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| PNB opens Jewels, Village Theatre's Earnest, Gypsy King | |
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by Milton W. Hamlin -
SGN A&E Writer Cole Porter famously wrote "Another Openin', Another Show" for his classic Kiss Me, Kate. That melody and lyric seems to be the theme song for Bits&Bytes this week, as the Emerald City entertainment calendar floods with openings of new shows and old favorites. Read on: PNB OPENS JEWELS FOR TWO-WEEK RUN, PINOCCHIO READIES Pacific Northwest Ballet has a busy two weeks ahead. The three-part George Balanchine classic, Jewels, opened last night for a two week run at McCaw Hall at the Seattle Center. (The opening was too late for SGN's deadline - check out Bits&Bytes next week for specifics.) While the professional company is immersed in the elegance of Balanchine's audience-pleasing favorite, 60 students from PNB's ballet school are readying family matinees of a new work based on Pinocchio. Balanchine's Jewels consists of three sequences inspired by - and costumed as - precious gems. PNB first brought "Rubies" to Seattle long ago. It was an immediate hit - as it has been all over the world. In more recent years, PNB staged the full-length work, adding "Emeralds" and "Diamonds" to the repertoire. Broadway's A Chorus Line has a memorable sequence entitled "Everything Is Beautiful At The Ballet." That plaintive song could well be the theme of Jewels. Lush music from three diverse composers, gorgeous costumes, elegant choreography from the master, terrific dancing from the PNB company - these all combine to make Jewels a landmark in classical ballet. It continues with evening and weekend matinees through February 7. PNB is advertising the program as "Affordable Jewels For Valentine's Day," and that, indeed seems to be the case. Tickets start at just $25. Students from the Northwest Ballet School are busy preparing three family matinees of Pinocchio, a new one-hour work choreographed by Bruce Wells, a Tacoma native. Based on the beloved children's tale, the short work is set for performances next Saturday, February 7, at 1 p.m., with two matinees on Sunday, February 8, at noon and 3:30 p.m. Tickets start at $22.50 for children and $25 for adults. Tickets for both productions are available at (206) 444-2424. VILLAGE THEATRE OPENS IMPORTANCE OF BEING EARNEST FOR THREE-MONTH RUN The wit and witticisms of Oscar Wilde - Gay icon, Gay playwright, Gay martyr - come to life in his immortal The Importance of Being Earnest, which just opened in a sparkling new production at the Village Theatre in Issaquah. The production runs for a total of three months - through March 1 at VT in Issaquah and March 6-29 at the Everett Performing Arts Center. Seattle-based theater fans can whisk over to Issaquah, especially on the weekend matinees, in about 20 minutes. For many Wilde fans, the Everett location could be more appealing. Brian Yorkey, director, a VT veteran, does exactly what Wilde and, especially, Earnest demands. He simply stages the show. No concept here, no tasteless additions, no broad "aren't we being funny" characterizations. The dry, droll wit of Wilde gets the attention. These absurd characters have no idea that they are funny. If actors play Wilde knowingly, with a wink here, a nudge there, the play simply falls flat. A production several years back at the Oregon Shakespeare Festival sank with this self-awareness approach. Yorkey nails the style and the silliness. Wilde, after all, termed the play "a serious comedy for trivial people." Paul Morgan Stetler anchors the production as Jack Worthing, a sensible enough young Victorian lad who is enamored of the beautiful and charming Gwendolen Fairfax. His best friend is the flamboyant Algernon Moncrieff, Gwendolen's cousin, who is forever and financially indebted to Jack. Everyone in Earnest has a secret. Jack, who is based in the country where his young ward, Cecily Cardew, is carefully sheltered, has created an imaginary younger brother, the rascal Ernest. When he wants to go to London to immerse himself in city life, he pretends that Ernest is in another scrape and he must rush to the city to save him - again. In London, Jack uses the name Ernest. And dear, fair Gwendolen, has always wanted to marry a man named Ernest. (Gay men "of a certain age" will remember that many people used a "bar name" until the Gay-liberation movement changed GLBT lives.) Algernon, at the same time, has created a friend, Bunbury, who has terrible health issues. When he wants to avoid family obligations - or creditors - his dear friend Bunbury has a deathly illness come upon him so Algie can rush out of London and into the country. Algernon's aunt, Gwendolen's mother, is the formidable Lady Bracknell, the play's most famous character. When she learns that Jack was adopted and has no knowledge of his parentage, it seems the young lovers are doomed. At VT, all of these characters are delightfully brought to life. Laura Kenny, as Lady Bracknell, walks away with every scene. Kenny uses her formidable figure to bring Lady B. to life. Her absurdly garish costumes speak volumes about her own self-image. In short, Kenny is a total delight. Jason Collins, with his marcelled hair, is a visual charmer as Algernon. Obviously a stand-in for the witty (and Gay) playwright, Algernon preens and quips. In the play's complicated "Swiss Watch" plot movements, he falls instantly in love with the sheltered Cicely when he arrives at Jack's house in the country. She, too, incidentally, has fallen in love with Ernest, the fantasy brother of her ward. Jayne Muirhead, a Seattle favorite for many decades, makes Miss Prism a wonderful chaperone and tutor to young Cecily. Her infatuation with the Church Of England rector is thoroughly believable - and wonderfully funny. Richard Ziman is memorable as the Rev. Chasuble, D.D. His fumbling behavior and windy rhetoric are all charms of this Earnest. Jennifer Lee Taylor and Angela DiMarco are utterly delightful as Gwendolen and Cecily who, as is predicted by another character, will call each other "sister" after they call each other many other things. Clayton Corzatte, a Seattle institution for four decades, has great fun double-cast as the play's two butlers. Wonderful, flattering costumes, a handsome set design for three scenes, on-target lighting designs all work together to make this an Earnest to cherish. And - a true test of Wilde and Earnest - the play's last line, the famous title pun on "Ernest" and "earnest," works beautifully. Ticket information is available at (866) 688-8849 for the Issaquah run and at (888) 257-3722 for the Everett extension. Check it out. VILLAGE THEATRE HOSTS NEWTHE GYPSY KING FOR THREE SHOWS THIS WEEKEND The Village Theatre is committed to developing new musicals. This weekend, VT hosts a staged, workshop production of the new The Gypsy King. Joanne Klein, a good buddy of Bits&Bytes, has a key role in the new musical comedy and swears that this "is a show to see." Check out performance details at (425) 392-2202, a local call from most of Seattle. The satirical new musical plays tonight and tomorrow night at 8 p.m. with a Sunday matinee at 2 p.m. Theater nuts - and you know who you are - could do a double bill of The Importance of Being Earnest and The Gypsy King, seeing one at the Saturday or Sunday matinee and the other that night. Fins, the welcoming bistro in the VT building, is a good spot to brunch before or dine after a performance. Last Sunday, with snow falling in Issaquah, Fins had fresh daffodils - the first of the season for Bits&Bytes - on every table. |
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