A performing arts blog and occasional podcast of CD reviews, news and interviews from the world of stage, screen, cabaret, classical music, and related places.
Well, yesterday was another day when I had to deal with the Least Fun Thing about being an actor: auditioning.
I have friends who say it doesn’t bother them. I even have one who says he treats an audition like a command performance and actually enjoys them. Alas, I’ve never been able to see it that way. I pretty much detest the whole process.
I especially hate the auditions where you have to provide a monolog and (if there’s a musical) a song. Especially the song. At least with a monolog the only variable I have to deal with is my own readiness. When you’re also auditioning for a musical, though, you have to take the pianist into account—which can be difficult.
Consider: you don’t want to pick a very familiar song for your voice and character type because you don’t want to be (say) the 100th guy to sing “Try to Remember” that day. They’ll just tune you out and the other 99 guys were probably better anyway.
On the other hand, if your song is too obscure, the pianist may look at your music with blank incomprehension and you’ll still wind up as “Try to Remember” no. 101.
I seem to have found a number that hits the happy medium: “Lydia the Tattooed Lady”, written by Harold Arlen and Johnny Mercer (!) for The Marx Brothers at the Circus (where it provides one of the few moments of genuine humor in an otherwise rather tedious movie). There aren’t that many people singing it and the key (C) is an easy one for most pianists.
Groucho in one of the few funny moments
from At the Circus
The value of having an audition song in a relatively familiar key like C, G, or D is something I had to learn in the School of Hard Knocks. Some years ago I thought I had a great audition number: “The Mikado’s Song” from The Mikado. There won’t be that many actors using it, I reasoned, and it’s an easy fit for my vocal range (bass-baritone). What I failed to take into account was that the key (A) and the number of accidentals in the score made it challenging for someone not familiar with the piece to play along. The first time I used it, pianist was totally lost and the audition, as you might imagine, did not go well. Other G&S songs have had to be discarded for similar reasons.
Adding a layer of complication is the fact that not all audition pianists are equally competent and/or equally familiar with musical theatre. I’ve had, for example, a couple of rough experiences using “Reviewing the Situation” (from Oliver) that have led me to believe I should shelve it as an audition piece, even though it’s a good fit for me.
So what has your experience been with musical theatre auditions? What would you pick for your “best sixteen bars”? Leave a comment.
Mozart, as they used to say over at Variety, is clearly “boffo” with St. Louis Symphony audiences. The crowd at Friday morning’s concert was larger than usual and obviously appreciative of Bernard Labadie’s vibrant readings of Mozart’s 33rd and 40th symphonies, as well as with Principal Clarinet Scott Andrew’s elegant work in the Clarinet Concerto, K. 622.
The fans may be conservative, but they know what they like.
Bernard Labadie
And there was quite a lot to like about this concert. As founder of Les Violons du Roy and La Chapelle de Québec, Mr. Labadie has substantial credentials as an interpreter of music of the Baroque and Classical eras. Reviewing a Barbican Center concert with the former ensemble, for example, the Telegraph noted that Labadie “radiates an infectious joy in the music”—a quality much in evidence here. His Mozart also has, to my ears, the kind of vitality I associate with the “original instrument” movement, although Mr. Labadie is not usually associated with that approach.
His Symphony No. 33 in B-flat major (K. 319) was, therefore, a perfect mix of exuberance and precision—very appropriate for a work of (to quote Paul Schiavo’s program notes) “uniformly bright countenance.” Tempi were on the brisk side both here in and in the Symphony No. 40, but the music never felt rushed.
By way of contrast, Mr. Labadie and Mr. Andrews gave us a relaxed and elegant concerto—also very appropriate for a work noted more for its “grace, tenderness, and intimacy” (to quote Mr. Schiavo again) than its virtuoso display. Mr. Andrews is not a particularly showy performer, but was clearly very much caught up in the music, dipping his body for low notes and swaying back and forth in time to the melodies. His tone was beautiful and limpid and his execution flawless.
Basset clarinet
The K. 622 has an interesting history, by the way. The original manuscript, written for Mozart’s friend and fellow Mason Anton Stadler (apparently quite a virtuoso), has been lost. It was written for a special “basset clarinet” invented by Stadler that had an additional major third at the bottom of its range (low C vs. low E). Stadler’s basset clarinet never caught on, though, so when the piece was published after Mozart’s death, it had been modified to fit the range of a standard clarinet.
Subsequent research has enabled musicologists to produce a basset clarinet version of the score, but since so few musicians play this oddball instrument, the modified version (the one performed in these concerts) is the one usually played these days. If you’re curious as to what the restored version sounds like, a 1997 CD by the Orchestra of the Old Fairfield Academy with Eric Hoeprich on basset clarinet is still in print, and I expect there are others.
Getting back to Powell Hall, the Symphony No. 40 in G minor (K. 550) that concluded the concert was wonderfully urgent and dramatic, with especially marked contrasts between the first and second subjects in the opening movement. This is a symphony that has produced a wide variety of responses from critics and Mozart biographers. Some have emphasized its obvious dark and brooding moods while others have noted what Robert Schumann called its “Grecian lightness and grace.” Personally, I tend to come down on the “dark and brooding” side, so I found Mr. Labadie’s approach completely compelling and convincing.
The musicians sounded great as usual. When performed by an appropriately sized ensemble (36 pieces in this case), the Mozart symphonies are a real test of an orchestra’s capabilities. There aren’t that many players per part, so everyone has to be in top form; there’s no place to hide here. The polished quality of the sound Friday morning was, therefore, yet another testament to this band’s high performance standards.
Next on the calendar: David Robertson returns to the podium along with local favorite soprano Christine Brewer and baritone Lucas Meachem Friday through Sunday, May 3-5. The program consists of the overture to Suppé’s Morning, Noon and Night in Vienna, Schubert’s "Unfinished", and the local premiere of Zemlinsky’s 1924 Lyrische Symphonie (Lyric Symphony). For ticket information: stlsymphony.org.
[Looking for auditions and other artistic opportunities? Check out the St. Louis Auditions site.]
