Wednesday, November 11, 2009
Quantum Theater reinvents classic operetta
The Tartan Online: "It took 250 years of history and five different writers to bring Candide to Pittsburgh’s former Don Allen Auto City. Last Thursday night, Quantum Theater presented the first of many performances of Leonard Bernstein’s operetta, as adapted from Hugh Wheeler’s adaptation of Voltaire’s original work."
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2 comments:
Candiiiide. Oh dear. Well, I really enjoyed the music. I liked that the orchestra was in the center of the action, it really helped us focus on the music as the center of the whole show. I also enjoyed some of the bits in which the conductor interacted with the cast onstage. There were a few things that bothered me about the performance, because I thought the only reason they were done was because the production team though, Oh wouldn't it be cool to have pyro, or a smartcar drive into the space. I didn't get some of those choices helped to tell the story, or added to it.
This is a horrible review. The author mentions "flaws" in the very last line and instead of telling us any, he just re-tells the entire first 30 min of the show. He also attributes the props to the space, which are in no way connected. You don't have to perform in an auto mall to use car parts as props.
But going beyond this absolutely atrocious review, there is also an atrocious production behind it. This production of Candide was just horrific. The strong concept present in the beginning (the use of car parts and a car) completely disappeared by the end of act one and never once added to the story in anyway. True it's entertaining to watch during certain moments, but the overall production completely failed in presenting a cohesive story. It detracted from the power of Candide in a negative way. I'm all for reinventing old works into new pieces but to butcher the piece with no regard, and to not even create a new spine for the entire plot is just theatrical ignorance on a massive level.
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