Songs for a New World

Date of viewing: February 19 @ 8:00 PM

Location: The Citadel Centre for Dance

Produced by First Act Productions

This review is going to get into some pretty critical criticism, so I'm going to start off by saying that this production actually gets a rating of recommended. The song cycle by Jason Robert Brown gets painted on a new sort of canvas in this production, in which Luke Opdahl (Dirctor and Choreographer... surprisingly without a bio in the program) has opted to use the material primarily as the score for dance performances, while maintaining a live performance of the songs.

The pacing was good, and the time passed quickly. A good evening out with a company that displays innate talent and good potential.

The creative team and all performers are young and ambitious to take on material that is a difficult as it is rich to mine. For this I give them encouragement and appreciation. The shortcomings of this production, therefore, were not due to lack of ability, but, I feel, lack of experience, which will come with time and with doing more of this sort of thing, which I hope they will do.

Now, my specific criticisms:

The idea of combining dance with the performance of these pieces held a lot of potential, and was a big part of my desire to see this production. It was at its strongest when the singers and dancers had a certain amount of interplay. Unfortunately, those moments were too few and far between, with the singers too often relegated to far upstage, doing a modified park and bark. I felt to a certain extent that Mr. Opdahl was unsure of the focus and emotional through lines of each of the four characters (this is a song cycle without continuous plot, but there is still emotional development). I also found a lack of clarity about where the focus should be (on the singers or the dancers) and for a great deal of the show, the two elements (song and dance) competed with each other rather than complimented each other.

Of the four singers, who sadly were not given a more active role in the staging, Donna Lajeunesse was a the clear stand out, inhabiting each character she sang and giving a clear dramatic line to her performances.

Sam Moffatt (also the music director who did a fine job in getting a good sound and balance from his singers and his band) had a clear and strong voice, but too often fell into the persona and stance of what I can only describe as "the cool and soulful white guy". Being too comfortable with his songs, the elements of pain and confusion were missing from King of the World, and the longing and peace of flying home were likewise absent. Nicole Strawbridge and Kevin Wong sang well, but lacked any specificity of character. I would be curious to know how much time they had working on character work with the director.

Opdahl's choreography shows good potential. I found myself at the end of Act I, however, noticing a general lack of levels. For example, I felt the number of times dancers were down on the floor, for example, could be counted on one hand. This was, however, remedied in the second act, so it's likely just a matter of this need to experiment more and expand his vocabulary as a choreographer. The moments when the choreography was clear and emotive (the pas de deux in I'd Give It All For You, for example, it was clearly its strongest. However, when that focus was missing the results could be muddled or confusing. For example, I was unsure until the last 30 seconds of Christmas Lullaby whether the dancer was an avatar for the singer, or an image in the singer's mind of her child to be. As it turned out (a little to my disappointment), it was the former.

The dancing corps uniformly had energy and talent, some more developed than others. In many of the group numbers, especially, faces were either unemotive, or inconstantly emotive given the music.

Criticisms aside, it was great to see a group of young artists tackling such meaty material on their own. It's almost an impossible task, and getting even half way to impossible, is an achievement. In this case, I feel they got much further than that. Despite my criticisms, I hope this company will continue to tackle complex and difficult pieces. I was at no point bored, and despite metaphorical stumbles, I think they never really mis-stepped so badly as to lose the path.

I have no doubt that the talented performers of this production will continue to grow in the craft and I hope they keep tacking ambitious projects like this one.

In summary, there is good talent on showcase in this production, and though I didn't get much new insight from this production, it was certainly an enjoyable evening. I hope to see more from this creative team and from these performers in the future.

The 25th Annual Putnam Country Spelling Bee

Theatre Scarborough's production of the 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee delivers the energy and touchign moments that this show calls for.

Before talking direction and performance, I do want to shout out that the set for this show is one of the most immersive and impressive I have seen in this space in years. The entire theatre is transformed into the school gym, where the bee of the title takes place. The extent of detail includes school pennants and basketball nets above the audience, functional climbing bars, and the floor, though I know it is just painted, read realistically as gymnasium hardwood.

Ok, so the set looked good. how about the performances. As usual for this company, the cast was generally strong. I did get the feeling that the cast still needed to get more comfortable in their characters' skins, Without being able to pinpoint any specific moments, I felt that, generally, there was still a slight hesitancy in the performances, though I think that will fade over the run.

That said, some moments stand out: Richard Burdett ad Vice-Principal Panch brings deadpan delivery of the words and definitions toa new hilarious peak. Leete Stetson embodies exuberance as Leaf Coneybear and Carson Betz as Chop Telentino gives a wonderful mix of awkwardness and embarassment as his unfortunate erection takes him from the running. Todd Appleton's Mitch Mahoney walks the line between bad boy and good guy. His Gospel number was a bit inconsistent, but his singing chops come through as the Father in The I Love You Song.

Nicole McCafferty's heartfelt devastation as Logainne SchwarzandGrubenierre is defeated reminds us of the pain of childhood. The awkwardly potential romance/friendship between Katie Wise's Olive Ostrovsky and Jeremy Crookston's William Barfee is lovely to watch. Rebecca Field's moment of epiphany as Marcy Park is spot on, and Shannon Lew brings a humanity to the role of Rona Lisa Peretti that can easily be overlooked.

Elizabeth Van Wyck's direction and Diane Klich's choreography ensure a vibrant kenetic experience. Most notable to me is the decision to leave the bleachers on which the children sit static and instead move the desk at which the teachers sit around the stage. This worked very well in the full thrust space.

And finally, the band, under command of Ellen Kestenburg, on-stage and part of the action, is strong as usual.

Recommended

The 25th Putnam County Spelling Bee runs until Feb. 20 at the Scarborough Village Theatre.

Chelsea Hotel

Chelsea Hotel - The Songs of Leonard Cohen

Part song cycle, part concept musical, and all Leonard Cohen, I was lucky enough to catch this show opening night, and will be going to see it again. There is no plot, per se, but there is a vague concept of a writer who has checked into the Chelsea Hotel in an attempt to revive his muse, but who must first struggle with the demons of his past.

"It's written on the walls of this hotel/ You go to heaven once you've been to hell" we are told at the outset, and, somewhat like a musical divine comedy, we journey with the writer through his own hell on his way to possible redemption.

On the way, we are treated to inventive and sometimes heart-breakingly stunning arrangements and performances of Leonard Cohen's music. The performances of Bird on a Wire, and Famous Blue Raincoat, especially, are worth the price of admission. I also cry Hallelujah that the song of the same name gets a fresh and unexpected treatment. This is mostly an ensemble piece, and the cast (who also each play multiple instruments) is uniformly strong, though Ben Elliott, Christina Cuglietta, and Jonathan Gould give particularly charismatic performances.

The set, designed by Marshall McMahen, piled high with thrown-out drafts of poetry and lyrics (echoed on the paper-thin walls) is evocative. Equally evocative are the costumes by Barbara Clayden, which feature lyrics scrawled right onto the fabric.

Tracey Powers direction is clean and crisp, and she deftly avoids turning this into anythign concert-like. Without a beat or breath, one song melds to the next, seducing the audience in. While I found Act I enjoyable, it was certainly Act II that stands out as the time that the emotional stakes get raised and the piece comes into its own.

Recommended

Chelsea Hotel plays until Feb 21, 2016 at the Theatre Passe Muraille.