For information on events beyond this week, check out the searchable database at the Regional Arts Commission's ArtsZipper site.
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Kirkwood Theatre Guild presents Irving Berlin's Annie Get Your Gun May 3-12. Performances take place at the Robert G. Reim Theatre of the Kirkwood Community Center, 111 South Geyer Road. For more information, call 314-821-9956.
Take Two Productions presents the musical Avenue Q May 3 - 11. Performances take place at Tower Grove Abbey, 2336 Tennessee. For more information, visit taketwoproductions.org.
Clayton Community Theatre presents the drama The Bad Seed Friday and Saturday at 8 PM and Sunday at 2 PM,. Performances take place at the Washington University South Campus Theatre. For more information, call 314-721-9228 or visit placeseveryone.org. Read the 88.1 KDHX review!
The Pub Theater Company presents Bye Bye Liver: The St. Louis Drinking Play, a comedic romp through the joys and pitfalls of The Gateway to the West's favorite pastime. Performances take place on Saturdays at 9 PM at Maggie O'Brien's, 2000 Market Street. For more information, you may call 314-827-4185, email stlouis at byebyeliver.com, or visit byebyeliver.com/stlouis.
Marble Stage presents the musical Carrie Thursday through Saturday at 7:30 PM and Sunday at 2 PM, May 2-5, at Shaw Visual and Performing Arts Elementary School, 5329 Columbia Ave. For more information, call 314-437-0846 or visit www.marblestage.org.
Act Two Theatre presents Tennessee Williams's Cat on a Hot Tin Roof May 3-12. Performances take place in the St. Peters Cultural Arts Centre at 1 St Peters Centre Blvd, St. Peters, MO 63376. For more information: act2theater.com.
The Lemp Mansion Comedy-Mystery Dinner Theater presents Clueless through July 27. The Lemp Mansion is at 3322 DeMenil Place. For more information: lempmansion.com
The Bissell Mansion Murder Mystery Dinner Theatre presents Field of Schemes through July 27. The Bissell Mansion is at 4426 Randall Place. For more information: bissellmansiontheatre.com
Curtain's Up Theatre presents the musical Li'l Abner Thursday through Saturday at 7:30 PM and Sunday at 2 PM, May 2-5. The performances take place in the Dunham Hall Theater on the SIU-Edwardsville campus. For more information, visit curtainsuptheater.com.
HotCity Theatre presents the St. Louis premiere of Maple and Vine May 3-18. “Disgusted with today's SCANDALOUS society where vulgarity and obscenity are actually rewarded? Overwhelmed by computers, smart phones, tablets and the such? Well, forsake Reality TV and your electronic devices for the dry martinis and Tupperware parties of the 1950's, when the simpler life was much more wholesome. Or ... was it?” Performances take place at the Kranzberg Arts Center, 501 North Grand in Grand Center. For more information, visit www.hotcitytheatre.org or call 314-289-4063.
Metro Theater Company presents the MetroNEXT Festival of New Work Friday through Sunday, May 3-5. “Metro Theater Company invites the public to its new home in Grand Center to engage in a weekend of innovation and “risky” theater, being developed for adventurous audiences.” Performances take place at 3311 Washington in Grand Center. For more information: metrotheatercompany.org
Photo: Jeremy Daniel
The Fox Theatre presents the musical Million Dollar Quartet through April May 5. “Million Dollar Quartet is the Tony® Award winning Broadway musical, inspired by the electrifying true story of the famed recording session that brought together rock 'n' roll icons Elvis Presley, Johnny Cash, Jerry Lee Lewis and Carl Perkins for the first and only time.” The Fox Theatre is at 527 North Grand in Grand Center. For more information: fabulousfox.com. Read the 88.1 KDHX review!
The West County YMCA Y-Rep Teens and Chesterfield Community Theatre present Original Works and Improv Comedy Thursday through Saturday, May 2-4 at 7:30 PM. Performances take place at the West County YMCA, 16464 Burkhardt Place. For more information, call (636) 532-6515 Ext. 227.
The Black Rep presents the world premiere of Smash/Hit! through May 19. “An Iraqi War vet fights to leave the battlefield behind, and make his way in the treacherous world of Hip Hop.” Performances take place at the Grandel Theatre, 3610 Grandel Square. For more information, visit theblackrep.org or call 314-534-3810. Read the 88.1 KDHX review!
The Theatre Guild of Webster Groves presents UTBU May 3-11. “UTBU (which stands for Unhealthy To Be Unpleasant) is a wacky organization dedicated to righting the world's ills by exterminating nasty people. The blind leader is after an actor whose 94 year-old mother won't give him money to produce a play so he intends to hasten her demise with assorted Gothic tortures.” Performances take place in the Guild theatre at Newport and Summit in Webster Groves, MO. For more information: theatreguildwg.org or call 314-962-0876.
Shakespeare Festival St. Louis presents Winning Juliet by Christopher Limber and Elizabeth Birkenmeier Fridays and Saturdays at 8 PM, April 26-May 4. “When the School Drama Department announces a production of Romeo And Juliet at Stratford High, no one expects competition for the role will end in tragedy. A new student arrives at school, and a cyber-mystery of torment and mistaken identity ensues. Julie, the new girl, is targeted at Stratford High for being strange...self-assured and bookish, fiercely honest and unstylish. Gwyneth is her immediate bully; she is set on being cast as Juliet and used to having her way at school. Julie is a sudden threat, noticeably standing a chance at winning the coveted role. There is much more to their competition than their teachers and parents can see. Beyond the school hallways, the girls play dangerous game, with consequences that seem unimaginable to their instigators. A single-sentence “status” is enough to ruin a day, and maybe a life.” The cast includes 88.1 KDHX's Chuck Lavazzi. Performances take place at the Little Theater at Clayton High School, 1 Mark Twain Circle in Clayton. For more information: http://sfstl.com. Read the 88.1 KDHX review!
