Orange Central Highlights: 'Blithe Spirit' at Syracuse Stage

This weekend, the Syracuse University community will come together to welcome back alumni for a campus-wide celebration. Orange Central will be jam-packed with activities, including a ton of great performances and exhibits for art lovers. A full list of them can be found here, but in this post I'll highlight a fantastic show playing now at Syracuse Stage.

Blithe Spirit is a hilarious classic comedy that tells the story of author Charles Condomine and a dinner party gone awry. Hoping to do research for his next book, Charles invites a medium, Madame Arkati, to dinner and ends up bringing the ghost of Elvira, his first wife, back from the other side. Her reappearance is problematic and sparks soon fly between Elvira and the current Mrs. Condomine.

From left, Curzon Dobell (as Dr. Bradman), Elizabeth Ingram (as Mrs. Bradman), Patricia Hodges (as Madame Arcati), & Jeremiah Wiggins (as Charles Condomine). Image courtesy of Syracuse Stage.

SU drama student Antonieta Pereira made her professional debut with Syracuse Stage in this production, and managed to make a big comedic impact with her relatively limited stage time. Playing the Condomines' maid Edith, she emerged slowly from behind the set in the show's first scene, carrying a massive stack of martini glasses on a tray. Wordlessly, she shuffled across the stage, negotiating furniture and stairs with expressions of determination, fear, and relief. Without uttering a single line she had the audience rapt and eventually uproariously laughing.

The play dulled a bit after Pereira's brilliant opening, giving way to a lot of extended dialogue that required the audience to concentrate heavily or risk missing its subtle witticisms. Things soon gained momentum though, and ultimately the show offered a riotous mixture of physical comedy, biting repartee, and outrageous twists.

Set in Kent, England in 1939, the play's production stuck to a historically accurate aesthetic. Scenic designer John Iacovelli's conjured up a beautiful and stately living room with some theatrical tricks up its sleeve. Suzanne Chesney's costumes looked luxurious and interesting without being distracting. Joey Parsons, who played Charles' second wife Ruth, cut an especially striking figure in a languid burgundy satin evening gown in the play's first scene.

Meanwhile, lighting designer Dawn Chiang created a cold, ghostly glow around the show's supernatural characters. Michael Barakiva directed the production, making a return to Syracuse Stage after directing The Clean House in 2011 and The Turn of the Screw in 2012.

Gisela Chipe (as Condomine's first
wife Elvira) and Jeremiah Wiggins

Noel Coward wrote Blithe Spirit in 1941 with the hope of bringing joy and laughter to depressed wartime audiences. When it premiered that same year, critics declared the show in poor taste, but audiences loved it. It ran successfully for four and half years.

Timothy Bond, Producing Artistic Director of Syracuse Stage, echoed Coward's hope of bringing audiences together and giving them a joyous escape. In a letter to the audience in the program Bond said: "...we reinforce the fundamental premise of theatre itself as a place we come together to share our common humanity."

So as the SU community comes together for Orange Central, what could be better than a trip to the theatre? Blithe Spirit is a witty good time that's sure to please and well worth a spot on the weekend agenda.

Blithe Spirit

September 18 through October 6, 2013

Syracuse Stage

More information here.

A Taste of Tanzania

"Nyumba ya Sanaa: Works From The Maryknoll Collection" is now on display at the Syracuse University Art Galleries. The show presents selections from a collection of some 170 works given to the university in 2012 by the Maryknoll Sisters. Encompassing the work of 22 artists, the collection comes from Nyumba ya Sanaa (Swahili for "House of Art), a center for art, music, and dance in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania.

The images on display were largely similar to one another. Graphic woodcuts and colorful paintings abounded. Nyumba ya Sanaa's distinctive style asserted itself throughout the works. In addition, the art mainly portrayed daily life in Tanzania. The depiction of community was joyous and beautiful, but the works tended to blend together in their similarity. The show seems to have been put together as a celebratory testament, not a curated artistic statement. I'll admit that I prefer the latter style. The exhibit was by no means bad; it just was not especially thrilling.

