Colorado Springs Arts Blog » Opera

REVIEW: ‘MacHomer’ rewards ‘Simpsons’ fans with hyperactive humor

twallinger — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 23:16:46 +0000

Rick Miller IS MacHomer (and, oh, 50 others)

“MACHOMER”

When: 7:30 p.m., Friday, Nov. 6; 2 p.m. and 7:30 p.m., Saturday, Nov. 7 through Sunday, Nov. 8

Where: Dusty Loo Bon Vivant Theatre, 1420 Austin Bluffs Parkway

Tickets: $12.50-$35, 255-3232.

Grade: B+

And some people think Robin Williams needs medication…

Rick Miller brings “MacHomer”–his wildly acclaimed, one-man mashup of Shakespeare and the Simpsons–to the Bon Vivant this weekend. And before I get any further, I have to admit that I haven’t seen an episode of “The Simpsons” in my life (yeah, I know, I’ve missed one of the great sitcoms in TV history but, in my defense, I don’t watch much of the tube at all).

So I was expecting to miss a lot of the references. Fortunately, Miller does his best to bring non-Simpsonites like me into his world. During the entire 80 minutes of the show, animated clips play on a screen behind him, which serve to introduce each character as his or her voice is first heard. They also provide a constantly and humorously changing backdrop to the action.

The performance was certainly as frantic as advertised. Miller tears through over fifty voices, representing characters from the animated series (sadly, Bart himself plays only the briefest of roles), an assortment of Scots (among them Sean Connery, Shrek and the head of Mary, Queen of Scots) as well as other, unrelated Simpsons (you can probably guess who).

The story stays surprisingly close to the original play. The “MacHomer” web site claims that the work is 85% Shakespeare. Still, the gags are 85% Simpsons and if you’re not an avid follower of the show, you may wonder what everyone else is laughing at. Plus, the voices come so fast and furious it can be hard to keep up.

Still, with a show as full of gags as this one is, there are plenty to go around. And Miller delivers them all with the confidence of Bart and an energy level worthy of the Springfield Nuclear Power Plant.

Miller wound up the evening with a performance of Queen’s “Bohemian Rhapsody” as sung by “the twenty-five most annoying voices in music”. Sure, he’s does the easy ones like Bob Dylan and Aaron Neville. But he also throws in a ton of impersonations I’ve never heard anywhere else–including Elvis Costello, Leonard Cohen and Andrea Bocelli–and nails every one.

Miller explained to some of the fans after the show that he only performs “MacHomer” a couple months out of the year as it simply gets too exhausting. But it’s so successful that it pays for all the non-commercial stuff he does on tour, in New York and in his current hometown of Toronto–including, get this, a 9-hour monster of a play titled “Lipsynch”.

Yep, the guy definitely needs some kind of medication.

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Denver launches Arts Week today

wepstein — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 16:21:54 +0000

This arts bonanza actually can’t be contained in a week. It’s nine days long. Expect plenty of opera, art, concerts, plays … You can read The Denver Post’s overview here.

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Central City Opera program to perform in Colorado Springs

tmobleymartinez — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 17:19:34 +0000

A scene from Britten's "Paul Bunyan" performed by students of the Central City Opera's 2004 Bonfils-Station Foundation Artists Training Program. / Photo credit Mark Kiryluk

“OPERA ROCKS THE ROCKIES”

When: 7 p.m. Friday, Nov. 6

Where: Colorado Springs Conservatory, 1600 N. Union Boulevard

Admission: Free; 577-4556, centralcityopera.org

So you missed the summer season at Central City Opera.

On Nov. 6, the company is coming to the Colorado Springs Conservatory as part of ”Opera Rocks the Rockies,” a week-plus tour of the state. In its 13th year, they perform for more than 100 communities and about 100,000 people.

The award-winning program features Bonfils-Station Foundation Artists Training Program students Claire Kuttler, Amanda Russo, James Baumgardner and Jonathan Cole as well as graduate and doctoral level students in Colorado State University’s opera theatre program, including Margaret Higginson, Wei Wu and accompaniest Beth Nielsen.

They will perform the “Flower Duet” from Puccini’s “Madama Butterfly” as well as vignettes from Mozart’s “Don Giovanni,” Offenbach’s “Orpheus in the Underworld,” Ned Rorem’s “Our Town” and other works.

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Chamber and COPPeR team to give Business and Arts Awards

wepstein — Wed, 07 Oct 2009 20:38:51 +0000

Not to be confused (but often is) with the Arts Business Education Consortium, this two-year-old award luncheon is one of my favorites. (And I’m not just saying that because Gazette Charities won a Philanthropy Award.)

