Dancehunter

Dance Houston offers a sneak peek of what's to come for the Fall Dance Season

2008-08-17T17:14:00.000-07:00

This is Ghost Crew from Dance Houston's Winter Formal. Pat Garrett of Ghost Crew crafts his hip-hop dances like stories and it works. Garrett spoke passionately at the post show Q & A about making Houston a destination dance city. Imagine people coming here instead of leaving. Amen Pat. Let's do it.

While the rest of you were watching Michael Phelps earn Gold Medal number #7 I was glued to another seat, at Dance Houston's City Wide Festival at Wortham Center. There was a good deal of dance to get excited about, and here's the good news, the show was like a teaser for events to come.

Revolve, the dance company that just keeps getting better, showed another Wes Veldink piece called Consequence. Veldink has this way of infusing his dances with movements that we have seen and done in our everyday life. It's a new, fresh jazz language, and aren't we ready for that? Read my Houston Chronicle preview on Veldink's collaboration with Revolve here.

Here's Revolve in Consequence of Sound, another Veldink piece.

Urban Souls, possibly Houston's newest dance company, made yet another impressive showing with Across the Waters, which dealt with the Darfur conflict. You can read my Houston Chronicle preview of this fine young company here. Be on the lookout for future performances.

In a stoke of programing genius Urban Souls' heart-wrenching piece was followed by the healing moves of Ad Deum in Libera, choreographed by Randall Flinn, which will be performed again at "A Weekend of Contemporary Dance" at Miller Outdoor Theatre. Get the whole scoop here.

Fly Crew performed Full Circle. My, they have grown in a year. Slick as ever, this group of now- teens, rocked the house with that shiny polish bestowed on them by Rhonda Valencia and former director Kathy Wood.

Dance of Asian America showed two sparkling pieces, Ladies of Dai and Penelope's Song. You can catch more on DAA in their upcoming show, "Splendid China III -Discovering China" on Oct 10 & 11 at Miller Outdoor Theatre.

Also on the festival program were Houston Dance Theatre, Irsan And Cami, Exhilaration EnCompassed Dance Company, Wyld Styl, Second Generation Dance Company and Sabor Mexico Theatrical Company. All in all, a big fun festival.

Liu Yan's Tragic Fall

2008-08-16T06:41:00.000-07:00

This is supposedly (you never really know with YouTube) the lovely Lui Yan, the famous Chinese dancer who fell during rehearsals for the opening ceremonies for the Bejiing Olympics. She may be paralyzed. News of the accident was, as expected, repressed until after the opening. Read the story in The New York Times here.

Will dance on TV keep Fans home?

2008-08-15T05:27:00.000-07:00

Ok, so TV dance is hot. Here's an interesting piece from AP about just exactly how hot. Some of the concerns, and major ones at that, is that will all the dance happening on TV who's going to leave the comfort of the couch and actually go see live dance. With the price of gas people even have a viable excuse to stay home. Go ahead, read the piece dance people, but let's prove otherwise. If you really love dance you can't be fed by dance on TV alone. Heck, it's in a box!

Why not turn this thing around. If dance is hot, why limit its hotness to just one medium?

Another Big Dance Feast from Dance Houston: Andrea Cody on this summer's festival

2008-08-06T11:17:00.000-07:00

Houston's own dance maverick Andrea Cody has been thinking big since starting Dance Houston in 2003. Cody fills DSH in on this summer's line-up for her upcoming city-wide dance festival.

Dance Source Houston: I have always thought of you as a gutsy person. You blew into town one day and started a festival the next. That's one strategy for getting acquainted with a city and its artists. How did it work for you?

Andrea Cody: I'd been working as a dancer and choreographer for years, but it was hard for dancers or choreographers to get noticed in this big city. For that very reason, I decided to put my own work aside to organize an event that could provide dance companies a sizeable audience. As a descendant of Buffalo Bill Cody, putting on a show with hundreds of performers seemed to me something I could do. Returning home from competing at a national level in lindy hop, sure, I was nervous stepping out of the swing dance community and into the big, wide world of dance. Thankfully, people have been very supportive of me and my work.

DSH: If you can think for a moment like a presidential candidate and proudly taut your accomplishments, what would you say?

AC: Dance Houston played an important part in developing Urban Souls Dance Company. I noticed their Founding Director Harrison Guy when he danced in our first shows. He'd be on his headphones, listening intently to his music, running through his piece while warming up. Aside from having total dedication to his own work, he was also fully supportive of everyone else. On stage, he was athletic, versatile, bold, and creative. We gave him a chance to debut his company at Dance Houston, and followed up by helping him administratively to get his company off the ground. After contributing for four years to our festival and the Black Dance Festival, Urban Souls recently debuted its first full-length concert at Houston Baptist University.

DSH: Any other developments that have been a result of the front or backstage synergy between groups?

AC: There seem to be offshoots of Planet Funk springing up left, right, and center. Shawn Welling's studio is a bright shining beacon to aspiring hip hop dancers from across Houston. He gives so many dancers their start on stage, and his program builds their skills and confidence to the point that they strike out on their own. Four of the most accomplished hip- hop dance companies in Houston can all trace their roots to Planet Funk. This year's Dance Houston presents two of them, Ghost Crew and Wyld Styl.

DSH: Let's talk about the line up in Dance Houston's City Wide festival for 2008. It's a leave no genre out approach wouldn't you say?

AC: Yes, you can always count on us to offer a vast array of dance styles, yet this year expect to see a lot more contemporary dance than ever before. Even some of our seemingly cultural dance companies are presenting contemporary or fusion work. Sabor Mexico's ballet folklorico is taking on a modern feel through Jeremy Choate's lighting design, and Dance of Asian America is showing off their versatility in both a contemporary and Chinese folk dance.

DSH: Do you curate or can anyone apply?

AC: Through an online application process, we keep our door open to all Houston-based companies who wish to work in our environment. Most companies enter the festival through that channel, and we often have never even heard of a company before we get their application. What fun it is to review their videos and learn about their histories and visions.

DSH: I know you are a biz wiz. Got any sneaky ways of getting the word out and packing the house?

AC: Dance Houston is always on tour in Cyberspace. Our youtube site is a big hit, with just over 200,000 views, which is icing on the cake for dance pieces that have already been seen by thousands of locals and tourists. Our website currently averages 6,200 hits per day (up from 2,000 one year ago). Through a generous grant from Google, we've been spending thousands of dollars a month on online pay-per-click advertising. The big shocker? Even with all those advertisements, more than half of our clicks come from Myspace--absolutely free.

