Monday, September 19, 2011

And Theater, Local Theater…

I have discovered Bronte. At the MuCCC, an old small church in the city of Rochester NY, I did something I've always wanted to do, I sat in an audience and watched a one woman play with writer Charlotte Bronte as the lone storyteller. I have seen at least one other one person show on TV but this this was better. I sat in the front roll and became entranced in a story about a woman who I had only known as the author of Jane Eyre (which I have yet to but now will read) but now I am more intrigued by who she was and the life she lived.
I didn’t really know what to expect, I certainly didn’t expect to laugh, but by the end I was truly impressed by everything I witnessed. The stories of her life flowed nicely together as Charlotte told each one. From being a child and creating stories and characters with her sisters, brother and father to her love life and those she lost throughout life. Each story was as beautiful and as captivating as the next. Of those that were still alive and those that were long dead I believed that each character/person was in the house/on stage with Charlotte.
I knew I was watching a wonderful performance because the actor was actually able to make me believe that there were other “invisible” people all around her. Meredith Powell Carroll is one of those actors. As Charlotte Bronte she told us these stories through the voice of each person who was there. It wasn’t just because her accent changed from English to Irish to a little French but so did her voice as the tone of each was as unique as the last. Every character whether she was a younger vision of Charlotte, her own father or a lover- Meredith Powell Carroll made each as individual as I am sure they were in life. It must not be easy doing all that and move from stage left to stage right, dance around the table and back again all at the same time, I know I couldn’t, but it was a joy  to watch and allowed the story to feel as if all that she said was happening right there in front of us..
So there I sat, in a wooden Pugh inside an old church watching Charlotte Bronte and her life come alive.
Bravo.

Also The Emmys aka TVs biggest night aka Oscars little sister was on last night and of course I stayed up all night to watch. So congrats to all the winners, especially Jon Stewart, all the nominees and the great Jane Lynch ,a wonderful host.

No comments:

Post a Comment