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February 14, 2003/Adar 12 5763, Vol. 55, No. 25
'Old Wicked Songs'
ALISA SLOAN
Special Sections Editor
Facets of identity, compassion and artistic expression are explored in Arizona Jewish Theatre Company's production of "Old Wicked Songs" by Jon Marans.
The play, which runs through Feb. 23, explores the relationship of a young American piano prodigy and his elderly Viennese music instructor.
Dramatic, yet lit with warmth and humor, "Old Wicked Songs" highlights the pair's differences: one is European, one American; one old-fashioned, one modern; one passionate, one pragmatic.
Aaron Jacobson plays Stephen Hoffman, the prodigy whose technical approach to the instrument has left him feeling incomplete as an artist. "(Stephen) wants to find a way to enliven his playing but has nearly burned out," Jacobsen explains.
In search of a new way to connect with his music and escape an artistic block, Stephen heads to Vienna where he is assigned to study with Professor Josef Mashkan, played by Robert Grossman. The professor teaches a reluctant Stephen the "Dichterliebe" song cycle by composer Robert Schumann. Although Ste-phen resents having to study simple vocal accompaniment, he slowly realizes he is in the hands of a master instructor.
"Old Wicked Songs" chronicles the complicated relationship forged between student and instructor, both personally and artistically.
The role has special meaning for Jacobsen because, he says, "I am a rather stern musician myself, although my primary instrument is my voice."
As a child, he learned to play the violin; later, he took up guitar and piano. "I felt close to Stephen's temperament and intensity," says Jacobsen, "and felt his journey would be a healthy experience for me."
Jacobsen explains that he has a number of important reasons for doing the show, not the least among them that he received his bachelor of arts in theater from Arizona State University in 1997, but has not acted on a professional stage since. Jacobsen has been a full-time gondolier at the Hyatt in Scottsdale for more than five years, but "people are always asking me where else they can see me perform."
In 1996, Jacobsen studied voice with Ruth Dubinbaum and Baruch Koritan, and was introduced to "Dichterliebe." "I gradually embraced the work but had no real use for the German songs in my profession," he says. However, he was recently compelled to revisit the piece, and just two weeks later he received a call from AJTC asking him to read for the role of Stephen.
At that point, however, Jacobsen wasn't aware of the coincidence. It wasn't until AJTC's production director Janet Arnold began to prepare the script, Jacobsen says, that he had a strange revelation.
" 'Old Wicked Songs' was first produced in 1996, the year I learned the 'Dichterliebe,' " he says. "I remember reading about the play in The New York Times, thinking how much I'd love to do it. Then it just faded into my memory somewhere. I started singing the first song to Janet right then and there - in her office - we were both bewildered."
Likewise, says Jacobsen, "This show resonated so much with me, I stepped down as the head gondolier, took a pay cut, and used every day of vacation to do the show.
"Some things can't be justified by reason," he adds, "but when your heart starts leaping, it's time to jump with it."
This is Jacobsen's first time playing a Jewish character. Growing up outside of Denver, he and his brother were two of only a handful of Jewish children at school. Fears of anti-Semitism haunted him, and he says he shied away from Judaism.
"Although my parents never relented in their Conservative (Jewish) practice, I felt as though I had two lives," he says. "One social and one religious."
Now 30, he says, "I know what strength and resolve I've gained by embracing our spirit. Participating in Jewish theater is a remarkable American tradition and a spiritual endeavor as well."
In 1996, "Old Wicked Songs" was nominated for the Pulitzer Prize in Drama. The structure of the play follows the song cycle created by Schumann called "The Poet's Love" - "Dichterliebe" in German. Says Jacobsen, "Although this is not a musical, the script is essentially scored by this song cycle."
"It's smartly written and quite unique, with the use of music to explore the two individuals' differences and similarities," says Arnold. "The music is beautiful ... and the poetic lyrics were written by Heinrich Heine, a German Jewish poet."
David Ellenstein, AJTC's artistic director, chose the show, says Arnold. "He had directed it once before, also with Robert Grossman (playing the part of) Mashkan (the piano instructor), and fell in love with it," she explains.
"It is an opportunity for us to expose the audience to the wonderful music while telling the compelling story," she adds.
Borrowing a line from the play, Jacobsen says the message of "Old Wicked Songs" is quite simple: "Beauty can be found in the most unlikely places. ... True in music, true in people."
Details
- What: "Old Wicked Songs"
- Who: Arizona Jewish Theatre Company
- Where: Playhouse on the Park, 1850 N. Central Ave., Phoenix, inside the Viad Corporate Center
- When: through Feb. 23, call for curtain times
- Cost: Tickets are $26-$28, student and senior rates available
- Call: 602-264-0402 or visit www.azjewishtheatre.org
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