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| Figaro, gender-bending Illyria | |
| by Milton W. Hamlin -
SGN A&E Writer Gender-bending seems to be the topic this week in the rich entertainment calendar that marks the Pacific Northwest as one of the country's major arts scenes. Seattle Opera's The Marriage of Figaro, opening tomorrow night for nine performances through May 16, features one of the most famous gender-bending roles in all of opera. Cherubino was written for a woman's mezzo-soprano voice, one of many "trouser roles" that once were the norm in opera composition. Over at the Redwood Theatre in Redmond, the new musical, Illyria, is based on Shakespeare's Twelfth Night. The Bard's complicated comedy plot has women disguised as men, another famous gender-bending situation. Add in the Mark Morris Dance Group, headed by Renton and Seattle's infamous "bad boy of modern dance," the openly Gay Mark Morris, and it seems there is a GLBT element in almost every event in this week's "must-see" list. And that's always a "bonus" for most SGN fans. Read on: SEATTLE OPERA OPENS MARRIAGE OF FIGARO TOMORROW NIGHT Seattle Opera ends its 2008-09 season with Mozart's beloved The Marriage of Figaro, which opens tomorrow night at 7:30 p.m. at McCaw Hall at the Seattle Center. The period production runs nine performances through May 16 with two Sunday matinees at 2 p.m. Mozart's comic opera, which premiered May 1, 1786, was scandalous in its day, mainly because the servants rebelled against their masters in the comedy's multiple plots. That element is no longer a factor in most productions, but the glorious music and the witty plot shenanigans keep Figaro at the top of the truly popular opera comedies. The gender-bending element of having the young male servant traditionally played by a female mezzo-soprano has always added interest for the Lesbian community. The GLBT element only grows when the "male" Cherubino is forced to disguise himself as a woman to protect the honor of his mistress in an attempted seduction late in the plot-heavy work. Mozart's glorious music and the gentle comedy of the story always make Figaro an audience favorite. Ticket details are available at (206) 389-7676 or at (800) 426-1619, a toll free number for out-of-Seattle opera fans. (And, as usual, Bits&Bytes salutes Seattle Opera - and all other Seattle arts organizations - which offer a toll-free option for ticket purchases.) REDMOND HOSTS MUSICAL ILLYRIA WITH GENDER-BENDING William Shakespeare is often considered the most famous playwright with gender-bending plot tendencies. In truth, Elizabethan customs did not allow women on stage as actresses so all the original women's roles in Shakespeare - think Juliet, think Cleopatra, think Lady Macbeth - were played by young adolescent boys. So, as Shakespeare In Love detailed to Oscar-winning success, boys playing women disguised as men were considered the norm in plot complications by all Elizabethan playwrights. Redwood Theatre in Redmond is offering a new musical version of the Bard's Twelfth Night with its multitudinous gender-bending plot complications. And, you've got to hand it to Redwood's hard working PR people, a special press release to SGN stressed that both the director and musical director were openly Gay men. (When Bits&Bytes attended a production of the musical Chess several seasons back, Redwood Theatre had a clearly identifiable GLBT audience base.) The new musical - which has been staged in New York off-Broadway - runs this weekend and next, May 1-2 and 8-9 at 8 p.m., plus one Sunday matinee May 3 at 2 p.m. That matinee features sign interpreted elements for deaf and hearing-limited audience members. Full details - and driving directions - are available at (206) 525-3493. The intimate theater makes its home at the Fred W. Meitzer Theatre on the Redmond Civic Campus. Free parking is available. Check it out. PNB READIES UPCOMING DIRECTOR'S CHOICE, SCORES WITH SWAN LAKE The folks over at Pacific Northwest Ballet - as usual - are having a busy month. With a stunning production of Swan Lake still a vivid memory for season subscribers and single ticket buyers, May brings the last mixed repertory production of the season. "Director's Choice" runs May 28-June 7 at McCaw Hall, but ticket sales are already "impressive," Bits&Bytes was told. The two-week run of the mixed rep program features Balanchine's Symphony In C, one of "The Master's" most memorable abstract ballets, and the Seattle premiere of two new works. Christopher Wheeldon's pas de deux from his After The Rain and Jerome Robbins' Dances at a Gathering are new to PNB and to Seattle. The now annual "Director's Choice" is becoming a favorite for PNB season subscribers. PNB's artistic director, Peter Boal, who has worked wonders with the PNB dancers in his few years here, always programs an incredibly diverse mixture of new works and audience favorites for the special repertory bill. Just hours after the "Director's Choice" program ends, PNB features a special event, A Celebration Of Louise Nadeau, an evening tribute to Nadeau who is retiring after a wonderful career as a PNB principal. That June 7 very special program starts at 6:30 p.m. and features works by Balanchine, Robbins, Kent Stowell and a new PNB acquisition by William Forsythe. Tickets to all PNB events are available at (206) 441-2424 or www.pnb.org . For the record: PNB's April 9-19 production of Swan Lake turned out to be one of the finest stagings in PNB history. Peter Boal, the new PNB artistic director, has worked some sort of magic and turned the company from "very solid" to "very fine." The precision of the women in the company, the huge delegation of swans in Acts Two and Four, was world class in every detail. Kaori Nakamura, dancing the dual roles of Odette and Odile on opening night, was remarkable in every movement, in every moment. Her series of fouettes in Act Three as the trecherous Odile simply stunned the audience. That moment is world famous in ballet, and Nakamura's polished work couldn't have been bettered in New York, Moscow or London. Lucien Postlewaite made a memorable Prince Siegfried on the opening night, but Jonathan Porretta's sprightly Court Jester nearly stole the show in every appearance. (PNB uses a rotating line up of principals in major roles with key dancers alternating from performance to performance, and Bits&Bytes rarely singles out principals or specific dancers since all of the soloists dancing leading roles are often equally polished and each audience always feels that "its" Odette/Odile is truly the "best.") The handsome set by Broadway's Ming Cho Lee, the gorgeous costumes by Paul Tazewell, the historic dance sequences from Russian masters of the original productions and the general choreography by Kent Stowell all combined to make this upteenth revival of Swan Lake one of the "best ever." And, to top off PNB's busy calendar, season tickets for the 2009-2010 season are now on sale. Wow.... In keeping with the gender-bending premise of this week's column, it should be remembered that England's Matthew Bourne's version of Swan Lake - a ballet and Broadway smash - turned all the swans into bare-chested men in tight white feathered pants, suggesting a Gay version of the classic legend and love story. Hopefully, some day Seattle dance fans will get to see that version live and on stage in the Emerald City. BROADWAY GRILL'S STAFF ENTERTAINS WRITER, GUEST WITH "TUFF NUTZ" TAG One of this columnist's favorite things is the original premise behind Bits&Bytes, a "bit" of this news, a "byte" of that information. "Trivia" might well be this scribe's middle name. On a recent visit to the popular Broadway Grill, something caught my eye as I paid my bill. Our waitperson, a regular on the staff, used a strange name on her server number line on the receipt print out. Server #39, we were told, was "Tuff Nutz." Writer and guest enjoyed the fun surprise. Enough said. |
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