Did you see The Mircale on 34th Street over the holidays? If you remember the movie, the miracle was the court case that proved Santa Clause was real! Well, the real miracle was that two competing department (Macy’s and the now defunct Gimbels) stores started to recommend each other to their customers ( a marketing ploy) when a product was not available in their respective stores.
Fiona Shaw and Deborah Warner are at BAM this January with Samuel Beckett’s seminal work Happy Days. A production of the National Theater of Great Britain, this presentation isn’t necessarily a radical rethinking of the text or a stratospheric re-staging of the piece. It is straightforward, except that Ms Shaw discovers the poise and the meter of Beckett’s text that no other performer could have and shaped with the skilled and measured hand of Deborah Warner, Happy Days has finally found its voice! That is radical. By remaining faithful to the author, these treasured artists who have so often redefined a specific theatrical experience, do so again! That is avant-garde!!!
Of course, I’m miffed that Happy Days is going to BAM – The Harvey (named after America’s greatest impresario, Harvey Lichtenstein and BAM mogul) rather than Peak Performances @ Montclair. After all, I produced Deborah Warner and Fiona Shaw’s two previous NYC colossal successes – The Wasteland (The Liberty Theater on 42nd Street) and Medea (Next Wave Festival). I had these consummate artists lined up for Readings last season. What happened to that? The ladies were deep into Happy Days at the Littleton. Padraig Cussack – the shows producer and I had arranged for Happy Days to conclude in time for Readings to get here for its two week engagement. It seemed like a natural segue. But what was I thinking. The creative drive to discover Beckett’s Happy Days put Readings on a back burner.
On a desolate early winter afternoon, Deborah Warner sent a well composed plea (via the email of her assistant) asking that I postpone the engagement (oh, agony) which I did without a blink. Am I a softy? Not for me to say, but I truly respect the creative process of two women who are redefining the stage arts – one on and the other off! I put “Readings” to bed, swallowed my pride (saved some money!!!) and am now hoping that the three of us will find a new adventure in the future. Go see Happy Days – you’ll discover Beckett’s real intent with this work. I saw the final performance at The National in London and put my hand out to bring the production here and was never given a shot at it. Tom Pye’s set is HUGE. But its Fiona’s identification with the author that pushes the play out of this world!!!
