6/w400-h263/42nd%20STREET%20-%202023%20Princess%20of%20Wales%201-The%20Company.%20Photo%20Johan%20Persson%20(2).jpg" width="400" /></a></div><b><div style="text-align: center;"><b><i>The company of 42nd Street. Photo: John Persson</i></b></div></b><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">The fairy tale. Peggy Sawyer
(Nicole-Lily Baisden) from Pennsylvania arrives late for the casting of a new
musical, <i>Pretty Lady</i>. We are treated to marvelous tap dancing that sends
our heart pitter-patter in tune with<span style="color: red;"> </span>the steps
we witness. We meet the star of the show, the egotistical and sometimes obnoxious Dorothy Brock (Ruthie Henshall) <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>who can sing in a delicious voice but can’t
dance. She is accompanied by her sugar-daddy, southern boor Abner Dillon
(Anthony Ofoegbu). But before we get there, we need some more dancing and a
polite invitation to lunch to Peggy by tenor Billy (Olly Christopher) and a
romantic song <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>by the two, “Young and
Healthy.”</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">Dorothy is a has-been but still a
star and Henshall lends her luscious voice to several songs including the
romantic “I only have eyes for you.”</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">The plot will inevitably involve
some complications (we do have more than two hours to tell the whole story).
Dorothy will be injured; Peggy will be fired and the show will be in serious
danger of being cancelled completely. For tap dancing afficionados, there is a feast
of routines done with precision, synchronization and gusto. The costumes have
glitz and glamour and are a pleasure to watch. We are in the 1930’s and the
dancers have the choice of accepting the job offers or going on the dole.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">The music and songs of <i>42<sup>nd</sup>
Street</i> have the benefit of familiarity and they are melodic, memorable and beautiful.
Dorothy sings “You’re Getting To Be A Habit With Me,” the Chorus and several
dancers sing “We’re In The Money” and the cast serves up “Lullaby of Broadway”.
Peggy and the Dancers <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>sing “Forty-Second
Street” and the result is, let me coin a phrase and quote David Merrick, the
original producer, a song and dance musical extravaganza.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">Let me praise the people on the
stage that I have not mentioned already from Adam Garcia as the tough director
Julian Marsh, to Josefina Gabrielle as co-writer and producer <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Maggie Jones and Michael Matus as co-writers
and producer Bert Barry of <i>Pretty Lady,</i> the show they are putting on. I
need hardly say that the ensemble of dancers is superlative. What they do is
provided by the choreography and musical staging of Bill Beamer, what everyone
is wearing and what they are playing in front and around them is the work Robert
Jones, Lighting Designer Ben Cracknell, and Projection Designer Jon Driscoll.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">The biggest credit for the
overall success must needs go the the director of 42<sup>nd</sup> Street (not
the fictitious <i>Pretty Lady),</i> Jonathan Church. He is highly adept at marshalling
the talent, energy, gusto<span style="color: red;"> </span>and high caliber
performances to give us a superb evening at the theatre.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><i>_____________________________________<o:p></o:p></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><b><i>42<sup>nd</sup> STREET</i></b><i><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></i>by Harry Warren (music), Al Dubin (lyrics),
Michael Stewart and Mark Bramble (book) continues until January 21, 2024, at
the Princess of Wales Theatre, 300 King St. West, Toronto, Ontario. <a href="http://www.mirvish.com/">www.mirvish.com</a><o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">James Karas is the Senior Editor, Culture of The Greek Press</p>James Karashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12713238235746109608noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2342477047374839017.post-66120272988311646172023-12-19T23:27:00.000-05:002023-12-19T23:27:23.199-05:00AIN’T TOO PROUD - REVIEW OF SPECTACULAR MUSICAL AT CAA ED MIRVISH THEATRE<p><b>Reviewed by James Karas</b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><b><i><span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">ain’t too proud</span></i></b><span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"> –
The Life and Times of THE TEMPTATIONS is a spectacular musical that tells what
the title indicates. It is in Toronto for a short run at the CAA Ed Mirvish
Theatre. It will run from December 7 to 17, 2023. Mirvish’s effusive blurb describes
the show as <i>“the electrifying new smash-hit Broadway musical that follows
The Temptations’ extraordinary journey from the streets of Detroit to the Rock
& Roll Hall of Fame.”</i></span><i><o:p> </o:p></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">The musical premiered in Berkeley, California in 2017 and it played in
Toronto for more than a month in the fall of 2018 at the Princess of Wales
Theatre. Its current brief visit to Toronto is welcome and undoubtedly
successful. For those who keep track of our national artists, they should know
that the production is directed by Des McAnuff. He is a master of grand
musicals and this is just one of them.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">The Temptations are five talented black singers and dancers who have
been around with numerous changes since 1960. They sing with gusto and dance at
the same time with unstoppable energy that may put Olympic athletes to shame.
