Tag Archives: brooklyn academy of music

NEXT WAVE FESTIVAL: NOSFERATU

Grzegorz Jarzyna’s unique take on the Dracula legend will keep trying to wake the audience up at BAM through November 2 (photo by Stefan Okolowicz)

Brooklyn Academy of Music
BAM Harvey Theater
651 Fulton St. between Ashland & Rockwell Pl.
Through November 2, $20-$65
718-636-4100
www.bam.org

Somehow, in trying to create a fresh new way for audiences to experience the familiar vampire tale of Nosferatu, aka Dracula, theater master Grzegorz Jarzyna ended up with an absurdly slow-paced and downright dull production. Running at the BAM Harvey through November 2, TR Warszawa and Teatr Narodowy’s multimedia Nosferatu starts out well enough, establishing a contemporary social context while introducing the main characters in a large room with three floor-to-ceiling oval windows, two beds, a long table, and numerous mirrors with drastically different reflective qualities. But after a lively beginning, things slow down to sleep-inducing levels as a bland vampire preys on this small group of friends who at first discuss science, religion, fear, and death in intriguing, nonlinear ways before things give way to frustration, confusion, and boredom. Jarzyna, who has adapted such other works as Thomas Mann’s Doctor Faustus, Thomas Vinterberg’s Festen, Fyodor Dostoevsky’s The Idiot, and, together, Mozart’s Don Giovanni and Molière’s Don Juan, sucks the life out of the vampire legend over the course of 110 intermissionless, interminable minutes, leaving behind little more than smoke and mirrors.

NEXT WAVE THEATER: NOSFERATU

Grzegorz Jarzyna adds to the vampire legend in multimedia NOSFERATU running this week at BAM (photo by Stefan Okolowicz)

Brooklyn Academy of Music
BAM Harvey Theater
651 Fulton St. between Ashland & Rockwell Pl.
October 30 – November 2, $20-$65
718-636-4100
www.bam.org

Halloween is quickly upon us, so arts organizations across the city are turning to horror to try to scare the hell out of us this week. Over at BAM, you can catch the frightening “Puppets on Film” series, which includes Godzilla, Aliens, and the terrifying The Great Muppet Caper; Alfred Hitchcock’s Family Plot and The Lodger, the latter with live music by Morricone Youth; and the twelfth annual BAMboo!, a free, child-friendly block party with music, candy, games, workshops, and more. But the strangest of them all is likely to be TR Warszawa and Teatr Narodowy’s multimedia production of Nosferatu, inspired by Bram Stoker’s 1897 novel Dracula — which was also the inspiration for F. W. Murnau’s 1922 horror classic, Nosferatu, a film that had to change its title, character names, and plot details because the Stoker family would not authorize the rights. Written and directed by Grzegorz Jarzyna, who brought Thomas Vinterberg’s Dogme 95 film The Celebration to mesmerizing life as Festen at St. Ann’s Warehouse last year, Nosferatu has an original score by John Zorn, with sets and costumes by Magdalena Maciejewska, lighting by Jacqueline Sobiszewski, and video design by Bartek Macias. The cast consists of Sandra Korzeniak, Katarzyna Warnke, Wolfgang Michael, Jan Englert, Jan Frycz, Krzysztof Franieczek, Marcin Hycnar, Lech Łotocki, and Adam Woronowicz. The show runs October 30 through November 2 at the BAM Harvey; on November 1 at 6:00 in the Hillman Attic Studio ($15), New Yorker journalist Joan Acocella will give the related talk “On Vampires.” In addition, Film Forum is showing Werner Herzog’s remake Nosferatu the Vampyre through November 7, with a bonus screening of Murnau’s original on November 4 at 7:30.

