Fred Sokol on Theater

Get Thee to "Love's Labor's Lost", Now!

2009-12-04T11:58:00.000-08:00

Shakespeare's Globe currently presents a catchy, lively, rib-tickling rendition of the Bard's "Love's Labour's Lost" at the War Memorial Auditorium in Holyoke, Massachusetts. Nearly three hours in length, it never, for a moment, loses momentum. Donald T. Sanders, who has forever led Massachusetts International Festival of the Arts (MIFA), does the region a huge favor by bringing the troupe to western Massachusetts as it makes its way toward the New York City stage. Performances continue tonight at 8pm and Saturday 2pm and 8 pm. Call: (413) 540-0200 for ticket information.

So, why would one spend attend a Shakespeare comedy which is unfamiliar and potentially difficult to follow? The actors, directed by Dominic Dromgoole, provide answers: They are vivacious, highly-charged, and appear to be having the best of times as they perform.

Besides, MIFA provides a specific plot synopsis in the playbill. With the house lights on throughout, the deft theatergoer may quickly glance down to fill in a blank!

There's live music, terrific costuming, and plenty of comedy.

Frankly, I was not certain that I could find a block of time to see this one.
Inspired by two students who practically begged me to find them some tickets, I chose to attend.

Now, I am thinking of directing Shakespeare within the next couple of years. You, too, should make this journey.

Letts: August: Osage County and Superior Donuts -- See Them Both

2008-09-09T05:33:00.001-07:00

These days, as you realize, I do not often write in this space -- since my commentaries are written for and viewed at talkinbroadway.com.

Last month, I took in The Steppenwolf Theatre Company's ensemble piece, "Superior Donuts," in Chicago. And, just the other day, we watched the muti Tony Award winning "August: Osage County" in Manhattan. Written by Tracy Letts, both plays reverberate for and with an avid theatergoer.

"AOC" is a rich, long, family interweaving drama - with plenty of wry, biting humor written into the script. Set in Oklahoma, the storyline focuses upon the most dysfunctional of families; but, Letts' dialogue allows for cathartic laughter - somehow!

"SD" occurs in a small donut shop in upper Chicago. You have a late 1960s character running the place and a few oddballs wandering in and about. A youthful African-American man wants: a job in the store; and the kid is a promising fiction writer.

"August: Osage County" boasts a large, multi-tiered set which brings anyone watching into the proceedings. The thrust stage withinSteppenwolf creates immediacy even before the opening curtain. The impact of each script, however, is undeniable -- thanks to playwright Letts.

I'm not about to tell you, this time around, who does what and why - for I'm not reviewing the productions. But, each caught me quickly. "August" continues at The Music Box on West 45th Street while "Donuts" continues in Chicago before, one imagines, moving on. TheaterWorks of Hartford has its eye on "Superior Donuts."

That is it for now. Consider this longer than a blurb yet shorter than a critique. Continue to enjoy and support live theater.

"The Holocaust Kid" -- Sensitive and Responsive

2007-12-13T07:54:00.000-08:00

Friends:

Keep your eyes out for a nearby production of this one.....

Sonia Pilcer began this project, as a book, during the early 1980s. Her bio tells us: "Little did she know it would take almost twenty years, five literary agents, and rejections from forty houses before 'The Holocaust Kid' would see the light of day."

It was published in 2001 and she began to adapt to work on a scripted modification. Shakespeare&Company presented it (in one act form) in 2003. The two-act version has been performed a few times. Last Sunday, S&Co brought it very much to life with a staged reading in Founders' Theater.

Frankly, I went to see Elizabeth Aspenlieder and Jonathan Epstein perform. The last time I had seen them on stage together was in a Boston-based "Othello." Each is an impressive actor. I had read little about the play -- not enough to realize that a cast of four, not two, would be reading. It was an inclement day; that and a nagging injury conspired against my desire to make the one hour trip. Besides, I was not one hundred percent certain that, however valuable (and all of it surely is), Holocaust-related fare would satisfy me.

Fortunately, "The Holocaust Kid," far from over-bearing and actually quite comedic at times, is relevant, fresh, and inviting. The bad weather front stalled and I forgot that my big left toe hurt. Nothing like affecting live theater to cure what ails.

Here's the deal: During the late 1980s in New York City an attractive woman named Zosha (journalist and wannabe respected writer) - played by Aspenlieder - meets Uly (Seth Kanor). Uly has published a major book, studied the Holocaust extensively. That he is attracted to Zosha is not surprising. She was born in a Displaced Persons camp. Zosha's father, Heniek (Epstein) survived Auschwitz and met the woman he would marry, Genia (Nancy Rothman), in Poland after the conclusion of the second world war.

The parents do and don't wish to intrude upon their daughter's times. Does this sound at all familiar? It is funny. Epstein, deadpan for much of the time, is quite hilarious with his one, two, three, and four word responses. Rothman is loving, dedicated, and wishes only for the best.

Zosha and Uly generate quite a bit of heat. The scripts (which were otherwise non-distractive) limited physical clinches, kisses.....That said, Aspenlieder and Kanor effectively/convincingly embraced, hugged - you get the picture. It's a pleasure to observe poised actors.

The second act begins and we find that Zosha is pregnant. Uly hasn't any interest in becoming a father. "The Holocaust Kid" develops and unfolds further.

Listen, this is pretty compelling stuff and Pilcer is not heavy-handed. Her themes are recognizable and the characters show dimension and scope.

Aspenlieder, a physical performer who is one of S&Co's foremost actors, presents an honest, sometimes insecure yet hopeful, and loving Zosha. The play spins about her. Pilcer, in a playbill author's note, refers to Aspenlieder as her "alter ego." Epstein, Rothman, and Kanor are absolutely vital. In fact, there was something special about seeing them perform on stage with: several chairs, a wooden desk and table, and period typewriter serving as the only furnishings. I decline to suggest that a conventional and more fully realized production would upgrade.

Here's a notion regarding the scripted version I witnessed. Uly disappears from the scene sometime during the first act and does not reappear until Zosha has confirmed that she is carrying a child. I believe that Uly should be back on stage during the latter portion of the first hour. Perhaps his prescence could be marked with just a few lines of dialogue.

Ultimately, "The Holocaust Kid" is ardent and rich. Further, it's an important work and, told from Pilcer's perspective, becomes most distinctive. Robert Walsh's direction certainly was an asset in Lenox.

********

A note to my readers: I am now reviewing regularly for talkinbroadway.com. To find my theater commentaries, please go to that site, reference "regional" and then "Connecticut." Thanks a lot.

"Rough Crossing" - Ultimate Hilarity (in brief --)

2007-09-01T17:20:00.001-07:00

That I failed, two or three months ago, to attend Shakespeare&Company's rollicking, clever take on Tom Stoppard's "Rough Crossing" was a major error on my part. The show closes tomorrow, Sunday, Sept. 2 with a 10:30 a.m. performance. Should you seek a couple of diverting hours, should you wish to catch comedy-on-live-stage at its finest, should you have a yen for the Berkshires in the midst of Labor Day Weekend, zip out to Lenox and try to snag a ticket so that you will see the production.

Elizabeth Aspenlieder, that talented, quite deliberately inelegant clown, stars as Natasha Navratalova. An actress with an amazingly gutteral, well-crafted, consistent accent, Natasha is the play the lead in "The Cruise of the Dodo." Her affair with Ivor Fish (Malcolm Ingram) is over.

Joining her for a couple of hours on an ocean liner (the stage seems to tilt back and forth) are Jonathan Croy as Turai, a playwright; Bill Barclay, a composer with a tie-his-tongue-in-knots speech impediment; Jason Asprey as Gal, another playwright who loves to spend time consuming fruit; and LeRoy McClain as Dvornicheck, the steward who manages to consume numerous glasses of cognac intended for others.

Stoppard adapted his work by adapting Ferenc Molnar's "Play at the Castle" with P.G. Wodehouse's "The Play's the Thing."

Confession: I once saw a very different production of "Rough Crossing" which, frankly, did not amuse me. Yes, I was surprised to find myself laughing aloud during the first moment of the S&Co rendering - and forever more.

Much of this has to do with Kevin G. Coleman's direction. Coleman has been with the company since it was founded three decades ago. He is also Director of Education; and an actor; as a coach, he possesses special skills in stage combat and clown. Moreover, he understands people and is catalytic in helping actors to release impulse.
I know -- since he worked, on four separate productions, with students of mine during rehearsals which lead to full productions (three of them Shakespeares).

"Rough Crossing" succeeds because it is downright funny. It depends upon actors who are highly disciplined. Coleman provided framework, context, interpretation, and creative ideas. I would wager my fondest baseball cap that he also challenged them to innovate and push further.

It was a pleasure to sit and watch the farce, a comedic, sometimes gymnastic, highly choreographed collectively splendid effort.

www.shakespeare.org; (413) 637-1199

*Please catch more of my reviews on:
talkinbroadway.com; http://talkinbroadway.com/regional/ct/index.html.*

Barrington's "Black Comedy" - Farce, Reversal, Cute

2007-08-01T16:29:00.000-07:00

Three more days to catch "Black Comedy," finishing its run for Barrington Stage at 30 Union Street in Pittsfield - the show closes this Saturday. It's a fast moving, eighty plus minute farce with a distinctive spin.

Written by Peter Shaffer and first produced in 1967, the craziness transpires within the London apartment ofr Brindsley Miller (Brian Avers). He has borrowed furniture from neighbor Harold Gorringe (Mark H. Dold) and intends to impress his fiance's father, Colonel Melkett (gesture-a-moment actor Gerry Bamman). Brindsley's bride-to-be Carol (Nell Mooney) is ditzy, funny, and excellent as diversion.

Here's the twist: The action begins in total darkness yet the actors on stage evidently have clear vision. Suddenly, a fuse blows and that's the end of electrical power in the flat. The catch is that the stage is now fully lit but the performers obviously cannot see a thing. Hence, Mooney sashays about in some version of a glide/slide. Avers as Brindsley bumps into furnishings, bobbles the telephone......Yet, when his former girlfriend, Clea (Ginifer King) arrives, Brindsley literally feels his way about her derriere. She returns fondles and more with aplomb. It's a hoot.

Bamman topples backward and forward in the wooden rocking chair. I have seen him perform Moliere before and this actor has the versatility to fly over the top at times while switching gears to wry humor at others. A second neighbor, the dowdy Miss Furnival (Beth Dixon) is subtle, droll, absurd.

Lou Jacob's pinpoint direction is ultra-important since the physical comedy occurs within the context of bright lighting even though the cast, in theory, cannot see and must mime its way around and about. Adrian W. Jones' set is immediately transportive. Scott Pinkney, lighting the show, has the piece perfectly cued.

"Black Comedy" is precise. This farce is unrealistic, improbable, exaggerated, "low," rich in stock characterizations, and will never live on in memory. Two women chase Brindsley who is the picture of the disheveled, bumbling, husband-t0-be.

Your mood, theatergoer, will determine the extent of your laughter. Should you become most positively infected with the ongoing scene, giggles will follow. Otherwise, you will surely appreciate and chortle occasionally.

www.barringtonstageco.org
413 236-8888

"The Good Body" - Celebrates Women

2007-07-25T08:46:00.000-07:00

Okay, nearly everyone has a bit of belly, whether it's hidden beneath a shirt or not. Go ahead and argue: you saw someone who hasn't any body fat doing an ab roller spot on late, late or early, early television. Point taken without dispute. The rest of us have, bet the house, midsection problems. Eve Ensler, known for breaking barriers with "The Vagina Monologues" and the author of several provocative, searing dramas, garners many a laugh with "The Good Body," continuing at Hartford Stage through Sunday.

Eve (the character does represent Ensler) stands at center stage, lifts her shirt, and bestows a midsection which appears to be gently soft. Not obese, not fat. Actress Brigitte Viellieu-Davis plays the Ensler persona, one who has been haunted, seemingly forever, by the contour of her stomach - which is not board flat.

Three women take on a multitude of individuals as the playwright banters or comments, more seriously, about: weight, body-image, two-person relationships, and various societies. Erica Bradsaw (as Woman 2), is a wholesome, large individual who goes to fat camp. Through Ensler's caustic wit, Bradsaw wonderfully, absolutely, and completely trashes the camp's philosophy/psychology. Bradsaw, who happens to be African-American, demonstrates her mettle with another role as she effectively displays a Yiddisha accent.

Playing Woman 1 is Judith Delgado, a terrific stage actress, who is at her comic best when she embodies a Puerto Rican
woman immersed in therapy. As the play continues, Delgado appears, for a time, to grow physically older. That vignette spins around surgery to tighten the vagina.

Never timid, Ensler explores: thighs which spread, life and times with the Taliban in Afghanistan, and so on.

"The Good Body" isn't a stunning, shattering ninety minutes of theater. But, it works. Translation: the playwright balances humor with introspection when it comes to perceptions women possess about their bodies. It's pretty funny and also, beyond the surface jokes, rich in theme and implication.

Tracy Brigden directs with specificity and the three actors are versatile and talented. Hence, as the figurative sphere is tossed from one woman to the next, "The Good Body" evolves smoothly.

I saw the show on a weekday evening. The audience was comprised, to large measure, of women. Watching their reactions spoke positive volumes for Ensler and her affecting play.

"Thoughtful, Affecting 'Cuckoo's Nest' at BTF

2007-07-13T09:54:00.000-07:00

Eric Hill and I met nearly two decades ago and I've always known him to be sharply contemplative - an intellectual artist/dramatist in the most positive mode. Those qualities mark his production of "One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest," the play by Dale Wasserman based upon Ken Kesey's still-stunning novel, which continues at Berkshire Theater Festival through July 28.

Many a director has discovered, through trial and error, that selection of the "right" cast members eliminates many rehearsal headaches. Sounds formulaic but tough to execute.
Hill's choices for roles within "Cuckoo's Nets" are excellent. The fits are precise. The patients (inmates?), whether petrified, emasculated, or gonzo provide sparks and laughter.

The novel, book, and Oscar winning movie version of "Cuckoo's Nest" centers upon a lively array of individuals ensconced in a state mental hospital. It's Fall 1960 and we are in the Pacific Northwest.

The provocative, playful, audacious, clever Randle P. McMurphy (Jonathan Epstein) meets and greets his comrades within the institution. He will later discover that stuttering Billy Bibbit (Randy Harrison), cerebral Dale Harding (Tommy Schrider) and others are self-admits. McMurphy is stunned. McMurphy discovers that Chief Bromden (Austin Durant) is neither deaf nor dumb; but a silent, sagacious, bitter observer.

The plot of the play differs from that of the film since the Chief actively narrates from time to time. One of the more galvanic scenes of the production occurs during the second act as McMurphy and Bromden interface, exchange, forge a friendship.

Many theatergoers will certainly enter with the image of Jack Nicholson (starring as the film's McMurphy) in mind. A few might recall that Gary Sinise took on the stage role half a dozen years ago. Not many realize that Kirk Douglas was the original McMurphy in the 1963 Broadway opening.

Jonathan Epstein, whose presence and command marked many a performance at Lenox-based Shakespeare & Company forever (it seems), presents an extroverted, physical, communicative, dramatic McMurphy this time around in Stockbridge. I keep in mind his turns as Shylock, Lear, Iago, King Richard, and others. That said, he is the fulcrum for the current "Cuckoo's Nest." Epstein's splendid work, his ability to become someone else, demonstrate reams of talent and dexterity.

The stereotype for Nurse Ratched's character suggests that she draw blood, rule with a harder than iron fist, threaten all. Linda Hamilton's portrayal, on the other hand, is quieter but just as insidious. If Epstein flies (wonderfully) over the top at times, she provides counterpoint with an understated, disciplined depiction of the hated tyrant.

The cast, including E. Gray Simons III as Cheswick and Robert Serrell as Martini, is energetic and sustaining.

Hill orchestrates the production. He supplies special touches. For example, during a Bromden commentary early on, all others on stage move carefully, deliberately from station to station.
Those familiar with Tadashi Suzuki training (Hill studied this for ten summers or so and teaches it) will note the slow-walk, its significance, and the skills required to execute the maneuver.

He benefits from Karl Eigsti's set which provides depth, feel, and atmosphere; and J Hagenbuckle delivers acute, piercing sounds and noises at key moments.

Hill is an actor, director, educator, and he heads the theater department at Brandeis. His StageWest productions provided many a seminal moment for Springfield-area theater lovers. That he is often directing and occasionally acting at BTF in the Berkshires is cause enough to snag tickets. Why am I not surprised that "One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest" is cutting and incisive - splendid theater?

berkshiretheatre.org
(413) 298-5536

"A Number" - One Hour of Exacting Theater

2007-07-02T12:14:00.000-07:00

TheaterWorks' production of "A Number," by Caryl Churchill, snags the viewer at moment number one of the hour long play. Running through July 29th at the Off Broadway style Hartford Theater, it's a taut, relevant, highly charged piece about cloning and its implications. Less, in this case, adds up to much, much more.

Steve Campo directs the play which finds actor Edmond Genest as Salter (the father) in conversation with "some" of his sons. Mark Saturno takes the stage initially as Son #2, who appears to be normal enough: he wears glasses, engages in discussion with his father. This son had thought his mother died when he was born. He now discovers this is not the case. Rather, he was the clone of an older son. The stage goes dark and actor Saturno returns as the first Bernard, a scary low-life type who is unkempt and furious. We learn that this Bernard was, in a sense, tossed away and became the original from which clones were produced. No fun. No wonder he's a negative piece of work. Finally, the third son (Saturno's transformations are stunning), wearing a V-neck sweater, smiling from ear to ear, greets his father. This son is too cheerful to be true. Genest, as the father, adapts.

Adrian W. Jones' set includes: a table, couple of chairs, walls, a window -- and a thrust stage. This is a home? These are lives?

At the outset, "A Number" is not only complicated but a bit convoluted. The script challenges the theatergoer to interpret and analyze - all to the good. Thematically, the material is undeniably unsettling. Salter is vexed, upset, in turmoil. It's a multi-layered play, examining ethics and morals.

The actors are superb. Saturno captures three characters, moving from one to another in a flash. Genest wears the pain incurred through his life choices visibly.

Churchill writes with precision and urgency. This is "A Number."

theaterworkshartford.org
(860) 527-7838

"Glass Menagerie Succeeds at BTF" - What is My Problem?

2007-06-26T09:25:00.000-07:00

Finally, this is not my favorite Tennessee Williams play. I say this after having spent a portion of the past spring semester attempting to convince a student that the play was and is of great value. Yes, it is most thoughtful and it bequeathes a multitude of emotional variance. The characters are non-simplistic. It stretches boundaries and begs for empathy: for one so wounded, Laura (Aya Cash); and one deluded yet perceptive beyond her own wishes, Amanda (Kate Maguire). Williams' voice is clear and his craft undeniable. That said, I do not imagine that I will soon again attend a performance of "The Glass Menagerie." I speak, here, for myself only.

