It's that time of year when people put together their lists of the best plays they've seen over the past 12 months. I've decided to limit myself to performances in New York City that opened in 2013. (Sorry Sleep No More and Heute: Kohlhaas, but you don't qualify.)
So in reverse order, here they are:
#10 KAFKA'S MONKEY
Theatre for a New Audience clearly knew what it was doing when it brought over this one-woman show featuring Kathryn Hunter from The Young Vic in London. Franz Kafka's "A Report to an Academy" came to life like I'd never imagined.
#9 HERAKLES
Aquila Theatre revived this ancient play by Euripides using interviews with actual war veterans in lieu of the choral numbers. Unfortunately, there were only a handful of performances at the Brooklyn Academy of Music in March. Still, those who saw the show will not easily forget it.
#8 FIX ME JESUS
Helen Sneed's comedy about a Texas woman having a mental breakdown in the dressing room of a Neiman Marcus was surprisingly emotional. The Abingdon Theatre did a great job with this piece, which featured fine performances by Lee Roy Rogers, Polly Lee, and Lori Gardner, among others.
#7 NATASHA, PIERRE AND THE GREAT COMET OF 1812
Not everyone I've talked to has loved this show, but I find Dave Malloy's songs to be enchanting. Plus, that Tolstoy guy really knew how to tell a story! This immersive theatre experience was a triumph for the non-profit Ars Nova, and has moved on uptown with a commercial production near Times Square.
#6 THE MUTILATED
How could anyone possibly perform this outrageous late play by Tennessee Williams? By casting Penny Arcade and Mink Stole, of course. This all-too-brief run at the New Ohio Theatre deserved all of the praise it received, and then some. It's a pity the Christmas-themed show had to close before the holidays.
#5 THE COMEDY OF ERRORS
As much as I enjoyed the musicalized version of Love's Labour's Lost this summer, the Public did an even better job with The Comedy of Errors, setting Shakespeare's tale of mis-matched twins in upstate New York. Hamish Linklater and Jesse Tyler Ferguson were hysterical, and Heidi Schreck made a wonderful Adriana.
#4 SAINT JOAN
Bedlam's production of the classic by George Bernard Shaw uses only four actors to tell a magnificent story. This stripped-down, bare-bones version gets to the heart of the story of Joan of Arc, and breaks the audience's heart in the process. Special praise goes to Eric Tucker, who both directs and plays Warwick. It's still running, so get your tickets now!
#3 UNLOCK'D
Sam Carner and Derek Gregor have been working for years on this musical based loosely on Alexander Pope's mock epic poem The Rape of the Lock. Though the material does not seem the most likely candidate for becoming a musical comedy, they pulled it off with panache in Prospect Theatre Company's world premier of the work this summer. Just when you think you know where the play is headed, it goes in a delightful new direction. This show deserves to be done all across the country.
#2 TAMAR OF THE RIVER
Perhaps I'm a little biased, but Marisa Michelson and Joshua H. Cohen gave this town one of the most innovative new musicals it has seen in a long time, beating out even Unlock'd. Kudos to Prospect Theatre Company for producing two of the top plays on this list! I saw Tamar three times, and enjoyed it more with each performance. I know of no immediate plans for a larger production, but some bright producer needs to bring this musical to a larger stage, though hopefully keeping most of the brilliant staging by director Daniel Goldstein.
#1 DIALOGUES DES CARMELITES
This Poulenc opera blew me away when I saw it at the Met in May. They nailed the final scene, where the nuns are guillotined one by one, and all of those voices singing "Salve Regina" go quiet, one after another, until there is only one left, and then.... The world today still faces religious oppression, and far more serious attacks than the "War on Christmas" hyped by Fox News, or the bogus pseudo-attacks on "freedom of religion" that have the American Catholic Bishops constantly crying wolf. This tale of Sister Blanche (not quite a historical figure, but there were plenty of women like her) reminds us that true Christianity calls for self-sacrifice, not constant self-aggrandizement.
So that's my list. Honorable mentions go out to Atlantic Theater Company's The Jammer, La MaMa's Iphigenia at Aulis, Roundabout's The Winslow Boy, and Signature's Cheri.
Showing posts with label Prospect Theater Company. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Prospect Theater Company. Show all posts
Monday, December 30, 2013
Sunday, October 20, 2013
Tamar, Take Three
Last night, I saw Prospect Theater Company's production of Tamar of the River for the third time. Honestly, I kept liking it more and more each time I saw it.
