Underwhelming MEAN GIRLS, is a trip back to the worst experiences of high school

 

BYE BYE BIRDIE, HAIR, GREASE, CARRIE, 13 (MUSICAL), DEAR EVAN HANSEN, MEAN GIRLS.  What do all these Broadway musicals have in common?  They placed the spotlight on teen angst.

 

OMG!  Think back to high school, specifically the cafeteria, at lunch time.  Depending on the institution you attended there was probably the table of math geeks.  Another of drama kids.  The testosterone-laden jocks held out over there and the cheerleaders were right next to them.  Then there was the nasty yet revered queen bee and her small swarm of drones.  The mean girl and her attack team.  They are perfectly coiffed, expensively dressed, spoiled, and lacking in empathy.  No one was willing to cross them!

 

With that in mind, depending on your place in the pecking order, you may or may not be ready to immerse yourself into MEAN GIRLS, the stage-show with music by Jeff Richmond, lyrics by Nell Benjamin, and a book by the queen of television comedy, Tina Fey.

 

The musical is based on Fey’s popular 2004 film which was inspired by Rosalind Wieseman’s book, “Queen Bees and Wannabes.”

 

Fans of the movie should be relieved that nothing important has been purged from the story.   Those who went through the horrors of slam/shame books, hazing, verbal abuse and general “hell” at the hands of the mean girls at their high schools will be happy to know that, in the musical, the queen and her swarm get their stingers removed.  (Yeah, revenge for the high school “nerds.”)

 

In the musical, Cady, fresh from a life in Kenya (Africa), is a new girl in town.  She is taken on a tour of her now educational institution, an Illinois high school, and exposed to the ways of its pecking order, by “good guys,” Janis and Damian. 

 

The J and D duo have taken the attitude of not being affected by self-selected school royalty and nasty-girl Queen Bee Regina George and “the Plastics” (Gretchen and Karen), her lackey hangers-on.  They caution Cady to be careful in deciding where she belongs in the school’s social fabric.

 

And, wonder of wonders, for an unexplained reason, Cady is invited to sit with “the Plastics” on a one-week trial.  (Hmm…what do the terrible trio have in mind?)

 

Everything goes well for Cady until she meets “dreamy” Aaron in honors math class.  She falls for him.  But, horror of horrors, Aaron has recently broken up with Queen Regina.  (You know this is going to make life for Cady a horror show.)

 

In order to “keep” Aaron’s interest Cady plays dumb, turning to him for unneeded “extra” help.

 

 A bus accident, a Burn Book which slams students by commenting on their weight (“hips like a Hippo”), parents’ infidelities (“the only reason he made the team is that his mother slept with the coach”) and eating habits (“Vegan freak”), Cady taking over Regina’s place as Queen of the Plastics, Cady being elected Spring Fling Queen and her surprising act of sharing the crown, all lead to a happy-ever-after feel-good ending.  (Hey, this is a Tina Fey written high school Broadway musical, what did you expect?)

 

Though it received 15 Tony nominations, MEAN GIRLS, as evidenced by the fact that it won no statues, it is not a great musical.    This is definitely not DEAR EVAN HANSEN quality.

 

It can be, however, enjoyable and, it has caught on and has developed its cult following.  (Be ready for every high school and community theatre producing the script as soon as it is released for general consumption.)

 

The serviceable score, the Tina Fey sharp tongued satire and one-liners gave a general positive vibe to the goings on.

 

This tour is composed of mainly recent college grads who have little to no Broadway or even off-Broadway experience.  Unfortunately, the lack of experience shows.   Many characters are not well-developed, the singing is adequate, the dancing is often stilted and has been “dumbed down” from the Big Apple production and even the touring show, which appeared locally several years ago.  The laughs are there, but limited.  The show-stoppers, such as “Where Do You Belong,” don’t explode with the needed energy.  It isn’t until “Do This Thing” and “I See Stars,” the last two songs of the show, that the dynamics are turned on.