Would you like to be on the radio? KDHX, 88.1 FM needs theatre reviewers. If you're 18 years or older, knowledgeable in this area, have practical theatre experience (acting, directing, writing, technical design, etc.), have good oral and written communications skills and would like to become one of our volunteer reviewers, send an email describing your experience and interests to chuck at kdhx.org. Please include a sample review of something you've seen recently.
Who: Little Blue Cars What: A program of musical theatre, jazz, and contemporary music When: Tonight at 8 PM Where:The Tavern of Fine Arts Why: "The women of Little Blue Cars (Heather Fehl, soprano; Holley Sherwood,
soprano; Rebecca Hatlelid, mezzo-soprano) make their debut at the Tavern ... From
Cole Porter to Ingrid Michaelson, Little Blue Cars promises a night of
laughter, deep thought, and more laughter. Accompanied by the
wonderfully talented Justin Smolik." I've never heard of Little Blue Cars, but the description of the group and the eclectic mix of music they do sounds pretty fascinating. If I weren't on stage myself (in Shakespeare Festival St. Louis's Wining Juliet) I'd probably be at the Tavern tonight to see them. Besides, the elegant ambiance, tasty food, and fine wine list at the Tavern are worthwhile all by themselves.
Fashions in theatre, as in other areas of human endeavor, come and go. Today’s hot trend is tomorrow’s old news and, when everyone who remembers it has died off, it’s The Latest Thing once again. If you doubt that, take a look at the way the once-passé subgenre of operetta had undergone a rebirth in the years since Phantom of the Opera started raking in the revenue.
Consider, for example, the following bits of “advice to the players”, so to speak, that I recently stumbled across in my reading: “If you go on to the stage feeling downhearted and gloomy, don’t expect your audience to be otherwise… Make your patter short and to the point. The public, you will find, are better pleased than if you went too long story telling. Leave that to the lecturer or public speaker… In learning or practicing [new material] have a disinterested friend watch you and comment on your work… Secure a method and style of your own”.
Chung Ling Soo
a.k.a. William Robinson
As you might have guessed from the archaic style of the prose, this isn’t new advice. In fact, it was written by early 20th-century magician Chung Ling Soo (real name: William Robinson) for the magician’s magazine Mahatma in the late 1890s (as quoted in illusion designer Jim Steinmeyer’s fascinating biography of Soo/Robinson, The Glorious Deception). But it’s still good counsel, easily applicable to any actor or, even more to the point of this article, any cabaret artist today. That’s because, technology and fashions not withstanding, the relationship between the performer and audience pretty much stays the same across the years and national boundaries.
The great 19th-century magician Jean-Eugene Robert Houdin (from whom Harry Houdini took his stage name) once wrote that a magician was actually an actor playing the role of a magician. In the same way, a cabaret performer is playing the role of the most entertaining version of himself or herself. Play it well and the results can be—well—magical.
Who: The St. Louis Symphony conducted by Bernard Labadie with clarinet soloist Scott Andrews What: An all-Mozart program Where: Powell Symphony Hall When: Today at 10:30 AM and 8 PM and Saturday at 8 PM Why: "Mozart’s sublime writing remains an audience favorite and this program devoted to his genius is no exception. Bernard Labadie leads the composer’s hypnotic Symphony No. 40, known for its unmistakable opening theme, and the Clarinet Concerto featuring Principal Clarinet Scott Andrews. Praised as “elegant” in the Boston Globe and “extraordinary” by the New York Times, Andrews’ stellar talent shines in the lyrical concerto, among the final works completed before Mozart’s death." It's always nice to see a member of the orchestra in the solo slot and the dramatic and haunting Mozart 40 is always worth hearing.
As always, the choices are purely my personal opinion. Take with a grain (or a shaker) of salt.
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New this week:
Washington University Performing Arts Department presents In the Next Room (or The Vibrator Play) by Sarah Ruhl, Friday and Saturday at 8 PM and Sunday at 2 PM. "For an enjoyable period drama that tackles a not-so-period topic with humor and a deft touch," writes Tina Farmer in her review for 88.1 KDHX, "In the Next Room (or the vibrator play) hits all the right spots." Performances take place in the Studio Theatre in the Mallinckrodt Center on the Washington University campus. For more information, call (314) 935-5858.
Photo: Jeremy Daniel
The Fox Theatre presents the musical Million Dollar Quartet April 23-May 5. “Million Dollar Quartet is the Tony® Award winning Broadway musical, inspired by the electrifying true story of the famed recording session that brought together rock 'n' roll icons Elvis Presley, Johnny Cash, Jerry Lee Lewis and Carl Perkins for the first and only time.” Well, how could this not be fun, I ask you? The Fox Theatre is at 527 North Grand in Grand Center. For more information: fabulousfox.com.
Photo: J. David Levy
Shakespeare Festival St. Louis presents Winning Juliet by Christopher Limber and Elizabeth Birkenmeier Fridays and Saturdays at 8 PM, April 26-May 4. “When the School Drama Department announces a production of Romeo And Juliet at Stratford High, no one expects competition for the role will end in tragedy. A new student arrives at school, and a cyber-mystery of torment and mistaken identity ensues. Julie, the new girl, is targeted at Stratford High for being strange...self-assured and bookish, fiercely honest and unstylish. Gwyneth is her immediate bully; she is set on being cast as Juliet and used to having her way at school. Julie is a sudden threat, noticeably standing a chance at winning the coveted role. There is much more to their competition than their teachers and parents can see. Beyond the school hallways, the girls play dangerous game, with consequences that seem unimaginable to their instigators. A single-sentence “status” is enough to ruin a day, and maybe a life.” Since I'm performing in this one, I couldn't pass up the oppportunity to include it here. Besides, as I noted in a backstage blog post, the mostly teen-age performers are really quite good and the script addresses a serious issue. Performances take place at the Little Theater at Clayton High School, 1 Mark Twain Circle in Clayton. For more information: http://sfstl.com.
