BOURNE TAKES A LITTLE OFF THE TOP.Byline: Evan Henerson Theater Critic Nobody works a crowd quite like Matthew Bourne This article is about a British ballet and dance choreographer. For Matthew Bourne the British jazz musician, see Matthew Bourne (musician). Matthew Bourne (born 13 January 1960) is a British ballet and dance choreographer. . Those clusters of suburbanites that the director/choreographer of ``Edward Scissorhands'' sets walking, motoring, making festive or barbecuing are sights to behold. Our tale unfolds in a prefab haven known as Hope Springs and -- as was the case with the 1990 Tim Burton film, which Bourne Bourne, town (1990 pop. 16,064), Barnstable co., SE Mass., crossed by Cape Cod Canal; settled 1627, inc. 1884. Bourne Bridge (1935), across the canal, made the town an entry point to Cape Cod and a resort and commercial center. has adapted -- life in the 'burbs is in for some serious tweaking tweaking Vox populi Fine-tuning to produce optimal results . A new Bourne work -- Center Theatre Group gets one about every other season -- is always an event, and the allure of ``Scissorhands,'' which opened at the Ahmanson Theatre The Ahmanson Theatre is one of the four main venues that comprise the Los Angeles Music Center. Through the generosity of philanthropist Robert H. Ahmanson, construction began on March 9, 1962. Wednesday, is considerable. What, you wonder, will an innovator like Bourne (``Swan Lake Swan Lake (Russian: Лебединое Озеро, Lebedinoye Ozero, Swan Lake ,'' ``The Play Without Words'') make of a wacked-out little romance like this? Especially with much of Danny Elfman's original score at his disposal. Well, plenty. On both the visual and performance fronts, Bourne appears to be throwing every ounce of his company New Adventures' resources at this fairy tale. Especially when the stage is full of people. The mass citizen scenes of ``Scissorhands'' are easily the evening's most dynamic. Last I checked, however, the piece bore the title ``Edward Scissorhands,'' and as much fun as Bourne is having romping through Hope Springs, there are more than a few occasions when his lethal-handed hero gets -- literally and figuratively -- lost in the crowd. This is not to suggest that Richard Winsor (who alternates in the title role with Sam Archer) is in any way at sea alone on stage, or that Bourne doesn't know what to do with him solo. Edward is a spike-haired man-boy crafted in a laboratory by an inventor (Adam Galbraith) whose son, while playing with scissors scissors Cutting instrument or tool consisting of a pair of opposed metal blades that meet and cut when the handles at their ends are brought together. Modern scissors are of two types: the more usual pivoted blades have a rivet or screw connection between the cutting ends , was struck by lightning. A Halloween prank dispatches the inventor, and Edward heads -- scissor scissor pertaining to scissors; like scissors in effect. scissor bite see scissor bite. scissor mouth a narrow space between the rami of the mandible so that the molar arcades do not meet. hands and all -- down the hill for Hope Springs. Taken in by the kindly Boggs family, he falls for cheerleader daughter Kim (Hannah Vassallo) for no reason other than that she's mighty cute. As Edward pines, he also shears -- all manner of topiary topiary Art of training living trees and shrubs into artificial, decorative shapes. Topiary is known to have been practiced in the 1st century AD. The earliest topiary was probably the simple development of edgings, cones, columns, and spires to accent a garden scene. , ladies' coifs and the occasional poodle poodle, popular breed of dog probably originating in Germany but generally associated with France, where it has been raised for centuries. There are three varieties, differing in size only. -- and the townsfolk embrace him. Bored sexpot sex·pot n. Informal A woman considered to have sex appeal. Noun 1. sexpot - a young woman who is thought to have sex appeal sex bomb, sex kitten housewife Joyce Monroe (Michela Meazza) even looks to seduce him in a scene that Bourne stages as a hilarious jumble of limbs, blades and a conveniently vibrating vibrating, v using quivering hand motions made across the client's body for therapeutic purposes. washing machine. The collective community of Hope Springs is, as previously indicated, ``Edward Scissorhands' '' lifeblood. From the moment they start spilling out of the undersize doorways of Lez Brotherston's tract houses in the ``Suburban Ballet,'' the ensemble builds a little world. Couch potatoes, jocks, Bible thumpers and the upwardly mobile are all whizzing by each other or assembling at the annual Christmas ball. We never exactly know who these people are in relation to Edward, but if you're looking to make an ant farm look poetic, Bourne's clearly your man. Winsor's Edward and Vassallo's Kim Boggs do get a few breaks from the crowd. Edward, alone in Kim's pink bedroom, dreams the three cheerleader portraits to life. Later, a dream sequence envisions Edward -- with normal hands -- frolicking with Kim amid a mass of dancing bushes. (On opening night, this scene was marred by some faulty sound). Those two central performances are lovely, if a touch remote. Winsor, gangly gan·gly adj. gan·gli·er, gan·gli·est Gangling. [Alteration of gangling.] Adj. 1. yet graceful, beautifully communicates Edward's sense of longing. Vassallo's motivations are less clear, but the role is more thinly defined. Basically, Kim's got a jock boyfriend (James Leece) over whom a guy like Edward -- scissor hands and all -- would be a decided improvement. Bourne may well be concerned with the fate of young love and with a boy who can never fit in. But the director's creative flame burns hottest when he's satirically slashing his way through the 'burbs. For these cuts, no scissors are required. Evan Henerson, (818) 713-3651 evan.henerson(at)dailynews.com EDWARD SCISSORHANDS - Three stars Where: Ahmanson Theatre, 135 N. Grand Ave., Los Angeles. When: 8 p.m. Tuesday through Friday, 2 and 8 p.m. Saturday, 2 and 7:30 p.m. Sunday; through Dec. 31. Tickets: $30 to $90. (213) 628-2772 In a nutshell: No Depp, no depth, but Matthew Bourne's wordless dance adaptation is plenty cheeky. CAPTION(S): photo Photo: Adapted for the stage by Matthew Bourne, ``Edwards Scissorhands'' stars Richard Winsor as a boy - created by an eccentric inventor - who ends up with shears for hands. |
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