The Merry Widow

The Merry Widow
CU Presents
Macky Auditoium
Boulder, CO 
October 27-29, 2017

The Eklund Opera program at the University of Colorado provides an excellent opportunity for aspiring singers and musicians to perform classic work in front of an audience. This spring they presented The Merry Widow.

The show began with the longest overture I have ever heard. The director attempted to break that up with a pantomime, but the scenes were too short and too choppy to fill the time.

The voices of the cast members were stunning to listen to. “Vilja” was spectacularly performed and the men singing about their difficulties and the men’s septet “Women” entertaining.

This show is one that contains dialog. The acting performances among the cast were uneven. Some showed flair for the dialog, others only seemed to be reciting the lines. The characters were fairly two dimension and few of them came across as real people.

The choreography throughout was rough. While the steps were designed to be impressive, the cast did not seem to have the ability to pull them off.

The sets of the show, likely professionally done, were delightful. The multiple entranceways and exits gave the space a feeling of depth. The costumes, also professionally done, were perfect to demonstrate the wealth of the characters.

The gratuitous finale scene at Maxim’s at least enjoyable to watch. While the ending was predictable, we had a fun time getting there.

Dracula

Dracula
Colorado Ballet
Ellie Caulkins Opera House
Denver, CO
October 6-15, 2017

For the past ten years, the Colorado Ballet has presented a wide variety of shows. Aside from the Nutcracker, only one show has been repeated in that time – Dracula. At time sit has been an extra show added in October. This year, it is one of the three main ballets being performed.

Dracula is not a typical ballet. It contains a much more complex story than the art form usually attempts. As a result, the show contained many interactions between the performers, but far less dancing than a regular ballet would.

The performance was made up of three acts. Each featured one major dance sequence in the midst of graceful stagecraft. Those sequences felt long and drawn out – especially since they did nothing to advance the story. Although the dance of the undead in the third act was more entertaining than the others.

Also unlike other ballets was the strong characters the dancers portrayed. The personalities came through the physical actions of these performers who never spoke. It was impressive to watch. Dracula’s slow, sensual movements added to his mysterious appearance. Although he had a habit of drawing others to him, pushing them away and then drawing them back which made little sense. The performance of Renfield’s psychotic behavior was also well crafting.

The costumes in the production were spectacular. Dracula’s red cape swirled about him majestically. His well choreographed flipping of it around his legs complimented his graceful movements. Not one costume looked out of place – they looked like the clothing of the period and not ballet costumes.

The sets brought the whole production together. They were clearly indicative of the mood of each scene and moved the action along. Once set change left Lucy on stage for a rather awkward costume change, but the rest seemed flawless.

For fans of traditional ballet, this ballet may take getting used to. This show does have the ability to bring in audiences who do not attend traditional ballets. That is a tribute to the power of the story – no matter how it is told.

South Pacific

South Pacific

Inspire Creative
PACE Center
Parker, CO 
September 29 - October 15, 2017

The Rodgers and Hammerstein musical South Pacific was controversial in its day. The storyline of racial tension is still relevant today.

The current production by Inspire Creative used the original script, which created a much longer show. The audience was treated to little heard reprises and dialogue which didn’t drag down the tempo at all. Act One was so loaded with classic songs it was hard to believe they were all from the same show.

The story revolved around Nellie Forbush. This is a part that requires an actress who is attractive and charismatic. She had exactly the right balance of charm and silliness. It was easy to see why the entire camp practically revolved around her. And her voice was perfect for the classic Rogers and Hammerstein score.

Opposite Nellie, was Emile who was handsome and engaging. His voice was up to the lush romantic standard, “Some Enchanted Evening.” One particularly impressive performance was by Luther Billis. He seemed to steal every scene he was in.

The portrayal of Joe Cable wasn’t quite as strong as the others. He seemed to change from in love to horrified at the object of those affections with little motivation. His ballad “Younger than Springtime” wasn’t quite the breathtaking love song it should have been. However, his angry turn with “You’ve Got to Be Carefully Taught” brought an intimate rage to the words, reflecting more anger at his upbringing than his current situation.

The costumes and sets were perfectly suited for the show and the directing showed great flair. A working shower added fun to “I’m Gonna Wash That Man Right Outta My Hair” while a retractable scrim added mystery to the Bali Hai ceremony. The entire production played like a period piece without feeling dated.

If there was a downfall to this production it was the casting of some of the Polynesian characters. The actors performing the roles well, but considering the prejudice that occurred during the story, they looked too white to effectively move the story along.

Prodcutions such as this one effectively demonstrated why this show is a classic. In Inspire’s hands, it was timeless.