I like it because it’s long on performance and art immersion and short on award-presentation time and because the arts presented represent such a fun cross-section of our local cultural community.

Yes, like all these kind of awards, there’s a lot of preaching to the choir about the importance of arts in our region. But I look at it as a nice validation of the work artists do and a needed pat on the back for the businesses that support them.

The highlights in the performances: Opera Theatre of the Rockies lyric soprano Desiree Dodson’s heart-breaking rendition of Dvořák’s “Rusalka,” followed by the cultural whiplash of the romping bluegrass band Grass It Up doing their song, “Two Dollar Bill.”

Stick Horses in Pants gets the bravery award for doing improv in such a non-improv-friendly venue. Really, to appreciate the troupe, you need a smaller venue and better acoustics … and it takes them about 15 minutes just to get warmed up. But they got plenty of laughs reenacting an audience member’s story behind her forehead scar.

Other highlights: Folk singer Lindsay Weidmann’s delightful ode to Steve Martin and poets Aaron Anstett and Kaleena Kovach taking on bird shadows and human survival.

You can learn more, including, who the heck won the award by reading Tracy Mobley-Martinez’s story.

Grass It Up

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Want to find out about a city that respects the arts?

wepstein — Wed, 03 Jun 2009 00:08:14 +0000

COPPeR director Bettina Swigger went on a journey to Austin, Texas, with a bunch of local movers and shakers to find out how the heck the city ignited such a cultural explosion.

See what she found out on her blog.

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Where’s the mayor’s vision about the arts?

wepstein — Tue, 02 Jun 2009 20:04:52 +0000

I just came from the mayor’s annual State of the City luncheon at the Antlers Hilton. (Rubber chicken was great, by the way. Go to our Dining blog to learn more about it.)

Mayor Rivera talked a lot about green industries and athletics, but I didn’t hear one word about arts and culture.

A recent study by the Cultural Office of the Pikes Peak Region (COPPeR) estimated that the nonprofit arts industry and its audience have a $94.7 million economic impact in the greater Colorado Springs area each year and generate 2,639 jobs.

The local athletics presence pales in comparison. Think about it. When a corporation decides to locate offices or headquarters, the quality of the cultural landscape is almost up there with a trained workforce.

In the Dream City: Vision 2020 results I’ve seen so far, a vibrant cultural scene figures in so many of the discussions. I was thrilled to hear the mayor quote from a Mike Moran’s Dream City column about his ideas of a vibrant sports scene here in the year 2020. But I’m surprised I didn’t hear at least a nod to all that’s going on and needs to go on to build an exciting center for the arts.

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Highs and lows of weekend arts stuff

wepstein — Mon, 02 Mar 2009 18:11:42 +0000

10 Minutes Max proved the best yet, in part because Birgitta De Pree’s character of Babette, the co-emcee, continues to get so much bigger and better.

Poet Kaleena Kovach was startlingly good. Passionate. Inventive. Patrick McConnell’s bit about Columbia House Records is worthy of a one-man road show. Great, great stuff.

The FAC art openings were also terrific. Loved the abstract show, which featured some of our best local artists in the genre. And the Glass show was funny and amazing.

Then there was the opera. “Street Scene.” Our reporter Tracy had given a fairly glowing review of the show. I have to say, I thought it was a horrible choice. From a historic perspective, it was fascinating. But as entertainment, not so much.

At intermission my friend Demeter made a thoughtful observation: This show came out in New York at the same time as “Oklahoma.”

“Oklahoma” should be more dated in its innocent exuberance. This edgier, darker show is certainly more in line with today’s artistic ethic.

But that darker subject, franker style just makes the over-the-top melodrama more silly. (I recognize that in comparing musical theater to opera with musical theater flourishes, is comparing apples to pears, but still…)

The singing was lovely, especially that of the Italian ice cream man.

But it just didn’t work. Am I the only one who felt that?

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Kennedy Center to Help Struggling Arts Organizations

twallinger — Fri, 06 Feb 2009 00:07:44 +0000

Recognizing the financial crisis hitting arts organizations across the country, the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, D.C. announced Tuesday a new program to help those organizations survive.

Called Arts in Crisis, the program is open to all 501(c)(3) performing arts organizations in the United States. In most cases, all that’s required is to fill out a relatively short online request. Kennedy Center President Michael Kaiser or other members of the executive staff will then contact the organization to give free, confidential counsel in specific areas such as fundraising, budgeting and marketing.

