A Hot, Daring Winter’s Tale Discovered on the Fringe
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At the Theater
Two things are necessary when visiting the New York International Fringe Festival: First, you have to find it; then you have to decide which of the 200 shows you want to see.
Let me help.
The festival takes place in various small theaters and incidental spaces in the East and West Village and the Lower East Side—but, alas, you could easily patrol the streets and not be aware that a festival is going on at all. Bunting would be nice, even a sign or two: “THIS WAY TO SEE THE SHOW!!”
Don’t be discouraged: The festival’s semi-secret nature is part of its fringe charm, promoting a personal sense of adventure and honing map-reading skills.
Two hundred shows is nothing: Edinburgh’s venerable Fringe Festival (where Tom Stoppard and Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead were discovered in 1966) boasts a choice of some 2,000 events. The 10-year-old N.Y.C. festival (where Urinetown was discovered in 1997) is a summer breeze, albeit with peculiar cloud formations.
“One man thinks he’s found the cure,” reads the exuberant ad for one of the shows, “another wants to steal it, and a third needs it to save the life of the woman he loves … Cancer! the musical.” How about Sodomy & Pedicures—“one woman’s filthy journey”? Frisky Nuns! The Life and Times of Martin Luther (Reformed)? Or a dark comedy advertising “castration never tasted so good”?
There’s something for everyone. It’s usually best to follow your hunch. Fringe playwrights and performers are typically young and unknown, and anything can happen. One year, I was the only person in the audience for a one-woman show. I was waiting a little uncomfortably for it to begin, when the actress came out and said apologetically, “I’d perform it for you if it were a tragedy. But, you see, it’s meant to be a comedy.”
Laugh and the world laughs with you, cry and you cry alone. Feeling for her, I wished her the best and just when I was at the exit door, she called after me, “I’m not missing my big opportunity, am I?”
I TRIED POTLUCK RECENTLY, choosing five shows to see on a single day. Here’s what happened:
2:30 p.m. At the Village Theatre on Bleecker Street I came across a bizarre new play about Leon Theremin, the Russian genius who invented the world’s first electronic musical instrument. (A theremin is played without any direct contact by the musician.)
A notice on the theater door read forlornly: “Please form a line and be nice to each other.”
When someone else eventually joined me on line in the muggy heat, we were extremely nice to each other. He turned out to be a middle-aged schoolteacher of astronomy and earth science who loved the festival. “It’s different,” he explained enthusiastically, “and it’s only $15 a ticket.” It became clear as we chatted that this pleasant man was a theater enthusiast who never saw a show he didn’t like. His gentle tolerance began to shame me.
Some 25 people ultimately turned up for Theremin, created by the Blue Cake Theatre Company. Its ambitious interpretation of artistic genius and betrayal, political freedom and oppression has undeniable flaws. My new friend, the schoolteacher, enjoyed every minute of it. Like me, he hadn’t known the story of Leon Theremin—“the Russian Edison”—or that a straitjacketed Brian Wilson of the Beach Boys became a possessed disciple. Unfortunately, a theremin sounds like a prolonged eerie moan even when it’s playing “Beautiful Dreamers.” The schoolteacher demurred, rather liking it. I’m glad to say that the gifted young actress Elizabeth Palin, who plays the maestro’s first love, Clara Rockmore, is a bright prospect.
5:15 pm. The Winter’s Tale Project, also at the Village Theatre, could be the hit musical of the festival. Shakespeare’s difficult late romance and wintry fable has frequently defeated the best, and yet for the first hour this smashing production could do no wrong in my astonished eyes. Its director-book writer, Bridget Ryan, and her composer-lyricist, Chris Wynters, are more than smart: Their outstanding work is true to the wounded heart of Shakespeare’s fantastic parable of obsessive sexual jealousy and insane betrayal, young love and transforming redemption. The immensely talented, 20-strong ensemble bring it all to spontaneous life in a chic black-and-white space with just two chairs and a door frame.
