• Home
  • About
  • Advertising
  • Digital Archives
  • Contact
    • Letter to Editor
  • Find us
Monday, May 23, 2022
No Result
View All Result
NEWSLETTER
Mission Times Courier
  • A&E
    • Art
    • Books
    • Film
    • Music
    • Theater
  • News & Features
    • News
      • News Briefs
    • Politics
      • La Mesa Foothills Democratic Club
      • Navajo Canyon Republican Women
      • Elected Official Reports
        • Dianne’s Corner
        • Mara Elliott
        • District 7 Dispatch
        • Summer Stephan
        • Susan Davis
        • Toni G. Atkins
    • Features
    • Community Updates
      • Mission Trails Regional Park Foundation
      • Allied Gardens – Grantville Community Council
      • Del Cerro Action Council
      • San Carlos Area Council
  • Food & Drink
    • Bars & Happy Hours
    • Restaurant Reviews
  • Opinion
    • Editorials
    • Letters to the Editor
  • Lifestyle
    • Fashion
    • Health & Fitness
    • Pets
    • Travel
    • Recreation/Nature
      • Mission Trails – Trail Guide
      • iNaturalist
    • Navajo Voices
  • Business
    • Finance
    • Real Estate
    • Best of Mission Times Courier
    • Expert Advice
    • Sponsored links
  • Library/Education
    • Library
      • Allied Gardens/Benjamin Branch Library
      • San Carlos Library
    • Patrick Henry High School
  • Calendar
  • Experts
Mission Times Courier
  • A&E
    • Art
    • Books
    • Film
    • Music
    • Theater
  • News & Features
    • News
      • News Briefs
    • Politics
      • La Mesa Foothills Democratic Club
      • Navajo Canyon Republican Women
      • Elected Official Reports
        • Dianne’s Corner
        • Mara Elliott
        • District 7 Dispatch
        • Summer Stephan
        • Susan Davis
        • Toni G. Atkins
    • Features
    • Community Updates
      • Mission Trails Regional Park Foundation
      • Allied Gardens – Grantville Community Council
      • Del Cerro Action Council
      • San Carlos Area Council
  • Food & Drink
    • Bars & Happy Hours
    • Restaurant Reviews
  • Opinion
    • Editorials
    • Letters to the Editor
  • Lifestyle
    • Fashion
    • Health & Fitness
    • Pets
    • Travel
    • Recreation/Nature
      • Mission Trails – Trail Guide
      • iNaturalist
    • Navajo Voices
  • Business
    • Finance
    • Real Estate
    • Best of Mission Times Courier
    • Expert Advice
    • Sponsored links
  • Library/Education
    • Library
      • Allied Gardens/Benjamin Branch Library
      • San Carlos Library
    • Patrick Henry High School
  • Calendar
  • Experts
No Result
View All Result
Mission Times Courier
No Result
View All Result
Home Arts & Entertainment

A fairytale at Old Globe

by SDCNN
April 17, 2015
in Arts & Entertainment, Theater Reviews, Top Stories
0
A fairytale at Old Globe
0
SHARES
45
VIEWS

By Charlene Baldridge | Theater Review

To showcase Mary Zimmerman’s “The White Snake,” playing through April 26 on the Donald and Darlene Shiley Stage at the Old Globe, designer Daniel Ostling created three walls and a raked floor.

Apparently, Zimmerman (who directs her own work) did the rest, imagining elements to support the fable, which originated in the East and took up residence and enchanted enhancement in ancient China.

Zimmerman’s lovely adaptation/production of “The White Snake” received its world premiere at the Oregon Shakespeare Festival in Ashland (Feb. 18 – July 8, 2012) and has since traveled to major regional theaters including Chicago’s Goodman, Princeton’s McCarter, and the Berkeley Rep.

The_White_Snake8_printwebtop
Tanya Thai McBride in the McCarter Theatre’s production of “The White Snake.”
(Photo by T. Charles Erickson)

Acknowledging there are many versions of the tale, “The White Snake” is a transformation story.

White Snake (Amy Kim Waschke) grows weary of thousands of years in the mountains. Fascinated with human kind, she slithers down the mountain in company of a feisty companion, Green Snake (Tanya Thai McBride, who creates an endearing character, part of which is her edgy voice).

