Tag Archives: full moon

OLD HATS

Bill Irwin, Nellie McKay, and David Shriner clown around in Signature Theatre’s OLD HATS (photo by Joan Marcus)

The Pershing Square Signature Center
The Irene Diamond Stage
480 West 42nd St. between Tenth & Eleventh Aves.
Through May 9, $75
212-244-7529
www.signaturetheatre.org

Full Moon clowns Bill Irwin and David Shiner are back together again, transforming the Irene Diamond Stage at the Signature Theatre into a rollicking vaudeville house in Old Hats. Irwin, who graduated from Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Clown College and cut his teeth with the Pickle Family Circus, and Shiner, a Cirque du Soleil veteran, have teamed up with London-born composer, performer, activist, and satirist Nellie McKay for a wildly funny two-hour show made up of comic sketches, live music, and a little mayhem. Irwin, the 2003-04 playwright-in-residence at the Signature, and Shiner alternate solo and duo skits with new and old songs by McKay, who plays piano and ukulele leading her band, which features Alexi David on bass, Mike Dobson on percussion, Tivon Pennicott on sax and flute, and Kenneth Salters on drums. Over the course of the night, Irwin and Shiner run from a boulder chasing them down on a back screen à la Indian Jones (courtesy of projection designer Wendall K. Harrington), participate in a silly magic act and an even sillier political debate, and turn into their own funhouse mirrors while waiting for a train. In “The Businessman,” Irwin interacts with his own small image on an iPhone and iPad and much larger depiction on the back screen, wonderfully integrating modern technology into a riotous little tale that holds some delicious surprises. In “Cowboy Cinema,” the longest piece, Shiner picks out a group of people from the audience to enact an old-fashioned silent Western movie scene, with uproarious results. Meanwhile, McKay plays such tunes as “Mother of Pearl,” “Bodega,” and “Dispossessed” in between sketches, her delightfully high-pitched voice and wickedly bold sense of humor putting her on equal footing with Irwin and Shiner instead of just being a time killer during set changes and intermission. “If you would sit oh so close to me / That would be nice like it’s supposed to be / If you don’t I’ll slit your throat / So won’t you please be nice?” she sings on “Won’t U Please B Nice?” Directed by Tina Landau (Superior Donuts, A Civil War Christmas), Old Hats flows virtually seamlessly, providing lots of laughs and “Can you top this?” moments generated by a pair of very clever clowns and a sly and sassy chanteuse.

PINA

PINA is a 3-D celebration of seminal choreographer Pina Bausch and Tanztheater Wuppertal

PINA: DANCE, DANCE, OTHERWISE WE ARE LOST (Wim Wenders, 2011)
BAM Rose Cinemas, 30 Lafayette Ave. between Ashland Pl. & St. Felix St., through January 5, 718-636-4100, $15
IFC Center, 323 Sixth Ave. at West Third St., extended run, 212-924-7771, $17.50
www.sundanceselects.com

