Last night I went to the first ever stage production of Aldeous Huxley's distopian novel of 1932 "Brave New World." This may sound like a joke, but it was a musical.
A very simple stage design and props that were used to great effect, while incorporating projections to emphasize an updated "virtual" element to the story. The best part were the costumes: Alphas wore grey long coats and neck scarves reminiscent of 19th century London dandies with goofy hair sculptures, Betas were dressed up in garish pink corsets and heels that a Berlin working girl would consider tasteless, while Gammas and Epsilons were dressed in giant pants that if you looked close enough were made from the material they upholster the subway train seats with.
I have seen and worked on some wacky stuff in the theatre before, but this production surprised me to no end. First off it worked as a musical, more than anything because of the ever present irony, which is a lot coming from me as I generally loathe the format; at the climax John the Savage appears above and behind the audience hanging from the lighting trusses and catwalks; and I even shed a few tears when the World Controller flatly explained why his Brave New World works so well, ending with the statement (rough translation), "Freedom, Art, Shakespeare, and Bach . . . Who cares for such things besides you and I John?" Additionally, the house was packed on a Tuesday night and the vast majority of the audience was made up of 16-22 year olds that I gathered were school groups.
I am going to go out on a limb here and say such a thing could only happen in Berlin. I like this city.
"Das Leben ist Laa Laa Laa . . . "
A very simple stage design and props that were used to great effect, while incorporating projections to emphasize an updated "virtual" element to the story. The best part were the costumes: Alphas wore grey long coats and neck scarves reminiscent of 19th century London dandies with goofy hair sculptures, Betas were dressed up in garish pink corsets and heels that a Berlin working girl would consider tasteless, while Gammas and Epsilons were dressed in giant pants that if you looked close enough were made from the material they upholster the subway train seats with.
I have seen and worked on some wacky stuff in the theatre before, but this production surprised me to no end. First off it worked as a musical, more than anything because of the ever present irony, which is a lot coming from me as I generally loathe the format; at the climax John the Savage appears above and behind the audience hanging from the lighting trusses and catwalks; and I even shed a few tears when the World Controller flatly explained why his Brave New World works so well, ending with the statement (rough translation), "Freedom, Art, Shakespeare, and Bach . . . Who cares for such things besides you and I John?" Additionally, the house was packed on a Tuesday night and the vast majority of the audience was made up of 16-22 year olds that I gathered were school groups.
I am going to go out on a limb here and say such a thing could only happen in Berlin. I like this city.
"Das Leben ist Laa Laa Laa . . . "