 

As the young lady sitting next to me, who professed to be “MEAN GIRL fanatic, commented: “I am disappointed.  I know every line of the movie.  I know all the songs.  This is less than I expected.”  I must agree with her.

 

Capsule judgment:   MEAN GIRLS is filled with music, characters and Tina Fey satire that will appeal to younger audiences.  The production is not the quality expected of a professional tour.  Too bad, it really has the potential to be a really fun show!

 

NEXT UP AT PLAYHOUSE SQUARE:  11/5-24—SOME LIKE IT HOT (Key Bank Series) --The rollicking musical, based on the hit movie, of two musicians forced to flee the Windy City after witnessing a mob hit.

 

 

PLEASE VOTE YES ON ISSUE 55:  Cuyahoga Arts & Culture (CAC), which was approved by voters in 2006 and reapproved in 2015 allows CAC to fund millions of arts and cultural experiences for residents each year.

Oh, woe is me…POTUS is must see theatre at Dobama!

 

 
Once upon a time, in the very near land of the U S of A, there lived a POTUS.  

According to such a source as the New York Times, he never was a good person, but “With the passage of time, the president’s speeches have grown darker, harsher, longer, angrier, less focused, more profane and increasingly fixated on the past, according to a review of his public appearances over the years.”

Yes, this “fictional” person, who is the subject of the very farcical play, POTUS, which is now on stage at Dobama Theatre, has had a history of being a womanizer, purveyor of lies, an attacker of those people who were not like him (blacks, browns, religious minorities, and females, among others) while living in a fantasy world seemingly centered on himself.  He fires people at will, attacks with vitriolic glee, and often destroys for the sake of just destroying.  He seemingly leads an insurrection, yet sees it not as such.  Oh, woe is me!
 
In spite of what some would say are despicable actions, there are those who adore him, worship him, follow his view of his world-of-fantasy, though they often know not why. They even wore uniforms, mostly hats of raging red, to identify themselves.  Oh, woe is me!
 
The sub-title of the show is, “Or, Behind Every Great Dumbass Are Seven Women Trying to Keep Him Alive,” for good reason.  
 
In Selina Fillinger’s portrait of POTUS, this ogre is surrounded by seven beleaguered women whom he relies upon to keep him out of trouble.  They try and extract him from creating yet another global crisis due to his unwittingly spinning a public relations nightmare as he refers to his wife as a “cunt,” insults a leader of an Arabic country, offends a group of honored women, generally attempts to bully the rest of world for his own gain, while bringing his latest bimbo into the nation’s home for his sexual pleasure.  
 
The ladies are forced to hide his sexually induced disease, cover yet another series of transgression, and even cover over what may be his death.  Oh, woe is me! 
 
POTUS is now getting its area premiere.  That staging is done at a most logically selected venue, Dobama, Cleveland’s off-Broadway theatre, known for its more liberal look at the contemporary world.

A review of a previous production of the show stated, “I am woman, hear me roar — with laughter, at … playwright Selina Fillinger’s delicious feminist farce.”
Nathan Motta, Dobama’s Artistic Director says, “This show is the laugh-out-loud comedy that we all need right now.” POTUS is packed with farcical hijinks and a stage full of woman power. In times such as these, perhaps only laughter can provide some temporary relief.”
 
In interviews, Fillinger has said that she hopes POTUS audiences “have a wonderful night of laughter and joy. Then I hope they wake up the next day and put their money, time, and votes towards equity and freedom for all.” Fillinger’s goal is that the play will create solidarity and “intergenerational dialogue between women,” saying, “We can only build movements and coalitions when we debate, converse, and learn from each other. There is a false notion that solidarity and conflict are mutually exclusive. The goal should not be to avoid conflict, it should be to lovingly engage with differing beliefs and experiences so that everyone may bring their best self to the common cause.”
 
