The Theatre @ Boston Court
February 25 - April 9, 2006 (Extended)
Previews & Reviews
Core Media
FRESH AND RELEVANT BOSTON COURT'S "DORIAN GRAY" REMAINS TRUE TO WILDE'S ORIGINAL NOVELLA
By Candyce Columbus
Controversy surrounded the initial publication of Oscar Wilde's only novel, "The Picture of Dorian Gray" in the July 1880 issue of "Lippencott's Magazine." Its decadent themes and homoerotic passages outraged the British press. Although Wilde defended himself and his work, he modified some of the passages when he expanded it the next year for book publication. Since then his story has inspired dramatists and screenwriters to write adaptations for stage and film. But according to The Theater @ Boston Court Co-artistic Director Michael Michetti who is directing his new adaptation opening on February 25, "most of them went out of their way to disguise the fact that the tale is full of gay subtexts, an injustice to Oscar Wilde's position in literature and history."
Rather than depicting this production merely as a gothic horror story, Michetti has focused on the fascinating psychological study of what happens when a life is spent in hedonistic pursuit of pleasure. With the current culture's, and especially Hollywood's, emphasis on youth and beauty, and the film industry constantly raising the special effects bar to stimulate jaded viewers, Michetti believes this tale has as much relevance today as it did when first penned. But he is quick to point out that moralizing is not his intent.
"Although this adaptation has a lot of me in it in terms of what I chose to carve away and what to include, I was able to lift much of the dialogue from the novel verbatim."
Michetti took on the additional responsibility of designing an inventive minimalist set using a recurring motif of empty picture frames as set pieces. To tackle the challenge of relating those passages that do not involve the spoken word, Choreographer John Pennington is using a narrative dance passage to tell the story of an 18-year period when Dorian Gray was busy collecting beautiful things and living a life devoted to pleasure-seeking.
While set in Victorian England, Michetti and his creative staff are seeking to merge aspects of that time period with more contemporary elements to give this play a modern sensibility. For instance, they are incorporating 20th century music played by string quartets which were popular in the late 19th century and costume design inspired by current fashion runway trends harkening back to the Victorian age.
Each of the three lead characters can be seen as reflecting an aspect of Oscar Wilde. Representing Wilde's artistic self, J. Todd Adams plays painter Basil Hallward who falls in love with his subject. Research he did prior to appearing in the Mark Taper Forum's 1998 production of "Gross Indecencies: The Three Trials of Oscar Wilde," aided him in the development of this "very emotional" role.
Andrew Borba as Lord Henry Wotton can be said to reflect how society viewed Wilde. He explains, "I get to be the mouthpiece of a lot of the theories expounded in this piece such as the Aesthetic Movement's art for art's sake' philosophy."
As Dorian Gray, Steve Coombs can be seen as an image of how Wilde might like to have been. "My character is challenging because he is very much in his head. While everyone is just living, he is battling his demons, the stranger outside the rest of the production."
Adams who appeared as Mercutio in the inaugural production of "Romeo and Juliet, Antebellum New Orleans, 1936" and Borba who appeared as Jason in last season's production of "Medea" are Boston Court alumni. Recent East Coast transplant Coombs makes his West Coast debut in this play. These intelligent and talented actors concur that working with such an accomplished and deft director with Wilde's rich language has been a wonderful opportunity.
Michetti himself is very happy with his "good-spirited" cast and crew. "We're having a wonderful time in rehearsal and I am anxious to see how it all comes together. My hope is that audiences will go away thinking, wow, how fresh and relevant the story Wilde wrote is!'"
"A Picture of Dorian Gray" previews for six performances beginning today, opens February 25 and runs Thursdays to Sundays through April 2. Preview tickets are priced at $15 and regular performances cost $30. Tickets can be purchased online at www.bostoncourt.org or by calling 626-683-6883. The Theatre @ Boston Court is located at 70 North Mentor in Pasadena.