Eric Hill is a director to whom production elements are vital. I've been watching Hill direct for two decades. His sets are never claustrophobic. This time, working with Carl Sprague, Hill supplies many wooden beams but the overall effect is to provide witness - to a very vulnerable, pain-ridden family. It's the mid-1930s in St. Louis and the surroundings are drab, moods, for the most part, dismal. Scott Killian's music is atonal, sometimes harsh, difficult.

Tom Wingfield (Tom Story) is also narrator of "Glass Menagerie." He works in a warehouse, writes poems, becomes exasperated with his mother, onetime Southern belle.....Tom has a friend, Jim O'Connor (Greg Keller), a co-worker, who crowns Jim as "Shakespeare." Laura remembers, vividly, that she sat across from Jim in high school when he dubbed her "Blue Roses." Jim, reminded, jokingly yet affectionately reflects upon that moment. Laura collects glass animal figurines. She and Jim dance and he, clumsily --- you must realize what occurs.

"The Glass Menagerie" is a memory play. My memory tells me that I saw a Williamstown Festival production and a Long Wharf production several years back and raved about neither one. I do appreciate the film version which Paul Newman directed. Why, however, am I surprised that "The Glass Menagerie," to me, is not number one on my list?

Maguire is something special. She has been transformed, through make-up and Olivera Gajic's outfitting, into a woman who is breaking down. Amanda retreats into fantasy even if she is horribly unhappy and sad. Nostalgic, she will never recapture her youth and her daughter, who is not crippled but is handicapped, is destined to be forlorn. Maguire is known to many as the BTF Artistic Director. I first watched her when in 1991 she appeared in Shakespeare & Company's "The Aspern Papers." She was and is an impressive actor.

This "Menagerie" is part reverie, part horror, and terribly real. All of the cast members are affecting.

When The Gentleman Caller (Keller) enters, he injects the proceedings with animation. He is a bit inappropriate -- quite spontaneous. Otherwise, it's a story of people who are helpless, victims to predicaments.

This rendering of "Menagerie" is not especially tender. Instead, it draws keen focus upon the depressing reality of circumstances. Amanda is disappointed with: both her children and with life issues she faces. Matthew E. Adelson's lighting is key as it provides tone, atmosphere in a proactive mode.

How to respond at the conclusion of this show, which continues its run at the Unicorn Theater (Berkshire Theater Festival, Stockbridge) through Sunday? The production is, to say the very least, commendable. It is about failure and perhaps that makes it difficult to assimilate.

berkshiretheatre.org.
(413) 298-5536

Barrington's "West Side Story" -- Composite Hit

2007-06-22T18:52:00.000-07:00

Barrington Stage Company's resplendent, lovely, smashing presentation of "West Side Story" boasts the best in musical chemistry. This begins with Julianne Boyd who founded the company and directs the current production. It includes Joshua Bergasse's choreography which recalls that of Jerome Robbins in the original 1957 Broadway version as well as Bergasse's sometimes singular additions. Musical Director Darren R. Cohen and his players honor Leonard Bernstein's ever-distinctive music and memorable lyrics furnished by Stephen Sondheim. Arthur Laurents wrote the book. Anne Kennedy outfits the actors beautifully and Luke Hegel-Cantarella's sets are most evocative.

Sounds pretty good, no? Since theatergoers know the tunes if not the 1961 film or another rendering, BSC has to be on its mark. Boyd's highly spirited production is a pleasure, a winner. That said, it's difficult to resist the temptation to compare and contrast with previous depictions.

Here's a back story I discovered. It was in 1949 that Robbins gathered together with Bernstein and writer Laurents. It was the choreographer's notion to modernize and transform "Romeo and Juliet" - with music. Thought of as "East Side Story," the script would focus upon a Jewish young man's love for a girl who was an Italian Catholic. The scene was to be the lower East Side, complete with with street gangs. But, the project was delayed because of scheduling issues and by the mid-1950s, the first plan was dated. It was Bernstein who turned to Sondheim, then twenty-seven, to provide lyrics. The musical grew, evolved.

"West Side Story," as many realize, finds Tony (Chris Peluso), once a Jets (gang) leader, falling for Maria (Julie Craig). As he does so, Tony distances himself, he hopes, since the Jets are about to take on the Sharks, a Puerto Rican gang. Unfortunately, Tony kills Bernardo(Freddy Ramirez), who was also a Shark honcho. Maria's true friend Anita (the impressive Jacqueline Colmer) pleads with Maria to stay clear of Tony. You know what follows: Tony is killed by a Shark and Maria is heartbroken.

"Tonight" and "One Hand, One Heart," duets featuring Peluso and Craig, could not be more precious. Each has a lovely voice and the blend is quite special.

Production numbers such as "The Dance at the Gym," "Tonight Quintet," "The Rumble," and "Somewhere" evidence the quality of movement (thanks to choreographer Bergasse) and precision dance.

The leads are talented and oftentimes stirring. Virtually all of the actors seem excited, pumped up, ready to: rumble, dance gymnastically, fall in love, perform forever.....

Bernstein's score for "West Side Story" only grows richer with age. It's American opera but also seminal musical theater.

The production is not perfect: Justin Bohon does a splendid job as Riff but the actor, trying for a New York accent, is inaccurate. The very beginning of the show seems tentative and perhaps the pacing is a bit off. But, these are minor quibbles.

Essentially, BSC's "West Side Story" flies high. It is reflective of Boyd, who continues to bring stellar performers to her company. She's done this many a time and she, as prime mover, deserves the primary accolade.

"West Side Story" continues through July 14 at Barrington Stage in Pittsfield, MA
(413) 236-8888
www.barringtonstageco.org.

Goodspeed's "Singin' In The Rain" Dazzles

2007-06-02T12:04:00.000-07:00

I've been trying to come up with negatives about The Goodspeed Musical production of "Singin' In The Rain." Forgive me and forgive the pun: I come up dry. On stage, though, at the old Opera House in East Haddam, the showers begin precisely on cue for the title tune and number.
The presentation entertains throughout.

Remember the classic film with Gene Kelly, Debbie Reynolds, and Donald O'Connor? Fear not -- you will never forget it. The current adaptation, quite faithful to the MGM movie, is a major hit unto itself, scoring points all over the lot.

It's 1927 and the opening number, new for this production, is called "Goin' Hollywood." It's a stunner set at Grauman's Chinese Theater complete with music, dance, a production company flying around.....Not only that: these performers, led by director Ray Roderick and choregrapher Rick Conant, appear to be having the times of their lives!

There's the ill-fated romance: Lina Lamont ( Stacey Logan) has wrapped a motion picture called "The Dueling Cavalier" with handsome Don Lockwood (David Elder). Problem: her impossibly irritating, nasal voice. True love: Don falls for Kathy Selden (Sarah Jane Everman) who hopes to get into movies. She will literally become Lina's singing voice and before long Kathy will replace Lina as the woman in Don's personal life. Logan's depiction of Lina is droll, diverting, exaggerated - and out-and-out winner.

Meanwhile, Scott Barnhardt plays Cosmo Brown, a kind of Sancho figure to Don Elder. Barnhardt is delightfully frantic in the role originated by Donald O'Connor. Elder doesn't attempt to be Gene Kelly but he's a fine dancer, possesses a rich baritone voice, and is charismatic. Selden is sweet rather than glamorous; she makes for a neat fit. A youthful Debbie Reynolds starred in the film version.

It was quite a technological feat for Goodspeed to create a storm without spraying those in the first row of the orchestra -- and without freezing out Elder. The moderate rain must be of moderate temperature, too.

Familiar tunes? "You Are My Lucky Star," "You Were Meant For Me," "Moses," "Good Mornin'," and, of course, "Singin' In The Rain." They were penned by Nacio Herb Brown and Arthur Freed. Betty Comden and Adolph Green wrote the film screenplay while Kelly and Stanley Donen choreographed the film.

Goodspeed is fortunate to have had talented James Noone design the many drops for the show; and the theater has a splendid scene shop facilities to create sets.

Naysayers somewhere will surely claim that Elder cannot compare with Kelly; that Barnhardt hasn't O'Connor's comic chops; that Reynolds was one of a kind. Why even bother to mess with a legendary film musical?

"Singin'" is both funny and fun. There isn't any pretention about it being the movie. The performers are excellent and the resultant show is terrific. It is not in competition with the movie. The current production, which began in April and concludes July 6, feels fresh. Those who missed a golden era of musical comedy on Broadway decades ago would do well to visit the Goodspeed now.

www.goodspeed.org
(860) 873-8668

"Nightingale" - Lynn Redgrave Stars as Writer/Performer: Her Subject Less So

2007-06-01T06:34:00.000-07:00

Watch Lynn Redgrave enact life and times of her fictionalized grandmother for ninety minutes at Hartford Stage and you, too, will be taken in -- to an extent. Known foremost as an actress, Redgrave has carefully honed her script and her rendering is detailed, emotional, and quite admirable.

Her grandmother's name was Beatrice Kempson and the protagonist of the current one-woman piece is named Mildred Asher. Since very little was known of her, Redgrave creates; hence this could not be called non-fiction. The problem is that the woman is not all that captivating, scintillating, or even sympathetic a figure. Redgrave has poured her considerable artistic presence into the play. As the house grows dark, one appreciates the energy, quality, and scope of her work. Mildred, however, is not galvanic.

Her life was unfulfilling. Her physical/sexual relationship with her husband was difficult from the outset and Redgrave's depiction of the wedding night scene is masterful. Redgrave speaks of Mildred's children. Her daughter, Rose, becomes an actress. Her son, Markie, dies during the Second World War. She and her husband, Errol, are anything but a warm, loving couple.

"Nightingale" feels like an on-stage memoir. Redgrave carefully provides specifics and shading. She is a most versatile actress and succeeds as she embodies Mildred during many phases of her life. Tone, rather than dramatic impact, triumphs.

So.

Mildred, inspired by Redgrave's grandmother, was an unhappy woman. She, unfortunately, did not closely connect with those nearest her: husband, children......perhaps she was depressed.

What's inspired about the Stage production, extended until July 1, are the production elements. Rui Rita and Jeff Nellis are splendid with lighting which is often subdued to accurately represent mood. Tobin Ost's set design, while miminal, effectively transports the theatergoer from a cemetery scene to hillside one, for example, in Switzerland.

Joseph Hardy ably directs Redgrave and one must applaud this actress for her precision, commitment, and skill. I cherish Redgrave rather than Mildred.

www.hartfordstage.org
(860) 527-5151

"On The Verge" - Edgy Explorers: Women on the Eclectic Move

2007-05-28T09:47:00.000-07:00

First: Locate WOW Cafe Theatre in the East Village. The trip is worth it> You will discover four vigorous, animated actors who spark and sparkle with a vigorous rendering of "On the Verge," by Eric Overmyer. The script, itself, fully cranks it up during the second act. The performers, however, get it right ( with enthusiasm, eccentricity, energy) from the outset.

It is 1899 and three intrepid Victorian women (explorers by trade) peer into the future. What's ahead? Terra Incognita. And Ike Eisenhower, Richard Nixon, newfangled TV, the Jacuzzi...... Wrestling with and conquering Overmyer's tricky, atypical dialogue, actors Nina Morrison as Alexandra, Johanna Weller-Fahy playing Fanny, and Julie Baber cast as Mary hit the boards with great zest and more than a fair measure of skill. This isn't an easy play. These women are on the march, they're bold, delightful, and comic. According to script, they traverse time, space, and the unknown. They smile rather easily and this is most helpful.

There's a man, too, here. Actor Cliff Campbell, taking on various roles, is delectably versatile and successful. He sings in a nightclub; he is a married man; he is an adolescent during the golden 1950s. And so on.

The play, a delight for any wordsmith, hits its stride after intermission. During the first portion, we hear about the dirigible, eggbeater, cheese and so forth. The women, individually and collectively, are excellent. Where, though, is this all headed?

Morrison, so intuitively physical and splendid with facial gesture, catapults the action forward with musical contributions.

It requires navigation of four flights of stairs to reach this production of "On the Verge." Not so curiously, the trek fits in with the theme of the play. To experience the show, one must sacrifice. BYO water bottle, I was soundly advised -- all to the good.

Portia Krieger, directing, deserves more than a few affirmative nods. "On the Verge" requires specificity in terms of actor movement. Krieger provides that while allowing each performer the freedom to create. Costumer Denise Malroney furnishes period outfits. The smart wardrobe is terrific but, one would imagine, a bit on the humid side for the actors.

In all, "On the Verge," provided by WOW (Women's One World) Cafe, is pretty nifty.

Tickets at $15 each: (212) 777-4280 ; or email: kentcollinspress@gmail.com
Performances: May 31, June 2, 7, and 8 all at 8:00 p.m.
WOW Cafe Theatre: 59 East 4th Street between 2nd Avenue and the Bowery.

BSC "A Picasso" - Tense, Terrific

2007-05-25T06:40:00.000-07:00

Barrington Stage Company transforms a tiny, downstairs space into a cellar, a chamber. It is October, 1941 yet, within the claustrophobic confines of this basement locale, one would be hard pressed to guess that this scene occurs beneath a Parisian street. BSC triumphs with Jeffrey Hatcher's "A Picasso," which boasts: splendid performance (Thom Christopher and Gretchen Egolf), direction (Tyler Marchant), and set design (Brian Prather). The run of this taut drama has been extended through June 10.

Picasso (Christopher) has been led to the room against his will. He will spend ninety minutes (the duration of the two person play) in conflict with the alluring Miss Fischer (Egolf). The young, slim woman, is outfitted by Guy Lee Bailey in drab business garb. Her conventional suit has been chosen to match the personality of this investigator who also shows keen knowledge and intrigue with art. She is tough, matter-of-fact, and very much to the point.

Prather supplies a well-worn wooden table and a few chairs. Theatergoers sit on all sides to watch. Jeff Davis' lights are dim. Tone and atmosphere speak volumes.

"A Picasso" features match of acumen and wit between the dogged Miss Fischer and blunt, caustic, straight-ahead Picasso. He is easily angered and wears his emotions throughout. Show it or tell it? Christopher, as Picasso, accomplishes both.

The dramatic question behind Hatcher's insightful play is posed early. The playwright weaves in the complexity through layering. Rather than pronounce, this play implies. The text becomes personal as these two, trapped within this vault, seek individual leverage.

There is also a good deal of peripheral information which is helpful to the viewer. For example, Picasso, from Spain, has elected to live in France. He is exceptionally proud, strong-willed, and egomaniacal. He boasts of "Guernica." He has been asked, by Miss Fischer, to comment on the authenticity of three supposedly Picasso pieces she presents. She is German, an art critic, and sexy.

It would not surprise if someone critiques "A Picasso" as being traditionally formulaic. While I disagree, I would respect the argument. What's vital, however, is that a creative team has envisioned a performance and two top actors, demonstrating enviable timing, deliver moment after moment after moment.

Given the confining situation, pacing is crucial. Credit Marchant for give-and-take as the play evolves. Christopher and Egolf are ever convincing. Check this one out.

www.barringtonstageco.org.
(413) 236-8888 - at the Berkshire Athenaeum (1 Wendell Ave, Pittsfield, MA)

"Uncle Vanya" - Characters' Psyches Revealed - At Long Wharf

2007-05-17T08:14:00.000-07:00

Forty-five years ago, the great theater director/writer Harold Clurman, providing an introduction for a collection of Chekhov plays and speaking of the Russian dramatist's pursuit of life as is, said "Life as it is lacks the direction, the causality, the cathartic effect of completed events. Like so many painters, composers, poets, novelists and.....playwrights, Chekhov was aware that the crises which are so neatly resolved by the linear form of drama are not so neatly resolved in life......The structure of a Chekhovian play is epiphanic; its purpose is to reveal-literally, to 'show forth'-the inner lives of his characters."

All of which points toward what some have dubbed Chekhov's "dramas of indirection." Theatergoers, at times, have complained that his characters talk and talk and talk but that little occurs. Nothing happens. A man who was on a personal quest for love, Chekhov, in an essay wrote, "One has to face the fact that man is a failure.....His conscience, which belongs to the spirit, will probably never be brought into harmony with his nature, his reality, his social condition....."

Conclusion: Chekhov perceived hopelessness as a human condition and was troubled that he saw little promise as men and women attempted to communicate with one another.

Taking all of this in perspective, one views Long Wharf's production of "Uncle Vanya." It is adapted and directed, with specificity, by Gordon Edelstein who has been studying and thinking about the play for two decades. The presentation is: beautiful, thoughtful, and sometimes richly comic. At the end, one still believes Chekhov, who said, "Life is an insoluble problem."

Welcome, at the end of the nineteenth century, to the estate of Serebryakov (William Biff McGuire) who is now married to Yelena (Elisabeth Waterston). Uncle Vanya (Mark Blum) and the brother of the Professor Serebryakov's first wife, used to run the place. Now, he is tired, negative, exasperated.....Vanya is sick of the retired Professor. Besides, Vanya pines for Yelena who seems totally uninterested. Sonya (Jennifer Dundas) is Serebryakov's daughter by his first wife and it is she who attempts to bring order to the estate. She happens to adore Astrov, a local physician. But, he is disspirited and not at all eager to love. Serebryakov details a plan to sell but Yelena convinces him to leave the area. And so on.

Starkly depicted by set maestro Michael Yeargan who utilizes wooden floor boards and expands the performance space (creating a most open feeling), the estate includes: a number of carefully positioned chairs, a piano, an eventual table.....

Music is auxilliary and assists in creating tone and mood -- at the very beginning of the play -- and, during intervals, too.

Blum and Biff McGuire, seasoned actors, are excellent, demonstrating perception, mastery of both text and character. Dundas, special in Long Wharf's "Aphrodisiac," brings a delightful versatility as she plays Sonya, who draws sympathy. Waterston, a tall, slender actress, smiles genuinely and often; she bestows great warmth as Yelena.

Symmetry within "Uncle Vanya?"
Try this: Waterston's father, Sam, arriving just before the show began, watched from a center orchestra seat. At the final curtain, he was first on his feet to applaud the entire cast.

www.longwharf.org
(203) 787-4282

"Unmentionables" at Yale Rep - Provocative, Dramatic, Comedic

2007-05-11T07:47:00.000-07:00

The East Coast premiere of Bruce Norris's "The Unmentionables" sizzles, quite literally, from the opening moment of the production. Developed at the Steppenwolf Theatre in Chicago, it was directed there and, here again, by Anna D. Shapiro. Good move by the Rep's Artistic Director, James Bundy, and Managing Director, Victoria Nolan, to bring this hot two hour piece to New Haven through May 26th.

The play is set in western Africa. The upscale, inviting home of Don (Paul Vincent O'Connor) and Nancy (Lisa Emery) has been designed, quite beautifully and in great detail, by Todd Rosenthal. (Rosenthal grew up, by the way, in Longmeadow.) He has created a villa which expands across the stage, adorned with curled, silver razor-like wire along top sides of the roof.....The building, however, feels like an American split-level job.

The show begins as Etienne (Jon Hill) roams down the theater aisles, moves on stage all the while advising theategoers that the imminent presentation is not at all worth it.....to retrieve money spent on tickets, etc. He withholds nothing. Etienne is pivotal as the action unfolds.

