CROYDEN'S CORNER
by Margaret Croyden
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| Margaret Croyden is a theater reviewer and essayist for the New York Theatre Wire. | |
FINALLY, OUT OF MY CORNER
Friends, I’ve been away a long time writing a new book “The Years
In Between – A Reporters Journey: World War II-The Cold War,”
which I hope you will read and enjoy. It is available at Amazon.com and Barnes
& Noble. My reviewing this year will be shorter than most years and I’ll
get to the point quickly.
A MAGIC FLUTE
The first thing I’ve seen this season was “A Magic Flute,”
directed by Peter Brook. The production is not your usual Magic Flutes, it
is simply a story of lovers. It has been pared down to an hour, keeping most
of the music in it, but the simple tale is one of a love story. Brook said
he would no longer like to do large productions and I gather that his main
interest right now is in finding simplicity, quietude, and the meaning of
love. The production is on a bare stage as usual and the only thing that is
used is long, wooden sticks in a remarkable way to signify time, place, and
action. Some people were disturbed that Brook gave up his idea of large staged,
big productions as he’s done in the past, but Brook is his own man.
He looks for different aspects of life, which few directors can do.
The same idea is coming out now in a production of three one act plays of Beckett at the Mikhail Baryshnikov theater on West 37th Street. I will review the Beckett plays later on.
ROYAL SHAKESPEARE
The next big thing that went on during the beginning of the season was the
import of the Royal Shakespeare Company. They reconstructed the armory and
built a replica of the original Stratford Shakespeare Theater and presented
four Shakespeare plays in repertoire: "As You Like It," "Winter’s
Tale," "Romeo & Juliet" and "King Lear." Having
seen all of these plays years ago in Stratford, England, this was not something
new for me. In fact, the whole thing was a big disappointment in New York
City. None of the actors were really great. The great British Shakespearean
actors have unfortunately all passed away, and I’m sorry to say they
have not been replaced. The directors think that they are doing modern productions
of Shakespeare always try and do better than the master – such as putting
sneakers on Juliet’s feet, which is preposterous, though they think
it’s avant garde. To my mind, spending all of this money to reconstruct
the armory was a cute idea, but stupid, wasteful, using money that could have
been put toward something far more serious. Nothing was really changed by
seeing these plays in this environment because the fact of the matter is the
play is the thing, as Shakespeare himself has said. People ran to see it (because
of the so-called avant garde) the tickets were over $100 a seat, hardly what
the masses of Shakespeare’s time would have paid to see his plays. Sitting
through four plays which in themselves are magnificent played by inferior
actors was no picnic.
LOVE FOR LANGELLA
Frank Langella is one of my favorite actors. Everything he does he does with
fire and strength. Tall, handsome (he looks like he's in fine health), has
a deep voice, tremendous energy, he eats up the stage with his presence, and
is always wonderful to watch. In "Man and Boy," he has picked a
rather cheap melodrama about a nasty financier who wants to use his estranged
son to regain his power. Of course, Langella, even in this crummy play, eats
up the stage and his energy carries the play, very much like when he played
Nixon in both the play and the film "Frost/Nixon." Langella is one
of the last of our great leading men and I hope he doesn’t waste his
talent in anymore schlock. Stick to important stories and you’ll be
okay; not that he would take my advice, but it’s a good piece of advice
anyhow. These days with tickets on plays being what they are, go to
the movies instead (still, I would vote for him as one of the best actors
we have).
FOLLIES
If you want to have fun, and you don’t mind the Broadway crowds, go
to the Marquis Theater to see "Follies." The play is a reminiscent
of the good old days where the Follies were the thing, now however it seems
hackneyed. All the same, for a lot of young people it would be fun, though
it is a relic of the past. If you love Stephen Sondheim, this is for you.
If you don’t love him, it’s a bore. For me, I could never remember
one melody he’s ever written aside from “Send In The Clowns.”
Still, people love him, so now in his eightieth year, it wouldn’t be
a very nice thing to put him down. Bernadette Peters, whom everyone thought
was too old for the part, was a surprise. For me, no surprise, because Peters
always does the same thing for which she’s noted. She looks good, young,
lively, she still sings well, and surprisingly carries off the part very well.
It’s a fun show if you want to be around Broadway at the Marquis Theater,
which by the way is one of the worst theaters in New York because it’s
in a hotel and a nuisance to get to. However, the show is still going and
may be would make a nice holiday gift for your Grandmother.
NOTES FROM "A MAGIC FLUTE"
This is an interview that was published in the program for A Magic Flute.
Interview not conducted by Margaret Croyden.
Here are things that Peter Brook said about his production A Magic Flute:
Q: Most people think they know Mozart’s Die Zauberflöte, but after watching this production I saw things I didn’t know were there. Is this what you wanted to achieve?
A: For me theater exists only in the present and there is no reason to look at how things have been done in the past. Most directors and designers who approach this opera today ask themselves: “what will be new? What effects does this opera need that haven’t yet been used?” Over the centuries there have certainly been extraordinary productions, but this attitude has created an accumulation of ideas that are not necessarily in line with the essential aim of the creators. For me, it works best to go back to the original. Within the intimate space of the Théâtre des Bouffes, I had the opportunity to work with a group of young singers who were open and willing not to be intimidated by tradition. Marie-Hélène Estienne, Franck Krawczyk, and I worked with the greatest love and respect on our adaptation; we tried to find what had gradually accumujlated to block, for the singers, the intimate relationship with the melodic line and the German words.
Q:
How did you do that?
A:
We experimented every day and little by little the roots of the lyricism revealed
themselves to us. It was a journey o f discovery. Because of this I called
it A Magic Flute not The Magic Flute since this production was not created
to compete with other stagings by using spectacular effects, video and set
changes. I respect them, but here we try to suggest something else.
Q:
Is this how you search for the beauty in the opera?
A:
In today’s world, it is necessary to pull yourself up by the straps
and find beauty where you can. An opera like Flute allows us to get in touch
with a different dimension of life. It helps us find ourselves inside ourselves.
I am not a Mason and consequently to juggle with the different levels of symbolism
[in this opera] is both pretentious and useless. All that Mozart wished to
express about what had touched him so deeply is in the music. Mozart and his
librettist don’t preach; they didn’t create a philosophical opera
like Goethe could have done. This is a pure language of story, people, and
sound.
Q:
You have said that you wanted to do this Magic Flute for a long time. Why
did you decide to do it now?
A:
The answer to this question is as mysterious as the opera itself. In my career,
I have done different works when the time felt right. Our experience at the
Bouffes and on tour has shown how deep the need is to be in touch with a quality
we can’t find in the daily accumulation of miseries that life brings
our way.
Q:
How is the music of Mozart theatrical?
A:
Mozart’s music can explain the unexplainable. It goes beyond words and
opens us up to a feeling of amazement. He brings us to a new dimension and
gives us a new perspective.
(Translated by Barbara Sartore and edited by Charles Sheek from a recent interview by Peter Brook with Paris’ ARTE television.)
Margaret Croyden has conducted numerous interviews with Peter Brook,
of which have been compiled into the book Conversations With Peter Brook,
which is now being printed with TCG. Her latest book is The Years In Between
– A Reporters Journey: World War II-The Cold War.
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