Friday, October 28, 2011
BWW Reviews: RACE Challenges Audiences Now Through Nov 13
In every case there are two fictions, two sides, each trying to tell the better story, each trying to triumph. Law isn't about justice. It's about winning. The truth is elusive. As personal prejudices come into play, the truth sneaks further and further into the background, especially in cases involving race and sex. Pulitzer Prize winner, David Mamet's play RACE explores the various prejudices and positions in racial arguments. Refreshingly, Mamet does not take sides. Instead, he focuses on getting the audience to think and to speak for themselves.
RACE, playing at the American Conservatory Theatre through November 13, follows two lawyers, their assistant, and their client: Charles Strickland (played by Kevin O'Rourke), a rich white man charged with raping a black woman. The black Henry Brown (played by Chris Butler) and white Jack Lawson (played by Anthony Fusco) take on the case and begin to build an argument for Strickland's innocence, while Susan, their assistant (played by Susan Heyward), believes Strickland guilty from the start. As the supposed facts unfold, characters are forced to consider their own prejudices and to confront each other about them.
Rather than attempt to be politically correct, Mamet challenges the euphemisms of race and the lack of discussion on race in the modern world. He writes in a way that does not automatically brand the white man as racist, but that also does not claim complete innocence. The characters of RACE suggest that all people are guilty and that prejudice is unavoidable, even if people try to hush discussion with claims of living in a post-racism world. The white person fears offending the black person while the black person often hates white people and may assume automatic guilt in a case like that of Charles Strickland. Both people need to put aside automatic judgments and start talking.
Mamet writes, "Race, like sex, is a subject on which it is near impossible to tell the truth. In each, desire, self-interest, and self-image make the truth inconvenient to share not only with strangers, but with members of one's own group, and, indeed, with oneself."
Mamet ends his play rather abruptly and leaves the audience unsure of the concluding "truth." While somewhat irritating, this sudden ending leaves the audience to make decisions on their own, the author's intention in the first place.The law drama becomes less about solving or winning a case and more about revealing the evidence of the heart.
The audience must ask, Was it wrong for Jack to investigate Susan more than he might investigate other potential employees purely because she was black? After all, he knew that if he ever had to fire her, she could allege discrimination. And does she have other motives for questioning him? It would appear her own prejudices have influenced her words. When someone acts in a way that changes everything for the case, is that person's actions justified? The person seems to believe that the end justifies the means, but what if that person were wrong? Was prejudice ignorant of the facts? And despite the play's ending, was the client guilty?
Each character has a different prejudice, a different point of view on the case, and a different point of view on the other characters of the play. Who's right? What is right and what is wrong? It appears everyone is guilty in the case of prejudice, and only the audience can decide where the truth lies.
Director Irene Lewis, who has a history with plays written about and for African Americans, has done a wonderful job both utilizing the stage, set in the same law office for the entire play, and helping the actors delve deep into their characters. The four person cast does a superb job with the witty dialogue, much of which has been called "language pyrotechnics" (consider yourself warned - the language in the show is unnecessarily excessive and never ceases in vulgarity).
Chris Butler and Anthony Fusco stand out as lawyers Henry Brown and Jack Lawson, each of which has a strong personality that leads to hilarious remarks throughout the show. The cast plays off each other well, and the dialogue flows organically as each character passes the ball of prejudice and racism. As revelation builds on top of revelation, leading up to an unexpected ending, the actors and the script work together to make the audience think. Indeed, there is not a single moment in RACE that will not have the audience thinking, and the play is certain to leave a lasting impression on all who see it.
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RACE by David Mamet
Directed by Irene Lewis
Now through November 13, 2011
Tickets $10-$85
American Conservatory Theatre - San Francisco, California
415-749-2228
http://www.act-sf.org
Photo: Law firm associate Susan (Susan Heyward) and law firm partners Jack Lawson (A.C.T. core acting company member Anthony Fusco, left) and Henry Brown (Chris Butler, second from right) prep their wealthy client Charles Strickland (Kevin O'Rourke) for questioning. Photo by Kevin Berne.
Was Shakespeare a Fraud?
Shakespeare did not write a single word of the plays attributed to him. Instead, an anonymous man with political motives orchestrated every word through Shakespeare’s name. So says director Roland Emmerich, screenwriter John Orloff, and an entire cast of characters in the upcoming film, Anonymous, which comes to theaters nationwide October 28, 2011.
