Glow!
Glow represents 2 years of
a show that immersed itself in a unique
creative process, using theatrical forms
and technical innovations seldom tried.
But it was worth it. Glow takes
the known entertainment formats, cinema
and animation, and transforms them into
a new, expressive and highly comic live theatrical genre. Surprise is at its core, allowing for eye-popping visual invention, explosive humor, all of this surrounding a touching, enchanting love story. In Glow, the borders between reality and imagination are removed... making way for the MAGIC.
It is a combination of theater and cinema, a performance of animation on stage, a show that combines the language of comics with the language of Matrix. A show for adults in which the characters communicate in a new gibberish developed specially for this complex show and comprised of no fewer than eight languages: English, Italian, German, Spanish, French, Arabic, Hebrew and Yiddish. There are 17 actors in the cast and the performance technique is new in the field.
The show is an interactive experience introducing funny characters, a rich world of imagination and of fun, rhythmic music and many spectacular costumes. 80 minutes of well timed and accurate bits with effects, music and acting – a product of months of rehearsal and great skill among the participants.
The show presents a magical world filled with effects. It is presenting new viewing angles, contradicting all of the traditional rules of theater gravity.
In theater, the normal viewing angle is frontal only. Here, like when watching a movie, the show enables a sense of flying over a moving car, looking into a room from the ceiling, a view of dreams – live, and a visit to a world in which everything is possible, all without leaving the theater seat.
The story centers on Glow – an out of luck nerd whose only attention from others is when being called a looser. Glow’s life seems dull and gray until a blonde woman walks into his office and lights a fire in his heart. Glow dreams about her, fantasizes about her, paints her, tries to impress her and eventually manages to steal her heart. Glow will have to overcome his evil boss, monsters and mainly – his own fear and embarrassment. The show was developed and created by Lior Kalfo, a highly esteemed, talented creator of many ideas.
Lior was accompanied by several world renowned creators: Bernie Kukoff – creator of several shows, producer of The Bill Cosby Show, creator of the successful “Different Strokes” TV series and of top flight TV shows, in addition to the 2nd largest running hit show in Off Broadway "I love you you're perfect, now change!) – And David Ottone – founder and artistic director of the Spanish Yanana theater troupe.
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Credits
| Writer, director and designer: |
Lior Kalfo |
| Artistic consulting: |
Bernie Kukoff, David Ottone, Yankele Yacobsohn |
| Assistant Director, choreography and artistic management: |
Sharon Kroit |
| Producers: |
Rami Baja, Rami Eldar, Bernie Kukoff, the Mayumana group |
| Project management: |
The Mayumana group |
| Hidden Actors: |
Elad Cohen, Aner Agiv, Rami Zion, Jonathan Liviatan, Dotan Elad, Itzhak Fachima, Chen Shtain, Liron Levy, Itay Shiff, Tomer Kiermeyer, Mike Friedlander, Yair Segal, Kobi Hadad, Ayalm Avni |
| Production and planning: |
Zvika Schwartzberg, Revital Kalfo |
| Original music: |
Udi Harpaz, Ron Klein, Ido Kagan |
| Musical editing & effects: |
Ron Klein, Lior Kalfo, Ido Kagan |
| Costume design: |
Neta Hacker, Ella Kolesnick |
| Set design: |
Neta Hacker, Lior Kalfo |
| Set: |
Irgunit, Dudi Workshop, Guy Shabtai, Yuri |
| UV artists: |
Lior Ben Hemmo, Yoel Avidani |
| Puppets: |
Maria Gurevich, Alex Margold, Vladi Kollesnik, Limor Dror |
| Props: |
Eli Maman, Sagit Golda, Elad Cohen, Yuval Kedem (Galileo) |
| Wigs: |
Eli Maman, Sagit Golda |
| Lighting design: |
Yossi Algrabi, Roy Milo |
| Sound design: |
Amir Schorr |
Lior Kalfo (Glow)
Creator, actor and director.
Lior Kalfo has starred in dozens of television programs, the most prominent of which was “The Comedy Store”.
In 2000, the U.S. government granted Kalfo a Green Card for “exceptional artistic capabilities”. Kalfo chose to live in Prague and develop the black theater technique in a show of his own.
A year later, he initiated and established a Czech team of 40 actors, production people, technical operators and marketing professionals and, in September 2001, founded the black theater Wow Show, which he also wrote and directed. The show swept over the world capital of black theater and garnered enthusiastic reviews.
The show continues to run in the center of Prague every night, reporting over 2,000 shows before tourists from around the world, at all ages and all languages!
The black theater in Israel, following the success of Wow in Prague, was established in September 2003 with the Funtazi performance using an Israeli cast. Lior created two more black theater children’s plays: “Funtazi Kids” and “The Giant and his Magical Garden” – a visual adaptation to Oscar Wilde’s classic story, The Selfish Giant. Among other productions and creations was the interactive action comedy: “Ladies and Gentlemen, Hands Up!” He has recently appeared as a character on the television drama “Ramzor” (“Traffic Light”).
Over the last few years, Kalfo has been working on Glow, epitomizing the peak of his artistic creation.
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Reviews
"Wow! Wow! WooooW! It’s been a long time since I enjoyed a show as much as I did Lior Kalfo’s Glow last Thursday. Kalfo and his outstanding cast of actors provide a crazy experience that includes getting acquainted with a new language, with characters, with a rich imagination and with a lot of rhythm and spectacular costumes.
Kalfo has been working on a story for two years, centering on Glow (portrayed by Kalfo), an out of luck nerd who only gets attention when people call him a loser. Glow’s life seems dull and dismal, until a blonde (Nitzan Ayon) stops by his office, igniting in him the fire of love. Glow dreams of her, tries to impress her and eventually (well really, we must have a happy end…) manages to sweep her off of her feet. Glow will have to overcome his psychotic boss (Haim Znatti), various monsters and mainly – his own fear and embarrassment of the response that his beloved might have.
On stage, the actors' converse in a new made up, language that sounds like a combination of Hebrew, English and Spanish and yet, it is very easy to understand because of the simplicity and charm in which it is presented to the audience. Even if the words sound odd at first, the audience rapidly gets into it and is captivated by Glow’s world.
The show is made up of different bits, and the transitions between them are meticulously arranged and worthy of a paragraph of their own. In one of the nice transitions, Kalfo and all of the skit scenery are placed on stage with a slant, giving the audience the sense that it is watching them from above. Then, in a single beat, the characters and scenery “straightened up” and the angle then became a frontal one. Every such “transition” was handled differently and it is these small details, like a cinematic effect of different shooting angles on stage, which make the show so special.
And yet, the thing that most entranced me in the show was the accurate timing between the effects and the texts. Although it was the premiere, the actors and production team worked in fully synchronized coordination. Not a bottle fell without there being the sound of a cork being popped nor was a can rolled without an accompanying echo. The appearance and disappearance of the characters were well timed. In one of the bits, Kalfo takes on the character of NEO from Matrix, conducting a battle against everything that ever threatened him, a battle laden with effects of sound and motion. In this segment, Kalfo manages to create a separate world for Glow; one in which the glowing clothes, the dim lights, the eyes and the imagination do not rest for a moment.
Lior Kalfo is a guy that knows how to realize his dreams. I believe that it is only a short matter of time before this show is presented on stages around the world, captivating audiences overseas". 'Habama', April 08
The Mayumana group together with ShowMe Entertainment has acquired the management and the international marketing and booking of the show. Glow's first performances took place at the Mayumana house in Tel Aviv in April 2008. Glow's international première took place in August 2008 in Oostende, Belgium.
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