Bridge Over Troubled Waters: June 2009

Monday, June 15, 2009

Lynn Nottage's RUINED: 2009 Pultizer Prize Winner

Lynn Nottage (second from left) participated in a talk back after the Sunday afternoon matinee performance with cast and musicians from RUINED.

One of the women of the Congo whose story the play is based

RUINED is the story of soldier's abuse of women of the Congo -- A gut wrenching production!

What an amazing performance at Manhattan Theatre Club!

I had to hold back my "sobbing"-- certainly this is theatre with a pulpit!

I was totally taken with the production of RUINED. The text is amazing and immensely powerful. It is a definite "must read" whether you ever have the cast or not.

The actors were cast perfectly in their roles. Each cast member commanded the dialect in a very easy to understand manner.

The costume, lighting and scenery designs were also magnificient and the directing was superb. I will definitely remember many of the individual performances from this production, although no one was a "big name."

The emotions were so powerful and wrenching. President O'Bama needs to come back to New York and see this production very soon.

I could not have asked for a more superb ending to seven New York shows in five days.

I'll be talking about this production for many weeks to come.

OUR HOUSE by Theresa Rebeck at Playwright's Horizon

I am directing OMNIUM GATHERUM by Theresa Rebeck and Alexandra Gersten-Vassilaros next fall so I was delighted to know that her new play had just opened at Playwright's Horizon. I saw this production on Saturday, June 13. OUR HOUSE deals with the interesting mix of "news" as we know it and "reality" television. The script has some surprising turns and twists, which kept the audience intrigued throughout. Theresa Rebeck's timely statements about the television industry also gave me caution.

Sunday, June 14, 2009

Central Park and Times Square

Upper West Side of Central Park, Around 72nd Street

Shepherd's Field in Central Park

The City Which Never Sleeps

The Wild Crowd at Times Square on Bubble Blowing Day

A View of Times Square Atop the new TKTS bleacher facing toward 42nd Street

"Let the Sunshine In": The Tribal Ritual Which is HAIR

I can't really say that I was totally taken into the frenzy, because this production has lived in my head since 1967. I'm glad that I had the occasion to re-live my "HAIR" euphoria, but the production didn't always proceed from the 60's, in my opinion. Will Swenson as Berger was a true free spirit on stage and was most enjoyable to watch. Gavin Creel as Claude also played a believeable perplexed young man. I enjoyed watching Gavin and Will work along side each other, many times with a very metrosexual bent.

The young cast sang, danced, moved, grovelled and humped all the way through the performance, indeed enjoying themselves in front of such an appreciative audience. I just tended to sing the songs in my head, remembering the original production, not this one so much.

I will say that I sang the finale with joy and tears watching older people join younger people on the stage. Since I am old "Jesus Freak" I always sang "Let the Sunshine In" representing Jesus as the Sunshine and there was joy indeed coming from my heart on Saturday afternoon, June 13.

EXIT THE KING with Geoffrey Rush

It was a true honor to be in the presence of such a finely tuned actor as Geoffrey Rush who portrayed the role of King Berenger in Eugene Ionesco's EXIT THE KING. Rush won the 2009 Tony for best actor. and from my observation, I'm sure he won "hands down", even though the ensemble work between Nathan LaRne and Bill Irwin would certainly have been given an ensemble award, if such an award existed with the Tony's. Rush moved and flexed his body, on the stage floor, all over his throne and with varied walks and rhythms with his cape as if he were in his twenties. He was a true athlete physically and emotionally and to me is an example of what all actors ought to be doing with their bodies. Rush had such a powerful forward motion even though his character dies at the end. The play's basic plot is his struggle with the announcement from Queen Marguerite that he is dying in an hour and thirty-three minutes. Rush was truly generous with a summer audience, even coming out into the aisles during one of his long speeches, giving and taking as if we were all an audience of one. Indeed, he was powerful!

I was also captured by Andrea Martin's portrayal of Juliette, the chamber maid. Again, her timing and her strong muscularity of physical choices "swept" me away. Susan Sarandon as Queen Marguerite was okay. I didn't realize that she has not been on the Broadway stage since 1972, so I always appreciate actors switching mediums and working with a live audience. (And this production was physically demanding.) I also appreciate that Sarandon's biography stressed first that she was a mother, and then actor and activist. I believe she has established her priorities and I'm sure her children are deeply grateful.

GOD OF CARNAGE, 2009 Tony for Best Play

I "SROed" (standing room only) Thursday evening, June 11, at the Jacobs Theatre to see the 2009 Tony award winning best play GOD OF CARNAGE. The show was 90 minutes in length, so the standing room only was not difficult, and actually in the Jacob Theatre, it was a great view of a new play. The four person cast included Marcia Gay Harden (Best Actress, Tony 2009), Jeff Daniels, James Galdolfini and Hope Davis. The casting was superb and I certainly enjoyed seeing three well known actors but I was more taken emotionally by REASONS TO BE PRETTY than I was with GOD OF CARNAGE. As an acting instructor, I was concerned with the vocal strain, particularly in Marcia Gay Harden's performance. I felt that the directing was much more actor controlled and thus there were patterns of movement which became habitual, which is often the case with an interior set and the use of a couch. I also felt that the actors too often pushed emotions from their waists instead of from their entire body and they tended to use too many fist gestures, as if that might have been a metaphor. Honestly, I think it was the actors falling into patterns, which ought to be corrected by the stage manager. I expected more from these veterans.

