Monday, October 24, 2005
On A Disappointing Show; PWYC at the DCJCC
A colleague of mine from work encouraged me to go see "The Gondoliers" on Saturday, produced by the Mount Vernon players, downtown on Massachusetts Avenue near the Gallery Place Metro. I love Gilbert & Sullivan, and "the Gondoliers" has some lovely music--it was immensely popular when it was first produced, running for over a year. It also has a typically ludicrous plot, and some pompous officials that G&S love to skewer, an activity that goes down well in Washington, D.C., as we are familiar with pompous officials that need skewering.
Frankly, the show was disappointing, even by community theater standards. People forgot the lyrics and the small, out-of-tune orchestra drowned out some of the singers. The person accompanying me, who does not like G&S (opposites attract), said he now gets to choose the next five things we attend. But the chorus, where my colleague sang, was terrific. People obviously had a great time. And I learn a lot from disappointing shows. First, I appreciate how great a good show must be. Those G&S lyrics are tongue-twisters. Good actors who can carry a tune do not grow on trees, or sail up in just any old gondola. And I will never again assume that an orchestra will play in tune merely because it is playing in public. (I am spoiled that way).
I'm glad I went, because I did not know that the Mount Vernon Players were the first integrated theater in Washington. They were the nucleus of what later became Arena Stage, according to the energetic and welcoming managing director Darryl Winston, who also conducted a raffle for free tickets during intermission. (If the magic words "free tickets" are involved, I am there). According to the Mount Vernon Players' Web site, at http://www.mountvernonplayers.org/:
"In October 1936, live theater in this city consisted of touring companies stopping at the National Theater. That all changed when Edward P. Mangum attended a one act play being presented in the sanctuary of Mount Vernon Place UMC, and stayed to become the managing director of the players. With the aid of Dr John W. Rustin, this theatrical group grew and prospered. By 1947 there were more than 150 Catholic, Protestant, and Jews working together to present family theater before integrated audiences. They called themselves the Mount Vernon Players. Nowhere else in the Nation’s Capital at that time could this have occurred. When Arena Stage opened on August 16, 1950, across Mount Vernon Square in the old Hippodrome Theater, every member of the staff-- backstage and front of the house -- had had years of training and experience with the Mount Vernon Players. It can be said that, for all practical purposes, Arena Stage is an outgrowth of the Mount Vernon Players."
WHO KNEW? Well, now I do. But as my companion gets to choose the next five things we attend, I am braced for a lot of movies like Wallace & Vomit. Fine. But a Pay-What-You-Can show this week at Theater J looks promising:
"STRING FEVER" COMBINES MYSTERIES OF QUANTUM PHYSICS AND A LOVELORN MUSICIAN'S MIDLIFE QUESTIONS.
Theater J continues its adventurous 2005-06 season with Jacquelyn Reingold's STRING FEVER , an introspective urban comedy that won the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation Science & Technology Project. Director Peg Denithorne (Talley's Folly , Peter & the Wolf) guides an ensemble cast in this exploration of midlife anxieties, human longing and cutting edge quantum physics.
Music teacher Lily reaches her fortieth birthday nursing a broken heart and failed ambitions as a concert violinist. Unable to rid herself of thoughts of Matthew,a musician who left her and entered psychiatric therapy, Lily falls into a relationship with cat-adoring physicist Frank. Frank introduces her to String Theory, the notion that the universe is composed of tiny, multidimensional vibrating filaments. Searching for ties in a cosmos of disconnection, Lily becomes obsessed with particle vibration, quantum mechanics, and Einstein's Theory of General Relativity, as well as physicists' search for a unified “theory of everything.” Adrift in loneliness, considering artificial insemination, Lily also seeks solace in Janey, her spunky best friend grappling with cancer and self-exile in the Midwest, and her irascible father Artie. Together the characters voyage into the depths of their own multidimensional lives, addressing midlife issues like mortality and unrequited desire with urban resilience and resigned humor.
There are interesting comments from those involved in the production at http://www.dcjcc.org/arts/theaterj/currentshow.php
But most importantly:
PAY-WHAT-YOU-CAN PREVIEWS:
Thursday, October 27 at 7:30 pm,
Sunday, October 30 at 8:00 pm
(Box Office opens an hour and a half prior
to the show for ticket purchase)
****
RIch people who want to buy tickets can do so at
800.494.TIXS or visit
www.boxofficetickets.com
TICKETS: $15 - $39
$5 OFF for all regular tickets purchased before October 31! (Use code TJ5 online or by phone)
For groups of 10+call (202) 777-3214 or email hannah@dcjcc.org
PERFORMANCE SCHEDULE
Wednesday and Thursday at 7:30pm
Saturday at 8pm
Sunday at 3pm and 7:30pm
No performance on Nov 6, 16, 2
Special performances
Tuesday, November 15 at 7:30 pm, Wednesday, November 16 at 12:00 pm, and Tuesday, November 22 at 7:30 pm.
