#678 Musings Beyond the Bunker (Tuesday June 6)
Good morning,
Andrea and I recently spent a long weekend in New York with some dear friends. Besides the many sights, sounds and meals (okay, so I’m a foodie…), we went to the theatre and saw three plays. Sometimes, one sees several plays and there is one that is lacking in some way. In this case, all three were home runs. Unfortunately, we didn’t have enough time to see several more plays that looked similarly promising. Broadway is back and the options—the diversity of playwrights, productions, and stories—are refreshing and exciting. Each of the plays had meaning and message. In each of these three productions, the messages were apparent, nuanced, but not forced. Too often, it seems that in many movies, the writer wants to hit us over the head with a two-by-four, repeatedly pounding in the message.
Here is some of what we learned:
Sweeney Todd, The Demon Barber of Fleet Street. This Sondheim musical, based upon the legendary murderous barber, is a masterpiece of theatre—not just musical theatre. With equal doses of romance, comedy, social commentary, loss, vengeance, and the macabre, the story of the “great big world with a great big pit” both celebrates the greatness of the center of the British Empire and the utter despair in the lower rungs of society. Josh Groban is an excellent singer and a solid actor (though not a great actor). He is a sentimental, humorous, somehow misunderstood maniac who, per the story, has gone beyond seeking out just those who wronged him, but has decided to mete out his vengeance on all of society. This is perfectly expressed in the tune, “They All Deserve to Die.” In the meantime, the irony of Mrs. Lovett’s Pie Shop serving up the highborn customers to the poor is visually represented well, accompanied by the line “those above serving those down below.” It is Annaleigh Ashford, as Mrs. Lovett definitely steals the show, with her perfect comedic timing, facial expressions, and physical humor. Despite the gory subject matter, the romances are sensitively shown and the social commentary is clearer than usually presented.
A Doll’s House. It is hard to believe that this classic theatre piece was written in 1879. It feels fresh, current, and provocative in its current incarnation. The story is the proto-feminist story of a woman taking steps to shape her own world, ultimately finding that her role within the context of her marriage and society’s expectations don’t provide enough latitude for her to pursue her dreams. The book has been updated with more familiar language and the staging is stark and confining, just as Nora’s life in 18th century society. Jessica Chastain is marvelous and the ending is pitch-perfect in this proto-feminist masterpiece.
Leopoldstadt. “It could never happen here” might be the key message of this modern masterpiece. The story of two comfortably situated extended families in Austria, beginning in 1899 and continuing in acts set in 1900, 1924, and 1938 (during the period after Kristallnacht and once escaping Austria came too late for some). The power of the play is in depicting a highly functioning, immensely patriotic, assimilated Jewish families, unwilling to conceive of their country—their neighbors—turning on them. These people were happy, successful, hardworking and dealing with similar small issues to those we face. They had no reason in 1900 to imagine that their world would crumble so stunningly and devastatingly. Yet even in those times, latent antisemitism and the societal barriers persisted—barriers that the Jews could not breach—even as brothers-in-arms or when intermarried and assimilated. The show ends in 1955, during which several of the traumatized survivors recall the tragedies they befell. Mercifully, most of the inhumanity to which many in the family are subjected is merely alluded to, without being shown. The lack of the all-too-familiar scenes of death camps, beatings, and deprivation makes events even more powerful. The characters are seen first as thriving individuals and only briefly with the early phases of their humanity being torn away.
We often see the plight of Jewish Europe within the context of the Holocaust, without due attention paid to their lives prior to that tragedy. This play shows much of that life through a single family. We tend to forget that these people were not merely victims, but the latest generation in a people that were material to the society within which they lived—only to be betrayed by their characterization as a threat from without. Another instance of the story of this vibrant, rich society is portrayed in the book The Pity of It All: A Portrait of the German-Jewish Epoch, 1743-1933, by Amos Elon.
Three plays of great depth and with meaningful social commentary—an 1879 Scandinavian classic about a woman who decides to take a step toward independence and self-realization—a late 20th century musical about class struggle and vengeance, eating everyone up in the process—and a recent masterpiece that resonates with the authoritarian impulses and vilification of “the other” that we face today.
MEANWHILE, BACK IN LOS ANGELES…
A Soldier’s Play. We didn’t see this Pulitzer Prize revival in New York but saw it upon our return to Los Angeles. The play hasn’t lost its power, its heart, and its message in the 40 years since it was first produced. It is the story of the murder of a Black sergeant on an army base in the Deep South. The investigating officer assigned to the case is a Black officer—the first such officer the members of the Black company in which the sergeant was the relentless task master had ever seen. He must deal with the possibility of another lynching by the townspeople, the racism in the army, and competing views amongst the men as to the place of a Black man and how he should present himself to whites and to each other. The performances were superb and the writing was great.
THEATRE IN L.A.
Rush to see A Soldier’s Play while it’s here at the Ahmanson. We just had dinner with friends, who thought Transparent, the Musical, now playing at the Taper downtown, was a treat as well (we’ll be seeing it next week). In addition, several promising productions are coming to the Geffen Playhouse in Westwood, including The Mountaintop, a play about MLK after his famous speech. Lots of good stuff. Get out to see live theatre soon!
Have a great day,
Glenn