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Tuesday, February 9 |
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Memphis Mojo thanks our sponsor, Malco Theatres!
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| See these movies at Malco |
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Malco News: Malco adds captioning system at Paradiso
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| Monette McLin and Tristan Shields |
These ‘unmentionables’
have a lot going for them
By Morgan McCann
MemphisMojo.com
Circuit Playhouse 's current production, Intimate Apparel, intrigued me from when I first read its release. Playwright Lynn Nottage (from Brooklyn, and recipient of the 2004New York Drama Critics Circle Award for this play) weaves an intricate tale which centers around the African-American seamstress Esther, who struggles to just get by in 1905 Manhattan. Suddenly, Esther becomes the target of a long-distance courtship by George Armstrong, a Barbadian who is working on the construction of the Panama Canal and trying to earn passage to America. Conflicts naturally ensue from issues of trust -- for they have never met and only know what has been revealed through their correspondence -- but also occur in other areas of Esther's life, including competing love interests and issues regarding race, class, and gender in early 20th century America.
First of all, seeing the play surpassed my expectations. I was privileged to attend the play's opening night performance last Friday, which was prefaced with a warm introduction by Mother Wit of Soul Classics 103.5, the FM station that is one of the sponsors of the production. Mother Wit heartily and humorously celebrated the fact that times have changed since 1905 Manhattan, where Intimate Apparel takes place. The title is derived from the fact that the main character, Esther (played by Monette McLin), plays Esther, a renowned seamstress who is primarily concerned with crafting "intimate" undergarments for prostitutes and wealthy women alike. Mother Wit remarked upon the freedom she felt as a result of not being confined within uncomfortable, restraining girdles and corsets.
Speaking of uncomfortable, my date and I were laughing until Mother Wit targeted us in the audience, continuing her gender-related discussion and inquiring whether I paid for his ticket or vice versa. We were caught off guard, and were almost ready to abandon our second-row seats, but once the play began, we soon forgot and were wrapped up in the storyline.
Interactions among characters on stage were remarkable because of the comfort with which each actor or actress transformed themselves into their respective roles. Of the six individuals, five are seasoned performers, including Leah Bray Nichols (Mrs. Van Buren, a wealthy client of Esther's) who is a Resident Company Member and Tristan Shields (Mr. Marks, a Romanian Jewish Immigrant who sells Esther material). Kimberly Rose Moore (Mayme, a prostitute who is both client and confidante to Esther) made her Playhouse debut in Intimate Apparel, and was quite impressive with the candor and jadedness with which she portrayed a prostitute originally from Memphis who's been less than lucky in the Big Apple.
One of the minor plot points on which I was unclear was how George came upon Esther -- I believe it was something to do with the fact that he became acquainted in Panama with someone who knew her. This was the only point of confusion, and nothing more than mildly nagging at the conclusion of the play. One other minor distraction was the fact that the makeup covering McCoy's real-life tattoos migrated to various other places on stage, including various clothing articles and props, as a result of character interaction and the warm stage lights.
This was probably no more than an opening night snafu. Even that, however, did not reveal McCoy the actor behind George the character for long; the compelling power and harshness with which McCoy delivered his lines made me a bit fearful, and even reluctant to clap at the end. I had to consciously take myself out of the experience of the play and realize that I had such strong feelings because he had embodied George so vividly.
Including the brief intermission, I was at the Circuit Playhouse for about two hours and 45 minutes, but I didn't feel it.
The fact that there were many characters who each had large roles and the rapid changing of scenes kept up a quick enough pace that I was never forced to look down at my watch. This was creatively made easier because each of the five different settings are all on stage simultaneously, and lights and character movement are left responsible for directing the audience's focus. Director Andrea Thompson Adam made wise decisions. Also, despite the fact that the action takes place in 1905, questionable perceptions of immigrants and discomfort with sexual relationships that defy the norm are problems we currently face in contemporary America.
I find this applicability a large part of the play's success and appeal. I keep raving about Intimate Apparel to friends, encouraging them to attend -- and I consider Mojo readers friends, whom I treat with respect and to whom I give my honest opinion, so here it is: go see this riveting play.
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Chris Sullivan in Defending the Caveman.
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By Morgan McCann
MemphisMojo.com
Over the next few months, the Orpheum is blessing Memphis with a variety of options for entertainment. Without even leaving Tennessee, one can encounter a renowned Italian opera, dazzling contortionists, international performing artists, a one-man humor show, a soulful R&B singer, and a lively Broadway smash musical. Here's the scoop on what this impressive spring season has to offer:
On March 14-19, the Orpheum hosts Rob Becker's "Defending the Caveman," starring Chris Sullivan. The "Student Rush" (where students and professors, with valid ID, can obtain two tickets for the discounted rate of $20) takes place the 15th at 7:15 p.m. The official site of this comedic "one man show" hails itself as the "longest running solo play in Broadway history," since its Broadway debut in 1995.
Nine different men perform the play across the country, including Becker himself. "Defending the Caveman" explores gender differences and stereotypes perpetuated by the media -- regarding both men and women -- yet supposedly does so with warm regard, intending to humorously convey the message of accepting difference. See www.cavemania.com for Sullivan's biography and more history behind the show's creation.
Opera Memphis' "mainstage season" will close April1-4 with a performance of Giuseppe Verdi's Rigotletto. Rigoletto is a court jester and "willing accomplice" to the Duke of Mantua's indiscriminate "seduction" of whomever he wants. But when a situation goes awry -- the esteemed Count Monterone's daughter falls victim to the Duke's wily ways and the count wants to punish those responsible -- Rigoletto, as an accomplice, is punished with a curse that also involves the fate of his beloved daughter Gilda. The opera traces the ensuing disaster, and explores the themes of consequence and revenge, coming to a head in a "horrifying conclusion." Rigoletto originally premiered in Venice March 11, 1851 -- this, then, marks its 155th anniversary. Visit www.operamemphis.org for comments from the opera's stage director.
Possibly the most visually stimulating experience available this spring arrives in the form of Neil Goldberg's "Cirque Dreams," appearing April 11-16. This 90-minute, two-act extravaganza -- on an ultraviolet set! -- invites the audience to observe a "Jungle Fantasy" world, in which individuals are no longer people, but become phantasmagorical forms. An international cast of aerialists and contortionists swing, pose, and balance through "inventive choreography" spiced with "European flair." Goldberg's website, www.cirqueproductions.com, boasts that through "Cirque Dreams," one can experience a "dreamscape of nighttime imagery that redefines the boundaries of ingenuity and imagination."
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Cirque Dreams
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On April 17th, the band Celtic Woman will make a stop in the midst of their worldwide, whirlwind tour. Originating from Ireland, as their name implies, these five female vocalists and one fiddle player started as performers on a 90-minute PBS spot. Viewers developed such affection for the musicians that they blossomed and developed their set into a "full scale touring production."
Celtic Woman plays classic Irish songs, as well as numerous covers (including a personal favorite, Enya's "Orinoco Flow"). Their album was released through EMI and has risen to #1 on Billboard world music charts. Their official site, www.celticwoman.com, provides sound and video clips.
April 29th marks the chance to experience a favorite reality television show unmediated: the Orpheum Star Search 2006, hosted by Kellye Cash. Described as Memphis' "hometown version of American Idol" and intended to celebrate, of course, the vast "musical heritage" of the city, singers will compete in the Star Search for $15,000 in cash and prizes. Check the Orpheum's site, www.orpheum-memphis.com, for the names and pictures of the ten finalists, who prevailed at auditions held in October, November, and January.
Lastly, here are some other events to be planning for a bit further in the future:
- R&B recording artist KEM performs with a special guest on May 21. Note that this is a new date for a previously scheduled event; tickets already purchased will be honored. Find more at www.kemmusic.com
- Mamma Mia!, featuring musical treasures by the pop sensation Abba, returns May 30-June 4.
To purchase tickets or to learn more, check out www.orpheum-memphis.com, e-mail info@orpheum-memphis.com, or call 525-7800.
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From Circuit Playhouse’s new Saucy Jack and the Space Vixens
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By Morgan McCann
MemphisMojo.com
So, March allegedly comes in like a lion and leaves like a lamb. Judging by this week’s weather, this may not be true -- and whomever uttered such a line obviously never lived in Memphis, and wasn't victim to its notoriously inconsistent precipitation. But I can safely say that March is arriving with great enthusiasm, theatrically speaking. This weekend alone provides five – count ‘em – five! opportunities for one to laugh, feel, celebrate, and have a rip-"roar"-in good time (my apologies, I couldn't resist).
The production that's most intrigued me thus far is Circuit Playhouse's Saucy Jack and the Space Vixens. Based on a book by Charlotte Mann, and directed here by Scott Ferguson who’s based out of Chicago, Saucy Jack is described as a "campy post-millennium Rocky Horror" experience.
Residents of the planet Frottage III must fight to survive in a world ravaged by "eco-wars," and attempt to take refuge in a cabaret owned and frequented by the title characters … although, unfortunately, danger lurks in the darkened corners amidst these seemingly friendly waitresses and musicians. Saucy Jack runs March 3-April 2. Call the box office at 726-4656 for prices and times, or see www.playhouseonthesquare.org for further information.
