A dear friend of mine used to be the TD at the New Victory Theater—he knew I was a fan of the theater company Mabou Mines, so when that company brought their new adaptation of JM Barrie’s Peter and Wendy to the theater in 1997, he asked if I’d like to see it. I jumped at the chance. As luck would have it, the show was sold out, so I got to watch it with Tim from the lighting booth. It was a magical experience—one of my top ten-or-so theater experiences ever! So whenever the show plays a return engagement at the New Victory (the last one was in 2002), I am so there.
This production of Peter and Wendy utilizes puppets by Basil Twist (a genius, in my humble opinion) and gorgeous Celtic-tinged music by the late Johnny Cunningham (there’s also a live singer, who is terrific). It is gloriously enchanting—a treat for the eyes, ears, mind and heart. It takes the heart-tugging story of youth and dreams, adds some beautiful music and completely real-boy-looking puppets, and comes up with just a perfect jewel of a theatrical experience. And add to this the amazing narrator, Karen Kandel, who voices all the characters (I read somewhere it’s over 27 different characters)—she is just fantastic. She won an Obie for the first go-round of this production and I think she should win…something…anytime she does it. Each character has a charm and distinct personality—it’s really amazing. There are some points where you are sure you hear more than one character talking at the same time and just shake your head to realize it’s one gal voicing them all.
I again had tears in my eyes during the scene in the nursery where Peter decides he needs a mother and wants to take Wendy with him—the combination of the beautiful set and lights (the stars and moon are so lovely), and the lilting music and the complete commitment to the character of Peter by the puppeteers just makes me cry with theatrical joy. Oh, and using a sepia-toned piece of film for the first flying sequence is just gorgeous. In fact, everything is.
Clearly I love this production. I could wax rhapsodically about it all day, but I’ll stop here. But, oh, the final duel between Hook and Peter? FANTASTIC. My eyes are welling with tears just thinking about it. Sigh. It’s been on TDF, so if you have a chance to go, I’d strongly encourage it. Of course, if you don’t like puppets or don’t believe in fairies, you should probably skip it. J
Changing the subject, I was reading another blog the other day and the author decided to do a list of his favorite productions, just in case The Rapture happens tomorrow and he didn't get the chance to jot his thoughts down. I thought this sounded like a pretty good idea, so since Peter and Wendy is on my top experiences list, I'll give some more. These are in no particular order and certainly not in chronological order (the years are hopefully right, but could be off here and there):
Amadeus, Hilberry Repertory Company, 1987: I think this is the first show I saw as a company member at the Hilberry and I was blown away. Gordon Reinhart and Tony Dobrowolski were spectacular as Mozart and Salieri. It's still my favorite version of the stage play, though I did enjoy the NY revival from a few years ago starring David Suchet and Michael Sheen;
A Delicate Balance, Broadway, 1996: here is the production that made me bow at the altar of George Grizzard. It was also my first time seeing Elaine Stritch live and in person. We had actually done Delicate Balance at the Hilberry and it was terrific, but this one just blew me away. I think I saw it a total of four times. God, I love Albee;
Cold Harbor, Porthouse Theater, 1985: this was a Mabou Mines production--they came to give master classes to KSU students (Porthouse is Kent's summer theater), and then did this absolutely stunning production that had museum curators at an exhibition about Ulysses S Grant and Bill Raymond as Grant in a glass case! Then he would come to life and talk about the horrors of war. There were dioramas and tableaux vivant. It was amazing and so inspiring. Oh, and I developed a huge crush on Bill Raymond. Perhaps he was a precursor to all my husbands?
Death of a Salesman, Players Guild of Canton, 1994: yes, a community theater production of Salesman. But my friend Rick Lombardo (now at San Jose Rep) directed a shattering version of this play, and having it done with basically non-actors (at least not professional actors) added a layer of authenticity and poignancy to the whole thing. Rick is an amazing director--if you ever have a chance to see a show that he's directed, jump on it;
Six Degrees of Separation, Lincoln Center, 1990: when this was running on Broadway, I was working at Fordham. Every time they did a cast change, Fordham students would get invited to dress rehearsals--I always tagged along. I had to have seen this production ten or twelve times (there were a LOT of dress rehearsals). The Matisse monologue has stayed with me as few non-Shakespearean monologues ever have. And Stockard Channing's performance is one of the most multi-faceted and layered masterpieces I have ever seen;
Ragtime, Broadway revival, 2009: few musicals have moved me as much as this one did. This revival, although in a huge Broadway house, seemed so intimate and so personal--it worked on so many levels and broke my heart at each of them. It was a crime that it closed so quickly;
Journey's End, Broadway, 2007: this play sort of had the same effect on me that seeing the movie Platoon had--it left me gasping for air, weeping loudly and so glad to be alive. The coup de theatre at the end of the play truly left me speechless and profoundly moved;
Fiddler on the Roof, Porthouse Theater, 1984: I love Fiddler, always have. But this production, starring the beloved outgoing chair of the KSU theater department, Bill Zucchero, was beyond spectacular. His daughters played Tevye's daughters, his friends played his friends, his students played...everyone else. Bill was such a joy--a mentor and teacher beyond desciption. Watching him play out his goodbyes to Kent as Tevye saying goodbye to Anatevka was just heartbreaking. I watched every single moment of every single performance that summer;
Kabuki Macbeth, Detroit tour, 1989: in my goal to see every production of Macbeth I can, I went to catch a touring company doing a Kabuki version when I lived in Detroit. It was mesmerizing. The guy playing Macbeth had to have been seven feet tall (at least that's how I remember him), and they were also doing some Suzuki-style acting--it was quite thrilling;
The Normal Heart, Public Theater, 2004: although I think the current revival is a better production overall, when I saw Normal Heart in 2004, it was the first time I had ever seen the play. When I say I could not speak afterwards for a good half hour, I am not exaggerating. Its power and beauty and sadness were overwhelming. And my husband Raul Esparza was spectacular;
Prayer for my Enemy, Playwrights Horizons, 2008: I found this play by Craig Lucas to be full of profound truths. Victoria Clark had one monologue that literally had me re-evaluating my entire life. I can hardly type this now without crying and recalling the way my breath stopped. The things she talked about in that speech are aspects of my life I'm still trying to work through. Gorgeous writing.
Those are the plays that came to mind right off the top of my head. I'm sure others will find their way into my brain and be angry that they weren't included. But...I tried. I have favorite moments, too, like the time I sneezed during Morning, Noon and Night by Spalding Gray and he said 'bless you.' :)
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