Martyn Lovell's Theatre Activities

Theatre
Drama so real you can smell it

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There's a very old British tradition called Pantomime - a humourous play for children presented every Christmas. So I first experienced theatre of some kind when I was very young (around 5 or 6, perhaps). However, I think it was a few years later when I first went to a play with my parents - it was some kind of Agatha Christie murder mystery. Since then, my interest in theatre has only grown. Boys at Eton put on regular house or independent plays, and I went to a lot of these. While I was in London at University, I was able to take in the theatre occasionally, including a memorable production of Les Liasons Dangereuses. Now I am a subscriber to the ACT and Intiman theatres, and have also subscribed in the past to the Village theatre; I'll probably go back next year. This page includes a list of events I've seen, and comments on some of the more recent ones.

Omnium - Gatherum - ACT Theatre - 30th October 2003

Misalliance - Seattle Repertory Theatre - 15th October 2003

Homebody/Kabul - Intiman Theatre - 7th October 2003

A Moon for the Misbegotten - ACT Theatre - 25th September 2003

Top Dog/Underdog - Seattle Repertory Theatre - 17th September 2003

The Goat Or Who Is Sylvia - ACT Theatre - 14th August 2003

Blue/Orange - Intiman Theatre - 13th August 2003

The Light In The Piazza - Intiman Theatre - 10th July 2003

Blue Man Group - Paramount Theatre - 1st June 2003

I was completely blown away when I saw the Vegas Blue Man Group show in a few years ago. It was truly unlike any theatrical experience I'd had, and I loved it. It had a unique combination of interactivity, wit, exploration, music and performance art.This Blue Man Group show was billed as a 'different kind of thing' -- more musical, and not like the Vegas show, which made me sceptical -- music had never been my favourite part of the original -- but I decided to go anyway to see how the group could measure up musically.

The show began with two opening bands, running till 1 hour 30 after show start. One of these, Tracy Bonham, was slower than I prefer; the other, Venus Hum, was more upbeat and enjoyable for me, but neither really grabbed my attention.

As I expected, the main show was great but not to my taste. It was completely in sync with its prepublicity, very musical, with much less of the other elements of the Vegas show. There were strong moments, especially when the band covered familiar songs, or when they went back to the more humourous tone of their Vegas exploits. But in the main part of the show, the original music seemed to run together too much - loud percussion can sound similar and none of the songs seem very distinctive when looking back.

It's hard to fault the Blue Man Group's desire to move beyond their Vegas show without simply repeating it in a sequel. But this show did not resonate with me. I think fans of percussive music would have loved it, but fans of their previous work might well not. Of the 23 people I organised to attend this one, only a few seemed to really love the new show; most felt as I do.

OK: 5/10.

[Present: MartynL, JayK, GregLi, LauraB, JoanKe, JonWis & Jill, KorbyP & Jennifer, RonaldL, RandyK & AmandaK, DavidLe & Stef, Dan & Kelly G, Chris & Shannon W, ChadLi, RyanStu & Simone]

Nora - Intiman Theatre - 13th May 2003

Stomp - Moore Theatre - 22nd April 2003

All The Great Books - Reduced Shakespeare Company, ACT Theatre - 22nd February 2003

The Producers - Paramount Theatre, Seattle - 16th Febuary 2003

Waste - Intiman Theatre, Seattle - 12th November 2002

The Education of Randy Newman - ACT Theatre, Seattle - 7th November 2002

Scapin - Intiman Theatre, Seattle - 8th October 2002

Fuddy Meers - ACT Theatre, Seattle - 3rd October 2002

Wintertime - ACT Theatre - 12th September 2002

Nickel and Dimed - Intiman Theatre - 13th August 2002

Yellowman - ACT Theatre, Seattle - 25th July 2002

It's strange that Yellowman should appear within a month of Lackawanna Blues. Here was another show with no scenery, and a small cast, representing African American perspectives on the past. While Lackawanna Blues was good, Yellowman was so much better.

Yellowman focusses on the experiences of African Americans with differing skin shades, and on the discrimination against each other faced by darker and lighter people within the African American community. Its two actors portray a man and a woman with interlocking stories, from their first meeting through to the transforming resolution of their relationship and beyond.

Unlike Lackawanna Blues, Yellowman favours a simpler narrative structure, with each character focussing on their experience and not spending too much time in the voices of other characters. This resulted in a production that was both easier to follow and easier to empathise with.

The two actors do a great job of helping us understand the trials they go through, and the motiviations that lead them to sometimes challenging decisions. This was a compelling show in all respects.

Excellent production: 9/10.

[Present: MartynL, JayK]

Lakawanna Blues - Intiman Theatre , Seattle - 9th July 2002

A one-person show is incredibly hard to pull off. Ruben Santiago-Hudson's childhood retrospective Lackawanna Blues managed to remain clear, interesting and vivid for most of its time, though it did occasionally seem less compelling than it needed to. I'd recommend seeing the show, especially if you're a history buff.

Rather than stick to a simpler narrative form, Santiago-Hudson tries to do many characters' voices and hold conversations. And then he intersperses this with narrative. Mostly this worked, but sometimes it became hard to follow. The background Jazz guitar provided interesting and sometimes comic counterpoint, but did not add as much as it perhaps could have.

This was a good production whose grasp somewhat exceeded its reach, but which was nonetheless enjoyable and worth the grasping. 6/10.

[Present: MartynL, JayK, AleCont]

La Cage Aux Folles - Village Theatre, Issaquah - 9th June 2002

This play is a great starting point for the Village Theatre. They always do their best work with very strong source material. The play is hilarious (as shown by the recent Robin Williams /Nathan Lane movie The Birdcage), and yet also provides characters we can relate to and a touching familial re-bonding at its core.

This was a good production, but lacked the stand-out qualities needed in the two leads (Hugh Hastings as Georges and Richard Grey as Albin). Neither was quite compelling enough to really feel the force of the tragi-comedy in progress. Perhaps it suffered because the characterisations in the movie were so strong and compelling. I am sure the cast are sick of hearing comparisons to the movie at this point :)

The other problem was the songs, which were too numerous given their relative weakness. There were few memorable or stand-out numbers, and several that felt like weaker filler.

Perhaps the best part of the production were the set piece dance routines. Brittany Jamieson (a talented Village Theatre ultra-regular) led the troupe well through some great numbers. There were also some compelling drag performances, especially the memorable Hanna (Greg Allen).

Overall, this was a fun afternoon spent enjoying a witty and upbeat comedy. Could have been better, but still among the best Village Theatre productions we have seen. 8/10.

[Present: MartynL, JayK]

Arms and The Man - Intiman Theatre - 28th May 2002

[Present: AleCont, JayK, MartynL]

Mourning Becomes Electra - ACT Theatre - 9th May 2002

[Present: GregLi, JayK, MartynL]

Titus Andronicus - Intiman Theatre - 23rd April 2002

[Present: AleCont, JayK]