Pages

Sunday, October 31, 2010

REVIEW: “OPUS” @ TWO RIVER THEATER COMPANY

Playwrights often reference life on and backstage as a metaphor for life: Shakespeare, Tom Stoppard, A.J. Gurney and David Mamet to name a few. Now, along comes violist-turned-playwright Michael Hollinger, whose play Opus lifts the curtain on life in a string quartet to reveal the world in microcosm, complete with petty jealousies, sexual politics, brutal ambition, nasty criticism and Olympic-level backstabbing. It’s not pretty, but it sure is fascinating.

Opus, by Michael Hollinger, ditrected by Matthew Arbour at Two River Theatre Company 10/26-11/14/10
Sets – Lee Savage
Costumes – Lesley Sorenson
Lights – Tyler Micoleau
Sound – Zach Williamson
© T Charles Erickson
photoshelter.com/c/tcharleserickson
tcepix@comcast.netTwo River Theater Company’s second offering of the 2010-2011 season, Opus is the story of the acclaimed Lazzarro String Quartet. Shortly before its most important and impressive gig—playing for the President of the United States at the White House and being seen, and heard, by 15 million television viewers, replaces its violist and its program . Hollinger gives us a sense of this world and the relationships of the five people involved in it. Five, you say? I thought this was about a quartet. Well, matters are complicated by the hiring of a young female violist who has the professional skill if not the experience, and by the original violist who, albeit terminated, won’t go away quietly. (photos by T. Charles Erickson)

Under the confident direction of Matthew Arbour, whose deft hand makes the actors’ playing of the violins, viola and cello look entirely convincing and keeps the tempo steady throughout the ninety-minute performance, the actors project the idea that “high strung” doesn’t apply to just their Opus, by Michael Hollinger, ditrected by Matthew Arbour at Two River Theatre Company 10/26-11/14/10
Sets – Lee Savage
Costumes – Lesley Sorenson
Lights – Tyler Micoleau
Sound – Zach Williamson
© T Charles Erickson
photoshelter.com/c/tcharleserickson
tcepix@comcast.netinstruments! Unlike an orchestra, which is entirely “In the thrall” of the conductor’s baton (and decisions), a string quartet has “no one leading, no one following,” and much is decided by consensus. One of the musicians likens a string quartet at its best to “a marriage, only with more fidelity,” while another says, “At its worst, it’s like swallowing Drano.”

Geoffrey Owens displays the low-key equanimity of cellist Carl, with his propensity for jokes and his attempts to keep the others in line. It’s important to note that the cello plays under all the other instruments, providing a solid underpinning to Opus, by Michael Hollinger, ditrected by Matthew Arbour at Two River Theatre Company 10/26-11/14/10
Sets – Lee Savage
Costumes – Lesley Sorenson
Lights – Tyler Micoleau
Sound – Zach Williamson
© T Charles Erickson
photoshelter.com/c/tcharleserickson
tcepix@comcast.net their soaring notes and melodies. Kevin Kelly’s second violinist Alan is the most affable and likeable of the group; he avoids backstabbing and nastiness to really welcome the new member and make her feel at home, whatever that means. However, while these two characters appear to be “normal” individuals, interested in baseball as well as in music, I didn’t find Owens and Kelly really convincing as musicians.

Opus, by Michael Hollinger, ditrected by Matthew Arbour at Two River Theatre Company 10/26-11/14/10
Sets – Lee Savage
Costumes – Lesley Sorenson
Lights – Tyler Micoleau
Sound – Zach Williamson
© T Charles Erickson
photoshelter.com/c/tcharleserickson
tcepix@comcast.net The other three actors fare a great deal better. As Grace, the newcomer to the group, Anjanette Hall is doubtful about “lashing [herself] to three perfect strangers,” uncomfortable at Elliot’s “throwing her under the bus” when Carl and Alan find her playing the prized Lazzarro viola used by the previous (now terminated) occupant of the chair and, finally, confident to make a difficult decision at the play’s end. It is a joy to watch her character grow as the play progresses.

Opus, by Michael Hollinger, ditrected by Matthew Arbour at Two River Theatre Company 10/26-11/14/10
Sets – Lee Savage
Costumes – Lesley Sorenson
Lights – Tyler Micoleau
Sound – Zach Williamson
© T Charles Erickson
photoshelter.com/c/tcharleserickson
tcepix@comcast.net Dramatic fireworks are provided by Saxon Palmer as first violinist Elliot and Craig Baldwin as violist Dorian, whose intertwined professional and personal relationship leads to the latter’s firing. Lovers, as well as musical colleagues, the two are often at odds over just how the music should be played. Palmer’s tightly wound Elliot presents himself as the de facto leader/conductor of the string quartet, hiring Grace, making decisions about loudness and refusing to give Dorian a chance to play first violin. His peremptory reason, “It’s better this way,” insults Dorian’s talent. Palmer’s Elliot is cynical and insufferable much of the time, even when he’s right. Struggling with his demons, Baldwin, as Dorian, is unpredictable and, in his own words, “buggy”; he hates taking lithium because it “flattens him out” and affects his playing. Baldwin portrays Dorian as a misunderstood genius, a musician who at times “converses with Mozart” and hears things in the music that the others do not. The musical duel between Elliot and Dorian is riveting.

Lest you worry that Opus is filled with inside jokes and musical jargon, rest assured that it is, but not to the detriment of the drama or audience appreciation. What you may not understand at first usually becomes clear as the play proceeds. I mean, who knew that the viola has “a dark, chocolate sound,” or that Beethoven’s String Quartet, Opus 131, is “the greatest quartet ever written” and clocks in at 40 minutes, or that the sound of a string quartet could be described as “masculine”?

By the time the play ends, you will have learned these things and more, a great deal of them not having to do with string quartets at all. Above all, Opus is about human relationships, whether they be among family members, co-workers, rivals or allies. You don’t have to be a music buff to appreciate such a universal theme.

Opus will be performed Wednesdays through Saturdays at 8 PM, Saturdays and Sundays at 3 PM and Wednesdays at 1 PM through November 14. Two River Theater Company is located at 21 Bridge Street in Red Bank. For information or tickets, call 732.345.1400 or visit http://www.trtc.org/.

NOTE: For those of you in north Jersey, Red Bank feels like a long distance to travel for theater. The Two River Theater is a beautiful venue, intimate and elegant. From West Orange, it’s a 50-minute trip (39 miles) down the Garden State Parkway. Parking is free, and there are restaurants within walking distance. If you go to a matinee, it’s a lovely afternoon drive. Two River Theater Company is a gem.