Not into glam-rock, exactly, but still like a little decadence? Consider the Orpheum's Casino, a comedy starring Gerald Levert, Kelly Price (Remember the chorus from the Notorious B.I.G.'s "Mo' Money, Mo' Problems?" That's her.), and Don DC Curry. This "stageplay" involves "two women with attitudes" who are both unknowingly dating the same man, not to mention "a gambling addict" and "a blackjack dealer who deals more confusion than cards."
This sounds like a fiasco sure to leave you rolling in the aisles, in one of those nearly painful to observe situations that's indulgently hilarious -- one of those for which you're thankful that you're just watching. Casino closes this Sunday, March 5. Call the Orpheum @ 525-7800 or check out www.orpheum-memphis.com for details.
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Billy Shakespeare
– back in town – twice!
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Placate your lit professor by attending one of two opportunities to view Shakespeare. Theatre Memphis is performing Measure for Measure, one of his famed "tragicomedies" centered on exploring the grander themes of the nature of mercy and justice and the role of government. This show will be on through March 11th. For more, visit www.theatrememphis.org. Or, for something more lighthearted, try the Germantown Community Theatre's The Compleat Works of Wllm Shkspr, an "abridged comedy" written by "The Reduced Shakespeare Company." The show will open this weekend and go through the 19th. Get the scoop at www.germantowncommunitytheatre.org.
Finally, if, like me, you're tired of being ashamed because you haven't seen one of those ubiquitous "everyone and their grandmother" has seen it kind of musicals (ahem, Phantom)...now's your chance to redeem yourself. The Harrell Theatre of Collierville is hosting a performance of Andrew Lloyd Webber's Jesus Christ Superstar. Webber composed JCS in 1971, so the "rock opera" describing the last week in the life of Jesus Christ instigated a lot of hype. It holds a place in the historical development of musical theatre. JCS wraps up March 5th. Click www.colliervilleparks.org for rates. |
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We’ve had the Three Tenors – good video, fine performance etc. Then one day there’s a sign at the Orpheum saying “The Ten Tenors.”
TEN tenors?
Then it IS real and not an SCTV skit. And they’re at the Orpheum all weekend, having been there since Tuesday and they’ll be giving performances through Sunday evening.
Here are some facts about this act who’s starting to catch on big worldwide:
- There indeed TEN tenors
- They’re from Australia
- They became a full-time musical ensemble in 1998 after first teaming up in 1995
- The international spotlight found them in 2002 when they performed at the Eurovision Grand Prix, performing a medly of the finalists’ songs. Soon they were selling out concerts in Europe.
- The first came to the U.S. in 2003
Friday and Saturday evening performances are at 8, Sunday’s is at 7 and there are matinees Saturday at 2 and Sunday at 1:30.
Here’s ticket information. |
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Don Giovanni (Don Juan) visits Hell
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Alleyways
By David Brown
Don Giovanni is:
A. The legend of Don Juan.
B. A Seville, Spain sinner who refused to repent when given the chance.
C. Music that bares virtually every human emotion.
D. A "playful drama" in two acts featuring exquisite music by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
E. According to Kierkegaard, the Danish philosopher, the greatest piece of art ever created.
F. The next performance of Opera Memphis.
The answer, of course, is all of the above.
The Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart opera is the story of a lusty libertine (we must point out that redundancy is needed for this character) who can't and won't change his ways for anyone — friends, wife, enemies, closest servant, or a talking statue who promises vengeful death.
The music for centuries has been considered pure genius by many of the world's musical geniuses. It also is not easy to carry off. Opera Memphis has set itself high standards for its 50th anniversary season and the 250th anniversary of the composer's birth.
Biographers have found the writing of the music a most stimulating subject in Mozart's life.
The opera premiered in 1787 in Prague, the city he loved and which loved him back. He worked on the composition day and night and nearly up to the opening, so that the orchestra played much of its opening pages for the first time on sight. The audience loved it.
(Mozart’s Don Giovanni will be performed by Opera Memphis at the Orpheum, Friday and Saturday nights at 8 p.m.) |
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TheatreWorks’ production of Terence McNally’s Corpus Christi features 13 local actors.
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TheatreWorks, the little theatre on Monroe, behind Playhouse on the Square is presenting Terence McNally’s Corpus Christi this month. As controversial and it is critically acclaimed, it re-tells the story of the New Testament, but the controversy lies in the fact that it’s about a gay male instead of Jesus Christ. The play’s main character, “Joshua”, undergoes persecution from homophobes as Jesus did from the Pharisees.
McNally has said “The play is more a religious ritual than a play. A play teaches us new insight into the human condition. A ritual is an action we perform over and over because we have to. Otherwise, we are in danger of forgetting the meaning of that ritual, in this case that we must love one another or die. Christ died for all of our sins because He loved each and every one of us. When we do not remember His great sacrifice, we condemn ourselves to repeating its terrible consequences. All Corpus Christi asks of you is to ‘look what they did to Him….’ Look. Remember. Weep, if you will, but learn. And don’t let it happen again.”
The New York Times proclaimed it “… as sober and cleansing as a dip in baptismal waters,” and certainly you’ll leave with an opinion, one way or the other.
Corpus Christi is directed by Playhouse on the Square Associate Director, Dave Landis (Love! Valour! Compassion!; Shakespeare’s R & J), and stars 13 local Memphis actors. It’s as part of Playhouse on the Square’s POTS@TheWorks Series.
Performances are Thursdays through Sundays at 8 p.m. and it runs through the 29th. For more information or to make reservations, please call the Playhouse on the Square Box Office at 901-726-4656 or visit www.playhouseonthesquare.org. |
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Jonathan Biss to perform with IRIS at GPAC Jan. 14
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Mojo High-brow
By David Brown
MemphisMojo.com
The holidays are zipping by and the new year is around the corner.
It’s time to plan on getting a taste of Debussy, Rockwell, Johnny Cash or a group of throat singers out of Tuva.
The Germantown Performing Arts Center presents pianist Jonathan Biss and the IRIS Chamber Orchestra on Saturday, Jan. 14. Besides Debussy, Biss will perform works by Mozart, Schoenberg, Lehar and Strauss, Jr. Biss, 25, a third-generation musician, is collecting quite a bin of favorable newspaper clippings around the world.
Two weeks later, GPAC exhibits one more tribute to the Man in Black which features the rockabilly trio, the Dempseys trio playing music to excerpts from last year’s Walk the Line dance premiere performed by Ballet Memphis. There’s time to see the Hollywood version of Walk the Line before then.
As we’ve reported, Norman Rockwell’s Home for the Holidays exhibit continues at Memphis Brooks Museum of Art until the end of January. Rockwell’s holiday covers for Saturday Evening Post offer more than a stroll through nostalgia; they reminds us of his unique artistic points of view, and gets us past seeing him as merely an exquisite cartoonist.
While you’re at the Brooks, catch some other exhibits while they last: Dorothy Doughty’s porcelain birds; a straight-backed Frank Lloyd Wright chair and other decorative arts pieces; some fine Impressionist paintings by Berthe Morisot, and until Jan. 8, some Renaissance and Baroque etchings, engravings and prints entitled “Private Passions.”
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Huun-Huur-Tu – throat singers at the Buckman Center Jan. 29
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And those throat singers? Four of them, the Huun-Huur-Tu, will provide their strangely haunting voice and old-world instrument music at the Buckman Performing and Fine Arts Center Sunday evening, January 29. It doesn’t require it, but here’s a little geography lesson to help warm you up:
Tuva, also known as Tyva or Tannu-tuva, is a republic in the south-central section of Siberia, Russia. Tuva borders Mongolia, occupying the basin of the upper Yenisey River. Population: 310,000. They are known to the outside world as “reindeer people” but also love a form of oriental music called “throat-singing.”
Don't try it. Leave it to the professionals. |
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Extra Good Boys and Girls (Santa at the Map)by Norman Rockwell (1939)
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Norman Rockwell photographed by Louie Lamone, 1964,
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Did you have a rough day on your first day back at work? Was the traffic moving way slower than you? You’ve had a really big Christmas and now it’s back to the world for just a few days only to get back to partying, with New Year’s Eve lurking.
Here’s a tip. Extend the holidays by checking out Memphis’ Brooks Museum of Art to see Norman Rockwell’s Home for the Holidays. It’s been there since last month and will be there until Jan. 29. The exhibit consists of 40 original tearsheets from covers of The Saturday Evening Post. These holiday cover illustrations were commissioned to mark a round of the holidays - Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year’s Day, Valentine’s Day and April Fools’ Day.
Rockwell did illustrations for the grand old magazine from 1916 until 1963. In fact, he was commissioned by virtually all the magazines of his day. While all the holidays are represented in this Brooks exhibit, the Christmas cover illustrations are its heart, particularly his Clauses, inspired by the work of old Father Christmas himself, Charles Dickens.
