What I liked
Maddie Natoli, playing Anna Pavlova, is open and vulnerable, an accomplished dancer (or certainly passes for one!) and the driving force of the play.
Death, played by Mason Williams, has a soothing voice that drips the heightened text like honey, and a stillness that is very nearly tamed.
The play is well writ, with heightened text mixed with Pavlova source materia. The musical score is a third character in itself, so we have text, dance, and music interweaving as a vehicle for the production, and it is quite effective.
The onstage costume changes are simple and exquisite- well done!
I must also give kudos to the cast and crew for welcoming constructive feedback, and acknowledging this piece as a work still finding revisions. I am more likely to see their work in the future, because now I’m invested in their success.
What I didn't like
“First you must give us something interesting.”
The fundamental question I’m left with is this: Why does Death indulge the ballerina? Is she so formidable a force that even Death is frightened of her light/soul/whatev? Is Death amused by her? Does Death fall for her? Is Death just bored (not a strong choice)? Beyond the text, which again, well writ, we need to see the relationship. How does Death feel about Pavlova? And how does she come to feel about Death? Defining this relationship for the characters/audience will go a long way to raising the stakes and give us a reason to care. And we NEED to see Pavlova literally dance with Death, the primadonna’s swan song turns duet as she gives up the ghost.
The other dramaturgical issue is splitting Death into two characters- I love that the live music becomes the third character. So much so, that I think it is a mistake that they speak, unless a dramatic directorial change is employed- (what if the musician was a puppet with Death pulling the strings- a limbo’d soul perhaps? Or maybe a famously-dead-though-unacknowledged musician, and this Death is a collector of artistic souls? Or if the musician was also a trained actor? Or, or, or…)
Death needs a better makeup scheme/application – looks cheesy.
Dialect work needs brushing up.
Preshow music should be curated to set the mood, and it would be worth it to pay for ad-free.
My overall impression
Dance, heightened text, and a live score sets to life the “Death of the Swan” in this AZ based company’s production. The most artistic attempt I’ve seen at HFF24.
