BIG FISH @ Cain Park—good staging of well-meaning, but shallow script

 

“I've seen this all before When I was just a child I met a witch who took a bow and showed me how it ended” These words, from the song, “How It Ends,” near the conclusion of BIG FISH, the Andrew Lippa/John August musical now on stage at Cain Park, summarizes a major plot message.   The tale, based on Daniel Wallace’s novel “Big Fish: A Novel of Mythic Proportions,” is part of the trend of Broadway musicals taking on serious subjects.  DEAR EVAN HANSEN, which deals with teen angst, autism and suicide, and NEXT TO NORMAL which takes on how mental illness effects not only the victim, but the entire family, are examples of this new vision for American musicals.  In 2013, BIG FISH, after 34 previews ran only 98 regular performances, due to tepid reviews and weak audience excitement.   Comments about the show included, “BIG FISH arrives on Broadway as an earnest, family-friendly, heart-warming and mostly successful new American musical.”  “It is sweet and inoffensive which plops its unabashed wholesomeness right in your lap.”  It is a pleasant, slightly bland musical, more like THE BRIDGES OF MADISON COUNTY, than blockbusters like HAMILTON.   “BIG FISH revolves around the relationship between Edward Bloom, a traveling salesman, and his son Will.  At the start of the tale, Edward and his son, discuss Will's impending wedding. Edward tells him a story about when he was walking down the river and met a man trying to catch fish to no avail. So, Edward teaches him the proper way to catch fish. Edward tells Will another story of a witch that Edward met as a teenager.   Edward is a storyteller.  His son never knows if the tales his father weaves, encountering a Witch, a Giant, a Mermaid are real or part of the man’s imagination.   The tales go on and on until, near the conclusion, we finally learn Edward’s truth and the moral of BIG FISHin the song, “Be the Hero.” The Cain Park production, which is well- staged and interpreted by director Johanna May Cullinan, does everything it can with what some might deem as a sappy tale.    Connor Stout makes for a believable Edward Bloom.  He creates a dreamer and nice guy who, until the end, we aren’t sure whether his tales are real or figments of his imagination.  He has a fine singing voice.  His duet, “Time Stops,” sung with Sandra (Kate Fahey), his wife, is lovely.  “The River Between Us,” sung with Will (Ryan Sweeney) vividly shows the chasm between father and son.  Baldwin Wallace musical theatre program has produced a number of handsome young men with fine singing voices and good acting chops who have gone on to make their marks in professional theater.  Included are Chris McCarrell (LES MISÈRABLES, THE LIGHTNING THIEF, Colton Ryan (NEW YORK, NEW YORK, GIRL FROM THE NORTH COUNTRY, THE PUBLIC, DEAR EVAN HANSEN) and Corey Mach (KINKY BOOTS, HANDS ON A HARD BODY, GODSPELL, WICKED, MERRILY WE ROLL ALONG).  Ryan Sweeney (Will) is of the same mold!   Kate Fahey (Sandra, Edward’s wife) sings and interprets the poignant “I Don’t Need a Roof,” well. Monica Olejko’s choreography is effective, as is Ken Lear’s musical direction, Richard Morris’s set design and Adam Ditzel’s lighting. Capsule judgment:  The songs are well interpreted, the story made clear, the performances quite good.  There is nice storytelling, music and a moral. If there is a flaw, it is the writing, not the production.  There are little real highlights, little encompassing action.   BIG FISH runs through June 30, 2024 at Cain Park’s Alma Theatre.  For tickets call 216-371-3000 or go to www.cainpark.com

Dynamic production of JESUS CHRIST SUPERSTAR at Porthouse

 