Dobama’s production, under the creative directing of Carrie Williams, is nothing short of hysterical.  Hysterical and, to many, shocking.  
 
The script is full of outlandish situations and actions.  Doors slam, prat-falls and stage slaps abound.  Visual and verbal hijinks overflow.  The ridiculous reigns.  The sad part is that one finds oneself laughing through tears and sadness.  This is the pathetic world in which we live.  Oh, woe is me!
 
The opposite of laughing is not crying, but indifference.  You cannot watch this chaotic, brilliantly written play and be indifferent!  
 
The play clearly focuses its microscope on the political world, but brings the reality of that world into shocking detail by using such vocabulary dialogue as, “ass play,” “cunt,” “dildo,””” blow job,” and “dick,” just to highlight a few!  
 
If you are a language prude, or only want to look to the world through sterilized ideas, this is not going to be your “cup of tea.”
 
Does the script go too far, at times, to make its point, thus emphasizing the ridiculous?  Sure, but it’s worth the over-kill.  It makes us laugh instead of lecturing us, which is a better way to gain attention.
 
The cast is superb.  There is not a weak link in this chain of pure talent.  The ensemble includes Kristy Cruz (Harriet), Nina Domingue (Jean), Natalie Green (Stephanie), Chennelle Bryant-Harris (Chris), Nicole Sumlin (Margaret), Katherine Nash (Dusty), and Amiee Collier (Bernadette).
 
It’s impossible to separate one for attention as they form a whole that is inseparable. Each molds and shapes her part! Hurrah!!!
 
Capsule judgement:  The night I saw the production a number of John Carroll students were in attendance as a class assignment.  They howled, laughed, shouted and applauded as their reality played out on the stage.  These young people got it!  This is the world which the present older generation has left them.  Oh, woe is me!   This is absolutely must-see theatre!  
 
For tickets to the show which runs through November 3 go to:  BoxOffice@dobama.org or call 216-932-3396.
 
PLEASE VOTE YES ON ISSUE 55:  Cuyahoga Arts & Culture (CAC), which was approved by voters in 2006 and reapproved in 2015 allows CAC to fund millions of arts and cultural experiences for residents each year.

Neil from Flatbush on display in A BEAUTIFUL NOISE @ Connor Palace

 

