Winnipeg's Lucrezia Borgia At The FringeRegular readers will recall that over the Memorial Day holiday, I traveled to Winnipeg where I took in a reading for a promising new musical by
Joseph Aragon called
Lucrezia Borgia. At the time, it was still under development.
Since
I promised to chart its progress, I wanted you to know that the work apparently is complete and ready to roll
in toto at the
2007 Winnipeg Fringe Theatre Festival.
Directed by Jeffrey Kohut and Carson Nattrass,
Lucrezia Borgia will be presented nightly at 7:00 p.m. Winnipeg's Gas Station Theatre, July 18-28 (except for July 23). Tickets are just $8 Canadian.
Lucrezia Borgia is described as:
[A]n original musical that presents a new perspective on the legendary daughter of Pope Alexander VI and her bloody legacy. The Lucrezia of legend has been the subject of countless novels, plays, films and operas -– but was she really the heinous monster history has painted her to be? Historical fact brings to light a different Lucrezia Borgia -– a proud, passionate woman who sought beauty in an ugly world.
This musical explores a side of Lucrezia Borgia history has chosen to ignore – one that focuses on her strength, compassion and vitality for life, as well as her constant struggle between the desire to follow her own heart, and her loyalty to her family and the Borgia name.
Andrea Houssin, who winningly created the role of Lucrezia at the
Carol Shields Festival of New Works, will reprise her turn in the complete production.
Since I won't be able to make a return visit to Winnipeg, I invite those who see the performance to comment on the production.
This is Steve On Broadway (SOB).
Click here for Fringe Festival tickets.Related Stories:Lucrezia Borgia (The SOB Overview) (May 30, 2007)
Flitting Around Square Winnipeg (May 25, 2007)
Labels: Canada, Carol Shields Festival of New Works, Gregory Maguire, Joseph Aragon, Lucrezia Borgia, Musical, Reading, Winnipeg
Lucrezia Borgia (The SOB Overview) - Prairie Theatre Exchange, Winnipeg, Manitoba, CanadaLast weekend, I journeyed to beautiful Winnipeg where I took in a reading of
Joseph Aragon's
Lucrezia Borgia -- a budding new musical that's only partially complete -- during the
Carol Shields Festival of New Works. Since the festival itself was billed as a showcase for "staged readings of new plays and works in progress," it would hardly be fair to judge what I saw with a formal review.
But I can tell you that this promising original musical offers intrigue aplenty. While only six full tunes have been completed, it offers a new twist on the original "
material girl," who reputedly participated in murders carried out by her father (Pope Alexander XI) and brother (Cesare) and possibly engaged in incest with both of them.
The tuner is described as an exploration of "a side of her that history has chosen to ignore -- one that focuses on her strength, compassion and vitality for life, as well as her constant struggle between the desire to follow her own heart, and her loyalty to her family and the Borgia name."
If the misunderstood nature of Lucrezia Borgia sounds a bit like
Wicked, then perhaps it's no surprise that author
Gregory Maguire used Lucrezia for his inside-out "
Mirror Mirror," which reimagined the tale of Snow White in Renaissance Italy; however, Lucrezia became the personification of the wicked stepmother. In
Lucrezia Borgia, Aragon strives to make Lucrezia a sympathetic, mournful character, despite the fact she has indeed committed murder to preserve her family's prestige, privilege and reign.
While Andrea Houssin's characterization of Lucrezia as a tortured soul feels genuine, Aragon still has plenty of work to do to make this piece flow, particularly in winnowing down the number of paths he wants to pursue. One of the more intriguing elements of the entire work is that far from infallible, its pope is malevolent, corrupt and greedy and certainly didn't practice what he preached -- the allegory to contemporary religion could easily be amplified.
Having been impressed by several key elements of the reading, including the opening number and an entertaining tune centered on a Spanish cow, I'll certainly be tracking this work as it nears completion.
This is Steve On Broadway (SOB).
Related Stories:Flitting Around Square Winnipeg (May 25, 2007)
Labels: Canada, Carol Shields Festival of New Works, Gregory Maguire, Joseph Aragon, Lucrezia Borgia, Musical, Reading, Wicked, Winnipeg
