Rothko! Fantastic! Inspirational! Yes!

I was very excited to to invited to view this new production at the SpeakEasy. Red, a Tony Award winning play from 2010 is centered on the great painter, Rothko in the late 1950’s as he finishes his master piece murals for the soon to be opened Four Seasons Restaurant in New York City. He embarks on a contemplative journey with his assistant that not only questions the art world in general but his own perspective on work, life and death. It is no wonder this play won so many awards. John Logan’s writing packs a punch at every turn and keeps you on the edge of your seat to see where he’ll go next. It’s almost like a high speed car chase – you never know when he’ll make the next turn, but you gotta stay alert or else he’ll lose you.

The scenery was so crucial to make this play come alive. While it was mostly a bare stage with the theater mechanics in plain view, the paintings, work tables, chairs and most importantly the turntable center the viewer on the action. It looks like a painters studio – paint on the floor, dirty and grimy, cigarette smoke filling the air, there is no specific time period other than the dictated time when the specific events outlining the play took place. I love how it feels so modern, but represents such a wonderful time in history. All in all, Cristina Todesco’s scenic design and Jeff Adelberg’s lighting were playful, useful and delightful with a bit of cheese thrown in the mix (the snow at the end was a cliche celebration). Gail Astrid Buckley’s costume design was not terribly memorable for Rothko, but more successful for Ken, his assistant, by focusing the viewer on his age and body. Bill Barclay’s sound design left me with a lot of questions which ultimately detracted from my experience.  His choice on some of the specific records played in the background took away from the action – the most prominent example of this is when the opening of the Mozart Requiem was played. Who can focus on the action when something so recognizable and moving is overpowering it? As an audience member who has knowledge of classical music, I found this to be a lazy and distracting choice.  I also did not understand the mechanical clanging that separated the scenes from each other. It was raw and rough and did not seem to coincidence with the vision of the play.

Thomas Derrah as Mark Rothko had great energy and verve to his performance. While I enjoyed his stage presence, sadly, at times I thought his performance bordered on yelling. I would suggest adding more vocal nuance in the future, it will only add dimension to the character.  Karl Baker Olson, as the assistant, didn’t quite reach the point of  embodiment that made me care about his character’s story.  My companion kept asking why we cared about his storyline at all.  In a play that is supposed to be about Rothko,  keeping the audience engaged in a secondary character can be a challenge, especially when there are only two characters!  The direction in this production was riveting. Clear sightlines, great placement and use of space endeared me to David Gammon’s directing. He truly brought the play to life with his work and it always seemed fresh. Another pit-fall of a two person play can be repetitive staging, but Gammon succeeded in keeping things inventive.

This was a great play to watch and see come alive. While the acting itself did not enthral me, the writing and solid stage direction were winners.  I would confidently recommend this show to others. It is a colorful view into the whirlwind mind of “an artist”- and artfully done.

Karl Baker Olson (right) plays an assistant to abstract expressionist painter Mark Rothko in this scene from the SpeakEasy Stage Company production of RED, running now thru Feb. 4 at the Stanford Calderwood Pavilion at the Boston Center for the Arts, 527 Tremont Street in Boston’s South End. Tix/Info: 617-933-8600 or www.SpeakEasyStage.com. Photo: Craig Bailey/Perspective Photo.

The centerpiece for the bi-annual Boston Early Music Festival is Niobe, Regina di Tebe, a baroque opera by Agostino Steffani, first produced in 1688. People come from across the world for BEMF’s production every other year full of excitement at what will be produced. I could hardly maintain my composure as I sat down in the illustrious Cutler Majestic Theater for this production and waited to be swept away by the period music, costumes and scenery waiting behind the velvet curtain. Let me say, I was not disappointed at what I saw in the 4 hour production that followed!

First off, Paul O’Dette and Stephen Stubbs, the Co-Musical Directors for the show deserve the most praise. They continually bring these ancient masterpieces to life with verve and pomp and with so much style, one would never know how much of the music was missing before they laid their hands on it. Their combined geniuses when completing these pieces is unmatched and the orchestra is perfect at every turn. It is no wonder they lead these operas to such high acclaim time and time again.