# # #
Core Media Weeklies
"PICTURE" IS A MASTERPIECE
By Candyce Columbus
Clever staging, interesting costumes and lighting, provocative music, effective dance sequences and fine acting make Boston Court's "A Picture of Dorian Gray" a thoroughly satisfying evening of theater. Using much of Oscar Wilde's original novella text Adapter/Director Michael Michetti has created a work that stimulates conversation about the importance of art for art's sake, obsession with youth and the toll it takes.
He has assembled a capable cast of three leads, Steve Coombs as Dorian Gray, J. Todd Adams as painter Basil Hallward and Andrew Borba as Lord Henry Wotton who espouses the pleasure-seeking philosophy that emerged from the oppressive Victorian era. Ensemble members Annie Abrams, Jeremy Glazer, Josh Gordon, Jamison Hebert, McKerrin Kelly, Kerry Michaels, Dale Sandlin, Amy Tolsky and Jacob Witkin succeed in playing many parts including moving set pieces and curtains to forward the action.
Neither Wilde, nor Michetti could have foreseen just how timely one Act II scene would be and how eerily it compares with contemporary political issues. It brought unexpected laughs and an extra treat for the opening night audience.
"A Picture of Dorian Gray" runs Thursdays to Sundays through April 2. Tickets are $30 and can be purchased online at www.bostoncourt.org or by calling (626) 683-6883.
# # #
LOS ANGELES TIMES
FROM THEATRE BEAT/MARCH 3, 2006:
True Picture of Dorian Gray'
Ignore the altered article. "A Picture of Dorian Gray," Michael Michetti's
adaptation of Oscar Wilde's lurid classic "The Picture of Dorian Gray," is as
scholarly and reverential a treatment as you would find in any doctoral
dissertation.
Classical, also, is Michetti's beautifully composed world premiere staging at
the Boston Court, which incorporates virtuosic design elements, most notably
Michetti's arresting scenic design, to provide an impressionistic glimpse of
Victorian England at its most sumptuous and squalid. Steven Young's evocative
lighting, Amanda Seymour's lovely costumes and Robert Oriol's eerie sound are
all integral to the period ambience, while choreographer John Pennington's
dance sequences act as striking visual metaphors to the main action.
There's a wee worm in paradise, however. Michetti has immersed himself so
utterly in his source material that this "Dorian" is as much a recapitulation
as it is a theatrical adaptation. Michetti does Wilde justice to a fault. At
2 hours, 40 minutes, this conscientious but overlong production could stand a
good trim.
The story concerns the beautiful young Dorian Gray (Steve Coombs), who makes
the rash wish that he can remain forever young, while his youthful portrait
endures the ravages of time and sin. Of course, Dorian gets his wish and,
after a lifetime devoted to vice, a hideous comeuppance.
Decried as obscene when first published in 1891, Wilde's novella, with its
covert references to homosexuality, was used as evidence in Wilde's later
trial. Michetti delicately emphasizes those (at the time) inexpressible
undercurrents without resorting to postmodern sexual blatancy.
Andrew Borba is effortlessly Wildean and witty as Lord Henry Wotton, the
wealthy older aesthete who exerts a pernicious influence on the impressionable
Dorian. J. Todd Adams, who plays Basil Hallward, Dorian's adoring painter and
the moral center of the piece, makes his potentially didactic character richly
sympathetic and matter-of-fact. While he is effective as the youthful Dorian,
Coombs stumbles a bit in portraying Dorian's progression from innocence to
murderous corruption. Coombs doesn't afford an adequate peek at the monster
under the pretty outward mask a shortcoming that robs this "Portrait" of some
of its vibrancy.
K.F.
