Sunday in the Park with George
April 1, 2008
$35.00 Mezz
Wow. This production completely obliterated my previous hate of this musical. The set design was amazing. The actors were fab. Wow. Act II, you know, I don't think anyone likes it. It drags. The music is...eh. But they did this really interesting thing. The song was 'Putting it Together', but as George moved from group to group schmoozing, he left a hologram of himself behind, as if he were being pulled apart. Like, totally deep, dude.
Daniel Evans and Jenna Russell are fantastic. They share a gift of quiet stoicism. Her comic timing is superb. His American accent is spot on, even when he's singing. I actually forgot that he's not American, amazing given that he was British in the first act. Or, you know, French, but same difference on a stage (Hello, Les Miz urchins!)
This was just so much more moving and envigorating than I ever could have expected. And if I had gotten bored, I could have just watched the set paint itself...
Wednesday, April 9, 2008
Tuesday, April 1, 2008
Gravid Water
Gravid Water
Upright Citizens Brigade Theater
March 31, 2008 8pm.
$5.00 with Brian
Premiere improv actors pair up with traditional theater actors and perform a scene from a published play. The catch: the theater actors are on script, and the improv actors have no idea what the scene is until they hit the stage.
Brilliant hilarity ensues.
Upright Citizens Brigade Theater
March 31, 2008 8pm.
$5.00 with Brian
Premiere improv actors pair up with traditional theater actors and perform a scene from a published play. The catch: the theater actors are on script, and the improv actors have no idea what the scene is until they hit the stage.
Brilliant hilarity ensues.
The Homecoming
The Homecoming
Play by Harold Pinter
March 20, 2008
Last row, orch.
Two weeks later and I still haven't figured out what I thought about this. I take time to process things, but this is ridiculous. Read the play in advance, thought, 'I have to see this with actors because it's so weird just written down'.
Saw it with actors.
Still stuck.
Plot: Brother comes home with "new" wife of several years. Surprises other brothers and dad. Brothers/Wife seduce each other. Dad wants in on the action. Isn't invited. First brother heads home. Wife stays. Brothers and Dad suggest she can earn her keep as a prostitute. Wife gives Mysterious Look that may imply she's taking advantage of them. Dad gets upset. The End.
The whole thing feels like a massive caricature, added by the over-the-top British accents of varying 'class' systems. I have no prior experience with this play at all and I wish that I did because I didn't know if I was supposed to take them seriously or go with my instinct and treat it as a farce.
Probably would not have seen it if not for Raul Esparza being in it. From reading the play his character comes off as a rapist lout, but onstage, Raul seemed to imply that the guy was making up all of his exploits--everything out of his mouth (concerning women) was a lie--the sexiest scene was when he watched his brother Joe seduce brother Teddy's wife (or vice versa). Then again, this is the guy who turned touching a tuba into a sexual revelation in Company last year. I've decided that he was playing Lenny as a repressed homosexual, so repressed he doesn't even know it. I don't know if this is what Raul was going for or not, but I'm sure that whatever he was going for, he put a lot of work into it, because whatever the heck he's doing, it's consistent.
I am definitely lacking in the background necessary to decide my feelings on this. I know, that's terrible, one should go with a 'gut' instinct, but here my 'gut' is telling me to get a good grounding in the history and intention of this play. Or, as a fellow theater goer said, "And you thought your family was messed up..."
Play by Harold Pinter
March 20, 2008
Last row, orch.
Two weeks later and I still haven't figured out what I thought about this. I take time to process things, but this is ridiculous. Read the play in advance, thought, 'I have to see this with actors because it's so weird just written down'.
Saw it with actors.
Still stuck.
Plot: Brother comes home with "new" wife of several years. Surprises other brothers and dad. Brothers/Wife seduce each other. Dad wants in on the action. Isn't invited. First brother heads home. Wife stays. Brothers and Dad suggest she can earn her keep as a prostitute. Wife gives Mysterious Look that may imply she's taking advantage of them. Dad gets upset. The End.
The whole thing feels like a massive caricature, added by the over-the-top British accents of varying 'class' systems. I have no prior experience with this play at all and I wish that I did because I didn't know if I was supposed to take them seriously or go with my instinct and treat it as a farce.
Probably would not have seen it if not for Raul Esparza being in it. From reading the play his character comes off as a rapist lout, but onstage, Raul seemed to imply that the guy was making up all of his exploits--everything out of his mouth (concerning women) was a lie--the sexiest scene was when he watched his brother Joe seduce brother Teddy's wife (or vice versa). Then again, this is the guy who turned touching a tuba into a sexual revelation in Company last year. I've decided that he was playing Lenny as a repressed homosexual, so repressed he doesn't even know it. I don't know if this is what Raul was going for or not, but I'm sure that whatever he was going for, he put a lot of work into it, because whatever the heck he's doing, it's consistent.
I am definitely lacking in the background necessary to decide my feelings on this. I know, that's terrible, one should go with a 'gut' instinct, but here my 'gut' is telling me to get a good grounding in the history and intention of this play. Or, as a fellow theater goer said, "And you thought your family was messed up..."
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