The lyrics by Joshua H. Cohen are subtle, but the more I listened to them, the more I liked them. One of the things I noticed this time around is that after Tamar accepts Er, his stuttering stops. Having him go from inarticulate to eloquent is really wonderful.
The voice of the River speaks in many voices, many languages, and sometimes just in sonorous sounds. Those sounds, whether we understand them or not (frequently we are not meant to) fit together perfectly with the music by Marisa Michelson.
There are also a number of wonderful bits of humor, such when the River speaks to Tamar, and she answers simply, "Me?" Oddly enough, the audience did not laugh at these parts as they had on the previous times I saw the piece. Still, based on the smiles on the audience's faces, they clearly enjoyed the show.
The lyrics by Joshua H. Cohen are subtle, but the more I listened to them, the more I liked them. One of the things I noticed this time around is that after Tamar accepts Er, his stuttering stops. Having him go from inarticulate to eloquent is really wonderful.
The voice of the River speaks in many voices, many languages, and sometimes just in sonorous sounds. Those sounds, whether we understand them or not (frequently we are not meant to) fit together perfectly with the music by Marisa Michelson.
There are also a number of wonderful bits of humor, such when the River speaks to Tamar, and she answers simply, "Me?" Oddly enough, the audience did not laugh at these parts as they had on the previous times I saw the piece. Still, based on the smiles on the audience's faces, they clearly enjoyed the show.
Wednesday, October 2, 2013
Tamar, Take Two
I saw Joshua H. Cohen and Marisa Michelson's Tamar of the River for a second time on Wednesday. I enjoyed the show even more the second time around. Part of the reason why was the new ending, which I won't discuss on the blog just now. (No spoilers!) It was a marked improvement, though.
Part of why I enjoyed the piece on this second viewing was my ability to notice and appreciate little details. The physical movement of the cast is wonderful. Their use of props also adds to the choreography. For instance, they dance with long wooden rods that can become the poles of a tent or the outline of a table. At another point, they unroll long scrolls of paper, waving them up and down, and then carrying them off over the heads of the audience. Perhaps most dramatic is when they wrap Tamar in orange fabric, dressing her as a prostitute. The cast members continue to hold onto pieces of the fabric that encompass her body, creating a net of cloth around her. When Judah approaches her, it is unclear which of the two is going to be caught in this net.
The costumes also stood out more to me, and I began to see the reasons behind certain choices. Tamar's mother wears a dress with a tank painted on it. This is a symbol of the horrors of war, but also a reference to her own strength and solidity. Onan's tunic has doves painted on it, but the doves have red crosses on them, as if they are caught in crosshairs. The audience is reminded of peace and the threats to peace at the same time. His brother Er has just splotches of paint on his tunic, the indistinct pattern mirroring Er's inability to articulate his thoughts and feelings. Bardolph, the character who eggs on Onan and is responsible for much of the violence in the play, has what appears to be a bomb painted on his own tunic.
Prospect Theater Company has done a lot of good work recently, including the magnificent Unlock'd, but this might be the best thing I've ever seen them do. I'll be seeing Tamar once more at the end of its run. Expect another blog post then!
Part of why I enjoyed the piece on this second viewing was my ability to notice and appreciate little details. The physical movement of the cast is wonderful. Their use of props also adds to the choreography. For instance, they dance with long wooden rods that can become the poles of a tent or the outline of a table. At another point, they unroll long scrolls of paper, waving them up and down, and then carrying them off over the heads of the audience. Perhaps most dramatic is when they wrap Tamar in orange fabric, dressing her as a prostitute. The cast members continue to hold onto pieces of the fabric that encompass her body, creating a net of cloth around her. When Judah approaches her, it is unclear which of the two is going to be caught in this net.
The costumes also stood out more to me, and I began to see the reasons behind certain choices. Tamar's mother wears a dress with a tank painted on it. This is a symbol of the horrors of war, but also a reference to her own strength and solidity. Onan's tunic has doves painted on it, but the doves have red crosses on them, as if they are caught in crosshairs. The audience is reminded of peace and the threats to peace at the same time. His brother Er has just splotches of paint on his tunic, the indistinct pattern mirroring Er's inability to articulate his thoughts and feelings. Bardolph, the character who eggs on Onan and is responsible for much of the violence in the play, has what appears to be a bomb painted on his own tunic.
