I saw Venice at the Kansas City Repertory Theatre’s Copaken stage on Saturday night (10pm) with little to no background about Matt Sax or his previous work performed at the Rep, Clay. Venice is a beautifully crafted musical, and its music and lyrics both build a striking and at times, heart-awakening evening of theatre. Venice’s strength lies in its lyrics, music, and theme, accompanied by a predominantly talented cast.
As I watched the story unfold, I had no idea that what I was seeing would end up following Shakespeare’s Othello. I figured it out significantly before the end of the first act. We’ll talk about this later. With new works I find it best to enter the theatre as a complete audience virgin. Meaning, I have no idea what will unfold, but I eagerly await the story, the piece of theatre that will unveil in front of my eyes. That way I can see flaws and celebrate joys that one who is familiar with the work cannot. Some of my friends that attended with me that evening had seen Matt Sax’s Clay and compared the two quite competitively. They certainly had a different opinion about the work than I did.
Just to be clear: the play is titled Venice, set in Venice, and the main character is named Venice. While I tried to involve myself in the world of the play, I found the opening twenty minutes to be confusing. I was introduced to a variety of different terms and phrases unique to the world, like “the disappeared,” “the enemy,” etc., which I assumed were used to separate ourselves from the United States and placing it in our country literally instead of metaphorically. I understood that we found our characters in a war torn country, and that we were not in the United States, however, I didn’t understand the sequence of events and why Willow and Venice loved each other. And then something even more heartbreaking happens for me as an audience member; I realize this is Othello and I assume the rest of the story. I am crying already at the thought that I know exactly what will unfold. Already a tragic tale, I find myself increasingly upset because I am loving the characters, and I do not want Venice to succumb to the same fate as Othello.
But Act Two shines and surprises me. I was so upset during intermission with my pals. I hate that Othello kills Desdemona. I absolutely hate it. And I hate that Emilia is so spineless. I am angry because I know our characters we’ve met in Venice’s Act One are stronger and better than Othello’s. But Sax and Eric Rosen (playwrights) challenge my preconceptions of the story, and through lyrics, text, and song craft a different message, one more effective and transformative.
On to brass tacks: the acting for the most part was superb. The standouts were Jasmin Walker (Emilia Monroe), Matt Sax (Clown/MC), JD Goldblatt (Theodore Westbrook), and Javier Muñoz (Venice Monroe). Walker’s Emilia is stunning; she is a confident and wonderful actress, weaving together character intentions and performance artistry to create a beautifully complicated character. Sax is barely speaking, but throughout the play I found myself watching him observe, react, and then when he would finally comment it was clear, direct, and insightful. Goldblatt’s “I want to Be Great” song in Act Two took my breath away. He was open, vulnerable, and honest with the text. I felt very few barriers between myself and his character’s journey. I had previously seen Muñoz in In The Heights as Usnavi. He was lovely in both. I found his gently presence as Venice to be lovely, and his temptation to violence and his brother’s poison believable.
I was not, however, impressed with Andrea Goss (Willow Turner) and Clifton Duncan (Markos Monroe). Most of my friends disagreed with me about Duncan, but I think it was that I wanted more evil contemplation than anger. I craved to see Markos as a serpent and an angry brother. I felt he skimmed over text that could have been used to weave his plot. Turner’s Willow was at times annoying and whiney, especially as she approached her death. Both actors’ voices, however, were great and appropriate for the music.
As for technical elements, I felt mostly satisfied, especially with the lighting. There were moments that the color was perfect for the emotional moment of the play. For example, the lights during Theodore’s song which were peach appearing and matched the warmth of Theodore’s revelatory moment in his death. The scene was masterfully done. Another moment of lighting revelation was during Willow’s and Emilia’s last song together. I enjoyed the levels that the set created; they provided the actors and director room to navigate the small Copaken space in a broad way.
But the real star of the show tonight was the text. At times, I found myself lost in how touching and relevant they were. I starting thinking about things like 9/11, President Obama’s message of hope and change, how fast we can slip into societal chaos, and most of all, love. A few lyrics that screamed out: “I just wanted to love and to be loved,” “I can see the sunrise when I close my eyes,” “Let me be great,” and “if you see something say something.” This musical speaks particularly to my age group, the twenty somethings that have grown up with a war, inherited that conflict, and now are looking to a new leader who promises us hope and change. But beyond the political elements and generational comments, we all crave love, relationships, and achievement. As children most of us were told that if we dreamed it they could do, but the stark reality is that dreams don’t often come true. Dreams, however, make us who we are, shape our personalities, and develop our sensitivities. Venice reminds us that being great, loving others, and healing the world may be simpler and perhaps smaller than we imagined in our dreams. Being great once in a lifetime may be great enough.
Venice touched my heart in a number of ways. I certainly recommend seeing it. It’s worth the flight to LA to catch it at the Center Theatre Group in September.
