Spoleto Review: Spoleto 2012, Charleston City Paper

Photos: Peace, love, and zydeco, y’all

Stratton Lawrence — Mon, 11 Jun 2012 11:00:00 -0400

“According to the moon and stars, we can do another song,” said Cedric Watson to the audience spread loosely across the Middleton Place lawn, just after the brief but impressive fireworks display concluded behind him over the Ashley River.

Michael E. Evans keeps Philip Simmons’ flame alive in Fired Up and Focused

Celeste Pottier — Sun, 10 Jun 2012 04:00:00 -0400

“Always Room in the World for a Blacksmith”

Spoleto bids Farewell to the Gaillard

Lindsay Koob — Sun, 10 Jun 2012 04:00:00 -0400

Stephen Prutsman, Anne Manson, and the SFO triumph at the Gaillard

Rebirth lets the good times roll at the Cistern

Erica Jackson Curran — Sat, 09 Jun 2012 09:00:00 -0400

Can Charleston party as hard as New Orleans? Not if the ushers at Friday night's Rebirth Brass Band concert at the Cistern have anything to say about it. They strictly policed the front of the stage, keeping revelers confined to the sides, until a few defectors rushed the front and everyone else followed suit. The three flustered ushers made a valiant attempt to corral the dancers back to their designated areas, but they failed miserably.

Dinner with Friends draws huge laughs for a divorce story

Elizabeth Pandolfi — Fri, 08 Jun 2012 11:23:00 -0400

In earlier interviews with the cast and crew of Threshold Repertory's production of Dinner with Friends, the point that came up most frequently was this play's emotional resonance. This story of middle-aged marriage and divorce hit so close to home for so many people, they said, that they'd had walkouts from audience members who just couldn't handle it. Which was a shame, they say, because the play is also funny and really hopeful — if you let yourself see it.

Mike Daisey is just as disappointed with himself as you want him to be

Patrick Sharbaugh — Thu, 07 Jun 2012 18:45:00 -0400

Mike Daisey on Wednesday threw festival goers and, presumably, Spoleto admins, a curveball by canceling his previously scheduled one-off performance of Teching in India and instead presenting a premiere of a new monologue so fresh it still didn't have a title. "This monologue has never been seen," he said, in an announcement before the show to the packed house at Emmett Robinson Theater. "I haven't even seen it yet."

Sexy, charming Traces impresses and entertains

Erica Jackson Curran — Thu, 07 Jun 2012 13:11:00 -0400

Circus performers aren't typically the most accessible lot. Flying high above the crowd, they often seem more like gods than humans as they perform superhuman feats of endurance. Yet somehow when you know the performer's name, height, and a bullet list of personality traits, it makes their stunts even more impressive.

Two Man Movie busts out the charm

Evan Berke — Thu, 07 Jun 2012 13:00:00 -0400

Neil Casey and Anthony Atamanuik may be two of the fastest screenplay writers in the business, even though their nightly creations are never actually filmed.

A Crack in Everything pleases visual thrill-seekers; not for the masses

Gervase Caycedo Kolmos — Thu, 07 Jun 2012 13:00:00 -0400

Seattle-based dance company zoe | juniper received a lukewarm reception from a Charleston audience at the Memminger Auditorium on opening night. A Crack in Everything may have been just a bit too contemporary for some Spoleto-goers who rushed out of their seats before the bows. Perhaps the audience was thrown by the inside-out version of reality and the moments in between that choreographer Zoe Scofield paired with the effects of visual artist/husband, Juniper Shuey. From a reviewer's standpoint, however, it was 80 minutes of tantalizing and creative visual genius, with enough ballet-based modern choreography to keep me captivated.

Mavis Staples fills the Gaillard with spirit

Stratton Lawrence — Thu, 07 Jun 2012 11:00:00 -0400

Mavis Staples’ soul hasn’t aged a wink.

Three Viewings has its moments, despite a clunker of a script

Paul Bowers — Thu, 07 Jun 2012 04:00:00 -0400

Performance occasionally rises above lackluster source material.

Dinner with the Elams: a lifetime worth of comedic chemistry pays off

Paul Bowers — Wed, 06 Jun 2012 14:33:00 -0400

In a live theatrical performance, an infant is a wildcard. Will he do something cute in the spotlight? Or will he burst into tears, inspiring a chorus of coos and awws from the audience? Either way, he's going to steal the show.

Flummerfelt and friends touch hearts at their choral-orchestral concert

Lindsay Koob — Wed, 06 Jun 2012 11:00:00 -0400

Tuesday evening’s big choral-orchestral extravaganza at the well-packed Gaillard Auditorium offered a choice array of some of the finest and most beloved sacred choral music known to mankind.

