Archive for 'Theater'
Aida!
Like many of us, I was pretty hesitant, at first, about attending the opera. Simply looking at images of Lincoln Center and at commercials for upcoming performances were quite overwhelming because of the great sophistication they exuded – way too ‘classy’ for me. I figured that a bunch of 18-year-old college freshmen at an opera – sung for over 3 hours in Italian – would not be the most ideal trip. Fortunately, I was wrong.
Our seats were obviously not the best for viewing the stage, but it gave me a great view of the orchestra. Before the performers appeared on stage, the orchestra played – what I recall to be – an impactful opening piece. It was absolutely moving to hear such skilled musicians play and to see the conductor fervently lead the orchestra. As a matter of fact, I often glanced between the stage and the English subtitles in front of me to the orchestra just to watch, as a fellow classmate commented, “intense looks on their faces. It was obvious that playing music was their dream, and they definitely put in their 10,000 hours.”
As for “Aida” itself, Acts I and II were the opera’s highlights. They seemed to have just flown right on by. I was captivated by the strength of Radames’ voice. I also found him to be a good actor. Initially, I was not impressed with Aida. I still do not think that her acting skills were on point and her voice did not move me. Although she hit some beautifully high notes and knows how to work the dynamics of her voice. Amneris’ voice was not all too captivating, but she knew how to sing in a way that very easily reflected the words of her song. I believe that she had the best connection between how she sang and what she sang about. One could tell whether she was raging with jealousy, distraught, or in the middle of one of her strategic and manipulative tactics.
Acts I and II were also home to incredible set and costume designing – let us not forget those fidgety horses either!
I was quite disappointed by Acts III and IV. Those acts seemed endless and, quite honestly, were dragged out for much longer than they needed to be. I was very disappointed with Aida’s performance when Amansaro refers to her as Radames’ slave. Aida, a Ethiopian princess, your father has just called you the slave of an Egyptian king and all you have to say to that is ‘ohh!’ This was such a pivotal moment in the opera and Aida’s reaction did not suffice – especially when compared to that of the other Aida in the YouTube video we saw with Professor Cohen. Moreover, the ending acts, in general, were too anti-climactic. Acts I and II were incomparably vibrant and lively even though the turning points were mainly in the last two acts.
The adequate lengths of and appropriate spacing of the intermissions between the “Aida’s” acts provided some relief from the music and singing, but there could have been a longer pause in the third act. Really, there could have been. 🙂
There are many other things I wanted to make mention of, but the opera is kind of a blur for me no.w Overall though, it was a pleasure to see “Aida” and with Professor Jacob Cohen’s help, I was able to understand much more had I only read the libretto.
– Salma
P.S. I put this YouTube link to a popular Egyptian movie that was released years ago, 1999 to be exact, but “Aida” drew me back to it because of Verdi’s triumphant march. There is also an “Aida” reference – which I missed as a young girl – but am now familiar with. It is also pretty funny.
(I’ve linked it to where it should start (1:05:10), so just hit play and enjoy until 1:06:20 … unless of course you want to watch the rest of it … in Arabic.)
Posted: December 8th, 2012 under Opera, Reviews, Theater.
Tags: Aida, Italian, Lincoln Center, Met, opera
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The Signature’s “Piano Lesson”
The Signature Theatre Company’s production of “The Piano Lesson,” directed by Ruben Santiago-Hudson, was a worthwhile performance that enabled me to further and greatly appreciate August Wilson’s work for a number of reasons.
Although the play most certainly followed Wilson’s dialogue and instructions to a tee, Boy Willie’s “boyishness,” brashness, and impulsivity are evident. His personality shines on stage incomparably to that of the written version. The power and struggle behind Boy Willie’s words are wonderfully stressed by Brandon J. Dirden’s performance. For example, Boy Willie’s proclamation, “She ain’t got to sell it. I’m gonna sell it. I own just as much of it as she does,” lacks the intensity and passion Dirden provides it with on stage when compared to the text. Charles Isherwood, author of the hyperlinked review of the play’s revival from the New York Times, describes Boy Willie’s entrance beautifully: “He blows into the living room of the house where the play is set like a fierce gust of wind, brimming with excited talk [and] … seems filled to bursting with ambition, excitement, heedless hope.” This could not be a more perfect indication of how ‘alive’ the play is on stage.
