Antony and Cleopatra, etc.
Oct. 3rd, 2003 05:54 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
magidLast night I went to the Boston Theatre Works production of the Bard's Antony and Cleopatra. I hadn't seen this play before, though I'm familiar with the general outlines of the story, so it was all new to me.
The play was done in the round (well, in the rectangle, but), with two Persian carpets delineating the stage in the middle. There were three white plastic rectangular prisms as well, and that was pretty much it for the set (the prisms might be considered props, since they were moved about during the show; I don't know the precise distinction). Egypt meant that there was a long swathe of silk laid out, and tasseled pillows were frequently about, while scenes in Rome had none of that additional splendor. Similarly, costumes in Egypt had color and sparkle and sexiness, while Roman dress was much more business/mafioso. Both sides had their miliary garb as well. Another way that Egypt and Rome were distinguished was by the cello player, who was mostly part of Egypt's milieu, in addition to providing all sound effects. I've never heard the cello's range of sound so clearly before, as the cello player wandered in and out of scenes, bowing and plucking and generally adding to the scenes. Very cool.
Another cool thing were the sea fight scenes, shown by soldiers waving different colored scarves. Rome had large white scarves whirled overhead (I thought of a belly-dancing move), while Egypt had smaller, brightly colored scarves that were held this way and that. For the land battle, both had long scarves that were formed into a sort of tug-of-war. I assume these scenes are why there's a puppeteer listed in the program.
All this was good. The lighting was ok, except that there were some seats that got a bright light shining straight at them for much of the show (guess how I know this?).
A couple of the actors were familiar. One went through the Brandeis program a couple of years ago, while another played Banquo at last year's Macbeth. The acting was quite good, though there were a couple of times they needed to move about more, so no one was left with an awkward view of the action.
The play itself, however, left me with questions. I don't understand why both times Cleopatra's fleet left the field of battle. I also don't know why she sent to Antony that she'd died before she had. Frankly, neither male protagonist showed himself particularly likeable, one being a womanizer who sometimes fights, while the other is a tactician who has no emotions for anyone other than his sister, and that might be for political reasons. I didn't find Cleopatra a particularly compelling ruler, though as a woman I thought her interesting.
I enjoyed the show. It's running through next weekend if anyone is interested in going.
I walked to and from the play last night; it was a wonderfully cool and crisp night for a long walk. It also meant I got to see the wonderful half-moon, golden in it's harvestness.
One of the people in the audience looked familiar. I started a conversation, and found that he looked like I'd seen him before because I saw him in plays last year at Brandeis. Cool.
The post office now has Mary Cassat stamps. Very cool.
I switched all the automatic deposit/withdrawal things from the old bank account; I can close it out next week.
Language entertainment from last night: the quality of being an asp = aspic.
Bitty's fault: The stories came out two by two, all kinds of stories, romances, action, adventure tales, stories of genies, stories of space exploration; it was the story ark.
I got home with an hour and a half to cook for Shabbat. I hadn't had time after work to shop, either (grrrr for work that takes longer than it should the afternoon when I'm going on vacation; I ended up staying almost two hours later than usual). So, improv cooking. I cooked the delicata, neat, in a hot oven, and while I was at it, roasted some apple slices and guava, because they were there. I have flatbreads in the oven, one with tomato slices, the other with sage and onion slices. And I have a pot of vegetable soup, heavy on the red cabbage (gotta use it up somehow), helped along with onion, garlic, and sweet potato (it's improv cooking, all the way). Oh, and I seem to have discovered how to make blue food without food coloring... I added dumplings to the soup, and they're a most peculiar shade (think Violet Beauregarde). I wonder how it'll taste.
The play was done in the round (well, in the rectangle, but), with two Persian carpets delineating the stage in the middle. There were three white plastic rectangular prisms as well, and that was pretty much it for the set (the prisms might be considered props, since they were moved about during the show; I don't know the precise distinction). Egypt meant that there was a long swathe of silk laid out, and tasseled pillows were frequently about, while scenes in Rome had none of that additional splendor. Similarly, costumes in Egypt had color and sparkle and sexiness, while Roman dress was much more business/mafioso. Both sides had their miliary garb as well. Another way that Egypt and Rome were distinguished was by the cello player, who was mostly part of Egypt's milieu, in addition to providing all sound effects. I've never heard the cello's range of sound so clearly before, as the cello player wandered in and out of scenes, bowing and plucking and generally adding to the scenes. Very cool.
Another cool thing were the sea fight scenes, shown by soldiers waving different colored scarves. Rome had large white scarves whirled overhead (I thought of a belly-dancing move), while Egypt had smaller, brightly colored scarves that were held this way and that. For the land battle, both had long scarves that were formed into a sort of tug-of-war. I assume these scenes are why there's a puppeteer listed in the program.
All this was good. The lighting was ok, except that there were some seats that got a bright light shining straight at them for much of the show (guess how I know this?).
A couple of the actors were familiar. One went through the Brandeis program a couple of years ago, while another played Banquo at last year's Macbeth. The acting was quite good, though there were a couple of times they needed to move about more, so no one was left with an awkward view of the action.
The play itself, however, left me with questions. I don't understand why both times Cleopatra's fleet left the field of battle. I also don't know why she sent to Antony that she'd died before she had. Frankly, neither male protagonist showed himself particularly likeable, one being a womanizer who sometimes fights, while the other is a tactician who has no emotions for anyone other than his sister, and that might be for political reasons. I didn't find Cleopatra a particularly compelling ruler, though as a woman I thought her interesting.
I enjoyed the show. It's running through next weekend if anyone is interested in going.
I walked to and from the play last night; it was a wonderfully cool and crisp night for a long walk. It also meant I got to see the wonderful half-moon, golden in it's harvestness.
One of the people in the audience looked familiar. I started a conversation, and found that he looked like I'd seen him before because I saw him in plays last year at Brandeis. Cool.
The post office now has Mary Cassat stamps. Very cool.
I switched all the automatic deposit/withdrawal things from the old bank account; I can close it out next week.
Language entertainment from last night: the quality of being an asp = aspic.
Bitty's fault: The stories came out two by two, all kinds of stories, romances, action, adventure tales, stories of genies, stories of space exploration; it was the story ark.
I got home with an hour and a half to cook for Shabbat. I hadn't had time after work to shop, either (grrrr for work that takes longer than it should the afternoon when I'm going on vacation; I ended up staying almost two hours later than usual). So, improv cooking. I cooked the delicata, neat, in a hot oven, and while I was at it, roasted some apple slices and guava, because they were there. I have flatbreads in the oven, one with tomato slices, the other with sage and onion slices. And I have a pot of vegetable soup, heavy on the red cabbage (gotta use it up somehow), helped along with onion, garlic, and sweet potato (it's improv cooking, all the way). Oh, and I seem to have discovered how to make blue food without food coloring... I added dumplings to the soup, and they're a most peculiar shade (think Violet Beauregarde). I wonder how it'll taste.