|
|
Sita Ram
|
Company members mentioned in this article: David Kersnar
by Alan Bresloff
Extra Newspaper
March 20, 2006
Lookingglass Theatre Company continues to bring its audiences works that are unique in form and style and it's latest effort follows this tradition. "Sita Ram" ( which by the way is sold out) is a sort of Rock opera based on the Hindu epic Ramayana combining the tradition and beauty of Natya Dance Theatre, music by Jai Uttal, the wonderful voices of Chicago's Children's Choir and of course Lookingglass Theatre's storytelling ( wonderful direction by David Kersnar who also wrote the book). This is a love story of Rama and Sita and deals with wars fought over religion and cultural differences. It explores the spirituality of people and causes one to look deeper inside. The story is based on 2400 verses of poetry. According to legend, the poet Valmiki was originally a thief. One day he attempted to rob a sadhu ( a holy man) who of course owned nothing. The sadhu gave him this Mantra" Mara (Evil". Valmiki liked it and kept repeating it and as time went on, he became a better person. He realized that when he was saying "Mara Mara Mara" he was also saying Rama Rama Rama". Rama is the 7th incarnation of the Hindu God Vishnu and a symbol of Heroism and goodness, Valmiki the wrote Ramayana in honor of the God who had changed his life. While this is a sold out production, I would hope that they will bring it back at a alter date, so that a larger audience has the opportunity to learn what this story teaches and to enjoy the wonderful story and music.
A tip of the hat to all those who participated in putting this wonderful production in place. It took many years and workshops to get to this point but I for one felt it was time well spent. Isaiah Robinson (Hanuman), Avilla Martin (Rama), Pranidhi Varshney (Sita), Sharon Muthu (Surpanaka), Anish Jethmalani (Ravana) and Mariana Oharenko (Little Monkey) all were wonderful in their roles, both in spirit and in song. To bring a story that is so deep to a general audience is difficult but Lookingglass and its collaborators have done the job to perfection. The production will run through April 2nd and as previously stated it is said to be sold out. You might want to take a chance that a ticket or two may show up, but don't count on it. You can try the box office at 312-337-0665 or check out www.lookingglasstheatre. For more info on the other participants check out www.ccchoir.org and www.natya.com
|
|
|
|
Theatre & Box Office
821 N Michigan Ave
Chicago, IL 60611
312.337.0665
get directions
|
|
|
Administrative Offices
John Hancock Center
875 North Michigan Ave
Suite 1430
Chicago, IL 60611
773.477.9257
|
|
