WTF, WTF, WTFy, Fy, F?

The most surprising thing about Jerry Springer: the Opera is that you actually feel for the guests who are sharing their "Guilty Secrets" in this through-sung cultural study. Like the show on which it's based, the show finds new ways to shock with each succeeding scene, and it's so filled with obscenity-laced speeches I haven't been able to tweet my favorite lines. Set to operatic voices and musical theater themes heightens the absurdity and the hilarity. It also adds a level of cultural criticism that makes for a brilliant work and a particularly brilliant production.

The first act plays out as a somewhat typical episode of Jerry Springer with a number of soliloquies--or arias--that give a more rounded (though still funny and intended to shock) portrait of Jerry's guest. These moments humanize the guests, which is something the TV show is not all that concerned with. At times is does feel a little derivative (Is there much difference between the dancing KKK and dancing Nazi's in The Producers?) The second act, "Jerry Springer in Hell" takes place in, well, hell. Satan is having family dysfunction issues with Jesus and God, and Jerry is the person to help them work it out.

The second act rises and falls on whether you can accept that Jerry might be having a little crisis of conscience of his own. I've always found the second act to be less rich than the first, but Springer in Hell is still a great ride. I'm always left with the sense that the creators, Richard Thomas and Stewart Lee--are a little too satisfied with themselves.

It's the second act, of course, that brings out the protesters. Thomas has always seemed a little disingenuous when he says that they're criticizing something they haven't seen...and if they only would they'd understand. True, they'd understand that the show takes on issues of faith in over-the-top ways. But they'd also see Jesus hanging out in a glorified diaper, God having his own crisis of faith, and the audience chanting "Jesus is gay." etc. This is not a show for the devout and probably not one for the young.

But these are quibbles in an otherwise amazing production. The intimacy of the Roberts Studio Theater at the Boston Center for the Arts is perfect for this production--a large-scale show in an intimate setting. This is a rare treat. A small section of the real audience is seated on stage and mixes with the Springer audience in a way that enhances that intimacy.

The cast is uniformly excellent. Michael Fennimore does a superb job channeling Jerry, and Ariana Valdes and Joelle Lurie are particularly strong in a variety of roles. Even those with the smallest roles have moments in which they stand out.

I have owned the recording of Jerry Spring: The Opera for some years. I've always felt a gap in my arts education because I hadn't seen a production of it. Now, I have, and I can't imagine a more solid production.

Note: It would be nice, SpeakEasy if you'd allow us to embed your video and images in our blogs. This time I'll give you a shout-out and point directly to your site. But let's be more social networking friendly.

The Reply to My Twitter Manifesto

If you haven't read my original Twitter Manifesto, I'd appreciate it if you read this before you watch this:



Even though I spend way too much time defending Twitter, I still have a sense of humor about the whole thing.

My Day on Twitter

People don't understand Twitter. More specifically, people don't understand why I like Twitter. So, I thought I would spend a little time making my case for this odd little service with no business plan that forces you to articulate a thought in 140 characters (or fewer).

I follow 23 Twitter feeds. Tonight I have 64 people following my 140-character words of wisdom and inspiration. About half of the feeds I follow arrive via text message on my phone, so I'm always up to date. I have my device setting to off for the other half, and I tend to read them all at once later in the day.

The information I get from Twitter is sometimes immediately useful, sometimes quite insightful, regularly bemusing. All of this is mixed with those posts the haters like most to point to, the mundane. But it's the mundane that creates a full portrait of the people we follow on Twitter. Those 140 characters add up to something rich.

So, here are just some of the things I've learned from Twitter in the last 24 hours:

I started the day off with a tweet from @mwesch thatled me to videos he's linked to for his visions of the future class. Very cool to see what AT&T and Apple were anticipating in the early 1990s:





One of the comments on the "What Would You Do?" Apple ad was "end gay people." That got a couple more tweets going and a link to this (which I also posted on my Twitter feed and Facebook page):



A little later Wesch also gave us a shout-out for the final project of one of his students. And they say the Internet is all fluff:



Students are doing brilliant work, and it's out there for all of us to see, not just for the teacher. This is a fundamental shift to higher education (well, education generally), and a very positive one.

Meanwhile, back at my Twitter feeds...

My colleague @Holden is wrapping up one position before he starts another (and let me just say how thrilled I am about that. This was his first tweet of the day:

holden Going through old emails, looking for anything of use to my successor. And it all looks so much like, well, you get thrown in and you swim.

And the folks @Passing_Strange (one of the best theater experiences in my life) tweet great lines from the show a couple of times a day. Life changing? No, but how awesome it is to be reminded of a life-changing experience a couple of times a day.

And then this little exchange had me smiling forever. It's funny, but it's also kind of quirky brilliant.

KeenanBlogger loves that you can ask questions on twitter and SOMEONE out there will answer. hehe i'm just gonna start asking stuff that is so easy

KeenanBlogger to find out on my own but I'm too lazy to do. What's the weather like outside my apt in Chicago, zipcode 60601?
about 9 hours ago from web

KeenanBlogger HA! Thanks @JarviMac, @soulofayoungman, @stewartyu! hmmm now if only I could figure out what color underwear I should wear...
about 9 hours ago from web

KeenanBlogger Blue it is @sashanks323! OMG Twitter is so the new magic 8 ball
about 9 hours ago from web

KeenanBlogger RT @jilltwiss, Twitter followers once told me how to tell if my arm was broken (using a tuning fork, to boot). And that's a HARD question.
about 9 hours ago from web

Twitter is the new magic 8 ball. Andrew Keenan Bolger, you may recall (but probably not) is my current reigning blogger of the year. He pukes creativity and wit, all with a strong social consciousness.