Rockwell’s illustrations helped lift America’s spirits during the depths of the Great Depression. His Four Freedoms paintings were a response to President Franklin Roosevelt’s 1941 State of Union where FDR outlined America’s freedom of speech, freedom of worship, freedom from want, and freedom from fear as reasons the U.S. should support the Allies in the European war effort.
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Norman Rockwell’s Triple Self-Portrait (1960)
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Rockwell’s The Four Freedoms ran in The Saturday Evening Post for four consecutive weeks, from February 20 to March 13, 1943. The original paintings toured the country that April and raised $132 million in war-bond sales. President Roosevelt wrote to Rockwell, thanking him for helping bring America closer to a “freer, happier world.”
The cynic might say that Rockwell’s idealistic America didn’t exist, but it did to Rockwell who saw his work as a calling.
"Without thinking too much about it in specific terms, I was showing the America I knew and observed to others who might not have noticed," he said. "My fundamental purpose is to interpret the typical American. I guess I am a story teller."
Norman Rockwell was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1977 and died in 1978 at age 84.
- B.B. |
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(Ballet Memphis will perform The Nutcracker this weekend at the Orpheum. Performances are set for Friday and Saturday evenings at 7 p.m. and Saturday and Sunday afternoons at 2 p.m.)
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Piotr Tchaikovsky
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Mojo Highbrow
By David Brown
He was the son of a mine inspector. As a young man he started out as a civil servant. He married a beauty, but a month later fell into a "nervous collapse" and left his wife forever.
Happily, though, Piotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky (1840-1893) loved music. He taught harmony, began composing, created operas, symphonies and finally ballets.
The latter art form would never be the same.
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It’s back – Tchaikovsky’s fantasy world of The Nutcracker
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Three of his masterpieces Swan Lake, The Sleeping Beauty and The Nutcracker are seen by some as THE three chief ballets.
No ballet is more popular worldwide than The Nutcracker, the story of a girl transitioning into young womanhood at Christmastime. Indeed, it can be said that millions have only seen one ballet in their lives, and that is this one.
So, isn't it probable that the story and the dance and the music have become, one might say, shop-worn? After all, we find it performed every year by Ballet Memphis. Other local schools and companies perform it in some fashion or persuasion as well. Multiply that hundreds of times over to get the sum of this ballet on a global scale, sometimes performed to orchestras and sometimes to amplifiers.
(We are curious how our community ends up with two different dance companies, one local and one from Moscow, performing the same famous ballet one month and 10 blocks apart. That’s another story, no doubt)
Nevertheless, as the Memphis Symphony Orchestra begins playing the prelude (or the CD is turned on), the grand acting gestures start on stage, the curtain rises, the dancing begins and most in the audience are once more themselves transformed. It is the haunting and emotional music. It is the timelessness and mysteriousness of the tale. It is the variety of dance styles and the sometimes surprisingly fresh choreography.
It is also the surreal kind of perfection in art that one witnesses every time, however the performance goes.
This must be what is meant by a masterpiece. |
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Nam June Paik’s Vide-O-belisk
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By Laura Schilling
MemphisMojo.com
Diversity of opinion about a work of art shows that the work is new, complex, and vital.
When critics disagree, the artist is in accord with himself.
We can forgive a man for making a useful thing as long as he does not admire it.
The only excuse for making a useless thing is that one admires it intensely.
All art is quite useless.
- Oscar Wilde
Preface to "The Picture of Dorian Gray"
Whenever events take place at The Brooks Museum of Art, Memphis’ Highbrow art hotspot, whether it’s art lovers schmoozing at a swanky event or school kids on a class trip, the events are guaranteed to have one thing in common.
Hint: It’s something big. REALLY big. And flashy.
No, not Elvis. It’s Nam June Paik’s Vide-O-belisk.
Vide what? Nam June who?
It’s only the latest piece by the most renowned video artist in the world!
First, some background. Paik was born in Korea in the 1932 and he eventually studied music and art history in Tokyo. After continuing his study of music history in Munich, he met John Cage, an experimental musician who influenced him to start working with music as a medium rather than an entertainment device.
In the 60’s things got serious; Paik started to experiment with electromagnets and color television, creating work that eventually led to his being dubbed “the father of video art”. Video as a medium really got to Paik - it stuck with him. So much so that from the 60’s on, it was his sole focus. He has in his lifetime created video pieces for events such as the Seoul Olympics, and has had retrospectives at The Whitney and The Guggenheim museums.
His latest work was commissioned by and created especially for the rotunda in The Memphis Brooks Museum in conjunction with the 2003 Memphis in May festival which was a salute to South Korea. The piece, Vide-O-belisk, plays on the similarities between Memphis, Egypt and Memphis, TN, (apparently Paik was amused with our pyramid).
Since obelisks were used in ancient times as hieroglyphic informational markers outside of sacred areas, Paik chose to create a video obelisk for Brooks, making the analogy between hieroglyphs as symbols and the video image as an analogous form of modern pictorial language.
The piece is made from stacked vintage television cabinets, which were, interestingly enough, scavenged by a specialized team from thrift stores all over the South. Inside each cabinet is a small color television that plays a looped series of video clips. The image on the screen is distorted electromagnetically, giving the images on screen a psychedelic color scheme, which augments the neon symbols, interspersed over the work.
According to Museum security that have spent eight hours a day for the last three years viewing the piece, everyone who visits the museum is enthralled by the work. They even say that the piece hasn’t started to annoy them yet.
As good television-addicted Americans, how could they or we turn away from our new language? There is something hypnotic about the video loops playing familiar images from our television past. It’s almost like some futuristic form of communication where we all stand around a column that beams information straight to our brains.
In the end, what makes Paik’s work special is that it functions on so many different levels. It’s social commentary, it’s a play on words and location, it’s a colorful mind control device, and it’s ART.
In the end, it’s art, and no one keep themselves from becoming enthralled. |
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The Boys Choir of Harlem – an American tradition.
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By Gary Saunders
MemphisMojo.com
The Orpheum‘s holiday treat of the Boys Choir of Harlem (thankfully presented by The Cultural Development Foundation of Memphis) was a perfect way to kick off the Christmas season in the Bluff City. This legendary youth vocal organization has now been going strong for some thirty-seven years and, to be honest, the kids don’t seemed to have aged a bit. OK, sorry … maybe that was a bad joke. But this two-night Memphis engagement surely wasn’t a laughing matter. These kids can flat out sing … and dance too!
The show opened with the boys (ages 10-18) on their best behavior while performing the time-honored anthem “Lift Every Voice and Sing”. Traditional choral arrangements by Bach and also five holiday spirituals concluded the rather dignified first half of the show.
Following a brief intermission, the boys got to “shake it a bit” … singing and hoofing their way through Jazz and Broadway medleys peppered with familiar numbers such as “Lullaby of Broadway,” “You Gotta Have Heart,” Fats Waller’s “The Joint is Jumpin’,” and Duke Ellington’s immortal “Satin Doll.”
Dr. Walter J. Turnbull, who founded the Choir, joked,” They may look like angels … but they ain’t!” just prior to introducing a long and joyful selection of Christmas tunes. The set started with Mel Torme’s “The Christmas Song” and followed up with pretty much everything from “I’ll be Home for Christmas” to “O, Holy Night.” A personal favorite was the little-known contemporary composition “Shoes.” The number is a celebration of life’s overlooked pleasures and surely caused many of us to reflect on how truly thankful we should be this (or any) season.
The Boys Choir of Harlem hits the road for three to four national tours each year (about 100 engagements in over 24 states annually), so track them down if you haven’t had the pleasure of hearing them perform live and in person. They are a national treasure to be supported and cherished. For more information or to purchase CDs, visit their web site at www.boyschoirofharlem.org.
And be sure to mark your calendars for March 19th as the Cultural Development Foundation of Memphis will bring the magical Ladysmith Black Mambazo to town for a show that is not to be missed. The South African ensemble is perhaps best known in the US for its fine work on Paul Simon’s classic “Graceland” CD. Go to www.cdfmemphis.org for all the details. |
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Peter Guralnik
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By Gary Saunders
MemphisMojo.com
Rather than setting up shop at Davis-Kidd Booksellers Barnes & Noble or Borders Books, author Peter Guralnick used the wonderful Stax museum as the backdrop for his Friday night Memphis book signing. Guralnick, who has rather famously penned Elvis Presley bookends Last Train to Memphis and Careless Love, appears to have another winner on his hands with Dream Boogie. The latest effort takes on the complex life of the great Sam Cooke, who walked the tightrope between gospel and secular music before being shot to death in the early 1960s.
Guralnick's latest stop in Memphis was kindly underwritten by the always-giving Knox Phillips. Phillips is a well-known figure in Memphis music circles and the son of legendary Sun Studios impresario Sam Phillips. This particular shindig at Stax included delicious food by Cafe 61, beer and wine, and some stirring music from a talented group of Stax Academy youngsters. The kids artfully performed some of Cooke's most notable tunes before Guralnick stepped to the microphone. The author provided the back-story on his quest for the real Sam Cooke, read passages from his well-researched book, and then opened things up to a brief Q & A session.
