This was one of the most incredible Shakespeare productions I have ever seen.
Starring Rory Kinnear as Iago and Adrian Lester as Othello, this National Theater Live cast is a fantastic adaptation of this production. I have never been so impressed by Shakespeare.
Sunday the 8th September brought a live recording of London’s award winning production “The Audience” to Michigan Theater in downtown Ann Arbor. Starring Helen Mirren as Queen Elizabeth II, written by Peter Morgan (The Last King of Scotland, The Queen, Frost/Nixon).
The play took place in the private audience room in Buckingham Palace, London, where the Queen meets with her Prime Minister every Tuesday evening to be brought up to speed on current issues. These audiences take place under strict confidence of secrecy and the actual course of events and conversations have not been recorded. Peter Morgan wrote this production to investigate what might have transpired behind closed doors between the Queen and her twelve different PM’s over the years. He based his writing off of known information; historical events, political conflicts, state issues etc.
The Audience is Morgan’s second script featuring Queen Elizabeth II. He admits he can be somewhat generous and kind to her as a historical figure, the Queen written in this production was very likable, human, silently opinionated and, naturally, refined and polite. There is little, if any, criticism written into this representation of Queen Elizabeth, she always comes out on top in each meeting, dispute, conflict or sarcastic interaction.
Helen Mirren won London’s Oliver Award (the equivalent of a Tony) for Best Actress in a Play, for her role in The Audience. She has mastered the nuances of Queen Elizabeth’s movements, speech, facial expressions and general carriage. It is amazing to watch her act in this production. There is always a different atmosphere surrounding live performances, recorded or otherwise, in comparison with feature films. The videographer of this National Theater production did a wonderful job of capturing essential physical movements without making these details obtuse or allowing these specific focal points to detract from the plot, or the other actors.
As someone who is interested in, but has little understanding or knowledge of, British history and the Royal family, I was captivated by the historical relevance of this play. I praise the Michigan Theater for bringing this production to Ann Arbor, Peter Morgan for his wit and intelligence, Helen Mirren for her skills as an actress and grace as a woman, as well as the other actors for creating such a wonderful story and executing it with such pride.
Michigan Theater will hold more screenings of National Theater Live productions through out the fall, the next performance will be Shakespeare’s “Othello” Sunday, October 13 at 7:00 PM.
What: “The Audience” – a play
Where: Michigan Theater on Liberty
When: Sunday the 8th of September 7pm and Tuesday the 10th of September 7pm
Tickets: $22
(http://ums.org/performances/national-theatre-live-the-audience)
Coming out of the West End in London, Helen Mirran (The Queen, Red, The Debt, Hitchcock) and Peter Morgan (director of The Queen, The Last King of Scotland, Frost/Nixon) come together once again for a performance about Queen Elizabeth II. Bound to be another spectacular production with Mirran as the head of the British crown.
Michigan Theater’s Website has this to say about the production:
For 60 years Elizabeth II has met each of her 12 Prime Ministers in a weekly audience at Buckingham Palace – a meeting like no other in British public life – it is private. Both parties have an unspoken agreement never to repeat what is said. Not even to their spouses. The Audience breaks this contract of silence – and imagines a series of pivotal meetings between the Downing Street incumbents and their Queen. From Churchill to Cameron, each Prime Minister has used these private conversations as a sounding board and a confessional – sometimes intimate, sometimes explosive.
From young mother to grandmother, these private audiences chart the arc of the second Elizabethan Age. Politicians come and go through the revolving door of electoral politics, while she remains constant, waiting to welcome her next Prime Minister.
The Audience reunites writer Peter Morgan and Academy Award-winning actress Helen Mirren following their collaboration on the critically-acclaimed movie sensation The Queen.
The Audience is directed by Academy Award-nominated director Stephen Daldry (Billy Elliot, The Hours) and presented in the West End by Matthew Byam Shaw for Playful Productions, Robert Fox and Andy Harries.
August: Osage County is an amazing, compelling and complex family story. I am excited to see this Michigan Theater Department production of this incredible piece of theater.
The production of August: Osage County will on stage at:
The Arthur Miller Theater
on:
April 4 & 11 at 7:30 PM
April 5, 6, 12 & 13 at 8 PM
April 7 & 14 at 2 PM
PLEASE go see this production… I will have more to report on Saturday.
http://www.music.umich.edu/performances_events/productions/2012-2013/august-osagecty.htm
Jazz Ensemble and Alumni Concert
This year marks the 25th anniversary of the Jazz and Contemporary Improvisation department at the University of Michigan. To celebrate, a number of musical activities have been taking place all month,including panel discussions, visiting artists, masterclass, theme semester collaborations, faculty recitals, and performance showcases. Last week, the Jazz Ensemble and Alumni Concert performed in the Rackham Auditorium. Jazz ensemble is a required class for concentrators, divided into two sections: Jazz Lab Ensemble and Jazz Ensemble.
