Colorado Springs Artsblog

SEE US AT A NEW ADDRESS!!!

2008-08-01T12:52:00.001-07:00

The Gazette Arts Blog now is at
http://csartsblog.freedomblogging.com/

Come Celebrate With Us on August 8!

2008-08-01T11:11:00.000-07:00

August 11 will be my last day at the Gazette. The next day I'll begin a new job as director of communications for the Colorado Springs Philharmonic - and because I have so many incriminating photos of Warren, he's agreed to host a public going-away party on Friday, August 8.

Where and when? For the moment those details must remain veiled in mystery, but it will be downtownish, and after-workish.

When I get a moment, I'll write more about the change. Right now I just want to thank all those who have supported and challenged me through 15 years as the Gazette's arts writer. It's been an amazingly interesting and stimulating job, with a wonderful group of co-workers.

LIVE ARTS BLOG ABOUT THE STATE OF THE ARTS SCENE

2008-07-21T14:26:00.000-07:00

This link, then scroll down the page a bit.

Youth rep's "Working" sets a new standard

2008-07-21T12:31:00.000-07:00

I shook my head.

The crowd that came out for the Youth Rep production of "Working" at the FAC this weekend was mostly parents of the performers.

Shame on me for not making a bigger deal of these shows in our GO! magazine. This wasn't just some glorified high school show. The musical performances in "Working" were among the finest performances I saw on this stage all year.

Let me be clear here. I'm not saying these were the best "youth" performances I'd see here. They were among the best of any kind!

When Alexandria Cambell belted out her "Loving Al" ode to valet parkers, I figured that was it. She was the big standout this year. There's always one or two.

But then Sara Barad came on and did her way-too-authentic-for-her-years torch song to the nightclub singer, while she played along. Then Carmen Vreeman gave her lament about "Milwork," with a passionate rendition that could teach James Taylor a thing or two. Then Brendan Kane gave a monologue about retirement that, again, was so authentic, it was stunning. Then Mary Earle showed that sheer charisma and verve can raise a waitress to staggering heights. The show-stoppers went on and on.

What the heck do these kids know about working for a living? I don't know. But darned if they didn't sell this very difficult show.

You should have been there.

The next day, I wondered about these exceptional kids. Some of them, no doubt, will "make it." Unfortunately, to find their fame and fortune, they'll have to go far from the Springs, taking with them our greatest assets.

Let's hope they remember to write.

"Singing With the Stars" post-mortem

2008-07-21T09:19:00.000-07:00

Everybody I talked to - including me - was thrilled with Jessica Gisin and Halee Towne winning the Colorado Festival of World Theatre's "Singing With the Stars" competition. (The story in Sunday's paper, alas, isn't online.) They were fantastic, and I can't wait to see what they do in September's My Favorite Things.

But everybody I talked to from the theater community - including me - was flabbergasted that Amy Sue Hardy didn't make the finals. To my ears her performance was the best of the semi-finals, closely followed by Towne's.

What happened?

One issue was the ballot: Any time you're picking a bunch of people - in this case, the audience members got to vote for six of the 12 semi-finalists - the voting will be skewed, because it doesn't reflect actual commitment. Your vote for your sixth-favorite performer counts just as much as your vote for your favorite performer. The result is that a performer who everybody thinks is okay will show up on more ballots than a performer who polarizes the audience - one whom most people love but a few people hate.

(I learned about this effect a few years ago when I was on the theater jury for Pikes Peak Arts Council awards. One year we nearly gave the Best Actress award to someone whom none of the judges thought had actually had the best year. But we could vote for three, and we all thought she'd had the third-best year, even though we didn't agree on who we liked more. Fortunately, we figured out what was going on in time to re-vote.)

(And no, I don't remember who it was.)

So Amy Sue must have been one of those polarizing performers, and I think the reason lay mostly with the song she chose: "The Sun and I" from "Hot Mikado."

It was a jaw-droppingly virtuoso performance of a virtuoso vehicle, topped off by a two-octave pianissimo upwards glissando. Vocally, none of the other semi-finalists showed as much range of tone, dynamics or expression - not even Towne, whose "The Girl in 14-G" is a tour-de-force.

But Ko-Ko, the character who sings this song in Act 2 of "Hot Mikado," is a self-engrossed young woman, and it's difficult to empathize with the self-engrossed. It works within the show because we've already learned how naive and charming Ko-Ko is, and who can blame someone who's young and beautiful for thinking she's the cat's pajamas? But without this context, "The Sun and I" comes off like a hymn to narcissism, and the virtuosity, instead of a young woman reveling in her powers, can seem like mere showing off.

This must be the impression some of the audience members got on Saturday: A glamorous woman, the best-known contestant, past winner of every prize Colorado Springs has to offer, comes out and sings a song that basically says, "look at me, I'm wonderful." Is that the classic stuck-up diva, or what? Everybody who knows Amy Sue - even barely, like me - knows how poorly that image describes her, but it's no surprise that some of the audience members didn't take to her.

First Concert in Cornerstone

2008-07-18T16:23:00.000-07:00

Belated ruminations on the June 16 opening concert at Colorado College’s Edith Kinney Gaylord Cornerstone Arts Center...

Barber’s Knoxville Summer of 1915: Soprano Tony Arnold filled in admirably on short notice for an indisposed Measha Brueggesman. The student orchestra sounded radiant, and conductor Scott Yoo’s pacing was perfect. I don’t expect ever to hear a more moving performance of this exquisitely nostalgic score.

Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9: I had some trepidation going in. I’d heard Yoo conduct Beethoven’s Symphony No. 7 a few years back, and it was everything I dislike about modern Beethoven conducting, with all suppleness, tenderness and expressive weight sacrificed to speed and nervous energy. (It was exciting!) But there were only echoes of this approach in the 9^th Symphony, mostly in the first movement, during which the relentless forward momentum became tiresome. Otherwise, Yoo’s interpretation was brilliant, and in the adagio, revelatory.

Beethoven was the first composer to make extensive use of the metronome – a device for giving exact tempos in beats per minute in contrast to the old generalized tempos of allegro, andante, etc. But many of his markings are controversial – and none more so than his marking for this movement. At quarter-note equals sixty beats a minute, it’s quite brisk for a piece marked adagio molto y cantabile, and he curiously gives the same metronome mark a page later when the tempo designation of andante moderato suggests something considerably faster. The most probable explanation is that Beethoven wanted the pulse to be a half-note in the opening section, but a quarter-note in the andante.

But the second-most probable explanation is that Beethoven muffed the initial metronome mark. And so, until a couple of decades ago, conductors routinely ignored it. For instance, the legendary 1942 broadcast with Furtwangler and the Berlin Philharmonic has an opening tempo of a little less than half what Beethoven specified – about 58 beats per eighth-note - and lasts a tad over 20 minutes.

The problem with Beethoven’s metronome mark generally arises about two-thirds of the way through the movement, where the music returns to B-flat and the time signature changes to 12/8. At the faster tempo, the first violin part - first in 16^th-notes and then in 16^th-note triplets – tends to sound unnervingly etude-like. Yoo solved the problem by putting in practice an idea suggested by musicologist Richard Taruskin years ago (though Yoo is smart enough to have thought of it on his own): He had the violins play pianissimo, underneath the hymn-like theme in the woodwinds. Instead of an etude, the violin line became a joyful commentary.

Yoo didn’t convince me that the faster tempo is better. With music this beautiful, I’d prefer to prolong the experience, at least when musicians can sustain the line like Furtwangler and the BPO could. But unlike other performances I’ve heard at this tempo, this one worked, and worked marvelously.

Unlike the first and third movements, Yoo’s approach to the second and fourth movements was more traditional – or rather, the traditional tempos of these movements differ little from Beethoven’s metronome markings. The weakest movement was the famous finale. Yoo’s architectural grasp deserted him midway through, and the movement became sectional – a series of scenes rather than an integrated whole.

But all in all it was an amazing experience to hear how well this epic symphony worked with the Colorado College Summer Music Festival's pared-down forces. The Colorado Vocal Arts Ensemble performed the difficult chorus part near-perfectly, and mezzo soprano Shannon McGee and bass Ashraf Sewailam led the strong quartet of vocal soloists. The student performers, nearly all of whom were playing their first Beethoven 9^th, held nothing back, with especially stellar work from the woodwind players.

The tunable hall sounded great, though I’ll have to hear some other performances before commenting.

Youth rep gains great rep

2008-07-18T07:00:00.000-07:00

I saw the Youth Rep's production of "You Can't Take It With You," Thursday night and it was delightful.

These are high school kids, but these are hardly high school productions. (The production is running in rep with the musical "Working.")

Cory Moosman directed this Pulitzer Prize-winning comedy about an eccentric, embarrassing family and what happens when a daughter's boyfriend brings his parents for a visit.

We've all been there.

Several of the actors showed the kind of promise that suggests serious acting careers await them.

Among them: Patrick Yukman, who gave me a serious case of the yuks. He played the grandpa, a man who has found joy in amusement by dropping out of society. This kid knows how to wield a one-liner like nobody's business. I also loved Katy Williams as the loopy mom, who jumps from painting to writing novels and back again in a constant effort to amuse herself.

But even the kids who weren't quite on that level managed to find moments where they could shine and do something special.

It's a show worth seeing, even if you don't have a kid in the cast.

I hope to see "Working" on Sunday. For details about the shows, check out the GO! section.

Don't miss our State of the Arts section and live blog

2008-07-18T06:59:00.001-07:00

We have a special section coming out Sunday and a live blog with some key arts members at 2 p.m. Monday.

See gazette.com for details.

Cornerstone Theater Acoustics

2008-06-13T11:01:00.000-07:00

A story in today's Go! section mentions the electroacoustically tuneable acoustics in Colorado College's new Cornerstone Theater. Here's more about the system - called the Constellation system - from its manufacturer, Meyer Sound.

And here's a review from somebody who's actually experienced the system.

Fascinating stuff. I can't wait to hear Monday's concert and get a first impression.

"Playboy of the Western World" and "Rabbit Hole"

2008-05-02T10:35:00.000-07:00

This is the last weekend for TheatreWorks' student production of Playboy of the Western World - and it's well worth your time to see it.

First, J. M. Synge's 1907 play is much more than an historical curiosity. Though it no longer inspires riots as its premier did, its depiction of rural Irish life - and by extension, human nature - is still bitterly, riotously funny. And the language has a lyric beauty that's all but vanished from the world. (For reasons Synge explains in his preface to the play.)

Second, it's one of the finest student productions I've seen at TheatreWorks, with clear direction from Laura Tesman, a gorgeous Roy Ballard set, and some thrilling fights choreographed by Gene Gillette. Colin Gregory shows tremendous skill range as Christy - the mysterious stranger who's lionized in a small Irish town for having murdered his father.

Synge's play twists and turns as it explores mob mentality. The final master-stroke is both the crowning absurdity and the gateway into the play's profound ending.

Meanwhile, this is also the final weekend for the Star Bar Players' excellent production of Rabbit Hole. Playboy is upstairs in the Dusty Loo Bon Vivant Theater; Rabbit Hole is downstairs at the Osborne Studio Theater.

If you could only attend one, I'd recommend Rabbit Hole. Its cast is more skillful and more experienced, with a performance by Steve Emily as Howie that's not likely to be bettered this year. David Lindsay-Abaire's tale of a family's reaction to the death of their child isn't likely to age as well as Synge's masterpiece, but it's still an extraordinary script in which every line and every reaction rings true.

So what accounts for the disparity in attendance between the two productions? On Thursday night, Playboy was absolutely full; when I saw Rabbit Hole on opening night, a smaller house was about two-thirds full. Is this simply a result of TheatreWorks's superior marketing and larger subscriber base? Really cheap tickets for Playboy? The fact that it has a large student cast, all of whom have numerous friends? The arguably off-putting subject matter of Rabbit Hole?

I am, as usual, mystified.

The Star Bar Players present Rabbit Hole
When: 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday, 2 p.m. Sunday
Where: Osborne Studio Theater, UCCS, 3955 Cragwood Drive
Tickets: $15/$12 seniors, military and students; 573-7411 or starbarplayers.org

TheatreWorks presents The Playboy of the Western World
When: 7:30 p.m. today, 2 and 7:30 p.m. Saturday
Where: Dusty Loo Bon Vivant Theater, 3955 Cragwood Drive,
Tickets: $10; 262-3232 or theatreworkscs.org

New Directions in Theater

2008-03-31T14:27:00.001-07:00

Two recent shows show theater taking some encouraging new directions in the Pikes Peak region.

The first was Rebecca Buric's "Signature" at the Manitou Art Theater. Virtuoso one-person shows are nothing new at this venue; neither are new shows created by MAT producers Birgitta De Pree and Jim Jackson.

But "Signature" was developed at the MAT with Buric, a Boulder-based actress. Last year she auditioned for the annual "10 Minutes Max" show with a short monologue that impressed Jim and Birgitta so much that they (1) put "Signature" on their season calendar, and (2) then worked with Buric to turn her monologue into a full-length show.

(Jim and Birgitta are firm believers in the "schedule it and it will come" school of creation.)

"It was so satisfying," Birgitta told me. "She's an extraordinary actress, but she had no experience creating her own work."

The result was a powerful and heartbreaking piece of theater. As Aida, a young mother and victim of the Serbo-Croatian War, Buric wove together the story of Aida's last moments with old family tales, creating a marvelous sense of color, texture and place. By the end, I felt I'd been on a journey that was as much physical as it was emotional.

I doubt that Jim and Birgitta could turn my life into such riveting theater: In addition to having a story to tell, Buric is a sensational actress, with a winsome manner and a lithe, expressive body. (Aida imitating an old lady was just one of many great touches.) Though Buric played only one character, her focus was so intense that you began to see the people she was talking to.

And last week, at the 40 Thieves Hookah Lounge. Moody Mystery Theatre made its debut with a new adaptation "Alice in Wonderland."

Though the venue made even the MAT seem opulent - were some of the actors making their entrance from the restroom, or was the smoke just making me light-headed? - and piece was as raw as "Signature" was polished, this imaginative production was further cause for hope. The adaptation by director Cyndi Parr and Tammy Smith was very free with the story's details: For instance, there were three Alices, representing different aspects of her personality. But it stayed true to Lewis Carroll's spirit, especially the part of the Lewis Carroll that loved bad puns and general absurdity.

But what was most gratifying to a fogey like me was the cast and the audience. Except for veteran Danine Schell as the White Queen, this was theater of, by, and for young adults. And everything was marked by a spirit of experimentation and collaboration, with belly dancers - including the amazing Frank Farinaro - tango dancers, and drummers. In short, it was a fun, unpretentious evening of theater - just, I hope, the first of many from Moody Mystery Theatre.

Yuja Wang and Rebecca Buric

2008-03-16T09:54:00.000-07:00

If you're reading this criminally undermaintained blog on a dreary Sunday morning, here are two hot tips for today's performing arts:

Yuja Wang, who appears with the Colorado Springs Philharmonic this afternoon at 2:30, is simply one of the most musical and technically brilliant pianists I've ever heard. I'd be there again, if I could.

Full review here.

But I can't, partly because I've had two friends call me to say how amazing Rebecca Buric's "Signature" is. Her last performance of this one-person show about war in the Balkans is today at 2 p.m. at the Manitou Art Theatre.

(I know what you're thinking - "He's a critic. He can't possibly have two friends.")

Kudos to 'Carmen'

2008-03-03T16:30:00.000-08:00

I took my 15-year-old skateboarding baskeball-playing son to see the last show of "Carmen" on Sunday.

It was his first opera, and he really liked it.

Of course, casting Jennifer De-Dominici in the title role helped. She's amazingly hot -- and she wonderfully captured the spirit of the fiery gypsy.

I've been impressed with how far the Opera Theatre of the Rockies has come. "Carmen" was a production worthy of a Central City.

Caveman and vaudevillians

2008-02-25T08:43:00.000-08:00

My wife and I saw the one-man show "Defending the Caveman" at the FAC this weekend.

What a fun date night. Cody Lyman did a great job in what is essentially a stand-up routine about the battle of the sexes. We laughed all the way through it. But it kinda bugs me that this isn't Cody's piece. It was Rob Becker's. It's been preserved like a museum piece and farmed out to various actors.

It had me longing for something fresh. I felt the same way after seeing TheatreWorks' "Blithe Spirit" last weekend. Wonderfully talented cast. But some Noel Coward has gotten tired. Again, some fine laughs. But ....

Then, last Saturday, I found something fresh: "10 Minutes Max" at the MAT. The sixth annual outing of this vaudeville show based on short bits was the best ever. The comedy, the dancing, the magic ... there wasn't a weak link here.

I especially loved actress Ashley Crockett's poetic monologue, "Hair" about her relationship with her hair from the time when she was a kid to when she lost her locks to cancer.

But it was the enormously versatile Emily Keller as the ticket girl who pulls a Lucy and tries to sneak into the show who ended up stealing it.

House concert recap

2008-02-25T08:07:00.000-08:00

Gazette columnist Barry Noreen caught his first house concert last night. Here are a few of his thoughts:

Patty Larkin was well received Sunday night as she gamely performed while suffering from a bad cold. Because of that she did only one long set and there was not the customary intermission. Her cold robbed her of a few high notes but did not hurt her performance on some songs, such as "Johnny was a Pyro," which is done in sort of a talking style anyhow. She did a really nice job on "Mary Magdalene" and I would say that her guitar work has matured a bit since we saw her 7 or 8 years ago.

"Our House" at the Denver Center

2008-02-14T20:09:00.000-08:00

The 3rd annual Colorado New Play Summit began tonight with "Our House," Theresa Rebeck's dramady about the increasingly thin line between news and entertainment on television.

The first hour of this new 90-minute play is excellent. The characters, who range from relatively unlikable to cringe-inducingly loathsome, are memorable and sharply drawn - including a cynical, profit-minded network head, a beautiful and ambitious news anchor, and four roommates with serious issues. Rebeck's dialogue sizzles. The characters often talk over one another, heightening the sense of realism. The situations are cleverly handled, especially a meeting of the roommates, which takes a reality-TV twist. As life imitated reality TV - pulling together some of the play's most important threads - it looked as though "Our House" might be a great contemporary play.

But as is often the case in real life, everything went awry with a gunshot. With Jennifer, the news anchor, on the scene to cover a hostage situation, Merv, the passive-aggressive TV-addict, suddenly begins spouting articulate criticisms of the medium.

It's not bad dialogue at all, except that it doesn't even remotely sound like Merv. It sounds as though Rebeck - who's written extensively for television - really wanted to say some things about the medium, but lacked a character who could give them voice. The final few minutes are a grab-bag of interesting lines, spoken by whoever happens to be available. Even Wes, the virulently anti-intellectual network head, turns philosophical.

Rob Campbell as Merv and Kate Nowlin as Alice, the household antagonist whose hatred of Merv reduces her to incoherent stammering, deliver particularly strong performances. But as the writing falls off near the end, so does the acting, and several actors were reduced to mugging.