The audience was enthralled. Those seen at the event included Scott Bomar (The Bo Keys), Sherman Willmott (the original curator at Stax and founder of ShangriLa Records), former Elvis chum Jerry Schilling, and music writer Robert Gordon (who penned a terrific Muddy Waters' bio and the unforgettable "It Came From Memphis"). This was another hit in a long line of Stax special events. Deanie Parker and her staff are to be commended for their hard work and desire to keep things fresh at this true Memphis landmark.
Next up for Stax is a Lynda Lydell appearance and live performance, Mon., Nov. 28. Lydell is most famous for her soulful smash, "What a Man!", which was a hit single in the 60s and later a frequently used sampling vehicle for contemporary rappers and DJs. The event (7-9 pm) is part of Stax's "Last Mondays in Studio A" series. Lydell is scheduled to belt out her favorites as well as engage in something of a tribute to label mate Otis Redding. The $20 admission includes the performance, adult drinks and lip-smacking appetizers. Stax members will, as always, be admitted free. |
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Stage veteran ‘Rocket’ reprises his Toto role in Playhouse on the Square’s Wizard of Oz. Rocket alternates the role with the shy Nala who doesn’t do interviews.
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By Rosilyn Parashis
MemphisMojo.com
Playhouse on the Square’s Wizard of Oz has an all-star cast—from Dorothy (Megan Bowers) all the way down to the little Munchkins.
They practice and rehearse for weeks until they know their lines like the backs of their hands and I’ll bet those Munchkins can probably perform their routine in their sleep they’ve got it down so well.
That’s why the most intriguing part of the play for me was watching Toto on the stage. I don’t know what I was expecting, but I really didn’t expect for Toto to be played by a real dog. I couldn’t keep my eyes off of him all night. I had to know what type of preparations had to be taken for this dog to get in Toto-mode. Did he (or she) have to stand in the mirror every night until the play’s opening making sure his (or her) face was just-so? Did they have to bribe the pup with juicy dog bones and squishy toys to get in the mood? Are we dealing with a prima donna of canines backstage?
I set out to get answers and since I don’t think I could get too far speaking with the furry star, I went to Courtney Oliver, Playhouse in the Square’s PR Director (and co-choreographer of The Wizard of Oz along with Lindsey Roberts). Actually we’re talking about TotoS here.
“We have two dogs playing Toto. One is actually a terrier, like in the movie. Her name is Nala,” Courtney said. “The one you probably saw the other night is Rocket. Rocket played Toto the last time we did the play.”
According to Courtney, the dogs alternate performances—and they have distinctly different personalities (pet-onalities?).
“Nala is very shy and Rocket is very charismatic. He’ll do anything for a sliver of cheese,” she said.
“Both of them have done the show before, so they’re used to all the noises, the music and the people. It's just like they’re in their living rooms - totally stress-free.”
Rocket commutes each night from Germantown to do the show and his owners usually aren’t present for the performances.
“He‘s dropped off and picked up, as though he were one of the young munchkin children,” Courtney said. “And as for handlers, well, I guess he has several – cast members look after him offstage.”
So what’s ahead for the charismatic Rocket and the coy Nala, both being veterans of “the boards.”
“ Let’s just say that they don’t have their S.A.G. (Screen Actors Guild) cards. . . yet.” |
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Recognize this folks? Of course you do.
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By Rosilyn Parashis
MemphisMojo.com
The Wizard of Oz begins tonight at Playhouse on the Square and runs through Jan. 8.
Deep is one of those words that’s fully charged—it can make something seemingly simple a little more interesting, or it can take something and drag it down so far that you forget what you started out looking for. You have to watch out for “deep.”
Speaking of deep, my neat little mental construction of The Wizard of Oz was completely submerged when I read the prevailing theories about what The Wonderful Wizard of Oz author L. Frank Baum was really up to in this book.
In 1900, when The Wonderful Wizard of Oz was published, Baum’s social climate left much to be desired. The main problem was money—if you want to know the whole story - or an even LONGER story.
Long story short, everything that you thought you knew about The Wizard of Oz is . . . well, let’s just say there’s more to the story. Every element of the story is symbolic of a larger truth and here’s where it gets too deep and/or political and/or historical for me to fathom.
Here’s just a bit: The Scarecrow represents farmers. The Cowardly Lion represents a prominent Populist politician of the time, William Jennings Bryan—you don’t need to fully understand who he was to know that Baum was basically saying, “Get some courage, you big wuss!” The witches represent something, the Wizard represents and even the yellow brick road represents something!
Ignorance really is bliss sometimes.
My Wizard of Oz (and most everyone else’s) is a simple, light children’s tale and that’s how I’ll go see The Wizard of Oz, beginning tonight at Playhouse on the Square and running through Jan. 8th. I’m sure those fine actors will have the color and glitter and merry music to make me forget all about Imperialism, Populism, Republicanism or any other –ism that’s really behind The Wonderful Wizard of Oz.
Bring on the smoke and mirrors, please! |
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By David Brown
MemphisMojo.com
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Itzhak Perlman
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Itzhak Perlman received a two-minute standing ovation accompanied by whistles and shouts at the Cannon Center for the Performing Arts Sunday.
Then he sat down to play his violin.
It may be a mark of one of the giants in music that all he must do is begin to walk across the stage to bring an audience to its feet. And he didn't disappoint anyone in the sell-out crowd when he started to play.
Perlman, performing with the GPAC's Iris Chamber Orchestra, gave an exquisite interpretation of Bruch's Violin Concerto No. 1 in G minor. The piece was a worthy platform to demonstrate a world-renown virtuosity that perhaps can be described best in such layman's terms as smooth, emotional, stirring and precise.
The musical event was a rare occasion for Memphis’ classical music lovers. The concert celebrated the 40th season of the Baron Hirsch Belz/Parker Artists ascending Concert Series. That series brought Perlman to Memphis for the first time in its debut season back in 1965.
"Seems like 40 years," Perlman joked.
The history and the anticipated appearance of Perlman helped put electricity into the Cannon Center's atmosphere so that the audience was more than ready for the master, having listened politely to the orchestra handily play some Stravinsky and Beethoven through to the intermission.
Though mostly young, the IRIS players are skilled and were well led by conductor Michael Stern. The only blemish came when at least two patrons' cell phones rang during Beethoven's Symphony No. 1. Stern, though clearly unhappy, used some humor to move past the strained moments.
In welcoming remarks before the concert, GPAC director Tania Castroverde Moskalenko noted that this was the chamber orchestra's first road trip from Germantown, having come so far west to downtown Memphis.
After the intermission, Jack Belz gave a brief account of the history of the Ascending Artists series started by his father, Phillip, and Dr. Joe Parker, and then introduced the violinist.
From that moment on, the show that 2,000 people had come to hear was on. Rarely did anyone even cough as the artist used his bow and fiddle to make music that soared straight to the heart.
The second the Bruch piece was finished, cries of bravo! filled the hall and the audience was on its feet. Perlman slowly left the stage, then reappeared, agreeing to do an encore. He and the orchestra played the theme from the film Schindler's List. Again the applause was loud and long. Again Perlman made his way off stage, came back for more bows and finally threw a white handkerchief out onto the stage to indicate with his characteristic humor that he was done.
Only then did the ovations come to an end. |
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Itzhak Perlman - teen prodigy
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So exactly who IS Itzhak Perlman? We can get close, with some quotes gleaned from the New York Times and CBS’ 60 Minutes
On why so many of the world’s greatest violinists are Jewish – Jascha Jeifetz, Isaac Stern, Yehudi Menuhim –
“You see, our fingers are circumcised, which gives it a very, very good dexterity, you know, particularly in the pinky . . . (laughter) . . . I don’t know what it is. Maybe it’s a tradition.” – 60 Minutes, 1980
On teaching -
I think a teacher should be your musical guide and your personal guide. In the musician, there is a tendency to have a narrowness. It's all compartmentalized. . . .
(His teacher) Dorothy DeLay . . . was an all-around kind of teacher. She would look for what else you do, besides the violin. Do you go to concerts? Do you go to operas? Do you go to museums? Are you a broad sort of a person? - New York Times, 1996
On being a conductor –
“It’s not easy . . . It doesn’t give you a sense of power. I think that the sense of power . . . comes if what you want to do comes out. and it doesn’t always come out unless you work.” – 60 Minutes
On practicing while multi-tasking -
Actually the best show to practice on is baseball. It’s terrific because you can turn off the sound and you know what’s going on and you practice your technique
"I'm not talking about practicing thinking or anything like this . . . that's a totally different thing. I did some of my greatest practicing when I was in London watching cricket. It's a very, very low game. That's when you practice." - 60 Minutes
On how long to practice –
The ideal amount would be between four and five hours. I never practiced more than about three. It depends on the gift, depends on the talent. After five hours, it becomes useless . . . counterproductive. You can't absorb any more – The New York Times, 1996
On self-doubt and stage fright –
- “If you doubt yourself...that's the worst! A lot of what happens is a lack of trust. Let's say you have a concerto to play and you practice it a lot and you know it. You know everything about it. You've done the correct way of practicing it, slowly. The first time you play it, you will be nervous . . . with anything that you do for the first time . . . That's why you first play with a small orchestra, in some place where you don't feel that it is as important as Carnegie Hall. You try to work out all the little problems. Once that's all done, trust comes in. If you don't trust, then you're going to have a problem.
