Roving Pittsburgher Report "Sleeping Beauty" Ballet a Sleeping Giant

"Sleeping Beauty" Ballet a Sleeping Giant

Review of Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre 45th Season Opening Ballet

by Good News Reporter, Joanne Quinn-Smith

This past week-end the Pittsburgh Ballet Theater opened its 45th Season with a stunning performance of “Sleeping Beauty,” telling the

story of Princess Aurora and her enchanted slumber. My six year old granddaughter and I watched this classic fairy-tale come to life as more than 150 dancers in the world famous score was performed by The Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre Orchestra under the direction of guest conductor Martin West. In our humble view it rivaled the performances of much larger ballet companies.  With all the special effects and beautiful period costumes, my granddaughter said, "It's like a movie."

What an engaging ballet couple, Julia Erikson as Princess Aurora and Noralan Abougaliev as Prince Desire.

We especially enjoyed the fairy solos in the first act accompanied by the men of the corps de ballet. What strong and mesmerizing performances.  We often don't realize that ballet artists are real athletes.  This is particularly emphasized in the famous “Rose Adagio,” performed by Aurora and her four suitors, showcases the strength and control of the ballerina through a series of impressive balances and promenades.  Just the length of time Julia held he poses with grace and seemed to do it with such grace and ease was phenomenal to watch.

The orchestra, playing Tchaikovsky’s historic score under the baton of guest conductor Martin West, this “Sleeping Beauty” truly could feed the soul of any arts enthusiast.  Ballet is so much more exciting with a live orchestra out front and center.   

photo by Rich Sofranko.
Artists: Amanda Cochrane & Yoshiaki Nakano. 

As a grandmother it is important to me that children who attend this ballet are introduced to many Tchaikovsky classics such as “Garland Waltz” used as the tune for Disney’s “Once Upon a Dream.

“The Sleeping Beauty” features scenic and costume designs by David Walker, who evokes a 17^th century theme with the regal columns and gold finery of the palace that frames the story. Costume styles include the intricate classical tutus of the fairies, elaborate robes of the courtesans and the jeweled snakes and spiders of Carabosse’s costume. I wondered at not being able to see some of the leg movements in the flowing robes but the overall effect was spellbinding.  Stage effects also enhance the atmosphere, especially with the entrance of Carabosse, whose carriage arrives onstage in a swirl of fog and thunder accompanied by her ghouls. I was particularly impressed with the sheer curtaining, barely discernible that was part of the scenery that set the mood with several acts.  We are so blessed in Pittsburgh with what his ballet theatre can produce in a relatively small city and with I am sure not the resources of bigger city corps.

Amanda Cochrane and Yoshiaki Nakano in Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre's
'The Sleeping Beauty.' photo by Rich Sofranko

Anaiyah Thomas loving
the ballet

We missed the Act III cameos by Puss N Boots because a two and a half hour performance is a bit much for a six year old.  She hung in there as long as she could and then told me she was tired and wanted to go home and go to bed, not without regret.  But as we reached the wide expanse of the lobby and while waiting for our cab, she utilized the entire front lobby to imitate the ballerinas flying movements, even using her cocktail sweater as a prop, dancing from end to end of the empty lobby accompanied by the orchestra which we could hear in the lobby.  I think my granddaughter will be dancing around our houses for some time to come although I am sure not as freely as she did in the grand lobby of the Benedum as the Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre played on for Act III of Sleeping Beauty.

 Joanne Quinn-Smith, Award winning internet radio broadcaster, blogger, author and internet radio and TV network editor and publisher. Joanne is the owner and CEO, Creative Energy Officer, of Dreamweaver Marketing Associates, a successful Pittsburgh-based marketing company. She is a grandmother and great grandmother, an unlikely trendsetter for online journalism and broadcasting. Joanne is internationally known as the “Get Your Google On” Gal. But better known as Techno Granny™ to over one million accumulated online listeners worldwide. Joanne has created a revolutionary online NEW MEDIA platform in Internet broadcasting, blogging and other social media participation that represents the new second generation of World Wide Web interactions, known in technology circles as Web 2.0. JQS is the online publisher of PositivelyPittsburghLiveMagazine.com, an online community magazine to disseminate the Positive News for Positive Pittsburghers. PPL Mag is Pittsburgh’s First Internet radio and TV network with syndicated channels and online radio and TV capabilities. 

