It’s a rare opportunity to view a fully rendered production of Igor Stravinsky’s theater piece “A Soldier’s Tale.”  Cleveland Play House provided northern Ohioans this treat as part of “fusionfest 2010.”

Stravinsky’s ironic music, which earned stature as his most widely known opus written between the masterworks “The Rite of Spring” and “Symphony of Psalms,” is coupled with “Catch and Release,” by Esa-Pekka Salonen, which uses the same orchestration. 

One of the catchwords of this presentation is cooperation.  If the evening had a slogan, it would be this:  “We Shall Collaborate.”  Artistic Director Michael Bloom is rightfully proud of the fact that for the first time in ninety-five years there’s a joining of forces between the Cleveland Orchestra and the Cleveland Play House. Tito Muñoz (assistant conductor of the Cleveland Orchestra) and seven orchestral personnel have made the tiny trek down Euclid Avenue to appear on the Play House’s Baxter Stage.   Four Playhouse actors and five dancers from GroundWorks Dance Theater round out the ensemble.  There isn’t a single slacker in the bunch.

And that’s just onstage!  Stravinsky started the ball rolling back in 1918 with a libretto based on a Russian folk tale written by Swiss author C.F. Ramuz.  (A soldier loses his soul by trading his violin to the devil.)  Over the years concert and ballet versions popped up, and then in 1973 Kurt Vonnegut got in the mix and created a new libretto.  His was inspired by  “The Execution of Private Slovik,” a book about the last shooting of an American soldier for desertion in 1945.  Meatier stuff is appropriate for today’s audience and is surprisingly adaptable to Stravinsky’s colorful score.

“Catch and Release” (specifically written as a companion piece for “A Soldier’s Tale”) hit the boards first.  The intricate ballet was played and danced superbly; technical wizardry and astounding ensemble work abounded in all departments.  But innovative choreography wasn’t able to completely rescue Salonen’s sometimes tedious and obscure score.  The overall effect was intriguing and interesting but not particularly theatrical.  It would take several viewings to fully absorb the barrage of abstract commentary provided by the blend of orchestration, movement and video.  The latter ingredient, the world premier of “Quadrascope,” a video art piece created by Cleveland Institute of Art professor Kasumi, was projected on the stage floor and as such was pretty much lost in the shuffle.  Nevertheless, as a warm-up act the montage fulfilled its mission, and with it our whistle was thoroughly whetted.

A brief intermission and “Presto,” the Baxter stage embraced an honest to god pièce de theater!  A ridiculously triumphant trumpet call set “A Soldier’s Tale” on its incongruous and tongue in cheek way.  Is it traditional musical theater?  Far from it, but who cares?  Four fine actors lead the audience through an insider’s look at war and what it can do to the human psyche.  The integration of artistic disciplines is complete and satisfying.  Actors danced just enough to allow GroundWorks specialists and David Shimotakahara’s evocative choreography to fuse almost seamlessly into the evening’s mischief.  Stravinsky’s demanding score coaxed the musicians and conductor into a physical commitment that complemented the onstage movements.  Especially noteworthy was the delightful interplay between violinist Jung-Min Amy Lee, percussionist Mark Damoulakis and the ensemble of tangoing actors and dancers.

It would certainly seem that director Seth Gordon deserves the bulk of the credit for blending these potentially warring side dishes into an exquisitely balanced buffet.  The delights are plentiful.  Everyone, from Artistic Director to Light Board Operator, deserve kudos for proving that Cleveland creative organizations can make a strong political statement by choosing not warring agendas, but peaceful collaboration.

-Bill Corcoran bill@clevelandindependent.com

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