SAN FRANCISCO—“I like it,” said former Broadway actor, Mr. Driscoll, with a smile after seeing Divine Performing Arts’ (DPA) 2009 show for the fifth time, in San Francisco’s renowned War Memorial Opera House. “I’m enjoying this immensely. I‘ll be here tonight and I’ll be here tomorrow ... this one here is one of the best that I have ever seen in my life.”
Mr. Driscoll is a true lover of performing arts, and has seen every opera in the War Memorial since 1946—estimating 6-8000. When he was younger he was a actor and performed in musicals like Oklahoma!, Carousel, South Pacific, and Flower Drum Song.
“Top—This is top,” he said of DPA compared to other performances he has seen. “Because, one, you learn from it—Chinese culture. And then the other part is that its very entertaining. Its beautifully done. I mean, to see them in sync just the way they are—that takes a lot of rehearsal, a lot dedicated, and a lot of wanting to do it. Because nobody will do that unless they rehearse together the way they are—they are wonderful, really wonderful.”
When asked which performance he liked best, Mr. Driscoll said thoughtfully, “that’s a hard one. The opening I loved, the ending I loved. I liked the Monkey King [The Monkey King Triumphs] and the monk trying to warn people. [Monk Ji Gong Abducts the Bride]. I liked the men’s drummers, both drum things. I like it all; that’s the problem. It’s hard for me to decide … every one of these numbers in this show has a lesson connected with it”
“This is unique, this is the history of China brought to the stage in a very elegant way for people to enjoy and if they can learn from it—they can learn from it. Believe in yourself, be truthful, go after your goals, so to speak. In every culture, you find that taught but how many people follow that today?—thats a good question, I don’t know.”
Mr. Driscoll thought that the singers’ voices were beautiful, but what makes it such a pleasure to listen to them, he said, is that he could learn something from each of the songs’ lyrics. This is where DPA’s uniqueness lies, according to the veteran performer, bringing China’s history to the stage in a very elegant way and showing many important values. “This show is the only one that I can honestly say gives you pure entertainment and lessons of life in such a pleasant way.”
Mr. Driscoll thinks that it’s a sin for the Communist Party to destroy China’s 5,000 years of history. “They are making a big mistake,” he said. “I mean, to let all that tradition go in China that has been there for thousands of years to put there the communist rule. I think its a sin, thats my own opinion. I feel that literally things that make a country great is remembering past. And literally, for China to be ignoring the past, I think they are making a big mistake. Yes, they will be great for a while but then they'll fall like every other country because they don’t remember the past.”
“This show here is one of the best that I have every seen in my life in my 68 years. I mean it. I saw it two years ago and I went back to the Orpheum last year and I can’t wait for it to come back next year,” he concluded.
Please see DivinePerformingArts.org for more information.
Mr. Driscoll is a true lover of performing arts, and has seen every opera in the War Memorial since 1946—estimating 6-8000. When he was younger he was a actor and performed in musicals like Oklahoma!, Carousel, South Pacific, and Flower Drum Song.
“Top—This is top,” he said of DPA compared to other performances he has seen. “Because, one, you learn from it—Chinese culture. And then the other part is that its very entertaining. Its beautifully done. I mean, to see them in sync just the way they are—that takes a lot of rehearsal, a lot dedicated, and a lot of wanting to do it. Because nobody will do that unless they rehearse together the way they are—they are wonderful, really wonderful.”
When asked which performance he liked best, Mr. Driscoll said thoughtfully, “that’s a hard one. The opening I loved, the ending I loved. I liked the Monkey King [The Monkey King Triumphs] and the monk trying to warn people. [Monk Ji Gong Abducts the Bride]. I liked the men’s drummers, both drum things. I like it all; that’s the problem. It’s hard for me to decide … every one of these numbers in this show has a lesson connected with it”
“This is unique, this is the history of China brought to the stage in a very elegant way for people to enjoy and if they can learn from it—they can learn from it. Believe in yourself, be truthful, go after your goals, so to speak. In every culture, you find that taught but how many people follow that today?—thats a good question, I don’t know.”
Mr. Driscoll thought that the singers’ voices were beautiful, but what makes it such a pleasure to listen to them, he said, is that he could learn something from each of the songs’ lyrics. This is where DPA’s uniqueness lies, according to the veteran performer, bringing China’s history to the stage in a very elegant way and showing many important values. “This show is the only one that I can honestly say gives you pure entertainment and lessons of life in such a pleasant way.”
Mr. Driscoll thinks that it’s a sin for the Communist Party to destroy China’s 5,000 years of history. “They are making a big mistake,” he said. “I mean, to let all that tradition go in China that has been there for thousands of years to put there the communist rule. I think its a sin, thats my own opinion. I feel that literally things that make a country great is remembering past. And literally, for China to be ignoring the past, I think they are making a big mistake. Yes, they will be great for a while but then they'll fall like every other country because they don’t remember the past.”
“This show here is one of the best that I have every seen in my life in my 68 years. I mean it. I saw it two years ago and I went back to the Orpheum last year and I can’t wait for it to come back next year,” he concluded.
Please see DivinePerformingArts.org for more information.
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