Further participants include Jane (Kelly Hutchinson) who seems to be ill - what's the problem? She and her fiance Dave (Brian Hutchison) are taking an overnight in Don and Nancy's guest room since a fire has left Jane and Dave without room. Jane is an American TV actress who has had enough of celebrity and Dave is a missionary (from Indiana) trying to help local kids in Africa. Don is a wealthy, large American who owns a factory while his bright, all-too-verbal, hovering, insistent wife Nancy cannot stay out of anyone's business. A dope-smoking physician (Kenn E. Head) offers Jane advice concerning her ailment, even if he isn't quite certain that she is actually sick. Actress Ora Jones plays Aunty Mimi, a politico who looks into accusations which ultimately surround Etienne. A couple of strong African military men (Chike Johnson and Sam Gordon) play prominent roles as Norris's script unfolds.

Thematically, morality is at the center of "The Unmentionables." What is the value of generosity? See Dave. What is a do-gooder? See Dave. Self-righteous? See...... Is Don perceptive or a prototypical aging American man looking for something on the side? Could it be that Nancy possesses a more accurate self-awareness than any one else on stage? Just how brutal are conditions in the Third World? Is Etienne a victim? If so - of what -- colonialism?

Norris takes shots at virtually every character yet one feels sympathy for several. Thus, the playwright provides drama with multi-dimension. Just when one has a character fully typed and pigeon-holed, he/she demonstrates further depth. "The Unmentionables" is exceptionally well written.

And, it's funny through its absurdity as Norris stretches characters to extremes. Just one example: Nancy wants, needs, and misses sex; intrigued? Emery's precise timing is most impressive. Norris exaggerates the people he creates and the amplification feeds the show's humor.

Additionally, "The Unmentionables " (why, exactly, this title?) is truly an ensemble work which features excellent acting. No leading men or women. There's a thoughtful to the symmetry of the play which begins and ends with Etienne -- and is oh so contemporary -- cell phones galore. Here's a guarantee: You will not be able to sit through the performance and keep a straight face during Emery's mini-monologues, Head's passionate tendency to light up......See for yourself.

www.yalerep.org
(203) 432-1234

"I Am My Own Wife" - Commendable But

2007-04-27T09:07:00.000-07:00

But I thought my socks and white pearls (which ushers handed out) would be knocked off and I would be pressuring all of my readers to rush to Hartford Stage (through May 13) to see this Pulitzer/Tony Award winner; but, I'm not.

I recognize that author Doug Wright is a dynamite researcher, that Charlotte von Mahlsdorf (who lived as a woman even if she was born a man) is intriguing, that James Lecesne is a versatile, splendid actor......and the plot is based upon reality.

Lecesne plays multiple, multiple, multiple roles as he or is it she appears solo on stage for nearly two hours. Most of the time he embodies Charlotte. Also: Doug Wright, various Nazi characters, agents, officers, and so forth.

She loved beautiful, antique furniture -- and gramophones. Kris Stone's staging is imaginative and visionary. The theatergoer feels as if he's looking deep into a tunnel or valley. The eye ventures toward the rear of the large performance space. Charlotte's home is museum-like and glimpses of possessions are just perfect.

von Mahlsdorf survived repressive Nazi and Communist regimes while she lived in East Germany. Wright's play asks Lecesne to take on a variety of accents (flat American, Texas, Germanic, etc.) Lecesne is remarkably adept.

The plot presents questions: Did she spy on or kill anyone? Is von Mahlsdorf (her white pearls) and her story entirely credible? Many more.

Unfortunately, dramatic impact is lacking. Charlotte is fascinating but the play is neither gripping nor compelling. Lescesne is masterful as he develops the protagonist and everyone else but I felt as if I were watching a non-riveting if excellent presentation.

That is frustrating. Why is this so? How can "I Am My Own Wife" be intellectually engaging but monotone in other modes? It is revealing as a history piece, thanks to Wright; and beautifully framed, thanks to Stone's scenographic touches. Marcus Doshi's lighting design is enhancing.

All of that said, "I Am My Own Wife" enriches but does not fully satisfy. Point a finger at Jeremy Cohen, the director? You might try that but Lecesne moves with precision and Cohen, no doubt, was catalytic as he coaxed the actor. Thus, this is a valuable play, but.....

www.hartfordstage.org
(860) 527-5151

"Spamalot" or "You Won't Succeed on Broadway if You Don't Have Any Jews"

2007-04-11T12:08:00.000-07:00

Which brings us to Mike Nichols, director of the smash hit, now running at Hartford's Bushnell Theater through April 22. Nichols, whose birth name was Michael Igor Peschkowsky, qualifies as the requisite Jew, I suppose. He also headlined with Eliane May in nightclubs, on The Ed Sullivan Show, on radio - and so forth. Besides, Nichols has directed films such as "The Graduate," "Silkwood," "Carnal Knowledge," and "Angels in America." He knows: theater, film, comedy, and people - in any given order. This time, he has (you choose) modified, adapted, or ripped off the movie "Monty Python and the Holy Grail" and transformed it into a laugh-a-minute Broadway musical. Sure it's familiar and it certainly is a hoot and a half.

Combine Nichols with book/lyrics by Eric Idle and music by Idle and John Du Prez, toss in Casey Nicholaw's nifty choreography, smart sets and costumes by Tim Hatley, a first rate touring company of actors and you have a pretty cool evening of musical theater. It's a tad familiar and that will probably irritate a minority of theatergoers. Python devotees will feel lifted to heaven while those looking for two plus hours of levity will appreciate obvious humor, inclusive of bathroom-style lowbrow comedy.

Ostensibly, a friendly group of Knights seek the Grail, sort of, and for most of the first act it's possible to track the plot of "Spamalot." Early highlight numbers include "I Am Not Dead Yet," "Find Your Grail," and "Run Away," set amid a French Castle. Challenge: Figure out what the large, wooden rabbit is all about.

The second portion of the play begins with the uplifting "Always Look on the Bright Side of Life," presented by Patsy, the servant (actor Jeff Dumas), King Arthur (Michael Siberry) and various oddball knights. Midway through the scene (here comes my reference), catch the many verses of "You Won't Succeed on Broadway" if you don't have any _____.

The villainous rabbit is really a white hand puppet -- and quite a sketch at that.

An unsuspecting viewer is escorted to the stage to participate as she receives an award.

And so on....

Pia Glenn is suitably statuesque and strong of voice as she sings an appropriate number, "The Diva's Lament." As The Lady of the Lake, her lines and appearances are limited.

Dumas is excellent with his three roles. And, Siberry makes for a credible (within the prespective of lack of credibility) Arthur. Robert Petkoff is outstanding as Sir Robin.

It's tough not to have a fine time with "Spamalot" even if this is not highly original, inventive work. There are obvious debts to "West Side Story," "Fiddler," and "The Producers." "Spamelot" is oftentimes amusing but, as a musical theater piece, cannot hold a candle to any of the aforementioned shows. That's okay: the current touring version diverts, charms, and entertains.

www.bushnell.org
(860) 987-5900

"Lulu" - A Lulu

2007-04-07T09:52:00.000-07:00

"Lulu" is audacious, eclectic, highly-charged, visually arresting, fast-paced, and enormously theatrical. The play, running at Yale Repertory Theatre through April 21, showcases performance talents of an energetic group of actors and the terrific director, Mark Lamos. It is also a disturbing work and one that, in all honesty, I would not recommend for the come-and-go theatre viewer.

Genesis of the eventual production: Reference "Monster Tragedy" (1894), "Earth Spirit" (1895), "Pandora's Box" (1903), and the silent film version of "Pandora's Box" (1928). And more. Now, Frank Wedekind (whose "Spring Awakening" is an NYC hit) has written a new version, Carl R. Mueller has translated German into English language, and Lamos and Drew Lichtenberg have adapted it for Yale Rep.

Lulu (startling Brienin Bryant) appears bare-breasted, early on, and in mid-air (thanks to a swing). She is lusted after, desirable, so enticing, and voracious. Men pursue her whatever her name at a given moment: Eve, Katja, Nellie, Mignon. The artist Walter Schwarz (Louis Cancelmi) paints her. Her husband Dr. Goll (Joe Vincent), very much her senior, wants the work. She dupes Dr. Schon (John Bedford Lloyd) into marrying her. Her next mariage (I think I have this in order) is with the physician's son, Alwa (Charles Socarides). These two go off to Paris but lose their wealth. Schigolch (Jordan Charney) is borderline evil. At last Jack (Cancelmi) kills Lulu. During various interludes actor Michael Braun plays an Animal Trainer; this, one gathers, is adjacent to the metaphor of "Lulu" as a dark, twisted circus of life's odd, edgy, menacing side.

Lamos, whose tenure as artistic at Hartford Stage, was nothing short of remarkable, had a tendency to lower scenic objects from the rafters. This technique works well at Yale Rep and the settings by Rumiko Ishii lend cosummate flair to the proceedings. Fake blood turn you on? See the show.

"Lulu," then, scores on a multitude of production elements, inclusive of Christina Bullard's eye-opening costumes. This is a visual extravaganza, one which features many a treat.

It's difficult to take an eye off Bryant, who is fetching and versatile. "Lulu" includes more than a tad of male nudity, especially during the opening sequence.

Lamos, ever the orchestrator, pushes pace throughout with positive results.

The literal definition of lulu? Extraordinary human. I recall my childhood when my parents would remark, upon occasion, "That's a lulu!" They were speaking of the absolutely outrageous. Such a phrase matches well with the spirit and actualization at Yale Rep.

www.yalerep.org
(203) 432-1234

"Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner" - Clever and Complex

2007-03-08T06:40:00.000-08:00

Luis Alfaro's "Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner," continuing at Hartford Stage through April 1, (happily) nags at theatergoers. The play is about disorder whether that focuses upon food or sex. It's about being fat, about being lonely.

Actress Elisa Bocanegra inhabits the incredulously large Minerva, the sister who (no matter what she tries) is ever-expansive. Her husband Al (Felix Solis) is reasonable, empathetic, encouraging, and faithful. But, he is unable to say "I Love You."

Yetta Gottesman plays Alice, the other sister - who craves sex, wishes for affection, and remains as unfulfilled as Minerva. She and Officer Fred Martinez (James Martinez) go at one another beneath the covers. They might be a couple but cannot commit. This cop seems, for much of the time, to be emotionally vacant.

The talented Lisa Peterson directs the production and her presence is key. This play begs for and receives specific instructions which will help make it fly.

Do not be put off, as I was, by the first few moments of the play. There's a temptation to categorize. Minerva is immense and she begins eating - anything. Well, that doesn't seem all that promising....It takes some time before Alvaro's scripting takes hold.

The second portion of the play is about conflict. The dramatic questions, posed much earlier, ask whether any of these people, individually, or as couples, will find meaning, value, joy, reason for existence.

Yet, "Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner" is anything but heavy-handed. It's funny and spirited while reaching for profound responses to difficult circumstances.

This is a play which includes numerous vignettes. Peterson does her best to fluidly bridge gaps from one scene to the next. It is often but not always pleasant to watch minimalist furnishings move on and off stage.

Rachel Hauck's set, at the outset, is spare to the extreme: see one old, white refrigerator.

The cadence of the play approximates that of this commentary: the sketches and the paragraphs are brief......

"Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner" is well: acted, directed, and realized. Sets one to thinking.

www.hartfordstage.org; (860) 525-5601

Dulcinea Captivates Within Stunning "La Mancha"

2007-03-01T06:20:00.000-08:00

Charles Newell re-imagined the legendary "Man of La Mancha" and staged his impressive production a couple of years ago at Chicago's Court Theater. New Haven's Long Wharf Theater brings that transformative show, complete with classic Mitch Leigh music/Joe Darion lyrics to Connecticut through Mar. 18th. Doug Peck provides the splendid musical direction while Newell supervises the overall presentation.

During the mid-1960s the playwright Dale Wasserman (who originally wrote this as a TV play) referenced "Don Quixote de La Mancha," by Miguel de Cervantes, and brought his project to the Goodspeed Opera House. The subsequent Broadway production, starring Richard Kiley, became the third longest running musical of the decade. Kiley as Don Quixote will live forever in theatergoers' minds.

The storyline finds Cervantes (Herbert Perry), in great debt, imprisoned during the Spanish Inquisition. Newell situates everyone in the prison and all actors take on multiple roles. Cervantes endures a trial and begs that his ideal vision be recognized. He fights windmills and, by the time this just under two hour adaptation ends, wins over all of his fellow prisoners. As he about to die, the protagonist is heroic.

Much revolves around the whorish character of Escalante/Aldonza/Dulcinea (Hollis Resnik) who, during this sixteenth century piece, is initially wild, audacious, dirty, and foul-mouthed. Everyone else on stage, including Cervantes' delightful servant, Sancho ( the delightful manservant played by Jim Corti), becomes secondary to the characters embodied by Hollis Resnik.

Before I proceed further, it must be stated that designer John Culbert's rendering of the Inquisition Jail is a work of fine art. It is: dark, dungy, forbidding.....and becomes an all-inclusive environment for the show. Sitting high above, one actually feels the humidity and bleak texture within the confining space below. Mark McCullough's variety of lighting effects and sounds provided by Ray Nardelli and Josh Horvath are major positives as are Jacqueline Firkins' "outfits."

Tunes penned for "Man of La Mancha" are recognizable and welcome. They include: "I Really Like Him," "Little Bird, Little Bird" (with harmony), and "Knight of the Woeful Countenance." The musical's classic number is, of course, "The Impossible Dream." Yet "Dulcinea" becomes the central song here.

Quixote, from the outset, calls the woman he adores Dulcinea and all of her efforts to prove that she is a prostitute mean nothing to him. He is certain she is a virgin.....He will do anything for her, for the person he loves.

So, it's a romantic, poetic, sometimes even humorous rendering -- the current "La Mancha."

Perry, with a trained, impressive operatic voice, is strong. He is non-charismatic. The galvanic Resnik carries the production. She nails her characters throughout. The concluding section of the performance allows her to open up emotionally and she is more than equal to that task. During the early going, she is asked, virutally, to spit with grit -- and she obliges.

The Broadway "La Mancha" won five Tony Awards and I saw that memorable Manhattan production. And, I took in a bus and truck touring version of the musical several years ago; not bad at all. Newell's exciting, powerful, commanding realization brings fresh authority to a great play. Within the scope of the prison, a fine cast expands and enthralls.

www.longwharf.org; (203) 787-4282

365 Days/365 Plays

2007-02-24T13:30:00.000-08:00

Last night, we took a drive to Mt. Holyoke College to take in ten of Suzan Lori-Parks' "365 Days/365 Plays." Brought to and for hundreds of venues across the country, the concept is remarkable. Parks, the Pulitzer Prize winning playwright who learned her craft at MHC (assist to James Baldwin) and Yale Drama, wrote a play a day for a year. At the moment, her alma mater serves as one of many locations for the plays. During the current run, New World Theater of the University of Massachusetts presents the short works which Parks and her friend Bonnie Metzgar produced.

Not surprisingly, some of the scenes ("Babe Catcher," "Coney Island Joe's," and "Project Macbeth," in my case) appeal more than others. The quality of performance, from actor to actor, varies greatly. Cast members included some teenagers, others who are college theater veterans, and at least one individual who has appeared on the regional stage.

So, this is cool.
I've been fortunate to watch premieres of Parks plays such as "Topdog/Underdog," "Venus," and others at New Haven's Yale Rep. She is a vastly talented writer. "365" demonstrates her versatility and vitality. What about the days when she awoke and really hadn't any notion or desire to think hard, long, and specifically enough to compose maybe a ten minute play?

"Fully Committed" - Frenetic Fun

2007-02-12T07:01:00.000-08:00

Catch Vince Gatton's exceptional performance in Becky Mode's "Fully Committed." The off-beat, Off-Broadway, often hilarious one-person show continues through the coming weekend as Barrington Stage Company brings the play to Pittsfield's Berkshire Museum.

Gatton plays Sam, wannabe actor- desperate to support himself, who currently handles dinner reservations at a snappy Manhattan restaurant. The performer flips from French to Spanish to German to Asian and many more accents as he adeptly leaps from one to another of more than thirty high-maintenance characters. Those in need trust and anticipate that Sam Peliczowski will nail a reservation for him/her.

That reservations have been booked months ahead of time causes problems for: Bryce, the personal assistant to model Naomi Campbell; Bunny Vandevere or is it Vandelear of the Upper East Side; Carolann Rosenstein-Fishburn, an aggressive (to be kind) New Yorker....... Diane Sawyer wants a table. Tim Zagat is around and about. The chief chef is impossibly oppressive, demeaning, and snide. Gatton's Sam must also vocalize as his father, recently widowed and a touching soul, telephones from the Midwest, hoping that his son will return for Christmas.

You have to love the set: Brian Prather furnishes this cellar office with desks, hanging Christmas lights, clutter of all kinds, spare restaurant glasses. The ominous red phone rings and a bulb blinks when the almighty chef is on the line. Otherwise, Sam sits amid the boxes and junk as he fiddles with his headset and swiftly juggles calls.

Well-meaning Sam (and Gatton is just terrific throughout), arrives at the outset just in time to gulp coffee as he settles in for the imminent barrage. He moves, without hesitation, from one persona to the next to the next. It's not a stretch for the theatergoer, midway through the proceedings, to begin to visualize the demanding, persistent oddballs who blitz Sam with their whines, needs, and pleas.

It is Sam who must grab a disgusting looking mop to deal with an even more disgusting catastrophe in the ladies room. As his patience wanes, Sam gets that longed-for callback for role at an upcoming Lincoln Center play. Take a breath! He sings a bit of "Lady is a Tramp" as the basement lights shut down and this eclectica and quite irresistible comedy concludes. All the while, Andrew Volkoff's direction is invaluable. Gatton is not sedentary. Rather, he is on the move.

Author Becky Mode wrote for HBO and for The Cosby Show, too. She knows this territory, having acted, waited on tables, checked coats....."Fully Committed" is her first play, and it premiered in New York in 1999. She has written a clever piece which oozes satire through exaggeration/amplification.

Gatton must exercise great control to manage chaos and confusion with seeming ease. His is an enviable performance. While "Fully Committed" has often been staged at different locales in this country, it's tough to imagine going one-up on the current BCS production.

www.barringtonstageco.org; (413) 236-8888

Hartford Stage Honors Magnificent "Fences"

2007-02-08T06:04:00.000-08:00

Vast, poetic and profound, the late August Wilson's "Fences" remains one of the finest plays ever written. Hartford Stage extends the run of Tony and Pulitzer Prize winning drama (inclusive of some comic dialogue) through February 18th. Thereafter, this galvanic production moves along to the Dallas Theater Center and Portland Center Stage in Oregon. If you've not seen it, please do. I was privileged to observe "Fences" when it opened and drew immediate raves reviews at Yale Repertory Theater in spring of 1985; and I saw a fine presentation of the show at Springfield's StageWest early in 1990. With those memories still vivid, I wondered whether it might not be wise to let them be -- and I contemplated passing on the Hartford Stage production. That would have been a serious mistake. Michael Wilson, Stage artistic director, Jonathan Wilson, director of the production, and just a stunning cast bequeath stirring art and passion.