TIFFANY MILLS COMPANY: BERRIES AND BULLS / THE FEAST (PART 1)

Petra van Noort, Jeffrey Duval, and Kevin Ho (photo © Julie Lemberger, 2013)

Petra van Noort, Jeffrey Duval, and Kevin Ho will be part of world premiere of BERRIES AND BULLS at BAM (photo © Julie Lemberger, 2013)

BAM Fisher, Fishman Space
321 Ashland Pl.
May 30 – June 2, $20
718-636-4100
www.bam.org
www.tiffanymillscompany.org

Over the last few years, the New York-based Tiffany Mills Company has been developing Berries and Bulls, an hour-long piece that incorporates movement and text in exploring long-term relationships, performed by four dancers. Early versions of the work were presented at Dance New Amsterdam in 2010 and the Baryshnikov Arts Center in 2012, but Mills has now expanded Berries and Bulls, with the world premiere of the new production taking place at BAM’s Fishman Space May 30 through June 2, featuring the original quartet (Jeffrey Duval, Kevin Ho, Emily Pope-Blackman, and Petra van Noort) along with an additional ten guest dancers (Einy Am, Lucie Baker, Ching-I Chang, John Hoobyar, Elise Knudson, Nikolas Owens, Hannah Seidel, Kensaku Shinohara, Simon Thomas-Train, and Mei Yamanaka). The text is by Dr. Peter Petralia, the founding artistic director of the British-based experimental, multidisciplinary Proto-type Theater, with a new set by Brooklyn-based visual artist Ian Trask. Also on the program is The Feast (Part 1), which examines the human condition through abundance and scarcity, nourishment and starvation, performed by five dancers and set to an original score by Jonathan Melville Pratt, with the audience involved in creating the space. Berries and Bulls and The Feast (Part 1) are part of BAM’s Professional Development Program, a collaboration with the DeVos Institute of Arts Management at the Kennedy Center that benefits nonprofit arts organizations.

THE MASTER BUILDER

Wrenn Schmidt and John Turturro try to build an unusual relationship in Andrei Belgrader’s new version of 1892 Ibsen play (photo by Stephanie Berger)

Brooklyn Academy of Music
BAM Harvey Theater
651 Fulton St. between Ashland & Rockwell Pl.
Through June 9, $25-$90
718-636-4100
www.bam.org

A stark coldness pervades Andrei Belgrader’s new version of Henrik Ibsen’s most autobiographical play, The Master Builder. Collaborating once again with John Turturro — the two previously worked together on a terrific production of Samuel Beckett’s Endgame at BAM in 2008 and on Anton Chekhov’s The Cherry Orchard at Classic Stage this past fall/winter, Belgrader uses David Edgar’s recent streamlined, modernized translation in telling the story of a star Norwegian architect who knows how to build buildings but can’t manage to keep his life from falling apart around him. Turturro plays the title character, Halvard Solness, a mean-spirited, philandering megalomaniac who is refusing to allow his dying mentor, Knut Brovik (Julian Gamble), the opportunity to see his architect son, Ragnar (Max Gordon Moore), succeed in any way before the father dies. Halvard also flirts terribly with his secretary, Kaja Fosli (Kelly Hutchinson), even though she is engaged to Ragnar. Meanwhile, Halvard’s wife, Aline (Katherine Borowitz, Turturro’s real-life wife), wanders through Santo Loquasto’s latticed-metal set like a ghost, never having recovered from a family tragedy. “I am the way I am. I can’t remake myself,” Halvard says at one point, but he does go through a change upon the arrival of Hilde Wangel (Wrenn Schmidt), a sexy fairy-tale-like nymph who claims that Halvard promised himself to her ten years earlier, when she was a mere thirteen. He is of course smitten with her, leading to yet more complications. But just as Halvard clearly differentiates between “a house, but not a home,” this Master Builder never climbs the heights it aspires to. Turturro is too blustery and Schmidt (Katie Roche, Boardwalk Empire) too chirpy (and chippy), while the production as a whole never quite develops a solid foundation, its structure too loose and disconnected, in need of some further construction.

DANCEAFRICA 2013

The Bronx-based Harambee Dance Company is part of 2013 DanceAfrica festival at BAM (photo by Derrek Garret)

Brooklyn Academy of Music
30 Lafayette Ave. between Ashland Pl. & St. Felix St.
May 24-27, free – $50
718-636-4100
www.bam.org

