Monday, August 11, 2008
Early One Morning
I like it when I get to my office before everyone else in the summer. The whole floor is quiet and peaceful and I can just sip tea and listen to the hum of the air conditioner (which I can set to whatever I want since I'm the first one here). Since the second set of summer courses ended and instructors haven't begun preparing for the fall yet, I rarely have to answer the phone or help anyone in person. I can do what little work I have without getting interrupted and without any time pressures. I can also just sit in the quiet and stare blankly at the wall if I want without anyone caring. This is especially good after insomnia nights like last night. Since I'm the only person on the administrative staff that is not salaried, I'm the only one with a real schedule. I show up at 9:00 and everyone else wanders in and out when they feel like it. It's a little annoying since I always seem to be working more hours than my bosses, but it's nice at times like these.
Saturday, August 9, 2008
Local Theater and Assassins
I love theater, but I haven't gone to many shows by local Boston companies. I tend to save my money for occasional trips to Broadway and any good touring shows that I don't get free tickets to (my friend works for a theater company and generously gets me free tickets to a lot of the national touring shows . . . she is awesome!). Still, there are some great local groups here and they generally offer cheaper tickets to their shows. At the Huntington Theater, for example, you can join the 35 and under club for free and get extremely discounted tickets and subscriptions!
In the past I've seen some good and bad local theater. Present Laughter at the Huntington a year or two ago was quite well done and Victor Garber was awesome in it. I've enjoyed several of the Longwood Players shows. They're not a professional company, but they have some pretty good talent. My favorite of their productions was A New Brain. I also saw a fairly bad production of The Last Five Years in Watertown, but at least I got to see a production of that show.
My mission this year is to attend more local shows, especially those by professional companies that I haven't seen before. I started my quest earlier this month by seeing Company One's production of Assassins at the BCA.
First, a little background. I have a love/hate relationship with Sondheim. I respect that he addresses challenging issues and writes ambitiously, but I don't always enjoy his shows. Usually I like a few songs from the shows I don't like and not the "plot" or the other songs. I like Into the Woods, but I've only seen the filmed version. I went to Company on Broadway last year and was bored and not really into it. Granted, I had back of the balcony seats, but I don't think it would have mattered if I had better seats. The instrument playing was impressive from a musical standpoint and Raul Esperanza was strong especially when he sang Being Alive, but overall, it didn't excite me.
On the other hand, I saw the touring production of Sweeney Todd this past year in the Colonial and loved it. Without actually showing much blood or having much of a set, it managed to be far more creepy and deep than the movie version. The actors/musicians angle worked perfectly with the insane asylum premise. In a world of crazy and disilllusioned people who may or may not be imagining or remembering real events, playing an instrument only enhanced the dreamlike (or nightmare like) quality.
I do like the music in Assassins, especially the revival cast. I was disappointed that Company One was doing the original version because I want to see how the transformation of the Balladeer is handled in the revival. I also missed the "Something Just Broke" song because it is haunting and one of my favorite additions to the show. Still, it was an excellent production. The set was simple, but easy to see from all sides and the staging effectively had the actors playing to different parts of the audience for appropriate amounts of time. When someone sang to one side of the room, either someone else would be singing to your part or the actor would sing a later verse in your direction. The small theater worked well for the show. In Assassins, you should feel as if you were right there with the assassins and it should make you uncomfortable.
The singing and acting were also strong. The Balladeer was a tiny bit hoarse, but we caught them at the end of their run. Each of the main actors had a microphone, which I felt was unneccesary and distracting. The theater was small and they all had powerful voices already. Some of their voices were so powerful in fact that I felt the songs were too loud. I don't know if this was an intentional choice to add to the discomfort level. The few microphone cut outs took you out of the scene. In addition, the chorus members weren't miked and sounded really quiet and odd in comparison.
The show itself is interesting because it presents situations, but not neccessarily reasons, solutions, or messages. You can understand what led the assassins to do their deeds, but it isn't villified or rationalized. It is up to the audience to decide if they were justified in any way.
Overall, it was a solid production that entertained and inspired thought. I'll definitely look for more Company One shows in the future.
In the past I've seen some good and bad local theater. Present Laughter at the Huntington a year or two ago was quite well done and Victor Garber was awesome in it. I've enjoyed several of the Longwood Players shows. They're not a professional company, but they have some pretty good talent. My favorite of their productions was A New Brain. I also saw a fairly bad production of The Last Five Years in Watertown, but at least I got to see a production of that show.
My mission this year is to attend more local shows, especially those by professional companies that I haven't seen before. I started my quest earlier this month by seeing Company One's production of Assassins at the BCA.
First, a little background. I have a love/hate relationship with Sondheim. I respect that he addresses challenging issues and writes ambitiously, but I don't always enjoy his shows. Usually I like a few songs from the shows I don't like and not the "plot" or the other songs. I like Into the Woods, but I've only seen the filmed version. I went to Company on Broadway last year and was bored and not really into it. Granted, I had back of the balcony seats, but I don't think it would have mattered if I had better seats. The instrument playing was impressive from a musical standpoint and Raul Esperanza was strong especially when he sang Being Alive, but overall, it didn't excite me.
