The Queen of American Theatre in The King and I, the incomparable Tricia Brown, more Sense and Sensibility and more Humans

First, can I say, is there any more exquisite voice out there in American Musical Theatre than that of Kelli  O'Hara?  She is sublime in Lincoln Center's production of the rather creaky musical "The King and I."  My heart goes out to the theatre goers who opt to attend on her days off.  The production is gorgeous.  Obviously no expense was spared.  But it did not the match the power of the 2010 production of "South Pacific" at Lincoln Center which also starred Ms. O'Hara and for which she ought to have received a Tony.  That production was socially and politically relevant in a way that the current production of "The King and I" is not.  : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZcgtPWebbm4 

Tricia Brown at BAM.  Wow.  This was the last chance to see three pieces Brown choreographed for a proscenium stage.  I'm not sure the exact reason for this although perhaps it has to do with expense. Brown is suffering from vascular dementia but her company continues to perform her exceptional work beautifully.  I especially liked Set and Reset from 1983 with visual presentation and costumes by Robert Rauschenberg and music by Laurie Anderson.  The dancers were fluid and precise in the their gloriously billowy black and white attire.   Present Tense from 2003 with visuals by the painter Elizabeth Murray and music by John Cage pleased as well. Pops of primary color came in the costumes matched against the giant Murray canvas at the back of the stage.  Less fluid than Set and Reset it showcased a precision of movement and the cohesiveness of the company as a whole.  I was less keen on Newark(Niweweorce) from 1987 with original sound orchestration by Peter Zummo (all fog horns and industrial machinery) and monochromatic visuals by Donald Judd.  The dancers in metallic gray unitards moved as cogs in a giant machine.   It lacked soul for me.

I was not as enamored by "The Humans" as the powers that be.   I thought the play, about a family spending a very painful Thanksgiving together, overflowing with revelations and TMI, was not as profound as it strove to be .  As with "Clybourne Park" by Bruce Norris which was also much lauded, I get the feeling that we, as a serious theatre-going community, are hoping to discover the next Albee or Pinter in these dark quasi-comic dramas focused on flawed familial relationships. Even the title of the play is trying to steer us toward feeling as if we will gain a deeper understanding of the human condition or, at the very least, question what we believe.  " The Humans" with it's excellent cast, especially the great Jayne Houdyshell and Reed Birney, tries so earnestly to be profound and that it's painful to leave the theatre at the end of the play without wanting to carry on thinking about it.  That's what Pinter and Albee do.  They make us think.  And we continue to think and try to understand long after we leave the theatre.  I would love to see Houdyshell and Birney in a revival of "Whose Afraid of Virginia Woolf.  That would be awesome!

Bedlam's "Sense and Sensibility" came through again though.  I missed Eric Tucker, the company's founder and director,  as Mrs. Jennings this time around but Gabra Zackman, a new addition to the cast, is sure to please all who did not see last year's production. I've written about the previous production here.  Don't miss it this time!

Muldoon's Picnic Coming Up

A heads up to run, not walk, to the Irish Arts Center 553 West 51st Street on Monday, February 8th at 7:30 for the next Muldoon's Picnic when his guests will include Salman Rushdie, Miracles of Modern Science and the Irish writer Glenn Patterson.  The following Muldoon's Picnic on March 14th will feature Laurie Anderson.  These delightful evenings are not to be missed.   http://www.irishartscenter.org