WORLD PREMIERE. Mary Shelley’s modern myth awakens new questions of scientific enquiry and moral responsibility for each generation. L.A.’s own Four Larks’ exuberant amalgamation of physical theatre, live music, and immersive design brings Shelley’s creature to life, in their Wallis debut.
Frankenstein
Critics
LemonMeter
Reviews: 14
Reviews
There are far too many provocative, shapely, and astute elements at work to write this piece off as anything less than exquisite.
Clocking in at just over 60 minutes, Sweeney, Rasmussen and Peters-Lazaro’s production feels undersized, for both the right and wrong reasons. To their credit, the staging is so engaging that time is fleeting for the audience in its grip.
The seven-piece orchestra is an integral part of the acting of the piece. The lines between musician, actor, and dancer are blurred, if not erased entirely. And even more importantly, Four Larks have found the darkness in their work. Where there earlier pieces lacked a gravitas, “Frankenstein” will punch you in the gut.
It's exciting to see a company break through and grow.
The most frightening thing? You don't want to be haunted by missing this show.
Frankenstein runs 75 minutes; it’s not enough time to tell a very complicated story in a coherent way. But there are good scenes all along the way; now someone must figure out how to keep them from being muddled and wasted.
Though the production has clung tightly to the novel in terms of remaining faithful to its plot, it revels in translating its ideas into a stylized, contemporary vision that clearly communicates them to an audience and allowing them to hit us in a more direct and visceral way.
The current production of Frankenstein at the Wallis Center for the Performing Arts pushes the envelope. Whether that’s a good thing is open to interpretation. It’s an unusual mélange of bone-crunching mayhem performed by an ensemble of 12 actors and musicians tasked with bringing the Mary Shelley classic back to life. The Wallis commissioned the project in partnership with Four Larks, a Los Angeles-based enterprise known for site specific performance art, fusing theater with orchestration and choreography. The work, described as “an exuberant amalgamation of dynamic physical theater, live music and experiential design,” draws from the original text of Mary Shelley’s 19th century novel by going back to the source material to deconstruct the classic tale. The result is something of a mixed bag depending on one’s appetite for experimental theater.
All this fresh and extremely promising remodeling needs now is yet another Doctor Frankenstein to be brought in to offer a second opinion—a script doctor, that is, if one could be found as wonderfully mad and willing throw convention to the winds as are the unstoppably creative denizens of Four Larks.
The lighting in this production can get harsh, blasting directly into the audience, and the narrative is often difficult to follow. But the creativity in assembling this piece is worthy of Shelley’s premise that all of us have the potential to make change but must do it wisely.
"Frankenstein" now at The Wallis is one of the most unique productions of Mary Shelley's classic novel. The dance elements by Max Baumgarten is mesmerizing & Joanna Lynn-Jacobs is exquisite to watch as she transforms into the "future female."
Stunning visuals, electric performances and gorgeous choreography, combine into a truly compelling experience.
For those seeking an unusual multimedia experience containing song, dance, and the occasional verbalizations, FRANKENSTEIN will prove a gold mine. The Four Larks production of FRANKENSTEIN is certainly different, occasionally gripping, and eerie in its own way. For those hoping for a more predictable, standard version of the classic novel, FRANKENSTEIN may prove confusing, chaotic, and even off-putting. Audiences will no doubt self-select on this, the two hundredth anniversary of FRANKENSTEIN.
The production, directed and composed by Sweeney, has an elegant fluidity that at this point surpasses the handling of the adaptation. Visually, this “Frankenstein” is enthralling; narratively, the result is often blurrier.
Those expecting a traditional telling of Frankenstein may be largely disappointed — or pleasantly surprised — in this warped curiosity. Because its overblown artistry bogs down its inventiveness, it may leave people perplexed. Ironically, a work warning against the unrestrained gets trapped by it: just because you can, doesn’t mean you should. Fortunately, underneath its newfangled exterior lies a visceral center beating with ingenuity. You just gotta look past the stitches.
I found the storyline as presented completely incomprehensible. Yes, it was entertaining to watch the talented cast of twelve, all doubling as musicians, cavort around the small stage set with ceiling-high shelves of seemingly unrelated props on both sides thanks to set dressing designer Regan Baumgarten, with many of the actors half-dressed to draw attention to them which mostly just distracted me from following the story, as did the hurtful, extremely bright lights designed by Brandon Baruch which were often flashed upon the audience, so much so that many reached for their programs to shield their eyes - me being one of them. Projection design by Laskfar Vortok added interesting 2001 A Space Odyssey type visual effects that were eye-catching and very entertaining to watch.
