Brief Encounter (The SOB Review) - Studio 54, Roundabout Theatre Company, New York City, New York
**** (out of ****)
Returning to any show that completely immerses you with one spellbinding ripple after another is often fraught with peril. Will it stand up the second time around or will those earlier memories suffer from a backwash that crashes hard from being far less satisfying?
In revisiting
Emma Rice's excellent
Brief Encounter, which opened last evening at
Studio 54, I realized I need not have worried about whether this play with music would hold up to a repeated viewing or further scrutiny. As much as
I loved the show earlier this year in Minneapolis, I found my heart and soul swimming yet again, this time even deeper in a sea of bliss. In short,
Brief Encounter is better than ever.
Rice's ingenious adaptation of
Noël Coward's screenplay cleverly punctuates live action -- often breaking the fourth wall -- with some of Coward's signature tunes. Before the show even begins, Rice sets the mood as her supporting players are out in the orchestra section of the theatre, serenading the audience as it playfully interacts with them as movie theater ushers from a bygone era. However, what they're really ushering in, quite simultaneously, are two distinct eras.
The first era harkens back to that pre-World War II time when Coward was in his prime.
Brief Encounter is nothing if not a truly cinematic melodrama in which two lovers first meet by complete happenstance in a train depot restaurant. Laura (
Hannah Yelland) gets a speck of dirt caught in her eye. Having already caught the eye of a doctor, Alec (
Tristan Sturrock), she receives immediate attention from him.
But because this is England, circa 1930s, and these are English characters replete with the proverbial "stiff upper lip," the inhabitants of
Brief Encounter are quite proper, if not repressed, in expressing themselves and their feelings. Compounding the matter for Laura is that she's a married mother of two who has settled into a humdrum life. As much as the spark of love from Alec appeals to her, she's reticent in allowing herself to be completely swept away.
Which leads to the second era that those
Brief Encounter ushers have shown our way to -- a new era in theatre that seamlessly blends the live action on (and off) the stage with silver screen images and
Gemma Carrington and
Jon Driscoll's Tony-worthy projection design (if there actually
were such a category). The result is a theatrical experience unlike any other -- theatre of the future. That experience allows unfettered access into the hearts and minds of Laura and Alec as love's crashing waves wash over them, almost quite literally.
Yelland and Sturrock are picture perfect as the two lovers. While Alec may go overboard for Laura in more than the figurative sense, neither Yelland or Sturrock overplay their hands into anything resembling camp -- a decidedly difficult task when doing melodrama.
Rice's supporting cast is equally superb, including
Annette McLaughlin as Myrtle, the restaurant proprietor, and
Joseph Alessi in the dual roles as Myrtle's suitor and Laura's husband.
Gabriel Ebert and
Adam Pleeth will melt your heart with their splendid renditions of some of Coward's most tuneful songs.
The magnificent
Brief Encounter succeeds on so many levels, but particularly because it dares to be different. It'll have you swooning, too.
This is
Steve On Broadway (SOB).
In keeping with the new Federal Trade Commission (FTC) regulations that unfairly discriminate against bloggers, who are now required by law to disclose when they have received anything of value they might write about, please note that I have received nothing of value in exchange for this post.Labels: Annette McLaughlin, Brief Encounter, Broadway, Emma Rice, Gemma Carrington, Hannah Yelland, Jon Driscoll, Joseph Alessi, Noel Coward, Play, The SOB Review, Tristan Sturrock
Broadway's Brief Encounter To Only Last Few Months
Beginning September 10, Broadway audiences will have a short window of opportunity to see the theatrical production I deemed as
my personal favorite for all of last year.
That's when the breathtaking British import of
Noël Coward's
Brief Encounter from
Kneehigh Theatre starts its limited run at
Studio 54. Seemlessly blending film and music with live action as its conceit, director
Emma Rice ingeniously builds on the precepts from the Oscar-nominated
1945 motion picture penned by Coward.
The story centers on two married strangers who enjoy a chance meeting in a train station only to find themselves swept away in a mad love affair. Silver screen images are shown on the stage, but it's magnificently brought to life with a captivating fusion with live theatre.
Roundabout describes
Brief Encounter as follows:
Roundabout Theatre Company in association with David Pugh & Dafydd Rogers and Cineworld presents the breakout hit Kneehigh Theatre's production of Noël Coward's Brief Encounter, adapted and directed by Emma Rice.
Brief Encounter updates a classic tale of longing with fresh power and passion. Brief Encounter is an imaginative new work that combines elements of the beloved film and the Noël Coward play on which it was based with song, dance and Technicolor displays of emotion.
Led by
Tristan Sturrock as Alec and
Hannah Yelland as Laura, the cast also includes
Joseph Alessi,
Dorothy Atkinson,
Damon Daunno,
Gabriel Ebert,
Edward Jay,
Annette McLaughlin and
Adam Pleeth. With the exception of Ebert, who served as an understudy for
Eddie Redmayne on
Red, all are making their Broadway debuts.
Since
Brief Encounter defies any tidy description, it simply doesn't seem fair to say much more because the melodrama has to be seen to be believed and fully appreciated.
But I will add one more thing. It took
Brief Encounter's spellbinding trip back in time to catch a glimpse of the future in entertainment and the integral role projection designs like those offered here from
Gemma Carrington and
Jon Driscoll can have in stage productions.
As the first Broadway play or musical of the season to open (September 28),
Brief Encounter is only scheduled for a limited run at Studio 54 now extended through January 2, 2011. This is a must-see.
This is
Steve On Broadway (SOB).
In keeping with the new Federal Trade Commission (FTC) regulations that unfairly discriminate against bloggers, who are now required by law to disclose when they have received anything of value they might write about, please note that I have received nothing of value in exchange for this post. Labels: Brief Encounter, Broadway, Emma Rice, Film, First Word On New Show, Hannah Yelland, Kneehigh Theatre, Noel Coward, Play, Tristan Sturrock
Brief Encounter (The SOB Review) - McGuire Proscenium, Guthrie, Minneapolis, Minnesota**** (out of ****)The all too
Brief Encounter is one of the most magnificent entertainment productions you're likely to see anywhere this year.
But what exactly is it?
Well, catching its final U.S. stop (after it made its way from London to San Francisco and then New York), I can tell you that
Brief Encounter practically defies description. It's a bit like that candy bar -- think "you got your film in my stage play" vs. "you got your stage play in my film."
As its conceit, director
Emma Rice ingeniously builds on the precepts from the Oscar-nominated
1945 motion picture written by
Noël Coward about two married individuals who enjoy a chance meeting in a train station only to find themselves swept away in a mad love affair. Silver screen images are shown on the stage, but it's seemlessly brought to life with a captivating fusion with live theatre. Topping off this delectable treat is a perfect blend of music from the era that breaks the fourth wall.
To say much more beyond this doesn't seem fair because this excellent production has to be seen to be believed and fully appreciated. But I'll add one more thing. It took
Brief Encounter's spellbinding trip back in time to catch a glimpse of the future in entertainment and the integral role projection designs -- like those offered here by
Gemma Carrington and
Jon Driscoll to mesmerizing, dramatic effect -- can have in stage productions.
I enjoyed every moment of this thrilling, if brief, ride.
This is Steve On Broadway (SOB).
Labels: Brief Encounter, Emma Rice, Film, Minneapolis/St. Paul, Noel Coward, Play, The SOB Review
Brief Encounter (The SOB Review) - Studio 54, Roundabout Theatre Company, New York City, New York
