. . . go see . . .
Robert Honeywell's Greed: A Musical Love Story, which is excellent. The Brick. The $ellout Festival. Probably extending in July/August, but don't rely on it, just in case.
Berit and I saw it before the first of our two shows yesterday and were quite knocked out. Robert's book and lyrics, the music composed by Robert with Whitney Gardner and Meighan Stoops, and Robert's elegant, simple staging are all terrific, but in particular, the acting from the cast of 5 is amazing. Four of them, Bryan Enk, Gyda Arber, Michael O'Brien, and Moira Stone are actors I've worked with repeatedly as a director (Gyda and Bryan were also in my just-closed show simultaneously with this), and who I like a lot, but their work here was a surprise to even me -- except perhaps for Moira, who I'm always blown away by, so her incredible work here was only a mild surprise (Robert was the other performer, and was also great, I haven't had the chance to direct him yet).
I was maybe a little disappointed by the opening musical number, and worried (there's something herky-jerky and "off" about the structure/dynamics of the song, dunno what), but everything after that just got better and better, climaxing in an amazing, extended, mostly-silent dinner sequence where the focus becomes entirely about an actor's face and her subtle changes of emotion for quite a long time. Incredible. And a lovely "twist" at the end, which you can see coming, but is immensely satisfying as it falls into place.
More comments on what I see this week as they come up . . .
Robert Honeywell's Greed: A Musical Love Story, which is excellent. The Brick. The $ellout Festival. Probably extending in July/August, but don't rely on it, just in case.
Berit and I saw it before the first of our two shows yesterday and were quite knocked out. Robert's book and lyrics, the music composed by Robert with Whitney Gardner and Meighan Stoops, and Robert's elegant, simple staging are all terrific, but in particular, the acting from the cast of 5 is amazing. Four of them, Bryan Enk, Gyda Arber, Michael O'Brien, and Moira Stone are actors I've worked with repeatedly as a director (Gyda and Bryan were also in my just-closed show simultaneously with this), and who I like a lot, but their work here was a surprise to even me -- except perhaps for Moira, who I'm always blown away by, so her incredible work here was only a mild surprise (Robert was the other performer, and was also great, I haven't had the chance to direct him yet).
I was maybe a little disappointed by the opening musical number, and worried (there's something herky-jerky and "off" about the structure/dynamics of the song, dunno what), but everything after that just got better and better, climaxing in an amazing, extended, mostly-silent dinner sequence where the focus becomes entirely about an actor's face and her subtle changes of emotion for quite a long time. Incredible. And a lovely "twist" at the end, which you can see coming, but is immensely satisfying as it falls into place.
More comments on what I see this week as they come up . . .