On Thursday, April 15, 2010, the University of Texas at Dallas’s School of Arts and Humanities did a musical production of Side Show the Musical in the University Theatre. Side Show the Musical is a story of conjoined twins Daisy and Violet transitioning and making a big change in their life from being merely a circus act to becoming recognized stage performers. They are what you call an “overnight sensation” as stated by the first piece in the second half of Act II.
The performance repertoire was overall diverse and nothing like anything I have ever heard before. The music performed contained a lot of dynamic contrast and remarkable melodies and harmonies intertwined together. Usually as the relative highness of the pitch increased then the loudness dynamics increased creating a more intense and enchanting sound. The vast amounts of crescendos and decrescendos throughout the musical kept the pieces vigorous and pleasing to the ears. The tone of the overall musical could be described as intense, sinister, brilliant, smooth, and rich altogether. There was a variety of rhythm in Side Show the Musical. The tempo was constantly changing, going as slow as largo and going as fast as presto. The rhythm was never stagnant, keeping the repertoire from being dull and mundane.
Considering the fact that the first piece in Act I was “Come Look At The Freaks,” the performers were all, as you can imagine, lively and abnormal. The majority of the characters in the musical play were unusual in a way. Daisy and Violet were Siamese twins but together the moved and flowed together melodiously and gracefully. The Cannibal King, Jake was rather intimidating towards the beginning of the play. He interacted with the audience and approached an audience member and became up close and personal. I am sure the unfortunate spectator was startled. The performers all moved together very well and interacted amongst each other on stage well. The relationship between the Cannibal King and the Fat Lady was especially touching and emotive.
The audience consisted of mostly students seeing as it was a free and informal event. This performance was open to outsiders of its music culture. The audience had a positive reaction towards the performance. Everyone in the audience seemed to be enjoying him or herself because the musical play was not normal and traditional. Almost everything was sung or put in song and the characters were appealing to the audience because each character had a distinct feature. There were times when a certain character in the musical would actually make eye contact and talk to the audience, especially The Boss. The Boss frequently made eye contact with the audience, which made it feel like he was talking to the audience throughout the majority of the play. Since the performance was on a Thursday at 8PM in the University Theatre, the students who came out to watch were all done with classes and were getting ready for the weekend which would impact the amount of cheers and feedback from the audience. The performance experience of UT Dallas’ production of Side Show the Musical had a lot of abundantly vigorous and a considerable amount of cheers from the audience.
Side Show the Musical tackles the “themes of self-acceptance and identity” (Evans). The musical lets the audience know that it is okay to be out of the ordinary and different from everyone you meet, to be a “freak” and “have people stop and stare” (Evans). All the main characters in Side Show the Musical go through a journey trying to find themselves (Evans). Everything about Side Show the Musical captivated the audience, with its orchestral accompaniment and peculiarly striking characters.
Evans, Kathryn. Program notes. Side Show the Musical. 15 April 2010. Richardson: Venue.
Tuesday, April 27, 2010
Tuesday, April 6, 2010
Shakespeare in Song
Introduction
On the Saturday of March 27, I attended “Shakespeare in Song” in the Jonsson Performance Hall on UTD campus. It was to be performed by a choir comprised of UTD students. The performances were basically Shakespearian plays converted into a musical piece in the form of opera.
Music
The piano and the choir together make a very powerful duo, yet they were accompanying one soloist. In Roger Quilter’s “Five Shakespeare Songs op. 23,” the harmonies of the soprano, alto, tenor, and bass parts as well as the accompaniment of the piano flow rather harmoniously with the main vocal part. “Fear no more heat o’ the Sun” is written and performed mostly in a simple quadruple meter or common time. At some parts it feels that the time signature changes to 3/2 where there are 3 beats per measure and the half note gets the beat. The tempo is about andante moderato. There is a lot of expression from the piano at the beginning of the piece with the crescendos and the poco ritard along with the a tempo. Already in the first few measures of the piece there are many dynamic changes. This piece is mostly legato and flows smoothly and beautifully. The rhythm for the most part is fairly simple, the main vocalist does not have anything particularly tricky as there are mostly quarter notes and half notes. The singer has an operatic style of singing, the way she pronounces the words are almost British-like and there is a natural vibrato produced. The piece overall contained a lot of expressivo, crescendos and decrescendos that kept the performance itself lively and entertaining. The dynamic changes along with the lyrics by Shakespeare (although hard to understand and decipher at times) easily captivated the audience along with the melodious and harmonious work of Roger Quilter
Performers
The performers consisted of UTD choir students. They were dressed in very convincing attire. The flamboyant and frilly costumes really contributed to the creation of the atmosphere of the play. Without the costumes, they would look like random people you find walking about, talking is silly accents. The more flashy outfits were reserved for performers with the lead and important roles. They also had spoken lines which were directed towards each other. Not only singing, the performance incorporated a bit of acting. At one point, a performer recited lines as if he were in a drunken stupor; using a beer bottle as a prop.
