Pittsburgh Tribune-Review: College football fans know that halftime shows can be amazing musical pageants. James Mason found a way to take that outdoor pageantry and turn it into a memorable theatrical experience. His show "Blast!" was a hit when it opened in 1999 in London, and has been running ever since. It won the 2001 Tony Award for best special-theatrical event and the 2001 Emmy for best choreography for its PBS telecast.
Friday, October 07, 2011
Heinz Hall ready to 'Blast' a pageantry of music, production
Pittsburgh Tribune-Review: College football fans know that halftime shows can be amazing musical pageants. James Mason found a way to take that outdoor pageantry and turn it into a memorable theatrical experience. His show "Blast!" was a hit when it opened in 1999 in London, and has been running ever since. It won the 2001 Tony Award for best special-theatrical event and the 2001 Emmy for best choreography for its PBS telecast.
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4 comments:
I have always enjoyed these types of performances. The spectacle can get really tiresome after a while, but if it is done well it can be really great. These types of shows such as Drumline live and Blue Man Group, get your heart pumping. The energy in the room is palpable. This type of show may not solve the problems of the world, but it will take your cares away for a couple of hours. That’s not such a bad thing right?
Blast! sounds like a very unique performance for a theater space. It reminds me of Stomp or Blue Man Group as tspeegle mentioned. I think it brings a fresh type of performance in to draw in an audience that may not typically go to the theater to see shows, and it may encourage them to return to see more performances. I just wish I could have seen Blast before it closed today, the article makes it sound like a very fun and energetic performance.
I saw Blast! 10 years ago in DC and I'll never forget it. Everything about their production is spectacular. It's so big, powerful, and theatrical. The idea of directing a marching band type routine into a stage production is so new and exciting. Its for all the people who only go to football games to watch the halftime show. And all the people who can't decide whether to get the subscription to the symphony or the theatre. I can't describe how overwhelmingly thrilling it is to watch over 50 musicians with their instrument moving so precisely with the huge horn sounds. The movement really brings the symphony to an entirely new level. It's really an incredible show.
It's cool that a show with such an interesting premise is coming to Heinz Hall. High energy shows which just surround you with their grandeur are always exciting to watch. I myself am a big fan of heavy theatre with more profound themes and meanings, but that's not to say that I wouldn't find this to be exciting an uniquely beautiful. I think everyone could afford to see something that purely entertains and fascinates them for a few hours. People spend so much time working and worrying - performances such as this bring back the original intent of theatre, to take one away from it all for just a little while.
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