Tuesday, May 15, 2018

Boeing Boeing Lands at Candlelight


By Carol Van Zoeren

A classic farce, Boeing Boeing premiered in Paris in 1960, with the English adaptation first staged in London in 1962. It has the distinction of being the most produced French play, although I had never read nor seen it. And what fun it is not to know what’s coming next!

The plot centers on Bernard (Ian Agnew), an American living in Paris and masterfully juggling relationships with three flight attendants by meticulously adhering to the flight schedules of the three airlines for whom the women work. Masterfully, that is, until faster planes upend the schedule. His old friend Robert (Eric Rupp) has arrived from Wisconsin and, along with Bernard’s dour housekeeper Bertha (Victoria Healy), bear the brunt of trying to keep a lid on the hilarity which ensues.

Bernard starts out cocky and becomes increasingly unhinged, and Agnew navigates this trajectory quite well. In less skilled hands, the character might reach the peak of unhingedness too early and have nowhere to go, but Agnew metes it out with admirable restraint. Robert’s trajectory is almost a mirror image, starting out unsure and gaining confidence, and with a constant cycle of craziness/relief/repeat. Rupp succeeds and does some of the best wordless acting I’ve seen with his expressive face. Healy, a Candlelight favorite, draws laughs from her first entrance. She has some of the biggest laugh lines of the show with perfect deadpan delivery.

Each of the flight attendants is clearly delineated through costumes, accents and mannerisms, and all three are delightfully over the top in stereotypical characterizations. The American, Gloria (Marybeth Williamson), is a free spirit with some randy behavior that must have been rather shocking in the 60s. The Italian, Gabriella (Heather Ferrell), is hot tempered and moody, and I especially liked Ferrell’s oh-so-Italian mannerisms. And the German, Gretchen (Sophie Jones), flips between coquettish to domineering and back in nanoseconds.

But beyond individual performances, what really makes farce work is how well the ensemble works together. And this is particularly impressive in this production. The pacing, the split second timing between who’s going into and coming out of which door (and there are seven of them in this one). And especially, this ensemble risks life and limb for the many highlights of physical comedy. Kudos to director Bob Kelly, to have his cast this polished on opening night!

The set has an appropriately muted palette of grey, black and white. This allows colorful elements of set dressing to really stand out and add to the fun. Most especially, a very important portrait — I won’t say more, you’ll know what I mean when you see it.

In sum, I thoroughly enjoyed Boeing Boeing. If you want a great night out with a lot of laughs, I highly recommend it!

Saturday, May 5, 2018

Schnittke (and Haydn and Beethoven) Happened with the Delaware Symphony Orchestra

By Christine FaccoloSchnittke happened…as did Haydn and Beethoven at the Delaware Symphony Orchestra (DSO) final Chamber Series Concert of the 2017-18 season.

It’s doubtful if many (or any) in attendance had even heard of, much less witnessed, a performance of Alfred Schnittke’s witty Moz-Art a la Haydn. Written in 1977, the work appeared at a time when composers were moving away from the perceived elitism and dissonant sounds of modern atonality toward an expression that favored a synthesis of more familiar styles. The goal was to restore music to its former position as the language of emotions as they hoped to bridge the gap between themselves and the listening public.

Moz-Art a la Haydn is a prime example of Schnittke’s uncanny ability to fragment and reassemble diverse elements in novel and unexpected ways. Schnittke based the work, scored for two violin soloists (David Southorn and Peter Bahng) and a small ensemble, on Mozart’s unfinished pantomime music K 446. Also mentioned are the composer’s Symphony No. 40 and Haydn’s Farewell Symphony.

The work opens with the performers, seated in total darkness, improvising on the Mozart pantomime material. A diminished chord prepares for the introduction of neoclassical material. Familiar sounds and colors come and go, forcing the listener to try and make sense of it all. The 12-minute adventure ends as one violinist de-tunes her violin, the lights go out and the musicians shuffle off the stage one-by-one “a la Haydn,” leaving the conductor to beat time to absent music to an absent orchestra.

