Warren  Gerds/Critic  at  Large:  Review:  Unique  figures  meld  in  Sturgeon  Bay  Third  Avenue  Playhouse  By: Warren Gerds Posted:  May  26,  2017  07:47  AM  CDT  Updated:  May  26,  2017  07:47  AM  CDT  

     

Heidi Hodges  (James Valcq stars as eclectic, eccentric musician/wit Erik Satie in his one-man "Velvet Gentleman" at Third Avenue Playhouse in Sturgeon Bay.)  

…Erik Satie is something of a treat (from a distance of a century). WatchingJames Valcq perform as Erik Satie is wondrous. Valcq immerses into the fussy, finicky, clever and aggravatingly brilliant personage of the musician/wit/composer/goofball that was Satie (1866-1925). Pince-nez – the glasses without temples (arms) – may come into style around Sturgeon Bay, Valcq wears them so well as he… Plays piano, sampling the music of Satie, which is something of sampling of styles in the first place. Becomes a silhouette figure. First, he offers an array of jaunty poses or motions. Later, he even dances…. to the point of the can-can for a bit (until getting mock-winded). Plays a squeezebox that’s set up like an accordion but half the size in a haunting, melancholy tune that you’ve heard many times but can’t exactly place the where’s or when’s.

Goes ballistic a bit for the times he’s knocked on the door of respectability and recognition, only to be turned away from that mansion. Now, he explodes into a snowstorm of his sheet music. Sings, in French for one song. It’s a sad, lovely and earnest affair about love, now gone. Skims through the biography (“autobiography”?, for Valcq seems to be the man) of Satie, not only in music, music/poems and quips but letters and lectures…” Valcq may be the best Erik Satie there ever was, for Satie is condensed and revealed in ways Satie himself never did or would have been able to do. And the “show” is entertaining – something to smile through almost the whole way. Valcq can do this because he is such a complete entity. As a composer, he understands the nooks and crannies of music and its making. As a musician, he can perform said music. As a director, he can delve into character, make it blossom. As a designer, he can envision settings and create backdrops that include sequences of visuals. As an actor, he can develop nuance. The best sequence is a section with Valcq/Satie at the piano, composing. He plays two notes, then searches for an appealing, fitting third. He tries and fails, tries and fails. This is done slowly, carefully, warmly. Finally, Valcq/Satie finds what sounds best – completes a shard of beauty. Valcq then goes on to explain harmony and melody. He shows the differences. He demonstrates how, together, they create something else, complete – a symbiotic relationship. The performance of that creates a oneness. Very fascinating. Extraordinary. In the second half, the Valcq/Satie humor continues, then turns. Valcq/Satie is now rumpled of hair and actions. Absinthe. The green devil of a drink does that. Satie danced with that devil. Valcq takes Satie down that swirl and closes the performance with a touching, dramatic, theatrical note. All along, sound and light whiz Logan Thomas keeps pace with Valcq/Satie to create effective scene after effective scene. The world premiere “show” is like a stand-up comedy routine with theatrical blackouts and music and supreme artistry and craftsmanship. You’re not going to see anything like it on Earth except at Third Avenue Playhouse in Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin.