SITE GUIDE
SEARCH
REVIEWS
REVIEW ARCHIVES
ADVERTISING AT CURTAINUP
FEATURES
NEWS
Etcetera and
Short Term Listings
LISTINGS
Broadway
Off-Broadway
NYC Restaurants
BOOKS and CDs
OTHER PLACES
Berkshires
London
California
New Jersey
DC
Connecticut
Philadelphia
Elsewhere
QUOTES
TKTS
PLAYWRIGHTS' ALBUMS
LETTERS TO EDITOR
FILM
LINKS
MISCELLANEOUS
Free Updates
Masthead
A CurtainUp Review
Carson McCullers Talks About Love
|
I periodically have to return home to the South to renew my sense of Horror
.—
|
Suzanne Vega in
Carson McCullers Talks About Love
(Photo: Sandra Coudert) |
Vega brings a copy of the McCullers book on stage, and so the young girl, with bangs like Vega and a similarly shaped face and duly serious eyes, stares out at the audience for the show's entirety. She then becomes McCullers, putting on a darker wig and physically embodying a different self. Her face becomes rigid, her speech pattern staccato and serious, with a slight Southern twang.
As McCullers, Vega cherry picks vignettes from the author's life, always making sure to circle back to her various romantic relationships with men and women, from drug addicts to her artistic peers. We learn about the young author's precocious life in Georgia, her early marriage to Reeves McCullers, her talents on the piano. McCullers' dependency on alcohol and attention quickly become constants in this memoir, along with her struggle for happiness.
About a dozen times during this ninety-minute performance Vega slides into song, backed by a jocular pianist, and obedient guitarist. Her distinctive voice is soothing and confident (only betrayed by Vega's lack of sureness in her lines). The songs explore moments in McCullers' life and possibly her emotional states. They are a sort of easy folk-rock with pleasing chords, and not - too - somber lyrics (all music is written by Vega and Duncan Sheik).
The performance is a strange stepchild of a cabaret/song cycle. There is a fair amount of monologue-ing, and the songs, however lovely, do not enhance the story itself. Vega also tends to rely a bit (perhaps too much) on her McCullers props — there is more than one glass of alcohol on the stage, and more than a handful of cigarette puffs taken. But there is something endearing about this singer's homage to the mysterious McCullers, and her bravery at attacking a new art form and it is not to be overlooked that this is Suzanne Vega's first public foray into writing material beyond presentation as music. Her prose is sensitive, and showcases her deep respect — and possibly even love — for the mysterious McCullers.
Although there may be better actors than Vega, she does an impressive job embodying the author. And, let's face it, Vega's musicality and original voice is something many of us have a deep respect for, and, like myself, even love.
|
Carson McCullers Talks About Love br>
Written and Performed by Suzanne Vega Directed by Kay Matschullat Music written by Suzanne Vega and Duncan Sheik Musicians: Joe Iconis and Andy Stack Production Stage Manager Melissa Mae Gregus br> Lighting Designer: Lenore Doxsee Scenic Designer: Louisa Thompson Costume Designer: Jessica Pabst Sound Designer: Nick Kouides Music Director: Gerry Leonard Rattlestick Playwrights Theater, 224 Waverly Place www.rattlestick.org 2212 868 4444 From April 20 - June 4, opening May 5 Wednesday through Saturdays @ 800pm, Mondays @8pm, Sundays @3pm Reviewed by Amanda Cooper based on 5/2/11 performance |
|
REVIEW FEEDBACK Highlight one of the responses below and click "copy" or"CTRL+C"
Paste the highlighted text into the subject line (CTRL+ V): Feel free to add detailed comments in the body of the email. . .also the names and emails of any friends to whom you'd like us to forward a copy of this review. Visit Curtainup's Blog Annex For a feed to reviews and features as they are posted add http://curtainupnewlinks.blogspot.com to your reader Curtainup at Facebook . . . Curtainup at Twitter Subscribe to our FREE email updates: E-mail: esommer@curtainup.comesommer@curtainup.com put SUBSCRIBE CURTAINUP EMAIL UPDATE in the subject line and your full name and email address in the body of the message. If you can spare a minute, tell us how you came to CurtainUp and from what part of the country. |
Slings & Arrows-the complete set
You don't have to be a Shakespeare aficionado to love all 21 episodes of this hilarious and moving Canadian TV series about a fictional Shakespeare Company
