Sunday, December 2, 2007
Xanadu
We saw Xanadu on Saturday night. Yes, Xanadu. Really. It was a staged musical version of the cult classic from 1980 that effectively destroyed Olivia Newton John's film career. (or so I've been told)
It was crazy and so funny. The whole production was a self-parody. It began by making the point that the ancient Greek muses are on a mission to inspire great art in Venice Beach, California's 1980 pop culture, and posits that the pinnacle of great art at the time was that fusion of art, music, dance, and theatre: a roller disco.
need we say more?
The actors had sooooooo much fun with their performances. The actress playing the Olivia Newton John character, Clio the muse, affected this awful Australian accent and spent almost the entire play on roller skates and in leg warmers as her mortal disguise.
The actor playing the mortal love interest, Sonny Malone, was like the character, Kronk, from the Disney animated movie "The Emperor's New Groove." He had that California surfer dude accent down and wore really short cut-offs (not that Robin noticed or anything). She says he was adorable.
Two other performances we should mention: the two muse sisters plotting to ruin Clio's chance at receiving the gift of Xanadu by cursing her to fall in love with Sonny contrary to Zeus's strict rules for muses. They were awesome. There was much giggling and cackling and actual attempts to chew the scenery.
The singing was amazing to the point of making us liking those cheesy old 80's pop songs. We're even going to buy the CD.
At the end of the play the actors held an unexpected auction as part of a Broadway Cares fundraiser - they auctioned off the sweaty scarf headband worn by the lead actor. Two guys got into an actual bidding war and it finally went for $1,200.
It was crazy and so funny. The whole production was a self-parody. It began by making the point that the ancient Greek muses are on a mission to inspire great art in Venice Beach, California's 1980 pop culture, and posits that the pinnacle of great art at the time was that fusion of art, music, dance, and theatre: a roller disco.
need we say more?
The actors had sooooooo much fun with their performances. The actress playing the Olivia Newton John character, Clio the muse, affected this awful Australian accent and spent almost the entire play on roller skates and in leg warmers as her mortal disguise.
The actor playing the mortal love interest, Sonny Malone, was like the character, Kronk, from the Disney animated movie "The Emperor's New Groove." He had that California surfer dude accent down and wore really short cut-offs (not that Robin noticed or anything). She says he was adorable.
Two other performances we should mention: the two muse sisters plotting to ruin Clio's chance at receiving the gift of Xanadu by cursing her to fall in love with Sonny contrary to Zeus's strict rules for muses. They were awesome. There was much giggling and cackling and actual attempts to chew the scenery.
The singing was amazing to the point of making us liking those cheesy old 80's pop songs. We're even going to buy the CD.
At the end of the play the actors held an unexpected auction as part of a Broadway Cares fundraiser - they auctioned off the sweaty scarf headband worn by the lead actor. Two guys got into an actual bidding war and it finally went for $1,200.
Cyrano de Bergerac
On Friday night we saw Kevin Kline and Jennifer Garner in "Cyrano de Bergerac." It was amazing.
Robin says:
"Kevin Kline's performance was so riveting that it became easier to admire all the performances around him; I became lost in the eloquence of the words and the conflicts within the character; I stopped intellectualizing and just felt the role; every moment was precious; to enjoy such clarity and depth of emotion on stage was irresistably exciting; thrilling. Each performance in the ensemble strengthened and built the next; working individually to create a complete character; even the seemingly smallest smart worked to create a magnificent whole."
Matt says:
"I agree."
"no, really. I liked it."
"For me, it was nice to see a somewhat understated performance in the role of Cyrano. (Robin agrees) The role of Cyrano seems perfect for chewing the scenery, but Kevin Kline eschewed that path and decided to focus on creating a superbly nuanced and layered character. And Jennifer Garner was a revelation. I hadn't seen much that she had done, so was surprised at what an assured and vivacious stage presence she had."
Robin: "It was more than stage presence, she had truth and energy and every choice was large and clear and focused with a freedom and a playfulness that was engaging and contributed to the whole production.
"sometimes with an outstanding performance, you focus more on the performance than the overall production. It goes to what I said already about Kevin Kline's performance."
Matt's description of the Set:
It was a mostly bare space no-set-change play. The proscenium was huge; they had a back brick wall with a staircase descending from left to right. Various props were brought on to represent different scenes, such as tables/chairs for a bakery, a single tree used by Cyrano to distract the Vicomte de Guiche in one scene and then tipped over on its side for the battle scene later on, and a descending balcony surrounded by billowing curtains down stage.
Robin says:
"Kevin Kline's performance was so riveting that it became easier to admire all the performances around him; I became lost in the eloquence of the words and the conflicts within the character; I stopped intellectualizing and just felt the role; every moment was precious; to enjoy such clarity and depth of emotion on stage was irresistably exciting; thrilling. Each performance in the ensemble strengthened and built the next; working individually to create a complete character; even the seemingly smallest smart worked to create a magnificent whole."
Matt says:
"I agree."
"no, really. I liked it."
"For me, it was nice to see a somewhat understated performance in the role of Cyrano. (Robin agrees) The role of Cyrano seems perfect for chewing the scenery, but Kevin Kline eschewed that path and decided to focus on creating a superbly nuanced and layered character. And Jennifer Garner was a revelation. I hadn't seen much that she had done, so was surprised at what an assured and vivacious stage presence she had."
Robin: "It was more than stage presence, she had truth and energy and every choice was large and clear and focused with a freedom and a playfulness that was engaging and contributed to the whole production.
"sometimes with an outstanding performance, you focus more on the performance than the overall production. It goes to what I said already about Kevin Kline's performance."
Matt's description of the Set:
It was a mostly bare space no-set-change play. The proscenium was huge; they had a back brick wall with a staircase descending from left to right. Various props were brought on to represent different scenes, such as tables/chairs for a bakery, a single tree used by Cyrano to distract the Vicomte de Guiche in one scene and then tipped over on its side for the battle scene later on, and a descending balcony surrounded by billowing curtains down stage.
New York Trip
Robin and I are in New York for the weekend. It's been really fun.
We're pretty tired out right now from all the walking around that we've been doing. A sizable portion of our walking around has been from trying to figure out the New York subway system. What we gain in saving money by using the subway (instead of taxis) we lose in time trying to figure it out. But we've almost gotten the hang of it. And it's been an added cultural experience as well. We've heard a variety of different musical performances in the subways from African drum beats to Mexican mariachi to authentic Chinese string music.
We're pretty tired out right now from all the walking around that we've been doing. A sizable portion of our walking around has been from trying to figure out the New York subway system. What we gain in saving money by using the subway (instead of taxis) we lose in time trying to figure it out. But we've almost gotten the hang of it. And it's been an added cultural experience as well. We've heard a variety of different musical performances in the subways from African drum beats to Mexican mariachi to authentic Chinese string music.
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