Dynamic production of JESUS CHRIST SUPERSTAR at Porthouse   Roy Berko (Member: Cleveland Critics Circle, American Theatre Critics Association)   Combine focused direction by Terri Kent, dynamic choreography by Martin Cespedes, with a talented cast, and the result is the high quality, crowd-enveloping JESUS CHRIST SUPERSTAR, now on stage at Kent State University’s Porthouse Theatre, on the grounds of Blossom Center.   JCSUPERSTAR is a rock opera with music by Andrew Lloyd Webber with lyrics by Tim Rice.  It is loosely based on “the Gospels’ account of the Passion.”  It “adds a texture above the religious text by examining the motives and psychological underpinnings of not only Jesus, but of Judas, who it spotlights acted as he did because he was dissatisfied with the direction Jesus was steering his disciples, and not for the gold he was given.  In spite of its cult following, JCSUPERSTAR is a show with a history of controversy.  It has been condemned by some religious groups, as well as non-believers.   Some of the controversy is based on comments made by the script’s lyricist, Tim Rice, who once said, “It happens that we don't see Christ as God but simply the right man at the right time at the right place.”   Some Christians cried out that the comment was blasphemous and also complained that the characterization of Judas was too sympathetic, and that Jesus was misinterpreted.  The lack of resurrection of Jesus was also a point of contention as was the insertion of contemporary attitudes, slang and illusions to modern day life.   Jewish organizations claim that some of the illusions bolster antisemitism.  (I’m sure the costume choices and jewelry laden jackets for a Temple scene which seems to mock the male Orthodox community, will not endear the production to some.)  There is no controversy about the music.  The score is eclectic and powerful.  It is 80’s rock at its finest.  Songs include such classics as “Everything’s Alright,” “Hosanna,” “I Don’t Know How to Love him,” “What’s the Buzz” and, “Superstar,”    Released as a concept album, before it was staged, it was already a smash before it hit the theatrical boards.  When it finally opened, it ran for eight years in London and was the country’s longest-running show for almost a decade. In 2016, celebrating 45 years since the musical debuted on Broadway, JESUS CHRIST SUPERSTAR returned to London.  It is this reconceived script that is now at Porthouse.    The Porthouse staging is often breath taking.  The viewer is wrapped in stimulating lighting and exciting visual displays.  The choreography is amazing.  Cespedes has outdone himself.  Almost every number has showstopping moment.  He has honed the skills of this cast, probably giving the mainly student performers a master class in movement.  Exceptional dancing is displayed in “Hosanna,” “The Temple,” “The Arrest,” “Trial Before Pilate/39 Lashes,” and “Superstar.”   Enrique Miguel underplays the role of Jesus for positive effect.   Matthew  Gittins is outstanding as Judas.  He left a clear image of a philosophically tortured Judas, caught between his values and loyalty his to Jesus.     Dominic Young was impressive as Peter.  Madison Shannon is vocally, physically and emotionally-correct as Mary Magdalene. Tim Culver,  a “faye” vision in a voluminous purple costume, stops the show with his exaggerated version of “Pilate and Christ.”   The entire cast had strong vocal voices and carried out the complicated choreography with competence.     Jennifer Korecki has her musicians underscoring rather than dominating the action, so the audience recognizes that they are at a musical, not a rock concert.   Capsule judgment:  The staging, choreography and emotional values of the controversial show are well developed.  No matter your philosophical bent, this production will leave a positive understanding of the value of a well-done theatrical presentation!  Go see!   Tickets for JESUS CHRIST SUPERSTAR, which runs through June 29, 2024, can be obtained by going to http://www.porthousetheatre.com or calling 330-929-4416 or 330-672-3884.

Special effects and quirky story pleases audience at Back to the Future: The Musical

 
 

In 1985 “Back to the Future,” the feature film, opened.  It stared Michael J. Fox and Christopher Lloyd.  It quickly became a cult favorite and spun off two sequels edged on by those who like the bizarre, the farcical, the outlandish and the quirky!  

When a musical version of the tale opened on Broadway, the reviews all basically echoed the comment that, “It’s a terrifically fun and amusing story that works nearly as well on stage as it did on film.”

