Phew!
So much to fill y'all in on.
I made it to the final performance of Spalding Gray: Stories Left to Tell, featuring Elaine Stritch. I have to admit that I bought the ticket just to see Stritchie, though the show had been on my "to see" list for a while. Predictably enough, La Stritch was fantastic, but it was Grey's stories that stole my heart and will stay with me for a long, long time. I'm adding Gray's "Swimming to Cambodia" to my netflix list right now, and you should too.
Tried to see Romeo and Juliet, but that dang spinning set broke down and kept us waiting for ages and ages. My date and I passed the time by ogling Claire Danes and Hugh Dancy, who were in attendance - he's so hot in person, I had to restrain myself from tackling him to the ground. Damn those Brits, guess I'll have to see Evening after all. Meanwhile, she kept jogging off to the loo - literally, trotting off in a little jog every half hour or so. Hmm. We finally gave up and left at 9:30, and I read on All That Chat that the show did go on, at 10 FREAKIN' PM! Oh well.
Eurydice didn't have me creaming my jeans Isherwood-style, but I enjoyed it. Beautiful direction and design, beautiful language, beautiful storytelling, and I love me some Maria Dizzia. Joseph Parks, who plays converse-clad Orpheus, is a find, and will probably be everywhere after he graduates from Yale next year. The play nimbly treads the line between that weighty emotional melodrama that the Greeks do so well and the more immediate and familiar situations and relationships that tug on our heartstrings so effectively. It gets heavy-handed at times, and the whole thing with the Stones characters seemed to do one thing over and over again, but the poignancy and beauty of the whole production outshone the weaknesses by leaps and bounds. You have until July 21st to check it out, and 2nd Stage has $25 tickets for those who are 25 and under. Plus, it's only 90 minutes long, so no excuses, people!
And tonight is Old Springs Pike night! Yes, that's right, the band with Spring Awakening's John Gallagher Jr. Not only do they boast a Tony-winning guitar/percussion/vocalist, but they also play fantastic songs, cover Wilco, and know how to rock. Full disclosure: OSP are friends of mine, hence my not writing more about my complete love affair with them and their music. Maybe I'll do up a little post about this concert, though. We'll see... in the meantime, why don't you listen to a song or two via their website?
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4 comments:
hey moxgirl I too saw Eurydice recently, and, after reflection, have decided this current version violates the original myth. Lethe turns out not to be very effective in erasing memory, Sarah Ruhl puts Eurydice's father in Hades to relate to her, and the whole thing is artificial. The Stones were depressing, and looked like refugees from The Night of the Living Dead. I cried watching the play, which is movingly done - but I cry at anything. I cried in the movie Power Rangers when Zordon died. Sarah Ruhl said she wanted to give Eurydice a voice, to explore her experience - but in the myth she is a mystery - I say leave her that way, because I think the story's symbolic power depends on that.
furthermore, mox, the heart and soul of the play is the moment when Orpheus looks back. Sarah Ruhl portrays this occurring as a consequence of Eurydice calling out to him, and she then even apologizes for having done so - just before she is swept away from him. What does it mean that he looks back? I think it shows a failure on his part of blind faith, which is a prerequisite for delivering Eurydice from the underworld. He just has to look, but in the myth it is not because she distracts him and calls him - it is because he wants to MAKE SURE SHE IS THERE! He fails to believe she is with him, and seeks reassurance. I like to think about the idea that the myth is a metaphor of the creative process, where the rescuing of Eurydice symbolizes the artist bringing his or her work into being. In order for the artistic work to succeed, the artist must have a sort of faith, which has to be blind, so that something unanticipated and truly new can arise in the world. So the mystery of who Eurydice is should remain, and the myth is ruined by giving her a definite personality. On the other hand, it is a free country, so Sarah Ruhl can do anything she wants - but the failure of Orpheus's project is only marginally sadder than the death of Zordon.
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