DSH: Let's talk audiences. I imagine your hope is that these groups are increasing their visibility. Is there any way of tracking audience growth?

AC: Sure, we sell our own tickets and keep close tabs on our numbers. Over the years, the audience for our summer festival alone has grown from 600 to 1600. We're also raising awareness for other dance events through our monthly e-newsletter with readership approaching 3,000.

DSH: What else does Dance Houston do besides the twice a year festivals?

AC: We've done two biennial Flamenco concerts in collaboration with the Spanish Institute of Dance, recently renamed Alegria Dance and Performing Arts Company. This year, we're blowing this one up into a Latin Dance Festival on Cinco de Mayo. We're excited about the expansion and plan on continuing this project on an annual basis from here on out.

We also run a popular dance camp for teens. Ten stars of Dance Houston give the kids intense dance training in diverse style from hip hop, Chinese, ballet folklorico, flamenco and 5 kinds of jazz (count them: traditional, modern, Latin, street, and contemporary!) This year, special Guests Kathy Wood of FlyWorks and Susie Boudwin of Houston Rockets Power Dancers gave the kids professional development seminars. The camp ended with two packed performances at Barnevelder that showcased the promising potential of tomorrow's dancers.

Dance Houston also works with individual dance companies in facilitating their own presentations.

DSH: Big dream?

AC: We want to help instill cultural pride and promote inter-cultural exchange in and amongst children of all backgrounds. Seeing one's own heritage displayed in a respectable environment is an empowering and inspiring experience. A model of this kind of presentation is the way Dance Houston presents diverse styles of dance in state-of-the-art theaters with top-notch artists. We not only want to inspire kids to participate in and appreciate the arts, we want them to see that their unique backgrounds make a significant contribution to the today's culture. We envision working with the school systems to facilitate field trips, school tours, and teacher workshops.

DSH: I am sure you would have made Buffalo Bill proud.

Dance Houston presents its city-wide festival �Celebrating Diversity in Motion� on August 15 & 16, 2008 - 7:30pm at The Wortham Center, Cullen Theater.713/526-1049 or www.dancehouston.org

Reprinted from DSH.

DSH makes DANCE MAGAZINE

2008-07-30T15:09:00.000-07:00

The humble little Dance Source Houston (DSH) table holding the city's news on upcoming dance events made the August issue of Dance Magazine in Wendy Perron's "Curtain Up" letter. Here's an excerpt; read the whole piece here.

Way to go DSH!

Curtain Up

By Wendy Perron

Natalia Alonso, relaxing between takes.

During a recent visit to the Houston Ballet, I saw a wonderful thing at intermission. In the red-carpeted grand foyer of the Wortham Center, alongside the gourmet items and elegant photo display, there was a table laden with brochures and flyers. These materials included information on the many groups that make up Dance Source Houston. A local service organization, DSH has members in modern dance, jazz, tap, and flamenco, as well as in Houston’s Black Dance Festival and the international Dance Salad Festival. Any patron of Houston Ballet could meander over and learn about the other types of dance happening in their city. It’s the same philosophy that Pacific Northwest Ballet showed last year when it invited local modern dance companies (Spectrum Dance Theater and Molly Scott/Powell Performance) to be part of its Celebrate Seattle Festival—plus they had Portland’s Ten Tiny Dances performing during intermission. I hope to be seeing more of this kind of sharing and generosity in the future.

Cancelled: Life in the Obsolete Lane

2008-07-28T18:40:00.001-07:00

I took this photo in Vermont, long before I ever considered dance critics an endangered lot. Never under estimate the predictive abilities of the artistic process. Anyway, after hanging out with dance critics from all over the U.S. at ADF, I report that we are still a lively bunch, even amidst a climate of nothing but dire news. Doug McLennan called us a survivalist camp. He told us to sit tight until the next wave of arts journalism shows itself. I'll go for that. There's a certain freedom to becoming extinct. Reinventing oneself becomes a necessity rather than a whim. Here's his recent rant on Martin Bernheimer's piece Critics in a Hostile World.

The disappearance of dance critics is just the tip of the sinking print ship. To catch up, read Eric Alterman's piece in The New Yorker. To get super current Democracy Now just did a piece this morning on the declining health of American newspapers.

If you really want to get involved visit the Arts Journalism Blog Critical Edge: Critics in a Critical Age- an online debate. Wouldn't you know it, there isn't a dance critic in the mix.

As a sucker for hope, let it be known that Houston still rocks in its own can-do way. Glasstire and Dance Source Houston, two start-up non-profits, have picked up the slack. So let's have art have the last word. Notice the rock is still standing tall.

10 Years and 20 Gongs: Michele Brangwen on Sanctuary Moon

2008-07-22T13:51:00.000-07:00

Michele Brangwen has been crafting dance in Houston and elsewhere for a decade. Her company, the Michele Brangwen Dance Ensemble (MBDE), performs new and recent work at Barnevelder this weekend, and as always, the show contains live music. Thus far, MBDE has commissioned sixteen new music works for dance, presented the works of two Houston choreographers, and seventeen living American and European composers ranging from classical to jazz to avant-garde jazz. Brangwen discusses her work with DSH below.

Dance Source Houston: 20 Gongs for your tenth, that's 2 per year and quite a ratio. Talk about why you chose the new work mode vs. retrospective path.

Michele Brangwen: We decided to take some of the concepts that we have been exploring and developing over the years and see just how far we could push them. It seems an exciting way to mark one’s anniversary: by looking forward to what may be possible in the future.

DSH: Can you give us a flavor of the artistic climate that motivated your newest work, Sanctuary Moon?

MB: This work is very intimate despite the dynamics of the finale where three large gongs are played continuously. I wanted the work to illustrate both complexities of how we feel when we let go and open up -- maybe show the parts of ourselves that we are uncomfortable with -- as well as the tranquility we feel when we let these sounds take us to a purifying place.

DSH: You have been working with the composer Seth Paynter for some time now. Talk about the collaborative process and don't forget to fill us in on the 20 gongs.

