NEWSPEAK Blog

Truth in Translation was a mess

I've talked to a couple other people who saw it, but Truth in Translation from my vantage was a complete mess aside from the music. I have no idea why they didn't enact any of the scenes that they were interpreting, but if you're going to devote three hours to a play about an entire country's legacy of violence, you have to do more than use tertiary characters to communicate that violence in words. Really disappointing.

I was fairly under the weather and didn't make it to Flaunt or the Melvins, both of which I heard were amazing.

As Ursen would say, I made "bad choices" this weekend. Boo hoo.

Things to Do in COS: Weekend of Friday, Feb. 16

It's looking like a theaterific weekend.

One of the year's most popular theater events through next weekend. More info href="www.themat.org">HERE

Aaron likes musicals for the obvious reasons. I think he went to see THIS last night.

As ususal, feel free to add events in the comments.

Festival of World Theater Brings SONDHEIM!

I just read the following--it looks like the CFWT is not dead, after all. They're moving their performances to the fall and even moving some stuff to Denver? At any rate, I'm completely excited to see that they are bringing Stephen Sondheim. Anyone who read and appreciated this month's pop-tard column will surely agree.

"The Colorado Festival of World Theatre (CFWT) is in full swing and gearing up for its fourth season to take place September 20-30, 2007. The Festival is planning a remarkable season with musical theatre as the theme this year. The CFWT will operate in partnership with Colorado College (CC), Theatreworks at University of Colorado at Colorado Springs (UCCS), the City of Woodland Park and Downtown Development Authority (DDA), the Manitou Art Theater (MAT) and the Denver Center for the Performing Arts (DCPA).

In light of the Festival’s theme, seven-time Tony Award winner, Stephen Sondheim will be the honoree and recipient of the Festival’s prestigious ‘Donald Seawell Award’ for lifetime achievement in the theatre. Sondheim is considered the most important figure in American musical theatre today. His credits include such well known hits as West Side Story and Gypsy (lyrics), Sweeney Todd, A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum, A Little Night Music and Into the Woods. World famous Musical Director Paul Gemignani and acclaimed Stage Director Lonny Price will create this stunning celebration featuring renowned musical theatre artists at the Pikes Peak Center.

The Festival will be the primary producer and catalyst for the U.S. performances of the groundbreaking theatrical work, Truth in Translation. Truth was created by Michael Lessac with music by Hugh Masekela, the most acclaimed jazz and blues musician in Africa. A company of South African actors and musicians tells the story of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission. This moving and passionate experience, presented in partnership with Colorado College, will touch many controversial issues being faced in the world today. Theatre is meant to challenge and this presentation will do just that.

Daniel Beaty, international award winning artist who performed his outstanding original show, Emergence-SEE! last year, will return with a stunning new cabaret show entitled, The Broadway Songs We Love. After the glowing reception he received during the Festival last July, it was no surprise to learn Daniel’s New York Public Theatre performances of Emergence-SEE! last fall earned him the Acclaim Award, Freedom Hero Award and one of New York magazine’s 2006 Culture Awards for Best in Theater. Daniel has performed at the Aspen Opera Theater, Teatro del Opera di Luca, Kennedy Center, Brooklyn Academy of Music and the Christmas Concert at the White House. Other collaborations this season include UCCS and the Pikes Peak Library District on the All Pikes Peak Reads project." 

some spam i received this morning

this message is courtesy of Jerri Pelasios (?) , and usually this kind of text disappears and gets covered over by some ad. but in this rare oppurtunity, i was permitted to revel and frolic in the surrealist environment of internet-generated poetry!

subj: her no sepia
bye, that the talent of that light 'entregent' is often of great use to a remember a squib much better applied, when it was made the device of the tenure, and that you will hold it (you can bear a quibble, I believe, 'Croisez', and fearing that the Western Empire might have some mind to less merit, introduced by the Graces, have been received, cherished, and suppose that you wanted, or could receive, any new instructions upon Tell stories very seldom, and absolutely never but where they are very occasions to show his reading at the expense of his judgment. Plautus is

fortune. His figure was beautiful but his manner was irresistible, by entertained by the majority of the company. This foolish, and often wherever they go, to hinder them from breaking their necks. This

inevitably punished by banishment, and immediate forfeiture of all your would not have him do to you. But, however, these refined pieces of of my letter. All these, and such like affected peculiarities, are the at that time, were not greatly surprised at it, having necessarily been

seem to favor these expeditions), seeing the immense numbers of the occasions to show his reading at the expense of his judgment. Plautus is company which you commonly keep: people will judge of you, and not for, if people are not willing to hear you, you had much better hold your

the best sense I know of: abide by it, it will counsel you best. Read and perfection of that character, in which the least spot or blemish would Talk often, but never long: in that case, if you do not please, at least weaknesses, they are not fit to live in the world, much less to thrive in

thousand in Germany, do not fail to inquire what they are, and to take a companies and, by the imprudence or carelessness of their superiors, nobles' equally forbid insolent contempt, or low envy and jealousy. Low of the world must, like the chameleon, be able to take every different

everybody. Why? because Venus will not charm so much, without her there. But the place which you are going to, in a great degree, is for I to twenty others, and consequently that they may reveal it without the Just as I had written what goes before, I received your letter of the

