Free frolics in Central Park

Richard Thomas as Touchstone and Brian Bedford as Jacques in the Public Theater's As You Like It


As You Like It, by William Shakespeare
Delacorte Theater, Central Park, July 2, 8:00 PM
with James Waterston (Orlando), Lynne Collins (Rosalind), Jennifer Ikeda (Celia), Richard Thomas (Touchstone), Brian Bedford (Jacques), David Cromwell (Duke Frederick/Duke Senior), Al Espinosa (Oliver), et.al.
Directed by Mark Lamos

We New Yorkers are blessed to have such prestigious arts organizations as The Metropolitan Opera, the New York Philharmonic and the Public Theater* that give (mostly) world-class performances in the city's parks for free. Although during the regular season you can stand at the supposedly "elitist" Metropolitan Opera (in the Family Circle) or at New York City Opera for $15, and usually be able to sneak into a seat during the overture or at worst intermission, many other musical and especially theatrical events strain the purse of impecunious arts lovers such as myself. Even very small, Off-Off-Off Broadway theaters charge at least $35, never mind $60 to $100 for a Broadway show. Not to mention that first-run movies are over $10 now, and most not worth a third of that price. So these chances to see "high culture" of genuine quality for free is something that should be grabbed and not taken for granted - and given how many people attend these events (or try to, in the case of the Shakespeare In The Park productions), it gives lie to the assumption that opera, classical music and classic theater are only for the rich and stuck-up.

I've had a deep and abiding love of Shakespeare ever since childhood. It was one of the things that inspired me to major in English in college (after I failed physics and astronomy quite miserably and the Challenger exploded, derailing my original astrophysicist/astronaut plans), and certainly what inspired me to attempt an acting career. Of course, as with 95% of the people that try for one, said career proved impossible when I didn't have enough money to put food on the table, let alone audition. Now anytime I see a really good production of a play, let alone a Shakespeare, I get terrible "withdrawal pangs" from acting - which is why I avoided it for far too long. I was delighted to have the chance to see As You Like It in the Public Theater's production, as I had never seen a production of it on stage before this (although I think I saw a production on PBS, probably from the Royal Shakespeare Company, about 20 years ago), and indeed had not read the play in 15 years, let alone the literary and theatrical criticism. This might leave some to believe me a less than ideal judge of this production. But that might be beside the point in this case: I think that there would be few productions of a Shakespeare play recently that would be a better introduction to a Shakesperean neophyte (which I am definitely not).

First, I regret that I misplaced the program so I can't identify all the members of the cast and production team. Should I find it at a future date I will edit this post accordingly. There is nothing on the Public Theater's website. Also, as you have likely noticed, it is almost a month since the actual performance and my memory is a bit dim.

One thing you are pretty much guaranteed when you come to see a Shakespeare in the Park production is that you will get at least one "star" player, usually someone well known from film or TV. Here the "names" were Richard Thomas (of The Waltons fame) and Brian Bedford, whose name I know very well but I can't place exactly where I've seen him (looking at IMDB, I'm thinking Murder She Wrote). His bio in the program wasn't much help, basically saying that he's had a couple of hundred roles in theater, film, and TV! I spent almost as much time racking my brains to figure out where I saw David Cromwell (a stage veteran) before - it may just be that he bears a strong resemblance to Doctor Who's Jon Pertwee.

