Home  Entertainment Reviews Review: "Belladonna" by Juli and Aaron Hendren (Nov. 19)
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Review: "Belladonna" by Juli and Aaron Hendren (Nov. 19) |
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Written by Barry Gaines
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created Monday, 19 November 2007
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Theater fans know that Tricklock is up to its old tricks at Theatre X in the basement of UNM’s Center for the Arts. The Company’s production of “Belladonna” is receiving its world premiere. Called “A Rock & Roll Fairy Tale Nightmare,” “Belladonna” is written by Juli and Aaron Hendren and directed by Summer Olsson.
Similar to last year’s original play “Black River Falling,” “Belladonna” examines the power of personal sacrifice among family members and friends. “Belladonna” also employs the creepiness and blood of Tricklock’s presentation of Mac Wellman’s “Dracula” (2004)—my personal favorite. Mix masks, stylized choreography, and rock and roll music with the story of a power-hungry villain, an innocent heroine out to rescue her mother from the cackling clutches of a nefarious witch, a magic spell and the truelove kiss that breaks it, and an amputation—you have “Belladonna.” The eponymous heroine travels with her loyal companion Garfunkel, a stooped, roly-poly pal wearing fur and looking a bit like a Teddy Bear. Belladonna’s mother and her assistant are scientists (they wear white lab coats) working on an ultimate power potion. Think of the possibilities for good—or for evil. Their scientific work has not gone unnoticed by the fiendish Overlord and his head witch Blackheart. This demonic duo captures the mother and threatens to harm daughter Belladonna if the potion is not completed and surrendered to The Overlord. There are some surprises and shocks as Belladonna rescues her mother and kills The Overlord. Along the way she receives the curse of having to communicate only in lyrics by rockerstars. (You will probably recognize them; I didn’t.) And Belladonna meets and then loses her truelove Gibb. The story’s conclusion is as clever as it is creepy. Abigail H. Blueher is a beguiling Belladonna, dressed in thrift shop princess clothes and tennis shoes. She demonstrates a pleasant voice in a duet with a suitor played by Erin Phillips, who also enacts the mother. Juli Hendren is funny as Garfunkel and Katy Houska plays a wicked witch with a nosey mask. Kristen D. Simpson is the scientific sidekick, and Alex Knight is fine in three parts. Kate Schroeder, one of the best actors around, does what she can with the exaggerated, cartoonish role of The Overlord, that malevolent megalomaniac. All she needs is a moustache to twirl. If You Go WHAT: “Belladonna” by Juli and Aaron Hendren WHEN: Fridays and Saturdays at 8:00 p.m. and Sundays at 6:00 p.m. through December 2 WHERE: Theatre X, lower level, UNM Center for the Arts HOW MUCH: $15 general public, $10 seniors and UNM faculty & staff, $8 students. Call 925-5858.
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About Reviewers D.S. Crafts (Website) Composer Daniel Steven Crafts came to New Mexico from San Francisco where he had hosted a classical music radio program on KPFA. His first commission from opera star Jerry Hadley, "The Song & the Slogan" based on texts by Carl Sandburg, was made into a TV program for the PBS network and aired nationally in 2004 and won an Emmy for Best Music. His latest opera La Llorona is a collaboration with novelist Rudolfo Anaya based on his play "The Season of La Llorona." Mr. Crafts is currently working on another commission from Jerry Hadley for a piece about the American Southwest which includes texts by Rudolfo Anaya and V.B. Price. Two CDs of his music, Contemporaries (short, satirical keyboard works) and ARIAS (excerpts from his various operas) have been released on the BACAT label in San Francisco.
David Steinberg David Steinberg has covered state government, the courts, city and county government in Santa Fe for the Albuquerque Journal. He's been an arts writer for the past 20 years, and serves as the book editor, for the Journal. Over the years, he's also acted in plays, sung in choruses and played trumpet.
Jennifer Noyer Jennifer Noyer has been writing dance reviews for the Albuquerque Journal for 17 years, as well as contributing articles for Dance Magazine and other art journals. She trained in dance with Hanya Holm in New York City and Colorado Springs, and studied several dance techniques at the graduate level at the University of Michigan. After teaching dance at Wayne State University she entered and completed a Masters Degree in Humanities there. In New Mexico Ms. Noyer has taught, directed, and choreographed contemporary dance for several years. Her writing on dance includes a monograph accompanying the video of choreographer Bill Evens’ ballet “The Legacy.” An overview of Evans’s world wide career, it was written and published during his tenure at the University of New Mexico. Ms. Noyer’s studies in the humanities, and her studio dance work influence her approach to dance as an integrative art form in the United States.
Barry Gaines Barry Gaines has taught Shakespeare in the University of New Mexico English Department for over twenty-five years and has received two outstanding teaching awards. He has written theater reviews for the Journal since 2000. He has attended theater all over the world including Shakespeare productions in Russia, South Africa, Denmark, and Poland. He has also served as literary advisor for two professional theater companies and written performance reviews for Shakespeare Quarterly. Gaines has taken two years of acting with Paul Ford and appeared in small parts in three plays at the Albuquerque Little Theater. He believes that he is probably a better reviewer than actor.
Joanne Sheehy Hoover Joanne Sheehy Hoover, music critic emeritus of the Albuquerque Journal, has written for NPR, PBS, the Lyric Opera of Chicago, the National Endowment for the Arts and the National Symphony, among others. She has also been a music lecturer for the Smithsonian Associates and a music critic and arts writer for The Washington Post. She was director of the Levine School of Music, one of the country’s largest community music schools, in Washington, D. C. 1980-1993. She and her husband moved to Corrales, New Mexico in July 1993. Also a poet, her fifth collection, “Einstein in New Mexico,” was published in 2002.
Marissa Greenberg Marissa Greenberg is a member of the faculty of the University of New Mexico English Department, where she teaches Shakespeare and early English literature. A prior guest reviewer for the Albuquerque Journal, Greenberg will be reviewing theater while Barry Gaines is out of town. She also composed and edited the program notes for last year’s Albuquerque Shakespeare Festival and has written performance reviews for Shakespeare Bulletin. A graduate of Columbia University and the University of Pennsylvania, Greenberg has been performing and studying drama for most of her life. She is thrilled to have this opportunity to review for the Journal.
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