The Pink Sheet
A Picture of Dorian Gray
review byTed Flagg
In his 1891 novella The Picture of Dorian Gray, Oscar Wilde created a minor masterpiece that touched many bases. It was a social satire, a vehicle to showcase Wilde's talent for spinning epigrams, an exercise in elegant decadence, and a gothic horror story that has achieved near mythic status. (It was also sufficiently shocking to be cited as evidence of Wilde's moral turpitude when he was put on trial for homosexual trafficking.) Dorian Gray (Steven Coombs) is a beautiful but shallow and impressionable young man-about-town with a penchant for good works, till two events push him onto a disastrous course. First, painter Basil Hallward (J.ToddAdams) asks him to sit for a portrait, to which he eagerly agrees. Then, during one of the sittings, the clever and fashionably depraved Lord HenryWotton (Andrew Borba) appears. He's immediately enchanted with handsome Dorian, and pays court to him with elaborate compliments, designed to turn his head, and feeding his vanity, hedonism and narcissism. By telling the young man that his beauty will soon fade, Lord Henry instills in him a fear of aging and losing his looks. After admiring himself in Hallward's portrait, Dorian rashly utters a fatal wish: he would give his soul if he could remain forever young and beautiful, and let the portrait do his aging for him. And, of course, he gets his wish.
But absolute youth and beauty, like absolute power, corrupt absolutely. Dorian cuts a lurid path through London society, seducing and ruining young actress Sybil Vane (Annie Abrams), dabbling in drugs, cultivating his senses, and destroying the souls and reputations of a good many young men. Since his portrait (which we never see till the end) reveals the evidence of his corruption, it becomes his darkest secret, hidden in an attic.And it's a secret he will kill to preserve.
Adapter/director Michael Michetti has labored to create a faithful version of the novel, high-lighting the upscale social milieu and the verbal wit. In the early scenes, he sticks close to the novel. The wit is coruscating and the conversation brilliant, though the constant flow of epigrams leaves little breathing room for the actors. (Michetti departs most radically from the novel by making the famous portrait a nude, providing an opportunity for his Dorian to strip down and exhibit his handsome physique in a show of "non-sexual nudity."(Whatever that is.) But Michetti also wants to break the Victorian picture frame and physicalize the action, adding a chorus of dancers, and pushing his production towards expressionism. The dancers (choreographed by John Pennington) provide a stylized depiction of Dorian's crimes and misdemeanors, and also suggest the demons that dog him. Though some have hailed the creativity of his approach, I found it arty and distracting. Pitting movement against elaborate spoken language results in competition rather than illumination. (One dance number is performed behind a center-stage fireplace, during an expository conversation about Dorian's family history. The conversational pauses needed to allow the dance to proceed left the two actors stranded downstage,sheepishly pantomiming a pointless conversation.)
Nevertheless, it is an interesting production, with clever staging, striking sets (designed by Michetti) and handsome costumes by Amanda Seymour. Coombs is a handsome but veryAmerican Dorian, and Borba tosses off Lord Henry's bon mots with insouciance. Adams is a persuasive and likeable Basil, and Abrams shines briefly as the young actress seduced by Dorian. A Picture of Dorian Gray, written and directed by Michael Michetti, based on the novel by Oscar Wilde. Theater at Boston Court, 70 N. Mentor Ave., Pasadena. Thurs.-Sat. at 8 p.m., Sun. at 3 p.m., thru April 2. (626) 683-6883.
ReviewPlays.com 3/21/06 and Entertainment Today
3/24/06
by Travis Michael Holder
A Picture of Dorian Gray
Theatre @ Boston Court
Take Oscar Wilde's notorious A Picture of Dorian Gray, which sent proper Englishmen into a state of near catatonia when it first shocked London society right down to its puritanical pose in 1890, put it in the clever hands of LA's visionary theatrical genius Michael Michetti, add in the creative resources of Theatre @ Boston Court, and the result is guaranteed to be a staggering experience. Utilizing nothing but dialogue from Wilde's novella, which led one horrified critic when it was originally published to suggest it "ought to be chucked into the fire," Michetti has brought Dorian to breathtaking life over 100 years later and Wilde himself would be surely be thrilled by what is being accomplished here.