It's like speaking a sentence and not thinking of every word. You have to concentrate on how you are going to say it, what you want to convey, but you aren't going to say, "This is the first word, this is the second word, and this is the third." It's the same thing with music. - NYT
On the popularity of the violin in Asia
- It’s a hunger for music. It’s the ability for discipline. You achieve great form, great results. - NYT |
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Berthe Morisot
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The Brooks Museum of Art is all about Impressionism this month. There’s a collaboration with Playhouse on the Square this weekend and next week for the play Inventing Van Gogh at the museum and there’s also a remarkable exhibit of the work of one of the founders of Impressionism – Berthe Morisot (1841-1895).
The exhibit, which will be at Brooks through the end of January, not only looks at the artistic development of this extraordinary woman, but also her relationships with other members of the movement – particularly her husband’s brother, Edouard Manet. She was the first woman to join the Impressionist movement and exhibited in all but one of their shows, despite protests. In an era where women artists were the exception, she stood firmly against convention.
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On the Lakeside 1883
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Her work often focuses on women in out-of-doors or domestic settings and she and American Mary Cassatt are considered the most important women painters of the late 19th Century.
The show also features canvasses by Monet, Renoir and Manet. Brooks Museum is open Tuesday through Friday from 10 a.m. – 4 p.m. and on weekends from 10 a.m. – 5 p.m. Saturday and 11:30 – 5 p.m. Sundays. More information can be found at 901-544-6215 |
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Mojo scene
By Laura Schilling
MemphisMojo.com
Hearing about Cats – now celebrating its 25th anniversary - is like hearing an urban legend. People talk in hushed tones and take generous liberties with factual information until popular opinion about the subject of the story differs grossly from the truth. Until I saw the musical at the Orpheum last week, this dodgy word of mouth was my only source of information. I went in expecting theater kids in faux fur and face paint, running around singing a song I remembered hating in elementary choir. What I actually saw left me awestruck and pleasantly surprised.
First and foremost, the dancing is spectacular. Ballet was the last thing I expected to see, but that’s what I got. The choreography is ballet-like without being stodgy. It’s that, but it’s also tap and disco with some proto -Flashdance moves thrown in. What really blew my mind was how they managed to remember all the choreography. They literally do not stop moving for two hours, which explains why they all look so good in spandex.
These anthropomorphic hard bodies aren’t just one-dimensional singing- dancing machines. One member of the troupe is an undergrad at Harvard; another is on sabbatical from Dollywood. When the cast runs through the audience at the beginning of the show, it registered with me that they were the human beings I had been reading about in the program. No matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t see past the makeup to the person behind the cat. The costumes are incredibly realistic and leg warmers are standard issue.
Aside from the supporting cast of cats, there are several special cats with more distinctive attire. A few of my favorites were the penguin-like fat cat, Bustopher Jones; Macavity, who got the coolest introductory song in the whole musical, Mr. Mistoffelees, the sparkling black magician; and Rum Tum Tugger, the glam rock sex crazed cat.
The one who stole the show for me was Gus. In the second half of the musical, he appears as an old decrepit cat with a reputation for incessantly telling the same story of his youth. The cast sings for a while about that, but THEN in a flashback to Gus’s performance as Growltiger, a pirate with a penchant for the limelight. A new background drops down and all of a sudden the musical morphs into an over-the-top Baroque opera, replete with wigs, ridiculous women, and a marauding band of Siamese soldiers.
That is what’s so great about Cats. It gives you everything you didn’t even know you could ask for in the same production. The reason Cats has done so well for so long is the sheer amount of entertainment it offers. There is something in this musical for everyone to love. The songs are classics, the humor is sharp, and there’s entertainment to be had for young and old alike.
So I was wrong. Cats cannot be chalked up as just another artifact in the hallowed halls of kitsch. No! Cats goes down in history as the magnum opus of Andrew Lloyd Weber, the only man capable of turning Prufrock into a timeless late-disco-David Bowie-singing-and-dancing-glitter-bonanza. |
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Mojo theater review
By Laura Schilling
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Retreat from Moscow features Barclay Roberts, Irene Crist and Tristan Shields (seated)
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What is it about utter romantic and personal devastation that teenage girls find hilarious? I don't know, but whatever it is, Retreat from Moscow, directed by Jerry Chipman, is chock full of it. When I viewed a performance recently at The Circuit Playhouse, four girls sitting behind me couldn't control their tittering amusement as the family onstage gradually crumbled.
As good as the play was, I remember wondering as I watched the opening act how it managed to garner a Tony. The first scene takes place in a living room as Alice (Irene Crist) goes over her manuscript and Edward (Barclay Roberts) pencils in the crossword and reads passages from his book, appropriately titled Retreat from Moscow. It all felt a bit stiff. The characters were feeding each other stock lines seemingly delivered more from rote habit than any expressive impulse. In retrospect it was an effective way to set up dramatic themes that develop in the play.
The plot thickens when Edward leaves Irene for another woman while their son Jamie, (Tristan Shields), is in town. The play then evolves into an unflinching and sobering view of what marriage makes of love, and what divorce does to the loveless. Irene Crist steals the show as the grieving divorcee, letting loose with some of the most impressive acting skills I've seen. She combines anger, bewilderment, and confusion into a character that is in the same moment engrossing and revolting.
I found myself cringing inwardly as I recognized the qualities of these characters in myself, in my parents, in really any couple I have known. Once I had thoroughly internalized the plot, the play hit me over the head with THE METAPHOR: divorce as the retreat from Moscow.
In the first act, Edward reads aloud the account of Napoleon's march on Moscow. The soldiers reach the great city in the dead of winter only to find it abandoned. They must return back to France, through the snow and frozen rivers and enemy fire. As they retreat, the stronger soldiers dump the weak and sick along the side of the road to die.
The play makes it clear that the entirety of a marriage is spent in an arduous trek to a glorified destination where nothing awaits. We all get there, to a point in our relationships, where we have lost sight of ourselves and each other, where we pick at faults and run away to poems and crosswords and new lovers.
Retreat from Moscow forces us to confront whether we are the weak or the strong. On the retreat, can we relate to those who were left behind? This may be the key to the laughter of the girls behind me. It's ‘funny’ when we see Irene Crist’s Alice screaming and tipping over a table because she's been abandoned. ‘Funny’ if we don't know where she's coming from.
But that's the rub, we do know where she's coming from, where all the characters are coming from. That's what makes this play so good. It pokes at the things we would all like to shove under the rug. It asks us to confront difficult questions. Will it be funny when we get to Moscow and find no one there? |
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Mick Jagger gets a harp lesson from Jr. Wells in Germany, circa 1970 – one of many of Dick Waterman’s photos on exhibit at the Stax Museum.
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Mojo theater review
By Matt Lovett
MemphisMojo.com
Well, one is probably drawn to see Saucy Jack and the Space Vixens (now at Circuit Playhouse) by the same prurient interest to which the play caters. The title alone invites one into a lascivious, campy world, and the play certainly lives up to that promise. Set on the planet Frottage 3, it features a plethora of overt sexual innuendoes, disco revival pieces, and scantily clad ladies and gentlemen. For example, I’ll give you a list of a few of the characters’ names: Chesty Prospects, Bunny Lingus, Jubilee Climax, Willhelm von Whackhoff, etc. This mod-futuristic disco retrospective thrives off a similar (expected) bawdy sensibility in its audience, and all in all, it makes for quite a good time.
As soon as you enter the theater, you’re involved in the production. The bartender, Mitch Maypole (played by Paul Seiz), extends his part to the audience, inviting them to come to the bar for red wine, white wine, or jell-o shots that are distributed throughout the audience (for those who are 21, of course). While the audience files in, those seated are treated to a brief striptease by the choreographer of the show, wearing a black afro and platform heels, followed by two mocking karaoke performances. Clearly, we’re all guests at Saucy Jack’s cabaret bar.
The plot of the story is by no means original, nor is it particularly clever, nor are the songs particularly well-written. However, the sheer camp value of it makes one almost forget all that (provided, of course, again, that the audience is just as lewd – with out their participation, it would have been painfully boring). I’ll give you a brief rundown here: Saucy Jack’s bar, a futuristic cabaret filled with plenty of sex talk (their slogan: “Saucy Jacks: Take/Stick It Where It’s Easy/Sleazy”), has been plagued by a recent string of murders in which several women have been stabbed by high-heeled sling-backs! Oh my!
So, enter the Space Vixens, a trio of big haired, sparkly make-upped, bejeweled-hair-dryer toting intergalactic crime fighters. Their big entrance, marked by the ditty “Glitter Boots Saved My Life,” introduces Bunny Lingus, Anna Labia, and Jubilee Climax, each of whom introduces a new romantic storyline into the mix.