One artist, however, stood out. George Lilanga's colorful pastels depicted common human feelings and situations. With titles like Itching Throat and Happy Moment, his pieces brought life to the daily challenges and joys people experience. Misunderstanding is pictured above. A beautiful batik banner by Lilanga also added variety to the show.

A bit of wall text confirmed my thoughts about Lilanga standing out from his peers saying: "Many people also credit George Lilanga…with beginning the era of personalized styles in African art."

I always think it's interesting to notice which piece from a show is chosen for an exhibit's promotional images and advertising. That one of George Lilanga's colorful pastels graces the exhibition poster perhaps suggests his work is the most immediately compelling in the show. I certainly thought it was.

Though Lilanga's was the only particularly exciting work, the exhibit as whole did a wonderful job of introducing Tanzanian culture. Some geographical and cultural tidbits were provided in a wall display, which contextualized the art. For example, the display provided information about the local wildlife—wildebeests, goats, lions—which appeared frequently in the show's prints and paintings. The exhibit's presence itself brought attention to Tanzania, a part of the world I realized I know very little about. This is what I enjoyed most. The art was not groundbreaking, but I liked filling in an empty spot in my knowledge of the world.

Nyumba ya Sanaa: Works From The Maryknoll Collection
September 5 through October 20, 2013
Syracuse University Art Galleries
Shaffer Art Building
More information here.

Images:
George Lilanga, Misunderstanding, 1977, ink and pastel on wove paper [X]

Sources / Further Reading:
SUArt Galleries. Syracuse University News: SUArt Galleries Exhibition ‘Nyumba ya Sanaa: Works from the Maryknoll Collection’ Opens Sept. 5 [X]
SUArt Galleries: Nyumba ya Sanaa: Works From The Maryknoll Collection [X]

A New Chapter For Art In Cleveland

A whole lot of steel and glass has the Cleveland art scene looking better than ever.

After years of renovation and partial closure, the Cleveland Museum of Art (CMA) is complete and almost fully open. There are still a few galleries still being installed, but after years of waiting, art lovers can finally bask in the glory of the breathtaking new museum. [See the lower three images above.]

On top of that, Cleveland's Museum of Contemporary Art (MOCA) recently opened a shiny new building around the corner, further establishing the University Circle area as the city's cultural center. In my opinion, MOCA's relocation also has the opposite effect of bringing the museum into the big leagues with cultural powerhouse neighbors like the Cleveland Orchestra, the CMA, the Cleveland Institue of Art, and others.

Oh, and the fact that MOCA's new building was designed by superstar architect Farshid Moussavi doesn't hurt it's credibility either. The building is her first museum and her first commission in the United States. Pretty major!

[See the first three images in this post.] W magazine wrote a great piece on Moussavi and MOCA back in October when the museum opened. Read it here.

Down the street at the CMA, the new Gallery One is using spectacular, innovative technologies to enhance the visitor experience.

After my initial confusion at the enormous touch screens and varied pieces on view, I began to understand that the gallery is meant to teach visitors how to think about art. A 40-foot mulit-touch microtile (the largest in the United States!) allows visitors to create a custom tour of the museum and save it to a loaned iPad. Also inside the gallery, large touch screens offer information and activities that relate the art to the individual and introduce ideas about how to analyze and understand art.

Gallery One is a bit overwhelming for a museum-goer accustomed to quiet, personal contemplation of meticulously curated exhibits, yet it's undoubtedly an impressive and one-of-a-kind space. I didn't quite get it at first, but I'm sure it will be a thrilling and engaging space for many. Fortunately I'm in town all summer and can give it another chance at my next visit.

With all this new, beautiful innovation, I'm excited to see what's next for art in Cleveland!

All images are my own.

MOCA Cleveland: About The Building [LINK]

The Cleveland Museum of Art: About Gallery One [LINK]