Chicago’s top tier arts companies are continuing with their mostly successful efforts to reinvent and reinvigorate classic works in theater and opera (and maybe draw in younger, broader, non-traditional audiences, but more on that later) by framing them within distinctive, imaginative, unexpected “high-concepts”. For me, the pinnacle of this trend so far this year has been the Court Theater’s Titus Andronicus, which I raved about here, where the Shakespearian tragedy was performed as part of the initiation rite for an elite, Skulls and Bones-type, secret society for young men. Over the past week, I went to see productions re-conceptualized in a similar manner: the Chicago Opera Theater’s version of Mozart’s Don Giovanni, set in an, ahem, S and M club; and the Chicago Shakespeare Theater’s play-within-a-play production of The Comedy of Errors, in which a British film company in the 1940s is filming well, The Comedy of Errors, while London is being bombed by the Nazis. Both productions, although still not surpassing the Titus Andronicus benchmark for how successfully a re-conceptualization of a classic piece can provide fresh, relevant, multi-layered insights, are spectacular, and particularly in the case of Don Giovanni, quite the cocktail party conversation starter.
I have been a huge admirer of the Chicago Opera Theater (COT) ever since I saw their production of another Mozart opera, The Marriage of Figaro set in late 1990s Miami Beach, several years ago. I thought their production of Nixon in China demonstrated once again the revelatory powers of opera as an art form. So I was very excited to see this unique interpretation of Don Giovanni, written by Mozart in 1787 about a hedonist who seduces women, betrays those loyal to him like his servant Leporello, and commits murder to suit his own ends. I’ve observed that COT’s audiences tended to be more diverse and included a younger demographic than the Lyric, but amusingly, there were very audible nervous titters heard from the audience on Tuesday night when the curtain rose and revealed leather clad performers, two stripper poles, lots of sleazy, burnished red fabric, and Leporello looking like a bisexual Euro-trash punker in a mesh shirt (were those nervous titters, or maybe just gasps of awe from the opera divas in the audience who hadn’t seen so much leather in one place since, well, CellBlock last weekend?). Anyway, the production is terrific, powerfully conducted by the marvelous Jane Glover, with excellent vocal performances all around (although Iain Paterson as Don Giovanni sounded drowned out by the orchestra at some points). Unlike the Lyric, COT mostly does age-appropriate casting, so we have the very sexy young lovers, Masetto and Zerlina, played by the very sexy Ben Wager and Isabel Leonard, respectively, who also both sing magnificently. My own particular favorite among the performers, though, is Kristina Szabo, as Donna Elvira, Don Giovanni’s vengeful lover, here played as a dominatrix (what would an S and M club be without one?). She sings beautifully but also acts credibly, able to project the very contradictory emotions that Donna Elvira feels at any one time for the man she both loves and loathes. I personally think the S and M club concept works since it’s a world that complements the key themes of the story - people have conflicted natures and adhere to different moral standards, bad deeds are ultimately punished, instant gratification is what it is- instant and temporary. Nervous titters notwithstanding, I think the COT audience warmly and enthusiastically embraced this production at curtain call. And regardless of what anyone thought of the concept (or of the continuous crotch and breast-grabbing, crotch-poking, and leg-straddling), Mozart’s lush, enveloping music continues to be enthralling.
The Chicago Shakespeare Theater also re-conceptualized The Comedy of Errors but has adopted an approach that, for me, seems to still be tailor-fit for its audience of affluent, suburban, empty-nesters. Which is not a bad thing at all, because this production of Shakespeare’s comedy of two sets of twins separated at birth and who get mistaken as the other by everyone around them, is still entertaining and well-mounted. In this production, additional scenes which establish the context and frames the play have been written by Second City’s Ron West in the style of a 1940s screwball comedy (think Ernst Lubitsch’s To Be or Not To Be, for example). A British film company is filming a modern dress version of The Comedy of Errors as their contribution to the World War II war effort, and has cast an American singing idol who has never done film or Shakespeare before (very well-played by Sean Allan Krill) as one of the lead Antiphili. Egos clash, people have affairs, the set is bombed, but they are able to finish filming. Actors all have two roles: for example, the terrific Ross Lehman, plays Dudley Marsh, the director, in the framing scenes but also plays one of the Dromios (the second set of twins) in The Comedy of Errors. I think the show is very cleanly constructed, and you can actually tell which ones are the framing scenes and which ones are from the play (of course it helps that someone yells “cut” before segueing back into the framing scenes), unlike Titus Andronicus, which was more challenging and provocative since it masterfully blurred and blended the play-within-a-play concept. It is fantastic to see the leads of Titus Andronicus, Timothy Edward Kane and Kevin Gudahl, shake off their intense tragic personas, and prove their versatility (and demonstrably have a ball doing so) doing farce and slapstick in this play (Tim Kane’s gymnastic move, which needs to be seen to be believed, is priceless). I think the Chicago Shakespeare has mounted a slight, but very exuberant, very engaging production, which should appeal even to those who are unfamiliar with, or who are averse to, Shakespeare.
Which brings me to one of my burning questions: do these high-concept versions of classic plays and operas bring in the new audiences that arts organizations need for its future? The Don Giovanni performance I attended was the launch of COT’s new Opera Underground program for audience members 40 and below which included a pre-show reception at the Fairmont Hotel, and access to the Donors’ Lounge during intermission (which proved once again that I can guzzle liquor in eight minutes or less). I think Opera Underground had a good enough turnout but there could have been more people (hopefully buzz builds prior to the next COT operas of the season). The Comedy of Errors performance I attended both had a long row of high school students as well as students from Columbia College’s drama department who attended the pre-show presentation with Tim Kane and Sean Krill. So, I guess the answer is yes, these original, highly creative productions are bringing in new audiences. I applaud the arts organizations for trying to reach out to other demographics and introduce them to the enduring power of the classical repertory- making these pieces appealing to generations more in tuned with i-Pods, wikipedia, and downloaded tv shows, but at the same time preserving these works’ integrity and timeless themes. Of course there will always be opera and theater purists, who will disdainfully walk out of a Shakespearian or a Mozart production that don’t contain puffed wigs and corsets, but let them do so- hopefully, they’re a dwindling species.
Don Giovanni has two more performances left at the Harris Theater, 205 E. Randolph, tonight, May 9 and Sunday, May 11. Tonight’s performance will also be broadcast live for free at the Pritzker Pavillion in Millennium Park, similar to what the Metropolitan Opera is doing in New York City. I am also very amused by the fact that the Chicago Tribune’s classical music critic, John Van Rhein, can’t seem to say S and M club in his review, using the rather lame euphemism of “sleazy, Vegas-style nightclub…catering to a boozy, jaded clientele.” Hilarious! The Comedy of Errors runs till June 29 at the Chicago Shakespeare Theatre, 800 E. Grand on Navy Pier.
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