There are three performance components to Deborah Leiser-Moore's Cordelia, Mein Kind: dance, film and story. The last two work especially well: Leiser-Moore's story about her father's and her connection to King Lear, backed by home movies of her father as well as an antique Yiddish-language Russian film of Lear. But her dance interpretations leave us perplexed: what do they mean? Why are they there? Leiser-Moore is an excellent story teller. Whether or not she is her own equal as an interpretative dancer, or whether Sally Smith's choreography can match Leiser-Moore's touching story, is open to debate.
We would also like to know: What did the story about the young men on the train have to do with heart surgery?
RATINGS: ☼ ☼
The San Francisco Theater Blog Awards Division awards Cordelia, Mein Kind Two Stars, one for Leiser-Moore's fine narration and one for the fascinating Lear connection. It's difficult to rate it higher without more sense of story. As it is, her Dad managed to escape from Poland and make his way to Australia, then didn't really want to talk about it. This is not news, nor does it suffice to drive an entire show. But we could happily listen to Deborah Leiser-Moore tell us more, especially about herself, should she decide to expand the parameters of her show.
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"Cordelia, Mein Kind"
The Marsh
2120 Allston Way, Berkeley
ONE MORE SHOW ONLY: Sun., Feb. 5 at 3pm
$15-$35 sliding scale
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