Berniece’s character, played by Roslyn Ruff, comes to life in the second half of the play, although her strength and in-your-face attitude are evident from the moment of her appearance on stage.
In contrast to reading the play, Lymon’s child-like spirit and his comedic relief are better seen on stage. The inflections of his voice and gentleness are priceless. A great moment reflecting this is:
Boy Willie: She getting big, Doaker. You remember her, Lymon?
Lymon: She used to be real little.
Another enjoyable moment includes Boy Willie’s remark regarding James Sutter, when Berniece thought she saw Sutter’s ghost, where he says, “The man ain’t never left Marlin County when he was living … and he’s gonna come all he way up here now that he’s dead?” I cannot stress how surprised I was by Dirden’s rendition of Boy Willie; I was quite amazed.
Boy Willie playing boogie-woogie on the piano, Doaker instructing Berniece on which ham hocks to pick up from Logan Street, and the lively singing of “Oh Lord Berta,” amongst others, brought a smile to each member of the audience; entertaining and captivating scenes.
These moments were incredible to watch, but I do have some criticisms as well. For one thing, the second half of the play went by too fast. Reading the play was much more satisfying because the moments sunk in – they did not overwhelm you. The play’s ending, on the other hand, was quite overwhelming – my second problem. Ghosts, flickering lights, screams, pleas, cries, struggle, a booming piano, and other elements that contributed to the chaos of that culminating moment appeared, quite frankly, as excessive – for lack of a better term.
Admittedly, I was hoping Santiago-Hudson would take some creative license and give audiences that ‘Of Mice and Men moment’ many of us, or at least myself, were hoping for – Berniece taking aim and shooting Boy Willie. I remember thinking that I would have preferred to see that scenario unfold rather than the play’s ending – during which one thought ran through my mind: “Wow, overly dramatic.” I now realize that Wilson intended this scene to be an “exorcism and a dressing for battle. A rustle of wind blowing across two continents,” thus requiring the scene to be that ‘over-the-top.’
Before ending, I would like to share a short, but insightful, piece of information Toni Morrison provides, in her foreword of my copy of the play, very accurately and succinctly explaining how The Piano Lesson is representative of the struggle the play’s characters face – “the dilemma of embracing their past as slaves in the thirties.” She notes that Berniece’s unbreakable attachment to the piano “is literally and figuratively her and her ancestors’ history.” Boy Willie’s struggle to sell the piano is not for the mere possession of pocket money; it is a “fierce determination to acquire the slave-owning family’s land is fueled by a history of white violence.” She concludes her analysis with a powerful description of the piano: “the womb and seed of the outrageous personal malice suffered by family members as well as their revenge.”
While I feel that reading the play relays these messages and themes across more readily than viewing its performance, the emotions and visual representation of this message are undoubtedly and exquisitely performed by the Signature Theatre’s cast.
– Salma
Posted: December 3rd, 2012 under Reviews, Theater, Uncategorized.
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The Piano Lesson
The play was so much better than the book.
While reading, I didn’t enjoy “The Piano Lesson” very much because I felt that August Wilson built up the suspense so much that he just let me down at the end. I wanted Boy Wille to sell the piano, or Bernice to shoot Boy Wille, but none of that happened. However, after watching the play I am glad that Bernice didn’t shoot Boy Willie.
Boy Willie gave me the impression of a little boy, who is playful and always full of energy and hope. He wants what he wants and he is very determined to get it. I love the way Brandon J. Dirden portrayed Boy Willie. He highlighted the playfulness very well. The way he speaks, the way he walks and dances was very amusing. It kept me very entertained.
While watching the play, one thing I noticed is the importance of the lighting and the sound. The lighting, the background music and even the set make the play a lot more exciting. My favorite part is when Boy Wille struggles with Sutter’s ghost. The crying, screaming and the struggling plus the creepy background music and the lighting made the atmosphere quite scary.
I am glad that I decided to go watch the play. I enjoyed it a lot.
Posted: December 2nd, 2012 under Reviews, Theater.
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Not Merely a Piano!
After the amazing experience we all had at the Joyce theatre, I had set pretty high hopes for the piano lesson. The play, however, was even better than I expected. Even though this time we were not that up-close to actually feel the presence of the actors, it still was quite stimulating to watch the remarkable performances of the actors.