The production was absolutely beautiful. Certainly there could be no better backdrop to a staged Forest of Arden than Belvedere Castle and the lush greenery of Central Park. I have had mixed feelings about some of Mark Lamos' work at New York City Opera (Tosca updated to the 1940s? Doesn't work, and never mind the part that was cut before I saw it of Scarpia ... er... playing with himself during the Te Deum) , but here it was superb. This is probably what could be called a "traditional" production in that it clearly took place in the 16th Century and there were no "concepts" that the director wanted to foist on the audience. The Forest of Arden is here clearly a place not only of transformation but of regeneration and healing, rather like the forest in A Midsummer Night's Dream. I was particularly struck by the scene when the desperate Orlando comes on brandishing his sword and threatening Duke Senior and his "court", only to be met - to his shock and embarrassment - by instant generosity and compassion with every member of the company eagerly extending food toward him. More to the point, everything was clear and understandable, probably the most difficult thing to pull off in Shakespeare, and it was obvious that Lamos cared deeply about character interaction. The set was simple, with a structure that I later read was a Renaissance sundial, blazoned with the Latin words for "Here we are in Arcadia". Trees were brought on by the cast for scenes in the Forest of Arden. Costumes were beautiful too, even if Celia looked a little ridiculous in her Aliena guise (that might have been deliberate), and I wonder if Touchstone really should have worn his motley into the forest. Additionally, there were some nice touches with the "horses" ridden by the noblemen (actually part of the costumes!) and Silvius' sheep, which neighed and baa-ed to great comic effect. Lovely music as well (a pity I can't remember the composer), including some very nice settings of the play's songs, although "It was a lover and his lass" couldn't stand up to Roger Quilter's.

While this was a very strong ensemble cast, pride of place goes to Mr. Bedford as Jacques - interestingly enough, the name was given an "English" pronounciation as "JAY-queez" instead of the correct French. Particularly striking was his interpretation of the famous "All the world's a stage" speech. He began it as a skeptical question (All the world's a stage? And all the men and women merely players?), but Jacques is clearly entranced by the idea and delights in convincing himself of its truth, growing more in empathy and compassion as the "player" grows older, the "sans eyes, sans teeth, sans everything" brilliantly juxtaposed with Orlando carrying on the aged, dying servant Adam. He also has a very warm, soft, cultured, very beautiful baritone voice - I wonder if he sings, too?

Lynn Collins, as Rosalind, is clearly a star in the making. Giving a very extroverted portrayal, she was the center of attention every moment she was onstage and was hilarious and believably masculine as the page Ganymede, capable of both wit and tenderness. She made a splash recently playing Portia in the recent film of The Merchant of Venice with Al Pacino as Shylock. Based on what I saw here, I don't know whether she had quite the wisdom and gravity that Portia needs (some critics complained about that in her Rosalind), but I will wait to see the film to judge. Incidentally, she bears a strong physical resemblance to Cate Blanchett. James Waterston (yes, Sam's son, and he looks strikingly like him) was a sweet, innocent and somewhat callow Orlando, wounded by his brother's hatred of him but who grows into a worthy husband for Rosalind. Richard Thomas, while very funny, energetic, and sexually charged in the scenes with Audrey, didn't strike me as having the deep wisdom underlying Shakespeare's fools. I was surprised, however, to see how well he moved - he must be well past 50 now. It was an interesting touch to have both Duke Frederick and Duke Senior played by the same actor even though the characters aren't twins (perhaps a comment on what Frederick could have and should have been?), and David Cromwell did splendidly as both the cold tyrant and his gentle "Robin Hood" nemesis - often coping with some very quick costume changes. Jennifer Ikeda made an appropriately devoted, somewhat ditzy Celia, and Al Espinosa made Oliver believable as the hostile schemer and the repentant, eventually loving brother to Orlando and suitor to Celia.

Of the "smaller" players, the best were Helmar Augustus Cooper (I hope I remembered that name correctly!) as the shepherd Silvius, the Audrey and the Phoebe (now those are roles that I would love to play!), and the actor who played Amiens, who sang all the play's songs.

The biggest flaw in the production, I think, lies in the play itself, as one of the most important transformations - that of Duke Frederick from a tyrannical usurper to a religious penitent - takes place offstage when it should take place onstage.

