Mary Zimmerman made her name with visually spectacular epics that take your breath away as well as tickle your imagination. Think “Metamorphoses,” “Journey to the West” and “The White Snake.” The best of her productions are so deeply meditative they may well take up residence in your mind forever.
Now she’s crossing into a new frontier with a bite-sized homage to Mozart, “The Matchbox Magic Flute” which distills the famous fairy-tale opera down to 10 singers, 5 musicians and 2 hours. It’s a miniature musical theater iteration of the 18th-century opera in its West Coast premiere at Berkeley Repertory Theatre through Dec. 8. Originally produced by Chicago’s Goodman Theatre, this whimsical storybook riff may not be as memorable as her masterpieces but it’s a light-hearted wonderland of castles, dragons and fairies that has a cheeky charm all its own.
The noble Prince Tamino (Billy Rude) goes on a quest to rescue Princess Pamina (Marlene Fernandez) while birdman Papageno (Shawn Pfautsch) bemoans his loneliness and a trio of woodland nymphs flirt and frolic under the foreboding gaze of the Queen of the Night (a formidable Emily Rohm), a terrifying figure bedecked in crimson and black chiffon. Reese Parish beguiles as the Spirit, a winged nymph playfully guiding the lost humans to their hearts’ desires.
Rude and Fernandez cast sparks as the heroic couple, craving out several tender moments, but the universe of this bewitched forest doesn’t thrum with as much enchantment as expected.
The costumes and tableaux are eye-catching and fanciful and the voices lovely but, unlike much of the Zimmerman canon, there’s not much thematic complexity to muse upon.
The first act feels too static when it’s trying to be meaningful, and while the second act is shot through with beautiful moments, such as an epic sea voyage enacted with ingenious puppetry, it’s hard to say what the fable of the magic flute is supposed to mean in this incarnation. Is it about the power of music to sustain us through travail, the fickleness of human connection or is there a more modern commentary that eluded this reviewer?
References to BART, the Bay Bridge and Jan. 6 hint that there are sharp cultural echoes we should hear but then again perhaps pure prettiness is the point. The eye is always dazzled in a Zimmerman creation but this time around the imagination felt a little untapped. More thematic clarity would have fleshed out the evening.
Make no mistake, however. “Matchbox” may not be as indelibly etched as some of Zimmerman’s works but it still sparks with a sense of frivolity and fun apropos of the season, continuing the Rep’s tradition of holiday shows that inspire revelry but eschew the chestnuts.
Contact Karen D’Souza at [email protected].