Then there was Hair. My day got off to a pretty nice start when I received a tweet from Hair on Broadway that the revival cast recording will drop on iTunes on May 26. Let the sun shine in!!

And if that weren't enough, later in the day I got a tweet alerting me to Hair Radio. This is a media player that plays songs from the 60s and from every cast recording of Hair. I've heard "Eyes Look Your Last" from the British Company, "What a Piece of Work is Man" from the film, and lots from the original broadway cast.

I learned a few things about people I'm interested in. And a few bizarre things. Really Bizarre!

So, this is my Twitter manifesto. I like it! People who blog about how useless it is, especially when they haven't studied it or even used it, especially when they're academics, just haven't given it a serious look. Sure, we're still waiting for a business model. Sure, there are moments where I think, "I can't believe that cost me 15 cents." But I have had such a rich experience and appreciate all the tweets my buds have sent over the last months.

X-Men Origins: Wolverine

Briefly, Wolverine is a decent summer flck. The first of the origins series features Hugh Jackman as an early (pre-Civil War) mutant with claws. Fast forward through all the wars since then and Logan is now a little unstable. Naturally, that means the next step is to pump him full of atomantium and make him indestructible. There are too many moments that defy any sort of logic, but overall Wolverine has some cool special effects and an engaging story.

Mary Stuart

I have been privileged over the years to see performances that changed my world. To be honored in the company of talent so extraordinary that you're slightly different when you leave the theater. The first time I realized that was possible was when I saw Kate Nelligan in Plenty in 1983. More recently, Janet McTeer's Nora in the 1997 revival of A Doll's House.

Both McTeer and Harriet Walter give life-altering performances in the revival of Schiller's Mary Stuart. I hunger for those moments where the moment is so powerful you forget to breathe. (See last year's review of Passing Strange.) Individually and together, McTeer and Walter give any number of those moments.

In Peter Oswald's adaptation and Phyllida Lloyd's stark production of Schiller's 1800 work, everything seems designed to put the two queens (McTeer is the Stuart and Walter is Elizabeth I) front and center. The queens, in Elizabethan dress, are surrounded by men in modern suits. Set pieces are minimal. Even the structure of the play supports this acting tour de force. Each queen gets a major scene in the first act. In the second, they get a lone scene together and final individual scenes.

There's no scenery chewing here. This is powerful stuff and not for the feint of heart. One must live and one must die.

It's so easy to focus on such stirring performances, that one might overlook the power of the play and the phenomenal production. Even simple theatrical tricks stir (ah, the wonderment of theater). In Act I Elizabeth casts shadows on the back wall that make her seem forty feet tall. Mary casts a human-size shadow if she cast one at all. The second act rain storm (not ruining anything here) is more powerful for how it ends than for how it begins, though it's the latter that gets the round of applause. Simple things with huge effect.

The play, for all its simplicity of structure, is layered and complex. These two women have more in common than they are different. They are surrounded by men and their destinies have been set in motion by men. They have developed the stubborness of men that will lead to their downfalls.

That Elizabeth survives (nothing ruined here, either) does not make her triumphant. History makes this clear, but that knowledge is not necessary to the play. Elizabeth's final, defeated moment after Mary's death is compelling in its own right. Haunting.

There is much to be learned from Mary Stuart. From the actresses and from the play.

Hair

Before I get into my review of Hair, I would just like to say that it is my conviction that the weekend of April 24 was joyful, meaningful and so very special. A friend said it was "sublime". I saw two extraordinary shows, two fine exhibits at the Modern, and had two wonderful meals with friends and two intimate meals with my, hmmm, husband. Talk about recharging your batteries!

I have seen many productions of Hair over the years. All of them were fun, but only one was transcendental--until last Saturday. A perfect production of Hair (though Hair is not a perfect musical can be determined in a single, tiny moment of feelings. As the the tribe sings the first note of "Let the Sunshine In" your body must be walking in space and firmly planted in the harsh reality of the moment. Your heart must have extraordinary joy, tremendous grief, and this bittersweet recognition that the show is coming to an end. Almost all productions will give you a moment of joy. After all, these are the songs of our lives and the greatest hits of the 60's.

In the amazing production of Hair currently at the Hirschfeld those moments come together so eloquently and poignantly that you can truly have a transcendental experience without mind-altering chemical assistance.

Everything that leads up to this moment is pitch perfect. The music, the choreography, the vision, the love!

The emotional heft of Hair is in the performances. But the cast, with the exception of Berger, Claude and Sheila, is given only brief moments to present a full character. But they do. In Diane Paulis's vision, the members of the tribe are all over the place all the time, and somehow it feels that every character is richly developed. The connection is powerful.

Will Swenson (Berger), Gavin Creel (Claude) and Caissie Levy (Sheila) form the core of the tribe. They bring a complexity to the performance that isn't usually there. When Sheila is wounded by Berger's callousness, she asks "How can people be so heartless?" ("Easy to be Hard") The irony of the song is that she's doing the same to Claude. Hair is filled with these multidimensional moments.

The supporting members of the tribe all make the most of their moments, never a dull moment and rarely a weak one.

The problem with most productions of Hair over the last 30 years since it first left New York is that they de-emphasize the sex and the drugs for a regional, suburban audience. Not here! Free love is back. Berger and Claude connect just as erotically as each does with Sheila. The pairings in the choreography are gender neutral and emotionally powerful.

Hair is raw, joyous and heart-wrenching. The rest is silence. The rest is silence....

(By the way, for a groovy online experience, check out Hair on Broadway.