➤ LONDON STAGE, from p.25
ingham (Ruth Madeley) who has a
wheel in multiple camps.
There are reminders of “Clueless”
and “The Politician” in this
witty and wholly satisfying sendup
of Shakespeare that I missed
at its premiere at New York’s Public
last year but that promises to enter
the high school and college theater
canon and deserves to be seen everywhere.
Monks’ performance is nothing
short of amazing — not because he
is disabled but because he seamlessly
morphs from endearing to
scary to mean to hilarious without
breaking a sweat (much like that
other Richard). Richard’s dance
scene with Anne is worth the price
of admission.
“The Ocean at the End of the
Lane” (to Jan. 25) is an adaptation
of Neil Gaiman’s novel by Joel Horwood
at the National’s Dorfman
directed by Katy Rudd. A 12-year
old boy (Samuel Blenkin, called
“Boy”), coping with a distracted
divorced dad (Justin Salinger) who
has employed a woman (Pippa Nixon)
whom Boy sees as a harridan,
enters a world of magical realism
just down the lane at an ancient
farmhouse inhabited by… well,
that’s not quite clear.
He befriends a resourceful girl,
Lettie (Marli Siu), her no-nonsense
mother (Carlyss Peer), and her
wise and powerful granny (Josie
Walker). What is imagined? What’s
real? They all team up to fi ght off
fearsome creatures that are the
stuff of nightmares. Dark and
mythic — with infl ections of irony
and humor — this “holiday” tale is
Justin Salinger and Samuel Blenkin in Joel Horwood’s “The Ocean at the End of the Lane” at the
National’s Dorfman.
no break from the cruelty in the
world, but was embraced by audience
members of all ages.
Gaiman wrote the story to
help his wife understand his
childhood. You won’t be able to sit
through it without some of your
own buried memories fl oating to
the surface. The imaginative staging
by Fly Davis doesn’t reach the
heights of the “Harry Potter” theater
adaptation, but creates palpable
monsters and ocean waves in
an intimate house.
I fi nished my trip with “Ian
McKellen on Stage” at the Pinter
Theatre (to Jan. 5), the end of the
great actor’s year-long world tour
celebrating his 80th birthday. He
holds court for three hours taking
us through his life, activism, and
work on stage and in fi lm.
McKellen starts by seducing his
new fans with a reading from Tolkien
and stories about doing those
“Lord of the Rings” movies. He
MANUEL HARLAN
treats us to some poetry by (gay)
Gerard Manley Hopkins. He talks
about leaving the original company
of the National Theatre because
there were just too many stars
there 50 years ago when Laurence
Olivier started it. He tells us how
he came to acting and how he
came out with a bang at age 47 to
oppose Margaret Thatcher’s infamous
Clause 28 banning any mention
of homosexuality in schools.
But for most all of the second act,
he lets audience members shout
out Shakespeare titles and he has
a story to tell about virtually all —
most of which he has been in. He
effortlessly delivers speeches from
Shakespeare that have never left
him.
But what impressed me most
that the whole run has been to aid
charities for young and old and
that after his epic performance
he runs out to the lobby to collect
more donations for them and to
engage close-up with his audience.
MARC BRENNER
Daniel Monks in Mike Lew’s “Teenage Dick” at
the Donmar.
McKellen is a mensch — and an international
treasure.
COMING UP: “Uncle Vanya” at
the Harold Pinter (Jan. 14 – May
2) with Toby Jones in new adaptation
by Conor McPherson; Tom
Stoppard’s new “Leopoldstadt” at
Wyndham’s (Jan. 25 – Jun. 13);
Alan Cumming and Daniel Radcliffe
in Beckett’s “Endgame” at The
Old Vic (from Jan. 27); Lesley Manville
in Dürrenmatt’s “The Visit”
adapted by Tony Kushner at the
National’s Olivier (Jan. 31 - May
13); Rafe Spall in “Death of England”
at National’s Dorfman (Jan.
31 – Mar. 7); Jessica Chastain in
“A Doll’s House” at the Playhouse
(Jun. 10 – Sep. 5); Whoopi Goldberg
and Jennifer Saunders in
“Sister Act” at the Eventim Apollo
(Jul. 29 - Aug. 30); Imelda Staunton
in “Hello Dolly ” at the Adelphi
(from Aug. 11).
➤ OPERA, from p.XX
ingful phrasing to her work. Baritone
John Brancy delivered both
words and music magnifi cently —
a real throwback to the great age
of Broadway baritone singing. His
duet with Loeb (“Francie”) and his
solo “Weep for Me” proved among
the evening’s highlights, as performance
and composition. Alex
Mansoori handled the tenor work
capably enough but indulged in
too much generalized shtick for my
taste.
Somehow in decades of attending
New York musical events I’d
never found my way to The Rockefeller
University’s comfortable,
acoustically admirable Caspary
Hall before November 20. That evening,
the Met’s promising soprano
Michelle Bradley shared her lustrous
vocal gift with exuberance
and sincerity before a very appreciative
public. She had the experienced
and deft support of Ken
Noda, playing well on an excellent
Steinway. Bradley’s soprano rejoiced
in good projection, a seamless
range recalling Eileen Farrell,
and a shining personal timbre. In
Barber’s “Hermit Songs” — written
for Leontyne Price, no less — she
gave delicate, verbally shaded readings,
especially in the slower songs.
Despite clear diction in three beautifully
sung Duparc favorites, she
still needs more pointed utterance
of text, maybe particularly evident
in Lina’s testing aria from “Stiffelio.”
But Bradley clearly has the
voice and technique for this and
other Verdi parts, some of which
— like the “Ernani” Elvira in San
Francisco this June — are already
inked at major theaters.
The artists gave a musically
sumptuous reading of Strauss’
“Four Last Songs”. For encores,
Bradley offered a sensational “He’s
Got the Whole World in His Hands”
and then accompanied herself impressively
in a melismatic setting
of the Lord’s Prayer. She is the real
thing!
Most of the events at Caspary
are chamber concerts — they even
have free offerings some afternoons
—and it’s defi nitely a destination
worth fi nding. I hope to hear other
vocal recitals there in future seasons.
David Shengold (shengold@yahoo.
com) writes about opera for many
venues.
GayCityNews.com | January 2 - January 15, 2020 25
link
link
/GayCityNews.com
