3/14/23: Bob Fosse's Dancin'
What: A reimagining of Bob Fosse's celebration of movement, featuring his original choreography.
And? A good show to see on a night when I didn't have the brainspan or spoons for emotional investment. It's purely a dance show, and the dancers are all extraordinarily talented. The "Sing! Sing! Sing!" sequence is probably the highlight of the evening.
3/16/23: Life of Pi
What: The Broadway transfer of the National Theatre adaptation of Yann Martel's novel about a teenage boy and a tiger who survive a shipwreck.
And? Now THIS is why we go to the theater! For living, breathing, happening-right-in-front-of-us, gasp-worthy moments! For moments when the space transforms, for revelations, for human connection (or tiger connection; or puppet connection). This is extraordinary theater and it's for sure one that should be seen if possible. It deserves so many design awards (although it's a shame we don't yet have a Tony category for projection and video design because Andrzej Goulding's work to create the roiling ocean is extraordinarily effective). Come to that, there should also be attention paid to the puppet design by Nick Barnes & Finn Caldwell, though a debt here is clearly owed to the National's earlier War Horse. Tim Hatley's deceptively simple but highly mobile set complements these two elements for a truly dynamic staging of this fantastical story. Hiran Abeysekera is perfection as the title character: desperate, wry, industrious, and a little bit broken. I think ultimately I don't agree with the show's thesis, but then it is based in religion and belief, and that's not really my thing. It's still a great piece of theater and a fantastic adaptation.
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| Hiran Abeysekera and puppeteers as Pi and Richard Parker (London run). Photo by Johan Persson. |
What: The Ahmanson in Los Angeles hosts a revised version of Marsha Norman and Lucy Simon's musical adaptation of the Frances Hodgson Burnett novel about a young orphaned girl in Colonial India who moves in with her reclusive uncle Archibald in Yorkshire, and discovers a hidden garden that used to belong to her Aunt Lily.
And? I've loved this score since I first encountered it as a child, and it's always a treat to hear it sung again, and sung so well. That being said, I didn't agree with most of the choices being made in this production as staged by Warren Carlyle. The use of the ghosts feels half-baked, the personification of Cholera feels misguided, and the scenic design is clearly geared toward only a small section of the audience, those sitting in center orchestra (up in the mezzanine the swirl blocks the face of anyone who climbs the stairs to the midlevel; and anyone seated on the side doesn't get any of the pretty centered stage pictures everyone in the middle gets). The scenic design in particular feels like a beautiful concept drawing for the feel of the show--life springing out of a dead tree stump--but as actually executed, hinders more than enhances the storytelling. Sierra Boggess is fantastic as Lily, a worthy heir to the golden pipes of Rebecca Luker, who originated the role. Derrick Davis, John-Michael Lyles, Aaron Lazar, and Julia Lester acquit themselves well.
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| Reese Levine, Sierra Boggess, Derrick Davis, Emily Jewel Hoder, Mark Capri, and Julia Lester as Colin, Lily, Archibald, Mary, Ben, and Martha. Photo by Matthew Murphy of MurphyMade. |
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