SECOND TIME AROUND: A DUET FOR CELLO AND STORYETLLER
Written and Performed by Charlie Varon
Original Cello Score Composition by Joan Jeanrenaud
Developed with & Directed by David Ford
March 5 – April 17, 2016 | San Francisco
Saturdays at 8:30pm | Sundays at 2pm
“The intertwining of narratives is skillfully developed, and enticingly interwoven with Jeanrenaud’s eloquent cello.” –Robert Hurwitt, SF Chronicle
“So it is with great pleasure that we can announce that “Second Time Around,” a duet for cello and storyteller, performed with cellist Joan Jeanrenaud, is the best Charlie Varon show we have seen in years. “ –SF Theater Blog
“If you’ve spent some quanta of your life perpetually in the shadow of WWII, but not hearing family stories, or hearing it as only places on maps, ”Second Time Around’ touches home.” –Stark Insider
“The storyteller is a master of the craft, subsuming himself in the persona of his protagonist; switching pace, tone, and character as the tale demands; building his narrative with canny twists and mounting intensity.” –Robert Hurwitt, SF Gate
“The cello sets the tone; weaves in and around the story; illustrates, comments upon, and supports it; and, when heightened emotion is called for, ventures where the actor dare not go.” –Robert Hurwitt, SF Gate
An exciting new collaboration between The Marsh’s own Charlie Varon and world-renowned cellist Joan Jeanrenaud. Charlie and Joan, working under the direction of David Ford, have adapted Charlie’s new short story, “Second Time Around,” into a fully-scored duet for cello and storyteller. Come see what happens when the magic of storytelling joins the soul-stirring music of the cello.
About the story: “Second Time Around” is the next in Charlie Varon’s cycle of fictional tales about smart old people. Ben Rosenau is being videotaped for a high school history project. What to tell the kid? Some old war stories about flying missions against the Nazis? Offer advice about what it is to be a man? The Greatest Generation meets the iPhone generation.
Artist Biography
Charlie Varon has been credited with “redefining the medium” of solo performance )SF Chronicle). His hit shows at The Marsh have included Rabbi Sam, Rush Limbaugh in Night School, The People’s Violin, and Feisty Old Jew. He has also collaborated on and directed Dan Hoyle’s many hit shows.
Joan Jeanrenaud is a cellist, composer, arranger, and improviser. She was the cellist of the Kronos Quartet for 20 years. Her work with Kronos included more than 30 recordings and over 2000 performances that took her to virtually every major concert hall worldwide. During those years the group became — in the words of New York Times critic John Rockwell — “the world’s best known, most innovative contemporary-music quartet.”
David Ford is one of the nation’s leading directors of solo theater. He has collaborated with Charlie Varon for over two decades, and with the dozens of other performers, including Geoff Hoyle, Brian Copeland, Marilyn Pittman, and Echo Brown. For this project, David has also taken on the role of conductor (although he will not appear on stage).