The tale is a moral parable, of course, as a handsome and charismatic young man (Steve Coombs) mourns that his youthful beauty will not last. "Beauty makes princes of those who have it," Wilde's characters offer. "Everything is yours for a season." As his worshipping friend Basil (J. Todd Adams) paints his portraithere adding intrigue and enormous theatricality by having our hero pose in the nudean offhand comment by Dorian that he would sell his soul to stay young sparks the impossible: Basil's painting ages and Dorian stays exactly as he is, though morally, his increasing hedonism and corruption reveal a hideous, tortured being lurking below the exterior splendor.
Michetti's adaptation is crafty and all but flawless (though a little trimming and the loss of the intermission might make it even better) and his cast, most of whom appear in multiple roles, is outstanding. Coombs, who resembles one of those homoerotic 1950 men photographed in creamy black and white by George Platt Lynes, makes an impressive local debut as the title character, although a more pointed devolvement from careless fop to woebegone fiend could be explored.
Adams' Basil and Andrew Borba's Lord Henry Wotton, obviously Wilde's alter ego, are enormous assets to this fine production, but the true star of the show is Michetti's vision, richly realized with equal amounts of elegance and imagination by the crack design team ready to do the master's bidding: Steven Young's startling lighting plot, Amanda Seymour's painstaking costume design, Robert Oriol's sound, Michetti's own sparse by effective set design, and some amazing choreography by John Pennington.
A Picture of Dorian Gray is a great reminder not to covet what you don't have and to embrace what you're given. Or, as a character in this spectacular production muses with gentle Wildean humor, "To get back my youth I would do anything in the worldexcept get up early, exercise, or become respectable." Personally, I can't think of better advice.
A Picture of Dorian Gray plays through Apr. 2 at the Theatre @ Boston Court is located at 70 N. Mentor Av., Pasadena; for reservations, call (626) 683-6883.
FRONTIERS MAGAZINE REVIEW
A Picture of Dorian Gray
Theatre @ Boston Court
Through Apr. 2
In a society obsessed with cosmetic surgery, Oscar Wilde's 1890 novella about the downside of vanity remains strongly relevant. It has served as the basis for countless adaptations in various literary and dramatic forms, most recently as the sublime 2003 musical Dorian. Director Michael Michetti's compelling and gripping adaptation uses text from two early versions, combining dialogue, narration, choreographic interludes, and sensual imagery to bring out Wilde's homoerotic themes, his thought-provoking musings on hedonism, and his ideas on the power of art to reflector distortour emotional realities. A superb 12-member ensemble cast, some playing multiple roles, is led by Steve Coombs as the tragic titular character; his haunting, seductive portrayal is intelligent and graceful. Ditto the inspired work of J. Todd Adams, Andrew Borba, and Annie Abrams in other key roles. A breathtaking design effort seals the deal. Boston Court's eloquent production is a Wilde and woolly triumph. L.S.
Pasadena Weekly & BlogCritic.org
Wilde' portrait
The Theatre@Boston Court presents a timely production of A Picture of Dorian Gray'
By Jana J. Monji
In the world premiere adaptation production of A Picture of Dorian Gray" at The Theatre@Boston Court, more is laid bare than the actor Steve Coombs as the eponymous Dorian Gray. In this faithful adaptation of Oscar Wilde's novella, Michael Michetti, who also directs, clearly presents the homoerotic nature of the novel and Wilde.
Set in London at the end of the century before last, Michetti's scenic design only suggests the ornate fussiness of that time by the use of gold picture frames or parts of frames on an otherwise bare, black stage. Amanda Seymour's costume design furthers this abstraction, dressing most of the characters in black with a few splashes of color, while Dorian is clad in white.
Unlike American movies, this production isn't coy about male nudity, and Coombs, with his rippling musculature, is well-cast. Yet the story isn't just about men covertly loving men; it is a morality play about the dangers of vanity and a life lived selfishly for pleasure. Discovered by painter Basil Hallward (J. Todd Adams), Dorian is both his model and muse, a simple, rich boy from an aristocratic family.
