Who doesn’t love a good CAT MOM HUGS BABY You Tube clip for an, aw shucks that’s so cute, moment. But in this age of incremental instant moments that pass as entertainment, we risk becoming a generation of illiterates of art and drama. Go ahead and enjoy that BABIES LAUGH AT RIPPING PAPER video, but for the love of our culture, do not let it take the place of keeping drama and art in your life.
Thank God for live theater, was my first thought Sunday night after about 5 minutes in the opening of War Horse. God bless the Ahmanson was my second. What a relief it was to my spirit to experience this thought provoking, historically meaningful, emotionally stirring, and visually brilliant story telling unfold on stage.
Like the very best stories, War Horse lays bare before us the human conflicts of devotion and betrayal, hope and loss, pride and sacrifice, love and war. You will read in the Center Theater Group’s summary of the play that handspring puppets bring the horses (and goose, hawk, raven) to life. However, there is simply no way to tell you in words the effect these theatrical animals have on the viewer. They break our hearts. I will not spoil the moment but when Joey transforms from foal to adult thoroughbred all but the most contained audience member gasped aloud in wonder. The puppet masters cunningly lock eyes with the horses, never wavering their gaze, and by doing so direct our full attention to the life they imbue in the animals. It is magical; go ahead – look back on my reviews of other shows – you will not find me bandying about that word lightly.
My husband, Thom steered me away from the Stephen Spielberg film of the same story. Normally of a fan of Spielberg’s work, Thom was disappointed at the director’s heavy- handed manipulation of the audience, cuing not only the actors, but the audience as well, when to cry. There were no such directorial shenanigans Sunday night; and while there is a minimal use of projections in this production it is not technology, but rather actor, song, wood, nails, and puppets, which tell this blistering story of love and devotion in wartime.
I would be derelict to neglect a well- deserved mention to Brian Keane, Michael Wyatt Cox, Todd Cerveris, for their gifts, and especially Andrew Veenstra and Angela Reed for bringing the deep and mysterious bond between a mother and son so beautifully to light. Andrew May as Captain Friedrich Muller gives one so much to ponder about war. John Milosich is a study in restraint and presence as he walks with us from the family home in Ireland to the battlefield and
Having just come off the heels of the triumphant Follies, it seemed improbable that the Ahmanson could top itself; but there it is. War Horse runs through July 29th, 2012 – far too short for such a worthy piece of theater. Don’t miss it. Don’t.
Photo by Brinkhoff/Mogenburg