Hollywood and Broadway veteran Kathleen Turner stars in the title role of “Mother Courage and Her Children,” Bertolt Brecht’s anti-war satirical play on Washington’s Arena Stage from February 7 to March 9, 2014. The year In the past, her solo turn there in “Red Hot Patriot: The Kick-Ass Wit of Molly Ivins” drew crowds and raves for her performance as the opinionated columnist from Texas. That collaboration with Molly Smith, artistic director of Arena, aroused her mutual admiration.
Since the beginning of her career, Ms. Turner has strived to create new and unique characters without repetition. She implanted her distinctive aura in the hit films “Body Heat,” “Romancing the Stone,” “Prizzi’s Honor,” “The War of the Roses,” and “Peggy Sue Got Married,” the latter of which earned her a Academy for Best Actress. . On stage, she received Tony Award nominations for her portrayal of two curmudgeons, Maggie in “Cat on a Hot Tin Roof” and Martha in “Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf.” Her voiceovers include the alluring Jessica Rabbit in “Who Framed Roger Rabbit.” The itinerant cantina worker Madre Coraje is unlike any other character she has played.
“I loved playing Molly Ivins because I knew her from working with the People For the American Way (PFAW) and the ACLU,” said Ms. Turner. “Ann Richards (former Governor of Texas) happened to have an apartment in my building in New York and I would often see them together there. I enjoyed working with Molly Smith during that production so much that she and I started thinking about other works we could do together.” His suggestion of ‘Mother Courage and Her Children’ seemed like the perfect choice to act in Washington.
“Mother Courage is a very fierce mother. She has to operate in a basic situation, always thinking: what do I have to do to survive? Her choices are difficult, so she struck a chord with me. Like her, I have had to make I have dealt with many problems, such as rheumatoid arthritis, and I have done the best I know how.
“The story takes place in wartime and resonates today. Brecht portrays war as absolutely useless and a terrible waste. No one benefits. Mother Courage finds herself in a situation caused by people who decided to wage war, but they are the little people of bottom: the peasants and those who carry out the war, whose lives are destroyed. I find it disturbing that the war in Afghanistan is still going on today, and yet there is no evidence of it in Washington.”
While in exile in the United States during the German invasion of Poland in 1939, Brecht wrote “Mother Courage and Her Children” to express his opposition to fascism and Nazism. It is considered by many to be the greatest anti-war work of the 20th century for its scathing depiction of wars and the corruption of those who participate in them. A prolific writer, Brecht produced 54 plays and hundreds of poems, along with theoretical and fictional works. By the time he wrote this work, he had created distinctive ways of conveying concepts to his audience. These include banners to announce upcoming scenes, a single prop to represent many similar items, and songs to emphasize the themes and action. For this production, composer James Sugg wrote thirteen pieces of original music with lyrics by British translator David Hare.
“Molly updated the 17th-century Thirty Years’ War artwork to a more contemporary time, from World War I to World War II, so I chose a gypsy punk style to suit the times,” said Mr. suggest. “The songs don’t work like musical theatre. Instead, Brecht stops short, then can insert a parable. One sung by the chaplain has an American folk or Johnny Cash feel, while the cook, a raunchy character, sings one reminds of Cab Calloway. I love Kurt Weill so this is a nod to him. My intention is to embrace a break from the action and come up with a song that is perfect for the moment, brings immediate energy to the action and provides an arc throughout the afternoon.
“The characters follow the army like gypsies, carrying their instruments as they go, so we cast actors who are also musicians. The accordion is at the heart, along with a tuba, a viola, a trumpet, a trombone, a bass, a bongo and a musical saw It’s not often you find someone playing a musical saw, but we did, and this one has pivotal moments.
“Kathleen Turner is one of five singing characters. Although this is her debut as a professional singer, she is a natural musician. She learned her songs from a vocal coach and when she showed up at rehearsal, she sang and performed each song perfectly. She even sings one of them while standing in a moving car.”
“I’ve always avoided musicals,” Turner said. “When I started, no leading lady had a low voice.
Everything was written for sopranos. My ex-husband had a band and I’ve always sung for fun, but I didn’t want to compete with my daughter Rachel, who has an extraordinary talent for singing. The songs on this show are appropriate because they are hard. Several are almost sarcastic in the way they talk about what God wants for people who are suffering.”