Out West Arts: Performance at the end of the world

Opera, music, theater, and art in Los Angeles and beyond

Death Becomes Her

January 20, 2012

 
Helen Hunt in Our Town
David Cromer’s much lauded production of Thornton Wilder’s Our Town made it to Los Angeles this week. It’s landed at The Broad Stage, a venue that is quickly developing an incredible track record for bringing the best in theater to Los Angeles. I’m happy to report that Our Town is another chapter in that growing, remarkable history. The production dates back to 2008 where it originated under the auspices of Chicago’s The Hypocrites and a successful long run in New York followed. (In fact it was the longest New York of run of the play ever since its premiere in 1938.) Director David Cromer and many of the original cast have followed the show West along with Helen Hunt who plays the role of the stage manager as she had during a later part of the New York run. And what’s arrived at The Broad is sensational and profoundly moving.

Wilder’s tale of everyday American lives in the early 20th Century was marked from its premiere with a stark, unusually barren staging – an artifice used to strip away what he saw as alienating pretenses of the stage including elaborate sets and costumes. Cromer follows Wilder’s stage directions to this extent with his actors pantomiming activities like cooking and cleaning. But Cromer uses other devices to brilliantly strip away the veneer of nostalgia associated with Our Town exposing the dark and blistering heart of the show. The stage of The Broad auditorium has been extended out over the entire seating area with the audience sitting on risers atop the expanded space in a U-shaped area. The narrow central corridor contains two tables with four chairs each and large walkways lie directly behind the first row of seating. All of this space is used by the cast completely integrating the audience into the day-to-day life of Grover’s Corners. The town’s children run down these aisles and Hunt is as likely to be sitting next to you as addressing you from the stage. Cromer goes further, though, dressing the cast in contemporary street clothes and playing down New England accents and overly expressive affect.

This all adds up to a certain darkness that sets in from the moment things begin, and suddenly the whole show is imbued by an awareness of human frailty and transience. This is not about longing for the past, but the exact opposite. The Our Town stands and screams with rage over our inability to live in the beauty of the moment which comes home to roost in a powerful third act. Cromer closes the show with a brilliant coup de théatre that I won’t describe here, but suffice it to say the audience was filled with sobbing patrons and I’m not ashamed to say I was among them. What’s more, not only has Cromer managed to expose the raw, painful crux of the play, but he’s done so in a way that feels contemporary. Despite its setting of events from over a century ago, this production of Our Town struck me as urgent a show as Next to Normal with modern day American families going about their lives. This is a not a gauzy John Ford version of the past but a dangerous, beautiful throbbing 'now' to be contended with. There is an excellent cast, not only including a superbly subtle Hunt, but James McMenamin as a heartbreaking George and Jennifer Grace as an Emily nearly bursting with youth. But all in the ensemble are quite good and there wasn’t a single moment in the calm, well-paced show that wasn’t worth savoring. I can’t say enough good things about the show. You should see it if you haven’t already before it’s gone on Feb 12.

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[Permalink] Posted by Brian | 1/20/2012 10:48:00 PM

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2/23/12
Max Raabe and Palast Orchester
 UCLA LIve
Royce Hall
Los Angeles, CA

2/24/12
Beethoven Trio for Violin, Cello and Piano
Zwilich Quintet for Violin, Viola, Cello, Contrabass, and Piano
Schubert Piano Quintet in A major
 Kalichstein-Laredo-Robinson Trio and Friends
Irvine Barclay Theater
Irvine, CA

2/24/12
El pasado es un animal grotesco
 Mariano Pensotti
REDCAT
Los Angeles, CA

2/25/12
Britten Albert Herring
 Conlon, cond
Shrader/Kelly
Los Angeles Opera
Dorothy Chandler Pavilion
Los Angeles, CA

2/26/12
What the Butler Saw
 Joe Orton
Odyssey Theatre
Los Angeles, CA

2/27/12
asamisimasa
 recital
Monday Evening Concerts
Zipper Concert Hall
Los Angeles, CA

2/28/12
Andriessen La Girò
Andriessen Anaïs Nin
Andriessen Life
 Los Angeles Philharmonic
New Music Group
de Leeuw, cond.
w/ Zavalloni
Walt Disney Concert Hall
Los Angeles, CA

