Word: berger
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...FRUSTRATED, mentally," bemoans one of the characters in Passing Strangers, an original musical production by undergraduate Andrew Berger. That is certainly true for the four individuals in this play, who languish under their feelings of alienation. But alienation is only the tip of the emotional iceberg. Although Berger occasionally dips below the surface to reveal his characters' motivations, in the end he leaves only the superficial impression of the iceberg's peak...
...Berger raises some interesting questions but he provides few satisfactory answers. At first, he examines the problem of sustaining a relationship hindered by a lack of either physical or emotional commitment. Although they erect different defenses, Leo and Todd both fear involvement. After Leo and Celeste consummate their affair, they still maintain their distance from each other. And though Todd and Lynnette say "I love you," they refuse "to be in love." They pass like shadows through each other's lives, melding together but emerging with no signs of having touched...
Unfortunately, in the second act Berger stumbles, failing to maintain his revealing characterizations. He resolves his psychodrama in the most facile manner. Instead of continuing to explore Todd's and Leo's inability to handle a deep involvement, he introduces a new theme--their suppressed homosexuality. Just as they hide their feelings for women, they submerge their love for each other. The frustrated lovers transfer their apprehension about homosexuality to their heterosexual relationships. It is too easy a solution. The candle that emitted illuminating rays in the first act has burned down to leave only an amorphous mass...
Lucienne Davidson, pianist, plays Haydn, Berger, Schumann and Debussy Etudes. Longy School of Music...
...writer-composer-director Andy Berger '78 says, Passing Strangers takes place "anywhere and everywhere." It raises questions of identity, sexual frustration and the inadequacy of communication between two women and two men. But what makes Passing Strangers more than just another scene in your own suite are its 13 songs, written Berger says in a mixture of light rock, a pop style, gospel and blues, which are positioned in between the scenes and comment on the action. The play, produced on a five platform multi-level set emerges as a "montage", unusual, surprising, funny, warm and delightful variations on familiar...