I should also use this space to applaud the Public's continuing devotion to ethnicity-blind casting (although I wonder if they have had or ever will ever have women doing "male" roles). I remember being enraged when I read a theater critic who will remain nameless sneer at the Public's wonderful production of Tartuffe because it had - horrors! - an (excellent) African-American actor in a "white" role (I think it was Cleante - whichever character is the wise, reasonable counselor opposed to Tartuffe). Well this "gentleman" is now retired, I believe, and good riddance! Let's hope such ridiculousness ends with him, and more theaters nationwide follow the Public's example - and I've noticed that even the Royal Shakespeare Company now has quite a few actors of African decent on their roster.

Since this was July 4th weekend, it seems that everyone and his or her brother or sister who didn't leave the city seemed to be on line at the Delacorte for tickets. Fortunately, I went with a good friend who is disabled, so she was able to go to the front of the line and get something immediately. We had front row seats! And in one of these six-degrees-of-separation things, she actually knows Richard Thomas - she used to be a dancer and his parents were her teachers! Unfortunately, we did not go backstage afterwards.

By the way, mazel tov to Mr. Waterston and his family on the birth of their new daughter, I think her name is Sophia (I overheard one of the other actors talking about it before the show.

Next at the Delacorte in August - a musical version of Two Gentlemen of Verona??? Sounds interesting, and if it's half as good as As You Like It was, I'll be on line with bells on. And next year we will be getting Meryl Streep in Mother Courage!

*And perhaps not as big-budget, but often marvelous, are Vincent La Selva's New York Grand Opera and the Naumberg Orchestra

Conductor Xian Zhang

Karen Gomyo*, violin

The New York Philharmonic

Xian Zhang, conductor

Great Lawn, Central Park, July 13, 8:00 PM

Wagner: Overture to The Flying Dutchman
Lalo: Symphonie Espagnole
Tchaikovsky: Symphony #5

The Delacorte Theater, where the Public Theater presents its Shakespeare and other classical offerings is, of course, an actual theater, with both the slight degree of formality and lack of massive space that implies. Just as necessary are the more relaxed and almost "do-it-yourself" atmosphere of the Metropolitan Opera's and the Philharmonic's Parks Concerts. Here you can stretch out, literally kick your feet up, eat, drink, and be merry without the normal social constraints of an opera house or concert hall. Unfortunately, I was not able to attend the Met's offerings this year, but I didn't want to miss the Philharmonic as well. The soft, sweet-smelling grass, the cool breezes, the often inventive and elaborate picnic dinners, the overwhelming excitement of the huge crowds (usually well over 100,000 people, even in bad weather) and the joy of seeing babies and children delight in their first exposures to great music more than make up for the negatives, such as people talking during the music, said children crying, the long speeches by corporate executives and government dignitaries, airplane noises (more on that below!), and, if you're really unlucky, people smoking in your face.

As with the Shakespeare, I had some very good luck here. I managed to bring my folding chair right up to the barrier that separated the VIP section from the rest of the crowd. About 10 minutes before the concert, one of the holders of the VIP tickets came up to me and asked me if I wanted a ticket! Apparently she had three friends who didn't show. I eagerly accepted and moved my chair as far forward as they would let me, on the side of the 7th or 8th row of seats (the seats are for the patrons, but the VIP area as a whole is basically for family and friends of the musicians and other Philharmonic employees). It was delightful to actually be able to see the conductor and the soloist at an event like this, although I regret not bringing my opera glasses because I couldn't see their faces. Not to mention the line for the port-a-pottie was much shorter.

