Theatre Review- The Object Lesson

The Kirk Douglas Theatre in Culver City is responsible for some of the most exciting and ambitious theatre that I've ever experienced. Nothing that I have seen at the Douglas could quite prepare me for The Object Lesson, the most unusual show that I've ever seen.

The blurb describing The Object Lesson, does not do it justice. However, this show might be impossible to explain. It's an onslaught to all of the senses. There is just no way to prepare for the experience.

I attended the show with my in-laws, all three of us intrigued by the concept. Honestly, I thought that this would be a show attacking the culture of clutter and consumerism. I thought that I would see the show and that it would make me take a hard look at the crap in my house.  The Object Lesson touches on these subjects, but it's so much more.

As we waited in the lobby, we were given instructions. As soon as the theatre doors opened, we were told to touch all of the props and mingle. This is not a show for wallflowers, it's highly interactive.

The doors opened and we walked inside. Boxes and junk filled the space, all of the way to the ceiling. The traditional theatre seats had been torn out, replaced with a mix of old furniture and more boxes. Remember Shel Silverstein's poem Sarah Cynthia Sylvia Stout Would Not Take The Garbage Out? We had walked into an episode of Hoarders. It was a marvel.

We quickly noticed that several of the cardboard boxes were labeled with "This is a seat" and they were actually reinforced with wood. We were encouraged to grab a seat anywhere that we could find it, there was no actual stage, and move the boxes to anywhere that we would like. We took our "seats" up the stairs, to have an overview, looking down on where the stage would traditionally sit. We didn't know it at the time, but these were fabulous seats. The action moves around the entire space and rarely was our view blocked.

After securing our spot, I walked around the space, opening boxes and drawers. This was magical and delightful, although it is a contrived environment, it was like having permission to be nosy. I relished it!

 I picked up one box to find the interior written with instructions to hand the box to someone who looks nice and say, "Here, I think this is yours". I should have done it, but I chickened out. I did look through an old apothecary chest that had dozens of drawers. One drawer was filled with dolls dresses, another with old buttons, one with a handful of dirt. It was delightful. I had a big grin the whole time, and I could have spent the whole evening just poking around the set. I wish that they had opened the house earlier. 

The actor/illusionist/creator of the show, Geoff Sobelle, started his performance by walking into the center of the space and turning on a record player. He walked through the space, opening boxes and unpacking, until he had an entire living room set up. He set the tone for the show immediately, by enlisting the help of audience members, having them carry furniture and passing them boxes. No one was safe for keeping their seat during the entire show, as Sobelle often evicted people from their seats and space to fit the needs of the show. 

I don't want to give away any key moments, as the mystery of "where the heck is this thing heading" was a big part of the delight. In a general sense, the heart of the show deals with the objects that we cling to in our lives. Objects that hold powerful memories and emotions, objects that we struggle to give away, objects that we use every day, objects that drive us crazy...how we relate to these inanimate things in our lives.  Sobelle balances the poignant moments with heavy doses of comedy and wonder. The last part of the show is incredible, with Sobelle using objects and illusions to tell the story of a man going through his life. It was spell-binding. 

The Object Lesson is marvelous, a truly magical and affecting experience. Unforgettable. If you have the opportunity, don't miss it. Did I mention that the show involves salad making with ice skates? That's not even the craziest thing that happens. Intrigued? Buy tickets now!!!

Theatre Review- War Horse

Months ago, my boyfriend's father was in town and he was raving about a production of War Horse that he saw in London. He enjoyed it so much, that he bought tickets for us to see it at the Ahmanson theater last night. (A huge, huge thank you if you happen to be reading this blog!).

I had mixed feelings going into the show. I was trying hard to separate the stage version from the movie. I can't sugarcoat it, the 2011 Steven Spielberg adaptation was a piece of crap. An overwrought, painfully sentimental piece of horse crap. In my opinion, one of the worst movies of 2011. I couldn't believe that it got an a Best Picture nomination.

That said, my first exposure to any incarnation of War Horse was during the 2011 season at the Ahmanson. In the lobby, they had a video loop of clips of shows coming for the 2012 season and War Horse was featured. I was absolutely mesmerized by the amazing horse puppets and immediately knew that I had to see the show. This was before seeing the movie or knowing much about the plot, if I could only catch one big show in 2012, it was going to be War Horse.

