Something Stratford

This season (2024) The Stratford Festival is presenting 12 plays, three of which were written by the Bard.  Stratford’s offerings are a true mix of classic theater, Shakespeare, musicals, new plays, modern classics and children’s theater.   

With lectures, tours, gourmet meals and picnics by the river, a trip to Stratford hits all the buttons for a great culture- laden get-away.  The season normally runs from April to the end of October, but this year the two musicals (La Cage Aux Folles and Something Rotten!) are extended to the middle of November.

On a recent visit, I saw five plays: Twelfth Night, Hedda Gabler, La Cage Aux Folles, Something Rotten! and Romeo and Juliet.

Choosing which plays to see is the first challenge of planning a visit to Stratford (45 minutes northeast of London Ontario). I had my sights set on Twelfth Night partially because I remember so vividly from several years when I saw a raucous and colorful production with Hollywood’s Brain Dennehy.  

I see Twelfth Night as the closest that Shakespeare came to writing a musical.  The play is not actually written with music, but it lends itself to the playing of songs and dancing and many memorable productions created original music for the action.

So, I was a bit disappointed that director (and long-time Stratford acting star) Seana McKenna, chose to present the play in the traditional way; a stage with absolutely no scenery but with beautiful and evocative costumes. I was expecting a PRODUCTION!

What I found was that when you don’t have a stage filled with a lavish set and props, you must concentrate on Shakespeare’s monumental words. 

McKenna relied on her first-rate actors (especially Jessica B Hill as Viola and Andre Sills as Orsino) to deliver the goods, which they did. They took the bard’s words and seasoned them with added nuance, subtle expression and beauty. 

It was a well-done play, but I still would have preferred more music and delight. 

Stratford’s musicals have become consistently well done and highly popular. This season is no different.  When I saw La Cage Aux Folles, there wasn’t an empty seat in the house.  The play runs at the Avon Theater, a traditional Broadway-looking theater. 

The play began as a French movie, evolved to this Tony award winning musical and later landed as a blockbuster movie called “Birdcage”, starring Robin Williams and Nathan Lane.

Although La Cage opened on Broadway in 1983, it is still current and edgy.  It begins with a chorus of leggy dancers dolled up with sparkles, boas, in high heels. It turns out that these dancers are guys, not gals. We’re watching a drag show.

The production, directed by Thom Allison and Choregraphed by Cameron Carver, is over-the-top color, music and outrageous dancing – maybe too over-the-top.  Featured as the diva chorus girl is long-time Stratford character actor Steve Ross.  Here, Ross displays great acting and dancing but also wows the audience by creating a character with nuance and pathos. 

I wasn’t as impressed with his partner, Sean Arbuckle.  He was very good, but he didn’t give his character the depth that Ross found in his character. 

The big dancing numbers (and there were many) however were outstanding, and the energy of the performers could not be contained. And the dozens of gowns, sequins, wigs and various paddings was astounding – David Boechler, costume designer. 

La Cage is filled with great humor, a good script and OK songs. The audience was ecstatic.

Hedda Gabler is a classic, turn-of-the (20th) century play by Henrik Ibsen, and I had never seen it before. Stratford produced it on their almost new Tom Patterson Theater.  Patterson’s unusual elongated thrust stage provides the audience with a fresh perspective in viewing theater. 

This new version of the play by Patrick Marber was a stunning production. Directed by Molly Atkinson, it is sparse but surprisingly effective. The set only included a chaise, a few couches and a fireplace. 

The play is about social mores and with mental illness.  The lead role of Hedda is played from Sara Topham, who was just on Broadway.  She was both sinister and regal, as she paraded around in elegant gowns. 

Women are usually not portrayed as evil, narcissistic people which gives this play the bite it has. Topham dominates the stage with this character.  She commands your attention as she overpowers the men and women in her life. 

The play is short, concise and laser focused.  The excellent period costumes added greatly to the play and the excellent acting by Hedda’s new husband played by Gordon S. Miller and Tom Camus playing the interesting character of Judge Brack. 

Hedda Gabler was a surprising home run for me.

The strongest buzz of the season surrounds the musical Something Rotten! Even the guard at Canada’s border asked me if I’d seen the show, when I told her I had visited Stratford.

