All the world's

Scot McKenzie mesmerizes as KJ in The Aliens

Last week was theater week here at Mondo Blah Blah. I saw Young Robin Hood at the Roundhouse Theater, Bethesda's community theater, on Sunday. Robin Hood was something for the whole family, and not of much interest to me. But I support art in my local community so I can live among actors, directors, lighting technicians, stage hands and theater freaks of all kinds - my kind of neighbors. So I have season tickets and take what they give me. Sometimes art is interesting and sometimes not so much. It wasn’t bad, just predictable family fare, which is not really my thing.

Then it was Malkovich's Les Liaisons Dangereuses on Thursday night which I wrote about on Friday.

Then I saw The Aliens at the Studio Theater on Friday. Of the three, the latter was by far my favorite. Starring Peter O’Connor,  Scot McKenzie and Brian Miskell, all of whom were outstanding. This is tough material and it came across brilliantly. Written by Annie Baker. I will watch for her name.

Though I’ve only seen two plays at the Studio, both have been outstanding and I’ve really enjoyed them. The theaters are really small and intimate and the actors can get right up in your face, which was pretty uncomfortable when we went to see Ralph Ellison’s The Invisible Man. Having a black man sit ten feet in front of me speaking the most eloquent words about racism written in the English language was an intense experience. Theater at its best. The kind that makes you uncomfortable. 

Danger Valmont, Danger!

Go see Les Liaisons Dangereuses at the Shakespeare Theater. Directed by John Malkovich who in 1988 took the starring role in the film, this production is in French with English surtitles and despite the possible language barrier is a really entertaining way to spend a couple of hours. If you actually speak French, great; but if not, don't sweat it. You can just concentrate on the naked French ladies.

The cast is young and lovely and Malkovich has managed to portray these characters as a combination of 18th Century dandies with hoop skirts and sword fights, and modern day hipsters in skinny jeans, talking on cell phones, writing letters to each other on iPads. It could have been cheesy, but it's not. It's not the best thing you'll see this year, but it's good. It's fun. It's sexy.

And I promise - you won't see John Malkovich's ass this time.

http://www.welovedc.com/2012/12/07/we-love-arts-les-liaisons-dangereuses/

Polymorphia Schmolymorphia

Listen to this:

 

Penderecki: String Trio

It is a string trio. Not a quartet. That's in part what gives it the spare quality. Perfect for 20th Century modern music. It is by Krzysztof Eugeniusz Penderecki a Polish composer who later taught at Yale. I don't actually car much for this particular version. It's not bad, and the musicians are technically quite proficient, but I think they're making it too melodic, too warm; not sufficiently hard edge.

If you get the chance, find the version by the Janaki String Trio. I saw them perform it at the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts and they tore that mother apart. Their version is as cold as Warsaw sidewalk, as sharp as razor, as resonant as abandoned factory. Their sound is clear and precise, as the music demands. If you go in for such things, this is a genuine delight.