Gilbert Blin, BEMF’s foremost Stage Director, continues to add to his reputation for artistic style with this production. His signature hand movements and 17th century picture perfect poses create a breathtaking view for Niobe and truly whisk the audience to a world so far removed from the present it’s hard to believe it’s actually happening in front of us and not in a dream. The costumes by Anna Watkins and superb set design (complete with baroque flying machines!!!) by Blin fill out the picture and are used to the fullest extent possible throughout the show. The set itself changed with grace and silence unmatched in so many productions in this area and the artistry in the painting of it is unmatched. While changes in costume are not in baroque practice, I feel different costumes for the main characters would have been a very welcome addition to this piece.

The singing was par for the course, and what I mean by that is superb! Philippe Jaroussky, the French counter-tenor playing Anfione, the king, stole the night. Breathtaking, dynamic, easy, romantic, stunning… I’m not sure I can praise him enough for all that he did on the stage. He could have sung the same two words the entire four hours instead of the show and I would have been just as happy. Amanda Forsythe, a regional favorite in period music, was come si come sa… She sang lovely, but the part of Niobe seemed a little too low for her voice and she did not showcase her strengths well. I also thought her non-dynamic acting presence was ill-advised for this show. I completely missed the ways Niobe used herself, her body, her voice and her intellect to get what she wanted when she wanted and therefore set up the drama for the propulsion of the show. Yulia Van Doren was a stand out for me with a powerful voice and innocence on stage as Manto, though I heard on other nights she was not as consistent. Colin Balzer as Tiberino made me smile with his antics and his voice alike. Charles Robert Stephens was arguably the biggest voice on stage playing Tiresia, but I noticed at times though he was supposed to be blind he was looking at where he was or things he was doing with his hands to make sure it was done right – especially when tying the lovers ribbons in the wedding scene. Poliferno played by Jesse Blumberg was my least favorite of the night. His core singing voice was there, but he was usually off tempo with the orchestra and his coloratura was no where close to remarkable. My favorite person on stage was José Lemos portraying Niobe’s nurse, Nerea. He perfected his womanly charm and attitude and made me burst out with laughter more than once with glee. There is no question that part was made for him! The dancers were a joy to watch through the evening, but at times it seemed were overused. Applause goes out to the choreography of Caroline Copeland and Carlos Fittante. The Niobids were lovely. The kids ranging in age were extremely cute and one could tell how much work they put into making things perfect. All that time and energy paid off and completely added to the show, especially in Jaroussky’s aria at the beginning of scene XIII extolling study – GOREGOUS!

I cannot thank Boston Early Music Festival enough for their strength and courage in taking on this piece and other opera’s like it. The shear beauty combined with the amount of work to make this production even possible is staggering to me. It was lush, energetic and stunning. I would never ask for my time back and would offer more of it to stay in the world they created just a bit longer. Thank you and you’ll see me with bells on in two years!

Boston Lyric Opera has been pushing the excitement factor for their new production of Britten’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream for quite some time. I totally bought into it and have been holding my breath for the show that was to come. Not only did  BLO have their regular outreach programs at the Library and MFA, but they did something extraordinary for the public in anticipation of the premiere event. Working with Opera America, an organization that educates, promotes and works with the opera community, they created a 4 session online class for people to learn more about the background of the show, production and music. It was a great way for the company to get recognition in the outer opera world and to drum up excitement.

This year’s productions from BLO have consistently blown me away with their musicianship. This show was par for the course. David Angus was welcomed back to the podium as the official BLO music director and he had a superb ensemble to work with. The instrumentalists were flawless and created the mood Britten wrote beautifully for this Dream. I was very impressed with them as well as the singing, but, the ensemble of voices had very unclear diction that made me rely on the monitors flanking the stage to understand the words, which I consider shameful for a production sung in English.

The visual realm created by Stage Director, Tazewell Thompson left me feeling deceived. It was an unimagined, painstaking simple set that did not help create a mood, feeling of space or place in time. Moons of different sizes, shapes, colors and degrees of fullness adorned the height of the stage and were constantly changing which left me confused as the entire show traditionally takes place throughout one day. The lighting of Robert Wierzel was well done in the space, though. Inversely, the costumes of Kaye Voyce were tragically unfitted and amateur looking. The whole production seemed very amateur and I’m shocked that it was allowed to move forward without a crisp, finished and high end look to it. A metaphoric presentation combined with an already complex show is the wrong direction to take. Furthermore, the pacing of the show was extremely slow, to the point where my companion snoozed through the first act!

