Word: mushabac
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Dates: during 1960-1969
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Directors John Lithgow and Jane Mushabac apparently have no use for heroes, heroines, or straight men of any sort. Strephon, the young shepherd who is fairy from head to waist and mortal on down, is usually played by romantic-lead types. Lithgow and Mushabac have cast an out-and-out comic in the role, and given him plenty of room to operate. Phyllis, the shepherdess Strephon loves, is pretty much of an ingenue part, but at Agassiz she is played mostly for laughs...
...Lithgow and Mushabac have used this considerable talent to put over their own kind of Gilbert and Sullivan. Should this tampering with the master's work be afforded the same respect as the real thing? I'm not sure, but faced with the choice of liking it or lumping it, I like...
...with a butterfly net. The ubiquitous Arthur Friedman as narrator bounces in and out of the action, as does a chameleon chorus that appears as everything from peasants to sheep to a fluid landscape. Philip Heckscher, the soldier, is appropriately ingenuous but his voice often betrays uncomfortable strain. Jane Mushabac has choreographed the play. Her group dances have wit but become overly frantic when Lithgow's devil gets twitchingly carried away with himself. Mushabac gives a long puzzling, oriental dance to the Princess (Beverly Hirschfield) that slows Histoire's pace. The Princess bends her arms and legs at right angles...
...chorus in this work sang every word of the clever libretto clearly and musically. Jane Mushabac's choreography was effective, although the chorus scenes were generally chaotic. Her duets were superb. Although the orchestra was never outstanding, its performance was always adequate...
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