One decision by director Daniel Fish works so well that I'm surprised I've never seen it elsewhere: At times, two spaces spaces exist simultaneously on stage - for instance, Jennifer, in the TV studio, walks past Merv slumped in front of the TV in his house. It's wonderfully theatrical and prevents set changes from slowing the TV-like pace. Of course, it's only possible because Andrew Lieberman's unfinished plywood set is completely non-naturalistic.

"Our House," which opened January 11 and closes Sunday, is the first of three world premiers on the Denver Center season. The New Play Summit continues Friday with two staged readings and a full production of "Plainsong," which runs through Feb. 23. Saturday will feature two more readings and a full production of "Lydia," which runs through March 1.

Kudos to the Denver Center Theatre Company and its artistic director, Kent Thompson, for making the commitment to new work. There's no way to know how a play is going to work until you see it, and to see your work for the first time in such a polished and thoughtful performance must be a playwright's dream.

Saturday in the FAC with "George"

2008-02-12T10:48:00.000-08:00

Another profound waste of talent at the FAC. Sure, the sets and staging are brilliant. Sure, the orchestra sounds great. Sure, the leads have strong voices.

But what a horrible, horrible show. Mark tells me Sondheim was working his way through a midlife crisis and searching for something original as the rest of Broadway was growing stale. The result was "Sunday in the Park With George," a musical about the artistic process.

Whatever the reason, he came up with a musical that's cold, dull and off-putting. I hear a lot of people have been leaving after the first act. They're lucky. It gets worse in Act II. I absolutely hated the artist schmooze reception scene.

The show gave me nobody to really care about. I suppose I had mild interest in Georges' girlfriend, Dot. But when she leaves George for the baker, it was a big so-what.

The cast is mostly fine, but there's one supporting player who just annoys the heck out of me.

Am I missing something? Are people loving this show?

FAC Modern gets weird

2008-02-08T12:46:00.000-08:00

Weird is good, especially for what had been a rather stodgy institution.

I checked out the new "Altered Spaces" show at the FAC Modern on Friday, and I wasn't blown away by it. I liked the artificial camping scene, with an interesting use of projection. But much of it, I felt I just didn't get.

I appreciate it more since I've seen the You Tube interviews with the artists. Check them out here:

Gwen Laine

http://www.csfineartscenter.org/2008/01/interview-with-altered-space-artist_8692.html

Matt Barton

http://www.csfineartscenter.org/2008/01/interview-with-altered-space-artist_29.html

Christina Marsh

http://www.csfineartscenter.org/2008/01/interview-with-altered-space-artist.html

The FAC folks also put together some beautiful wallpapers:

http://www.csfineartscenter.org/wallpaper.asp#altered

Here's a look at opening night (No. 117) from Springs Culture Cast:

http://springsculturecast.blogspot.com/

Bernhard comes loaded for bear (and Oprah)

2008-02-07T12:33:00.001-08:00

PHOTOS BY GOD'S GIFT TO THE CAMERA ... TOM KIMMELL

Sandra Bernhard strutted onto CC's Armstrong Hall stage Wednesday night, saying how happy she was to be here, in the shadow of NORAD, home of the Air Force Academy. She was thrilled about getting back to her conservative roots.

Of course, the sassy uber-liberal icon was here to take on the conservatives, spitting her playful venom at Rush Limbaugh, President Bush, Ann Coulter, Dick Cheney and others.

But what really blew me away was that she was the first white comedian I've ever heard take on liberal black icon Oprah Winfrey. She made fun of how Oprah, when campaigning for Obama in the South, developed more ghetto in her voice. Only Berhard could get away with mocking Oprah.

This free stand-up show, compliments of CC's IDEA program, would have been worth at least $60 a head. Berhard was hilarious, and her musical interludes were like Jack Black's ... done with a half-satirical tone, but displaying an intensity and commitment that shows she could tour on the stength of her music alone, if she wanted to.

Institutional Memory at the Fine Arts Center

2008-02-06T11:20:00.000-08:00

On balance, I view Michael De Marsche's tenure at the Fine Arts Center as a spectacular success. His achievement in getting the expansion built - and in getting such a wonderful expansion built - will be an enduring legacy.

But it's undeniable that in at least one area, he left the center immeasurably poorer than when he arrived in August 2003: Institutional memory. The creative staff turned over entirely during his tenure. Curator Cathy Wright went to the Albuquerque Museum, librarian Rod Dew was fired, performing arts director Sandra Womochil Bray left without explanation. (I've given up even trying to worm it out of her, but she's returned to the Colorado Springs School.) And that's just three names out of many.

Between them, Wright and Dew had about 50 years at the FAC. Bray wasn't at the center that long, but she'd been part of the local theater scene for at least two decades. In contrast, the new department heads are all from out of town, and have no long-standing connection either with the FAC or with the region's arts in general.

That's not entirely a bad thing, especially when you're dealing with an arts community that's accustomed to struggling. Sometimes it takes outsiders to break out of long-entrenched patterns.

But it leads to occasional gaffes. When interviewing curators Blake Milteer and Tariana Navas-Nieves about "Altered Space," both seemed unaware that edgy, contemporary installation art is nothing new at the FAC. This installation isn't as provocative, for instance, as the summer 2002 exhibit of Larry Kledzik's "Diet: The Butcher, The Baker, The Candlestick Maker," and Cory Mahler's "On Longing: The Physicality of Absence." just one of several contemporary exhibits brought in by then-curator of visual art Scott Snyder.

And when the center re-opened in August, nobody on the staff seemed aware that the Frederick R. Weisman collection, one of the re-opening's centerpieces, had been exhibited at the FAC in 1988 - albeit a smaller selection of work.

If there's a point to this rambling post, it's that the De Marsche era was a revolution, not an evolution - a change as great or greater than the gutting of the art school in the 1950s. The new director, when he or she arrives, will have what's as close to a clean slate as is possible in an organization of this size. It's an exhilarating but not entirely comforting thought.

I practically grew up in the Fine Arts Center. I often posed - usually for hands - for my father in his studio: Everything else he could paint effortlessly from memory. I fell into the pond in the courtyard, back when there was a pond; I was aghast at the gory wooden sculptures of the Crucifixion. (TV was a lot tamer then.) I loved the old FAC, but it's gone. Long live the new FAC.

Christo update

2008-02-05T13:01:00.000-08:00

Christo, Over The River, Project For Arkansas River, State of Colorado
Drawing 2007 35,2 x 38,7 cm (13-7/8" x 15-1/4”)
Pencil, pastel, charcoal, enamel paint and wax crayon.
Photo: Wolfgang Volz, ©Christo 2007

We ran a story a few days ago that the BLM has asked Christo and Jeanne Claude to submit some more info before they do their big environmental impact study.

Here's a response about that from the project director:

Mark:

Thanks for your interest, Mark. In answer to your question, no, this was not news to us. We met with BLM in December and they explained that they needed additional information before the EIS could get underway. We are in the process of gathering that additional information and plan to submit to BLM in the coming weeks. We have already taken this into account in our schedule and are still aiming for Over The River to be exhibited in a two-week period between mid-July and mid-August, 2012.

With regard to the report itself, we are pleased that BLM has released this. There is a significant amount of important analysis and information in the report and it will help inform the discussion and analysis during the EIS process. It is important to point out that this is preliminary information that will be thoroughly evaluated by the contractor that BLM selects to prepare the EIS. We look forward to getting that process underway and are committed to working with the local communities and the governmental agencies to address the issues and concerns and ensure that Over The River is a positive cultural and recreational experience for all involved.

Attached are 3 fact sheets on Over The River that you might find helpful when reporting on this. Thank you for your questions - providing accurate information to the public is a top priority for the OTR team. You may also address inquires to Steve Coffin or Megan Lane at GBSM, a communications firm we working with in Denver. Thanks again for your interest in Over The River.

Jonita Davenport

A Peek at "Album Amicorum"

2008-01-16T15:50:00.000-08:00

I was at the Business of Art Center yesterday to meet the new director, Patty Arnold (who seems very competent, btw - more about her later) and took a quick peek at "Album Amicorum: Gems of Friendship in a Frightened World," the international paper marbling show that opens Friday.

Briefly, it's stunning: Colorful, hypnotic, and enchanting.

The text hadn't been installed yet, but its absence only highlighted what an international medium marbling is. It was rare that you could tell whether the artist was American, German, Japanese, or Turkish.

Marbling is also a gentle reminder that abstraction is nothing new or necessarily modern in art. Artists have been fascinated by the swirling, repetitive patterns of marbling for over 500 years.

There will be a preview in Friday's "Go!" But to appreciate this work, you have to see it live and up close.

The opening is 5-8 p.m. on Friday at the Business of Art Center, 513 Manitou Ave., Manitou Springs.

Image by Brazilian artist Renato Crepaldi

The MAT breaks out

2008-01-16T10:43:00.000-08:00

I couldn't talk my kids into joining me for the Kennedy Center Imagination Celebration's Aesop's Fables.

Because I'm a judge on the Pikes Peak Arts Council theater category, I'm trying to see every local show produced. Man, there are a lot of shows.

I tried not to feel like a perv here, being the only adult at the show without kids.

But the show was well worth it, even for adults. Jim Jackson and Birgitta De Pree, the brilliant clowns behind the Manitou Art Theater, merged the stories from Aesop with their great circus schtick.

Naturally, there was juggling, balancing and Jim's favorite illusion: in which he straddles a mirror to give the appearance that both legs are off the ground and he's flying. It looks even better when Birgitta joins in.

I thought the best gag was during the story about how sticks are stronger in a bundle than they are separately. But, as we learn by the sound effects off stage, even the bundle can't hold up to a chain saw.

Jim and Birgitta have created a fun, if not-quite seamless, kids' show that with a little minor tweaking, could be a popular road vehicle.

Margaret Miller and Arnold Bax

2008-01-08T21:32:00.000-08:00

Margaret is giving a viola recital at the Louisa Performing Arts Center today (Thursday), in which she'll be joined by Jeri Jorgensen on violin, Paul Nagem on flute, Sara McDaniel on piano, and, um, me. (I feel like the obvious answer to the question, "which one doesn't belong?")

I'm joining Margaret for the first movement of Arnold Bax's Sonata for Viola and Piano. It's an interesting piece, and I'm grateful to have had an opportunity to learn it.

Grossly oversimplified, most music that doesn't make it into the canon of accepted masterpieces is insufficiently worked out. The Gottschalks and Moszkowskis of the world sometimes have ideas on a par with Beethoven and Brahms; they just don't get as much out of them.

The Bax Sonata doesn't fit this pattern. If anything, Bax crams too much into it. He's continually altering and developing his themes, sometimes in extremely subtle ways. Near the end, for instance, the piano has a descending E-flat, D-flat, B, pungently harmonized over a sustained G; Bax immediately repeats the melodic motif a half-step higher, similarly harmonized over the same G. It serves a musical purpose, as Bax is preparing for a radiantly major ending, but few in the audience will notice the change in pitches.

Harmonically, it's extremely heterogeneous, alternating English modal harmonies, scraps of Debussy-like Impressionism, chains of chromatically altered secondary dominants, and even a few bars that wouldn't sound out of place in the Berg sonata. Sometimes he tries to reconcile them, as in the second statement of the second theme, in which a few extraneous chromatic chords in the piano part disturb the diatonic lyricism. Other times he just butts one harmonic system up against another without so much as a how-do-you-do.

The piece was written in 1923, and audiences of that period probably found this lack of harmonic unity more disturbing than today's audiences. In this respect it contains a streak of post-modernism lacking in that era's avant-garde productions. For instance, while Copland's 1930 Piano Variations are much more dissonant and modern-sounding than the Bax, I could tell within a week of starting to learn them when I was hitting a wrong note: It's that tightly written. With the Bax, I was goggling myopically at the music for a month, trying to figure out the harmonies.

The form is also interesting in a non-groundbreaking way. The sonata form is traditional; the proportions, anything but. The exposition is leisurely - more than half the movement, much of it consisting of a strangely repetitive transition to the second theme. The development is short, as are the extremely compressed recapitulation and coda. (The recapitulation begins in the wrong key - or actually, in no key at all, as the main theme returns in a whole-tone variant.) The intensity builds naturally with the compression.

It's an odd piece, but I love it, both for its gorgeous melodic material and for the imagination with which Bax treats it. And I admire Bax's courage in keeping it truly a viola sonata. Composers of chamber music sometimes succumb to a misplaced sense of fairness - one instrument played the theme, so the other(s) should get their chance - but Bax will have none of this. The themes are lyrical, and the viola is the more lyrical instrument, so that's where he concentrates the melodic interest. The piano part is difficult and intricately written, but I don't even play some of the themes.

Margaret plays the piece beautifully, and shares enough of my enthusiasm that we're going to at least attempt to learn the other two movements - a demonically difficult scherzo and a bleak, dissonant slow finale which turns consoling only at the last moment.

The concert is part of the Thursday Night Recital Series. The Louisa Center is located at the Colorado Springs School, 21 Broadmoor Avenue. (You can see a map at PeakRadar.com.) Tickets are $15 adults/$10 seniors; call 475-9747 for more information.

"1940s Radio Hour" in Boulder

2007-12-28T13:00:00.000-08:00

Though the Boulder production differed from last year's Fine Arts Center production in many respects, they were remarkably comparable in quality. The women were a slightly better here; the men were slightly better in Boulder. (Scott Beyette as the comic Neal was outstanding.) I preferred Boulder's thrust stage, because it puts the audience closer to the actors, and this semi-chaotic show doesn't really benefit from the framing of a proscenium stage. The band here was better, but the band in Boulder had the advantage of being unamplified (except for the string bass and the piano, which was electronic).

The show itself is as mystifying as ever. Why not do a simple revue of period songs? The wisps of story and characterization add little, while creating a very real challenge: For a revue, all you need is a bunch of excellent singers who maybe dance a little; "1940s Radio Hour" requires people who can sing, dance and act. The result - at least in these two productions - is a show about professional radio singers performed by people who mostly don't sing well enough to be professional radio singers. The dramatic gain from the nostalgic atmosphere doesn't counterbalance the almost-inevitable drop in vocal quality.

Oh, no, I'm a Scrooge, too!

2007-12-14T10:56:00.000-08:00

I saw the Fine Arts Center musical version of "A Christmas Carol" on Thursday, and I have to agree with our critic, Mark Arnest. In fact, Mark, as usual, was too kind.

It's a play that will bring a tear to your eyes ... for the wrong reason.

When Scrooge and Marley start doing a soft-shoe routine, you know something's gone horribly awry.

Man, I thought Star Bar's "Heidi Chronicles" had problems. This is a real train wreck.

The vast majority of the blame goes to this terrible musical adaptation. The music is either annoying, forgettable or so sickly sweet, like somebody dropped a jar of sugar in the cranberry dressing.

The cast consists of, by and large, actors. Some are actors who sing. Only one or two are true singers, and those aren't among the leads.

Given these issues, the bright moments stand out even more. Amy Brooks, as always, is brilliant, radiant, owning every bit of the stage as the Ghost of Christmas Past.

Then there's Bob Rais as Scrooge. Having now seen Bob in four back-to-back productions (the others at TheatreWorks), he's undoubtedly one of the most impressive actors in Colorado Springs. I'm glad he returned to us from the big cities.

But after seeing Bob in four roles, I have to say that, although he has a great stage presence, there's something studied about his work. At least the nights I've seen him, it seems there wasn't a heavy emotional commitment. That said, he's still a force to be reckoned with in the local theater community.

One point that Mark and I agree with is that the general level of acting in this community has gone up dramatically. "Doubt" at TheatreWorks showed some of our best, especially Lynn Hastings, who may just be the single best actor we have in this city.

But, as we saw in "Doubt," they need the right vehicle. FAC's "Christmas Carol" ain't it.

You Can't Please Some People

2007-12-10T15:29:00.000-08:00

To the Editors:

Mark Arnest's review of "A Christmas Carol" was sour, mean-spirited, and completely off the mark. The show was actually beautifully done and delighted the audience, as I could tell by the enthusiastic applause and the comments I heard as people were leaving. I had reservations about going, as I am tired of the way the story is usually presented, and if I never hear "God bless us, everyone" again it's too soon, but I loved this adaptation. The set and the costumes were beautiful, the music was great, and the actors were superb. People in the Springs should be grateful we have such marvelous local talent to put on such a fine show, and they deserve our appreciation, not such a snotty review.

I take exception to Arnest's assessment of Rais's performance. It was all right, but not exceptional. Dave Plambeck, another actor in the play, could have done a better job, and he is a local. I have seen him in many roles and know his versatility.

As for Arnest's comment that the script made explicit what Dickens merely implies, Puhleeze! I wouldn't call Arnest a Scrooge, as Scrooge repented and changed. I'd call Arnest a supercilious jerk and recommend he be replaced.

Pat Krieger
Colorado Springs

I just had a phone conversation with Ms. Krieger, who sounded very nice - rendering me completely incapable of writing the scathing response for which my wounded vanity cries out. But even the wiser, kinder Mark Arnest is compelled to note that Bob Rais is in fact local (she knows that now), and that Ms. Krieger and I agree on pretty much everything about the production except the music's quality and the script's ham-fistedness. (An example of the latter, which was cut from the review due to lack of space: When the young Scrooge’s sister comes to take him home during the first spirit’s visit, this version has her mention that their father no longer drinks. Dickens doesn't.)

And a very merry Christmas to all!

Denver Post Ovation Nominations

2007-12-10T14:25:00.001-08:00

The Post's annual Ovation Award nominations are out, and Colorado Springs is better-represented than ever.

Of 27 non-Denver Center categories on the Readers Choice ballot, Springs productions are nominated in 10 — especially impressive considering that the only local productions the Post (aka John Moore) reviews are those by TheatreWorks and the Fine Arts Center, and only a handful of those.

For instance, Moore reviewed “Into the Woods,” but not “Brighton Beach Memoirs” — which accounts for the otherwise inexplicable omission of Marco Robinson in the “Young Actor” category. (Unfortunately, this is one of the categories with no provision for write-ins.)

The Fine Arts Center's production of "Into the Woods," garnered nine nominations. Only "Ragtime" - a partnership between Boulder’s Dinner Theatre and Shadow, Denver's only black troupe - had more, with 10.

Among the other local nominees was Murray Ross, my old friend and frequent conflict-of-interest. Ross was nominated twice - for "Theater Person of the Year" and "Best Year by a Director."

The local non-Ross nominations on the Readers Choice ballot, by play:

"Antonio's Revenge" (TheatreWorks): Best actor in a comic role - Michael Cobb
"Into the Woods" (Fine Arts Center Theatre Company): Best Musical; Best ensemble; Best actor in a musical - Kelly Walters; Supporting actress, musical - Mercedes Perez, Sally Lewis Hybl; Best director, musical - Alan Osburn
"The Importance of Being Earnest" (TheatreWorks): Best actress in a comic role - Sarah Fallon
"The Syringa Tree" (TheatreWorks): Best year by an actress - Karen Slack

In addition, "Into the Woods" also received nominations for Best Band - Roberta Jacyshyn; Musical Number - “Opening," Mary Ripper Baker and Roberta Jacyshyn; and Set Design - Christopher L. Sheley. TheatreWorks received nominations for Best New Work - "Zorro"; and Best Remount - The Syringa Tree.