Held over:
Photo: John Lamb
Mustard Seed Theatre presents Jane Eyre, based on the novel by Charlotte Brontë and adapted by Julie Beckman, through April 28 at the Fontbonne Fine Arts Theatre, 6800 Wydown Blvd. In her review for 88.1 KDHX, Tina Farmer says this is a "very entertaining evening of theater that overwhelmingly succeeds for a broader audience, as well as fans of period pieces, complete with a Hollywood-like happy ending" For more information, call (314) 719-8060 or visit the web site at www.mustardseedtheatre.com.
The main event in the 2013 Shakespeare Festival St. Louis season, Twelfth Night, doesn’t open for another month but another Festival show, Winning Juliet, opens in just two days, on April 26th.
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Winning Juliet (as you may already know) is a newly commissioned play for young audiences by the Festival for the 2013 MetroYouth In-School Kids for Kids production. The script is written by an award-winning playwright team, Elizabeth Birkenmeier and Christopher Limber, with music by David Toretta and choreography by Melfreya Findaly. It uses the story of a production of Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet at the fictional Stratford High School (their mascot: the pursuing bears) to address a very real issue: bullying, both in real life and on the Internet.
Bullying, of course, is not new. I expect most of us have encountered it at one time or another as kids. But the face of bullying has changed in the last decade or two—in ways that make it harder for teachers and administrators to fight and for kids to escape.
When I was a kid, every school had a bully or two. But the range of their persecution was limited. They could only get at you during school hours, and only under very limited circumstances even then. They could still gang up on you, but it wasn’t easy to pull off without attracting the attention and incurring the wrath of school officials. No matter how bad it got, home was always a refuge, as were non–school-related activities and groups.
But that, of course, was back during the Eisenhower-Kennedy-Johnson years. Computers were massive things that took up entire buildings, and phones had rotary dials. Video meant a “big enormous twelve-inch screen” (as they say in Little Shop of Horrors) and audio meant the radio or maybe even a record player.
[Historical note to my fellow cast members: the LP record, to quote my cabaret pal Ken Haller, is a primitive sound reproduction device invented by the ancient Mayans.]
These days bullying, as one of our actors noted, often takes place “below the radar”, promulgated via email, blogs and, increasingly, social media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. For teenagers and adults as well, virtual relationships have become as real and important as physical-world relationships. This means that bullying can happen in cyberspace as well as in real space. And when it does, it can leave its victims with no safe haven. Physical barriers are irrelevant when the Internet is in every room and in every pocket.
The teen years are a time of great psychological vulnerability, when concepts of self that can last an entire lifetime are formed. The impact of a pervasive atmosphere of hostility during those years can be devastating. As news headlines have often shown us, kids who are bullied may harm themselves or others.
In our play the bullies are easily identified and dealt with by Dean Duke (my role). In real life things are rarely so simple. Aside from the difficulty of detecting a bullying campaign (especially when cyberspace is involved), school administrators are often faced with a murky legal situation. Laws on bullying (if they exist at all) vary from state to state, and in some cases attempts to create anti-bullying laws have encountered opposition—some of it reasonable, much of it (in my view) paranoid and morally questionable at best.
So bullying, in the real or virtual world, remains a complex and sometimes contentious subject. Winning Juliet will, we hope, spark some good discussions on the subject among students, parents, and educators. There will be talkback sessions after each show with the creators and performers, so stick around and let your voice be heard.
Who: Amy Willard Top What:Back to Before Where: The Kranzberg Center, St. Louis When: April 19 and 20, 2013
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I’m not a big fan of the “This is My Life” school of cabaret that ties everything back to the performer’s biography. That’s not an artistic judgment, just a personal preference; some very good cabaret acts have come out of that approach.
Amy Willard Top’s cabaret debut was definitely autobiographical, charting her course from musical theatre professional in New York and on the cruise line circuit to St. Louis mom. The fact that, my personal preferences not withstanding, I found it mostly quite entertaining and engaging is an indication of what a good job Ms. Willard Top, music director Greg Schweizer, and director Tim Schall did here.
The song selection was nicely varied, including both old and new numbers from the Great American Songbook and the musical stage as well as some pop standards. Mr. Schweizer’s arrangements fit like a glove and some of them (his jazzy “But Not for Me” comes immediately to mind) shed interesting new light on familiar material. Pacing and the overall emotional arc of the evening were quite satisfying.
The show did, in short, what a cabaret show should do: provide a showcase for the performer’s talents and present that performer in the most flattering possible light. Ms. Willard Top came across as a charming performer with a good sense of theatre and a clear, focused voice.
On the technical side, the lighting made good use of the Kranzberg’s limited space and the sound mix was very clean.
Were there some things I would have done differently? Probably, but most of them are more personal preferences than artistic decisions. The bottom line is that Back to Before was a very solid cabaret debut by a skilled musical theatre performer. Whether she goes on to do more cabaret or not, she can take some justifiable pride in this one.
So, here we are in tech week. For someone like yours truly, who has been treading the boards since the Jurassic era, this is familiar stuff. Lots of waiting around for tech cues to be nailed down, issues with props and costumes, finding your way around the theater. Long stretches of tedium alternating with the adrenaline rush of performance. Nothing you haven’t seen before folks, move on.
For many of my fellow cast members, though, this is all still pretty new. That’s because the show is Winning Juliet, a Shakespeare Festival St. Louis production that uses an updated gloss on Romeo and Juliet to deliver an anti-bullying message, and (with the exception of me and two other actors), the cast members are all from local high schools. Their experience levels are varied, but what’s impressing me is how dedicated and, well, professional they all are.
This is an interesting script. It makes extensive use of projected images and video. There are musical numbers, complete with choreography, and multiple scene changes that have to (and will) move very fast. They’re all doing a great job—as good as the work I’ve encountered in some professional shows I’ve done, musical or otherwise. It leaves me hopeful for the future of theatre. O brave new world, that has such actors in’t (to paraphrase Mr. Shakespeare).
In other words the kids, to quote an old Who lyric, are alright.
Not all of the reflections provoked by this show are so sunny, though. It deals, after all, with a serious subject. More on that in my next post.