Press Night: Monday, October 31, 2005 at 7:30 (with Halloween reception to follow)
Special $25 Weekend Preview Performances
Saturday, October 29, 2005 at 8:00 pm
Sunday, October 30, 2005 at 3:00 pm
PAY-WHAT-YOU-CAN PREVIEWS:
Thursday, October 27 at 7:30 pm,
Sunday, October 30 at 8:00 pm
(Box Office opens an hour and a half prior
to the show for ticket purchase)
Frankly, the show was disappointing, even by community theater standards. People forgot the lyrics and the small, out-of-tune orchestra drowned out some of the singers. The person accompanying me, who does not like G&S (opposites attract), said he now gets to choose the next five things we attend. But the chorus, where my colleague sang, was terrific. People obviously had a great time. And I learn a lot from disappointing shows. First, I appreciate how great a good show must be. Those G&S lyrics are tongue-twisters. Good actors who can carry a tune do not grow on trees, or sail up in just any old gondola. And I will never again assume that an orchestra will play in tune merely because it is playing in public. (I am spoiled that way).
I'm glad I went, because I did not know that the Mount Vernon Players were the first integrated theater in Washington. They were the nucleus of what later became Arena Stage, according to the energetic and welcoming managing director Darryl Winston, who also conducted a raffle for free tickets during intermission. (If the magic words "free tickets" are involved, I am there). According to the Mount Vernon Players' Web site, at http://www.mountvernonplayers.org/:
"In October 1936, live theater in this city consisted of touring companies stopping at the National Theater. That all changed when Edward P. Mangum attended a one act play being presented in the sanctuary of Mount Vernon Place UMC, and stayed to become the managing director of the players. With the aid of Dr John W. Rustin, this theatrical group grew and prospered. By 1947 there were more than 150 Catholic, Protestant, and Jews working together to present family theater before integrated audiences. They called themselves the Mount Vernon Players. Nowhere else in the Nation’s Capital at that time could this have occurred. When Arena Stage opened on August 16, 1950, across Mount Vernon Square in the old Hippodrome Theater, every member of the staff-- backstage and front of the house -- had had years of training and experience with the Mount Vernon Players. It can be said that, for all practical purposes, Arena Stage is an outgrowth of the Mount Vernon Players."
WHO KNEW? Well, now I do. But as my companion gets to choose the next five things we attend, I am braced for a lot of movies like Wallace & Vomit. Fine. But a Pay-What-You-Can show this week at Theater J looks promising:
"STRING FEVER" COMBINES MYSTERIES OF QUANTUM PHYSICS AND A LOVELORN MUSICIAN'S MIDLIFE QUESTIONS.
Theater J continues its adventurous 2005-06 season with Jacquelyn Reingold's STRING FEVER , an introspective urban comedy that won the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation Science & Technology Project. Director Peg Denithorne (Talley's Folly , Peter & the Wolf) guides an ensemble cast in this exploration of midlife anxieties, human longing and cutting edge quantum physics.
Music teacher Lily reaches her fortieth birthday nursing a broken heart and failed ambitions as a concert violinist. Unable to rid herself of thoughts of Matthew,a musician who left her and entered psychiatric therapy, Lily falls into a relationship with cat-adoring physicist Frank. Frank introduces her to String Theory, the notion that the universe is composed of tiny, multidimensional vibrating filaments. Searching for ties in a cosmos of disconnection, Lily becomes obsessed with particle vibration, quantum mechanics, and Einstein's Theory of General Relativity, as well as physicists' search for a unified “theory of everything.” Adrift in loneliness, considering artificial insemination, Lily also seeks solace in Janey, her spunky best friend grappling with cancer and self-exile in the Midwest, and her irascible father Artie. Together the characters voyage into the depths of their own multidimensional lives, addressing midlife issues like mortality and unrequited desire with urban resilience and resigned humor.
There are interesting comments from those involved in the production at http://www.dcjcc.org/arts/theaterj/currentshow.php
But most importantly:
PAY-WHAT-YOU-CAN PREVIEWS:
Thursday, October 27 at 7:30 pm,
Sunday, October 30 at 8:00 pm
(Box Office opens an hour and a half prior
to the show for ticket purchase)
****
RIch people who want to buy tickets can do so at
800.494.TIXS or visit
www.boxofficetickets.com
TICKETS: $15 - $39
$5 OFF for all regular tickets purchased before October 31! (Use code TJ5 online or by phone)
For groups of 10+call (202) 777-3214 or email hannah@dcjcc.org
PERFORMANCE SCHEDULE
Wednesday and Thursday at 7:30pm
Saturday at 8pm
Sunday at 3pm and 7:30pm
No performance on Nov 6, 16, 2
Special performances
Tuesday, November 15 at 7:30 pm, Wednesday, November 16 at 12:00 pm, and Tuesday, November 22 at 7:30 pm.
Press Night: Monday, October 31, 2005 at 7:30 (with Halloween reception to follow)
Special $25 Weekend Preview Performances
Saturday, October 29, 2005 at 8:00 pm
Sunday, October 30, 2005 at 3:00 pm
PAY-WHAT-YOU-CAN PREVIEWS:
Thursday, October 27 at 7:30 pm,
Sunday, October 30 at 8:00 pm
(Box Office opens an hour and a half prior
to the show for ticket purchase)