MB: Seth is a musician who has a channel open to some other realm when he plays. KUHF Announcer Eric Ladau recently compared him to Pharoah Sanders, who was the second sax player in Coltrane’s last ensemble (which also included Alice Coltrane, Rasheid Ali, and Jimmy Garrison – check out ‘Live at the Village Vanguard Again”). They were catapulting music forward, but doing it with an intensity of feeling that was sublime. I think Ledau’s comparison of Seth Paynter’s music making is a good one; he is looking for the next level but doing so with an integrity of intention.

There is also Brian Nelson’s A Note From Guantanamo on the program. Nelson is a gifted composer, coming from a classical background but working in electronic music. I feel honored to be able to continue to collaborate with musicians of such a high caliber. They push me forward to new places creatively.

DSH: If live music is your first love, is film your second? What does Yunuen Perez Vertti's video work add to the piece?

MB: Dance and music are equal loves of mine. If you look at the history of modern dance in America, the two were inseparable. Martha Graham received more commissions from symphony orchestras than anywhere else. She worked with almost every known composer for her time. Molissa Fenley just opened at the Joyce with the Phillip Glass Ensemble. And the boundaries of presentation have been crumbling for decades along with the separation of art forms. Classification exists merely for people who need it; it has no bearing on art or its impact. It’s just words and art is meaning.

Yunuen Perez Vertti has an amazing eye and she is courageous. I come to her with my crazy ideas and she says cool, and frames them beautifully. She also has a magnificent eye for editing dance.

DSH: Sanctuary Moon involves some improvisation from both the dancers and the musicians. Can you describe the rehearsal process that built that level of trust?

MB: We work with each other all year round on developing our improvisational skills. Many of our musicians have dedicated themselves to jazz and avant-garde music that requires them to be master improvisers. They have been thinking about the process of learning to do it well for their entire careers. They have been a tremendous help in rehearsals. And the dancers too are great with feedback. We come together and work and then talk and evaluate what we have done.

DSH: You are also reprising A Note From Guantanamo which was inspired from a photograph. How did a photograph make its way to be a dance?

MB: NOTE FROM GUANTÁNAMO is inspired by a photograph from the FOTOFEST exhibition: GUANTÁNAMO. PICTURES FROM HOME. QUESTIONS OF JUSTICE curated by Margo Herster. The image depicts a hand written note and a pair of earrings sent by proxy from a detainee at Guantánamo to his family in Yemen. Although the image is specific, the work’s broader theme is the idea that a gift, like an object, can carry a current of human emotion across impossible boundaries.

DSH: After ten years of dancing in Houston do you have any words of wisdom for someone thinking of starting a dance company?

MB: I think the hardest thing to accept is that it takes so much longer than you think to get to where you want to go, but the journey is a happening one. And if it is meant to be your journey in life, then you should not let people take you away from it. Like Martha Graham said, it is your job to keep your channel open because if you silence your voice, then the world will not have it. People talk about how hard this profession is, but all professions it seems to me have their difficulties. People struggle with bosses and jobs and all kinds of life situations that create stress.

DSH: I understand Sweden and more film is in your future.

MB: Yes, after these upcoming performances we will be begin a two-part collaboration with the Norrtbotten Big Band, an avant-garde jazz orchestra in Sweden. We will travel to Sweden this December to work on a film project with them, and then return again in December 2009 for live performances that will incorporate the film.

The Michele Brangwen Dance Ensemble presents the premiere of Michele Brangwen's SANCTUARY MOON on July 26^th at 8pm and July 27 at 7pm at Barnevelder and August 9^th at 8pm at the Performing Arts Center at HCC NW. Advance tickets available on line at www.brangwendance.org.

REVIEW: The Black Dance Festival

2008-07-22T13:49:00.000-07:00

Presented by Second Generation Dance Company

Friday, July 17, 2008

Heinen Theater

The bi-annual Black Dance Festival (BDF) presented by Second Generation Dance Company provides a welcome opportunity for community-based groups and more traditional dance companies to perform on the same bill. The mix makes it harder for the less polished in the line-up, but the generous crowd in attendance last Friday night enjoyed each offering. In addition to two professional showcases, the BDF also included a youth showcase, an evening of Praise dance, and even a midnight African dance class. With a theme of “Building the Bridges of Diversity,” the spirit of inclusion pervaded the evening's festivities.

The noble slam poetess La' Crystal 7 bellows her own riveting text from“wake up is good” from a chair to launch jhon r. stronks Catch and Release Chapter IV: Do I Move You? She so galvanizes our attention that it's hard not to watch all that follows in stronks' puzzling, but always captivating, work. The program notes state “Catch and Release is a meditation on growth and the power of letting go viewed through the lens of the African American oral tradition.” OK, but there's little tradition in stronk's choreographic methods. His unruly piece unfolds according to its own logic, and it's best to let the actual work teach you how to watch it. If you can successfully let go of the usual glue that holds a dance work together Catch and Release's charms become apparent. Utilizing a confluence of movement styles including hip-hop, post-modern, and improvisatory techniques, stronks dares to play with alternative structures for making dances that are more intuitive and considerably less predictable. He creates a broad field for dancing where the eye has choices. Additional text by Nina Simone, Angela Davis, Martin Luther King Jr. and Essex Hamphill provided a striking counterpoint to stronks' loosely organized style. The top-notch dancers included Alex Abarca, Corian Ellisor, Jonnesha Hawkins-Minter, Jocelyn Thomas, Brittany Wallis, La’Crystal 7, and stronks.

The youngest company on the dance block, Urban Souls Dance Company, also made a strong showing in Walther Hull and Harrison Guy's Scarlett Situation, a moving thought piece on HIV/AIDS. Hull and his troupe of sinewy dancers showed off some of the best dancing of the evening. Blending pointed dynamics and razor-sharp execution, the piece riffed on pain, resolve, and healing without being too literal. Watch out for more from this new troupe, which included Rachel Eckroth, Jadie Gill, Hull, Tiffani Hall, Michael Baerga, and Quincy Tollivier.

Kenneth Epting of Exclamation Dance Company demonstrated he is on the comeback trail with Frosted Haze and another unnamed work. Novel partnering characterized the duet tentatively performed by Gina Lewis and and Casey Boyle. Ashley Garcia-Rameau's precise dancing stood out in both pieces. Unfortunately, under rehearsed ensemble work got in the way of fully realizing Epting's intentions.

The evening also included crowd pleasing performances by Soul Time Line, Second Generation Dance Company, Kuumba House Dance Theatre, and Beckles Dancing Company. But it was two youngsters in Koumanke'le Dance & Drum Ensemble that melted our hearts in their spirited performance of Triba/Sorsonet. Sound and lighting technical glitches along with the incessant sound of snapping cameras interrupted the considerably too-long program.

