Threaded Order Chronological Order
| re: Brent Carver has died | |
| Last Edit: Alison 09:58 pm EDT 08/06/20 | |
| Posted by: Alison 09:57 pm EDT 08/06/20 | |
| In reply to: Brent Carver has died - AC126748 04:44 pm EDT 08/06/20 | |
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| I saw him as Leo Frank, as Tevye, as Jacques in As You Like It, as Merlyn and Pellinore in Camelot, as Pilate in JCS, in a production of Jacques Brel is Alive and Well and Living in Paris. Some of those in two different productions on the same day. He never failed to take my breath away. His delivery of the “All the world’s a stage” speech in As You Like It stopped the show with a lengthy ovation. His Pilate was chilling and shattering at the same time. His Tevye is in my top two or three all time favourite performances, a complete reinvention of the role, but afterwards seems the only interpretation that ever made any sense. He was always so human, so vulnerable, but so commanding and compelling. I sat at my kitchen table tonight and wept for someone I only met twice (in my young and foolish days, stage dooring Fiddler at Stratford and Parade in NYC ... both times he was so gracious and humble and lovely), but who changed my theatre going life with his brilliance. I am heartbroken. | |
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| I couldn't agree more about his Tevye. | |
| Posted by: DanielVincent 02:49 pm EDT 08/07/20 | |
| In reply to: re: Brent Carver has died - Alison 09:57 pm EDT 08/06/20 | |
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| It changed the way I understand the character and the piece itself. Perhaps more importantly, it transformed my understanding of myself and my relationship with my father. To me, it is the all time greatest example of how well casting against type can work. | |
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| re: I couldn't agree more about his Tevye. | |
| Posted by: Billhaven 03:00 pm EDT 08/07/20 | |
| In reply to: I couldn't agree more about his Tevye. - DanielVincent 02:49 pm EDT 08/07/20 | |
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| As a great admirer of his work on Broadway, I’d love to know more about his Tevye. What made it so special? | |
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| Brent Carver's Tevye. | |
| Posted by: portenopete 04:05 pm EDT 08/07/20 | |
| In reply to: re: I couldn't agree more about his Tevye. - Billhaven 03:00 pm EDT 08/07/20 | |
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| Basically he made you come to him. Possessing none of the attributes of a traditional Tevye- bombast, girth, chutzpah, clownishness- he brought his quiet, thoughtful demeanour and deep reservoir of feeling and made the part his own. For anyone who felt Alfred Molina's Tevye was too goysiche, Brent's made you think about what might have happened if Rolf Gruber had been born in 1880's Russia instead of 1920's Salzburg: his delicate, fine-boned, blue-eyed face seemed ludicrous for Tevye and many people laughed when the casting was announced. But from the second the lights slowly came up on him he set the parameters for what we'd be seeing: he made us lean in and listen and reconsider what an impoverished father of five would have looked and sounded like in turn-of-the-century Russia. He was no borscht belt tummler, yet I don't remember him missing any laughs. he was no Lear on the heath, yet I don't remember an ounce of rage sacrificed. And in the quieter moments- with Hodel at the station, fighting his instinct to run and hold Chava when she returns after marrying Fyedka- the depth of feeling was predictably overwhelming. He was as "in the moment" as any actor I have ever witnessed. He'd have been an incredible Don Quixote and I can't believe he didn't sing "Dulcinea" in his concerts and cabarets: his relationship with the great actress Susan Wright who died in a fire in his house in 1991 while he was in NYC doing Spider-Woman would have resulted in an astonishing production of Man of La Mancha. And I'd love to have seen what he'd have done with other unlikely roles like Harold Hill, perhaps? His need for Broadway stardom was negligible so he went and did the projects that appealed to him and then came back and played Shakespeare at Stratford and Moliere in Toronto and new plays in tiny theatres in Toronto. And he'd take on small parts, too: the last shows I saw him in he played Larry in Company, Antigonus in The Winter's Tale and Lucio (not so small) in Measure for Measure. He was a star from the get-go and New York was lucky to have him in our orbit for awhile. |
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| re: Brent Carver's Tevye. | |
| Posted by: sf 07:34 am EDT 08/09/20 | |
| In reply to: Brent Carver's Tevye. - portenopete 04:05 pm EDT 08/07/20 | |
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| He was also exceptional in Richard Ouzounian and Marek Norman's sometimes-lovely but rather uneven adaptation of Carol Shields' 'Larry's Party' at CanStage in Toronto. He perfectly captured the humanity and the inner sadness of Shields' ordinary-but-exceptional title character; it was one of those performances that *really* elevates the material, and he was very, very moving indeed. | |
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| Yes, AND... (plus thoughts on another great Molina, Juan Chioran, in Man of La Mancha) | |
| Posted by: DanielVincent 05:30 pm EDT 08/07/20 | |
| In reply to: Brent Carver's Tevye. - portenopete 04:05 pm EDT 08/07/20 | |
