Wednesday, March 22, 2017

Dance Review - Paul Taylor Dance Company

I've been getting into the birthday-groove and picking up a few tickets to help me celebrate my upcoming personal holiday.  I went onto TDF the other day and picked up a ticket to see the Paul Taylor Dance Company - when I saw that last night's performance included their "Esplanade," I knew this was one thing I needed to see right about now. Paul Taylor Dance Company generally brings me happiness and "Esplanade" ratchets up the joy.

My seat was excellent, just off-center in the fifteenth row of the orchestra.  The sightlines were wonderful and I was close enough to hear the performers breathe, but far enough away to be able to see the patterns of the choreography.  It was a splendid seat, except for the fact that my seat neighbor slept through all three pieces, with loud snoring.  I thought that after he missed the first piece completely (by being asleep), that he'd leave at intermission, but no.  He kept coming back. And kept snoring.  Sigh.  I almost asked him about it, but I thought that might be rude.  So I kept my question, and my wake-up-sir-elbow, to myself.

photo credit: Paul B Goode
The first piece of the evening was one I'd heard about, but had never seen: "Le Sacre du Printemps (The Rehearsal)."  I guess this is my year for seeing controversial ballets that Nijinsky made or inspired.  This piece was fascinating - having seen "Afternoon of the Faun" earlier this year made me recognize a few of the choreographic conceits of the piece as homage to Nijinsky.  There was so much stylized movement, angular and almost two-dimensional. The costumes were beige/gray, black and white (with splashes of red), so it was almost like seeing a black and white film, very old and unfamiliar.  There were vignettes, with the ballet company rehearsing, then with a single mother and her child, the child's kidnappers, a crook and his mistress, and much more.  There was a lot going on, both to see and hear from Stravinsky's score (here adapted for two pianos instead of an entire orchestra).  There's humor and menace, sharp quickness and quiet languor.  The last solo by the single mother was full of pain and despair.  The piece was almost too much to take in at one sitting - even though it was really odd, I definitely need to see it again.

photo credit: Andrea Mohin
After a very long intermission, then was "Summerspace," choreographed by Merce Cunningham in 1958 and here danced by the Lyon Opera Ballet. This was another odd, angular yet flowing piece.  The backdrop/set piece looked like a cross between a Monet painting, a Jackson Pollock and a Seurat. It was quite airy and lovely, and the costumes matched the airiness.  The piece itself combined airy jumps with sharp twisting bodies, that are moving forward one way, yet seem to be looking behind them in another.  There were lots of outstretched arms, used both as balance and as movement-propellers, and also a lot of wonderful balances that didn't quite seem human to me.  How bodies can move through space that way and balance so easily is amazing.  The music was a bit repetitive for me, it was mostly quiet single notes, played on a piano, with some plinking of the wires in the top of the piano for effect.  But the music was gentle and quiet, so sometimes that got to be a little bit uninteresting, but I was always arrested by what the bodies were doing on stage. The six dancers were rather otherworldly, but yet still recognizably human.  I enjoyed this piece very much.

photo credit: Andrea Mohin (not the cast I saw)
I endured another long intermission, then settled in for the piece I especially wanted to see: "Esplanade."  It is so fast and joyful, with real tenderness and rueful resignation in parts.  It's danced to Bach concertos, which were just gloriously played by the Orchestra of St. Luke's. There's not a lot of dance 'choreography', per se, but there is forward action, movement, flight and exhilaration.  To watch the dancers literally run across the stage and throw themselves into each other's arms, with joy and abandon, is thrilling and the joy is impossible to resist.  I just sit there with a smile on my face and tears in my eyes at the beauty of "Esplanade."  I think I need to make seeing it a yearly tradition.  In these times of feeling unable to find the joy, seeing it in art/dance/theater/music/whatever is completely and totally necessary.  Coming up, more pre-birthday fun... :)

Wednesday, March 15, 2017

A Week Filled With Theater!

Last week was one of the very rare weeks that I got to see a new show nearly every day. Since two of them were in very early previews, I didn't think I should write about them, but maybe I'll write about how happy the week made me instead.

As if last Tuesday night's experience at Sunday in the Park with George didn't make me happy enough, before I left for the theater that night, I got an email that a free ticket was available to the third preview of the new Broadway musical War Paint.  Since I know, and love, many people working on that show, I was delighted to go.  Plus, hello, Patti LuPone and Christine Ebersole.  AND I'd be sitting amongst a group of about 50 of my very favorite people.  All signs pointed to my enjoying myself.

