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Robert Dennis

Pilobolus: Summer 2024 Season

August 7, 2024

"Memory" brought back “Untitled,” a masterpiece from 1978.  This work had everything that made Pilobolus the world class dance troupe it became. Choreographed by Pilobolus founders Robby Barnett, Alison Chase, Martha Clarke, Moses Pendleton, Michael Tracy and Jonathan Wolken, and using disarmingly and misleadingly pleasant music by Robert Dennis, “Untitled” began with two women (Feliz and Klinkman) wearing ornate 19th century dresses as they lay on the ground having a pleasant picnic. (Costumes by Kitty Daly and Malcolm McCormick.) As they rose they slowly grew into giants, their legs clearly those of men.  These now eight-foot tall women moved gracefully about soon joined by two fully dressed men (Loman and Langford) who flirt with them.  As the two ladies were lowered onto their own legs, their supporters proved to be two naked men (Chaparro and Ellis), a bit of a shock to the audience, softened by the beauty of the two.  The two women wafted about blissfully unaware of the four men until the naked men resumed their positions under the women’s skirts as they floated off. This combination of period nicety, nudity and psychology and superb movement made for a hauntingly memorable work. [more]

Bound to Rise

February 9, 2017

Unfortunately, Policoff’s book is too cluttered with characters too allow for much development. While some of his lyrics are clever, most are prosaic and heavy-handed. As played by music directors Gregory Nissen and Jonathan Matthews, the score sound tinny, rather than melodic, for its 1890’s period. The direction by Oliver Conant, with an assist by Paul Murphy and Regan Batuello, is all over the place using various parts of the shabby (uncredited) set, so that it is too busy for its own good. This free-wheeling approach would be more suitable to a movie rather than the stage without a much strong hand in control. Occasionally the actors make a pithy remark about society or the political order and then freeze, starring at the audience. This Brechtian technique goes against the grain of the rest of the production, as does various character narrating themselves or others. [more]