Fort Greene

Innovative BAM performance pays tribute to L.A. in Brooklyn

December 16, 2014 By Benjamin Preston Special to the Brooklyn Daily Eagle
Gabriel Kahane pays homage to his native Los Angeles during a performance of “The Ambassador” at the Brooklyn Academy of Music. Photos by Max Gordon, courtesy of BAM
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Chronicling one’s hometown in a meaningful way is serious business. Despite peppering his performance with one-liners that caused the audience to titter at intervals, Gabriel Kahane delivered a sober, self-reflective performance as he paid homage to his native Los Angeles at the Brooklyn Academy of Music (BAM) last week.

Kahane’s new album, “The Ambassador,” uses 10 L.A. addresses to tell stories about the town from the perspective of characters who were, or might have been, at those places. A mixture of music and theater, the show never completely becomes either, fluidly moving from one place in the city’s recollection to another. The most memorable stops on this ethereal musical tour are the Empire Liquor Mart, where a young black girl was shot to death in 1991, and the Ambassador Hotel, where Kahane and his onstage acolytes wistfully reminisce about a place where the good times rolled for everyone, from Hollywood icons to mid-afternoon rummies.

The theatrical portion of the show, which was commissioned by BAM, was fashioned by a pair of Tony Award winners: John Tiffany staged the act and Christine Jones designed its very elaborate set. Tall stacks of books, along audio visual devices and other objects of the sort that might be found in shops along J.K. Rowling’s mythical Diagon Alley, create a sort of cityscape of literary detritus, forming the backdrop for a relaxed cast of musicians. Sometimes sitting, sometimes lying on the floor, staring pensively at the rafters, Kahane’s backups bend the focus of the audience toward their leader, silently insisting with their pious intensity that his rituals be revered.

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Kahane stays pretty busy throughout the performance, padding from one side of the stage to the other as songs melt into one another, so that he can switch on a device (record player, reel-to-reel tape deck, CD player, slide projector, etc.) that will herald the viewer’s arrival at a new address. This is achieved in various ways: brilliant recorded poetry, a short film, still photos and a number of other devices. Kahane’s movements on stage seem to invite the viewer to join him, in the same way a bookish child would quietly beckon a visiting relative to take a tour of the things he has collected in his hallowed bedroom.

The music is simple, the musical theater complex and the lyrics often depart L.A. for some part of the ether reserved for active imaginations. Kahane’s mournful voice can make it seem as if he thinks L.A. is a shriveling metropolis, but the stories he tells eventually bring the viewer out of the darker episodes and back into the glittering California sun. Whether or not Angelenos who still live there will agree with the interpretation of a man who moved away years ago and now calls Brooklyn home remains to be seen. But the manner in which Kahane relates his point of view is likely to leave the viewer thinking about all of the good and bad things lurking in the City of Angels long after the show has ended.

 


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