May 12-18, 2005

artpicks

Moments of Zen

by Steve Cohen

Theater

It's hard to categorize the music of Paul Dresher. "Some critics say I'm post-minimalist. I prefer to describe myself as a pre-maximalist. Anyway, I like to look at where music is going, not where it's been."

Dresher's been writing unusual music-theater pieces since the 1980s and performing them with his own ensemble. This week the Prince Music Theater presents two of his compositions — one of his oldest, plus his newest. The Tyrant had its premiere last week in Seattle, and Philly will see the first performances of it by Dresher's own troupe.

"They're tied together by having small instrumental forces and a vocal soloist," says Dresher, "but they are in different styles." Slow Fire, written in 1985 when Dresher was 34, is influenced by rock 'n' roll. "I was a fan of Talking Heads. I use pre-recorded tape which I control with a foot pedal while I use my hands to play keyboard and guitar. There's also a drum set, so it looks like rock." Of the musical monodrama about a delusional man and his search for values in a changing world, Dresher says, "While Slow Fire is in no way an explicit critique of American policies, it offers engaging characters whose behavior asks that we reflect on the larger consequences of their actions."

The Tyrant, on the other hand, is all acoustic. Dresher says it is "classic contemporary." He seems to contradict that when he adds that it resembles Schoenberg's Pierrot Lunaire, written way back in 1912. No matter. Schoenberg's music was ahead of its time. The plot involves a king who is sequestered and who learns everything about the world by sounds. Many of Dresher's works include Asian influences. His recent Snow in June is a collaboration with Charles Mee, a playwright familiar to Philadelphia audiences from productions at the Wilma among others, and director Chen Shi-Zheng. It uses traditional Chinese subjects and movement. Dresher says that he had no Asian influences in his youth. Growing up in Los Angeles, he played bluegrass and blues when he was young.

"It's an allegory about silencing the many voices we all carry around and learning to listen to your inner self. Sort of a Zen Buddhist concept. People tell me that it's beautiful, but that wasn't my intention."

Slow Fire, Wed., May 18, 7 p.m.; Sat., May 21, 8 p.m.; Sun., May 22, 3 p.m.; The Tyrant, Thu.-Fri., May 19-20, 8 p.m., $10-$20, $35 for Slow Fire/The Tyrant repertory package. A special Cross Currents pass is available for Slow Fire, The Tyrant and the upcoming Randy Newman's The Middle of Nowhere for $50. Prince Music Theater, 1412 Chestnut St., 215-569-9700 , www.princemusictheater.org.