Category: Theater

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Book Report: Disturbing the Universe: Wagner’s Musikdrama by David Vernon

I have never developed a taste for opera. My initial foray into Classical music was in high school and came via theater…when I read Ibsen’s Peer Gynt and then discovered Grieg’s Peer Gynt Suites. Then into the sturm and drang of Beethoven when one of my best friends ‘air conducted’ any number of his symphonies. And then in college when the drummer in my blues band told me that I needed to hear Bach’s Brandenburg Concertos by the Collegium Arium. Then there was no stopping me…as a friend pushed Mahler’s Second Symphony by Bruno Walter…and then on to the 20th Century Russians!

But this was all orchestral music. And even my introduction to music class at college as part of my Bachelor of Fine Arts in Art Education…still left me wondering what all the noise was about in opera.

But now decades later I have seen a fair number of paintings or prints in both Paris and the US based on the works of Richard Wagner. So my curiosity has been reawakened.

Odilon Redon: Parsifal, lithograph, Cleveland Museum of Art, photo by Ed Heinzelman

And then mid-2021, this book appeared on social media, written by a ‘new friend’ that I had recently met there…and I decided to dive in and see what I could learn from Disturbing the Universe: Wagner’s Musikdrama by David Vernon

So as a novice, I had no idea if this would work out…but it worked out marvelously. So what do we have here…a very engaged and precise discussion of all things Wagner. And for the novice a very clear outline of Wagner’s life, his influences, the legends and stories that inspired him, and his influence on the rest of the music world. And for a novice we learn some very fascinating things. The term motif in the context of musikdrama and how Wagner used them to deliminate the characters and how they meld the story lines and character development across the arc of his Ring Cycle.

And although I was aware of Bayreuth and its history as the keeper of the flame, I wasn’t aware until reading Disturbing the Universe, that Wagner was the driving force behind its development. As his spirit is still writ large there.

photo by Ed Heinzelman

Yes, at times this gets a little deep for the novice, but not often. Instead I found myself driven by the sense of wonder and amazement at Wagner’s accomplishments. How his story telling evolved and how the music, although supporting opera, builds on and builds a new tradition for symphonic orchestral works. So for those of us not schooled in opera or with limited experience, this is a solid platform to start our education.

And for those of you with a solid understanding of opera or even a detailed interest in Wagner, you will find a lot of information here to increase your awareness and appreciation of his story telling and composition. And if you are attuned to the history of Bayreuth you may pick up on some of the comments comparing recent performances of Wagner’s works to the historical norms. I think you will find a lot to like here! There is even several inserts about how the different voices of the instruments were written specifically to support the mood and feeling of a particular section…something I understood…but if you are familiar with the works…you will really really appreciate how it works in performance.

So look for chapter long details on Tannhauser, Lohengrin, Parsifal, Tristan und Isolde, THE Ring Cycle, and others. My biggest problem now will be deciding where to start my listening!

And apologies for not having the depth of experience to do justice to this book!

Odilon Redon, Brunhilde In Twilight Of The Gods, lithograph, Cleveland Museum of Art

P.S. Added 1/26/2022: Dr. Vernon has also included two addenda. One is a synopsis of each Wagner Musikdrama and the second is suggested reference materials listed as a guide to further reading.

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American Players Theatre’s New Treatment Of O. Henry’s “The Gift of the Magi”!

Yes, that old chestnut! The O. Henry classic that every English teacher across America used to teach us about irony! This isn’t the telling that you will remember from your sophomore year in high school. But we won’t need spoiler alerts either. This adaptation by James DeVita and Josh Schmidt brings us new light and life in their telling through story and song (and dance)! So sit back and relax…and yes this is a musical!

We open in Della and Jim’s apartment…a simply furnished tenement apartment which is the locus of the play and all of the drama and song will work around it. Scenic designer Madelyn Yee has given us a complex little environment, in the APT’s Touchstone Theatre, that serves as not only home, but brings the ambiance of the neighborhood to bear. And there is just enough space to support the real world interactions outside their home and a secure platform for the two musicians who will provide the evening’s accompaniment for our actors!

cellist Alicia Storin and musician/busker Hilary Caldwell; photo by Liz Lauren and courtesy of the American Players Theatre

So first we meet our cellist and in the first scene our violist…and then the other character that we weren’t quite expecting, Brian Mani as O. Henry! And these three, under director Malkia Stampley, deftly set the mood, set the stage, set the time. And then!

Marcus Truschinski as Jim, Kelsey Brennan as Della; photo by Liz Lauren and courtesy of American Players Theatre

We meet Della, played by Kelsey Brennan, and Jim, played by Marcus Truschinski, a young couple thoroughly saturated in their love for each other. They bring these characters to a fresh and believable life and you never doubt their devotion to one another. And the songs and dance pieces bring this all to life; front and center. Yes, this is far more fun than anyone would have anticipated if only remembering our old lessons.

front and center: Brian Mani as O. Henry, with Marcus Truschinski as Jim (left) and Kelsey Brennan as Della; photo by Liz Lauren and courtesy of American Players Theatre

And who exactly is O. Henry? Well in this play he starts out as the narrator but becomes a stage director, interlocutor, butcher, tailor, etc, etc, etc. With a doff of a hat or the addition of an apron, Mr. Mani becomes any and every other character that Della and Jim meet along this journey…all without ever really surrendering his persona as O. Henry. Deftly done Mr. Mani!