Neil LaBute's New Play REASONS TO BE PRETTY

I saw Neil LaBute's new comedy REASONS TO BE PRETTY on Wednesday evening, June 10. Although the production is closing June 14 (today), it is a well acted and fiercely driven comedy about miscommunications in relationship. After Act One was completed, I thought to myself that Act Two would not explode or move forward, which is a typical problem for the second act. But boy, was I delightfully wrong. The entire production moved aggressively with strong and emotionally deep moments, specifically between the two principal roles, Steph and Greg. I was not so taken with Greg in the first act, but these young actors, dove into the emotional frenzy of this LaBute writing, and delivered with strong and honest portrayals. Although the writing is intense contemporary language, the scenes are somewhat my students can sink their "teeth" into with well written emotional drives. The cast is young and there were no name starts, which I also enjoyed. Since that production, I have purchased the script, and will definitely use it in my acting classes. I am always looking for new scripts.

Saturday, June 13, 2009

Phase Two: New York and WAITING FOR GODOT

I arrived in New York and decided to "rush" down to Times Square and pick up a "rush" ticket. (Bad joke, huh?!) I happened on to WAITING FOR GODOT on a Wednesday afternoon, June 10. Nathan Lane, Bill Irwin, John Goodman and John Glover gave exquisite life and energy to a well worn play by Samuel Beckett. I was smitten with the realization that a full house was listening and enjoying Samuel Beckett's masterpiece, young and old alike. Watching Nathan Lane and Bill Irwin work together was inspiring. Not only were they totally connected to the text, they were totally connected to each other, equally giving and taking, comically and dramatically. They worked the text so that it sounded as if it had been written in 2009. They approached each other physically in the most astounding and varied manners, seeming to keep opposite body rhythms and rarely falling into cliches. Irwin and Lane are both exceptional comics, but both had dramatic turns, many very quick from a comic moment, only to wrench the audience, emotionally and spiritually. The entire production gave me "pause" -- What am I waiting for? Who am I waiting for? What do I do when I am waiting for what I'm waiting for? It was absolutely divine to be in the presence of such experienced actors as Nathan Lane, Bill Irwin, John Goodman and John Glover. I was honored to be a part of this experience. It was amazing that such a play at such a time in our history is so well favored. I believe Samuel Beckett would have been "delighted" with the production.

The End of Phase One: 4200 Miles Later

Welcomed Back to Texas with an Incredible Sunset

After 4200 miles on the road and four audio books, we arrived back to Waco Monday evening, June 8. This phase of our trip has shown me the incredible blessings of God's creation, family and experiencing the present. Yes, these are simple perspectives, but they are most definitely worthy of consideration over and over again.
I feel incredibly BLESSED! Thank you God! Thank you Teresa, Erin, Josh, Andrea, Lewis, Judy, Vivian, Mary and J.E. for enriching my life these last several days.

Friday, June 5, 2009

BENGAL TIGER AT THE BAGHDAD ZOO by Rajiv Joseph

I saw BENGAL TIGER AT THE BAGHDAD ZOO, a new play by Rajiv Joseph, on June 4 at the Kirk Douglas Theatre in Culver City. The play has received significant attention including "Outstanding New American Play" as part of a new initiative from the National Endowment for the Arts.

The play is a somewhat lyrical, darkly humorous playing revolving around the Iraqi war, greed and cross cultural communication. It is directed by Moises Kaufmann, who is the co-founder of Tectonic Theater Project. Moises Kaufmann directed Doug Wright's I AM MY OWN WIFE, winner of the Tony for best play and the Pultizer Prize. Moises Kaufmann just completed a run of 33 VARIATIONS with Jane Fonda and 33 VARIATIONS has been Tony nominated.

Moises Kaufmann's direction is fascinating. I enjoyed his vibrant use of the actor's body to transcend time and place and he certainly magnifies visual compositions which reinforce the playwright's intent beautifully. Mr. Joseph states "that the play revolves around the act of translation: An individual standing between two others [alive and dead] and trying to facilitate communication and some sense of understanding." The production seems to encourage us all to search for significance without violence.

I was particularly taken by Arian Moayed's performance as Musa, the Iraqi translator. I seemed to want to watch his every move, emotional nuance and stamina. I was also impressed with Hrach Titizian as Uday, the dead son of Saddam Hussein. His muscular physical control and his stunning voice work kept me deeply intrigued.

The scenic designer, Derek McLane, also designed 33 VARIATIONS and I AM MY OWN WIFE and the recent revival of THE PAJAMA GAME (2006). The openness and flow of the play's world was simple but beautiful, particularly with the topiary garden.

From a acting teacher/director perspective, even experienced stage actors need to continue working on the vocal muscle. So much of the time, since this piece is so intense, the intensity went into the actor's throat and upper pitches, something I talk about all the time in my work with inexperienced actors.

Stop the war! -- I cry out for peace, spiritually, personally and politically!