And enjoy myself I did.  Since I saw only the third preview, I won't comment much about the show itself, except to say that Patti and Christine are giving amazing performances and it was nice to see a show with not one, but two, powerful ladies-of-a-certain-age starring in a show.  If I thought the pacing of the show could tighten up, well, ok, it was the third preview.  But I spent most of the evening grinning from ear to ear, at delicious lyrics, lovely melodies and a funny/touching libretto.  And those performances.  And sharing it with 50 of my very favorite people.  I hope to get back to the show after it opens to see how everything falls together once the show is frozen.  Oh, and I should also say the audience ate the show up.

War Paint isn't the only show I saw last Wednesday, surprisingly - I arrived in my office a little late that day, and my new boss wondered if I would join her at the matinee of Will Eno's play at the Signature, Wakey Wakey.  I will admit to the fact that Eno's plays are perhaps not my cup of tea, but I figured a free ticket is a free ticket and the show got great reviews AND I'm a huge fan of its lead Michael Emerson, so I took my new boss up on her kind offer.  After seeing Wakey Wakey, I think I can again admit that perhaps Eno's plays are not my cup of tea.  I had this to say in one of my previous reviews of his work:  "...some of it was hip, funny and relatively profound....I wasn't touched or even really engaged, I was just vaguely curious about what might come next."  That kind of sums up my experience at Wakey Wakey.

I wish I could've been as moved as other people obviously were at the play, it just didn't touch me.  Nor did it touch my seat neighbor, who fell asleep almost immediately and was snoring throughout the brief afternoon performance.  But I did laugh at some very funny, and quirky lines, a few lines made me think, and I did feel that Michael Emerson was sublime.  There were some truths there about mortality and living life to the fullest, but there was also quite a bit of twaddle that kept turning my brain off.  The physical production was good and I admit to being delighted with the coup de theatre at the end of the show.  I even brought a souvenir back with to the office with me.  But afterward, all I could feel was 'whatever.'  I guess I'm glad I saw Michael Emerson, but the show didn't really do anything for me.  Oh well.  The rest of the audience, including my new boss, really loved it. So...there you have it.  I wasn't part of that crowd and that's ok.  As I frequently say, it's not like theater is math and there's only one right answer.  There are some plays that touch you, and some plays that don't, and that's part of being a person in the world.  Or some other pretentious twaddle.

Friday night, I was again the happy recipient of a free ticket, via a sick co-worker, to the first preview of the revival of Present Laughter.  I remember adoring the show when I saw it starring Frank Langella many years ago, and I am a HUGE fan of Kevin Kline.  He's been an especial favorite for many years and I always try to catch his stage performances.  Again, it was the first preview, and even though the script itself is set, I'm sure the production will evolve over previews, so I'll just share a few thoughts.  I thought the show was in excellent shape for a first preview, though it did run a little long.  I could tell which of the scenes had perhaps been rehearsed more frequently, because they were faster and funnier and ready to go.  Some of the other scenes were still a little meandering and not quite there yet.  But I think, once the show is up to speed, it will be an entirely delightful evening.  Kevin Kline is a charming, suave rascal (I laughed so loudly at one of his double takes that my seat neighbor laughed at me), and everyone around him is doing great work.  Kristine Nielsen is especially riotous throughout.  I really had a fun time, while acknowledging that the show dragged in places and maybe one of the actors is still finding their way.  After lucking into a free ticket, I will definitely buy a ticket for later in the run to see all of the performers at full flight.

I had to work Saturday morning and early afternoon, and I figured since I'd be in the neighborhood, I might as well catch a matinee (this was before all the free tickets came my way - I might've resisted the urge if I'd known I was seeing three other shows before I bought the ticket).  I was afraid that the sales weren't on fire for the new play Significant Other and maybe I should see it now in case it has to close soon, so that's the matinee I chose. As this post is already too long, I'll just offer a few thoughts about the play.  I enjoyed myself, though I did find myself rolling my eyes at times during the first maybe two-thirds of the show.  I have pre-conceived notions about plays dealing with privileged twenty-somethings.  I freely admit those pre-conceived notions.  Even while rolling my eyes, though, I could appreciate the wit, warmth and intelligence of the script, along with the wonderful acting by the cast (Gideon Glick is really remarkable).  But I will say I was terrifically moved by the last third of the play, and was really sobbing by the end.  So it all added up to something for me - even though earlier I kept thinking "oh, you handsome twenty-something, stop being so sad about being single, you're still a baby and won't be single for long," the thoughts being expressed about the fear of being alone, and the financial realities of being single around a bunch of married people, was quite spot on, no matter what your age.  And the grandmother character, gorgeously played by Barbara Barrie, just broke my heart.  So all in all, I'm very glad I saw Significant Other, even if it did take me a while to get on board.  