Prospect Theater Company has done a lot of good work recently, including the magnificent Unlock'd, but this might be the best thing I've ever seen them do. I'll be seeing Tamar once more at the end of its run. Expect another blog post then!
Wednesday, September 25, 2013
Nymph Errant
Last year I had the good fortune to see Prospect Theater Company's production of Nymph Errant, the 1933 musical with songs by Cole Porter. Rob Urbinati rewrote the book for this production, making the musical adhere more closely with the James Laver novel that originally inspired it.
More recently, I got hold of a recording of the 1989 London concert version. Listening to it reminded me of some of the show's high points. The big number from the piece that everyone remembers is "Experiment," but also fun is "It's Bad for Me," sung by the ingenue Evangeline.
Evangeline also sings a great Act One closer, which also happens to be the title song of the show. In typical Porter fashion, she sings:
Men,
I used to take you
So seriously.
I dreamed about you deliriously.
But now I've gone so far,
I know how harmless you are.
My favorite song, however, is "The Physician," in which a woman laments a lack of affection from her doctor:
He said my maxillaries were marvels
And found my sternum stunning to see,
And did a double hurdle
When I shook my pelvic girdle,
But he never said he loved me.
For all its faults, Nymph Errant really is a fun show, and I hope more people do it in the future.
More recently, I got hold of a recording of the 1989 London concert version. Listening to it reminded me of some of the show's high points. The big number from the piece that everyone remembers is "Experiment," but also fun is "It's Bad for Me," sung by the ingenue Evangeline.
Evangeline also sings a great Act One closer, which also happens to be the title song of the show. In typical Porter fashion, she sings:
Men,
I used to take you
So seriously.
I dreamed about you deliriously.
But now I've gone so far,
I know how harmless you are.
My favorite song, however, is "The Physician," in which a woman laments a lack of affection from her doctor:
He said my maxillaries were marvels
And found my sternum stunning to see,
And did a double hurdle
When I shook my pelvic girdle,
But he never said he loved me.
For all its faults, Nymph Errant really is a fun show, and I hope more people do it in the future.
Sunday, September 22, 2013
Tamar of the River
Last night I saw Joshua H. Cohen and Marisa Michelson's very ambitious show Tamar of the River. Based (very loosely) on incidents from Genesis, the piece tackles issues of war and peace, God, and the importance (and impotence) of a single individual.
The most noteworthy aspect of the piece is the music. The entire cast (with the exception of Tamar) also sings the voice of the River (presumably the River Jordan). Michelson has written some gorgeous choral music in which each singer has a different part, all adding up to a whole much greater than all of those parts, even as each individual voice shines out at one time or another.
This is not your typical Broadway sound. (For one thing, most Broadway shows don't incorporate a hammered dulcimer into the orchestra.) While traditional Jewish and Middle Eastern sounds come out in the music, there is nothing so specific as to place the story geographically anywhere. The multi-racial cast adds to the feeling that the play is everywhere and nowhere all at once, but it is the music that does the most to lift the audience out of a sense of the ordinary and transport them to a different world.
Margo Seibert (Adrian in the upcoming Broadway production of Rocky) plays Tamar, a young woman from the East who travels to the source of the River and meets one of her enemies from the West. That enemy would be the sexy and dangerous Onan, played wonderfully by Mike Longo. He brings her home to his father, Judah. Broadway veteran Erik Lochtefeld downright seizes the stage when he emerges from the River to become Judah. As one of the older members of a cast that is made up mainly of twentysomethings, Lochtefeld has a gravitas that makes him a suitable counterpoint to Seibert's Tamar.
In the home of her enemy, Tamar then sets about to make peace. Judah, while sympathetic to this idealistic young woman, is convinced that peace is impossible and that periodic raids to the East are necessary to gain security for the West. Parallels with the Israeli-Palestinian situation are obvious, but thankfully not strained. Tamar's etherial idealism clashes with the brutal practicality of Judah. Over the course of the play, Tamar becomes more and more desperate while Judah becomes more and more war-weary. Ultimately, however, neither seems to have the answer to the problems of the land.
Following a series of slaughters, Tamar goes back to the River, defeated and despairing. The River embraces her, singing that she is not the solution, but is part of the solution. Tamar, and the audience, must be content with small measures that even if they seem pointless might one day help to bring peace.