Their performance consists of a series of song and dance routines that leaves
the audience breathless, let alone how the performers find the strength and
stamina to last for more than two hours on stage.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">The group was the creation of Otis Williams, a Texas-born bass-baritone who
was raised in Detroit. The musical is based on his autobiography and the story
of the group is told by Williams. He tells us that there have been 27 members
of the group since its inception but the original five were Otis Williams (Michael
Andreaus), David Ruffin (Elijah Ahmad Lewis), Melvin Franklin (Harrell Holmes
Jr.), Eddie Kendricks (Jalen Harris), and Paul Williams (E. Clayton Cornelious).</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDappGyaX_Jagq69ijKRA6QgTnNt1jgYtCWKTU9FIyPcIT4AN_YT-_fXkAH2C5lTSoDAR_z3SQqEsRwnN4d9xO7Ii2sLm9zHmX5QC6tE1VVGxe2uLBii-prBCBk2FXyK3rxZYOpj196PHZ6TQsJl3hwIRvnyBcDJsJEEPtb64fo4D3yPpsPwrC11iW7aDH/s1250/AIN-T-TOO-PROUD%202023%20-at-Ed-Mirvish.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="625" data-original-width="1250" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDappGyaX_Jagq69ijKRA6QgTnNt1jgYtCWKTU9FIyPcIT4AN_YT-_fXkAH2C5lTSoDAR_z3SQqEsRwnN4d9xO7Ii2sLm9zHmX5QC6tE1VVGxe2uLBii-prBCBk2FXyK3rxZYOpj196PHZ6TQsJl3hwIRvnyBcDJsJEEPtb64fo4D3yPpsPwrC11iW7aDH/w400-h200/AIN-T-TOO-PROUD%202023%20-at-Ed-Mirvish.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><p></p><div style="text-align: center;"><b><i>Elijah Ahmad Lewis, Jalen Harris, Michael Andreaus, Harrell
Holmes Jr., <br />E. Clayton Cornelious from the National Touring Company of Ain’t
Too Proud <br />(Photo: © 2023 Emilio Madrid</i></b></div><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><o:p></o:p></p><div style="text-align: center;"></div><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"></p><div style="text-align: justify;">I cannot overemphasize the performances of the original five and some of
the replacements that we see that display vocal strength and athletic ability
in dancing and singing.</div><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">The musical also features <i>The Supremes</i>, Diana Ross (Amber Mariah
Talley), Florence Ballard (Shayla Brielle G.) and Mary Wilson (Brittney Smith)</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">We are treated to more than two dozen songs and you can judge their
familiarity and popularity by the audience’s reactions.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">The Supremes sing a
medley of songs including "You Can't Hurry Love" and "Come See
About Me."</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">With five talented people and many changes in the makeup of the group
there are inevitable conflicts. David Ruffin sings with Tammi Terrell (Shayla Brielle
G.) and ends up striking her. There is alcoholism, drug addiction, vehement arguments,
ego trips and separations. There is also death, including Otis’s son, and a
funeral, the full cycle of life. Otis Williams as our host relates the events
to us but that is just background information. They then burst into song and
dance with vocal fervor and athletic movements, arms flailing, feet moving
frantically, all synchronized, impressive, entertaining.</span></p>
<div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Sergio Trujillo provides the over-the-top, boisterous <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>choreography. The scenic design by Robert
Brill consists of a backdrop indicating the place where The Temptations are
performing but also the names of the cities that they toured. It is a fine
indicator of the supreme success of the group that they performed not just in numerous
American cities but practically around the world.<br /></span><span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">___________<br /></span><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i><span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Ain’t too proud, The life and times of The
Temptations <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></i></b><span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">by Dominique
Morisseau (book)</span> <span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">based on Otis Williams’ autobiography </span><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">The Temptations,</span></i><span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"> with music and
lyrics from The Legendary Motown Catalogue, played </span><span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">at The CAA Ed Mirvish Theatre, 244 Victoria St.
Toronto, Ontario. </span><span lang="EN-GB"><a href="http://www.mirvish.com/"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">www.mirvish.com</span></a></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">James Karas is the Senior Editor, Culture of The Greek Press</div>
James Karashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12713238235746109608noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2342477047374839017.post-32360119643093590882023-12-14T10:56:00.001-05:002023-12-14T10:56:19.572-05:00ANGELS IN AMERICA – REVIEW OF 2023 PRODUCTION AT BUDDIES IN BAD TIMES THEATRE<p><span style="font-size: large; text-indent: 0in;"><b>Reviewed by James Karas</b></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">If you want to see Tony Kushner’s epic plays <b><i>Angels in America,</i></b>
you will have to devote two evenings and more than seven hours of intense
attention. There are two parts<b><i>, Angels in America</i></b>, <i>Part One, Millennium Approaches</i> and <i>Part Two, Perestroika. </i>Kushner subtitles his
doubleheader <i>A</i> <i>Gay Fantasia on National Themes</i> and that should
give you a small handle on what to look for.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">The pair of plays opened in 1991 and deal with a broad spectrum of American
social issues with a focus on the AIDS epidemic of the time, homosexuality and the
rise of conservatism. That Theatre Company and Buddies in Bad Times Theatre give<span style="color: red;"> </span>the plays a highly effective if pared down production
in the latter company’s tiny theatre on Alexander Street in Toronto.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">The two plays contain numerous scenes and a complex plot that is not
easily summarized but I will mention a few items to give some idea of the
breadth of the play.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Kushner deals brutally, graphically and unapologetically with homosexuality
and the AIDS epidemic and much more. There are eight actors who play some
twenty characters. The plays go from the harshly realistic to the surreal with
pungent remarks about political and social life during Ronald Reagan’s
presidency and supernatural events like the appearance of angels and the ghost
of Ethel Rosenberg, the American traitor who passed secrets about the atomic
bomb to the Soviets. She was executed partly and perhaps mainly because of Roy Cohn,