They helped the Louisiana Philharmonic Orchestra survive the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina and gave guidance that allowed Dance Theatre of Harlem to reorganize and reopen just six weeks after closing due to financial difficulties.

They can help your organization too.

For more information or to request assistance, go to:

http://www.artsincrisis.org/

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Extended version of Sckolnik’s commentary

wepstein — Mon, 10 Nov 2008 22:35:30 +0000

It ‘ain’t often that I leave my home on Thursday nights. NBC’s stellar lineup of comedy and satire- Earl, Kath and Kim, The Office and 30 Rock- together almost justify my HDTV set up. But I’m happy to say that I’ve been inhabited by The Dybbuk, and flat-screen reality just won’t cut it anymore.
Rarely will any of us have the chance to see a performance of the “living” arts with so many so completely committed to its excellence. The Dybbuk Project: a Multimedia Chamber Opera was composed and written by Colorado College music professor Ofer Ben-Amots. The work parlayed a startling synthesis of disparate elements to produce a haunting and transformative evening of music and theatre for its American premiere at CC’s Cornerstone Arts Center last week. This work should provide Ofer the vehicle to reach a much greater audience than he has ever before.
The music was always engaging as he appropriately centered this exploration of Jewish mysticism and literary tradition around ancient melodic and harmonic styles even as the modern world of music was present. The instrumentalists led by Susan Grace’s relentless keyboard expression and Gilad Harel’s incomprehensible virtuosity and theatricality on the clarinet were all ideal. CC grad Jeremy Wilhelm and Israeli mezzo Yahli Toren nicely underplayed roles that could have been repelling if portrayed too dramatically. The composer’s deft touch with choral composition was beautifully portrayed by a female chorus from the Colorado Springs Children’s Chorale.
The multimedia part of the evening was the work of video maven Sheri Wills who always had a fascinating, if at times confusing, image projected on the rear of the stage. There could found integrated translations of the mostly Hebrew libretto. CC prof Tom Linblade miraculously made it all work theatrically, although the comedic attempts of the two mimes, who assisted in the story line, seemed out of place.
The story line? - search dybbuk on the internet and you’ll get a sense of how strange of a love story this is. There are flaws – Act I is at times porous and tough to follow and the work needs its dramatic balance worked upon – but by the evening’s end, Ofer had his vision realized. The Cornerstone Center was not built for our community, but if the college is going to provide us with cutting edge art such as this and, in this case for free, then we are making out pretty darn good on this deal.

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Original opera comes to life at CC

wepstein — Thu, 23 Oct 2008 20:26:41 +0000

If you want to know why CC is excited about the opera Dybbuk, check out this video.

Here’s some more info about the opera and a related lecture:

Thursday, October 30, 2008
Ofer Ben-Amots: Pre-Concert Lecture on ‘The Dybbuk’Lecture: Ofer Ben-Amots: Pre-Concert Lecture on “The Dybbuk”
Ofer Ben-Amots, the composer of the chamber opera “The Dybbuk,” will present a pre-concert lecture. The opera is the story of transcendent love between two ill-fated lovers, woven into a beautiful chamber opera with the key ingredients of grand opera – love, death, mysticism, drama, humor and tragedy – stunningly evoked by the singers and the musicians who become part of the Kabbalah narrative.
7 p.m., Screening Room, Edith Kinney Gaylord Cornerstone Arts Center, 825 N. Cascade Ave. (map), free

The Dybbuk: The concert
The Dybbuk is a chamber opera composed by CC Music Professor Ofer Ben-Amots and directed by CC Drama Professor Tom Lindblade. It is the story of transcendent love between two ill-fated lovers, woven into a beautiful chamber opera with the key ingredients of grand opera – love, death, mysticism, drama, humor and tragedy – stunningly evoked by the singers and the musicians who become part of the Kabbalah narrative. Performers include Yahli Toren as Leah (soprano); Gilad Harel as Hannan (clarinet); Jeremy Wilhelm as rabbi and messenger (baritone); Rebecca Siegel as Korogu 1 and Bryndon Tarafa as Korogu 2. Other performers include Yumi Hwang-Williams, violin; Inbal Megiddo, cello; Susan Grace, piano; Asaf Roth, percussion; the Colorado Springs Children’s Chorale; and Sheri Wills as digital media designer and videographer.
7:30 p.m., Edith Kinney Gaylord Cornerstone Arts Center, 825 N. Cascade Ave. (map), free

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