The whole play was quite interesting to watch, and the story was executed in a way that kept the audience captivated throughout the play. However for me it was the performance of the actors, especially Brandon Dirden, who played Boy Willie, the most memorable part of the play. Although, from reading the book, it was quite clear that Boy Willie was one of the most central characters of the play, bubbling with energy and with unrealistic high hopes to do something extraordinary in life, I still was quite surprised to see how perfectly Dirden portrayed that image. Also, I think he was the one that kept the audience captivated throughout the show, because of how he occasionally just randomly jumped in conversations, joked around, and especially I loved the part when Lymon and him danced while Wining Boy played the piano. Towards the end of the play as well, when Avery was trying to bless Doaker’s house, Dirden performed extraordinarily in giving the effects of putting up a fight against the ghost of Sutter. Even though, the lighting and sound effects were truly remarkable in the ending scenes it was the acting of Dirden too that played a major role in making that scene look so real and grave.
Usually when I see movies based on books, they are often very loosely built on the actual depictions, hence it was quite fascinating to see how religiously the play abided by the book, paying attention to even the smallest of the details. Therefore, watching the play made me reflect back on the issues that were raised in the book but I more explicitly understood them through the play, maybe because viewing something has a more profound effect than simply reading the same thing. For example, one of the aspects that was present in the book but I did not pay much attention to until I saw the play was how, even though while being siblings and going through the same experiences, Boy Willie and Berniece had completely different perspectives on what the value of the piano was for them. While Berniece viewed it as a reminiscent of the family’s legacy, Boy Willie took on a more worldly approach and strongly believed that the rational way was to simply sell the piano.
Overall, it was a really wonderful experience to watch the play and it helped me to even better understand the book. I am so glad that we, as Macaulay students, have the opportunities to become more culturally aware and are able to take advantage of these amazing chances that we are provided with.
Posted: November 28th, 2012 under Reviews, Theater.
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“The Piano Lesson”
All of the actors/actresses in “The Piano Lesson” were amazing. They had such a large stage presence that it was really impossible to be bored with the play. The arguments between Boy Willie and Berniece were loud and aggressive, always quieting the audience. The Roslyn Ruff and Brandon Dirden were able to portray their characters extremely well. You could tell that both characters, being siblings, were stubborn and obsessive to the point that neither were willing to give up the piano to the other. On the other hand Lymon’s and Wining Boy’s comic relief always made the audience laugh. I liked that the drama in the play was interrupted by funnier parts because it kept the play from being too serious and sad. The first thing I noticed when I walked into the theater was the set. It was amazing! The whole “house” was detailed and all of the props were interactive and realistic. The lighting perfectly complimented the scenes and I think that the set really made the play more fun for me.
My favorite part was when Wining Boy tricked Lymon by selling Lymon his over-sized silk suit. I agree with the New York Times article that this scene between Wining Boy and Lymon was the “play’s comic high point”. Even though I knew what was going to happen, I couldn’t help but laugh. The scenes when the actors sang was also parts that I liked. Sometimes the songs where funny and reminiscent but I thought that song that Wining Boy wrote for the only woman he ever loved was stunning.
The only thing that I didn’t quite like was the ending. While the first part of the play allowed the plot to slowly develop, the second part was fast and the ending was abrupt. Personally I thought that the ending with the ghost, lights and loud banging were a little dramatic and didn’t really match the rest of the play. Everyone was screaming and crying and then everything stopped when Berniece played the piano. I don’t know, the whole thing just seemed a little too much too fast. But overall I really liked the play and I’m glad I went to see it.
Posted: November 28th, 2012 under Theater.
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The Grand March, “Aida”
Posted: November 27th, 2012 under Opera, Theater.
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The Piano Lesson
The piano lesson was definitely a play that I’m glad I didn’t miss. Reading the book, I felt much less emotional about the different events in the play. When I could actually see the different emotions being acted out, I could understand them better and also connect with the problems that they were facing. The whole thing also flowed a lot better because I wasn’t losing focus like I was when I was reading.
One of the best parts about seeing the play live was seeing the set displayed physically in front of me. The set was very well made and was very close to what I had pictured in my head. My thoughts always make things more extreme than they need to be so the living condition of the family seemed a little better than I had imagined. I liked how the lighting worked as well and during certain parts of the play I was paying more attention to the changes in lighting than the actual acting. I feel like this didn’t take away from the overall experience though because the lighting was really important in highlighting different areas and also setting the mood. It was really interesting to see the transition from day to night and the actors definitely did a great job in adjusting to the different time settings.