one of the lawyers who prosecuted her.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Prior Walters is a homosexual in the 20<sup>th</sup> century (played by Allister
MacDonald) but also appears as a thirteenth century ghost (played by Wade
Bogert-O’Brien who also plays Joe) and a seventeenth century wigged
aristocratic ghost played by Jim Mezon who also plays Roy Cohn. It gets
complicated, no?</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjG8kWOqNV81mLP9R4nl1RLX7VPaYSJwAjWMSrEBwQ7Sn6dbJjVhyphenhyphen4eiNPzaFIorYCsC0pL_aZ5ndX4A9xwONebOLmvAqv5LNqM19rd57nunm9vslC4-dBhwSjFbpFucUylY4gzSToU9d2PY-qD_vsFxJLE3lNwaUmMZOqkYhwVxjJqMRRP-fkRxjpCDrqe/s4000/ANGELS%20IN%20AMERICA%20-%202023%20Buddies%20in%20Bad%20Times4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2667" data-original-width="4000" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjG8kWOqNV81mLP9R4nl1RLX7VPaYSJwAjWMSrEBwQ7Sn6dbJjVhyphenhyphen4eiNPzaFIorYCsC0pL_aZ5ndX4A9xwONebOLmvAqv5LNqM19rd57nunm9vslC4-dBhwSjFbpFucUylY4gzSToU9d2PY-qD_vsFxJLE3lNwaUmMZOqkYhwVxjJqMRRP-fkRxjpCDrqe/w400-h266/ANGELS%20IN%20AMERICA%20-%202023%20Buddies%20in%20Bad%20Times4.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><i>Angels in America. Poto by Nathan Nash </i></b></div><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">The best-known character in the play is Roy Cohn, a powerful lawyer, a
bisexual who denied vehemently any sexual contact with men and died of AIDS. He
was a malevolent, vile and vicious man, a Rottweiler, a fraudster, an egomaniac
and the quintessence of evil. Jim Mezon gives a stunning performance, capturing
the evil forcefulness of Cohn with bruising effectiveness.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">In his final appearance in<b><i> Perestroika, </i></b>we see Cohn in a
hospital bed visited by Ethel Rosenberg. He hallucinates or pretends that she
is his mother and begs her to sing to him. She does and it seems that he is
dead but he bolts up and triumphantly announces that he fooled her and got her
to sing to him. She gets the pleasure of telling him that he has been
disbarred. He dies.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Joe (Wade Bogart-O’Brien) is one of the main characters, a friend of
Cohn’s who tries to manipulate him. Joe is a lawyer clerking for an appellate
judge, a Mormon married to the valium-addicted Harper (Christine Horne) and a
homosexual who vehemently denies it. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Joes
goes for long walks in Central Park and comes out of the closet and falls in
love with Louis. He is abandoned by him for political reasons. Joe is a conservative
and a friend of the despicable Cohn. He tries to reconcile with his wife but
nothing works for him. Bogart-O’Brien gives a stellar performance.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Joe’s wife Harper (Christine Horne) has serious problems with addiction
and a husband who goes out for mysterious walks in Central<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Park. She hallucinates about going to the
Antarctic. She has sex and imagines being in heaven but all she wants is to be
in San Francisco. We presume she overcomes her hallucinations and does end up
in San Francisco.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Belize (Kaleb Alexander) is a decent and caring registered nurse who has
a lot stacked against him. He is black, a former drag queen, gay and decent in
an indecent world. He is assigned to look after Cohn in the hospital and has
enough decency to do it. Alexander also plays the flamboyant Mr. Lies, Harper’s
imaginary friend who emerges from a trap door on the stage to be with her.
Superb performance.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Louis (Ben Sanders) is an idealistic Jew in love with Prior Walter but
when the latter contracts AIDS, he abandons him. Louis does achieve maturity and
displays faith in American democracy that is buffeted by the conservatives
during Ronald Reagan’s presidency in the mid 1980’s. Ironically, it is as if
nothing has changed in the last forty years. Superb performance by Sanders who
also plays the ghost of Prior Walter in an unrecognizable English accent. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Prior Walter (Allister MacDonald) retains his decency despite being
rejected by his lover on account of his AIDS. After his death, he returns as a
ghost on two occasions played by different actors. Prior is made a prophet by
the Angel but he rejects it. In the end Louis tries to rekindle the old love
and relationship. Prior generously avows that he loves Louis but rejects any
idea of reconciliation. Marvelous performance <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">The Angel (Soo Garay) is a mysterious and intriguing figure. Her wings
have been clipped or fallen off and she has the barest indication<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>of<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>them. She wants to make Prior Walter a prophet but he rejects her.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Director Craig Pike must organize the actors and the action of a complex
play in a small rectangular playing area with the audience perched on each
side. The advantage is that the audience is very close to the actors but the disadvantage
is that we look at the back of one actor when two of them are seated on the
stage facing each other. Unless the actors are moving around, this is unavoidable
but undesirable.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">There is very little room for a set of almost any kind except for two
beds at opposite ends of the rectangle that are wheeled in and out as required and
a few chairs being placed on the stage for some scenes and removed by the
actors when they walk off. This is what I mean by a pared down version.</span> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><b><i><span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Angels in America, Parts One and Two</span></i></b><span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"> is a complex play with numerous characters and
frequent scene changing. It is done on an almost bare stage and it requires
close attention to keep up with the people and events. But it is theatre of
high quality and That Theatre Company and Buddies in Bad Times Theatre deserve
a standing ovation for the production.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<div style="text-align: left;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">___________________________<br /></span></i></b><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i><span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Angels in America: Part One: Millennium
Approaches </span></i></b><span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">and<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i> Part Two: Perestroika</i></b></span><span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"> by Tony Kushner continue until December 17, 2023,
at the Buddies in Bad Times Theatre,<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>12