Atlanta's "Gathering Wild" dancers capture the spirit of musical geniuses

Celeste Pottier — Tue, 05 Jun 2012 13:00:00 -0400

Jim Morrison, Kurt Cobain, Amy Winehouse, Janis Joplin, and Jimi Hendrix are the five musicians represented in Atlanta's Gathering Wild Dance Company's production of 27. The "27 Club" refers to musicians who all died — tragically, mostly through drug and alcohol-related incidents — at the young age of 27. Jerylann Warner and visual designer Rachel Jackson came up with the idea and worked with choreographers Jerylann Warner and Charles "Bubba" Carr to create the piece. The hour-long performance by the 12 company members is gritty and, at times, elegant and lyrical, though the performance is somewhat uneven.

Charleston jazz artists expertly honor Miles Davis

Devender Sellars — Tue, 05 Jun 2012 13:00:00 -0400

On Monday night at the Hippodrome, the Salute to Miles Davis began with a meandering piano, a slight double bass, and sparse drums, which led softly into the sax and trumpet parts of "So What," the recognizable refrain that begins Miles Davis' groundbreaking 1959 album Kind of Blue.

One Man Star Wars entertaining, despite some tech problems

Devender Sellars — Mon, 04 Jun 2012 16:40:00 -0400

On Sunday night, Canadian actor Charles Ross wore a black jumpsuit and black barefoot-style running shoes for his One Man Star Wars performance. He's performed this piece more than 1,000 times, using no props or sound effects, and weaves through the original Star Wars trilogy like a speeder on Endor.

Orchestra Uncaged drew a big crowd and a great response

Lindsay Koob — Mon, 04 Jun 2012 16:00:00 -0400

The music of John Cage is still considered avant-garde by some, even though he passed away 20 years ago. His works continue to stretch most people's definitions of "real" music. Sunday night's Orchestra Uncaged at the Sottile Theatre provided firm evidence that more mainstream classical music fans are listening and learning from him these days.

Becoming Harriet Tubman, an engrossing tale of a legendary historic figure

Duffy Lewis — Mon, 04 Jun 2012 12:09:00 -0400

Natalie Daise is a masterful storyteller in the old Southern tradition of oral history. In her one-woman show, Becoming Harriet Tubman, which she wrote and performs, Daise tells the story of how a slave girl named Araminta Ross became the historical figure known as the "Moses" or "Conductor" of the Underground Railroad. For an hour, the audience at the nearly sold-out Threshold Repertory Theatre sat fixated on the lone Daise as she smoothly alternated between narrator and the multiple characters in Tubman's life.

k.d. lang's sultry voice soared at the Gaillard

Stephanie Barna — Mon, 04 Jun 2012 10:00:00 -0400

k.d. lang and the Siss Boom Bang kicked up some fun.

The Shock T’s strum up hearty laughs at Theatre 99

Ryan Overhiser — Mon, 04 Jun 2012 04:00:00 -0400

With uproarious songs both old and new, The Shock T’s delivered the goods on Sunday evening, earning an A for much more than just effort.

UCB returns to delight its devoted Charleston audience

Devender Sellars — Sun, 03 Jun 2012 12:22:00 -0400

Saturday night marked the seventh appearance of the Upright Citizens Brigade Touring Company at Piccolo Fringe, and their solid set was met with a sold-out crowd at Theatre 99.

The Westminster Choir offers a magical marriage of music and memory

Lindsay Koob — Sun, 03 Jun 2012 09:00:00 -0400

The vaunted Westminster Choir performed the shorter works of nearly a dozen composers from various places in the world.

Philip Glass takes the stage for a minimalist love-in

Patrick Sharbaugh — Sun, 03 Jun 2012 04:00:00 -0400

If there is such a thing anymore as a certifiable celebrity composer, Philip Glass is it.

Cedar Lake bewilders with envelope-pushing contemporary dance

Patrick Sharbaugh — Sat, 02 Jun 2012 15:00:00 -0400

Cedar Lake Contemporary Ballet made the most of the overhead spotlights at the Gaillard at their opening performance Friday night, laying out three eerily moving works that had in common the dramatic use of top-down lighting to create an anxious, uncomfortable sense that something bad was about to happen.

The Radio Show is a powerful tale about memory and loss

Gervase Caycedo Kolmos — Sat, 02 Jun 2012 13:26:00 -0400

Even before Abraham.In.Motion’s dance performance, The Radio Show, begins, it is obvious the company’s choreographer Kyle Abraham is in character. Pre-performance, the dancer interacts with audience members, and he has a visible twitch in his hands and a doe-eyed look. During these interactions, he doesn’t say much.