Theater in NYC: Hans Christian Andersen – Tales Real & Imagined
A play about the life of the beloved author of fairy-tales Hans Christian Andersen opens at The Duke on 42nd Street from May 5 – May 25, 2019
The Ensemble for the Romantic Century tells a story about Andersen’s life by weaving in Andersen’s autobiographical writings, his fairy tales, and the emotionally deep musical scores by Britten, Purcell, Part, Stravinsky, and Barber. The production about the beloved children’s book writer is much more serious and deep than the name suggests. It runs at The Duke on 42nd Street from May 5 – May 25, 2019.
The artistic directors of the Hans Christian Andersen: Tales Real & Imagined use the genre of theatrical concert, combining theater, classical music repertoire, voice, and puppets. Accompanied by highly sensual music, Eve Wolf’s script tells the touching story of Andersen’s life by intertwining biographical details with references to the characters from his famous fairy tales. The scores by Purcell, Britten, Arvo Part, Stravinsky, and Barber organically color the episodes of Andersen’s life in tense, poetic, and desperate hues. Performed by the outstanding pianists Max Barros and Carlos Avila, and a formidable percussionist Shiqi Zhong, the music often takes an upper hand over the rest of the production’s components.
Jimmy Ray Bennet stars as Andersen with countertenors Daniel Moody and Randall Scotting alternating as Andersen’s dearest friend Edvard Collin. They are joined on stage by the familiar puppets from The Ugly Duckling, The Princess and the Pea, The Little Mermaid, and other fairy tales. While giving a nod to Andersen’s childhood interests in the puppet theater, the puppets and the puppeteers are a tenuous addition to the show. The musicians and singers, on the other hand, save the day by making the music tell it all.
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Hans Christian Andersen (1805 – 1875) was a Danish author best known now for his celebrated fairy tales. His oeuvre also includes plays, novels, and poems. But he is recognized as the fairly-teller having written more than three thousand tales which were translated into 125 languages and read by kids everywhere.
Almost immediately after the publication of the first volume of tales, Andersen’s fame started spreading first in Europe and pretty soon all around the world. Deeply insightful and circumspect, the stories touch the hearts of children and the adults alike. And while everyone knows about the Ugly Duckling’s or the Little Mermaid’s fates, the fact that they are based on the autobiographical details of Andersen’s life is less commonly known. Yet there are a lot of parallels in the tales to the author’s humble upbringing, unappealing looks, and odd interests. Even personal life and emotional struggles find their place in the simple yet deeply felt narratives.
His family’s poverty, abuse, and humiliation influenced Andersen’s sensitive imagination and made him deeply aware of pain and misfortune. His talent as a writer who tells a story that can instruct and inspire was well-recognized and brought him fame and a comfortable life. Yet, his personal letters contain much of the internal tension, unanswered feelings, and unrequited longings.
While researching Andersen’s life and archive, the writer Eve Wolf observed a lot of commonality with the life story of British composer Benjamin Britten. As Wolf writes, Britten’s music with its “sense of other-ness” is highly suitable to convey Andersen’s feelings. The spirituality of Arvo Part’s scores fits a quest for purity. The baroque songs by Purcell are well placed to illustrate the intensity of soul searching. The scores of these composers, as well as Stravinsky and Barber, are included in the music program.
The creators of Hans Christian Andersen: Tales Real and Imagined play convincingly put the accent on the music part of the theatrical concert concept. In the hands of such a strong musical ensemble, the music makes a lasting impression and clearly dominates over the rest of the production. Jimmy Ray Bennett presents a likable if sometimes pitiful character while Daniel Moody’s crystal-tone singing is a perfect match to the sensibilities of the script.
There are, however, ways to make the production much more palatable for the audience. Adding a list of characters in the order of their appearance with some clarifying details of their relevance to the story as a whole can help a lot. It would put the sadistic Headmaster Meisling, the condescending life-long friend Edvard Collin, the hysterical high society Lady Blessington in context for the spectators.
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Dates: May 5 – May 25, 2019
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