Despite my displeasure at the chorus’ lack of diction, several singers managed to catch my ear. Heather Johnson’s Hermia stole my heart. Her voice rang through the theater and her face and eyes had a consistent sparkle that stole my attention whenever she was on stage. John Gaston as Oberon was lovely as well. His countertenor voice rang crisp and cleanly, though a little soft at times. Chad A. Johnson as Lysander was very pretty to look at, but seemed a little unrehearsed as one could see on his face when he made a mistake in the music. Helena, portrayed by Susanna Phillips, seemed a little uncomfortable on stage, but paired with such an ill fitting and poorly colored dress, I can’t blame her. In the end, my favorites were Andrew Shore as Bottom – his acting and singing combined was consistent, happy and energetic and opposite him, Nadine Sierra’s Tytania was breathtakingly beautiful and accurate. The children’s chorus of fairies was charming, but I can’t stress diction enough in a professional production. I’ve saved Puck, Karim Sulayman, for last. He was entertaining to watch, was dressed the best of anyone on stage, and stole the show with his antics and tone. Though I found his antics a little too quick to follow at times, his performance left a smile on my face.

I cannot help but feel a little disappointed by the season that Boston Lyric Opera has offered this year. Though I know when I walk into the theater that the music is going to be exquisitely presented, my expectations of fantastic showmanship in production value have been consistently unmet. The BLO name has a high reputation in the city for having the best shows, but it seems they’ve tried to push themselves to be something they’re not this year with very contemporary presentations dressed up in avante garde costumes and sets. I have missed the sophisticated and nuanced productions I have come to look forward to from BLO, and I hope they come back to their classical roots in this upcoming season.

Benjamin Britten’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream  Photo by Erik Jacobs for the Boston Lyric Opera.

I will admit, I’ve had a lot of trouble deconstructing my thoughts on this piece. I struggle to be the one to speak against the popular opinion, notably those in awe of the use of technology in this supposedly progressive piece.  But does that really make something new and unique? Does it make something with an obtuse plot, poor sound quality, and what in essence is remote control cars a major step forward for opera?

I’ve been battling these questions in my mind ever since I saw Tod Machover’s work, and I keep going back to what my companion’s response to the opera was. Upon leaving the theater he said “The visual effects were really cool, but I have no idea what happened on stage. Was that supposed to affect me in some way?” I also have thought of what I’ve told my peers and coworkers about the show. “I liked watching it, but I wouldn’t recommend you see it.”

Now, what has made me think that? Well, the music for one. Being an opera and classical music enthusiast, I thought it was beautiful. The modern composition was flawless and was so well written for singing I was floored. Tod Machover ingeniously put together a score that was not muddled, or too avant guarde, and the singers performed it with an ease and grace that I haven’t heard in modern music ever.

The plot is where Robert Pinsky and Randy Weiner jumped the shark. I read the synopsis before walking into the theater, so I knew what was coming and the background of each scene, but without that prior knowledge, I would have no idea what was happening. The characters were just shells, there was no back story other than a 30 second image montage for each character at the very beginning of the piece called the “download” and it did not give any insight to their thoughts or feelings on themselves or the world. This piece was supposed to be about death, evolution, technology and the path to immortality but none of that came through. The only striking human moment was when ” the miseries” – a large hoard of ragged people flopped around the empty stage for one scene.

The singing was wonderful with James Maddalena, Emily Albrink and Sara Heaton standing out the most. I question the use of counter-tenor Douglas Dodson as “The United Way”. Why not have a woman instead? The jaunting look and sound of his voice paired with his physical presence was distracting and there didn’t seem to be a reason for him being a man. The Orchestra, headed bu Gil Rose, worked perfectly with the music and the singers and I truly applaud the musicianship of the whole piece. The use of lighting and multi-media and robotic set pieces,created by Peter Torpey, Ben Bloomberg and Matt Checkowski was powerful to see. I did expect the robots themselves to have electronic voices, but was disappointed to find that their singing was just from the human singers backstage in a sound booth with a microphone.

The directing suffered from a bad script and a lackluster story, but I don’t know what one can do with a piece that has so little bulk to it. It all comes back to the writing itself. It’s so lack-luster compared to the story they were trying to tell that even the entire opera isn’t worthwhile. I hate that I feel so strongly about it, because of all the good that’s involved. But no amount of high flying technology or musicality can overcome a badly written, though imaginative story.

