Edward Scissorhands – Theatrical Production
Entirely due to random circumstances, I wound up attending Edward Scissorhands last night at the 5th Avenue Theater in Seattle. The theater is a fabulous venue and I’ve enjoyed many performances there. However, I’ll come right out and say that last night’s show was disappointing on many levels. The story arc of the movie does not lend itself to conveyance via modern ballet. The costumes were fine, with interesting and at times powerful staging. But the strongest elements from the movie are:
- Danny Elfman’s soundtrack
- Tim Burton’s creative vision
- Johnny Depp
Subtract them, and all that is left is the not-terribly interesting central plot line that is delivered through interpretive dance. An extended shindig sequence, ostensibly added to give the cast a chance to boogie, was pointless.
I suppose the bigger question in all this is “what is the point of extracting the weakest element of this movie, and then not bothering to include dialog? If this were couched as experimental theater, audiences (and Scissorheads) might have a different mindset going into it. The regular theater patrons and gothlings in attendance all seemed to feel dissatisfied with the production. Overall, I’d give it a “meh”.