Speaking of Haydn, DSO principal cellist Philo Lee delivered a superb account of that composer’s C Major Cello Concerto 
 a piece that remained undiscovered for some 200 years until 1961. Virtuosity was in the forefront here, especially in the rapid passages of the finale, all dispatched with great precision and pinpoint intonation. Lee’s playing was further enhanced by a most sensitive use of dynamics and a rich, singing tone.

The upbeat program closed with a performance of Beethoven’s Symphony No. 4 in B-flat, which DSO Music Director David Amado noted was his favorite. Unfortunately, it is one of the least performed of the symphonies, having largely been overshadowed by his other monumental works, including its neighbors the Eroica and the famous Fifth.

The introductory Adagio was full of mystery, and the color of the string sound was rich. The Allegro vivace was full of fervor, and the accents dramatic and well-balanced. The slow movement, one of Beethoven’s most sublime, was clear and flowing, enhanced by heartfelt contributions from principal clarinetist Charles Salinger. After a very robust scherzo, the galvanizing finale was impressive, bringing the audience to its feet with enthusiastic and appreciative applause.

Thursday, May 3, 2018

Reliving the Magic of Motown...in Wilmington

"The Supremes" in MOTOWN: The Musical.
Photo courtesy of The Playhouse on Rodney Square.
By Carol Van Zoeren
With powerful voices and a rockin’ five-piece pit band, the current show at The Playhouse on Rodney Square is a raucous good time. The show follows the history of the Motown record label from its early precursors in the '50s, growth into a major force in the recording industry and evolution in the face of competition and a changing pop landscape.

Motown’s founder and driving force, Berry Gordy, had a gift for identifying and bringing together musical talent, and carefully managed his artists' public images, making Motown a major national and international success. Eventually, many of Motown’s stars chafed under Gordy’s tight control (or were lured away by bigger paychecks) and the label lost its prominence. But the immense catalogue of nearly 15,000 songs lives on.

I was curious whether MOTOWN: The Musical would follow the jukebox musical format, where well-known songs are woven into the plot narrative. Or, would the songs simply be performed stand alone, as they were in Motown’s heyday. Turns out, it’s a bit of both. The show includes 55 Motown hits. 

To squeeze it all in, many are excerpts  snippets long enough to be recognized but not a full song. Often, these are combined into expertly crafted medleys and mash-ups. A highlight is the Jackson 5’s medley, which keeps the audience in anticipation of what’s next.

The show also include three songs written specifically to serve the narrative. Most notable, Kenneth Mosely as Berry Gordy gives a tour de force performance of Can I Close the Door. In this, Gordy struggles to reconcile his disappointment that his stars have deserted him with the knowledge that they still share a great deal of love.

There are a lot of fun and funny moments. Diana Ross (American Idol alum Trenyce) gets the audience singing along with Reach Out and Touch. The developing romance between Ross and Gordy is touchingly sweet. The friendly rivalry between the Temptations and the Four Tops in the opening scene is great fun. And as the young Michael Jackson, the talented Chase Phillips is a delight.

Because Motown had such a deep bench of artists, each ensemble member gets a chance to shine. These include Devin Holloway as Jackie Wilson, Quiana Holmes as Mary Wilson, Erick Patrick as Rick James, and Cartreze Tucker as Stevie Wonder. I must also commend Rob McCaffrey on his hysterical, over-the-top Ed Sullivan.

If I had one quibble, it’d be that reproductions of some of the iconic performances could have been tighter in both vocals and movement. Not that these were not well executed, but it’s hard not to compare to what we’re familiar with from television or YouTube. I also thought juxtaposing the difficulties at Motown with the wrenching societal upheavals of 1968 was a bit heavy-handed.

The costumes by Emilio Sosa 
— both glamorous stage costumes and everyday wear effectively evoked the time. And there were a lot of them...the dressers backstage must have been very busy! The action moved seamlessly thanks to moving panels and excellent projection design by Daniel Brodie.

In all, I thoroughly enjoyed MOTOWN: The Musical and highly recommend it. Not just for those of us of a “certain age” who grew up with this music, but also to introduce this great era in music to the younger set.

See The Playhouse on Rodney Square.