NJSO "Best Of Spanish Flair"

The New Jersey Symphony Orchestra’s “Best of Spanish
Flair” program last night at the Count Basie Theatre in Red Bank featured the evergreen Concierto de Aranjuez of Joaquin Rodrigo in its entirery, surrounded by a collection of mostly well-known but also some less familiar works.

The Gershwin Cuban Overture was a bit of a suprise. Less popular by far than his orchestra touchstones Rhapsody in Blue and American in Paris, Cuban Overture bubbles with the hip-shaking rhythms of Cuban nightclubs of the 1930s, with signature bongos, maracas and claves in the percussion section. Like all of Gershwin’s music, the overture bubbles like an unstoppable, sexy diletante--a romantic, evocative poetry from a high-priced hotel barstool. It is well-crafted, effective entertainment by a born entertainer.

Another less-known piece was living Mexican composer Arturo Marquez’s Danzon No. 2. Written in 1994, the music sounds as if it could have been written in Gershwin’s lifetime, full of the same gushing sweep of folk-inspired melody. The rhythms were more unusual and compelling--a more personal view of Mexican folk style than Gershwin or Copland could achieve. But the piece itself has an easy structure designed to be downed in one gulp.

These two, plus Manuel da Falla’s “Miller’s Dance” from The Three-Cornered Hat and Copland’s El Salon Mexico. It was a pleasure to hear the consistent tangle of Latin dance rythms articulated for such a good long stretch in an orchstra concert, rather than just as single character work. In all three, the orchestra played with suitable energy and enthusiasm, but the diamnd-tipped precision needed to carry off the polyrhythms, particularly in the counterpoint of the Gershwin and Copland, was somewhat lacking. The combined effect made me think that there should be more bands specializing in this repertoire.

But the Aranjuez was the real jewel of the evening and here the orchestra was at its best. Oren Fader was the perfect soloist--steeped in the complexities of new music, he threw light on both the technical and the expressive, showing the strength and dignity in both, and turning what could easly have been a run-of-the-mill event into something captivating and exquisite.

Sadly, I had to leave before I could hear the Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov Capriccio espagnole that concluded the concert. I’m sure it was my loss. Throughout, guest conductor Thomas Wilkins was a relaxed, charming host, telling stories, chatting with children in the front row (noticeably few children in attendance--few enough of anyone under the age of 50 in fact) and putting the program selections into context.

The "Best of Spanish Flair" will be repeated at bergenPAC in Englewood this afternoon at 3 p.m. For more information visit the NJSO website.

--C.
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REVIEW: "Sweeney Todd" at Algonquin

I have seen many fully professional productions that weren't as good as last night's "Sweeney Todd" at the Algonquin Arts Theater in Manasquan. Directed by Cynthia Meryl and starring a young cast of the New Jersey Youth Theatre both onstage and in the orchestra, the production was a wicked success. The actors, particularly leads Kevin Melendez and Jaclyn Ingoglia, are exciting, energized and enormously talented. It was clear for both that we're witnessing the birth of celebrated careers.

One of the reasons I love this Sondheim musical is the complexity and inventiveness in the music. It's gorgeous, but also thorny and unpredictable. That also makes it one of the most difficult musicals out there, for the orchestra and the cast of singers.

There were rare moments of weakness in the orchestra and in the singing voices of some of the cast on stage. If you weren't looking for them you would not have noticed. Mostly, the musical professionalism was staggering, particularly so given the young age of most of the players. The cast's ensemble numbers, like "God That's Good" that opens the second act, were especially effective. The opening "Ballad of Sweeney Todd" is reprised throughout the musical at key moments and each time with powerfully unified synchronization of voices, acting, lighting and staging.

The hits of last night's performance, hands down, were delivered by Ingoglia as Mrs. Lovett with her song "The Worst Pies in London" and her duet with Melendez, "A Little Priest," both in Act I. At intermission, the audience was still laughing over her mad capering dance during "A Little Priest".