Daniel Goldstein, who directed the recent Broadway revival of Godspell, helms this production, and as in Godspell he does a masterful job of using the entire ensemble in an intimate space with the audience on multiple sides. Choreographer Chase Brock deserves much of the credit for how well the staging works, as do set designer Brett J. Banakis and lighting designer Brian Tovar. The costumes by Candida K. Nichols also work perfectly for the amorphous setting.
Prospect Theater Company sometimes does brilliant work (like this year's Unlock'd) and at other times misses the mark. This production, however, is definitely worth seeing. It's playing until October 20th, and you can find more information here:
Tamar of the River
http://tamaroftheriver.com/
The most noteworthy aspect of the piece is the music. The entire cast (with the exception of Tamar) also sings the voice of the River (presumably the River Jordan). Michelson has written some gorgeous choral music in which each singer has a different part, all adding up to a whole much greater than all of those parts, even as each individual voice shines out at one time or another.
This is not your typical Broadway sound. (For one thing, most Broadway shows don't incorporate a hammered dulcimer into the orchestra.) While traditional Jewish and Middle Eastern sounds come out in the music, there is nothing so specific as to place the story geographically anywhere. The multi-racial cast adds to the feeling that the play is everywhere and nowhere all at once, but it is the music that does the most to lift the audience out of a sense of the ordinary and transport them to a different world.
Margo Seibert (Adrian in the upcoming Broadway production of Rocky) plays Tamar, a young woman from the East who travels to the source of the River and meets one of her enemies from the West. That enemy would be the sexy and dangerous Onan, played wonderfully by Mike Longo. He brings her home to his father, Judah. Broadway veteran Erik Lochtefeld downright seizes the stage when he emerges from the River to become Judah. As one of the older members of a cast that is made up mainly of twentysomethings, Lochtefeld has a gravitas that makes him a suitable counterpoint to Seibert's Tamar.
In the home of her enemy, Tamar then sets about to make peace. Judah, while sympathetic to this idealistic young woman, is convinced that peace is impossible and that periodic raids to the East are necessary to gain security for the West. Parallels with the Israeli-Palestinian situation are obvious, but thankfully not strained. Tamar's etherial idealism clashes with the brutal practicality of Judah. Over the course of the play, Tamar becomes more and more desperate while Judah becomes more and more war-weary. Ultimately, however, neither seems to have the answer to the problems of the land.
Following a series of slaughters, Tamar goes back to the River, defeated and despairing. The River embraces her, singing that she is not the solution, but is part of the solution. Tamar, and the audience, must be content with small measures that even if they seem pointless might one day help to bring peace.
Daniel Goldstein, who directed the recent Broadway revival of Godspell, helms this production, and as in Godspell he does a masterful job of using the entire ensemble in an intimate space with the audience on multiple sides. Choreographer Chase Brock deserves much of the credit for how well the staging works, as do set designer Brett J. Banakis and lighting designer Brian Tovar. The costumes by Candida K. Nichols also work perfectly for the amorphous setting.
Prospect Theater Company sometimes does brilliant work (like this year's Unlock'd) and at other times misses the mark. This production, however, is definitely worth seeing. It's playing until October 20th, and you can find more information here:
Tamar of the River
http://tamaroftheriver.com/
Saturday, July 20, 2013
Pope Unlock'd
Last night, I saw Prospect Theater Company's production of Unlock'd, a new musical with book and lyrics by Sam Carner and music by Derek Gregor. The play is loosely inspired by Alexander's Pope's mock epic The Rape of the Lock.
This is one of the more delightful new musicals I've seen in a long time. The play surprised me twice, first when the lovers paired up in a different way than I was expecting, and then again when the lovers' quarrels took a back seat to grudges involving the two sisters. This is a play that deserves to go further.
Next up for Prospect is a musical that promises to be even more ambitious. In September, the company will be opening Tamar and the River, a piece by Marisa Michelson and Joshua H. Cohen inspired by an incident in Genesis. I'm very much looking forward to it!
This is one of the more delightful new musicals I've seen in a long time. The play surprised me twice, first when the lovers paired up in a different way than I was expecting, and then again when the lovers' quarrels took a back seat to grudges involving the two sisters. This is a play that deserves to go further.
Next up for Prospect is a musical that promises to be even more ambitious. In September, the company will be opening Tamar and the River, a piece by Marisa Michelson and Joshua H. Cohen inspired by an incident in Genesis. I'm very much looking forward to it!
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