Report from ADF: Maguy Marin

2008-07-03T03:21:00.000-07:00

This is a snippet of Maguy Marin's Umvelt, by far the most stunning piece I have seen here at ADF. I am practicing watching and not writing so I will let others speak for me. Here you can read Andres Zambrano's poetic response on Claudia LaRocco's blog. Zambrano the cultural editor of El Tiempo, Colombia's largest newspaper.

You can get the inside as in backstage and technical scoop at Dance Machine, a blog that was created by Claire Croft, Jessica Lockhart, Maria Cristina Pignaloso, and Margaret Fuhrer in a workshop with Doug McClennan of ArtsJournal.

I also found Tobi Tobias' Voice of Dance review telling.

Shaw Festival 08

2008-07-01T04:11:00.000-07:00

Every year one play emerges as the smash hit of the Shaw Festival and sometimes the author is not the notorious George Bernard Shaw. This season, J. B. Priestley's An Inspector Calls surfaces as the “it” play in the pack of five plays I was able to crash through in two and half days at the famed Niagara-on-the-Lake festival. Imagine a hybrid whodunit ghost story meets twilight zone and you are in the strange neighborhood of this remarkable play.

Written in 1945, but set in 1912, Priestley's play feels remarkably timely. When the so-called Inspector bellows, “We don't live alone. We are members of one body. We are responsible for each other,” his rhetoric recalls the populist beliefs of Senators John Edwards and Barack Obama. This advice doesn't come kindly to the self-serving Berling clan, headed up by blowhard Arthur Birling, who believes that it's a look out for yourself and perhaps a family member or two world. He wants no part of social responsibility. When the Inspector calls armed with a tale of a young woman's suicide that had dealings with every single member of the Birling family, their secrets pour out like bitter syrup, one after the other. The Inspector as confessor drives the engine of this play. They reveal more than they are asked to due to the Inspector's unorthodox methods.

As for the ghost story part, pay strict attention to everything that moves, but don't expect any secrets to be revealed here. Let me just say that if you think you are seeing things, you are. Peter Hutt plays the bully patriarch, Arthur Berling, who does his utmost best to try to hold on to the belief he got away with something. Mary Haney's Sybil Birling echoes her husband's thinking, perhaps with a softer edge. Moya O' Connell bestows Sheila Birling with one ounce of family regret, while Andrew Bunker's Eric Birling is a walking guilty verdict. Portraying Sheila's finance, Gerald Croft, Graeme Somerville is cool and aloof. Benedict Campbell's Inspector Goole is unnervingly smooth and unflappable. He goes about his mission with the skill of a polished inquisitor, bringing a measure of constraint while the family's precious bubble of safety bursts around him.

Jim Mezon's direction aims at maximum suspense and anxiety at every turn. Expect to be more than a little riled and at times, puzzled, and even frightened. (The audience did their fair share of gasping the night I attended.) Nothing is spelled out here, the mystery is left wide open, unsolved, and hanging in mid-air. Peter Hartwell's set design is nothing short of brilliant. Hartwell sets this family virtually exposed in a dungeon-like setting, sounding by dark arched doorways that lead to the unknown. The semi-circular container gives this guilty clan no way out. Hanging directly above their unsettling dwelling is a set of austere chains that move when the clanky elevator rides up to the Birling flat. Although the direction is up, it feels more like down, as the family deteriorates under the strain of the Inspector's relentless questioning. Kevin Lamotte's Gothic lighting lends a reverence to the proceedings and Paul Sportelli's original music sets an eerie tone throughout. All in all, The Inspector Calls is one riveting edge of your seat evening of theater.

One of the Shawfest's mission statements includes mining hidden gems. Githa Sowerby's The Stepmother falls squarely into this category. Found in a basement, this play has not seen a stage in 84 years. It's set in the 1920s, but again, the issues of womens' rights at home and in the workplace, feel sharply relevant to the discussion on today's political table. The details may differ, but the fact that woman are not treated equally has recently resurfaced during the democratic primaries in the U.S. As with Priestley's play, Sowerby cuts her characters as clearly good or evil with little in between. Claire Jullien plays Lois Relph, the noble stepmother, who sacrifices her happiness, cares for her two stepdaughters, and supports the family with her dress designing business. Jullien's performance plays up the saintlike qualities while keeping an undercurrent of despair bubbling beneath the surface. Blair Williams plays the devilish husb, Eustace Gaydon, with gleeful delight. Williams succeeds completely turning his villain into a victim, so much so, the audience grew increasingly hostile towards him as the play went on. Gaydon swindles his wife out of her inheritance, and attempts to do the same for her business, and her tender relationship with his two daughters. In the end, sisterhood wins out, as the two stepdaughters rally around their stepmother, forgiving her affair, and finding peace in solidarity. It's a regular frock paradise with William Schmuck at the costume design helm and Camellia Koo's cleverly flexible set provides a minimalist, but smart setting.

Continuing on the greed train is Lillian Hellman's beast of a play, The Little Foxes, and you will never meet such a tribe of beastly people as the Hubbards. This nouveau riche family will take anyone, including a family member, for all that they can, and live to drink over it. Or at least some do. Laurie Paton plays the iconic Regina Giddens role with a stoic and stern demeanor. This woman means business. She's positively wicked as she watches her sick husband crawl up the stairs while she withholds her help and his life-saving heart medicine. It's melodrama on steroids. Sharry Flett plays Birdie Hubbard, the one god egg in the rotten barrel, with a fragile quality, fitting of a true southern aristocratic belle. Peter Krantz and Ric Reid endow Oscar and Benjamin Hubbard with a crude redneck bravado. Alas, this is the birthplace of the good ol' boys network of scoundrels.

For relief from dysfunctional money hungry families, head straight to A Little Night Music. With music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim, book by Hugh Wheeler, a cast of strong singer/actors, not a microphone in sight, what's not to like? Director Morris Panych takes the intimate road, scaling back the piece into a tight and twinkling container, fitting Night Music's ethereal core. It feels like a boutique musical and works so stunningly well that it's hard to imagine this same show on a big Broadway stage. And what heaven it is to hear voices in their natural state. Goldie Semple is simply luminous as the aging actress, Desiree Armfeldt. Bring a hankie for some potential post Send in the Clowns weeping. Other standouts include Donna Belleville as Madame Armfeldt, Michaela Bekenn as the enchanted Fredrika Armfeldt, and George Masswohl as the endearing Fredrik Egerman. Ken MacDonald's set of movable magical green trees is spare and uncluttered. The nine-piece orchestra, under the direction of Paul Sportelli, allows the full detail of Sondheim's dreamy score to come through.

