Friday
Oct 28, 2005
SGN.org
Volume 33
Issue 43
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Sunday, Mar 21, 2010
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Bits & Bytes |
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| PNB opens Past, Present, Future, Seattle Opera ends Heggie's Affair, ACT scores with Flying folk tales | |
| By Milton W. Hamlin
- SGN A&E Writer
It's another great week for Emerald City entertainment fans-cabaret shows highlight the calendar at several musical venues and Pacific Northwest Ballet honors its past and looks toward its future with its upcoming mixed repertory program. Seattle Opera ends its satisfying take on The End Of The Affair while Sweeney Todd and Little Women open to please diverse tastes in musical theater. ACT hits all the right notes with its new production, the world premiere of Flying, a collection of African and African American folk tales. It's a great week for Bits&Bytes. PNB SALUTES PAST & FUTURE Pacific Northwest Ballet looks to its past glories, contemplates its present status and gives Seattle dance fans a peak at its future with its upcoming November mixed repertory bill. The four work program-Past, Present And Future-opens next Thursday, Nov. 3, and continues through Nov. 13. The Future selection-a clear reflection of PNB's new artistic director, Peter Boal-is a 12-minute solo from German choreographer Marco Goecke. The ballet is performed to music that mixes classical themes with 80's rock. It will certainly be a new look and a new sound for PNB and PNB's loyal subscription base. Two classic works from PNB's repertoire honor the Past of the program. Recently retired co-artistic directors, Francia Russell and Kent Stowell, return to restage two major works. Stowell will direct the revival of PNB's 1985 salute to Handel which celebrated the 300th anniversary of the composer's birth. Hail, The Conquering Hero-one of PNB and Stowell's best original works-is a neo-classical work that uses the full company augmented with vocal performances from the Seattle Choral Company and a guest soloist. It is always a major highlight of any PNB season. Stowell's quick return to restage Hero should be a touching moment for fans of the controversial choreographer/artistic director. Francia Russell, Stowell's co-artistic director, danced for Balanchine early in her career, and she has long been recognized by the Balanchine Trust as one of the few directors allowed to recreate Balanchine works in style of "The Master." Concerto Barocco, Balanchine's 1941 masterwork, was one of the early works that Russell brought to PNB. It's 1978 Seattle premiere was an immediate hit, and the work has always been a critical and audience-pleasing addition to PNB's rich heritage. It was last performed here in 1992. Danced to Bach's Concerto For Two Violins in D Minor, its return to the current season should be an unquestioned winner in every department. Nacho Duato's Jardi Tancat is another return that should please PNB's diverse audience. Based on the Spanish choreographer's version of Catalonian folk tales (in dance and in song), Jardi Tancat has always been an audience pleaser. Jardi Tancat (which means "Closed Garden" in Catalan) features the poignant story of humble people who work barren land and praying for rain that never comes. The work is danced to recordings of Spanish/Catalan folk songs that were collected and recorded by Maria del Mar Bonet. PNB's Past, Present And Future opens next Thursday. It continues weekend evenings and select matinees through Nov. 13. Ticket information at 441-2424. AFRICAN FOLK TALES CHARM IN ACT'S FLIGHT ACT ends its 2005 season with the Northwest premiere of Charlayne Woodard's Flight, a delightful (and instructive) collection of African and African American folk tales. Woodard, best known for her series of one-woman shows she wrote and performed in, moves into new territory with Flight. Written for an ensemble of five African-American actors, Flight started its life as a commissioned work from the children's theater department at Center Theatre Group. Its origins clearly show and that adds an element of simplicity to the complex issues of heritage and family strength. The awkwardly titled play (one friends still insists its about Amelia Earhart), Flight takes place in a forest clearing on a plantation near Savannah in 1858. The community of slaves-some field hands, others house servants-has faced a major tragedy that day. Sadie, an educated slave who can read and write, has been caught teaching her five-year son to read-a forbidden act. In anger, the plantation owner has forced her into shackles, driven her to town and sold her to a distant new owner. Her son, Li'l Jim, has climbed high into a pecan tree to escape his confusion. Her husband rushes in, vowing to kill the plantation owner and his family. Oh Beah, the level-headed but mystical leader of the slave community, tries to calm the husband and to talk Li'l Jim down from his dangerous perch in the pecan tree. She knows the child can be forced down, but she knows the power of Mother Africa-its history and its mysteries-will lure the boy down and give him strength to face life without his mother. Flawless direction and strong performances from ACT's cast elevate Flight into fully rewarding "adult" theater. Valerie Curtis-Newton, an ACT artistic associate, lets Oh Beah's various tales flow with an enchanting pace. Never rushed, always straightforward, Flight profits from her seamless directorial approach. ACT's strong cast-with several