The Last Confession

This is a fascinating account of Albino Luciani who was selected as Pope in 1978.  He reluctantly accepted the position and chose the name, Pope John Paul I.  David Suchet (who is well known for his portrayal of the Agatha Christie character, Hercule Poirot a Belgium detective), plays the role of Cardinal Giovanni Benelli.

I didn’t realize there was so much intrigue and politics in the Vatican.  I knew that there was to some extent due to the power and wealth involved, but not to the extent as portrayed in this play. 

When Pope Paul passed away, Cardinal Benelli negotiated with other Cardinals to select Albino Luciani because he himself lacked faith to be the Pope and he felt Albino would be a better Pope to initiate change.  When Albino did become Pope, he started to make a lot of sensible changes and transferring those who fought him to other roles.  He worked relentlessly and 33 days into his reign, he was found dead in his bed in the midst of reading reports. 

There was an investigation into his death because of the controversial circumstances but nothing ever became of it.  The leaders of the investigating council felt further actions would keep a new Pope from being elected and cause disruption in the church.  It was never clear if it was a natural death or if someone caused it.

At the beginning of the play, 5 years after the death of Pope John Paul I, it was

known that Cardinal Benelli was going to die because of health problems.   So he was going over the events, his role in those events and his torment that his actions caused the death of a good man and his suspicions of that man’s death. 

His last confession.  His confessor was dressed in plain garb and as the play progressed we find out that he is the Pope John Paul II.  He convinces Cardinal Benelli not to publicize what had happened as part of his confession to the world because of how it would affect the church.  In the end, Cardinal Benelli burns the written confession but is still tormented, wondering why and what this is all about.  As he goes through his last breath, it seems as if he has come to the realization and wondrously cries out, It is faith!  It is all about faith.

Despite the intrigue and politics, there are good men in the church but are influenced by the power, wealth and maintaining the status quo. This was a well written, well acted play.  We were in suspense the entire time and there was a standing ovation by the audience.  Including us.

Porgy and Bess

 We have never seen the whole musical of Porgy and Bess.  Similar to me, Max has heard some of the songs and seen snippets of this famous musical/opera by James Gershwin.  What amazed me was the fact that this musical was successful when it first opened in 1935 with an all black cast.  Gershwin was not only a musical genius, but he was adventurous and ahead of his time.

Since we’ve never seen it before, it was surprising to us that Porgy was a poor crippled man and Bess was a drug addict, abused by 2 men in her life.  At her lowest, Porgy takes Bess into his shack and takes care of her.  They eventually fall in love and Bess starts to become respectable.  But as the abusive men come back into her life, she turns back to drugs and runs away with one of the men to New York.  At the end, Porgy packs up his meager belongings and hitches his way from Charleston’s Catfish Row to New York to look for his Bess.  Because “You is my woman now”. 

After all these years, the play is more heartfelt and moving despite the frailties of the main characters and how they dealt with the circumstances of life.

Very good and very enjoyable.  Loved it.

Opera-Thais

This was a new opera to us, written by Jules Massanet. It premiered in Paris in 1894. This story is based on a novel by Anatole France about Saint Thais.  She is taken to a convent and spent 3 years in a penitent’s cell.  After she leaves the cell, she dies a holy woman 14 days later.

We were honored to hear Placido Domingo play the part of the monk, Athanael. Placido has been a tenor in his prime.  Lately, he has been singing Baritone and he sounds as wonderful as ever.  Thais is portrayed by a lovely woman, Nino Machaidze.

Athanael has a vision that he is to save the soul of Thais, a wanton woman desired by many men.  Despite the adoration of many men,

Thais is unhappy because she doesn’t have true love and knows that her beauty will fade.  

Athanael gives her hope, telling her of the true and encompassing love of God.  He forces her to forsake her previous life and burn all her possessions as an act of penance. 

They then walk many miles to a convent where she will live out the rest of her life.  During that trek, he falls in love with her. 

She is taken in by the nuns and Athanael returns to his monastery dejected.  Finally, he can’t take it any longer and rushes back to the convent to proclaim his love for her.  But he discovers that she is dying and as she rises in spirit to God, he knows she is out of his reach and prays to God for mercy.