The portrait in question is one that is never meant to be shown because it reveals the very secret of Basil's soul, yet eventually it reveals the secret of Dorian's soul. Basil's friend, Lord Henry Wotton or Harry (Andrew Borba), intrudes upon Basil's last session with Dorian, flirting with Dorian as Basil finishes the portrait. Lord Harry declares it is Basil's best work, but the underlying sexual preferences of both men are also unveiled. Under Lord Harry's influence, Dorian is quickly stripped of both his simplicity and his secret fiance, Sibyl Vane (Annie Abrams). Lord Harry guides Dorian away from grief and molds Dorian into a heartless hedonist. Oddly, Dorian's true nature and age are only reflected in his picture that he now keeps hidden.
By wisely choosing not to fill the stage with a set reproducing the style of Victorian England or to have an ever-changing portrait, Michetti allows the audience to focus on the florid prose and issues raised by both the text and Wilde's own life.
Wilde's work is less shocking now. For those who have remembered Wilde's only novel more as a horror classic, this erotically charged production will be something of a revelation. For those who have seen Moises Kaufman's Gross Indecency: The Three Trials of Oscar Wilde" or are aware of Wilde's involvement with Lord Alfred Douglas, which began in 1891, the same year Dorian Gray" was published as a novel (having first appeared a year earlier in a literary magazine), Dorian Gray" lives in the shadow of Wilde's real life tragedy. The novel was later used at Wilde's trial where he was convicted of homosexual acts or committing acts of gross indecency with other male persons."
Michetti has skillfully created a thoughtful, dark, unsettling morality tale, and his actors give nuanced performances, making this production worth seeing, and particularly timely as it coincides with the Ahmanson's just-closed production of The Importance of Being Earnest" and the current popularity of Ang Lee's Brokeback Mountain."
A Picture of Dorian Gray" continues until April 2 at 8 p.m. Thursdays through Saturdays and at 3 p.m. Sundays at The Theatre@Boston Court, 70 N. Mentor Ave., Pasadena. Tickets are $30. Call (626) 683-6883, or visit www.BostonCourt.com
RANDOM LENGTHS NEWS
March 3, 2006
By Gene Warech, Theatre Reviewer
A Picture of Dorian Gray at Boston Court
As a Young man, Oscar Wilde claimed that his work or art was the life he lived (a saying more succinctly quoted in the play). The artist who paints the portrait (earnestly bedazzled) demands that his painting never be shown because it says too much about the artist's adoration of the subject. Too many will know the conceit of the story a man remains young and beautiful while his portrait transmutes into ugliness as his soul decays.
Scary, huh? More than that, the story, and director Michael Michetti's dramatization, make it seem that Wilde's own soul is at stake. Just how is hard to pin down, yet ineffable. That ungainly, homely Wilde wrote about a beautiful man is a clue.
Steve Coombs has the required beauty and plays a sweet trusting personality. If his collapse into moral decay is only hinted at, it is a tough order. Andrew Borba is deliciously full of Wildean aphorisms. He distinguishes his older self with not only a change of appearance, but also a luxuriously disillusioned drawl. He lures Dorian into a life of immediate gratification and hedonism, finding both men and women as his prey.
The staging is fluid, with the ensemble filling in characters and peopling Dorian's soul and reveries. Dance carries the story when words would fail, Set pieces and scrims waft about. It is engrossing. Through Apr. 2 at 70 N. Mentor in Pasadena. For tickets and info, call (626) 683-6883,
PASADENA STAR NEWS/SAN GABRIEL VALLEY TRIBUNE/WHITTIER DAILY NEWS
Friday, March 10, 2006
U-Entertainment Section
DORIAN' PROVES TO BE STUNNING THEATRE
By Francis Baum Nicholson
For a story that has entered not only the canon, but the vocabulary, Oscar Wilde's "A Picture of Dorian Gray" has always been better known by its general storyline than by its particulars. This may be, in part, because they changed from the tale's first profoundly controversial publication in a literary magazine to its somewhat more conventional form published as a bound novella. Yet, even the novella sparked Victorian outrage, as, like "Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde," Wilde explored the physical manifestations of the dark side of the soul.
