Sunday, May 12, 2013

ROMEO AND JULIET

BY ED BRUCE edbrucevegas@yahoo.com

LATE AS USUAL...11 MINUTES BEFORE WE SAW A DANCER...REPORTING HERE IN ORDER OF THE EVENT.   NEVER EVER ACCEPTABLE !

THAT SAID, THIS WAS ONE OF THE GREATEST EVENTS EVER PRODUCED IN LAS VEGAS.

THE NEVADA BALLET THEATRE PRODUCTION OF SHAKESPEARE'S CLASSIC TALE.

OTHER THAN LATE THERE WAS NOTHING NOT TO LIKE ABOUT THIS TOO SHORT RUN AT THE SMITH CENTER IN DOWNTOWN LAS VEGAS.

CHOREOGRAPHY JAMES CANFIELD HAS ASCENDED TO THE LIST OF MY HEROES, WHICH IS EXTREMELY SHORT....A LIST THAT INCLUDES KEN BURNS ....ITZHAK PERLMAN ....AND NOW CANFIELD.  THE CRITERIA FOR THIS LIST IS...THOSE THAT MAKE A DIFFERENCE....THOSE THAT ENTERTAIN....THOSE THAT INFLUENCE CREATIVE VISION....I SALUTE YOU ALL.

CANFIELD ....THE ARTISTIC DIRECTOR OF THE NBT IN HIS FIFTH SEASON HAS SURFACED AS ONE OF THE WORLD'S VISIONARIES.....IN WATCHING ROMEO AND JULIET THE THOUGHT OCCURRED TO ME...."WHAT HISTORY....WHAT BACKGROUND....WHAT CREATIVE THOUGHT....WHAT EDUCATION...WHAT ATTENTION TO DETAIL.  CANFIELD RECREATED THIS EFFORT FROM HIS 1989 PORTLAND PRODUCTION......HE OBVIOUSLY HAD THE VISION FOR OVER 25 YEARS !

SOOOOOO....SOMEWHERE AROUND 1594 SHAKESPEARE WROTE THIS TALE AND IT HAS ENDURED...BEEN PREFORMED....BEEN DANCED AND BEEN DONE AND REDONE FOR OVER 400 YEARS BUT FOR SURE NEVER LIKE HERE.....MY WIFE ALWAYS SAYS I KNOW HOW IT TURNS OUT, BUT THE JOY OF DANCE AND THEATRE IS TO SEE THE PATH THEY TAKE.  WHICH ON THIS NIGHT WAS ONE OF THE GREATEST PERFORMANCES I HAVE EVER SEEN.    I HAVE SEEN BARYSHINKOV AND NUREYEV IN LAS VEGAS AND LOTS OF OTHER BALLETS WORLDWIDE AND IF NOTHING ELSE  I KNOW WHAT I LIKE AND I LOVE MAMMOTH PERFECT PRODUCTIONS.....THAT WAS THE DEAL HERE.

NBT HAS ALWAYS HAD A SUPER COSTUME LOOK,  WITH THE EXACT COMPUTER LIGHTING AND NOW ALMOST THE PERFECT SOUND SYSTEM AT THE SMITH CENTER.... THESE MECHANICS DELIVER THE ULTIMATE EXPERIENCE.

BOTH HALVES OF THE PRODUCTION  BEGAN WITH AN AUDIO INTRODUCTION OF THE ACTORS IN STILL LIFE PORTRAIT SETTING EXQUISITELY COSTUMED TO PREVIEW THE EXPERIENCE.   YES !

DO I LOVE CLASSICAL MUSIC...........?     AND THE BOTTOM LINE TO THE WHOLE DEAL IS THE MARRIAGE OF MUSIC AND DANCE TO TIME. SERGE PROKOFIEV...BY ARRANGEMENT  WITH G.SCHIRMER, INC. PUBLISHER AND COPYRIGHT OWNER. MUSIC CREDITS....I WOULD BUY AUDIO TAPES OF THIS AND TAKE THEM TO MY GRAVE FOR ETERNITY....WOW !

A WORLD CLASS PRINTED  PROGRAM WITH INSERTS...NICE.  I REALLY READ THESE HISTORIES...THANK YOU.

I LOVE SWORD FIGHTS AND BRADEN BARNES AS MERCUTIO HE WAS THE BEST OF THE SWORD FIGHTERS....STEVEN GOFORTH AS TYBALT NEXT BEST....BOTH KILLED...DON'T YOU LOVE IT....I LIKED GOFORTH IN HIS NEGATIVE ROLE....HIS SIZE...HIS ACTING AS WELL AS HIS SWORD FIGHTING.

THE LEADS....GRIGORI ARAKELYAN AS ROMEO IS A CAREER DEFINING ROLE....WOULDN'T YOU LOVE TO HAVE THIS ON YOUR RESUME.....ARAKELYAN HAS BEEN NBT'S LEAD MALE DANCER FOR A TIME....HE IS SOLID....ATHLETIC....HARD WORKER....EMOTIONAL....MECHANICALLY SOUND....GREAT TIMING.....LOVE THIS GUY....

THEN THERE WAS JULIET........SARAH FUHRMAN....DANCED ONLY SATURDAY.....HER CAREER DEFINING ROLE....SUPPLE....EMOTIONAL....ATHLETIC....FULL OF BOUYANCY AND FLIGHT....TRULY A GREAT ACTOR.....MARY LACROIX WAS SUNDAY JULIET.

ARAKELYAN AND FUHRMAN WORKED PERFECTLY TOGETHER.....LOTS OF STAGE TIME, THEY CARRIED THE LOAD PERFECTLY......AMY VON HANFORF AS THE NURSE TO JULIET COULD NOT HAVE BEEN MORE PERFECTLY CAST.

THE TOTAL STAGING AND PANORAMA OF THIS THE BEST ROMEO AND JULIET EVER FOR ME....FILM....STAGE ....THEATRE OR ELSEWHERE....HOW COULD THIS HAVE BEEN BETTER ?

IN MY PENULTIMATE PESSIMISM IT OCCURED TO ME....."WHAT IF ROMEO SPRAINS AN ANKLE EARLY" ?......WITH THE PLANNING FOR THIS I AM SURE THAT THEY HAD AN ANSWER.

SOLD OUT FOR TWO SHOWS.....SEEMS SAD SOMETHING THIS BRILLIANT GOES SO FAST AND WITH THE MILLIONS OF DOLLARS COMMITTED I CAN ONLY HOPE FOR THE NBTTHAT IS WAS  A FINANCIAL SUCCESS.

NBT ALREADY OUT WITH THE 2013-2014 SEASON AND THEY HAVE ANSWERED MY PRAYERS WITH SWAN LAKE AND LOTS OF OTHER GREAT STUFF....HOPE I LIVE ANOTHER SEASON TO ENJOY THIS WORLD CLASS BALLET COMPANY.   GO TO THEIR WEBSITE AND SCHEDULE AND COMMIT COMING SEASON....HOW COULD A FAN OF THE BALLET MISS ANY OF THIS !

SOOOOOOO.....THEY STILL LOSE 11 POINTS  FOR 11 MINUTES LATE BUT THIS WAS OVER THE TOP TO ABOUT 108.....SO WE GIVE EM AN A+ 97.

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