I guess the theme today is something involving surprises, good things, and small packages.
SCHÖNBERG. Looking at my Fringe schedule for something to see tonight, I found that there was nothing that had initially interested me playing, that I hadn't already seen. So I looked at what was playing at convenient times, at the theatres that I know offer comfortable viewing experiences. Well, the only thing that looked somewhat interesting was something called "Schönberg" - which was apparently a conversation between Arnold Schoenberg and Oscar Levant. I had seen a reading of a play (probably a play with music) about Levant a few years ago that I didn't much like, but I figured how bad could this be. Well, shock of shocks, this was one of the most interesting shows I've seen at the Fringe. I was sort of tired going in, and figured if it wasn't really good I was going to nod off, but I was really riveted. Maybe it did require a little effort on my part to keep my mind on the show, and not let it wander after hearing so much interesting philosophy. But there was time for that later. Who knew Arnold Schoenberg was so interesting? The obvious answer to that question is 'everyone but me.' Knowing him just as a composer of atonal music whose very name strikes fear in the hearts of most music lovers, I was shocked to find out what an interesting man he was. The play includes anecdotes about his opera "Moses und Aron," and how he started it before the war, writing about the folk and the fuhrer (referring to the Jewish people and Moses), but after Hitler took those names and re-purposed them for the his regime, he felt like his opera was dated even before it was finished, and that was part of why he never finished the third act for it (there are other reasons discussed for the incomplete opera as well). I mean, this show has everything - fascinating thoughts on war, religion, and music. The Fringe guide labels this as 90 minutes, but when we get to the inevitable "I met with Schoenberg one last time..." line from Levant, and I saw it was only around 53 minutes in, this both shocked me that time had flown by so fast, but also made me wonder if the last scenes was going to be kind of long. Turns out, the whole play is only around 55 minutes long. To be perfectly honest, I found the ending to be extremely unsatisfying. I guess it ended where the teacher-student relationship between Schoenberg and Levant actually did end, so I guess it was the only was to end it, but I was sort of sad to see the play end. I wanted more. The acting is excellent - Schoenberg is played by John Fisher (who also wrote the play, based on four books listed in the program - at least one of which I am going to have to seek out to read more on Mr. S), and Levant is played by Matt Weimer (who is just as annoying as the last guy I saw play Oscar Levant, but I guess that's the way he was - and I sort of got used to him this time, with the character of Schoenberg, being the total opposite of him personality-wise, and therefore a fine foil). This only runs for three more performances (Wednesday, Thursday and Friday), but I think it's well worth checking out. It's like a philosophy lecture made entertaining. It even made me pull out the cd of Schoenberg's "Verklarte Nacht" that I think I bought after seeing "Aunt Dan and Lemon," and listened to maybe once. I plan on putting it on after I post this. I'm assuming it won't be very good as background music.
Such a pleasant surprise. Something that could have been a tedious bore, was actually both entertaining educational. I feel smarter now!