The Operabots. Photo by: Jonathan Williams.

Boston Lyric Operas production of Agrippina was nothing at all like I imagined it to be. Full of slap stick humor, ridiculous random props and over dramatized staging this was not your typical Handel opera. The audience fell in love with the comedy that Lillian Groag, fresh off directing the same production for the New York City Opera, worked into every nook and cranny, but did they miss out on the beautiful singing and music by paying attention to histrionics?

I cannot rave enough about the cast members. Kathleen Kim debuts in Boston as Poppea, the title characters nemesis, and stole the show with her voice and her acting skills. I could listen to her all day and fell in love with her from the moment she stepped out in 5 inch heels to sing a coloratura entrance. Anthony Roth Costanzo as Ottone had a clear and strident voice that was unimaginable coming from such a slight figure. Bravo! Christian Van Horn as Claudio’s rich baritone Claudio rang through the room and David Mcfrerrin, as his servant Pallante, did not get enough material to sing – please bring him back as a Figaro! David Trudgen was the one I had the least care for. His characterization of Nerone was over the top, a-sexual, and overly boyish especially for one that is doing cocaine, heavy drinking and playing Russian Roulette on stage. He did redeem himself with a beautiful rendition of a great “Come nube che fugge” in Act III. The star of the night was Caroline Worra’s performance as Agrippina. Her voice soared the entire night and never faltered. When not singing, she left a lot to be desired and sometimes looked a bit bored, other than when getting Poppea drunk. This was a great role for her, though and she stood up to the challenge especially after falling short in Idomeneo.

The set, by John Conklin was a strange combination of crumbling facades, clean lines and random hanging squares presumably to show depth on the stage, but just causing confusion in the audience. What were those random squares for, really? The pieces swiveled well on stage, but next time, perhaps more rehearsal is needed so the stage hands don’t crash. Jess Goldstein’s costumes also left me and my companion with question marks over our heads. The main characters looked stunning in gowns, three piece suits and colors perfect for a 1930’s feel Italy, but the stage hands dressed as 17th century eyes wide shut masked men were completely off from the rest of the production. The lighting was great, including a moment in the second act when Ottone was leaning on a black wall with a single lit column. Gorgeous, Robert Wierzel! Gary Thor Wedow was a very present conductor in the raised pit and showed great strength in keeping everything reigned in even with so much going on stage.

All in all, it’s par for the course when the Boston Lyric Opera is concerned. I did not respond favorably to the stage direction, but the music was fantastic. This certainly was not the opera Handel had envisioned, but there were some great moments coupled with overly acted segments and added farce to fill in the “boring” Opera Seria arias. Ms. Groag certainly made a choice, and I must respect her for following through with it completely.

Now there’s only one thing to do…wait for the masterpiece coming in April, Britten’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream. I’m already bouncing with anticipation for this show and can’t wait to see what Boston Lyric will do with it – especially with David Angus conducting!

Agrippina (Soprano Caroline Worra),  Nerone (Countertenor David Trudgen), Pallante (Baritone David McFerrin) and Narciso (Countertenor José Álvarez) Photo taken by Jeffrey Dunn for Boston Lyric Opera © 2011

The ART continues it’s Greek Fest with it’s stunning premiere musical theater piece “Prometheus Bound.” The first three words that come to mind when leaving the theater are FANTASTIC, SEXY, and ROCKIN’! This show was a great representation of new trends in the theater and exemplified a-typical direction and bringing the theater to the people. Go see it…

The biggest props go out to Diane Paulus. She is the brains behind this production and her direction was stellar. She brought together the masterminds – writer Steven Sater (of Spring Awakening fame) & composer Serj Tankian (lead singer and songwriter for System of a Down) and put them to work on this telling Greek myth. Their work together created something exciting for any kind of audience member as could be seen by the completely different types of people in attendance.

The myth itself focuses on Prometheus who stole fire for the human race from the Olympian gods and was withholding a prophecy from Zeus himself about his downfall. Because of his crimes against a tyrannical dictator, he was sentenced to be bound for eternity with a crow eating his liver every day just to wake up the next morning with a new organ to be eaten again. This project is also paired with Amnesty International who dedicate each performance to a different prisoner of modern-day oppressors. It’s a perfect combination of political activism and outrageous theater.