I wish that I hadn't seen the movie first. I feel like the stage production would have been a very different experience and much more moving, if I had not known what to expect. The plot is clunky and the pacing is uneven, often running slow.

However, that does not diminish the fact that the show is incredible on many levels. First and most obvious, hands down the best puppeteering that I have ever seen. Each horse (at times the stage was filled with horses) has three puppeteers controlling the movements. It's flawless. It really felt like real horses were on stage. The puppeteers all create distinctive personalities for each horse and they were as much of a character as any actor on the stage. The actors were fine, but overshadowed by the horses, the real stars. Completely stunning to watch. The goose puppet was a favorite character!

The set was simplistic and perfect. Mostly a giant space with minimal props and a giant project screen to help set the scene. The use of lighting was imaginative. If someone was interested in becoming a lighting designer, this was the show to watch and take notes. Even though the show had the spectacle of the amazing horse puppets, this was not a show that relied on gimmicks. Nothing was extraneous. This is probably the aspect of the show that I respected the most.

I respected that the theater version did not beat me over the head with sentimentality. It had a bit, but wasn't overbearing like Spielberg's version. The play was much more balanced and cutting out the the last fifteen minutes that were in the movie went a long way. It ended just on the right note. I may have felt the story was slow, but there is so much about the production that they got right, I can't help but write an overwhelmingly positive review.

Go see War Horse!!!

Theatre Review - Los Otros

On Wednesday night, Dan and I went to the Mark Taper Forum to see the world premiere of the new musical Los Otros. This production was commissioned by the Center Theatre Group, with the book and lyrics by Ellen Fitzhugh and the music by Michael John LaChiusa.

Los Otros is a musical that never should have been a musical. The musical elements did not add to the story telling and detracted from the emotion and tension. The style of singing was staccato and jarring, which made it worse.

Another problem with the story is the structure. It is told in two acts without an intermission. They got it right by not having an intermission, as an intermission would have really killed any momentum that they play may have gained.

The first act is all about a white woman and her various experiences with Mexican culture while living in Southern California. Parts of the story are very cliche and parts are a bit unexpected. Both acts were broken up into several stories occurring at different points in the characters life. The stories did not necessarily connect or build on each other. They seemed arbitrary. My interest in the stories varied greatly. I went from mildly engaged to going through my to-list in my mind. I kept wondering where the story was headed and what one story had to do with the other.

The second act was all about an American man of Mexican decent and his experiences growing up in Southern California. Much like the first act, I wasn't throughly engaged. Although, the man in the second act was a far superior actor and singer to the actress in the first act.

I was thrown a curve ball in the last five minutes of the play. Up until the very end, I thought that the two acts were just showing parallel experiences, but then at the very end the two characters were suddenly tied together in a very bizarre way. I am not going to spoil it for anyone who might be going to see the show, but I will say that it didn't work at all.

Here is how I would have improved the play...

1. Not made it a musical.

2. Some of the stories were actually good, but I would have spread them out among multiple characters, rather than the two. It didn't work that the story had two characters telling 2-3 stories. The main reason that it didn't work is the stories didn't relate or build to create a character sketch or emotional arc. It would have been better to take the strongest stories and make them individual monologues of various characters.

3. Or maybe, just take the male character and turn it into a one person show with stories that build to create a character and give it emotional content.

4. I would never have connected those two character in the end. It didn't work at all and make no sense.

Ellen Fitzhugh had an idea when she wrote this, but it felt like her idea was never fully formed. The parts of the story that were good got lost in the muddle. I can't imagine that this show will go far beyond this run without some major reworking.

One thing that I really love about live theater, is entering the space and seeing the set for the first time.Los Otros had a very visually promising set. A majority of the space was filled with hanging objects (chairs, flowers, crates) that dangled over the audience. It was full and immersive. It made me like the play before it even began. However, set pieces and props have to have purpose. Looking visually cool is not enough of a reason to have a particular set design. I felt like all of these objects were meaningless in the context of the play and this is yet another reason that I left feeling disappointed with the production.