Another part of the play that I liked was the singing. It was a lot different than I had imagined when the actors actually sang the songs. It is similar to how reading poems in your head is different from hearing the writer read the poems. The rhythm and the emphases are put in unexpected places and it makes it very interesting to see how differently I thought about the lyrics before and after I heard the melodies.
My favorite characters also changed when I saw the play. While reading I liked Bernice the most because of her strength and willpower. I still liked her a lot when seeing the play but a character that was really brought alive for me was Whining boy. The actor made him seem ten times more animated and funny and it was nice seeing the facial expressions of the actor.
I was definitely surprised watching the ending of the play because that was when all of the lighting, sound effects, and actors came together in the most obvious way and I was actually really scared when the ghost was wreaking havoc in the house.
Overall, I’m glad i didn’t skip out on seeing this play. I have definitely developed a greater respect for August Wilson and a better understanding of what he wanted to show people about blacks in America.
Posted: November 27th, 2012 under Reviews, Theater.
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An Interesting End
I was lucky enough to go to the play with the others on Wednesday. I was very afraid, at first, that I wouldn’t enjoy it because of the review my friend gave me about her opinion of the play when she went to see it with her class. I’m glad that my fears were proven to be ungrounded. It was a good performance with a great combination of music and body language.
The play was enthralling; it really helped to make the story more clear to hear it out loud with the emotions and bodies moving in front of your eyes, rather than just reading it. At the start of the play I thought it was moving a bit slowly but it’s development of the story kept me on the edge of my seat, waiting and wanting to see more. Boy Willie really irked me the moment he appeared on stage, and i think it was my anger towards Willie that contributed most to my enjoyment of the performance. I think the fact that I felt such intense emotion shows how good the actors were. Another good example of this is how sad I felt when Winning Boy arrives drunk and plays his song for Cleotha.
I am very glad that the characters became so much more relatable and real when they are actually given life. I remember thinking that the characters seemed unrealistic and somewhat over the top when I was reading the play; and even though Bernice and Boy Willie still seemed slightly unrealistic, the actors’ interactions with each other made me forget all about the strange personality quirks.
All in all it was a very enjoyable performance. The only complaint I had was the ending. I know that its very hard to do things along the lines of ghosts, and poltergeists with a live performance, but the way they did it was very … I guess the best word I can think of is, childish. The way Boy Willie fought against the invisible foe reminded me of how a child would fight with an imaginative friend or the like, with very exaggerated movements. Other than the way the characters were acted out the rest of the scene was very well done. They made the lights flicker while making the main light blueish, and even lowered the room’s temperature, so I have to give the props for that.
I guess I would give it a 7 out of 10?
Bottom line: It was enjoyable but it wasn’t great, and the end just this awkward feeling all over the place.
Posted: November 26th, 2012 under Reviews, Theater.
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Review of “The Piano Lesson”
Going to see “The Piano Lesson” this past Wednesday was definitely a decision I do not regret making. After reading the play, I envisioned each character to have a distinct personality and look based off how August Wilson portrayed his him/her in the play. For example, I imagined Doaker to be a wise old man, usually dressed in a robe that would represent his hardship and desire to rest after working for those extensive years. I imagined Boy Willie to be a rowdy, jock-like man who is eager to make something of himself, and I pictured Bernice to sort of resemble Thelma from the show, “Good Times.” I can certainly say that the cast of the play was reminiscent of the one I initially stirred up when I read it. Boy Willie was the loud, determined soul who was trying to get by, Bernice was stubborn and deadest against selling the piano, Lymon was playful and observant, Doaker looked aged and worn, and Whining Boy was drunk. Reading the play enhanced the experience of seeing the production because it allowed me to have the images in my mind become a reality. Reading the play also helped me enjoy the play because the actors spoke quickly and sustained thick accents throughout. Sometimes it was difficult to register every word that was said, so having a prior understanding as to what was going to happen in each scene helped me understand the play better.