3/1/12
Mussorgsky Khovanshchina
 Petrenko, cond
Borodina/Didyk
Metropolitan Opera
Lincoln Center
New York, NY

3/2/12
Show Boat
 Hammerstein/Kern
Lyric Opera
Chicago, IL

3/3/12
Mahler Das Lied von der Erde
Schoenberg Piano Concerto
Nott, cond
Chicago Symphony Orchestra
Symphony Center
Chicago, IL

3/3/12
Hit the Wall
 Ike Holter
The Inconvenience
Garage Theatre
Chicago, IL

3/4/12
Beethoven Egmont Overture
Matheson Violin Concerto
Strauss Ein Heldenleben
 Heras-Casado, cond.
w/ Chalifour
Los Angeles Philharmonic
Walt Disney Concert Hall
Los Angeles, CA

3/6/12
Timboctou
 Alejandro Ricano
Martin Acosta, dir.
REDCAT
Los Angeles, CA

3/7/12
Jeffrey Kahane and LACO: a 15th Anniversary Celebration
 Kahane, cond.
w/ Batjer, Shulman
Los Angeles Philharmonic
Walt Disney Concert Hall
Los Angeles, CA

3/9/12
Copland Orchestral Variations
Harrison Concerto for Organ with Percussion Orchestra
Ives A Concord Symphony
 Tilson Thomas, cond.
w/ Jacobs
San Francisco Symphony
Davies Symphony Hall
San Francisco, CA

3/10/12
Foss Phorion
Cowell Piano Concerto
Cage selections from Song books
Ruggles Sun-treader
Tilson Thomas, cond.
w/ La Barbara, Monk, Norman, Denk
San Francisco Symphony
Davies Symphony Hall
San Francisco, CA

3/10/12
Donizetti Don Pasquale
 Guidarini, cond.
Del Carlo/De Niese
San Diego Opera
San Diego, CA

3/11/12
Poulenc The Breasts of Tiresias
Martinu Tears of a Knife
 Mitisek, cond.
Center Theater
Long Beach, CA

3/17/12
Culture Clash American Night: The Ballad of Juan Jose
 Kirk Douglas Theater
Culver City, CA

3/17/12
Dvorak Carnival Overture
Tchaikovsky Lansky's Aria from Eugene Onegin
Shostakovich Cello Concerto No. 1
Shostakovich Symphony No. 5
 Piatigorsky International Cello Festival
Jarvi, cond.
w/ Maisky
Los Angeles Philharmonic
Walt Disney Concert Hall
Los Angeles, CA

3/18/12
Dvorak Carnival Overture
Tchaikovsky Rococo Variations
Respighi Adagio con Variazoni
Shostakovich Symphony No. 5
 Piatigorsky International Cello Festival
Jarvi, cond.
w/ Weilerstein
Los Angeles Philharmonic
Walt Disney Concert Hall
Los Angeles, CA

3/23/12
Frances-Marie Uitti
 REDCAT
Los Angeles, CA

3/23/12
wild Up Craft
 Beyond Baroque
Venice, CA

3/24/12
Strauss Rosenkavalier Suite
Aho Clarinet Concerto
Sibelius Symphony No. 6
 Vanska, cond.
w/ Frost
Los Angeles Philharmonic
Walt Disney Concert Hall
Los Angeles, CA

3/26/12
Jazz Encounters
Works by Wolpe, Ablinger, and Johnson
 Monday Evening Concerts
Zipper Concert Hall
Los Angeles, CA

3/28/12
Copland Fanfare for the Common Man
Tower Fanfare for the Uncommon Woman
Higdon Percussion Concerto
Prokofiev Symp No. 5
 Baltimore Symphony Orchestra
Alsop, cond.
Segerstrom Concert Hall
Costa Mesa, CA

3/29/12
Ute Lemper
 UCLA LIve
Royce Hall
Los Angeles, CA

3/31/12
Beckett Waiting for Godot
 Center Theater Group
Mark Taper Forum
Los Angeles, CA

4/1/12
Bach St. John's Passion
 Gershon, cond.
Los Angeles Master Chorale
Walt Disney Concert Hall
Los Angeles, CA