Last week, the incomparable Baba Chuck Davis, the founder and artistic director of BAM’s annual DanceAfrica festival, was one of the grand marshals of the seventh New York Dance Parade, the theme of which was “Unity Through Dance.” That same theme can apply to Davis and DanceAfrica, which this year brings three international companies to the Howard Gilman Opera House stage. Zimbabwe’s Umkhathi Theatre Works will perform the tribal dance Isitshikitsha, the hunting-and-gathering dance Chinyambera, the Shangani tribal dance Muchongoyo, and the social gathering Setapa, joined by the BAM/Restoration DanceAfrica Ensemble. Atlanta’s Giwayen Mata’s program will include Perseverance: In My House, set to DJ Fresca’s “Amaphoyisa,” and the Lamban Dansa. Harambee Dance Company, which hails from the Bronx, will present the historical and spiritual journey Reflections, the partying Midnight in the City, and the musical piece “You Goin’ Get This Work.” As a special treat, Washington, DC’s Sweet Honey in the Rock will sing “Sabumoya,” “I Remember I Believe,” “Wholly Wholly,” and “Let There Be Peace.” As always, Davis will provide his welcoming address (“Ago!” “Amée!!”), introduce the Council of Elders, and honor those who are no longer with us. Meanwhile, BAMcinématek’s FilmAfrica will screen such movies as Taghreed Elsanhouri’s Our Beloved Sudan, Clemente Bococchi’s Black Africa White Marble, Charlie Vundla’s How to Steal 2 Million, and Rémi Bezançon and Jean-Christophe Lie’s animated Zarafa. BAMcafé Live continues the African celebration with a pair of free concerts: Abdou Mboup and Waakaw on May 24 and a Late Night Dance Party with Ralph McDaniels and Video Music Box on May 25. And the always fun DanceAfrica Bazaar will set up shop along Lafayette Ave. and Ashland Pl. Saturday through Monday, a global marketplace with great food, clothing, fashion, arts & crafts, and much more.

THE SUIT

Matilda (Nonhlanhla Kheswa) clutches the object of her affection, and ultimate downfall, while Philomen (William Nadylam) sneaks up on her in THE SUIT (photo by Richard Termine)

Brooklyn Academy of Music
BAM Harvey Theater
651 Fulton St. between Ashland & Rockwell Pl.
Through February 2, $25-$90
718-636-4100
www.bam.org

A married couple’s woes serve as a microcosm for life in apartheid South Africa in Peter Brook, Marie-Hélène Estienne, and Franck Krawczyk’s minimalist English-language adaptation of Can Themba, Mothobi Mutloatse, and Barney Simon’s French version of Themba’s award-winning short story, The Suit. Set in the 1950s in Sophiatown, a culturally vibrant suburb of Johannesburg that was crushed by apartheid, The Suit is a story within a story with Jared McNeill serving as narrator, speaking directly to and interacting with the audience, even bringing three people onstage at one point. McNeill relates the tale of Philomen (William Nadylam), a working man who comes home early one day to catch his wife, Matilda (Brooklyn-based South Africa native Nonhlanhla Kheswa), in the arms of another man (Rikki Henry, who plays multiple small roles as well as serving as assistant director). The lover takes off in a hurry, leaving behind his well-tailored suit on a hanger. As punishment for her cheating, Philomen forces Tilly to treat the suit as a member of the family, pretending to feed it and giving it an honored place in their bedroom every night. But when he decides that they should throw a party that includes the suit as a guest, tragedy awaits.

Three friends talk about life and love in South African drama THE SUIT (photo by Richard Termine)

Three friends talk about life and its limited possibilities in THE SUIT (photo by Richard Termine)

The Suit takes place on a relatively bare stage that features only a dozen brightly colored backless chairs and metal clothing racks that become doors, windows, closets, bathrooms, and bus stops. The empty spaces in the racks and chairs evoke the emptiness of the characters’ lives during apartheid; Brook, Estienne, and Krawczyk fill these empty spaces with music, performed live by guitarist Arthur Astier, pianist Raphaël Chambouvet, and accordionist David Dupuis, who also make humorous surprise appearances at the party. Tilly also sings several heartfelt songs herself, with Kheswa revealing a lovely voice. The Suit doesn’t make any grand statements about racism, politics, or even infidelity, instead concentrating on the claustrophobic lives the people of Sophiatown must endure. The cast is uniformly excellent; the night we saw it, the show had to be stopped for a few minutes because of a sick audience member, but McNeill, Nadylam, and Henry were able to get back into their scene afterward, improvising a handful of playful jokes referencing the delay. Brook is a familiar fixture at BAM, going back more than forty years; in 1971, he presented A Midsummer Night’s Dream there, and in 1987 he helped renovate the Majestic Theater, now known as the Harvey, for The Mahabharata. At eighty-seven, he is back at the Harvey, with a delightful yet dark seventy-five-minute production that once again proves that less can be more.

