State of the Arts

State of the Arts: May 29, 2012 Archive

< May 28, 2012 | Main | May 30, 2012 >

The reviews are in for 'Compleat Female Stage Beauty'

Posted at 9:40 AM on May 29, 2012 by Marianne Combs
Filed under: Criticism, Theater

In the flamboyant reign of King Charles II, London's most renowned leading lady is a man named Edward Kynaston. But when royal decree puts women onstage and Kynaston finds his role reversed, he must learn to adapt with the times.

Walking Shadow Theatre Company presents the regional premiere of "Compleat Female Stage Beauty," Jeffrey Hatcher's play which was turned into a film in 2004.

CFSB1.jpg
Wade A. Vaughn as Edward Kynaston in Compleat Female Stage Beauty
Photo by Dan Norman

Critics deemed this production a winner - here are excerpts of their reviews:

From Anna Rosensweig at AisleSayTwinCities.com:

In Walking Shadow's production (on which Hatcher consulted), it's Wade A. Vaughn's portrayal of Kynaston that really stands out. Vaughn embodies this fascinating character with a complexity that is nothing short of remarkable. Navigating several layers of performance, Vaughn must play Kynaston on stage as Desdemona, Kynaston in drag in St. James Park, and Kynaston as a fallen star attempting to re-fashion his persona. Vaughn succeeds at every level, often with staggering amounts of emotional depth and complexity.

CFSB2.jpg
Anika Reitman, Katie Kaufmann, Wade A. Vaughn and Duncan Frost in Compleat Female Stage Beauty
Photo by Dan Norman

From Graydon Royce at the Star Tribune:

Kynaston discovers his inner man through a tryst with his dresser, Maria, although this experience doesn't quite feel profound enough to effect such a transformation. Suddenly, he is up for the testosterone-fueled role of Othello and is throwing Hughes' Desdemona around stage like he's Stanley Kowalski dispatching Blanche. But Hatcher's play is so enjoyable and his love for backstage drama so genuine that we suspend disbelief at this point and ride with the action.

CFSB3.jpg
Jane Froiland, Duncan Frost and Wade A. Vaughn
Photo by Dan Norman

From Dominic P. Papatola at the Pioneer Press:

Director John Heimbuch offers a telling of the tale that captures its paradoxes well. A trio of live musicians plays sweet period music on the hammer dulcimer and period-appropriate string instruments. Every frill and corset stay is in place in Katherine B. Kohl's costume design. But both Hatcher's script and Heimbuch's direction show a shadier side of this proper society -- debauchery and petty jealousies; gossip, ambition and the price of pride.

CFSB4.jpg
Jane Froiland and Wade A. Vaughn in Compleat Female Stage Beauty
Photo by Dan Norman

From Ed Huyck at City Pages:

What we have is a play rich in the gaudy excesses of the age. Think of the DayGlo 1960s, when the shackles of the gray postwar years were released and people were allowed to go more than a little mad. Now magnify that by 100. The explosions in culture, art, fashion, and more base pursuits all find their place in Compleat Female Stage Beauty, reminding us that the Baby Boomers didn't discover sex, and theater is a constantly evolving game that remains the same at its heart.

Compleat Female Stage Beauty runs through June 2 at Minneapolis Theatre Garage. Have you seen the production? If so, what did you think? Share your review in the comments section.

Is efficiency the enemy of art?

Posted at 3:05 PM on May 29, 2012 by Marianne Combs (3 Comments)
Filed under: Criticism, Culture

Have we become too productive?

Tim Jackson thinks so. The professor of sustainable development at the University of Surrey and the author of Prosperity Without Growth: Economics for a Finite Planet wrote an editorial in the New York Times arguing that it's time to stop working so hard.

Productivity -- the amount of output delivered per hour of work in the economy -- is often viewed as the engine of progress in modern capitalist economies. Output is everything. Time is money. The quest for increased productivity occupies reams of academic literature and haunts the waking hours of C.E.O.'s and finance ministers. Perhaps forgivably so: our ability to generate more output with fewer people has lifted our lives out of drudgery and delivered us a cornucopia of material wealth.

But the relentless drive for productivity may also have some natural limits. Ever-increasing productivity means that if our economies don't continue to expand, we risk putting people out of work. If more is possible each passing year with each working hour, then either output has to increase or else there is less work to go around. Like it or not, we find ourselves hooked on growth.

Jackson argues there are a few sectors where efficiency and productivity are blatantly detrimental: education, healthcare, craft and culture.

It is the accuracy and detail inherent in crafted goods that endows them with lasting value. It is the time and attention paid by the carpenter, the seamstress and the tailor that makes this detail possible. The same is true of the cultural sector: it is the time spent practicing, rehearsing and performing that gives music, for instance, its enduring appeal. What -- aside from meaningless noise -- would be gained by asking the New York Philharmonic to play Beethoven's Ninth Symphony faster and faster each year?

While asking musicians to play faster is obviously a ludicrous form of efficiency, the classical music industry does have other, more complex problems. It is often beset with heated contract negotiations, as musicians fight for better pay while orchestras try to balance the budget. Are they striving to be too productive? Are they pursuing an unattainable level of growth? Or are they simply trying to do the best they can with what they have?

Some of the most efficient and productive people I know are artists. Some make incredible use of limited resources, or even use other people's cast-offs to create beautiful new works. I know painters who churn out a new work every day, almost compulsively.

So when is efficiency and productivity good for art, and when should it be dismissed?



(3 Comments)
May 2012
S M T W T F S
    1 2 3 4 5
6 7 8 9 10 11 12
13 14 15 16 17 18 19
20 21 22 23 24 25 26
27 28 29 30 31    


Master Archive

Recent Entries

New Series

Art Heroes

MPR News
Radio

Listen Now

On Air

On Being

Schedule

Shortcuts
Hourly Newscast
Hosts
Station Map

Other Radio Streams from MPR

Classical MPR
Radio Heartland

Services

This activity is made possible in part by the Minnesota Legacy Amendment's Arts & Cultural Heritage Fund
Become a sponsor

In The Spotlight