Avoid as much as you can, in mixed companies, argumentative, polemical hurt him more than either to leave him in the midst of his discourse, or them: the not doing it is thought to imply conscious guilt besides that ever so great: But 'si ferociam exuere cunctetur' must I rather die than

thousand in Germany, do not fail to inquire what they are, and to take a considerable birth, rank, and character for people of neither birth nor genteel and fashionable vices. He there sees some people who shine, and sovereigns (by the way) are so reasonable. The fine gentleman's claims of the day. It must be owned, that the Graces do not seem to be natives of thousand useful discoveries, which otherwise would never have been made.

Things to Do in COS: Weekend of Friday, Feb. 9, 2006

(feel free to add events in the comments)

Last three nights of The Syringa Tree at Theatreworks.

and ...

and ...

and ...

My Philosophical Problems with Save This City!

I saw the premier of the workshop production of Save This City! last night and I'm still wringing my hands because it really bothered me . The acting and the music were amazing, especially considering the amount of time they had to put it together, so it's nothing to do with that. And Artistic Director Steve Cosson reminded everyone that it's a VERY preliminary version of the production, so I say this with a shaker full of of salt, but: the script seems completely superficial to me -- like another freak show depiction of Colorado Springs as a Christian Medina where not a secular breath is drawn. I had the exact same feeling when I saw Alexandra Pelosi's rudimentary, feel-good, awww-shucks-ain't-Christians-curious? Friends of God, which takes as its point of departure a kind of condescending anthropological stance that pretends, in its typically liberal humanist way, to see the ordinary human side of the extreme culture and behavior produced by extreme dehumanizing belief when there is, in fact, nothing ordinary about it.

I fear Save This City!, for as much as I appreciate what they're trying to do, falls into the same trap. I realize that musical theater tends to flatten its subjects necessarily, but it seemed, frankly, so busy congratulating itself for trying to let the Christians tell their own widely divergent stories that it didn't ask questions nor did it provide many convincingly rounded characters to ask the questions for them (after the play, many of the cast members visibly wiped their brows in relief when an audience member assured them that the tone didn't seem mocking of the Christians at all). All told, if I'm remembering correctly, there were exactly three non-Christian segments in the two hour production: one of two high school students from Palmer who were in the GSA, one of four college-age liberal political canvassers, and a sympathetic portrayal of Kat Tudor (the character mentioned Smokebrush, so it wasn't hard to tell). The most compelling voice questioning the dominant New Life culture, which is, of course, the axis of the play, is the character of a transsexual woman (Amazingly played by ???) who's also a Christian. Rev. Benjamin Reynolds (a gay Christian) has a very minor part, but for the most part the script seems intent on playing incredibly sympathetic voyeur to the real voices of the real Christians they interviewed. Which is fine and good, but there was very little sympathy for any diversity of other real voices who are here on the ground in a city that has this shit, which ceases to be culturally fascinating after a year or two, rubbed in its face everyday. Where was Juliet Draper or Pam Jones' voices? Where was Frank Whitworth? Where was Mike Jones? Where was Kathryn Eastburn? Richard Skorman? John Sondericker? Gary Betchan and Becky Hale? Or anyone who could've more fully given voice to what it feels like to live next door to people who smile at you with supposed love while opposing your family and friends' basic civil rights.

I made a comment at the end that it seemed like the company needs to make a decision about what story they're actually telling. Right now it seems like they're interested in examining how truly diverse the seemingly monolithic Christian community is in Colorado Springs, and in many ways I think that would be their best approach. The voices of Rev. Benjamin Reynolds and the Christian Trannsexual could be more fully fleshed out and more moderate Christian voices could be added to the spectrum. But if the company is actually trying to portray the struggles of this entire city in an original way, then it's got a long way to go because, as it stands, it feels like a reiteration of many who've come from the East before to gawk, marvel and wonder with sympathetic eyes: Jeff Sharlet in Harper's, Tom Brokaw, the producers of Jesus Camp, Alexandra Pelosi etc., etc., etc. Richard Dawkins in the only outsider to have come here to call bullshit on Ted Haggard and New Life directly. As shrill as his voice is, I miss it.

Kudos to The Civilians and the CC students who, as actors and singers and musicians, did an amazing job with a very raw script. Kudos to Steve Cosson for all his work and for opening the mike to a long comments session afterward.

I definitely reccomend seeing it on its short run.

My interview with Cosson and two members of the company HERE. Times and ticket info HERE.

Save This City! Starts Tomorrow Night

Here's another piece from this month's issue of the paper -- an interview I did with The Civilians who, along with some CC students, have put together a musical (sort of) about our fair bubbling red water town thingy (whatever Tom said). Everyone should go see this. More info on the showsHERE

(Steve Cosson (founder), Allison Weller and Stephen Plunkett)

Colorado Springs Gets What It Deserves: A Musical!
An interview with The Civilians.

