XL Weekend Reviews

Reviews: Chuck Berry, Kathy Griffin, A. Mozart Fest, Houston Grand Opera, 'Get Your War On,' 'Two into War,' Karen Mason

By Ed Crowell
AMERICAN-STATESMAN STAFF
Monday, January 30, 2006

Picture the Paramount Theatre as a Cadillac showroom, circa 1955. On stage appears a glittering cherry-red model, white convertible top, all dressed up with no particular place to go — other than cruising through the seminal songs that revved up rock 'n' roll.

Chuck Berry doesn't tour much these days. His patented guitar licks carry a bit less punch, his stamina slips away after an hour of entertaining a sold-out house. But, at 79, he's still a showman to behold.

Saturday, this Cadillac of a performer wore a red-sequined shirt, bolero tie and a white captain's cap. Berry commanded his litany of '50s school-days songs with an unfaltering voice and a grin that never stopped. Happy times were dialed up from the "Roll Over Beethoven" opener, through "Sweet Little Sixteen" and "Johnny B. Goode," to the "Reelin' And Rockin' " closer.

Did he duck walk? Of, course. Twice. So what if he took fewer steps and his crouch wasn't quite so low as in his '80s shows on the same stage?

As a bona fide legend, he could have pulled up a chair and stayed put through every song. But that wouldn't have been Chuck, the "Eternal Teenager" lending one hand to the piano player, shouldering his Fender and shaking his hips through a salty software/hardware quip.

Nothing seemed forced or by rote, despite decades of shows. The rolled Rs, the fret tappings, the shout-outs to "deep in the heart of Texas," even the "hail, hail" singalongs, felt like spontaneous party favors for an audience clearly enjoying itself.

"We are professionals," the man needlessly declared. "We are rockers and tonight you'll hear rock and roll."

We did, we did.

Comedy

A-PLUS STANDUP FROM A D-LIST PERFORMER

After seeing her show last week at the Paramount Theatre, I've concluded that Kathy Griffin is the funniest person in America. Her brazen celebrity-bashing is a sorely-needed elixir in a culture that holds vigil when Paris Hilton's bowels move. Before a rowdy sold-out crowd, Griffin railed against everyone from President Bush ("a [expletive] moron") to Celine Dion ("a bigger freak than I am"). And, yes, stock targets Clay "Gay-ken" Aiken, Whitney Houston and Tom Cruise also were thrown under the Griffin express.

Like many Americans, Griffin was outraged by initial official responses to Hurricane Katrina. This anger registered in her noticeably more political set, one that heavily targeted the Bush administration. "I miss the Clinton years," she said. "I could make Monica jokes all day long."

How lucky for Austin that on same day Griffin appeared at the Paramount, Oprah lashed disgraced author James Frey on national television. "Of course (she) made it all about herself," she commented. "When Oprah gets a paper cut, she's like, 'Oh, stigmata.' "

Griffin has turned bad-mouthing people into poetry. Her success rests on her expert storytelling ability and underdog appeal. A self-proclaimed D-lister, Griffin often champions unpopular points-of-view. As the media elite verbally mauled Frey, Griffin took on the Oprah as only she could.

"Don't you love that Oprah's putting the pounds back on?" Griffin asked. "Every pound she puts on is like a hug from Jesus." Amen to that.
— Tommy O'Malley

Chamber music

A. MOZART FEST KEEPS IT FRESH

I have to confess that I expected Mozart's "Eine kleine Nachtmusik," the thrice-familiar serenade for strings that opened the A. Mozart Fest's celebration of the 250th anniversary of Mozart's birth, to be a throw-away warm-up. Paul Badura-Skoda, not known so much as a stand-and-beat-time conductor, had no intention of throwing anything away. It wound up being the most thoroughly successful of the three works on Sunday's program at First Baptist Church.

The string playing was not faultless, but many phrase endings had an elegant grace that was by no means routine. Badura-Skoda also gave loving attention to inner voices and observed dynamics without exaggerating them. Badura-Skoda the musicologist also earned high marks for an unsentimental second-movement Andante (Italian for "going") that truly went and a Menuetto that observed every printed repetition without overstaying its welcome.

