Fuerza Bruta (The SOB Review) - Daryl Roth Theatre, New York, New York
**1/2 (out of ****)It's often been said that getting there is half the fun. Someone should tell that to the folks at the
Daryl Roth Theatre, which obviously believes
Cunard's
old trademark line to be nothing more than an outdated canard.
If you're on your way to the claustrophobically funky little basement space that you must wade through before going to see
Fuerza Bruta (brute force) in all its glory, beware.
You must first deal with surly staff manning the doors and checking your coats -- and yes, you are required to pay for each item you're checking and
you'll want to check since you could easily get wet during the performance. And don't even get me started on the rude line-jumpers, who left any semblance of good manners at home. This, my dear friends, is why I stopped going out to nightclubs. Talk about a brutal force.
After being led up a poorly lit stairway (I'm not quite sure how or
if they handle disabled patrons), it was a relief, then, to actually arrive into the rather large and surprisingly tall performance space. Once there, the congregating audience is advised to stand anywhere within the large circle on the floor. This is a general admission event where you must be prepared to move frequently as directed throughout the entire production. Thus, you remain standing -- and moving -- often looking directly above you.
With a hard-driving thumping, pulsating beat that puts the bruta in this fuerza,
Fuerza Bruta itself begins as a spectacular piece of performance art run amock quite literally with
Freddy Bosche dodging chairs, fellow company members and all kinds of imagined mayhem on his way to -- or, more likely, away from something -- on a giant treadmill. Shots ring out as if from some apocalyptic nightmare concocted by Argentina's relatively recent dictators à la Juan Perón or
Jorge Videla. One can't help but wonder what creator and artistic director
Diqui James' family must have endured in his native Argentina.
Speaking of endurance, throughout
Fuerza Bruta, the athletic and graceful company members are continually running through walls or smashing into the ever-evolving scenery with what can only be described as a cathartic, visceral rage. And it's all very, very sexy.
Taking theatre to new heights quite literally is the swishing pool of water that descends precariously close to your head as its cast members virtually touch you. As truly mesmerizing as this sensuous display is, I couldn't help but wonder whether this very thin piece of plastic separating me from the performers would actually give way. What a buzz kill those thoughts were.
Simply breathtaking and heartstopping (yet not for those who hate loud music and/or strobe lights),
Fuerza Bruta is a theatrical sight and sound experience unlike any other. And it all gives way to one giant dance party.
It's just a shame you have to go out the same way you came in.
This is Steve On Broadway (SOB).
Labels: Daryl Roth Theatre, Diqui James, Fuerza Bruta, Off-Broadway, Performance Art, Spectacle, The SOB Review
Did Critics Find Heart In Soul?Last evening,
Soul Of Shaolin opened at Broadway's
Marquis Theatre. The kung fu spectacular is produced by
Nederlander Worldwide and the
Eastern Shanghai Cultural Film and Television Group as the first offering from their joint
China On Broadway enterprise.
Critics' reviews ran the gamut, although there were no outright pans.
Readily admitting that he was "there to see some serious butt-kicking," it may come as no surprise that
Frank Scheck of
New York Post would offer the best notices with three out of four stars: "[I]t's mainly an excuse for the impressive performers ... to provide a dazzling display of their skills, many involving staffs and sabers, but mostly their masterful control of their own bodies. The athleticism on display is truly amazing, performed by everyone from small children to one particularly charismatic one-armed master.... Director Liu Tongbiao has choreographed the proceedings with a precision that would put the
Rockettes to shame. It all culminates in a final raucous battle, and the most athletic curtain calls probably ever seen on a Broadway stage."
Comparing the show to "Bruce Lee -- with more noble aspirations," the Associated Press'
Michael Kuchwara offers a mostly positive review, noting the show: "...is a striking mixture of sentiment and strength, a soap-tinged, martial-arts tale of a devoted mother and her virtue-seeking son.... The suppleness of the cast is amazing... Subtlety is not apparent in the musical soundtrack either, an odd mixture of soupy Hollywood-style movie music -- that telegraphs emotions -- mixed with more traditional Chinese sounds. Yet it is the demanding physicality in the show that counts. That movement celebrates an intense kind of discipline that borders on the spiritual and proves to be surprisingly sturdy Broadway entertainment."
Concluding that "
Soul of Shaolin ultimately seems a pretty cheap enterprise,"
The New York Times'
Ben Brantley offers a middling to negative review: "The three performers who play the main character, Hui Guang, impress with their contortionist feats and physical prowess.... Much of it is schlocky; for long stretches it sounds as if someone loaded up the world’s most bombastic movie soundtracks on an iPod and then pressed the shuffle button. The passages of more relaxed indigenous music come as a big relief."
Rating the show with "Martial arts: 10. Magic: 3,"
Joe Dziemianowicz of New York's
Daily News rounds down by awarding two out of five stars: "Some kung-fu moves will make your head spin. When these performers launch into the air and whirl nearly horizontal to the ground, it's no '
Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon' special effect. Unfortunately, cheesy sets and choppy staging choices undermine the highs. Lights and piped-in music don't seamlessly fade and bridge scenes. They slam off, like someone hitting the brakes to avoid a car crash."