With such a controversial topic, it’s hard to tell how audiences will take the film, especially more informed audiences that like to call themselves either “Anti-Stratfordians” or “Stratfordians.” While Stratfordians hold to Shakespeare’s absolute authorship of the renowned works of art, “Anti-Stratfordians” believe there is reasonable doubt that Shakespeare is the real author of the works. Literary greats, teachers, writers, world-renowned actors, directors and scholars such as Sigmund Freud, Orson Welles, Charlie Chaplin, Mark Twain, Ralph Waldo Emerson, Walt Whitman, Sir Derek Jacobi, and Sir John Gielgud all have held to the Anti-Stratfordian position. While some believe in group theories (i.e. that a collective group of writers is responsible for the works), others favor singular writers such as Edward De Vere — the Earl of Oxford, Francis Bacon, or Christopher Marlowe.
Anonymous chooses to focus on the possibility that the Earl of Oxford penned the works so well known today. Was it a pure coincidence that Oxford’s annotated copy of the Geneva Bible marks passages that were used by Shakespeare or that Oxford’s nickname was “spear shaker?”
Orloff said he has been fascinated by the Shakespeare authorship question since first learning about the controversy as a 25-year-old graduate student 20 years ago.
“My first thought was, ‘Why had no one told me this?!’” Orloff said. “My second thought was that this would make a fantastic film. It had everything — murder, sex, lies, betrayal — truly the stuff of Shakespearean drama.”
“Roland has such a feel for the exciting topics that get people out of their chairs,” producer Kirstin Winkler said.
According to Winkler, the film is less about being accurate and more about telling a story that opens the Shakespeare authorship question to further research and discussion.
“I certainly don’t think that the film is trying to dictate his story as the truth,” she said. “It’s just one take on the authorship question, telling one tale.”
Little is known about Shakespeare. Many find it impossible to believe that the son of an illiterate tradesman was the author of such literary masterpieces as “The Merchant of Venice,” “King Lear,” and “Henry V.” His education from a village school could never have provided Shakespeare with a vocabulary extensive enough to write the most talked about literature in the world and there is no proof that he traveled to foreign lands let alone learned to speak their native tongues. The only written documentation historians can ascribe to Shakespeare is several signatures on official documents. Shakespeare’s death in 1616 was met with silence, unlike other celebrated writers of his time, and his will mentions no books or manuscripts of any kind.
“I’m surprised that this topic hasn’t been tackled before,” said Rhys Ifans, who plays the Early of Oxford. “The body of evidence is very, very convincing, and the thought that we might be possibly teaching our students a lie is, in my opinion, shocking. It’s a claim against our intellects and our history and our understanding of the greatest writer of all times. If you re-read or approach these plays with an Oxfordian eye, it opens up new ways of looking at these works that we haven’t even touched on.”
Winker said she expects the film will be controversial.
“There is quite a radical group of Stratfordians out there who feel very strongly about preserving the image of Shakespeare as the writer of the plays and sonnets,” she said.
But controversy aside, actor David Thewlis (who plays William Cecil) said that the film works well simply as a story. “No matter what you believe, it’s a great story,” he said. “Roland is very passionate about authorship question and he wants to put it to a wider audience. He is a very mischievous man, but I think he’s been rather daring to do this story — he likes to push people’s buttons.”
Rated PG-13 for some violence and sexual content, Anonymous will be released in theaters nationwide on October 28, 2011. The cast is headed by Rhys Ifans as Edward De Vere, the Earl of Oxford, and includes Vanessa Redgrave, Joely Richardson, David Thewlis, Xavier Samuel, Sebastian Armesto, Rafe Spall, Edward Hogg, Jamie Campbell Bower, and Derek Jacobi.
BWW Reviews: MASTER CLASS Has Presence Now Through Nov 6
"Master Class" is all about presence, and Hillbarn Theatre definitely has presence. A small theatre with big ambitions, the company has successfully helmed a play that requires presence - a lot of presence - especially from its actors.
These actors either sing some of the more difficult songs of opera or memorize over an hour's worth of lines without many breaks, the latter being one actress in particular who portrays "La Divina," one of the most famous opera singers who ever lived, the Divina who lived a life as tragic as those of the characters she played: Maria Callas. Callas has so much presence that "Master Class" could very well be considered a one-person show if it weren't for the shining co-stars playing the smaller roles.
With a small stage and minimal sets, "Master Class" demands the attention of its audience as they watch Maria Callas giving master class lessons to three young singers, simultaneously living both the triumphs and the tragedies of her past: love, loss, abortion, criticisms, and the stage. Callas, herself, never sings in the play, but her students do, and they do a lovely job at it, too.
Monica Cappuccini commands the stage as Maria Callas, coming into her own during the second act. While she lacks the more aggressive, intimidating presence found in other portrayals of Callas and is sometimes hard to follow during her first act monologue, Cappuccini has Callas' accent down to a "T," and her mannerisms are spot-on. She especially excels during the softer, more emotional parts of the play, as Callas shows her students how to act as if they are the characters they're singing, how to have presence. Cappuccini's facial expressions are exceptionally moving during her second act monologue in which she recounts Callas' love that led her to get an abortion.