Alexander Street, Toronto, Ontario.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><span lang="EN-GB"><a href="http://www.buddiesinbadtimes.com/"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">www.buddiesinbadtimes.com</span></a></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">James Karas is the Senior Editor, Culture of The Greek Press </div>
James Karashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12713238235746109608noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2342477047374839017.post-19702964261385559102023-12-12T14:59:00.011-05:002023-12-12T18:42:59.335-05:00CHRIS, MRS. – REVIEW OF NEW HOLIDAY MUSICAL AT THE WINTER GARDEN THEATRE<p><b>Reviewed by James
Karas</b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">If you are wondering about the title of the musical simply pronounce the
two words and you should get Christmases. <b><i>Chris, Mrs.</i></b> is indeed a
new musical unabashedly about Christmas and thoroughly enjoyable.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">Its music, book and lyrics are by Matthew Stodolak and Katie Kerr. Stodolak
is also the musical director and Katie Kerr directs the musical. They are a
bright, young couple with experience in regional theatres and the ambition,
talent and ability to write <b><i>Chris, Mrs</i></b>. and produce it at The
Winter Garden Theatre in Toronto. That alone entitles them to a standing
ovation. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">The musical takes place around Christmas, in fact much of it takes place
on Christmas Eve. It is a love story
that has a few bumps to keep us entertained for over two hours with some
wonderful songs, outstanding dancing and humour. The stars are Ben Chris (Liam Tobin)
and Holly Carmichael (Danielle Wade) with Olivia Sinclair-Brisbane (Vicki
Vandrelle) and AJ Bridel (Claire Chris) and a couple rambunctious children, Samantha
(played by Addison Wagman alternating
with Finn Cofell) and Samuel (played by Lucien Duncan-Reid alternating with Isaac Grates Myers). They are
hilarious.</p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">There are some seventeen actors and some of them dance up a storm and we
have more than a dozen musical numbers from solos to ensembles. I will not
disclose the plot because this is a new show and it will hold your attention
more effectively if you see it firsthand.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_4PmFcpclRncNWlIR__WYs_Aro0rCIXgy9V42Umo3XC3hnl-VFV5JcUgk7IOgQEfyMldN5BUBaLEiXmkzycZklU5f5pYee-a0kFX5JgXEcHmyYlMCvVgFF7QckN1OglSxX7EKpJDHyyEWz4kvgU9dfmokJuwJkibnacZ-7P8LQ8WDsmBrJalkt8Vjdq8X/s4909/CHRIS,%20MRS.%202023%20Winter%20Garden%20%20Liam%20Tobin%20&%20Olivia%20Sinclair-Brisbane%20(centre)%20and%20ensemble%20Photo%20Max%20Power%20Photography.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2859" data-original-width="4909" height="233" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_4PmFcpclRncNWlIR__WYs_Aro0rCIXgy9V42Umo3XC3hnl-VFV5JcUgk7IOgQEfyMldN5BUBaLEiXmkzycZklU5f5pYee-a0kFX5JgXEcHmyYlMCvVgFF7QckN1OglSxX7EKpJDHyyEWz4kvgU9dfmokJuwJkibnacZ-7P8LQ8WDsmBrJalkt8Vjdq8X/w400-h233/CHRIS,%20MRS.%202023%20Winter%20Garden%20%20Liam%20Tobin%20&%20Olivia%20Sinclair-Brisbane%20(centre)%20and%20ensemble%20Photo%20Max%20Power%20Photography.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><i>Liam Tobin, Olivia Sinclair-Brisbane and ensemble.</i></b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><i>Photo Max Power Photography</i></b></div><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">We need conflict and it comes when Ben Chris wants to sell the family
lodge that is run by his brother Charlie Chris (Kale Penny). Ben goes to the
lodge with his twins Samantha and Samuel, his teenage daughter Claire and his hoity-toity
girlfriend Vicki. Will Ben convince Charlie to sell the lodge?</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">And those rocket-fueled children write to Santa, Nick in the play (Mark
Weatherly), and he gives them holly which is the right gift if you write it with
a capital H. You will have to untangle the rest for yourself in a romantic,
family-friendly comedy that is perfect for the season. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">The songs are melodic, romantic,
comic and entertaining. We start with “Just Another Jingle,” go to the children’s
“Dear Santa” to “All I Want for
Christmas” to “Vicki’s Lament.” There is a healthy offering of solos and
ensemble pieces to fill up the evening.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">Sarah Vance provides the superb choreography and Cory Sincennes designed
the sets emphasizing the colour blue and costumes that are just what you want
in a Christmas show.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">I had a problem with some of the actors’ enunciation but the singing and
the display of rhythm and athleticism of the dancing was second to none.</div>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">Where I sat near the front, left I felt that the musicians should have
been playing at reduced volume at times to allow the singers to be heard more
clearly but my seat may have been too close to the band to merit this
observation that may not apply to the rest of the audience.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">The performers deserve praise and credit and I should mention that most
of them are highly experienced. <i>Chris, Mrs.</i> is a youthful show but it is
done on a highly professional level. Just go see it.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><i>______________________<o:p></o:p></i></p>
<p style="text-align: left;"><b><i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">Chris,
Mrs.</span></i></b><i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"> - A New Holiday Musical </span></i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">by Matthew Stodolak and Katie Kerr, produced by Boldly
Productions, continues until December 30,
2023, at The Winter Garden Theatre, 189
Yonge St. Toronto. </span><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><a href="http://www.chrismrs.com/"><span lang="EN-US">www.chrismrs.com</span></a></span></p><p style="text-align: left;">James Karas is the Senior Editor, Culture of The Greek Press </p>James Karashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12713238235746109608noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2342477047374839017.post-7670305654628910872023-12-06T00:53:00.000-05:002023-12-06T00:53:33.625-05:00HERE LIES HENRY – REVIEW OF DANIEL MacIVOR’S PLAY AT FACTORY THEATRE<p><b style="text-align: justify;">Reviewed James Karas</b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><b><i>Here Lies Henry</i></b> is a one-actor play
that covers a wide range of matters. At 80-minutes it looks like murder for the
actor but Damien Atkins performs it like the seasoned professional that he is. His
character Henry goes from an awkward beginning
to a boisterous middle and wordy end, enough to test the mettle of any actor.