The full story is available here, and the ballot here.

Fuming over Trans-Siberian Orchestra

2007-12-07T08:46:00.000-08:00

I heard the concert at the World Arena on Wednesday was great musically, but potentially hazardous.

As we'd reported in GO! last week, the band uses a lot of explosives and pyrotechnics. Apparently, the World Arena shut off its ventilation, so that the show's fake snowflakes wouldn't gum up the works. As a result, some audience members were subjected to some pretty nasty fumes from the fires.

I don't know what the solution to this is. You can't have the Trans-Siberian Orchestra without explosions, can you? Maybe they could just hand out gas masks next year.

The man with the suitcase

2007-11-12T09:18:00.000-08:00

Ventriloquist Jeff Dunham on Sunday faced what may have been the most appreciative audience I've ever seen in the Pikes Peak Center.

They not only gave him a standing ovation, when he came out to do an encore and fumbled over his lines, the audience shouted the lines for him.

"Pretty embarrassing when your audience knows your material better than you do," one of his dummies said.

Dunham was freakin' hilarious. He was also a bit offensive at times, his dummies making black jokes and Jewish jokes that living comedians would never get away with. But by having Dunham react with shock at what his characters say, people let it slide.

Downtown Arts District Update

2007-10-25T09:14:00.000-07:00

Today's Gazette contains one of the year's most important arts stories - here, in the business section. In contrast with previous plans for the area - which always seemed like the longest of long shots, even when they were tantalizingly close to realization - this plan has Chuck Murphy behind it. In development terms, that's about as close to a sure thing as it gets.

My one quibble with the story is its lead, which says the area would be "transformed into a home for artists, studios and galleries." The area already houses artists, studios and galleries - what's planned is an expansion, albeit a huge one.

An expansion and a gentrification, which is going to be a major back story: Will the already-existing artists and galleries be able to afford this comparatively upscale arts district? For the past few decades, artists have been prominent shock troops of urban renewal. They move into blighted areas, improve them, and are subsequently driven out by the higher prices that result from their own success. (Denver's LoDo was a textbook case.) Much more to come as this story develops.

Not Just for Lesbians!

2007-10-24T22:08:00.000-07:00

"The Amazing Amazon All-Stars," the final play in Upstart Performing Ensemble's Gay and Lesbian Theatre Festival is without a doubt the best lesbian baseball musical comedy that you're ever likely to see. And Wednesday night's preview was a lot more fun than watching game 1 of the World Series, at least if you were rooting for the Rockies.

But more than that, it's a charming and interesting piece, despite many rough edges. The main storyline is Kelly's progress from a half-life, drifting along in fantasies, to a real life, living in the world. There are also several sub-plots, both romantic and post-romantic.

Playwright/lyricist Carolyn Gage must have worn out her copy of The Big Book of Sexual Innuendo, but she used it to good effect: The lyrics, though raunchy, are often clever. And Sue Carney's music, ably arranged, performed and recorded by Micah River Saddler, isn't bad either, though it won't make anyone forget "Damn Yankees." There just isn't quite enough of it, well enough integrated into the story, to make this seem like musical theater instead of a play with a bunch of songs in it.

Among the best performances in the 10-woman cast are Mary Maxine Fortner as Kelly (Fortner makes being narcissistically self-engrossed seem like a sheer delight); Sue Bachman as the aging, alcoholic Ruth, still bitter about her breakup with the team's manager, Hitch (okay, it's not all comedy); and the ethereal Nicole Benton as the mistress of ceremonies. It's a privilege to hear the silky-voiced Benton sing.

The cast's pleasant surprise is Kim Templin as the skanky Slide. Templin shows great presence in her first acting role since childhood.

While the performance is fairly bare bones, costumes are used to good comic effect, and Nancy Hankin has provided some nice lighting effects – important in a piece that depends on fantasies for much of its humor.

Performances are 8 p.m. Thursday and Friday, and and 2 and 8 p.m. Saturday at the Smokebrush Foundation, 218 W. Colorado Avenue (underneath the Colorado Avenue bridge). Call 636-5089 for more information.

Brahms Piano Concerto No. 2

2007-10-19T11:39:00.000-07:00

My audio program notes for the centerpiece of this weekend's Colorado Springs Philharmonic program are available here. (It's an 11 megabyte mp3 file, and lasts about 12-and-a-half minutes.) This format allows a level of detail that isn't possible without musical examples.

I hope to do something like this for future concerts. Other commentaries probably won't be this large - but I particularly love this concerto.

Meanwhile, I'm eagerly awaiting this performance. Pianist Norman Krieger received the first rave review I ever wrote, for his 1993 performance of Beethoven's Piano Concerto No. 3.

Performances are 8 p.m. Saturday and 2:30 p.m. Sunday. More info available at the philharmonic website.

Curtis Adams at the Pikes Peak Center

2007-10-19T09:10:00.000-07:00

BY WARREN EPSTEIN

My kids and I went to Curtis Adams' rockin' magic show last night at the Pikes Peak Center. We loved the idea of Adams' show much more than the show itself. Mixing high-energy hip-hop dance, rock-show effects and magic seems like a winning combination, and Adams almost has the talent to pull it off.

Unfortunately, the dancing wasn't quite up to the Britney Spears level and much of the magic was stale or over-hyped.

The worst bit was the big showcase effect. Audience members mark bullets that were then put into a machine gun. The gun was later shot at Adams, who pulled a Neo, making all the bullets suspend in mid-air. Turns out, they were the same bullets marked by the audience!

Again, nifty idea. But cheesily done. The set-up of marking the bullets took forever. The freezing of the bullets looked goofy, and the whole payoff at the end, that these were the same bullets, was silly. If we're not impressed that the man can make bullets stop with his mind, we're not going to be impressed that he can switch a gun clip.

The old "tribute" acts, such as Houdini's "Metamorphosis," didn't work, either. Woman in trunk switches with guy standing on trunk. Been there, done that.

But there were a few unexpected moments of grace and amazement. For instance, at the end of the first act, Adams' appeared to burst into a cloud of confetti. Very cool.

We also liked his work with screens that used rear projection. He would dance behind the screens, and his image would be replaced by one from a projection -- which would do all sorts of weird special-effects things to him. I like this kind of bit because it doesn't insult our intelligence. We all know how it's done. But we're still impressed by the timing and the beauty of it.

Adams may have the stuff to be the next Chris Angel. But he needs to take a lactose-intolerant approach to his act: eliminate the cheese.

"The Normal Heart"

2007-10-18T22:20:00.001-07:00

Sure, you'll probably have other opportunities this season to see productions as powerful and as well acted as Upstart Performing Ensemble's "The Normal Heart."

But none of them are going to cost a mere $10, making this play the season's best dramatic value. Kaleb Kohart and Ryan Hart lead an excellent cast in the gut-wrenchingly emotional second offering in the group's Gay and Lesbian Theatre Festival.

Larry Kramer's largely autobiographical play about the early days of AIDS - before the disease even had a name - is a bit preachy, and too many of the climaxes involve yelling. But the preachiness and yelling reflect Kramer's outrage at the government's and medical community's slow response. And the outrage never loses its impact, because there's so much variety to the emotional texture: Kramer gives every actor a chance to shine.

Which they do, expertly directed by Sarah Owen. As Dr. Brookner, Barbara Summerville rages at the medical community; as Mickey, a young gay activist, Sam Gleason rages at Ned for suggesting that gays give up casual sex - which, for Mickey, represents freedom and humanity.

As for the outrage of Kohart and Hart, well, go see for yourself. Kohart won the 2006 Pikes Peak Arts Council award for best actor, but here he turns in what may be his finest performance yet as the passionate but volatile Ned. There's rage aplenty, but there's also tenderness, vulnerability, and self-doubt. Hart's Felix is less complicated - Felix wears his feelings on his sleeve, from uninhibited horniness to deep self-pity and beyond - but no less deep.

Other standout performances include Tony Babin as Ben, the brother who loves Ned but can't quite accept him; Roderick Garrison as the closeted but diplomatic Bruce (his description of his lover's death is one of the play's emotional high points); and William Willhide as the sweet-natured Tommy.

Performances are 8 p.m. today (Friday) and 2 and 8 p.m. Saturday at the Smokebrush Foundation, 218 W. Colorado Avenue (underneath the Colorado Avenue bridge). Call 636-5089 for more information.

Gay and Lesbian Theatre Festival

2007-10-15T09:21:00.000-07:00

Upstart Performing Ensemble's Gay and Lesbian Theatre Festival got off to a strong start last week with "The Laramie Project" - a moving, reader's-theater production of this documentary about Matthew Shepard's murder and its aftermath.

The play was created by Moisés Kaufman and members of the Tectonic Theater Project, based on documents and interviews with citizens of Laramie in the year after the brutal crime. It's a journalistic treatment - I wished Kaufman had employed an actual journalist to edit out some self-indulgent passages - that builds its power through the accretion of details, climaxing with the moving statement by Matthew Shepard's father, Dennis, at the trial. The result is a vivid and thought-provoking picture of Laramie and of the crime.

The cast - Tony Babin, Sue Bachman, Mary Maxine Fortner, Sam Gleason, Millie Harrison, Ryan Hart, Dede Iozzi, John Iozzi, Kari McPherson, Jonathan Sargent, Barbara Summerville, and William Willhide - portrayed some 60 characters. The characterizations were always clear and committed, and there was a wonderful sense of camaraderie among the actors that gave the impression you were watching a family instead of a cast. (I have no idea how Babin does it, but this is something he often achieves with his casts.)

The Smokebrush Foundation deserves kudos for making its space available for the festival - but be forewarned that it's only adequate for theater, with folding chairs, minimal lighting and boomy acoustics. The occasional train was appropriate to a play set in Laramie, but may be distracting in the other festival plays. Nevertheless, no community can have too much good theater, regardless of the setting.

The festival continues this week with "The Normal Heart," a powerful drama about the early days of AIDS in New York City. It concludes Oct. 25-27 with "The Amazing Amazon All-Stars," a musical about a lesbian softball team. Performances are 8 p.m. Thursdays-Fridays and 2 and 8 p.m. Saturdays. Tickets are $10; call 636-5089 for more information.

Repeat Performance

2007-10-05T19:41:00.000-07:00

Time - barely - for a shameless plug: Both Lauren and I have pieces in "Repeat Performance," an auction/fundraiser for the Colorado Springs Philharmonic that's being held on Saturday by the Pikes Peak Music Volunteers.

Lauren's piece is Sky Fiddle, a violin that's been painted with a deep blue night sky scene; mine is Stradivarius Toothpick, a priceless violin that's been whittled down until only a single sliver remains. (Yes, it's a joke.) Of course, there are 40 or so other artists who've contributed work, including Steve Morath, who accomplished miracles with an old guitar.

The auction is 7 p.m. Saturday at the Smokebrush, 218 W. Colorado Ave. (Underneath the Colorado Avenue bridge.) Tickets are $30, which includes a glass of wine. Come and spend money; more information here.

How the festival fared

2007-10-03T09:52:00.000-07:00

So, how did the Colorado Festival of World Theatre do?

Festival officials tells us they had an attendance of 6,973 out of 8,445 available seats.

Wow, that sounds high. Even if you factor in the many free tickets that were floating around, that sounds high. Last year, the festival drew a reported 9,981, but it had many more shows.

An 82.5 percent attendance, if true, is darned impressive.

One of thing aspects we didn't report on much was the master classes given by visiting artists.

Here's a reaction to some of the master classes from Jim Jackson from the Manitou Art Theatre:

"There were about 15 students for each one. (Caldwell and Suzman classes.) Birgitta took Zoe’s and thought it was wonderful. They’re such pros, and great teachers, and very giving. For me, it was the highlight of the festival. The classes were mixed, from high school students to working professionals like Tom Paradise. They (Caldwell and Suzman) were very giving and very attentive to everybody. It was all monologue work, so everybody got individual attention. The feedback we got (from the students) was fantastic."

Anybody laying down bets on whether the festival will continue? We sure hope it does.

Clown of international stature

2007-10-02T10:21:00.000-07:00

Avner the Eccentric kept up the tradition of outstanding kid shows at the Colorado Festival of World Theatre.

With his gray beard, red suspenders and deadpan attitude, this mime from Georgia (who studied in Paris with Jacques Lecoq) went through so many supremely silly schticks, everybody at the Woodland Park High School theater was giggling uncontrollably.

I don't think I've ever seen anybody balance a feather on their nose (which got really silly when it started to fall and he chased after it), nor somebody who can get so many laughs out of dropping things.

But my favorite bit was Avner's paper eating. He devours sheet after sheet, relishing them like Charlie Chaplin's shoes in "The Gold Rush," then he reaches in his mouth and pulls out a never ending streamer. His expressions as he searches for the end of the stream are priceless.

The festival concluded on Sunday with a Mountain Celebration.

I was expecting a party, with dancing and music, in a beautiful outdoor setting. It was actually more of a concert (with a talented gypsy band) in an enclosed tent. Oh, well.

Daniel Beaty Does Broadway

2007-09-29T10:14:00.001-07:00

Daniel Beaty's brilliant performance of "Emergence-SEE!" was the surprise hit of last year's Colorado Festival of World Theatre. Beaty combined evocative, provocative writing with a performance that had to be seen to be believed, as he brought to life 43 different characters.

Which is a long way of saying that, if Beaty's new cabaret show, "The Broadway Songs I Love," is only a qualified success, it's not due to any lack of talent. The show that opened on Friday night at the Woodland Park Cultural Center – and will be performed again today at 8 p.m. – simply shows that Beaty isn't yet a seasoned cabaret performer. He can sing these songs, but the impression was that he doesn't yet inhabit them stylistically, tonally, or emotionally.

The hour-long show featured Beaty performing Broadway songs ranging from "Old Man River" – a suspect choice for opening number, because it immediately signals the audience that Beaty is no Paul Robeson* – to "This is the Moment" from "Jeckyll and Hyde."

What was surprising, and a little disappointing, was how little variety Beaty brought to his tone – surprising because the plethora of voices was one of the the high points of "Emergence-SEE!" Instead Beaty gave us a more-or-less continuous operatic baritone, with little attention paid to the details of the text, and with too many lapses in diction. (For instance, as Beaty sang it, the final line of "This is the Moment" was "this is the greatest moment of the mall.") Yet when he did alter his tone, as in "Mr. Cellophane" from "Chicago," he seemed completely comfortable, and the full house, seated cabaret-style, ate it up. Perhaps Beaty simply needs to feel the songs more strongly in their dramatic context.

The high points were two bits from "Emergence-SEE!", featuring the children Peter and Clarissa. As Clarissa, Beaty accomplished what Zoe Caldwell said was the most wonderful thing an actor could do: Turning an audience, in an instant, from laughter to tears. (Caldwell talked about this at Tuesday night's public conversation with Chip Shaw.)

In Beaty's defense, the center's dry-as-dust acoustics are extremely difficult for a performer. When you get nothing back from the hall, it's natural to start forcing things.

Pianist Dan Brink accompanied with his customary excellence.

For more information, visit the CFWT website.

* Beaty even used Robeson's version of Hammerstein's lyrics.

"Wow" Fatigue

2007-09-28T10:30:00.000-07:00

During a walk-through Thursday of Artisans and Kings: Selected Treasures from the Louvre at the Denver Art Museum, I finally had to force myself to stop saying "wow." It started to sound so stupid.

Artistically, this exhibit may not be quite up to the level of the Phillips Collection exhibit of a few years back – though the best work here, such as Bernini's Pope Urban VIII, Titian's Woman with Mirror, and Velsquez's The Infanta Margarita, rivals anything ever seen in Denver. It's the craft work that fills it with unanticipated "wow" moments. A king can't commission an artist to produce a masterpiece – but he can commission something that takes a dozen master craftsmen years to produce. Again and again I found myself in a state of slack-jawed amazement, gazing at utilitarian objects of unimaginable opulence: a vase, a platter lid, an andiron. The Bauhaus would have been mortified.

As usual at the DAM, the show is expertly curated, taking you deep into the world of France's final three pre-revolutionary kings. "It's an experience you'd never have at the Louvre," said Melora McDermott-Lewis, the DAM's director of education. In bringing together pieces from five of the Louvre's eight collections, they worked with Louvre curators who'd never worked with each other before.

The show opens October 6 and runs through January 6, 2008. (The Louvre only allows the drawings to be on display for three out of every 39 months. Visit the Denver Art Museum site for more information.

CFWT: First Weekend

2007-09-23T12:31:00.001-07:00

An interesting first weekend at the Colorado Festival of World Theatre ...

"Truth in Translation" was mildly disappointing, mainly because it turned out to be such a much less ambitious conception than what it was billed as; the Sondheim tribute, "Beautiful Girls" was thoroughly amazing - yes, Broadway superstars really are great.

How's it going over with the public? Certainly the opening-night crowd at "Beautiful Girls" was the largest I've seen at a festival production - though it wasn't sold out, which it richly deserved to be. (If you're reading this on Sunday afternoon, you can still see the show at 6:30 at the Pikes Peak Center, and I can almost guarantee that you won't be sorry.) "Truth in Translation" was probably #2 in crowd size, but again, not a full house.

Nor does it look as though the upcoming master classes will have the attendance they deserve. Joseph Hardy's master class on directing has been canceled because not enough people signed up, which is both a shame and shameful. Hardy, a veteran Broadway director with a Tony award to his credit, deserves better.

The procedural part of the problem is that the CFWT doesn't have a sufficient marketing budget: The master classes should have been pitched to theaters and theater departments months ago, and nearly filled with students - or canceled - then. The structural part of the problem is that it takes time to create a theater culture in a non-theater town. The name "Zoe Caldwell" will fill a house in New York City; it won't here, at least not yet. That will change, because the quality is there - if the festival can survive in its present form for another year or two.

Now it's off to learn more about Sir Peter Shaffer, the eminent playwright who speaks at Studio Bee on Wednesday night. (Shaffer's resume includes "Amadeus" and "Equus.") The other featured speakers are "Truth in Translation" artistic director Michael Lessac on Monday, Caldwell on Tuesday, and legendary Shakespearian Janet Suzman on Thursday. And of course, the festival continues next weekend with Daniel Beaty, Avner the Eccentric, and Via Romen.

For more information, visit the CFWT website.

[Edited Sept. 26 to remove a very unfortunate typo!]

Don't Miss "Potemkin"

2007-09-12T10:10:00.000-07:00

Friday's "Go!" will contain a preview of the Colorado Springs Philharmonic's upcoming Saturday performance of "Battleship Potemkin" with music by Dmitri Shostakovich. Last night I finally saw the film with the Shostakovich score, and can safely say that it will be a once-in-a-lifetime experience. Even on a laptop computer with a 14-inch screen, and not-very-good sound, the effect is shattering. I can't imagine the effect with live music.

