Miranda Patron Geraldine Turner Directs Brel
Miranda Musical Society Patron and Musical Theatre star Geraldine Turner directs the company’s June production of 'Jacques Brel is alive and well and living in Paris’ at Sutherland Memorial School of Arts from June 7 to 26, 2016.
The sardonic, wise and intensely emotive songs of influential Belgian composer and performer Jacques Brel still ring in the air, thanks to this show that introduced Brel to many American listeners in 1968, a decade before his untimely death at age 49.
Brel was part of the French-language art-song movement that reached its peak of international popularity in the 1950s and ’60s, led by such revered performers as Edith Piaf, Charles Aznavour and Yves Montand. Brel too was beloved in his adopted home of Paris, and around the globe. But the riveting performer and prolific songwriter was an individualist, whose music ranges from the rhapsodically romantic to the caustically political.
A born storyteller, his odes are often compressed mini-dramas and often mused in a world-weary but uncynical fashion on the rapture and agony of love. But he also addresses the madness and waste of war — both world wars, and the French and U.S. military wars in Vietnam. Brel’s fever-grade ballads about love’s vagaries have been widely covered by artists from Judy Collins and Frank Sinatra to David Bowie.
Asked what drew her to want to direct Jacques Brel is alive and well and living in Paris, Geraldine said, “I have loved this show since I first arrived in Sydney in the 70’s and saw it. The music spoke to me and affected me deeply and I hoped I would be in a production one day. 6 years ago, that dream came true and I appeared in a production in Canberra, so when MMS asked me to direct something, this was first on the list.”
Explaining the format of the show, she says, “Ostensibly, it is a concert, a cabaret, with a few lines interspersed, informing the action. It was first performed in 1968 in New York, with various productions following over the years. There has not been a production in Sydney for a good number of years now, so our timing is perfect. It is long overdue for a revival.”
And Geraldine’s "vision" for this production?
“I don’t want anything to detract from the music. It is a simple set, with a screen upstage to show graphics, film, vision, thereby taking us to a time and place. The costumes give a nod to the 50’s and 60’s.”
How are rehearsals going?
“Very well. I am asking the cast to dig deep and connect, which is what you must do with Brel. The music and lyrics are dense and challenging and perfectly wonderful to perform.”
Are there any particular challenges in presenting a show like this?
“There are challenges in most things. In Brel, the challenge is to be ever present and to be totally honest. No histrionics or falseness. Nothing else will do. His music speaks to the soul. He is right there with you. You must step up and be there with him. This show goes straight to the heart. This piece is a gift for any performer.”
Is there character or song Geraldine identifies with?
“Too hard … ‘Ne Me Quitte Pas’, ‘My Childhood’, ‘Carousel’ - all of them, really! I must say that if people think they don’t know these songs, a lot of them will seem familiar. Maybe you didn’t realise Jacques Brel wrote them.”
Who should see BREL?
“People who love music theatre should see this show. People who love composers such as Sondheim, people who think outside the square, people who love to be affected; to be challenged, to be amused, surprised, to be touched … in fact, all lovers of music!
Is there any other show Geraldine is burning to direct? (after this one!)
“I’d love to direct Cabaret, if I could find a cast. And many others … sh … secret!”
What does Geraldine enjoy about being Patron of MMS?
“I like that I am a Hands On Patron, not merely a name in a program. I give annual Master Classes and try to attend opening nights, work permitting. Mostly, I like being able to encourage and, hopefully, inspire a younger generation of performers.”
Jacques Brel is alive and well and living in Paris
Director: Geraldine Turner. Musical Director: Mark Cranston Reid
Featuring Anne Maree Fanning, Jennifer Parbery, Nicholas Ryan, Margaret Short, Andrew Symes and Tim Wotherspoon
VENUE: SUTHERLAND MEMORIAL SCHOOL OF ARTS
DATES: JUNE 17 – 26
BOOK: www.mirandamusicalsociety.com.au phone (02) 8814 5827
Images: Geraldine Turner with MMS President Andrew Symes, Jennifer Parbery, the cast and Geraldine Turner at rehearsals.
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