Last night was the opening of the Newton Nomadic Theater’s new show – A Picasso. Three Village14 regulars were in the audience.
Here’s a review from Sally Lipshutz.
Jeffrey Hatcher is authentic and his play is all about authenticity. It takes place in the late 1930’s in an Occupied Paris warehouse and its purpose is to expose the truth. Are three paintings really the works of the prominent artist, Pablo Picasso, who is being questioned by the female Nazi caricature, Miss Fischer, or are they fakes? What you might expect when you put an egotistical, misogynistic Casanova and an autocratic, military marionette in the same room to pick truth from fiction is definitely not what you get!
Surprisingly, this play is not black. It is a grey human comedy, somewhat like the truth it seeks.
Stephen Cooper and Linda Goetz were to the action born. I see them in their roles as most authentic and believable as they morph between their inner and outer portraits as easily as someone opening and shutting wooden window blinds, allowing sneak peeks into deeply personal worlds.
As Miss Fischer would say: SIT DOWN…please! Buy your tickets. NOW!
A Picasso runs through May 15 at interesting locations in and around Newton – a library, a rug store, a glass-makers studio, a restaurant, a pub, a private home, and an artist studio.
There are a few tickets still left for tonight’s show, 7:30 PM at Patty Simon’s studio on Lake Ave in Newton Highlands. Plenty of tickets left for all future performances.
Here are a few more comments from the opening weekend performances …
The Newton Nomadic theater is a gift to this area. It is exactly the type of theater we crave. Stephen Cooper and Linda Goetz’s performances helped to create the illusion of watching this from an invisible curtain in the room.
The subtleties to the performance is what helps create the magic. Things that the subconscious believe as real is what turns a script into a dramatic performance. Minor finger gestures, word pronunciation, and eye movements make an incredible difference in believability. Small theatre gives the best experience. It is not just happenstance that I will always pick the front row of a small house. It gives us the chance to catch those subtleties that are lost in a large arena. There is nothing wrong with large staging, but small areas help to create an intimate connection for and intimate story.
Anyone who has studied Picasso realizes how amazing this script was. Each line conveyed a bit of his inner self.
The Newton Nomadic Theater is a prime example of how you don’t have to spend a fortune to see brilliant work! – Bruce Schneider
Here are a few more comments from the opening weekend performances …
The Newton Nomadic theater is a gift to this area. It is exactly the type of theater we crave. Stephen Cooper and Linda Goetz’s performances helped to create the illusion of watching this from an invisible curtain in the room.
The subtleties to the performance is what helps create the magic. Things that the subconscious believe as real is what turns a script into a dramatic performance. Minor finger gestures, word pronunciation, and eye movements make an incredible difference in believability. Small theatre gives the best experience. It is not just happenstance that I will always pick the front row of a small house. It gives us the chance to catch those subtleties that are lost in a large arena. There is nothing wrong with large staging, but small areas help to create an intimate connection for and intimate story.
Anyone who has studied Picasso realizes how amazing this script was. Each line conveyed a bit of his inner self.
The Newton Nomadic Theater is a prime example of how you don’t have to spend a fortune to see brilliant work! – Bruce Schneider
This is the third play my husband and I have seen with the Nomadic Theatre and I cannot decide whether it was the best or the second best, so good it was. The two actors are phenomenal, on the stage the whole time. The plot resonated for me especially as a French woman but can be understood at several very interesting levels: Picasso’s life, the clash between an Occupier and an Occupied, man vs woman, duty vs pressure. All the time making us wonder about the essence of art.
As a bonus, it was pretty funny. Also, Stephen Cooper has big brown eyes, like the real Picasso!
Do not miss it: that play is a gem! – Isabelle Albeck
This is the third play my husband and I have seen with the Nomadic Theatre and I cannot decide whether it was the best or the second best, so good it was. The two actors are phenomenal, on the stage the whole time. The plot resonated for me especially as a French woman but can be understood at several very interesting levels: Picasso’s life, the clash between an Occupier and an Occupied, man vs woman, duty vs pressure. All the time making us wonder about the essence of art.
As a bonus, it was pretty funny. Also, Stephen Cooper has big brown eyes, like the real Picasso!
Do not miss it: that play is a gem! – Isabelle Albeck
“In 1941, Picasso, angry and arrogant, has been ‘arrested’ and brought to an underground vault in occupied Paris, where he is confronted by a German woman. She first demands and then pleads for him to authenticate, as Picasso’s, 3 works of art, “left behind,” to be the centerpiece of an exhibition. He does as she asks after she intimates his life is in her hands but he soon regrets it.
Along the way Picasso and Miss Fischer inadvertently show us glimpses from behind the curtain of an ambitious German and a non political, womanizing, artist as they continuously switch power positions. Their stories are as moving as their revelations.
Be sure to see it. Stephen Cooper and Linda Goetz step into their roles as Pablo Picasso, comb over included, and Miss Fischer, a German “cultural attaché” adeptly and with ease.” – Marti Bowen
“The play was very engaging! The one act play held my attention the entire time! Great timing; no lost time!” – Margaret LeBlanc
Plenty of tickets still available for next week’s show Friday at the Waban Library, Saturday at Henry & Pat Finch’s home in Waban and for all other shows through May 21 at locations in and around Newton.
“In 1941, Picasso, angry and arrogant, has been ‘arrested’ and brought to an underground vault in occupied Paris, where he is confronted by a German woman. She first demands and then pleads for him to authenticate, as Picasso’s, 3 works of art, “left behind,” to be the centerpiece of an exhibition. He does as she asks after she intimates his life is in her hands but he soon regrets it.
Along the way Picasso and Miss Fischer inadvertently show us glimpses from behind the curtain of an ambitious German and a non political, womanizing, artist as they continuously switch power positions. Their stories are as moving as their revelations.
Be sure to see it. Stephen Cooper and Linda Goetz step into their roles as Pablo Picasso, comb over included, and Miss Fischer, a German “cultural attaché” adeptly and with ease.” – Marti Bowen
“The play was very engaging! The one act play held my attention the entire time! Great timing; no lost time!” – Margaret LeBlanc
Plenty of tickets still available for next week’s show Friday at the Waban Library, Saturday at Henry & Pat Finch’s home in Waban and for all other shows through May 21 at locations in and around Newton.
Ain’t too proud to beg – check out the fabulous reviews above and then book your tickets for this weekend. Between Passover and school vacation this is a tough weekend to fill the house so we need all the help we can get. These actors and this play definitely deserve sold-out houses.
Ain’t too proud to beg – check out the fabulous reviews above and then book your tickets for this weekend. Between Passover and school vacation this is a tough weekend to fill the house so we need all the help we can get. These actors and this play definitely deserve sold-out houses.