It’s a hot, chancy first half (“Too hot, too hot!/ To mingle friendship far, is mingling bloods”), and it succeeds wonderfully. If Mr. Wynters’ driving score has been influenced on occasion by Duncan Sheik’s music for Spring Awakening—why not? “For Innocence Sake” alone, a lovely ballad for Hermione and company, singles him out as a confident new voice in musical theater. Next Page >
I am unsure as to whether Mr. Heilpern saw the same show as I did, but THE WINTER'S TALE PROJECT was neither smashing nor astonishing; however it was trite and badly performed (with the exception of Hermione and Clown, who should have had a leading role). Most of the actors were of high school caliber at best and could not project to the back row (of a rather small theater, might I add). The songs were cliched and backed up by awful synthesized music. After the first song, I thought maybe it was the production value and it might be salvagable - half way through the first act I gave up on this assumption.
I think the writer's need to abandon this project, which has been in the works for years, and as far as I can tell, this is only the third time it has been performed (only the first outside of Edmonton, Alberta, Canada). They seem to have potential, but please stop beating this obviously dead horse and move onto something else.
Ladygodiva is out of his/her mind! The show was great, with excellent music, great performances and Mr. Heilpern is right on the money. I suppose everyone is entitled to their opinion, but anyone who knows this play - one of Shakespeare's most difficult ones - would have realized how smart this adaptation was, right down to giving the bear from the famous "pursued by a bear" stage direction, a song. The adapation focuses on the power of redemption and forgivness and couldn't be more timely. Unlike many musicals which I've seen at this year's Fringe and off-off Broadway this year the show isn't a send-up or parody, it's highly original and smart, witty and sexy, I totally agree with this review ( which is actually rare for me) ... and the entire audience which stood at the end of the show appear to agree as well.
Not to mention the show won the STERLING AWARD in Canada for Best Musical, which is Canada's version of the Tony.
and ladygodiva, what you said about the performers... damn, that was HARSH! and couldn't be more inaccurate. High school caliber?? Yeah, the creative team auditioned HUNDREDS of people and got this cast. I don't think they would pick high school caliber performers when they had to option to cast hundreds of other performers. If you want to be cruel and offensive, take out your own failures, insecurities and problems on yourself and not on others, especially people who worked their butts off like the actors in this production.
I enjoyed the heck out of it too, snd I am rather fussy about my Shakespeare. But you can't take yourself too seriously just because a new play is based on THE BARD. Oh, and I don't base my opinions on awards either. I didn't check my watch for a solid hour and a half (the show is less than 2 hours long) and that was just because I realized from the progress of the story that we must be near the end. A show that can take you that far away (in a not particularly comfortable seat) is doing a good job.
As for the quality of the performances? So far above high school as to not be in the same universe. I think the play still has a few structural issues. My most serious criticism is that the narrator was either used too much or too little in the beginning as the scene was set. In the performance I thought it was too much, but later I decided that using him more might make his involvement less jarring and make it fit in better. They tried to get through the end a little too quickly. Shakespeare's story is awkward here, but I think it would benefit from a few more words. Trust the audience to stay with you. You've got them hooked already.
I am still humming "For Innocence Sake." "I Love You to the Moon and Back" was over sappy for my taste, but it is a love song. The menage a trois song wasn't really necessary, but the staging was very fun. Everything else was great. I'm ordering the CD.
The only reason I am posting another comment on this board is because of previous comments attacking me and my criticism instead of commenting on the show. I understand that people don't like to get their feelings hurt, but criticism is part of any art form and it is meant to inform, not to coddle.
As for the actors' performances, the program highlighted that they had very little time to rehearse (a week or two if I remember correctly) so my comments were not attacking the actors, but their unpolished performances.
As for anyone involved with this production or knows someone who was: I'm sure there was a great amount of energy put into it (and their press packet indicated so), but if that were the only requirement for a good musical, Broadway would be even more dismal than it is now.
Ladygodiva ain't no lady
"The Winter's Tale Project" was great! I saw seven shows at the Fringe and it was by far the best one. Everyone in the cast was Broadway quality and the music was original and beautiful. I actually cried which I don't do very often while watching movies or plays. Someone above posted they are ordering the CD. Where can I get it??
Uh sorry guys..... a Sterling Award is not Canada's version of the Tony. A "Sterling" is a local award for the Edmonton Professional Theatre Community. These awards are handed out once a year in June. The awards are named after Elizabeth Sterling Haynes a local Edmonton theatre vanguard.