Bach Choir and London Baroque sound fine

Tuesday, October 28, 2003

Arts & Entertainment writers offer capsule comments on this, that and the other thing ...

"Chain of Fools," "Respect" and "Think." That's all Aretha Franklin sang from her Atlantic years -- the years that saw her crowned the Queen of Soul -- at Heinz Hall on Saturday. No "Do Right Woman -- Do Right Man." No "Dr. Feelgood." No "I Never Loved a Man (The Way I Love You)." Not even so much as a chorus of "(You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman."

And the weird thing is, until it sank in that she wasn't coming back after ending a one-hour set with an epic performance of "Freeway of Love" that shifted gears at one point into praising Jesus (which, considering the overt sexual innuendo of the chorus, seemed a little more like something Prince would do), it didn't seem to matter.

She was that good.

Do we really need to hear her weigh in on a song from "Camelot," much less an opera? No, in fact, we don't. And given all the classic soul material she had to choose from, is there anyone who really needs to see her start a show, casino-style, with a show-tune medley of "'Swonderful" and "I Want to Be Happy"?

But even these unnecessary detours were, at worst, surreal yet well-performed distractions from the heart of Franklin's set -- a set that found its footing on the second song, a soulful, pleading "Try a Little Tenderness," before heading to church for a raucous performance of "Think." Three songs from Franklin's latest, "So Damn Happy," held up surprisingly well to the classics in the set, with Franklin moving to the piano for the two she wrote -- the title track and "You Are My Joy."

And when she promised "a little hip-hop" with the Lauryn Hill-assisted title track to 1998's "A Rose Is Still a Rose," it may have been more soul than hip-hop in the hands of Franklin's backing band, which included a 10-piece horn section, but anyone who would've seen that as a problem wasn't there.

-- Review by Ed Masley Post-Gazette Pop Music Writer

Playhouse Jr.

Anyone who's seen Steven Dietz's sophisticated drama may be surprised that Playhouse Jr. opens its season with another Dietz play. (Point Park's also done "Private Eyes" and "Halcyon Days.") "Still Life With Iris" is pretty sophisticated, too. That's to say, it has an interesting, intricate story that will appeal to adults and older children.

Iris grows up in the land of Nocturno, where everything that's used by others during the day is made at night. The inhabitants of Nocturno all wear past coats, patchworks that contain and protect their memories. When the rulers, the Great Goods, who collect the most perfect of everything, decide they want Iris for their own, her past coat is taken away, along with everything she ever knew about herself and her family. Her journey to recover her past brings her new friends, such as Mozart (Eddie Rabon) and the pirate captain Annabel Lee (Emily Geyman), and a deeper appreciation of home.

If younger children don't understand all the plot twists about memory, there's still plenty to engage them, like the spats between Iris' friends Elmer (Kyle Shepard) and Hazel (Faith Deutschle) as they tackle chores like making ladybugs. Also, Dave Jans' very funny Flower Painter makes a great show of some stage magic that amazes young audience members.

Scenic designer Lisa Hatcher covers the stage in brilliant colors, as if the set wears its own vivid past coat full of bright buttons and dazzling flowers. Pei-chi Su's costumes run the gamut from period suits (Mozart) to outlandish hodgepodge (the Great Goods). Some of the actors, especially Great Goods Michael Milburn and Dierdre McLaughlin, try to pack as much color into their performances. The kids seemed to love them, which makes a little something for everyone in "Still Life With Iris."

Point Park Playhouse, Oakland, 11 a.m. and 2:30 p.m. Saturday and Sunday; $7. 412-621-4445.

-- Review by Anna Rosenstein, for the Post-Gazette

Bach Choir

The Bach Choir opened its 10th season under music director Brady Allred with a concert of 20th-century choral works Saturday evening at East Liberty Presbyterian Church.