The concertos, while often artistically charming, had a number of technical troubles in the fast movements. The Piano Concerto No. 9 in E-flat — one of Mozart's stunning, blazing masterpieces — is distinctly hazardous, especially in the third movement, and Badura-Skoda smeared several of the trickiest solos. On the other hand, the central slow movement was lovely, and the surprising slow interlude in the finale was both beautiful and witty.

Mozart unfortunately wrote only one Concerto for Two Pianos (in E-flat; and yes, there is a concerto for three), so the one concerto, which Badura-Skoda performed with Mary Robbins —proprietress of the A. Mozart Fest — three Januaries ago was reprised on Sunday. Again, there were uncommon felicities in the overall expression that got snagged on discrepancies of rhythm between the pianos and among the strings.

The end result depended on one's priorities. The music-making was spirited all afternoon, but the high spirits came at the expense of some important details.
— David Mead

Drama

'TWO INTO WAR' PACKS A SINGULAR PUNCH

Different Stages isn't the first theater company to present "Two Into War," the pairing of one-act monologues by lauded playwrights Fraser Grace (a Brit) and Naomi Wallace (an American) on most topical of topics these days — war. But in bringing such a one-two theatrical punch to Austin, the company, and especially guest director Latifah Taormina, reminded us why we so badly need art that questions the state of world affairs.

Grace's "Gifts of War" starts out as a campy portrayal of the women of Athens as they party down with cocktails and parlor sex games after hearing that their menfolk have been victorious over Troy. But as the Versace-clad narrator (adequately portrayed by Hildreth England) gradually sobers up, we discover that perhaps the increasingly chillingly accounts of war she relates must be from firsthand experience.

Wallace's "The Retreating World" introduces Ali, an Iraqi ex-soldier who has returned from the Gulf War to find Baghdad withering under the U.N. sanctions. People sell everything for food or, if they're lucky, black-market penicillin. The once good-natured Ali (intensely and sensitively played by the Ben Wolfe) parts with family mementos, his favorite books, his beloved show pigeons and every pencil he owns. Yet he remains a fan of American poetry and the English language, even as he casts a benediction of pigeon feathers and bones.

Only 20 people attended Saturday night. But it was the riveting, topical playwrighting and Wolfe's compelling performance that cinched "Two Into War."

("Two Into War" continues 8 p.m. Thursdays-Saturdays through Feb. 11. Play Theatre, 1204 Cedar Ave. $5-$25. 474-TIXS.)
— Jeanne Claire van Ryzin

Comedy

RUDE MECHS BRING 'WAR' COMIC TO LIFE

What better match: the Rude Mechanicals and an irreverent, politically charged Internet comic strip.

Seriously, who else to bring to life David Rees' acerbic, absurd and always surprising "Get Your War On" than a theater collective who's made modern absurdity their modus operandi?

The result is a 70-minute brilliant and sardonic blitz.

Rees' comic strip launched Oct. 9, 2001, when many humorists were still too jittery to start the critical laughs. But through his singular mix of stiff-looking clip-art office workers and hip-hop inflected banter, Rees offered a comic outlet to all the shock and confusion of the post-Sept. 11 world.

The Rudes staged a workshop production last season that ended up an alt sleeper hit. This time they've sharpened things even more.

Adapted by Kirk Lynn, the script follows almost precisely Rees' profane prattlings. And the Rudes smartly animate Rees' cartoon through the stuff they've perfected: rapid-fire delivery, energetic physical acting and moments of silly dancing to funny pop music. The Rude's "War On" rockets along, the dark deadpan and funny fatalism paced out as the ensemble cast takes turns flipping through transparencies on an dated-looking overhead projector.

"Oh my God, this War On Terrorism is gonna rule! I can't wait until the war is over and there's no more terrorism," Rees' comic ranting begins.

And the Rudes rule for bringing it to us live.

"Get Your War On" continues 8 p.m. today-Saturday. Off Center, 2211-A Hidalgo St. $10-$18. 476-8833. www.rudemechs.com.)
— Jeanne Claire van Ryzin

Opera

HOUSTON GRAND OPERA OFFERS DOUBLE THE FUN

Will Houston Grand Opera thrive now that longtime general manager David Gockley has flown the coop to San Francisco? It's too soon to tell, since his imprint remains on the two second-tier, but thoroughly enjoyable operas playing at Wortham Center through Feb. 5.

