One Discordant Violin

See it if "A duet for storyteller and violinist." Beauty and art can be found in unexpected places and can change how one feels and sees the world.

Don't see it if you are not interested in a cerebral experience; there is a sense of melancholy which might not appeal to all & the music is mournful; wordy

Also Some might think this play slow moving and/or boring. I thought it enchanting, sad, thought provoking and appreciative of beauty wherever and however you may find it.... Read more Read less

See it if Solo show but with 2nd non-speaking character playing beautiful violin music; a would-be writer meets a musician (full-time job custodian)

Don't see it if Want more character development and/or more music. Expecting Martel's absorbing work. (I am a huge Life of Pi fan.)

Also Not sure whether weaknesses due to Martel's original story or to the play's book.
The performer was wonderful with what he had.... Read more Read less

See it if a work of art has ever touched your soul to such a degree that the experience stands out as life altering, or if you'd like to.

Don't see it if You are not willing to work with the author and actors to understand how something as seemingly inconsequential as a concert can change you.

See it if You enjoy podcasts like This American Life, Radiolab, Rough Translation. You were a lit major.

Don't see it if You dislike shows that are essentially extended monologues.

Also "I'm looking at a dead event and trying to give it new life. In a sense, I'm a taxidermist." -Yann Martel

Perhaps a necromancer would be a more apt description in this case. For seventy minutes a dead event is, in fact, resurrected at 59E59.

One Discordant Violin is adapted from Yann Martel's short story, "The Time I Heard the Private Donald J. Rankin String Concerto with One Discordant Violin, by the American Composer John Morton."

While it is a serviceable adaptation, it seems to lack urgency. The stakes are simply too low. There is also a jarring disconnect between the Almayer's Folly theme and the rest of the show thematically.

There is though, an abundance of beautiful music, performed by Jacques Mindreau. Mindreau's music will transport you.

Even though One Discordant Violin may not have lived up to my expectations, set very high by 2B Theatre Company's Old Stock, I cannot wait to see what this innovative Canadian company puts up next!... Read more Read less

See it if You want an interesting piece that will suck you into its world with detailed writing, clever staging and beautiful use of light and sound.

Don't see it if You want a show with a strong story - the set up is so intricate that it seems as if it should go somewhere more.

See it if you like short, small, understated plays that grab you and go deep, touching on power of art & life's disillusionment, complex but beautiful

Don't see it if you prefer a large production,don't get plays that just skim the surface of things and let the audience fill in many of the missing pieces.

See it if U want to hear beautiful haunting music created by Aaron Collier & Jacques Mindreau. It will make you believe in beauty no matter what/where

Don't see it if U expect a fully developed story because it is just a solo actor recounting a chance meeting with a ordinary war vet/janitor & a concert.

Also This story is merely a fragment of a potentially possible full story. It does not have enough interesting ingredients or plots to even be called a play. A solo actor portrays an ordinary man recalling 1 chance encounter with a talented war vet/janitor after hearing his ethereal concerto. The vet’s music was created during the most horrific time in the war field showing how man can rise above the darkest times with creating beauty in the mind. His music inspired other soldiers as well as the narrator who sought to persue writing but somehow never follow his dream.

Music is played in the background in dark lighting & stark stage with Mindreau not speaking. However, his talented violin playing & mundane cleaning gestures movingly speaks to us of how war ruins & destroys gifts & how vets are used up & forgotten.

I wish this play can be reworked into a fleshed out script performed in operetta featuring more of Collier & Mindreau’s Music (him playing violin.)
The vet should be the lead.... Read more Read less

See it if Like moody, elegiac one man shows. Nice characterization, innovative light/projection design and use of set.

Don't see it if Looking for much of a plot, happy ending, or excitement. Can't stand one man shows

See it if you like violin playing

Don't see it if ytou dont like long speechs

See it if The show started with the Violinist played in the darkness and slowly opened up. It was meditative and mesmerizing, told the story in 70 min

Don't see it if If you don’t like a slow play and hope you can find the bright light at the end.

See it if you like a good thought-provoking story about art and creating art, and the hardships that go along with it.

Don't see it if do not like small intimate plays.

