Green-Eyed Mystic

SHOWS RECENTLY SEEN:

"The History Boys" at PICT



AUGUST 13, 2009
The History Boys
The City Paper
BY TED HOOVER

I've spent the past week following these Obamacare Astroturf Town Brawls in which extremely ill-informed people stand up at community centers to shriek a bit and then break down in tears; it's a spectacle that's both odd and essentially American: What we feel has somehow become far more important than what we think.

So it was with considerable relief that I settled into my chair at the Stephen Foster Memorial to watch Pittsburgh Irish & Classical Theatre's production of The History Boys. Whatever else this play is, and it's a lot, History Boys is largely about brains: having them, filling them, honing them and hiding behind them. There are few pleasures greater than listening as playwright Alan Bennett spins out pages and pages of terrifically clever, satisfyingly funny and, on occasion, insightful dialogue.

Eight very bright male students in England are all trying to get into either Oxford or Cambridge. So the headmaster has called for a summer program of overachieving study with both the regular teacher, Hector, and one hired specifically for the program, Irwin. Hector represents the "old school" type of schooling -- knowledge for its own sake -- while Irwin (certainly Bennett's satire on the Thatcherite era) is a flashy, ultimately empty man firmly convinced that presentation beats truth and deliberately contradictory positions beat everything. In Hector's world, knowing art is a great thing; in Irwin's, knowing about art is better.

Bennett also throws in a bunch of stuff about love, need, sex, trust and truth. Oddly, one of the things which keeps this highly entertaining play from being a great one is Bennett's wide canvas; there's so much going on that he never gives himself the time or space to fully develop his ideas.

The PICT production, directed by Andrew S. Paul, remains lucid and measured throughout ... which, given the glorious jumble Bennett provides, is no small feat. I especially enjoyed the very real sense of ensemble presented by the actors playing the students, including Dave Droxler, Jarid Faubel and Corey O'Connor.

Sam Redford is a nicely conflicted Irwin, and Martin Giles is a funny, philistine headmaster. Bernard Cuffling has no problem making real Hector's great enthusiasms, but I do have to say that his relentless perkiness robs the character of gravitas and subtext.

But, ultimately, I'm not sure any of my caveats matter. History Boys may not be everything you'd like it to be, but what it is is pretty amazing.

"Into the Woods"



"Les Miserables"


Broadway's Robert Cuccioli (Javert) and Fred Inkley (Jean Valjean)

"What the Butler Saw"


left to right: Douglas Rees, Helena Routi, Martin Giles

"Legally Blonde the musical"



"JOSEPH AND THE AMAZING TECHNICOLOR DREAMCOAT"




In London

"MADAME DE SADE"


Rosamund Pike as Madame de Sade


Judi Dench and Rosamund Pike



"SWAN LAKE" at the Royal Opera House

from the Times Online
Anthony Dowell's production is one of the world's finest, and this performance seemed to possess an aura of enchantment and a sense of the majesty of its heritage. Everyone, from Christina Arestis as Siegfried's patrician mother to David Pickering as his loyal friend Benno, acted with a strong sense of purpose, while Valeriy Ovsyanikov, conducting the ROH Orchestra, gave Tchaikovsky's score the full weight of his experience and passion.


ROYAL OPERA HOUSE








Behind the scenes




Derek Jacobi (Malvolio)


Victoria Hamilton (Viola) & Mark Bonnar (Orsino)


The high-larious Guy Henry (Sir Andrew Aguecheek) & Ron Cook (Sir Toby Belch)


Indira Varma (Olivia) stage center

SHOWS I HAVE SEEN
*in London
All other shows were seen in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania where I am an usher at three theatres.

Musicals

42nd Street
Annie (2005 & 2007)
Anything Goes
Avenue Q
Beauty and the Beast (2001 & 2006)
Bombay Dreams
The Boy Friend*
Cabaret (2006* & 2007)
Camelot
Carousel
Cats
Chicago (2004 & 2006*)
The Color Purple
Contact
Dirty Rotten Scoundrels
Dr. Dolittle
Dreamgirls
The Drowsy Chaperone
Evita*
Fiddler on the Roof
Forever Plaid
The Full Monty
Funny Girl
Grease
Hello, Dolly! (2002 & 2004)
High School Musical
Into the Woods
Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat
Legally Blonde The Musical
Les Miserables (2004, 2006*, 2008* & 2009)
The Lion King (2004 & 2008)
Me and My Girl
Miss Saigon
Movin' Out
A Musical Christmas Carol (2002 - 2007)
The Music Man
My Fair Lady (2003 & 2007)
On the Record
Oklahoma! (2004 & 2007)
The Phantom of the Opera (1999 & 2006)
Pirates of Penzance
The Producers
Rent
Seven Brides for Seven Brothers
She Loves Me
Smokey Joe's Cafe
The Sound of Music (2005 & 2006)
Spamalot*
Stomp
West Side Story
White Christmas
Who's Tommy
Wicked (2006 & 2008)

Plays

Alice's Adventures in "Wonderland"
All My Sons
Bent*
Doubt
Elliot and the Magic Bed
Hamlet*
The History Boys
The Female of the Species*
An Ideal Husband
Ivanov*
Les Liasons Dangereuses
Little Women
Madame De Sade*
Oedipus*
The Pitmen Painters*
Pride and Prejudice
The Subject Was Roses
Summer and Smoke*
Things of Dry Hours
Twelfth Night*
Villette*
What the Butler Saw

Operas
Fidelio
Billy Budd



Ballets

Dracula
Giselle
Midsummer Night's Dream
Nutcracker
Swan Lake*

"I know so little about Beckett, I would embarrass myself with a comment. He hasn't been an influence on my work, although some of those in the know have told me that The Office had certain Beckett qualities. One journalist also said it was like Chekhov. I know nothing about him either. What I'm saying is, it seems I rip people off without knowing it. I also rip people off and know it. Laurel and Hardy, for example. Now they were like Beckett. Does that count as knowing something about Beckett after all?" - Ricky Gervais