Having reviewed the play earlier, I choose not to replicate. Instead, allow me to quote from the introduction of the first published book version of "Fences." The opening is written by Lloyd Richards, who passed away seventeen months ago. Richards, thought by many to represent either an older brother or father figure to August Wilson, directed the initial production of "Fences." It was Richards who noticed and noted Wilson's writing potential during the early 1980s at the Eugene O'Neill Theatre Center in Waterford, CT.

Richards writes: "'Fences' encompasses the 1950s and a black family trying to put down roots in the slag slippery hills of a middle American urban industrial city that one might correctly mistake for Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

"To call August Wilson a storyteller is to align him at one and the same time with the ancient aristocrats of dramatic writing who stood before the tribes and made compelling oral history into legend, as well as with the modern playwrights who bring an audience to their feet at the end of an evening of their work because that audience knows that they have encountered themselves, their concerns, and their passions, and have been moved and enriched by the experience. In 'Fences,' August Wilson tells the story of four generations of black Americans and of how they have passed on a legacy of morals, mores, attitudes, and patterns through stories with and without music.

"He tells the story of Troy Maxson, born to a sharecropper father who was frustrated by the fact that every crop took him further into debt. The father knew himself as a failure and took it out on everyone at hand, including his young son, Troy, and his wives, all of whom 'leave him.' Troy learns violence from him, but he also learns the value of work and the fact that a man takes repsonsibility for his family no matter how difficult circumstances may be. He learns respect for a home, the importance of owning land, and the value of an education because he doesn't have one.

"An excellent baseball player, Troy learns that in the land of equal opportunity, chances for a black man are not always equal, and that the same country that deprived him asked sacrifice of his brother in World War II and got it. Half his brother's head was blown away, and he is now a disoriented and confused beautiful man. He learns that he must fight and win the little victories-given his life-must assume the proportion of major triumphs. He learns that day to day and moment to moment he lives close to death and must wrestle with death to survive. He learns that to take a chance and grab a moment of beauty can crumble the delicate fabric of an intricate value system and leave one desolate and alone. Strength of body and strength of purpose are not enough. Chance and the color of one's skin, chance again, can tip the balance. 'You've got to take the crooked with the straight.'" - Lloyd Richards

********************

"Fences" bears witness to life, in 1957, in The Hill district of Pittsburgh, where August Wilson lived early on. Designer Scott Bradley's depiction of the Maxson two-story brick house and yard is terrific. Wilson's protagonist Troy (Wendell Wright) is strong, vocal, tempestuous -- and an individual who collects garbage to support his people. Onece, he was a baseball star in the Negro Leagues but never received his shot to play Major League ball.

Rose (Wandachristine) is also strong and vocal; and she is smart, compassionate, and wise. She is very much tuned into the promise of the biological son Cory (Rob Riley) she and Troy try to monitor. Actor Ray Anthony Thomas plays Gabriel, Troy's brother whom Richards in the aforementioned introduction brilliantly desribes. Bono (Don Mayo) is Troy's best friend and confidante, is loving, warm, and most perceptive. Lyons (Che Ayende) is Troy's older son - a product of an earlier marriage. Troy's new daughter is named Raynell (Hannah J. Maximin).

This is a superlative cast and Jonathan Wilson interprets August Wilson's language and intent with vision, scope, and consummate understanding.

****************

I spent two long mornings, a few decades ago, in New Haven with August Wilson. He drank coffee, smoked cigarettes, answered my questions, spoke from mind and heart. I drank coffee, listened, wrote, and attempted to discover (while I realized this was impossible) the genius of his approach/art/craft -- just how could he be so talented -- what was the secret? This he could not explain.

So, too, I interviewed Richards a few times, the final meeting transpiring at his uptown Manhattan apartment one warm spring afternoon a dozen years back. He was soft-spoken yet his words were precise and the import, for me, indelible.

I recall the day, during the late 1980s, when Eric Hill, then artistic director of StageWest and current theater department chair at Brandeis, and I were discussing the import of August Wilson's early plays. Hill said, "I think Lloyd Richards is really one of the great men of the theater." When Hill staged "Fences," his choice for Troy was actor Ray Aranha, who originated the role of Bono several years earlier at Yale Rep. I listened carefully as Aranha spoke about his affiliation with "Fences."

The linkage continues. I extend praise to to the three Wilsons (August, Jonathan, Michael) who are not related. I attended a Wednesday matinee performance at Hartford Stage. Not a seat was vacant. Attendees included many beyond the age of seventy; and a large array of high school students. "Fences," forever relevant, inspired/inspires all.

www.hartfordstage.org; (860) 527-5151

"Composition" - Difficult Musical Etude

2007-02-05T05:27:00.000-08:00

"Composition," in world premiere at Hartford's TheaterWorks through Mar. 11, is unsettling. Henry (role taken by playwright/actor Timothy McCracken) is a young composer who cannot progress with a piano piece he's written. Randy Redd furnishes the music and McCracken plays the upright piano. Blocked at, with, and by a specific sequence, he, the picture of the contorted artist, appears to be on the brink of a breakdown. Again and again.

He shares an NYC apartment (somewhere near the Lincoln Tunnel) with Curtis (Tommy Schrider), who writes often but is uninspired. Alexandra (Tara Falk) is involved -- well, she sleeps with Curtis. Sympathizing with Henry, Alex (a former cellist) explains that she knew Henry's now-deceased sister, Lucy -- who was a wonderful cellist.

So, Henry is a wreck while the less tortured Curtis attempts to lift his buddy out of the doldrums. Alex, adorned in many an outfit by Camille Assaf, is pivotal.

"Composition" is simultaneously interesting and exasperating. Perhaps the artistic team, inclusive of director Steve Campo, seeks that type of response. To its credit, the piece is complex and probing. Questions are raised and only some are answered; this is all to the good.

Yet, the evening is broken into fragments by the many, many, many blackouts which separate mini-scenes. The "go dark" punctuation annoys.

McCracken does an excellent job of inhabiting the Henry he has created. Schrider paints Curtis as a character without a naturally likable upside. Tara Falk creates an original Alex, a woman who is sincere, genuine, warm, and selfless. Will, however, the audience find her appealing?

The best portion of "Composition" occurs just before intermission when the script is sharp and enticing. Patrons must ponder just what occurs during the next segment. The final hour of the play, though, is fairly predictable. I will not divulge the conclusion.

All of that said, TheaterWorks (featuring a reality-based set by Adrain W. Jones) must garner applause for taking an educated risk by staging a play which, previously, has been performed in workshop or reading environments. "Composition" includes some excellent writing and some of the moments during its two hour running time are special ones. It would be far safer yet less ambitious to bring in a proven work.

www.theaterworkshartford.org. (860) 527-7838

"Doubt" Benefits from Superlative Performances

2007-01-31T07:14:00.000-08:00

"Doubt," winner of multiple Tony Awards and, for its author, the Pulitzer Prize, plays Hartford's Bushnell Theater through Sunday. It is thrilling to have such commanding and provocative drama in our midst. The play deserves its accolades.

Set in the mid-1960s at a Catholic school in the Bronx, John Patrick Shanley's script finds Father Flynn (Chris McGarry), priest and basketball coach, paying special attention of some sort, to the only African-American student, Joseph Muller. Youthful, insecure Sister James (Lisa Joyce) has made an observation regarding Flynn's response to the ten year old boy and she conveys this to Sister Alysius (Cherry Jones), also principal of the school.

It's impossible for anyone within proximity of the stage not to stare at Jones - in admiration. A truly profound actor, Jones alters her carriage, posture, head position, and mouth to fully inhabit the dedicated, troubled nun. Sister Aloysius is righteous, and, until the final moment of the production, seemingly one hundred percent assured -- even if her conviction of mind is based upon intuitive sense rather than hard knowledge.

We never really know whether Father Flynn has, as the senior nun suggests, seduced young Muller. Ultimately, the boy's mother, Mrs. Muller (Caroline Stefanie Clay) confers with Sioster Aloysius in an emotionally intense scene.

"Doubt" is filled with conflict and while the subject matter is not new, its treatment, within the capable hands of director Doug Hughes, is fresh and riveting. The presentation catapults into high drama after Father Flynn's opening monologue. The initial speech about doubt, which is delivered without significant resonance, is not an indicator of what will occur.

Shanley builds in many crescendos and ultimately, leaves it up to the individual theatergoer to determine whether he/she believes that the priest has actually abused the student. Sister Aloysius must reach deeply within her reservoir of faith to become just as certain as she appears to be.

The playwright does an excellent job of allowing for divergence of opinion. Shanley provides Father Flynn with the opportunity to state his strong case. Sister James (and Joyce is appealing through her Bronx accent) is, by implication, more complex than she wishes to be.

The level of performance demonstrated by the quartet of touring actors is enviable. Jones, without any doubt, deservedly received the Tony. That she continues with such fire, conviction, and truth is remarkable. She is surrounded by actors who assist the production as they act with significant skill and understanding.

The plot fueling "Doubt" is fairly straight ahead. And, Shanley provides humor during the first half of the ninety-five minute show.

Thereafter, everyone in the theater watches and listens with heightened attention and uneasy anticipation.

www.bushnell.org; (860) 987-5900.

"Cocktail Hour" at Long Wharf -- WASP Craft

2007-01-25T05:45:00.000-08:00

Recognizable and familiar, four White Anglo-Saxon Protestants, characters within A. R. Gurney's "The Cocktail Hour" are affecting and just multi-dimensional enough to pique interest. Long Wharf Theater, in New Haven, revives the play which benefits from Kim Rubinstein's direction -- she pushes it forward. You might not wish to revisit a society which opens the curtain on: mixed drinks, repression of feelings, the power of the almighty dollar, and a kind of stylized dress which has been appropriate for any given decade since, say the 1950s. That said, this script still catches one off guard. Gurney is a fluent, observant writer and this particular production is winning.

John (Rob Campbell) arrives at his parents' home (in a small upstate New York hamlet) one stirling autumn Saturday in the mid-1970s to inform his father that a play he (John) has written will soon be staged in Manhattan. John's play and his life center about his belief that his father, Bradley (John Cunningham), never really loved him. John, now around forty, is vulnerable. His father proffers a check for twenty thousand dollars in an effort to divert the grown son from bringing the play to the city. Bradley also wishes his other son, Jigger, had come around.

Actress Mary Beth Peil plays Ann, mother and wife. She is the picture of aristocracy and hopes that John will listen to her suggestion that he convert the play into a book - since that form is far safer. We learn, during the second act, that while her children were growing, Ann was writing a six hundred plus page book which she ultimately destroyed.

Nina, John's sister (Ann Talman) has her own issues. She loves dogs to the point of obsession. Further, Nina is not thrilled when she learns that her character in John's play is quite minor. She pulls through and becomes helpful when the kitchen help ruins a pot roast -- and dinner.

The stage bears the grace and vision of scenic designer Michael Yeargan. He won the Tony Award for "A Light in the Piazza" a couple of years ago and was nominated for his set design, last year, for "Awake and Sing." Yeargan has been creating sets on Connecticut stages for years. No one who saw his luminous creation for "The Return of Martin Guerre" at Hartford Stage will ever forget it.

This time, he fashions ten white-framed windows along the lengthy rear wall of the living room (LW stage). We see bright yellows, oranges, and reds -- fall's colors in abstract form. The choice, assisted by Pat Collins' lighting, influences rather than dominates the show. Just outside the three walls, on the exterior of the room, rest fallen leaves -- similar in hue to the window images.

Candice Donnelly dresses the four men in appropriate sport coats; and the women wear modest, conservative, suitable outfits.

Andre Pluess provides tone-setting music which plays a few times during the performance but not concurrent to dialogue delivery.

Cunningham and Peil lead an excellent cast. I thought, for a time, that I had a problem with Talman's portrayal of Nina. On second thought, however, it's my antipathy toward the character which is upsetting. In other words, Talman probably is doing a fine job. Campbell, as John, gets the WASP persona. His brown tousled hair makes for a precise look.

I attended a midweek matinee and almost every member of the audience could be considered an elderly citizen. They laughed often, catching Gurney's sneaky humor and innuendo.

"The Cocktail Hour" may be a period piece. That period, for better or worse, remains with us.

The play continues through Feb. 4. www.longwharf.org; (203) 787-4284.

"In the Continuum" - Spirit and Soul - Personal Impact - HIV

2007-01-12T10:01:00.000-08:00

While MFA students in acting at NYU, Nikkole Salter and Danai Gurira were independently composing monologues addressing: AIDS. One professor suggested that the individual efforts might be combined. The result: startling, poignant theater: "In the Continuum." The world premiere at Primary Stages in New York and the subsequent run at Perry Street Theatre led to stops in various cities. Now, New Haven's Yale Repertory wisely presents this searing, spirited play performed by the women who wrote the piece through Feb. 10.

Abigail (Gurira) reads the news for Zimbabwe Broadcasting Corporation and her career is ascending. Upset about her marriage, she anticipates that when her second child is born, the relationship with her husband will improve. Instead, she is HIV-positive and this, she realizes, will abruptly end the marriage.

Nia (Salter), from Los Angeles, is involved with a wannabe National Basketball Association star. She believes that Darnell, still in high school, will find his promised land within the NBA. But, Nia has AIDS. The dream will be forever dashed.

The women, as primary characters, never exchange dialogue with one another. Yet Salter will also play her boyfriend's mother; a social worker, and others. Gurira, too, takes on multiple roles such as a witch doctor.

Director Robert O'Hara opens the production as the women, whose energy is palpable, move in circles as they explain, implore, and fully engage the audience. They are intense, emotionally available people whose lives have been immediately and absolutely disrupted. "In the Continuum" permits them to remote, to fully emote.....

Sarah Hillard costumes the two women in black. Each, however, utilizes fabric of color to enhance, transform, and alter physical appearance. Peter R. Feuchtwanger essentially clears the stage and allows the blinding drama (which includes moments of humor) to reach crescendo after crescendo.

"In the Continuum" flashes before your eyes acutely and with immediate tension. Abigail and Nia do not meet but personify parallel figures. That these women, playwrights and performers, feel the import of their passionate words is evidenced through the totality of performance. Wonder about the theory that voice is inclusive of the entire human body? Check out this play.

---End of Review Section---

Personal Blog: One wishes to run up on the stage and hug each of these women. Those of us who crave live theater are so, so thankful. Think about it. Students receive an assignment and begin to write. Women from different global regions, each draws focus upon AIDS. And, to be truthful, we've many times watched films and plays, read books about the epidemic. I cherish those moments when I saw "Angels" and "Rent" early on during NYC runs. AIDS again?

Get real. The play is intimate, revealing, wrenching. Not only that. The performers are electric and the direction, essential, is both necessary and precise. O'Hara is melding two one-women shows. Not easy.

I was gratified to have the opportunity, as an active theater lover, to attend. You will, too.

www.yalerep.org; (203) 432-1234.

Pilobolus' 35th Anniversary Celebration Astonishes

2006-12-11T12:34:00.000-08:00

Dance is typically not my genre. While I'm able to identify Fosse in a flash through all of the theater reviewing years, I lack the expertise and training to properly critique dance. Hence, this is a layperson's short response piece.

The Shubert Theater in Boston played host to the brilliant, dazzling, acrobatic Pilobolus group the past three days. Now based in Washington Depot, CT, the organization's genesis was a dance class held at Dartmouth College in 1971.

Ever eclectic and equally stirring, this ensemble of gymnastic/elastic/beautifully muscled humans now tours five pieces which showcase variety and athelticism as set to music. "Aquatica" (2005) features Marcelo Zarvos' musical composition while"Momento Mori" (2006) is performed to Debussy, Garbarek, Bjork, and Mozart.

All of the work is dependent upon exquisite timing. "Symbiosis" requires balance and strength while the aforementioned "Momento Mori" is part dance/part theater as it tells the story of two individuals working backward from elderly years.

The precision and detail these dancers evidence is staggering. It's nothing short of thrilling to behold.

Pilobolus next appears at Proctor's Theater in Schenectady, NY on Jan. 28th. Place this one on your calendar asap.
See www.pilobolus.org for further information regarding this amazing troupe.

"Black Snow" at Yale -- One Hilarious Hour, Then...

2006-12-08T07:35:00.000-08:00

Opening moment: Novelist Sergei Leontievich Maxudov (Adam Stein), standing upon a table with a noose about his neck, fails miserably in a ridiculous attempt to commit suicide. Stein is sensational throughout as the protagonist within Mikhail Bulgakov's "Black Snow," as adpated by Keith Reddin and staged by Evan Yionoulis. The play continues at New Haven's Yale Repertory Theater through Dec. 23. The first fifty minutes of this production could not be more zany/witty/ludirous/clever.....takes me back to "Bananas."

Referencing Woody Allen, in fact, is appropriate. Stein, of slight physical build, reminds one of young Woody crossed, say, with thirtysomething coach of the NBA's New Jersey Nets, Lawrence Frank. Stein's Sergei is befuddled and bewildered. Miscast in life, his fortunes are about to turn.

It is 1926 in Moscow and self-deprecating Sergei Maxudov had hopes of getting his novel published....... but he's at the point of killing himself. A proofreader by trade, he shows his manuscript (pretty much illegible since his penmanship is shoddy) to Rudolfi (Brian Hutchison), who actually likes it! The author is convinced that this fiction has potential, more appropriately, as a play.

And the fun begins, complete with sight gags, shenanigans -- including flawed contracts, confusion, complexity, bureaucracy.....you name it. That cast members are hyped and hyper feeds the craziness.

I loved the absolutely riotous turn furnished by seasoned actor Susan Blommaert, who, at a manual machine, types each word of Maxudov's piece as fast as he is able to utter the dialogue. She tells Sergei to omit just three words........

Redhead Katie, Barrett, multi-cast, is deft, clever, versatile, and naturally comedic.

A notice of Sergei's play is posted on a billboard, along with works of Moliere, Shakespeare, and Aeschylus.
That is hardly imaginable. But, a review before the production occurs? And, the occasional interest about the arc in the script? The running time for Maxudov's play is, in theory, more than five hours. Finally, having labored extensively, he cuts it by twelve minutes.

Just before intermission, Ivan Vasilievich appears. He will produce the play. The venerable actor, Alvin Epstein, returns to Yale Rep where, as a young man, he helped found the theater.
It is Epstein's job to inhabit a character based upon Konstantin Stanislavsky, who originated the Moscow Art Theater. His acting "Method" was modified and sculpted further by Lee Strasberg and others in New York City during much of the twentieth century.

Ivan, however, does not especially warm to Maxudov's play. Since, this producer is tantamount to tyrant, the path toward performance is not fluid.

The problem with "Black Snow" is that a second hour (which begins as Sergei fiddles with a gun) could not possibly hold an entertaining candle to the first. Ivan (Epstein) is outrageous but he isn't particularly funny.

