| . | 05/02/2009
Oh Virgil: A Theatrical Portrait!
By: Gerald Busby
VICTOR TRURO (Virgil Thomson) appearing in Woodstock Fringe's OH VIRGIL! A THEATRICAL PROTRAIT | May 1-10, 2009 at The Judson Memorial Church | Photo Credit: Antonio Minino
Virgil Thomson’s genius was his ability to transform the most ordinary experiences of life into moments of indelible passion. Wallace Norman in his play, Oh Virgil! A Theatrical Portrait, has captured that genius with a simple polished production now playing at the Judson Church. Norman’s point of departure is one of Virgil’s trademarks, his musical portraits, which took place in his dining room (in this play, in bed). He would ask his subject to sit opposite him as naturally as possible. “You can read or sleep, but you can’t eat,” he told me when I sat for him in 1982. The conceit of musical portraits probably originated with the French baroque composer and theorist Jean Philippe Rameau (1683-1764). With pencil and a pad of manuscript paper, Virgil would observe his subject and write “what he heard,” usually piano compositions ranging from 30 seconds to one minute in length. My portrait took two afternoons, each with an hour’s sitting. Virgil would write only in the presence of the subject.
Oh Virgil! A Theatrical Portrait takes place in Virgil’s bedroom, with him propped up in bed receiving telephone calls and visitors as a matter of course. Played effectively by Victor Truro,Virgil is the inveterate irascible brat and critic of all he observes, and spews barbs and reprimands covering all subjects from domestic behavior to art. Virgil is tough and worldly in the most sophisticated way – he’s as good with words as he is with notes – and his softer side seldom emerges. In this play those moments are captured engagingly by his vocal music inserted periodically to illustrate a point.
TROY VALJEAN RUCKER (Man 2) appearing in Woodstock Fringe's OH VIRGIL! A THEATRICAL PORTRAIT| May 1-10, 2009 at The Judson Memorial Church | Photo Credit: Antonio Minino
Troy Valjean Rucker, a baritone with considerable stage presence and a sound that resonates beautifully in the bare open space of the church/theater, lets us glimpse Virgil’s vulnerability as well as his strength. The selection of songs by Larry Alan Smith and the musical direction by Michael Conley are exemplary, and they include Tiger Tiger!, Land of Dreams, and The Little Black Boy, all poems by William Blake, as well as the very touching Let’s Take A Walk, poem by Kenneth Koch. Virgil, like most composers I know, wanted his music played exactly as written, without inflection. The childlike beguilingly simple façade of Virgil’s music needs a straightforward presentation to reveal the emotion within. The soprano, Watson Heintz, lacked an essential quality for performing this music – clear diction. This was particularly noticeable in Susie Asado, a poignant setting of Gertrude Stein’s deliciously semiotic phrases. Virgil said repeatedly that the words must be understood, and the music must enhance that understanding, never hinder it.
For anyone who already knows Virgil Thomson’s music and his life at the Chelsea Hotel, this production will be deeply satisfying. For those who don’t know his music, it will reveal an American genius who mastered the art of merging instinct and intellect in the simplest musical terms – you think you’ve heard this before, but suddenly you realize it’s a completely new context for the most familiar and intimate experiences of your life.
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