“Street Feast & Street Sale” event at The Americana at Brand

On Tuesday, June 15 from 6 p.m. to 10 p.m., the The Americana at Brand will host the “Street Feast & Street Sale” event transforming the property into a gourmet food and shopping heaven. Along with some of the most sought after food trucks in Los Angeles open for business along Caruso Avenue including, World Fare’s first-ever double-decker “bustaurant” and Top Chef’s season 1 star, Chef Brian of Chef Brian’s Comfort Truck, The Americana at Brand’s most popular stores will participate lining their storefronts with racks of the season’s favorite trends and merchandise, as well as providing guests with special discounts. In addition to delicious creations from the food trucks, restaurants at The Americana at Brand will join in the “Street Feast & Street Sale” festivities, including, a wine bar from Trattoria Amici; happy hour specials at Katsuya’s cocktail lounge; and tantalizing barbeque from the Jewel City Diner. The evening will include DJ music and a raffle for prizes.

The event features World Fare, The Buttermilk Truck, The Grilled Cheese Truck, Coolhaus, Vizzi, Chef Brian's Comfort Truck, Patty Wagon, Mandoline Grill, and Flying Pig; Guests will receive special shopping discounts at participating stores at The Americana at Brand

Gotterdammerung!

Observations by Barbara Casey

It sounds more like what you want to shout with great jubilance and gusto at the end of The Ring. I hear it means the Twilight of the Gods from a good source – Maestro James Conlon – but it’s more of a shout of joy for me. When you first hear that this the 4^th and final episode is 5 hours and 45 minutes, it is enough for nightmares. And, in fact, I did have one. Woke up in a real sweat - could I really do it? But, the reality was that I loved it and could have sat for another 5 hours and 45 minutes if it had been as enthralling and bewitching as the first 5 hours and 45 minutes. The Ring ends with a tremendous volley of sound, images and color.

Siegfried in his wild yellow wig and clown-like outfit won me over. I was quite sorrowful for him as I saw that he was being set up by the Gibichungs brother and sister and their half brother Hagen, son of Alberich, who appeared to be a puppet to his father’s ambitious agenda. But one is not sure. Treachery has few fathers or mothers.

I learned from Maestro Conlon that Wagner came to hate choruses but was still under the spell of the French Grand Opera at the time he wrote Gotterdammerung. It was quite surprising that Wagner wrote the operas in inverse order but then wrote the music front to back. Twenty years went by during the time Siegfried fell asleep in the forest and when Wagner turned to his piano again to write the music for The Ring. However, the director used the chorus quite inventively. At first they seemed like well trained ROTC officers as they turned right and then left and swung their light sabers to emphasize what was being sung by the protagonists. I loved the way the chorus was used throughout the final act.

Brunnhilde and Siegfried have a wonderful moment together at the beginning of this opera but then it all goes downhill – figuratively and literally as they have been on the mountaintop in her hiding place. But only after he has given her the ring as his token of devotion. Soon after one of her Valkryie sisters arrives to fill her in on all the gossip from Valhalla and the gods and to warn her to give the ring back to the Rhine Maidens in order to protect herself from the curse. Because she is so in love with Siegfried, she refuses to part with the ring and has a bitter parting with her sister. After being tricked by Siegfried into coming to the castle where she is hailed as the bride of Gunther and learns he plans to marry Gutrune, she plots revenge with Hagan and Gunther. Siegfried is then given a truth serum and recalls his life including his love for Siegfried. This triggers the chain of events that leads to his death , Gunther’s death, and Brunnhilde’s death as she leaps into the funeral pyre aboard her faithful horse Grane. She tells the Rhinemaidens to recover the ring from the ashes and return it to the Rhine.

As Valhalla bursts into flames, the director brought the opera to a stunning conclusion by deconstructing the stage and revealing the behind-the-scenes riggings and even the prompters. It was a brilliant idea and it was brilliantly executed.

Last night I felt very bereft that The Ring was starting all over again and I wouldn’t be there. That is how seductive this production is.

