Friday, February 06, 2009, 11:44 AM
Atlanta, Arts and Theater
By Bert Osborne
One person's 'Bravo!' is another's 'Boo!'
Oh, I am just so happy for Kate Warner! After five seasons as artistic director at Dad’s Garage – after a prior 10 years as managing director for Theatrical Outfit, and as one of Atlanta’s most prolific "freelance" directors all the while – Warner will be packing it up at the Garage and leaving town altogether in April, when she becomes the new senior artistic director for Boston’s New Repertory Theatre. In my head, I know that it’s a terrific opportunity for Warner, a step up for her, a really big deal, and I’ve no doubt she’ll do a fine job.
Yeah, it’s great for her, but what about the rest of us (which is to say, of course, what about me)? Outside my head – I almost wrote "in my heart," but critics don’t have those, right? – there’s a selfish part of me that doesn’t feel much like celebrating the fact we’re losing one of our better directors. I review Atlanta theater. What happens in Boston stays in Boston. Out of sight, out of mind, to put it rather (yes) heartlessly. Will we ever see her again? What’s to celebrate?
Although I wasn’t always the biggest fan of her work, more recently I’d come to appreciate quite a lot of it. (Whether that means something about her evolution – or mine, perhaps – is another blog . . . .) Her exhilarating "Indulgences" was one of last season’s best productions. So was her sensuous "Skin" the season before that (one of several collaborations with Atlanta playwright Steve Yockey). From the classic drama "One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest" to the zombie musical "Song of the Living Dead" to last fall’s high-school satire "Class," Warner ran the gamut.
Her latest Garage show, "Mojo," opens this week in the troupe’s Top Shelf space, and Warner is also directing next month’s mainstage "B-Team" (opening March 13) – before heading off to Bean-Town. Details are forthcoming about who will now direct this summer’s "Boy Groove," and about whether the company’s Board of Directors might name an interim artistic director to carry through the season until they can find a permanent replacement by next fall.
"I’m very sad to move on but also very proud of how we have raised our audience’s expectations and changed how they go to the theater," Warner says in a press release issued today about her departure. "Most importantly, I’m proud to move on from Dad’s at a time when they are best positioned to take their own work to the next level."
I wish Warner all the best. Really, I do. No less so, just because I feel like sulking a little, too.
Too bad for Atlanta--Boston wins. Good luck, Kate...
Margaret
Friday, February 06, 2009 at 11:55 AM