For the occasion, the choir commissioned "Lacrymae" by William Averitt. Set in three movements to verses from Lamentations, it's a cyclical work of post-modern impressionism that creates just enough catharsis to leave the listener with a sense of hope.

Other works included Eric Whitacre's scintillating "Cloudburst" and Petr Eben's turgid "Prager Te Deum 1989." Under Allred's baton, the choir's attacks, cut-offs and dynamics changes were precise, but diction was often lost in the church's cavernous acoustics.

The major work on the program was Vaughan Williams' "Dona Nobis Pacem" for soprano and baritone soloists, chorus and orchestra. Charlene Canty is always a delight to hear, but the soprano solo was underused in this work. Daniel Teadt adapted his malleable voice to a color appropriate to a Vaughan Williams baritone, and he declaimed the poignant texts exquisitely.

Bass-baritone Brent Stater put on a clinic in Kirke Mechem's "Songs of the Slave" -- settings of texts from spirituals, speeches by Frederick Douglass and the Declaration of Independence. With effortless vocal production, he dramatically shaded his booming voice to the score's nuances, and his apt body language and facial expressions (along with exemplary diction) conveyed every syllable.

-- Review by Eric Haines, for the Post-Gazette

London Baroque

In the baroque period, French composers often used the title "Tombeau" or "tombstone" for memorial pieces. With several on the program, Saturday night's concert by London Baroque was only a few tombeaux short of a cemetery.

Halloween is around the corner.

For this Renaissance & Baroque Society concert at Synod Hall, the period foursome of two violins, harpsichord and viola da gamba presented a snapshot of the composing world circa 1703. The diverse works brilliantly showed how specious is the established view of the baroque period as static.

Actually, Vivaldi's Sonata in D minor began the concert in lackluster fashion (much too dry), but the evening picked up with Charles Medlam's da gamba solo of Marais' elegiac "Tombeau for St. Columbe." Although the accompanying harpsichord proved loud (though its timbre was impressive), the intricacies of the work shined through.

In another tombeau by Rebel, the entire group plumbed the idiosyncrasies of the work, such as the exaggerating lilt of the opening.

The result was similar for a resplendent sonata by Buxtehude. The expressive playing in the high register by violinist Richard Gwilt brought immediacy to the piece. He and Ingrid Seifert also played his violin duo, "Kaleidoscope," a rather aimless contemporary work.

But with all this diversity, it was good ole J.S. Bach who provided the best moment. Harpsichordist Terence Charlston's crisp and fluid reading of Bach's Chromatic Fantasia and Fugue in D minor was commanding and inventive, a tombeau itself to the genius of Bach.

--Review by Andrew Druckenbrod, Post-Gazette Classical Music Critic

Handy Dandy

Although the opening night Theatre Factory audience clearly wanted to laugh, the program cautions, "A comedy, but ..."

While William Gibson's "Handy Dandy" includes lots of light levity and some very funny moments, it also weighs in with an issue-laden story line and occasionally poignant drama. Overall, it's more "but" than "comedy."

Directed by Ron Ferrara, the two-actor play is set on a bare stage with a riser. Howard Elson plays District Court Judge Henry Pulaski, a humorless conservative who prides himself on his logic, pragmatism and efficiency. Into his courtroom hobbles Linda Stayer as Sister Molly Egan, a feisty seventysomething Roman Catholic nun who's been arrested for trespassing on the property of a nuclear weapons processing plant.

The story allows both sides of the nuclear issue ample commentary, but it's really about the unlikely relationship that evolves between the nun and the judge. Slowly, both in and out of court, they begin to share the intimate secrets behind their isolated personalities. Stayer and Elson, Theatre Factory veterans who performed together in "A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum," quickly develop a balanced chemistry that ranges from caustic to caring.

Theatre Factory, Trafford. 8 p.m. Thursdays through Saturdays; 2 p.m. Sundays through Nov. 8. $12-$15. 412-374-9200

-- Review by John Hayes, Post-Gazette Staff Writer

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