Presented by ArtsEmerson
A co-production with Emerson Stage and SITI Company
The Cutler Majestic Theatre
219 Tremont Street, Boston, MA
April 13-April 22
Music and Lyrics by George and Ira Gershwin
Directed by Anne Bogart
617-824-8400
Review by Amy R. Tighe
Have you ever wondered what music looks like? You’ve
seen movies with and without scores, and probably listened to concerts. And you know how music makes you feel. Triumphant
when you hear Chariots of Fire, or beleaguered after any blues song BB ever sang.
But what does a note look like? Or a chord? Or
a well-played and precise bar performed by masters of joy? Go see Café Variations. You’ll see.
It’s like walking into a sheet of
music that suddenly becomes alive and every note is a miniature Cupid
personally inviting you to love again. Or
at least to have coffee while trying.
.
The pre-performance notices say the show is about the simple act of reaching out to another human in the environment of the
café. I
thought of my years as a waitress at my local down and dirty coffee
dive, long before the plugged-in, tuned-out generation haunting the
Starbuck Factories today, and I was intrigued.
But the café presented here is from the 40’s, with a nightclub feeling during a fast-paced date night. It
starts with a waiter in classic Viennese
café attire , who falls in love at first sight and still has to wait
tables amongst the throngs of clients clamoring for coffee, cakes,
romance and meaning.
The performance is a collection of musical numbers, written by Ira and George Gershwin, several monologues and sparse, tight
dialogue by Charles Mee and precise choreography by Barney O’Hanlon. The ensemble cast is a mixture of troupes: the
professional SITI troupe from NYC, and newly graduating Emerson students. Anne Bogart masterminded, nurtured and directed the collaboration between the students and professionals to
create a superb and entertaining investigation into and celebration of love.
There isn’t really a plot. It’s more like watching a complicated romp at the café, where keeping score of the various couplings
and re-couplings captivates you. A group of customers arrive in a cluster of pretty dresses topping vibrant
petticoats, outlandish gloves, simple hats and shiny suits. They sit at tables, kiss, slap, or marry and move on. Moments later, another line of customers arrive, the music changes,
they sit, kiss, slap, or marry and move on. The
ensemble becomes a refrain, each performer a bright note and together
they create a familiar melody you can’t wait to hear again and maybe
you even want to hum along. Constant
motion, chronic mishaps, connection, introspection and accusations
between loves all while the head waiter moves tables every few minutes
to redesign
the stage. There
is a gang war between men and women, moderate occasional cross dressing
and a hilarious and explosive break up between two lovers
who firmly hold you in the tender clutches of their coffee date. Then the next refrain arrives, coupling and re-coupling, you see Desire’s tempo, and you step in, ready to accompany
it now.
A live orchestra performs flawlessly behind a fountain that keeps changing colors. For
such simple staging, the effects are complex. Moods
shift as effortlessly as the next solo arriving on this jazz train. The
music enfolds the actors into its story, and enlists the audience
into finding their own.
This collaboration between a world renowned established and professional troupe and Emerson’s own students just starting out
their careers ends the second season of ArtsEmerson. It’s
a stunning example of how ArtsEmerson is bringing innovative,
international and essential work within the reach of our local
Boston world. Live. No You Tube and no instant replays. Whether
the
performance takes place at the thoughtfully and attentively restored
Paramount, or at the familiar, beloved, velvet worn Cutler Majestic,
ArtsEmerson programming always offers us
a place at the table in the café of life where we can sit, sip and muse. Your table is waiting.
Memberships and tickets for next year are available now.
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