Also this issue:

Worlds of Wonder
“Cabinets of Curiosities” is a magical journey through time and spaces.
-Robin Rice

20/20 Vision
Snyderman Gallery celebrates 20 years in the furniture business.
-Lori Hill

“A Night at the Casbah”
-Lori Hill

Baseball panel discussion
-Andrew Milner

Louis Faurer: A Photographic Retrospective
-John Vettese

Sherman Alexie
-John Freeman

Bloomsday Celebration
-Lori Hill

Frankie Avalon
-Interview by A.D. Amorosi

June 12-18, 2003

theater

BigSmorgasbord WunderWerk

by David Anthony Fox

I can’t banish all elements of confusion about this show -- but I can clarify at least one point. Squonk Opera is the name of the group. The particular piece they are currently performing at the Prince is BigSmorgasbord WunderWerk -- hereafter, for simplicity, just BS. (The company has another … hmm, event … called Inferno, which opens on June 24.)

A smorgasbord is what it is -- or at least the American variation thereon, with lots of colorful yet suspiciously unidentifiable bowls of this and pots of that. A few items prove worth sampling; others are stomach-turning. None of it adds up to a meal.

Even a basic description is tough. BS looks to me more like a concept concert event than a piece of theater. There's no dialogue, but there's an extended score (by Jackie Dempsey and the group) that mixes genres, from a solo accordionist mangling "The Pennsylvania Polka" to elaborate techno-pop stuff a la Laurie Anderson and Philip Glass. The six-performer ensemble handles the musical responsibilities, as well as what I suppose would be called "acting."

There's nothing resembling a plot, but there does seem to be a concept -- the visual world is largely occupied with three things: 1) surreal variations on food of the "oooh, gross" variety; 2) clever machinery that the Squonkers manipulate; 3) some images that parody Wagner's Ring operas.

The whole thing has the quality of a child's dream, and some of it is kind of fun. It's also brave of the Prince Music Theater to bring this gritty Pittsburgh-based troupe to Philly -- they certainly represent one extreme of musical theater.

Alas, the sedate, upholstered Prince Theater is no place for Squonk, nor does this show seem right for this genteel audience. BS might be delightful in an abandoned warehouse, where large numbers of kids and ultra-cool Gen Y-ers could explore the various scenic installations and musical episodes on their own time. But to be seated and forced to passively watch the show in sequence -- for 90 minutes?

So, in keeping with the smorgasbord idea of taking what I like and leaving the rest: I did enjoy the squishy, Claes Oldenburg-esque scenery (part of the problem is I so wanted to touch it!). As for the incomprehensible lyrics (well, most of them are merely vowel sounds, not real words), and the spasmodic, Björk-wannabe lead singer who sounds like a cross between Betty Boop and Enya, and is featured in virtually every number?

Let's just say, no seconds please.

BigSmorgasbord WunderWerk

June 18-22, Prince Music Theater, 1412 Chestnut St., 215-569-9700.