A colorful Black Rider
I haven't been blogging lately because I am in the final weeks of rehearsal for The Hothouse, the Harold Pinter play I am directing. The last couple days have been major set-building days, laying down the turntable that will spin our wondrous set around. Think screw guns and casters. Then think about them again. And again. And again. Well, you get the idea. All is going wonderfully, though, just keeping me going nonstop.
I wanted to mention that I saw Robert Wilson's The Black Rider last week at the Ahmanson Theatre. The Waco-born Wilson has been stirring things up for 30 years in the avant-garde theater world. He is more readily embraced in Europe, particularly Germany, than in his home country. I saw his one-man deconstruction of Hamlet in New York in the '90s and enjoyed it very much but recognized that it was completely inaccessible to someone who didn't already know Shakespeare's play pretty well.
The Black Rider is a massive, sumptuous visual feast. Based on German folklore, it is basically the age-old story of the simple guy who makes a pact with the devil. When will simple guys learn they never win this one? Desk clerk Wilhelm wants to impress his future father-in-law with his shooting skills (which he doesn't possess), so he makes a deal with "Pegleg" (the devil) for magic bullets. With a text by William S. Burroughs (yes, the Naked Lunch guy) and music by Tom Waits (yes ... him), the show has a fantastic foundation. Wilson's typically outrageous if sometimes infuriatingly slow moving staging is usually a wonder to behold. Sure, there are times of indulgence. Excess. Inaccessibility. But the way he paints with light and color and what he can create with simple shapes and forms in terms of set design is just incredible.
Ahmanson subsribers sitting around me were horrified: "What is this?" "Am I missing something?" "Is it intermission yet?" I didn't always disagree with them, but I tried to allow myself to let go a little more and surrender to the artistry of the piece. When all othe grumbling folks left at intermission [quite a percentage, actually], the remaining crowd breathed a collective, palpable sigh of relief, and enjoyed the second act untroubled by their neighbors' discontent.
It should be said that Matt McGrath as Wilhelm was exceptional. Such precision of movement, such vocal control. In fact, almost all of the performers were wonderful. This isn't the kind of theater I necessarily enjoy creating, but I can certainly appreciate watching others do so.
Speaking of ...
Back to work ...
posted by Chris Capp @ 5/03/2006 10:29:00 AM
7 comments
7 Comments:
Oh! How cool!!!! Ing got me the Tom Waits recording! I LOVE it! I would love to see that!
Are you and your cast/stage crew ready to break up some legs????
Hmm, we had a lowbrow theatre week. I saw a community theatre production of Oliver! and worked on a school production of Aladdin. Also checked out a local production of L'Avare by Moliere, with Quebec slang and strange modern music by Madonna (comme une vierge) and U2 thrown in.
My favourite theatre discussion came from my sister, who saw a French high school play of The Wizard of Oz, where the scarecrow couldn't spell (if I only had some letters), the lion couldn't conjugate (if I only had a verb) and the tin man lacked for words (if I only had vocabulary). She said it was hilarious.
Nothing like your lovely stuff, but it has been an interesting week up here. :)
Good luck with your final rehearsals. It must be exciting to be coming up to opening night soon.
Cheers,
AM
Chris,
Anybody lives in California has no excuse. They should fill your theatre (or is it 'theater'?) to see The Hothouse. And in the meantime, Wilson understands a heap. Burroughs and Waits attract. That's a sentence. And it's one that speaks volumes.
But everybody: off your asses (both of'em) and drive to LA to catch The Hothouse. I'm serious; it's Pinter. If I were there, I would be there.
Break a leg.
-g+bb
I wonder if Ing wants to drive to LA.
...I wonder if Ing's car would make it to LA.
We're both too broke to rent a car.
But, I'm cheering from here!
CC,
I've been a fan of Wilsons work, but have never been able to see it!
He uses certain post modern techniques that inform my work as well. I did a show a few years ago based on the work of Franz Kafka that was infused with Wilsonisms.
Most American theatre audiences are not very well informed about a lot of modern theatre practice. Which is unfortunate .
I used to go to London every year to see theatre, and the Europeans have a very broad acceptance of diverse theatrical technique.
That's why Wilsons work is popular in Germany.
sigh!
I need to get out to the left coast more.
break a leg on the Pinter!
best,
t.
Now for something different: I wonder, Chris, if you know about the Klimt exhibit? LA somewhere...I read a brief review/ad in the NYT Sunday. I thought: who do I even sort of know in LA that might appreciate seeing these five Klimt paintings?
-ginab
Matt,
I would love to hear the recording. The sound at the Ahmanson was terrible -- everything was much too loud and the singers were distorted at times. I bet a recording would be fantastic.
AM-
"Comme une vierge"! I love it! Moliere, when done well, can be sublime. The Miser is great fun. Sounds like an interesting adaptation.
ginab,
Thanks for the plug! And, yes, the controversial Klimts are at the LA County Museum of Art. I may get to see them once the play opens. While that's not my brand of art in general, it does seem worth seeing all in one place.
TMc,
There are times with artists like Wilson [or Pinter, for that matter] where one wonders if the emperor has any clothes on. But that's the only way exciting new forms are reached. American theater, to make a sweeping generalization, plays it very safe. Primarily for financial reasons. I'm glad Black Rider is here, even if just to shake things up a bit.
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