Yes, there was some carping that “the score [which contains such quickly forgettable songs as “Got No Future,” “Cake,” “Something About the Boy” and “For the Dreamers”] was mainly superfluous,” but audiences don’t seem to mind.  In fact, if the assemblage at the Key Bank State Theatre the night I saw the touring show is any indicator, the musical will also become a cult favorite as it tours the hinterlands.

Don’t go expecting the emotional power and storylines of such musicals as DEAR EVAN HANSEN, HAMILTON or RENT.  This show isn’t intended for that type of experience.  This is for those who like fantasy and extreme effects such as a car levitating and flying, lots of blasting rock music, and visual gymnastics.

What’s the hullabaloo about?  “When Marty McFly finds himself transported back to 1955 in a time machine built by the eccentric scientist Doc Brown, he accidentally changes the course of history as he inadvertently prevents his future parents from falling in love – threatening his own existence.  Now he's in a race against time to fix the present, escape the past and send himself... back to the future.”

The musical originally premièred in Manchester and transferred to London's West End.  It received positive reviews and won the Laurence Olivier Award for Best New Musical in 2022.

The show opened on Broadway in August, 2023. 

The production is billed as “appropriate for those 6 and up.” At a running time of 2 hours and 40 minutes it may be a little long for the young ones, but there are enough spectacular effects that that may not be a problem.

The tour’s cast features Caden Brauch, in his national tour debut, as Marty McFly.  He sings and dances well, and is totally involved in the role.  He is a delight to watch.  (Side note:  wisely he does not do an imitation of Michael J. Fox, who played Marty in the film.)

Long time Broadway and television star, Don Stephenson (Broadway: THE PRODUCERS, BY JEEVES, ROCK OF AGES, WONDERFUL TOWN; Television: “Law and Order,” “The Blacklist ,” “The Good Wife,” “Glee” and “Ugly Betty) is properly eccentric as Doc Brown.

Locals may recognize Ina Black, a member of the ensemble, who was cast in the tour during her last semester at Kent State University, as well as Ethan Rogers, a 2021 Baldwin Wallace grad, who plays Biff.

The small band does credit to the pop to do-wop to rock-centric score.  Chris Fisher’s illusion designs, Tim Hatley’s designs and Tim Lutkin’s lighting, are the co-stars of the production, along with Chris Bailey’s choreography and John Rando’s creative directing.

Capsule judgment:  BACK TO THE FUTURE:  THE MUSICAL will delight anyone who loves farcical, outlandish and quirky stories and who has a special liking for special effects.  Don’t expect a deep thought-provoking tale or sublime music.  This isn’t a show for that.  Go!  Sit back and enjoy the overdone hijinks! Escape from reality!  Laugh, clap and jump up at the end for the required standing ovation!
 
Tickets for the show, which runs through July 7, 2024, can be purchased by calling 216-241-6000 or online at playhousesquare.org.

Compelling A DOLL’S HOUSE: PART II impressively asks questions about life and the choices we make

 