Who: The St. Louis Symphony Orchestra conducted by Ward Stare
What: Music of Brahms, Webern, Johann Strauss Jr., and Richard Strauss
Where: Powell Symphony Hall
When: April 19 and 20, 2013
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As I have noted before, Ward Stare (who completed his tenure as Resident Conductor of the symphony in 2012 and is now in demand as both and operatic and symphonic conductor) is someone to watch.
The clarity of his communication with the orchestra and the intensity of his focus are impressive, as is his very visceral style on the podium. Like David Robertson, he physically throws himself into the music, although never in a showy or distracting way.
All of those characteristics were on display Friday as he conducted the symphony in a wonderfully balanced program of German music spanning the tumultuous period from the late 1860s to the early 1900s. At one end of the time line we had Johann Strauss Jr.’s 1867 “Artist’s Life” waltz, and at the other a suite from that hallucinatory tribute to Vienna, Richard Strauss’s “Rosenkavalier” (1909-1910). In between was a pair of echt Teutonic choral works by Brahms—“Gesang der Parzen (Song of the Fates)” from 1882 and “Schicksalslied (Song of Destiny)” from 1868-1871, bracketing Webern’s lushly romantic “Im Sommerwind (In the Summer Breeze)” from 1904.
It was, in short, a well-chosen mix of drama, romance, and irresistible dance rhythms. There was even, in the Webern, some perky humor (which one does not normally associate with Webern).
In a somewhat unorthodox move, Mr. Stare elected to perform the first three works on the program—“Gesang der Parzen,” “Im Sommerwind,” and “Schicksalslied”—without breaks for applause in between, as though they were three movements of a single piece. That might seem odd, given that nearly forty years separates the oldest work from newest, but in practice it made great emotional sense. Webern wrote “Sommerwind” when he was 21, before being seduced by Serialism, so it looks backward to the romanticism of the mid-19th century, while the Brahms works are rather forward looking in their harmonies. The resulting juxtaposition highlighted their similarities more than their differences.
This was most apparent in the “Schicksalslied.” The serenity of its opening section, with lyrics describing “the paradisiacal existence of the deities” (to quote Paul Schiavo’s program notes), seemed to flow logically from the shimmering, Richard Straussian languor of “Sommerwind”. The parallel is emphasized by the references in the lyrics to “gleaming breezes divine” (“Glänzende Götterlüfte”) and “sacred harp strings” (“Heilige Saiten).” The contrast between the idyllic world of the Webern and the rather medieval fatalism of the reflections on the indifference of the gods in “Gesang der Parzen” (“O Fortuna,” anyone?) was also very effective. As an old radio guy, I suppose I’m a bit of a sucker for the ingenious segue, but I really think this was an exceptionally smart bit of programming on Mr. Stare’s part.
It has been decades since “Schicksalslied” and “Im Sommerwind” were performed at Powell (“Gesang der Parzen” was a symphony premiere) so this music was probably unfamiliar to most of the musicians. You wouldn’t have known that, though, from the quality of the performances. Amy Kaiser’s chorus sounded and robust and polished as usual and the many little solo passages sprinkled throughout the Webern were lovely. Principal Flautist Mark Sparks, Acting Co-Principal oboe Barbara Orland, Principal bassoon Andrew Cuneo, and Associate Concertmaster Heidi Harris all had chances to shine here. I also loved the way Mr. Stare drew out that final, ethereal chord in “Sommerwind” and held the silence for a few seconds.
The second half of the evening, suffused as it was with the spirit of the Viennese waltz, offered a nice contrast to the philosophical weight of the first half. I was reminded that one of the many things Mr. Stare and Mr. Robertson have in common is their willingness to accord “light” music like the “Artist’s Life” waltz the same respect as the more heavy-duty stuff. He gave us a lilting and nuanced performance that felt just right.
The closing suite from Richard Strauss’s romantic comedy/drama “Rosenkavalier” was impressive as well, from the exceptionally dramatic reading of the opening Con molto agitato, graphically depicting the exuberant and perhaps overly fast love-making of the young page Octavian (with those jubilant horn yelps flawlessly played by Roger Kaza and company), to the final “fast waltz” (Schneller Walzer, Molto Con Moto), in which Baron Ochs gets his comeuppance, this was a wonderfully paced and impeccably played performance.
Although scored for a large orchestra, the suite contains many moments of intimacy that provide multiple opportunities for individual players to take center stage. Those included, once again, Mr. Sparks, Mr. Cuneo, and Ms. Harris (who got a big hug from Mr. Stare), as well as Principal clarinet Scott Andrews, the ever-reliable Peter Henderson on celesta, Associate Principal cello Melissa Brooks, Toronto Symphony Principal Trumpet Andrew McCandless, and harpists Megan Stout and Claire Happel. The percussion section deserves a big pat on the back as well.
P.S.: because they are being so echt German, the symphony is providing free beer and pretzels at the concerts, courtesy of Anehuser-Busch and Companion, respectively. I passed on the Bud Light (insert "making love in a canoe" joke here), but the pretzel was tasty.
Next on the calendar: Friday, April 26, at 10:30 AM and 8 PM and Saturday, April 27, at 8 PM, Bernard Labadie conducts an all-Mozart program consisting of the 33rd and 40th symphonies and the Clarinet Concerto with Scott Andrews as soloist. For more information: stlsymphony.org.
[Looking for auditions and other artistic opportunities? Check out the St. Louis Auditions site.]
For information on events beyond this week, check out the searchable database at the Regional Arts Commission's ArtsZipper site.
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Clayton Community Theatre presents the drama The Bad Seed Fridays and Saturdays at 8 PM and Sundays at 2 PM, April 26-May 5. Performances take place at the Washington University South Campus Theatre. For more information, call 314-721-9228 or visit placeseveryone.org.
The Pub Theater Company presents Bye Bye Liver: The St. Louis Drinking Play, a comedic romp through the joys and pitfalls of The Gateway to the West's favorite pastime. Performances take place on Saturdays at 9 PM at Maggie O'Brien's, 2000 Market Street. For more information, you may call 314-827-4185, email stlouis at byebyeliver.com, or visit byebyeliver.com/stlouis.