Something Rotten! might be the perfect musical to be produced by the Stratford Festival, It takes place during the time of Shakespeare and tells the story of two brothers, Nick and Nigel Bottom, who are obsessed with jealously at the success of Shakespeare. Nick sings the song,  I Hate Shakespeare.

They are looking for a way to up end Shakespeare by trying to find out what his next play will be and then steal it. One of the brothers visits a relative of Nostradamus who is a famous soothsayer.  What then ensues, halfway through the first act, is one of the longest and funniest and most complex production numbers ever to appear in a musical. 

The song is simply called A Musical and features Nostradamus explaining that the next big Shakespeare hit will be a musical.  The fortune teller proceeds to explain what a musical is, to his non-believing friend (“You mean, people will pay to see a thing like this?). 

The more you know about musicals, the more you will appreciate this zany number.  The song goes through snippets and jokes of so many musicals - Chorus Line, Annie, Les Misérables, Music Man, Oklahoma and many more - that it will keep you on the edge of your seat.  Costume changes abound and the dancers are not only dancing, but they are acting their characters and are totally engrossed in what they are doing. 

Directed by the queen of Stratford musicals, Donna Feore, Rotten! is at the Festival Stage, a wonderful theater space which is nearly in-the-round, so during the play the audience gets to look at one another enjoying the show.  In this case, everyone was spellbound and entertained by this number.  And when it was done (don’t forget, this was the middle of the first act), the audience jumped to its feet giving the company a standing ovation. 

The play continues with non-stop jokes, gags, and songs and a violently funny script. Donna Feore has been away from the Stratford stage for a few years, but she is now back with the best production she has ever directed.  Rotten! is filled with Feore’s creative touches and her actors are having simply too much fun to be paid for their efforts. 

Without question, if you go to Stratford this season, you must not miss Something Rotten!. 

Romeo and Juliet is one of the most popular works of theater of all time. It’s been transformed into a musical (West Side Story), several movies, and is taught in public schools throughout the world. 

Maybe because it is so ubiquitous, I had misgivings about seeing it yet again. 

In the end, I felt compelled to view it once more because Detroit director, Sam White, was doing the honors and I loved her “Wedding Band” that was on the Stratford schedule last year. Also there has been a lot of excitement concerning Venessa Sears who plays Juliet.

I was so gratified that I made the choice to see R&J again.  It was a revelation.  Despite that 16th century language, it felt real, current and urgent. 

Again, the decision was made to present the play on a bare Festival Theater stage.  After all, if the actors are connecting with the audiences as well as the script, why clutter the story with sets, scenery and props?

The one person who was the spark that ignited the play was, as expected, Venessa Sears as Juliet.  She was young, vibrant and full of excitement with a huge sparkle in her eyes.  Her naïve love for Romeo was believable. 

This very talented actress has a breadth of talent.  She appeared in. a major role in Twelfth Night and is also a singer, igniting the Avon Theater stage a few years ago in Little Shop of Horrors.  I’m sure we’ll see more of her at Stratford.  

Of course, the play would not have succeeded if Romeo was not the right match for Juliet and Jonathon Mason was all of that. In the iconic balcony scene, Mason was jumping for joy and for love, and at the end, used his athleticism to pull himself up to Festival Stage’s very high balcony to embrace Juliet. 

It’s always difficult to direct a scene that is so familiar to audiences, but Sam White did it beautifully. 

The fight scenes were realistic and violent, but the determination of the supporting actors gave R&J its power, especially Glynis Ranney as the nurse and Scott Wentworth as Friar Laurence

Lansing's Brush With Art History - 50 Years Ago

When artist sculptor Claes Oldenburg, 93, died in 2022, I was reminded of the brush Lansing had with the famed pop international artist 50 years ago. 

In 1972 the final touches were being designed for the Washington Mall in downtown Lansing that would feature the circular roundabout intersection of Washington and Michigan Ave directly in front of the Capitol. It was decided that a sculptor would be commissioned to create a dynamic work to adorn the centerpiece of the intersection. 

A sculpture committee was assembled by the Lansing Fine Arts Council to choose an artist. At the time, Oldenburg was a highly regarded sculptor but had not yet received the international acclaim he received later in life. 