Last but least, and just as timely, is GBS's Getting Married. Here Shaw examines marriage law with his usual leave nothing safe manner. As marriage laws continue to be discussed and disputed we see Shaw is his usual way ahead of his time self. Married is a chuckle a second that is rich with eccentric characters, zippy dialogue, and Shaw's biting subversive mind deep at work on one potent cultural institution. In fact, capping of a visit to the Shaw Fest with some actual Shaw may be the perfect ending to three days of fine theater.

Images: Benedict Campbell as Inspector Goole in An Inspector Calls. Photo by Emily Cooper.
Blair Williams as Eustace Gaydon, Claire Jullien as Lois Relph and Marla McLean as Monica Gaydon in The Stepmother. Photo by David Cooper.
Goldie Semple as Desirée Armfeldt and George Masswohl as Fredrik Egerman in A Little Night Music. Photo by David Cooper.
Laurie Paton as Regina Giddens in The Little Foxes. Photo by David Cooper.
Members of the cast of Getting Married. Photo by David Cooper.

Irish Classical Theater Company: Nights in the Gardens of Spain and Miss Fozzard Finds her Feet

2008-06-25T15:58:00.000-07:00

Buffalo's Irish Classical Theater Company paired Nights in the Gardens of Spain and Miss Fozzard Finds Her Feet, two pieces from Alan Bennett's “Talking Heads 2” series originally created for the BBC. With ICT's resident artist Josephine Hogan as the head doing the talking, it's one intimate and fully embodied evening of theater. IRC has been wise to select two from the series that represent a potent juxtaposition of content, tone, and circumstances. They are both love stories that exist outside the normal lines of traditional relationships.

In Miss Fozzard Finds her Feet Hogan portrays a spinster middle-aged department store clerk who spends her time working in soft furnishings, carrying for her stroke-prone brother, and relaying her delicately scandalous adventures with her new foot doctor to anyone willing to listen. Who knew feet could be so all-consuming? Eventually, her relationship with the kinky doctor takes a turn toward the weird as he reserves the financial arrangement so that he pays her. Hogan takes us down her twisted path step by step, easing us into each new experience with a pixie-like charm. By the time she arrives at her new relationship she has won us over completely. Bennett's prose, rich in detail, lets the narrative merrily roll alone until we too find ourselves in an uncomfortable place. But at least Miss Fozzard is tickled, and in the end, finally liberated from the humdrum of her dreary store clerk life. Hogan plays up the sensuous aspects of Fozzard's journey, keeping a sly demeanor, as if her choices were as natural as can be. We don't often get to delight in the sexuality of older women, and here we get to wallow in it.

Nights in the Gardens of Spain takes a darker turn. Rosemary, a lonely housewife in a pleasant superb, befriends a neighbor that kills her abusive husband. Her neighbor is sent to the slammer, but that's hardly an obstacle to Rosemary's quest for a meaningful relationship. She tends her garden while she is in prison, visits often, and develops a deep friendship until she dies of cancer. The piece oscillates between comedy and bitter commentary on a lifeless marriage. Yet deeper secrets lie beneath the calm veneer of her stoic household. Although her tales of a growing intimacy with her neighbor soothes the exterior, a sense of doom pervades. A master of ambiguity, Hogan keeps us on edge, letting us participate in her isolation, doubt, and final horror at finding out the truth about her golf-playing repressed husband.
: It's an evening of secrets for certain, one devilishly mischievous, the other, just devilish.

Image: Josephine Hogan in Miss Fozzard Finds Her Feet
Photo by Lawrence Rowswell

Report from ADF: Aydin Teker

2008-06-25T04:05:00.000-07:00

It may not be about the bike, but in Aydin Teker's work, aKabi, it is really about the shoes. Hello from the American Dance Festival, a great place to dancehunt I might add. I am here assisting three international critics at the Institute for Dance Criticism and seeing a lot of dance when we are not talking, thinking or writing about dance. My Houston Chronicle preview of STKH is here. You can read Toba Singer's Dance Source Houston review of Teker's work at the Big Range Dance Festival here.

Here's a bit from the piece.

The Splasher

2008-06-02T17:35:00.000-07:00

Never underestimate the power of a can of oops paint pointed in the direction of some savvy successful street artists’ newest work. Troy Schulze’s new play, The Splasher, lets loose a can of militant art worms at DiverseWorks, with the second offering of the newly formed Catastrophic Theater.

Schulze has a penchant for gleaning juicy stories from the real world. Really, why make stuff up when you have ticking bomb world out there feeding you choice material. As a key figure at Infernal Bridegroom Productions, he contributed Jerry’s World, culled from transcripts of the cult radio guy, Joe Frank. Me-sci-ah drew from archival interviews with science fiction writer and founder of Scientology, L. Ron Hubbard. It’s downright fabulous that Catastrophic Theatre continues to nurture Schulze’s idiosyncratic talent. He’s good with found text and he’s picked a blistering hotbed of controversial events for The Splasher.

The real Splasher rose to media attention in 2006 by defacing street art with thrown paint. He hit hard and often, and at the top rung of the commercially viable street art crowd, splashing the self-confessed masterworks of Caledonia Curry (aka Swoon) and Shepard Fairey (aka OBEY). The Splasher attempts to re-invent the rules, which gets under the skin of these street righteous artists, who claim the territory as their own. Nothing infuriates artists like other artists making money. Look what happened to the late Keith Haring who dared to make a living selling T-shirts and other goods. Art and money have always made suspect bedfellows. Art as a commodity has always been a hard pill to swallow for the holier-than-thou art church. God forbid artists make a buck in this world.

The Splasher includes actual manifestos that reveal the workings of his very perturbed brain. Schulze’s own portrayal of the dark lord himself, complete with a Darth Vader-like voice is both creepy and effective. Walt Zipprian turns in a completely convincing performance as the self-important OBEY and other characters. Zipprian is a hoot defending his right to sell limited edition T-shirts at his big New York opening. Jenni Rotter, Julie Boneau, Joe Fallodori, London Ham, and Mike Switzer all add their share of punch as well.