Cappuccini's costars have an equally strong presence on stage. SusAnna Jimenez as the young Sophie DePalma and Jenny Matteucci as the dramatic soprano Sharon Graham (the character is double cast with Marcelle Dronkers playing at certain performances) have beautiful voices for their young age. And audiences may get some extra enjoyment from the fact that Matteucci plays next to her husband, Daniel Lockert, whose fingers easily glide over the piano keys, providing beautiful accompaniment for the few times the students sing.
Gabriel Cohen, who plays the third student, a tenor, does not show as much progress as a student as perhaps he should (especially considering how much praise Callas gives his character at the end of his lesson), but he has a pleasant voice. That's more than what can be said for the one note Cappuccini lets out, which would have been better left out. But it's not a singing role, even if the character is a singer, and Cappuccini succeeds in what she's meant to do - so much so that she earned a standing ovation.
For a community theatre, Hillbarn Theatre certainly deserves a standing ovation. It's a "master" at what it does, and it has a lot of "class." As Maria Callas might say, it knows how to exude presence.
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Master Class, by Terrence McNally
Now through November 6, 2011
Hillbarn Theatre - Foster City, California
http://www.hillbarntheatre.org
650-349-6411
Photos Courtesy of Hillbarn Theatre
BWW Interviews: Monica Cappuccini as Maria Callas in MASTER CLASS Now Through Nov 6
Monica Cappuccini returned to the stage three and a half years ago after seventeen years away from acting. Now, she's mounting what she calls a dream role, the role of Maria Callas in Terrence McNally's play Master Class, playing now through November 6 at Hillbarn Theatre.
Master Class recently had a Broadway Revival starring Tyne Daly in New York. The production received high praises from critics. Cappuccini attributes the success of the show to Callas' very human, very relatable life and to the playwright's brilliant wording — wording which required her to memorize two hours worth of lines. Cappuccini spent two months memorizing the lines and researching the life of the real Maria Callas. She says the role and audiences' reactions are very gratifying for her as an actor, and she hopes audiences will continue to support the show and Hillbarn Theatre.
BWW Interviews: Playwright and Actor Trevor Allen Talks About His One Man Show, 'Working for the Mouse'
Everyone dreams of being a prince or princess, or some Disney character. Trevor Allen lived that dream for four years as a college student playing various Disney characters at Disneyland, but he experienced a very different Disney than the one people see at the movies or in Fantasy Land. Now, years later, he gives theatre goers a behind the scenes look at Disneyland and the people who play its characters in his play "Working for the Mouse," which returns to EXIT Theatre in San Francisco this fall.
Trevor says he plays about a dozen different characters in the one-man show. It takes a lot of energy, but he gets an adrenaline rush from his audience and the stage lights. Trevor sat down with Broadway World to talk about the play, his Disney favorites, the Disney rules, his experience as a Disney character, and his book-in-progress based on the play.
BWW Interviews: Craig Ashurst, Principal Dancer, RIVERDANCE
Broadway World speaks with Craig Ashurst about life on the road and why Riverdance has such a strong following.
Ashurst started his competitive dancing career at age 5 in his home town of Melbourne, Australia. By the age of 17, Ashurst had won 9 state and 10 national titles. After moving to England, he went on to win such major titles as the British Nationals, Great Britain's, North American Nationals, and All Ireland Championships. After achieving 2nd at the worlds 3 times with the Doherty Academy, England, Ashurst looked for a professional career, performing in Busch Gardens theme parks and Dance of Desire and Celtic Reign before touring Asia, North America, and Europe with Riverdance. Ashurst is delighted to now perform the lead role with Riverdance.
The Riverdance tour will be in California through December 4 and includes a stop at the Pantages theatre in Los Angeles, where Riverdance opened exactly 15 years to the day before its November 15 engagement. Other tour cities include Fresno, Modesto and Sacramento. See the complete list below.
Saturday, October 1, 2011
Update
A summer has passed and I, the new graduate, am still looking for permanent work. But I'm staying active in the arts and in marketing. I'm doing some work for Hillhouse Opera Company.
I'm sure there are several articles I haven't posted on here yet, so I'll do my best to get those up in the next few months. I also plan on doing some book reviews to keep myself writing. So they may not be my best writing, but at least I'll be writing.
Also remember, I write regularly on my Marketing blog Star Bright Business - www.starbrightbusiness.blogspot.com.
I'm sure there are several articles I haven't posted on here yet, so I'll do my best to get those up in the next few months. I also plan on doing some book reviews to keep myself writing. So they may not be my best writing, but at least I'll be writing.
Also remember, I write regularly on my Marketing blog Star Bright Business - www.starbrightbusiness.blogspot.com.
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