burn baby burn

. . . the revengers tragedy into a comedy of manners: everybody is out to get revenge.

our Figaro should be bloodthirsty: Jason returns, or the Amityville Horror

the view from the lanai

the Florida Room (and not as in Richard)

back to terrasses . .

much of our conversation has centered upon the revealing that something is not what it appears to be, and also the need for thresholds (think the hiding of cherubin, or upon the gallery . . )

a primary directive: bringing the edge back to Figaro - making it matter (which is definitely something that was missing from the TNM production)

so . . heigthened risk in the scenic and costume design?

gun-toting latino/americano mafia in florida? . . we briefly described Cuba after the revolution, but the assumption of a stifling or supressing environment would not be helpful . . it should be an environment of playful springtime bloom

Niagara Falls in the 20s . . ?

and what are those screened in terrasses called anyways?

. . . . zooming up the I-278 in Brooklyn and talking Mozart in Florida,or David remembers Dostoyevsky, Humiliés et offenses . . (and Crime and Punish)

Erniedrigte und Beleidigte, 2001, Volksbühne Berlin, Koproduktion mit den Wiener Festwochen

notes and video at:

http://www.volksbuehne-berlin.de/praxis/erniedrigte_und_beleidigte/?id_datum=188&sprache=2http://www.volksbuehne-berlin.de/theorie/produktionstexte/erniedrigte_und_beleidigte/

. . . . seen at Festival de théâtre des Amériques (FTA), Montréal in 2003 . . Humiliés et offensés (Humiliated and Offended) presented during the 10th Festival de Théâtre des Amériques, 2003.

> the condo on stage, the actors inside, the windows open, then covered over, the ladder to the roof, and the billboard screen perched above . . and of course, the skating :-)

Title: Humiliés et offenses (Humiliated and Offended)

Adapted and directed by: Frank Castorf, adapted from Dostoyevsky, Berlin Volksbühne, 2003.
Production: Volksbühne am Rosa-Luxembourg-Platz and Wiener Festwochen, 2003

Director: Frank Castorf; Set design and costumes: Bert Neumann; Lighting: Reiner Casper Music: Sir Henry; Video: Jan Speckenbach

Complete cast: Katrin Angerer, Hendrik Arnst, Susanne Düllmann, Henry Hübchen, Astrid Meyerfeldt, Milan Peschel, Irina Potapenko, Bernhard Schütz, Jeanette Spassova, Joachim Tomaschewsky, and Martin Wüttke (in the centre, wearing a cap).

a brilliant week in NYC, some shatterringly painful self-indulgent theatre, and a very earnest Figaro to keep us honest. . . .

Architecting at PS 122

http://www.ps122.org/performances/architecting.html

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/11/theater/11orel.html?=1&scp=1&sq=Architecting&st=cse

from the New Yorker Feb. 9, 2009 - says it all:

ARCHITECTING
The experimental theatre group the TEAM, in this nearly three-hour-long, overstuffed, and self-indulgent mashup of “Gone with the Wind” and post-Katrina New Orleans, mistakes naïveté for sincerity. In their hands, contemporary American experience consists solely of clichéd provincialism, bad Southern accents, twee musical breaks, and pretentious monologues about “force” and “history” that read like a college term paper. A subplot concerning a remake of “Gone with the Wind” helmed by a black director (played here by a white actor, who plays every black character in the piece, including Mammy) seems like a last-ditch attempt to preëmpt criticism of an all-white company’s tackling some very racially charged material, seemingly to no particular end. (P.S. 122, First Ave. at 9th St. 212-352-3101. Through Feb. 15.)

. . . . interesting use of the divisable steel-framed set, the use of the roof, and the tarpaulin canopy pulled over and above the stage for the final scenes. good theatrical invention. again, too much skin for this viewer (particularly when it wasn't used to great effect)

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The Winter's Tale at BAM Harvey Theatre, part of the Bridge Project

noteable for the simplicity of the design and the bravado of some of the acting - Hawke was a great surprise though I thought I was seeing a ghost of the Johnny Depp pirate at times . . great to see the theatre in all of its plaster-cracking glory . . a very well-lit show

http://www.bam.org/view.aspx?pid=809

http://theater2.nytimes.com/2009/02/23/theater/reviews/23winter.html

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Julliard students perform Figaro

February 18, 2009: http://events.juilliard.edu:8080/cal/event/showEventMore.rdo
and an article from 2004:http://www.juilliard.edu/update/journal/j_articles303.html

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The Doll House by Mabou Mines in the St Anns Warehouse

another extra-ordinarily self-indulgent mash-up, noticeable for remarkable moments of play and grotesque invention . . but why the save on the chinese racial slur, and the conservatism of the male nudity versus the full-out nakedness of the female lead? . . . a very hot and uncomfortable sitting experience for the audience . . on the up-side I am encouraged to return to read the original play.

http://www.maboumines.org/pubPages/templP.php?Title=2003+Mabou+Mines+Dol

http://stannswarehouse.org/current_season.php?show_id=32

http://theater2.nytimes.com/mem/theater/treview.html?_r=1&html_title=&tols_title=MABOU%20MINES%20DOLLHOUSE%20(PLAY)&pdate=20031124&byline=By%20MARGO%20JEFFERSON&id=1077011430666&scp=1&sq=doll%20house%20mabou&st=cse