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Austin360 blogs > Austin Arts: Seeing Things > Archives > 2008 > December > 10
Wednesday, December 10, 2008
The Rudes Mechs send a big valentine to the West
The Rude Mechs have always been darned proud that they come from the Lone Star State. And we’re darned proud of them for being so Texas proud.
Now, the inventive and restless theater collective is mustering up all of its considerable creative talent behind “I’ve Never Been So Happy,” a musical play that plums the greater mythology of the American West. And dachsunds and mountain lions, too.
The Rudes’ development of ‘Happy’ has been rewarded with a $20,000 grant from the NEA’s Distinguished New Play Development Project. The Rudes are one of only five theater groups in the country to be a part the NEA’s new program. Impressive.
As part of the NEA program, the Rudes will take ‘Happy’ to Washington D.C.’s Arena Stage in 2010, after the premiere here in late 2009. But right now — like this very weekend — you can head to Off Center for an hour-long carnival-esque preview of one of the two story arcs in the play.
And you should. This workshop version of ‘I’ve Never Been So Happy’ will make you very, very happy.
The former feed store turned theater has been transformed into a Wild West carnival. Step right up and ask a mountain lion any question about the West. Or sit in a pup tent and meditate on the desert as crickets chirp. You can have your old-timey silhouette made or stop by the Clothing Horse and don some Western wear. Or pull up a rocking chair and talk to someone who promises to be your new best friend.
After you’ve played for a half-hour or so, a seven-piece band with six singers and three video puppeteers takes to the stage. Annabelle and her father, Brutus, race their dachsunds as a means to solve their despute. Annabelle wants her independence. Brutus wants to keep his daughter by his side. And the fantasical plot unwinds in whip-smart language and infectiously fun music.
Playwright Kirk Lynn and composer Peter Stophschinski started working on ‘I’ve Never Been So Happy’ after they collaborated on ‘El Paraiso,’ an utterly sweet, raucous and offbeat meditation on heaven. Rude co-producing artistic directors Lana Lesley and Thomas Graves joined in the creative process. And the goal is make the creative process inclusive — let every idea (or every mountain lion or dachsund) in and give it the chance to develop.
I have high hopes for ‘I’ve Never Been So Happy.’ The Rudes continue to deepen their creative process and challenge themselves in new ways. And that results in smart, terrific theater that takes us some place new. Or maybe right back home to Texas.
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Reviews: Austin Symphony Orchestra’s Handel’s ‘Messiah’
How is that two nights of back-to-back choral concerts can offer such radically different experiences?
Monday night, Conspirare thrilled with their Long Center debut of their holiday concert.
Tuesday night at Riverbend Centre, Austin Symphony Orchestra’s presentation of Handel’s ‘Messiah’ failed to thrill.
Much — but not all — of that failure rests with fixable things: venue and production standards. More suited for amplified sound, Riverbend’s acoustics cast a damp layer over the sizable Parish Choirs of St. David’s Episcopal Church and the chamber orchestra led by guest conductor David Stevens. The resulting overall sound was muffled, lacking the necessary clarity and resonance to invigorate Handel’s much-performed oratorio.
The audience management didn’t help. Well into the fourth movement, latecomers were still being seated. Doors clanged and ushers flickered flashlights. It was an inexcusable level of noise and distraction that was disrespectful to both the audience and the musicians. And then 40 minutes into the music — just as Stevens and the ensemble were finally starting to gain some momentum with Handel’s joy-filled music — there was an intermission. There’s no reason ASO’s roughly 90-minute version of Handel’s masterpiece needs to be interrupted with an intermission. And doing so, as Tuesday’s concert showed, only depletes the energy and dramatic trajectory of the piece. Indeed, it took awhile for Stevens to re-build focus in the second half.
Not that there was an abundance of focus and energy to this ‘Messiah.’ Stevens wrested some commendable dynamics from the orchestra and there were some crisp moments that were nonetheless muffled by the bad acoustics. But some shaky soloists and a sometimes timid chorus disappointed.
A sturdy warhorse of a Christmas music tradition, Handel’s ‘Messiah’ should sparkle, not just fill a date on the holiday entertainment roster.
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