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| Portenopete said so much and said it so beautifully, I have very little to add to the conversation. It was the first, and perhaps only, time I've seen a Fiddler where Tevye's foremost quality was his love for his children. It defined Carver's Tevye. And so when he rejected Chava, it was devastating--for him and the audience. The emotional impact was ASTONISHING. I wept like I have rarely wept in the theatre, before or since. On a personal note, I was a teenager nearing the end of high school when I saw the production. It was in Carver's performance and especially in his relationship with Chava that I came to understand I had lived my life and my relationship with my father with what I now know is commonly referred to as "best little boy in the world" syndrome. My very armchair understanding of it is that it's when a gay child pushes himself to be perfect in every way in the hope that his perfection will cause family members to forgive him for being gay. The performance quite literally changed my understanding of myself and how I navigated my relationship with my Dad. Portenopete, it's interesting that you say Carver would have been an incredible Don Quixote because, to this day, my favorite Man of La Mancha--both show and performance as the title character--was the production I saw at Stratford, directed by Susan H. Schulman (whom I believe directed Carver's Fiddler), and starring Juan Chioran, who was a Molina in the first national tour of Spider Woman and a standby for the role on Broadway. As different as Don Quixote and Molina are, and as different as Chioran was in each role, his performance also highlighted some crucial similarities: a certain longing; a dedication to an ideal world; a willingness to blur the lines between fantasy and reality; and an elegance that as Molina was filtered through the lens of feminine ideals and silver screen glamour and as Quixote was filtered through the lens of chivalry. |
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| The Chioran/Carver Connection. | |
| Posted by: portenopete 04:17 pm EDT 08/08/20 | |
| In reply to: Yes, AND... (plus thoughts on another great Molina, Juan Chioran, in Man of La Mancha) - DanielVincent 05:30 pm EDT 08/07/20 | |
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| Thanks for that beautiful memory, DanielVincent. I've been reading a lot of memories on Facebook and I discovered that Brent had indeed played Don Quixote in Man of La Mancha at Neptune Theatre in Halifax in 1989. A number of people mentioned it in passing telling the story of his being asked to play David in Brad Fraser's Unidentified Human Remains and the True Nature of Love with Crow's Theatre, which opened at the tiny Poor Alex Theatre in Toronto in January of 1990. He was in the middle of the La Mancha run when he was asked to play the cynical gay waiter approaching a mid-life crisis in Fraser's jolting murder mystery/gay comedy thriller. It had a phenomenal cast and got great reviews so the only way to get in was to line up on Sunday morning to get a seat for the PWYC matinée. In its own Canadian way it had a Hamilton vibe: by 8:00 AM there were line-ups around the block. And on some very cold winter mornings in Toronto. It was glorious! There was such anticipation in the air and Brent was a big part of why it generated the excitement it did. It eventually transferred to a bigger theatre and had a commercial run, very odd for Toronto theatre (outside the big musicals). I think he might have been doing Human Remains when Spider-Woman came along. Yes, Juan and Brent shared a few roles. In addition to Molina and Don Quixote, they were both electric Emcees in Cabaret (Juan at the Shaw Festival in 2014 and Brent in Brian Macdonald's 1987 Stratford production). They both possess lean and lanky bodies with a dancer's grace. And they both gravitate to the non-traditional choice in terms of playing a role and a scene. Juan has always seemed to me like a 19th-century actor who loves filling a large theatre with his razor voice and blazing eyes. (Another role that was written for Brent but played by Juan in the end was the title role in Richard Ouzounian/Marek Norman musical of Dracula at Stratford in the mid-1990s). If anything, Juan's joy performing and Brent's sadness were both deep and foundational and perhaps inspired similar reaction. Now I'm trying to remember if they ever played together.... |
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| That was a joy to read. Thank you. And now, I need to... | |
| Posted by: DanielVincent 11:57 pm EDT 08/08/20 | |
| In reply to: The Chioran/Carver Connection. - portenopete 04:17 pm EDT 08/08/20 | |
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| ...find a copy of the Fraser play! | |
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| re: Yes, AND... (plus thoughts on another great Molina, Juan Chioran, in Man of La Mancha) | |
| Posted by: mikem 08:24 pm EDT 08/07/20 | |
| In reply to: Yes, AND... (plus thoughts on another great Molina, Juan Chioran, in Man of La Mancha) - DanielVincent 05:30 pm EDT 08/07/20 | |
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| DanielVincent, thank you for sharing that. The impact of theater can be so great. Moments like those are being lost every day, during this pandemic. | |
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| re: Brent Carver's Tevye. | |
| Posted by: Alison 04:42 pm EDT 08/07/20 | |
| In reply to: Brent Carver's Tevye. - portenopete 04:05 pm EDT 08/07/20 | |