major ACT debuts-could not be better. The tales themselves are the stars of the show-some mystical, some raucous, some charming, some frightening. Flight is a celebration of cultural diversity at its best-it's a "don't miss" outing for Bits&Bytes. Flight continues through Nov. 13. Ticket information is available at 292-7676. Educators and parents should ask about the series of student matinees. ARNALDO! DELIGHTS IN LADY ON STAGE Arnaldo!, Seattle's favorite "drag chanteuse" continues to pack them in for There's A Lady On The Stage, with final performances this weekend in Thumper's Cabaret On The Hill series. Tonight's show, a political benefit, is a complete sellout-with a $100 admission charge. Very few seats remain for tomorrow's final show but it never hurts to ask about last minute cancellations or a standby list. Arnaldo! is at his best with upbeat, campy tunes in the Eartha Kitt or Mae West mode. Longtime fans will be delighted with his excursions into the audience and his off-the-cuff patter. At one point, Arnaldo was vamping a man in the audience and realized that it was his pianist's father. He stopped the show when he shouted, "Your father is having too much fun here!" Bittersweet tunes are also part of the musically complex evening. "Nature Boy," "Something Cool," "Autumn Leaves" and the show's title tune, Peter Allen's hushed tribute to an aging Judy Garland, anchor the evening in a much more serious mood than previous outings. But-as usual for Arnaldo!-the talented vocalist could do no wrong, and the capacity crowd loved him. Flawlessly dressed and be-jeweled, Arnaldo's persona as a "drag chanteuse" makes him a one-of-a-kind entertainer. Call about last minute tickets for tomorrow at 328-3800. SANDRA LOCKLEAR SALUTES NINA SIMONE Sandra Locklear has joined Thumper's "family" of keyboard artists, and now plays in the popular restaurant's Oak Room every Friday night. With a long history of local appearances, Locklear was looking for a "homebase," and Thumper's was happy to have her join the pianists who play for dining patrons. To spotlight her cabaret background, Locklear performed her Tribute To The Art Of Nina Simone for two Sunday nights at Thumper's. A happy gathering of family and friends-and new fans-thoroughly enjoyed the Simone tribute. Last weekend, the show included a tribute to Shirley Horn who had died the day before. Locklear teams with Ken Anoe on bass, and Anoe had the chance to appear "four or five times" with Horn. Locklear includes a few vocals in her Friday night gigs at Thumper's so fans will undoubtedly have a chance to hear much of the Nina Simone tribute over the coming months. The talented pianist and vocalist plans to encore the show with Anoe "as soon as we can." Watch this space for updates. JENNIFER PAZ' CABARET OPENS AT THUMPER'S Jennifer Paz grew up in Renton but "never worked in theater in Seattle." With a strong vocal background and her Asian heritage, Paz was recruited for the national tours of Miss Saigon and has spent the last seven years "in and out" of various national tours of Miss Saigon as Kim, the leading role, and other shows. Paz is an incredibly beautiful woman with a beautiful voice. She first returned to the Northwest in 2001 for Making Tracks at the Village Theatre. Paz makes her CD debut with the soon-to-be-released Awakening. A CD release party at Thumper's this past Monday and Tuesday nights found Paz testing her new-and first-cabaret show. Paz and her music trio have the show's encore scheduled at the Crepe de Paris for the first weekend in November. At press time, Friday, Nov. 4, was a "sure" booking and an additional night was in the exploration stages. Check with the Crepe de Paris at 623-4111 for details and reservations. Most of the CD and the cabaret show used new (and New Age) musical selections. Some of her work, especially "Taylor, The Latte Boy," showed a delightful comic flair. Awakening, with "its themes of healing," will be an interesting cabaret show to watch as it develops. The Thumper's opening, followed quickly by the Crepe de Paris encore booking, illustrates-once again-the strong, symbiotic relationship between two of Seattle's major cabaret venues. More power to both of the fine restaurants and their individual and combined support of cabaret in Seattle. GRAY MATTER ENDS ITS RUN AT CREPE Gray Matter, the intimate "Evening With Seattle Songwriter Richard Gray," ends its three weekend run at Crepe de Paris with performances tonight and tomorrow. It's well worth a look-check out last week's SGN for complete details. The talented, and openly Gay, artist deserves full support from Seattle's GLBT stage and cabaret fans. Ticket and reservation information at 623-4111. SEATTLE OPERA ENDS END OF AFFAIR Jake Heggie is one of the brightest composers working in modern opera. The openly Gay Heggie has been in Seattle most of the last six weeks working with and on the latest (and "final") revision of his The End Of The Affair. The opera, a complex mix of soap opera and religious redemption, ends its eight-performance run with a final performance tomorrow, Saturday, Oct. 29. Single ticket buyers who have not caught up with the rewarding work can easily pick up final performance tickets at the box office. Ask about discounts, "rush" policies, etc. Warning-loyal SGN readers who are offended by male nudity should be sure to ask for seats far back in the McCaw Hall auditorium. Ticket details at 389-7676. And, yes, you can tell 'em Bits&Bytes sent ya. |
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