The cast was superb, and I’d be wrong to not point out that they are very easy on the eyes…

Gavin Creel as a shirtless Prometheus is sexy, haunting and has a rock voice to go with his great acting skills while being tied with chains to every corner and ceiling in the theater at once. Uzo Aduba as Io was gorgeous and captivating and projected a great Tracy Chapman to the extreme. She opened the show and closed it with The Titan, Prometheus that set the tone for the whole evening. The Daughters of the Ocean were a perfect rock trio. Celina Carvajal, Ashley Flanagan and Jo Lampert came out of no where with great blending in tone and action and always kept the right attitude for the space and distinction from the other players. I just wish they each had a little solo time to really let us here their beauty. Michael Cunio as Oceanos was unquestionably the hottest player in the room. Clad in leather including a black studded dorsal fin, his crooning, attitude and looks kept my attention the whole evening. Gabe Ebert as Hephaistos was not very convincing, but his turn as the coked out Hermes rocked the room. Lea Delaria was the least memorable from the group. Her scat in the trio “Time of Conclusion” was great, but the rest of the time just came off as stereotypical angry lesbian when she could have been so much more for the role of Force – this productions version of Zeus.

Emily Rebholz’ costume design was right on the money. It’s got to be hard to create looks for gods and goddesses and make each costume fit into the hard rock edge of the shows music, but her stylings were hardcore and awesome. Kevin Adams’ lighting was a little par for the course. It fit into the club feel of the room well, but I wanted the lights to really shine on the players more as they didn’t stand out enough against the black of the theater space and the black of the costumes that most players had on.

The biggest applause goes out to the band. They nailed their performance and kept the room rollin throughout the night to the point where the “groupies” (other actors in street clothes scattered in the audience) weren’t even needed to keep the hype alive in the room.

In conclusion, this show = amazing. Run…don’t walk…to buy your ticket.

Michael Cunio and Gavin Creel. Photo by: Marcus Stern.

The set appeared to me as it could be the inside of any army tent seemingly in the middle east. Overturned chairs and tables of a mess hall with a coke machine in the corner and blood on the floor. The lights coming through the thin walls of the tent and more videos of peoples heads projected on the  roof. It was an interesting design and I was intrigued to see how it played out in the play’s new adaptation.

Historically, a Greek tragedy has a very unique form. Mostly, an audience member comes into a show with a prior knowledge of background story and with an idea how the show will end. There is no action that takes place on the stage for the audience to see, just the characters telling us what they’ve just done out of our periphery and remarking on how it will affect their lives. The most special aspect of these plays comes from the use of a chorus- a body of players who remark on what the main characters have done and how an audience should respond to it. This production’s use of  chorus is what made this piece different than any other Greek tragedy I’ve ever seen. Instead of live action, the chorus were different videos of regular people who spoke about their own experiences with the war today and how it affects them and their view of the world. It was a great use of multi-media, but half-way through the show they changed. They first started talking about themselves in real life, but when the action of the play got more and more agitated they began talking about Ajax as a real figure they looked up to and how his trials and errors affected them. It was very strange to see them go back and forth between real life and the play and confused me and my companion as to what they were talking about and how they mattered at all. Unfortunately, I feel like the production missed a great and powerful opportunity to utilize the multi-media aspect of the chorus to further enhance the production, and instead worked against the theme of the production.  It isn’t the first time I’ve noticed that the incorporation of multi-media elements sometimes falls flat in A.R.T. productions.

Fortunately, there were some great acting moments to counteract the confusing chorus. Linda Powell as Tecmessa did a wonderful job as Ajax’s companion. It seemed to take her a little while to warm up, but made up for it through being actively present in every instant she was on stage. I believed all the turmoil she was going through and prayed with her for a better ending. Ron Cephas Jones as Odysseus was superb and honest, though his voice was hard to hear at times. Nathan Darrow as Teucer was genius and won me over for the best actor on the stage, while Remo Airaldi as the Chorus Leader annoyed me with all his statements and seemed like a low life that had too much to say. The show’s title character played by Brent Harris was a little unnerving, not because of the things his character did, but as my companion put it “he just yelled at us the whole time.” I must say, I agree with that statement and wish he had given a more nuanced performance, as a title player.  I also need to give a shout out to Kaaron Briscoe as Athena who reminded me of Condaleezza Rice in the trenches of an unjust war. Kudos to you!