Lamenting this as a "rushed, expertly trained assault that leaves you slightly confused afterward,"
Variety's
David Rooney echoes the sentiments that this show is not ready for the Great White Way's prime time: "In the rare instances when the show communicates with utter clarity, it succeeds by speaking a universal language of one-upmanship and pratfalls. During those moments, we have to watch the individual performers to get the joke... [M]ore than once a performer has a look in his eyes that says unmistakably, 'Where am I supposed to be standing, again?' There are other amateurish mistakes, too, including notably loud backstage chatter that overpowers the piped-in score in the final moments. That would be less of a loss if the show's credo wasn't discipline, discipline, discipline."
Soul Of Shaolin runs through the end of this month at the Marquis Theatre.
This is Steve On Broadway (SOB).
Labels: Broadway, China On Broadway, Critics' Capsule, Soul Of Shaolin, Spectacle
Soul Opens In Heart Of Broadway
Despite the dozen Broadway shows that have already closed this year, one
new show is actually opening this evening. Granted, this limited run show is not your typical Great White Way fare, but it is an opening nevertheless.
Produced by
Nederlander Worldwide and the
Eastern Shanghai Cultural Film and Television Group, which have come together in a unique partnership named
China On Broadway,
Soul Of Shaolin is the latest short-term resident of the Main Stem's
Marquis Theatre.
Featured during the
2008 Beijing Olympic Games,
Soul Of Shaolin is described as:
...a breathtaking new Chinese martial arts spectacle that tells the story of a boy named Hui Guang who is separated from his mother by war. Hui Guang is found and taken in by the legendary monks of the Shaolin temple and raised among them. As he becomes a man, Hui Guang becomes an accomplished master of Shaolin Kung Fu and embarks on a spectacular journey of self-discovery.
Soul Of Shaolin features 33 Chinese nationals highly skilled in Shaolin Kung Fu, the astounding martial art featured in such blockbuster films as "Fearless" (starring international superstar Jet Li) and "Shaolin Soccer." This amazing show blends the fantastic display of Shaolin Kung Fu with the rich history and tradition of the Chinese people. Created by world-class artists from Chinese theatre, opera and ballet, Soul Of Shaolin is dazzling entertainment your whole family will remember forever.
Soul Of Shaolin takes place during wartime in Chinese history. Hui Guang, a child who was separated from his mother, was found by a Kung Fu monk from Shaolin Temple and brought back to the temple. As Hui Guang grows up under the care of the monks, he is instructed in the unique ways Shaolin Kung Fu and the daily practicing of Kung Fu skills.
The partnership of China On Broadway will be developing and producing live stage productions globally. The current plan is for China On Broadway to produce one theatrical event each year to celebrate the Lunar New Year. Performances of
Soul Of Shaolin run through January 31, 2009.
Will critics find this their cup of tea or will they say phooey? Find out tomorrow as I provide my critics' capsule.
This is Steve On Broadway (SOB).
Labels: Broadway, China On Broadway, Opening Night, Soul Of Shaolin, Spectacle
The Beatles Love (The SOB Review) - Love Theatre, Mirage, Las Vegas, NV**** (out of ****)Last night, on the eve of the 9/11 anniversary, I found myself seeking out some inner peace. In the excellent, mind-blowing
The Beatles Love, I found that all you need is love.
Finding myself overcome with a sensory overload I haven't experienced since visiting Nepal eleven years ago, this wild ride transports to another time and place with the most frenetic pacing I've seen since the first 20 minutes or so of
Baz Luhrmann's "
Moulin Rouge!" extravaganza. But just like that exhilarating silver screen opening, this exquisite showcase for the catalogue of
The Beatles ultimately settles down, finally enabling you to catch your breath, even if for a moment.
Classic tunes from The Beatles are brought to life in a most magical way, incorporating the themes and emotions behind each one, whether it's encapsulating the melancholy of "Eleanor Rigby" or the psychadelic sparkle of "Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds." Since I'm a Beatlesmaniac, I was entranced throughout the entire production, but renditions of "Rock And Roll Run," "Help" and "Revolution" certainly epitomize who these four lads from Liverpool were and what they came to represent.
By far the best
Cirque du Soleil production I have yet to witness -- and I've now seen four of their five Vegas shows with the fifth coming tonight --
The Beatles Love even manages to blow my previous favorite
O out of the water. Nobody does beautiful spectacle
anywhere quite the way Cirque du Soleil does (Disney, why
aren't you paying attention??).
Credit
Guy Laliberté and Dominic Champagne for creating this truly magical mystery tour, along with Jean Rabasse (set design), Yves Aucoin (lighting design), Philippe Guilottet (costumer design), Jonathan Deans (sound design, including speakers within each seat) and Francis Laporte (a projection design that incorporated John, Paul, George and Ringo). It would serve Broadway choreographers to take a look or two at Dave St. Pierre's stunning work.
While "Viva Las Vegas" may have been Elvis' ode to Sin City, it's the Fab Four (and the creative team behind
The Beatles Love) who are breathing exciting new life into Vegas. As the show closed with "All You Need Is Love," I found myself wishing for just a little more love. Perhaps I've finally found my reason for returning to Las Vegas.
This is Steve On Broadway (SOB).
Click here for tickets.
Related Stories:Becoming SOL (September 10, 2007)
Critics: True Spectacle for the Senses and Beatles' Fans (July 1, 2006)
The Beatles LOVE by Cirque du Soleil Opens in Vegas Tonight (June 30, 2006)
Labels: Cirque du Soleil, Las Vegas, Musical, Special Theatrical Event, Spectacle, The Beatles, The Beatles Love, The SOB Review
Fuerza Bruta (The SOB Review) - Daryl Roth Theatre, New York, New York
