EVENINGS OUT

APRIL 19, 1996 GAY PEOPLe's Chronicle 21

'True Colors' brings chorus to threshold of the exceptional

by Calvin Stokes, Jr.

At some point, in every "serious" performer's life, there comes a time when you must decide a direction. On Saturday, April 13, the North Coast Men's Chorus reached that point. With “That's Why I Love You: True Colors of Our Rainbow," a collection of love songs that covered that gamut of emotions regarding love, the Chorus reached the crossroad of good vs. exceptional.

Under the guidance of Timothy Robson, the Chorus has become a respectable musical organization. Their strengths were many on this evening. The harmonies were in tune, the cut-offs clean. Diction was much improved over previous performances. The decision to use poems between songs, both serious and comic, made the concert special. The staging was thoughtful and subtle. The use of a synthesizer proved to be a welcome addition. The world premiere of "Three By Parker" was an offering of high musical value. Unfortunately, there exists an unkind paradox: the better a group becomes, the more conspicuous deficiencies appear. Several, however, were caused by external sources.

With no ceiling, Waetjen Auditorium is very unkind to the unmiked voice. This problem was compounded by placing the chorus in the very back of the stage. Simply put, much of the concert was hard to hear. This was especially true during solo numbers. Several nice performances were lost to poor acoustics.

The other major distraction was lighting. From spotlights forgetting to follow their targets to stage lights dimming in the middle of a song, lighting mistakes became almost laughable.

The last external, albeit minor, distraction was microphone stands placed to record the

concert. One could mostly ignore this until a performer had the misfortune of being dissected in the viewer's sight.

These external distractions are fairly easy to remedy. Be it moving the chorus to the edge of the stage, using microphones, hiring conscious follow spot operators, or choosing a less obtrusive recording method, the enjoyment of the audience can be greatly enhanced. However, the Chorus has a more difficult dilemma to face.

"True Colors" was a foray into the realm of "show choirs." Show choirs must, ideally, seamlessly blend music and drama. This, however, is not the Chorus's strength. Interestingly, this weakness is shown through individual members' strengths in this

area.

The Coastliners

The Coastliners, a smaller ensemble made up of eight Chorus members, pulled off the show choir feat admirably in the song "Yellow Bird" while wearing Carmen Miranda fruit headdresses. They managed to avoid stereotypes while still having an uninhibited good time. Another bright spot was Curtis Proctor. His recitation of “Green” was a shining example of comic timing. Unfortunately, such distinguished performances set an unrealistic standard for the rest of the ensemble.

The North Coast Men's Chorus is a good

ensemble. To become an exceptional ensemble, they must cross the bridge of merely singing a song, to performing a song. They must learn to perform with a greater level of emotional commitment and understanding. For a good example of this style, one need look no farther than their sign language interpreter, Douglas Braun. This

DAN MILNER

intangible aspect of performance is the hardest to master. It is to be hoped that the North Coast Men's Chorus will decide to invest the extreme amount of time, energy, and commitment required to actualize the potential displayed during this concert. It's a tough crossroad. I look forward to their choice.

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