VINCENT: THE REAL STORY OF VAN GOGH
As much as I’ve been a lover of culture since I was a little girl, I just can’t get excited about museums, (except for school trips, because, for some reason, all their gift shops sold Cray-Pas, my favorite non-edible substance!) As soon as someone asks me to go to one, I get tired. But since seeing this wonderful one-man show about the Dutch painter, Vincent Van Gogh, last week, I’m obsessed with his work. I want to fly to Amsterdam just to see his stunning paintings in person!!! (At the very least, I’ll make sure to view The Starry Night at the Museum of Modern Art the next time I’m in New York.)
I’ve, of course, been aware of Van Gogh’s artwork most of my life, but his story is what got to me. And apparently to everyone in the sold-out Theatre Raymond Kabbaz last week, as well, because you could hear a pin drop for the entire seventy-five minutes that actor Jean-Michel Richaud worked his magic.
Vincent: The Real Story of Van Gogh was written by the late Leonard Nimoy way back in 1981, for himself. (Star Trek fans may already know about it, but this was the first I ever heard about it.) But I’m glad that I got to see Jean-Michel do it instead because he’s adorable. And I’m shallow.
This show is presented from Van Gogh’s brother Theo’s point of view, mainly through over five hundred letters exchanged between the two siblings over the years. It made me realize that there’s so much I never knew about Van Gogh, a nescience in which I’m sure I’m not alone. I was aware of only his art, and, of course, that something happened to his ear. (But the infamous ear-cutting wasn’t even mentioned until fifty minutes into this show! Good for Nimoy to not make it the focus, which so many people do when discussing Van Gogh.)
Jean-Michel Richaud as Vincent Van Gogh.
I usually loathe one-person shows, but Jean-Michel Richaud is so charming, and distinguishes between Vincent and his brother just subtly enough to make it all riveting. I’m glad he commanded my attention because I enjoyed learning so much about this unbelievably talented artist, like the fact that he sold only one of his stunning paintings in his lifetime! Who knew?! (In case you, too, are interested in facts like this, it was Red Vineyard and went for four hundred francs in 1890.)
And before he was an artist, he helped the poor and sick in the Belgian black country. Van Gogh didn’t even get prolific until just the last year of his life! Wow, that is something I had no idea about. And he had epilepsy, which was also news to me.
One amusing anecdote is that when Vincent watched Theo paint, he showed him how it should be done by working on Theo’s painting himself! And then declared it to now look good. That’s exactly what my painting teacher did to me in Brooklyn when I was a young art student. My sister and I took lessons from Shirley Berger on week-ends, and after I’d painted a section, Shirley sat down and “refined” it for me. But she was actually repainting my entire painting! And then she’d sit back and tell me that now it was perfect. Well, duh.
Outside of learning about Van Gogh’s life, and seeing the beautiful performance by Richaud, I really loved the amazing visuals–more than one hundred works of Van Gogh’s were projected onto the back screen over the course of the show. His early ones are fascinating. But the best was at the end–they threw the body of them up there in a row, just like at the end of a fireworks show!!! I actually heard “oohs” and “ahhs” among the audience. (Admittedly, and proudly, many of them did emanate from moi!)
One of my favorite lines in the show is when Van Gogh is talking about his love interest, who is rejecting him. He says, “It is my intention to love her so long that she’ll give in!” I was happy to discover that Van Gogh and I would have been simpatico because that’s exactly what I did with Mr. X! He calls me “the stalker who won.” And you know what—I’m proud of it!!! Every girl should take lessons from me on how to get her man!
A couple of copies of Vincent Van Gogh’s self-portraits in TRK’s lobby. Photo by Karen Salkin.
But here’s something we’re certainly the opposite of simpatico on: All the self-portraits Van Gogh painted show him as a less-than good-looking older man. (Shockingly, he died at only thirty-seven!!! I never knew that.) But if I painted portraits of myself, I would make myself look younger, not older! And prettier, too. (But that goes without saying.)
The whole experience at Theatre Raymond Kabbaz was as easy-going as always. As many of you know by now, I love that theatre. One of the special touches they proffer is art shows in the courtyard which go along with the presentation of the moment. This time it was copies of Van Gogh’s paintings done by eighth grade students in the theatre’s associate school next door, Le Lycee Francais de Los Angeles. It was lovely.
Some of the children’s artwork outside. Photo by Karen Salkin.
I also get a kick out of hearing so many audience members speak French to each other (because it’s a French theater—duh.) So as we left amid all the french talkers, my friend said she loved it because she felt like we were in France right then! What a beautiful feeling to have.
One of the most special things about Theatre Raymond Kabbaz is that most of their shows are presented for just one or two nights, which means that, alas, you’ve already missed Vincent: The Real Story of Van Gogh. (But you might be able to see it somewhere someday; Jean-Michel Richaud performs it other places from time to time, including Europe, for my international readers!) So to make sure that you don’t miss any more experiences at this wonderful, comfortable, perfectly-located theatre, just check-out their site below. I personally cannot wait to see Tomáš Kubínek, Certified Lunatic and Master of the Impossible on December 1! [Note: The theatre was sold-out for Vincent, so don’t sleep on any of their other offerings.]
Theatre Raymond Kabbaz 10361 W. Pico Blvd. 310-286-0553 www.theatreraymondkabbaz.com
