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Flash Review 2, 5-28: The Mark of Smuin
New "Zorro" from an Old Master
By Aimee Tsao
Copyright 2003 Aimee Tsao
SAN FRANCISCO -- If
you are hungry or have a sweet tooth, please beware the following
analogy. There are two kinds of fluff in the arts. One is "cotton
candy," cheap, easy to make, bright pink, super sweet with no interplays
of flavor or texture, found mostly in places for entertaining the
masses like amusement parks. The second is an intricate concoction
from a French patisserie, whipped cream, chocolate, nuts and a hint
of liqueur, tantalizing the tongue with subtle suggestions of shifting
gustatory liaisons, lots of calories with no nutritional substance,
yet utterly delightful. I had gone to see Michael Smuin's latest
creation, "Zorro," performed by his own Smuin Ballet at Yerba Buena
Center for the Arts Theater on May 14, expecting to choke on cotton
candy, only to be very pleasantly treated to a delicious dessert.
After a rather dull
meal of Smuin's "Carmina Burana" to the ever-popular score by Carl
Orff, I pray that "Zorro" will rekindle my childhood infatuation
with the masked swordsman and not disappoint the closet romantic
in me. At first, my usual cynical self sits and waits to cringe
at an overdrawn hero, but in the very first scene, Smuin makes me
laugh by having the heroine, Rosa, stripped down to her frilly underwear
by Capitan Monastario as he attempts to accost her and by Zorro
as he saves her. Not to worry, obviously the choreographer isn't
taking his subject too seriously, and sees this as an opportunity
to have fun. The story by Matthew Robbins cleverly moves back and
forth between the life of Emilio, a movie usher in Los Angeles circa
1959 who idolizes Zorro, and his fantasies about the Ticket Seller,
who appears as Rosa in the Zorro sections that appear as movies
at the theater.
The commissioned music
by Charles Fox, who also wrote the score for Smuin's acclaimed "A
Song for Dead Warriors," is eclectic, a little "West
Side Story" here, a dash of Gershwin there, but ultimately perfect
for the story. It sweeps along like movie music should and has a
good show song and dance feel to it when appropriate. In fact, all
the elements of the production come together seamlessly. The stage
decor by Douglas W. Schmidt is simple yet conveys perfectly the
mood for each scene. Especially stunning is the ballroom, where
white ropes tied back suggest cinched curtains. And Ann Beck's costumes
for this, in black, white and silver are absolutely beautiful. The
rest of her designs are colorful and capture both the old Spanish
American and '50s Hollywood eras. Sara Linnie Slocum's lighting
creates some of the best moments when a row of theater seats filled
with moviegoers faces the audience and with lighting alone she convinces
you that they are really watching a movie. And the fluid sword fighting,
presumably created with the help of Fencing Master Richard Lane,
is quite exciting.
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Smuin
Ballet's Easton Smith, Rodolphe Cassand, and Shannon Hurlburt
in Michael Smuin's "Zorro." Tom Hauck photo courtesy Carla Befera
& Company PR. |
The dancers deserve
a lot of credit, too, for bringing the story to life. While they
seemed oddly expressionless in "Carmina Burana," perhaps they were
saving themselves for "Zorro"; their exuberance in it is infectious.
Rodolphe Cassand is dashingly suave as the head swashbuckler, Zorro
and hilarious as Don Diego, a fop. Emilio, as portrayed by Shannon
Hurlbert, grows from a wistful loser dreaming of winning the heart
of the object of his fantasies, to a confident real-life hero who
gets his girl. Hurlbert also does a wonderful dance with a ladder
used to change the letters on the theater marquee. Claudia Alfieri
plays both the Ticket Seller and Rosa, neither as a wilting violet
victim, but as a feisty woman who knows what she wants. As her tormentors,
the Theater Owner and Capitan Monastario, Easton Smith creates excellent
caricatures of the archetypal villain. The rest of the dancers inhabit
their roles with utmost conviction, from popcorn munching spectators
to aristocrats at a ball.
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Smuin
Ballet's Claudia Alfieri and Easton Smith in Michael Smuin's
"Zorro." Tom Hauck photo courtesy Carla Befera & Company PR. |
Smuin has come up with
a winner in "Zorro," though that shouldn't really be surprising
as his forte is the Broadway show, and here he is definitely in
his realm. Not only does he succeed in the broad picture, mainly
due to the libretto by Robbins, but he has added many small touches
which add the extra kick. For example, Emilio uses his flashlight
while shadowing Zorro as he fights with a sword. And Don Diego distracts
Monastario by doing magic tricks, including flowers in a bouquet
that he plucks out and throws as darts. Emilio and the Theater Owner
duel with umbrellas, and when Emilio wins, he embraces the Ticket
Seller, holding both umbrellas behind her back and crossing the
handles to form a heart. Some of it is a little corny, but it works
in this context. Obviously a steady diet of fluff will have a disasterous
effect on both waistline and mental faculties. But in these depressing
times, sometimes we need to escape, retreat into a fantasy world
and allow ourselves the time to regenerate so as to better confront
the inequities in the world when we get back to reality. Sometimes
we just need to have fun.
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