CATCHING UP!!!
I've been away from the blog a bit lately, and I feel like I'm ignoring the old girl, so here's a big grab-bag of stuff!
I've been away from the blog a bit lately, and I feel like I'm ignoring the old girl, so here's a big grab-bag of stuff!
1- First and foremost CONGRATS TO THE TUTTLES! Mike and Erin finally had their baby boy, Alexander Lee (...and yes, I'm bettin they'll call him XANDER! BUFFY-VERSE RULES! )
No pics, and I forgot the poundage, but I'll post some when I get 'em! Congrats Mama Erin and Papa Mike! ...and lemme know how this "two kids" thing works out :)
2- Yes, the Satanic lure of the dreaded "myspace" had finally pulled me in! You can find my page at http://www.myspace.com/woundedeagle8
I know, I know...I swore I'd never sell my soul to Rupert Murdoch this way, but dammit it's ...just...too...FUN! Not only have I reconnected with old friend, AND already made a few pertinant connections, BUT I get to jam on tons of great music from the old Nashville/Murfreesboro Music scene. This scene during the late 80's / early 90's produced some stellar bands / artists. Some of the pages are more for nostalgia's sake, like my buddies in
WORD UPRISING
OR my alltime favorite boro band (and these guys SHOULDA been contenders, if Atlantic records had any balls!) btw- the lyric is from their song PLAY ON!
FIFTEEN STRINGS
There are tons of other cool artists you can link to through my page. Check it out, if you wanna hear some good, unsigned rock and roll.
3. This weekend is your last chance to catch WORKING the musical at Studio Playa's here in Lex-vegas. If you've already come, thankx a billion! Our crowds have suffered a little this summer, but I'm told most have ('Cept them Equus Run folks.."FIRSTEST WITH THE MOSTEST" is the way Gen Stonewall Jackson put it, I do believe!) and the crowds we have had have been wonderful! So a big KUDOS to those who have come, and a big "Ya'll come" to those what haven't! (Why am I suddenly writing like a tour guide at DOLLYWOOD???)
Thus brings us to our question- Is a town like Lexington BIG ENOUGH to support all the theatre offerings we had this summer? If you don't live here, chime in regarding your own hamlet and let us know what the summer theatre scene is like there. From my count here in sexington, we had no less than 9 productions within the city limits this summer. (someone correct my math if I'm wrong). ALSO- if you were involved in a show this summer, how'd it go? What was the experience like? I'll be posting some of my thoughts on WORKING right along with you!
Well....?
27 comments:
X, re: Can Lexington support all the theatre offerings? As William Goldman says about the film business which is akin to the theatre business, "Nobody knows anything."
I think there are just too many variables in the mix to make a judgment about the size of the town and what it has the ability to support. I can only speculate and say why I did or didn't go to something.
I don't think Equus Run succeeded merely because it was first. It had a lot of things going for it...not the least of which was that it was a really good show and got a great review. As well, there was its curosity and newness factor...which hopefully with this first season will have lured an audience which will grow. Then there was the fact that it was a great venue conducive to hearing Shakespeare unadorned and simply with a lot of terrific ambience and amenities (not the least of which was the vineyard and the great wine). Finally, our demographic was not just Lexington and our audiences came from a regional base. There are a few other things we just did right and which we got lucky with that I'm not going to go into here...trade secrets.
Actually DANCING HENRY V did very well and, though the seating capacity was small, it was full every night.
I'm a bit puzzled why the musicals have not fared better, but a friend suggests that during summer, people just don't want to be inside. I think a cool theatre is just the place to be in this current heat. WORKING's general obscurity might contribute to a lack of audience, although that obscurity was precisely the reason I went to see it. I would have thought KISS ME KATE would have performed better. I've not checked to see what kind of houses it's had.
X, are you saying the Arboretum crowds have been disappointing? I wouldn't know. I didn't go to any of the shows.
I seen four shows there and I don't think it's any secret that I don't like the venue...It lacks intimacy for me and I just don't think it serves the actors, Shakespeare, or the audience. And though its new incarnation has a different name, I didn't see any different approach to what I didn't like there before and, thus, know reason for me to go back. It just seemed like the same ole same ole with a new moniker.