There are far too many provocative, shapely, and astute elements at work to write this piece off as anything less than exquisite.
Clocking in at just over 60 minutes, Sweeney, Rasmussen and Peters-Lazaro’s production feels undersized, for both the right and wrong reasons. To their credit, the staging is so engaging that time is fleeting for the audience in its grip.
The seven-piece orchestra is an integral part of the acting of the piece. The lines between musician, actor, and dancer are blurred, if not erased entirely. And even more importantly, Four Larks have found the darkness in their work. Where there earlier pieces lacked a gravitas, “Frankenstein” will punch you in the gut.
It's exciting to see a company break through and grow.
The most frightening thing? You don't want to be haunted by missing this show.
Frankenstein runs 75 minutes; it’s not enough time to tell a very complicated story in a coherent way. But there are good scenes all along the way; now someone must figure out how to keep them from being muddled and wasted.
Though the production has clung tightly to the novel in terms of remaining faithful to its plot, it revels in translating its ideas into a stylized, contemporary vision that clearly communicates them to an audience and allowing them to hit us in a more direct and visceral way.
The current production of Frankenstein at the Wallis Center for the Performing Arts pushes the envelope. Whether that’s a good thing is open to interpretation. It’s an unusual mélange of bone-crunching mayhem performed by an ensemble of 12 actors and musicians tasked with bringing the Mary Shelley classic back to life. The Wallis commissioned the project in partnership with Four Larks, a Los Angeles-based enterprise known for site specific performance art, fusing theater with orchestration and choreography. The work, described as “an exuberant amalgamation of dynamic physical theater, live music and experiential design,” draws from the original text of Mary Shelley’s 19th century novel by going back to the source material to deconstruct the classic tale. The result is something of a mixed bag depending on one’s appetite for experimental theater.
All this fresh and extremely promising remodeling needs now is yet another Doctor Frankenstein to be brought in to offer a second opinion—a script doctor, that is, if one could be found as wonderfully mad and willing throw convention to the winds as are the unstoppably creative denizens of Four Larks.
The lighting in this production can get harsh, blasting directly into the audience, and the narrative is often difficult to follow. But the creativity in assembling this piece is worthy of Shelley’s premise that all of us have the potential to make change but must do it wisely.
"Frankenstein" now at The Wallis is one of the most unique productions of Mary Shelley's classic novel. The dance elements by Max Baumgarten is mesmerizing & Joanna Lynn-Jacobs is exquisite to watch as she transforms into the "future female."
Stunning visuals, electric performances and gorgeous choreography, combine into a truly compelling experience.
For those seeking an unusual multimedia experience containing song, dance, and the occasional verbalizations, FRANKENSTEIN will prove a gold mine. The Four Larks production of FRANKENSTEIN is certainly different, occasionally gripping, and eerie in its own way. For those hoping for a more predictable, standard version of the classic novel, FRANKENSTEIN may prove confusing, chaotic, and even off-putting. Audiences will no doubt self-select on this, the two hundredth anniversary of FRANKENSTEIN.
The production, directed and composed by Sweeney, has an elegant fluidity that at this point surpasses the handling of the adaptation. Visually, this “Frankenstein” is enthralling; narratively, the result is often blurrier.
Those expecting a traditional telling of Frankenstein may be largely disappointed — or pleasantly surprised — in this warped curiosity. Because its overblown artistry bogs down its inventiveness, it may leave people perplexed. Ironically, a work warning against the unrestrained gets trapped by it: just because you can, doesn’t mean you should. Fortunately, underneath its newfangled exterior lies a visceral center beating with ingenuity. You just gotta look past the stitches.
I found the storyline as presented completely incomprehensible. Yes, it was entertaining to watch the talented cast of twelve, all doubling as musicians, cavort around the small stage set with ceiling-high shelves of seemingly unrelated props on both sides thanks to set dressing designer Regan Baumgarten, with many of the actors half-dressed to draw attention to them which mostly just distracted me from following the story, as did the hurtful, extremely bright lights designed by Brandon Baruch which were often flashed upon the audience, so much so that many reached for their programs to shield their eyes - me being one of them. Projection design by Laskfar Vortok added interesting 2001 A Space Odyssey type visual effects that were eye-catching and very entertaining to watch.