“The blueprint for the adaptation — a heroic, if misguided, undertaking billed as a hybrid of drama, music and spectacle — is now in place. All it needs is an engaging storytelling approach, an emotional arc, credible performances and a more coherent musical score. In other words, what’s missing from this adaptation is the essence of theatre itself as that divine place for sharing stories and forging emotional connections between the audience and the performers.”
Month: March 2006
Brantley: “Rings” Is Lost In Space
This ambitious effort, writes Ben Brantley, is “a murky, labyrinthine wood from which no one emerges with head unmuddled, eyes unblurred or eardrums unrattled. Everyone and everything winds up lost in this $25 million adaptation of J. R. R. Tolkien’s cult-inspiring trilogy of fantasy novels. That includes plot, character and the patience of most ordinary theatergoers.”
“Rings” – It Takes More Than Money To Make Theatre
“Behold a paradox. “Lord” is now viable on stage because of the popularity of the movies. Yet even at this stunning budgetary level, theater can’t compete with film unless it finds its own, distinctive language. That hasn’t sufficiently happened here. And as a result, the iconography of the show isn’t fresh enough. Yet, at least.”
Sarah Caldwell, 82
She was the founding director of the Opera Company of Boston and the first woman to conduct at the Metropolitan Opera. In its glory years Ms. Caldwell’s company was a model of bold, imaginative programming, offering musically insightful productions with distinguished casts.”
A Blend Of Modern And Aboriginal
Australian Ballet and Bangarra Dance Theatre (an aboriginal company) collaborate on a piece. “The traditional Aboriginal element of dance and that kind of spirit that flows through the movement is what makes it so unique, and such an amazing hybrid of old and new…”
George Lucas On America’s Negative Cultural Influence:
“As long as there has been a talking Hollywood, Hollywood has had a huge impact on the rest of the world. There has been a conflict going on for thousands of years between the haves and the have-nots, and now we are in a position for the first time to show the have-nots what they do not have.”
An Early Critical Consensus On “Rings”?
The mega-production of Lord of the Rings opened in Toronto Thurday night. “The general feeling is that the spectacle overwhelms the story, and that the hybrid musical/non-musical doesn’t really work. It’s not that three-and-a-half hours is too long – some of us are used to sitting through Wagner. It’s that it isn’t enough time to tell the story. Even Peter Jackson needed nine hours of movie time.”
An Orchestra Of Laptops
The Princeton Laptop Orchestra, founded last fall, can, with “15 first-year students on Macs connected to custom omnidirectional speakers” emulate a full-fledged orchestra. “Or an electronica band. Or a jazz combo. It’s easy when the conductor keeps time via network clocks precise to 20 milliseconds.”
Foreign School Applications On Rise Again At US Schools
Reversing a two-year decline in applications, the “number of foreign students who applied to graduate programs in American universities during the current academic year increased by 11 percent” from last year.
Live And Synthetic
An actress in London’s West End is delivering her lines with synthetic vocal cords. “Who’s Afraid of Virginia’s Sister by Sarah Daniels stars disabled actress Amy Golden in the lead role using a communication aid with a synthesised voice to deliver her lines.”