Only Remembered for What We Have Done

By Jonathan Jones

Thursday, June 30, 2011

And if the gods of theatre looked down upon the earth and said, "Let there be theatre," War Horse is just the show they imagined. In the vein of a total production, this work comes together in such a way that no one attribute can be excised and still allow the work to maintain its full brilliance. From the puppetry which is incomparable, to the music which shames many a musical theatre piece, the work is a testament to all that is possible in live theatre. Joey, the war horse, as it were, is symbolic of every man or woman who ever went off to war. His life journey as he learns to trust his keeper, be fed and groomed, ridden, and put through the paces of work life mirrors that of all mankind. And when he is sent off to participate in someone else's war, our heart brakes for his loved ones he must leave behind. Never forgotten, his most trusted keeper has one advantage over many a parent of a service member: he can follow his boy off to war and fight to the death to try to bring him home.

I cannot say anything else about the work lest I destroy all the magic for anyone who has yet to see this masterpiece. I was a weeping mess one year ago, and I weeped once more tonight. I rarely pay full price to go to the theatre, but this really is worth every dime. RUN to the theatre and experience the magic of this artistic triumph; a love letter to the veterans of our most horrific world wars.

Here is a montage of clips from The Lincoln Center production. I'm not sure the American cast is as good as the British version, but still appear breathtaking, nonetheless:

And here is the trailer from Steven Spielberg's film (which looks nowhere near as brilliant as the stage production):

In London, the National Theatre production continues at the New London Theatre. Tickets are available through the production website at: www.warhorselondon.nationaltheatre.org.uk/

In New York, the production is located at the Vivienne Beaumont Theater at Lincoln Center. Tickets can be obtained at: www.lct.org/showMain.htm?id=199 

Over Another Rainbow

By Jonathan Jones

Wednesday, June 29, 2011 

I always have difficulty remembering the conceit of the Connections Festival at the Royal National Theatre and until tonight, I wasn’t sure exactly why. The thing is, it’s children’s theatre written by professional playwrights from around the UK performed by a variety of youth ensembles. I would gather that as enjoyable as these performances may be for the audiences who attend, the works are largely forgotten soon after their tour and, if selected, their performance at the National, an unfortunate fate, for while the work we saw tonight certainly needed more work, there really were some clever moments that should have more opportunities to be seen.

Tonight’s entry, Too Fast by Scottish playwright Douglas Maxwell told the tale of an unconventional funeral service for a teenage girl who was killed in a car accident. Rather than play up the requisite histrionics and emotional outpouring, Maxwell chose to give the piece a detached edge, similar to Heathers or Pump Up the Volume with a mix of Glee. While the work was nowhere near as dark or subversive as the aforementioned films, the glee club members took on a style akin to Mean Girls, etc – in which (like Heathers) they were far more concerned with their own teenage ambitions (popularity, passion, and precocious perfundity) to concern themselves at all with the funeral happening just outside the door of their rehearsal room.

And then came the singing…a rather odd arrangement of “Somewhere Over the Rainbow,” presumably intentionally presented in such a way that we were indeed transported to a “Rainbow” from another land – in this case, a land of dancing, tumbling, clowning, and mime. This dream sequence was perhaps the most effective part, given that the preceding scenes have all be dealt with before in the various mediums already mentioned. But this dream ballet, while reminiscent in some ways of Wily Wonka’s factory in the original 1972 film and in other ways akin to The Lovely Bones film adaptation, really explored a vision of death seldom explored in works for children. At the curtain call, the playwright said of the work that he wanted to bring the audience, “Closer to the river….closer to life,” and this indeed made the hour completely worthwhile.

Too Fast was performed by the Scarborough Youth Theatre and directed by Maria Arnold and Julie Hatton.

http://www.nationaltheatre.org.uk/58110/connections-plays/too-fast.html

Here is an excerpt from a different production:

A Classic Never Dies...

By Jonathan Jones
Sunday, June 26, 2011 

Beauty and the Beast marches on in a touring company some 20 years after the release of the film and 17 years since the debut of the stage adaptation. While the music is indeed still haunting, something in the charm of the work was lost in translation. The animated film (the first to be nominated for a Best Picture Oscar) was not just a children's film but had much to offer audiences, young and old alike. The stage adaptation is purely geared toward the younger set, and this is unfortunate. Some of the performances were indeed questionable and the level of physical comedy was on par with a high school production, but the show is still somewhat endearing. I could forgive much of that (not to mention I'm about 25 years beyond the target age group), but I wanted to like the piece much more than I actually did. Too many cheap laughs and not nearly enough heart.

The NETworks National Tour of Beauty and the Beast continues through at least October. Visit www.beautyandthebeastontour.com for more information.

Rave On, Teacher Friend...You Warmed My Heart

By Jonathan Jones

Wednesday, June 8, 2011

To any drama teacher in any capacity, if you sit idly by watching representations of your work (be it Glee or otherwise) and think, "This is so removed from my reality that I won't even bother," then Nilaja Sun's No Child... is the play for you.

I had heard about this work last year while preparing for a conference on Theatre and Citizenship at NYU, though my conversations with my colleagues really did little justice to the gravity of the piece. Similar in style to the work of Anna Deveare Smith, this one-woman triumph chronicled the artist's experience as an artist-in-residence at a low-income high school in the Bronx. With much dexterity, Sun morphs from one character to another with such flexibility and finesse (albeit, after five years of performing the work, she should indeed have such command) that the audience was at times stunned into silence, giddy with love and laughter, and audibly shedding one tear after another. 

When I directed my first musical at a high school, I was strongly advised to keep a record of every experience given that few are aware of the shear insanity involved in getting a high school production off the ground. I did not take that advice, but fortunately Ms. Sun did, and it was quite possibly the most honest portrayal of the complexity of the life and experiences of an arts educator that I have seen. RUN to the Barrow Street Theatre and catch this masterful performance!

This fabulous work is playing an extended run at the Barrow Street Theatre in Greenwich Village. Full price tickets are $40, but TDF members can purchase tickets for $21


www.tdf.org
www.barrowstreettheatre.com/whats-on/nochild2.asp