The first act is filled with absurdity, lack of reality, ribald humor, and lowbrow carryings on. It all works like a most diverting charm. The lunacy sends any theategoer who has even dabbled a bit with the performing or creative arts into a wild internal spin. I, for one, probably laughed out loud in the theater more than in many months.

By comparison, the second act seems flat. It would be impossible to maintain the dazzle of the early going.

www.yalerep.org; (203) 432-1234

Hartford's TheaterWorks Scores With "Take Me Out"

2006-11-19T12:12:00.000-08:00

Rob Ruggiero has to be a helluva director. Most plays he touches work - as in the performances congeal. It's impossible for theatergoers to discern just how dictatorial is the facilitator of a production. Hence, it's tough to assign percentages -- to divy up accolades. As you watch the valuable "Take Me Out" at TheaterWorks (the run has just been extended until Dec. 10th), note the pacing as Ruggiero maximizes playwright Richard Greenberg's award winning script. The cast is, for the most part, splendid. Thematically, the subject matter is instantly compelling: What happens when a sterling baseball player, a five tool baseball player in the Major Leagues, admits he is gay?

Greenberg neither provides answers nor has he crafted the perfect script. That said, an already fine production gathers momentum as it reaches for a second act crescendo.

Darren Lemming (graceful, poised, handsome young actor Schuyler Yancey) makes it known that he is gay while doing a television interview. He misjudges impact. Lemming hasn't anticipated that scruffy, bigoted relief pitcher Shane Mungitt (Michael Balsley) might have issues......Veteran ballplayer Kippy Sunderstrom (Tim Altmeyer) narrates from time to time and attempts to defuse the situation. Kippy, a fence riding moderate/liberal, hopes that he will remain everyone's friend. He also serves as a translator for players who do not speak fluent English.

Actor Nat DeWolf plays Mason Marzac who, as fiscal advisor to Darren, speaks for a long, long time (too long) about playing baseball, democracy, and so on and so forth. Edit? Still, the character, something of a clown, is essential. DeWolf seems compelled to exaggerate with flamboyance. Marzac, the unathletic, philosophical geek is pivotal. Marzac tells us that someone must lose and that statement represents a great deal. I wonder whether the enthusiastic Marzac has fallen not only for baseball but for Lemming as well.

The shift from single to multi-dimension occurs as Greenberg's play unfolds. It touches upon bias, integrity, sexuality, sports.....and includes a scene as baseball players, fully nude next to one another, shower.

There's a most intense exchange between Lemming and his very good friend, Davey Battle (Shawn T. Andrew), who plays for another ballclub. It's head to head and heart to heart.

While I appreciate the incisive, engaging "Take Me Out," I felt out of place as (seemingly) one of two theatergoers who did not leap to his feet before all the actors took final bows. Give the actors a moment to catch collective breaths, please, before the requisite standing ovation. Greenberg has said, in interview, that he loves baseball. The actual baseball sequences in "Take Me Out" amplify and enrich the show. I would bid for just a little more baseball and less Marzac. Yes, he provides keys but he expounds and expounds. Too much, even if this is a relatively minor quibble.

Greenberg has noted that he was influenced when Billy Bean, a former big leaguer, came out six years ago and suggested that only a wonderfully talented player could admit his homosexuality and remain in the game. This play which is written by a man who has a gift for creating excellent dialogue.

www.theaterworkshartford.org; (860) 527-7838

Enchanted Circle's "Leah" - Rich, Poignant, Educational

2006-11-13T06:39:00.000-08:00

"Leah Enters Late: A New Page in the Story of Yiddish" graced the stage at the National Yiddish Book Center on the Hampshire College campus in Amherst, MA a number of times during the past two weeks. As I apologize for not having seen the production earlier (which eliminates the opportunity for you to see the play), let me voice a wish that the presentation return, in the future, for a follow-up engagement. Thanks to Enchanted Circle Theater artists for actualizing the concept.

The collaborative effort, which included co-producer Massachusetts International Festival of the Arts (MIFA), features a carefully written script by Priscilla Kane Hellweg and Rachel Kuhn Daviau which is fully realized by a talented trio of actors. Josh Perlstein as Sam Zamler, Jeannine Haas as his wife Ruth, and Laurel Butler as their granddaughter Leah, are credible and convincing as they inhabit characters within an emotive family scene.

Hellweg and Daviau wrote the script at the behest of Nora Gerard of the Book Center. The ninety minute piece, filled with echoes of the past, effectively explains the moving and purposeful work accomplished within that essential and beautiful building. It was founded by Hampshire College alumnus, Aaron Lansky.

Leah, a seventeen year old caught in the midst of a quarrel with her mother, arrives on a rainy day at the Bronx home of her grandparents, the Zamlers. The older couple, collectors of Yiddish volumes who are about to move to Florida, read many a story aloud to the audience. It is a time to share and explain. The set, effectively depicted by Vanessa James, brings us to the confines of a warm living room, evocative of the past.....

As the actors recite, they approach the audience with tales of "Mendele The Book Peddler," "Tevye the Dairyman" and others. Meanwhile, Leah, every so often, speaks of her confusion and inability to "fit in."

Surely, for Hellweg and Daviau, the process of writing included resonant reflection. Their play is both touching and instructive. The interface is obvious since Hellweg directs. It's all quite personal, valuable, and audience-interactive.

That said, Leah's character would benefit from further development. Her importance is paramount and she could use more lines. Correspondingly, the readings might be shortened just a tad. This would enhance this effective and heartfelt play's balance.

Finally, this is a play, with an intrinsic message. No one would argue that Yiddish books, language, and culture must be saved..... Some assimilationists might wish to engage in a dialogue about the thematic implications.

"Leah Enters Late" is affecting, absorbing theater and the play, I hope, will be presented here or elsewhere.

Goodspeed's Excellent "Pirates of Penzance"

2006-11-05T04:34:00.000-08:00

With a little help from his friends, Gordon Greenberg has taken Gilbert & Sullivan's "Pirates of Penzance" and sets it spinning with innovation, imagination, spin, invention, and pizzazz. The result is a dashing musical comedy designed to please theatergoers of all ages. The original 1880 operetta (a gem in itself) evolves into a Caribbean flavored treat at the Goodspeed Opera House in East Haddam, CT.

Early on, charismatic Pirate King (Andrew Varela) and crew arrive in the West Indies. Youthful Frederic (Jason Michael Snow) is finally freed from his period as an indentured servant but he must now deal with a curse: he must "befriend" a lovely virgin and marry.

That is just the beginning of a ribald and, given this upbeat take, enthusiastic and lively production. Rob Bissinger's trappings enhance throughout.

Leading a not-terribly-threatening brigade of pirates is the Pirate King (Andrew Varela). Two women sitting nearby agreed that Varela was Depp-like which cannot detract but it could, possibly, distract. Varela has presence, voice, and command.

A first act highlight included Ed Dixon's stout (forgive the pun) rendering of, you know this one -- "A Modern Major-General!" Dixon perfectly perfonifies that character.

After intermission, the scene shifts from outside exterior waterside to Major General's abode (he seems to have about him, at all times, an incredibly luscious collection of young women).....David Woolard's wardrobe finds the maidens amid restrictive skirts and pantaloons which yield to unyielding corsets. Bright eyed, plastic smiles adorning their faces, the girls are camp and fun and alluring all at once.

Greenberg's aforementioned colleagues include book writer and lyricist Nell Benjamin and musical arranger, John McDaniel. All deserve not simply kudos but A + for not merely adapting but injecting an already splendid G&S script with twenty-first century adrenaline.

In terms of plot, as in the original, somewhat naive Frederic is surrounded by Major General's daughters. He chooses Mabel (Farah Alvin) as his future bride. By the way, Frederic was born during leap year; thus he is five years of age. The Pirate King, in parallel, finds his match in Ruth (Joanna Blushak) who has been around the block or the harbor - whatever.

During the second act, Reggae influenced Sergeant and his police charges join in the festivities. They sing "A Policeman's Lot......is not a happy one." Having played a much more conventional version of the police leader when I was approximately fourteen, I happily anticipated the moment when a traditional-looking sergeant would appear. Imagine my surprise!

It seems as if another version of "Pirates" will open this coming Thursday in Australia. Here's a small wager that it cannot possibly hold a candle to the amusing, diverting, upper quality presentation at the Goodspeed. That show continues through Dec. 10th. www.goodspeed.org; (860) 873-8668.

Long Wharf's "Rocket to the Moon"

2006-11-03T07:55:00.000-08:00

As an avowed Clifford Odets fan, I very much looked forward to Long Wharf's production of a great play oftentimes overlooked. Daniel Fish directs this stylish and period-accurate presentation but this play (albeit virtuous in some ways) is stuck within the late 1930s in claustrophobic mode. Hence, its universal message might be lost.

Andrew Lieberman's set, which depicts a suite of dental offices, is wonderfully inviting as it immediately transports theaterviewers to another era. It rotates every so slightly during the course of the nearly three hour running time. Complete with windows and frames, the scenic effect absolutely enhances the show. Problem: slightlines occasionally suffer as patrons might need to crane in order to catch full view of a performer.

Ben Stark (David Chandler), almost forty, is caught. His father-in-law, Mr. Prince (the superb David Margulies) wants to help the younger man move on up and expand the dental practice. Ben's wife, Belle (Christina Kirk), is satisfied with her husband's financial contribution. But, she correctly senses that Ben has eyes for his sweet, delectable, redhaired assistant Cleo Singer (a terrific Louisa Krause). In fact, pretty much every one of the male characters Odets offers has the same reaction to Cleo -- romancing her is the ultimate purpose.

Cleo symbolizes possibility at a time in when reality was dominant: it was tough to make a buck in New York City (locale for "Rocket"); and in Germany Hitler stripped Jewish physicians of licenses. Odets surrounds his pivotal personnel with essential supporting players. Phil Cooper (Andrew Weems) is a fellow dentist while Frenchy (Henry Stram) is a foot doctor down on his luck. Actor Danny Mastrogiorgio plays Willy Wax who, in the entertainment biz, promises he could do great things for Cleo.

Chandler is stilted as Ben Stark. The character is ridden with anxiety and Chandler makes that evident. But, I am not certain that he fully inhabits this character. The performance begs for fuller, less rigid interpretation.

Clifford Odets, the legendary drama critic and director (who knew and worked with Odets) said, "What crushes Odets' people - those who allow themselves to be crushed - is not simply the economic situation, the Depression, but the temper of the society as a whoile, of which the Depression of the thirties was only an episode, a wounding symptom. It is our humanity which is in constant danger of being destroyed. That has not changed; we are still under mortal pressure of every sort...."

We need a Ben Stark who is far more credibly emotive. Chandler, director Fish, or both men create a character who is internally torn asunder but who does not visibly wear his emotional toll. I believe that this actor (who has previously demonstrated range and talent on stage and screen) could adjust his current performance for the betterment of the Long Wharf production.

The show runs through Nov. 19th. www.longwharf.org; (800) 782-8497.

Precious: Performance Project -- "A Warning for the King"

2006-10-27T07:40:00.000-07:00

Massachusetts International Festival of the Arts (MIFA) and American International College were so, so wise to provide space that enabled the inspiring Performance Project to present its most recent piece, "A Warning for the King." This evening, at 7:00 pm, the run concludes at AIC's Griswold Theater (corner of State and Homer Streets in Springfield).

The Performance Project encourages those recently incarcerated to express themselves through theater (inclusive of acting, script writing, staging and all other live stage elements). It's an undeniably valuable, essential mission. Moreover, the work's quality demonstrates the best possibilities associated with artistic promise. The production, itself, is multi-dimensional and oftentimes sterling.

The focal point of "A Warning" is a king, adorned with crown and cloak. He happens to be a white man. After some time, he sits and examines rocks......which are symbolic? worthless? vital? You be the judge.

Other than the king, this cast is comprised of people of color who, through dialogue, verse, rap, monologue, poetry express themselves so beautifully. Certainly, the talent level varies. It's my pleasure to report that some of these amateur actors have vast potential and not one seems out of place on stage.

Credit, then, to directors Lesley Farlow and Julie Lichtenberg who have been developing this evening (along with Elsa Menendez, Billy Spivey and others) since last spring. The actors (Clive Brown, Richard Carden, Court Dorsey, James Hall, Paris Holmes, and Frances Smith) are poised, articulate, and spirited. The performers, reflecting upon their own lives, have collectively scripted "A Warning for the King."

Towards the end of the presentation, one of the actors begins a lengthy exposition with "Anger is a black god. " He concludes with "Yes, anger is a black god - a god that is black like me." This is riveting.

The Performance Project (based in western Massachusetts) combines acting, music, words, mime and production with enhanced lighting and sound to great advantage. The work is vivid, persuasive, and affecting.

The suggested donation is $10 and tickets are available at the door.

"Mr. Dooley's America" - Exquisite Delivery

2006-10-13T05:28:00.000-07:00

The success of "Mr. Dooley's America," which continues through Sunday at The Chester Theater Company at the base of the Berkshire hills in western Massachusetts, relies upon graceful, knowing delivery furnished by a pair of poised, seasoned performers. Vincent Dowling and Des Keough might double as veteran hardball pitchers who control a ballgame's flow with guile and precision. These actors, demonstrating the value of perfect timing, serve up a delicious tiny gem of a play.

As the nineteenth century yielded to the twentieth, the Chicago journalist Peter Finley Dunne created the fictional bartending Mr. Dooley, via The Chicago Post, to present views of these United States. Vincent Dowling (actor, artistic director, playwright, educator....) plays Dooley with deliberation and charm. At times, he appears ready to wink at the audience; the joke is more on Hennessy, his friend who regularly drinks/chats with him at the tavern.

Dooley was a fictional presence journalist Dunne created in order to speak of education, politics, relationships. Given governmental circumstances within Massachusetts and, soon enough, in greater America, the banter, more than a century later, seems all too appropriate.

The play runs, with intermission, for one hour and forty minutes. If you attend and fear you haven't caught the plotline, worry not. There isn't any. No matter. It's an evening filled with one and two liners: "Business was better when vice was rampant." "Going out on strike is replacing baseball as our national pastime." "A new woman will be freed from the oppression of men." "The kid will talk in his sleep. He'll be a fine lawyer." "I'm afraid the Democratic Party isn't on speaking terms with itself." "The sooner you get old, the longer you'll be old."

The opening moments of the play feature Dunne (Keogh taking on this role as well) speaking from the stage while Dooley appears at the left audience aisle. Moments later, conversations begin. The piece was written by Philip Dunne and Martin Blaine; Charlotte Moore directs. Those seeking over-the-top theater will be very much disappointment. Instead, "Mr. Dooley's America" is delightfully understated.

Dowling is at home on stage. When he pours drinks for his friend and himself, he does so gracefully, as if he might as well be entertaining in his living room. Keogh moves seamlessly from Hennessey to Dunne without missing a beat. And, the trappings within the saloon itself are inviting: well-worn wooden bar, stools, and tables. Photographs on the wall appear to have been hung decades earlier.

The actors are comfortable with one another and that relaxation allows them to concentrate upon detail. The play begs that each moment be fully realized and that is clearly the case.

Youthful attendees will appreciate the quality within "Mr. Dooley" but might find it a tad slow. Others will most assuredly appreciate the unhurried pacing.

Ticket information: (413) 354-7771 or via chestertheatre.org.

"Spelling Bee" Equals B-E-S-T

2006-10-04T05:22:00.000-07:00

"The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee" was a smashing success in Sheffield, Massachusetts where Barrington Stage Company developed the musical play a few summers ago. And Off-Broadway, then at Circle in the Square Theatre in Manhattan. The First National tour of the rollicking comedy hit Hartford's Bushnell Theater Tuesday evening and drew round after round of much deserved raucous applause.

You gotta love this show. Six teenagers compete to become the Spelling Bee Champ. Marcy Park (Katie Boren) is soldier-like in her approach. Logainne Schwartzandgrubenierre (Sarah Stiles) struggles with: her lisp, her background, and her expectations. Chip Tolentino (Miguel Cervantes) has the hots for someone in the audience and corresponding hormonal rage undoes him. Olive Ostrovsky (Lauren Worsham) and Leaf Coneybear (Michael Zahler) are sympathetic contestants whom one admires. Oversized William Barfee (Eric Petersen) is beset with a lifelong mucus problem but counters with his magic foot approach to spelling. Ultimately, he has the goods to become a winner.

Those running this particular Bee display their own adolescent tendencies. Rona Lisa Peretti (Jennifer Simard) won the contest twenty-two years earlier. Douglas Panch (James Kall), as the moderator, is nothing more than a hardly grown-up teenager. Still a nerd, he responds to the contingent before him. Mitch Mahoney (Alan H. Green) is a sweet singing person of color who lends a shoulder to persons from the audience who also had the opportunity to become actual participants.

Segue: At the outset of the performance, several theater patrons take to the stage. They have either volunteered, been selected or combination of the above and join in the fray. Remember: this is live theater, not a film -- and anything might occur.
One of the selected spellers on opening night, Aaron Hayes (forgive the possible spelling gaffe here), showed more than a tad of mettle as he nailed a couple of four star words, the final one being "catterjunes." At this juncture, facilitator Doug Panch and ensemble players, according to script, were obviously primed to moved forward. But, Hayes kept hanging around. Panch then came up with a word which sent Hayes back to his orchestra seat. As he left, however, the cast members mugged and jostled with him, affectionately, before permitting him to leave the stage. You had to be there and you have to love it -- such a precious, spirited moment distinguishes live theater!

The actors were terrific. Accommodating to time and place, they improvised yet retained disclipline within the structure, and, if anything, elevated the level of energy within the house.

"Spelling Bee," conceived by Rebecca Feldman and written by Rachel Sheinkin, was directed by James Lapine. It boasts versatile, catchy music and lyrics by William Finn. Yes, the same guy who has been celebrated a few blocks away, in Hartford, at TheaterWorks with "Make Me a Song: The Music of William Finn."

A few summers back, I was wandering around Mount Everett Regional High School in Sheffield, Massachusetts, as I awaited opening curtain of a Barrington Stage presentation. Meandering, I poked my head in a room and saw a group of people (clearly having a grand time) as they sang and jumped about while struggling and straining to spell words correctly. To this day, I'm not certain if I caught glimpses of rehearsal or actual performance of "Spelling Bee." My priorities askew, I never made a point of attending a full run-through.

Don't make the same mistake! "The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee" is, as advertised, cute, clever, hilarious, and moving, too. Having garnered Tony and Drama Desk Awards, it will enjoy a long life on many a stage. Very cool, indeed.

The show continues at the Bushnell through Sunday, Oct. 8th. See: www.bushnell.org.

Ruhl's "Eurydice" Masterful

2006-09-29T08:01:00.000-07:00

Sarah Ruhl, a couple of weeks ago, became a MacArthur Foundation Fellow. It's the so-called "genius" award. Two years ago she was a Pulitzer Prize finalist for her play "The Clean House" which enjoyed a wondrous world premiere at Yale Repertory Theater in New Haven. Another production of that play opens at Lincoln Center in October. Now, Yale Rep opens its season with Ruhl's "Eurydice," her take on the ancient myth, "Orpheus and Eurydice." Running for ninety minutes without intermission through Oct. 14th in New Haven, the production is absolutely mesmerizing.