The first half of the performance showcased the “Lab.” They performed seven pieces; some original, some classic, some arranged by faculty, and some written by department alumni. Two of the songs featured vocals. The last piece performed before the intermission was my favorite. It takes a lot of breath to shine amidst the carries of thirty brass instruments!
Following the break, the Jazz Ensemble collected onstage and performed six arrangements. Two were written by faculty Andrew Bishop and Ellen Rowe (director of the department, who also conducted), and two were written by alumni. It just so happens that the latter were my favorite pieces of the evening.”Leaving Paris,” by David Luther (a very fine name for a jazz composer, don’t you think?) was the kind of music you’d want to hear on a rainy day. It was slow but varied; I felt the emotion in the rhythm very richly. “May Morning Dew,” by Tyler Duncan, was an adventurous and non-traditional piece. The notes drew from an ancient Irish folk song and included the recoded voice of a man singing the archaic tune. Tyler Duncan played the F Flute, which apparently he used when he auditioned for the school though it had never been done before. An experimental artist, you may recognize Tyler’s name from local Ann Arbor band My Dear Disco, which he helped create and toured with in the years following graduation.
The performance was an exciting exposition of student work, both past and present. The energetic music certainly celebrated this momentous anniversary that this year marks. I loved attending, but after the show had to quickly race back to the library to study for finals. Good luck everyone!
I went to see the Department of Musical Theater’s performance of “Bat Boy” on Saturday instead of going to the IOWA game. I’m pretty positive I made the right choice.
For those of you who don’t know, this musical is based off the “Weekly World News” Headline “Found in West Virginia Cave – a half boy, half bat!” The writers of this farce Keythe Farley and Brian Flemming couldn’t have asked for a better setting or subject matter. They, along with Music contributions from Laurence O’Keefe, have created their own monster of dark, clever and campy humor, complex plot, cross-dressing Virginians (although, this may have been an artistic choice of the MT director), incest, love, random woodsy scenes…. it goes on.
The music is memorable, the choreography, by director Linda Goodrich, was entertaining and creative. And what can I say about the cast?
Bat Boy – junior Ryan Vasques has a beautiful tenor voice and a phenomenal stage presence. He uses his whole body to express himself, which was important for this role. His development from non-verbal Bat Boy to well educated young man was very believable, which considering the subject matter was an unexpected experience.
Shelly Parker – senior Ashley Park also has a strong voice and held her own on stage with a number of very dominant male characters. Her playful body language was fun and Park knew just how far to push the caricature with out becoming tedious or annoying, which is harder than one might think. Her comfort in her own skin was apparent and definitely helped the strength of her role.
Meridith Parker – senior Jane Bruce has a strength in her that radiates into every corner of the theater. Her voice is full and strong, well developed and matured. She carried the emotional trials of her character very well and held a “No” for an impressively long time! Bruce was very enjoyable to watch on stage. She harmonizes beautifully too!
Dr. Thomas Parker – junior Zachary Thompson. I’ve met Zach once. He told me to go see Bat Boy. I didn’t realize over all what I was about to get myself into nor did I know what to expect from Zach’s performance. Let me tell you that Zachery Thompson is quite the physical actor. I was quite impressed to see what he could do with his body, the wiggles and natural flow that he was able to whip out at will. His comedic timing was unbeatable in this production and he didn’t miss a note. Thompson was also very convincing in his role. He masterfully perpetuated the plot line and seamlessly carried himself through from beginning to end.
Senior Travis Ward-Osborne (Rick Taylor, Lorraine, Mr Dillion) who’s voice and (again) physicality blew me away. Ward-Osborne was close to stealing the show if his fellow leads hadn’t been so overwhelmingly strong.
The ensemble did a very nice job, they were beautifully in synch with each other. Unfortunately senior Jordan Barrow (Mrs. Taylor, Reverend Billy Hightower, Roy) although he had a beautiful voice could not project past his mic. When he was playing the Reverend his voice got lost in the crowd, which was too bad because his performance was otherwise very impressive.
All in all this was a fantastic production, my first experience of the Musical Theater Department at Michigan. The set design was amazing, the lighting not too overwhelming (thank god, there is nothing worse than a bad lighting designer).
The only complaint I really have about the production is the acoustics in the Arthur Miller Theater, the sound wall created by the band sometimes made the voices difficult to hear and the hard boxy walls deadened sound.
So it Goes.
See a Dept of Musical Theater show! They are very talented and worthwhile!
