Tuesday, December 7, 2010

Another Day, Another performance

     Last night we had the opportunity to see a preview of a new, one-person play entitled Art Tatum:Piano Starts Here, at the Kennedy Theatre in The Progressive Energy Center over in Raleigh.  It was our first trip to downtown Raleigh and to the Energy Center which is an impressive venue featuring four separate theaters.(They have both  Christmas Carol  and Christmas Story up at the same time)  The Kennedy is a small black box theater seating about 170.
    The play is the story of Art Tatum, legendary jazz pianist of the mid 20th century.  His life story is told  by the owner of an imaginary jazz club in Harlem. (If you sit at the tables down front and on-stage you get served beer all night - which I'm not sure sends the right message as there are indications in the play that both Tatum and Fats Waller died of illnesses related to alcoholism. Anyway, It's a cute bit and allows the bar owner to interact with the audience.)
      For those of you who aren't aware, Tatum was a blind black man who hailed from Toledo, Ohio, and became one of the nation's premier jazz musicians.  The fictional club owner, called Doc Hanley, tells Tatum's story through a series of anecdotes.  Other than a few obvious line miscues (haven't we all been there) the actor playing Doc does a nice job. (There were no programs, and I didn't catch his name.)
      There is another character in the play. It's a grand piano that sits stage left.  The piano has been programed to play Tatum arrangements of at least 10 songs.  It is simply amazing to hear these masterpieces played, and are crafted into the narrative very well.  The piano is well lit. It truly feels like you are watching an actual presentation by the long-dead Tatum.
     The technology for this amazing feat is provided by Zenph (You can go to Zenph.com to find out more - I'd link it if I could figure out how to do that).  They take audio recordings from any source and convert them into "precise, nuanced keystrokes and pedal motions.  This is done in data formats which can be played back with phenomenal reality on a high-resolution computer controlled grand piano."  You could close your eyes and really feel Tatum's presence.  The play is directed by Jay O'Berski, the "wunderkind" of theater in the Triangle.  Jay is a professor at Duke, but also directs, acts, and consults with a number of small theaters in this area.
     The play is being marketed as a merger of theater and technology.  I think this is unfortunate because the piano really does become a character in the play.  It is more than a "player piano".  It represents the life of an under appreciated American genius.   

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