Sergei Eisenstein's 1925 silent movie hasn't aged as well as Shostakovich's music. There's a honest-to-gosh mustache twisting villain, and many of Eisenstein's once-revolutionary cinematic techniques are now so old-hat that it's impossible for us to feel their originality. (It's like hearing Walter Gieseking's Debussy for the first time - since it's now the way nearly all pianists play Debussy, we don't realize how original it was in the 1930s.) But Eisenstein's framing of scenes is still amazingly beautiful - he has the design sense of a master painter, making you viscerally aware of what "motion picture" used to mean - and the chiaroscuro (the contrast of stark white and deep black in nearly every scene) gives the movie tremendous visual intensity. Eisenstein makes most other film directors look either unimaginative or just plain lazy.

As for Shostakovich, I continue to find him the most enigmatic of the great composers. Musically, I understand what he's doing at any given moment; but from the standpoint of emotional or intellectual motivation, I rarely understand why he's doing it. Which fortunately is a largely theoretical issue: As a listener, I can simply immerse myself in Shostakovich's incredibly vivid and weirdly beautiful world.

The music was not written specifically for the film, which leads to a few semi-inexplicable juxtapositions. But all in all it works well, and the overall impact promises to be irresistible.

The concert is 8 p.m. Saturday. Learn more here.

PPAC Awards

2007-09-10T14:14:00.001-07:00

On balance, Sunday night's Pikes Peak Arts Council Awards were a success:

The crowd at the Fine Arts Center's SaGaJi theater was the biggest in the awards' seven-year history.
The proceedings moved along at a good clip.
Though there were some surprising awards, that's the norm rather than the exception for this event.
The nominee-provided musical and poetic interludes gave the evening texture, and made the awards more meaningful to outsiders.
If you were one of those fortunate enough to win a PPAC award, you got a gorgeous enameled bowl made by Pat Musick that's certain to become an heirloom.
And the champagne was decent.

Not bad for $20. But there's still a lot that could be done to make the evening a richer experience:

The awards were given in a brusque, almost production-line fashion. The slides projected on the screen behind the stage were very helpful, but there were no film or audio clips of the winning performances, nor even brief descriptions of what made them stand out.
In the case of (at least) the Lifetime Achievement Award winner - this year it was muralist Eric Bransby - a brief speech would be welcome.
And if PPAC president Eve Tilley is going to be the evening's emcee again, she needs to be better prepared, both in terms of how to enunciate for a microphone and in how to pronounce all the nominees' names.

An unintentionally strange aspect of the ceremony was its parsing of performing arts groups, so that only one member of a a collaborative effort received an award when in fact it was the entire effort that was being honored.

If organizations don't collaborate, it's not a problem. But increasingly, performing arts organizations do collaborate, and the PPAC judging committees - and I was on two of them - have to do a better job of recognizing these hybrid productions. So "The Unicorn, the Gorgon and the Manticore" won awards in two categories without two of the three involved performing arts organizations - the Colorado Vocal Arts Ensemble and Colorado's Classical Youth Ballet - even being mentioned. To the extent that I was responsible for that oversight, I apologize to everyone who was slighted. We'll do better next year.

We Knew It Was Great ...

2007-09-05T13:00:00.000-07:00

... but it's gratifying to see composer Stephen Scott get some well-deserved praise for his bowed piano music: Scott's 1996 CD, "Vikings of the Sunrise," has been named one of "Music's Best-Kept Secrets" in the September 2007 issue of Gramophone magazine.

Five Gramophone critics tackled the challenge of finding 50 classical CDs that were both exceptionally good and relatively neglected. "Scott has 10 players manipulate a Baldwin grand's innards like demented puppeteers, and they create lush, twangy, hypnotic sonorities like nothing you've ever imagined," writes critic Jed Distler.

In the world of bowed piano, Scott is god: He created the medium and its literature, and directs the ensemble that performs it. A bowed piano concert is one of the local music scene's uniquely fabulous experiences, as the musicians move around the piano creating mysterious sounds. (So far I've missed the demented puppeteer angle.) But as Gramophone's recognition highlights, the music sounds great even without the choreography.

The CD is New Albion NA084. Colorado College blurb here; online portion of the original article here.

JAKES Theatre Company

2007-08-31T14:22:00.000-07:00

A new theater company is making an auspicious debut with "You're a Good Man Charlie Brown."

JAKES is an acronym for Emory John Collinson, Jessica Gisin-Mosley, Ken Robinson, Angel Sosa, and Shannon Wallnutt. (You may have to fiddle around a bit to get the acronym.) These local theater veterans - all have appeared at the Fine Arts Center - recently banded together with the three-fold goal of providing learning experiences to aspiring young actors, to perform unfamiliar material, and to be affordable.

Their maiden voyage is first-rate community theater. The ensemble is tight. Gisin-Mosley's swift direction makes excellent use of the cozy space in the basement of The Classical Academy. Every word is clear, even in the ensemble songs, and the five-piece band directed by Susan Calvert is well-prepared.

The production also mixes adults and students well, with the adults doing the heavy lifting. Collinson's angst-ridden Charlie Brown gives the show its serious center: Today, this kid would probably be medicated. Robinson provides the show's high-point in "Snoopy," a languorous hymn to a dog's life, cutely accompanied by some hand-puppet birds - which are about the closest thing to high-tech in this production.

Gisin-Mosley's Sally is actually more forceful than Wallnutt's multi-layered Lucy, which is jarring to life-long "Peanuts" fans but probably won't bother anyone else. Besides, I'll never turn down an opportunity to hear Gisin-Mosley's soaring voice.

Trevor Miller's philosophical Linus stands out among the students.

I'm not a fan of Clark Gesner's show, which is basically a series of extended "Peanuts" cartoons set to bland music. Given my druthers, I'd choose a book of Charles Schulz's originals; given my second druthers, I'd watch one of the old TV specials. But "You're a Good Man Charlie Brown" is too unpretentious to dislike, and it admirably fits JAKES' educational goal.

Final performances are 7:30 p.m. today and 2 and 7:30 p.m. Saturday at The Classical Academy, 975 Stout Road. Tickets are $8 adults/$5 seniors and military. Call 231-0441 for more information.

Two Thoughts on De Marsche's Move

2007-08-27T21:06:00.000-07:00

When I was interviewing people last week about Tim Hoiles leaving the Fine Arts Center board, two of them, unprompted, gave me their thoughts on Michael De Marsche's next move.

Jeff Brown, artist and FAC board member, accentuated the positive: "I think he has a fine position. It’s amazing good luck."

But to Roberto Agnolini, arts advocate and member of the FAC museum board, Yerevan trumps the job: "That city where he’s going, it’s a hellhole."

Jina Pierce Leaves

2007-08-18T09:06:00.000-07:00

Jina Pierce has officially left her job as curator of fine art at Pueblo's Sangre de Cristo Arts Center. Pierce had been on a leave of absence since mid-June.

Pierce had a genius for imaginative programming that challenged audiences without ever losing sight of the center's public mission. Exhibit themes ranged from the science-fiction-based "Zero Gravity," to the astonishing "Magical Realism: A New Generation," to an exhibit rooted in the culture of low riders.

She will be sorely missed in the arts scene — arguably more so than De Marsche, because Pierce had not alienated nearly as many people.

Pierce is in, I think, Los Angeles. Here's wishing her luck.

Rocky Mountain Amateur Piano Competition Post Mortem

2007-08-13T08:09:00.000-07:00

Some ruminations about the Rocky Mountain Amateur Piano Competition, which Kensuke Ota won last Sunday. (Complete results here.)

For the first time since the competition began in 2001, the winner didn't sweep the three judging panels. Ota won the professional jury award and the audience award; Jelena Vladikovic, who finished second in the professional jury deliberations, won the press jury award. (The partial exception is the 2002 competition, when the professional jury was itself divided. That year, Victor Alexeef and Scot King shared the first prize. However, Alexeef won both the press and audience awards.)

On talent and potential, Ota was an easy choice. Unless the finale of Kapustin's jazzy sonata Op. 39 is a lot easier than it sounds — and I hear this is not the case — Ota had the cleanest and most fluid technique of any finalist. His performance of the finale of Rachmaninoff's Sonata #2 had exceptional structural clarity: Ota mostly avoided the nearly irresistible temptation to get mired in by Rachmaninoff's inner voices. His enchanting performance of Liadov's Barcarolle, Op. 44 caused me to wonder — yet again — why Liadov's music is so rarely performed.

These three performances were the best 18 minutes of the finals.

But two things moved the press jury — consisting of Paul Burke, Sharon Friedman, Eve Tilley and me — to vote for Vladikovic. One was Ota's stiff, pedantic performance of the first movement of Beethoven's "Appassionata" sonata. Vladikovic performed all three movements of the same piece with vastly more passion, color, maturity and musicality. The other was the fact that Ota's finals repertoire represented his entire competition repertoire: He had played parts of it in the first and second rounds. Since his "Appassionata" helped him not at all, and a brief Scarlatti Sonata helped him only a little, Ota basically won the competition with 18 minutes of repertoire. In contrast, Vladikovic brought an hour of repertoire.

But there's another "but," which may have influenced the professional jury. Vladicovic brought her own baggage — namely, that she stretches the definition of "amateur." She's a former professional, working on getting her chops back after a hand injury. In contrast, Ota is a Ph.D student in physics.

("It says something about the profession of music that somebody with that kind of talent and ability is choosing a different field," said Thomas Wilson, conductor of the Chamber Orchestra of the Springs and a member of the professional jury.)

It added up to an appropriately ambiguous climax to the always enjoyable competition. Aside from the awards ceremony, which started late and dragged on forever, the proceedings were smoothly run. The Saturday recital by Russian virtuoso Yakov Kasman was as astonishing as expected, though for the first time I found myself disagreeing vehemently with an interpretation: Schumann's Sonata #1 wasn't merely fast, but too fast, and the near absence of dynamics in between very soft and very loud gave the piece a theatricality verging on insincerity. However, Kasman more than redeemed himself with his luminous interpretation of Scriabin's Sonata #3 and his energetic Prokofiev Sonata #2, in which his amazing virtuosity was completely in service to the piece's playfulness.

The greatest testament to the mood that founder and president Chuck Cabell has created was the number of former contestants who returned simply to hang out or volunteer. Not counting locals such as John Saxon or myself, I saw at least three who had come from out of state: Brad Arington, Michie Akin and Carolyn Luskin, all of whom have been finalists in previous years.

Fine Arts Center History P.S.

2007-08-08T14:23:00.000-07:00

In the July 29 Gazette, I had a story on the history of the Fine Arts Center. In it I mentioned several reasons for the decline of the center's art school following WW II — including budget issues, the decrease of interest in regionalism, and the rise of abstract expressionism.

My mother has informed me of another major cause: a societal change that she thinks was the most important factor in the school's decline.

"After the war, artists didn't go to art schools any more," she said. "They started going to college and getting MFAs."

This makes a lot of sense The G.I. Bill put college within reach of millions of people for whom it had previously been impossible. Universities also exploded in size, meaning thousands of artists who would previously have taught in art schools went into academia instead. This was the case with my father, Bernard Arnest. He was probably expecting to teach at some Fine-Arts-Center-like institution, but instead ended up at the University of Minnesota.

The affect on art was dramatic. On the plus side, post-war artists received a broader education, which is reflected in the greater emphasis on artistic concept in contemporary art. On the minus side, technique suffered. When my father studied at the Fine Arts Center, the regimen included two three hours of life drawing every day, plus twice-a-week two-hour evening sessions. He joked that, "if an artist sees a man jump out of a second story window he should be able to draw him before he hits the ground." That level of skill all but disappeared in the 1960s and '70s.

My father returned to Colorado Springs in 1957 with a two-fold job - teaching art at Colorado College, and heading the Fine Arts Center art school, where he had his studio for many years. (His was probably the last generation for whom it was reasonably possible to get a good college teaching job without a college degree.) I asked my mother when the art school finally ceased to be a training ground for professionals, and she didn't remember: "It just sort of petered out," she said.

The moral of this story, if there is one, is that dreams of resurrecting the Fine Arts Center as a major professional art school will probably never leave the dream stage. I don't see it happening without a major shift in the way art careers are built, or a major partnership with Colorado College.

Oh, and moral number two: Always talk to your mother when you're reporting for a big story!

FAC Aftermath

2007-08-06T13:02:00.000-07:00

The Fine Arts Center's Extremely Grand Reopening, on balance, has to be counted as an extremely big success. The capacity crowd at the gala seemed to be having a great time; the galleries were well-attended following their Saturday reopening; and everybody I talked to loved David Owen Tryba's addition - as do I.

There was only one glaring miscalculation to the festivities: The cost of the lectures by Thomas Hoving, John Waters, and Joel Grey. The only one I attended was Hoving's, but had I paid $45 to see this hastily prepared, hour-long chat - $49 for non-members - I would have been quite upset. (I had tickets to Grey, but my legs rebelled at a fourth visit in three days to the FAC...)

With the expansion safely - and brilliantly - accomplished, the Michael De Marsche watch officially begins. His stock in town will never be higher, he's attracted a lot of attention in the museum world, he has only a year left on his contract, and he seems to like challenges. I can't believe there won't be multiple museums bidding for his services.

Any bets?

So it begins...

2007-08-02T15:45:00.000-07:00

Thomas Hoving speaks tonight at the Fine Arts Center - the beginning of the center's four-day reopening celebration. I'll be there, and for some of the other stuff, and will report regularly.

There's some time to go through the galleries prior to the lectures, so I'll be able to see the new galleries exhibiting art for the first time. There were a couple of hard-had walk-throughs, but that only gives you hints of how the final spaces will work.

Playwright's Showcase

2007-07-22T19:55:00.000-07:00

The third annual Playwrights' Showcase of the Western Region concluded last night. There was no showcase last year, which makes me question the word "annual," but no matter: This joint venture between the Arvada Center for the Arts and Humanities and Red Rocks Community College is one of the Colorado theater season highlights — for the few members of the general public who bother to attend.

The reason for the bewildering lack of public interest, I think, must be the common misconception about the word "reading." Thirty of the 31 new plays performed during the four-day festival were unstaged, with the actors seated on stage, reading from scripts. No sets, no lights, minimal movement and costumes. Described that way, it sounds dull even to me.

It's anything but. When well read, a good play can conjure its author's world. with astonishing fidelity. When recalling readings from the 2005 showcase, both my memory and Lauren's supplied the missing elements: We didn't remember actors behind music stands, but Alaskan landscapes, dystopian futures populated by robot waiters or doppelgangers, or the dressing room of a broken down rodeo clown. Such is the power of vivid language brought to life by expert actors.

Lauren and I saw 18 readings, two half-readings (we bailed on one play at intermission, and saw the conclusion of a different play), and one full production. We would have seen more, but this year's format had different plays running simultaneously the first two days.

Three of the plays were outstanding: Ryan Kelly's "Rendition," a dramatic, provocative look at the effect of torture on those who perform it as well as those who undergo it; William Missouri Downs' "The M Word," about denial and office politics at the University of Wyoming; and Scott Gibson's poignant and hilarious 'Nocturne, Sort Of," the aftermath of a date gone bad. (It would be criminal not to mention Mari Geasair and Bernie Cardell's devastatingly perfect performances in this short play.) Several others were just a half cut below, including Jeffrey Neuman's "Zeus's Women," a series of monologues in which the lack of a dramatic arch couldn't torpedo the language's uninhibited brilliance.

Besides, the post-reading commentary from the showcase luminaries — theater professionals such as playwrights Richard Dresser and Aoise Stratford — compensate for any lack of production values. It was the equivalent of two semesters' worth of theater classes crammed into four days.

Several of the plays were superior to this year's full production — Mark Smith's "A Lesser Life," which was read at the 2005 showcase. (The premise is a couple whose daughters are conjoined twins who can't be separated without killing one. It made me think I should write a play about someone who wins Powerball, and returns home to find out it has been destroyed by a meteor.) Yet the audience for "A Lesser Life" dwarfed those at the readings, proving there is indeed some interest in new plays, provided they're memorized and presented with at least minimal production values.

But it probably whetted some appetites, and perhaps next year's showcase will get the audiences it deserves.

Peak Radar

2007-06-27T10:02:00.000-07:00

There's a new link on the right: PeakRadar, the region's most comprehensive events calendar. It's off to a great start, but an informational hub is only as good as its information, so if you're planning something public, be sure and submit it. The online form is dauntingly long but impressively complete.

PeakRadar is sponsored by COPPeR - the Cultural Office of the Pikes Peak Region - "a nonprofit organization connecting residents and visitors to arts and culture to enrich the Pikes Peak region of Colorado." (I can't improve on that boilerplate copy.) Its kick-off coincided with the release of Arts & Economic Prosperity III, the latest Americans for the Arts study on the state of the nation's non-profit arts organizations. (To boil down the 270-page report, it's better than it was five years ago.) The complete report, along with some shorter abstracts, is available here.

Of Unicorns, Gorgons and Manticores

2007-06-08T21:39:00.000-07:00

The phrase "once-in-a-lifetime opportunity" gets bandied about far too casually, but this weekend's programming of Giancarlo Menotti's "The Unicorn, the Gorgon and the Manticore" is truly a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.

The reason doesn't lie in any weakness in the piece itself — what sort of once-in-a-lifetime opportunity would it be if it were lousy? No, it's the piece's quirky ensemble that keeps it on the fringe of the repertoire: choir, chamber orchestra, and dancers. Not to mention that the music, though tuneful and approachable in that quirky Menotti way, is extremely difficult to play and sing.

Joining forces to make it possible — for what must be the first time ever in Colorado Springs — are Colorado's Classical Youth Ballet, the Colorado Vocal Arts Ensemble, and Chamber Orchestra of the Springs.

It's a strange piece. The choral madrigals and instrumental interludes are charming and beautiful, the text flows naturally and is often laugh-out-loud funny — and the allegory is heavy-handed and arrogant. (That's us Menotti is slamming.) But there are many wonderful moments, and the performance at Friday's dress rehearsal did full justice to the work. Among the dancers, Scott Marble's Man in the Castle deserves special praise.

The rest of the program is equally interesting, and fits very well with the Menotti — contemporary but unpretentiously approachable.

The program opened with Alexander von Kreisler's Three Pastels and Sir Malcolm Arnold's Divertimento, Op. 37 stylishly performed by the Sirocco Winds — Phyllis White on flute, Gail Coughran on oboe, and Jay Norman on clarinet.

The 23-member Colorado Vocal Arts Ensemble then took the stage for Morten Lauridsen's "Fire Songs." These Italian Renaissance love poems may count as some of the most vacuous lyrics ever set to music, but that just meant there was nothing to distract the listener from Lauridsen's rich and opulent settings, or from the CVAE's magnificent performance. These pieces showed off the lightness and gracefulness of Deborah Jenkins Teske's choir.

Not only will you enjoy the concert, but you'll feel a warm, virtuous glow: It's is a benefit for the participating organizations.

