#Monsoon Wedding Berkeley Rep

[berkeleyrep]

An interview with Mira Nair, director of Monsoon Wedding, a new musical starting May 5 at Berkeley Rep.

[thelipglosssgestapo-blog]

Here’s the finale! Their curtain call was so fun all the actors came off stage and started dancing in the audience it was the greatest

[twoontheaisle]

“Monsoon Wedding” at Berkeley Rep

Planning a wedding is one of the most stressful – and joyous – projects one can take on. Where to hold it, how to decorate the space, who to invite, what to feed them, what music to play, what to wear…the decisions are nearly endless, and any wrong choice risks the entire affair being tainted by failures ranging from insignificant to catastrophic.

The same is true for the creative and production teams staging a musical – a million choices to be made and far more ways for the process to go south than to go smoothly. But unlike the poor folk who suffered through some of these disastrous weddings, theatrical producers get more than one shot at the big event. Even after years of planning and writing and composing, and months of rehearsals, you still have the option of an out of town tryout before taking the leap of booking a Broadway theater.

If that is the ambition of the producers of Monsoon Wedding, which opened last night in Berkeley Rep’s Roda Theater, they should be pleased by the reception from the Berkeley audience, but also ready to make the significant improvements required if Monsoon Wedding is to make the cross-country trip to the Great White Way.

Monsoon Wedding is based on the film of the same name (from 2002), and is helmed by the director of that film, Mira Nair. It tells the story of the Verma family, who have arranged for their daughter Aditi (Kuhoo Verma [no relation, one must assume]) to marry Hemant Rai (Michael Maliakel), a promising young American whose parents emigrated from India some three decades earlier. The multi-day festivities bring both extended families together, and with the stress of the wedding (and assorted affairs and long-buried secrets), emotions will run high and tempers will flare. Among the lower castes, who are doing all the work to ready the Verma house for the festivities, another love affair is simmering, this time between PK Dubey (Namit Das), the avaricious, put-upon wedding planner and the Verma’s maid, Alice (Anisha Nagarajan).

It seems perfect fare for a musical: two love stories, several lovable, quirky supporting characters, a colorful setting (Hindu weddings rival the Las Vegas Strip in vibrancy), and plenty of opportunities for songs. Yet despite the build-up, the gathering storm ultimately becomes not a monsoon, but scattered showers with periods of sun.

The main problem is with the music. Though there are several delightful songs, (including “Aunties Are Coming” and “Chuk Chuk”) too many of the numbers play like the songs one hears when Saturday Night Live sends up a musical: the ballads soar, but only to predictable heights. Though I can’t speak for the Hindi lyrics, the lyrics of the songs in English (which is most of them) are generally prosaic and pedestrian, lacking in wit or clever rhymes. The most beautiful song of the night is “Chunari, Chunari” which closes act one in gorgeous, emotionally-moving fashion, especially with the wonderful, haunting voice of Monsoon Bissell.

Fortunately, the other voices singing these rather mundane tunes are also strong, with lovely, clear tones, infused with the phrasing and inflections of Indian ragas.

Monsoon Wedding is, in fact, at its best when it is at its most Indian. For despite the traditional vocalizations, the Eastern rhythms seem to take a back seat to the very Western orchestrations and arrangements. More tabla, please.

Though the sets by Mikiko Suzuki Macadams are wonderful (especially the opening backdrop, a Maxfield Parrish-esque view of New Delhi which perfectly evokes the sense of a steaming tropical metropolis), and the costumes (by Arjun Bhasin) appropriately colorful, this Monsoon Wedding could benefit from even grander, gaudier art direction. And a lot more water. The rain effect at the show’s end is simply too thin to have a real impact. The performers should be soaked by the time the finale (which was wonderfully energetic and should serve as an inspiration for what the rest of the show should sound like!) sounds its last, powerful drumbeats.

There is much to appreciate about Mira Nair’s laudable efforts in translating writer Sabrina Dhawan’s story from screen to stage. (Dhawan also wrote the book.) The characters are dimensional and well-drawn (if occasionally somewhat clichéd for the sake of humor), and the political and social undercurrents (the caste system, indebtedness, a clash of cultures, life in the “real” world vs. life in a bubble) could be even further developed to bring richness and additional drama to the story.

