Review: THE RED SHOES Captivate LA

The Red Shoes/based on the film by Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger and the Hans Christian Andersen Fairy Tale/directed & choreographed by Matthew Bourne for New Adventures/music by Bernard Herrmann/orchestrations by Terry Davies/Ahmanson Theatre/through October 1

Matthew Bourne and his New Adventures Company spell electricity from the getgo. When critics, actors and other fans heard that Bourne was bringing the premiere US production of The Red Shoes to the Ahmanson for two weeks only, it instantly became a hot ticket. Why? What he produces and directs goes beyond ballet; even wordless, it's as theatrical as you can get with visual images and musical sounds that are super exciting to watch and listen to...and the music of Bernard Herrmann accompanying this piece is one of the greatest treats imaginable.

Movie fans will remember the 1948 film with Moira Shearer as Victoria Page, the rising star ballerina who, when putting on the red slippers cannot stop dancing. Her composer friend Julian Craster (Dominic North) and ballet impresarion Boris Lermontov (Sam Archer) are both in love with her. Julian's love is the expected sex and passionate love affair between a man and a woman; that of Lermontov is something else far removed, akin to marrying one's art, living art thoroughly for art's sake. Ah, ethereal love! Sometimes you cannot see it, but Bourne definitely makes you feel it.

Page is driven, under a spell... and sadly, when she cannot make up her mind to live for her art or to give in to Julian, she throws herself in front of a train and kills herself. On film, Boris pays tribute to Page before the curtain of that evening's performance. Onstage, we see him hold the red slippers out in front of him, a chilling sign that she is gone and will never return. Throughout the entire show, the red shoes are placed in stand out positions... for example, on the piano or on a table where we cannot help but to see and be captivated by them. When Page holds them (pictured at top), it's as if the power of the shoes consumes her. When Julian ties them on and takes them off her, or at the end when they are removed from her body on the railroad track, it's an eery experience that stays with us ...the shoes controlled her life to the very core.

Back to the music. My favorite scene in the performance is the Ballet of The Red Shoes before the finale of Act One. The dancers are dressed in black against a white background with tiny glimpses of red, provided mostly by the shoes on Page's feet. Winds blow in a violent storm (pictured below), with the projections showing tree branches rustling, and the dancers' nonstop movements across the stage are breathtaking and thrilling to behold. Here the heart-pounding Bernard Herrmann scores from Citizen Kane, The Ghost and Mrs. Muir and Farenehit 451 are utilized to brilliant effect. No one knew excitement better than Herrmann whose scores made us quake in our seats, our arms breaking out in goosebumps. I know mine always did.

The performances under Bourne's watchful eye are all superb. Shaw, North and Archer are tantalizing as are the entire ensemble. I loved all of the playfulness of the beach scenes in Monte Carlo and VilleFrance Sur-Mer. There is abundant humor in these scenes as in comedy relief to soften the buildup of tensions created by the love affairs and Page's dilemma under the power and control of the red shoes.

Kudos to the creative team, including Duncan McLean for his great projection design, Paul Groothuis for his brilliant sound design, Paule Constable for her astounding lighting...and to Lez Brotherston for her amazing sets and gorgeous costumes in every single scene. I loved how the framework of the stage keeps moving around so we see the action from in front of the stage and that backstage during performances. Illusion vs. reality that adds so very much to the entire piece, speaking volumes to us of the play within the play.

Cough up the money and buy a ticket to The Red Shoes! Performances at the Ahmanson play until October 1 only. You will be amazed and delighted by this spectacular entertainment. No one does it quite like Matthew Bourne.

www.centertheatregroup.org

(photo credit: Johan Persson)

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