I also felt the Shakespeares were again part of the six or seven plays that get recycled with too much frequency and need a moratorium. One of the last things I saw in California before I left was an excellent TAMING done at the OLD GLOBE in San Diego...in their outdoor theatre which is a wonderful venue for Shakespeare. On the heels of such a great experience, it's just too soon for me to go back to that tired old warhorse in a venue I don't like. As for R & J, again it's one of those plays that I'm too familiar with...If I have to see another R & J, I'll wait for the one my pal Rick St. Peter is directing this fall for The Cincinnati Shakespeare Company, which is a theatre I like and a company whose work I always find interesting. But I don't want to overdose and see anymore R &J's than I have to.
But if, as you're suggesting, the Arboretum's crowds were disappointing (Julieanne said it was a good crowd for R &J the night she was there), then maybe the LSF board was right and ennui has set in. They claimed that one of their reasons for closing up shop was dwindling crowds.
I'm ashamed to say I didn't see Bo's DRACULA. But it crept up on me and my schedule was full. As for the rest, I don't even know what was out there.
But I guess there is a reason that most major regional theatres (except for Shakespeare Festivals and Outdoor Dramas and the like)close their doors for the summer.
I think, however, there are other factors in play here...and that is simply the quality of the work and personal taste. One only has so many entertainment dollars and you go to the things that appeal to you. So you go to the things you've heard good things about or the things that appeal to your personal taste. Sadly, all shows in this town are not equal. It's not necessarily about what the town can support, it's about what it wants to support and what it goes to support.
So just because there were a certain number of shows that run in a certain area doesn't mean they are all worth seeing. My own preference is for professional theatre, so I'll willing to spend more money and go farther away to see something that is going to appeal to my personal taste rather than pay a cheaper price to see something closer to home that I know will disappoint or disatisfy.
By the by, Julieanne and I had planned to go to this JARFUL OF FIREFLIES down at Pioneer Playhouse, but it was another one that crept up on me and I forgot all about it until I read Rich's review today. We thought about going tonight, but the drive just looked daunting and I've got committments the rest of the weekend. Does anyone know how Pioneer Playhouse, Jenny Wiley, and Horse Cave do in the summer months? Does anyone travel to these places to see the shows?
it was nice to read a Chuck post...
Chuck,
I really don't know about the arborietum crowds. I had heard they were not as large as usual (some on the Lex Theatre board even suggesting alot of folks still didn't know there WAS theatre in the park) and alas, I was unable to make it to any of the shows to find out (Rain was a factor twice in that equation, btw).
If anyone associated with Summer fest cares to comment, I'd love to know how they actually fared. All three shows recieved great reviews.
I agree that being "first" wasn't the only thing in Equus' favor. I was making a funny there. I don't think it hurt, though. I agree that the setting was fantastic, and the production 1st rate. I'm not a huge fan of that script and I still really liked the show. I also agree the "newness" of the whole venture could've also played a factor, and I think you're spot on with the rest of your reasoning.
And doggone it...it IS good to have an honest to God Chuck Pogue post!
BTW- For all those reading, it's not to late to get out and see KISS ME KATE, as it runs through Aug. 12th. I plan on being there next weekend meself, after WORKING is down.
BTW- the third comment deleted was my own. It was the same as the above, but there were actually MORE typos than even Steve K would find acceptable...hence the delete.
That was a cheap shot Tim (although perhaps a well deserved one).
You needn't be offended Steve-o.Me calling someone on typos is somewhat akin to George W correcting someone's grammar!
The more the merrier, I say...if I decide to shrug my shoulders...one COULD say we are spreading the talent a bit thin....one COULD say we don't have the audience support...but i (at least today) am shrugging my shoulders, smiling and saying, "the more the merrier..."
The audiences at Summerfest were noticeably smaller. I saw some part of a show out there almost every night. I think I missed two nights, but more than made up for it in dress rehearsals seen. I was/still am hoping the new regime is intent on exceeding past expectations; thus, I was much more present than anytime in the past. Anonymously so, of course ;)
Oddly enough, this year's shows were better than most season's, yet the audience figures don't suggest that. I was not blown away by any of the shows, but was suprisingly impressed with The Crucible. Especially since I think that show is better read than seen...
I have not seen Kate, though I most likely will next weekend. And my schedule precluded being able to see LLL. However, I have gotten to see Working. X, nice job. I will not blow smoke up your ace, though; I think that libetto is terrible. Adam did a nice job, and you did a great job with the experience level you had. And an awesome idea for the setting, but man, you're taking lemons and making squished lemons with that one...
All in all, I have seen a lot and heard more about theatre this summer. The audiences have obviously been stretched. I think that's a good thing, and hope theatre in Lexington continues to stretch the audience.
jb
Preciate the candidness, JB. I agree, to a large degree, about the libretto...
Holler if you wanna try and catch KATE together next weekend.
Thanks for your always thoughtful pov, jb. I was beginning to think I'd done it again. Pogue posts and all discussion stops.
X, I can't really buy the claim that folks didn't know the Arboretum plays were back. Their return was probably as highly publicized as their demise. Besides plenty of play in the paper, they got gobs of PR in both Nougat and W. It's seems unlikely that anyone who was interested wasn't aware of it.
Speaking of publicity, I was in Louisville this weekend (at the Dum-Dum. Make you curious?) and discovered a bit of Equus Run/LLL PR I was completely unaware of -- a lovely full page, full colour ad in a free summer Arts magazine I picked up at Actors Theatre.
I am of course speaking from afar, but I have to agree with Laurie, the more the merrier. I am in a smaller community now, and whenever some other little theatre company tries to start up my board gets nervous. I am a firm believer that the more theatre there is going on, the more people will go to the theatre.
This summer has been a boom for Lexington, lots of quality shows, lots of Shakespeare, and a lot of opportunities. I think that this must be making the town feel more like a true "theatre town". The numbers may have been down at the Arboretum because of the poor handling of the closing of the Festival. I don't really believe that there is no "bad publicity". I am willing to bet that the abrupt and not very well explained closing may have left a bad taste in peoples mouths. Yes I know that it is a new company, but it also seems that not much has changed in how everything works.
Just my thoughts from afar. One more Shakespeare coming up, AGL's Hamlet should be a powerful piece of theatre, I look forward to seeing you all in the fall.
Oh and Tim, no offense taken, I'd probably misspell it if I was offended.
Chuck, I didn't realize discussions end when you post over here. The yahoo group site, that's a whole different animal...;)
As far as your points about LSF/Summerfest, I agree. Their scope of plays has always been rather limited, and the venue could be better (honestly, I would say the same about every venue in this town). I think the company has the potential to become something much more if the leadership has the chutzpah to do it. We shall see, I suppose. I will say this, though. The production of Shrew was much different than any you have likely seen before. I don't think you could have turned a blind eye to a couple glaring weaknesses, I couldn't have if I were sitting in the audience, but you might have enjoyed some of it.
Steve, I think you're right on about the handling of LSF's demise. Couple that with the boon in productions=smaller audiences at the Arboretum.
X, let's do Kate! What show's best 4 u? Hit me up at jcarsonbranham@yaoo.com.
jb
"I am willing to bet that the abrupt and not very well explained closing may have left a bad taste in peoples mouths."
Good point, Steve-O
JB, I'm fairly flexible in my Shakespeare. I can take it in modern dress, out of its natural time and place, with bizarre casting, as long as those alterations illuminate and serve the play and not just the wild-hair whimsey of some arcane directorial concept or, worse, directorial ego.
I confess I shuddered when I heard yet another Arboretum Shakespeare (this time TAMING) was interpolating pop tunes into the show. Is this some Colley Cibberish penchant with the Arboretum productions? They did it the previous season with MUCH ADO ABOUT NOTHING and the year before that with AS YOU LIKE IT. I saw both of those and couldn't see that they served the play at all, in fact they rather halted the momentum cold while someone sang a "literal show-stopper" (and I don't mean that in a good sense), often cutting the text to the detriment of the play to shoe-horn in these inappropriate and superfluous ditties. This pointless lily-gilding may have pleased the groundlings, but it ain't my idea of Shakespeare.
I can possibly understand underscoring the play with music from whatever era it's been set in, but I can't see turning it into a half-assed musical. Shakespeare doesn't need the help. He's musical and poetic enough.
Even when an actor/director as talented and smart as Kenneth Branagh did it for his film of LOVE'S LABOUR'S LOST with composers like Porter, Gershwin, and Berlin (and committed to it full-bore) the idea still stank and the film didn't work at all.
I love musicals like BOYS FROM SYRACUSE, but nobody's pretending that it's Shakespeare. They merely stole his plot (which he stole from Plautus).
X, I'm stating my opinion about whether you should move Divaclones to your myspace page here because I'm not signed into myspace and have no immediate intention of doing so. So my answer would be no...I find that after the initial flurry of activity on people's myspace pages, they then proceed to stagnate and lay fallow after while with no new changes or information. I can name at least a half dozen people in the theatre community here who haven't changed anything of significance, if at all, on their myspace pages in the last several months. At least here I know you'll have a new blog every couple of weeks.
I'm inclined to agree, Chuck. I feel more at home here at the ole blogspot!
get the heck off of myspace and give us another topic!!!
OK
myspace sucks
MySpace does suck, Facebook is a much better platform. Put I agree with Chuck, keep it here.
this, of course is not to say that one should abandon myspace completely. after all, where else can one find the soon to be constructed riffs page.
Well, Chuck, I can sympathize with your apprehension. However, I have never had a problem with the dressing up of Shakespeare.
I am speaking in generalities, here, not specifically referencing any shows at the Arboretum: I don't think a lot of his plays are stage-worthy without some sprucing. He was a genius, but he was also a guy who took the plots, plays, and stories of other writers (equally as revered in his time as he is revered in ours) and used them to his own ends. I don't think a guy who would take a classic, rework it, and throw in some dick jokes would mind terribly if someone else treated his plays with the same nonchalance. There are some of his works that stand on their own, given the director and cast are adequate and the audience is one that is familiar with the play. I think CSF is a good example of this; whereas LSF/Summerfest is not...
That being said, using the same device over and over is increasingly ineffective.
jb
Again, JB, I not one of these guys who thinks Wild Billy Shakes is sacred, I think it usually needs to be cut (there is stuff that is just not valid or has meaning to an audience anymore), I don't mind other times, other places, rehearsal clothes, no set, no props, etc.
But the ultimate thing is that whatever you do with it has to serve the play's vision, not the director's vision. Rather than a personal vision, the director needs a point of view on how to accomplish the vision of the play. As Sir Peter Hall is wont to say, the director and the actors are the servants of the play.
Unfortunately, too many directors try to make the play serve them. I feel as long as you can support your point of view toward the play within the text, it's fair game.
But I really like directors who work hard at trying to figure out,"What exactly is the playwright trying to convey here and how do I put that across and make it clear to the audience?"
But I definitely think you have to work with what the playwright's given you...his words. You wouldn't steal a bit of Arthur Miller and insert it in Tennesse Williams. Why insert Flat-Foot Floogie or Carry Me Back To Old Virginy into Cymbeline?
I was very pleased the way that Tony Haigh made a lot of those rather obscure jokes in LLL land. That came from a careful, dareIsay, scholarly examination of the text. The audience doesn't need to necessarily know that Don Armardo was a spoof of Sir Walter Raleigh, as has been suggested by some scholars, but from that specific parody, a director has to discover the general parody and what is being satirized. Shakespeare may have been satirizing a specific person, but there are aspects to that type we all find funny and worthy of satire in a broader sense.
Those assembled are there to serve the playwright's vision, not to impose a new vision on it.
Well said, Chuck. The music (in Shrew) added by a doo wop group in the background of the two wedding scenes and a scene change was appropriate and effective. I would apply your logic to the choice of having them open the show, though, as that choice seemed arbitrary. 3 brief appearances was adequate, the 4th seemed to sour the whole a bit. Still, I would stand behind the choice even looking through your prism. I really like your general argument on this point, and last year's Ado is most apropos.
jb
When I think of obscure Shakespeare, I know I think of "Flat foot Floogie"
know what you mean about myspace... I refused well over a year after several people tried to persuade me... then the high school reunion people found me... and it was all over!
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