But for now, the forecast for Monsoon Wedding is mostly cloudy.

Monsoon Wedding has already been extended and runs through July 2 in the Roda Theatre at Berkeley Repertory Theatre, 2025 Addison Street, Berkeley.  Shows are Tuesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday at 8:00 p.m., Wednesday and Sunday at 7:00 p.m., and 2:00 p.m. matinees Saturday and Sunday.  There is a Thursday 2:00 p.m. matinees on June 22. Tickets from $28-$110, with discounts available for students, seniors, and groups. Tickets are available online at www.berkeleyrep.org, or by calling the box office at (510) 647-2949.

[jaehyunjungsgf]

In other news I went to Berkeley Rep today and watched Monsoon Wedding!!!! Holy shit it was so good👏👏👏and the actor playing Hemant was so fuckign HOT😍😍😍😍

[berkeleyrep]

Turn up the volume and dance! Monsoon Wedding has been extended...twice! It now plays to July 2. 

[berkeleyrep]

“As Ms. Nair pointed out, [Monsoon Wedding] a natural fit for musical theater — the story ‘has music in its bones,’ she effused…”

[berkeleyrep]

“In a live musical, you can jump right into the madness of India,” says [Monsoon Wedding director Mira Nair]. “I wanted to show the beauty of the culture but also the chaos and the contradiction.”

[berkeleyrep]

Choreographer Lorin Latarro (who also recently choreographed Waitress on Broadway) talks about creating the dances for Monsoon Wedding.

[berkeleyrep]

Audiences swoon for Monsoon Wedding!

[berkeleyrep]

Monsoon Wedding puts you in a different place

From Green Day’s American Idiot and Amélie, A New Musical to Monsoon Wedding, Berkeley Rep is becoming known for launching new musicals into the world. When Tony Taccone, our Michael Leibert artistic director, met with director Mira Nair several years ago, he knew within minutes that Monsoon Wedding should premiere in Berkeley. Tony has a specific philosophy about shepherding these projects from a spark to the stage.

As the artistic director, what is your job in the creation of a musical like Monsoon Wedding?

It ranges from providing another directorial eye to providing therapy of every variety to providing an additional dramaturgical sounding board. The artists have different needs. The most important part is to know when to say nothing and when to stay out of their way. Our job is to let them create the best version of what they want to make, not versions of what we want to see. We want people to realize their own dreams, because we don’t always dream alike.

What excites you about Mira Nair’s dream?

It’s rich. It’s detailed. It’s culturally specific. She’s going after it and she brings you along. She’s a citizen of the world. She’s from India and she spends a lot of time in Africa. Working with her is educational for everyone at our Theatre. This comes out in Monsoon Wedding in even the simple things: there’s more color on Berkeley Rep’s stage than there has been in like 40 years. There’s a reason why that color is there.

Mira and her collaborators have spoken a lot about authenticity. Does that authenticity rub up against our notions of what a typical American musical should look like?

The American musical is regarded as the most popular form of our theatrical culture. There are traditions and expectations of what a musical should be, what it looks like, its form and structure. Mira is challenging some of those rules. And it might be surprising and interesting for some audiences. Sometimes those changes can be subtle, sometimes obvious.

Indian weddings have elements in them that not all audiences will understand, but they lend an authenticity that isn’t common to our experience. For example, some of the songs in the show have a ritualistic function. Phrases are repeated, the chorus wails, all in an effort to create a true ceremonial feel to the play.  

From the fabric of the clothes to the instrumentation to the lighting design, you’re aware that you’re in a different place. Monsoon Wedding also has elements that will be familiar to everyone, but the real delight is reveling in our differences as well.

Cast photo of Monsoon Wedding courtesy Kevin Berne/Berkeley Rep

[berkeleyrep]

Monsoon Wedding love! Publicity photos with Namit Das, Anisha Nagarajan, Kuhoo Verma, and Michael Maliakel -- photographed by Kevin Berne.