Oh, and I'll just briefly mention what I did after the matinee:  I had to run back to the office and work for a little while and then I felt as if I needed a cocktail.  Since it was so cold out, I just stopped at Dos Caminos, which is close to my subway stop.  They were pretty busy, but I got a seat at the 'railing' and ordered a margarita and an appetizer platter.  The food was very yummy, with small portions of three different appetizers, so it was nice to have a little taste of different things.  I liked the taquito the best, so if I were to go back, I'd probably order a full plate of those.  The margarita seemed small at first, and pricey, but when I got up to leave, I couldn't feel my feet.  For me, that's the sign I'm a little drunk.  So I guess there was a lot of tequila in my drink after all, ha ha.  It wasn't an inexpensive stop, so I may not go back to Dos Caminos very often, but if/when I'm flush, it's not bad for a Times Square restaurant...

Wednesday, March 8, 2017

Review - Sunday in the Park with George

I believe we all know how much I love a Sondheim musical. And Sunday in the Park with George is one of my favorite musicals ever - I've been watching the PBS recording of the original production forever, and the original cast CD is constantly at the top of my playlist. When I finally saw the show live, in 2008, I could hardly contain my weeping throughout (much to the chagrin of my seat neighbors - that review is before my blog; I'm happy to share if you're interested).  In fact, I find this musical so brilliant, it's hard to even write about it coherently. Everything I think of to write seems unworthy somehow.  But I will persevere.  :)

Like many (foolish) young theater people, when I first saw the PBS recording, I thought the first act was perfection and the second act was...unnecessary. An afterthought. I told you it was foolish.   When I saw the show in 2008, as a much older person, the second act became almost unbearably moving.  Seeing a person confront their stasis was an eye opening experience for me.  In that revival, the gent playing the contemporary artist George was always on the verge of a nervous breakdown - I found that a terrific interpretation.  The interpretation in the current revival is much different and just as moving, if not more so, especially in these times.

When the Encores series announced they were doing a short run of a concert version of Sunday in the Park with George, starring Jake Gyllenhaal, I looked at the ticket prices and thought, crap, I can't afford that.  I was sorry to miss it, especially after hearing (and reading) the rapturous response.  So when a Broadway run was announced at a newly rechristened Broadway theater, the Hudson, I got online the day tickets went on sale.  I was fortunate to have a little bit of my end-of-the-year bonus left that day, so I picked up a balcony ticket.  I couldn't quite wrap my brain around the cost of the orchestra seats, but I knew I would regret it for the rest of my life if I didn't make it there somehow. Balcony was fine.  Actually, it was better than fine - more on that later.  

A brief note on the Hudson Theater:  the restoration is stunning. I've actually produced events in that space before and all of the glorious details have been shined and honed until they just gleam. The seats are comfortable and there was plenty of leg room.  The staircase to the balcony might've been a tad narrow and overcrowded after the show, but oh well.  I look forward to seeing more shows there. Oh, but the box office gal scared me when she couldn't find my reservation.  Good thing I took my confirmation email with me.  The ticket she printed for me had 'duplicate' printed on it, so I was afraid there would be someone in my seat when I got upstairs, but there wasn't.  I don't know what happened, but all turned out well.

Back to Sunday.  I've read the show is staged more fully than the concert version, but not as ornately as the last revival.  It was extremely intimate and personal and made each performance choice and song lyric stand out.  Honestly, the fact that I could marvel at the genius of EACH LYRIC and yet still be moved beyond reason is simply amazing.  I could put together a book of genius musical lyrics and it would pretty much be all of Sunday.  I even heard a couple of lyrics in an entirely new way, which rather gobsmacked me after all these years of listening.



photo credit: Matthew Murphy
Each of the performances were also so detailed and so lovingly portrayed.  As opposed to portraying George as quite so abrasive in the first act, Jake Gyllenhaal goes for more sad and obsessed - he knows what he is missing, but he cannot stop himself.  When he tells Dot to go to America and he will not look at his child because he cannot look up from his pad, it's truly unbearable.  And the contemporary George in the second act is morose, a bit depressed and truly beaten down by the weight of expectation. Again, a really active and moving interpretation.  The regret.  Oh, I'm crying just thinking of it.  I thought Gyllenhaal was amazing and I just can't get over his wonderful singing.  Not only does he have lovely tone, but his diction of the incredible lyrics was perfect.  He made sure we heard them all, not in a didactic way, but in a 'this character wants you to understand exactly what he's saying and there's no ambiguity' kind of way.  I loved him.