When: 7:30 p.m. Saturday and 3 p.m. Sunday
Where: The Louisa Performing Arts Center, The Colorado Springs School, 21 Broadmoor Ave.
Tickets: $25; 633-9373 or alacarteproductions@msn.com

Mays Wins Cliburn Amateur Piano Competition

2007-06-03T18:59:00.000-07:00

Drew Mays — who placed second in last year's Rocky Mountain Amateur Piano Competition — won the fifth Van Cliburn International Piano Competition for Outstanding Amateurs™ on Sunday in Fort Worth, Texas. (I am not making up the part about the ™.) The Cliburn is the most prestigious amateur piano competition in the country: Its contestants come from all over the world, and many are a technicality away from being professional. It's also the largest, with 75 contestants in the preliminary round, 25 semi-finalists, and six finalists.

This gives an idea of the quality of the pianists who come to the Rocky Mountain Amateur Piano Competition, which will take place this year from August 7-12. In addition to Mays, there were several other Rocky Mountain alumni in this year's Cliburn, including 2004 winner Thomas Maurice, who made the semi-finals.

And, as a special bonus to Colorado Springs, Mays is scheduled to perform here this month. The concert will be 2:30 p.m., Sunday, June 24, 2007, at First Christian Church. Check the Amateur Pianists International site for more details.

More info about the Cliburn here and at the Cliburn blog.

For Country Dinner Playhouse Ticketholders

2007-05-27T10:06:00.000-07:00

Right now there are three options for people who hold tickets to a performance of "Evita," none of which involves a refund.

Boulder's Dinner Theatre is holding a special production of "The Sound of Music" on July 12. This is a very generous offer - it's free and includes dinner - but Boulder's Dinner Theatre only holds 284 people, so call 303-449-6000 as soon as possible.

The Denver Center for the Performing Arts is offering $10 tickets to its current productions of "A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum" of "The Taffetas." These are available only at The Denver Center box office one hour prior to show time and are subject to availability. This makes it a bit iffy for area residents, though a ticket salesperson would probably be able to tell you whether the odds were favorable for a particular performance. "Forum" runs through July 8; "The Taffetas" runs through August 5. Contact the Denver Center at 1.800.641.1222 or www.denvercenter.org.

The Town Hall Arts Center in Littleton is offering half-price tickets to "My Fair Lady" through June 24. Call 303-794-2787.

Country Dinner Playhouse Closes

2007-05-23T11:20:00.000-07:00

Employees arrived on Tuesday to find the doors padlocked and a "closed until further notice" sign on the Greenwood Village dinner theater - a sad end to a 37-year run.

This is a blow to the state's theater community. Theater elitists may scoff at Country Dinner Playhouse's repertoire choices - and the food - but it was the state's only year-round professional theater. Many Colorado actors earned their equity cards there; many others were able to make ends meet because of the long season and eight-shows-a-week production schedule.

I don't know who the villains are in this scenario. (Since it's theater, there has to be a villain!) The theater owners said that it became impossible to continue without a lease, which the property owner refused to provide; the property owner said the theater owners had been assured that the property wouldn't be developed before May 2008 - which, I must say, isn't exactly reassuring. And no one denies that the landscape has become increasingly difficult for dinner theater over the years: Several have come and gone in Colorado Springs during my time at the Gazette.

There will be a story in Friday's Go! - which will replace the review of the Country Dinner Playhouse production of "Evita." Meanwhile, here are some links to more info:

Denver Post Story
Comments to Denver Post Story
Rocky Mountain News Story

Philharmonic Finale

2007-05-19T21:41:00.000-07:00

There will be a review in Sunday's Gazette, and right now I'm just too tuckered out to add anything substantive to it, so there.

The program consists of Tchaikovsky's Swan Lake Suite, Mendelssohn's Symphony No.4, “Italian,” and William Schuman's New England Triptych. While the concert isn't comparable to last season's finale - Mahler's Symphony No. 5 - it's a good program, with juicy solos for just about every principal player (including harpist Donald Hilsberg).

The program will be repeated Sunday at 2:30 at the Pikes Peak Center. Call 520-7469 for tickets.

Weird Synchronicity

2007-05-19T10:03:00.000-07:00

I've seen hundreds of plays since I started reviewing for the Gazette in fall 1993, but I'd never seen one that incorporated an acoustic-era opera recording - that is, a recording dating from before 1925, when sound was transmitted to the wax master not through microphones but through enormous horns.

That came to an end Thursday, when Edith Tankus chose to accompany her climactic trapeze scene (see below) with "Caro nome" from Verdi's "Rigoletto," sung by, I think, Luisa Tetrazzini. (She's the soprano immortalized in Turkey Tetrazzini, the way her rival Nellie Melba was immortalized in Peach Melba and Melba Toast.) It was a magical combination, with the placid, unearthly ease of Tetrazzini's singing complementing Tankus' graceful, refined acrobatics.

The very next night, I saw the Star Bar Players' excellent new production of Noel Coward's "Hay Fever." Since they did this three-act play with only one intermission, they needed something to cover the scene change between Acts 2 and 3. And they chose an acoustic-era recording of the quintet from "Rigoletto." It was doubly appropriate, fitting both the period (the play was written in 1924) and the chaotic mix of emotions that characterizes "Hay Fever."

Two nights, two acoustic recordings of "Rigoletto"? What are the odds of that?

Edit: Finally got into the basement to dig through the old records. Nope, it's not Tetrazzini.

Weird Synchronicity 2: Two days after seeing "Hay Fever," I went back to see "Into the Woods" a second time. Both plays contain the line, "He's your father!"

Edith Tankus at the MAT

2007-05-18T08:38:00.000-07:00

About three minutes into "Not Yet, At All," Francis - the main character in Edith Tankus' one-woman show at the Manitou Art Theater, tells the audience, "Don't make eye contact - you might fall in love with me."

The warning came just in time. I was already half-smitten with the winsome, irresistibly positive girl who we meet daydreaming in a math class at a school for wayward girls.

Soon after, Francis runs away from school, joins a circus, and becomes Francesa.

"Not Yet, At All" is a fabulous showcase for Tankus' myriad skills. These includes character acting - both vocal and physical - ranging from Miss Margaret the sadistic nun, to Lester the cynical carnival barker, to Eva, "the exotic Russian showgirl, past her prime, existing in a cloud of her own perfume." (One of my favorite gags was Eva's pronunciation of "teeth.") There's a beautiful song, in which she plays the ukulele and sings with lovely, soft voice. And to top it off, there's a trapeze scene.

(The knee-jerk thought is that Tankus developed a scenario that would show off everything she could do, but in fact it's the other way around: She developed the scenario in order to give herself an excuse to learn the trapeze.)

The major flaw is an unfinished feeling - we're not quite sure how Francis gets from the penultimate scene to the finale, or whether, given Francis' tendency towards self-aggrandizing exaggeration, she gets there at all other than in her mind. But with such a brilliant performance, this becomes a minor quibble.

If, like me, you missed "Not Yet, At All" when it appeared at the Manitou Art Theater in 2002, tonight - Saturday, May 19th - is your chance to atone. Call the MAT at 685-4729 for more information.

The Philharmonic Performs Bach and Mozart

2007-05-12T22:44:00.000-07:00

Saturday’s Colorado Springs Philharmonic program was one of the season’s more low-key performances — but very satisfying nevertheless.

The final program on the “Mozart and Friends” series includes J.S. Bach’s Brandenburg Concertos Nos. 1 and 6, and Mozart’s Symphony No. 29, a masterpiece composed when Mozart was only 18.

The final Brandenburg concerto poses unusual challenges. Its ensemble — four violas and continuo — is both deep-toned and homogeneous. Thematic and expressive variations can easily vanish into the pleasingly mellow carpet of sound.

Conductor Lawrence Leighton Smith and the seven musicians solved this with some subtle cresendos and decresendos and a judicious use of dynamic contrasts.

The finale, with its sweeping rhythms, was especially good — and violists Catherine Hanson and Mary Cowell made it look like as much fun to play as it is to listen to. Their sounds complement each other wonderfully: Hanson, hasa brighter, more violin-like tone, and Cowell's is darker yet radiant.

Brandenburg Concerto No. 1 is the largest and most festive of the set. To audiences brought up on the later symphonic tradition of Mozart and Beethoven, its four-movement structure seems odd: Later composers would have put the exciting third movement after the stately fourth. But Bach's more relaxed arrangement is also satisfying.

Standout performers here were French horn players Matthew Scheffelman and Jennifer Doersch in the first and third movements, and oboist Guy Dutra-Silveira and violinist Michael Hanson in the poignant second movement, which features some of Bach’s most pungent dissonances along with a weirdly pointillistic passage near the end that still sounds surprising after nearly three centuries.

Mozart’s Symphony No. 29 marked a new period in his development, in both scale and sophistication. The opening theme belies the composer’s youth in both its yearning mood and the fancy counterpoint between the violins and the low strings.

It's not a fully mature work, though: The experiments still sound like experiments here, from the loud ending of the otherwise quiet second movement (the muted strings have a wonderful effect — like listening through gauze — which makes the brightness of the oboes and French horns stand out even more dramatically), to the odd held note in the winds at the end of the third movement.

For a lot of the string players — and orchestra in this piece is mostly strings — it was their first playing of the night, and it showed: They weren't really sharp until the third movement. But the dramatic finale was sparkling and even fiery.

First United Methodist Church has excellent acoustics and comfortable pews; about my only complaint as a concert venue is that apparently there's no way to turn down the house lights.

The program will be repeated at 2:30 p.m. Sunday. Tickets are $20; First United Methodist Church is located at 420 N. Nevada Ave.

Burying the Lede

2007-05-05T16:51:00.000-07:00

This is the journalistic term for putting the key information in a story or press release anywhere except at the top. Last week I received a press release with a textbook example.

The subject was a group of local dancers who will perform in Germany in June at the Keiler Woche summer festival. Some of the works will be previewed here on May 12 at the Colorado Jazz Dance Company's annual spring concert.

Well, that's undeniably interesting, because a lot of good dancers get their start in Colorado Springs, and it's great to see them getting opportunities to perform. But it's also extremely rare for "Go!" to feature articles about events taking place far away: Local events take precedence.

But whoa, then I got to paragraph five: "The May 12 concert will also serve as the debut of Indigo Dance Theatre, a professional dance company under the artistic direction of [Zetta] Alderman."

That's news. Afaik, Colorado Springs has never had a full-time professional dance company. And Zetta Alderman - the Colorado Jazz Dance Company's artistic director - is not someone who would throw around the word "professional" loosely.

So I visited the Colorado Jazz Dance Company's enormous new digs east of Powers, where Zetta filled me in on the plans she and UNLV dance professor Richard Havey have for the new group. Next Friday's "Go!" will contain a story about the coming of Indigo Dance Theatre - an even with potentially major implications for the region's performing arts scene.

And unlke this blog entry, I promise not to bury the lede!

It's Official at the Fine Arts Center

2007-04-25T10:52:00.000-07:00

Alan Osburn has been named director of the Performing Arts Department and Producing Artistic Director of the Fine Arts Center Theatre Company. Osburn had been interim director since September 2006.

Yes, the name is also new: It's no longer called The Rep. (I don't know what effect this will have on anyone else, but not having to explain what The Rep was will give me about two more lines to review Fine Arts Center theater productions.)

There are other changes: The new company is going to emphasize professional talent more, beginning with the upcoming production of "Into the Woods," which opens May 11. And the recently added rehearsal space - part of the still-unfinished addition - is going to be transformed into a 90-seat black box theater.

Said Osburn: “Adding this additional performance space will give the company the freedom to produce more diverse material and delve into more drama, while continuing our current offerings of standard musicals and comedies in the SaGāJi Theatre.” He also hopes to develop new works in the space.

This is great news for the local theater community. New venues don't come along often - especially new venues with strong producing organizations behind them.

Read the complete press release here.

De Cou with the Philharmonic

2007-04-21T22:19:00.000-07:00

Pick a highlight at Saturday’s Colorado Springs Philharmonic — the musicians and guest conductor Emil de Cou provided everything a listener could hope for.

A beautifully woven sonic tapestry? Bach’s Brandenburg Concertos Nos. 2 and 4 were presented with sparkling vivacity.

The rich, colorful tones of the woodwinds? Dvorák’s Serenade in D Minor evoked the bucolic mood of a Bohemian summer night.

Or perhaps you just wanted your socks knocked off? The concert ended with “Siegfried’s Rhine Journey” from Wagner’s “Götterdämmerung” — and by the end, there was hardly a socked foot left at First United Methodist Church.

De Cou is the associate conductor of the National Symphony in Washington, D.C. He’s been praised for his preparation and musicianship, and both were amply on display.

My ear pricked up at the very first chord of the 4th Brandenburg Concerto: The sound had amazing buoyancy and lightness, and the rhythmic sweep was irresistible. The soloists — violinist Michael Hanson and flutists Paul Nagem and Leslie Smith — played sympathetically (though Hanson took a few minutes to get into the music), and the string orchestra was marvelously clear. Almost a fourth soloist, cellist Susan Smith gave life and bounce to the underlying rhythm.

De Cou was not doctrinaire about dynamics: Small crescendos and decrescendos made Bach's dense textures shimmer. And wonderful details abounded, such as the first movement's pear-shaped final chord.

The second Brandenburg Concerto featured David Zuercher on trumpet and Guy Dutra-Silviera on oboe along with Hanson and Nagem.

The musicians share the material, but since not all instruments are equally easy to play, the trumpet part ends up being the most difficult. It’s stratospherically high, requiring a special piccolo trumpet — an octave higher than the regular B-flat trumpet — that’s notoriously squirrelly. Which is a long way of saying that Zuercher didn’t get every note exactly right. But his tone was as golden as ever.

Nagem played with his usual brilliance and with a not-always-so-usual warmth. Dutra-Silviera's crispness perfectly complemented Nagem's suaveness, and a thoroughly-warmed-up Hanson gave a beautifully articulated performance.

Dvorák’s little-played serenade is charming. The themes are always catchy, and Dvorák finds many surprising and beautiful colors in the generally low-pitched ensemble (two clarinets, two oboes, two bassoons, three horns, cello and bass) — though he didn't always solve the sonic congestion problems inherent in the ensemble. There was some lovely playing, especially from clarinettists Ray Kireilis and Emily Singley.

The excerpt from Wagner’s darkest and most massive opera was performed in a slightly pruned-down orchestration by Engelbert Humperdinck — though it was still the largest and loudest orchestra ever to grace the church.

First United Methodist Church isn't a small space, but it's smaller than the Pikes Peak Center, and in this comparatively intimate setting, Wagner's music was simply astonishing: You were enveloped by the passionate surges of sound as Wagner kept pushing the expression farther than you believed it could possibly go — and the musicians kept answering the call.

Matthew Scheffelman played Siegfried’s horn call with such strength and confidence that the character seemed to stride before us.

De Cou isn’t as goal-oriented a conductor as philharmonic music director Lawrence Leighton Smith: It’s not always so clear where you are in the music with de Cou as with Smith. But when the sonic landscape is this enchanting, it’s not always important to know where you are.

The program will be repeated today (Sunday, April 22) at 2:30 p.m.

And: A previously announced $25,000 matching grant from stalwart philharmonic supporter Judy Fair-Spaulding has been met. In fact, it was met so quickly that Fair-Spaulding has decided to pledge another $25,000 if it can be matched by contributions from new donors by May 31, the end of the philharmonic's fiscal year.

And Yet Another New Curator...

2007-04-21T21:52:00.000-07:00

The Colorado Springs Fine Arts Center has hired Blake Milteer as curator of 19th and 21st Century American Art. Milteer comes from the Denver Art Museum, where he was assistant curator of Modern and Contemporary Art.

This is the first time the Fine Arts Center has had a full complement of curators since Scott Snyder left in, I think, 2002. And no, I don't have any idea why Milteer's job description doesn't include 20th Century American art. But it will make for an obvious question when I interview him.

You can download the complete press release in pdf format here.

Btw, Googling Milteer pulled up this Westword article by Michael Paglia, in which he describes impending layoffs at the Denver Art Museum. Paglia uses the word "shocking," and for once it's not hyperbole.

Curators IV: Holly Parker

2007-03-21T11:59:00.000-07:00

[A longer version of the profile that ran in the Gazette on March 18]

At the Business of Art Center, Holly Parker is the familiar face among the region’s new curators.

The Colorado native was gallery director for the Smokebrush Foundation — where she managed the construction of the Uncle Wilber fountain in Acacia Park — before leaving in 2004 to get her master of fine arts degree.

That experience was mind-opening for Parker.

“It was interesting being with students who went directly from undergraduate to graduate school,” she said. “It helped me realize the value of my previous experiences.”

Living in Italy also gave her a new appreciation for life in a comparatively young city.

“It’s very hard for contemporary artists in Rome,” she said. “All the money goes into preservation.”

Because the Business of Art Center is a major studio space and production facility, Parker’s artistic mission is more local than the other curators'.

“The Business of Art Center has a mission to serve the community,” she said. “Part of that is bringing in exhibitions that educate the community in various ways. Diversity is really important.”

Gallery offerings range from the current “Wunderkind” exhibit, providing a showcase to the region’s best high school artists, to upcoming exhibits by the center’s resident studio artists and an exhibit of contemporary friendship books by Tom Leech, a long-time local artist and master of paper marbling who left to run the press at the Santa Fe Art Institute.

Parker remains a dedicated artist. Her current series is called “Active Ingredients,” in which Parker creates art made from used motor oil and earth. Themes include weapons of mass destruction and nuclear power.

For Parker, the latter — with its potential for enormous good and enormous evil — exemplifies the quandary of modern life.

“I’m really interested in technology,” she said. “It’s created many of our problems, but it also may save us.”

Parker is hopeful about the region’s arts scene.

“The art community has ebbed and flowed over the years,” she said. “Right now there’s a lot of new energy.

Curators III: Tariana Navas-Nieves

2007-03-21T11:54:00.000-07:00

[A longer version of the profile that ran in the Gazette on March 18]

Tariana Navas-Nieves, the Fine Arts Center’s new curator of Hispanic and Native American art, calls her job “a curator’s dream.”

Navas-Nieves applied for the job of curator of American art, but the center was impressed enough to alter the job description to take advantage of her dual expertise.

She admits that one half of her job description gives her more joy than the other: “Latin American art is my passion,” said the Puerto Rico native.
“I fell into Native American art by working with collectors.”

Navas-Nieves’ work with collectors is just one aspect of her experience.

“I’ve worked in big spaces and small spaces, and with big collections and small collections,” she said. She’s been a consultant for the Denver Art Museum, and also worked at Denver’s cozy Museo de las Americas.

One of her duties is to bring the center’s historic collection of Southwestern arts and crafts up to date.

“It wasn’t just santos in the Southwest,” she said, referring to the painted and carved images of saints that form the core of the center’s collection.

She’s looking at other museums for hints on what direction to take the collection.

“The Denver Art Museum has a fabulous Pre-Columbian and Spanish Colonial collection,” she said. “We need a contemporary collection to complement that.”

A regional perspective comes naturally to Navas-Nieves: She still lives in Denver, where her husband is a criminal defense attorney. The couple has two young children.

She also brings an international viewpoint to her job, saying she can’t do a good job without knowing international trends and artists.