The artist’s trademark style also caused a furor in many communities. He designed huge sculptures of everyday objects.  One of his best known works is called “Clothespin”, which is a meticulously accurate 45-foot version of a wooden clothespin, that now stands in the city center of Philadelphia. One of my favorites is a massive representation of a round-wheel typewriter eraser which is in the National Gallery of Art’s Sculpture Garden in Washington DC.

"Maestro" - There's So Much More

Right off the bat, the new Bradley Cooper film, “Maestro”, grabs you.

The film is beautifully and artfully photographed (Matthew Libatique, cinematographer) and is acted with great passion. Bradley Cooper, who wrote, directed and starred in this highly anticipated movie, wanted to get into the heart of the conductor, thought by many to be the greatest musician of the 20th century., and he did so resoundingly.

Cooper plays Bernstein with an uncanny sense of his mannerisms and vocal style. Much has been written about his prosthetic nose, but this, to me, is nonsense.  He looks just like Bernstein and sounds like him too. He threw himself into the part, showing Bernstein’s explosive energy and commitment to music and to people.

Stage One - A Shining Light to Follow

 

For 28 years, Lansing’s Peppermint Creek Theatre Company has lived a vagabond existence.

They have moved from one theater to the next always looking for the best place to produce their shows. They have moved from art galleries to floral conservatories to churches to community rooms.

But despite the challenge of adjusting to a new venue so often, founder and artistic director Chad Swan-Badgero always managed to produce challenging plays of impressive quality. Using amateur actors, they produced superb performances of dramas such as “God of Carnage”, “Other Desert Cities”, “Venus in Fur”, “Indecent” and musicals such as “Assassins,”, “Next to Normal”, “In the Heights” and “Parade”.

In the summer of 2022 something magical happened. Tom Arthur, Pastor of Sycamore Creek Church, with facilities in south Lansing and Potterville and ardent theater lover, approached Swan-Badgero after a production he attended about an unusual idea.

He had recently acquired a spacious church building on Lake Lansing Road with lovely grounds, space galore and a central location.  Arthur looked at the facility and wondered how the space could serve the community in addition to being a place of worship.

Stratford: It's Not Too Late for 2023

 

It’s not too late.

One of the biggest misconceptions about the Stratford Festival in Ontario Canada, is that it lasts only about 6-8 weeks.

The fact is you can enjoy world-class theater in beautiful surroundings from April through October – about six months,

So, there is still plenty of time to see many of the festival’s performances this year.

I visited in August, its busiest month, and was surprised by the big crowds everywhere – hotels were filled, restaurants had lines of hungry customers, and all the plays had medium to totally packed houses. The Covid doom is officially over.

This season offers a wide variety of plays – 13 in all - spanning all genres. The one element of Stratford’s productions that cannot be disputed is their absolutely stunning sets, costumes, special effects and sound systems. Everything is made on site (wigs, shoes, armor, scenery, etc.) and no expense is spared.

The Late, Great Tony Bennett and MSU

 

The year was 1975.

Ken Beachler (recently deceased) was head of the Lecture-Concert Series at Michigan State University. He understood that a new concert hall was desperately needed for the future of concerts and theater at MSU, replacing the current venue; the barn-like, depression-era Auditorium.

After years of discussion, the site was chosen that would later become Wharton Center for Performing Arts, however private donations were needed to make it happen.

Beachler wanted to plan a flashy benefit concert with big stars to kick off the fund-raising campaign.  Tony Bennett (who was at the height of his career) along with Lena Horn were chosen to give a concert at the MSU Auditorium followed by a gala dinner afterwards.

The tickets were sold, Bennett and Horn were booked, and the town was excited.  But one day before the big event was to take place, a huge rainstorm which caused a “100 year flood” descended on the East Lansing area and the Auditorium was flooded and unusable. Everyone was convinced that the event had to be cancelled.

After some quick deliberations, a stage was quickly built in the Munn Ice Arena (not the perfect venue for a gala concert), and Tony Bennet and Lena Horn, unfazed by the disruption, gave a stunning benefit performance on April 19. 1975 bringing Wharton Center closer to reality than just a dream.

Tony Bennet, who just died at age 96, has been back to MSU several times to perform at Wharton Center, the hall to which he donated his talents to create.

