editor's note-- this review was written for the Asheville Citizen-Times, and has no affiliation with Asheville Performing Arts Reviews. APAR did not recieve permission to reprint this review; it was obtained from the Asheville Citizen-Times website, which we encourage you to visit at the following link:
http://www.citizen-times.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=200770127044
(if that did not work, here is the text of the review)
THEATER REVIEW: Love theme unifies pieces of Redundant's 'Number 1'
by Jim Cavener, CITIZEN-TIMES CORRESPONDENT
published January 28, 2007 12:15 am
ASHEVILLE — The Redundant Theatre Company Theatre has hit its stride and finally achieved the form its founders envisioned when they started working together some years ago. With "Number 1 (With a Bullet)," Redundant has come into its own.
"Number 1" features three new plays and three "repeats," with variations of audience or players' favorites from the past.
Redundant operates more like a musical ensemble than a typical theater. The group stages short plays, several in an evening, much as a musical concert of different songs.
The glue that holds together the six pieces of "Number 1" is a love theme, anticipating the arrival of Valentine's Day. A clever transition between the various vignettes is the reading of actual love letters.
The opening episode, "A Bowl of Soup," is a show Redundant had considered for some time but couldn't find the right context. But here, it guides the audience pretty specifically into the group's version of a love show. It's a good opener.
This is often provocative material and intellectually demanding. The company provides a talented and precocious cast. Willie Repoley, Rain Newcomb, Rebecca Morris and Todd Weakley are each a master of dialect and nuanced acting. While some of the material is obscure, other pieces are quite intellectually demanding, everyone seeing this production will marvel at the mastery of technique and delivery of vast amounts of material.
Jim Cavener writes on theater for the Citizen-Times. Email at: JimCavener@aya.Yale.edu
4 comments:
Kudos to the C-T for a nice little review. It was rather short, but it seems like that actually helped focus the review on what worked well in the show and the company. Now, who is going to write the full article on this group....?
editor's note: the following is taken form the text of an email sent to TRTCT, but seemed too perfect to miss the opportunity to appear here!
Dear TRTCT,
Just thanking you folks for a most enjoyable evening. You covered the bases of love from shoe fetish to letters; from gay/lesbian relations to hetero-dalliances; from true love unrequited to the conclusive comedic take on the true language of love through the obsolete call of the bob-o-white. And you managed all this with great aplomb, allowing this audience member whoops of laughter, a few tears and the occasional sigh of recognition. Isn't this what art is all about: Tempting someone to understand life better? So Bravo, TRTCT! What an infinately talented, energetic and imaginative company you are indeed. You've helped me feel young and impassioned and alive which, of course --despite my years- I am!
and a minor/major PS~I was especially moved by the language on the "chalkboard" (USC) which was at first merely peeping out from behind set pieces, props and shoes --all those shoes!-- and which now I see is on the back of my program but at the time only discovered fully at the end of the evening when the vignettes were all played out, the props/ set pieces all used, the shoes all lined up... and the words behind them became fully exposed like a sweet secret disclosed. Not just words, but language, dear young actors, directors, producers and crew, yes?---language you fully played out in an evening of moving, entertaining theater filled to the brim with brio.
That "Bowl of Soup" was the saddest, sweetest, most sincere bowl of soup I ever tasted.
I think TRTCT did a fantastic job with their Number 1 (With A Bullet). This is a group of very talented actors who are not afraid to take a risk or push themselves. They take many unknown, and difficult pieces and really breathe life into them. The AC-T reviewer likened them to a musical concert, but I would more align them with Assemblage art, like Rauschenberg, or Duchamp. They take different found pieces and put them together to form a cohesive whole.
One thing I really like about this company is how they get the audience involved from the very start, even before the show begins. That is one thing that sets theater apart form Movies, audience interaction, and I think the more the audience and the performers can cultivate that bond, the better the theater going experience will be for both parties.
Some things I personally liked about this specific show:
I liked how all the props were on-stage from the beginning, and they got struck as they were used, ending with a bare stage. Also everything had something red in it that connected it to the overall theme. (love)
The way they incorporated the opening speech was very clever. It bugs me to have somebody wander out and give a "curtain speech" I feel it also breaks the flow of the play. TRTCT incorporated the necessary "curtain speech" into the love letters that linked all the shows together, so as to seem like part of the show.
Even though I was a little miffed about them doing pieces I have seen before, I'm glad they changed around the casting a bit to make it fresh.
Each piece was very well acted, with the actors in the moment at all times, and flexible enough to change with the progression of the scene. Standout pieces were "Bowl of Soup" and "The Man Who Couldn't dance." If I were to pick the weakest piece, I'd have to say it was "Anything For You." I think the piece worked better with Rebecca and Rain in their original roles. (When they performed it in Self Help.) Also I felt both actresses didn't quite explore their intentions fully. Perhaps I would have liked to see more of a fear of revealing their secrets to each other. However even this piece, and all the others, were captivating.
TRTCT is a group that is not afraid to be dangerous, and I think it some of the best performances you'll see in Asheville.
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