A Review of "The Madrigal"

It has been a royal pain, but I finally have gotten onto the new Blog post. If I continue to have problems, I will follow so many of you others....

I wanted to post my review of The Madrigal at the local high school. This is year 17, so they've got it down to a science!

The school is built with a rotunda. The performance began with a Madrigal group singing there to seated audience. As I've sung in several madrigal groups, I was familiar with all the songs but one, so I think I can speak with some authority in saying that they did a great job! They were musically accurate [not always easy wit close harmonies acapella] and generally their diction was quite good [based on te other members of our group who did not know the music] Even the 16 yr old boy who went with us was impressed.

Next, a group performed an English country dance, then repeated it [under instruction from the Dance Master] wih audience members pulled up to partner. I was sad that none of our large party had been asked. But I did not sit us in the front row so that Dad would not be asked.

We were then led down the hall to the cafetorium. They had a proscenium stage which overflowed its corners. OK, thrust is correct, but oveflowed was the feel. The other corners also had stage sets. On corner next to the R thrust held a musicians stage.

The format was: Act I, course1 of dinner to music [also music between scenes] They had soloists, harpsichord, [well, that's what it sounded like] small groups a recorder ensemble, and a guitar ensemble, a couple of choirs, and various combibnations of the above. Well done!
Act 2, course 2, etc. [Dinner ended after Act 4.

The show: An edited version of The Merry Wives of Windsor. Again, I was very impressed. I was impress with first, the judicious editing. You got the majority of the play in a form the teens could understand, and so, therefore, could the audience. The number of characters were cut down to the essential, and audience members were used for others [such as for delivering messages etc.] Finally, in our performance, their principal was plucked out of the audience and given a long blond wig to be a brief character--to great laughter! They got a math teacher the night before.

The casting: Was excellent. While I think that those who played middle aged characters could have used their bodies a little more to show that--it is hard, for middle aged...what does that really mean? It was a concept they struggled with. As I was doing make-up, I'd ask a kid, "How old are you?" "16." "No, your character." "I don't know." That showed. Except for the old man, who did a superb job, And I noted especially with his cane--meaning he used it correctly!! Usually kids will try to use the cane along side of the affected leg. He used it correctly--opposite. He was also exceptionally good at stepping into and out of the show, adressing the audience several times in announcing the entertaining group between scenes. I wish only that his make-up had gone with the rest of him better [I didn't do his.] Also one girl told me she was middle-aged, and she did portray herself that way, but she was fighting a loosing battle because of her petit build she was picked up quite a lot, giving her a younger aspect than she miht otherwise have achieved. This is not neccessarily a negative comment, but it wold have worked better if the other women her age" would have remembered they were "middle aged" One 'man' did an exceptional job at using his body in that way. The boys, generally speaking were better at that than the girls.

Richard: Played Sir Hugh of no discernable age, who was a well respected friend to the main characters, and an indespesible background character. When he asked me what he could have done to better his performance, I said, "Have years of experience behind you." And I stand by that. He had a passably good Scots accent, which additional practice would have helped. He was fine, except a couple of times his own accent slipped through, though I doubt anyone who didn't know him well would have picked up on that. [The kids at school are all convinced he is Canadian, even though he says not...]

The technical: Each 'fake' corner's backdrop scenery was made by using scaffolding and hanging painted muslin from the floor of the top. On the top was a spotlight used to light other areas. The spot lighting crossing and occasionally alone, worked very well. The thrust corners held the two homes escept for the forest scene. The homes were turned around and being black, essentially disappeared. Gauzy curtains with leaves dropped down, and there was some sort of tree/bush thing C stage around which the actors wove on and off stage [led by Sir Hugh/Richad] in their guise as 'fairies' as the final humiliation of Sir Falstaff. Again, it is obvious that this was not the first year the director has done such a show. Excellently well done.

All in all: A good time was had by the players [Richard is sad it is over], the audience [we parents enjoyed it, so did the four teens who were friends from church who went], and the community [very proud of this anual event].

Richard is planning to audition for the spring show--different director. And if he doesn't get into the show, he still wants to work on it :) Now this I understand.