Town and Gown's Second Stage Production of My Blue Angel
This production was written by local playwright Rex Toddy and was adapted from the book The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time by Mark Haddon . Many of the same group of people in this play will be involved in a new theater group, Stray Productions, whose' s inaugural performance will be Arrogant Coyotes running March 23rd, 24th , 30th and 31st 2007.
I really hate to rag on any theater production in the classic city particularly one put together by such a talented group of people, but I have to say that I did not truly like this particular production. Maybe because it was a staged reading, which gave it the impression of being hastily put together and half done or maybe it was the subject matter ( a autistic boy retelling his story of a dog murder and the results of the investigation he does) or maybe it was the droning monotonous delivery of the main character. Whatever it was I was as impressed as I hoped to be.
With that said, "My Blue Angel" had its good points (other than the fact that it was only a $5 ticket). The plot was certainly captivating and exciting. The main character, who had Asperger's syndrome, while perhaps somewhat dull and monotone, was definitely a unique and very different character.
Also they did an excellent job with staging and characterization. Although "My Blue Angel" was
a staged reading, which means the actors had the scripts in there hands and there wasn't much action, the director, Catherine Clayton, did an excellent job of blocking the scenes that did allow for movement. The characterization was excellent. Both the boys playing Christopher (at age 15 Jameson Toddy, and at 17 Charlie Harper) were very authentic in there portrayals of a boy with Asperger's syndrome. There were two actors who each portrayed a verity of characters (Guy McCommons and Allan Aycock) and did an excellent job distinguishing the differences between them without use of costumes and very few props. My Blue Angel also feature Bryn Admonson as Mrs. Boone, Charlie's mother and Allen Rowell as Mr. Boone, Charlie's father.
Although I was not as impressed with this play as I could have been, it interested me enough to want to read the book and to see further productions by this group.
Sunday, December 3, 2006
Tuesday, November 21, 2006
The Caldonia Lounge (November, 17th 2006)
While local favorite Now It's Overhead was obviously the highlight of the nights show, the two opening acts were very entertaining as well. They Sang as They Slew, the opening band was my second favorite of the night. The second opening band, Psychic Hearts, put on an impressive show as well.
They Sang as They Slew is a Christian punk/indie rock band from Taccoa, Ga. Normally I'm not impressed by Christian acts at all. They have a tendency to either pay too much attention to their message and none to the music (thereby alienating the fans they might otherwise reach out to) or ignore the message and focus on the music, making them Christian in name only. TSATS did neither. While I honestly didn't even know that they were a Christian band until after they show while looking at their myspace page upon a closer listening to their lyrics I can hear the connection.
TSATS, put on an impressive show for four guys from Taccoa. They rocked hard leaving everyone satisfied. Although they didn't exactly make us hunger for more, they didn't leave us exactly malnourished either. The only complaint I had was that they could have possibly used a better singer, especially considering the level of technical difficulty (vocally) on some of the songs. Maybe he was just having an off day.
Psychic Hearts was also a very talented band, although not nearly as loud or fast. They seemed to fall more into the seemingly supersatured market of emo bands that don't like you. Considering the fact that both radio stations like 99x and 105.3 as well as TV's the Fuse are over saturated with bands like these (Fallout Boy, Ok Go, Jet), the 45 minutes it took them to set up was not worth the wait. The only thing that kept me from leaving was knowing that Now It's Overhead was next, even just to see if they lived up to all the hype.
That said there were two things that made this band worth while. The keyboardist was a chick. As sexist or whatever that may sound, this was important to me for several reasons. First of all as a female vocalist, there just aren't that many other female rockers and its always nice to see one. Think about it, other than Courtney Love (Hole) who nobody takes seriously, Gwen Stefani (No Doubt) and those chicks from Garbage (What were their names? I know, but do you?), how many can you think of? Plus the show was visually exciting. Not only did the have some interesting lighting which gave the impression of a strobe light, their wild jerking movements added to the effect (trust me, this was good thing).
Now it's Overhead was definitely worth waiting for. They had just gotten back from a somewhat lengthy tour and it was the first show they had played on their home turf in some time. This is a band that certainly translates well when it comes to recordings, but of course is much better seen live. The set was both pleasing to the ears and mesmerizing visually. I remember watching Andy LeMaster roll his sleeves up every time he put his guitar down to sing and rolling them back down again when he picked his guitar back up. While this was obviously not an important element it says something of his showmanship in the way he made it a part of their show. Above all if you have not seem them live I encourage you to check out Now It's Overhead or at least check out some of their songs at their website or myspace page. And if you like maybe even buy an album, or two.
