| ALMA' MATTERS Alma Mahler-Werfel really got around. Considered the “widow of the four arts,” the Viennese femme fatale took as intimates some of the most artistic men of her time, marrying composer Gustav Mahler, architect Walter Gropius, and poet Franz Werfel, as well as having love affairs with painters Oskar Kokoschka and Gustav Klimt. Now you can get around with her, as the life of this famous muse comes to the Los Angeles Theatre. Site-specific productions have become a regular thing in this city, but ALMA – a “polydrama” that begins previews Thursday and opens Sept. 30 – will doubtless raise the bar. The extravagant production not only travels through many rooms of the picture palace (even the ballroom will be used, as guest are treated to a three-course Austrian “mourner’s meal” during intermission), but also breaks the traditional boundaries of plot. “There is no continuous story line,” says
producer-director Paulus Manker. “[The show] was created for an Internet society, in which you surf according to your instincts.” In other words, rather than watching actors on a stage, you will choose one character to literally follow from space to space, scene to scene. As a result, “everyone creates their own evening,” Manker enthuses. He’s philosophical about whether having to make such a choice is stressful to audience members: “It’s like in life, you always miss something.” In fact, the show – which was developed by Manker and writer Joshua Sobol 10 years ago and has already played in Vienna, Lisbon, and Venice (all cities, like L.A., where the heroine resided) – is known for its “repeat attenders.” The producer mentions one fan who’s gone 73 times and still hasn’t seen the same thing twice. For, along with having 16 different characters, the script varies with each location. “We want to reflect the city we are in,” he says. In fact, the nature of a polydrama perhaps suits this city best of all. “It’s like L.A. It has no center,” he says. Rebecca Epstein ALMA. Previews Thur.-Sat. at 7 p.m.; Sun. at 6 p.m. Opens Sept. 30. Thurs.- Sats. at 7 p.m.; Suns at 6 p.m. Closes Dec. 5. Los Angeles Theatre, 615 S. Broadway, downtown L.A., (213) 688-2994. $125; $60 previews. Alma-mahler.com. > back | |
