|
The Script |
|
His life was theater. He was conceived and
then born into the shabby Musical Halls of
London. His childhood was a nightmare by
Dickens. His adolescence was a Fred Karno
knockabout vaudeville farce. His young manhood
was a Mack Sennett chase, and his very private
haunted dreams of love and loss were the
bittersweet sadness of an Oscar Wilde fairy
tale.
And so, this is how to tell the story of
Charlie - on a theatrical stage of Charlie's
imagination, in the language of the particular
theatrical style of each era in his life, from
his conception and birth to his apparent triumph
in his early twenties as The Funniest Man in
the World. His mother's desperate
struggle and final madness is a charming ballad
sung and danced by a piquant soubrette. His
father's descent into whiskey and death is the
rousing knees-up hoorah of a vaudeville turn.
The terror and pain of the workhouse and the
orphan asylum is a Victorian drama complete with
pompous Gilbertian autobiography. And above all,
Charlie's wistful and doomed pursuit of a love
that was always different, and yet always the
same, follows the developing styles of his art. |
|
 |
|
Tina Kronis as one of the
Commedia Del Arte assistants
that haunt the play. Photo: Shores Performing
Arts Center |
|
|
It is never an exact imitation or recreation of a given Chaplin
performance, but the life, the memories, the turning points are
presented in the appropriate performance style to show how art
and theatrical truth, the genius of comedy develop from the
nature of memory, pain and tragedy. - Ernest Kinoy |
|
The Score |
|
The score follows the varied
musical and theatrical styles of Chaplin's youth,
from the musical halls of London to the dinner parties of
early Hollywood. Music and lyrics join forces with the script to create an impression
of the specific entertainment that Chaplin feels
best serves his take on a particular memory. Yet one or
two theatrical recreations defy his directorial control:
The minor chords of an organ grinder down a dark London
street, an ever-present, haunting tune once sung by his
mother on the way to the workhouse, a funeral procession
too realistic for him, etc.
And then there are love songs that soar a bit too much,
exaggerated patriotic anthems, comic ballets and a follies of Hollywood fame,
all serving as biography and entertainment. - Roger Anderson |
|
|