Navas-Nieves hopes to bring national and even international attention to the Fine Arts Center, a process that began when Michael De Marsche took over as the center’s president and chief executive officer in 2003.

“I’m hoping to cause some ruckus and reaction,” she said. “Colorado Springs is kind of a traditionalist city. I want to celebrate that but also to expand it. This city is ready to be challenged and pushed in new directions.”

But like De Marsche, Navas-Nieves believes that it’s possible to bring modern art to a broad public.

“Art is not for curators or scholars or a small group,” she said. “It is for you — it is for the public.”

Curators II: Christopher Lynn

2007-03-21T11:40:00.000-07:00

[A longer version of the profile that ran in the Gazette on March 18]

The 32-year-old Christopher Lynn is the youngest of the region’s new curators. The UCCS Gallery of Contemporary Art curator is a Utah native who was previously assistant curator at DePauw University in Indiana. His wife, Maria Samuelson, is a performance artist.

That alliance suggests Lynn is an unabashed modernist — which he says is correct.

“I come from a more conceptual base,” he said. “I’m willing to forgive mildly shoddy craftsmanship if there’s a really exciting concept.”

Lynn is still working on an exhibition schedule that was in place before he arrived. But he’s raising the level of activity at the gallery. He hopes to make it a place people visit often — not just for openings.

New programming includes film nights, quarterly “Bad Art Nights,” lectures and panels. Lynn has redesigned the gallery’s Web site with new features such as a blog and a soon-to-debut online coloring book in which anyone can create individual versions of everything “from high-brow to street art.” The originals will come from all over the world.

“I really like the notion of kids getting involved,” he said. “I went to public school, where there wasn’t much except Blue Boy and the Mona Lisa. Even in high school, I was lucky to brush up against Warhol.

“I want to demystify contemporary art for people and make it more accessible.”

He says that often all it takes is getting people to understand that their opinions are valid.

“Somebody says, ‘It’s a giant steel cube — I don’t get it,’” said Lynn. “But they do get it — it’s a giant steel cube.”

Lynn’s views on promoting local artists are similar to those of Fine Arts Center president Michael De Marsche.

“There will probably be fewer local artists shown,” he said — but when they are exhibited, they’ll get the red-carpet treatment.

“I’ve seen a lot of institutions treat local artists as second-class citizens,” he said. “They tend to ‘ghettoize’ them — ‘We have our big national shows, and we have our local artists.’”

Lynn hopes to integrate local artists with artists of national and international stature.

“If someone gets a solo show, it’s not as a local artist, but as a great artist,” he said — an approach he believes will make local artists work harder.

And if artists aren’t getting the recognition they deserve, he has some advice: Make a space.

“Lots of galleries have the life-span of a fruit-fly,” he said. “That’s what’s going on elsewhere. Colorado Springs needs more venues.”

Curators I: Jessica Hunter Larsen

2007-03-21T11:28:00.000-07:00

[A longer version of the profile that ran in the Gazette on March 18]

Not too many years ago, Colorado College was insular enough that a new curator wouldn’t have been news in the community.

Jessica Hunter Larsen is changing that.

She is a Boulder native who moved to San Francisco after getting an art history degree at Colorado College.

“I was going to take the art world by storm,” she said. “It took about a year for the naive sheen to wear off. The gallery world is more about sales and marketing than about connecting with the work.”

She subsequently spent a decade at Paris Gibson Square Museum of Art in Montana, where her duties consisted of basically everything.

“I loved it,” she said. “It was a small, really dynamic organization." But the lure of her alma mater was too much to resist.

The byword of Larsen’s approach is “interdisciplinary.” She’s always looking to connect different media, whether at Colorado College, at the college’s I.D.E.A. Space, or with local artists and organizations.

“There are a lot of collaborative opportunities in town,” she said. “That’s the way to build audiences.”

Like Christopher Lynn at the UCCS Gallery of Contemporary Art, Larsen wants to make contemporary art more approachable.

“I’m interested in pulling art out of the gallery and connecting it to daily life,” she said.

One way is simply to put it in people’s ways. Hunter Larsen has overseen the placement of guerilla art on the college campus and is looking forward to displaying an installation piece to be created by Julia Becker — and collaborators, of course — from March 26 to 30.

“She creates spiritually invested places within utilitarian environments,” Larsen said. “It’s insanely beautiful work.”

Hunter Larsen doesn’t downplay art history, but she’s most interested in what’s being created today.

“People and cultures make art about what they care about,” she said. “These are the stories we tell ourselves.”

In searching for today’s stories, Hunter Larsen is casting as broad a net as possible. She's already programming for the 2009/10 academic year — include a Tekcno Powwow, mixing American Indian culture with rap, hip-hop and rave; a performance by renowned artist/writer Coco Fusco in which Fusco will play the role of an interrogator in the War on Terror; and an exhibit of Vickie Meguire’s exquisite paper kimonos.

“There’s no way to assess what will have legs 10 years from now,” she said.

Cashore Marionettes at the MAT

2007-03-13T14:45:00.000-07:00

Sear these words into your memory: The Cashore Marionettes.

That way, you won’t miss one of the world’s best marionette acts the next time it’s in town.

At a full-house benefit performance for the Manitou Art Theater on March 7th, Joseph Cashore — assisted by his wife, Wilma — put on a dazzling display of skill and artistry in “Life in Motion,” a series of 13 short skits. The sheer engineering of Cashore’s puppets is incredible: It looked as though some of them had as many as 30 strings. An elephant’s trunk was capable of both picking up a log and blowing a feather; Old Mike, a homeless man, could wriggle his toe through the worn-out sole of his shoe.

But even more impressive was Cashore’s combination of observation and skill. When Maestro Janos Zelinka played, he looked like a living, 18-inch-tall violinist. When Cashore operated both mother and baby in “A Lullaby,” the two characters moved completely differently.

The exactness of the physical movements was matched by the characters’ realistic and nuanced personalities. Cashore is equally successful with comedy, as in the endless distractions from homework Sara finds in “The Scholar,” tragedy, as in Old Mike’s closing sigh of grief, and even satire, as in a performance by a heavy metal guitarist, complete with pelvic thrusts.

It’s the show’s balance of humor and pathos made it as fulfilling for former children as it was enchanting for children. Cashore is an example of great artistry found in an unexpected place.

Concertos, Concertos

2007-03-10T21:55:00.000-08:00

Cellist Ani Aznavoorian provided most of the thrills at Saturday’s Colorado Springs Philharmonic concert.

Aznavoorian showed off her incredibly expressive musicianship in Brahms’ Double Concerto For Violin and Cello, in which she was joined by violinist Stefan Milenkovich, and in Beethoven’s Triple Concerto For Violin, Cello and Piano, in which she was joined by Milenkovich and pianist/conductor Lawrence Leighton Smith.

The orchestra also got a chance to show off on its own, with a sparkling performance of Richard Strauss’ virtuosic roller-coaster ride, “Till Eulenspiegel’s Merry Pranks.”

If anything, Aznavoorian has improved since her 2004 appearance with the philharmonic. She has energy to burn, a warm sound, phrasing that always sings, and seemingly no physical limitations. She grabbed the crowd’s attention in her first solo, which began as a continuation of the orchestra’s dramatic opening and transformed the mood into hushed tenderness.

She somewhat overshadowed Milenkovich, who phrases intelligently, has a pure, open sound in quiet passages — he was wonderful in the Brahms’ prayerful second movement — but has a much less pronounced musical personality and sometimes forces his tone.

Though Aznavoorian and Milenkovich sounded completely different when playing separately, they had an amazing rapport when playing together.

The first movement of Beethoven’s Triple Concerto may be the blandest large-scale piece the mature Beethoven ever wrote. But the short second movement is a gem — especially when played with the intensity Aznavoorian brought to it — and the quasi-Polish finale is delightful.

Smith’s decision to conduct Beethoven’s concerto from the keyboard resulted in a a few white-knuckle moments between the orchestra and the soloists. But each movement got better, and the finale brought the concert to a brilliant and satisfying conclusion.

It was in the finale that Milenkovich gave his most spirited playing of the evening. Smith also performed this movement with the intelligence and passion that he brings to his conducting.

Though the orchestra was often in the background in the concertos, it more than got its say in the curtain-raiser: Strauss’ witty, sparkling “Till Eulenspeigel.” The piece is based on the adventures of trickster from German folklore — and though it’s not necessary to know the story, it’s important to know that there is a story. Otherwise, many of the sudden changes of color, mood, volume and tempo are inexplicable

This was another performance that showed how far the orchestra has come. Simple competence is difficult enough in this orchestral showpiece; but this performance was also spirited, exuberant, and just plain fun. The orchestral tone was bright, focused and occasionally very, very loud.

Colorado Springs Philharmonic with Ani Aznavoorian, cello, and Stefan Milenkovich, violin
When: 2:30 p.m. today
Where: Pikes Peak Center, 190 S. Cascade Ave.
Tickets: $12-$50; 520-7469 or www.pikespeakcenter.org

A Big City Moment

2007-02-25T08:37:00.000-08:00

One of my cherished memories of living in New York City is of the afternoon I stumbled upon Red Grooms' "Ruckus Manhattan." Viewers actually wandered around inside Groom's 10,000-square-foot sculpture, enveloped in his bright, furiously energetic, cartoony vision of the city. It was the sort of thing that could never ever possibly exist outside a major arts city.

Or so I thought. I was reminded of Grooms' piece last week when I visited "Nicking the Never" at Colorado College's Coburn Gallery. In this gallery-filling, seven-screen video installation, Brooklyn artist Marina Zurkow renders the Tibetan Buddhist Wheel of Life in animated comic form — and it's stunning. "Nicking the Never" uses a popular idiom to make a profound statement, and delivers this profundity with a light, occasionally humorous touch that very unlike most contemporary "message" art. Like "Ruckus Manhattan," it's an enveloping experience.

Many in the Colorado Springs arts community are quick to complain about our city's lack of culture compared with similar-sized cities. (Well, I am, anyway.) But there's a wealth of new curatorial talent in town — including Colorado College's Jessica Hunter Larsen, who brought us Zurkow — and they're already changing the situation. (Shameless plug: A Gazette story on the city's four new curators is scheduled for March 18.)

Learn more about "Nicking the Never" here. You can even watch Quicktime video excerpts, and though the effect less powerful than the gallery installation, the video's underlying structure comes through more clearly.

"Nicking the Never" will be on display until April 14. The Coburn Gallery is located in the Warner Center, on the corner of Cache la Poudre Street and Cascade Avenue; gallery hours are 12:30-7:30 p.m. Tuesdays-Saturdays; call 389-6797 for more information.

Edit: Here's the link to the Springs Culture Cast video presentation on "Nicking the Never."

Joyce Yang Wows 'Em

2007-02-24T23:02:00.000-08:00

Pianist Joyce Yang managed to upstage her own dress at Saturday night’s Colorado Springs Philharmonic concert.

I’m talking about a flowing, iridescent violet gown that shimmered with aqua highlights. But it was forgotten the moment the 20-year-old Yang tore into Prokofiev’s brilliant and sarcastic Piano Concerto No. 3. It’s clear that she’s one of the most talented young pianists in the world.

It’s basically a given that today’s virtuoso pianists will play all the right notes. Yang did that, but she did much more. Physically, she’s a picture of confident relaxation, attacking the concerto’s wide leaps as though they were fun. (They make most pianists’ blood run cold.) Musically, she’s a natural, with a strong sense of rhythm and the ability to make every phrase leap off the page. Her sound is exquisite: In loud passages, Prokofiev’s often-dissonant chords were never just clumps of notes, but had definition. In soft passages, she had the courage to whisper, and even drift off into a reverie — but a reverie so musically compelling that the audience followed her wherever she went.

The relationship between Yang and conductor Lawrence Leighton Smith seemed happy — but as good as the orchestra’s contribution was, it couldn’t match Yang’s sheer bounce and crispness.

Announcing that we’d had enough sarcasm for one night, Yang changed the mood with her encore, Chopin’s ultra-lyrical “Andante spianato.” This was as sensitive as the Prokofiev was energetic, and in the chorale near the end, Yang made us forget the piano had hammers. The piece would have benefited from a more improvisational approach, though — though the rhythmic nuances were convincing, they were also duplicated too perfectly when the music repeated, which made them sound contrived.

Amazingly, Yang may not have provided the evening’s musical highlight. In the program’s closer — Dvorak’s rarely played Symphony No. 6 — the philharmonic played as well as it ever has.

Dvorak was out to impress his audience in this sprawling symphony, and he still succeeds. The catchy, simple themes are developed with enormous sophistication and imagination. The symphony evokes a feeling of communing with nature — sometimes a bucolic, dreamy nature, as in the second movement, and sometimes a furious storm, as in the third.

With three trombones and a tuba, the work shows off the philharmonic’s excellent low brass section. It also makes demands at the upper register, with a nice solo for piccolo player Susan Kerbs Townsend and some unusually high violin writing, which the section handled well.

But it was the ensemble playing that was most impressive. Effects such as the broadening of the tempo leading into the first movement’s climax usually belong in the realm of great orchestras, not good ones. It’s a testament to the orchestra’s progress that such moments are no longer surprising.

The philharmonic gave a hint of what was to come in the curtain-raiser, Cherubini’s Overture in G minor. In the solemn introduction — which has more than a faint echo of Beethoven — the violins played not just with perfect unanimity, but with a quiet focus and intensity that grabbed the listener’s attention. The allegro is less musically distinguished, but the orchestra captured its passion and vitality.

As at the previous concert, Smith announced a matching grant from stalwart philharmonic supporter Judy Fair-Spaulding: She will match up to $25,000 in contributions from new donors. Learn more here.

The Colorado Springs Philharmonic with pianist Joyce Yang
When: 2:30 p.m. Sunday
Where: Pikes Peak Center, 190 S. Cascade Ave.
Tickets: $12- $50; 520-7469

Be on the Lookout ...

2007-02-21T21:57:00.000-08:00

Here are photos of two of the four paintings that were stolen from the Antlers Hilton — Jill Spear's "Crystal Autumn" (38 x 30 inches) and Chris Alvarez's "Midnight Apple" (11 x 14 inches). Click on them to see larger versions.

I'll post photos of the other two paintings when the artists supply them.

Scandal!

2007-02-16T08:53:00.000-08:00

This has nothing to do with Colorado Springs, but since we pianists get so few scandals, and this one is so juicy, I can't resist posting this link.

It's about recently deceased British pianist Joyce Hatto, who became something of a cult figure in her latter years due to an immense volume of wonderful recordings of transcendentally difficult music, including Leopold Godowsky's "Studies on the Chopin Etudes."

The only problem is, it appears that many - nobody knows yet how many - of these recordings were by different pianists.

More info here.

Wikipedia is also on top of this story.

The Civilians at Colorado College

2007-02-13T14:47:00.000-08:00

By Warren Epstein

The Civilians didn’t save our city.

But their show, “Save This City” performed last weekend at Colorado College’s Armstrong Hall, did capture the essence of Colorado Springs’ religious community with a passion and immediacy that other media haven’t been able to match.

The acclaimed troupe from New York and CC drama students transformed dozens of interviews into a series of monologues, dialogues and musical numbers. I got the sense that each of the portrayals was performed with sincerity and empathy, making this not a spoof of the evanglical movement but an honest portrait.

This is documentary theater, done on the fly, but with flourish and charisma. None of the characters are named, but you can figure most of them out.

Among the highlights were a monologue with a man who had to be Marcus Haggard, Ted Haggard’s son, discussing his father’s fall, and Bishop Michael Sheridan, head of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Colorado Springs.

His talk about following God’s will instead of your own was turned into a haunting production number called “Do What You Ought.”

During the Q&A last Friday, a liberal member of the community criticized the show for being too sympathetic to the evangelical community.

She argued that she'd seen the ugly part of that community, a side that didn't make this show.

That may be so, but I think there may be some resentment about seeing an alternate point of view as yours portrayed in such a sympathetic way.

A friend complained that the show didn't portray the true scope of our community. After all, we're a city with a church attendance that's actually lower than the national average. The truth is a complicated picture.

But I don't think that was what The Civilians wanted to do. They weren't doing a portrait of our community as much as they were examining the evangelical movement as seen through the lens of our community.

The show will next go to New York, where it will be refined and reshaped and, ultimately, put on the road.

We'll keep you updated about plans to bring it back here.

Songwriter Legends Charm

2007-02-13T14:43:00.000-08:00

By Warren Epstein

Guy Clark, Joe Ely and John Hiatt walked onto the Pikes Peak Center stage carrying their guitars.

Lyle Lovett followed, with a coffee cup ... and his hair.

What a bizarre and wonderful concert this was: four sing-songwriting legends, each attracting devoted fans who came just for him.

Thursday night (Feb. 8), these disparate performers took turns, song-circle-style, transporting the sold-out crowd far from the concert hall.

One moment we were around a cowboy’s campfire. The next we were in a Texas roadhouse. The next, we were cruising down an open country road.

Lovett was probably the biggest draw. But like the others, he ignored the vast majority of hits (“Which Way Does That Old Pony Run” was probably his more popular selection of the night).

Instead, all dug into their more obscure tunes.

Instead of it being one of those sing-along concerts with your favorite artists, it was a night of musical storytelling, discovery and quiet listening.

Clark set the informal tone for the night, saying, “We have no set list. No agenda. We have no clue. And we have no fear.”

They played off one-another — Hiatt doing a song about cars (“Thunderbird”), after which Lovett said he felt obligated to do another car-related song, and then Clark picked up the theme of South Texas women from Lovett’s song, and so on.

Lovett’s throat sounded a bit sore, but it only added more tortured sweetness to his voice, which sounds like the soul of Texas distilled in a whisky bottle.

Hiatt followed, his otherworldy voice folding around upbeat tunes (“Drive South” was a highlight) that had the audience doing more than a bit of toe tapping.

Ely added a fiery intensity to the mix, like a young Johnny Cash, powered by Bruce Springsteen’s vigor.

Relaxing with the Philharmonic

2007-02-10T22:33:00.000-08:00

This weekend’s Colorado Springs Philharmonic concert is balm for hearts that are tired of winter.

The program of two Bach Brandenburg Concertos and Brahms’ Serenade No. 2 for Small Orchestra isn’t the season’s deepest music, its most uplifting, or its most exotic. It’s simply very beautiful and extraordinarily pleasant, and the smaller-than-usual ensemble performs it with flair and style.

Well, maybe not always with style, though the liberties conductor Lawrence Leighton Smith takes with Bach never do harm to the music. The dynamics ebbed and flowed on Saturday night, and the small rhythmic adjustments helped the musical structure emerge out of Bach’s nearly seamless textures. It’s arguably anachronistic, but it helped blow the dust off pieces that, for many classical music lovers, have been dulled by familiarity.

In Brandenburg Concerto No. 3, a dozen string players and a harpsichordist got a satisfyingly rich sound, due partly to Bach’s intricate writing and partly to First United Methodist Church’s friendly acoustics. The concerto is a joyful affair: The strong dance rhythms sweep you along, and Bach’s inventiveness never flags as the musicians pass around the short motives.