Atkins performs with aplomb and no sign of fatigue or faltering. Kudos for his
performance.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">I am not sure I would give the same high marks
to the play. If there is a structure to what Henry, the character in the play
is addressing, it was not apparent and I must admit that I found myself mentally
wandering away from<span style="color: red;"> </span>what was happening on the
stage.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">Atkins as Henry enters barefoot wearing a
black suit, black tie and a white shirt. The stage is dark except for a column
of bright light behind him. He speaks haltingly almost as if he has a speech
impediment and stays on the same spot for some time. Henry tries to ingratiate
himself with the audience by telling a couple of jokes<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>and relates some incidents badly and
incoherently. He hits the spot only when he tells us about going to a symposium
of vegetarians where there was an all-you-can-eat salad bar. The punch line is
that no wonder vegetarians don’t eat pigs<i>, they are pigs</i>. A good line
that got a big laugh but it was one of the few.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">Henry gives us some personal information,
quotes Nietzsche and continues talking haltingly about lying and his parents. He
describes at some length the types of lies that there are, the stages of
growing up and gives a funny recapitulation of Genesis and the curt observation
that Eve was created from a rib. Do you want fries with that rib? <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span> </p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"></span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGmV8UsDkvPmq7pXEydloX4CfpoinN5gAySyjOfO4ZUSDw-vKpRMx3HwEdZ7baTPG6c_CsdKr9QkFgCnvANlsXXqWz2i7riSch10sKsG4i2RGC6dkcaRLV_y9W_f9xjiST5w-zu4KweVEr2BeDy9GecHgKxQ2NjS4CddbPUQTH5ZL4AC-jFaF3yuRJDThC/s752/HERE%20LIES%20HENRY%20-%202023%20Factory.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="500" data-original-width="752" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGmV8UsDkvPmq7pXEydloX4CfpoinN5gAySyjOfO4ZUSDw-vKpRMx3HwEdZ7baTPG6c_CsdKr9QkFgCnvANlsXXqWz2i7riSch10sKsG4i2RGC6dkcaRLV_y9W_f9xjiST5w-zu4KweVEr2BeDy9GecHgKxQ2NjS4CddbPUQTH5ZL4AC-jFaF3yuRJDThC/w400-h266/HERE%20LIES%20HENRY%20-%202023%20Factory.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><b><div style="text-align: center;"><b>Damien Atkins in Here Lies Henry. Photo: Dahlia Katz</b></div></b><o:p></o:p><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">His speech becomes assured, he does some dance
steps, gets closer to the audience and engages members including getting a
cigarette and a lighter from one attendee. His engaging the audience may not
have been very successful because of the small number of people in the audience.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I did not count them but there could not have
been many more than thirty people in attendance. That can be murder for the
actor that tries to develop a rapport with them. Atkins kept soldiering on, to
his credit.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">Henry talks about himself and his parents again
and the prose gets weaker and one’s attention span shorter. Heny tries to tell us
about love but he gets repetitive, uncertain, faltering, uninteresting.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">Henry seems to have run out of steam and he tells
us that he became a commercial pilot but could not fly because he was too tall.
And something about Noah’s Ark. More about his parents and about himself as a
liar and so it ends.</span> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">There are some flashes of lights and some
thunderclaps and Henry does move around in the latter half of the monologue.
The stage is empty except for a chair that Henry brings to the stage from the front
of the theatre but unfortunately, I could not find enough salad to make a pig
of myself or, not being a vegetarian, enough meat to satiate my theatrical
hunger.</span></p>
<div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">Director Tawiah M’Carthy does a good job directing
but, in the end, there may have been only so much that he could do with the script.<br />
</span><span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">______________________________<br /></span><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i><span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Here Lies Henry </span></i></b><span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">by Daniel MacIvor directed
by <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Tawiah M’Carthy continues until December
17, 2023,</span><span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"> at the Factory Theatre,
125 Bathurst Street, Toronto, Ontario. </span><span lang="EN-GB"><a href="http://www.factorytheatre.ca/"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">www.factorytheatre.ca/</span></a></span></div>
James Karashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12713238235746109608noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2342477047374839017.post-22760622325485910342023-11-29T23:39:00.001-05:002023-11-29T23:39:39.270-05:00THE LEHMAN TRILOGY – REVIEW OF CANADIAN STAGE PRODUCTION <p>Reviewed by James
Karas </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><b><i><span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">The Lehman Trilogy</span></i></b><span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">
is an epic play about the rise of the Lehman family from German immigrants to
the United Sates to the billionaires and owners of Lehman Brothers, a<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>conglomerate of businesses that descended
into the largest bankruptcy in American history.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">The play takes us from 1844 when Henry Lehman, “a circumcised Jew with
only one piece of luggage” arrived at the port of New York. After a tough and
highly educational crossing of the Atlantic, he comes face to face with America
that he sees as a magical music box. It is the story and vision of many
immigrants.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">He goes to Montgomery, Alabama where he works hard in a clothing store
and saves his money. He opens his own store. His brother Emmanuel arrives and then
Mayer, the third and last brother, follows him. They expand their business and
the sign LEHMAN BROTHERS in gold letters is prominently displayed. They are on
their way up. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><b><i><span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">The Lehman Trilogy</span></i></b><span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">
is based on Stefano Massini’s writing as adapted by Ben Power. It has only
three actors, Ben Carlson as Henry Lehman, Graeme Somerville as Emmanual and
Jordan Pettle as Mayer. They take on many roles but essentially remain the
original three brothers and their progeny and some other characters until the 21<sup>st</sup>
century. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">The play is written in verse and it is an epic in the Homeric sense
where a bard tells a heroic story to an audience, in this case us. Each brother
speaks his own lines but also describes other events in the history of the three
brothers and the company. After a fire destroys their store in Alabama, they go
into the sale of equipment to cotton plantation owners and are paid in cotton. They
sell the cotton to the mills and make a handsome profit.</span> </p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><o:p></o:p></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9-P9CefUsA0nfDwZqsFygxH27p97KS7TqaFkg3V2P48GYJWRlWfiCTLzd64yzaIf7Kuo5VID6I5B5RsnLpCDfc9iQJ08zgas-2JuOAifM3g_P00QiZc1qOG8fwkAkavyoVhftQwwUktGaIy62B0ubj50L5GBfWnRU3ahOqnkEJndJvH2b5vwlAjA2JtFt/s990/LEHMAN%20TRILOGY.webp" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="557" data-original-width="990" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9-P9CefUsA0nfDwZqsFygxH27p97KS7TqaFkg3V2P48GYJWRlWfiCTLzd64yzaIf7Kuo5VID6I5B5RsnLpCDfc9iQJ08zgas-2JuOAifM3g_P00QiZc1qOG8fwkAkavyoVhftQwwUktGaIy62B0ubj50L5GBfWnRU3ahOqnkEJndJvH2b5vwlAjA2JtFt/w400-h225/LEHMAN%20TRILOGY.webp" width="400" /></a></div><p></p><div style="text-align: justify;"><div style="text-align: center;"><b><i>Ben Carlson, Jordan Pettle and Graeme Somerville in</i></b></div><b><div style="text-align: center;"><b><i>‘The Lehman
Trilogy’, Photo by Dahlia Katz</i></b></div></b></div><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">The play is episodic and we move on to 1855 when Henry dies but he
remains in the play and continues to address the audience and speak for other
characters.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Lehman Brothers expands and diversifies They conquer New York and
survive the great depression and they establish businesses around the world.
