Last weekend I had a chance to see “Harry Widener and the Prisoner of AZKAJAM” at Sanders Theatre, Harvard University, where two groups were singing: The Callbacks and The Veritones.
I have to say I didn’t have much expectations because I’ve never seen a group perform live, but the show was amazing and the whole atmosphere surprised me.
http://www.harvardcallbacks.com/
The Sanders Theatre is quite old and it might look serious but the atmosphere was not serious at all! There was couple of hundreds of people, young and old and all were very enthusiastic and cheerful. I was surprised because in difference of many performance that I’ve been to, during this one the audience was supposed to scream and yell and make any other loud sounds too… (Off course it was all civil). The singer who gets most yelling and responsive voices ranks high… Few people got standing ovations.
The singers were very responsive and interacted with people. I’ve never seen such interaction between the audience and performers!!! It was really really COOL! At one point the singers had invited some of the alumni and friends from the audience on the stage and then they hugged and sang together. Although part of the show they were dressed in tuxedo and night gowns everyone was relaxed and laid back!
I was also surprised because some of the male singers, who looked very serious and proper in their outfits, and fit the perfect image of “the geek” when came out to sing were awesome! Members of these groups came in different shapes, sizes, height, nationalities and skin colors which made this show more real and authentic.
(When I see some American movies about college kids, proms, etc. I don’t get to see such diversity there … Usually directors hire beautiful and handsome actors and make them look not attractive or “ugly”.. Going to this live performance was 10 times much more worth it than going to whatever movie in the cinema… So if you ever have a chance go see it -it’s open to public:))
The two groups took turn on the stage or performed together. My friends and I liked The Callbacks much better, because they not only they sang great but they improvised in the same time and had interesting choreography. The dynamic of performers interacting on the stage brought another layer of entertainment to their show and intrigued me. They have thanked their “stage manager” who I think did a terrific job.
When I was watching the show I was thinking about the workshop we had with Merry Conway and I think that thanks to her I could appreciate and understand what’s going on the stage much better. I wish I had a camera to show you what I’m talking about but the pictures above is all I found on their site.
Anyway, nice atmosphere, people’s interaction, singing +makings sounds and off course the improvisation made this show a huge success. I could tell that other people had fun,were relaxed and just enjoyed themselves.