Audience
The audience consisted of people of all ages. I saw little toddlers as well as older people with less than dark hair. The performance was open to anyone who was willing to listen and enjoy. Most of the audience however, seemed to consist mostly of students from UTD. For many, it seemed as though it was their first time attending such an event.
Time and Space
Because this was the second day of the performance, the auditorium was less than packed. Since the event took place during the earlier portion of the afternoon, everyone was awake and alert. Because it was the first performance of the day, the performers were quite energetic and lively. For a smaller sized audience, the applause and feedback was exceptional.
Conclusion
This was the first time I had experienced an opera perform in the style of a choir. The costumes really made it feel as though I was watching a play. The performance was not merely a choir performance but it also integrated acting you might find in a play. Solo performances added variety and enhanced the overall experience.
On the Saturday of March 27, I attended “Shakespeare in Song” in the Jonsson Performance Hall on UTD campus. It was to be performed by a choir comprised of UTD students. The performances were basically Shakespearian plays converted into a musical piece in the form of opera.
Music
The piano and the choir together make a very powerful duo, yet they were accompanying one soloist. In Roger Quilter’s “Five Shakespeare Songs op. 23,” the harmonies of the soprano, alto, tenor, and bass parts as well as the accompaniment of the piano flow rather harmoniously with the main vocal part. “Fear no more heat o’ the Sun” is written and performed mostly in a simple quadruple meter or common time. At some parts it feels that the time signature changes to 3/2 where there are 3 beats per measure and the half note gets the beat. The tempo is about andante moderato. There is a lot of expression from the piano at the beginning of the piece with the crescendos and the poco ritard along with the a tempo. Already in the first few measures of the piece there are many dynamic changes. This piece is mostly legato and flows smoothly and beautifully. The rhythm for the most part is fairly simple, the main vocalist does not have anything particularly tricky as there are mostly quarter notes and half notes. The singer has an operatic style of singing, the way she pronounces the words are almost British-like and there is a natural vibrato produced. The piece overall contained a lot of expressivo, crescendos and decrescendos that kept the performance itself lively and entertaining. The dynamic changes along with the lyrics by Shakespeare (although hard to understand and decipher at times) easily captivated the audience along with the melodious and harmonious work of Roger Quilter
Performers
The performers consisted of UTD choir students. They were dressed in very convincing attire. The flamboyant and frilly costumes really contributed to the creation of the atmosphere of the play. Without the costumes, they would look like random people you find walking about, talking is silly accents. The more flashy outfits were reserved for performers with the lead and important roles. They also had spoken lines which were directed towards each other. Not only singing, the performance incorporated a bit of acting. At one point, a performer recited lines as if he were in a drunken stupor; using a beer bottle as a prop.
Audience
The audience consisted of people of all ages. I saw little toddlers as well as older people with less than dark hair. The performance was open to anyone who was willing to listen and enjoy. Most of the audience however, seemed to consist mostly of students from UTD. For many, it seemed as though it was their first time attending such an event.
Time and Space
Because this was the second day of the performance, the auditorium was less than packed. Since the event took place during the earlier portion of the afternoon, everyone was awake and alert. Because it was the first performance of the day, the performers were quite energetic and lively. For a smaller sized audience, the applause and feedback was exceptional.
Conclusion
This was the first time I had experienced an opera perform in the style of a choir. The costumes really made it feel as though I was watching a play. The performance was not merely a choir performance but it also integrated acting you might find in a play. Solo performances added variety and enhanced the overall experience.
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