Roving Pittsburgher Report - Magical Inspiration: Review of the PSO’s Bolero and the Sorcerer’s Apprentice March 14th 2014 Performance

Magical Inspiration
Review of the PSO’s Bolero and the Sorcerer’s Apprentice March 14th 2014 Performance
From: Roving Pittsburgher Report and PositivePittsburghLiveMagazine.com
Written By: Josh Kurnot  |  March 15, 2014

Walking down the aisle to row k, right in the middle of the orchestra, I notice the grand piano on the forefront of the stage. I wonder what celebrity the orchestra would entertain on their stage that night. Little did I know, some of the world’s most powerful fingers were waiting just off stage left. I cannot place the feeling at first while taking my seat, but there is a kind of quiet anticipation lingering in the theater. My only precedence to this performance is the childhood memory of the Disney movie Fantasia. In my ignorant bliss, I sit with my date grinning from ear to ear waiting to reminisce on fond innocent memories from my younger years, but little did I know…

With due respect, the audience graciously welcomes Maestro Leonard Slatkin to the stage. Prodigy to his parents, the founders of the famed Hollywood String Quartet, Slatkin was born to conduct this very show. The show opened with French composer Paul Dukas’ The Sorcerer’s Apprentice. This is the familiar tune from Disney’s movie Fantasia, and its sounds coming from the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra’s stage are just as whimsical and magical as I remember it as a kid. The simplest theme of the entire show was perfectly and playfully portrayed in this first piece, repetition. The Lucian tale of a sorcerer and his apprentice tell the story of how an apprentice’s eavesdropping on the master’s incantation to turn a common household broom into a drone for filling the water basin from the well leads the novice to an almost certain demise. The repetition in the orchestra starts low and mysterious as the sorcerer’s stern words work in private. It then grows in volume and multiplies seemingly uncontrollably as the apprentice attempts to stop the drone from overflowing the water basin by chopping it in half; only creating yet another. The magnitude of the impending doom on the apprentice is magnificently displayed by the alternating unison of the violin section’s two explicit parts. While the bows of one violin part are thrust into the air, the bows of the other part are pulled swiftly back down the opposite direction creating a magnificent but furious dancing effect atop the heads of the entire violin section. Towards the end of the piece, this effect is sustained for so long that I think it would last forever, leaving no refuge for the poor apprentice. Although I don’t particularly care for all of the antics of Mr. First Violinist, I found quite a bit of entertainment in the fly away hairs of his bow flailing frantically about during this ferocious first piece. And at the end of it, Mr. First Violinist proudly grasped those few retired hairs from his bow and most triumphantly ripped them right out of their roots.

Michel Camilo
Photo courtesy: Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra

The next appearance on stage is Michel Camilo. The audience welcomes him with kindly as he takes his seat on the front of the stage at the keys of the grand piano. As Camilo’s fingers began to strike the first few notes of his Concerto No. 2 for Piano and Orchestra, “Tenerife”, his Latin heritage and Jazzy style are instantly apparent. Camilo’s inspiration for this piece is Tenerife, the largest of the Canary Islands. In his own words, “My intention was to compose about its great majesty, reflect on the warmth of its people, and portray the vibrant light so full of contrasting texture and color I have always perceived there.” The first movement is inspired by a visit to the island’s volcano and does an excellent job of personifying this wondrous place giving it absolute strength, a mind of its own, and a heart beat. Matching the strength of this volcano is Camilo’s left hand pounding away at the repetitious rhythm that is the heart beat of this beautiful place. The community and warmth of the island’s people is found in the echoing rhythms of the symphony orchestra. As the power of the volcano has a rhythm, so do the people who live who live in its shadow. This appearance marks the debut of Michel Camilo’s performance with the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra. At the end of the first act finishing the third movement of “Tenerife” the crowd exploded with applause and cheers, especially from the balcony. So long did we applaud and cheer, not accepting no for an answer, that Camilo had to feel obligated to end his performance with a little extra personal flair. Not only did he flair, but his fingers fumed as Slatkin, the Symphony Orchestra, and entire crowd listened in awe.

Additional Performances:
Saturday, March 15th | 8 PM | Heinz Hall
Sunday, March 16th | 2:30 PM | Heinz Hall

Written By: Josh Kurnot
 Josh Kurnot is a student of engineering at West Virginia University in his senior year. He loves to visit relatives in Pittsburgh and attends as many cultural events as he can. He is an award winning photographer whose photograpy was featured on PositivelyPittsburghTV in a video, Roving Pittsburgher and Mountaineer Cheerleader, Josh Kurnot Tour the Strip.