See it if Music has played a strong role in your life in any way

Don't see it if You don’t have a love for the arts

See it if you appreciate original, imaginative, sensitive, stirring, intelligent playwrighting, acting, and set design in a virtually one-man show

Don't see it if you prefer dialogue to monologue, and action to stillness, and definitely not if you don't like the violin

See it if Extraordinary theatrical performance. Wonderful! The writing was especially exquisite and haunting at the end.

Don't see it if You hate great theatre

Also The story, performances and music🎻
were so touching and took us all
on a journey we’ll never forget.
I hope to see it a second time.... Read more Read less

See it if you like a show that draws on literary allusions and represents one person's moment of transcendence.

Don't see it if you don't want to see what is essentially a monologue.

See it if music and staging were interesting and creative. Narrated story was overwrought and never grabbed me- the core was not well developed.

Don't see it if You like fresh words and stories that are moving. The writing lacked the talent of the music and didn’t carry its’ weight.

See it if Canadian forever touched by memories of forgotten veteran custodial concerto virtuoso.Operatic."With music, the mind's traffic is silenced."

Don't see it if Apolitical multiple-role monologue w/ strings/vocalising."We were defined by wars we didn't follow America into/Same river, different Bush"

Also "I had it all; so; within the reach of my hand"

See it if you enjoy moving, intricate, vivid storytelling, classical violin music, coming of age stories, and reminiscence about the pain of USA wars

Don't see it if you prefer large casts, elaborate sets, costumes, and orchestra, multiple acts, comedies, musicals, or light themes, or you can’t sit 70 min

Also I have never seen a show at 59 E 59 Theatre that I did not adore. I have never met a Canadian whom I did not adore, and this show involves 3. I have never experienced a drama related to the Vietnam War that did not move me to sobs. Word to wise theatre lovers, especially American Boomers: Don’t miss this one. It may change your life.... Read more Read less

See it if you like Yann Martel in any form. But this short story is no Life of Pi & shouldn't be a 75 minute drama. Nothing dramatic happens

Don't see it if you expect an earth-shattering event to take place in this play. The narrator describes his (unseen) experience & his life doesn't change.

Also This boring script reminded me of a short story I wrote in about 6th grade, on a phenomenal life-changing event that, in hindsight, wasn't phenomenal at all.

I kept waiting for the earth-shattering event, which we don't hear or see. And nothing changes.

The really great thing in this piece is the original music written and performed by Jacques Mindreau, a superb violinist whom I'd like to see all alone on stage.

Otherwise, this play is just boring. There were a few amusing lines, but I couldn't wait to get out of this performance; 75 minutes was too long.

This show doesn't live up to expectations raised.

59E59 struck out again. At its current rate of disappointment this season, I will not rejoin the theater next year.

Especially since "discounted" member prices are 5 times higher than Show-Score prices, often listed long after I've bought at full member prices.... Read more Read less

See it if You like classical music, the play starts with beautiful music in dark, it really evokes feelings, then it is followed by a narrator

Don't see it if You are not a fan of small, bare bone theater. You are waiting for action, drama, intensity.

See it if The consonance and dissonance of sounds in music are allegorical representations of the dreams, aspirations of humankind versus the violence

Don't see it if If you do not like classical music, since violin playing it is critical to the storytelling.

Also aggression and destruction of wars, the rat race, and lives without meaning or purpose. Excellent acting, music making, and staging.... Read more Read less

See it if you've been at a loss for words over a piece of art, and find beauty in the ephemeral nature of music.

Don't see it if this show is one man telling a story about seeing a concert; it is not always riveting.

See it if you're in search of a tweak on the one-man-show: Anthony Black's literary monologue gets live violin accompaniment from Jacques Mindreau.

Don't see it if you heard "multimedia" and thought "razzle-dazzle." This production is barebones and its use of media is streamlined, if thoughtfully so.

Also Memorable Quote: "Sometimes with music, the mind's traffic is silenced."... Read more Read less

See it if you like classical music. A duet by actor & violin. I liked the violin. The actor's riffing was uninspiring.

Don't see it if Do do not like one man show

See it if It is a story of a man , simple story that wanted to become a writer but fell in love with music. Very touching simple story.

Don't see it if If you are looking for big stage with many actors.