O'Fallon TheatreWorks presents Faith County at the O'Fallon Municipal Centre auditorium through April 28. The O'Fallon Municipal Centre is located at 100 North Main Street in O'Fallon, MO. For more information, visit www.ofallon.mo.us or call 636-379-5606.
The Tesseract Theatre Company presents Sam Shepard's Fool for Love Wednesday through Saturday at 8 and Sunday at 4 PM. Performances are free and take place at the Regional Arts Commission, 6128 Delmar (across the street from The Pageant). Visit www.tesseracttheatre.org for more info or email contact at tesseracttheatre.org.
Washington University Performing Arts Department presents In the Next Room (or The Vibrator Play) by Sarah Ruhl, Friday and Saturday at 8 PM and Sunday at 2 PM. Performances take place in the Studio Theatre in the Mallinckrodt Center on the Washington University campus. For more information, call (314) 935-5858.
Photo: John Lamb
Mustard Seed Theatre presents Jane Eyre, based on the novel by Charlotte Brontë and adapted by Julie Beckman, through April 28 at the Fontbonne Fine Arts Theatre, 6800 Wydown Blvd. For more information, call (314) 719-8060 or visit the web site at www.mustardseedtheatre.com. Read the 88.1 KDHX review!
The Monroe Actors Stage Company presents the thriller Laura through April 28 in the Historic Capitol Theatre in downtown Waterloo, Illinois. For more information, visit www.masctheatre.org or call 618-939-7469.
The Conservatory of Theatre Arts at Webster University presents Legally Blonde the Musical Wednesday through Sunday, April 24-28. Performances take place on the Browning Mainstage at the Loretto-Hilton Center on the Webster University campus. For more information, call 314-968-7128.
Photo: Jeremy Daniel
The Fox Theatre presents the musical Million Dollar Quartet April 23-May 5. “Million Dollar Quartet is the Tony® Award winning Broadway musical, inspired by the electrifying true story of the famed recording session that brought together rock 'n' roll icons Elvis Presley, Johnny Cash, Jerry Lee Lewis and Carl Perkins for the first and only time.” The Fox Theatre is at 527 North Grand in Grand Center. For more information: fabulousfox.com.
The Lemp Mansion Comedy-Mystery Dinner Theater presents Murder in Mayberry through April 27. The Lemp Mansion is at 3322 DeMenil Place. For more information: lempmansion.com
The Bissell Mansion Murder Mystery Dinner Theatre presents Nursery Crimes through April 30th. The Bissell Mansion is at 4426 Randall Place. For more information: bissellmansiontheatre.com
Shakespeare Festival St. Louis presents Shake38, a 38-play Shakespeare marathon that takes place all over St. Louis. This year, Shake38 will celebrate Shakespeare's Birthday, running through the Bard's Birthday on Tuesday, April 23. For more information: sfstl.com.
The Black Rep presents the world premiere of Smash/Hit! April 24-May 19. “An Iraqi War vet fights to leave the battlefield behind, and make his way in the treacherous world of Hip Hop.” Performances take place at the Grandel Theatre, 3610 Grandel Square. For more information, visit theblackrep.org or call 314-534-3810.
The Tavern of Fine Arts presents soprano Stephanie Ann Ball and baritone Tom Stizler in a performance of Menotti's one-act opera The Telephone, or L'Amour à trois along with Menotti's Five Songs and Samuel Barber's A Hand of Bridge, Hermit Songs, and Dover Beach on Friday, April 16, at 8 PM. Stephanie and Tom will be joined by fellow vocalists Jenni Klauder, Caetlyn VanBuren, Greg Storkan, and Joshua Stanton. Piano accompaniment is provided by Mary Heather Pentecost and Vera Parkin. The Tavern of Fine Arts is at 313 Belt at Waterman in the Central West End. There's free parking in the lot right across the street. For more information, visit tavern-of-fine-arts.blogspot.com or call 314-367-7549.
St. Louis University Theatre presents Chekov's The Three Sisters April 26-May 5. Performances take place in Xavier Hall, 3373 West Pine Mall. For more information, call (314) 977-2998 or visit www.slu.edu/theatre.
St. Louis Actors' Studio presents Waiting for Godot through May 5 at the Gaslight Theatre, 358 North Boyle. For more information, call 314-458-2978 or visit stlas.org.
St. Charles Community College presents Albee's Who's Afraid Of Virginia Woolf? April 24-28. Performances take place in the Donald D. Shook Fine Arts Building on the campus at 4601 Mid Rivers Mall Drive in Cottleville, MO. For more information, call 636-922-8050 or visit stchas.edu.
Shakespeare Festival St. Louis presents Winning Juliet by Christopher Limber and Elizabeth Birkenmeier Fridays and Saturdays at 8 PM, April 26-May 4. “When the School Drama Department announces a production of Romeo And Juliet at Stratford High, no one expects competition for the role will end in tragedy. A new student arrives at school, and a cyber-mystery of torment and mistaken identity ensues. Julie, the new girl, is targeted at Stratford High for being strange...self-assured and bookish, fiercely honest and unstylish. Gwyneth is her immediate bully; she is set on being cast as Juliet and used to having her way at school. Julie is a sudden threat, noticeably standing a chance at winning the coveted role. There is much more to their competition than their teachers and parents can see. Beyond the school hallways, the girls play dangerous game, with consequences that seem unimaginable to their instigators. A single-sentence “status” is enough to ruin a day, and maybe a life.” The cast includes 88.1 KDHX's Chuck Lavazzi. Performances take place at the Little Theater at Clayton High School, 1 Mark Twain Circle in Clayton. For more information: http://sfstl.com.
Would you like to be on the radio? KDHX, 88.1 FM needs theatre reviewers. If you're 18 years or older, knowledgeable in this area, have practical theatre experience (acting, directing, writing, technical design, etc.), have good oral and written communications skills and would like to become one of our volunteer reviewers, send an email describing your experience and interests to chuck at kdhx.org. Please include a sample review of something you've seen recently.
