Time Stands Still at DTC

While photos of the horrors of war draw viewers into places and events with startling intimacy, it's not often that we think about the photographer beyond that decisive moment. Does she have a family? A circle of friends? Does she live in a house in the country or an apartment in the big city? What would it be like if the situations laid bare for the world to see were hers?

"Time Stands Still," in its first regional production since it closed on Broadway in January 2011, turns photojournalism on its head by showing the other side of the camera, it all of its imperfect glory.

Susan McKey, Kevin Kelly, Bruce Graham, and Megan McDermott. Photo by Matt Urban.

This Delaware Theatre Company production is a partnership with the Act II Playhouse in Ambler, PA, the theatrical home of director Bud Martin. Donald Margulies' vision of an intimate and strikingly realistic slice of one photojournalist's life after an injury overseas works incredibly well on the DTC stage -- it's as if you're a fly on the wall.

The play features four characters: Photojournalist Sarah (Susan McKey), her longtime partner James (Kevin Kelly), her friend and editor Richard (Bruce Graham), and Richard's young, bubbly girlfriend Mandy (Megan McDermott). The acting is spot on. As you get to know these people, you start to relate to them on different levels (which characters you relate to most depends a lot on your own experiences and personality). Despite the fact that the subject matter is war, with Sarah having been injured in Iraq, there is no heavy-handed political message. It's a story about people and relationships, of love and loss and passion.

It all takes place in Sarah and James' Brooklyn loft, beautifully designed by Dirk Durossette. It's not a place you'll soon forget.

"Time Stands Still" runs through February 5.  For tickets, visit DelawareTheatre.org.


For more, see my review for STAGE Magazine.

Warm hats and notes for Mėlomanie

Mėlomanie invited guest composer Kile Smith for the premiere of his work The Nobility of Women for harpsichord, ‘cello, viola da gamba, violin, flute and oboe. The work is a series of dances which have both a baroque inspiration and a modern treatment– especially the fanfare of the Overture. Smith’s mastery of detail (his years as librarian of the Fleischer collection made their mark) was evident in his his careful consideration of each instrument as a soloist.

As is their wont, Mėlomanie mixed it up and presented a more modernist work by Mark Hagerty, Variations on a theme by Steely Dan which came out surprisingly well using harpsichord as the keyboard. Priscilla Smith and Kim Reighley were able to trade styles and melodic lines as they followed Hagerty’s merry romp through the gamut of baroque to bop. Doug McNames was also at ease letting loose with his ‘cello acting the dancing double bass and bringing a surprising twentieth century rock style to the fun grouping of baroque players.

Long-time member Donna Fournier played one of her best concerts with her performance of the Suite in D Minor by Joseph Bodin de Boismortier. She has really become a master of the viola da gamba and it was an exhilarating experience to hear her play.

Priscilla Smith brought a very fresh and unadorned mastery of baroque oboe to the fore as she played the beautiful, quiet and almost vibrato-free melodies of Telemann and Couperin. Her youth and talent promise a great deal for her future. She already has an impressive resume of performances as a baroque player.

Mėlomanie accepted donations of gloves, scarves and hats in lieu of tickets to benefit Friendship House.

See www.melomanie.org

Delaware Valley Chorale at the Newark United Methodist Church

Jeffrey Manns has taken on the daunting role of assistant conductor of the Delaware Valley Chorale while David Christopher is on leave and he is putting all of his energy into the task. The concert began with a haunting organ solo of O come, o come Emmanuel. The fifteen male choristers were in position as the ladies marched forward from the back of the church to join them. The antiphonal echoes in Terry Schlenker’s arrangement sometimes made it appear that various sections were starting a beat late. Schlenker’s arrangement of Let all moral [SIC] flesh keep silence had some very interesting effects with parallel fifths which evoked an intriguing oriental flavor. The organ bass line helped guide the male singers in their fugue but the high pitches from the sopranos were a bit shaky. Of the father’s love begotten went more smoothly as the choir settled in, but the final phrase by Gus Mercante came out far too loudly.

In the bleak midwinter featured Fa Lane Fields’ pure yet fully rounded soprano voice which carries well and yet retains the delicacy of a child’s voice. Lloyd Shorter’s English horn and Kimberly Doucette’s strong soprano voice had no trouble standing out above the chorus, organ and piano in Maurice Besly’s The shepherds had an angel. Witnessing the magic of laser-like musical focus by Ms. Doucette and Mr. Shorter reminded me of what making music should be.

The Giovanni Gabrielli Hodie was ruined by the singers’ efforts to sing more loudly than they could comfortably manage. Kurt Collins’ brilliant organ accompaniment had sparkling glissandi and the brass chorale (George Rabbai and Jonathan Barnes, trumpet, Timothy Soberick, tenor trombone and Barry McCommon, bass trombone) had great verve, bounce and clarity. Organ and brass were allowed to show their lively musicality as soloists in the Gabrielli Canzona per sonare No. 4.

For me the highlight of the concert was the Daniel Pinkham Christmas Cantata. It was clear that Mr. Manns had focused all of his rehearsals on this difficult piece. The pitches were accurate, the diction was outstandingly clear and the dynamic he demanded of the chorus was soft enough to allow the muted brass chorale at the end of the O magnum mysterium to be heard as a whispering shimmer.

See www.delawarevalleychorale.org

See delawarevalleychorale@comcast.net