{"id":2607,"date":"2010-09-24T19:30:22","date_gmt":"2010-09-24T19:30:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/thecliffedge.com\/?p=2607"},"modified":"2015-04-11T12:07:48","modified_gmt":"2015-04-11T12:07:48","slug":"elena-roger-takes-sondheims-passion-to-brilliant-heights","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thecliffedge.com\/?p=2607","title":{"rendered":"THEATRE REVIEW: Elena Roger in Sondheim’s ‘Passion’"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Elena Roger and David Thaxton in Stephen Sondheim’s ‘Passion’<\/p><\/div>\n

By Ray Bennett<\/p>\n

LONDON \u2013 That love never fails is a simple concept made rich and complex in Stephen Sondheim\u2019s ardent 1994 Tony Award-winning musical \u201cPassion\u201d in a memorable new production at the Donmar Warehouse.<\/p>\n

From the sizzling opening bedroom scene \u2013 in which Scarlett Strallen, as blonde temptress Clara, and David Thaxton, as lovesick soldier Giorgio, get more entangled than their sheets \u2013 to the tale\u2019s tragic end, it\u2019s a dark and caustic masterpiece.<\/p>\n

The simplicity is in the tale of a young man separated from his adored mistress and then becomes the single-minded object of devotion of a plain and sickly woman who will not accept \u201cno\u201d for an answer. The complexity is in Sondheim\u2019s intense score with lyrics that leave aside his usual sophisticated wit to focus on the sharp end of love\u2019s relentless purpose.<\/p>\n

The production is made unforgettable by the casting of Argentine star Elena Roger as the dour and haunted Fosca, whose abrupt and overwhelming love for Giorgio is unconditional and brooks no resistance. Roger won acclaim in the West End in a revival of \u201cEvita\u201d and at the Donmar in \u201cPiaf,\u201d and now she has a trio of musical successes.<\/p>\n

She is slight and tiny but her voice has a massive range that she draws on without apparent effort so that it bites fiercely when Fosca first declares her undying passion and floats delicately when love finds its way.<\/p>\n

The setting is Italy in the 1860s with the gorgeous Clara \u2013 sung and acted with beautiful clarity by Strallen \u2013 happy to leave husband and child at home to romp with Giorgio in Milan. When he is posted to a remote outpost, they exchange love letters that each reads in superlative staging by director Jamie Lloyd.<\/p>\n

Clara emerges on the dining table at the army outpost, dressed in bedclothes to describe her ardour and loneliness. When Fosca\u2019s determined pursuit of the soldier leads to his touching her hand, he finds it soft and inviting but it reminds him only of Clara.<\/p>\n

Not for long. As Clara makes it clear that she will never leave her husband and child, the plain and now very ill Fosca begins to carve a place in Giorgio\u2019s heart. From appearing harsh and witch-like, Roger now gives the woman softness and femininity and Fosca\u2019s willingness to bear anything if she might only hear Girogio say \u201cI love you\u201d captivate the man.<\/p>\n

Thaxton makes Giorgio strong and vulnerable, and a solid male cast joins the leads in giving full measure to the songs and James Lapine\u2019s succinct book. They are helped greatly by musical director Alan Williams\u2019 sprightly nine-piece orchestra. Christopher Oram\u2019s clever arched set provides a flexible backdrop while lighting designer Neil Austin gives Strallen\u2019s blondeness even greater radiance and underscores Roger\u2019s late blossoming with apt subtlety.<\/p>\n

Venue: Donmar Warehouse, London (through Nov. 27); Cast: Elena Roger, David Thaxton, Scarlett Strallen; Music & lyrics: Stephen Sondheim; Book: James Lapine; Director: Jamie Lloyd;\u00a0Set & costume designer: Christopher Oram; Lighting designer: Neil Austin; Sound designers: Terry Jardine, Nick Lidster for Autograph; Musical director: Alan Williams; Choreographer: Scott Ambler<\/p>\n

This review appeared in The Hollywood Reporter.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Ray Bennett LONDON \u2013 That love never fails is a simple concept made rich and complex in Stephen Sondheim\u2019s ardent 1994 Tony Award-winning musical \u201cPassion\u201d in a memorable new production at the Donmar Warehouse. From the sizzling opening bedroom … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8,14,16],"tags":[1462,1464,520,544,680,1465,1463],"class_list":["post-2607","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-music","category-reviews","category-theatre","tag-passion","tag-david-thaxton","tag-donmar-warehouse","tag-elena-roger","tag-jamie-lloyd","tag-scarlett-strallen","tag-stephen-sondheim"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/thecliffedge.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2607","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/thecliffedge.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/thecliffedge.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thecliffedge.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thecliffedge.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2607"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/thecliffedge.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2607\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":7069,"href":"https:\/\/thecliffedge.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2607\/revisions\/7069"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/thecliffedge.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2607"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thecliffedge.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2607"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thecliffedge.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2607"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}