All in all, the show was just “alright” for me. I expected there to be more comparison to the times and wars we’re living in today, but apart from the set (complete with gutted animals) and costumes (army fatigues)  all by David Zinn, nothing stood out as reminiscent to anything in the middle east today. This might be because the translation by Charles Connaghan was very close to the original while Sarah Benson’s directing idea only related to today. They didn’t correlate with each other and ended up making a confusing mash up of Greek Tragedy meets the war on terrorism.

Mesafint Goldfeld and Brent Harris. Photo by: Michael Lutch.

I had high expectations for Boston Opera Collaborative’s production of Little Women.  BOC is well known for having great musicians and this production had Michael Sakir, a favorite of mine,  as the music director. It was housed in a beautiful newer hall in Dudley Square that I’ve been wanting to visit,  and it is a classic American story that takes place in Massachusetts.  I was looking forward to a lush and sophisticated design that BOC offered in last season’s production of A Little Night Music. Unfortunately they fell a little short in production value and had me wishing the production was  concertized  instead of  fully staged.

The singing was fantastic. Beth Lytwynec as Jo, was so consistent I was mesmerized whenever her mouth opened. Christina English’s Meg sang a beautiful “Things Change” that I was very excited to hear, I was disappointed that she didn’t have any other moments to stand out. Emily Burr was clear as a bell singing Amy and I can’t wait for her to take on larger roles in the future. Brendan Buckley’s Laurie had a pingy and exaggerated tone that I enjoyed, but was a little pinched at times. I give the most props to Rachele Schmiege singing Beth. Her breathtaking aria stole the show!

The musical direction was wonderful. The orchestra sounded flawless under Sakir’s baton and I could tell his coaching of the singers really paid off. The space, on the other hand made all of his hard work much more difficult to recognize. The sound in the room was so muddled that the intricate melodies and chords sound like an imprecise mush. It was worst during “Ours the Hours” and The Barristers Quartet.

The production value itself left a lot to be desired. The emotional tone of the piece was flat and stayed angry from start to finish. Jo especially didn’t seem to grow or change as the character grew from the beginning to end of the piece. Beth’s death had no impact on me; she wasn’t a truly integrated part of the show. The happily married couple of Meg and Brooke seemed lost and childish and Friedrich Bhaer felt like an after thought.  While there was good use of the stage and the sparse set design of Kathryn Kawecki seemed very useful, I reiterate I could’ve watched the same show with no movements or staging and had the same reaction. I’m not sure if that is the fault of the stage director, Emilia Allen or the Librettist Mark Adamo.  The best visual aspect, hands down, was the hair design of Rebecca Teeters and costume design of Cara Pacifico.  It stood out as superb where other aspects of the production were severely lacking.  It seems that a company like BOC, with a shoestring budget, could have better served themselves by conserving resources for future productions so that the production value could compliment their superb musical talents.

Little Women seems like a wonderful show to put on when you have so many magnificent female singers to work with, but great musicians alone cannot make a great full production. Boston Opera Collaborative is still a great avenue for young singers to show their stuff  and I would recommend opera goers see their offerings and have a look at what talent is on the rise.  I’m hoping to see a little more finesse in the staging of the next production- I can’t wait to see these talented performers shine on a stage that deserves them.

I  must admit that I went into the Factory Theater to see Whistler in the Dark’s production of Ted Hughes’s Tales from Ovid with more than a little apprehension.  Supplied with my prior knowledge of the limited capabilities of the Factory Theatre space, and being told that the actors perform Cirque d’Soleil style acrobatics on long strands of silk, I could not imagine how the two could possibly come to rectify themselves for a successful production, especially having read that the actors had only spent months practicing skills that people spend their entire careers perfecting!  How could they have learned enough to be able to use their new talents perfectly while flying over a room full of people?

I was dazzled by how wonderful the play actually was!

Not only did the flying amaze me, but the actor’s skill level was high enough that I wasn’t even distracted by the use of the techniques in the play on a whole. It was a seamless production of very able-bodied players that captured the essence of playwright’s extremely moving script.