Back in 2004, in reviewing Pina Bausch’s Fur Die Kinder von Gesern, Heute und Morgen (For the Children of Yesterday, Today, and Tomorrow) at BAM, we wrote, “You don’t have to be a dance fan to love the always engaging Pina Bausch.” The same holds true for Wim Wenders’s loving 3-D documentary, Pina. The longtime director of Tanztheater Wuppertal, German choreographer Bausch created uniquely entertaining pieces for more than thirty years, combining a playful visual language with a ribald sense of humor, cutting-edge staging, diverse music, and a stellar cast of men and women of varying ages and body sizes, resulting in a new kind of dance theater. A friend of hers for more than twenty years, Wenders (Wings of Desire, Paris, Texas) was collaborating with Bausch on a film when she suddenly died of cancer in 2009 at the age of sixty-eight, two days before rehearsal shooting was to begin. Wenders decided to proceed, making a film for Pina instead of with her. Using the latest 3-D technology, including a specially developed camera rig mounted on a crane, Wenders invites audiences onstage as he captures thrilling, intimate performances of several of Bausch’s seminal works, 1975’s Le Sacre du printemps, 1978’s Café Müller, 1978 and 2000’s Kontakthof (Contact Zone), 2002’s Fur Die Kinder, and 2006’s Vollmond (Full Moon), which were selected by Bausch and Wenders together. The dancers seem to be more motivated than ever, reveling in Bausch’s building, repetitive vocabulary of movement and discussing how she inspired them with just a few words. As a bonus, Wenders includes footage of Bausch dancing Café Müller. Some members of the company also dance personal memories on the streets, in a factory, and aboard a monorail in and around Wuppertal. Pina is not a biopic; Wenders does not delve into Bausch’s personal life or have random talking heads discuss her contribution to the world. Instead, he focuses on how she used movement to celebrate humanity and get the most out of the men, women, and children who worked with her. In the September 2009 memorial ceremony held for Bausch at the Wuppertal Opera House, Wenders said, “I would like to ask all of you, finally, to cherish this treasure of Pina’s gaze. . . . appreciating that you knew Pina, that we all knew her gaze and were fortunate enough to experience such a priceless gift.” With Pina, Wenders has given us a beautiful gift, a wonderful tribute to his great friend. Pina is screening through January 10 at the IFC Center [ed. note: It continues to be extended there and is still running as of mid-June] and January 12 at BAM, where Tanztheater Wuppertal regularly performed since 1984, including most of the pieces featured in the film. Wenders will be appearing at a handful of screenings at IFC on January 6-7 and BAM on January 8 for intros, a book signing, and Q&As.

VOLLMOND (FULL MOON)

Pina Bausch’s VOLLMOND is a wet and wild experience (photo by Laurent Philippe)

Tanztheater Wuppertal Pina Bausch
BAM Howard Gilman Opera House
30 Lafayette Ave. between Ashland Pl. & St. Felix St.
Through October 9, $25 – $85 (October 1 performance reviewed)
718-636-4100
www.bam.org
www.pina-bausch.de

Returning to BAM for the first time since the sudden death of their founder and artistic director, Pina Bausch, in June 2009, Tanztheater Wuppertal is dazzling audiences in Brooklyn with the U.S. premiere of the 2006 evening-length piece VOLLMOND (FULL MOON). A large rock sits alone on a sparse black stage above a shallow, barely visible river of water. The first half of the 150-minute show is an utter delight as the twelve-member company enacts vignettes of love, romance, and the playful battle between the sexes, the men dressed in dark pants and button-down shirts, the women in elegant evening gowns and high heels. They flirt, kiss, and tell jokes, occasionally giving way to sparkling solos by the diminutive Rainer Behr and Ditta Miranda Jasjfi and others. Water, the elixir of life, is at the center of it all, whether the men are pouring drinks for the women or they all go for a swim in the river, rain crashing down in a breathtaking display.

Women dominate the battle of the sexes in VOLLMOND (photo by Jan Szito)

But the second half takes a darker turn, as costumes dim and tend toward black, the kissing and jokes replaced by violence and pain, the high tides of the full moon now pulling more turbulent currents to the surface. The first three solos are performed by the troupe’s older members, new co-artistic director Dominique Mercy (who has been with the company since Bausch took it over in 1973), longtime comic relief Nazareth Panadero, and the lithe, rail-thin Julie Anne Stanzak, their movements sharper and less fluid than those of the younger dancers. Where wooden sticks were earlier used to create a cool thwooshing sound, now they are weapons. Instead of filling a wineglass with a drink, a man now shoots a plastic cup off a woman’s head using a water pistol. The music also borders on the morose, including Cat Power’s eerie “Werewolf.” But soon the sexes are back in each other’s arms for a wet and wild finale. Bausch’s unique melding of dance, theater, comedy, and music is in abundant evidence throughout VOLLMOND, another terrific crowd pleaser from one of the world’s most gifted talents. Athough no one takes the customary choreographer’s bow after the show, Bausch’s presence is felt all night long. At one point, Panadero brings out a chair and warns a man away from it, stating that even ghosts need to sit down; everyone in the theater instantly understands whom she is talking about. Discussion and speculation over the future of Tanztheater Wuppertal swirl around whether it can go on without Bausch; VOLLMOND is a must-see on its own merits, but even more so considering the possibility that it could be the company’s last stand in New York.

