[NEohioPAL] Review of "Fraulein Maria"

[Bob Abelman]

The hills are alive with Fräulein Maria

 

Bob Abelman

News-Herald, Chagrin Valley Times, Solon Times, Geauga Times Courier

Member, International Association of Theatre Critics 

 

This review appeared in the Times papers 12/3/09

 

When a Broadway musical makes the transition to the big screen, it is impossible to see any subsequent stage production of that musical and not have the now-iconic cinematic images pop into one's head.  Try watching a local production of The Sound of Music and not see visions of Julie Andrews and the Alps.  

 

This is exactly what choreographer Doug Elkins, of New York's Doug Elkins and Friends Dance Company, is banking on in his production of Fräulein Maria.

 

Fräulein Maria, which played at the sold-out Hanna Theatre for a limited engagement on November 20th and 21st, is a free-associative dance parody of The Sound of Music.  It is performed to the vocal and musical soundtrack of the Rodgers and Hammerstein film classic, merging dance with theater and nostalgic movie memories. 

 

Elkins wants our cherished, collective reminiscences of the stoic von Trapp family, the devout Abby nuns and the ever-effervescent Maria to spring forth and run smack into his bizarre but absolutely delightful creation. 

 

How bizarre?  Maria is played by three dancers, Cindy Chung Camins, Kevin Fitzgerald Ferguson and Donnell Oakley.  The demure eldest daughter Liesl is played by a large Black man in a pink dress who, during "Sixteen Going on Seventeen," dances with Rolfe, who is an even larger Black man.  "Do-Re-Mi," "Edelweiss" and all the show's magically melodic tunes are enacted with an absurd but remarkably fluid concoction of ballet, modern dance, hip hop, voguing (model-like posing) and other dance forms. They could not be more out of sync with and, in some cases, counterpoint to the material.  They are wonderful to watch.   

 

The result is a love letter to the original work-a funny, moving, innovative interpretation of a treasured piece of Hollywood entertainment.  Every dance number embraces, deconstructs and manipulates our memories of The Sound of Music.  The 13 performers in the troupe are top-notch professionals who work their way through Mr. Elkin's choreography with astounding energy, athleticism and precision.  

 

Fräulein Maria was created in 2006, has been exclusively performed in New York City over the last few years, and is on a mini-tour of the country.  It returns to New York in December, where it will be presented in repertory with the Bang Group's NUT/CRACKED as a holiday extravaganza at Dance Theater Workshop.  

 

For the Cleveland production, five local dancers-Ellen Ressler Hoffman of Cleveland Heights, Amy Miller of Shaker Heights, Rebecca Nicklos of Cleveland, Marie Zvosec of Elyria and Kelly Brunk, a member of GroundWorks Dance Theater in Cleveland-were recruited for inclusion in the ensemble.  Several months after being taught the choreography, they were reunited with Elkins' troupe for the Hanna Theatre performances.

 

Doug Elkins and Friends Dance Company was brought to Ohio courtesy of DANCECleveland.  This season, DANCECleveland has sought out dance companies and dance performances that have a strong connection to the local community or generate a personal connection to the work for local audiences.

 

In January, the Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Dance Company will be coming to the Ohio Theatre.  It will be performing Fondly Do We Hope... Fervently Do We Pray, a piece that uses dance and music to envision the America that might have been had Abraham Lincoln completed the Reconstruction.

 

In February, the Aspen Santa Fe Ballet will be performing at the Ohio Theatre.  Now in its second decade of operation, the company is committed to presenting contemporary classical dance with an emphasis on commissioning new works.

 

In May, Pilobolus will be performing at the Palace Theatre.  The company's performances are a physical interaction between the bodies of the dancers, creating exaggerations and contortions of the human form.  

 

Over the next few months, dance continues to take the stage at PlayhouseSquare to offer a few of our favorite things.

      
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