The Quad-City Times - News, Sports and more from the Quad Cities region or Iowa and Illinois

You are not logged in.
Login

Log in to qctimes.com
Email:
Password:
Remember my information.
Register
Site Help

Riverbend debuts with song cycle 'Elegies'

Font Size:

By David Burke | Saturday, May 17, 2008 12:44 PM CDT | () comments

Riverbend Theatre Collective is starting small with its first production, William Finn’s song cycle “Elegies.”

Its set is the lengthy bar that’s already in the newly christened Village Theatre in the Village of East Davenport. The only lighting is some overhead bulbs and some icicle strands. The orchestra is musical director Robert Elfline at a grand piano.

But what it lacks in bells and whistles, it makes up for in heart, thanks to its five talented performers.

Finn (better known for “Falsettos” and “The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee”) wrote “Elegies” as tributes to friends who have died. Many of those tributes are theater-centric — if you don’t know who Joe Papp or Peggy Hewitt are, you may be out of luck (although a program does have a glossary of individuals and terms that are mentioned).

The song cycle — no plot, each song basically a story in itself — frequently leans toward the melancholy, almost to the point of being morose.

There are scant bits of humor, including Dana Joel Nicholson’s beautiful tenor in the lament “My Dogs,” about every canine companion he’s ever had who has died (but the one he doesn’t like lives on far too long).

Jackie Madunic, growing to be one of the better character actresses in the area, shines on “Only One,” about a teacher who wants to reach out to a student.

Bryan Tank leads a tribute to Papp, the founder of the New York Shakespeare Festival, that unexplainably turns into “Coyote Ugly” for a few moments.

And Patrick Gimm has a recurring theme with “Mark’s All-Male Thanksgiving,” about holiday traditions among a famed New York attorney and gay rights activist. (The Riverbend performance is partially a benefit for AIDS Project Quad-Cities.)

But Riverbend founder and director Allison Collins-Elfline gives the most powerful performance herself with “Anytime (I Am There),” a mother’s final message to her daughter, that is life affirming and the only song that could legitimately stand on its own outside the show.

Tank and Collins-Elfline alternate tunes of the final songs, “Saying My Goodbyes” and “Boom Boom,” Finn’s reaction to 9/11 and the loss of friends and the World Trade Center; while Madunic leads the cast in “Looking Up,” about hope after the tragedy.

“Elegies” (previewed for the press at a final dress rehearsal Thursday night) demands much of its audience — pay attention to each story that’s presented, because it’s tough to pick it up in the middle.

With 22 songs clocking in at only 80-plus minutes, it doesn’t dwell on its topics at length, but gives the audience a good sense of each portrait.

Like reading the obituary of an accomplished stranger, it lets the audience reflect while still giving hope.

David Burke can be contacted at (563) 383-2400 or dburke@qctimes.com.

IF YOU GO

What: “Elegies” by Riverbend Theatre Collective

When: 8 p.m. today and Thursday-Saturday, May 22-24; and 3 p.m. Sunday, May 18

Where: Village Theatre (former Turner Hall), 2113 E. 11th St., Village of East Davenport

How much: $10

Information: (309) 757-1387 or RiverbendTheatreCollective.com on the Web