Every thing old is new again--or something like that. Beau Jest, a movement theatre back in Boston after seven years, brings the experience of its varied members, who began working together in 1984, to its latest project. "Samurai 7.0" somewhat ruefully subtitled "under construction" is a theatrical collage built around the storyline of Kurosawa's epic tale of a village's battle against bandits. Having been refused permission to adapt the original, the group widened their horizons to include the Hollywood blockbuster "The Magnificent Seven," based of course on the Japanese original, which itself had been inspired by movie westerns, plus that unlikely movie musical, "Seven Brides for...." But being Beau Jest, additional cultural references to seven began to intrude, such as Disney's Seven Dwarves, followed by the six rude mechanicals, Shakespeare's Henry V, etc. The result is "cinematic theatre," similar to physical theatre creations by Rough & Tumble or Pilgrim Theatre Project, but with BJ's own particular comic sense, which in this case meshes very well with Kurosawa's Zen impulses. The existential tragedy of the farmers, the warriors, and the bandits trapped in a static dysfunctional society continues to resonate with the daily news. Their circumstances don't have to be directly referenced to be relevant.
The eight members of the ensemble, Larry Coen, Robert Deveau, Elyse Garfinkel, Jordan Harrison, Scott Raker, Davis Robinson, Robin JaVonne Smith and Lisa Tucker play the Seven, plus morphing into the villagers, the marauders, and the scenery. Five are past company members, three are Bowdoin graduates who've studied with Robinson there. Coen, who just closed at the Lyric in "Kong's Night Out," appeared in BJ's 1995 award winning adaptation of the historical comic strip, "Krazy Kat." Here he plays the leader of the samurai aka Vin. Deveau played Orson Welles in the company's adaptation of "War of the Worlds" and is primarily Grandpa who lives in the mill in this show. Petite Garfinkel, an original student member of the troupe plays Shino, the farmer's daughter. Harrison, who takes the Mifune role, here named "Dopey," is from Bowdoin and will be seen next at Devanaughn in "By the Bog of Cats." Raker, another Bowdoinite is currently working on an MFA at Trinity. Smith, the third recent Bowdoin grad also studied at BADA. Tucker, a founding member has appeared in all of BJ's shows, taking the title role in "Krazy Kat." She's appeared for many area professional theatres as well. Robinson, the author of the Physical Comedy Handbook, is on sabbatical from Bowdoin this year. Beau Jest continued working in the Portland area.
His innovative direction creates a physical framework for the action, which is supported by Judy Gailen's scenic imagination, which used projected surtitles, symbolic props such as bamboo screens, giant fans, decorative fans, etc.--acquired at Crate & Barrel--along with simple puppets, shadow, rod, and toys provided by Libby Marcus, a puppeteer now working in Maine. The cast wears simple color-coded pajama style costumes created by Seth Bodie, which range from Larry Coen's more traditional deep orange garb as the leader to very plain white wear for gangly Jordan Harrison. Bodie received an IRNE nomination for his costumes for Speakeasy's "Kiss of the Spider Woman." M.I.T.'s Karen Perlow, a Norton and IRNE winner, puts the simple lighting available in Calderwood Rehearsal A through its paces to great effect. Composer Don Dinicola provides a soundscape which mixes traditional percussion, played by Tamora Gooding, with pop recordings and of course the "Magnificent Seven" theme best known from Marlboro commercials. It's a whirlwind cultural stew with theatre at its heart, whose agenda is aesthetic and possibly philosophical, intended as stimulating entertainment. As in the past, this multilevel group creation, self-referential but based in pop culture, strikes many chords, achieving a special kind of harmony worth the effort to understand.
The rehearsal studio at the new Calderwood Pavilion is becoming home to producing groups who previously made do with the inadequate Leland Center--now closed--a low-ceilinged space under the first floor of the huge dome of Cyclorama. Perhaps if such groups can develop some common strategies for reducing the technical costs of using this space, they might be able to perform more than once or twice a year. Better yet, if a repertory schedule were developed, groups such as Rough & Tumble, Pilgrim, or even Company One on occasion might be able to run shows for a longer period of time to build and share audience momentum. Tourable shows by fringe groups such as Beau Jest or some NYC cohorts could round out the bill.