Signature Theater’s “Sweeney Todd” – well worth the snowy wait

This past week, Washington D.C. and all the nightly performance art offerings were canceled or rescheduled because of Snowmageddon 2010.  Signature Theater’s February 9th preview of “Sweeney Todd” was no exception.  This Valentine’s weekend served as the opening weekend for the run, and what better way to spend the lover’s holiday than with your sweetie and a couple of Mrs. Lovett’s meat pies?

This was my first time to Signature Theater since moving to the D.C. area this past July.  I also brought along some theater loving friends of mine who also just moved here this weekend.  All of us Signature Theater “newbies”; all of us without a clue as what to expect.  Having experienced Angela Lansbury in the role of Mrs. Lovett, the expectations were needless to say, high.

Staged this season in Signature’s Max theater, the environment was intimate yet with a cool, dark and industrial style.  From the initial screeching chords and flash of light, I was devilishly intrigued. Sherri L Edelen as Mrs. Lovett brought a sinister humor coupled with motherly charm that had me laughing out loud and feeling the pain of her internal struggle.  Pair her acting ability with her extraordinary musicianship, and she easily, in my opinion, stole the show.  Accomplished Shakespearian actor Edward Gero played Sweeney Todd, and although he met a couple high notes on the flat side, he more than made up for it with his fanatical energy and command of the stage.

Other notables included Sam Ludwig as the lost yet innocent boy Tobias Rag, Chris Van Cleave as the sinister Judge Turpin, and Erin Driscoll as the sweet and songbird-like, Johanna.

Overall, the entire ensemble was strong, both in presence and musicality.  They sounded well blended and obviously ate their Wheaties while snowed in this past week, because vocally strenuous Sondheim cluster chords sounded as wonderfully dissonnant as ever.  Think you know this musical?  I can assure you there are some surprises in this one that will have you jumping more than once.

Kudos to director Eric Shaeffer and scenic designer James Kronzer for a brilliant vision and use of space.

Sweeney Todd runs now through April 4, 2010 at Signature Theater.

Rethinking booing

Since my last post dealt with untimely praise at concerts, I felt it best to follow that with a post about currently unacceptable forms of disapproving behavior, namely booing.

A while back I read an article dealing with the topic.  The man behind the article is columnist, author and libretist, Terry Teachout.  Mr. Teachout is the drama critic for The Wall Street Journal, and you can read his daily musings via his Arts Journal blog, “About Last Night“.  The topic of the article centered around the controversial act of booing at artistic performances. The article was apparently prompted by the recent “controversy” over booing and catcalling that occurred at the Met opening performance of “La Sonnambula”.  When the designer of the performance, Mary Zimmerman, walked on stage, she was met with boos and hoots from the audience.  An act American concert goers are not necessarily comfortable with, thus the controversy.

The thrust of Mr. Teachout’s article is essentially this: A booing audience may not have enjoyed what they saw or heard, but at least they’re actually paying attention enough to realize it.

In pointing out that he’s rarely, if ever, heard booing at broadway shows or classical concerts, Teachout asks:

Is this a good thing? I’m not so sure — especially when you consider what usually happens at the end of a Broadway show. Most of the theatrical performances I see in New York receive standing ovations. Time was when audiences reserved that special gesture for a performance of equally special merit, but in recent years it has become a near-reflexive response to anything short of a crash-and-burn disaster.

I couldn’t agree more.  And it points to something I mentioned in my previous post about “reactionary applause”.  Is this behavior spurred by, as a theory offered by Teachout suggests, the shear expense incurred to see a show?  In other words, are theatre and concert goers exhibiting a bit of the old ego saving mentality, “I paid a lot for it, so it must be good.”?  That is certainly a very likely possibility. Especially in today’s economy, nobody wants to think they have just thrown down a hundred dollars to see a “half-ass” performance.

But what about booing?  Why don’t we see more of it in the concert hall and in the theatre?  Part of the answer is simply fear. Fear of retribution from other patrons and other actors, I think, play a big part in why we hear more cheers than jeers.  But why boo? Isn’t it just rude? According to Teachout, not if you think about it on a deeper level.  After referencing a quote from opera producer Francesca Zambello, saying that she sometimes looks at booing as a sort of “…badge of success.”, Teachout offers an explanation as to why he thinks that is so:

Because the people who booed Ms. Zambello’s “Lucia” and Ms. Zimmerman’s “Sonnambula,” unlike the ones who spring to their feet at the end of a third-rate musical, were making it clear that they’d paid attention to what they saw and heard. No, they didn’t care for it, but at least they were involved with it, and such involvement can be the first step toward a deeper, more thoughtful response.

The audience was more involved with the performance.  That is a statement that every artist wants to hear.  This isn’t to make light of the fact that booing still stings the ego.  No one likes to be on the receiving end of it, nor am I suggesting that anyone should.  However, one can walk away from the experience perhaps with a better understanding of what they did, or didn’t do.  Constant praise, regardless of quality, does not promote improvement.  It merely leaves the person being praised with a false sense of security and a fluffed ego.

The situation we face…

Getting started on a blog is not an easy undertaking.  The time commitment alone is enough to make me ask myself, “should I be getting paid for this?”  Well, maybe someday.

This blog will be about many things artistic, but it will also be a commentary on the arts culture in general. Frankly, let’s face it, the artistic culture in America is facing some serious problems.  Not only is it in trouble financially, as are most non-profit organizations these days, but it is in my opinion also going through an identity crisis of sorts.

The way we as a society communicate and share information today is significantly different than even just ten years ago. Here is a perfect example of how simply watching television has changed.  Newspapers are failing, the major networks are re-structuring, and statistics show that more and more people are turning to blogs and other various online media sites to get information.  The days of old-fashioned marketing and print media are coming to an end.  How will arts organizations transition successfully and seamlessly as possible into the 21st century way of communicating?  This is where we come back to the notion of an identity crisis.

The Road to Change

 

 

The identity crisis comes in the form of artistic organizations determining how to navigate through a new, seemingly ubiquitous cultural shift that pervades the American and world cultures. That new culture is social networking and online media sites.  How will opera companies, symphonies, choral societies, ballet companies, museums, and any other medium of classical art, connect to a new generation of potential art lovers?  I believe the answer lies in the realms of cyberspace.

Sites like Facebook , Twitter  and especially Youtube hold immense potential if only used properly.  The key words are “if only used properly.”  Most arts websites I visit are still using the internet like it was used ten years ago.  They are simply creating a website, throwing a bunch of information on there, and hoping that the viewer will be interested enough to come check out their artistic product.  Websites can no longer act as bulletin boards of information.  They must now be interactive as well as engaging and informative.  A leading voice in the classical arts community who’s opinion I immensely respect, Greg Sandow, thankfully understands the importance of this cultural shift.

Here are a few examples, in my opinion, of arts organizations who understand the cultural shift taking place and who have adapted accordingly: London Symphony, Seattle Opera, and The Metropolitan Opera .  As I discover more I will be sure to add them. 

So, this is the situation we face.  It may appear to be a daunting task, and to some, a useless waste of time.  However, it is happening and it WILL happen, whether we choose to recognize its importance or not.  Luckily, I am at an advantage as I have pretty much lived my entire life with computers and thus have easily adapted with the changes in technology.  Some are not so fortunate, but they can’t be blamed for not understanding the importance of it.

This is of course merely my opinion, but it seems to be the general consensus of the arts community.  In any of posts from here on, if you think I am off-base, wrong, or just plain wacky, tell me.  I love dissenting viewpoints.  It helps me to refine my own. 

Now, let’s get to work…