Furthermore, our seating in the theater contributed to my enjoyment of the play. For those who could not make it, we sat in the very last row of the theater. As opposed to the ballet where sitting in the front enabled us to notice all the intricate details of the dancers, being situated in the last row of the theater allowed us to survey the entire stage and scenery. And, the theater did a perfect job constructing Wilson’s vision of Doaker’s house. From the kitchen to Bernice’s bedroom on the second floor to the actual piano, the setting of the play was just as how I thought it would look. Being able to look at the entire stage really allowed us to ascertain a complete understanding of the play, and it improved our theater experience. Additionally, my favorite part of the play was when Doaker, Lymon, Boy Willie, and Whining Boy all sang at the kitchen table. When I read this part in the Wilson’s play, it was hard for me to conceptualize the emotion behind the lyrics of the song because it was just printed in a book I rented from the library. However, when I saw the look of suffering in the actors’ faces and their banging of the table when they sang, it shed light on the meaning of the song, and it allowed me to ascertain a better understanding of the struggle African Americans underwent in the early twentieth century.
Overall, going to see “The Piano Lesson” was awesome. The actual plot of the play and the characters’ dynamic acting abilities were amazing, and I am really happy I got to spend another fun night with my classmates.
Posted: November 25th, 2012 under Reviews, Theater.
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Bernice ain’t gonna sell that piano
Now that the Thanksgiving festivities are over and I’m up and out of my food crash, it’s time to talk about this enthralling play that we saw on Wednesday evening. I was extremely excited that we were going to see this play at the Signature Theater, and I was not at all disappointed.
The plot of the play itself was, for the most part, captivating. The enjoyment that I got from seeing the play performed live as opposed to merely reading the screenplay, as we had done before hand, was on an entirely different level. The authenticity of the storyline was heightened, I feel, because we didn’t have to fill in as many blanks in our heads as we would have with the screenplay. The racial stereotypes were easier to pick up with the actors really selling their personalities. The accents and speech patterns of Boy Willie and Lymon, two Southern blacks, were noticeably different from Doaker, Bernice, and the rest. Their words were spoken at such a rapid pace that they overlapped each other. Often it was hard to undestand exactly what Boy Willie was saying. That clever decison by the director really helped to reinforce his personality- always trying to move forward, obsessed with what he can do for himself, etc. Characters like Doaker and Bernice were a little more content with life as it was, and so they did not have the same manner of speaking.
I was kind of disappointed in the minimal roles that some of the characters played, in particular, Maretha and Grace. It got to the point where sometimes I wondered whether or not they were truly necessary characters in the scope of the whole play. They didn’t really have any moments where they were the most important characters. Maretha can maybe be seen like she is an extension of Bernice, and so in that regard I can see her worth. She is what Bernice wishes she could have been in her youth. The same cannot be said for Grace in my mind. She seemed unnecessary, like she was a qualifier for Lymon’s desire for women.
One thing that really surprised me about this play was how powerful the songs were. When I was reading the screenplay on my own, I kind of expected them to be sung in a more lighthearted manner. When the actors got into it, however, there was a lot of legitimacy and power in their vocals. The characters seemed to get lost in the songs, which was evident in the lengths of the breaks that the play ended up taking for its songs. Particularly striking was Wining Boy’s performance close to the conclusion of the play. In the scenes before, he had come off as drunk, unstable, and a little hysterical. However, when he got his mind set on playing that song about Cleotha, he was a different man. After thinking about it, his lament on her passing seems bigger than just that. Rather, it appears to be both a lament on her loss as wella s the life that he wanted to have, but lost. His struggles and mistakes are so often made fun od during the course of the play. In this moment, we see him as more than just a comic relief character. He’s a worn down man who went from riches to rags. He’s beat up, tired, and lost the things that he truly held dear. The bluesy piano and incredibly bone-chilling vocals that he delivered emphasized his struggle, and it was a high point in the play for me. That’s not to say that the performance of the slavery-time song wasn’t excellent as well, but it was a less serious tune, and didn’t say as much about the individual characters.
I enjoyed this play a whole hell of a lot. It had a few plotholes and weaknesses, but on the whole it was a very strong storyline. The acting was the best part of this production & performance, in my opinion. Staging, lighting (especially the “ghostly” effects) were believable and well-designed as well. You all should’ve been there! It was a great way to start the break.
– Ben
Posted: November 23rd, 2012 under Cool Stuff to Do, Reviews, Theater.
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