A Faust for All Tastes and Time

Heinz-Uwe Haus has created a very lively Faust Part I by Johann Wolfgang Goethe and made it both faithful to the original, yet modern in its conception. Man’s asking for more and yielding to temptation is not a time-bound issue. The modern flying and pyrotechnics and magic are only possible in our time, yet how well they are welded to the phantasmagoric effects Goethe had described in his story.

Mic Matarrese as Mephisto

Goethe had developed his Mephisto (Mephistopheles is the name Goethe used which is a badly constructed Greek word intended to mean one who shuns light) as a full-bodied character with emotions and impatience and a deep respect for the Lord whom he considers to be a worthy colleague. And Mic Matarrese (Mephisto) does not disappoint as he wheedles and befriends and convinces and conquers and provides that glorious mix of impatience, charm, and magic which our poor Dr. Faust swallows hook line and sinker.

Faust (Stephen Pelinski) creates a smooth transformation from the dried-up and world-weary professor to the hungry and rejuvenated fool whose appetite for carnal and other delights is whetted by Mephisto’s tricks and promises. Pelinski’s Faust is a cynic whose slow yielding to temptation has a beautifully gradual unveiling. His fascination with Margarete is complex, and he shows that complexity as he struggles with his lust and his love. Margarete/Gretchen (Sara J. Griffin) also makes her character more than just a girl who is duped – she goes through the transformation from lonely cherub to fallen angel slowly and painfully – starting with the joy of love and innocence and falling into sin without losing her unblemished spirit.

The tale is most beautifully told in verse created by Dr. Haus from his own translations and selected public domain translations, and translations by two unidentified UD scholars. The musical interludes are so seamlessly inserted by Ryan Touhey’s keyboard and percussion that it seemed the music was coming from the performers on stage. Mic Matarrese’s perfect gestures as he pulled music out of his walking stick or played the guitar are quite convincing. I will protect the secrets of the pyrotechnics by telling you Celebration Fireworks knows what they are doing and I must compliment FOY and the fearlessness of Elizabeth Heflin as the flying witch, Lee Ernst as the Lord hovering in heaven and Matarrese’s Mephisto buzzing in the rafters of the church.

Credit is due for special effects (hats off to Waldo Warshaw) but I can’t spoil your fun by telling you what they are. You will know when you see the bar scene with Mephisto, Faust and some lively drunken singers. The costumes are quite striking and the transitions as characters change, transform and transmogrify deserve a hand as well. The play runs until March 23, 2014.

See www.rep.udel.edu.

Congrats to DE Arts Info Blogger Jessica Graae for 5 Homey Awards Noms!

Cheers to Wilmington singer-songwriter and Delaware Arts Info blogger, Jessica Graae, whose debut album, Gypsy Blood, has garnered her five nominations at tonight's Homey Awards!

Gyspy Blood is a stirring acoustic album with tracks that delve deep, lyrically and vocally, with themes that range from the hopeful to the melancholy. The darkly atmospheric opening opening track, "Find Me a Rose," has been nominated for Best Song, though it's tough picking a favorite out of the 13 songs (but not impossible: my personal favorite is "Clear as a Line"). You can check out the album on Jessica's Reverbnation page.

The 8th Annual Homey Awards and Concert is happening tonight at World Cafe Live at the Queen, with a live performance of "Find Me a Rose" from Jessica, as well as performances by John Dutton, Amelia Scalies, and BlackRue, and live sets by The Joe Trainor Trio, Glim Dropper, The Great SOCIO, and June Divided.

Congrats to all of the nominees! Check out our rave reviews of fellow nominees Hot Breakfast and Angela Sheik by clicking the links!

Tickets are just $10. The full list of nominees is after the jump:

Sunshine on Leith Has Its US Debut in Delaware

The Scottish musical Sunshine on Leith, featuring songs by The Proclaimers, has never had a production outside of the United Kingdom -- until now. Under the direction of Allyson Good (the DE Shakespeare Festival's Education Coordinator and Poetry Out Loud State Coordinator), the heartfelt story of love, family, and community made its US debut on the amateur stage of the Wilmington Christian School.

It's a challenging show, not just with the required vocal harmonies and choreography, but because it tackles a modified version of the Leith dialect (the true dialect, Good explains, would be nearly impossible for the audience to understand). It's clear the actors spent a lot of time working on the accents, both in the dialogue and in the song lyrics.

The present-day story centers on Davy (Jeremy Gouveia in the production's standout performance) and Ally (Daniel Jacobson), two friends returning home to the working-class Leith section of Edinburgh after serving in the war in Afghanistan. They land jobs, hang out at the pub, and think about their futures. Davy's sister Liz (standout Katie Barton), who is also Ally's girlfriend, is restless. Through Liz, Davy meets her friend an fellow nurse, Yvonne (Kaylene Mummert), a young English woman, and they fall in love. Meanwhile, Davy and Liz's parents, Rab (Peter Spangler/Isaac Barrick in flasback) and Jean (standout Christina Sanders) hit a rough patch as they celebrate a milestone anniversary.

The youth cast handled the material well, from the stirring opening featuring "Sky Takes My Soul" to the popular "I'm Gonna Be (500 Miles)" in the finale. Though the story is rooted in a community far away, it's one that transcends place and time; Wilmington Christian should be very proud.