Through the years I have had the privilege of interviewing many great artists, but the conversation I had with Tony Bennett leading up to his performance in 2001 was the most memorable.  We talked for a long time, and I found him to be amazingly sincere and authentic. He was warm and forthcoming and as the conversation continued, we were as relaxed as two old friends sharing stories.

He spoke about his days as a singing waiter and how he got into the music business, starting as a jazz singer in small clubs, and now performing in huge auditoriums. A true artist, Bennett was also a respected painter, presenting art shows in many cities throughout the US.

Some headlines in the press called him a “crooner”, a description I feel sells him short. Tony Bennett was a musician of great depth. If you listen to how he interprets “I Left My Heart In San Francisco”, his signature song, you will hear the melodies handled with the great tenderness and nuance of a virtuoso violinist.

In addition to his sensitivity with a lovely ballad like “San Francisco”, Bennett could swing with the best of them with upbeat tunes.  His love of the music and of performing for an audience always shined through.

At age 60 or so, Bennett’s career began to wane. The standards that he sang were out of vogue, and rap and hip hop were taking over the music business. He had a talk with his son Danny Benedetto (Tony’s real last name) who had become a record producer. Danny was convinced that if his dad were marketed correctly, the younger generation would “discover” the great singer.

Tony wanted to give it a try.  Danny lined up great artists to sing duet albums with Bennett (k.d. Lang, Elvis Costello) and he appeared on MTV with an Unplugged show. His career was reborn with gusto.  He appeared on talk shows and when Frank Sinatra retired, he passed his mantel as best male singer to Bennett. In 2014 Bennett released an album with Lady Gaga which became a huge hit, and the two became lasting friends.

In the last few years, sadly, Alzheimer’s took its toll on Bennett. He was not able to recognize most people and his memory was gone. But in a very moving “60 Minutes” program (https://www.cbsnews.com/video/tony-bennett-and-lady-gaga-in-2021-60-minutes/Bennett), he appeared with Lady Gaga one last time in concert, and the music miraculously brought his brain back to life again.  He remembered all the words to his favorite songs and sang them with heartbreaking beauty. It was a powerful display of the power of music, and of Tony Bennett’s genuine love of performing.

Please read the review that I wrote of his 2001 concert at Wharton Center.

Tony Bennett just sings.

He doesn’t write the songs, doesn’t arrange them, doesn’t play piano or guitar, doesn’t dance and doesn’t act.

All he does is sing.

But he sings so well, that he captivated a filled Wharton Center on Friday night. His magic of communication turned the Great Hall into a small intimate nightclub.  Bennett brought with him a quartet (piano, guitar, bass and drums) that had such skill that they were able to match the great subtlety and sensitivity he brought to each song.

At an amazing 75 years of age, Bennett has lost little of what he had when he wowed audiences in the 50s and 60s.  In fact, he sounds better than when he was at Wharton last. In a tribute to women singers, he sang a shimmering version of Barbra Streisand’s “People” and he held the final high note for an achingly long time, demonstrating impressive control.

With age, Bennett’s voice is now a burnished bronze, but he still is able to pull every nuance from a melody and its lyric. At times, he sang just above a whisper, caressing each note.  But the very next tune he would belt forth with full power.

He is a very gracious performer, giving much, well deserved credit to his musicians – and each one was remarkable.  Lee Musiker had a silky touch on the piano but gave his solos a wonderful harmonic spread.  Guitarist Gary Sargent added the perfect lead ins for every phrase, and drummer Clayton Cameron was an artist of the first order. Bennett featured him on a solo using only brushes which was stunning.

Although Bennett has been doing this kind of gig for 51 years, it still seems fresh and wonderful.  His upbeat attitude and personality and obvious love for life, gives his performances a warmth and sincerity that is rare to hear.  This positiveness, however, seemed to get in the way a bit when he sang the dark Ellington tune, “Mood Indigo”. Bennett just doesn’t seem to be downhearted enough to sing the blues convincingly.

The entire concert was elegant.  Bennett looked smashing in a blue silk suit.  Each musician was individually lit, and the use of light throughout the show truly highlighted the entire experience, without getting in the way.

Bennett has beaten all the odds.  No one would have thought that he could be at the height of his career in the year 2001 at age 75.  He has outlasted all of his contemporaries, and in the end, he sings better than any of them ever did. Most of the songs he sang were the standards, but he sings each one as if it’s his favorite, with fresh energy, excitement and meaning.