We enjoyed Placido and seeing something new.  But it just didn’t hit the high mark for us.  I could barely keep my eyes open at times.  Max thought it was okay.

Opera-Tosca

This is the second Tosca we’ve seen at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion.  To revisit the story, Scarpia is the chief of police and the highest authority in the city.  He and his men search for an escaped political prisoner, Angelotti in the church of Sant’Andrea.  Cavaradossi is an artist painting in the church and helps Angelotti escape.  Tosca is a well-known singer and his lover, but Scarpia also has his eyes on her.  Scarpia throws Cavaradossi in prison under suspicion for helping Angelotti.  Scarpia threatens to execute him unless Tosca succumbs to him.  Tosca makes a deal with him to do what he wants if Scarpia releases Cavaradossi.  He agrees, but warns her that there has to be a fake execution and he will provide a letter for safe passage for the both of them.  Once Scarpia drafts the letter, Tosca stabs him to death.  Then she goes to the prison to let Cavaradossi know about the plan and to pretend to die.  Instead, Scarpia in his death betrays the both of them because the execution is real.  Tosca discovers the betrayal when she urges Cavaradossi to rise, but finds that he is dead.  In the background we hear officials who have discovered Scarpia’s body and they start the hunt for Tosca.  But Tosca climbs to the ramparts and throws herself over the wall.

So both girl and boy are killed in this one.  I was reading the background on this opera and discovered that when it was released, it was considered “vulgar”, “sensationalist” and “overly emotional”.  Aren’t all operas overly emotional?  Anyway, it was considered the cheap thrill in its day, but it is still a well-loved classic.

I personally preferred the first Tosca mostly because of the set.  In the first Tosca, the first scene in the church is a traditional view.  In this Tosca, there is

the face of Tosca in 3 different parts of the scaffolding and I’m not sure what that was supposed to portray.  In the first Tosca, Scarpia’s quarters was a dramatic red with stark opulence.  It provided a visual of his authority and evil.  The setting of this Tosca was as if they were in a warehouse of all the treasures Scarpia and his men had confiscated.  So the impact was not the same as Tosca begs for mercy, then later stabs him as he tries to rape her.  Another scene was the prison and in this performance, they hung Angelotti from the rafters, which was a bit morbid.  The first Tosca was memorable because the star who portrayed Tosca had apparently sprained her ankle in the fall.  So when they were taking their bows, she was hopping around on her good leg.

The singing was still excellent, but the visual impact as not the same.  What made up for it was that Placido Domingo conducted the orchestra.  The man was in the house!

Joe Turner's Come and Gone

This is an August Wilson’s production at the Mark Taper, directed by Phylicia Rashad.  I’ve always enjoyed Mr. Wilson’s plays and this is just another edition of his work.  Unfortunately, Mr. Wilson passed away soon after Radio Golf was presented at the Mark Taper.  I don’t remember seeing that play, hence the reason for the summaries and critiques of all the performances we’ve seen since 2009. 

This play takes place in the early 1900’s in Pittsburgh.  A couple owns a rooming house and has several characters that rent rooms in their home and we see the interaction.  I find Mr. Wilson’s work very interesting because it portrays the black characters during the era of American history, yet brings in the flavor of their culture.  Despite 40-50 years earlier when many members of their race were slaves, this couple is proud and owns property.  They have their moral and spiritual standards and will not stand for anything less from their tenants.

The primary focus in this play was a man and his little girl who have traveled for many years looking for his wife who left them.  He is a mysterious dark man, travel worn with a long coat and dusty boots. People draw back from the tormented angry look, yet he tenderly holds the hand of his daughter who is well behaved. 

We learn later that his wife is doing well as a respectable church leader in the neighborhood.  She was also looking for them, but was always one step behind them.  With great sadness, the man leaves his little girl with her mother because that is what is best for her.  As he leaves, a female tenant runs after him.

I always leave his plays with greater understanding and empathy not only for the African-American, but with people in general.

