This weekend is a mixed bag and involves Mick Jagger and William Shakespeare. If only they had worked together.
MOVIE “THE BURNT ORANGE HERESY”
I couldn’t wait to see the THE BURNT ORANGE HERESY a
Sony Classics release beginning August 7 at West Newton Theater. For
this movie critic/arts reporter, what could be better than an art heist
film starring Mick Jagger as a wealthy art dealer living in a gorgeous
villa on Lake Como, and a handsome but sleazy art critic (Claes Bang)
invited to spend the weekend there with his latest fling (Elizabeth
Debicki) tagging along. Throw in a wild-eyed Donald Sutherland as a
famous, reclusive painter who inhabits a dilapidated little cottage on
the estate and roams freely — and I just couldn’t wait for this to get
juicy. Alas, less than half way through, the orange went dry and I got
burnt.
Click here to read full review on Joyce's choices
THEATER - THE TEMPEST
That brings me to the COMMONWEALTH SHAKESPEARE COMPANY’s valiant attempt to mount Shakespeare’s fantasy play THE TEMPEST
on ZOOM instead of on Boston Common. How fitting. This year, the
pandemic is the relentless tempest which continues to roil the currents
of normal life around the globe, turning our world upside down. The
August 6th performance of “The Tempest” was LIVE ONLINE and the first in
a FREE 5-day online script-in-hand run to replace its run as this
year’s annual offering by CSC on the Common, the production now
postponed until summer 2021.
“The Tempest” involves a storm that tosses a shipload of travelers
onto the shores of a mysterious island where the lost pieces of all
their lives will be newly-assembled and the puzzle restored to a fresh
wholesomeness. Destiny, romance, betrayal, and renewal are the stuff of
Shakespeare’s play, and this online performance required our focus and
imaginations in full force. A splendid cast did its superhuman best to
meet the moment and escape the boundaries of geography and digital boxes
to convey the magic of Shakespeare’s play: Tony nominee & Elliot Norton Award winner
John Douglas Thompson* leads the cast as Prospero, Miguel Cervantes* in the title role of Hamilton in Chicago and Broadway as Ariel, Maurice Emmanuel Parent* as Sebastian, Siobhan Juanita Brown as Gonzala, Fred Sullivan, Jr.* as Stephano, Remo Airaldi* as Antonio, Nora Eschenheimer* as Miranda, actor/playwright John Kuntz* as Trinculo, Nael Nacer* as Caliban, Richard Noble as Alonso, and Michael Underhill as Ferdinand. Scenic Design is by Tony Award winner Clint Ramos and Jeffrey Petersen, Costume Design by Nancy Leary, Lighting Design by Eric Southern, and Sound Design by David Reiffel.
Steven Maler, the company’s artistic director was visibly moved as he
presented the performance, embodying the play’s incipient hope for a
world refreshed and a theater season and this production restored–next
season! In the meantime see
THE TEMPEST online FREE with a suggested $20.00 donation. So far, many have taken that suggestion and run with it.
Watch THE TEMPEST now through Monday, August 10 at 7pm, as a benefit to support CSC’s 2021 production on the Boston Common, with the previously announced cast. The
recordings of the audio described and the ASL interpreted performance
will be available starting Saturday, August 8 at 7:00 PM at the CSC
YouTube channel until Monday, August 10 at 7:00 PM.
Pre-Show Audio are available at https://commshakes.org/production/the-tempest/.
WATCH via CSC’s YouTube channel, and can be accessed on https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kmtiNnQrTw0.
*denotes Member Actors’ Equity Association