Since Spring Break we've been attending quite a few artistic endeavors. They've all been impressive in their own ways and have offered us diverse entertainment.
We went down to Playmakers at UNC to see a staged reading of The Train Driver written by Athol Fugard which starred John Beasley and Treat Williams. Both actors have had extensive careers, Mr. Williams having been nominated for 4 Golden Globes, an Emmy, and has won two Theatre Guild Awards. The play is about a white South African train driver who runs over a black woman and her baby when they step in front of the train he is driving. He goes to a black cemetery looking for the woman's grave and there meets a black grave digger. The play revolves around their developing relationship and the train drivers quest for some sort of closure. It is an interesting play which deals with hope, despair, humanity, and understanding. Just when you think there is a resolution, the play ends with - well I won't tell you just in case . .
The performance was made special by the presence of Mr. Fugard who participated in a "talk-back" after the performance. In his 80s, Mr. Fugard was energetic and engaging. He answered questions from the audience and discussed the play with the actors. When asked about the ending, he merely said that he hopes all his plays leaves his audiences a bit unsettled and thinking. We was extremely complimentary of the actors, saying that he just writes the words, it's the actors who bring the characters to life. I usually find talk-backs a waste of time. You generally hear the same stupid questions - "How did you learn all those lines?"(In this case how did you learn the accent? - the fact that the program listed a dialect coach was obviously lost to the questioner.) or someone is so impressed with their own intelligence they make statements rather than ask questions. Anyway, this talk-back was truly rewarding.
For 50 years The Durham Savoyards have been producing and performing Gilbert and Sullivan musicals. We attended their presentation of Iolanthe and came away impressed. The play is a bit bizarre featuring fairies and politicians, but the company seemed to be having fun and we were entertained. They tried to give it an updating - actors carried on conversations via cellphone(didn't work) - politicians were from two parties one wearing blue ties the other wearing red ties(did work). The voices were strong and a full orchestra accompanied them. It is surprising how the political commentary and the skewering the politicians done by Gilbert and Sullivan in this musical remains timely.
For the first time in as long as anyone can remember, the Duke Theater Studies Dept., Music Dept., Dance Dept., and Hoof n Horn(Duke student runs musical club) worked together to stage a show. They presented the musical Ragtime and did a bang-up job. It was by far the most professional production we've seen on campus in our three years here. I had never seen the musical before(Nan had seen it on Broadway) and was moved by the production. Particularly strong performances were offered by Alessandra DiMona as "mother", Sam Caywood as "Tateh", Dominique Barnes as "Sarah". The blend of the voices between Ms. DiMona, Mr. Caywood, and Tyler Pease as "father" in the number "Journey On" was excellent. The scene in the second act between Ms. DiMona and Mr. Caywood built around the song "Our Children" was outstanding. There are moments when actors can draw the audience into their world, their emotions, and their thoughts - That song was one of them. Great work to all!
It's sad that I have to admit this, but I never saw a live production of a Shakespeare play until I met Nan. Since then I must have seen 10 or more. The most recent foray into Shakespeare's world was in seeing a production of Titus Andronicus. If you're not familiar with Titus, I'm not surprised. It's not done very often as it has a rather high body count(most of whom are killed on stage). Our good friend Jenna Lenox played Tamora, the evil Goth Queen. It was an interesting production staged in an old textile mill. The audience followed the action by moving from scene to scene through a 180 foot long section of the mill. The director did a nice job of taking the original script and paring it down and finding a good through line. The plot was very accessible - revenge it's central theme. The body count ends when Tamora is suffocated in a meat pie composed on the ground-up bodies of her son, the emperor kills Titus, who is then killed by Titus son. As they lay in a pile downstage, life goes on and Titus son becomes Emperor. Some strong performances by Tom Marriott as Titus, Chris Burner as Saturninus, and of course Jenna.
