MargoChanning's Best of 2006 — Page 2

WithoutATrace -

Did you know there was once a man named Oliver back in the days when people who spoke to G-d weren't immediately institutionalized. And one day Oliver was offered the chance to speak to Him. And Oliver said, nonchalantly, "Oh, G-d. You have done an amazing job with this whole creation thing. But don't you think you should have turned the light on first?" And G-d looked upon Oliver and smote him. The moral is: Never question MargoChanning.

Margo, thank you for your insights. You have given me much to think about while planning my next trip to NYC.

this thread was meant to be an effort of love :)

no one is offending anyone - right, peoples??

thanks, Margo, for that list! It's nice to have been remembered by SOMEONE!! Grumble Grumble (throws a bottle of poison off stage)!

LOL

Thanks Margo!

margo is the most amazing person ever.

I LOVE YOU.

---

Do you do a "worst" list, or is that too depressing and energy-sapping (and are there way too many candidates?)

---

All I can say is that this has been a whirlwind year for me, becoming old enough to (finally) get myself to the theatre alone, and in stark comparison to last year, I've seen almost everything on your lists! That is some form of success.

My only real disagreement os about A Chorus Line. I'm not even someone who saw the original, but I felt the revival lacked life. That describes most of the cast, with the main standout in my mind being Mara Davi. Did you ever write a review of the show? I'd love to read it.

---

Glad to see London's "Sunday in the Park with George" on there.
Thanks, always, for your insight and diligence.

Updated On: 1/6/07 at 03:45 AM

I decided to include A CHORUS LINE because despite various issues with the tempos and casting (some roles were simply miscast and why do so many of them sing so poorly?), the staging and design still hold up as some of the most ingenius ever created.

I found that THE CLEAN HOUSE looked better on paper than in performance. The ensemble and design were first rate, but I found myself having trouble connecting with the text itself. While I admired the inventiveness in the writing, including the elements of magic realism, it struck me as too self-consciously clever for its own good -- all technique and no heart. I'm not exactly sure if it was the writing, the direction or the acting or a combination thereof (though I suspect that the main problem was that the actors were directed to play the text too broadly and not grounded enough in reality -- for absurdism to work, you HAVE to really believe in and care for the characters no matter how ridiculous the circumstances they find themselves in are), but I ultimately didn't care a whit for any of those characters or their plights, even though it was clear from the way that Ruhl had crafted the piece that she wanted me to. I can understand why this play has been so acclaimed in previous productions around the country and could definitely see working under different circumstances, but I found this production of the material to be a misfire.

---

Margo, as always, great insights, great reading, and exquisite taste. Thanks for sharing it all with us, it's truly a privilege.

---

I thought DURANGO was definitely worth mentioning. Aside from being a first rate production from The Public (the acting and design couldn't have been better), Julia Cho is one of our more interesting emerging playwrights and while this work -- part memory play, part road-trip comedy, part dysfunctional family drama -- the surface dealt with the Korean-American experience, but the play's themes (a father's honor, trying to live up to a parent's high expectations, a young man coming to terms with his homosexuality) couldn't have been more universal.

Cho's writing has remarkable texture and I found myself quite moved at the halting attempts the men in this family made to try to connect with one another, each possessing a secret that he fears will in some way diminish him in the eyes of the others. And their longing for the family's deceased maternal figure -- effectively conveyed in a series of flashbacks by each of the male characters assuming her identity in monologue form -- was cleverly and hauntingly conveyed. I also liked Cho's courage to leave the various themes ambiguously unresolved at the play's resolution. She has a very unique poetic and idiosyncratic voice that I look forward to hearing again in the future.

---

What a list!

And I'm so glad to see Leslie Kritzer on there! What night did you see it? Were we there the same night?

---

I saw Sarah Jones when her show was at 45 Bleeker back in early 2004.

I saw Leslie Kritzer on December 8th -- not sure if you were there, Joey (I was at the bar). She's such a great talent -- so funny with a heck of a voice. I'm hoping she'll get a great Broadway vehicle one of these days. She deserves it.

---