Mark Morris Dance Group
“Pepperland” (2017)
Cal Performances UC Berkeley
Friday, May 9. Sunday May 11, 2025
Musical Theater ala Morris
The Mark Morris Dance Group presented a weekend of three performances at Zellerbach Hall in Berkeley this past weekend. The fourteen dancers are remarkable in their skill, energy and presentation. The audiences is delighted with it all. But, this ‘longtime dance teacher, writer, reviewer was not. There are several reasons.
Choreography: Morris has created “choreography” for his company since 1980 and has worked with many music groups. (I particularly remember his work with Yo-Yo Ma.). “Pepperland’ is danced to “original songs by The Beatles, (arr. By Ethan Iverson). The twelve songs are all delightful to older audiences (who remember them from their time.) But, the choreographic clichés abound: chorus lines, ‘carry-on” lifts that are just ‘cross-overs,’ endless repetitive ‘jazz’ moves and dull duets.
Music: Although the seven musicians and one ‘vocal’ are live and loud, nevertheless the selections come across at top volume, ‘miked’ and amplified. We the audience (mostly older adults) are besieged.
Costumes: Along with the music and movement, the costumes are as varied as exaggerated street clothes. This is to be expected since the ‘casual’ approach to presentation is what’s on here. But it’s not easy to see group ensemble for an hour with some ‘look’ alike on stage.
Presentation: The dancers are introduced one-by-one on a loud speaker with names such as “Albert Einstein” and “Marilyn Monroe”. Again, this is meant to bring humor to the event. When this reviewer sat in the balcony of Zellerbach, very few of the audience heard the names; no one laughed.
But the fourteen dancers have great skill and technique. Their energy and good humor abound, although by Sunday’s matinee it was quite evident they were tired. Opening night, Friday, May 9 was a high level energy, event; the dancers appeared to be having a good time, too.
Morris has become a legend in the dance world. He operates a school in Brooklyn, NY which gives hundreds of classes to all age levels in multiple genres of dance. Bravo! To the Morris Dance Center. For Berkeley audiences, Morris’ group presents a joyous reunion with old favorites, dance and music. For this reviewer, it was ‘show biz”, well done, performed with ‘class” …and often cliché and dull.
Note: all information concerning dancers names, music selections and musicians names can be found on Cal Performances web site.