The Wicked Stage

May 22, 2013

Bravo, Fiasco Theatre, hosted by Folger.  I adored your production of Two Gentlemen of Verona.  A unique experience where I had very little knowledge of the text going into the performance… still some Shakespearean surprises left out there!  The cut was fabulous - two hours traffic, indeed!  And the performances/style/staging, just… lovely.  

I DID know the dog speech, of course. And it was marvy. 

May 6, 2013

My encounter with Brief Encounter, created by Kneehigh and presented by Shakespeare Theatre Co., was…lovely.  Dazzling!  The show was everything I love in theatre.  The words "this is my favorite play" actually fell out of my mouth (which was plastered into a goofy grin) about halfway through the show.  The show EMBRACED the innate theatricality of…THEATRE.  So often it seems as though shows are trying to ignore the strangeness at the core of what theatre is and pretend what's being done is actually a film.  

Brief Encounter was beautiful, funny, tongue-in-cheek, touching, visually stunning, and complete with fabulous jazz renditions.  Catch it on tour. 

October 13, 2013 - 

My man is in rehearsals for Romeo and Juliet at Folger Shakespeare Library.  He's playing Tybalt, so there's lots of fighting.  Got his thumb smashed during tech and everything.  At least he hasn't yet gotten a massive head wound (knock on wood; also, remind him to tell you the story about Othello at Wayside next time you see him).  

In short, all I have for this section (since I haven't seen any more theatre since last I wrote) is this pic from the Folger's blog - 

Mercutio and Tybalt: exchanging words and blows. 

Doesn't he look so fly, dodging that tummy swipe and waving his swords like he just don't care? ;) 

Anyway.  I'm seeing it on the 21st, and I can't wait. 

September 20, 2013 - 

The theatre, the theatre.  

I've seen five plays in less than three weeks.  Unusual for even Rex and me.  Also unusual is that I've pretty much loved them all! 

The airlifting scene

1.  Miss Saigon at Signature Theatre - 
At intermission, I turned to Rex and said, "SO. MUCH. THEATRE."  The stage was just chock-a-block of spectacle, music, and extremely dramatic situations.  The most memorable scene for me was when the US airlifted their troops out of Saigon, not because of any helicopter hooplah, but because it was so incredibly heartbreaking to watch.  Also, I fell in love with the little boy who played Tam, as did the rest of the audience.  And the ending TOTALLY took me by surprise.  Spectacle, music, cute little boys, surprise ending?  That's a pretty satisfying theatrical experience right there. 

The lovely Anacostia Playhouse

2.  Broke-ology at Theater Alliance -  I loved this play when we produced the reading of it in 2012, when I was still on staff at Theater Alliance, and I was so thrilled when it was picked  for the 2013-2014 season.  It was a perfect selection to open the new, beautiful Anacostia Playhouse.  For me, the play is about love existing in spite of and in the midst of all different kinds of broke-ness.  
I cried kind of a lot. 

3.  Around the World in 80 Days at the New Theatre at 45th Street - This Off-Broadway Theatre was another beautiful, unexpected space.  The entire theatre was included in the production design, and I loved it.  The adaptation is zany and super-fast, and the actors were fantastic and seemingly effortless as they sprinted through characters and quick changes.  Best part - our pal Matt Lutz had just taken over one of the roles! 

Tom and Amanda being conflicted.

4.  The Glass Menagerie at Booth Theatre - Hrm.  This is the one I probably had the most conflicting feelings about.  I re-discovered this script last spring when I did a project on it for school, and kind of fell in love with it, although my previous encounters hadn't been all that memorable.  When Rex and I heard John Tiffany (he of Black Watch and Once)  was directing Cherry Jones in a Broadway revival, I decided we must go.  He infused abstract movement-y moments in a similar way that he'd done with Black Watch and Once, but I did feel as though they weren't quite as realized or clear, which left me feeling a bit unsatisfied.  The acting was all fantastic.  Cherry Jones made Amanda a believable, sympathetic monster, instead of just a straight-up, Tennesse-Williams-goth-crazy-lady-monster.  The Gentleman Caller scene was absolutely stunning.  However...and this feels so strange, almost sacrilegious, to say...I think I've realized this is a script I much prefer to read than see.  So odd.  With Shakespeare, I infinitely prefer seeing actors muscle through the text than read it on the page, but I found the opposite to be true with Menagerie.  But.  A lovely production. 

Maaaagic to Do!

5.  Pippin at Music Box Theatre - Best for last.  I am in danger of becoming an uber-fan about this show.  I seriously LOVED it.  Teared up during "Magic to Do" and everything.  The circus concept was perfect for the show, and the performers were absolutely unbelievable.  It was SUCH a rich spectacle to take in, it was impossible to see what was going on in all areas of the theatre at one time.  I would love to see it again...and again....It's strange to me that Ben Brantley found the concept added cynicism to the production, since I thought it created the perfect setting and contrast for the message at the heart of the show.  (And, clearly, the Tony Awards and thousands of fans were more on my side of the spectrum than his.)  However, as I don't need to tell anyone who might be reading this blog, we don't always agree with those dern critics.  The energy in the full house was so tremendous, everyone was so thrilled to be there, that it made me think that the houses must've been something like that in Rent's first year or so on Broadway.  Anyway.  It was beautiful.