LIVE PERFORMANCE

• Fuddy Meers
  May, 2002

  Farces are set in a universe a step removed from our own, a universe that follows it’s own unique laws: the absurd, repressed, psychologically unstable landscape of Christopher Durang, the wittily amoral world of Joe Orton. The universe of Fuddy Meers, Actors Theatre of Charlotte’s current production, still seems to be a cooling mass of gas and dust, unstable and uncertain of what it wants to be. Dark psychodrama, straightforward drama, and slapstick farce all appear onstage, the differing genres morphing into one another with a jarring and unpleasant swiftness.

• The Crane Wife
  April, 2002

  The Crane Wife is restrained and gentle, yet brimming with meaning and visual appeal... creating both the formal, elegant air of Japanese art as well as the magical atmosphere of European fairytale. From the bone-white paper shoji screens that frame the stage to the Crane Wife’s snowy kimono, the entire set and almost all costumes are pure white with black accents. Characters’ faces are painted white with stylized black lines suggesting the kumadori makeup of Noh and Kabuki theatre. A tittering, prancing, impish chorus wears white bodysuits with black marks like brushstrokes of ink on white paper... the monochromatic color scheme become dull or insipid - instead, the stark, enchanting, white-on-white creates a mood of peace, purity, and magic.

• Book of Days
  April, 2002

  Playwright Lanford Wilson explores broad, timeless themes such as decay and loss, they often focus quite specifically on America’s subtly complex class system. Book of Days... is no exception. Though the play has echoes of Greek tragedy - proud, successful town patriarch suffers a fall, Cassandra-like heroine tries to awaken others to the truth - and even features a sort of chorus, it’s as American as an Ozark spring, opening with a recitation of the small joys of Dublin, Mo...

• Quidam
  March, 2002

  ...an eye-popping, senses-overloading extravaganza of barely-there costumes, bold makeup, astounding acrobats, capering dancers, and circus spectacle that has made Cirque du Soleil one of the hottest traveling shows on earth, and close to sold out for its Charlotte run. Ever heard nearly 3,000 people gasp as one with wonder? You’ll hear it, and help do it, at Quidam.

• Closer
  March, 2002

  ...this isn’t a Hollywood musical... no one breaks into song or dances over Blackfriars Bridge in heels, but there’s cybersex, possible self-mutilation, strip clubs, deception and recrimination, all in an unflinching examination of the modern search for love, connection, and sex.

• Misery
  February, 2002

  The technical aspects of the show are uniformly good. The use of sound during the opening sound montage, and particularly in a scene where Paul reads aloud to Annie, are beautifully cued... The set is realistic, but a paint effect in its edges shows geometric jags against the black of the flats, giving the whole set a surreal, unhinged quality -- an initially normal-seeming room bleeding into madness, Garfield bookends and all.