But singling out those moments is an injustice to what is overall a very exciting, polished and compelling production. Tickets are still available for performances that continue through the weekend, 8 p.m. Friday, Aug. 7, and Saturday, Aug. 8, and 2 p.m. Sunday, Aug. 9. Algonquin is located at 173 Main St., Manasquan. Call 732-528-9211 for more information or visit the theater's website, www.algonquinarts.org.

--C.

The Storm Continues

Took my two children to see and hear "The Storm" concert at Ocean Grove (www.ogcma.org) last Wednesday. As I noted in my
previous post, these free concerts invoke pictorial sound effects of a large storm, thrilling listeners. Curator John R. Shaw and organist Gordon Turk explained that this type of concert has a long history, dating back at least as far as the French Revolution. During that time, the church was out of favor and the organists repurposed their instruments for popular spectacle-type concerts, both to keep the instruments in use and to curry the favor of the populist leadership who would otherwise have surely cannibalized the pipes for scrap metal and other parts.

The kids loved it. Some of the presentation was just cheesy enough to be historically accurate. The wind sound effect, in particular, required a leap of imagination. ("It sounded like a blender," my daughter said later.) The rain effect sounded like rain. And if the lightning looked like an electric light being switched off and on ... well, that's just that much more 19th Century. And it is great fun to watch Turk rip into the pedal-tone clusters and wild, swooping passages that create the thundering storm imagery.

There are two more of these coming up. Each program uses different music as a vehicle to paint the storm picture. The next is tomorrow, Wednesday, July 29, and the last one is the following Wednesday, Aug. 5. Both begin at 7:30 p.m. Tomorrow's will have the second half of the lecture/demonstration, presented by Shaw and Turk in tandem.

--C.

Been to the Kingdom

Attended the performance of "Kingdom" at the VFW Theater in Asbury Park on Sunday night. On the whole I think the cast and the production team did a great job and I applaud ReVision Theatre for bringing an ambitious new musical on a sensitive topic to our little shore town. I was impressed by the acting, although I think some of the leads were playing to a bigger theater and could have done more by lowering the intensity and upping the nuance. My favorite performance of the night was Dell Howlett, who plays Cano, a key character in the plot. Cano is complex and commanding and Howlett was totally at ease and convincing in the role. The lighting was flawless. The orchestra--keyboard, guitar, bass and drum set--was great, although the score didn't ask much of the musicians.

As a musical however, "Kingdom" is a disappointment. The best part is the lyrics: Basically the entire play is done in rhyme, most of it in rapping rhythms. Within the conceit of constant rhyming, the poetry is well crafted and often clever. The melodies and raps that set this text are mundane, but at least they don't get in the way. There aren't any memorable musical moments (although there are some memorable dramatic ones). Most depressing for me was the lack of imagination in the band's accompaniment. There was just nothing there. I'm certainly glad the ReVision producers saw fit to use live musicians. I wish they had had something worthwhile to play.

The music also never seems to alter mood--the tension and melodrama of the opening just continues unabated throughout. Every song is another opportunity for searing emotional trauma--some variation would have made at least some of those moments more meaningful.

Along with being the vehicle for Howlett's performance, Cano is also the most interesting character in "Kingdom," from a literary point of view. As the head of the local chapter of the fierce gang, the Latin Kings, he advocates self-discipline, conflict resolution through dialog and working for the betterment of the community. Once deprived of his leadership, the gang chapter becomes a rabble, descending immediately into spiral of pointless, vengeful violence.

Like the mafia of old, Cano's Latin Kings are a crude blend of social support group, religion, militia and criminality as a means to noble ends. The character of Cano, who sees only the good the Latin Kings can do and tries to cultivate the good in those around him, makes the story more complicated and worthy of discussion than it would be otherwise. In all other respects, the play is a two-dimensional portrait of gangs or ghetto life. Marisa's plea against violence at the end is well-written but predictable. A little too noticeably, it is also a recreation in aggressive modern vernacular of Maria's speech at the end of "West Side Story."

--C.