Metamorphosis (from Franz Kafka)

I bought tickets to this production with great trepidation. I am not a fan of Kafka's novella, and I couldn't imagine how a production could hold my attention for more than 18 minutes. I'm very glad to report that my fears were unfounded.

The Icelandic group, Vesturport Theatre, inventively reimagined the narrative so that the narrative tension moves from Gregor's Samsa's thoughts to his family's engagement with him. Visually and musically stunning, as well.

Highly recommend. Really.

Wall Street Chamber Players

This performance at the New Haven Historical Society featured a glorious Steinway A-2 piano, unlike any we normally hear.
The evening opened with four movements from Max Bruch's Eight Pieces for Clarinet, Viola, and Piano, Op 83 (1910). Though an unusual combination, the sonorities were extremely satisfying.

After intermission, the ensemble performed Messiaen's Quartet for the End of Time (1940), written while he was imprisoned and shaped by the instrumental capabilities of fellow prisoners. I was unfamiliar with the work. I found it captivating.

Highly recommended.

Selected Shorts

Denis O'Hare read John Biguenet's "I Am Not a Jew"
Isaiah Sheffer read Percival Everett's "The Fix"
B. D. Wong read Sherman Alexie's "Flight Patterns"

All three were strong stories read by excellent performers; however, Wong's rendition of Alexie's story was spot on. Absolutely mezmerizing.

Highly recommend.

Throne of Blood (Ping Chong)

Commissioned by BAM and Oregon Shakespeare Festival, this mixed media work provided no new insight on either Shakespeare's Macbeth or Kurosawa's film. Complete waste of time and effort.

Avoid.

Raoul

An interesting performance piece at odds with itself. It opens by confronting the audience with a set design that must be interpreted as a shipwreck, the slow funereal music of Shubert's Piano Trio in Eb (opus 100), and a man crashing himself against the fixtures on stage. I found it immensely moving and sad, enough so that I cried for the first 10 minutes of the performance. And then I realized everyone else around me was laughing.
Raoul claims sanguinary descent from Charlie Chaplin. And in this performance, with the uncomfortable mix of comic and tragic, he can claim heritage in Chaplin's aesthetic.

The best part of the evening turned out to the be the part I was least looking forward to: the gala dinner following the performance. We sat at a table of strangers, all of whom were fascinating conversationalists.

Recommend.