By Noel Black

On February 8, 9 and 10, the New York City-based investigative theater troupe The Civilians will give Colorado Springs residents chance to see our local culture in the mirror of a cabaret-style musical theater production based on interviews with over 100 locals. Not surprisingly, it'll be about how evangelical Christianity has affected our lives.

The production is titled Save This City! and all the words and lyrics come verbatim from the interviewees (full disclosure: I was one of the hundred plus) who included everyone from Mike Jones to Will Perkins. Though they hadn't even begun to assemble the interviews into a coherent storyline at the time of this interview, member Stephen Plunkett was able to tell me that, "There's a lot of military stuff, a lot about New Life, and a lot about the queer community."

After the CC "run," which will be preliminary sketches of the future production, they'll take their research back to New York for further development, and it will premier more officially "within the next two years."

We spoke with Steve Cosson (founder), Alison Weller and Stephen Plunkett about their experiences in Colorado Springs over the past several months as they conducted research with a group of students from Colorado College.

Newspeak: So you got to go out to New Life Church with Mike Jones, the man who massaged Ted Haggard. What was that like?

(More after the JUMP)

Breaking: The Boy Who Lived has Usher abs.

Okay, unless you've been living beneath an Internet rock, you've seen the photos of Daniel Radcliffe in his upcoming play Equus, in which he's supposed to get naked and stuff. Honestly, I just wanted to point out his glorious, feathered treasure trail and the fact that Lily and James' kid is built.

To Do Tonight: Jan. 19

As lame as the name is, this show should be pretty great:

Also, if you like jazz, which I don't, you should check out the Red Note Jazz Fest at Smokebrush. Don Goede said there were a ton of people and that the musicians were incredible. I believe him.

More info HERE

Top Dog/Underdog continues tonight. From the bill:

Two black brothers are obsessed with a street con card game and haunted by their names, Lincoln and Booth, given to them as a joke by their father. During the course of this darkly comic and ferociously exciting drama, they come to learn how history can repeat itself while playing out its old game of who's on top. Winner of the 2002 Pulitzer Prize for Drama. "Show Times: Wednesdays - Saturdays @ 7:30 p.m., Saturday Matinees @ 2:00 p.m., Sundays @ 4:00 p.m. This show is a co-production with Pueblo 's Steel City Theatre Company.

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More info HERE.

From the Desk of Christopher Morris Kit Bland

Our erstwhile New York correspondent Chritopher Morris Bland sends the following review of the Wally Shawn play The Fever for no apparent reason:

The Fever, a new play written and performed by Wallace Shawn. Directed by Scott Elliott. Presented by the New Group, www.thenewgroup.org Playing at The Acorn Theatre on Theatre Row, 410 W. 42nd Street, New York, NY 10036 (bet. 9th/10th Aves.)

Is Wallace Shawn Starting a Revolution?
Review by Kit Bland

It was a big weekend for Wallace Shawn fans in New York. The New Group debuted Shawn’s one-man play, “The Fever,” at Theatre Row on the same night as the Landmark Sunshine Cinema held a midnight screening of “The Princess Bride,” which features Shawn in his most famous role. No actor, especially one as intellectually vibrant as Shawn, wants to remain stuck in time, remembered for a single character, much less a scene, or even a word. It’s a safe bet that Shawn spends a fair amount of time trying to distance himself from that film and the five-syllable catchword uttered over and over by his character, the traveler Vizzini. (Shawn’s one-paragraph bio in the program for “The Fever” mentions several movies; “The Princess Bride” is not one of them.)

The play, as the promotional material so tantalizingly declares, is also about a traveler (the aptly unnamed The Traveler) who awakens with a high fever in a war-torn country and forces himself to confront the inequities of the world economy. But that’s not the whole truth. The Traveler has in fact already returned home from that unnamed war-torn country to his own unnamed country (his home turf sounding a lot like that den of inequity, the Upper East Side). Here he has the luxury of both time and space to ruminate on the unfairness of it all. And ruminate he does!

Make no mistake: this is revolutionary theatre. Shawn’s Traveler recounts a chain of events culminating in the appearance on his doorstep of a copy of Das Kapital. He reads the book and cannot escape Marx’s spell. Everywhere he looks he sees the “fetishism of commodities.” He can’t not see it. His new inability to ignore the ugly realities of commerce soon begins generating many questions—the question being the calling card of the revolutionary. If we all share the wealth, who on earth will man the sewers? Aren’t the slums beautiful? Is personal fortune the result of luck, or is it the other way around? (The playwright is wily too, inviting his audiences to join him “for a sip of champagne” before each performance.) Shawn is talking about revolution from the top down—an idea revolutionary in its own right. The Traveler wisely snaps out of his trance (or back into it) by the end of the play. Maybe he heard Vizzini calling from the wings?