The Devil's Carnival...The Black Rider and the Casting of the Magic Bullets
[Review...re-posted from myspace...5/15/06]
Tonight I was privileged to attend a performance of the Robert Wilson, Tom Waits, William Boroughs' production, The Black Rider.
I don't even know how to describe this phenomenal musical in words. The entire experience was so stunning, so all-consuming, that to reduce it to writing seems feeble and weak. Nevertheless, I will endeavor to try.
The play/musical is an adaptation of an old German folk tale about a young man (Wilhelm), who, in order to win the hand of his bride (Kathchen), makes a deal with the devil to acquire magic bullets which will make him an expert hunter. See, the young man has no skill with a gun and his bride-to-be's father (a forester) will not accept a son-in-law who is not a hunter like himself. The magic bullets allow Wilhelm to hit everything he aims at, regardless of his actual skill. And, as Pegleg (the devil) tells us, the first one is free... On the day of his wedding, there is a shooting contest during which Wilhelm must prove his skill. However, he has run out of magic bullets, so he begs Pegleg for one more. Pegleg gives him one, but warns him that some of the bullets are special and will hit their target regardless of where he aims. Desperate and, having developed no skill himself on account of the magic bullets, Wilhelm takes the bullet. But when he shoots during the contest, the bullet does not hit the target, but, instead kills his bride. Wilhelm goes insane with grief.
That is the story. But the story serves as a mere backdrop for one of the most remarkable audio-visual experiences of my entire life. A masterful mix of cabaret, Kabuki, dance and performance art together with stunning light composition and unreal staging brings Boroughs' undead vision to life. At times, the spectacle is so engulfing that you don't even realize you are in the theatre...you are in the performance. At times the pace can be excruciatingly slow, but for me, this only heightened the dramatic power of the show. In real life, sadness, grief and shock don't come and go in an instant...they linger. The director brings that to the audience, taking you through the emotions of the characters without letting up...forcing you to endure the long silences with them, making the audience struggle as the characters on stage struggle.
Of course, the musical wouldn't be what it is without Waits, whose melancholy sound provides a stirring, heartbreaking and inspirational soundtrack to the tragedy unfolding on stage. During one of my favorite moments in the show, a duet by Wilhelm and Kathchen in anticipation of their wedding day, the music was somehow both a hymn and a funeral dirge. In the backdrop of this point in the story, it is a subtle and brilliant touch. The very last song in the play, "The Last Rose of Summer" is a perfect conclusion to the ongoing theme of the Briar and the Rose...the conflict that lies within us all in trying to get what we want while ignoring the price we must pay to get it. As has been portrayed brilliantly in The Black Rider, sometimes that price is higher than we might ever expect.
There is, I think, another aspect to this story which was highlighted in the performance. That is that we often desire to have the rose without the thorns. In this way it is an age-old cautionary tale about the dangers of taking the easy way in life...of not putting in the time and effort to learn something or to really do what it is we ought to be doing.
I can't conclude this "review" of sorts without complimenting the cast. While every single performer in this piece gave a tremendous performance, the lead roles played by Vance Avery (Pegleg), Matt McGrath (Wilhelm), Mary Margaret O'Hara (Kathchen), Richard Strange (Kuno, the old forester) and Dean Robinson (Bertram) deserve special mention. The play is much more performance than anything else and these actors brought each of their characters to life as if they were destined to play the parts. Both flawless and vibrant (which do not always go together), it is on the strength of these performances that the audience is transported into the magical and mythical ancient world of human desire and the devil's bargain.
See it if you can, you will not be disappointed.
Tonight I was privileged to attend a performance of the Robert Wilson, Tom Waits, William Boroughs' production, The Black Rider.
I don't even know how to describe this phenomenal musical in words. The entire experience was so stunning, so all-consuming, that to reduce it to writing seems feeble and weak. Nevertheless, I will endeavor to try.
The play/musical is an adaptation of an old German folk tale about a young man (Wilhelm), who, in order to win the hand of his bride (Kathchen), makes a deal with the devil to acquire magic bullets which will make him an expert hunter. See, the young man has no skill with a gun and his bride-to-be's father (a forester) will not accept a son-in-law who is not a hunter like himself. The magic bullets allow Wilhelm to hit everything he aims at, regardless of his actual skill. And, as Pegleg (the devil) tells us, the first one is free... On the day of his wedding, there is a shooting contest during which Wilhelm must prove his skill. However, he has run out of magic bullets, so he begs Pegleg for one more. Pegleg gives him one, but warns him that some of the bullets are special and will hit their target regardless of where he aims. Desperate and, having developed no skill himself on account of the magic bullets, Wilhelm takes the bullet. But when he shoots during the contest, the bullet does not hit the target, but, instead kills his bride. Wilhelm goes insane with grief.
That is the story. But the story serves as a mere backdrop for one of the most remarkable audio-visual experiences of my entire life. A masterful mix of cabaret, Kabuki, dance and performance art together with stunning light composition and unreal staging brings Boroughs' undead vision to life. At times, the spectacle is so engulfing that you don't even realize you are in the theatre...you are in the performance. At times the pace can be excruciatingly slow, but for me, this only heightened the dramatic power of the show. In real life, sadness, grief and shock don't come and go in an instant...they linger. The director brings that to the audience, taking you through the emotions of the characters without letting up...forcing you to endure the long silences with them, making the audience struggle as the characters on stage struggle.
Of course, the musical wouldn't be what it is without Waits, whose melancholy sound provides a stirring, heartbreaking and inspirational soundtrack to the tragedy unfolding on stage. During one of my favorite moments in the show, a duet by Wilhelm and Kathchen in anticipation of their wedding day, the music was somehow both a hymn and a funeral dirge. In the backdrop of this point in the story, it is a subtle and brilliant touch. The very last song in the play, "The Last Rose of Summer" is a perfect conclusion to the ongoing theme of the Briar and the Rose...the conflict that lies within us all in trying to get what we want while ignoring the price we must pay to get it. As has been portrayed brilliantly in The Black Rider, sometimes that price is higher than we might ever expect.
There is, I think, another aspect to this story which was highlighted in the performance. That is that we often desire to have the rose without the thorns. In this way it is an age-old cautionary tale about the dangers of taking the easy way in life...of not putting in the time and effort to learn something or to really do what it is we ought to be doing.
I can't conclude this "review" of sorts without complimenting the cast. While every single performer in this piece gave a tremendous performance, the lead roles played by Vance Avery (Pegleg), Matt McGrath (Wilhelm), Mary Margaret O'Hara (Kathchen), Richard Strange (Kuno, the old forester) and Dean Robinson (Bertram) deserve special mention. The play is much more performance than anything else and these actors brought each of their characters to life as if they were destined to play the parts. Both flawless and vibrant (which do not always go together), it is on the strength of these performances that the audience is transported into the magical and mythical ancient world of human desire and the devil's bargain.
See it if you can, you will not be disappointed.