Western culture was struck by numerous changes in the late twentieth century.  Many monarchs fell, Socialism, Communism and Democracy made in-roads, the social sciences developed the concepts of psychology and sociology, the industrial revolution changed manufacturing, and the way the middle class would live was drastically altered.     In the theatre, escapist and melodramatic plays were replaced by dramas that reflected the issues of the era.  The modernists, such as Anton Chekov, illustrated the flailing role of the aristocracy and was a voice in the prediction of Russian Revolution.  George Bernard Shaw challenged the influences of education and the role of religion.  Henrik Ibsen championed the cause against women being considered second class citizens.   One of Ibsen's classic works is A DOLL’S HOUSE.  “The play concerns the fate of a married woman, who lacked reasonable opportunities for self-fulfillment in a male-dominated world. Despite the fact that Ibsen denied it was his intent to write a feminist play, it was a great sensation at the time and caused a storm of outraged controversy.”    At the conclusion of the epic, Nora tells her husband, Torvald, that she is leaving him and, in a confrontational scene, expresses her sense of betrayal and disillusionment.  She says that she has been treated like a doll to play with, first by her father and then by him.   Leaving her keys and wedding ring, Nora walks out of their home.  Leaving behind her husband and children and a way of life she doesn’t want.   At the start of A DOLLS HOUSE--PART TWO, which is now on-stage at Beck Center, a knock is heard at the door — the same door that Nora slammed behind her fifteen years earlier when she exited at the end of Ibsen’s play.   The door closing which has been termed by theatrical experts and feminists as “the door slam heard around the world.”   Nora is now a woman who has become a free-thinking human being!  It is this “new” Nora who is knocking.      After leaving her husband and children, she has become a successful feminist novelist. The reason for her return is to finalize the divorce which she thought had been executed many years before, but which she has recently found out, Torvald had never signed the papers.   Thus, we are thrown into a series of scenes in which both Nora and the audience are forced to examine what it is that she/we want from life.  Questions arise as to what does it mean to have developed one’s own voice and what is the price we each pay for the decisions we make.   The 2028 Broadway production of Part 2, which was to have a limited 16-week run, was extended well-beyond its limited engagement as the production won numerous awards and audiences continued flowing into the theatre.    As Beck’s director, Don Carrier, wrote in his program notes, “Lucas Hnath (the playwright) is one of our most creative contemporary writers and wisely chose to explore the character and subject matter though a comedic lens.  But even that comedic lens can’t help but pick away at the scabs of the past and get to the roots of why Nora left.  It’s a play with a lot of questions and hopefully answers that allow closure.”   Anjanette Hall is superb as the conflicted Nora.  She creates a character that is so real it is hard to believe that she is only portraying a person, and is not the person, herself.   Nanna Ingvaresson breaths Anne Marie, the housekeeper who was left with the task of caretaker and child-raiser when Nora left.   Tabitha Raithel effectively develops the role of Emmy, Nora’s abandoned daughter.   David Vegh endows an honesty into Torvald which leaves the feeling that he is, under the surface, a person who understands the conflict between Nora and himself, but is powerless to do anything about it.   Jill Davis’s stark set, Adam Ditzel’s lighting and Angie Hays’ sound effects add to create an appropriate space for the production.  Jenniver Sparano’s women’s costumes are both era-correct and beautifully designed and executed.   Capsule judgment:  Beck’s production, under the focused direction of Don Carrier, is a model of the right play, the right cast and the right presentation.  It is a perfect model of the “thinking person’s play.”  Though filled with ironic humor, it is the drama of the script that makes it work so well.   A DOLL’S HOUSE-PART 2 runs through June 30, 2024 in the Senney Theater of Beck Center for the Arts.  For tickets go to beckcenter.org or call 216-521-2540.

THE 25TH ANNUAL PUTNAM COUNTY SPELLING BEE delights at Cain Park

 

It is only appropriate, since the National Spelling Bee wound down last week, that Cain Park, the Cleveland Heights outdoor entertainment venue, has mounted THE 25^TH ANNUAL PUTNAM COUNTY SPELLING BEE.
 
As Patrick Ciamacco, the show’s director states of the show in his program notes, “The spelling bee serves as a microcosm for the intricacies and pressures we face as adults. From the pressure to be perfect to the frustration of constantly being underestimated or the desire to be supported by people you care about, this show addresses these situations with humor, charm and more importantly …heart.”
 
How would you do if asked to spell: “syzygy,” “capybara,” “cystitis,” “pandemonium,” and “qaymaqam?”  How about “crepuscule?”  And, then there is “cow!”  (The latter, as attenders of the show find out, is a very important word in the script, as is “erection.”) 
 
C-r-e-p-u-s-c-u-l-e, which means twilight, and, ironically, is the original name of the musical now known as THE 25^TH ANNUAL PUTNAM COUNTY SPELLING BEE.  (The name was probably changed so that reviewers, like myself, who are spelling handicapped wouldn’t embarrass ourselves if spell-check didn’t catch our errors.)
 
