Word: stagecrafter
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...cultural prostitution. Shuman does his turn admirably. Looking for all the world like an afternoon at the Broadway Super-Market, he graphically mimes both pain and self-absorption. But at the point in the third act when he and Hamlin finally stand face to face, no amount of individual stagecraft can forestall the recognition that they are acting in different plays. Hamlin, for better or whose, is playing a text about an individual's realization that progress is an illusion and a cheat. Shuman is playing an elaborate directorial conceit concerning the corporate bankruptcy of American life. Where the juxtaposition...
Against all advice, she reversed the usual pattern and switched from soprano to mezzo in 1957. Making the most of her big, warm voice, mature musicianship and canny flair for stagecraft, she was discovered all over again in the character roles of the mezzo repertory. Today, at 45, she has arrived at the point where she can not only steal the show from high-flying prima donnas but also carry an entire production herself. In recent seasons she has frequently done both, demonstrating the versatility as well as the power of her portrayals by encompassing the quirky pathos...
...tragi-triptych fortunately leaned on a combination of honest grappling and pure stagecraft, give or take a few lapses. Douglas was by turns crusty and touching as the rebellious old man who refuses to settle down as a withering weed. When a thoroughly resigned oldster (Shirley Booth) gurgles, "You've given me so much," Douglas rasps back, "Anger, I hope." All the same, many aged Americans could well envy Douglas' solution: he merely packs up and goes back to his own house...
...Verdi productions, Il Trovatore and Nabucco, illustrated the company's faults-and how it turns them into virtues. Both performances tended to be concerts in costume. Nicola Benois' massive, upward-sweeping sets were effective in a traditional vein. Nabucco, in particular, had moments of rousing stagecraft, especially when a 35-ft. purple statue of Baal split down the middle and the surrounding temple exploded, filling the stage and auditorium with steam. But mostly the singers forgot about the drama and one another, turned toward the audience, and simply belted out their best. Frequently it was more than good...
...National Repertory Theater has been touring the U.S. for five years. Rarely has theatrical mediocrity been spread so widely for so long. The company has also pocketed some $105,000 in National Arts Council grants, not a dime of which can be traced in the amateur-night stagecraft of its cast and directors. Last week the N.R.T. appeared on Broadway with dramatic choices that were varied in content yet reflected the standard repertory mentality: combine one old classic (Molière's The Imaginary Invalid) with one serious American play (O'Neill's A Touch...