Bunny Lingus immediately falls for Chesty Prospects, a visitor to Saucy Jack’s who is an illicit synthetic materials dealer (her theme song: “Plastic, Leather, and Love”). Anna Labia is drawn to the shy, awkward saxophonist Sammy Sacks. However, more importantly, we are introduced to the romantic back story of Jubilee Climax, the leader of the Space Vixens, and Saucy Jack. I won’t spoil that for you here, though. Suffice it to say that we’re drawn back into the omnipresent plot climax: love or justice? As Jubilee claims as her mantra “justice, whiskey, and disco!,” I think we can anticipate the ending.
The plot, though, again, is mostly secondary to the overall camp value the show engenders. Each song hearkens back to a 70s, disco, glam sensibility, while being tied into an intergalactic, futuristic locale. Needless to say, the glow sticks, lighted hair pieces, and massive amounts of glittery body makeup worked out well. Luckily, the addition of alcohol and the fact that one can bring in one’s own alcohol allows the audience to get more into the show, and jeering along with every less than clever innuendo increases the fun. For supposedly cynical me, overt sexual references are not particularly amusing unless one is 14; but, when everyone is involved in cat-calling with the cast, all is well.
The cast at Circuit Playhouse does a great job with playing up the camp value: they’re clearly all enjoying themselves in what cast member Bill Andrews, as von Whackhoff, called “the silliest bit of theater he has ever been a part of.” Women in tiny mini skirts, fishnets, and thigh high platforms; men in black underwear and plastic suspenders; cleavage all over the place; sex talk galore: if any of this sounds entertaining to you, provided you’re aware of the banality of it all, by all means, go.
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Mrs. Robinson (Carmen Rae Myers) catches Benjamin’s (Mark Mozingo) eye in The Graduate.
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By Morgan McCann
MemphisMojo.com
It's always exciting to share an experience with someone who's never taken part in what's about to be revealed before their eyes.
When I went to see The Graduate at Playhouse on the Square, I went with someone who was unfamiliar with the film and the story's premise. It was refreshing to see their reaction upon first encountering the 60’s cultural icon of Mrs. Robinson. On the other hand, I was acquainted with the plot and the characters, and while it was difficult to leave my attachment to the 1967 film behind, I found Playhouse on the Square's The Graduate was intended to be a complete work that exists on its own -- related to the film but, overall, a rather different experience.
The play is adapted by Terry Johnson, based on the novel by Charles Webb and subsequent screenplay by Calder Willingham and Buck Henry. Playhouse's production is directed by Ken Zimmerman, Director of Vanguard Theater at The University of Tennessee at Martin and also the Artistic Director at the Playhouse for thirteen seasons.
The set was a simple wooden and shuttered construction, easily and believably converted into a bedroom or hotel lobby or church as the story demands. The simple backdrops allowed one's focus to be directed towards the emotional and existential disturbances in which the characters are embroiled.
The stage production of The Graduate actually seemed to thrive when its dialogue matched up with that etched into my mind from the Mike Nichols movie. While clearly intended to be interpreted as an independent work, I ended up liking best when characters delivered lines directly lifted from the screen.
For instance, the constant repetition of and emphasis on names -- "Mrs. ROBinson" and "BENjamin" -- was fantastic. Carmen Rae Myers (Mrs. Robinson) rolled the syllables off her tongue in a manner that exhibited her nearly overwhelming power and intent to seduce the unsuspecting Benjamin Braddock (Mark Mozingo).
My favorite characters overall would be Keith Patrick McCoy and Michael J. Vails' supporting performances. McCoy takes the role of a bartender and Vails is a lewd patron at a sketchy establishment where Benjamin takes Elaine Robinson (girlishly played by Megan Bowers) in hopes of a disastrous date. The humor and personality McCoy and Vails brought to the stage was refreshing. Having experienced both types of characters, I think that I would have preferred the play to be either one extreme or the other: something radically different from the movie or a consistent homage to the film.
Overall, I enjoyed the performance, but I know my friend did more, because they hadn’t previously brought a fondness for the film’s remarkable Dustin Hoffman and Anne Bancroft to the table. We did both like the fact that the play left us each in a contemplative mood, rather than neatly tying up loose ends (which would have been insulting to the plot and changes that developed in the two hours we see the characters on stage). The play ends a bit differently -- and it seems fitting that it does so, in this setting.
The space in which the play takes place would have made a 'banging on the windows' moment a little too melodramatic. I was entertained for the entire two hours, and greeted and treated so warmly that I will assuredly return to the venue for their next performance. |
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By Morgan McCann
MemphisMojo.com
Memphis Brooks Museum of Art recently said farewell to two laudable exhibits featuring the work of cartoonist Norman Rockwell and impressionist painter Berthe Morisot, but rest assured that current and upcoming winter and spring exhibitions will be equally as enjoyable.
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“Yellow Owl” by Edward S. Curtis
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Just look at last weekend, when winners of the Mid-South Scholastic Art Awards were honored Saturday in a ceremony at the Memphis College of Art, with a subsequent reception held at the Brooks. 200 winning pieces from the contest (which has been a Mid-South tradition since 1965) are on display at the until Sunday, February 12th. The artists and descriptions of each of these works can be found online at www.brooksmuseum.org.
A common thread between the spring exhibitions involves particular attention to the form of the subject with a focus on the technical aspects behind both creation and the final project, particularly in photography.
Check out these three:
- "Edward S. Curtis and the American Indian" -- a project created in tandem with Dr. Dee Garceau-Hagen and her students at Rhodes College -- made its debut on January 14 but will remain on display until April 16. This exhibit features 40 striking photographs of Native Americans that date from the early 20th century. The ‘Wild West’ photos which were famous in their day, glorified and reinforced that image and are now studied for the commentary they offer regarding social and cultural conditions of Native Americans and pioneers. Dr. Garceau-Hagen and her class document their explorations of the subject in the exhibit's text and accompanying brochure.
- "Light Writing: Photography" features images from the museum's collection detailing technical advancements in material and equipment in the years of 1839-1900. Subjects range from the scientific and architectural achievements to personal portraiture. The website features an intriguing piece by Eadweard Muybridge, entitled "Annie G. Galloping" -- a work highlighting both the graceful form of the racehorse itself and the concept of repetition as produced through the development of multiple photographs of the same subject. This exhibit will be on display until March 19.
- And "Nature and Artifice: The Birds of Dorothy Doughty" on display until April 16. Doughty's birds were first introduced to Brooks patrons in the 1930s and the "minute detail and lifelike poses" she involves in her sculptures make the pieces favorites amongst museum visitors. This particular display highlights the artist and "her powers of observation" regarding the natural world, while also allowing observers to feel her general reverence and fondness for her chosen subject.
(Memphis Brooks Museum of Art is open Tues.- Fri. from 10 a.m. – 4 p.m., Saturdays from 10 a.m. – 5 p.m. and Sunday from 11:30 a.m.- 5 p.m.
Admission is $6 for adults, seniors $5, students with ID $2. Members are admitted free.)
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Scholastic Art Show Entry by Scott Lyle Briarcrest Christian School
Gold Sound, 2004
Oil on canvas
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Renee Kemper as Patsy Cline
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By Brown Burnett
MemphisMojo.com editor
This weekend is your last chance to see A Closer Walk with Patsy Cline and if you haven’t seen it, you should, because it features a remarkable performance by Renee Kemper in the lead role. Not only does she act but she performs some 20 Patsy Cline songs onstage with a live band.
Renee took a few pre-Christmas minutes from her busy schedule to talk with us about what it’s like to be Renee AND Patsy Cline. And these are some of the things we learned about her.
She’s from Texas and has been working on a Master’s degree in Piano Performance at the University of Memphis and one can’t help but marvel at her dedication to her craft as she talks about working in theater or some variation of theater, everywhere from Amana, IA (“too cold”) to Los Angeles. Her eyes light up, even when talking about the hardships of the life of a ‘theater gypsy’, particularly when she talks about her 5-year directing stint across the country.
And about Patsy - she says she grew up in a musical household, “my family listened to a lot of Don McLean.”
Huh?
“I know that sounds unusual but that’s what my parents listened to a lot.”
She says she’s almost forgotten her “real voice” since she worked so hard at learning to sing like Patsy Cline, and when told she could do a Patsy Cline Tribute Show and probably makes lots of money, she laughs and says, “Well, that’s very nice to say that. I’ve never really thought about it. I don’t plan to do that, but it’s good to know that somebody thinks I COULD.”
She’s also surprised when told that someone thought she might be a soprano.
“Oh my . . . no, I’m an alto. Wow . . . I don’t think I have the range but maybe I’m a soprano and don’t know it.”
So even if you’ve seen A Closer Walk with Patsy Cline, see it again. That’s a remarkable talent singing those songs. |
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By Brown Burnett
MemphisMojo.com
By Brown Burnett
MemphisMojo.com
Some of the publicity for Playhouse on the Square’s production of A Closer Walk with Patsy Cline (which ends this weekend) features a stylized poster image (such as the one with this article) of the late, legendary singer that makes you wonder if such a songbird ever really existed. Yes, indeed, there was indeed a Patsy Cline and when you see this production and the performance from Renee Kemper in the title role, you’ll have no trouble thinking that it’s really the late singer.