The last Lehman in an executive position is Bobby who dies in 1969. The final scene
of the trilogy is an imaginary dream play. What starts as a Homeric epic ends
as a Greek tragedy. Hubris takes over and pushes sound thinking to the side.
They speak of immortality, of taking over the world. Much of the discussion uses
Wall Street language and what was a story of three brothers doing well gets muddled
with ambition, greed, corporate wars and money, lots of money.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">There is a surreal scene where Bobby Lehman dances the twist and
everyone is dancing. The Russians, the Chinese, CEOs Dick Fuld, “the Gorilla,”
and Lew Glucksman dance as does Bobby to age 120. He died in 1969. It is a
confusing scene that may make poetic sense.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">The play ends on an elegiac note recalling the past and the big changes
with Pete Peterson taking over and being pushed out by Dick Fuld and becoming a
billionaire in the processes. They recall the three brothers opening a store in
Alabama, surviving fire and flood and standing together dreaming of America.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><i><span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">The Lehman Trilogy</span></i><span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"> is a
hugely successful play and a <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>hit
wherever it has been produced. It has won praise and awards galore. But I
cannot share in all the enthusiasm it has generated. It is a three-act play that
runs for 3 hours and 20 minutes with two intermissions. A three-act play does
not become a trilogy because it covers to a greater or lesser extent the period
of 1844 to 2008. <i>The Lehman Trilogy</i> seems like the story of the Lehman
family, especially the founding three brothers who are the main characters of
the play. But the heirs of the founders ceased having any control in the company
in 1969 and <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>therefore had nothing to do
with the 2008 bankruptcy of the huge enterprise that bore the name Lehman.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">The mammoth company called Lehman Brothers that engaged in fraud and caused
immeasurable <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>harm to people in 2008 does
not figure all that prominently in the play. It was a complex affair and the
three Lehman brothers and their heirs that tell the story are not the right
people to tell us about it. they had nothing to do with the company after 1969.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">The bankruptcy of Lehman Brothers is the most important event in the company’s
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>but not the family’s history and it is
skimmed over. It was caused by greed and fraud on an unimaginable scale. If you
consider the fraud, skullduggery and devastating effect on investors, employees
and ordinary people who had borrowed money on subprime mortgages and lost their
houses, you will not find it in this play. The rise of the Lehman brothers may
well be an epic story worth telling but surely the devastating effect on the
people who suffered from its bankruptcy is at least as important.</span><span style="text-align: left;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Ben Carlson, Graeme Somerville and Jordan Pettle are outstanding actors
who give stunning performances. They speak directly to the audience, speak to
each other and represent other characters with finesse and inherent talent.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Camellia Koo’s set
does little to indicate the changes in locations from the New York dock to Alabama
to New York over well over a century.</span></p>
<div style="text-align: justify;"><i><span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">The Lehman Trilogy </span></i><span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">is
indeed an epic story, especially in presenting the Lehman family but it falls
short in dealing with the tragic end of their success after they left the company.<br />
<o:p></o:p></span><span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">____________________________<br /></span><i><span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">The Lehman Trilogy </span></i><span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">by</span><span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"> Stafano
Massini, adapted by Ben Power in a production by Canadian Stage continues <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>until December 2, 2023, at the Bluma Appel Theatre,
St. Lawrence Centre for the Arts, 27 Front Street East, Toronto, Ontario. </span><span lang="EN-GB"><a href="http://www.canadianstage.com/"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">www.canadianstage.com</span></a></span></div>
James Karashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12713238235746109608noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2342477047374839017.post-28112629584151658882023-11-26T00:03:00.000-05:002023-11-26T00:03:04.311-05:00BRIGADOON - REVIEW OF 2023 SHAW FESTIVAL PRODUCTION<p><b>Reviewed by James
Karas</b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="text-align: justify;">The second offering of the Shaw Festival’s current Holiday Season is </span><b style="text-align: justify;"><i>Brigadoon</i></b><span style="text-align: justify;">,
that wonderful musical cum fairy</span><span style="text-align: justify;"> </span><span style="text-align: justify;">tale by
Alan Jay Lerner and Frederick Loewe that takes us to the Scottish highlands of
our imagination and to New York City in 1946. We visit a beautiful and magical village
in never-never land that is full of beauty, innocence and love. It is gorgeous.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="text-align: justify;">This is a revival of the Shaw Festival’s 2019 production and it has lost
none of its appeal. It uses the revised book by Brian Hill and the music,