Having transformed themselves into human form, the two pose as mistress and servant, with Green Snake taking on the more daring and confrontational tasks. Along the way to civilization, they encounter Xu Xian (Jon Norman Schneider) who ferries them across the lake and loans White Snake his umbrella, a transaction during which their age-old, foreordained attraction manifests itself.

Though Xu Xian is a lowly chemist’s assistant, White Snake weds him and — again through magic — provides enough funds for a home and their own pharmacy, which is a raging success due to White Snake’s healing abilities. The evil abbot of the local Buddhist temple, Fa Hai (Matt DeCaro), knows of White Snake’s true identity and sets out to ruin her marriage, success and happiness. She must go on a perilous journey to find the one remedy that will cure Xu Xian. As with all fables, there are many messages to the beholder; among them, we love the one we love, sometimes at our own peril; but in the grand scheme of things, love triumphs.

In the unfolding, Zimmerman employs music, dance and pageantry, all supplied by her dazzling and sincere company, two of whom are veterans of the Ashland and subsequent productions, and the artistry of Ostling and the original design team comprising costume designer Mara Blumenfeld, lighting designer T. J. Gerkens, sound designer and composer Andre Pluess, and projection designer Shawn Sagedy. Many of the effects are as magical as the tale.

(l to r) Amy Kim Waschke, Jon Norman Schneider, and Tanya Thai McBride in The Goodman Theatre production of “The White Snake” (Photo by Liz Lauren)
(l to r) Amy Kim Waschke, Jon Norman Schneider, and Tanya Thai McBride in The Goodman Theatre production of “The White Snake” (Photo by Liz Lauren)

Initially, I found myself impatient with what seemed like overuse of parasols and puppets (snakes can do only so much); however, the story eventually overcame its means of telling, and the visual and aural, sans parasols and snakes, began to enthrall. The pageantry, which employs battle, lanterns and movement, is thrilling.

Screen Shot 2015-04-17 at 8.49.11 AMPlayed live and scored for flute, strings, cello and percussion, Pluess’s score could overwhelm the singers’ diction; however, they are subtly miked so most all the text is understood.

Ably done and beautifully integrated, the movement is a mix of ancient forms, most recognizably Noh and tai chi. Zimmerman’s text, based on numerous sources that came down through written and oral traditions, strives for poetry throughout; however, the final 10 minutes — a simple statement about love and loss delivered by the company — makes up for whatever impatience might have been engendered prior to this truly poetic moment.

— Charlene Baldridge has been writing about the arts since 1979. You can follow her blog at charlenebaldridge.com or reach her at charb81@gmail.com.

SDCNN

SDCNN

Next Post

Allied Gardens – Grantville Community Council update – April 17

Loading Facebook Comments ...

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Mission Times Courier

© 2022 Mission Times Courier. All rights reserved. San Diego Community Newspaper Group (SDCNG).

Navigate our site

  • About
  • Advertise
  • Contact

Follow Us

No Result
View All Result
  • Arts & Entertainment
    • Art
    • Books
    • Film
    • Music
    • Theater
  • News & Features
    • News
    • Politics
      • Elected Official Reports
    • Community Updates
      • San Carlos Area Council
      • La Mesa Foothills Democratic Club
      • Mission Trails Regional Park Foundation
      • Navajo Canyon Republican Women
      • News from the Mission Trails Regional Park Foundation
      • News from the San Carlos/Lake Murray Recreation Council
    • Features
  • Food & Drink
    • Bars & Happy Hours
    • Restaurant Reviews
  • Opinion
    • Editorials
    • Letters to the Editor
  • Business
    • Finance
    • Real Estate
    • Best of Mission Times Courier
    • Expert Advice
    • Sponsored links
  • Library/Education
    • Allied Gardens/Benjamin Branch Library
    • Patrick Henry High School
      • Patrick Henry school nurse
      • Patrick Henry sports
    • San Carlos Friends of the Library
  • Lifestyle
    • Health & Fitness
    • Fashion
    • Pets
    • Travel
    • Recreation/Nature
      • Mission Trails – Trail Guide
    • Navajo Voices
  • About
  • Contact
  • Archive
  • Advertising
  • Calendar
  • Experts

© 2022 Mission Times Courier. All rights reserved. San Diego Community Newspaper Group (SDCNG).

Login to your account below

Forgotten Password?

Fill the forms bellow to register

All fields are required. Log In

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

Log In