Saturday, 16 June 2007 05:03 pm
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deckardcanineMabou Mines’s Peter and Wendy, a Peter Pan-based puppet show that I ushered last night, is like no other Arena Stage show I’ve seen. In fact, with its level of abstraction, it doesn’t compare much to any show I’ve seen. The Lion King on Broadway is closest, but that doesn’t include clinky wooden marionettes or shadow puppets, let alone narration. Here, one woman tells the story, plays Wendy and her parents (the only three non-puppets), provides all non-singing voices, and does some of the puppetry (including the bell for Tinkerbell). All other humans on stage wear white clothes with veils – a sort of Victorianization of the Noh tradition of black clothes to blend in.
The abstraction was such that at first my family and I had trouble telling exactly what was going on. I wonder how well the many kids, some of them under 5 (the house manager makes a rare exception for this production), understood. There were many amusing moments that might be described as breaking the fourth wall, but to me there barely was a fourth wall in the first place. Unlike most plays, it’s impossible to watch without a constant awareness of its falsity.
Which need not be bad. They get pretty inventive visually, like the use of bedsheets for a pirate ship and an ironing board for the plank. Our favorite puppet was Nana, the lovable nursing dog who sadly gets left behind when the children go to “the Neverland,” as it’s called in this version. Nana is part hand puppet and part marionette, requiring about three puppeteers when walking. A strap-on mask and tail turn the same puppet into the Crocodile, whose clock sounds more like castanets and is indeed connected with a tango.
Let that be my transition to a review of the music. The orchestra, quite visible at the side, plays for most of the performance. Most of the score is rather mellifluous, often with a vaguely Celtic sound, perhaps in recognition of J.M. Barrie’s heritage. There are a few songs, some of which I took to be played from a recording. Indeed, they’ve been selling a CD in the lobby for $19. I opted out, but I imagine it would be nice to hear longer versions of the songs.
The telling itself? Decidedly grittier than the Disney animation (expect some red strings for blood) and with a higher vocabulary (ooh, “sanguinary”), but with plenty of kiddie humor and slow dialog. Okay, the story doesn’t get really slow until near the end, when it needs to convey the passage of decades.
Overall, I recommend it to anyone looking to indulge an inner or outer child. A worthy way to end the theater's season.
The abstraction was such that at first my family and I had trouble telling exactly what was going on. I wonder how well the many kids, some of them under 5 (the house manager makes a rare exception for this production), understood. There were many amusing moments that might be described as breaking the fourth wall, but to me there barely was a fourth wall in the first place. Unlike most plays, it’s impossible to watch without a constant awareness of its falsity.
Which need not be bad. They get pretty inventive visually, like the use of bedsheets for a pirate ship and an ironing board for the plank. Our favorite puppet was Nana, the lovable nursing dog who sadly gets left behind when the children go to “the Neverland,” as it’s called in this version. Nana is part hand puppet and part marionette, requiring about three puppeteers when walking. A strap-on mask and tail turn the same puppet into the Crocodile, whose clock sounds more like castanets and is indeed connected with a tango.
Let that be my transition to a review of the music. The orchestra, quite visible at the side, plays for most of the performance. Most of the score is rather mellifluous, often with a vaguely Celtic sound, perhaps in recognition of J.M. Barrie’s heritage. There are a few songs, some of which I took to be played from a recording. Indeed, they’ve been selling a CD in the lobby for $19. I opted out, but I imagine it would be nice to hear longer versions of the songs.
The telling itself? Decidedly grittier than the Disney animation (expect some red strings for blood) and with a higher vocabulary (ooh, “sanguinary”), but with plenty of kiddie humor and slow dialog. Okay, the story doesn’t get really slow until near the end, when it needs to convey the passage of decades.
Overall, I recommend it to anyone looking to indulge an inner or outer child. A worthy way to end the theater's season.
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Hmmm...
On an urgent safety not, might you be aware of the background of bravest_fox/catabolist, because it seems as though he was part of the LJ fallout and that he needed to fix some things. If you or someone you know, knows anything, please leave a comment on any entry in my journal.
Re: Hmmm...
Re: Hmmm...