I never cease to be impressed by the depth of acting talent (and singing and dancing talent) in New York City, but taken as whole, this group is the best large cast I've seen in quite some time on an Off Off Broadway stage - or Off Broadway, for that matter. It's led by musical director and composer Demetrios Bonaros, a subtle but commanding performer who plays the Singer, a musical storyteller and narrator. Bonaros has put the play's many song lyrics to new tunes. A few are sung in lovely multi-part harmonies; many he sings by himself in a penetrating, concert-worthy voice. Other cast members, to my ongoing surprise, sang just as well as they acted, some equaling Bonaros in vocal prowess and skill.
The director and musical director, along with choreographer Kimberly Braton, take full advantage of the song-and-dance aspect, using it to intensify and oversize the fable much as I think Brecht intended. There are no instruments, just voices, but no help is needed. For that matter, there is no set - just a big space and a few props. This staging allows the actors to create the world of the play through pure human presence.
The most important presence is that of Grusha, played with sensitivity and bravado by the unsinkable Rachel Tiemann. Inspired, by the basic feelings of compassion and loyalty, to feats of endurance, bravery, and sacrifice, the servant-turned-heroine bears most of the story's moral weight, and Tiemann is easily up to the task, moving with ease from glacial defensiveness (with the humor that implies) through fear and humility. John Castro is a delightful, snoring Fat Prince, and John Kevin Jones mesmerizes as the grandiloquent, increasingly drunken judge Azdak. Ayana Siverls strides proudly and funnily through her travails as the Governor's vain widow, while Matthew Kinney is hilarious as (among other roles) Grusha's cowardly brother.
Article comments
1 - Roger
In my research I found happened upon this music for Caucasian Chalk Circle as well. Very nice.