June1, 2005

LONDON - Familiarity. In this case, not contempt bred, just an odd sense of normalcy.

Last night, The Big Life, a ska adaptation of Loves Labours Lost, that not only entertained, but made one long for a more successful adaptation in the vein of the one Ken Branagh brought us a few years back. The show is a pure play on energy, filled with funky beats and strong singing and dancing. The lack of a showstopper was disappointing, but like much of Black theater - in whatever country, it seems - the show clearly felt free to face stereotypes, of all cultures, head on for big laughs.

The only showstopper in this show was a performer who serves as an off-stage commentator, much in the style of the Waldorf & Skyler in the old Muppet Show. She is an older woman who feigns propriety and lets loose with all kinds of impropriety. Very funny... and very reminiscent of Tyler Perry's drag grandma character from Diary of a Mad Black Woman, who has been such a smash in the U.S.

But that is not to say that a grand time is not had by all. The basic premise... four guys who decide to give up women for a year only to fall in love with four female counterparts in short order... is LLL. The pairings are smart, as I'm not sure that anyone would be able to guess accurately who would be attracted to whom. The distinctions of character are also quite effective, never quite falling into caricature. Even the "uptight nurse" with the glasses and shirts buttoned to the top gets a number about how she and her diseased husband used to light it up in the bedroom and how she looks forward to finding that kind of romantic/sexual trust in the future.

As you can read between the lines, it was not a life altering evening at the theater for me. But it was well worth the time and money, reminding me a lot of the 70s era of energy musicals like Godspell and Pippin.

After the show, I ended up at The Groucho Club, which was loaded to its hip teeth with hipsters, including Ben Chaplin, who is on the West End in yet another Neil Labute play and Coldplay, who, as a group, seemed very nice and not like the Beatles of this era at all. Of course, at The Groucho Club, everyone thinks they are the Beatles of this era. Still, it was nice to get a glimpse behind the pop curtain.

On the way back to hotel, there was an army in front of my hotel... literally. Trafalgar Square and nearby Whitehall (Road, Street, Place???) had been invaded by the V For Vendetta production. In spite of the dozens and dozens of men in army gear and a few tanks for good measure, security was pleasantly light. Almost as many tourists (and some locals) watched tanks work their way towards a confrontation at Trafalger. (You would be surprised how many kids are out at Trafalger Sq. in the wee small hours of the morning.)

I am loathe to write too much more about it, as I know the graphic novel and don't want to give anything away. I'll have to give this issue some more thought before the set visit later this week. If you know the novel, you'll know that this confrontation is the punchline of the story.

There is always something profound to me when a studio lights an entire section of a city... even more so in a grand old city like London. The world is a stage...

I went to see The Producers, which with due respect to a lot of very talented performers, is currently loaded with no name actors... which is what compelled my visit. I wanted to explore the show without the power/distraction of familiar performers. The theme seems to be resonating through this trip to London... the power of showstopping moments or performances in shows, as with movies, is complex, yet can draw an audience in to otherwise deeply flawed works. Live theater allows a much more empathetic read of audiences than film since there is a different kind of emotive group experience. I am a great believer in the communal power of film... but it exercises different muscles. But the exploration will have to wait, as I am taking the opportunity to experience almost a polar opposite to The Producers experience... a major movie star on stage live in a show currenly in a more modest place... Val Kilmer in the stage version of The Postman Always RIngs Twice.

E-ME. Have I mentioned that my life is really advantaged sometimes?