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"Hairpray," "Symphony V," "St. Nicholas," "Hot September Flurries" and "World of Lacquer"

Wednesday, September 13, 2006

Musical

CHARM OF 'HAIRSPRAY' LIVES IN LARGER-THAN-LIFE LEAD

Although the musical "Hairspray" is set in 1960s Baltimore, the reason to see the show is to catch a glimpse of Brooklynn. No, not Brooklyn the borough — Brooklynn Pulver, the plucky dynamo who's starring as teenage integrationist Tracy Turnblad in the new national tour, which plays Bass Concert Hall through Sunday. Pulver is the heart, soul and, yes, guts of this buoyant production — the first, it should be noted, to employ nonunion actors since "Hairspray" opened on Broadway in 2002.

"Hairspray," like so many other commercial musicals, began its life as a film — a John Waters film, specifically. The stage and film versions follow essentially the same plot: an overweight white girl named Tracy fights to integrate a popular dance show. The creative team that brought "Hairspray" to the stage included a number of gay men, a fact that bears mentioning because the show's humor and conflict reflect the fashionably subversive voice associated with modern gays (and not just because Tracy's mom is played by a man). Unsubtle euphemisms permeate the show, punctuated by even blunter political barbs, such as when Turnblad declares that "manipulating our judicial system just to win a contest is un-American." It shouldn't be surprising that "Hairspray" composer Marc Shaiman also wrote the songs for the "South Park" movie.

Tuesday's opening night in Austin marked the first time this "Hairspray" cast performed the entire show before a paying audience. Thanks to director Matt Lenz (who reproduced Jack O'Brien's original Broadway direction for the tour), the execution was electric, but not yet flawless. And though Pulver outpaced her current Broadway counterpart, Shannon Durig, at every vocal turn, none of her cast mates displayed the same level of polish. But this tour promises to get bigger and better with time.

("Hairspray" continues 8 p.m. today-Friday, 2 and 8 p.m. Saturday, and 2 and 7:30 p.m. Sunday. Bass Concert Hall, 23rd Street and Robert Dedman Drive. $18.50-$60.50. 477-6060, www.utpac.org.)

— Tommy O'Malley

Modern classical

REYNOLDS BLENDS STYLES SMOOTHLY

Just in case there were any doubts of Graham Reynolds' virtuosity, he unleased his virtuosic "Symphony V" on Saturday night at the Off Center, where an enthusiastic, sold-out crowd gave him and the 20-member Golden Hornet Orchestra a heartfelt standing ovation.

The longtime Austin composer can do many things (most recently, he received accolades for his soundtrack to the Richard Linklater movie "A Scanner Darkly"). And Reynolds proved it by getting many of those things into one divergent, yet cohesive 30-minute musical surprise. "Symphony V" ricocheted from full-bodied melodic orchestral movements to flashy, bouncy big-band segments to ethereal constructions of sampled found sounds to poignant passages of chamber music.

If that sounds like a lot, it was (and at times, the musicians struggled with the rapid pace and musical quick changes). But as eclectic and ever-changing as the musical mood shifts were — and as widely as Reynolds' sources ranged (from theme music for recent theater productions to Reynolds' ongoing homage to Russian composer Dmitri Shostakovich) — "Symphony V" wowed, a perfect musical argument against overspecialization.

Reynolds' longtime colleague Peter Stopschinski debuted his own "Symphony V" as well (the two have for a while presented their newest works in tandem). An expanded version of a score for the independent short film "Chickenfut" (a quirky parody of supernatural thrillers), Stopschinski's composition deftly blended dissonant passages with anxious, noise-filled moments of symphonic screeching and scratching. Yet Stopschinski shot it through with unabashedly narrative melodies that were at times sweet, at times mournful. How wonderful that musical storytelling is no longer anachronistic, but fresh and futuristic.

— Jeanne Claire van Ryzin

Visual art

2 TAKES ON VIETNAMESE FOLK ART

"The World of Lacquer" at Fielding Lecht Gallery is an exquisite rarity not only for Austin, but also for the United States. Measured, but brimming with colors that seemingly spill off the shiny wooden frames, the exhibit reflects the personalities of Vietnamese artists Nhat Tran and Tran Hoang Son, yielding evidence of their studied artistic powers and the beauty of ancient, luminescent Vietnamese folk art styles.

Tran and Son contributed nearly 30 lacquered works for the exhibit's international debut. Fielding Lecht Gallery chose wisely by pairing the two very different artists together: Tran and Son both pursue visuals that sublimely operate as a metaphor for life. They gently push the viewer toward discovery of personal and inner spiritual paths.