The more delicious is Gaetano Donizetti's "Don Pasquale," a riff on the ancient comedic plot about an old man who plans to marry a younger woman, but is foiled by his doctor friend in cahoots with a nephew and his lover. Oh, what fun director James Robinson's cast has with this sweet-and-sour dessert opera. As the title character, John Del Carlo was a bit out of breath in the first act, but otherwise turned his huffy basso buffo into brilliant, bearish physical comedy. Jennifer Welch-Babidge used silly voices, an alert demeanor and a finely spun soprano as the trickster wife, while handsome Norman Reinhardt and sentient Brian Leerhuber filled out the other lead roles with glee.

The only annoyances in this otherwise playful, false-proscenium production were the badly matched scenic backdrops. Music director Patrick Summers kept a tight rein on the orchestra, allowing the voices to billow and burble along with Donizetti's delicious score. "Don Pasquale" belongs up there with "Elixir of Love" and "Cenerentola" for unmitigated operatic joy.

"Manon Lescaut" will never rank with the big Puccini operas but the music is nevertheless gorgeous and reminiscent of his major works. The much-dramatized story about a prim girl who is lured from her lover by the promise of riches, then suffers a miserable death in "the deserts of Louisiana" could hardly be more melodramatic, and is firmly divided into three mismatched dramatic tones.

Embodying these three chapters is Finnish soprano Karita Mattila, at first a shy sparrow, then a blooming orchid and finally a harrassed, wounded animal. Mattila's voice was barely audible in the first act, but then her Wagnerian training kicked in, and she joined equally brazen tenor Vladimir Galouzine in several astounding duets. The rest of the cast proved bland unto forgettable, but you'll never erase from your memory Mattila and Galouzine intertwining voices in a grand, blue-purple palace bedroom, then again in the arid canyons outside New Orleans (whatever).

This time, Summers drove the orchestra into full force and treated the instrumental passages like the Wagnerian tempests they are. The four scenic treatments were monumental, if not particularly inspired. Director Olivier Tambosi was best when coaching his stars, but the crowd scenes lacked focus and the dance lesson interlude provided an unintentional nap time.

General director designate Anthony Freud can build upon — or fumble — one of the world's great opera companies. From the empty rows on opening night of "Manon," one suspects that HGO is experiencing some of the box-office problems as the Metropolitan and Chicago Lyric troupes. At least this double bill will please hardcore opera lovers and even a few first-timers.
— Michael Barnes

Cabaret

MASON'S VOICE AMPLIFIES ENJOYMENT

Oh my, Barbra, does Karen Mason have a big voice! A Broadway actor who's played stand-in for Glenn Close and, more recently, originated one of the female leads in "Mamma Mia," Mason possesses a pair of lungs with seemingly limitless capacity. In her recent visit to town for Austin Cabaret Theater, this rangy belter unleashed a vocal tirade on audiences at ACT's gorgeous new home, the Mansion at Judge's Hill. The ballroom at the Mansion, given its pleasant acoustics and accessible size, was a perfect match for the intimate program.

For her Austin debut, Mason assembled a program of standard love songs. Accordingly, she opened with two Lerner and Loewe tunes — "Something's Coming" from "West Side Story" and "Almost Like Being in Love" from "Brigadoon." Establishing a steady pace in the former, Mason tore into the latter with the intensity of panther on the prowl. Later, she offered a delicate rendition of Billy Joel's "She's Got a Way."

Mason compensated for rather forgettable audience banter by injecting huge doses of personality into the musical offerings. "When in Rome" demonstrated the singer's considerable comedic talents, while "Now I Have Everything" from "Fiddler" exposed her vulnerability. She out-Celined Celine in a dynamite delivery of Abba's "Winner Takes It All."

Mason's only real blunder came in selecting Alan Menken and Tim Rice's "A Whole New World," a song that prompted one well-lubricated audience member to cackle in jest. Karen, honey, unless you're on a magic carpet, leave the Aladdin at home.
— Tommy O'Malley