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2016-2017 SeasonThe Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat

What did you think of The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat?

By November 22, 2016August 16th, 202331 Comments
Actors on stage

We hope you enjoyed your Quantum experience, and we’d love to hear your thoughts on The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat. Leave a comment below and tell us what you liked, disliked, or anything in particular that may have resonated with you. Thank you for your feedback!

Join the discussion 31 Comments

  • Steven Larchuk says:

    Amazing. Everything was really first rate. Thank you.

    My fiancee and I will likely become season subscribers having attended your last two opening nights.

    BTW – thank you for the 15% discount at Whitfield – wonderful food and service.

  • Chas clifton says:

    Hmm. Strong voices, thin plot, technical effects not interesting. Expected much more of quantum. Sorry!

  • Aron and Karen Primack says:

    We live in Pittsburgh only part of the year and find that we want to decide on which part based on Quantum Theater’s schedule. This production of “The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat” was superb and was worthy of planning our trip around it. The music was first rate and the production was innovative, creative, and superbly produced and sung. We will continue to revolve our trips around you.

    Aron and Karen

  • Ken Joseph says:

    I have been a Quantum subscriber many years and this production is one of my favorites. I was very moved by the performance, from beginning to end. I read the Oliver Sacks article years ago and reread it before the play and though I found the article interesting and thoughtful, it in no way touched me the way the performance did. What a testament to the power of music and the talent of the players! I will see this again, something I very rarely do.

  • John F Nagle says:

    Interesting material, the warm ending is a tribute to Sachs. Terrific singing, orchestration, acting, Seaman’s visual effects – great job Carla.

  • Elaine Morris says:

    I found it completely absorbing from beginning to end , a tightly woven braid of elements each one strengthening the other. Joe Seamans work was never “background” but integral, as was the music, to an understanding of the Mind,
    Excellent in a year of superb Quantum Theatre.

  • Rick Vernier says:

    This was a dazzling evening. I was gobsmacked, as I was when I first saw Stoppards Travesties.
    The profoundly humane treatment of people struggling with devastating fate, and of the redemptive power of art and music, was deeply moving.
    Dr P’s rendition of the Schumann leider, was heartbreaking, and the marvelous acting of his wife conveyed the ferocious love which allowed this couple to survive.
    Very impressed.

  • Trip Torbert says:

    As a poem to Mr. P’s perception versus his comprehension,
    to Mrs. P’s rationality versus her loyalty,
    and to the neurologist’s observation versus his taxonomy . . .
    Well, it was a sweet visit to a confusing world,
    and a parable.

  • A beautiful, imaginative adaptation of the great Oliver Sacks essay. I love Michael Nyman’s score, and loved the way singers and orchestra combined technical virtuosity with emotional transparency. The piece effectively dramatized the idea that people can adapt creatively, even ingeniously, to their illness.

  • Barbara G Jones says:

    I thought the production was put together in a very interesting way–weaving music and projections and character study of an emotionally difficult subject with so much grace and tact. By the end I was moved by his fate. The singing was superb, the orchestral accompaniment perfectly timed and the piano player totally present throughout. A strange topic very well performed. It had the stamp of Karla’s genius.

  • David Longstreet says:

    What a great production !
    The staging and graphics were crucial yet subtle and clever… the orchestra was great. Amazing sound quality in a site not created for music at all!
    This performance expressed the warmth and humanity of sack’s not just a wooden presentation
    Kevin Glain was brilliant… with no disrespect to Ian McEuen and Katy Williams who brought human and pathos to their parts… my wife and I have paused to share with each other moments from the production that emerge from recalling the story and your presentation… Bravo

  • Peggy Outon says:

    The image of the couple dancing in front of the outdoor terrace filled with people enjoying themselves…as close to Heaven as we may ever get and I would suspect a happy memory for many in the audience…and the insistence that his art made his life possible even when faced by tremendous physical adversity coupled with Dr. S’s loving respect. I was moved and glad to be there!

  • Michael West says:

    Certainly one of Quantum’s best and more theatrical than I expected from my reading of Sacks’ essay. The music was powerful, and I can’t recall a production where projected images seemed better integrated into the overall effect of the piece. It’s hard for me to understand why there isn’t a bigger audience for contemporary operas as good as this one.

  • Sue Smerd says:

    Has there ever been a more powerful work about art as a matter of life or death? And what a gorgeous production… the music so moving, the voices so powerful. The affect so uplifting. Thank you again, Karla!

  • Joseph German says:

    Brilliant. Bravo!

  • Daniel Resnick says:

    Incredibly moving production with outstanding stage and musical direction. The superb voices, so well integrated with graphics and
    live instruments, made this a memorable rendering of Sacks’ case study, Visual agnosia took on a new life. One of the very best musical
    and theatrical performances of the past year, in a city with an outsize offering of both. Congrats to Boos and Cladera.

  • Jamini Davies says:

    Absolutely loved it even though I was in floods of tears during the last 10 minutes~so truly touching without being maudlin~the way the wife protected her beloved moved me greatly. The production was amazing~right up there with Quantum’s finest. We are so lucky here in Pittsburgh to have theater/opera at this level. Kudos and sincere thanks to all who were involved in this fantastic piece.
    Also appreciated the ease of buying a ticket (a real human on the phone with a delightful cheerful manner, even!).

