A Month in Review(s): July 2011

One month in and our teen theater-going initiative is off to a great start! Here are some of the shows we've seen in July and what our members thought about them.

The Verona Project. Photo by Kevin Berne.

Tales of the City (ACT) – “I'd forgotten what high-budget theater can be like. This show is great. The actors are great. The music is great. The sets and costumes are great. Betsy Wolfe's voice is beyond great. Fun all around!”

The Verona Project (Cal Shakes) – “I am actually in love with the person playing Sylvio.” “I like the person playing Thuria and the person playing the various moms – they're my favorites!” “I really like the array of instruments and how they're using them to tell the story.” “It has a really good energy.” “The blend of play and concert is definitely working. I love it!”

Metamorphosis (Aurora) – “The direction of this show was amazing. I loved the stylized movement.”

Jesus Christ Superstar (YMTC) – “These teens are crazy-talented!” “It's loud. And awesome.”

Seussical. Photo by Larry Abel. 

Seussical (Berkeley Playhouse) – “What a fun show. I love Seussical in general but this production was especially full of surprises and laughs. (Also, the sets, props, and costumes made me feel like I was actually in a Dr. Seuss book. Actually.)”

A Midsummer Night's Dream (Woman's Will) – “I've never seen a Woman's Will show before and I really liked this one. There's something wonderful about all-female Shakespeare in a park – I can't describe it.”

Lend Me a Tenor (Livermore Shakespeare Festival) – “My side were hurting so badly at the end of this show because I was laughing so hard.” “All the actors were great (and it didn't hurt that the story was ridiculous and hilarious). So. Much. Fun.”

Lend Me a Tenor. Photo by Kenneth Alexander.

Rock Creek: Southern Gothic (Bay Area Playwrights Festival) – “Lauren Gunderson's script was funny and tragic (and sometimes both at the same time). Most of all, it was just wonderful. I can't wait to see where this play goes.”

Korczak's Children (ACT Young Conservatory) – “It's been a few days and I'm still thinking about this show. The cast's ages spanned from elementary school to ACT MFA students, but they all worked well as an ensemble to tell a really heartbreaking story.”

The Road to Hades (Shotgun) – “A very interesting look at war, theater, gender roles, and Walmart. (I know what you're thinking: 'Walmart?' My response: 'Yes. Walmart. Go see it.')”

Tell us about the shows you've seen in August – at big theaters, small theater, community theaters, school theaters – any and all theater! Write a sentence or two (or three) about what you thought of the show and email it to upnextbayarea@gmail.com to be featured in our August “A Month in Review(s)” blog post. (Or, if you can't fit it all into one or two sentences, write a review!)

...And if you saw one of the shows above, drop a comment below and let us know what you thought about it!

A Teen's Perspective: Metamorphosis at Aurora

QUICK FACTS

SHOW: Metamorphosis

VENUE: Aurora

DATES: Tuesday – Sunday, June 10^th – July 24^th

PRICE: $10 for high school students (advance sale only, at 510-843-4822)

RATING: Recommended!

WEBSITE/INFO: here

Some of you may be familiar with Kafka's short story, but if you aren't, here's a quick summary: Gregor Samsa wakes up one morning to find that he has transformed into a bug. Chaos ensues.

A simple enough premise, but the complex range emotions raised by Aurora Theater Company's production of David Farr and Gisli Orn Gardarsson's adaption of Kafka's Metamorphosis prove that this show is anything but simple.

With deft and crisp direction from Mark Jackson, Metamorphosis explores not only the physical transformation of Gregor into an insect, but the emotional transformation of his family as well – especially that of his sister, Grete. The balance of physical and emotional is key in this piece, where the movement in the story (from ballet to crawling to frozen tableaus when the doorbell rings to stylized scene transitions set to music) is just as important as its emotional arc.

Just as the type of insect that Gregor transforms into is never specified in the short story, it is intriguing that the audience never gets to see Gregor as a bug – he is merely a human being in human clothing with a human voice. This makes it all the more painful that his family cannot see Gregor under whatever exterior they do see (and judging by their screams, it's something ghastly). The horror of his unfortunate transformation is even more jarring in juxtaposition with the clean and appearance-oriented 1950's setting, well-conveyed through Christine Crook's characteristically captivating costumes.

As Gregor, actor Alexander Crowther crawls and skitters nimbly around, above, below, and through Nina Ball's impressive set, an ideal 1950's home tilted and warped just like the family itself. His frustration, mortification, and torment are almost palpable as he scales walls and hides behind chairs. Madeline H.D. Brown is alternatingly hilarious and heartbreaking in the role of Gregor's mother, a 1950's housewife obsessed with appearances and prone to fainting -- her transitions from a plastered-on smile to a clenched jaw and worried eyes are riveting. Megan Trout's transformation from a young girl devoted to her brother to a young woman disgusted by him is convincing and distressing – and her ballet routine is as funny as it is beautiful. And luckily for those of us who found the tension of the Samsa household increasingly stressful, Patrick Jones brings welcome and finely-tuned comic relief in his roles as Gregor's boss and a potential tenant of the Samsa's.

Metamorphosis' gripping transformations from comedy to tragedy, from scene to scene, and from “perfect” characters to monstrous characters, make it an enjoyable and stirring show – and not to be missed.

Production photos above taken by David Allen.