Now in a new adaptation by its co-artistic director Michael Michetti, The Theatre @ Boston Court offers a polished and compelling new look at Wilde's work, using dialogue and imagery taken directly from both the book and the magazine versions. As a production, directed by its adaptor, it is a beautiful thing.
As a new window on Wilde's point and purpose, it offers food for though and discussion of which he would be proud.
The tale has been referenced so often, most people know the gist. A young, innocent and beautiful man has his portrait painted. In the process, he wishes that he could remain this beautiful always, and somehow this is exactly what happens. He goes on to a life of profligacy and debauchery which wears away at his soul, but rather than staining his own body, the ugliness of his life is reflected only in the portrait. Still, he knows the difference.
Central to making this tale unfold visually is having a truly beautiful Dorian Gray. Steve Coombs becomes a Victorian ideal, from his dimensions to his curly hair. What makes it work, however, is the shift in his eyes from innocent delight and wonder, to coldness, and eventually to a bleak hopelessness which fuels the story's end. Having this happen as the rest of his visage remains so stable allows the story to unfold.
Equally fine performances come from J. Todd Adams as the idealistic painter whose innocent passion for Dorian fuels the Adonis-like portrait, and Andrew Borba, as the jaded nobleman whose insistence on living for pleasure sends Dorian down such a destructive path. Annie Abrams and Jeremy Glazer, as the first woman Dorian destroys, and the brother who tries to revenge her, lead a sizable and talented ensemble who create all the other characters who people Dorian's world. Beyond the story itself, the production provides its own wonders.
Almost setless (through Michetti's use of bits of picture frame for everything from fireplaces to mirrors is stunning in its simplicity), the piece depends on the ensemble to hold up doors, take the place of walls, and through an almost constant sequence of near-dance-like movements (John Pennington choreographs when it actually becomes dance), create the atmosphere in which the play takes place. Robert Oriol's superb sound design and Steven Young's integral lighting do the rest.
One word of warning: the portrait is in the nude. Dorian poses for it, and becomes it, full frontal, in front of the audience.
However, there is an aspect of purity about the portraitas portrayedwhich becomes elemental to the tale. In other words, the nudity has a profound purpose.
In essence, by being so true to the author's original intent, "A Picture of Dorian Gray," as seen at The Theatre @ Boston Court is as Wilde wanted it to be: "a story with a morala moral which the prurient will not be able to find in it, but which will bee revealed to all whose minds are healthy." It is also stunningly good theatre one would be foolish to miss.
Backstage West
A PICTURE OF DORIAN GRAY PICK
By Les Spindle
Profound ironies are at the heart of Oscar Wilde's 1891 novella The Picture of Dorian Gray. As if to forestall the storm of protests that greeted his then-shocking narrative, Wilde wrote in his preface: "There is no such thing as a moral or immoral book. Books are well written or badly written." Yet his classic-about a beautiful young man exchanging his soul for the chance to remain eternally young, as his inner ugliness leads to tragedy-could be interpreted as a cautionary moral parable. In his textually faithful but otherwise adventurous adaptation, director Michael Michetti explores this and other cerebral themes in an absorbing and literate staging.
Though Michetti has assembled a splendid ensemble, the driving force of this lovely production is the aesthetic beauty emanating from the design elements and John Pennington's exciting dance sequences, which illuminate Dorian's fall from grace. Michetti's dialogue and narrated passages combine text from two sources: the novella and a more explicitly homoerotic predecessor that appeared in a literary magazine in 1890. Through Michetti's seamless dovetailing of Pennington's eloquent choreography, Steven Young's stylish lighting, Amanda Seymour's ravishing costumes, and his own scenic design-based on an ingenious picture-frame motif-the result is visual poetry of a high order.