  • Marlene Haus says:

    I loved it especially the music and the orchestra. The script and the voices were outstanding as well as the innovative screen projections. I had read the book many years ago but this operetta explained the story more concisely than the book did. It was so good to see Andres Cladera again in Pittsburgh. I hope he will return. Karla—once agin you offered a beautiful, artistic work.

  • Heather says:

    Excellent! Loved the beautiful singing – top notch! The lyrics projected on the wall were helpful. I was curious what his condition was exactly though (Not just the symptoms but if it has a name) and how common it is. :-) It really made me think of the psychology of the caregiver. Thanks for a great performance!

  • Karen says:

    What a wonderful evening. The images added so much. The singing was fabulous.

  • Jay Carson says:

    Excellent adaptation. Great music and voices supported and important and unusual work. We loved it.

  • William C Price, Jr., Esq says:

    I had no idea there would be any singing, let alone that it would be an opera. I was blown away by how great this show was. I loved the special effects, including the go pro camera broadcasting of the examination of doctor’s viewpoint. I also appreciated the captioned text. Just brilliant. The casting was perfect. The execution was perfect. It cannot get any better than this.

  • S.H Smith says:

    Lovely in all production values—voices, visual, music–and deeply moving. Congratulations to all who were involved.

  • Hazel Cope says:

    It was a fascinating evening of theater and music. Great theme which was very well illustrated by the singers, the background projections and the script. It made the complex story understandable and very moving. Unfortunately I found the music loud and rather irritating, to be honest I hated much of it. Kevin Glavin sang the lovely Schumann lieder so beautifully that I wished Schumann could have written the whole score. Thanks to everyone who worked on the….well, I guess I’ll say “performance” as it was more than just a play or just an opera. And thanks for the life of Oliver Sacks, who illuminated so much of the mystery of human experience for us.

    As I criticized the music this time, I will add that your production of The Winter’s Tale, last season, was absolutely brilliant.

  • Angeles L.P. Stiteler says:

    I can only echo what others have said: it was an incredible, moving performance: subject matter treated with respect, visuals and words to help us understand, voices and music that added to make this one of the best Quantum productions I have seen. Thank you to all.

  • Steven Schlossman says:

    Simply terrific: the production even more than the subtle and moving story itself. Gripping live music, fine acting, clever use of visual imagery to add a dimension the ongoing drama. Seeing and hearing the great Kevin Glavin close-up in this role was a special treat.

  • Hal says:

    I too cannot beat what most of the writers of earlier comments related. I was very moved, not expecting that. The 70 minutes passed far too quickly. Thanks.

  • Phyllis Ochs says:

    Fantastic

  • Peter Staffel says:

    A wonderful production. Our only “complaint” was that due to the venue (low ceiling, extended seating) the close seats we sat in, which were wonderful for seeing, had an almost distorted/loud sound–clear enough, just almost uncomfortably loud. Minor issue for a wonderful evening. Q does it again.
    Does anyone else notice how much Andres Calera looks like the British Actor David Tennant?

  • Amy B says:

    I was surprised and amazed! I didn’t know what to expect. The projections transformed the experience and took the show somewhere magical. I loved the music and the piano accompaniment was perfect. When Dr. P started singing I sunk back in my seat knowing I would love the show. His voice is outstanding, so perfect, compelling, and enjoyable. Mrs. P’s voice was wonderful, but her love of her husband came through in a special way. At the end when she covered him with the shawl and they danced, I almost cried. Lastly, Dr. S was equally talented and he portrayed Dr. Oliver Sacks perfectly when he said he didn’t know what was wrong, but he knew what was right. He portrayed the doctor’s love for humanity so well by prescribing more music. Excellent writing, acting, and singing. Great job Quantum Theater. I will certainly be back for more. (BTW, I did have the dinner as well which was wonderful! The cassoulet was yummy and my daughter thoroughly enjoyed the chicken with Brussels sprouts.) Thank you for a wonderful evening.

  • Jeremy & Michelle says:

    My wife and I are subscribers for this season and have seen several of past Quantum performances as well, in which we have always found something to admire (whether it be production direction, light design, the relationship of space to a piece’s theme, a player’s performance, etc.). The production of TMWMHWFAH was a marked exception–

    The surfeit of visual information (landscape projections, the examination camera ‘live feed,’ etc.) and the the score’s hysterics could not compensate for the libretto’s utter absence of drama (by this I mean dynamism–plot, structure, suspense, etc.). During the prologue and initial meeting between Dr. S and the patient, we were convinced that the piece must be a parody due to exaggerated choices made by the creative team and the material. What little honest representation there was to uncover onstage was overwhelmed by the projected images and visual stimuli.

    The most interesting part of the production may have been the shadow’s cast by the performers onto the projections, ore even the perilous, unlit journey to use the restroom.

    There were a few small moments when the actors were in repose that we enjoyed, along with the libretto’s often ridiculous ejaculations of jargon (e.g. SCHEMATA!) proved amusing in retrospect.

    As supporters of Quantum, we are ecstatic that this run seems to have been such a financial success and has exposed more people to an organization I admire; I wish it had not come at the expense of the earnestness of creative expression for which we value your productions. We look forward to enjoying the rest of the season.

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