As a graduate student at Brown three years ago, Ruhl wrote this play. The Rep production honors her viewpoint while highlighting metaphor through stunning, stylized visuals.

She tells the story from Eurydice's perspective and, throughout, the lovely young woman's father is pivotal. Here, one imagines, the plotline is drawn, to an extent, through Ruhl's life experience. She lost her own father when she was twenty -- and a college student.

Les Waters (director), Scott Bradley (set designer), Russell H. Champa (lighting effects), and Bray Poor (sound) provide unusally vivid dimension which makes this particular production fully distinctive. By raking the stage toward the actors' right, the creative team is able to simulate torrents of water (or, is this the real thing?)......Since the action moves, on the same plane, from symbolic overworld to underworld, high quality production elements are a must. The same individuals who invented Berkeley Repertory's acclaimed production stun Yale's audiences exactly two years later. They've provided the water-strewn elevator and a ride via the River Styx to Hades.

The myth tells the tale of the beautiful Eurydice (Maria Dizzia) who, dies -- and who is pursued beneath the ground by the musical Orpheus (Joseph Parks). He is determined to find her, live with her, and is singleminded in his quest.

Eurydice, beneath ground level, meets her Father (Charles Shaw Robinson), who passed away and has, since then, attempted to reach and find his daughter. Father has actually rehearsed walking his daughter down the aisle as he imagined her wedding.

Ruhl injects other characters such as Little, Big, and Loud Stone (respectively Carla Harting, Ramiz Monsef, and Gian-Murray Gianino). Actor Mark Zeisler doubles as Nasty Interesting Man (also seeking Eurydice) and Lord of the Underworld. He rides an audacious tricycle.
Ruhl brings in music: "I Got Rhythm," "Don't Sit Under the Apple Tree," a Guns 'N Roses number, and more.

The Stones are a wild trip. Fully uninhibited, they are cartoon-like and totally engaging. Wildly comic and delightfully unreal, the creations provide a counter to the poignant, gripping, oh-so-romantic love story which is at the crux of "Eurydice."

I feel the echo, at times, of Eric Hill's "Visions of an Ancient Dreamer," presented at Springfield's StageWest during the fall of 1990. Hill, then, and Ruhl, currently, move away from the dry and literal while involving theatergoers through imaginative/intellectually stimulating work.

Ruhl's play is sometimes "Father and Eurydice" and, at other moments, "Orpheus and Eurydice." It is heartbreaking to hear Father musing about the marriage of his daugther, even if he is unable to bear witness. Ruhl is forever touching, not maudlin, and her touch includes moments of comedy, too. Yale's rendering features excellent, spirited acting -- by the entire cast.

The symbolic colors within this "Eurydice" include a multitude of shades. Thus, it is delectably impossible to stereotype this particular show. Its singularity bears the imprint of a splendid playwright.

"Durango" - Almost There

2006-09-21T07:55:00.000-07:00

Julia Cho, the young playwright, deserves the positive recognition she has received. Her characters, whom she seems to know quite well, live and breathe. These Asian/American people are so, so real and the issues with which they grapple are upsetting to: them -- and a theater audience. "Durango" opened in world premiere at Long Wharf's Second Stage in New Haven Wednesday evening. It continues through October 15th and then moves on to The Public Theater in Manhattan.

Director Chay Yew makes the wise decision not to break the continuity by injecting an intermission. Yet, with a running time of one hour and forty-five minutes or so, the play could use trimming. Cho's script could very well retain all of its vitality were it ten to fifteen minutes shorter.

Boo-Seng Lee (James Saito) has lost his job, just four years shy of a tenure which would have enabled him to keep his benefits as he retired. Without employment, he dictatorially decides that he will drive his sons, Isaac (James Yaegashi) and Jimmy (Jon Norman Schneider) from their home in Arizona to Durango, Colorado -- where they will board a famous train.....

Isaac, on the other side of his undergraduate years, hasn't any desire to go. Jimmy, a highschooler, is thrilled about the excursion. Isaac capitulates and while en route, he and Jimmy, sharing close quarters, have many an in-depth discussion/encounter.

Their mother and Boo-Seng's wife died years before. Isaac knew and loved her while Jimmy was little when she passed on. Now, the younger brother is unable to recall his mother. Isaac and Jimmy's parents did not enjoy a smooth and blissful relationship.

An image of the once beautiful woman, through Paul Whitaker's lighting, appears, at times, downstage. The characters take on voices as they listen to her hopes, dreams, yearnings, and regrets. Actors Ross Bickell (as Ned and Jerry) and Jay Sullivan (playing The Red Angel) provide depth and dimension.

There are not any huge problems to delineate within "Durango." Nor is it a masterpiece and this, perhaps, indicates the quandary surrounding Cho: expectations. She has already garnered a slew of awards and the advance billing precedes her.

"Durango" is good but not great. The opening sequence, however, is quite special. Yaegashi sits on stage with his acoustic guitar and plays a song Cho wrote. The moment is soulful and distinctive. It's one of the highlights of the production. That mini-scene is brilliant. It is totally unfair of us to anticipate that the entire play will approach it. We do just that.

"Durango" yields pain -- and anger, heartbreak, emotional anxiety. The dialogue is honest. We watch talented actors whose timing is commendable.

Some of the theatrical conventions are predictable. For example, the three principals sit in automobile seats during the journey. The storyline, for the most part, is familiar. The terrain (across desert) might prove foreign for those who have not often departed the Northeast.

"Durango" demonstrates Cho's considerable abilities. I would be surprised if this is her best work.

"Make Me a Song" - A Composite Hit

2006-09-11T05:49:00.000-07:00

This time around, TheaterWorks of Hartford achieves what many thought impossible -- staging a musical revue which is enlightening, bold, fun, adept, and thoughtful. "Make Me a Song: The Music of William Finn," blazing brightly on all burners, demonstrates the positive power of collaborative theater.

There's little madness associated with the method of Rob Ruggiero, who created and directed this show. Longtime Associate Artistic Director at TheaterWorks, Rob, for several years, has been directing shows for Julie Boyd, who founded and energizes the wonderful Barrington Stage Company, which has relocated in Pittsfield, MA. Boyd has a fine eye for talent -- both on stage and off. A couple of years ago, she brought Finn and others to Sheffield. The musician and writer Rachel Sheinkin came up with "The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee" which moved to Broadway. During August, 2005, Boyd highlighted Finn's "Elegies." This past summer, Finn was curator of BSC's Musical Theatre Lab. Ruggiero gets around as he drives from Hartford to the Berkshires (and also finds himself flying away to guest-direct at various theaters elsewhere). Credit Rob for bringing Finn's music to TheaterWorks.

Yes, but what about the performers? All have been cast in plays either in Hartford or the Berkshires? Get it? Sandy Binion appeared in BSC shows "Elegies," "Falsettos," and "No Way to Treat a Lady." Joe Cassidy starred in "The Last Five Years" and "Master Class" at TheaterWorks. Adam Heller, in TheaterWorks' "Art" and "No Way to Treat a Lady," was part of the brilliant ensemble acting and production team which brought Finn's "March of the Falsettos" and "Falsettoland" to Hartford Stage years ago. Sally Wilfert was superb in both "The Last Five Years" and "Goblin Market" at TheaterWorks. Further stirring this creative drink is musical director Michael Morris. Based at the Hartt School Theater, he directed "The Last Five Years" at TheaterWorks. John DiPinto is at the piano and I've yet to discover John's previous linkage to either TheaterWorks or Barrington Stage. Trust me: he, too, is an asset.

Finn's musical numbers feature "Passover" or "Why We Like Spelling" or "I Went Fishing With My Dad" or "Republicans" or "Heart and Music." He looks into the AIDS epidemic, sailing, the joys, sorrows, and difficulties of teaching, breakfast.....Finn is soulful, funny, philosophical, light-hearted. He writes ballads, love songs, parodies, and spiritual melodies. He's emotional one moment, laughint the next.

Alejo Vietti, wardrober, allows the actors to dress casually -- in jeans or cargo pants, with shirts that are comfortable and appropriate. It is, as Heller (the comedian) once notes a living room atmosphere. At times, the audience is enouraged to join in song. Luke Hegel-Cantarella opens up the stage and thrusts it a bit forward so that there isn't a hint of a fourth wall separating performers from patrons.

"Make Me a Song," filled with vitality, gives one inklings of shows for which Finn has written. At the beginning of the second act, nine tunes from the "Falsetto" plays are featured. Titles like "Four Jews in a Room Bitching" (complete with doors that open and shut), "The Baseball Game" and "Unlikely Lovers" mark this sequence as an unforgettable highlight.

This one closes in two weeks and I highly recommend, dear reader, that you find your way to the basement theater in Hartford. This is terrific stuff.

Wives at S&Co : More the Merrier

2006-08-20T06:05:00.000-07:00

Big, fat Sir John Falstaff (Malcolm Ingram) tells everybody, early on during "The Merry Wives of Windsor," that he will make love both to Alice Ford (played with daffy, zany appeal by Elizabeth Aspenlieder) and Meg Page (Corinna May -- reasonable in comparison to Aspenlieder).

Meanwhile, Anne Page (Katie Zaffrann) has several men following her around -- subplot! She and Fenton (Ryan Winkles) are an eventual lovely couple, singing a sweet song at the outset of the second portion of the play.

The Mistresses Alice and Meg make comparison of scrolls each has received from Falstaff. Dadum -- the letters are precisely identical. Form that point on, "Merry Wives" becomes a matter of who will be duped by whom.

Actor Michael Hammond (S&Co seasoned performer whose Lear at Brandeis a year ago was thoughtful and impressive) is cast as Frank Ford, husband to Alice. Ford transforms himself into a person known as "Brook." In this way, utilizing the alias, Ford becomes aware of Falstaff's aspirations.

"Merry Wives" is far from Shakespeare's finest effort. Hence, a lengthy exposition cannot be swiftly traversed -- despite the best efforts of a terrific creative team led by director Tony Simotes. He and dance choreographer Susan Dibble move this production along whenver possible. It is not until post-intermission that the show flies with its full flare -- realizing maximum comic potential. At this point, "Merry Wives" is nothing short of fun, and frolic. It's a joy to behold.

Along the way, Mistress Ford disguises Falstaff as an old woman. Soon, the two women inform their husbands that what they've done has been executed in order to plot against Falstaff. Perhaps that is what occurs when rich, beautiful wives to whom not enough attention has been paid find a purpose. In this case, with imagination and zeal, the ladies exact revenge upon Falstaff. The rotund one, meanwhile, who had grown short on funds, thought he would quickly amplify his bank account to match his girth.

The sometimes hoot-a-minute supportive company members, including Robert Biggs as Sir Hugh Evans, Jonathan Croy as Dr. Caius, the French physician, and Elizabeth Ingram as Mistress Quickly, are splendid.

The principals, including Malcolm Ingram, Aspenlieder, May, and Hammond are absolutely first-rate. Watch them act!

Moreover, this production demonstrates just why the company portion of Shakespeare & Company is nothing short of vital.

Take Simotes, whose stamp is firmly affixed to the show. As a founding member way back when and as an actor, director, and teacher, he has trained with Shakespeare & Company, trained others, performed and ventured elsewhere as a multi-talented person of the theater.

Several years ago, at Bennington College, I was fortunate enough to watch as Simotes facilitated a movement workshop. Coaxed to join, I participated -- if briefly. Simotes is smart and disciplined. His students, that day, were learning craft.

Now, he is working with actors (in leading roles) who have been with the company for more than a decade. Each is versatile. It is Simotes' job to motivate, push "Merry Wives" forward, opening up creative faucets at appropriate moments (during the final portion), and allow these superb actors to flourish.

Performed during its given period, the early 1600's, "Merry Wives of Windsor" fits the current era as well. Ever been jealous?

The show continues at the Founders Theater in Lenox through September 2nd.

Goodspeed's "Pippin" Enthralls

2006-08-18T11:33:00.000-07:00

"Pippin" bequeathes its audience the best opening number, "Magic To Do," that I've seen in weeks, months -- cannot recall. While the stage is, during pre-show, initially bare, it soons become a creative smorgasbord for: magic; a revolving, shining, metal setting; a wondrous Leading Player (Andre Ward);
acrobats, jugglers.....

Please follow my lead and jump to the task or at least to a production when Gabriel Barre directs. He facilitated John Cariani's terrific "Almost, Maine" in New York last winter. At the Goodspeed, Barre has directed "Sweeney Tood," "King of Hearts," "Camille Claudel," "Summer of '42" "Finian's Rainbow," and others. Working with choreographer Mark Dendy, Barre breathes additional life into Stephen Schwartz's music and lyrics. Roger O. Hirson wrote the book and it suffices.

The production definitely sparkles. Thanks, then, to people such as scene man Beowulf Boritt, magic consultant Peter Samelson, stunt coordinator Ottavio Gesmundo, costume designer Liz Prince, lighting designer Kevin Adams, and others, too.

The script tells the story of Pippin (Joshua Park), who is the son of Charlemagne (the same Micky Dolenz of "Monkees" fame - he was the lead singer). Pippin is confused, a bit dazed, too, and is a prime candidate to experience adolescent sexual liason while he attempts (here we go again) to find himself. Eventually, Pippin stabs his father but, through artistic license and imagination, the act is reversed!

Pippin falls, sort of, for a yellow-haired widow named Catherine (Teal Wicks). He and she try the domestic scene, complete with domicile. The play concludes as, again, the trappings are absolutely removed and the Leading Player insists that each instrument grow silent. By now, Pippin and Catherine, wearing only quite modest undergarments, have become basic and, in so doing, that much more human. Fini.

Along the way, Pippin watches as temptresses, all in white (of course) fly above him, swooping down and around. Earlier, Fastrada (Shannon Lewis) attempts to crown her son, Lewis (the very ripped James Royce Edwards) as future king -- rather than Pippin.

Bob Fosse created the choreography for the 1972 Broadway presentation of "Pippin." Barre has indicated that he and Dendy studied Fosse's take and utilized it as springboard material for their version. The Goodspeed show is not vintage Fosse. Schwartz and Hirson have been involved as this revival evolved.

Quibble? "Pippin" is not a thrill a moment for its two hours and forty minutes. Yes, another post-teen male (see that guy Hamlet) becomes a prince of dusk. True, some of this is all too familiar.

Here's the but: the artistic team flies this re-invented show with enthusiasm, smarts, and vigor. The cast members seem (who really ever knows?) to love the work. At the final curtain, it appears as if they've completely enjoyed themselves. You, prospective theater patron, might very share that sentiment should you see "Pippin" before it closes on September 29th.

Pensive and Persuasive: "Hamlet" at Shakespeare & Company

2006-08-07T04:46:00.000-07:00

Actor Jason Asprey, as Hamlet, is smoldering, dark, and inwardly emotive.

During recent seasons, the actor has impressed as a supportive, significant player in a number of productions staged by the Lenox company. This time around, he is furious when finding out that his mother Gertrude (played by Asprey's real life actual mother, Tina Packer) was complicit in the death of Hamlet's father. Hamlet will avenge that murder.

Hamlet inadvertently kills Polonius, the Lord Chamberlain. Playing Polonius is Dennis Krausnick, who happens to be married (again in real life) to Tina Packer. So, Krausnick is stepfather to Jason Asprey.

Hamlet, after accidentally stabbing Polonius to death, is exiled. Previously, Hamlet and Polonius' daughter Ophelia (striking, dangerous-looking Elizabeth Raetz) demonstrated obvious feelings for one another. Now, however, goes mad, reappears with a wreath of mismatching branches around her head, and eventually drowns.

Laertes (played by Kevin O'Donnell) challenges Hamlet to a duel and eventually kills the prince. Laertes goes down, too; Gertrude drinks poison and falls.

*********

Director Eleanor Holdridge has cut the script to three hours playing time. The initial scene which often features, somehow or other, a menacing ghost is eliminated. Replacing it with "To be and not to be...." out of time sequence doesn't work especially well. And, one misses specter.

During its first hour, S&Co seems a good production with several great moments. Thereafter, it becomes a sterling presentation (except for an occasional lull). Asprey gets better as the plot unfolds. The actor is thirty-eight years old; sometimes he is youthful but, at other moments, he wears the countenance of one who realizes he carries the intellectual/emotional weight of too many upon his shoulders.

Asprey is wiry, intense, and introspective. As is the case with virtually every actor Shakespeare & Company trains, his enunciation and diction are enviable. Krusnick plays down Polonius but it works. Packer, a woman who typically lights up any room she enters with her very presence, keeps Gertrude under control. Hers is a character who hopes to move forward but knows better. Packer smiles often but perhaps these looks are often rueful.

My experience with her tells me that she knows "Hamlet" inside and out. She has memorized much of the canon. As an actor within the context of this version, though, she carefully maintains her role without overstepping.

Kevin Coleman choregraphed the riveting fight scene at the play's conclusion. Coleman (as actors Asprey and O'Donnell demonstate) is a precious resource. The swordplay is authentic, exciting, and bold.

I know: Coleman staged such a scene for community college actor I directed half a dozen years back. Coleman (also an actor, director, and educator) cannot be undervalued.

Frankly, I believe that Holdridge's attempt to create "electrical synapse impulses" which represent Hamlet's brain doesn't quite make it. The jolts are inoffensive but they are not particularly effective.

On the whole, this "Hamlet" piques and maintains interest. That Asprey remains "under" the top works to this production's advantage.

Barrington Stage's "Wonder of the World" Wacky, Bizarro, Effective

2006-07-28T08:28:00.000-07:00

David Lindsay-Abaire's oddball rather than screwball comedy, "Wonder of the World" is, at its best, reminiscent of laugh-out-loud sketches one might have enjoyed during Saturday Night Live's crazed but sterling early days.

Keira Naughton plays the leading, manic, desperate leading lady - Cass. She's walking away from her Park Slope apartment and seemingly good-guy husband, Kip (Brian Hutchison). Cass boards a bus for Niagara Falls. Having discovered a disburbing secret amid her husband's sweater drawer, Cass departs asap. Lois (Finnerty Steeves who was splendid recently in the NYC staging of "Almost, Maine") sits next to Lois on the bus. Lois has a drinking problem and a disposition toward committing suicide. Turns out she and Lois, who share a room near the Falls become wonderful, rib-tickling (for the audience) pals. Lois never manages to tumble over the Falls in her barrel.

Cass falls (forgive me) for Captain Mike (Dan Cantor), whose wife recently passed on due to a peanut butter escapade. (By the way, Costco even has a place within WOW).

Susan Louise O'Connor, multi-cast as a helicopter pilot, three waitresses (Pocahontas and a screeching individual included), is stunningly versatile.

Also on the scene are Karla (Libby George) and Glen (William Bogert) -- private investigators nobody in his right mind would ever hire. But, they're edgy, nudgy, and far off-center. They might as well be wearing all left shoes.