Schulze uses a gigantic screen that helps tell a visual narrative and lends a up-close look at the Splasher’s handiwork. Tim Thomson’s superb video work charges The Splasher with a strong visual rhythm and is nicely matched by Chris Bakos’ vibrant sound design. The bare naked DiverseWorks space provides an authentic setting for both the issues and the play. The Splasher’s themes are timely and well worth putting in front of an audience. I bet many a lively chat occurred on the way home. Still, in the end, the play feels unformed, a bit rambling, and at crucial points, sketchy. A side story of Michael Fay, a kid that gets arrested in Singapore for vandalism, doesn’t quite find a home.

The Splasher ends abruptly, but isn’t that they way it goes in real life?

Present Laughter at Main Street Theater

2008-05-28T12:33:00.000-07:00

If there is alternative universe, is it too much to ask that it take place within a Noël Coward play? And, wouldn’t it be icing on the cake if you get a silk smoking jacket upon entrance? A martini would be nice too. Main Street Theater’s delicious production of Coward’s ode to his own life (weren’t they all?) Present Laughter, just makes you want to move in with these people. Back then, even whining was an art form.

Everybody loves Garry Essendine, the aging matinée idol, including Garry, of course. Although he’s concerned about his dimming light, others are drawn to him like pesky mosquitoes that he would just like to clobber. Women forget their latchkeys, a lovestruck playwright swarms about, his ex-wife doesn’t get the “ex” part. It’s just a dysfunctional zoo of witty people. He’s heading off to tour in Africa, but not before his inner circle gets a piece of him. It’s not easy being the treasured eternal “it” boy. As in most of Coward’s plays, nothing is really resolved, just narrowly escaped.

The cast—as tight as they come—is headed up by Joel Sandel, looking smashing at every turn in his tuxedo or new dressing jacket. (Why ever did those things go out of fashion?) Sandel inhabits the troubled star with ample charisma and self doubt, and shows a distinct flair for physical comedy. Terri Branda Carter is Monica Reed, Essendine’s sharp-tongued no-nonsense secretary. As the one leveled headed person in the pack, Carter is a hoot. Kara Greenberg as Liz, the forever caring ex-wife, is all sense and clever manipulation. Morgan McCarthy’s daffy Daphne Stillington plays the clueless ingénue with unbridled innocence. Sara Gaston conjures Jessica Rabbit in her Veronica Lake side-swept hair and crimson satin gown as Joanna Lyppiatt, the siren and seductress. David Harlan (Fred and Hugo Lyppiatt) and Sheryl Croix ( Miss Erikson and Lady Saltburn) deliver strong performances and add to the evening’s snap.

Claire Hart-Palumbo directs with a crisp hand letting the wit and banter rule with oddles of attention to sharp comic timing. Period costumes by Udden lend a post-war elegance and Meghan C. Hakes’ smart set looks and feels like an ideal habitat for this entertaining lot. What better way to head into the summer months than with a head full of Coward. Artistic Director Rebecca Greene Udden caps her not-a-misstep-in-sight season with one sparkling show. Now pass that martini.

-Nancy Wozny

Present Laughter continues at Main Street Theater until June 22. Call 713-524-6706.

DiverseWorks Dining Ad Hoc

2008-05-28T11:53:00.000-07:00

As critics we often think too small, review too little, and too much of the same stuff. A few weekends ago, I cleaned my son’s college apartment. I really wish my fine and brilliant work had been reviewed. Why not? Which is why I recently traded my dance/ theater gig for a dinner party review. Here goes.

The Event: The Ad Hoc Dinner, is the brainchild of DiverseWorks big guns Sixto Wagan and Diane Barber. Both are think out-of-the-downtown loft types. Does art always have to happen at an opening or a performance? That’s thinking small and you already know what I think about that. Wagan and Barber have crafted an artful event. It gets better. Tasty food is involved.

The Setting: That amazingly colorful Victorian house (Aerosol Warfare) on Alabama overlooking 288. The house is now being used by DiverseWorks for these dinners and other commissioned projects. Artists are so good at using the things that others are not. Sitting on that porch you are literally dead center at the heart of planet transition.

The Art: You can’t really have an artful event without a featured artist. Melanie Crader transformed the dining room with three of her enchanting pieces. A giant white coaster with delicate scalloped edges formed the centerpiece for the room. Crader’s Buttercream Doily…I only keep the formal ones…later throwing them away…I realized that I was curating my trash…, was crafted from one of those doilies that your mother used to use. More fun was found by the bathroom with her wood piece of frilly underwear.

The Food: Chef David Gressman provided the food art, beginning with a Heirloom Tomato Gazpacho, Avocado, Marcona Almonds, followed by Duo of Wagyu Beef, Shortrib Ravioli, Creamed Spinach, Roasted Loin, a marvelous construction that included beef, a spinach filled trapezoidal ravioli floating on a sea of fresh peas. If I can get a “little dance critic does food” here for a moment, I would like to add that the whole piece de-constructed with splendid ease. The peas spilled when you tickled the ravioli, creating some exciting plate motion. Dessert cheeses followed. They were considerably more still. Then came a Chocolate Mint Icebox Cake with Mint Chip Icecream. The poor dessert did not have a chance to dance as it was eaten with great gusto. Had the ice cream been allowed to melt, I am certain it would have been a knock out performance. Gressman holds hopes of opening his own place, stay tuned on that. It will be a must-eat place. A tour of the garden illuminated by the speeding cars on 288 concluded the event.

The Company: All smart, young, handsome, industrious people, doing cool and necessary things with their lives.

The Future: Life is fluid in the artful event lane, when asked if there would another dinner, Barber quipped, “I don’t know, it’s ad hoc!”

Image: Melanie Crader, Buttercream Doily…I only keep the formal ones…later throwing them away…I realized that I was curating my trash…, 12″ x 12″, handcut enamel coated paper

Mr. Marmalade

2008-05-20T14:52:00.000-07:00

Justin Doran in Mr. Marmalade
Photo by Bruce Bennett

Sitting through Noah Haidle's Mr. Marmalade this weekend brought me back to an experience I had in that very same theater some years ago when I took a field trip with a bunch of women and their children to see The Little Match Girl. Things start out pretty bad and get worse. Seeing horrible things happen to a child was too much to bear for the mini-vaned set and they ranted and raged all the way home. Ladies, you haven't seen nothin' yet.