Smith’s innovation was his addition of a slow movement to the concerto. Bach wrote only a brief transitional phrase between the two fast movements; Smith expanded on this by adding some more Bach — a transposed portion of the E-flat minor Prelude from Book 1 of the Well-Tempered Clavier. It was a lovely touch that gave the audience a welcome opportunity to catch its breath.

In the larger and even better-known Brandenburg Concerto No. 5, Bach augments the string orchestra with solo parts for violin, flute and harpsichord — performed here by Michael Hanson, Paul Nagem and Kelly McSweeney Zuercher, respectively.

The same imitative writing that works so well for ensembles poses a challenge to soloists: They could easily be reduced to mere cogs in a machine. Hanson, Nagem and Zuercher avoided this pitfall by each retaining an individual presence. Hanson’s lively playing pleasantly contrasted with Nagem’s smoother approach, and both complemented Zuercher’s more dramatic style. They even played different ornaments.

As good as Nagem and Hanson were, they were overshadowed by Zuercher, who brought marvelous intensity to the first movement’s famous cadenza. Since the harpsichord is incapable of the sorts of dynamic transitions pianists take for granted, Zuercher accomplished this almost entirely through rhythm. I wanted to applaud before the movement ended.

After the small group that performed Brandenburg Concerto No. 3, the not-so-small group in the Brandenburg Concerto No. 5 sounded impressive indeed. And after that, the small orchestra Brahms calls for in his Serenade — 29 players, I think — seemed almost ear-splitting, despite the absence of trumpets, percussion, or even violins.

This piece shows Brahms in a relaxed and usually genial mood. (He’s still super-smart, though — keep an ear out for the finale’s canon in thirds.) The orchestration is warm and mellow. The highlight is the hypnotic slow movement, a sad song too beautiful to end.

Nearly all the woodwind and French horn players get a chance to shine in this piece. But the first oboe is especially important, and Guy Dutra-Silveira always did the music proud.

The concert’s only disappointing aspect was the size of the crowd: It didn’t come close to filling First United Methodist Church. When people won’t fill a hall for a program like this — gorgeous music, inexpensive tickets, an accessible venue with fine acoustics, topped off with the first decent weather in weeks — it may be time to worry about the future of professional symphonic music in Colorado Springs.

The program will be repeated at 2:30 p.m. today (Sunday, Feb. 11) at First United Methodist Church, 420 N. Nevada Avenue. Tickets are $20, available at the door or by calling 520-7469. For more information visit the philharmonic’s website.

The Philharmonic Performs Sibelius

2007-02-05T11:34:00.000-08:00

[Cross-posted from Gazette.com. I'm going to cross-post all online-only reviews here because, heck, why not?]

The Colorado Springs Philharmonic’s program this weekend [January 24-25] is a little like the story of Goldilocks: There’s plenty of sound but not enough music in Glen Cortese’s “Garden of the Gods,” and plenty of music but not enough sound in Vivaldi’s “The Four Seasons.”

But in Sibelius’ Symphony No. 5, the philharmonic and conductor Lawrence Leighton Smith got it just right on Saturday night.

Cortese — Smith’s first conducting student — was on hand to conduct the premier of “Garden of the Gods.” While the piece is appealing, it never gets far away enough from its roots in Aaron Copland to be really interesting. Like Copland, Cortese is most convincing in slow music like this piece’s outer sections. These convey a solemn, spiritual mood. The fast middle section sounds like the accompaniment to a movie chase scene.

“Garden of the Gods” makes much of its effect through its brilliant orchestration. The orchestra glitters and shimmers, and there’s always a sense of depth and space in the sound. Cortese is a professional conductor, and has the sort of instrumental knowledge that few outside his profession possess.

Cortese dedicated the piece to Smith and the philharmonic, and the orchestra rewarded his gesture with a beautifully polished performance. Though Cortese’s ear for instrumental balances is excellent, he lacks his teacher’s grasp of large structures: “Garden of the Gods” eventually lost momentum due to being too loud for too long, and by the end, I just wanted the orchestra to stop yelling at me.

Ideally, Vivaldi’s “The Seasons” — a set of four short violin concertos — would be heard in a smaller hall than the Pikes Peak Center. Not only is the string orchestra small, but Vivaldi uses it sparingly. The thin sound gradually numbed the ear.

Fortunately, soloist Michael Hanson’s tone is large enough to fill the space, and silky enough to keep a listener’s attention.

While there was nothing noticeably lacking in the first two concertos, Hanson improved as he warmed up; his rhythms became snappier and the phrases more artfully shaped. The final concerto — “Winter” — was the best of all, earning Hanson an enthusiastic standing ovation from the large audience.

The orchestra performed with propulsive sense of rhythm and about as wide a dynamic range as you could get from such a small ensemble.

Sibelius may be the composer most shaped by his homeland’s climate. The Finnish composer’s music is quintessentially arctic, with a brooding quality that reflects the country’s endless and frigid winter nights.

That’s most apparent in the second of this symphony’s three movements. It’s poised somewhere between a slow, courtly dance and an obsession.

But there’s plenty of brooding in the outer movements as well, where everything is not just thought out, but often over-thought out. Part of this symphony’s character stems from the audible conflict between its composer’s natural talent and his self-doubts. Though the symphony begins in a tranquil mood and ends in brassy triumph, the road between is anything but smooth.

Even Sibelius’ most coherent pieces contain sphinx-like moments when it’s just hard to figure out what he’s trying to say. What made this performance so remarkable was how few such moments it contained, because Smith had such a firm grasp of the architecture: If we weren’t always quite sure where we were, there was never any doubt where we were going.

Highlights included Clark Wilson in the first movement’s eerie bassoon solo, and the entire string section in the short, gasping phrases that contribute so much to the symphony’s enigmatic mood.

The performance was thrilling, but the faultless overall shape and color couldn’t hide signs that the symphony was under-rehearsed — probably in deference to Cortese’s piece. There were more problems of intonation than is usual for the philharmonic.

Take that, Kenny G

2007-01-31T04:33:00.000-08:00

By WARREN EPSTEIN

Mix the playful spontaneity of Grammy-winning jazz flutist Dave Valentin with the rocking ferocity of Denver-based Dostero and you don’t get a concert. You get a musical event.

A fund-raiser for FutureSelf, the romping annual Valentin visitation on Saturday made us wish we weren’t sitting at tables in the Antlers Hiton ballroom but dancing in a soulful jazz club. The mostly improvised tunes, with Valentin scatting into his flute and the Dotsero dudes playing jazz on the wild side, had us swaying in our seats.

Students from The Conservatory also jammed with Valentin; they were fearless in performing their amazing solos.

Valentin closed the show with this advice to the kids: “Don’t listen to Kenny G. It’ll give you acne!”

After the concert, we caught up with Valentin at the Northside home of Fred Whitacre, the jazz fanatic who annually kidnaps Valentin and somehow gets him to play for us.

As if schmoozing with a Grammy winner weren’t enough ... None other than “NYPD Blue” actor Esai Morales, who had been at the Hispanic Chamber Gala at the Sheraton, strolled in and hugged Valentin.

“How do you guys know each other?” we asked.

They looked quizically at one-another, then shrugged.

They both live in New York City and have known each other for years, but neither remembers how they met.

Strange? Not as strange as two of the most famous visitors to the Springs both ending up at the same party.

In Memoriam Doug Wilson

2007-01-24T21:03:00.000-08:00

Doug Wilson, who died suddenly last week at the age of 53, was one of the finest people I've had the privilege of knowing.

Since this is an arts blog, I should mention that Doug left his mark on the area’s performing arts. A fair number of local musicians made recordings at Acoustic Projections, the studio in his Black Forest geodesic dome. For a couple of years, he did the live recordings of the Colorado Springs Symphony. He did acoustic analysis of numerous buildings in the area.

But I’m writing about Doug because he deeply influenced me, and because I loved him. There’s the matter of my job: Without the experience of writing 100 episodes of “The Golden Age of Pianism” for KCME back in the late 1980s, I don’t know whether I would have bothered to apply for the position as the Gazette’s classical music critic, much less been hired. Doug produced that show, and it almost goes without saying that he didn’t charge me for his time.

His influence on my creative development was just as crucial: In the days before anybody with a computer and a MIDI keyboard could record music, I learned how to arrange and orchestrate songs in Doug’s studio. As an engineer, he was an amazingly resourceful combination of high-tech and low-tech. When I said I wanted my voice to sound like it was coming through a tube, Doug handed me a tube. When I wanted percussion sound like a door slamming, Doug set up a microphone by his door.

(To me, the greatest example of Doug’s resourcefulness was the time he designed and built a printed circuit-board — in his house.)

But as impressive as Doug’s skill and intelligence were, they were overshadowed by his character. He was both one of the most idealistic people I ever knew, and one of the most pragmatic, with a work ethic I can only envy. More than once over the past few years, as Lauren and I have started embracing a lower-energy-consumption lifestyle, I’ve realized that Doug had already done the same thing, or a lot more. We got a Toyota Prius; Doug had an electric car. We cut down on red meat; Doug ate almost none. We got a super-efficient dual-flush toilet; Doug had no toilet at all. (Lauren used to joke that he was a bathroom away from being the perfect guy.)

Of course, a major reason I had to have these realizations was that no one could have been less self-righteous about his virtuousness. All Doug did was set an example.

Thanks for everything, Doug. I’ll miss you.

Atomic Elroy has a tribute to Doug at his blog.

Bill Bowers at the Manitou Art Theater

2007-01-19T11:39:00.001-08:00

A one-person autobiographical show is a tough sell if its subject is anything less than a household name.

But any shred of curiosity you feel will be rewarded a thousand-fold by Bill Bowers’ hilarious and poignant “It Goes Without Saying,” currently being produced at the Manitou Art Theater. I left the 80-minute show feeling as though I knew the acclaimed mime personally — and wishing I’d gotten to know him sooner.

There are three reasons for this. First, the diminutive Bowers is one of those bigger-than-life personalities whose aura you simply want to bask in: His energy seems boundless; his smile seems lit from within. Second, he’s a world-class performer, in whom tremendous physical discipline coexists with a total lack of inhibition. Finally, Bowers’ life — at least in the form it takes here — has had the kind of narrative thread that the more aimless among us are forced to admire even as we envy.

Only the first and last segments of “It Goes Without Saying” are silent, and both are symbolic. In the first, the series of invisible doors and windows he must navigate to reach the audience foreshadows the coming story's twists and turns. This is classic mime technique made artful by Bowers’ skill.

In the show’s last segment, the classic technique is expanded to tell a magical tale of a Montana farmer and the moon that has been Bowers’ spiritual companion since childhood. This was one of the highlights of “Under a Montana Moon,“ Bowers’ previous show at the Manitou Art Theater, but it’s even more beautiful when we have a deeper understanding of its creator.

In between, Bowers proves himself to be a skillful speaker as well — though movement is an integral part of every sketch.

The early sketches revolve around his Montana childhood. Silence came naturally to Bowers: “”I have been a mime since before I knew there was a word ‘mime,’” he says. The Montana of his youth was even emptier and quieter than the Montana of today. His father, who was probably clinically depressed, “could go for days without saying a word.”

Among the highlights here are his love of Barbie dolls and his discovery of high school drama club, “which I like to think of as gay Head Start.”

Like many gay actors, Bowers ends up in New York. He talks about his numerous appearances on “All My Children,” beginning with “the faceless creature in Dixie’s nightmare,” to seven years touring the country in rented cars as Slim Goodbody, America’s Health Hero, to two years as Zazu in the Broadway production of “The Lion King” — “I’m spray-painted blue and I have a bird stapled to my head” — which come to an abrupt end when one day when, as he puts it, “my hands explode.”

What anchors the humor is the nearness of pathos, as in a skit that begins with a young Bowers pretending to be figure skater Peggy Fleming and ends at his grandmother’s funeral. The most touching, even harrowing, segment is Bowers’ recounting of his partner Michael’s death from AIDS — but even here, Bowers never loses sight of comedy, as in his description of Michael’s four-foot-tall German mother, “straight from the Third Reich. … Inga mostly sits by the window, smoking and hating my guts.”

(Honest, it’s funny the way Bowers tells it.)

Connecting the segments are several recurring images, including the moon, the Heyokah — a type of Native American shaman — and the Trail of Tears, the infamous Nez Perce winter trek that passed through the area that would become Bowers’ boyhood home.

“It Goes Without Saying” is a unique and remarkable evening of theater.

Bowers will repeat the show today and Saturday at 8 p.m. Tickets are $15. He will also present a workshop in physical theater Saturday from 10:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m. Workshop tickets are $25. All events are at Venue 515 at the Business of Art Center, 515 Manitou Avenue. Call 684-4729 or click here for more information.

Turned Away

2007-01-19T09:19:00.000-08:00

I'd intended to blog about the Metropolitan Opera's broadcast of Tan Dun's "The First Emperor" at Tinseltown — but alas, Saturday's broadcast was sold out, and Lauren and I were turned away at the door.

On one level, that was irritating, because I really wanted to see the opera (the Met isn't exactly known for producing world premiers) and because we had to overcome a lot of psychological inertia just to get out of the house voluntarily when the temperature was nine degrees. But it was also gratifying to know such an event, with a completely unknown opera, could sell out here, even in one of Tinseltown's smaller theaters.

We've learned our lesson: Next time we buy tickets in advance.

The December 30 broadcast of Mozart's "The Magic Flute" also sold out at Tinseltown, and at enough other locations around the world that the performance will be re-broadcast at 5:30 p.m. on Tuesday, January 23rd. However, from the listing of theaters here, it doesn't appear Tinseltown is taking part in this broadcast. The only Colorado theater listed is Colorado Mills Stadium 16 at 14500 W. Colfax Avenue, Suite 600, in Lakewood.

More on the Met Opera Broadcast

2007-01-11T15:51:00.000-08:00

[Friday’s “Go!” will contain a the short review of Saturday’s Metropolitan Opera’s live broadcast. Here’s more about the experience.]

My first pleasant surprise at the Metropolitan Opera broadcast of “I Puritani” occurred even before I sat down: It was the difficulty my wife and I had finding a place to sit down.

Though not sold out as the previous week’s “Magic Flute” had been, Tinseltown’s theater No. 2 was basically packed, without two seats together between the two front rows and the last row. The Met seemes to have scored a bull’s-eye regarding the willingness of audiences to sit in a movie theater to watch live opera broadcasts.

Aside from a couple of early burps, the sound was strong and vivid. The high overtones that make a human voice ring were clearly audible, and the imaging was good — you could your eyes and hear the physical proximity of one character to another. There was plenty of variety of the camerawork — there are at least 10 cameras for each broadcast — and the chosen angles were mostly satisfying and occasionally inspired: For instance, at one moment in Act 1, a from-behind view highlighted the interplay between baritone Franco Vassallo and conductor Patrick Summers during a lovely rubato. I could quibble about some of the close-ups during choruses and ensembles, but it would be mere quibbling.

The non-music extras were mostly well-conceived. Beverly Sills was a perfect choice as commentator: She not only has the instant credibility of having been one of the greatest singers of this repertoire; she’s also a charming and articulate advocate, who helped illuminate what’s best about Bellini’s score without trying to gloss over the story’s inherent weakness — or, as she put it, “This whole opera is kinda nutty.”

Renee Fleming seemed out of place as the production’s equivalent of the sideline reporter. When Fleming asked soprano Anna Netrebko how she felt after singing Act 2’s monumental mad scene, it sounded just as stupid as it has every other time a sideline reporter has asked that question. (Though the iridescent Netrebko managed to sound charming with her response — “Tired, thank you.”) I expect Fleming to make a more positive impression as a singer in February’s “Eugene Onegin.”

There was also a brief feature on Netrebko, one on mad scenes in opera — hearing such sopranos as Sills and Sutherland only intensified the impression that Netrebko’s voice is pure but relatively bland — and even the operatic equivalent of a trailer: a preview of Saturday’s opera, Tan Dun’s “The First Emperor.”

The experience wasn’t perfect. The Met had a countdown during the final ten minutes of each intermission — an excellent idea, but one that doesn’t help you if you leave the theater to get food etc. before the countdown begins. And the 11:30 a.m. starting time forces you either to eat a very early lunch or to rely on Tinseltown’s concession stand, which is not exactly cuisine of operatic grandeur.

But the amazing thing is how many things went right in a new and fairly experimental venture.

There’s only one potential downside to this new era in opera broadcasts: It could conceivably decrease the audience for live opera productions in some of the cities that host the broadcasts. Some people may choose to support a great broadcast production instead of a good-to-excellent live production.

But I doubt that this will happen. First, neither the sound nor the overall feeling of the broadcast actually matched a live performance. Second, there’s the nature of the Met productions. I didn’t hear nearly enough opera when I lived in New York, but this “I Puritani” production was typical of what I remember: Some great singers in the principal roles, coupled with boring direction. The opening scene, for instance, in which the chorus members stood like statues while Bellini’s lively music danced around them, bordered on ludicrous. So on an overall artistic level, competing with the Met is by no means impossible for smaller companies, provided they have some imagination.

See you Saturday — weather permitting.

NY Times review of opening night

Philadelphia Enquirer review of the broadcast

Congratulations to the Rep

2007-01-05T11:32:00.000-08:00

The Rep - the Fine Arts Center's performing arts department - won two of the Denver Post's 2006 "Ovation" awards, given to the region's best theater productions.

"The Pirates of Penzance" won the award for Best Musical, and Chris Sheley, the show's set designer, won the award for best set design. It may have been his unforgettable electric-powered pirate ship that put him over the top.

In the reader's choices, "The Pirates of Penzance" finished third, behind Score Marketing's "Urinetown" and Creede Rep's "Sweeney Todd." In the Best Actress in a Musical category, Amy Sue Hardy finished fourth for her performance as Mabel in "The Pirates of Penzance."

Buntport Theater's "Something Is Rotten," which was produced here by TheatreWorks in October, won the award for Best Comedy.

Complete results here.

Cancellations

2006-12-21T10:54:00.000-08:00

The Marie Osmond concert at the Pikes Peak Center is cancelled tonight (Thursday), as are all performances at the Denver Center for the Performing Arts.

More information for ticketholders, through the miracle of block and copy:

Matinee and evening performances of All Shook Up, along with evening performances of Second City’s How I Lost My Denverginity, A Christmas Carol and Season’s Greetings have all been cancelled. The Denver Center Box Office is closed today as are all DCPA offices. Patrons holding tickets for cancelled performances should call the Denver Center Ticket Services on FRIDAY from 10am – 6pm for exchange information – 303 893-4100.

All Shook Up has added a performance on Monday, December 25 at 8pm in the Buell Theatre.

At this time scheduled performances on Friday, December 22 will go on as planned.

And from the Pikes Peak Center:

The Pikes Peak Center would be happy to exchange Marie Osmond tickets for gift certificates that may be used toward other concerts at the World Arena or Pikes Peak Center or assist guests in selecting tickets for a different concert.

