Gospel At Colonus (2008) Review

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Gospel At Colonus (2008) ReviewThis original performance of Oedipus at Colonus is truly one of the most remarkable adaptations of an ancient work for the the modern stage. Other reviewers have commented on the content and the action of the performance; I can only second their enthusiasm. I was blessed to see Gospel at Colonus live in 1996 when it was in Seattle. Clarence Fountain and the Blind Boys of Alabama are amazing live, and much of their unique energy powers this production.
I must now, unfortunately, turn my review to the production values of this long awaited DVD. They are abysmal: poor video and inexcusably bad audio. I disagree with other reviewers who assert that this quality is 'typical' of recordings of the time. (by contrast, look at the Great Performances live recording of the The Flying Karamazov Brothers production of Shakespeare's "A Comedy of Errors" at the Vivian Beaumont theater about the same time. The two are in different worlds of recording quality.)
Running several off the shelf video processing tools would have substantially improved the video quality of this presentation. And while items like vision mixing, camera placement, etc. can't be fixed in post production, the audio certainly could have been: the performance that was recorded live for broadcast was the same one that was recorded live for the excellently produced cast album, which has been available for years. Patching in the crystal clear audio of the album as an alternate audio track on the DVD is the work of about 3 days in a post production studio. Clearly the producers of this DVD were more interested in ringing the cash register than in providing the best archival quality recording of production. I'm tempted to do the work myself and put it up on fanedit.com because after listening to the album for years, listening to the DVD is almost painful.
So 4 stars for finally getting off the pot and getting this seminal work published. But one star lost for not giving a damn about what the quality of the product that they published. I'll be watching this production company closely from now on and be more prone to *RENT* their works before I commit to buying them.Gospel At Colonus (2008) OverviewA renowned collaboration between experimental theater director Lee Breuer and composer Bob Telson, THE GOSPEL AT COLONUS retells Sophocles' classical tragedy Oedipus at Colonus through the medium of modern gospel. This filmed version of the much-lauded 1985 Philadelphia performance traces the epic storyline of the original text, while also interweaving aspects of Oedipus Rex, Antigone, and the Christian salvific narrative. Taking up the dramatic tension and emotional turmoil of classical tragedy and infusing it with passionate, inventive performances and an electrifying gospel and soul inflected musical montage, the production also features an unforgettable cast, including Javetta Steele, Isabell Monk, Robert Earl Jones, Carl Lumbly, Clarence Fountain and the Blind Boys of Alabama (who collectively play Oedipus), and, as the Messenger (and here Pentecostal preacher), Morgan Freeman. Freeman's commanding oratory to a rapt live audience recasts classical rhetoric in an African-American gospel mode, impressively fusing Hellenistic myth and Christian parable. Finally available on DVD, THE GOSPEL AT COLONUS showcases the pinnacle of postmodern theater and captures live drama at its most vibrant, daring, and innovative.

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