"Many of my ideas come from traditional pagodas in Vietnam . . . some from Buddhist images," says Son, a devout Buddhist and professor of drawing and lacquer arts at Hanoi Fine Arts University. He traveled to Austin specifically for the exhibit's opening Sept. 8.

Son's spirituality permeates his artwork through layers of luminous lacquer and organic materials — bright red clay from his native Hanoi, rich greens from powdered earth, gold-leaf powder from Japan and the bright white of crushed egg shells.

Although Tran was born in Vietnam and earned a degree from the University of Fine Arts in Ho Chi Minh City, her art incorporates 20th-century Western influences — including the abstract expressionism of Pablo Picasso and the vivid and furious brushstrokes of Jackson Pollock. Tran combines these influences with the ancient technique of lacquer painting, yielding something entirely original.

("The World of Lacquer" continues 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesdays-Fridays, noon to 4 p.m. Saturdays through Oct. 20. Fielding Lecht Gallery. 708 Congress Ave. 476-0044, www.fieldinglechtgallery.com.)

— V. Marc Fort

Dance

SOLOS TRANSCEND OBSTACLES

The solo can be dangerous, particularly if the choreographer doubles as dancer, simultaneously passing judgment from inside and out. But seven Austin women overcame the obstacle of critical distance in solos Friday at the Blue Theater, the opening of the Hot September Flurries Festival.

Sharon Marroquin ingeniously transformed the stage into her bedroom and kitchen in "Creative Process: Weekday 6:00 am." A blender roared and the smell of toast filled the theater as she gently picked her away across the white back wall, as though the audience were looking down on her in bed. Marroquin's style — her long arms look as if invisible clouds puff beneath them with each movement — tapped the delicacy of the hour represented.

Kate Robinson displayed the awkwardness of grasping what program notes called her "creative voice," her wobbly, outstretched arms leading her body.

Lisa de Rosario wryly winked with her face and body as she danced with a glass of water atop her head in (the aptly named) "Dance with a Glass of Water." For her solo, Amy Cone became a tree, drifting through four seasons to Beethoven, as though part of a ballet backdrop had escaped and taken center stage. Andrea Ariel contemplated American values in "American on the Spot," a red, white and blue chair her partner and sometimes enemy.

The program also included work by Kenya Masala and Lindsey Taylor.

(The festival continues 8 p.m. today-Sunday, 6 p.m. Saturday-Sunda and various dates through Sept. 24. The Blue Theater, 916 Springdale Ave. $8-$15, $35 monthlong pass. www.spankdance.com.)

— Clare Croft

Theater

STORY-TELLING ELEVATES 'ST. NICHOLAS'

St. Nicholas was known for giving presents. In Conor McPherson's "St. Nicholas" at Hyde Park Theatre, the only important gift was that of storytelling.

Ken Webster directed and put on a brogue for the one-man show about a Dublin theater critic who, obsessed over an actress and wallowing in mingled self-disgust and pride, runs away to London — only to shill for a houseful of vampires.

A play can't escape self-consciousness when the protagonist is a resentful critic without his own tale to tell, but "St. Nicholas" largely ducks the ham-fisted critic-as-vampire metaphor through engrossing storytelling. It's not the supernatural that does it, though. The first half is simply a winding, bitterly comic anecdote punctuated by the teasing refrain, "But that was before the vampires." When the vampires finally arrive, they are — as advertised from the beginning — "A matter-of-fact sort of matter of fact."

The strength of the play rests on McPherson's superbly crafted monologue and Webster's reading of it. The language ranges from physical to emotional to a collection of brilliantly turned phrases, constantly setting up an expectation only to discard it for humor or pathos. And Webster is the ultimate storyteller, mastering those quick changes and singling out each audience member with his stare. Whether shooting his eyebrows to punctuate a joke or leveling his gaze in a moment of self-effacing reflection that criticizes the audience as much as himself, Webster is more enthralling than his vampires.

This makes the second act's self-awareness (pulling up the house lights or moralizing at the end) wastefully superfluous.

But those moments are brief. And the rest is better than anything you could get from the other Saint Nick.

("St. Nicholas" continues 8 p.m. Thursdays-Saturdays and 2 p.m. Sept. 24 through Sept. 29. Hyde Park Theatre, 511 W. 43rd St. $15-$17 (Thursdays pay-what-you-can). 479-PLAY, www.hydeparktheatre.org.)

— Joey Seiler