End of the Rainbow

If anyone has seen Wizard of Oz and the old Judy Garland/Mickey Rooney Andy

Hardy Babes movies, they would be very protective of the musical icon, Judy Garland.  Everyone loved her.  So going into this musical, we were not expecting much from this person, Tracie Bennett who had the nerve to not only portray Judy, but she was a British actress as well. I wasn't looking forward to an aging woman trying to sing her heart out who would not compare to the incomparable Judy Garland.

We were so wrong.  We were astounded by Tracie’s performance.  She had Judy’s behavior nuances that we remembered so well.  No, it wasn’t the innocent child or teenager from the 30’s and 40’s.  This is from her later years in the late 60’s when she performed on her TV show or in Las Vegas.  The

show takes place in London as Judy checks into a high-end prestigious hotel and is trying to get out of paying for the room in advance. Apparently she is known for being financially flakey.  She loves her fans and she loves being loved.  But she was older and fading and she knew it.  When she was younger, her mother and agent got her hooked on drugs to keep her at peak performance, then other drugs to help her sleep.  Despite her years of experience and adoration from her fans, she felt anxious before every performance, thinking she would not live up to her fame.  Her agent/new husband and piano accompanist were trying to keep her away from prescription drugs and liquor.  But she begged, pleaded and threatened before she finally got her way.

It was funny but also sad to see her bounce back after she got her drug fix.  In one scene she was on all fours pretending to be a dog, barking and crawling around the room.  Everyone fell over when she raised one leg next to a chair. 

She embodied Judy in her waning days before her death, the vulnerability, terrified of performing, drug craving and demanding love. And her voice was unbelievable. As I looked at the audience around me, I could tell there were huge fans in the audience who seemed to relive Judy through this performance. 

There was no doubt, we immediately stood for the standing ovation because the cast and Tracie deserved it. Our tell-tale rating is yes, we would see it again, plus Max said, “It was Rigoletto.”

Opera-Cinderella

Cinderella, the opera, is composed by Rossini.  Rossini composed other operas that we’ve seen: Il Turko in Italia and Barber of Seville, both we enjoyed tremendously. 

Rossini’s opera has a slightly different slant to the traditional fairy tale.  First, there was a stepfather, not a stepmother. There is also no fairy godmother.  Instead, a beggar approaches Cinderella’s home.  The beggar is given food by the good Cinderella, but is driven off by her mean stepsisters.  The beggar is actually the prince’s tutor who tells the prince of a good-hearted woman who would be a good choice for his wife. The prince was introduced to Cinderella when he was posing as a servant while his manservant posed as the prince.  The prince wanted the opportunity to see the real side of a woman who was to be his wife, not the pretenses because he is the prince.  There was no shoe to find his missing wife-to-be, but matching a bracelet.

The costumes were colorful and there were 6 cast members who played the mice.  They were priceless as they not only changed the scenery props in the background, but they provided comic relief.  In one scene, the prince was supposed to be riding in his carriage and it breaks down near Cinderella’s family home.  To illustrate this, the mice maneuvered a miniature carriage around the stage, stopped it and kicked off one of the wheels.  Then to make it correct, they pushed the little carriage to one side so that it slanted as if broken down.  So funny. 

I was disappointed that Cinderella was not transformed into a princess.  All that happened is that her rag dressed sort of poofed up on the sides and she wore a tiara.  Big whoop. To the right is a picture on the program and also on Facebook.  I didn't see anything close to this.  The picture looked so magical, I was looking forward to the transformation.

The arias were sort of interesting though.  It is supposed to be a light-hearted opera and no one dies at the end.  The arias reminded me of Mozart’s operas.  In some arias, they would be singing, then they would break out into a fast talking tune.  It was enjoyable.  Then a few days later, I was listening to a workout song, “This City is My City”.  The song has a tune, the in the midst, it breaks out into rap.  It reminded me of the songs in the Cinderella opera.  So Rossini composed one of the earliest versions of rap.  Funny.

Photo below is taken during the encore applause from our seats.