Inhabiting this alluring world are multifaceted characters, played with humor and poignancy. As the doomed titular antihero, Steve Coombs fashions a finely nuanced portrayal, underlining the story's moral ambiguity. As the manipulative Lord Henry Wotton, who seduces Dorian into a hedonistic, amoral lifestyle, the superb Andrew Borba balances the character's contemptible nature with his scintillatingly witty dialogue. J. Todd Adams' performance as the artist who creates the portrait of Dorian provides an effective counterpoint as a fully empathetic character, obsessed with his idealized notion of Dorian. Ensemble members playing an assortment of smaller roles and doubling as dancers are Josh Gordon, Jamison Hebert, McKerrin Kelly, and Kerry Michaels.
Additional fine support comes from Annie Abrams, Jeremy Glazer, Dale Sandlin, Amy Tolsky, and Jacob Witkin. Michetti's incisive portrait of Victorian Sturm und Drang transcends melodrama to offer a timeless fable of vanity run amuck.
Presented by and at Theatre@Boston Court, 70 N. Mentor, Pasadena. Thu.-Sat. 8 p.m., Sun. 3 p.m. Feb. 25-Apr. 2. (626) 683-6883.
City Beat
From Don Shirley
A Picture of Dorian Gray. Michael Michetti's adaptation of the Oscar Wilde novel, about a man whose youthful appearance remains frozen while his hidden portrait ages, is elegant and penetrating. The second act inventively uses modern dance to illustrate Dorian's dissolution, but later needs a little trimming. Theatre at Boston Court, 70 N Mentor Av, Pasadena, (626) 683-6883. Thurs-Sats at 8; Suns at 3. Closes Apr 2. (DS)
Curtain Up
A CurtainUp Review
A Picture of Dorian Gray
I know you will laugh at me but I really can't exhibit it. I have put too much of myself into it. ---Basil to Lord Henry as they discuss the picture of Dorian Gray
One of the challenges of adapting a work such as Oscar Wilde's The Picture of Dorian Gray for the stage is that pretty much everybody knows the story. You aren't going to catch ninety-five percent of the audience napping with the plot. It's important to make the production resonate with the author's words.
For the five percent still not in the know, it is the story of an innocent (if vain) young man named Dorian Gray (Steve Coombs). His friend Basil (J. Todd Abrams), an artist, paints a picture of him that seems to have a supernatural affect on Dorian. He becomes more and more corrupt but , he doesn't seem to age. His picture, however, is another matter.
The relatively young Theatre @ Boston Court (this is its third season) is an amazing little theater, and lacks none of the amenities of a bigger theater. This allows director Michael Michetti to do some interesting staging and sound techniques to add a new dimension to the story. For instance, the picture itself is never seen but is instead represented by an empty frame, and the hideousness of its countenance is expressed through the ensemble's voices. When Dorian stares at the painting, the cast wanders behind it and recites lines of dialog that, aideded by Robert Oriol's sound design, grow gradually louder and become a cacophony of accusation. Several empty picture frames hanging above the stage occasionally descend to become props for the mostly empty set: a mantel piece, a mirror, a railing, etc. There is also a nice use of a rolling door and moving curtains (manipulated by the cast) to suggest rooms and barriers between much of the action on stage.
The second-act opens with an exciting interprative dance performed by Dorian and several of the cast while a passage of the novella is read. The pages being read describe the passage of time and its effects on Dorian. As each page is discarded and lies used up and wasted on the stage, Dorian moves on to his next partner.
Michetti has wisely stuck to Wilde's own witty words. This allows the cast to have fun with the language, none more so than Andrew Borba's Lord Henry (who is obviously the voice of Wilde himself, and unsurprisingly gets all the best quips). He portrays the character's supposed disdain for all that is "moral" and "decent" and revels in the "art for art's sake" aesthetic and makes his on Dorian convincing. Dorian is played by Coombs' with a youthful naivety that gradually changes to an unholy worldliness. Adams' Basil is believable as the smitten painter who watches impotently as Dorian is charmed out of his grasp. He is the story's voice of morality and honesty.
