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Opera Theater's 'Stars' retains story's power
When: 8 p.m. today and 2 p.m. Sunday
Admission: $25-$75
Where: Byham Theater, Downtown
Details: 412-456-6666
'Lost in the Stars'
Photo courtesy Patti Brahim
Mark Kanny can be reached via e-mail or at 412-320-7877.
Social context is an essential element of the story set in Apartheid-era South Africa, which is based on Alan Paton's novel "Cry the Beloved Country."
A young white man, Arthur Jarvis, who works for the betterment of blacks against the wishes of his father, James, is murdered in his home during a robbery by three young blacks. Only one of them, Absalom Kumalo, admits his guilt and is sentenced to death. After he is hanged, his father, minister Stephen Kumalo, finds unexpected reconciliation with the victim's father.
In 1949, "Lost in the Stars" was cutting-edge social commentary, with obvious implications for the United States when racial segregation was official policy in some states. Now both Apartheid and mandated segregation have fallen.
Yet, the bitter ironies of "Lost in the Stars" remain potent because any human tragedy worth its tears can transcend its own time.
Opera Theater of Pittsburgh offers a bold production for the final show of its first season performing in Pittsburgh's Downtown cultural district. Narrow platforms extend from the left and right of the stage into the audience area of the Byham Theater to hold the chorus, several members of which also take part in the action.
Veteran conductor Julius Rudel led a superb performance, one that moved easily from boldness to nuance. The music's allure was well conveyed by the small orchestra that included expert accordionist Henry Doktorski.
The cast was mainly excellent, apart from a memory slip early on. Herbert Perry gave a rapt performance as Stephen Kumalo, a simple and good man from a shanty town who is first dismayed by the influence of the big city -- in this case Johannesburg -- on his son, then shattered by the murder. He sings the title song with fervor.
Dzidzofe Avouglan is a delightful discovery portraying Irina, a young woman with whom Absalom Kumalo has become involved. Her character is pregnant, and the murder means her child will not know its father because he'll be hanged. Avouglan's vulnerability was finely etched, both vocally and in her acting.
Eugene Perry creates a sadly compelling Absalom Kumalo, whose spirit breaks from recognition of his guilt. The guys who talked him into the robbery deny their guilt and get off.
The most problematic aspect of the production was the style of spoken word, which felt formal and stodgy. That is a risk inherent in the book by Maxwell Anderson. But speech patterns do become more natural during the reconciliation of the fathers near the end of the second act.
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