Tribes

Tribes is about an intellectual family, mother is a writer and father is a professor.  They have 3 grown children who live with them.  Billy was born deaf, but can read lips.  He feels a bit left out when the rest of his family debates issues and he struggles to understand what is being said. His brother Daniel, has a mental difficulty because he hears voices.  He tries to drown them out by turning on the radio to have some background noise instead of the voices. Interesting, as I write this, I see one brother who can’t hear real voices and another who hears imaginary voices.  Their sister Beth is an opera singer who is struggling to get jobs. 

Billy, meets a girl on campus who had a cochlear transplant who can now hear and teaches Billy sign language.  Apparently in the deaf community there is a hierarchy of those who are truly deaf and sign at the highest and if one can hear or doesn’t know sign language, the lower you are in the hierarchy.

I found it interesting that sign language is a language in its own that can translate feelings through the motion of the hands, face and body.

Billy then becomes a “militant” deaf person.  He insists that his family learn sign language or he will no longer talk to them.  His brother Daniel is slowly spiraling out of control as the voices take over his life.  The only salvation was that Billy was always there for him and at the end, he pityingly stutters as he pleads for Billy to come back because of the need he has for him. 

I didn’t really care for the play for a couple of reasons.  First, it was hard to understand.  Not just because of the deaf actor saying words that were a bit difficult to hear. It was because the rest of the family talked with British accents.  What was the purpose for that?  Hello, why not have the play take place in Wisconsin instead of England?  The other problem I had with the play was that the kids who for whatever reason move back in with their parents.  They are grown and yes, okay, maybe life circumstances compelled them to move back.  The part I had a problem with is the extreme disrespect they had for their parents as they call them names such as “prick” or yell at them.  I would have thrown them out on the street with that kind of behavior.  I rant. 

So maybe there is a lesson to be learned here, but the annoyances were more compelling.                           

Opera-The Flying Dutchman

Also known as “Der fliegende Hollander”, this opera is by Wagner.  Okay, another Wagner opera, but I found this one fascinating because of the staging and story. 

The Flying Dutchman is about a cursed sailor who is looking for a faithful woman who can break that curse.  Every seven years he is able to go on land to search for this “hard to find” woman.  Puhleeze, Wagner must have had some bitter relationships to come up with this one.

He meets a captain who has a daughter Senta, who is

mesmerized by this legend.  She wants to be the faithful woman who can break the curse, but is thwarted by a suitor who makes the Dutchman think Senta is unfaithful.  In the end, she follows the Dutchman into the mist, not caring what her fate would be.

The set is austere and stark, supposedly below the decks of a ship, yet gives the illusion of being in a fortress. 

As Max says, it wasn’t Rigoletto.  There are huge fans of Wagner, but we find his operas too heavy, strident and demanding.  Does that make sense?

Backbeat

Backbeat is a musical about the Beatles before they became the Fab Four.  It takes place in Hamburg, Germany where they play in dive bars frequented by drug addicts and hookers.  They are dressed in jeans and black biker jackets with greased back hair, looking more like Elvis.  The first song is like a blast and I said, “Whoa!”  It even hurt my ears and I can imagine how much it hurt Max’s hearing.  Since they spoke in a cockney, British or Scottish accents, I had a hard time understanding.  But I did catch a word hear and there so that I got the gist of what was going on.

Originally, Stuart Sutcliffe was brought into the band because he was a very good friend of John.  They also add Pete Best to the group.  Most of the story dealt with Stu who is really an artist, but he plays with the band because of John.  He then meets Astrid Kirchherr who tries to convince him to follow his heart.  So he is torn. He finally leaves the band and is accepted at an art school.  But it turns out that he is suffering from headaches and seizures.  He eventually passes away.  Astrid is key to their look.  She gives them the haircuts and clothes that make them famous. 

It was good to understand the background of one of the greatest bands in history.  I also enjoyed the music, especially afterwards, they got the audience on their feet and played 4-5 songs that we all sang and danced to.  At least I did…Max stood there and of course, he doesn’t shimmy.  I asked afterwards and he said he enjoyed himself.  But, “It isn’t Rigolletto”. 

Because of the intensity of the sound, I don’t know if I would see it again.