Annaleigh Ashford, who I have loved since her truly perfect performance in You Can't Take it With You a few years ago, was a wonderful Dot.  Warm, funny, sad, smart, and in terrific voice.  She found a lot of new shadings to the character and I could see the physical attraction between the two.  They were always tilting their heads or their bodies toward each other, uncontrollably, and it was so poignant every time George moved away. Ashford's portrayal of Marie in the second act was also fantastic.  She was just so charming and funny, the audience ate her up.  In fact, this production found a lot of warm humor throughout that was lovely.

photo credit: Sara Krulwich
The rest of the cast was also superb.  I have been a huge fan of Robert Sean Leonard for many years and his work was really grand.  He was supercilious, jealous, yet begrudgingly kind, in the first act, and he was rather a riot as the gallery manager in the second act. He also has one of my all-time favorite bios in the Playbill.  Penny Fuller was exquisite as George's mother in the first act (seriously, I nearly had a breakdown during "Beautiful") and neurotic fun in the second act.  But, really, everyone is doing fantastic work.  I started crying somewhere around "Finishing the Hat" and didn't let up until I ran into some friends after the show. The truth.  The ruefulness. The warmth.  The regret.  The resilience.  It's all there. 

If I wasn't really sold on the platform set design, so be it.  I did enjoy the lighting - oh, and the chromolume in the second act was SPECTACULAR!  I don't want to say too much because the surprise of it is grand, but I will say that being in the balcony made it even more magical.  And the costumes were terrific.  They were less exact replicas of the clothes in the painting, but definitely captured the flavor.  And I don't know if they did this in the original production (I honestly can't remember), but in this production, the costumes in the second act correspond with the costumes in the first act.  Each actor is wearing a costume in a similar color and cut, so we can see how their roles play out in both acts.  I thought that was very smart.  The new orchestrations were beautiful and I was very impressed with the orchestra.

I could go on and on about how wonderful this show is, how it says so much about art and artists (and I know you've heard me say before how much I love shows about art and artists - this is the gold standard), how each word is perfectly placed, how each performance illuminated another facet of all the truth, color and light in the show.  I guess I should stop, though, and just say you should go see it if you can.  I know it's pricey, but I think it's worth it.  And you lose nothing by seeing the show from the balcony.  I still feel as if I'm not worthy to even talk about the brilliance of Sunday in the Park with George, but its timeless genius inspires even me to 'give us more to see.'

Friday, March 3, 2017

Recent Fun Evenings Out and About

I may be losing my blogging edge - now that my theater tickets are so few and far between (I'll eventually get the credit cards paid off.  I think.), I find it harder to sit down and share.  Having so much to do at work might have something to do with it (our big work event was last Monday, so I'm incredibly relieved that's over).  So might the depression I'm still in since the election.  I've started seeing a therapist, so maybe I can get my tangled brain straightened out soon.  Anyway, I did see a couple of fun things recently, so I'll do a little reporting...

Last Wednesday, I went to the York Theatre to see their staged concert version of Jerry Herman's Dear World.  I don't really know Dear World, though I do have one of the best-known songs on my iPhone, as sung by the incomparable Angela Lansbury.  I was keen to get a look/listen at a Jerry Herman show that's unfamiliar to me; I was also keen to go because Tyne Daly was announced to star.  I do so love Tyne Daly - I was never really a huge fan of her tv work, but after I saw her in Gypsy, I've tried to catch all of her theater work.  She's always so truthful and interesting.  So when tickets went on sale for this limited run, I made sure to jump in and buy a ticket.

