Interludes

VIEWPOINTS – Streaming Dairy: Theater via Zoom, Renée Fleming x2, and [Musicals] Live!

• By drediman
• June 21, 2020
• No Comments

And so, the quarantining continues, and so does my at-home streaming of performing arts content. Here’s the latest crop of viewings and my associated thoughts.

Belarus Free Theatre’s made-for-Zoom adaptation of Sasha Sokolov’s “A School for Fools”.

THEATER

In terms of theater this past week, I was most beguiled by Belarus Free Theatre’s live adaptation of Sasha Sokolov’s nonlinear novella A School for Fools (HIGHLY RECOMMENDED), an absurdist meditation on the multitudes within us and the subjectivity of reality. BFT’s rendition follows in the footsteps of recent presentations – such as Bill Irwin’s In-Zoom,  Caryl Churchill’s Mad Forest,  and Richard Nelson’s What Do We Need to Talk About? – which embrace the artistic possibilities and implications of utilizing the Zoom format (e.g., highlighting the isolation of contemporary living, the heightened focus on the self, etc.). With its haphazard shifts in perspective and mash-up of reality and the subconscious, the work isn’t an easy sit. Indeed, sometimes I was downright frustrated by feeling lost at sea, so to speak. But those patient enough to allow themselves to be confused and willing to tap into the piece’s dreamlike sensibility will relish its unpredictability and be rewarded with a singularly haunting experience that poetically gets to the essence of “being”.

I also took in Nottingham Playhouse’s revival of Alan Bennett’s 1991 play The Madness of King George III (RECOMMENDED) via NT at Home. It was a perfectly solid affair, featuring a commanding and charismatic performance by Olivier Award-winner Mark Gatiss in the title role. In his historically-based play, Mr. Bennett (perhaps best known for penning the terrific History Boys) explores the mysteries of mental illness in a disarmingly candid manner. Directed stylishly by Adam Penford, the production also features an appealing deployment of gender-blind casting.

Renée Fleming in the Metropolitan Opera’s Nightly Opera Stream of Handel’s “Rodelinda”.

OPERA

Last week’s opera viewings centered on one of opera’s favorite divas, Renée Fleming, who was featured in two consecutive evenings of the Metropolitan Opera’ Nightly Opera Stream programming. The first opera was a 2011 performance of Handel’s Rodelinda (RECOMMENDED), an opera about one woman’s steadfast resilience in the face of bad luck and treachery. Ms. Fleming’s stately warmth and ability to inspire empathy was on full display, both in her vocal and dramatic performance.

The next night’s offering was Rossini’s fantastical Armida (RECOMMENDED) (captured on film in 2010), in which Ms. Fleming portrayed a passionate sorceress of the underworld. The lively staging is by Tony Award-winning director Mary Zimmerman, who captured the tale’s supernatural elements with inventive whimsy and inspired theatricality. Ms. Fleming’s voice skillfully navigated the opera’s flashy coloratura passages, while maintaining its famously luxurious creaminess.

Before these Met productions, both works were relatively rarely performed, only finding their way onto opera’s grandest stage thanks largely to Ms. Fleming’s personal urging. Having caught both of these performances in person, I was happy to have the opportunity last week to revisit them online approximately a decade onward. If anything, the closeups afforded by the format – particularly in Stephen Wadsworth elaborately realistic, cinematic staging of Rodelinda – only highlighted, to a greater extent, the beloved soprano’s versatility and artistry. An indisputable class act.

Newcomer Shanice Williams leads the rebroadcast of NBC’s “The Wiz Live!”.

TELEVISION

Over the last decade, two television networks – NBC and Fox – have championed the niche category of presenting musicals live especially for television. By and large, I somehow missed these annual made-for-TV specials. Thanks to the weekly “The Show Must Go On” webcasts during the pandemic, I’ve been able to experience some of them in recent weeks.

First up in terms of original release date was 2014’s Peter Pan Live! (SOMEWHAT RECOMMENDED), an unfortunately unfocused and uneven effort, despite some inspired dance numbers (the incarnation was directed and choreographed by Rob Ashford) and commendable supporting turns by the gloriously-voiced Broadway leading lady Kelli O’Hara and the energizing foolery of Christian Borle. Although Allison Williams was merely okay in the title role, Christopher Walkens’ curiously wooden, personality-free performance as Captain Hook nearly stole the show, but not in a good way.

Luckily, the series found its groove in the subsequent two years under the directorial hand of stage director Kenny Leon, who has mostly managed to translate the magic of live performance to the small screen. Indeed, The Wiz Live! (RECOMMENDED) in 2015 defied expectations and was hugely enjoyable, thanks to the undeniable firepower of pop stars Queen Latifah and Mary J. Blige, as well as sparkling newcomer Shanice Williams as Dorothy.

Then in 2016, Hairspray Live! (RECOMMENDED) further cemented Mr. Leon’s skill at capturing lightning in a bottle by showcasing the best in both live musical theater and movie musicals. Overall, the adults fared better than kids, with Harvey Fierstein (recreating his Tony-winning performance), Jennifer Hudson, and Kristen Chenoweth proving to be consummate musical theater professionals.