Who: Doc Severinsen and His Big Band When: Tonight at 8 PM Where:The Touhill Performing Arts Center Why: When I was a kid, The Tonight Show was hosted by Johnny Carson and Ed McMahon, and the Tonight Show Band was conducted by Skitch Henderson and then, following a brief stint with Milton DeLugg, by the band's first trumpet, Doc Severinsen. Their approaches were different (Henderson had classical training while Severinsen was a pop and jazz musician), but they both knew what a real big band should sound like. Since I was, at the time, playing in my high school stage band (as well as the marching band and orchestra), I loved listening to their work. Severinsen's outlandish outfits were always good for some byplay with Carson and the two worked well together. Severinsen retired from the Tonight Show gig in 1992 with Carson but he and his band are still touring. Expect Ellington, Basie, big band era standards and, of course, the Tonight Show theme.
Who: The St. Louis Symphony Orchestra and Chorus conducted
by Ward Stare What: Music of Brahms, Webern, Johann Strauss Jr., and
Richard Strauss When: Tonight and Saturday at 8 PM Where: Powell Symphony Hall Why: “What can we expect of our brief passages on this
earth? Should we—can we?—enjoy pleasure where we find it, or are we destined
for sorrow, or at least sorrowful ends? Is there a contradiction between these
two possibilities, or are both perhaps true? These would seem weighty questions
for an evening devoted to music, yet the five compositions that comprise our
concert appear to ask them.”This is a
varied program, to say the least, including two short dramatic works for chorus
and orchestra by Brahms, the Artist’s
Life waltz by Johann Strauss Jr., a suite from Richard Strauss’s opera Der Rosenkavalier (including some great
waltzes), and Anton Webern’s lushly romantic tone poem Im Sommerwind (In the Summer
Breeze), which the composer composed at the age of 21, before he was
seduced by dodecaphony. It's a beautiful piece and rarely heard.
As always, the choices are purely my personal opinion. Take with a grain (or a shaker) of salt.
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New this week:
The Kranzberg Center presents Amy Willard Top: Back to Then, Friday and Saturday, April 19 and 20, at 8 PM. The show is “a collection of Broadway, standards and pop.” It's directed by Tim Schall with musical direction by Greg Schweizer. Performances take place at the Kranzberg Center 501 North Grand in Grand Center. Amy gave us a preview of the show at the March Cabaret Project open mic night; I think you'll find this a very enjoyable evening. For more information: www.brownpapertickets.com/event/351384
The Tavern of Fine Arts presents baritone Ed Golterman and pianist/vocalist Kellie Frohnert in The Best of the 'Sweaters' Crowd, featuring the music of Andy Williams, Perry Como, Eddie Fisher, Jack Nat Cole, and Vic Damone, on Saturday, April 20, at 8 PM. The Tavern of Fine Arts is at 313 Belt at Waterman in the Central West End. Expect a pleasantly nostalgic evening. There’s free parking in the lot right across the street. For more information: 314-909-7224 or email egolterman at att.net.
Mustard Seed Theatre presents Jane Eyre, based on the novel by Charlotte Brontë and adapted by Julie Beckman, through April 28 at the Fontbonne Fine Arts Theatre, 6800 Wydown Blvd. In her review for 88.1 KDHX, Tina Farmer says this is a "very entertaining evening of theater that overwhelmingly succeeds for a broader audience, as well as fans of period pieces, complete with a Hollywood-like happy ending" For more information, call (314) 719-8060 or visit the web site at www.mustardseedtheatre.com.
Shakespeare Festival St. Louis presents Shake38, a 38-play Shakespeare marathon that takes place all over St. Louis. This year, Shake38 will celebrate Shakespeare's Birthday, running Friday, April 19, through the Bard's Birthday on Tuesday, April 23. Many local theatre companies are involved in this annual celebration of The Bard of Avon. For more information: sfstl.com.
Union Avenue Opera presents Leonard Bernstein's Trouble in Tahiti Friday and Saturday at 8 PM and Sunday at 3 PM, April 19-21. Performances take place at the Union Avenue Christian Church, 733 Union at Enright in the Central West End. The opera is sung in English with projected English text. Performances of thie early Bernstein work are rare; there hasn't been one locally for a good many years. For more information, visit unionavenueopera.org or call 314-361-2881.
Held over:
Stray Dog Theatre presents the Jule Style/Stephen Sondheim musical Gypsy, based on the memoirs of Gypsy Rose Lee, Thursdays through Saturdays at 8 PM, April 4-20. There will be a matinee on the closing Saturday at 2 PM in addition to the evening show. Performances take place at The Tower Grove Abbey, 2336 Tennessee. There's a reason this is a classic. Well, three reasons, actually: Jule Styne (music), Stephen Sondheim (lyrics), and Arthur Laurents (book). Four if you count Gypsy Rose Lee herself, whose best-selling memoir was the basis for it all. This production features two of our most reliable musical theatre performers: Deborah Sharn (as Mama Rose) and Ken Haller (as her long-suffering boyfriend Herbie). "You should let them entertain you," writes Andrea Braun in her review for 88.1 KDHX, '"cause you’ll have a real good time, yes sir." For more information, visit straydogtheatre.org or call 314-865-1995.
St. Louis doesn't often show up as the location for movies or television shows. Like most of the Midwest, we tend to be ignored. As far as most of the entertainment industry is concerned, the only thing between New York and L.A. is Chicago.
Terraformed St. Louis in Defiance
That's why it's rather surprising that there are two TV series (one in production and one in the works) that both take place in a future St. Louis. The one in production—SyFy Channel's Defiance—appears to the the usual mix of A&A (action and aliens) in a dystopian setting. And while it's set in St. Louis, it's being filmed almost entirely in Canada. Our city shows up in a bit of b-roll the producers shot here a while back but that's about it. No local production, no local actors.
The show that's in development—Gateway: the City's Reason—is pretty much the alpha to Defiance's omega. It's set in 2063 in a St. Louis that has solved its environmental problems and found a way to run sustainably. There has been no alien invasion and things are not collapsing. There may, however, have been a price to pay for all that, and it might have something to do with a mysterious organization known only as "The Circle."