I think I can see why Dear World wasn't really successful during its Broadway run - the libretto is just all over the place.  It's based on the play The Madwoman of Chaillot, but it seems to pick and choose from the plot, so there are some holes throughout the libretto. The score, however, is delightful.  As I was reading the notes in the program, I noticed that Herman originally intended for Dear World to be a small, chamber piece, but the production got overblown in its Broadway incarnation.  This production at the York is quite small, with only a piano, bass and accordion, and thirteen performers, but it still doesn't seem to show off the show to its best.

photo credit: Joseph Marzullo
Tyne Daly is, as usual, so interesting, but she's very tentative in most of her songs, except for the big number "I Don't Want to Know."  She's done this number before in concerts, so you can tell she's comfortable with it and has worked on it before. Frankly, there's a whole play inside of that song, and it was wonderful, but other songs got more shortchanged. Her scene with Julian, though, was exquisite, as was her rapport with the other madwomen (Alison Fraser and Ann Harada).  Their trio in the second act was delightful.  All of the performers were good, I enjoyed the story and had a good time, though I'm not sure I'd need to see Dear World again.  I guess it would depend on the star.

Last night, I was treated by a very handsome couple to an unexpected return to New York Theatre Ballet.  I'd seen them once before a couple of years ago and I was happy to go back to see their current program, which features "Afternoon of a Faun," which has been reconstructed from Nijinsky's own notes.  I was extremely excited to see that piece. I'll just jot down a few thoughts about the evening:  first up was a lovely contemporary piece called "She Holds Out Her Hand."  I though it was beautifully done, with eight dancers moving and spinning lightly across the floor.  It seemed as if there was a couple at the beginning who was thwarted, and they then turned to other partners, only to end smiling at each other. Will they end up together after all?  It was nicely ambiguous.  In the program, the composer said her sonata was based on a haiku, with three movements. I could see that - it was gentle and lyrical, like a haiku.  I thought this was a very nice opening piece.

Next up was a piece by Frederick Ashton I've never seen before: "La Chatte Metamorphosee en Femme."  The music was by Offenbach and Ashton choreographed it in 1985 to honor famed dancer Fanny Elssler.  I thought this piece was enchanting - it's a solo for a woman, dressed as a cat in white.  There was cute mugging, delicious dance steps that doubled as cat poses, and some fun leaps and spins.  It was totally adorable and the audience just ate it up.  I hope to see this very brief, but very charming, piece again sometime.

The third piece of the first act was a pas de deux from "Such Longing."   Two dancers in beautiful blue satin costumes move as one to music by Chopin.  This one was quite romantic and very lush and elegant - I liked it very much.  Again, it was very brief, but left a big impression.

photo credit: Rachel Neville
After the intermission, I finally got to see "Afternoon of a Faun" - originally staged by Nijinksy for the Ballet Russes in 1912, the piece is very famous for having caused riots in its first public performance.  I know the Debussy music very well, but have never seen even a snippet of the ballet before.  I found it fascinating - erotic, in a way, yet also very severe and strange.  I liked it very much - the dancers were committed and fiercely engaged, and I would like to see it again to be able to see how everything connects.  I do enjoy watching dance in such a small theater space, but it makes it hard to see the choreographic patterns, which I always find interesting.  Or I guess I could just sit further back next time.  But I did find "Afternoon of a Faun" to be compelling, intriguing, rather seductive, and well-worth more looks.

The last two pieces were world premieres: "Tickling Titans" and "Light Moving."  The first was a solo piece for a very engaging ballerina, that used an interesting lighting design to project cool shadows on the back wall during the piece.  There were definite sections to this piece, with music by Schoenberg (which I admit tends to make me a little cranky in its repetitiveness), and the ballerina was very successful in keeping her movements as light and airy as possible, even with severe and deliberately strange footwork.  I'd say the last piece was my least favorite - it had a violin playing music that was even more repetitive than Schoenberg, so it became kind of an endurance test for me to keep paying attention to what the dancers were doing.  Even though the piece was short, I didn't find myself engaged all that much - whether it was due to the music, the choreography or the fact that I was really tired, I just don't know.  But I guess enjoying five out of six pieces is a really good batting average.

The weather has been so nice, it's been great to get out and about.  I've tried to do a little more walking lately, so we'll see how that goes.  I should also mention here that I've seen two new Off-Broadway shows, Dolphins and Sharks at Labyrinth, and The View UpStairs at the Lynn Redgrave Theater, but I'm too close to the creators, so I can't really write about them coherently or impartially.  I will say you should GO SEE THEM BOTH.  :)  I don't have much else in the way of outings coming up, though next week has a show that I've been dying to see for weeks, so I'm hoping it lives up to my expectations.  I really need to work on that budget crunch so I can hop back on to TDF for discount tickets.  There's so much I WANT to see, it's just finding the time and the money...