A miracle show about a miracle horse.
War Horse, which premiered in London in 2007 and won five Tony Awards for its 2011 Broadway run, has checked into the Ahmanson as part of its national tour. With its epic story, dazzling puppetry, gifted cast and impeccable production values, War Horse is without question one of the great theatrical events of our time.
Adapted from the novel by Michael Morpurgo, War Horse focuses on the relationship between Albert (Andrew Veenstra), a young English lad, and his horse Joey (choreographed first as a foal, then as a full-grown steed, by the genius puppeteers). The action moves from the English countryside to the killing grounds of WWI, with Joey serving in the infantry, Joey the cavalry.
War Horse captures all the violence and brutality of the so-called “great war” but never loses its essential humanity, thanks to the bonding between man and horse. It's not just Albert who bonds with Joey, by the way, but one of the enemy as well, a German captain named Friedrich Muller (Andrew May) who saves the horse's life on numerous occasions.
Friendship, survival and hope are what War Horse is all about, but these themes are explored in a war-is-hell setting viscerally brought to life in a variety of ways: animation and projection design, realistic battle scenes, thunderous bomb explosions, blood-drenched decor and lighting, an operatic music score (complete with wandering minstrel). War Horse is a busy show, a complex show, but whatever it does, it does memorably well.
Previews:
June 14, 2012
Opened:
June 29, 2012
Ended:
July 29, 2012
Country:
USA
State:
California
City:
Los Angeles
Company/Producers:
national tour presented by Bob Boyett, National Theatre of Great Britain, etc.
Theater Type:
Regional, national tour
Theater:
Ahmanson Theater
Theater Address:
136 North Grand Avenue
Phone:
213-638-2772
Website:
centertheatregroup.org
Running Time:
2 hrs, 45 min
Genre:
Drama w/ Music
Director:
Bijan Sheibani
Review:
Parental:
violence, gunshots
Cast:
Jason Loughlin, Brian Keane, Michael Wyatt Cox, Andrew Veenstra, Todd Cerveris, Angela Reed, Brian Keane, Andrew May and Jason Alan Carvell.
Technical:
Five horses & one goose puppeteered by Jon Hoche, Laurabeth Breya, Cathering Gowl, Nick Lamedica, Christopher Mai, Derek Stratton, Rob Laqui, Danny Beiruti, Aaron Haskell, Patrick Osteen, Jessica Krueger, Grayson DeJesus, Jason Loughlin. Sets, Costumes & Drawings: Rae Smith; Puppets: Adrian Kohler with Basil Jones for Handspring Puppet Co.; Lighting: Paule Constable and Karen Spahn; Movement & Choreography: Toby Sedgwick; Animation and Projections: 59 Productions; Music: Adrian Sutton; Songmaker: John Tams; Sound: Christopher Shutt & John Owens; Music Director: Greg Pliska; Production Stage Mgr: Eric Inska; Company Mgr: Darren E. Doutt; Original Co-Direction by Marianne Elliott & Tom Morris.
Awards:
2011 Tony: Play
Critic:
Willard Manus
Date Reviewed:
June 2012