It's being written, produced (by The Arbor Group), and cast right here in St. Louis. I can personally attest to that since I'm in it. My character, known only as "The Gardener" is rumored to be a former member of "The Circle." More than that I cannot say.
Want a sneak peak at Gateway? Happy to oblige. Here's the trailer. If you're a local theatre fan you will probably recognize most (if not all) of the cast.
The producers are using this to raise funds for the project via crowdsourcing, so feel free to spread the word.
As René Spencer Saller points out in her program notes for these concerts, the legendary violinist/composer Niccolò Paganini was the early 18th century equivalent of a modern rock star, with an extravagant talent and matching lifestyle. He made women faint with ecstasy and cheerfully encouraged rumors that he owed his phenomenal talent to a deal with Satan by dressing all in black and riding to concerts in a black coach drawn by black horses. He was, in short, Mr. Showbiz.
You can hear that flash as well as a fair amount of finesse in his Violin Concerto No. 1 in D Major. Op. 6, which he first performed in 1816. Like most of Paganini’s music, it demands a high level of technical skill, especially in the opening and closing movements. The soulful "Adagio", though, could almost pass for an operatic aria and demands real musical sensitivity.
Augustin Hadelich appears to have plenty of both. He negotiated the purely showoff material with ease. But he also made that second movement sing and even, in places, weep. In his notes for a 2011 Kennedy Center performance of the concerto, Peter Laki notes that this movement “supposedly depicts a famous actor of the time delivering one of his most heart-rending speeches.” Others have heard the composer’s own anguish over his poor health. Whatever the cause, it’s emotionally charged stuff, and Mr. Hadelich did it well, beautifully supported by Mr. Tortelier and the orchestra.
Unlike Paganini, Mr. Hadelich does not appear to be drawn to the showy or overtly theatrical in performance. Yes, he was dressed entirely in black, but when he started playing his concentration was entirely on his instrument and the conductor. He’s a serious musician, a fact made all the more apparent is his encore, the "Andante" from Bach’s Violin Sonata No. 2 (BWV 1003). Virtuosity of a different kind is called for here, as the performer must sustain both the rocking base line and fluid melody above it. Done well, as it was Friday morning by Mr. Hadelich, the music presents the illusion that two instruments are playing at once.
If Paganini courted a diabolical image, his friend Hector Berlioz perhaps took it a step farther by actually going to Hell in the final movement of his 1830 Symphonie fantastique, Op. 14. Subtitled “An Episode in the Life of an Artist,” the work tells, in dramatic and musically explicit terms, the story of a “young vibrant musician” who becomes sexually obsessed with an “ideal” woman. He dreams of her in the first movement; unsuccessfully pursues her at a ball in the second; and flees to the country to escape his longing in the third. In the fourth movement “March of the Scaffold” (often performed by itself) he overdoses on opium (the LSD of the early 19th century) and dreams he is being beheaded for her murder. The work ends with the hallucinatory “Dreams of a Witches' Sabbath,” in which the protagonist envisions himself at an infernal dance, presided over by the object of his affection, now transformed into a demon.
The idea for the Symphonie came from Berlioz’s own obsession with the Irish Shakespearean actress Harriet Smithson, whom he wooed for years and finally won after convincing her to attend a performance of the piece. The composer never tried to kill her, but he did threaten to kill himself with an opium overdose if she didn’t marry him—which she did. The marriage did not end well, but that’s another story.
Unlike the marriage, the music lasted, although it was fiercely controversial. Parisians had just gotten used to the idea of Beethoven when along came this wildly dramatic bit of excess scored for a massive orchestra and accompanied by a narrative that was, to say the least, lurid. Younger composers like Liszt and Saint-Saëns loved it but traditionalists like Mendelssohn were appalled. Even today, a good performance is still (to quote another concertgoer Friday morning) a “wild ride.”
In order for that ride to be enjoyable, of course, you need a conductor who can keep it all under control and make the languorous sighs of the first movement as compelling as the histrionics of the last. Mr. Tortelier did all of that Friday morning, and then some. His interpretation was nuanced without sacrificing any of the composer’s high drama. He clearly knows this music inside out—he conducted without a score—and that level of expertise was apparent in every note.
Mr. Tortelier’s conducting style is fascinating to watch. Working without a baton, he uses his very expressive hands to shape phrases. He seems to be all about economy of movement, holding the big gestures in reserve for when they’re really needed—the volcanic final moments of the Symphonie, for example. There’s subtle shading there that parallels his interpretive approach.
The Berlioz offers plenty of solo opportunities for members of the orchestra, and the symphony musicians did not disappoint. Cally Banham, for example, did full justice to the famous English horn solo in the bucolic “Scène aux Champs,” as did oboist Phil Ross with the offstage echo part. Andrew Cuneo and his fellow bassoonists were wonderfully precise in the fourth movement death march. There was also lovely work here by Scott Andrews and Diana Haskell on clarinet, Andrea Kalpan on flute, and Julie Thornton on flute and piccolo. Praise is also due to Harpists Megan Stout and Claire Happel for their lovely sound in the second movement waltz waltz as well as to the entire percussion section, who get a vigorous workout in the final two movements..
The concert opened with a wonderfully jolly performance of the overture to L’italiana in Algeri by another detractor of the Symphonie fantastique, Gioachino Rossini (“What a good thing it isn’t music”). It’s classic Rossini, with those familiar slow builds in volume and pace that earned him the nickname “Signor Crescendo.” Here, as in the Berlioz, Mr. Tortelier found variety and nuance where I have not heard them in other performances, at least on CD. Mr. Ross’s oboe and Ms. Thornton’s piccolo sounded quite fine in their solo passages.
Next on the calendar: Friday and Saturday, April 19 and 20, at 8 PM, Ward Stare conducts the orchestra and chorus in an intriguing program of two rarely heard Brahms choral works, Johann Strauss Jr.’s Artist’s Life waltz, a suite from Richard Strauss’s Rosenkavalier, and Webern’s entrancing Im Sommerwind. For ticket information: stlsymphony.org.
