Theater (in all its forms)

My most anticipated theater going experience this fall was Ivo van Hove’s production of THE LITTLE FOXES at New York Theater Workshop.  He is a director that consistently inspires me and I was overjoyed to see the announcement that he would be returning to NYTW to stage another classic of the American stage.  That the performance featured the divine Elizabeth Marvel in the role of Regina was only added inducement to make sure I didn’t miss this production.

I believe van Hove is among the most challenging, provocative and deeply authentic directors currently working in the world.  He infuriates some with his unique vision, but even his most controversial choices have always made me appreciate the play more, deepened my understanding of the text and surprised with the intensity of performances he manages to bring from his actors.

But I have always seen him work on great material.  I left the performance not sure that Hellman’s very satisfying melodrama is actually a good enough play to justify a deeper examination.  Built on the pre-requisites of the well made drama, THE LITTLE FOXES depends on a kind of theatrical trickery to succeed.  Chipping away the façade unfortunately reveals that there isn’t that much inside.

When I directed the play at Triad, I had grand hopes of probing Hellman’s text to uncover a radical conversation about sexism, capitalism, greed and American history.  Sometime in tech I realized every time I probed more deeply than the melodrama, the production failed.  I ultimately realized that the play’s structure was too strong and the play’s depth to shallow to allow much in the way of directorial intrusion.  I’m afraid Hellman’s politics don’t allow much ambiguity and her playwrighting doesn’t encourage experimentation.  Blessed by a phenomenally talented cast, I was able to let Hellman’s play rip, but I have always been disappointed by my own work on the show.

Of course, van Hove probes deeply and tears at the traditional structure and offers some astounding discoveries.  Tina Benko’s revelatory performance of Birdie, radically re-envisions the role and still haunts me.  But taken out of its time, its context and its region, the play seems far too thin for such daring direction and performance.  Without the intrigue and trickery, one wonders if the play is even worth the bother.

While I admired much about the production, the use of projections seemed to me to be unnecessary and almost a concession to what we expected from a van Hove production.  I found them intrusive and never illuminating to the work.  I suppose I was disappointed in the evening, but it is always worth our time to watch great artists work, even when the end result is not as thrilling as one had hoped.  I remember seeing Bergman’s production of WINTER’S TALE and being thrilled at the beauty, precision and artistry of his work, but also relieved to realize my greatest artistic inspiration was quite capable of making a mess out of Bohemia.  It was a learning experience to accept that artistic risk does not always guarantee success, but that it is far more fascinating to make mistakes boldly than to never try to dare.

Quite often a bad evening in the theater has far less to do with the performance than other circumstances.  Being an admirer of Ireland’s Druid Theatre and the work of Enda Walsh, I was looking forward to seeing PENELOPE at St. Ann’s Warehouse.  A full day of auditions, rainy, humid and unseasonably warm weather and way too much gluten free macaroni and cheese at the incredible S’Mac all combined to make being crammed into an uncomfortable folding chair in a warehouse with no air conditioning a particularly unpleasant experience.  And then….they turned off the ceiling fans.  I know the play is based on the final part of THE ODYESSY and I know there was an interesting talk back afterwards with Druid Theatre artistic Director Garry Hynes, Atlantic Theater Company Artistic Director Neil Pepe, and Studio Theatre Artistic Director David Muse, but after the first few minutes I realized I was going to enjoy a nap much more than I was going to enjoy the play.

People often confess that they feel asleep during a show as if it is some unpardonable crime.  Let me be the first to say I do it.  It’s horrible, of course.  Particularly when you want to see the show.  But there are times when a theatre experience is so uncomfortable and an exit so impossible that sleep seems to be the only way out. 

My first experience as an Artistic Director was working with Rob Melrose (of San Francisco’s Cutting Ball Theater) and being fresh to the world of Yale we planned a light and cheery season that included Beckett, Pinter and Mamet.  So, just to make sure we got the perfect atmosphere, we turned off the air conditioners before each play started.  People wanted to kill us.  By the time we got around to the final production, Julie McKee’s GET IT WHILE YOU CAN, we were billing it is the funniest comedy ever written and promising people that even if you couldn’t hear the dialogue we were going to leave the ac on.

Hot theaters are horrible.  I barely made it through La Comedie –Francais’ production of THE MARRIAGE OF FIGARO because of heat and discomfort.  It was an odd mixture of impossibly narrow seats and dreadfully hot heating.   I suppose I sound a bit like a philistine saying all this, and I disagree with the school of criticism that refuse to accept responsibility for being constructive, but, seriously—I hope a play unsettles me and pushes me out of my comfort zone, but a theater shouldn’t.  If I’m miserable because of the heat or the seat or the people talking in the row behind me, I can’t engage with the work.

I knew I would love THE PITMAN PAINTERS at Manhattan Theatre Club.  Written by Lee Hall (BILLY ELLIOT) and co-produced by Live Theatre, Newcastle and The National Theatre of Great Britain, the play is that unique kind of British play that so often springs from the Labour Party strong holds in the north, celebrating the power of ideas/art/culture to make lives better.  A friend of mine calls these plays “English Culture Porn”—and I think it’s kind of true.  They are wish fulfillment plays that really delight artists and teachers and leftists.

EDUCATING RITA is a great example of this type of play and I have loved it ever since I saw it as a child.  As I expected I also loved THE PITMAN PAINTERS.  If the play preaches to the converted, count me in as a proud occupant of the amen corner.  I do believe culture should belong to everyone and that it can make our lives better, that classism too often prevents art from reaching the masses, and that everybody north of London has a right to still be angry at Margaret Thatcher—and Tony Blair.  So the play had me at the word go.  That it was also an exceptionally well acted performance didn’t hurt. 

Speaking of British plays, if you like going to the UK as a cultural tourist you better book a trip soon.  The coalition Conservative/Liberal Democrat government has decided to use their lack of a mandate to completely dismantle the fabric of British society.  Their new austerity budget cuts the Culture budget for the UK by almost 30%--and educational cuts threaten the next generation of artists and audiences.  The effect will be devastating.  Apparently Prime Minister Cameron wants to go down in history as the person to do the most damage to the cultural life of the UK since Oliver Cromwell.  Expect to see the loss of arts organizations across the country.  And expect to see at least a generation of artists to be stymied by this short sighted and foolish decision for a country whose cultural tourism has been envied by of much of the rest of the world. 

And while we’re on the subject of the British, you may wonder why I use both theater with an “re” and theater with an “er”.  “Re” theater is a holdover from the common misconception that the British do theater better than us.  I prefer the more aggressively American “er” spelling unless referring to a company that uses the “re” spelling.  It complicates things a bit, I know, and is probably not worth fighting about.  But I made the switch as a way to honor Tom Humphrey who hated the idea that US theater was in any way beholden to the British.

Comments

[UGG Outlet]

"Who shuts love out, in turn shall be shut out from love." O(∩_∩)O~

[arizona auction]

It's so beautiful to witness art in variety. Theater aspect is indeed a huge one.

[red sole]

HHH Yes, the design of national policy is important, how our economic development plans for the next five years, how the implementation, how to make our economy even faster. Are designed to advance our focus to invest money in what ways it should be carefully arranged.