Kemper’s role demands not only singing and acting but a journey of transformation. The musical play begins with 16-year-old, then-Virginia Hensley, debuting on live radio and follows her career as Patsy Cline right through to a Carnegie Hall appearance and her death in a 1963 plane crash when she was only 30 years old.
We see Cline through her music and Kemper’s performance. Hers is a daunting task – she sings more than 20 songs and performs flawlessly. I attended the play with an opera singer/vocal coach who expressed admiration for Kemper’s performance, noting her attention to detail in re-creating Cline’s voice, and also her endurance. Singing all these songs with emotion, class and style is impressive under any circumstance.
The play, deftly directed by Michael Detroit, uses a 1963 radio show format to trace Patsy’s career. The announcer who tells the story through an on-stage studio set, is a character named Little Big Man, played by John Hemphill. Hemphill also performs comedy skits in show, playing 2 different comedians - one a typical Grand Ole Opry comic and the other a Vegas funny-man, supplying comedy relief in the most literal sense and rest for Kemper’s voice. Hemphill is fine in the role and the audience seemed to love the intentionally cornball comedy routines.
The play’s other characters are musicians, with Michael Crea, Evan Grosshans, Keith Patrick McCoy and Mark Mozingo playing the Jordanaires vocal group. While it’s quickly evident these are NOT the Jordanaires, they do provide a reasonable facsimile.
But special recognition goes to the superb band that performs on stage with Renee/Patsy - Ed Bell on bass, Eric Lewis on steel guitar and fiddle, Chris Rutledge on guitar and Charles Streeter on drums. Paul Seiz is the pianist and band leader who keeps all this music together and he also does a fine Floyd Cramer.
Kemper’s wardrobe changes are especially effective in reflecting Cline’s career changes, from her cowgirl outfit to her Carnegie Hall gown. The storyline seemed accurate enough, particularly in subtly relating her mixed feelings about jumping from country to pop – reminding us that the great Patsy Cline was a pioneer in crossover. |
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Robert Bonfiglio
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January is a busy month for the Memphis Symphony Orchestra and conductor David Loebel, with 4 concerts, including 2 this weekend and a big Mozart celebration on the 27th.
This Saturday night at 8 p.m. at the Cannon Center downtown, the Symphony and the Bank of America Pops Series presents an Elvis Birthday Pops concert, featuring harmonica wizard Robert Bonfiglio in a return visit, along with singer Terry Mike Jeffrey.
Called "the Paganini of the Harmonica" by The Los Angeles Times, the 49-year-old Bonfiglio has been a concerto soloist with leading orchestras around the world, from the Los Angeles and Luxembourg Philharmonics to the Milwaukee, Mexico City and Memphis Symphony Orchestras.
A composition student of Aaron Copeland and Charles Wuorinen, the Manhattan School of Music graduate has been featured in the New York Times, the Boston Globe, the Los Angeles Times, the Washington Post and the Chicago Tribune. You could make a good case that Robert Bonfiglio is the most celebrated and versatile harmonica player in the world, and, as you will discover this weekend, he does indeed play pop music and blues.
Also on the progam will be the Imperials gospel group and also Elvis ‘song stylist’ Terry Mike Jeffrey, who is also a singer / songwriter / guitarist / actor / all-purpose entertainer. His credits include musical director and star of Elvis: An American Musical and his work is admired by Elvis fans worldwide.
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Tai Murray
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Sunday afternoon, at 2:30 p.m., the orchstra will present violinist Tai Murray at the Cannon Center in Prism: Red, White and Blue, the second concert in the Arthur F. and Alice E. Charitable Foundation Family Series.
Sunday afternoon will also be an event, with pre-concert activities, such as an Instrument Petting Zoo, Flag/American theme face painting, Musical Bingo, and Americana coloring, beginning at 1:15 p.m. at the Cannon Center.
With music from Copeland to Gershwin, the MSO will also have the Sorghum Hill Bluegrass Band with Memphis Symphony violinist Jessica Munson. The orchestra’s Brass Quintet will also perform.
Jason Weinberger, music director of the Waterloo-Cedar Falls (Ia.) Symphony Orchestra, will conduct and Memphis Parent is the community sponsor.
23-year-old Tai Murray debuted at the age of nine with a debut with the Chicago Symphony and has been a celebrated, award-winning violinist in the U.S. and Europe ever since. Her Sunday performance will give symphony-goers a taste of her talent which will also be featured in a special Murray and Mendelssohn program at the Cannon Center Saturday January 14 at 8 p.m. and Sunday January 15 at 2:30 p.m.
The Memphis Symphony Box Office at (901) 454-6774 has ticket information.
- B.B. |
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Jonathon Lamer as Marley
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By Rosilyn Parashis
MemphisMojo.com
Jacob Marley’s Christmas Carol: does it ring a bell? No? Why would a person be named Jacob Marley if they were not, in fact, related to Bob Marley the only Marley you’ve probably ever heard of? Operating under this premise, I engaged in a little trickery.
Jacob Marley’s Christmas Carol is currently playing at The Circuit Playhouse through Dec. 22nd and I went to one of last week’s performances.
Always mischievous (and a little vengeful that he opted out of the play choosing the Grizzlies vs. Dallas Mavs game at FedExForum), I couldn’t help but play along with my husband’s assumption that Jacob Marley’s Christmas Carol was a Jamaican-inspired Rastafarian celebration of Christmas.
“Yes, and I believe that Circuit Playhouse has actually invited Bob Marley’s son to see the play. He’ll be there tonight.”
So, he went to the FedExForum for the millionth time, and I went to Circuit Playhouse for the first.
We didn’t make it a point to arrive at 7:30 p.m. when the doors are first opened. We arrived around 7:45 p.m. and we were lucky that we did. If we’d been 5 minutes later, my friend and I wouldn’t have been able to sit together.
Circuit Playhouse is much smaller than Playhouse on the Square. I liked the smaller space, more intimate. And I like the seating arrangements—there are no heads in the way of the stage, even if you’re in the back row. The person I was with, a native Chicagoan, said that Circuit reminded her of the Second City Comedy Club—where the famous Second City improv group performs. Below Second City’s space, is a spot called Etcetera where the Second City hopefuls perform—and she liked the performers at Etcetera better than the Second City acts. Circuit Playhouse reminded her of Etcetera—which we took to be a good omen.
Now, onto Jacob Marley’s Christmas Carol. Surely you’ve figured out that Jacob Marley (Jonathon Lamer) has nothing to do with Bob Marley or anyone related to him. Jacob Marley is, of course a character from the Christmas favorite, A Christmas Carol. Marley is Scrooge’s partner who, in A Christmas Carol, we meet briefly when his spirit visits Scrooge to warn him to change his ways.
So, Jacob Marley’s Christmas Carol focuses on Jacob Marley’s life and how he redeemed himself by redeeming Scrooge.
A Christmas Carol is on of my favorite Christmas stories. And Jacob Marley’s Christmas Carol is just as good. We get to see the exact same events unfold, but from a different perspective.
The Circuit Playhouse actors, all of whom also perform at Playhouse on the Square, did well. The cast of Jacob Marley’s Christmas Carol is small—just four people who play multiple roles.
Jonathon Lamer was a very funny Jacob Marley. He made you like this cursed character. Then there was Scrooge -I’ve never thought him so mean - Brian Mott was very convincing.
Megan Keach performed well as the sprightly Bogle. But, my favorite was Tristan Shields, who played The Record Keeper among many other things—he’s comical. Even in his other role as The Cowardly Lion in the Wizard of Oz (currently running at Playhouse on the Square), he stood out and kept the crowd laughing.
Jacob Marley’s Christmas Carol managed to get me in the holiday spirit, just like watching A Christmas Carol does every year. It’s the whole redemption theme, I think.
When I returned from the play, I said, “Oh, you should have seen it. There were lots of colors and everyone wore beanies and dreadlock-wigs! They really celebrate Christmas right in Jamaica!”
Just because I’m in the Christmas spirit doesn’t mean I can’t be a little naughty. |
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StagePlay
A look at the upcoming seasons for local theatres |
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Playhouse on the Square
A New Broadway Play - TBA
Jan 27 - Feb 26, 06
Take Me Out
Mar 17 - Apr 15, 06
Fiddler on the Roof
May 5 - Jun 4, 06
Urinetown The Musical
Jun 23 - Jul 23, 06 |
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Circuit Playhouse
Pump Boys and Dinettes
Jan 13 - Feb 12, 06
Saucy Jack & The Space Vixens
Mar 3 - Apr 2, 06
Intimate Apparel
Apr 21 - May 21, 06
Frozen
Jun 9 - Jul 9, 06 |
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POTS@The Works
The Story
Jul 7 - Jul 30, 06
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GPAC is located on Exeter Road in Germantown. All performances, except matinees, are at 8 p.m.