If tickets were purchased at the Pikes Peak Center Box Office or a TicketsWest outlet, refunds will be made available beginning on Monday, Dec. 18th at noon at the location at which tickets were purchased.
Individuals who purchased tickets via phone or Internet, may mail or bring their tickets to the Pikes Peak Center Box Office for refunds. The box office is located at 190 S. Cascade, Colorado Springs, CO 80903.

Amy Sue Hardy Nominated for Ovation Award

2006-12-20T18:58:00.000-08:00

As a rule, I try not to hold opinions on topics about which I'm basically ignorant — but this month I’m making an exception. The Denver Post is soliciting reader votes for its annual Ovation Awards (which honor the best theater in Denver and the region) and I’m voting for best actress in a musical even though I saw only one of the nominated performers.

The reason? The actress is Amy Sue Hardy for her performance in the Rep’s production of “The Pirates of Penzance.”

With a theater scene anchored by the Denver Center for the Performing Arts, Denver has become one of the best theater cities in the country. Just getting nominated is an honor for Amy Sue, especially when you consider that the other two of Denver's three equity companies — the Arvada Center and Country Dinner Playhouse — specialize in musicals. There was serious professional competition.

I’m justifying my action with a pair of rationalizations:

Even though I didn’t see any of the other nominated actresses, it’s a safe bet that few Denverites saw Amy Sue's performance. So my ignorant advocacy actually helps right a wrong.
I’ve seen a lot of musicals over the years, and Amy Sue’s performance — a mesmerizing mix of virtuosity and charm — was easily among the best. It's unlikely any of the other nominated performers were better.

So at least this once I’m going to be a crass provincial chauvinist. Please join me.

The Ovation Awards will be announced on December 31. Here's the link to the reader's choice awards, and here is John Moore's story on the Ovation Awards.

The Back Row at Colorado College

2006-12-19T19:06:00.000-08:00

(From Warren Epstein, Gazette A&E editor:)

The Back Row, Colorado College's male a capella group, answered one of those vexing musical questions last weekend at Armstrong Hall.

When Meatloaf sang, "I would do anything for love, but I won't do that," what the heck was he talking about?

During a performance of the song, the group showed slides of the boys doing various domestic chores ... cooking, scrubbing toilets.

It was one of many funny visual punchlines in a concert loaded with hilarious gags and videos, fun pop tunes, serious vocals and the kind of sexually charged crowd that greeted The Beatles when they landed in America. (Only these girls were more aggressive and more explicit about their intentions.)

One the things I love about Back Row is that it makes each member into a local superstar. Some of the guys, particularly one who's a quarterback on the football team, would be cool anyway. But for others, it's a nifty back door to cooldom.

The official Back Row site. You can order copies of the group's "Unleash the Periscope" there.

Review by Contemporary A Cappella Society

Best of College A Cappella 2007 selections announced

The BOCA 2007 CD will be released in February. Pre-ordering info (or you can order individual MP3s now).

Colorado Festival of World Theatre

2006-12-15T08:23:00.000-08:00

Rumors have been flying ever since the Colorado Festival of World Theatre released executive director John Sheehan in September. Last night the festival organizers clarified the festival's situation - in a rather amazing way.

It's even more amazing considering the facts as September: Though the 2006 festival had sold 30 percent more tickets and cost $500,000 less than the 2005 festival, it had nevertheless run a deficit. The board had voted to suspend operations immediately.

I'll have the full story in the Gazette next week, but in brief the current situation is this:

There will be a festival in 2007, roughly equal in size to the 2006 festival.
The festival will take place Sept. 20-30, two months later than this year's festival.
The theme will be musical theater. The festival will feature the first American performance of "Truth in Translation" — a new South African musical by Michael Lessac and Hugh Masekela — the Ravinia production of Stephen Sondheim's "Sunday in the Park with George" (probably), and other works.
The festival will partner with local and regional organizations: Colorado College, TheatreWorks, the Fine Arts Center, the Manitou Art Theater, and the Denver Center for the Performing Arts.

The partnerships enable the CFWT to concentrate its resources on bringing in world-class productions without having to keep a technical staff on hand. The local organizations also benefit, according to TheatreWorks artistic director Murray Ross and Colorado College drama professor Tom Lindblade. "We get a little money, which is something we always need," said Ross; Lindblade spoke about the educational opportunities, including ways that the festival could be incorporated into the college's curriculum.

At a reception last night honoring festival supporters, both Lindblade and Ross opined that this was the direction they had hoped the CFWT would take from the very beginning. As Lindblade put it, when Suzy Bassani — the festival's artistic director and producer — approached him about a collaboration, "my first word was 'yes.'"

The new festival structure may result in that rarest of occurences: A win-win-win situation, one that benefits the festival, the partnering organizations, and the community. (Though I am still broken-hearted that the fabulously gifted Sheehan is gone. Not only was he a great ambassador for the festival, he was just a lot of fun to talk with.)

Stay tuned for the full season schedule, which will be released April 4.

Vinyl Records for Sale

2006-12-14T13:13:00.000-08:00

Everyone in the arts community knows David Sckolnik as a tireless arts promoter. Not everyone knows he may also be the region's most avid collector of LPs. (The "may be" is simply a weasel term: I'm not aware of anyone whose record collection approaches Sckolnik's in size.)

He's trying to shrink it a little: Starting today and continuing through Saturday, Sckolnik is offering over 8,000 LPs for sale. Most are fifty cents or a dollar. All styles of music are represented - at least, all styles that existed during the LP era, which began in 1948 and was the dominant format for music from the early 1950s until the late 1980s - but the classical selection is especially impressive.

Hours are until midnight today (Thursday); 9 a.m.-2 p.m. Friday; and 5 p.m.-midnight Saturday. For directions, call 633-9373, 649-8993 or email alacarteproductions@msn.com.

"Wonderland" at New Life Church

2006-12-12T14:31:00.000-08:00

THIS REVIEW COMES COURTESY OF CARY LEIDER-VOGRIN, A REPORTER IN OUR METRO DEPARTMENT ...

The last five minutes of “Wonderland,” the Christmas production at New Life Church, are alone worth the price of admission.

Nope, you don’t have to be a New Lifer to enjoy the show. You don’t even have to be religious, although, of course, the underlying message of the show certainly is about religion.

Wonderland has tap dancing, swing dancing, line dancing and ballroom dancing. There is also ice-skating, fog and 30-foot fountains. Then there’s that spectacular ending — a “Little Drummer Boy” segment that’s not at all what one would expect.

“I’m passionate about it being as good as anything else they can see in town,” said producer John Bolin.

No doubt about it, the 14,000-member church has large talent pool from which to draw. The script for the program was written in August, and rehearsals began in September, Bolin said.

About 700 people are involved in this year’s production: a 300-member cast, 300-person choir, 50-person crew and 52-piece orchestra. The only ones being paid are the musicians, some of whom are church members, Bolin said.

“Every year we try to spice it up. I think Christian entertainment sometimes get a bad rap. It kind of breaks people’s preconceived ideas of what to expect in a church.”

Bolin bills Wonderland as half fun for the family and half the story of the manger and Christmas.

“We want it to be a lot of fun, for people who aren’t really religious,” he said, but added: “We do it because we feel compelled to communicate the message of the Gospel to our city and give them hope at Christmastime.”

Bolin estimates between 20,000-25,000 people will see the show — not enough to cover production costs.

“We have yet in the history of the church broken even in a Christmas production,” he said.

Of course, anyone going to Wonderland would be naive to think it wouldn’t be somewhat churchy. And that drum segment? It doesn’t come until after a 10-minute-or-so sermon about hope from Pastor Ross Parsley. But you can walk away from Wonderland with whatever you want: the message New Life seeks to spread or the thought that hey, that was fun, the technical aspects were really good and there’s some very talented people in the city.

“Wonderland” is halfway through its run, with four more shows this week. For tickets: www.newlifechurch.org

And no, there was no mention of Pastor Ted Haggard. The show must go on.

Breath Mints

2006-12-10T21:25:00.000-08:00

The Pikes Peak Center and Broadway Across America hosted a little schmoozefest on Wednesday at McCabe’s. It wasn’t an arm-twisting affair, consisting mostly of video of talking heads praising the shows.

The coming season looks good, considering what’s touring these days: “Mamma Mia,” Ted Neeley’s farewell tour of “Jesus Christ Superstar,” “Aida,” and “The Producers,” which was on last season’s schedule but got postponed because the tour was shut down when the movie went into production. (The season opener, “Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat” — a show I fervently hope never to have to see again — has already come and gone.)

It will be interesting to see how elaborate “Aida” and “The Producers” are — the versions that appeared at the Denver Center were among the most opulent roadshows I’ve ever seen.

There was also a small goodie bag, containing such trinkets as a “Producers” calculator and a few songs from “Mamma Mia.” My favorite was a package of “Aida” breath mints. In both Verdi’s opera and Disney’s musical, the fate of Aida and Radames is to be sealed alive in an airtight crypt. There's something perversely amusing about the juxtaposition of hideous death by suffocation and breath mints.

Bill Hyer at Artists' Lair

2006-12-01T10:10:00.000-08:00

I meant to do a full preview of Bill Hyer, but didn't get around to it with the Thanksgiving in-laws, etc. But I want to get a plug in for one of the region's most compelling abstract painters. You can lose yourself in the richness of the color and the rhythm of the highly textured brushstrokes. The accompanying picture of "Joy" is good (I swiped it from the invitation), but it doesn't give a sense of the work's size or vibrancy.

Hyer often hides images in his work, though to be honest I've almost never been able to find them. I'm not sure it matters.

The exhibit will be up through January 10. The Artists' Lair is located at 2766 Janitell Road; regular hours are 10 a.m.-5:30 p.m. Monday-Saturday; call 576-5247 for more information.

Poets at Smokebrush

2006-12-01T08:04:00.000-08:00

The last time I went to a poetry reading was in a previous lifetime, so Tuesday's event at the Smokebrush Foundation was an extra-pleasant surprise for me. The contrast of Malcolm McCollum and Jim Ciletti was extremely effective: McCollum's work is ironic social commentary, while Ciletti's is disarmingly personal. The effect was of spending some quality time with a couple of friends you just hadn't gotten around to meeting yet.

Not even the finest surround-sound home entertainment system can produce this sort of personal effect. But the various home entertainment systems are what the performing arts, and even movie theaters, are up against. For many people, the convenience of staying home outweighs the comparative emotional poverty of the aesthetic experience. (A couple of years ago some marketing expert was quoted to the effect that "Americans will go to any lengths for convenience," apparently without any ironic intent.)

Of course, this trend isn't new. It dates back to the rise of the player piano in the late 19th Century — the first machine that made it possible for a middle-class family to regularly experience music without either going out to hear it or making it themselves. The introduction of commercial radio in 1920 hugely accelerated the trend towards home entertainment: When I first met my wife's aunt, and told her I was a pianist, her reply was, "Oh, when I was a little girl, I was going to learn to play the piano, but then my parents got a radio and I didn't have to. (Italics added.) Interestingly, one of McCollum's poems addressed the growing trend towards pre-digested entertainment, and he remarked how unfortunate it was that the poem was even more relevant now than when he wrote it in the 1970s.

The crowd wasn't huge, but it at least fulfilled optimistic expectations — the folding chairs were almost all filled.

Philharmonic Detour

2006-11-19T09:03:00.000-08:00

If you were guided here by the Colorado Springs Philharmonic program: Welcome, and I hope you'll return regularly. But this blog isn't the usual place for philharmonic reviews. They will be found at the Gazette's main site at www.gazette.com. You'll find the review here.

(It's true that the review of the last concert — Shostakovich's Symphony No. 10 and Grieg's Piano Concerto — is here at the blog, but that was due to my error.)

Arts Overload (well, almost)

2006-11-16T23:19:00.000-08:00

With the holiday arts season upon us, this weekend is as packed with intriguing arts events as any I can remember. Just a few highlights:

Through Saturday, the Manitou Art Theater presents spousal comedians Hannah Rockey and Jeff Harms in a new piece, “Tangled up in You.” Both are outstanding comedians with distinctily different styles. Rockey is a master of dialects and accents who brings her evangelism into her work in a way that's unusual, at least among comedians who are really funny. Harms is a more conventional stand-up comic, but he's one of the best.

Is potica an art? It is in Pueblo, where Italian families have made the traditional rolled sweetbread for generations. The John Deaux Gallery hosts its 6th Annual Potica Fest, 5-9 p.m. Friday at 221 S. Union Blvd. (719-545-8407). Then head next door for the opening of the annual exhibit of Palekh boxes (amazingly painted Russian folk art) at Nemick & Thompson gallery — 5-9 p.m. Friday and 10 a.m.-2 p.m Saturday (719-545-8933). If you want to combine this with a visit to the Sangre de Cristo Arts Center for the “Own Your Own” art sale — the region’s hugest holiday art show — keep in mind that the center closes at 4 p.m.

Two major art exhibits also open Colorado Springs on Friday — “Hot Off the Press,” a printmakers’ invitational exhibit at the Business of Art Center (opening 5-8 p.m), and Commonwheel Artists Co-Op's annual holiday market (but the opening reception isn't until December 9.

On Saturday, Christopher Lynn, the new director of UCCS’ Gallery of Contemporary Art, fires a shot across the Fine Arts Center’s bow with “Bad Chihuly Noon,” the first of what I hope will be many Bad Art Nights. For $3, armed only with melted LPs, acrylic paint, and eye patches (all supplied by the GCA), Chihuly wannabees can test their skill, or lack thereof, at Chihuly’s rippling style. The event is set for noon-2 p.m. at the gallery in the Science Building. The University of Colorado at Colorado Springs is at 1440 Austin Bluffs Parkway; 262-3567.

Good stuff always happens when Lawrence Leighton Smith conducts an orchestra. At 8 p.m. Saturday and 2:30 p.m. Sunday, the Colorado Springs Philharmonic performs Haydn's bouyant and joyful Symphony No. 98, Beethoven's ultra-stirring Leonore Overture No.3, and Kodály's Galanta Dances, a rarely performed but approachable orchestral showpiece based on Hungarian folk music.

Last but not least, there are the two events previewed in Friday’s Go!: The Rep’s “The 1940s Radio Hour” (opens Friday) and the Cuban art exhibit at Cucuru (opens Saturday). I was not thrilled to see “Radio Hour” on the Rep’s season, but director Alan Osburn and music director Roberta Jacyshyn have actually made me want to see it.

And even more last, because technically it doesn’t open this weekend, on Nov. 21st and 22nd, Buntport Theater will premier its new theatrical sit-com, “Starship Troy.” The always-interesting Denver troupe’s new show appears to involve an interstellar garbage truck.

More about “La Belle Epoque”

2006-11-16T23:07:00.000-08:00

“La Belle Epoque: 100 years ago in Colorado Springs” is very much a work in progress — but one that’s well worth further development.

Last week’s premier of Judeth Shay Burns’ and David Sckolnik’s theater piece at the Colorado Springs School’s Louisa Center moved fitfully at times, but the theatrical device of using a fictional singer to create a slice of life in 1907 is intriguing, and co-writers Sckolnik and Burns made the most of its possibilities.

The balance of talking and singing was excellent, but the script needs focusing: Simply mentioning historical figures isn’t the same as telling us something meaningful about them. And the stream-of-memory format amplifies the usual theatrical challenge of exposition. Every time a new character is introduced, the program comes to a brief halt.

Yet the piece already showed glimmers of brilliance. It creates a vivid impression of the period — not as sepia-toned nostalgia, but as something every bit as intense and alive as the present always is, and yet which we tend to imagine the past somehow was not.

Having a performer of Burns' ability is essential to the piece's success. Besides being a fine singer, she’s a disarmingly charming performer — I feel like a jerk just mentioning that her diction is occasionally pinched, as when a final “amour” came out as “a moo — and she’s a good enough actress to pull off the non-singing sections once she’s performed the piece a few more times.

The program was also my introduction to Mary Beth Shaffer, who was Burns’ accompanist. As a pianist, I’m sufficiently jealous to want to seek out flaws in other local pianists, but Shaffer won me over in minutes with her musicality, imagination and comprehensive technique.

Sckolnik’s theatrical innovation bumped up against one of his other innovations — the presentation of art in the Lousa Center’s lobby. As lovely as some of Ray Shaw’s wildlife paintings are — and they are distinctly uneven, some masterful and some almost naive — they added nothing to the atmosphere or setting. There are plenty of local neo-Impressionist landscape painters whose work would have been a better fit.

Devin Arnold at Artists Lair

2006-11-09T22:55:00.000-08:00

I’m going to write a larger story on the Artists Lair Gallery later this month, when it features Bill Hyer, one of the region’s most compelling abstract painters. But before then, I want to get a quick plug in for the exhibit of work by Devin Arnold that opens today and runs for two weeks.

Most of the Artists Lair is a working ceramics studio — not a decorate-a-previously-thrown-pot studio, but one that rents space to artists. But it also provides exhibition space for local artists, and so far, it’s been conspiciously adventurous. Arnold is a member of the Bridge Gallery, the contemporary artist’s co-op, and his three-dimensional multimedia wall hangings could hardly be less mainstream. They’re energetic and spiky, and the colors are bright but also earthy, without a hint of prettiness.

The opening is 6-9 p.m. Friday at Artists Lair Gallery, 2766 Janitell Rd. E — in the strip mall just south of South Circle Drive. (Without the “E,” Mapquest will give you the wrong location. Trust me on this.) Call 576-5247 or 634-7080 for more information.

"Hotel Usher"

2006-10-27T22:57:00.000-07:00

Saturday night will be the final performance of “Hotel Usher” at Chaos Studios Artspace. This new modernist adaptation of works by Edgar Allan Poe is an impressively creepy addition to the Halloween season. The polished and well-balanced production conjures the mood of a silent movie through its combination of video, almost continuous music and mostly mimed acting.

The cast consists of Tom McElroy — aka Atomic Elroy —Tristan McElroy, Lisa McElroy, Megan Hauser, and Joseph Forbeck. The first two are clerk and bellhop, respectively, at the Hotel Usher. The rest are patrons who are trying to check out — and it’s not giving anything away to mention that they will fail.

I learned two things at “Hotel Usher.” One is that, if you do it right, you can get an audience to sit attentively for 90 minutes of, mostly, poetry on TV. This is a remarkable achievement — especially considering that, for those who lack insatiable appetites for assonance and alliteration, it’s not particularly good poetry.

The other — and who would have guessed it? — is that it’s possible to have too much tedium. The monotony of mood and remorselessly slow pacing insure that you’ll glance more than once at the bank of clocks running backwards on the wall.

But the result succeeds, sometimes brilliantly. There are many clever touches, from the Ghirardelli mint and pre-moistened towelette that come in your program to the house of cards with which the cast all but hypnotized me during “The Fall of the House of Usher.” The work’s greatest strength is its counterpoint between live acting and pre-recorded dialogue, most powerfully exemplified in the follow-up to “The Pit and the Pendulum.” Here, a taped voice describes Medieval torture techniques while the cast cheerfully enjoys a tea party.

Tickets to the 8 p.m. performance are $10. Chaos Studios Artspace is located at 802 N. Weber St.; call 634-5429 for more information.