The production heavily emphasizes the sexual undertones of Wilde's language so that it seems as if most of Victorian England was practicing "the love that dare not speak its name." Given our knowledge of Wilde and his ultimate end, I suppose that's a fair enough interpretation, though at times this tends to send the humor into the arena of camp.
The production has its problems. There's some problematic pacing in the first act. It drags during the setup of Dorian's disillusionment. And while it sparkles when Lord Henry is onstage, the scene between Lord Henry and Dorian after Sybil's death has Lord Henry buy into Dorian's soullessness a bit too quickly. There's also a matter of routinely dropped accents. One also wonders at the lack of differentiation in accents for the Cockney characters.
The first act deficiencies are quickly forgotten in the seconds act in which the play really starts to come alive, with the wholly corrupted Dorian bouncing back and forth between sin and sham. His inevitable rush towards doom is convincing and moving. In a nice touch, the principal players age themselves during the dance routine by applying makeup and facial hair onstage.
Michetti's adaptation and direction are interesting, even novel in parts. A Picture of Dorian Gray is engrossing and worth a trip to Pasadena.
A PICTURE OF DORIAN GRAY
Based on the Novella by Oscar Wilde
Adapted and Directed by Michael Michetti
Cast: Annie Abrams (Sibyl Vane/Featured Dancer/Ensemble), J. Todd Adams (Basil Hallward), Andrew Borba (Lord Henry Wotton), Steve Coombs (Dorian Gray), Jeremy Glazer (James Vane/Ensemble), Josh Gordon (Alan Campbell/Featured Dancer/Ensemble), Jamison Herbert (Adrian Singleton/Feature Dancer/Ensemble), McKerrin Kelly (Lady Henry/Gladys/Featured Dancer/Ensemble), Kerry Michaels (Lady Brandon/lady Narborough/Featured Dancer/Ensemble), Dale Sandlin ("Romeo"/Sir Geoffrey Clouston/Ensemble), Amy Tolsky (Mrs. Vane/Prostitute/Ensemble), Jacob Witkin (Lord George Fermor/Thornton/Ensemble)
Set Design: Michael Michetti
Costume Design: Amanda Seymour
Lighting Design: Steven Young
Sound Design: Robert Oriol
Choreography: John Pennington
Running time: Approximately 2 hours and 20 minutes (including a 15 minute intermission)
The Theatre @ Boston Court
70 North Mentor, Pasadena CA
626-683-6883
From 2/25/06 to 4/2/06
Times: Fri. through Sat. @ 8pm, Sun. @ 3pm
Tickets: $30
Reviewed by David Avery based on 2/25/06 performance
LA Weekly
A PICTURE OF DORIAN GRAY
It takes a while for adapter/director/scenic designer Michael Michetti's imaginative realization of Oscar Wilde's novella to begin to crackle. First comes a stilted hour in which the dialogue lifted directly from the book establishes the characters, the upper-class Victorian milieu and the arena of ideas and symbols within which the impressionable Dorian (the persuasive Steve Coombs) plays out his conflagrant downfall.
The other main players are Andrew Borba as the vain youth's intellectually corruptive seducer, Lord Henry, and J. Todd Adams as his portrait painter and fawning devotee. Channeling Wilde's effusive brilliance, the capable Borba faces the not-yet-met daunting challenge of establishing a real persona beneath his character's snide faade. The captivating performances come from the ranks, especially Annie Abrams as the bewildered actress Dorian drives to suicide.
The play gathers steam in Act 2, leading off with John Pennington's stunning choreography as Dorian's demons descend to collect their due. Eclipsing any single element is the overall production design, a fantastical collage of objects, dance, lighting (Steven Young) and sound (Robert Oriol) reflecting the title character's demented world.
Theater @ Boston Court, 70 N. Mentor Ave., Pasadena; Thurs.-Sat., 8 p.m.; Sun., 3 p.m.; thru April 2. (626) 683-6883. (Deborah Klugman)