Soldierland

The Sky Theatre Group demonstrates how to say "war is hell" in the most self-indulgent, incoherent, incomprehensible and boring way possible.

True West

True West is one of the best things I have seen on a Vancouver stage in a long time.  I was sorry to miss the production of the same play last December (but with a different cast and director) but was deterred by a heavy snowfall.  This production from Sonder House more than made up for it.

Sharp performances by the two leads -- Joel Butler and Patrick Dodd --  were bang on.

I do wish the program had given some detail about these performers.  Butler was a new face to me.  Dodd was more familiar -- a positive remembrance from one of the short plays at the recent "Pull Festival".

More information about Sonder House would also have been welcome.

The Overcoat

Too much James Rolfe and not enough Wendy Gorling

When Going Into the Woods It's Easy to Get Lost

It is hard to pass up a production of Sondheim's "Into the Woods" so I was quite looking forward to the North Shore Light Opera Society production that opened last night (May 9).

I came away disappointed.  Not that it was a bad production but it was one that had great potential and promise but never quite lived up to it.  All the leads had great voices and the characterizations were mostly spot on.  So what was the problem?

Someone had a production design concept that may have seemed brilliant in theory but simply did not work in practice.  I suspect the script went something like this:

"Hey! For the woods, instead of conventional scenery, lets put some actors in tree costumes and let them be the woods"

"Great idea - and its a big stage so we can populate it with more actors dressed to represent animals -- raccoons, deer and so on.  Lets run with it." 

The result was that for most of the show the stage was filled with a dozen actors with nothing to do except be in constant motion reacting to the main action between the principals.  This was a huge distraction and a number of scenes lost their intimacy as a result.

Sound level was also a problem.  The pit was good but tended to overwhelm the singers who, with one apparent exception, were unmiked and did not have any reinforcement to assist in making themselves heard.

A final problem was personal. I work hard to get seats that are front row centre so my view of the stage is unobstructed.  The Centennial Theatre in North Vancouver seems to have a curse attached to it.  About two years ago I attended a production of "Rent" there (my first visit to that venue since 1973) and, much to my chagrin, whoever makes these decisions placed a further row of temporary seats in front of me and seated some very large and rowdy adolescents in them.  For Into the Woods the designer attached to the top outer edge of the pit large (12 to 18 inches high) letters spelling out "ONCE UPON A TYME" again obstructing the view of audience members in the first 3 or 4 rows.

Despite these annoyances I do not regard it as an evening wasted -- only one that had the potential to be so much better.

Misery -- Describes the Audience Experience

This is a disappointing production of a not-very-good play.  A single idea dragged out to inordinate length yielded little more than tedium.

Part of the problem may be seeing it at the end of a relatively long tour, and the players have simply lost their edge.

But I am not sure that Andrew McNee had much edge to begin with.  He has the unhappy tendency to simply "mug" his way through the parts he plays.  This has been particularly evident in many Arts Club productions.  Particularly embarrassing were his performances in
Boeing-Boeing, The Odd Couple and One Man, Two Guvnors.  In the role of the author held captive by the crazed fan his histrionics reach new heights.

One function of the Arts Club's touring productions should be to attract audiences that it would not otherwise reach with material they would not otherwise see.  Misery is a play best left to community theatres as the "thriller" entry in their season's program.  These audiences deserve better from the Arts Club.

Love/Sick - Another One for My Pleasant Surprise List

Last night I went to see a performance of Love/Sick at Pacific Theatre.  This was strictly on spec' based on the briefest mention in a "what's on" list in the media and knowing nothing about it beyond the title and its venue.

This turned out to be a happy choice -- a talented ensemble (calling themselves "Stone's Throw Productions") performing an excellent script.  The format is a series of (not entirely unrelated) vignettes around the theme of what might be called "anti-love" -- rejection, falling out of love and the inability to fall in love.

Unhappily this was on the final night of a very short (four day) run and it certainly deserves wider exposure.  And I have a feeling it will get it, based on the history of John Cariani's (the author's) better-known play "Almost Maine" which is now one of the most widely-produced shows in North America.  It first hit my radar screen as a student production at Douglas College in New Westminster and has since cropped up a couple of times in the Vancouver area by other companies. 

When Love/Sick does turn up again it is well worth attending.

A Look Back at 2017

This posting involves a look back at the various productions I saw during the calendar year 2017.  Out of almost 120 productions I have identified a number that call for special comment.  They include a dozen favourites, a dozen disappointments, a dozen pleasant surprises and a few that were simply bad.

A Dozen Favourites

Out of all the productions seen during 2017 selecting a group of favourites is not easy.  At least 50 I thoroughly enjoyed.  Some of these were “pleasant surprises” because they so far exceeded my expectations.  Others were good, but not quite good enough to make it to the “favourites” list.  In no particular order, these are my favourite productions of 2017.

Ragtime in Concert
Master Class
Cabaret (Tomo Suru)
Titus Buffonius
Taken at Midnight
Hand to God
Les Belles Soeurs (UBC)
Anything Goes
Thoroughly Modern Millie (Capilano U)
42nd Street
Corleone
Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson

A Dozen Disappointments

Some shows we attend with high expectations. These may reflect the material, the producing company, the performers, critical reviews or simply the hype surrounding them.  A failure to meet these expectations constitutes a disappointment.  The extent to which the actual production falls short of what is expected, the greater the disappointment.  Here, in no particular order, are my dozen disappointments of 2017.

The Elbow Room Cafe
Love and Information
Refugee Hotel
City of Angels
A Chorus Line
One Hour Photo
The Audience
The Ridiculous Darkness
Peter and the Starcatcher (Capilano U)
Thanks for Giving
Angels in America; Perestroika
A Prayer for Owen Meany

A Dozen Pleasant Surprises

Committing to attend a live performance frequently requires a leap of faith.  Some or all of the material, the producing company, the performers, and sometimes even the venue, may be unfamiliar or unknown to you.  You go with few or no expectations and are prepared to be disappointed.  Then suddenly it all becomes worthwhile when a show unexpectedly delivers the entertainment package you were hoping for but despaired of getting.  These are my “pleasant surprises” for 2017 set out in no particular order.

Redpatch
The Music Teacher
The Hunger Room
Rumors
No Big Thing (Fringe)
The Inventor of all Things (Fringe)
A Soldiers War (Fringe)
The Pillowman
Mr. Foote’s Other Leg
This is our Youth
Vinci (NW Vagabonds)
On a First Name Basis

Just Plain Bad

I had no expectations to disappoint.  What more can I say?

Viva
Songs for a New World
King Charles III
Setting Bones (Fringe)