Other Desert Cities

 This play is about a family and takes place Christmas 2004 in the Wyeth home, Palm Springs, California.  The parents, Polly and Lyman are well known in the GOP circles in the desert community.  Robert was an actor and later both became active in politics.  Polly’s best girlfriends were Sylvia Bloomingdale and Nancy Reagan to give you a sense of their social standing.  

Their daughter Brooke is a writer back East and their youngest son, Trip, is a TV director in LA.  What is missing is their son, Henry who had gotten involved with the wrong people.  He set off a bomb, I think at a Veteran’s Center and the janitor was killed.  Henry disappears and is a wanted man.  As a result of the tragedy and involvement of their son, Polly and Lyman seemingly escape to a home in Palm Springs.

Brooke feels Henry is not only her brother, but her best friend.  As a result of the event and losing her brother, she suffers a breakdown and was hospitalized for almost a year.  For 6 years afterwards, she works on a book about her brother and at Christmas, tells her family about the book.  The rest of the play is about the debate of whether or not she should publish it.  The book portrays Henry as misunderstood and their parents as rigid and uncaring.  She blames them for the loss of Henry.  Polly and Lyman are hurt about the perspective she is taking in the book and that she doesn’t know everything.  The emotions are high and the words hurt.  Polly and Lyman feel she could publish the book after they are gone but Brooke feels she would be betraying herself and Henry if she waited.

I was on the side of the parents and I didn’t feel the actress portraying Brooke was very good.  The start of the play seemed stilted and could be performed in a community theatre.  But as the play progressed, it got better.

Later, we discover that Polly and Lyman had taken Henry across the border to Canada, knowing they could not see their son again.  Brooke fell apart, relief that her brother is alive, sorry that he is probably lost to them and anger that her book is incomplete of all the facts.  From our seats we could see the tears and slobbering of solid, heartfelt crying.

The final scene is 6 years later as Brooke reads her book at a Bookstore in Seattle.  She talks about the death of her father, thankful that she was at his bedside.  She moves in with her Aunt in the house next door of the Palm Desert home.  She reminisces of sitting at the pool with her mother for the remainder of her days. So she did hold off on the book and rewrites portions of it to include the love she has for her parents and the last words she utters in the play is the wonderment of “How can I find Henry…?”

I would probably see it again.  Max would, definitely.  He gave them a standing ovation, and then I joined him.  He said the play was powerful.

Anything Goes

Anything Goes takes place in the 30's on an ocean liner traveling from New York to London. It is about romance, mobsters, sexy evangelical sermons accompanied by singing and dancing. The songs were composed by Cole Porter and many of his most popular songs such as "I Get a Kick Out of You", "It's De-Lovely" and "Anything Goes". The best part of it was the big production tap dancing to "Anything Goes".



Max always says he wishes he could tap dance. He just doesn't want to take lessons and practice. Rachel York starred in this production and she is most known for her portrayal of Lucille Ball in the CBS movie, Lucy. She has presence, charisma and can dance. But her singing wasn't that strong. She was good, but not great. We would see it again just for the dancing numbers.

Seminar

I’ve always been a fan of Jeff Goldblum with his works ranging from The Fly to the Jurassic Park movies.  He has not only a sense of drama, but he also has great comedic timing.

In this play, I didn’t know if the Ahmanson is such a good venue compared to Mark Taper.  Max said it is because of the size of the audience they are anticipating. He was right.  It was a packed house.

Jeff plays the character of Leonard, a brilliant author who had a best seller years before, and now holds expensive workshops/seminars for small groups of aspiring authors.  I hear the figure of $5k each, but I’m not sure.  It takes place in New York in one of the student’s apartment. There are about 4 students, each with their issues and quirks struggling to find the voice within. 

Leonard comes across as quirky who has traveled to exotic places, meets people and gets into strange circumstances to expand his horizons.  He pontificates about his own crazy experiences and has a tendency to forget the question in the midst of his rambling.  Those scenes are the best because they are so funny.  He can also be unbelievably cruel as he critiques the student’s work if they are not up to his standards.  After Kate was crushed by his ranting about her work, the other students are fearful of showing their own works. 

At the end we discover he is able to pull the best out of the students.  Great play and great performance by Jeff and the rest of the cast.