Hansel and Gretel - The Good, The Bad and the Battle of the Casts...
I recently attended the Faculty of Music, University of Toronto's production of the opera Hansel and Gretel, by Engelbert Humperdinck. First of all, I saw it twice. I went on Friday night and then the next night on Saturday, and can I just tell you... that the difference between the two casts was enormous! I have a soft spot for the men in both casts, which is a girly reason why I went twice. But, that is beside the point.
Prior to the shows, I, (and some of my friends) got the same story, that the Friday cast was better. Huh. I beg to differ. And after watching the production that Friday night, and talking about it afterward, the response was unanimous. Everyone that I talked to could not hear the singers above the orchestra, and could not follow some of the main characters because there was no characterization to follow. I do have to say that the orchestra under the direction of Sandra Horst was absolutely magnificent, except for the fact that they were too loud. And the set was a true vision. (take a look at the pictures I posted!) Yup. The Saturday cast was leaps and bounds better than the night before it.
Saturday night's performance was amazing. I heard every word the characters sang, and I caught myself laughing at moments that were supposed to be funny the first time around. Like Hansel exclaiming that he is a boy and cannot be afraid, when the children are lost in the wood, or when Peter the Father does his shpeel about his brooms while slightly drunk. I thought the Saturday night cast took more liberties on stage to be spontaneous in their gestures and really lived in the moment as their character. This was immensely funny and garnered great laughter from the house, making the theatre much more intimate between stage and seat. The laughter and cheers from the audience seemed to fuel the performers to go further with their comedy and become playful in a way that I had not seen before. The Witch who eats children, after shouting "Hocus Pocus" spells got great laughs and proceeded to curtsey to us for commending her work. And when bending over her oven to show Gretel how its done, she added, "Comme ca" which was hilarious. Then of course she gets pushed into the fire.
I was glad I went a second time, since I left the theatre on Friday night very under-whelmed, having expected a whole lot more from the opera professionals. What does this all mean to the theatre critic or reviewer? I mean, a critic usually only sees a show once, which means had I only seen the Friday night performance, I would have written a bad review, but after Saturday my opinion was very different and much more positive. I understand that most alternative or smaller theatre companies cannot or do not double-cast a production so this performance was a small exception. But, even with the same cast night after night, a performance can change, perhaps not as drastically as Hansel and Gretel did for me, but enough of a difference that it could lead the critic to respond differently. How then, can a review of a piece of theatre be reliable? Can reviewers make a fair and correct assessment of the theatre they saw? And can the people that read such reviews even rely on this material in any way? I turn the question over to you, my followers, and ask you to add your two senses on this issue. Are theatre reviews reliable?