songs, humour and gorgeous sets take us to a world that exists only in the
theatre and the imagination.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">Brigadoon is a village that is not on the map and it appears only once every
one hundred years. It appeared again in 1946 which happens to be the date when
two Americans fall into it. Tommy Albright (Stewart Adam McKensy) is about to
get married in New York and he has been sent with his friend Jeff Douglas (Kevin
McLachlan) to Scotland on a hunting trip. The two get lost and find a picturesque
village that is not on the map. It is Brigadoon.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">The village is bustling with activity and the two Americans meet the colourful
local people. The bonny lass Fiona and Tommy are attracted to each other and
they fall in love. Jeff is pursued by Meg (Kristi Frank) a lusty lass who is
rather generous with her gifts to men. Jean MacLaren (Madelyn Kriese) is
getting married to Charlie (David Andrew Reid) but they are not allowed to see
each other until after the wedding. Harry (Travis Seeto) is in love with Jean
and bitter that she rejects him. He will come to a bad end when he tries to interfere
with the happy nuptials.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgv6ROTUyHX5iC7qo4U1cF-R3jScKwBASMb5Qi9t_eiEd5Mswnkxq_p3d9QL-sC4HBYyYkhRrkyKq-2TjzKJIWsvlTIZetwRvIqINLnzdfvUscO6qnT1fGSh34wFA_cWi8vnMmu4XTlRuOtDrl4tn17ExG58xMLvSJmAsagn69jmGVfzaHranaSv5y5HRg7/s3600/BRIGADOON-%202023%20Shaw%20Fest%203.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2400" data-original-width="3600" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgv6ROTUyHX5iC7qo4U1cF-R3jScKwBASMb5Qi9t_eiEd5Mswnkxq_p3d9QL-sC4HBYyYkhRrkyKq-2TjzKJIWsvlTIZetwRvIqINLnzdfvUscO6qnT1fGSh34wFA_cWi8vnMmu4XTlRuOtDrl4tn17ExG58xMLvSJmAsagn69jmGVfzaHranaSv5y5HRg7/w400-h266/BRIGADOON-%202023%20Shaw%20Fest%203.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div style="background: white; line-height: 18pt; margin-bottom: 0.2in; text-align: left;"><div style="text-align: center;"><i><b><span style="font-family: georgia;">David
Andrew Reid as Charlie Dalrymple with the </span></b></i></div><i><div style="text-align: center;"><i><b><span style="font-family: georgia;">cast of Brigadoon. Photo by David Cooper.</span></b></i></div></i></div><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">The two friends return to New York and the crucial question becomes: will
Tommy reject Jane (Deborah Castrilli), his American fiancée who is waiting for
the wedding the next day and return to Brigadoon to find Fiona?</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">We have a long way to go before someone must make that decision. The delightful
story of two American veterans in a magical land has some beautiful songs and spectacular
dances choreographed for the original production by the inimitable Agnes
DeMille and for this production by Linda Garneau. The people of Brigadoon make
a great ensemble for the choral pieces, Fiona sings the beautiful and <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>romantic “Waiting for my Dearie” while Meg delivers
the lusty “The Love of my Life” and admits that she gave many men her heart and
a few other things and offers the same to Jeff. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">Charlie can’t wait for the marriage to be done with and begs Jean to
“Come to me, Bend to Me” and all he wants is a kiss. Meg tells the hilarious
story of “My Mother’s Wedding Day” where a huge crowd got roaring drunk, her
father the drunkest, until the preacher finally performed the ceremony. Meg was
there, she tells us.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgI3yWVTkjZ6dy5PFOnVgjyHCzJJ5BaCCHcxiTiYjKGKiphJwdmT9xp24vxR5rOXXKp_fy-7B7J4AN6o-M_adnsjNi6LRmzDPxGpQ4JOXNKMq5CnjO6MxoYYN4jmo7DEX2bvWGagUNuThY25_yPacYBtnuSJeYX_o158Q9_rB2pkyRp7lU3G9GkWhB0vZS8/s3825/BRIGADOON-%202023%20Shaw%20Fest%201.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3825" data-original-width="2649" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgI3yWVTkjZ6dy5PFOnVgjyHCzJJ5BaCCHcxiTiYjKGKiphJwdmT9xp24vxR5rOXXKp_fy-7B7J4AN6o-M_adnsjNi6LRmzDPxGpQ4JOXNKMq5CnjO6MxoYYN4jmo7DEX2bvWGagUNuThY25_yPacYBtnuSJeYX_o158Q9_rB2pkyRp7lU3G9GkWhB0vZS8/w278-h400/BRIGADOON-%202023%20Shaw%20Fest%201.jpg" width="278" /></a></div><div style="background: white; line-height: 18pt; margin-bottom: 0.2in; text-align: left;"><div style="text-align: center;"><b><i><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Stewart
Adam McKensy and Alexis Gordon in</span></i></b></div><b><div style="text-align: center;"><b><i><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> Brigadoon (Shaw Festival, 2023). Photo by David Cooper.</span></i></b></div></b></div>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">Tommy and Fiona strike a different tune and sing of “Almost Like Being
in Love.” The above are a few examples of the melodies composed by Loewe and
Lerner’s splendid lyrics.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">The set designed by Pam Johnson is surpassingly beautiful from the
opening of the curtains to the end. A village with old houses in a wooded valley
with mountains in the back. The people are dressed<span style="color: red;"> </span>in
traditional<span style="color: red;"> </span>Scottish clothes designed by Sue
LePage and the impression is that of a paradise.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">We do see short video projections of troops and war. The two men are
veterans of World War II and their sudden discovery of Brigadoon is a long way
from their recent reality. We get a glimpse of Tommy’s wedding rehearsal party
and the beautiful would-be bride Jane but
he cannot get Fiona out of his mind.</p>
<div style="text-align: left;">The dancing was of very high quality, the singing had some weaknesses
and the ability to do Scottish accents was minimal. But the musical and the
production are indomitable. A visit to a magical land is always welcome but a
place like Brigadoon at this time of the year is especially welcome and wonderful.