To label Haidle's play a dark comedy is an odd choice of words. It's a freight train to the shadow side; an event horizon comedy that crashes full steam ahead into two myths which we hold sacred: that children do not have sexual imaginations, and that innocence is reliable. Haidle doesn't just shatter these holy truths, he throws a full-blown party. And for the most part, it's a hot-button taboo pouncing blast.

The story involves Lucy, a four-year old going on 40. She's a latchkey kid with an open door policy when it comes to the people that she lets live in her head. Mom's busy deciding what mini-skirt to wear and generally ignoring her child's welfare. Mr. Marmalade is her imaginary friend, useful for playing doctor, house, and cappuccino party. He's a tall, dashing, demonic, GQ Wall Street type with no time for Lucy. He pencils her in for a 2:00 brunch on Sunday but don't hold him to it. His assistant, Bradley, plays the Sancho part, delivering messages and getting increasingly pummeled by Mr. M's offstage brutality. At one point Bradley crawls on stage, drenched in blood and bandages, to deliver his master's latest missive. Mr. M promises Lucy a trip to Mexico too. Lucy, tired of being put off my her unreliable figment, goes off to play with a real kid, Larry, the five-year old suicide survivor next door. Mr. M gets jealous, threatens to rape Lucy when Larry enters to save the day. Haidle stuffs bucket loads of nastiness in his play. Bring 'em on is the spirit. Mr. M. has a coke problem, and later on a drinking one. Come to think of it, he is the problem adult to Lucy's problem child. God forbid such a horror would be dished up by pre-schooler.

The imagination is largely a feral and unruly place, free of morality, sense, and logic. You are not the boss of your unconscious. Haidle gets that part right. You only need to look to your last dream for evidence. As for what a four-year old is capable of imagining—it's best not to get too Piageted out here. It's a play, not psych 101. Still, there's little doubt that a child's imagination contains more than gum drops and velvet bunnies. Read William Golding's Lord of the Fies or watch Peter Weirs' Picnic at Hanging Rock. Who among us has not been creeped out by a kid? As for the sexualization of children, well all you need to do is check out the toy rack in your local Walmart to view the hooker dolls meant for tweens to see what's happening on that front. Or consider Vladimir Nabokov's Lolita, still banned on some parts of the planet.

The cast sinks their teeth into this absurd world with whole-hearted bravado. Mikelle Johnson captures the not quite in control of her body quality of a child. She flaps and hops in her bizarre tutu, completely transparent with her emotional flux. But it's in her raspy Lauren Becall voice that she is most disarming. Justin Doran's larger than life presence animates Mr. M in bold strokes. Exuding a raw physicality and a sinister charm, Doran inhabits this one-dimensional character with a devilish glee. Erik Hellman's awkward and hopelessly lonely Larry is cute and sexy, and doesn't that just make us squirm. Glen Philip and Lisa Thomas play a variety of supporting roles with ample vigor. Philip Lehl's Bradly is the one calm balm to the mayhem, a kind of counterbalance of the imagination.

Alex Harvey's direction plays up the groundlessness of the territory, straddling the wobbly edge between what's left of reality and the imagined world. Kirk Markley's suburban living room and projected artifacts amplify the fractured surface of Haidle's twisted universe. Projections of a little girl jumping in slow motion add a nostalgic note, casting a spell which is most often broken with some unexpected nonsensical action. The second act drags a bit, going in too many directions at once that derail the steam roller of a first act. In general, Haidle's shock heavy play suffers from case of the everything but the kitchen sink syndrome. This is a nothing solved everything stirred event. Haidle leaves no map to the dark regions he drags the willing to. You are on your own, people.

That said, bravo to Stages for risking upsetting the ranks. We should all get riled up at least once a season, and this is as troubling a play as any to do just that. If you are prone to queasiness, locate the exits and request an aisle seat. The play is not for the righteous who expect moral lessons on the side, more for those that enjoy a good solid kick out of the ballpark coma of complacency. I suggest watching with the same advice that the legendary troublemaker of depth psychology James Hillman uses in looking at dreams. Get on the elevator and press the “down” button.

But hey, hold that call to your therapist, the play ends on a perky note. Mr. M cheerily commits
Seppuku donning a snazzy kimono, Larry shows up asking Lucy to play dodge ball. She says yes. Bradly cuddles in the easy chair and gets the last word, or song, When that I was and a little tiny boy, from Twelfth Night to be exact. The tea party has ended, go in peace, puzzlement, or seething anger, whichever is your pleasure. The lights dim on Lehl's sweet and haunting voice, innocence curiously intact.

-Nancy Wozny

Green at Discovery Green

2008-05-18T08:59:00.000-07:00

When Karen Stokes premiered Green at Barnevelder I was stranded in New York City with a bad case of the Jet Blues. Many months later I finally got the chance to see the whole piece. It reminded my of own wild child boys running in wide open spaces. So, of course ,I was so delighted to get to write about Green at Houston's newest park, Discovery Green. I have not returned to fly on Jet Blue.

May 14, 2008, 6:06PM
DANCE
Celebrating nature's wonders
Choreographer creates work that fits right in at park stage

By NANCY WOZNY
For The Chronicle

• When: 7 p.m. Friday

• Where: Discovery Green, 1500 McKinney, Anheuser-Busch Stage

• Admission: Free; for information, call 713-956-5333, www.discoverygreen.org or http://fresharts.org

GREEN AND THE COST OF LIVING

Imagine a dance that fits in with kids on bikes, squealing babies and people walking their dogs. Green, choreographer Karen Stokes' ode to the natural world, might be that dance.

Based on a bold, rhythmic score created by Stokes, the piece plays out in strokes broad enough to capture the attention of passers-by.

Which makes it a natural for Discovery Green, where it will be performed as part of the urban park's Fresh Fridays performing-arts series.

"The percussive drumming grabs people right away," Stokes said.

"Also, unison movement performed by a large group creates the kind of amplification necessary to read well from a distance."

The costumes, green striped shirts and snug head caps with little green balls, are also just zany enough to command a second look from a pedestrian strolling by.

Stokes, head of the dance department in the University of Houston School of Theatre and Dance, did not originally intend for Green to be performed outdoors.

But once she was well into creating the piece, she realized it centered on her connection to the natural world.

"As I was working on the dance, I got the idea of the color green, and my feelings about the environment and the vitality of the color green surfaced," Stokes said.