4/5/12
Part Cantus in Memory of Benjamin Britten
Adams Violin Concerto
Glass Symphony No. 9
 Adams, cond.
w/ Josefowicz
Los Angeles Philharmonic
Walt Disney Concert Hall
Los Angeles, CA

4/6/12
Gloria's Cause
 Dayna Hanson
REDCAT
Los Angeles, CA

4/10/12
Stockhausen Tierkreis
Cage Concerto for Prepared Piano
Bettison Livre des Sauvages
 Adams, cond.
w/ Cheng
Los Angeles Philharmonic
Walt Disney Concert Hall
Los Angeles, CA

4/11/12
Pacifica Quartet
 UCLA Live
Royce Hall
Los Angeles, CA

4/12/12
Samsara
 KarmetiK Machine Orchestra
REDCAT
Los Angeles, CA

4/13/12
Beethoven Missa Solemnis
 Blomstedt, cond.
w/ Ziesak, Romberger, Croft, Muller-Brachmann
Los Angeles Philharmonic
Walt Disney Concert Hall
Los Angeles, CA

4/14/12
Truth, Revised Histories, Wishful Thinking, and Flat-Out Lies
 John Jasperse Company with ICE
REDCAT
Los Angeles, CA

4/16/12
Schubert Die Schone Mullerin
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Los Angeles Philharmonic
Walt Disney Concert Hall
Los Angeles, CA

4/17/12
Mendelssohn Symp No. 3
Saariaho Orion
Shostakovich Symp No. 6
 Cleveland Orchestra
Welser-Möst, cond.
Segerstrom Concert Hall
Costa Mesa, CA

4/18/12
Schubert Winterreise
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Los Angeles Philharmonic
Walt Disney Concert Hall
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4/20/12
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Los Angeles Philharmonic
Walt Disney Concert Hall
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4/21/12
Gurira The Convert
 Kirk Douglas Theater
Culver City, CA

4/23/12
Helmut Lachenmann Intérieur I
Schwitters Ur Sonata
Clementi Madrigale
Clementi L'orologio di Arcevia
 Monday Evening Concerts
Zipper Concert Hall
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4/24/12
Baroque Variations
Concerto Koln
Los Angeles Philharmonic
Walt Disney Concert Hall
Los Angeles, CA

4/26/12
Wagner Rheingold
 Luisi, cond.
w/ Harmer, Blythe
Metropolitan Opera
Lincoln Center
New York, NY

4/27/12
Janacek The Makropoulos Case
 Behlolávek, cond.
w/ Mattila
Metropolitan Opera
Lincoln Center
New York, NY

4/28/12
Wagner Die Walkure
 Luisi, cond.
w/ Voigt, Westbroek
Metropolitan Opera
Lincoln Center
New York, NY

4/28/12
Verdi La Traviata
 Noseda, cond.
w/ Poplavskaya
Metropolitan Opera
Lincoln Center
New York, NY

4/29/12
Grau and Guinand program
 Los Angeles Master Chorale
Gershon, cond.
Walt Disney Concert Hall
Los Angeles, CA

4/29/12
Maurizio Pollini
 recital
Carnegie Hall
New York, NY

4/29/12
TR Warszawa Festen (The Celebration)
 St. Ann's Warehouse
Brooklyn, NY

4/30/12
Wagner Siegfried
 Luisi, cond.
w/ Dalayman, Bardon
Metropolitan Opera
Lincoln Center
New York, NY

5/2/12
GATZ
 Elevator Repair Service
Public Theater
New York, NY

5/3/12
Wagner Götterdämmerung
 Luisi, cond.
w/ Dalayman, Harmer
Metropolitan Opera
Lincoln Center
New York, NY

5/4/12
Britten Billy Budd
 Robertson, cond.
w/ Daszak, Gunn, Morris
Metropolitan Opera
Lincoln Center
New York, NY

5/6/12
Ligeti Atmospheres
Wagner Prelude to Act I of Lohengrin
Mahler Ruckert-Lieder
Bruckner Symphony No. 9
 Rattle, cond.
w/ Kozena
Los Angeles Philharmonic
Walt Disney Concert Hall
Los Angeles, CA

