Here are some reviews of the Ahmanson Theatre production of
The Black Rider in Los Angeles (April 22 to June 11, 2006):
Pitchfork Media
LA City Beat
OpEdNews.com
LA Weekly
Blogcritics
Reuters
SignOnSanDiego.com
LAist
LA City Beat
Canyon News
Calendar Live / LA Times
Some other tidbits:
The LA Times has two pictures: here and here
The program mentions a new album, entitled Orphans, is set to release later this year.
The websites www.taperahmanson.com and theblackrider.org both seem to be down.
4 comments:
I saw it Tuesday night. Fucking beautiful. A lot of the audience left (during the show and even more at intermission) though. Not everyone's cup of tea, I guess.
I'll be seeing it later this week when I arrive in LA. Other than seeing some old friends this is the only reason I'm going to this city. Well, I'll also look for some of the exteriors from Barbet Schroeders "Barfly". Can you blame me?
Amazing show!! Everything about it surpassed my expectations. The Magic Bullet band was superb, as was the cast and sitting right next to Tom's mom Alma, during the show was an added bonus! She is a wonderful woman, very charming and sincere. It was easy to tell where Tom not only got his features and manurisms, but also his humor and story telling as well.
Okay, just got back from LA last week after burning a hole in a friends brand new couch and most likely killing our friendship deader than a hammer. Which sucks 'cause it's just a couch no matter how much it cost.
THE BLACK RIDER was stunning in it's simplicity and power. Stage tricks that were probably around since 1880 were employed to powerful effect (the "negative spotlight"- a black rectangle of cloth hanging from the rafters that characters would hop into- was a personal favorite) and hearing Waits/Burroughs songs in their entirity with the characters glued me to my seat.
Can't say the same for the rest of the crowd. They ran for the exits before the intermission. It sounded like it was supposed to sound. They didn't ask the audience for any quarter (except a couple of needless bits by the performers doing the ol' Shakespeare "playing to the hounds" sytch) and none was given. Hearing other people sing "Tom Waits" melodies was a stunning indication of how fucking hard it must be to sing like that man does sing. It ain't always pretty and it sure has hell doesn't sound like Andrew Llyod Webber. The second act monolouge by "Fate/Death" about ending on a sour note rang hilariously true.
One question: why repeat George's song about the magic bullets/ addiction with the father and then George? I mean, one right after the other? It didn't seem necessary, I got it when George sang it (though Papa came first and worst. I don't need no eye rolling bones thrown to me at the theater and you lost the losers anyway).
Great show, maybe not best suited to the land of LA. That place was not what I expected at all.
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