Rob Ruggiero, who is most-often found directing at Hartford TheaterWorks, also mounts plays each summer for Barrington Stage. Ruggiero is an important contributor; otherwise, the actors might occasionally and literally trip over one another. Rob is fortunate enough to work with Luke Hegel-Cantarella's sliding, folding, pliable set. In short, the scenic design is terrific.

Keira Naughton is a fine actress. I will attest to that, having seen her perform during past summers in Williamstown. This time around, she's good but appears, at times, to be making too strong an effort to milk each moment. Again, she is clearly talented and understands comic timing. She needs to relax, trust her instincts, and play off the able ensemble members who surround her.

Steeves is a hoot and (intending praise here) she reminds me of Jeanine Garafalo. Her role insists that Lois counter Cass with one or two liners and Steeves comes through again and again.

"Wonder of the World" is occasionally hilarious, oftentimes just plain funny. That's a no-brainer.
Lindsay-Adaire also has something to say. At least three of his characters question the value of continued life above ground. The playwright, beneath the comedy, probes about the tentative quality of existence. Kind of fits in with the current landscape, I would say.

Barrington Stage Company, biding its time for just a few weeks until settling into its permanent home in Pittsfield, brings "Wonder of the World" to Lenox High School's Duffin Theatre through August 5.

Coastal Disturbances are predictable in Howe's play

2006-07-16T10:46:00.000-07:00

Tina Howe, has been, for me, an inspiring playwright -- until I saw, with great anticipation, "Coastal Disturbances" at the Berkshire Theater Festival yesterday. The play, despite energetic performances and a lovely sand/lifeguard stand setting, is terribly flat. Doesn't surprise, doesn't move, doesn't hold attention. It isn't bad but it hasn't an edge or the eclectic type of humor -- qualities which distinguish some of her other plays.

I saw "Painting Churches" twenty years ago at StageWest and the production sticks with me. I remember performances by Ellen Lauren and Anne Pitoniak but had to look up the name of the third actor -- John Straub. Eric Hill directed.

As a community college theater director, I chose to stage "The Art of Dining" (slapstick) and "Museum" (parody). Lotta fun and some patrons laughed (I hope with us) as they departed the theater.

"Coastal" boasts intriguing if recognizable characters. Annie Parisse is sublime as Holly Dancer (a photographer who has wandered onto a beach north of Boston). She cannot desist from falling for muscular lifeguard Leo Hart (Jeremy Davidson). He can't keep his hands to himself, eventually burries her in the sand.

Meanwhile, Ariel Took (Jennifer Van Dyck), a divorcee, berates her most obnoxious young son, Winston (Rider Stanton). Ariel's friend Faith (Marcia DeBonis) speaks of the lifeguard's physical and undeniable attributes. M. J. Adams (Patricia Conolly) and her husband Hamilton (Jack Davidson) have been married for decades -- somehow -- since they've endured indignities, cheating.....

Late on the scene is full-of-himself Andre Sor (Francois Giroday) who will provide the artiste, Holly (also his lover), with a major show for her work. Holly skips jauntily out of Leo's reach, settles within Andre's welcoming arms, and leaves the beach.

Howe has written in a love triangle. But, Andre is thoroughly unsympathetic, Holly betrays her physical instincts, and poor Leo (not surprisingly miffed and irritated) tends to the final days of his summer job. During the second act, I had high hopes that Howe's conclusion would be: wry, dark, ironic, unsettling -- something! No such luck.

I expected more. Howe is a fine dialogue writer. Bill Clarke's scenic design is charming. Dan Koglowitz shifts his lighting accordingly from broad daylight to sunset hues.

Not enough happens. Hence, "Coastal Disturbances" is not especially disturbing.

"Trying: A Play About Generations" (three plus stars)

2006-07-12T10:53:00.000-07:00

At TheaterWorks in Hartford through July 28 as a few supplementary performances have been added on, "Trying" is about friendship. It is subtitled "a play about generatrions." Judge Francis Biddle (Michael McGuire), now 87, worked as Attorney General when Franklin Roosevelt was president. Sara Schorr (Lena Kaminsky) 25, arrives in Philadelphia (it is now 1967) via her native land of Canada. She is tight-lipped, sharp, highly functional, and cannot keep all of her notions to herself.

He is cranky, professorial, sardonic but also warm-hearted. She is caught in an unfortunate marriage and (paradoxically) becomes drawn to Biddle. He corrects her tendency to split an infinitive, coaxes Lena to take charge of his checkbook, waxes on about the future or lack of pertaining to political liberalism.

Joanna McClelland Glass has written a script which (unlike many contemporary stage books) hooks the viewer during its opening moment. Glass develops characters and Biddle is drawn with deft, clever, precise brush strokes. McGuire has taken physical nuance to the maximum here and his consequent performance is riveting on a couple of levels. For the acting student, McGuire demonstrates discipline as he matches word to physical gesture. This is how it should be done. He is always aware of his audience. Hence, McGuire's turn is as proficient as might be imagined. His timing is perfect and he his able to take each comic line and spin it towards the audience. Enviable work.

She, the foil but finally the friend, understates her role as secretary. Initially submissive, she soon steps up to Biddle, sticking him with a few barbs of her own. The repartee, flying back and forth like a ping pong ball) marks "Trying" with distinction.

Steve Campo, as director, must make certain that the proceedings push forward. Except for a short portion of time after intermission, the dialogue compels. Campo has the actors positioned on an angle which allows the audience to become active.

Glass has written about morality as she composed "Trying," a script evidently drawn from reality. Biddle will soon die, he knows it, minces no words about his remaining time. Sarah is beginning her career and about to give birth. Still, each learns from the other. She understands that obstacles are tantamount to existence. He sees that he must not become completely myopic -- that he must include others within his vision regardless his limited time.

This play's success is very much dependent upon actors' sense of one another. It probably doesn't take a whole lot to posit that as the run evolves the protagonists are increasingly effective. They probably have one another's lines committed to memory. Toss them onto another set and they most assuredly would run through the play.

The scenic design, by the way, is quite helpful. Adrain W. Jones provides a wooded interior serving as Biddle's library and study. It comes complete with period typewriter, cot, etc.

"Trying" is also quite amusing, in its wry and witty modes. Biddle, a parody of the still dapper but limping and arthritic elder statesman, milks his moments. Sarah is imitimidated -- for the first minute of the play. Then, she smiles and holds her own. That she is from Saskatchewan and an a couple of rungs beneath Biddle when it comes to social class matters not. If this woman had a candle, she might, by the end of the dialogue, hold it clearly up to Biddle's eye.

The Burnt Part Boys -- BSC Musical Theatre Lab

2006-07-02T04:15:00.000-07:00

"The Burnt Part Boys" features musical compositions which are (quite favorably) "Rent"-like.
Chris Miller, the composer for the Barrington Stage Company show, won the Jonathan Larson (Rent-creator) Award three years ago. Any connections or influence in the air?

This musical, still evolving, fills the intimate, inviting confines of a basement theater at the Berkshire Atheaeum in Pittsfield with joy (amid darkness), harmony, and music in a minor key which often resolves. Pretty wonderful couple of hours.

Six adolescents (okay some seem post-teen) search for their fathers, whom they've lost through an accident in a mine. It's the early 1960s; the music is universal in time.

The director, Joe Calarco, and his obviously talented design team must have arrived at the performance space six or so weeks ago, taken a look, and smiled. Colarco and musical director/keyboard artist Deborah Abramson place three musicians on a landing which looks down upon the stage. The actors move along a rectangular plane as they play to theatergoers on either side. Everyone has an excellent view of the proceedings. Chris Lee, who lights, the show, is pivotal. He must create sunshine or shadow, according to need and mood.

What's going on here is that Pete (Daniel Zitchik), Dusty (Robert Krecklow), Frances (Katherine McClain).....seek to reconnect with their fathers -- who are gone, physically, forever. "Burnt Part Boys" is about journey: of the self; toward understanding of life and death; about moving onward in the midst of personal tragedy.

The music is absolutely stunning. A group of miners, including Joseph Breen, Robert Dalton, Drew Davidson, and Brian Litscher open with a truly moving acappella version of "God's Eyes."
That sets the tone and terrific numbers follow suit.

Soloist Halle Petro, as Annie, does a splendid job with "Loving the Boy," and, in a more comic vein, "Lost," during the second act.

With a book by Mariana Elder and lyrics by Nathan Tysen, "Burnt Part Boys" speaks of past, present, and, by implication, future. The mix of Equity with non-Equity acting personnel makes for a terrific ensemble.

But, without Joe Calarco's direction, this production loses zip, appeal, and its charismatic charm. I've directed more than thirty-five non-professional shows myself and (as a critic) have reviewed more than my share of high level regional stage Typically, I join hands with those who allow actors room to discover -- voices, character, physicality and so forth. That philosophy, however, would fall a bit short when it comes to "The Burnt Part Boys" at the Berkshire Athenaeum. Without an individual at the helm who makes specific blocking decisions, establishes pace, and facilitates flow, the musical cannot prosper. Kudos, then, to Colarco who must have been a galvanic figure during the rehearsal process.

Brian Prather is an imaginative set designer who utilizes ladders (on wheels), wooden chairs to symbolize wooded or hilly terrain. This scenic choice bests a literal representation.

This play demonstrates nifty symmetry as the miners open and (all but) conclude the production with their voices. That device is mood setting at the outset and it brings closure, too.
As a theater piece, this one needs attention and editing about two-thirds of the way through the opening act when the action flags just a bit.

Presented as a portion of Barrington Stage Company's Stage II: Musical Theatre Lab (led by the estimable William Finn), "The Burnt Part Boys" is most promising. Julie Boyd's notion to grant the public access to works in-process yet not quite at peak, is a fine and welcome idea. Audiences will gravitate. The run has just been extended through July 15.

Amadeus

2006-06-24T08:45:00.000-07:00

"Amadeus," continuting at Stockbridge's Berkshire Theater Festival through July 8, is impressive. It's also quite, quite lengthy. The elements of theater are in splendid array: leading men Jonathan Epstein (Salieri) and Randy Harrison (Mozart) are superb. Karl Eigsti creates a vivid period piece set. Nathan Leigh delivers Mozart's music in fine style. Eric Hill, with assistance from Isadora Wolfe, moves the actors around with purpose and specificity. This show, running for more than three hours, could be trimmed. Its expansive scope would not suffer were the running time a bit shorter.

The youthful Mozart is brash, foul-mouthed, impetuous, and brilliantly talented. Salieri, also a composer, cannot hold a musical candle to his foe, but the older man must acknowledge Wolfgang Amadeus' musical virtuosity. Salieri (as all of this is told in flashback) cannot believe that God has created a creature like Mozart -- who is a genious but who is, to Salieri, like a shifty gnat -- elusive enough to avoid swatting.

Salieri cannot control his jealousy and envy and is hellbent upon Mozart's destruction. To Salieri, Mozart is a boor. Yes, Wolfgang's music is elegant but the man, God's favorite, should be destroyed and Salieri is the man to accomplish that task. As the play evolves, Salieri pretends to find Mozart, when they are face-to-face, appealing.

Twenty-five years ago, "Amadeus" won the Tony Award for Best Play. Four years later, it snared a slew of Academy Awards. If anything, however, Peter Shaffer's script could use an edit. It is strong but not continually compelling.

Catching Epstein on stage is reason enough to go to the theater. His Shylock in Shakespeare & Company's "Merchant of Venice" (some years ago) lives on in my memory. A theatergoer does not escape Epstein. His versatility is surprising, I suppose, since his physical presence is that strong. Credit him with developing effective modulation.

Harrison, known for his work on and off Broadway and television roles such as Justin on "Queer as Folk," is wonderfully expressive, uninhibited, and energized. He and Epstein, physical opposites, are wisely cast.

Shaffer based the play, to a degree, upon the relationship the actual Mozart and Salieri evidenced. There's signficant debate here relative to dramatic license and so forth.

The Hill/Epstein combination intrigues. Hill's method of training, based upon that of Tadashi Suzuki, works: check out all of the fine actors who have reaped the benefits. One, E. Gray Simons, III, is now a BTF director. Another, John Cariani (Tony nominated actor and gifted playwright) came to Stockbridge to observe his mentor, Hill, as Eric rehearsed this play. Epstein trained at Shakespeare&Company where he "dropped in" lines. So, for that matter, did Kate Maguire, Executive Director of the Berkshire Theater Festival.

Conclusion: good theater begets good theater, no? "Amadeus" offers a great deal but I would not call it a must-see.

Frankie and Johnny in the Clair De Lune

2006-06-02T04:54:00.000-07:00

"Frankie and Johnny" is familiar. Many of us saw the movie version starring Michelle Pfeiffer and Al Pacino during the 1980s. When Edie Falco and Stanley Tucci starred in a revival of Terrence McNally's play a few years ago, many more of us wished we had witnessed that performance. Count me in. Tucci has been a favorite of mine since his days at New Haven's Yale Repertory. Anyone who has watched an episode of "The Sopranos" would be intrigued to see Falco in another role.

But, let's talk about the compelling Hartford Stage production which concludes on June 18th. McNally's script, first of all, is splendid. It's decipherable, recognizable but complex. She is a waitresses in a greasy spoon where he's a short order cook. She is black, bold, and brassy. He is white, bold, and brassy. Each has suffered misforunte. These are seasoned warriors. Neither, during a couple of hours which bids actors disrobe, demonstrates what "Vogue" might describe as a flawless body.

Director Jeremy B. Cohen has made wise choices. Casting people of different races enriches the production. These individuals are comfortable with: one another, nudity, cavorting about the bedroom, traipsing into the kitchen while half-naked, tangling on the double bed..... They are believable and sympathetic -- great stuff.

Portia, who plays Frankie, and Robert Clohessy, as Johnny, make it seem like they've been involved for months. Yet, this evening is their first one together.

Unfortunately, Portia (and this is most apparent during the early moments) tends to over-enunciate. Yes, everyone hears her quite clearly. But, her effort to specify and project (important, to be sure) lessens the intimacy. The actor needs to balance vocals with the scene -- which is touching, comic, and signficant.

Neither Clohessy nor Portia demonstrate the slightest degree of self-consciousness. The sexuality inherent within "Frankie and Johnny" is natural. Given the cluttered, reality-based settings furnished by Takeshi Kata, theaterviewers feel close to the action rather than distanced.

The opening segment of the Hartford Stage production immediately hooks you through Lindsay Jones' original music. And Jaymi Lee Smith, throught the show, provides deft strokes of lighting. It's dingy but moonlight casts its glow upon the interior of Portia's place.

Clohessy and Portia invite the audience to participate, vicariously, as they insult one another, examine one another's body parts, trade sarcastic barbs.....begin to forge a relationship that might survive.

"Frankie and Johnny," juxtaposed against Debussy's lovely "Clair de Lune," is open, honest, inviting theater. Yes, it's imperfect -- so is life.

"Woman Before a Glass" - Peggy Guggenheim

2006-04-28T04:49:00.000-07:00

Staged at TheaterWorks in Hartford and running through May 21, "Woman Before a Glass" is illuminating -- after its first twenty minutes or so. The mid-1960s piece captures art collector Peggy Guggenheim who, at the outset, is not the most appealing of individuals.

Deft, versatile actress Glynis Bell appears in stained beige dress during the first of four portions of Lanie Robertson's play. As the self-inflated socialite, Bell is concerned with the garments she carries, with her bra which is giving her trouble. While it's important to pay attention during the first moments, who really cares?

But, "Woman" evolves into a compelling, moving work. Thanks, then, to Jeff Cowie's splendid set design, Matthew Richards' varied lighting, and Alejo Vietti and Elizabeth Flauto's wardrobe changes. Steve Campo knows the material and strikes the appropriate balance between direction and release of the actor to imagine and create.

Really, though, this is a splendid bit of acting by Bell who is out there by herself for ninety-five minutes.

The play intrigues as Peggy imagines her daughter, the lovely Pegeen (an artist) bathing behind a wall. Eventually, Peggy thinks of her father, who perished when the Titanic went down. Finally, Peggy receives word that her daughter is no longer, having (evidently) committed suicide.

The musings about art, the reference to the "bad" uncle, Solomon Guggenheim, the allusions to Picasso, Dali, Ernst, Miro and so forth.....well, someone must be interested in this business.

"Woman Before a Glass" rivets, though, when Bell, sitting inside not merely Guggenheim's clothing but her skin, as well, reflects upon men in her life: the one she loved; her father....and others.

That's when the charade drops and she is no longer able to sustain a facade. Bell is an actress who is at home taking words to an audience. Her comfort zone, because she has totally mastered this script, allows her to become her character. That, in itself, is enviable. It's impossible to define but so clearly identifiable.

So, Guggenheim's dissatisfaction with the shape of her nose is forgivable. A case could be made that the beginning (what seemed to me extraneous) section of exposition is necessary to set up poignant situations and latter tension. Let's argue about that.

Peggy Guggenheim was a complex, engaging woman. Glynis Bell brings that home.

Commentary: Critics are people, too. Sometimes, those writing about plays are: tired, preoccupied, wishing they were elsewhere, not especially favorably disposed towards the subject matter......As my good friend Michael Blowen, former film critic for the Boston Globe, once said, "We're nothing but window dressing." Yet, these are power positions; we all realize reviews help make/break the arts.

Are critics open to dialogue? I emailed Ben Brantley, of NYT, a long while ago, mentioning that I had a take on August Wilson's "Radio Golf" (final play) which varied from Ben's. Never did receive a response.

A Lovely Sunday for Creve Coeur

2006-04-15T15:17:00.000-07:00

This is not Tennessee Williams' finest play. One might guess that the ninety minute piece, continuing at Hartford Stage through May 7, was composed early during the poetic playwright's career. Wrong. He wrote the script during the late 1970s, even if the action dates back to 1935 in St. Louis. With classic characterizations, this, according to logic, would demonstrate a young writer's gleaming potential. Not so: he penned the play towards the end of his time.

It is Dotty (Annalee Jeffries, always a Hartford Stage T. Williams splendid performer) who hopes that T. Ralph Ellis will call her. You might guess, as of this very moment, that she suffers disappointment. That is the play's climax. Unfortunately, there isn't a whole lot of creative tension, dramatic impact.....until that point.

Dotty does situps, pelvic thrusts while Bodey (Carlin Glynn) fries up some chicken in anticipation of the picnic to Creve Coeur.

Helena (Joan van Ark), the sharp-featured, caustic teaching colleague of Dotty's at Blewett, is jealous of the rooms inhabited by Dotty and Bodey.

Actress Jayne Taini plays Sophie who erupts in German, from time to time, and is anything but a sympathetic character.

Michael Wilson, whose interpretations of Tennessee Williams are uniformly superb, hasn't a great deal with which to work -- in terms of scripting. Instead, the director wisely turns his attention to repartee among the foursome. Williams paints each of these women with distinctive strokes and costumer David C. Woolard outfits them with perfect period fashion get-ups.