From Valhalla to Bali Ha’i

Observations by Barbara Casey

If The Ring is the apogee of operatic artistry, South Pacific is at the top of American musical theatre. In my book. And certainly as brought to glorious and touching life in the new production at the Music Center’s Ahmanson Theatre. After three evenings of The Ring, it was only a brief interlude to sit through the two acts of South Pacific and what a delicious morsel it was sandwiched between Siegfried and Gotterdammerung.

Is there another musical in American theatre history where most of the audience can sing every song? It’s really hard to choose which is your greatest favorite. And the show hits you with one incredible song after another as you first thrill to Cockeyed Optimist and Some Enchanted Evening and then move to the Seabees singing Bloody Mary and There Is Nothin’ Like A Dame and on to Bali Ha’I and then that showstopper, I’m Gonna Wash That Man Right Outa My Hair. The directing in this production is perfection and the choreography is delightfully pure and simple. I liked Rod Gilfry as Emile de Becque. After heard him at LA Opera previously, it was fun to see him as a leading man and of course the man can sing. While Some Enchanted Evening brought bravos from the audience, my favorite was This Nearly Was Mine – particularly the verses he sang very quietly and poignantly. In fact, there was much poignancy in this show. Much of this was due to the brilliant performance of Carmen Cusack. She embodies Nellie Forbush so completely that her reprise of Some Enchanted Evening as she worries that Emile will die before she can tell him she loves him and his children that I and my theatre companions were moved to tears.

Seeing South Pacific in today’s wartime environment was also moving. The courage, humor and caring of the Seabees and Marines in the show struck me as truly the qualities of US soldiers always including those serving in our military today. The show did not sugarcoat the dangers of war nor of racism – You’ve Got To Be Carefully Taught struck a chord in me as it always does when I hear it, causing me to ponder what I might have taught my child that perhaps now I wish I hadn’t. Go to South Pacific – there were far too many empty seats on Friday night and this production deserves a full house every night. There are just too few times you leave the theatre singing all the tunes and discussing the serious issues raised.

Mini Makeovers at the Grove tonight!

In the Ring: Round 3

Observations by Barbara Casey

Although I think I am tending more toward Ring Tusch than Ring Head after almost six hours for “Siegfried”, including James Conlin’s lecture, it certainly defied expectation. A spectacular explosion of colors, music and emotions was close to a sensory overload.

There was a welcome dose of buffoonery in this opera with Mime even lighting up a cigar in the midst of the deep forest. Obviously no smoking yet in Nieblingville. I thought Siegfried’s wild blonde wig and Six Pack shirt with wolf or bear pants established him well as the naïf adolescent and he was most touching when he learns that his mother died in childbirth.

I marveled at Siegfried’s stamina as a musician. He is on stage in all but one scene as I recall – the one in which Wotan and Mime take turns asking each other three questions. I liked the way that Mime removed his head now and then for dramatic effect. And the better to enjoy his expressive face.

Of course everyone wants to use Siegfried to recover the gold and the Ring but he is cheerfully oblivious to this seduction for most of the show. He is looking for fear and a friend. And finds his first friend briefly in an ethereal sounding forest bird who is wonderfully encased in a puppet with giant wings that give the illusion of flying.

Then after slaying the dragon (the giant Fafner who is guarding the gold and the Ring), killing Mime after a wonderful exchange in which Siegfried can read Mime’s mind and learns he hates him and plans to poison him, and encountering Wotan and breaking his spear, Siegfried still must conquer the ring of fire and make his way to Brunnhilde. Of course she has been resting through the first two acts and can sing Wagner’s impossible notes with great power and agility. Although Siegfried is a hero among heroes, still I wished he could have had more than 25 minutes rest before tackling that difficult duet. He sounded understandably a little exhausted.

I thought the idea of stripping Brunnhilde of parts of her dress as she sang of her new vulnerability transforming from warrior to woman was ingenious. And I loved her horse sleeping upside down next to her and then regaining its legs as she awoke. While the kabuki like performers who traversed the stage throughout added to most of the scenes, I wanted them to take a break during the final love duet. It was disconcerting for me to see the figures continuing to pace across the stage when I was trying to concentrate on Siegfried and Brunnhilde. They interrupted the flow for me.