On the other hand, I saw the touring production of Sweeney Todd this past year in the Colonial and loved it. Without actually showing much blood or having much of a set, it managed to be far more creepy and deep than the movie version. The actors/musicians angle worked perfectly with the insane asylum premise. In a world of crazy and disilllusioned people who may or may not be imagining or remembering real events, playing an instrument only enhanced the dreamlike (or nightmare like) quality.
I do like the music in Assassins, especially the revival cast. I was disappointed that Company One was doing the original version because I want to see how the transformation of the Balladeer is handled in the revival. I also missed the "Something Just Broke" song because it is haunting and one of my favorite additions to the show. Still, it was an excellent production. The set was simple, but easy to see from all sides and the staging effectively had the actors playing to different parts of the audience for appropriate amounts of time. When someone sang to one side of the room, either someone else would be singing to your part or the actor would sing a later verse in your direction. The small theater worked well for the show. In Assassins, you should feel as if you were right there with the assassins and it should make you uncomfortable.
The singing and acting were also strong. The Balladeer was a tiny bit hoarse, but we caught them at the end of their run. Each of the main actors had a microphone, which I felt was unneccesary and distracting. The theater was small and they all had powerful voices already. Some of their voices were so powerful in fact that I felt the songs were too loud. I don't know if this was an intentional choice to add to the discomfort level. The few microphone cut outs took you out of the scene. In addition, the chorus members weren't miked and sounded really quiet and odd in comparison.
The show itself is interesting because it presents situations, but not neccessarily reasons, solutions, or messages. You can understand what led the assassins to do their deeds, but it isn't villified or rationalized. It is up to the audience to decide if they were justified in any way.
Overall, it was a solid production that entertained and inspired thought. I'll definitely look for more Company One shows in the future.
Sports post
Can you believe I haven't been posting because I have too much to post about? I had planned to post about a whole bunch of topics, but I haven't had the time lately and now I am behind! I guess I'll have to stop doing interesting things for awhile. Unfortunately, for the blog's sake, I'm going to the Isabella Stewart Gardner Musuem today and I have a trip to New Jersey and New York City next weekend.
I watched the opening ceremony of the Olympics last night. It was excessive, but actually pretty artistic and cool this year. My favorite portion was the large square of individually square blocks that popped up in different configurations to make pictures. The performers moving them must have practiced for a long time. My least favorite part was Sarah Brightman standing on top of the world singing with a surprisingly average looking Chinese pop star. I already believe she's an alien; I don't want to see her standing in top of the world with those creepy, spaced-out eyes and that plastic smile ready to eat all of its citizens. I also enjoyed how whenever they cut to Bush he was either checking the time or talking to Putin or Laura and not watching the performance. Oh, except for when Iraq came out in the parade of nations. He must have realized they would zoom in on him then. Granted, I would also be bored out of my mind by the parade of nations, but he was the one who wanted to go to it and it's part of his job to look attentive at diplomatic appearances.
I also watched Patriots pre-season on Thursday, but I don't have much to say about that. I tried to be excited . . . I really did! Patriots just aren't the Patriots without their starting players. At least Welker had no facial hair. : ) On the plus side, some of the rookies and newcomers look like they have potential. Lamont Jordon from Oakland could be our new "power it in" guy easily even if he is a little older (he'll fit right in with the other older guys). Mayo and Crable looked good on a few plays too. I thought their quarterback draft pick Kevin O'Connell played the best out of the three backups too. He moved well and seemed the most accurate with his throws. That said, if Brady gets hurt this season we're totally screwed. I'm sure the three backups would do better surrounded by the starting players, but they're still not ready to take over for Brady anytime soon.
I watched the opening ceremony of the Olympics last night. It was excessive, but actually pretty artistic and cool this year. My favorite portion was the large square of individually square blocks that popped up in different configurations to make pictures. The performers moving them must have practiced for a long time. My least favorite part was Sarah Brightman standing on top of the world singing with a surprisingly average looking Chinese pop star. I already believe she's an alien; I don't want to see her standing in top of the world with those creepy, spaced-out eyes and that plastic smile ready to eat all of its citizens. I also enjoyed how whenever they cut to Bush he was either checking the time or talking to Putin or Laura and not watching the performance. Oh, except for when Iraq came out in the parade of nations. He must have realized they would zoom in on him then. Granted, I would also be bored out of my mind by the parade of nations, but he was the one who wanted to go to it and it's part of his job to look attentive at diplomatic appearances.
I also watched Patriots pre-season on Thursday, but I don't have much to say about that. I tried to be excited . . . I really did! Patriots just aren't the Patriots without their starting players. At least Welker had no facial hair. : ) On the plus side, some of the rookies and newcomers look like they have potential. Lamont Jordon from Oakland could be our new "power it in" guy easily even if he is a little older (he'll fit right in with the other older guys). Mayo and Crable looked good on a few plays too. I thought their quarterback draft pick Kevin O'Connell played the best out of the three backups too. He moved well and seemed the most accurate with his throws. That said, if Brady gets hurt this season we're totally screwed. I'm sure the three backups would do better surrounded by the starting players, but they're still not ready to take over for Brady anytime soon.
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