Exquisite timing is essential and the combined efforts of the actors in conjunction with Wilson's direction cannot be underestimated. "A Lovely Sunday" features top quality ensemble performance.

That said, the production leaves anyone expecting either sublime ("Glass Menagerie") or potent ("Streetcar," "Cat") Williams wishing for more. This is a short play but it does not zip along. The play, itself, does not measure up to this sterling master's scintillating work.

dance of the holy ghosts: a play on memory

2006-03-26T07:58:00.000-08:00

Yale Rep's New Theater, a fairly large black box, serves as a fitting home for inventive, imaginative yet rambling "dance of the holy ghosts: a play on memory." Penned by Marcus Gardley, who graduated from Yale School of Drama a couple of years ago, the world premiere allows each member an extraodinary ensemble of African American actors the opportunity to shine.

Gardley (in what is likely semi-autobiographical mode) moves backward from 2005 to the time of his youth and probably twenty years before that. The leading younger character, Marcus G. (Brian Henry) is richly connected to his grandfather Oscar (Chuck Cooper). Henry plays Marcus G. as he must have been at age ten or eleven; and again as a twenty-seven year old man. In terms of storyline, there is much to cover including Oscar's lack of devotion to his wife, Viola (Harriet D. Foy); the death of Marcus G's mother, Darlene (La Tonya Borsay); schoolgirls Precious (Pascale Armand) and Princess (Borsay) who circle and taunt him. There's Tanisha Taylor (Foy) who "gets" Marcus G. when they are in third grade together. Actor Paul J. Medford is, at different moments: affixed to a wooden cross, accomplishing a quick Michael Jackson slide -- glove and all.....

Gardley draws a complex Oscar Clifton, a man who is far from heroic but compelling, human, flawed, and compassionate. In the role, Cooper shows that he can sing while accompanying himself on guitar; or, near the end of the production, by himself center stage.

The women take on multiple roles and each is fluent, funny, able to shift from one emotion to the next in a flash....impressive stuff.

Scott Davenport Richards composed the music for "dance of the holy ghosts," and the variety, including some exquisite three-part harmony, is wonderfully enhancing. And, there's quite a bit of humor. Viola's sweet potato pie, for example, saves Oscar, who has been felled through a diabetic episode.

It's annoying to be seated amidst a couple of theatergoers who laugh boisterously even when the playwright is not attempting to be funny. Gardley did not write "dance of the holy ghosts" as a comedy.

The play jumps all over the lot but once the viewer gets used to this, it isn't terribly difficult to slide backward and forward with the actors. The flow is not smooth but that's probably not Gardley's intent. Seamless transition would have depleted actors' energy levels. Mini-jolts might be essential to infuse the show with fire and heart.

Cooper is asked to play one man who is really many men. Oscar is (during varying moments) kind, oblivious, caring, absent-minded, sweet, self-absorbed and so forth. The actor's performance is strong, seasoned with a knowledge of at least a portion of the territory. This is a terrific turn.

Cooper has said the play reminded him of August Wilson. I don't share that opinion. The profundity and metaphor within those long, long Wilson plays sets him apart. Gardley is at the beginning of his arc as a writer. Wilson did not really emerge until he was in his late thirties and Gardley (I believe) is not yet thirty. Gardley is developing a distinctive style.

"dance of the holy ghosts" is not continually gripping. But, it is moving, even electric at times. The play serves as a fine vehicle for Gardley. Further, the level of talent evidenced by the six person cast is startling in the most postive sense. The fine director, Liz Diamond, frees the actors while providing some important geographic direction for movement.

This one continues through April 8 in New Haven.

"Othello" - Boston Theatre Works

2006-03-09T06:21:00.000-08:00

Jason Slavick, directing a lengthy but rewarding production of "Othello" at Boston Theatre Works, enables actresses Susanna Apgar, as Desdemona, and especially Elizabeth Aspenlieder, whose warm, courageous Emilia steals the show, to demonstrate strength, perception, and friendship to the death.

I attended primarily to watch Jonathan Epstein (Iago) in action; and he does not disappoint. In fact, Epstein's versaility as a dexterous actor is most evident. Iago's the evildoer and Epstein endows him with a cerebral venom throughout. Ever power hungry and sexually jealous, his obsessive zeal and envy mark someone who must be insecure. While it is not possible to sympathize with Iago, Epstein presents a man whose purpose is to ruin Othello. Through voice and physicality, Epstein gives glimpses into Iago's mind -- this is a cunning villain.

Actor Tony Molina does not cut a particularly sympathetic Othello. The protagonist is unsuspecting but he is not portrayed as generous. Convinced that his wife Desdemona has been unfaithful (through the familiar handkerchief story), he becomes hatefully imperceptive. He cannot trust her so he strangles her. Molina, who is credible, races from passivity to extreme emotion without referencing the in-between. He often yells -- and it isn't tough to despise this Othello.

Aspenlieder's Emilia is unfailingly loyal to Desdemona, for whom she is a lady-in-waiting. Silver-tongued, she recongnizes that her own marriage to Iago is a sad one. She admits, even, that she would commit adultery. She defends Desdemona's virtue to Othello and exposes Iago for his malevolent scheming. Hence, Iago kills his wife and, dying, she asks to be positioned next to her friend, Desdemona.

BTW performs the show in a black box theater, the stage thrust to three sides, and there is a small, low platform/mini-stage which serves to focus the action. The dying women are placed there as the performance concludes.

Carol Thomas Neely, in her essay written in 1978, supports Emilia as a potential mediator but no man (on stage) will listen to Emelia. She is not a jealous individual but one who sees what is occurring around her. When faced with a choice, she favors the lovely Desdemona as opposed to her brutal, overbearing husband, Iago. Emilia is the anti-Iago. She is wonderfully selfless and gracious.

Aspenlieder has been featured in many roles with Lenox-based Shakespeare&Company. As Emilia, she performs with confidence -- as if she knows and feels the character's motives. This summer, she appears in S&Co's "The Merry Wives of Windsor."

Epstein was, for years, a powerhouse actor with S&Co. He will soon be featured as Vincent van Gogh in Romantic Century's "Van Gogh's Ear." This summer, appears in "Amadeus," with the Stockbridge-based Berkshire Theater Festival; later in the season, he performs, on the Unicorn Stage, in "Via Dolorosa." If you have not yet seen Epstein, make it a point to watch this superb performer. Immensely talented, he has most often appeared on the regional stage.

Here's a nod toward Artistic Director Jason Southerland for choosing "Othello." It's a play which centers upon domestic issues and violence rather than kings and queens as in some of the other tragedies. It is impossible to escape the inevitable conclusion. This is an intimate, confined theater, without any subplot, a viewer might feel claustrophobia coming on.

If "Othello" examines love's possibility, only that between Emilia and Desdemona survives. I saw that through Slavick's direction. Otherwise, hostility and conflict become far too intrusive.
Slavick does not neglect these engaging women. That, in itself, is a significant statement.

BTW runs this show through Saturday, March 11th.

after the earthquake

2006-03-06T07:34:00.000-08:00

"after the earthquake" is unique -- each production element is pristine. Continuing at Long Wharf Theater in New Haven through Mar. 19th, we visit Japan, in 1995, after the Kobe quake. Chicago's Steppenwolf Theater premiered the piece five months ago. The creative team has had the time to sculpt and perfect. Haruki Murakami's two short stories provide the material for director Frank Galati to blend distinctively into masterful, moving, lyrical theater.

Unless my eyes betray me, it seems that translator Jay Rubin has been slighted. I could not find his name in the playbill. Rubin takes Murakami's script and transforms it, with grace and substance, into the English language. Without Rubin, theatergoers lose.

Two stories interface: "Honey Pie" tells of a former athlete Takatsuki (Andrew Pang) who couples with Sayoko (Aiko Nakasone). The third person (and out of the intimate loop) is author Junpei (Hanson Tse) -- until.....the end of the play.
Takatsuki and Sayoko do split up which allows Junpei to emerge anew. Her daughter, Sala (Big Klein at the performance I saw) could not be more precious.
"Honey Pie" also features bears.

The more outrageous tale, called "Super-frog Saves Tokyo," finds Katagiri (Pang, once again) cast as a courageous yet undervalued man from a bank who interfaces with a large frog/man (Keong Sim) who wears bright green gloves, socks, and eyeglasses. The bad egg, in this case, is a worm. Within the culture, according to Beatrice Basso (LW dramaturg and literary associate), who facilitated an enlightening talk back session, the worm symbolizes a catfish which can cause earthquakes by moving its tale. Terrible events might occur and people must cope. The worm, underground, is not visible but it is potentially most destructive.

The Frog references Hemingway, Dostoyevsky, Nietzsche, Tolstoy, and Conrad. This might distract some theatergoers who will wonder that even momentary digression alters the storyline. I am partial to the quick-witted allusions which add spice and dimension.

Jeff Wichmann plays koto, a stringed instrument dating to seventh century Japan. Jason McDermott, beside him, is on cello. The live music includes Franz Schubert's "Trout," "You Light up My Life" (remember Debby Boone?), and John Lennon's "Norwegian Wood" (visualize the cover of "Rubber Soul" if you will).

I gather that Murakami's fiction is filled with some monstrous images. Maybe so. "after the quake," however, is most poetic and personal. The actors are relaxed but still quite fresh in performance. And the writer, Murakami, is not one to watch this play. Rubin, the forgotten man, will be there to discuss the production after the upcoming, March 12th, matinee -- at 3:30 or so. Someone should shake his hand and/or give him a neat, little round of applause.

One could classify "after the quake" as existential. After all, individuals, here, must struggle with destructive forces in the world. These phenomenons may be gargantuan or indecipherable. How does one find love, find meaning when threatened?

See New Orleans, see the Middle East, see "after the earthquake."

Comedy on the Bridge and Brundibar

2006-02-16T07:33:00.000-08:00

Get some culture by driving south on I-91. From Springfield, it takes an hour by car, give or take (depending upon your desire to accelerate or not) to reach New Haven. There, you will experience the Yale Rep/Berkeley Rep representaton of "Comedy on the Bridge" and "Brundibar" as it flashes back, instantly, to a time, six decades ago in history, when European Jews were in peril. Allegories both, these short plays are truly transportive.

Moreover, Tony Kushner wrote the libretto for "Bridge" and provides the English adaptation for "Brundibar." A few years ago, Maurice Sendak illustrated "Brundibar," the book; this time, he (with Kris Stone) supply physical design for both presentations. Larger than life Sendak, as it was in "Where the Wild Things Are" surfaces within the confines of Yale's University Theater in New Haven.

"Comedy on the Bridge" finds individuals stuck between two military men who guard the entrance to, ahem, the bridge. Thematically, infidelity becomes paramount as the men and women walk to the center, sing at one another, tend not to listen.....it's all a bit bizarre and keeps going and going. The instrumentalists, almost all of whom are members of the Yale School of Drama, must be highly talented. If the structure of the bridge is symmetrical, the orchestrations are decidedly not. Instead, this opera, written by Bohuslav Martinu in 1935 (referencing a 19th century play) is ecelctic in tone.

"Brundibar" literally stars two children. Aaron Simon Gross plays Pepicek and Devynn Pedell his sister, Aninku. Their mother is ill and needs milk. The charming, sweet-voiced kids attempt to make some money which they will use to buy milk - by singing. But, Brundibar as in A Big Bully, gets in the way. He also sells milk, sings on the street, grinds away on a musical instrument, and is pretty mean-spirited. I would not call him a frightening character. The youngsters find themselves out on the street and asleep. A spirited array, including a dog (Geoff Hoyle), cat (Angelina Reaux), Sparrow (Anjali Bhimani) and a seemingly sea of children (delightfully representing non-uniform sizes, shapes, nationalities) come to the resue. Eventually, Brundibar (played with zest by Joe Gallagher) leaves the premises and the children manage to get the milk for Mom. If group vocals are your thing, this will be an absolute treat.

Moral: Solidarity forever, solidarity forever! (This is my comment -- not sung in the show).

"Brundibar" (the original opera) was written by Hans Krasa, a Czech Jew, who, before its initial performance in 1942, was sent off to a concentration camp. The production's debut was held at an orphanage in Prague. This is a startling enough story and one which speaks, through high drama, of the atrocities committed shortly before the midpoint of the 20th century. Through music evocative of Ravel and, perhaps, Stravinsky, it makes a poignant anti-war statement.
"Bridge" is 45 minutes and "Bundibar" 35 in length. Kushner, this country's piercing, intellectually challenging, politically riveting playwright, is known, in addition to his perspicacity, for his length. Not so here. He works well within the structure of each play.
Sendak's signature splashes of color and verve, precious finds, are in abundance particularly during "Brundibar."

Tony Taccone, who directed the Berkeley showings which anticipated those at Yale and more to come at Manhattan's New Victory Theater (beginning April 28th), supplies enviably precise direction. He is working with about 40 actors in "Brundibar" and three-fourths of them are children. Credit, then, goes to Taccone, musical director Greg Anthony, and movement director Kimi Okada.

I enjoyed "Bridge" but was completely taken with "Brundibar." Both shows are about making live theater with an emphasis upon live. Opera, in English language, is an acquired taste. We are not especially used to it. Musical comedies often include melodic tunes which circle back to a beginning note or phrase. Not so here. How delectable that melodic shifts are unforeseen. Many moments are unanticipated because the musical shifts are atypical. While "Brundibar," in terms of plot, reaches a climax, the music travels on - and on.

almost, maine

2006-01-29T11:01:00.000-08:00

I went to see charming, quirky "almost, maine" at the Daryl Roth Theatre in Union Squre, NYC. John Cariani penned this script -- the John Cariani I knew when he was an Apollo Company intern at StageWest in Springfield, MA a dozen or so years ago. John's moved on: he's been nominated for a Tony for his performance on Broadway in "Fiddler on the Roof." He's a regular on "Law and Order," appeared in "Kissing Jessica Stein," has authored more plays.
I recall John as an immensely likable, tall, wiry, musical guy who was The Aviator in "Little Prince," appeared in "A Christmas Carol," was available, receptive to criticism, happy to be "making theater" in whatever capacity.
Actor Todd Cerveris implored the full house at yesterday's late afternoon matinee, to spread the word about this sweet romantic comedy. People need to attend and soon -- otherwise, this gem of a play might very well close. That would be a multi-dimensional shame: the slightly off-tempo piece surely will please teenagers and the post-adolescent crowd. It does wonders, believe me, for baby-boomers. Elder statespeople will be unable to resist it. The characters are lovable, odd, winsome....and they play, delectably, directly to the audience.
Gabriel Barre, the excellent leader whose musical direction has distinguished shows I have seen at Goodspeed Opera House, allows these performers to flourish. Julian Fleisher's music is warm, beckoning, recurring.
almost, maine -- almost exists! Well, maybe it does; perhaps it really doesn't matter. The sky is purple and black, the stars are visible, the fake snow simulates well enough, and the couples are: out of, check that -- in love, dissonant -- check that -- harmonious: opposites but not really since they attract (one another)....
Cariani's script, inclusive of a prologue and epilogue, bestows eleven scenes/circumstances/occasions. Every so often people hug, kiss but, more often, they're apart -- standing -- or on a bench. Someone is afraid to be intimate....
Thematically, it's a matter (snowball as metaphor) of navigating the perimeter. Each journey might very well result in union. Otherwise, imginary gulfs prevent potential lovers from actualization.
Cariani is funny -- I knew this years ago -- and physical, too. I did not see his Motel the tailor in "Fiddler" but I can visualize him. I believe that Ben Brantley, who complemented John, found him a tad stylized.
No wonder: Cariani, as a StageWest intern, trained with Eric Hill. Hill studied, for ten summers, with Tadashi Suzuki and Hill's method involves Suzuki exercises for actors. Stomps, squats, statues, and terribly demanding positioning then translates, quite beautifully, within the scope of American theater.
That Cariani writes dialogue which requests actors to connect with: the floor, themselves and on-stage partners comes as no surprise.
"almost, maine" is a Valentine and must see light well beyond that day and evening.
When I checked the website for the play, I thought that Cariani was singing its theme. I was wrong.
That is point. Within the context of "almost, maine," it is okay and human to be wrong. Couples are not always right. The promise for a long and ultimately healthy relationship must acknowledge this eventuality: Being with oneself and becoming "we" with another catupults forward without defined sequence.
The acting quartet (Cerveris, Justin Hagan, Miriam Shor, and Finnerty Steeves) is topflight. Moreover, they are accessible -- perfect for a place which instantly transports viewers, moving them to Almost in a flash.
As snowflakes fall, each seems identical to the next. Really??
"almost, maine" needs to enjoy a long life in Manhattan and should be a smashing success at "almost" any regional. Support it.

Aphrodisiac at Long Wharf

2005-12-15T10:24:00.000-08:00

Long Wharf's Second Stage is very clearly the conducive place for presentation of "Aphrodisiac," continuing at the New Haven based theater through Jan. 1. It's startling, intense theater. Conjuring the scandal between Gary Conduit and Chandra Levy, the play (80 minutes long), is bold, provocative.....The stage is long and rectangular and spreads before the audience. It's a perfect locale for the actors to face theatergoers while maintaining contact with one another. Rob Campbell as Avery, Jennifer Dundas as Alma, and Yeetta Gottesman as Monica (Lewinsky) bring the heat of Rob Handel's words directly to the audience.

At first, Dundas plays the twenty-something year old intern who, at a chic restaurant, informs the politician that she is, indeed, pregnant. She will have the child in New York City. He is, shall we say, less cooperative. This will not happen; he will not partake. End of story.

During upcoming vignettes the actors role play: as the children of the congressman. Campbell becomes his father, detailing what it was like to live in D.C. while President Clinton was carrying on.

Dundas does her turn as the young intern who was head over heels in love with the older man. Malleable and able to transform her facial features according to the circumstance, Dundas appears to grow older or younger according to the scene.

She is reminiscent of Susan Dey (who played Grace Van Owen on television's "L.A. Law") during the 1980s. Sure, Dey was rail thin and Dundas is not. Each, however, wore pain through their cheekbones and brow. Dundas demonstrates, either as intern or daughter to the congressman, that transgressions pierce her being.....one cannot but stare, in awe or admiration, as Dundas bequeathes a searing, truthful performance.

Enter Gottesman whose physique, hairstyle, and demeanor immediately call the actual Lewinsky to mind. Sitting stage left, she assumes t he spotlight with a clever, rib-tickling riff about life with Bill in the Oval Office. The other two actors sit, transfixed, and listen.

Finally, the stage grows dark again. Within t he recessed lighting, the congressman and his intern appear. It becomes all too clear that they are in a car together. She is doomed.

Rob Handel's script is incisive and cutting. Ken Rus Schmoll directs the three actors with precision. They move from station to station, scene to scene, adjusting characters to plot development.
"Aphrodisiac," a sum of its parts, unsettles its audience. There's nothing fun about it. The playwright, t hough, does a superb job as he further haunts by revisiting a recent, traumatic incident. Hold on and don't blink. People of conscience will carry this one with them as they leave the premises.