"The color is energetic and sassy. I also think it fits because Houston is such a green city."

Stokes, 47, is known for work that evokes a sense of place, such as Hometown, her homage to Houston.

Although the specific location of Green remains elusive, the dance gives the impression of being outside.

For example, the unpredictability of nature is represented in the second half of the work, which has a wild, Lord of the Flies flavor. Stokes inserts an edge of seriousness here.

"Even with everything that is happening with the greening of our society, there's a collective fear that the planet's future is out of our control," she said.

"Some of that unruliness plays out in the dance as an undercurrent."

Open-air dance beyond Miller Outdoor Theatre is rare in Houston, which is one reason it's a priority for Discovery Green programming director Susanne Theis.

"Dance is one of the most important art forms to present in the park. It is the universal language of movement in every culture around the globe. Being outside and experiencing the joy of moving freely is a big part of what we love about parks. Watching superb dancers at work is a logical extension," Theis said.

Green, which will be performed by Travesty Dance Group, Stokes' company, and the UH Dance Ensemble, will be followed at 8 p.m. by a screening of The Cost of Living, presented by the Aurora Picture Show. The 34-minute movie takes place in a seaside town where street performers David and Eddie struggle to find work and romance. The film incorporates sharp humor about the notions of how the fit and unfit are supposed to act.

The evening is presented in part by Fresh Arts Coalition, a nonprofit collaborative of small and midsize Houston arts organizations.

Ad Deum Dance Company

2008-05-18T08:52:00.000-07:00

This piece in The Houston Chronicle is a result of many rich conversations with Randall Flinn on the subject of dance and faith. As a lapsed atheist (who knows what that is) I started with a good dose of suspicion and ended with a sense of respect. My gracious thanks to Flinn for being so available to help me understand his process.

LIBERA — THE JOY OF BELIEVING

Randall Flinn may have named his company Ad Deum, Latin for "To God," but don't expect his performances to feature choir-robed dancers re-enacting Bible stories. Flinn's combination of faith and choreography is much larger than that. "I create work from a biblical point of view, which encompasses a huge realm in the human experience," he explains.

"In fact, I consider the Bible itself to be a work of art."

Flinn, an ordained minister and 25-year member of Turning Point Ministries, keeps his churchgoing life and dance-making life separate, aside from an occasional Christmas show.

"I know that there are some ... that would find it a lot simpler to box the mission of Ad Deum into a certain classification, be it liturgical, evangelical or Christian art," Flinn says.

"The artist who believes in God should be making important contributions to the whole of life, not just a religious component."

Flinn's pieces resemble typical modern dances. Instead of Christian music, he prefers using popular, classical and world music. His dancers come from many religious traditions, including non-Christian ones.

"Often, dancers are drawn to us because of what we stand for," says Flinn, who formed Ad Deum in 2000. "But there's no specific denomination or church that we attend together."

Ad Deum member Bethany Brantley, who trained in a Christian dance studio in College Station, found a spiritual and artistic home in the company. "It's so rewarding for me to be able to express my beliefs through dancing," says Brantley, 19. "I am privileged to be able to dance pieces with these amazingly positive messages."

Flinn, 50, and his dancers do pray together. Group blessings start rehearsals. "We pray for family members, healing an injury, whatever is on our minds," Flinn says. The troupe also prays before it performs. "As an artist who believes in God, I also believe that the world is the stage that God sets before me to offer and serve with the gift that has been entrusted to me, which happens to be dance."

Flinn admits that religion and art can be a volatile mix. "In politics it's considered fair game to talk about your faith; in art, not so much," he says. "It's almost considered taboo in the art world to include your faith in the creative process."

Flinn, who cites many biblical references to artists and creativity, likes to remind people that art and religion have a long history together.

"J.S. Bach, one of the world's greatest artists, signed every composition with these words, 'solo deo gloria,' (to the glory of God). He saw himself as God's artistic servant, and he gave the world his blessing. That's what I hope to do as well," Flinn says.

REVIEW: One Spare Flea-Mildred's Umbrella

2008-05-05T14:00:00.000-07:00

Bree Welch
Photo by Anthony Rathbun

One Flea Spare by Naomi Wallace is a deceptively powerful play. Houston-based indie troupe Mildred's Umbrella is known for mining strong material that fits into their cozy base at Midtown Arts Center.

It's the time of the plague in 17^th century London, and the pit is filling with the freshly dead and soon to be dead. Those left alive hole up together to either die or get lucky and survive. After all their servants die, Mr and Mrs Snelgrave have found themselves couped up in 28-day quarantine with a mischievous young girl, Morse, and a stoic sailor, Bunce. Mr. Snelgrave is a priggish brute of a man, caught up in the deception of class and rank. His wife, Darcy, has had much of her flesh burned away in a fire in a desperate attempt to save her horses. The smarmy Snelgrave hasn't touched her since. Morse, is an amoral sprite, half pixie, half demon child. There's not much to eat or do but wait to die a horrible painful death. Half way through, the tables turn, and Darcy, Morse, and Bunce gang up on old Snelgrave strapping him to his chair to wait out his impending death.

But really, this is a play about eroticism under the most unlikely circumstances. Snelgrave questions Bunce, the sailor, how he manages to stay sane without sex on a ship for long periods of time. In response, Bunce pierces an orange with Selgrave's finger and then sucks its juices. Bunce pines for Darcy, scars and all. They play out their love as best they can until she too succumbs to the “tokens.” Bunce tries to save her but she asks for death, which Morse cheerily delivers thanks to a handy knife.

Jennifer Decker's Darcy is a volcano ready to erupt. Mark Carrier projects an endearing directness as the dutiful sailor with a crush on the lady of the house. Greg Dean is perfectly repugnant as Snelgrave. Eric Doss plays Kabe, a creepy guard about the death pits with a foot fetish. Bree Welch is magical as Morse, the troubled angel of doom, and fully captures a spirit of unthinking innocence that dwells below the surface of Wallace's play.

Patricia Duran goes for a bare bones treatment, letting Wallace's ripe language move to the center, pushing the harsh drama closer than our comfort level. Wayne Barnhill and Ken Taylor's white vinegar-washed room serves as the spare setting. Although difficult to watch at times, you never fully want to turn away from this riveting production.

The strange child gets the last word in a haunting monologue. It's dreamy, poetic, and otherworldly, much like the terrain of Wallace's captivating play.