The play created by Rebecca Feldman for her New York based improvisational comedy group, was transitioned into the present script by Rachel Sheinkin with the addition of music and lyrics by William Finn.
 
The 2005 Broadway production was a hit, garnering six Tony Award nominations, including Best Book.  
 
The fun-filled romp centers on a fictional spelling bee conducted at the Putnam Valley Middle School, which finds six quirky kids, joined by four culled-from-the-audience “volunteers,” who vie for the coveted large blue and gold trophy and the pride that goes with it.  (The losers are awarded juice boxes.)
 
We meet the nerdy group of “r-e-a-l” spellers who are competing for our laughs, hearts, the trophy and a cash prize.
 
There’s Chip Tolentino (Gabriel Hill), hunky Eagle Scout and last year’s winner, who, unfortunately, gets distracted by a pretty young lady in the audience and his resulting erection throws him off and, though he spells the word correctly, he is eliminated by Vice Principal Panch (Brian Altman) because of a rule infraction.  As is, we find out that he is a master of rule infractions!
 
Logainne Schwartzandgrubenniere (Sophie Ruiz), is an elementary school lesbian, who is accompanied by her over-attentive gay fathers. The girl of many causes also falls by the wayside.
 
Leaf Coneybear (Andres Martinez), an adorable geek who makes his own “unique” clothes, is considered dumb by his family.  He’s only in the competition because the winner has her bat mitzvah on the day of the competition, and her best friend, the runner-up, is also at the religious event.  Much to his surprise Leaf sails through the early rounds.  Unfortunately, he stumbles on the word “chinchilla” but walks away head held high, singing “I’m Not That Smart,” having proven to himself, despite his elimination, that he is okay.
 
William Barfee (Seth Crawford), an obnoxious know-it-all, demonstrates his very successful “magic” foot spelling routine, in which he spells out the word on the ground with his shoe.
 
Marcy Park (Kayla Peterson), an up-tight young lady, the product of “tiger parents” has obviously been put under high pressure to succeed, whizzes through words until she makes a life-changing decision and intentionally spells an easy word incorrectly.
 
Olive Ostrovsky (Kate Day Magocsi) is able to break through Barfee’s curtain of insecurity and nastiness by doing a kind deed when he is threatened by Chip with peanuts, one of many things to which Barfee is allergic.
 
The cast, which also includes Rona Lisa Peretti (the multi-talented Bridie Carroll), former bee winner, who has made a career out of coordinating contests and Mitch Mahoney (Geoffrey Short), the contest’s gruff/lovable bouncer and counselor-in-residence.
 
The cast, as can be expected from a group who are mainly products of Baldwin Wallace’s national recognized Musical Theatre program, sing and dance as future Broadway stars should.  They each create consistent characterizations.
 
Add Ciamacco’s focused directing, Rachel Woods finely tuned musical directing and Katie Gibson’s limited choreography, and the result is a fine evening of summer theater!.
 
CAPSULE JUDGMENT: Sometimes it’s fun to just sit in the theatre, smile and admire the talent of the cast.  If that is your kind of entertainment, THE 25^TH ANNUAL PUTNAM COUNTY SPELLING BEE is your thing and will spell “d-e-l-i-g-h-t.”
 
Sidenote:  The street construction on Lee Road is complete, so there is parking in the handicapped lot at the Park’s east entrance.  Also be aware that the golf-cart transportation provided for the handicapped is inconsistent.  I had to walk both ways to and from the Alma, quite a distance, along with a man with two canes and a pair of ladies that needed to stop several times to catch their breath.
 
THE 25TH ANNUAL PUTNAM COUNTY SPELLING BEE runs through June 9, 2024 at the Alma Theatre of Cain Park.  For tickets call 216-371-3000 or go to www.cainpark.com