{"id":245684,"date":"2013-01-04T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2013-01-04T08:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sdnews.com\/been-there-done-that-be-there\/"},"modified":"2013-01-04T00:00:00","modified_gmt":"2013-01-04T08:00:00","slug":"been-there-done-that-be-there","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/been-there-done-that-be-there\/","title":{"rendered":"Been there, done that & be there"},"content":{"rendered":"

The best of 2012, exciting comings up<\/p>\n

La Jolla Playhouse\u2019s \u2018Yoshimi\u2019 tops list, with Hershey Felder\u2019s \u2018American Story\u2019 up next in January<\/p>\n

Por Charlene Baldridge | Cr\u00edtico de Teatro SDUN<\/p>\n

A short note on what the nearsighted critic thought the best of onstage 2012: I once wrote a year-end wrap up with subcategories like \u201cEveryone else hated it; I loved it. Everyone else loved it; I hated it.\u201d Then there was a category titled \u201cFew bothered to attend.\u201d This year is no exception. There might be a new category titled \u201cThey raved; I was indifferent,\u201d all of which causes one to ask, \u201cDid we really see the same thing?\u201d<\/p>\n

Among the 180-some events, readings, concerts, operas, plays and readings I attended this year, there were many over which others, including laypeople, vehemently contested my views. Some did not see what I saw; others complained that I was way too kind or way too cruel. Oh, maybe not cruel, but perhaps a bit less accepting.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s an odd thing, loving the art form and occasionally finding the execution falling so far short of what might have been. And one never wants to be the executioner when those on the other side of the lights try so hard.<\/p>\n

One such confrontation took place at a holiday party where I heard another critic say, \u201cAsk Charlene. She liked it.\u201d The subject was \u201cYoshimi Battles the Pink Robots,\u201d a new musical directed by former Artistic Director Des McAnuff recently at La Jolla Playhouse, and inspired by several Flaming Lips albums.<\/p>\n

\"Been
\u2018Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots\u2019 (Photo by Kevin Berne)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

I am not a Flaming Lips fan, but I did some research and listening, and found their lyrics simple and profound when dealing so abstractly with the diagnosis and death of a promising young woman who loses her battle with cancer. The album was inspired by a friend of Lips leader Wayne Coyne, who is known sometimes for riding atop his audience in a gigantic plastic bubble. You\u2019ve got to love that.<\/p>\n

I knew from the get-go that Yoshimi couldn\u2019t win: the cancer rollercoaster was truthfully portrayed, the pink-robot enemies (and one gigantic friend) in Yoshimi\u2019s bloodstream were so wondrously conceived, the closing song so strong in its message, that I was totally involved and devastated by the battle and with the take-away message that we must love one another while we can.<\/p>\n

The spectacle was equaled only by Jake Heggie\u2019s opera \u201cMoby-Dick.\u201d The scenic designer for both was the amazing Robert Brill.<\/p>\n

\"Been
\u2018Deconstruction of a Drag Queen\u2019 (Photo by Rich Soublet)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Productions I adored also include the world premiere of \u201cTortilla Curtain,\u201d an adaptation of T.C. Boyle\u2019s novel, produced by San Diego Repertory; circle circle dot dot\u2019s \u201cThe Deconstruction of a Drag Queen,\u201d which resurfaces in fringe festivals in San Diego and elsewhere this year; Moxie Theatre\u2019s \u201cA Man, His Wife and His Hat\u201d and \u201cThe Trestle at Pope Lick Creek\u201d; ion theatre company\u2019s productions of \u201cTopdog\/Underdog,\u201d \u201cChicago: A Speakeasy Cabaret,\u201d \u201cThe Little Flower of East Orange,\u201d and \u201cJulia\u201d; The Old Globe\u2019s \u201cScottsboro Boys\u201d (I paid to see it again), \u201cRichard III,\u201d \u201cGood People,\u201d and \u201cGod of Carnage\u201d; Mo\u2019olelo\u2019s \u201cHoodoo Love\u201d; La Jolla Playhouse\u2019s wondrously prophetic \u201cBlood and Gifts\u201d and the world-premiere musical \u201cHands on a Hardbody\u201d; Moonlight\u2019s \u201cSweeney Todd\u201d and \u201cFiddler on the Roof\u201d; Lamb\u2019s Player\u2019s \u201cJoe vs. the Volcano\u201d; UCSD\u2019s \u201cIn the Red and Brown Water\u201d; Cygnet\u2019s \u201cParade\u201d; and Diversionary\u2019s \u201cPippin.\u201d<\/p>\n

In the \u201cI didn\u2019t see what others thought so wonderful\u201d category I find the Old Globe\u2019s pop culture musical \u201cNobody Loves You\u201d and \u201cAllegiance\u2014A New American Musical,\u201d the latter with a great story and performances and so-so music.<\/p>\n

To look for in January: the world premiere of Hershey Felder\u2019s \u201cAmerican Story\u201d at the Birch North Park Theatre Jan. 4 \u2013 Feb. 3; one-night only reading of Shakespeare\u2019s \u201cKing Lear\u201d with Ken Ruta and Jonathan McMurtry at North Coast Repertory Theatre Jan. 15; \u201cPygmalion\u201d with Robert Sean Leonard at The Old Globe Jan. 12 \u2013Feb. 17; the Pulitzer Prize winning \u201cClybourne Park\u201d Jan. 10 \u2013 Feb. 10 at San Diego Repertory; and San Diego Opera\u2019s \u201cThe Daughter of the Regiment,\u201d opening Jan. 26 at the Civic Theatre.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The best of 2012, exciting comings up La Jolla Playhouse\u2019s \u2018Yoshimi\u2019 tops list, with Hershey Felder\u2019s \u2018American Story\u2019 up next in January By Charlene Baldridge | SDUN Theater Critic A short note on what the nearsighted critic thought the best of onstage 2012: I once wrote a year-end wrap up with subcategories like \u201cEveryone else […]<\/p>","protected":false},"author":726,"featured_media":245685,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"11555","_seopress_titles_title":"Been there, done that & be there","_seopress_titles_desc":"","_seopress_robots_index":"","jnews-multi-image_gallery":[],"jnews_single_post":[],"jnews_primary_category":[],"jnews_social_meta":[],"jnews_override_counter":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[11549,11547,11551,11555],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-245684","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-arts-entertainment","category-features","category-news","category-uptown-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/245684","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/726"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=245684"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/245684\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/245685"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=245684"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=245684"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=245684"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}