Tony Bennett is an inspiration.

Lyle Lovett Making Friends in GR

 

There is a certain joy to hearing outdoor concerts in Michigan during the summer. The birds and wildlife seem to enjoy the music as much as we do, and the lack of walls and ceilings seem to allow the melodies to reach out to the entire world, unobstructed.

The state is dotted with several beautiful amphitheaters, all designed for performances under the stars. Some are small stages built in the city or county parks for small ensembles. Others are professional facilities with sophisticated lighting and sound systems that seat thousands of patrons.

I recently visited one the most popular outdoor concert venues, the amphitheater at the Frederik Meijer Garden and Sculpture Park in Grand Rapids. The 1900 seat theater is so popular that most events are sold out far in advance. The park and the amphitheater first opened in 1995 and it has become a major tourist attraction in Michigan. The beauty of the lush gardens and sculptures enhance the listening experience.

I attended the Lyle Lovett and his Large Band concert in mid-June, which has performed at Meijer Gardens since the park opened. John VanderHaagen, Director of Communications for the park says, “It’s like Lyle Lovett is our house band.  What a house band!”

Remembering Ken Beachler

 

When I think of Ken Beachler, I come up with a single image.

Upon entering Wharton Center on Michigan State University’s campus to attend a concert, Ken was at the door to the Cobb Great Hall. He was always impeccably dressed, had a wide gracious smile and welcomed one-and-all into “his” house.  Because he felt the Wharton Center was, indeed, his house.

He knew most by name and greeted each person as if he or she was the most important person he had seen that day.

Beachler spent his entire life supporting, nurturing, performing, and selling the arts. At age 87, he died recently in his home. Ken was one of the greatest shapers of cultural life in the greater Lansing area.

Why is Michigan Packed Solid With Symphony Orchestras?

 

A version of this article appeared in the Lansing State Journal 

MORE ORCHESTRAS THAN YOU THINK

When Michigan State University flute professor Richard Sherman first came to East Lansing 30 years ago, he said to himself, “Boy there sure are a lot of orchestras around here”.  And he was right.

Take a 90-minute drive from Lansing and you will find professional symphony orchestras in Jackson, Battle Creek, Kalamazoo, Adrian, Flint, Grand Rapids, Saginaw, Bay City, Midland, Ann Arbor, Detroit, Dearborn, Rochester, Warren and Plymouth – an amazing 15 orchestras.

And that doesn’t count several more in other parts of Michigan.

The question is: why are there so many orchestras in mid-Michigan? 

Imani Winds Creates a New World

Over the years chamber music has occupied a very definite niche. And that niche, for the most part, is filled with string quartets. 

Sometimes you’ll hear a piano trio (piano, violin, cello) and maybe a violin/viola duet at a chamber music concert. There are other variations, but you can usually bet that string instruments will play the dominant role.

And for good reason.  String instruments blend seamlessly together and the constant motion of the bow arm and the hands on the fingerboard is always interesting to watch. Also, the music played in chamber music concerts are usually 18^th and 19th century pieces written by the great masters.

In the last 20 years, however, the Imani Winds has re-written the chamber music dance card. Here is a chamber ensemble that has created a unique world for themselves, their ensemble, and their audiences.

First off, the woodwind quintet is the most troublesome chamber ensemble to prefect.  Unlike a string quartet, each of the five woodwind instruments is totally different from one another. For a woodwind quintet to develop a homogeneous blend is a difficult challenge.

A Jagged Musical Comes to Wharton

 

“Jagged Little Pill”, now playing as East Lansing’s Wharton Center, is a jukebox musical based on the songs of singer/songwriter superstar, Alanis Morrisette.

The original album of the same name was released in the 90s and sold tens of millions of copies.

Writing a compelling musical play from a record album is a challenging task. In this case, Academy Award winning screenwriter Diablo Cody was responsible for the story.

Although “Jagged” is clearly a rock show, it is also a serious play.  One person warned me, “It’s deep”.  I wouldn’t quite agree with the words he chose, but the show has a subject matter which demands our attention: rape, drug use, family dysfunction, me-too, adoption, race, gender, sex – I think I’ve got it all.