Posted By: Stephanie Curtice
Good News and Cultural Reporter
PositivelyPittsburghLiveMagazine.com, RovingPittsburgher.blogspot.com, TheNewGirlintheBurgh.blogspot.com
(c) PositivelyPittsburghLiveMagazine.com 2014

Lion King Feeling the Love at the Benedum in Pittsburgh

Lion King Feeling the Love at the Benedum in Pittsburgh

by

Good News Reporter, Joanne Quinn-Smith

Hakuna matata: Means no worries and you truly will leave the theater with no worries after this presentation.  There is almost too much going on with performers coming through the aisles and drummers in the balcony boxes.  What an event of sound and sight and experience.

What a mix of visual and audio entertainment Director Julie Taymor has put together.  My five year old was mesmerized even though it was a long show and she wanted to go to sleep she just could not.  I asked her the best part and she told me it was the young Simba and Nala played by Jordan Hall and Nya Cymone Carter, what wonderful delightful young performers.  She loved Simba in “I Just Can’t Wait to Be King.”

Personally I hate it when the bad guy gets less applause than the

Musafa

hero.  I found Patrick Brown in the role of the wicked yet funny Scar to be the perfect anti-hero.  Scar is Mufasa's brother and he feels that because of his superior intellect he should be king of the jungle. His quirkiness and campy swagger added a unique dimension to the musical. 

One of the two strongest performances was given by Steven Taylor as Mufasa Simba's father, Sarabi's husband and the former King of the Pride Lands; a righteous, wise, and kindhearted leader, but admirably powerful and courageous as well. Idolized by his son, with whom he shared a strong bond, Mufasa was envied immensely during his lifetime by his wicked younger brother Scar, who furiously conspired against his older brother in an attempt to end his reign and seize the throne. To the devastation of a young Simba, Mufasa was violently trampled to death by a massive stampede of wildebeests arranged by Scar while attempting to save his son's life. This lead to Scar's tyrannical kingship over Pride Rock after he convinced Simba he was responsible for his father’s death and that he should run away from home.

Rafiki

But my favorite character and the strongest performer of the Lion King is Rafiki played by Bron Liniwe Mikhize.  Rafiki is an erect walking mandrill so can use many props like gourds that other characters cannot. What a breath of fresh air, talent, energy and symbolism.  During the musical Rafiki sings a nonsense chant: "Asante sana, squash banana, wewe nugu, mimi hapana." This is a Swahili playground rhyme which translates to "Thank you very much (squash banana), you're a baboon and I'm not!" Like "hakuna matata" (no worries), the chant was heard by the original filmmakers on their research trip to Kenya.

Rafiki performs shamanistic services for the lions of Pride Rock so his chanting just fits in.

The costuming is amazing as many of the animals portrayed in the production are actors in costume using extra tools to move their costumes. For example, the giraffes are portrayed by actors carefully walking on stilts. For principal characters such as Mufasa and Scar, the costumes feature mechanical headpieces that

can be raised and lowered to foster the illusion of a cat "lunging" at another. Other characters, such as the hyenas, Zazu, Timon, and Pumbaa, are portrayed by actors in life-sized puppets or costumes. My granddaughter especially loved the stage personnel in conical Asian hat, sedge hat, rice hat, or paddy hats who skillfully flew the birds on stage and through the audience at the end of long sticks, simply a symphony of motion in my opinion. 

Seats are still available for Disney’s Tony Award-winning The

The cast

Lion King, presented by the Pittsburgh Cultural Trust and PNC Broadway Across America at the Benedum Center for the Performing Arts.  The show runs through Sept. 29; times vary; $65-$115; 412/456-4800, trustarts.org

But whatever time you attend you will leave humming either “Circle of Life” or “Can You Feel the Love Tonight?”

