Again, it’s a big weekend for theater: For one, Gatz is running… It’s a production I had promised myself I’d see, way back when the Walker was first announcing its performing arts season. This was to be an exercise in self-betterment, or so I thought. But now that the show’s here, however, I can’t quite bring myself to sit through it. The adult ADD persists, despite my best efforts to medicate…
Another biggie: Jeune Lune just re-opened its take on Moliere’s The Miser, which is a terrific show. (I saw it last year.) I’m not sure if it’s been written here before, but yours truly once spent about three years of her life working for l’homme at Jeune Lune. And during that time, of course, my all-time favorite theater house devolved, on the personal spectrum of adoration, from rockstar to slave driver–as any employer would, really. But there’s no need to sully my praise with personal baggage. Jeune Lune is still among my favorites. And it’s definitely the best place to take an out-of-town guest–especially if he’s a foreigner you want to convince of your city’s cosmopolitan virtues. In fact, in some instances, Jeune Lune can make you and your city look downright exotic. For example, I was able to impress a certain Hungarian last year when I suggested we meet up to see Jeune Lune’s production of Amerika. And I almost had ‘im after that night. He sprang to his feet for the standing ovation. (And these aren’t obligatory and readily handed out according to the Hungarian standard, you know…) I even introduced him to the director after the show. But then, as it turned out, something terrible occurred, and this, it seems, left an indelible mark on the hot Hungarian’s memory of our date. He offered to walk me to my car after the show, but I couldn’t quite remember where I’d parked. I could sense the disappointment as we circled through the blocks going up and down First Street. Thanks anyway, Jeune Lune.
Addendum (added at about noon): I should also note that the Dell’Arte Company, a physical theater school and performance troupe out of Cali (and thus, loosely related to Jeune Lune), are in town this weekend to perform with Danish theater company, Jomfru Ane Teatret, in their production of The Liar: The Peer Gynt Project. It all goes down at the Ritz.
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