A deep bow to Glynis Leyshon for her superb directing and handling of the
acting, singing and pacing of a great show. <br /><span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">__________________________<br /></span><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i><span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Brigadoon</span></i></b><i><span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"> </span></i><span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">by Alan Jay Lerner (book and lyrics) and
Frederick Loewe (music) continues</span><span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"> until
December 23, 2023, at the Festival Theatre, 10 Queen’s Parade,
Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ontario. </span><span lang="EN-GB"><a href="http://www.shawfest.com/"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">www.shawfest.com</span></a></span><span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<p class="MsoNormal">James Karas is the Senior Editor, Culture of The Greek Press</p>James Karashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12713238235746109608noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2342477047374839017.post-21326830386387265572023-11-23T23:55:00.000-05:002023-11-23T23:55:28.002-05:00PROPHECY FOG - REVIEW OF COAL MINE THEATRE PRODUCTION<p><b><span lang="EN-GB">Reviewed
by James Karas</span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">Before you enter the playing area of the Coal
Mine Theatre, you are asked to take your shoes off. In the theatre, you see a
slender woman in white slacks and blouse with blonde/grey<span style="color: red;"> </span>hair covering most of her face. She appears to be in
a trance as she expands her arms and moves slowly. The playing area is a circle
with a couple of dozens of bowls full of stones from pebbles to fist-sized and
a round red rug in the centre. The audience of about 60 sit in a circle around
the playing area.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">The woman crouches down and her face touches
the floor as she starts wailing. She stands up and starts telling us stories.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">The woman in the centre is Jani Lauzon who
has created and is the sole performer of </span><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i><span lang="EN-GB">Prophecy Fog</span></i></b><span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">, stories about native beliefs, their
relationship with nature and her <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>personal
experiences. There is a large screen above the playing area that shows images
of the sky, a desert, the Giant Rock in the Mojave Desert as well as videos of
the author and her daughter.</span> </p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"><o:p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCM2f-Gk1cvQJs92Y_sGbYqhjUV1MZddRuui9lDEwoGEXfuOIk6KTZZ6eUne2ZOYdCT2znHsS9qqGa0S2zG3DRiZhv8ZsPCZlMgtbvx0viJVcKoqhcZeIDHRap831VTV4yvor1-TFdHKkVegBYT_IeTr087Q1VGs5RTcZ2Ehl5Lb6veoNDjMJ9b-qIX3Tr/s6048/Prophecy%20Fog%20-%202023%20Coal%20Mine%20-photobyDahliaKatz-259.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4024" data-original-width="6048" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCM2f-Gk1cvQJs92Y_sGbYqhjUV1MZddRuui9lDEwoGEXfuOIk6KTZZ6eUne2ZOYdCT2znHsS9qqGa0S2zG3DRiZhv8ZsPCZlMgtbvx0viJVcKoqhcZeIDHRap831VTV4yvor1-TFdHKkVegBYT_IeTr087Q1VGs5RTcZ2Ehl5Lb6veoNDjMJ9b-qIX3Tr/w400-h266/Prophecy%20Fog%20-%202023%20Coal%20Mine%20-photobyDahliaKatz-259.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i><b>Jani Lauzon in Prophecy Fog. Photo: Dahlia Katz</b></i></td></tr></tbody></table></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">The fabled Giant Rock is a central image in </span><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i><span lang="EN-GB">Prophecy Fog</span></i></b><span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"> and Lauzon tells us about Frank Critzer
who dug out a home near the rock and lived there and about George van Tassel
who lived there as well. The Giant Rock fractured in two and has suffered the
indignity of graffiti and Lauzon shows us the swastikas, obscenities and white
supremacist garbage scrawled on it.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">Lauzon treats the rocks as if they are living
objects. If you listen to them, they will speak to you or you will be able to
communicate with them. She tells us stories of elders from whom she heard
stories about our relations with nature. She slowly empties all the bowls in
the playing area and she chooses pebbles and larger stones and holds them up
lovingly and puts them on her body.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">Lauzon is an outstanding storyteller and she
tells us about her background of being raised in a foster home until she
graduated from high school, about going to the Mojave Desert with her daughter
and about her love of and close relationship with nature, something that we
seem to have lost but one day may rediscover.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkPUlFapVxbB1PtWTx4tc-gjzGUVJCCHNd2_Nw9TQ5uZp6-K5LuLtgEPau7Dg-xmT07ZkYzX0Gy4IUQ1xD5U8zj7zRlj2N0DbZc_bTlo74Y5Zg6NsO1eFwAvp1m8fCrx209RdwDrZN86UBs26cuOu_W_fDiJYDBjwxzQeKUQITwInDZPbEvXnyF12YWbpu/s6048/Prophecy%20%20Fog%20-%202023%20Coal%20Mine-photobyDahliaKatz-275.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4024" data-original-width="6048" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkPUlFapVxbB1PtWTx4tc-gjzGUVJCCHNd2_Nw9TQ5uZp6-K5LuLtgEPau7Dg-xmT07ZkYzX0Gy4IUQ1xD5U8zj7zRlj2N0DbZc_bTlo74Y5Zg6NsO1eFwAvp1m8fCrx209RdwDrZN86UBs26cuOu_W_fDiJYDBjwxzQeKUQITwInDZPbEvXnyF12YWbpu/w400-h266/Prophecy%20%20Fog%20-%202023%20Coal%20Mine-photobyDahliaKatz-275.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><span style="text-align: center;"><b><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span>Jani Lauzon in Prophecy Fog. Photo: Dahlia Katz</b></span><br /><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><i><span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">Prophecy Fog</span></i><span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"> is an amazing creation of movement, music
and storytelling that I understood only partially because I admit shamefacedly,
I lack a sufficient background in indigenous mythology and culture.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">On her website Jani Lauzon is described as
Writer/Actor/Director/Musician/Puppeteer and a multidisciplinary artist of
Métis/French/Finnish ancestry. Gee, is that all?</span></p>
<div style="text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">The production is directed by Franco Boni
with Environmental Design by Melissa Joakim. They are responsible for the
quality of the sets and performance, of course. It lasts 75 minutes with no
intermission. It is an astounding show and an extraordinary performance.<br /></span><span lang="EN-GB">_________________<br /></span><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i><span lang="EN-GB">Prophecy
Fog </span></i></b><span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">by Jani
Lauzon in a production by Paper Canoe Projects continues until December 10, 2023,</span><span lang="EN-GB"> at the Coal Mine Theatre, 2076 Danforth Ave. Toronto, (northwest
corner of Woodbine and Danforth) <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><a href="http://www.coalminetheatre.com/">www.coalminetheatre.com</a><span class="MsoHyperlink"> </span><span class="MsoHyperlink"><span style="color: windowtext; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">or </span></span><a href="http://www.papercanoeprojects.com/">www.papercanoeprojects.com</a><u><span style="color: blue;"><o:p></o:p></span></u></span></div>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span class="MsoHyperlink"><span lang="EN-GB" style="color: windowtext; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;"><o:p> James Karas is the Senior Editor, Culture of The Greek Press</o:p></span></span></p>James Karashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12713238235746109608noreply@blogger.com0