Kathleen Turner is “mother courage”
Hollywood and Broadway veteran Kathleen Turner stars in the title role of “Mother Courage and Her Children,” Bertolt Brecht’s satirical and pacifist play on the Arena Stage in Washington from February 7 to March 9, 2014. Last year Her solo turn there on “Red Hot Patriot: Molly Ivins’ Wits” drew crowds and praised her performance as the headstrong columnist from Texas. That collaboration with Molly Smith, Arena’s artistic director, aroused their mutual admiration.
Since the beginning of her career, Ms. Turner has been zealous for creating 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 an Oscar nomination for The best actress. . On stage, she received Tony Award nominations for her portrayal of two spitfires, Maggie in “Cat On a Hot Tin Roof” and Martha in “Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf.” Her voiceovers include the seductive Jessica Rabbit in “Who Framed Roger Rabbit.” Mother Courage, an itinerant canteen worker, is unlike any other character I’ve ever played.
“I loved playing Molly Ivins because I knew her from working with People For the American Way (PFAW) and the ACLU,” Turner said. “It so happened that Ann Richards (former governor of Texas) had an apartment in my building in New York and I often saw them together there. I enjoyed working with Molly Smith so much during that production that she and I began to think of others. plays we could do it together. ”His suggestion of” Mother Courage and her children “seemed like the perfect choice for a Washington act.
“Mother Courage is a very fierce mother. She must 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 deal with many problems. like rheumatoid arthritis, and i’ve done the best i knew how.
“The story takes place during the war and resonates today. Brecht describes the war as absolutely useless and a terrible waste. No one benefits. Mother Courage is in a situation caused by people who decided to wage war, but it is the little people in the 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 antiwar 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 works of fiction and theory. When he wrote this work, he had created distinctive ways to convey concepts to his audience. These include posters to announce upcoming scenes, a single accessory to represent many similar elements, and songs to emphasize the themes and action. For this production, composer James Sugg wrote thirteen pieces of original music with lyrics by the British translator David Hare.
“Molly updated the Thirty Years’ War work of the 17th century to a more contemporary era, from World War I to World War II, so I chose a gypsy punk style to suit the times,” Sugg said. “The songs don’t work like a musical theater. Instead, Brecht stops in his tracks, then can insert a parable. One sung by the chaplain has a popular American or Johnny Cash twist, while the cook, an obscene character, sings reminiscent 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 nail a song that is exactly right for the moment, it brings immediate energy to the action and provides an arc throughout the night action.
“The characters follow the army like gypsies, carrying their instruments as they go, so we choose 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 is not often that you find someone who plays a musical saw, but we did, and this one has central moments.
“Kathleen Turner is one of five characters who sing. Although this is her debut as a professional singer, it is natural music. She learned her songs from a vocal coach and when she showed up to 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, neither protagonist had a low voice.
Everything was written for sopranos. My ex-husband had a band and always sang for fun, but he didn’t want to compete with my daughter, Rachel, who has extraordinary talent as a singer. The songs on this show are appropriate because they are harsh. Several are almost sarcastic in the way they talk about what God wants for people who are suffering. “