Word: shows
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Dates: during 1970-1979
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Last Friday evening, I was present at the performances of two shows, the juxtaposition of which offered a considerable insight into the pros and cons of Harvard theater. Both shows had full houses, both audiences reacted with a display of much approval--yet it was clear that one was a phenomenal theatrical success, the other a dismal failure. The two shows in question were Ellington at Eight on the Loeb mainstage, and Out of the Reach of Children at Kirkland House: there were many flaws of an obvious kind in both shows--the rare ability of the Ellington singers...
...possible exception of Bonnie Zimering's dancing, which was a continual joy to watch, there simply was no personality on stage with that combination of talent and egoism that forces one to look at them and not notice the blackness all around. In other words, in performance the show lacked style...
...several numbers, which worked more or less successfully: an enormous letter, for example, out of which popped singers and dancers. Yet as each device in this series of specials progressed, rather than covering any deficiency, it made one even more painfully aware of the repetitious nature of the show, its lack of directionality. Significantly, the largest hand of applause was for a blues number sung without frills in the second act, and yet the biggest laugh was reserved for when another special effect lowered from the roof stuck and had to be raised and lowered three times during black-outs...
...these flaws in Sellars' production stem more from inevitabilities in Chekhov's play than from major failures of direction. The Loeb crew finds the pulses and rhythms of The Three Sisters and lets them dictate the approach. The result is a show that moves, inspires, and sometimes sings in a lonely, tortured voice...
Another character who pulls the show up is Launce, a simple servant whose devotion to his dog, Crab, serves as an ironic commentary on Proteus's infidelity. Greg Cattell Johnson steals the show with his charmingly moronic performance, particularly in his first scene where he laments leaving his family and berate's his dog's lack of emotion. Even the dog gets laughs, yawning and wagging his tail...