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Posted by lovesmyron on 7/23/2008, 8:44 pm
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A strong start for Shakespeare Santa Cruz
SHAKESPEARE SANTA CRUZ'S NEW HEAD champions classics, modern WORKS
By Karen D'Souza
Mercury News
Article Launched: 07/23/2008 11:51:06 AM PDT
Never was there a story of more wow than Marco Barricelli's inaugural season at the helm of Shakespeare Santa Cruz.
Lest you think me guilty of exaggeration, consider that the acclaimed actor, who assumed leadership of the festival after Paul Whitworth stepped down, has brought a brash new sensibility to the repertory. This artistic director is dedicated to championing contemporary voices as well as the classical impulse.
The past and the present echo each other, from the mad ecstasy of "Romeo and Juliet'' to the dark romance of Lanford Wilson's "Burn This'' (opening later) and Itamar Moses' postmodern homage to Molière in "Bach at Leipzig'' pricks up our ears in preparation for the rarely staged "All's Well that Ends Well'' (opening later). On opening weekend, the festival's iconic redwood glen bristled with renewed vigor, alight with the promise of new possibilities.
If writing about music is like dancing about architecture, then Itamar Moses is doing pirouettes over cupolas in "Bach at Leipzig.'' This is theatricality on steroids, a flat-out hysterical historical farce that will do anything for a laugh. Moses, a gifted young playwright whose "Yellowjackets'' debuts at the Berkeley Rep this fall, here composes an over-the-fop period romp that tickles the brain as hard as the funny bone.
"Bach'' follows in the wake of the death of Johann Kuhnau in Leipzig in 1722. The powdered-wigs hit the fan as rival musicians (all named
either Johann or Georg so we shall refer to their surnames for clarity's sake) gather to battle over who should ascend to the throne of the late great organist.'
Each competitor emerges upon the stage like a chord in a melody. First the idealistic Fasch (the moving Stephen Caffrey), then the scheming Lenck (a wonderfully caustic Allen Gilmore), then the clueless Kaufmann (a priceless comic turn by Paul Vincent O'Connor) and so on, until Moses has mirrored the arc of a fugue with his characters. It's as if Moses had written "Amadeus,'' only with six Salieris and no Mozart.
http://www.mercurynews.com/arts/ci_9971881
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