The actors were clad only in black leotards, but managed to transform themselves and their bodies to each play about 30 different roles through the evening. Mac Young was a standout performer.  Though he mastered the technique of maintaining a godly persona, I was touched by his ability to interweave that character with very human emotion.  His portrayal of Phaeton, the sun gods son who took the reigns of the stars chariot and drove it straight into the earth, was particularly beautiful.   Erin Brehm, as Atlanta, was memorable  and I wish I had seen more from her. She took my breath away with her poise.  Jennifer O’Connor was a fierce woman in many of the scenes, but her best by far was Arachne culminating in a great personification of a spider in her web during my favorite myth, Arachne.   The actors were masterful at cohesion, working as a unit and making their bodies speak as poetically as the script, and that is why I thought that Aimee Rose Ranger’s acting sometimes seemed a bit out of place. Her modern style and cadence of speech was occasionally distracting as it worked against the ethereal and dream-like quality of the piece as a whole, especially when she was embodying female characters.  I found Danny Bryck’s solo performances to be forgettable, I liked him best when he stuck to ensemble work.

The use of space was excellent.  As the lengths of silk were used not only for the flying, but as set pieces as well, the actors transformed each scene so completely I never lost track of what was happening or where I was. The best use of the silks and the space were in the Arachne, Myrrha and the Bird scenes, where the effect went beyond just “attractive and clever” to truly mesmerizing.  The beauty was only added to by lighting designer PJ Strachman, who’s artistry created a beautiful scape for the world of the play to unfold.

I applaud Meg Taintor, Director and Artistic Director of the Company, for her passion, creativity and vision in creating this piece and in this style.  It was a wonderful piece to watch and I would recommend that everyone keep an eye on Whistler in The Dark Theatre!

Sarah Ruhl’s play concerning women’s sexual awakening and their men’s response in the electrical age is a thrilling subject. Ruhl stepped out of the box when writing this 2010 Pulitzer Prize finalist and Tony Nominated play. I had very high expectations for what was called a “laugh-out-loud provocative and touching play” but I was surprised at how little I laughed and realized, when leaving, this play was more a drama than anything else. It seems most people’s laughter stemmed from their discomfort with the subject at hand. It’s clear that SpeakEasy had a great script to work with but  Director, Scott Edmiston, had too many ideas for where to take the play, and it led to audience confusion.

Instead of focusing on the relationships of the characters, more focus was given to electricity and new discoveries (one of my clearest takeaways from the play was the news from outside that an elephant had been electrocuted on Coney Island). The touching ending almost made up for the entire lack of relationships in the rest of the play, but still left me wanting something I didn’t get for the two and half hour production.

The first act was the “funny” act. The audience got to see the vibrator, how it worked and who it was worked on. The high society characters played by Anne Gottlieb and Marianna Bassham were over the top and exaggerated as could have been in fashion during the 1880s, but the side characters played by Derry Woodhouse, Dennis Trainor Jr and Lindsey McWhorter were down to earth, believable and more modern in their interpretation. This left a disconnect between the lead players and the supporting cast which I found very distracting. I did laugh on numerous occasions, but I can’t recall if I laughed because of the script or because of the actors. I must say that the end of the act was brilliantly executed by Gottlieb, though.  Bravo!

The second act did not have the humor of the first act and focused on the breakdown of each character and how the women’s lives were hurt or changed because of the vibrator. It was the better half, yet unexpected.   Gottlieb’s character came alive towards the end of the show with a full range of emotion missing in the first half, but some other characters did not develop to match.  I thought that Trainor was most successful in his portrayal of Mr. Daldry, whose character  filled me with sadness and helplessness for his situation.

Susan Zeeman Rogers set was well done and used to it’s greatest ability seeming fluid and easy. The set paired with Karen Perlow’s lighting was also well matched especially with regard to how electricity was displayed through lighting. Gail Astrid Buckley’s textiles and fashions of the 1880′s were well used, but Gottlieb’s beautiful gowns were so ill fitting, I found them to be a distraction.

All in all, I was left confused with what message to take away from the play. I had a smile on myself and a lot of good facts to discuss at dinner parties, but should there be more?

I’m looking forward to the rest of  Speakeasy’s season.  I’m always interested in their thought-provoking and original choices!

Anne Gottlieb and Derry Woodhouse in a scene from IN THE NEXT ROOM (or the vibrator play) Photo: Stratton McCrady.