NEXT WAVE FESTIVAL: RHINOCEROS

Théâtre de la Ville, Paris, will present Eugène Ionesco’s classic absurdist tale RHINOCÉROS this week at BAM (photo by Jean-Louis Fernandez)

BAM Howard Gilman Opera House
30 Lafayette Ave. between Ashland Pl. & St. Felix St.
October 4-6
718-636-4100
www.bam.org
www.theatredelaville-paris.com

As much as Jean-Paul Sartre is associated with the idea of existentialism, playwright Eugène Ionesco is linked with the word absurd. Born in Romania in 1909 and raised primarily in France, Ionesco changed the face of dramatic narrative with such works as The Lesson, The Chairs, The Killer, and Exit the King. One of his most famous plays, 1959’s Rhinocéros, which was turned into a 1973 film starring Zero Mostel, Gene Wilder, and Karen Black, can now be seen in an inventive adaptation by Emmanuel Demarcy-Mota and Théâtre de la Ville, Paris, running at BAM’s Howard Gilman Opera House October 4-6 as part of the thirtieth Next Wave Festival. “I like to come back to playwrights who question the place and role of the individual in collective history, on his responsibility, his freedom of thought, beyond any form of individualism,” Demarcy-Mota, who has also recently directed works by Horváth and Brecht, explains on the company website. The allegory about totalitarianism features set and lighting by Yves Collet, music by Jefferson Lembeye, and costumes by Corinne Baudelot, with François Regnault serving as artistic collaborator; Serge Maggiani plays Bérenger, Hugues Quester is Jean, and Valérie Dashwood takes on the role of Daisy. “”Ionesco knows how to depict dialectically every man’s cowardice, conformism and hypocrisy,” Demarcy-Mota adds. Rhinocéros “is a funereally burlesque play that we wish to render with full energy.” As a bonus, on October 5 at 5:00 at the Rosenthal Pavilion at NYU’s Kimmel Center, the esteemed panel of Demarcy-Mota, Edward Albee, Israel Horovitz, and Marie-France Ionesco will participate in the free “Next Wave Talk: On Ionesco,” moderated by NYU French literature professor Tom Bishop.

Nowhere is safe in Théâtre de la Ville’s thrilling production of Eugène Ionesco’s absurdist classic (photo by Pavel Antonov)

Update: Théâtre de la Ville director Emmanuel Demarcy-Mota promised a Rhinocéros rendered “with full energy,” and he and the company deliver all that and more in their engaging version of Eugène Ionesco’s 1959 absurdist classic, running October 4-6 at BAM’s Howard Gilman Opera House as part of the thirtieth Next Wave Festival. Following a short introductory excerpt from Ionesco’s sole novel, The Hermit, the curtain opens on a group of people in a town square just going about their daily business. Jean (a big, blustery Hugues Quester) bikes in to meet his friend Bérenger (Serge Maggiani), a bedraggled man recovering from a hangover, not able to remember much of what occurred the night before. A rhinoceros suddenly roars through the town like a tsunami, leaving in its wake a stunned crowd not quite sure what it really just saw, instead getting caught up in existential discussions of cats’ paws. Eventually life goes on, with Bérenger, who has a crush on Daisy (Valérie Dashwood), arriving at the publishing house where he works, only to encounter another stampeding rhino. As everyone around him starts turning into rhinos, the hapless Bérenger is determined not to succumb to the mass hysteria. Featuring terrific staging (courtesy of Yves Collet) that includes a raised-level office, collapsing rooms, and a majestically morphing figure in addition to a slowly building score by Jefferson Lembeye that nearly explodes at the end, Théâtre de la Ville’s Rhinocéros cleverly captures the philosophical underpinnings of Ionesco’s tale of the fight for individualism in the face of growing totalitarianism and an ever-increasing conformity that is overwhelming a consumer-driven society. Evoking Franz Kafka’s novella The Metamorphosis, Don Siegel’s sci-fi classic Invasion of the Body Snatchers, and such recent disasters as Hurricane Katrina and the 2011 Japanese earthquake and tsunami, the show combines humor, pathos, and playful investigations of logic as the community is overcome by a collective consciousness that seems unstoppable. Ionesco might have written Rhinocéros because of what he saw occurring in Eastern Europe in the 1930s, but it still feels as fresh and relevant as ever in this outstanding production.