The Flood Was Least Of Noah’s Problems
Filed Under Shower Curtain | Posted on December 18, 2008
Noah, it seemed, was doomed from the start. Not only had God charged him with building an ark, but his family was falling apart. And these were just the problems written into the script. In actuality, things WOULD get worse for Noah’s clan when the curtain went up on the Jewish Ensemble Theatre’s production of “Two by Two” on opening night.
The evening got off to an uncharacteristically rocky start, considering the consummate professionalism patrons have come to expect from the JET. As the curtain time drew near, and the house doors failed to open, storm clouds seemed to loom on the horizon. Much to her credit, artistic director Evelyn Orbach made no excuses for the trouble, announcing that technical problems in an earlier preview performance and union rest requirements had caused the 30-minute delay.
On opening night, the cast of “Two by Two” seemed to struggle a bit with the show’s music. They were not consistently on pitch, and given the solid musical pedigree of the performers, one could easily speculate that problems with the show’s audio made it hard for them to hear over the live accompaniment. Or, the problem could reasonably lie in the lack of down-time between back-to-back performances.
With all that said, there are redeeming qualities in “Two by Two.” The cast has lots of charisma, and they seem to share a significant chemistry. On opening night, there were plenty of moments when their vocal talents were well showcased, and though the work is not a musical gem, its songs are catchy and light.
Moreover, Copenhagen’s costumes and Diane Ulseth’s properties suit the show perfectly. And Jim Davis’ sound design - a thundering voice of God and realistic animal sounds - is quite well executed.
Tags: accompaniment, actuality, animal sounds, artistic director, charisma, consummate professionalism, curtain time, down time, jewish ensemble theatre, jim davis, minute delay, musical pedigree, orbach, preview performance, redeeming qualities, rest requirements, rocky start, storm clouds, vocal talentsRelated posts
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