VOLLMOND (FULL MOON)

Tanztheater Wuppertal Pina Bausch returns to BAM without their fearless leader (photo by Jan Szito)

Tanztheater Wuppertal Pina Bausch
BAM Howard Gilman Opera House
30 Lafayette Ave. between Ashland Pl. & St. Felix St.
September 29 – October 9, $25 – $85
718-636-4100
www.bam.org
www.pina-bausch.de

Back in 1984, Tanztheater Wuppertal Pina Bausch performed at BAM for the first time, presenting DAS FRÜHLINGSOPFER and LE SACRE DU PRINTEMPS, and over the years the insanely entertaining German troupe has returned with such memorable evening-length pieces as DANZÓN, MASURCA FOGO, NEFÉS, and last year’s BAMBOO BLUES. And for Bausch, evening-length really means evening-length, as many of her productions run between two and a half and three hours, and they rarely if ever lag. Instead they’re filled with offbeat humor, playful dialogue, unusual props, wild stage designs, and, of course, creative movement. Bausch died in June 2009 at the age of sixty-eight, so this will mark Tanztheater Wuppertal’s first BAM appearance without their endlessly innovative and always elegant director and choreographer. VOLLMOND (FULL MOON) will run at the Howard Gilman Opera House from September 29 through October 9, but tickets are already scarce, so act quickly, whether you’re a fan of contemporary dance or not, because you’ll find lots to love regardless. Bausch’s twelfth show at BAM features set design by Peter Pabst, costumes by Marion Cito, and musical collaboration by Matthias Burkert and Andreas Eisenschneider, with an eclectic score that includes songs by Magyar Posse, Cat Power, Amon Tobin, René Aubry, Alexander Balanescu, Tom Waits, Siegfried Ganhör and to rococo rot, Jun Miyake and Sublime, and others. There will also be a lot of water.

THE WOLFMAN

Benicio Del Toro and Anthony Hopkins really should have found better things to do than star in horrible horror remake

THE WOLFMAN (Joe Johnston, 2010)
Opens Friday, February 12
www.thewolfmanmovie.com

Universal put together an all-star lineup for its big-budget remake of its own 1941 horror classic, THE WOLF MAN, but everything did not quite go as planned. A year delay was promulgated by the first director, Mark Romanek, quitting, composer Danny Elfman walking out, monster guru Rick Baker having to redo his initial batch of designs, one of the leads unable to join the rest of the cast for some very late reshoots, and a pair of emergency editors being rushed in to salvage at least something. Well, they should have left it all on the cutting-room floor. THE WOLFMAN (yes, they made it one word, probably to make it easier to find in web searches?) is indeed the very disaster it looked like it would be, a soulless reimagining of George Waggner’s psychologically dramatic and sweetly charming original. The schlocky new production stars Benicio Del Toro as Lawrence Talbot, the prodigal son returning to the family homestead following the disappearance of his highly esteemed brother. Lawrence immediately falls for his brother’s fiancée, Gwen Conliffe (Emily Blunt), while attempting to get along with his regal father, Sir John (Anthony Hopkins), but all of the relationships in the film feel forced. Director Joe Johnston (JURASSIC PARK III) eschews real terror in favor of cheap thrills and unnecessary violence, although there are a couple of pretty cool beheadings. But by the end, you’ll find yourself laughing out loud at the utterly absurd dialogue, which doesn’t even qualify as camp, though it does come close in a few places.