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| I thought it was in Carver’s Tevye’s conversations with his God that the difference was really remarkable. Often you see Tevye’s asides played for laughs, with a wink and a nudge. Carver still found the humour, but the way he engaged with God was earnest, sincere, challenging, and reverent. As portenopete said, he rarely raised his voice, but he held you in the palm of his hand. He made you lean in and listen. It was remarkable. | |
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| re: Brent Carver's Tevye. | |
| Posted by: Billhaven 07:03 pm EDT 08/07/20 | |
| In reply to: re: Brent Carver's Tevye. - Alison 04:42 pm EDT 08/07/20 | |
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| Thanks, everyone, for the beautiful responses. I wish I could have seen more of Carver. There is nothing like seeing a part reimagined, a fresh approach that reveals some aspect you hadn’t thought of before. He was a unique artist. | |
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| Canadian Theatre is in mourning. | |
| Posted by: portenopete 12:11 am EDT 08/07/20 | |
| In reply to: re: Brent Carver has died - Alison 09:57 pm EDT 08/06/20 | |
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| I was lucky and had 35 years of seeing him. The Pirate King in Pirates of Penzance was the first in 1985. Hamlet was next! Then The Emcee in Cabaret. Don John in Much Ado. Love for Love, Don Carlos and Alceste in The Misanthrope. Larry in Company. Plays at holes-in-the-wall in Toronto. Molina in Spider-Woman in Toronto before London and NYC. Lucio in Measure for Measure and Antigonus in The Winter's Tale. Jacques Brel. Gandalf in Lord of the Rings. The School for Scandal in 2017 must have been the last. But it's his Tevye in Stratford's 2000 Fiddler that will stay with me the most. As Jason Robert Brown's remembrance talks about, he was able to turn feats of egregious miscasting into revelatory reinterpretations. The idea of thin, ethereal Brent - 48 at the time but still seeming like he should be playing Ariel - taking on the salt-of-the-earth Russian peasant dairyman seemed like the nuttiest piece of casting, but from the second he walked onstage he was in charge, even though he rarely spoke above a whisper. You are spot on that he was a gracious and lovely man and a wonderful fan of the theatre: he saw everything and was perennially encouraging and supportive. Even before his Tony and Broadway successes, Brent was a true star of Canadian Theatre and his passing is felt across the country. |
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| re: Canadian Theatre is in mourning. | |
| Posted by: Ann 09:36 am EDT 08/07/20 | |
| In reply to: Canadian Theatre is in mourning. - portenopete 12:11 am EDT 08/07/20 | |
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| What a great tribute. | |
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| re: Canadian Theatre is in mourning. | |
| Posted by: Alison 08:01 am EDT 08/07/20 | |
| In reply to: Canadian Theatre is in mourning. - portenopete 12:11 am EDT 08/07/20 | |
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| I have only seen the recording of Pirates ... but again, what seems like casting against type and yet, he’s brilliant. What other actor could play roles from Tevye to Leo Frank to Molina to the Pirate King to various Shakespeare characters and have them all be absolutely believable and seem like they were written for him? His was such a gift, and a great light has gone out. | |
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| Dear Alison | |
| Posted by: Vivian 10:49 pm EDT 08/06/20 | |
| In reply to: re: Brent Carver has died - Alison 09:57 pm EDT 08/06/20 | |
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| Dear Alison, I can hear how heartbroken you are. Maybe this will be a comfort? You got a chance to tell Brent the impact his shows had on your life, two different times. I don't know what words you used, if you just said "Nice job!!" but actors are in their line of work because they can feel people's emotions and I feel certain he experienced how much his performances meant to you. ((This is just an aside-- I saw an actor in twenty different shows who really made difficult formative years special -- I was so spiritually affected by his shows. I didn't know how to say this, and as a young person, was in over my head in terms of how to deal with how he affected me. It wasn't a schoolgirl crush, it was a spiritual thing. I had no vocabulary for it at the time. It really was transformative and him not knowing how he changed a life, is a regret I will always have). At least you got a couple of chances to let him know he made a difference.. Best, V |
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| Thank you so much. *nm* | |
| Posted by: Alison 11:58 pm EDT 08/06/20 | |
| In reply to: Dear Alison - Vivian 10:49 pm EDT 08/06/20 | |
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| NM | |
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| re: Dear Alison | |
| Posted by: CanadianRyan 11:21 pm EDT 08/06/20 | |
| In reply to: Dear Alison - Vivian 10:49 pm EDT 08/06/20 | |
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| What a touching tribute. Thank you for sharing. I never saw him perform live, though he’s from my home province. My story is that I saw him numerous times on the Rosie show and on the Tonys in my teen years and he made me so curious about a show called Parade. I’ve loved the show ever since and I am so grateful for what moments of his performance I had the opportunity to see. |
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