5/8/12
Akiho Alloy
Pereira Percussion Concerto
Berio Recital for Cathy
 Dudamel, cond.
w/ Currie, Duffy, Foundry Steel Pan Ensemble
Los Angeles Philharmonic
Walt Disney Concert Hall
Los Angeles, CA

5/9/12
Dvorak Carnival Overture
Lindberg Piano Concerto No. 2
Tchaikovsky Symphony No. 4
 New York Philharmonic
Gilbert, cond.
w/ Bronfman
Los Angeles Philharmonic
Walt Disney Concert Hall
Los Angeles, CA

5/10/12
Mozart Adagio and Fugue, K. 546
Vasks Distant Light
Mozart Posthorn Serenade, K. 320
 Dudamel, cond.
w/ Pogostkina
Los Angeles Philharmonic
Walt Disney Concert Hall
Los Angeles, CA

5/12/12
"The Armory"
 wild Up
Armory Center for the Arts
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5/12/12
Puccini La Boheme
 Summers, cond
Perez/Costello
Los Angeles Opera
Dorothy Chandler Pavilion
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5/16/12
Arcane Collective Cold Dream Colour
 The Edge/Paul Chavez
REDCAT
Los Angeles, CA

5/18/12
Mozart Don Giovanni
 Dudamel, cond.
w/ Kwiecien, Burdette
Los Angeles Philharmonic
Walt Disney Concert Hall
Los Angeles, CA

5/19/12
Elaine Stritch Singin' Sondheim... One Song at a Time
 Walt Disney Concert Hall
Los Angeles, CA

5/24/12
Follies
 Sondheim/Goldman
Ahmanson Theater
Los Angeles, CA

5/26/12
Formalist Quartet
 Beyond Baroque
Venice, CA

5/26/12
Golijov Ainadamar
 Center Theater
Long Beach, CA

5/31/12
Adams The Gospel According to the Other Mary
 Dudamel, cond.
w/ O'Connor, Mumford, Thomas
Walt Disney Concert Hall
Los Angeles, CA

6/1/12
Adams The Gospel According to the Other Mary
 Dudamel, cond.
w/ O'Connor, Mumford, Thomas
Walt Disney Concert Hall
Los Angeles, CA

6/7/12
Adams Inuksuit
 Libbey Park
Ojai Music Festival
Ojai, CA

6/7/12
Adams Red Arc/Blue Veil
Shostakovich Six Poems of Marina Tsvetaeva, Op. 143a
Ives Concord Sonata
 Libbey Bowl
Ojai Music Festival
Ojai, CA

6/8/12
Janacek String Quartet No. 2 "Intimate Letters"
de Leeuw Im wunderschönen Monat Mai
 Libbey Bowl
Ojai Music Festival
Ojai, CA

6/9/12
Buene Langsam und Schmachtend
Wagner Wesendonck Lieder
Berg Four Songs Op. 2
Berg Four Pieces Op. 5
Beethoven Piano Sonata No. 21 in C Major, Op. 53, Waldstein Sonata Libbey Bowl
Ojai Music Festival
Ojai, CA

6/9/12
Los Otros
 Fitzhugh/LaChiusa
Mark Taper Forum
Los Angeles, CA

6/9/12
Hallgrimsson Poemi, Op. 7
Sorensen Piano Concerto No. 2, “La Mattina”
Hillborg Peacock Tales
Mozart Trio in E flat “Kegelstatt” K. 498
Kurtag Hommage à Robert Schumann
 Libbey Bowl
Ojai Music Festival
Ojai, CA

6/10/12
Bartok Contrasts
Grieg Holberg Suite
Bolcom Cabaret Songs (Selections)
Copland Clarinet Concerto
Kurtag Hommage à Robert Schumann
 Libbey Bowl
Ojai Music Festival
Ojai, CA

6/10/12
Gorecki program
 Los Angeles Master Chorale
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Walt Disney Concert Hall
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6/10/12
Debussy Danses sacrée et profane
John Adams Shaker Loops
John Luther Adams Dark Waves
Stravinsky Sacre du Printemps
 Libbey Bowl
Ojai Music Festival
Ojai, CA

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