• Source: Bernarda Alba (musical)

Bernarda Alba is a one-act musical with music, lyrics and book by Michael John LaChiusa, based on Federico García Lorca's 1936 play The House of Bernarda Alba. Bernarda Alba tells the story of a controlling, newly widowed mother who is challenged by her five rebellious daughters. The musical opened Off Broadway at Lincoln Center's Mitzi E. Newhouse Theater in 2006, to mixed reviews.




Productions


With direction and choreography by Graciela Daniele, the all-female cast starred Phylicia Rashad and Daphne Rubin-Vega. The production had a limited run from March 6 to April 9, 2006. The production received Lucille Lortel Awards and Outer Critics Circle Awards Best Musical and choreography (Daniele) nominations. The lighting designer (Stephen Strawbridge) received nominations from Lortel, Henry Hewes Design Awards, and Outer Critics Circle. Daniele also received a Callaway Award nomination for choreography. A cast recording was released by Ghostlight Records in July 2006.
The UK premiere opened at the Union Theatre in London on August 23, 2011, produced by Triptic. The production was directed by Katherine Hare with musical direction by Leigh Thompson and choreography by Racky Plews. This production received a positive response from UK based critics. "SIMPLY ELECTRIC... a rather unique but unmissable piece of theatre." ThePublicReviews.com




Casts


Original 2006 New York cast

Phylicia Rashad – Bernarda Alba
Saundra Santiago – Angustias
Judith Blazer – Magdalena
Sally Murphy – Amelia
Daphne Rubin-Vega – Martirio
Nikki M. James – Adela
Yolande Bavan – Maria Josepha
Candy Buckley – Poncia
Nancy Ticotin – Servant/Prudencia
Laura Shoop – Young Maid
Original 2011 London cast

Beverley Klein – Bernarda Alba
Sophie Jugé – Angustias
Soophia Foroughi – Magdalena
Emily-Jane Morris – Amelia
Rebecca Trehearn – Martirio
Amelia Adams-Pearce – Adela
Buster Skeggs – Maria Josepha
Ellen O’grady – Poncia
Suanne Braun – Servant/Prudencia
Maria Coyne – Young Maid




Musical numbers


Prologue – Poncia, Women
The Funeral – Bernarda, Women
On the Day That I Marry – Young Maid, Bernarda, Poncia, Servant
Bernarda's Prayer – Bernarda
Love, Let Me Sing You – Amelia, Martirio, Magdalena, Adela, Servant
Let Me Go To the Sea – Maria Josepha, Women
Magdalena – Magdalena
Angustias – Angustias, Women
Amelia – Amelia, Young Maid, Servant
Martirio – Martirio
Adela – Adela, Daughters
I Will Dream of What I Saw – Women
Poncia – Poncia
Limbrada's Daughter – Bernarda, Women
One Moorish Girl – Young Maid, Servant, Poncia
The Smallest Stream – Bernarda
The Mare and the Stallion – Daughters
Lullaby – Maria Josepha
Open the Door – Adela, Women
Finale – Bernarda




Analysis


The characters sing the story as in an opera. One motif, of "barrenness and unappeasable longing" is seen in the production's design. For example, armless wooden chairs are lined against the back white stone wall, with its large door shut against the world. "When Bernarda draws the bolt, a sense of airlessness immediately descends over the daughters, illogical as this seems."
"LaChiusa and Daniele are determined to illustrate passion as vividly as possible in what is being called a musical but could just as easily be described as a dance piece with singing, an oratorio, or performance art. It's a beautifully seamless fusion of all these influences."




Response


Ben Brantley, reviewing for The New York Times, wrote, "This latest offering from the prolific Mr. LaChiusa, often feels wan and weary...The music, though superbly orchestrated (by Michael Starobin) and played, goes places that singers used to hard-sell Broadway pizazz cannot follow. The punctuating yelps; the wavering sustained notes in minor keys; the labyrinthine interior musical paths; the eruptions into antimelodic harshness — these are all more the stuff of mid-20th-century chamber operas than conventional show tunes...The touchingly game performers, who include musical pros like Daphne Rubin-Vega (a haunting presence as the ugly daughter) and Yolande Bavan (as Bernarda's senile mother), inevitably stumble over such challenges."
The Curtain Up reviewer noted, "Graciela Daniele's direction and choreography bring out the vivid flamenco rhythm that flavors the score. The daughters' solo arias beautifully express their individual personalities. Despite it requiring a stretch to accept the pretty Daphne Rubin-Vega as the family ugly duckling, her voice and poignant acting stand out...audiences are likely to be split between those who will love its art-y gloominess and those (this critic among them) for whom it's less exhilarating than such LaChiusa works as See What I Want to See..."




References






External links


Internet Off-Broadway listing
Bernarda Alba plot and production at guidetomusicaltheatre.com
Bernarda Alba plot and production at rnh.com(Rodgers and Hammerstein)

Kata Kunci Pencarian:

• Mia Farrow
• Bernarda Alba (musical)
• The House of Bernarda Alba
• The House of Bernarda Alba (disambiguation)
• Bernarda Albas Haus
• Michael John LaChiusa
• List of musicals: A to L
• Ira Weitzman
• Daphne Rubin-Vega
• Antonio Pantojas
• Nikki M. James