Joanne Quinn-Smith, Award winning internet radio broadcaster, blogger, author  and internet radio and TV network editor and publisher.  Joanne is the owner and CEO, Creative Energy Officer, of Dreamweaver Marketing Associates, a successful Pittsburgh-based marketing company. She is a grandmother and great grandmother, an unlikely trendsetter for online journalism and broadcasting. Joanne is internationally known as the “Get Your Google On” Gal.  But better known as Techno Granny™ to over one million accumulated online listeners worldwide.   Joanne has created a revolutionary online NEW MEDIA platform in Internet broadcasting, blogging and other social media participation that represents the new second generation of World Wide Web interactions, known in technology circles as Web 2.0. JQS is the online publisher of PositivelyPittsburghLiveMagazine.com, an online community magazine to disseminate the Positive News for Positive Pittsburghers.  PPL Mag is Pittsburgh’s First Internet radio and TV network with syndicated channels and online radio and TV capabilities.

Roving Pittsburgher Theatre Review for Shatner Geeks

Shatner's World, We Just Live in It

Review of a Legendary Raconteur

by Good News Reporter, Joanne Quinn-Smith

Even if you are not as one of my associates said to me on an encounter on way out of the theatre, “a Shatner Geek, “you at least have seen him on the Priceline Commercials as the Negotiator.  It is obvious in Shatner’s World: We Just Live in It that he has navigated life with as much gusto as he navigates these commercials.  .  In his show he describes his life growing up in Montreal and reflects on his many acting roles using an assortment of photos and video clips.   He tells many memorable stories and talks a great deal about the affect his role in Star Trek had on his life and career.  His presentation runs a gamut of theatrical talents from corny vaudeville jokes to theatrical pathos and laugh out loud slapstick.  His only prop, “his co-chair” he wields a rolling office chair to wend his way through an interesting life story.  A multi-media presentation with music and video and Star Trek Sound Bites make the show both fast paced and believable truly drawing you into the world of William Shatner.

Through anecdotes, songs, jokes and even some poignant moments, you will experience William Shatner’s phenomenal path from classically trained Shakespearean actor to cultural icon, brilliantly creating the larger-than-life and most important character he has ever played, William Shatner.

Long the butt of many late night talk show jokes, the man is an icon (after all you have to be a success to be fodder for late night comics) Shatner is the first to laugh at himself.  You cannot help but be tickled out loud at the tale of his hilarious encounter with the famous sign language speaking gorilla Koko.  And PETA would be impressed by his empathy for his Saddlebred horse’s experience with “stud service” which is not as glamorous or comfortable as us laymen might think.  But on the brink of sadness at this tale he raced us back to the top of his brilliant humor.

Shatner's World was presented by Cohen and Grigsby Trust Series at the Benedum Center on November 29, 2012.  My thirty year old son and I attended and we are former Star Trek geeks of the Klingon genre still we have a soft spot for the original Star Trek Series Stars.  After all who can discount cultural icons like Spock and Captain Kirk?  Also this is probably the only time I could get my thirty year old son to go a date with his 63 year old mother.

Star Trek fans are serious about the genre of science fiction.  Some fans paid $185.00 for a VIP Ticket

for the ultimate Shatner's World VIP Experience

Package Included:


·         Seat in First 6 Rows

·         Post-show meet and greet with William Shatner

·         Photo opportunity with William Shatner

·         Show poster personally autographed by William Shatner

Friends of ours told us they tried to get the package but it sold out quickly, so Shatner fans who were disappointed, at not getting to visit with him up close and personal, you just have to be quicker next time.

The last lines of the show program are:  “…and no there is nothing this man does not do.”  Well you can imagine that William Shatner wrote his own bio because In Shatner’s World… he truly proves to be a Titan of nature and delivers a spectacular “laugh out loud” performance proving he will go down in theatrical history as a legendary raconteur.

Radio Host and Serial Blogger, Joanne Quinn-Smith is the host of PositivelyPittsburghLive™ Internet Talkcast and TechnoGrannyShow™  On her shows, Joanne has interviewed over 1800 guests.  As an advocate for small Business, she was awarded the National Small Business Administration Journalist of the Year Award.  She is also the publisher of PositivelyPittsburghLiveMagazine.com which is a 2010 National Stevie Award finalist for best Media Website or Blog. PPL Mag features the GOOD NEWS, about Pittsburgh  and is  Pittsburgh’s First internet radio and TV network. PPL Mag attracted 2.25 million visitors last year.  Her radio network has accumulated over one million listeners. The Creative Energy Officer of Dreamweaver Marketing Associates, Joanne also teaches her online media platform building to small businesses in a client personalized, “Web2.0 Gorilla Branding Training™”.  Connect with Joanne at:  http://joannequinnsmith.com