DIVERSIONS
THURSDAY, APRIL 24, 2014
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// ARTS&ENTERTAINMENT: REVIEWS
// La Musica final program La Musica ended its season April 16 with a wonderfully sculpted program it played with precision and beauty. Unfortunately, the house was only about half full, so many of Sarasota’s chamber music enthusiasts missed one of the best concerts of the year. Opening with Mozart’s Clarinet Quintet, clarinetist Jose FranchBallester, violinists Massimo Quarta and Laura Zarina, violist Bruno Giuranna and cellist Julie Albers, had all the color and bubbles this work demands. Known over the past couple of Jose Franch-Ballester decades as the “M*A*S*H” Quintet because it was used to underscore the final episode of the popular TV program, Mozart – who loved the clarinet — pulled out his attaché case of amazing sounds and delivered a work that overflows with melodies and harmonies no one else could or would have devised. There’s just no one like Mozart when it comes to brilliant musical twists and turns and, in his A major Quintet, the composer gave us everything to make him live up to his “Zauber” (magic) reputation. The musicians had the kind of blend that comes from understanding and preparation
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with Franch-Ballester absolutely singing the second movement in a way reminiscent of a great Countess singing “Porgi Amor” in “Le Nozze di Figaro.” It was a memorable performance. Bartok’s brilliant, jazzy, quirky “Contrasts” followed, with pianist Derek Han joining Franch-Ballester and Zarina. “Contrasts,” which Benny Goodman commissioned for a whopping $300, has everything a musician could want to play and an audience could want to hear, from Hungarian and Romanian folk tunes to spicy jazz. The trio negotiated the contrary motion scales and the lyrical, tipsy dances in bi-and poly-modalities with tremendous strength, while Franch-Ballester switched from one clarinet to another and Zarina changed violins (one tuned normally and the other, not). The trio brough exquisite colors to this already colorful work. Finally, New York Philharmonic principal violist Cynthia Phelps joined Quarta, Albers and Han in Dvorak’s E-flat major Piano Quartet, a work that brings us even more modal sounds and folk themes than Bartok’s “Contrasts.” From the opening unison among the three strings to the rhapsodic Gypsy rhythms, this is an inspired work that’s gutsy, romantic and familiar, because some of the themes sound much like Dvorak’s symphonies. In fact, the main theme in the third movement, which makes use of the harmonic minor scale, is almost a dead-ringer for a theme in the second movement of the composer’s Symphony No. 8, written about 10 years earlier. If you’re going to steal, you might as well steal from yourself, especially when it’s good. Han, Quarta and Albers were in fine form for their performance, with great attention to the tricky pitches and exuberant rhythms. What a great way to conclude a season. — June LeBell
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THEATER // ‘Tom Jones’
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“Tom Jones” runs through June 1, at Florida Studio Theatre’s Gompertz Theatre, 1247 First St., Sarasota. Call 366-9000 or visit floridastudiotheatre.org for more information. Brown put it in there. And, boy, did the opening-night audience laugh. Director Mark Shanahan (a sure-handed veteran of several Brown comedies) pushed all the right buttons. The safety bar came down, and the ride was on. Nine actors serve as carnies and roustabouts on Mr. Tom’s Wild Ride. Matthew Goodrich (who’s the spitting image of the young Finney) plays the titular hero. He’s heroic, honest, inventive, kind, and faithful — well, no, you can’t have everything. Bruce Warren’s Blifil is the designated creep who foils Tom’s plans. Warren’s a great physical comic, with a range veering from Jackie Gleason double-takes to Terry Jones’ drag bits. Faith Sandberg’s Sophia reminds me of a tough-minded Tracey Ullman character transported to the 18th century. Graciany Miranda gets consistent laughs as the magical narrator. As Sophia’s father, Howard Kaye goes into instant rants like a low-rent King Lear. Ron Seibert’s Squire Allworthy is the only sane one. (Even whacky plays need a straight man.) Kudos also to Lisa McMillan, Wilmari Myburgh and Eileen Ward as various twins, dowagers and doctors. There are no weak links here — a great team of comic actors, who make the ride seem effortless. If you feel like laughing, it’s a ride worth taking. — Marty Fugate
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Bored? Here’s an idea for those of you with abundant time and disposable income. Rent a cabin and download a copy of Henry Fielding’s “Tom Jones” on your Kindle. (Or buy a physical book, if you’re the retro type.) It’s a funny book — at least once you start to think like an 18th century Englishman, which usually takes your first week. Plan for a three-week stay: Fielding’s novel weighs in at around 1,000 pages. If you’re pressed for time, no worries. Playwright Mark Brown read the book for you and distilled it into a 90-minute play. You can check out the premiere at Florida Studio Theatre. Fielding’s novel is a sprawling, discursive, good-hearted tale of a rake’s odyssey across England. Brown’s adaptation is a fast-paced, take-no-prisoners “Monty Python”-style farce. A quick summary? Well, that’s sort of like reducing “Atlas Shrugged” to a Twitter post — so let’s skip it. “Rake’s Odyssey” will do. Brown shoehorns a surprising amount of Fielding’s 346,747-word story onto the stage intact. But plot is pretext for “Looney Tunes” comedy. This is the playwright behind the heroically whacky adaptation of “Around the World in 80 Days,” after all. You know you’re in for a ride. Low comedy? Well, just call it comedy. Brown leaves no pun left unpunished or bawdy joke unsaid. Anachronisms? You bet. Influences? You name it. We mentioned the Monty Python troupe. The robots who talk through the movie on Mystery Science Theater 3,000 are a clear influence as well; the actors give voice to the playwright’s muttered asides. Brainy stuff? Sure. Brown’s a fan of post-modern gags pointing out the dramaturgical machinery. The Narrator (who boasts he can wander into any scene at will) thanks the second act audience for coming back and says he’s not worried about the ones who didn’t because, “We already have their money.” (There’s even a throwaway nod to English majors for a character Fielding pulled out of his hat in the last chapter!) Sight gags? From revolving beds to plastic babies that’s a yes. Did a Welsh pop star steal the hero’s name from the Albert Finney movie? Cue: “It’s Not Unusual.” Did Finney have a famous food-seduction scene? The kitchen sink? I think he’s saving it for the musical. Basically, if it makes the audience laugh,