XL Reviews
Peaches, 'West Side Story', Aztlan Dance Company
Thursday, August 03, 2006Rock
NOTHING SWEET ABOUT RIPE PEACHES
Peaches Jazzercises the line between Madonna in her prime (ahead-of-our-time instigator) and Madonna of today (over-the-top agitator). But to Friday's sold-out Emo's crowd of first-adopters, the 39-year-old former music teacher's act was anything but a dividing line. Her perverted lyrics and electro-punk beats unified sweaty bodies whose gyrating pelvises powered forever-raised hands.
Wearing Ziggy Stardust makeup, knee-high boots and a gold lamé unitard with a pink, sequined bikini underneath, Peaches' take on Barbarella was grizzled by frizzed-out hair in the style of a bed-head Bride of Frankenstein. She opened the set standing on two amplifiers, her derrière pointed back at the audience, while momentum stewed. Eventually, she turned around and lit into a raunchy rave-up about phallus worship.
One song and the solo act was done. A curtain dropped to reveal drummer Samantha Maloney caught in the wicked effect of a white light illuminating her from below and a raging fan leaving her permanently windblown. Keytarist Radio Sloan and keyboardist J.D. Samson joined the fray for "(Expletive) or Kill."
Peaches brought the rock when she quit her choreographed bump-and-grind routine for guitar on tracks such as "Boys Wanna Be Her" and "You Love It." But the urge for schlock over rock proved too intense on "Rock the Shocker," a kitschy attempt at one-upping hip-hop lotharios by boasting instructions to a move in her own sex manual.
The biggest disparity between Peaches and Madonna is the Material Girl's constant reinvention. Album after album, Peaches has been making "Like a Virgin" sound like a lullaby with her XXX-rated exploits. This one-trick donkey show will do nothing for her longevity. But if Merrill Nisker's moniker is any indication, she's only about the brief window during which she's ripe.
— Michael Hoinski
Musical theater
THE JETS AND THE SHARKS RUMBLE AGAIN
To call "West Side Story" a beast of a show would be an understatement akin to calling Oprah Winfrey a popular talk show host. Neither assessment, however true, encapsulates its object's extensive influence in the broader culture. "Story," like Oprah, exerts something of a messianic hold over a concentrated segment of the population. Both the show and the O's legends have been embellished over time, allowing each to enjoy a position of primacy today.
"Story," one of three SummerStock Austin shows playing in repertory at St. Edward's University, resets "Romeo and Juliet" in 1950s Manhattan. Transforming Romeo into Tony, a love-struck American tenor who belongs to the Jets, and Juliet into Maria, a compassionate Puerto Rican soprano who belongs to the Sharks, "Story" first caught the public's attention when it opened on Broadway in 1957. Four years later, the film version won 10 Oscars, including Best Picture. The show's endurance can be attributed largely to one man, Jerome Robbins, whose original conception and direction have influenced every legitimate production of "Story" since its premiere. Consequently, the success of any "Story" production depends on the company's ability to meet Robbins' demands, or at least sell it like they can.
Thanks to director Ginger Morris and choreographer Robin Lewis, SummerStock's company of high school and college students mostly met the balletic demands, and when they didn't, they definitely sold it. The "Story" cast — particularly Michael Crouch (Tony) and Sarah Zeringe (Maria), whose voices harmonized effortlessly — gave Leonard Bernstein's red-roses score a similarly earnest treatment. So if you can get beyond the silliness inherent in street gangs rumbling with their twinkle toes (and believe me, it's not easy), then this is a "Story" worth checking out.
("West Side Story" continues 7:30 p.m. today-Sunday, 2 p.m. Saturday. Mary Moody Northen Theatre, 3001 S. Congress Ave. $10-$12. 448-8484, www.summerstockaustin.org.)
—Tommy O'Malley
Dance
AUDIENCE ENTERS DANCE WITH AZTLAN
The division between performer and audience is generally clear. The former is onstage, the latter seated and watching. But occasionally, dance performances manage enough infectious enthusiasm to draw their audiences into the performance, inviting a physical response. Such was the case Friday night at Aztlan Dance Company's premiere of "Cuentos" at the Santa Cruz Theatre. Led by artistic director and dancer Roén Salinas, the company told story after story through a blend of traditional and contemporary Latino dance.
The company's interpretations of zapateados — flamencolike, syncopated percussive footwork — delivered technical nuance, but also provided a window into emotion and character. Again and again, feet told stories of passion and drive. In "Tradiciones," dancers pounded the stage in unison, feverishly building a rhythmic symphony. Salinas followed the group, displaying lightness, yet still stamping his feet powerfully.
Engaged, responsive partnering between men and women surfaced in all of the work, from opener "Cuentos" through the more clearly traditional "Recuerdos/Remembrance" and "Reflexiones." Locking eyes, couples rocked and rolled their hips in a compelling meeting of bodies. The pairs only dropped their energy getting into large lifts, faltering a bit in transitional moments. Other breaks in the evening's flow occurred during "Cuentos," which had so many short sections that few works developed fully.
("Cuentos: Aztlan Short Stories" continues 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday, 2 p.m. Sunday. Santa Cruz Theatre, 1805 E. Seventh St. $10-$12. www.aztlandance.com.)
— Clare Croft
