Category — theater

Today we begin rehearsals for a special which is presented by the tba festival, featuring Antony and the Johnsons.  I’m not sure what to expect, but I do know that our audience is going to be very different than that which we have come to expect at a typical OSO concert.  Word is that this show is the best-selling event in tba’s history, so it should be an exciting event.  The show is Friday, September 5th at 8:30 pm.

Here’s how tba describes the artists:

Dreamlike, melancholy, and hopeful for redemption, Antony and the Johnsons—winners of Great Britain’s 2005 Mercury Prize—join the Oregon Symphony for a one-of-a-kind concert. For this special evening, Antony and the Johnsons will unite with a full orchestra to produce a wall of exotic and extraordinary sound. Antony’s voice—a fusion of Nina Simone and Elvis—will journey through landscapes both natural and psychological via the band’s favorites and perhaps a few soulful surprises.

Antony and the Johnsons, former artists in residence at Joe’s Pub at the Public Theater (NY), have performed at the Bloomsbury Theater in London, the Warhol Museum, the Wexner Center, and the Brooklyn Academy of Music. Antony has also worked extensively with Lou Reed and Björk and was featured in the 2004 Whitney Biennial with a Charles Atlas collaboration entitled TURNING. Antony and the Johnson’s new album, The Crying Light, will be released by Secretly Canadian this fall.

I’ll write more after the first rehearsal.

And I’m baaaaack.

It will definitely be an experience that has not been seen with a symphony orchestra before - that’s about all I can say.  It’s not for everyone, but if you have any idea who these musicians are, then you will undoubtedly be thrilled by the performance.  It’s not so much a knock-your-socks-off type of show, but a mood or a feel that will slowly get under your skin, making for a very singular and definite experience of sound and light.  The group will be going on tour doing this show with other orchestras, including the Los Angeles Philharmonic and others, so we’re lucky to be at the vanguard of this project here in Portland.  You’ll be seeing and hearing this before anyone else will.

Ever heard of a play which feature an oboist as its main character? Now you have - Portland Center Stage is presenting (on their studio stage) A Feminine Ending now through March 23, 2008.

Here’s their excellent, and eye-catching poster for the production:

And a photo from the production, avec hautbois (click photo to enlarge):

A note about the PCS website - it features opportunities for the public to comment on performances - you’ll see that at the bottom of the play’s page. Essentially, the whole website functions like a giant blog, with opportunities for patrons to offer feedback to the company and to their fellow audience members about the past, current, and possible future productions. This really engenders a sense of community, and is something that the Oregon Symphony should consider integrating into their next website design.