IRIS schedule for 2005-2006
Jan. 14 - Pianist Jonathan Bill performs Mozart's Elvira Madigan concerto
Feb. 11 - Trumpeter Alison Blason performs Vivaldi and Haydn
March 4 - Clarinetist Jerome Simas performs Tchaikovsky and Copland
March 24 - Baritone Nathan Gunn sings music of Samuel Barber
May 6 - 7 - Pianist Yuja Wang in all-Mozart show |
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Midori – fast and furious
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By Brown Burnett
MemphisMojo.com editor
A beautiful, cold Sunday afternoon at Germantown Performing Arts Centre brought some extraordinary music from the IRIS chamber orchestra and its guest artist, Midori.
The music world knows all about Midori, the child prodigy violinist who performed her first concert at age 7 in her hometown of Osaka, Japan and is today a legend at 34, so it was no surprise that the concert was a sellout.
As everyone waited on Midori, Michael Stern and the IRIS orchestra brought out Paul Hindemith’s Nobilissima Visione. Hindemith (1895-1963 is considered one of the founders of “modernism”, along with Stravinsky, Schoenberg and Bartok and here with this one, he really gave us something to chew – 11 movements in fact. It certainly was big – sprawling, in fact – but it was accessible and under Stern’s hand, this ballet on the life of St. Francis was, well, most digestible, even if one heck of an appetizer.
Then came Midori with the main course – THE Beethoven concerto, his ONLY violin concerto, Violin Concerto in D major, Op 61 to be precise.
As the IRIS orchestra began the piece, you could see Midori, eyes closed, discreetly swaying to sound as if she were channeling the Titan himself or putting herself into a trances and when she began, well, it seemed that either or both could be the case.
A piece as familiar as this could easily become pedestrian even in the hands of the best but Midori played as if she owned it, with a fire and intensity that at times was literally breathtaking.
Visibly emotional during her performance, she let Beethoven physically move her as she stepped forward, backed up again, and again to where one would almost fear that she was going to step on the concertmaster. But instead she just kept getting deeper into the piece. The music was written in such as way that the performing violinist seems to ‘visit’ the concerto, moving in and out of audience with it, rather than becoming a dominant forcer of the whole. Perhaps that’s why it takes a magical Midori to do justice to Beethoven.
If you want proof that immortality does exist, just listen to Beethoven in the hands (and on the shoulder) of a Midori, or a Perlman. As performed by someone like that, Beethoven is as alive as when he wrote it in 1806, if not more so.
So we were given this masterpiece, and applause and ‘encores’ rang out at GPAC. While Midori returned more than once to thank all, and pay tribute to her musical accomplices for the day, there was no encore.
And that’s just as well. She gave everyone what they expected and wanted, and even more. That’s quite a venue out there in Germantown . . . and quite a concert series.
Next up for GPAC and IRIS is 25-year-old American pianist Jonathan Biss and Mozart’s Piano Concerto No. 21, Sat. Jan. 14 at 8 p.m. You can get more information at 901-751-7500. |
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The Memphis Symphony Orchestra’s first Young People’s Concert is set for Wed., Dec. 7 at the Cannon Center downtown.
Vincent Danner will conduct.
The program, “Red, White and Blue”, begins at 10 a.m. with another concert at 11:30 a.m. The hour-long concerts are for grades 6-12. Curriculum guides and recordings to enhance appreciation of the music will be available from the Memphis Symphony.
Billed as a concert for everyone, the program will have music from Grofe’s Grand Canyon Suite, a medley of Duke Ellington’s music, and works by Leonard Bernstein, Aaron Copland and William Grant Still.
A concert for grades 2- 6, Your Pictures at an Exhibition, is set for Feb. 8 for 11:30 a.m. at the Cannon Center.
Tickets are $4 per student and more information is available at 324-3627. |
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Megan Bowers and Michael Crea in Playhouse on the Square’s Wizard of Oz .
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By Rosilyn Parashis
MemphisMojo.com
The Wizard of Oz, which began its lengthy stint at Playhouse on the Square (through Jan. 8) last weekend, was off to a great start on opening night. After watching the entertaining, albeit heavy, new movie Jarhead, I welcomed the Munchkins and other furry critters that made up this cast of The Wizard of Oz.
Granted there are a couple of evils in the play—the witches and the aerodynamic monkeys—but this presentation successfully got me out of “war mode” and into the world of whimsy.
I took my niece to the play because we all know that 5-year-olds are the most effective critics of such things and she loved every minute of the play. She’s not one of those “sit down quietly and enjoy the show” types (regards to the people in front of, behind and beside us), so every time there was a good song, which was often, Rachyl was on her feet.
Rachyl didnn’t pay that much attention to Dorothy’s character (Megan Bowers, who was fine in that thankless role). Rachyl’s favorite character was the Cowardly Lion (Tristan Shields). I’m not sure if that’s because we sat in the back and she couldn’t tell what the Scarecrow (Mark Mozingo) and Tin Man (Michaeil Crea) actually were, or if she really liked the Cowardly Lion. He did make the most funnies of the three, though.
For me, one of the highlight of the play was the pace - definitely abridged. I was worried that we’d be there all night, but this production got all of the good songs in and got us out in good time without compromising the story.
Also, the special effects used for the Wizard are pretty cool—Playhouse really went all out for that. I don’t want to spoil anything, but the effects they used here make the production.
Another reason to see this Wizard of Oz: The way those guys break out with “the robot” when singing “Ding Dong the Witch is Dead,” is classic—they should win an award for those moves.
And the final reason to go see the Wizard of Oz? If I didn’t sell you on the acting, the special effects, or the dance moves, I’m going to get you with this: Toto is played by a real dog! Yep, it’s the most well-behaved dog you’ll ever see on stage. |
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By Rosilyn Parashis
MemphisMojo.com
In every pair of eyes, in every heart, in every mind in Soulsville USA, there is a special story or memory or hope…
And thus we have phase one of Stax Museum’s new exhibit, “From the Soul: An Intimate Portrait of Soulsville USA,” which began Sunday, Nov. 20 at the museum.
This exhibit shows us Soulsville—not through the eyes of tourists, not even through the eyes of notables like Isaac Hayes or David Porter who came from that neighborhood — but through the eyes of the people who lived in Memphis during the Soulsville USA era.
Producing the exhibit was a project within itself. How do you take stories from various people with different perspectives and different voices and piece them together to make one overarching and seamless piece of work?
Well, you start by bringing in Robert Wolf of Free River Press.
Free River Press began in 1989, with Wolf’s vision of creating an American autobiography of sorts. Free River Press travels to various places around the country gathering stories and creating a unique, visual time capsule, encompassing part of each participant’s story.
The first Free River Press project was held in Nashville, where the organization held workshops to gather stories of Nashville’s homeless—a group that exists in America who usually has an unheard voice, now has a place in Free River Press’ “American autobiography.”
In August, Free River Press came to Memphis to capture stories of old Soulsville USA—not just the musical Soulsville, but the spirit of the Soulsville community.
In a 4-day workshop, members of the community recounted their memories—from hanging out at the local spot, Justine’s (which is on the National Register of Historic Places) to Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s assassination.
The stories are accompanied by photos—some of people, others of places that make up Soulsville’s history.
This exhibit gives a voice to the entire Soulsville USA family—from the ones who made a giant splash on the music scene, establishing Soulsville as the place for talent to those who treaded a little softer. “From the Soul: An Intimate Portrait of Soulsville USA,” gives everyone equal footing in the Soulsville USA soil.
“From the Soul: An Intimate Portrait of Soulsville USA” begins Sun. Nov. 20th 2-4 p.m. Admission is $9 (free to Stax Museum members). |
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By Brown Burnett
MemphisMojo.com
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Itzhak Perlman
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If you research Itzhak Perlman, (who will perform with the IRIS chamber orchestra at the Cannon Center, Sunday Nov. 6 at 3 p.m.) you’ll keep coming up on quotes such as “undeniably the reigning virtuoso of the violin” or “an artistic force of a compelling nature.” If anything, those are understatements.
Teacher, performer, entertainer, recording artist, celebrity, humorist, TV personality, musical ambassador, humanitarian, former child prodigy, violinist extraordinaire and versatile virtuouso – all of those hats fit the great Itzhak Perlman.
It seems as if he’s always been with us. Born in Israel in 1945, he performed on the Ed Sullivan Show in 1958 and debuted at Carnegie Hall in 1963 and won the prestigious Leventritt Competition in 1964, launching his worldwide career. So for (gasp) almost a half-century, Itzhak Perlman, superstar, has been with us. In addition to performing, he also maintains a substantial teaching career, giving private lessons and master classes on violin and chamber worldwide. Not many can say they have performed with ALL the world's great orchestras, but he can and he's also in demand as a conductor.
Disabled by polio at the age of four, Perlman uses crutches, plays the violin seated and remains an an active and eloquent voice on behalf of the handicapped and disabled.
On the program for his IRIS concert are Stravinsky's Jeu de Cartes "The Card Game" from the Rites of Spring, Beethoven's Symphony No. 1, with Perlman performing Bruch's Violin Concerto No. 1. |
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