But despite all the nuance and fleshing out that Mr. DeVita and Mr. Schmidt have provided for our story, they can not change how the story ends. So yes, we come to that fateful Christmas Eve filled with eager anticipation by both Della and Jim until the reality of life comes crashing in. So there will still be that lump in your throat and a possible tear in your eye…but love will win out! Again!

by The cast of The Gift of the Magi; photo by Liz Lauren and courtesy of the American Players Theatre

Let earth receive her king…

The Gift of the Magi is playing from now until December 19, 2021 at the American Players Theater Touchstone Theatre in Spring Green Wisconsin. Or you can enjoy it like I did via their streaming service, APT at Home: Click here for details!

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American Players Theatre: Taming of the Shrew and other thoughts…

I first discovered the performed Shakespeare vis a PBS airing of Hamlet from the BBC. Very serious, very traditional, right up my alley. That was followed by the BBC’s Age of Kings, their also very traditional take on Shakespeare’s history plays.

But ever since then theater groups have ever more often felt the need to make Shakespeare relevant or enticing to ‘modern audiences’ by changing the locations, eras, dialects, or costuming to bring a certain freshness I guess. Does it work? Sometimes.

So when this presentation of the Taming of the Shrew opened with a bit of a choreographed mime, I braced for the worst. The five actors came out in brightly colored slick silk-like suits and Mario brothers mustaches dancing round and round making rude gestures and displaying nefarious faces. I feared that Verona was moving to Sicily with made men and mobbed up accents or a Las Vegas dinner show version of the play or worse yet…Shrew: The Musical!

But I needn’t have feared…but we get straight away English pronunciations that allow us to follow the story and dialogue.

And a wonderful phantasmagoria of costumes that define the characters but don’t quite put us in a particular place or era! This worked wonderfully well through out.

And of course in a post BLM world, theaters are re-evaluating their selection process of plays and playwrights, their casting choices, and how they present their selections. This isn’t a sea change for the American Players Theatre. They have been aware of the artistic advantages of diversity for some time. And over the past few years they have been bold in choices in casting and directorial assignments. All to the good!

And in the perceived post pandemic era, theaters have been strapped for revenue, and are doing more with less. And that often means slimmer cast lists and here the Taming of the Shrew makes due with five actors for essentially nine named roles and other sub-characters. This isn’t unusual and actors often play more than one role, particularly if the characters are underlings or don’t appear in the same scenes.

One of APT’s 2021 plays worked with multiple roles of even principal characters very well and that was Cymbeline! And in a sort of turn about is fair play, all of the actors in Cymbeline were women.

screen capture from video by Ed Heinzelman

But at what point are fewer actors too few actors? I am thinking that this presentation of Taming of the Shrew may have stepped over that threshold.

Why? Because by their hats you shall know them. Well in the early going, I was more than a little confused as James Ridge moved about the stage from one pose to another, obviously in conversation, but talking to the hat in his hand. Well it quickly dawned on me that Mr. Ridge was playing three characters…a major principal, Baptista, his own daughter, Bianca, and one of her suitors, Grumio. So you had to be careful…which hat was he wearing? That was the character speaking. Which hat was he holding? That is the other party to the conversation. And obviously Baptista and Bianca have major speaking parts throughout. It did get a bit easier but no less unnerving, when Mr. Ridge opened his jacket while portraying Bianca to reveal his bustier underneath.

This is just a slight quibble for me…and despite enjoying APT’s very effective cross-gender casting, something didn’t quite feel right about Colleen Madden’s Tranio’s impersonation of Lucentio. Ms. Madden played it to the hilt but I just couldn’t get my head around it and sometimes lost the sense that she was playing a male character.

Alejandra Escalante was simply marvelous as Katherine, the ‘shrew’ of the title. Ms. Escalante portrays the character with a certain grace beyond the behavior we’ve come to expect from this part. And she provides some very human moments on her wedding day when Petruchio is decidedly and intentionally late.

And Daniel Jose Molina is the matching and appropriate foil as Petruchio! And the interaction of Petruchio and Katherine as directed by Shana Cooper takes some of the edge off the misogyny inherent to these roles without ever making light of it. ‘Tis the mind that makes the body rich. Yes indeed.

Yes this play is still misogynistic and paternalistic in many ways and without gutting Shakespeare or not performing it at all, directors and casts will need to represent it in an appropriate manner. I think that Ms. Cooper accomplished much here.

This has nothing to do with the performance…but with a 21st Century lens…rather than being a ‘shrew’ does the text support Katherine having a mental illness or some form of Asperger’s or other illness. Can that be played to?

I watched the American Player’s Theatre production The Taming of the Shrew via their streaming At Home option. All photos are courtesy of APT and were downloaded from their website except as noted.