Like many others, I first heard of Xian Zhang when she won second place in Lorin Maazel's conducting competion (by the way, what ever happened to the first-place winner, Thai conductor Bundit Ungrangsee?) . I was overjoyed to see a potential great conductor who is a woman - and I am delighted to report that there are a growing number of them!. I heard her for the first time at the Philharmonic's Memorial Day Concert at St. John the Divine (playing Rimsky-Korsakov's Scheherazade and Tchaikovsky's Romeo and Juliet), and what I heard there and at this concert makes me want to seriously watch her career. She has both the authority and the collegiality to create a very strong rapport with the orchestra, a clear passion for and knowledge of the music, and a very athletic, physical stage presence. What I am not yet sensing, however, is the quality that makes a great conductor - a truly individual stamp on a work, the ability to make you hear a piece in a totally new way, to astonish. However, she's only 30 or 31, which is toddlerhood by conductor standards. Also, it is probably unfair to judge her in the often difficult acoustics of an outdoor concert, or the huge, echoing space of St. John's - in both cases I think she was making tempo changes to accomodate this - so I think I want to hear her in an indoor space such as Avery Fisher or Carnegie Hall to truly judge her. Certainly Zhang has an excellent career ahead of her - she was just promoted from Assistant Conductor to Associate Conductor of the Philharmonic, and will be shortly Music Director of the Sioux City Symphony. She also seems to be in demand as a guest conductor. Best of all, she has been getting some very nice reviews for her opera work in Cincinatti, and according to her bio her first professional engagement was conducting Le Nozze di Figaro at the Beijing Opera - could we possibly be seeing her at the Met within the next 10 or 15 years?

I enjoyed the Tchaikovsky Fifth, but I admit that I don't know the symphony well and can't easily make comparison with interpretations by other orchestras and conductors. Also, I don't like the work itself quite as much as I like the Fourth. I'm a little pickier about the Wagner, and while I think the opening could have used a bit more punch and elan, there was still plenty of tension and drama as well as the feel of the sea. Kudos to Zhang (or whoever actually planned the concert) for programming this, as it had not been played by the Philharmonic in almost 20 years. Shieh-sheh, Maestra!

Violinist Karen Gomyo

I regret that my enjoyment of the Symphonie Espagnole was slightly hampered by two things. First, I have the recent, incredible EMI recording with Maxim Vengerov and Antonio Pappano running through my head, and almost anything would come up short after that. Pappano's specialties include infusing just about anything with the tremendous individuality and fire that so far elude Zhang, as well as coaxing gorgeous, radiant sound from orchestral strings sections. And Japanese-Canadian violinist Karen Gomyo, making her Philharmonic debut, has a beautiful tone and a fine technique, but as with Zhang, I didn't yet sense anything truly individual or wildly interesting. Then again, it's probably grossly unfair to compare her with Vengerov, one of the most imaginative violinists I've ever heard, who truly makes different "characters" of each movement in this symphony. (You might want to see my review of this disc, now on Amazon, for further details) That said, I would like to hear Gomyo again, and some of my disclaimers about how the sound challenges may have affected Zhang's conducting may apply to her as well. The other problem, unfortunately, is something that probably couldn't have been avoided in an outdoor setting - at the end of the third movement, when Gomyo played a gorgeous high pianissimo, a helicopter chose just that moment to roar overhead (what was it even doing in Central Park's "airspace?). Both violinist and conductor tried to stretch out this lovely note to "defeat" this noise, but their efforts were unfortunately in vain.

I was a little disappointed that there were no encores.

All Philharmonic concerts in the Parks end with fireworks, and these were excellent, produced by Bay Fireworks. Not quite the Grucci July 4th display, but a very enjoyable 7 minute capper to this lovely evening. Unfortunately, some of the best displays disappeared into the low-lying fog that suddenly appeared half an hour before.

I regret not having attended the final Parks concert of the season on July 19th, but the heat index was pushing 110° (45° for those who think in Celsius), and there was supposed to be major, terrible rainstorms coming that night. Well, weather forecasts can be wrong, and it wasn't rained out after all. It was an all Dvorak program withe the Cello Concerto and the New World Symphony, with Lynn Harrell as soloist and Lorin Maazel conducting.

By the way, there is a very nice interview with Zhang currently available on Andante. And her name is pronounced Shee-YEN Jhong.