We are now on the home stretch of The Ring. It’s already been a powerful and transcending experience. I understand now the reason to experience the four in a compressed time period. It compounds exponentially.

I have often thought of giving the Ring cycle a go at Beyreuth. But I hear the seats are wood – so I am very glad that the Ring came to me in the comfortable upholstery of the Dorothy Chandler.

The LA Ring Experience

Observations by Barbara Casey

I don’t think I am quite a Ring Head yet but, after surviving the first two shows, I think I may be falling under the spell. It starts with James Conlin whose knowledgeable and energetic lectures send you off to your seat in wild anticipation of the first notes. The music is mesmerizing with its familiar themes. The amazing artistry and technical wizardy that has sprung from Achim Freyer’s inventive imagination spans the gamut from absurd to breathtaking. But the bottom line is that the production compellingly demands your conscious involvement. There is no rest for the audience at this Ring. In fact, you don’t dare close your eyes to better inhale a beautiful bit of singing for fear of missing a minute of the action.

The Rhine Maidens lure you in as they do Alberich. And he steals the show as he steals the gold – at least until his brother Mime appears. The gods seem more human than the humans. There’s the lust for a McMansion whose payment drives the story and the lust for other women that causes enormous domestic friction while at the same time resulting in offspring like Brunnhilde who watches Wotan’s back and earthly heroes like Siegmund. Perhaps if you were married to a woman with arms as long as Fricka’s, you might seek more friendly arms to curl up in.

Of course, the lust for gold is paramount. Not only for wealth but for the power that the ring confers. Wotan reminds us all of how easy it is to covet our neighbors’ possessions and sacrifice principles for things. His impunity is enough to build sympathy for the giants who he doesn’t intend to pay for their hard work at building Valhalla.

With Loge’s help, Wotan is able to outfox Alberich and get control of the Ring and all the gold he has stolen from the Rhine Maidens’ stash. The little Nieblings hammering the gold led by Brother Mime must work unceasingly. I marveled at how long their arms continue to hammer in time with the music as the action proceeds around them. Wotan doesn’t keep the gold for long. Against all his desires, he is convinced to turn over the gold and Ring to the giants. Fortunate move by him since all does not end well for the big men. They are the first to fall prey to the curse that is Alberich’s revenge when he loses the Ring.

It’s slightly off putting to find yourself rooting for Siegmund and Sieglinde who are twins, separated at birth, as they fall in love and flee her abusive husband. It was most likely that the great singing by Placido Domingo and Michelle DeYoung carried us away. The giant clock keeps track of the action as it goes forward with the present and back with the past and keeps the tension going. How does that character that turns the clock keep the pace so exactly and stand so still when the clock is stopped?

Then comes the domestic battle between Wotan and Fricka; not surprisingly, she is against the incestuous relationship. And then the actual battle in which everyone wields a Star Wars light saber. In fact, much of this second show reminds me of Star Wars. Brunnhilde defies her father and tries to save Siegmund only to have Wotan fly in and leave no one standing. Brunnhilde flees with Sieglinde to save the child she is carrying which will be Siegfried.

When the Valkyries appear on their bicycle/horses and sing their famous aria, probably best known to most people as a theme from Apocalypse Now, it is an incredible spectacle. At the second intermission -- yes there were two; one for 45 minutes and one for 25 minutes -- while standing on the Dorothy Chandler balcony overlooking the plaza, a spectacle in itself with its lighted fountain and trees, I saw a lot of people lined up for their cars at the valet parking. I couldn’t help but feel sorry for them as we returned to our seats and the curtain went up on the Valkyries. They missed such a fantastic scene as well as the ensuing father-daughter dialogue that I found most moving. Wotan was able to reach a very believable emotional place. It may have helped that he removed the Star Wars style head piece. You felt his love for Brunhilde, his grief facing separation from her and his desire to undo the punishment. Any parent can relate. But as much as we wished he would change his mind, he didn’t. He did relent somewhat by placing her in the ring of fire to ward off any but the most noble of heroes to win her.

Like Brunhilde, I am now anxiously awaiting Siegfried.