They Sang as They Slew is a Christian punk/indie rock band from Taccoa, Ga. Normally I'm not impressed by Christian acts at all. They have a tendency to either pay too much attention to their message and none to the music (thereby alienating the fans they might otherwise reach out to) or ignore the message and focus on the music, making them Christian in name only. TSATS did neither. While I honestly didn't even know that they were a Christian band until after they show while looking at their myspace page upon a closer listening to their lyrics I can hear the connection.
TSATS, put on an impressive show for four guys from Taccoa. They rocked hard leaving everyone satisfied. Although they didn't exactly make us hunger for more, they didn't leave us exactly malnourished either. The only complaint I had was that they could have possibly used a better singer, especially considering the level of technical difficulty (vocally) on some of the songs. Maybe he was just having an off day.
Psychic Hearts was also a very talented band, although not nearly as loud or fast. They seemed to fall more into the seemingly supersatured market of emo bands that don't like you. Considering the fact that both radio stations like 99x and 105.3 as well as TV's the Fuse are over saturated with bands like these (Fallout Boy, Ok Go, Jet), the 45 minutes it took them to set up was not worth the wait. The only thing that kept me from leaving was knowing that Now It's Overhead was next, even just to see if they lived up to all the hype.
That said there were two things that made this band worth while. The keyboardist was a chick. As sexist or whatever that may sound, this was important to me for several reasons. First of all as a female vocalist, there just aren't that many other female rockers and its always nice to see one. Think about it, other than Courtney Love (Hole) who nobody takes seriously, Gwen Stefani (No Doubt) and those chicks from Garbage (What were their names? I know, but do you?), how many can you think of? Plus the show was visually exciting. Not only did the have some interesting lighting which gave the impression of a strobe light, their wild jerking movements added to the effect (trust me, this was good thing).
Now it's Overhead was definitely worth waiting for. They had just gotten back from a somewhat lengthy tour and it was the first show they had played on their home turf in some time. This is a band that certainly translates well when it comes to recordings, but of course is much better seen live. The set was both pleasing to the ears and mesmerizing visually. I remember watching Andy LeMaster roll his sleeves up every time he put his guitar down to sing and rolling them back down again when he picked his guitar back up. While this was obviously not an important element it says something of his showmanship in the way he made it a part of their show. Above all if you have not seem them live I encourage you to check out Now It's Overhead or at least check out some of their songs at their website or myspace page. And if you like maybe even buy an album, or two.
Friday, November 17, 2006
House of Blue Leaves (John Guare)
This very entertaining play (Written by John Guare) has quickly become my favorite. It has a rather unusual plot. It concerns a zookeeper -songwriter who's household hurls into chaos on the day that the pope comes to New York. This highly entertaining and engaging dark comical satire on relationships takes place in the top floor apartment in a Brooklyn apartment in the 1960's.
One of my favorite aspects of this play is the characters very interesting tendency to break the fourth wall and address the audience with their thoughts, views, opinions and innermost feelings.
Town and Gown did a wonderful job with the set, casting, and directing (Amy Wright). Some notable performances where the little nun (Katie Dotson), Ronnie Shaughnessy (Zach Goulet), and the zookeeper/songwriter, Artie Shaunessy (Micheal Brogdon). If you haven't had a chance to catch this play there are two performances remaining 8 pm Saturday Nov, 18 ($12 students/seniors, $15 general) and 2 pm Sunday November 19th ($5). For more information visit town and gown or Theater Notes in Flagpole magazine.
(This is a blurb - a full review will be posted shortly).
One of my favorite aspects of this play is the characters very interesting tendency to break the fourth wall and address the audience with their thoughts, views, opinions and innermost feelings.
Town and Gown did a wonderful job with the set, casting, and directing (Amy Wright). Some notable performances where the little nun (Katie Dotson), Ronnie Shaughnessy (Zach Goulet), and the zookeeper/songwriter, Artie Shaunessy (Micheal Brogdon). If you haven't had a chance to catch this play there are two performances remaining 8 pm Saturday Nov, 18 ($12 students/seniors, $15 general) and 2 pm Sunday November 19th ($5). For more information visit town and gown or Theater Notes in Flagpole magazine.
(This is a blurb - a full review will be posted shortly).
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