David Greene, in his program notes for The Neil Diamond Musical A BEAUTIFUL NOISE, states, “Great songwriters have a distinct voice and style that sets them apart from others.  They bring their own perspective and experiences into their work, creating something that feels fresh and genuine.  He goes on to say, “Neil Diamond is one of those songwriters.” Diamond, a Jewish kid from the Flatbush area of Brooklyn, has sold more than 125 million records, had 38 singles reach the Top 10 on the Billboard Hot 100 charts, with 10 reaching number one. A BEAUTIFUL NOISE, the tale of Diamond, yes, his real name is Neil Diamond, is a juke box musical, much in the style of JERSEY BOYS and THE CAROLE KING MUSICAL, in which pre-written songs are shoe-boxed into a story line.   In the case of NOISE, the writing/staging gimmick are fictional counseling sessions between Diamond and a psychologist who probes into his past by asking the man, who no longer can tour due to his contracting Parkinson’s Disease, to reveal the motivation for writing many of his songs.  As he explains it, ““She opens the book, and all 60 years of my songwriting and all that exploration pours out into a majestic musical collage, and once unloosed from the book, the songs take on lives of their own." As the superstar tells how and why a select number of his hits were written, we are exposed to the ascent of Diamond from frustrated song writer, to nervous night club performer, to uber-super-star, and finally, a member of the Songwriters and Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. We learn some aspects of the man and his music, including illusion to such factors as: “Diamond is a New Yorker through-and-through, but ironically, ‘Sweet Caroline’ has become a Boston anthem. Fans sing the song during the eighth inning of every Red Sox home game. Diamond wrote "Sweet Caroline" for his second wife, Marcia Murphey, but "Sweet Marcia" didn't fit the tune. Also, that Diamond met his first wife, Jaye Posner, in high school and she was the person who early-on encouraged his music career.  The show, filled with dynamic dancing and staging, includes such crowd favorites as “America,” “Cherry, Cherry,” I’m A Believer,” “Kentucky Woman,” “September Morn,” and “You Don’t Bring Me Flowers.”  Not well known was that he attended Erasmus Hall High School and was a member of a chorus whose membership included Barbra Streisand, though they, according to Diamond, “were not close friends at the time.” Chess grandmaster Bobby Fisher was also a member of their class. The musical opened on Broadway in December of 2022 to mixed reviews, grossing more than $1 million before its premiere.  It closed on June 30, 2024, when ticket-sales faded.  At closing it had “grossed more than $63 million.” Nick Fradiani, the winner of the 2015 American Idol television competition, who effectively stars as Neil-then, carries the majority of the role’s singing, dancing and acting.  He is charismatic, has an excellent voice and looks and sounds like the superstar.   Robert Westenberg makes for an acceptable Neil-now.  He displays some excellent Diamond-like musical chops near the show’s ending.  Beautiful Hannah Jewel Kohn has an excellent voice and realistically develops the Marcia Murphey role (Diamond’s second wife).  Tiffany Tatreau, gives full-life to, Jayne Posner, Neil’s first wife.  Kate A. Mulligan has a nice cameo role as Ellie Greenwich, an early Diamond founder and producer. Michael Mayer directs.  Steven Hoggett choreographs. CAPSULE JUDGEMENT:  This is not a great musical.  It won’t ever be compared to GYPSY, WEST SIDE STORY or even, RAGTIME but for Neil Diamond fanatics, or for those who love his music, it will more than be a pleasing experience.  The music is fine, the dancing is dynamic and the concert-level staging is enveloping.  It’s worth a sit-through. A BEAUTIFUL NOISE runs October 8-27, 2024 at the Connor Palace as part of the Key Bank Broadway Series.  For tickets call 216-241-6000 or go to www.playhousesquare.org PLEASE VOTE YES ON ISSUE 55:  Cuyahoga Arts & Culture (CAC), which was approved by voters in 2006 and reapproved in 2015 allows CAC to fund millions of arts and cultural experiences for residents each year.

Farce reigns supreme at GLT’s MIDSUMMER NIGHT DREAM

William Shakespeare is considered by many to be the greatest Western world playwright of all times.  In spite of this, many are reluctant to see a production of his plays.  Why the hesitance?  It is perceived that language he used, the format of the speeches, and the material he writes of, is too abstract or complicated to just “sit back, enjoy and understand.”
 
Play On Shakespeare (POS) is a non-profit company promoting and creating contemporary modern translations of Shakespeare’s plays.  Scripts are easily understood, using modern language.   A MIDSUMMER NIGHT’S DREAM, their partnership with Great Lakes Theater, is now on stage at the Hanna Theatre.  
 
“Since its inception in 2015, Play On Shakespeare has commissioned dozens of contemporary playwrights to translate 39 Shakespeare plays into modern English, with a majority of the commissions.”  Each playwright is “tasked with matching Shakespeare’s linguistic rigor as they approached the text, preserving rhyme, rhythm, metaphor, meter, imagery, symbolism, rhetoric, and the structure that make Shakespeare’s plays engaging and accessible to today’s audience.” 
 
In the case of GLT’s A MIDSUMMER NIGHT’S DREAM, one of the Bard’s most delightful works, Sara Bruner, the show’s director, has not only used the “newly” conceived words, but has added her special touches of extreme farce and exaggeration to make the experience audience involving and entertaining.
 
The escapist comedy centers on the goings-on after Duke Theseus, who has the power to approve all marriages, rejects the matrimonial prospects of two sets of young Athenians.  The foursome flee into the forest and run head-long into problems that they didn’t anticipate.  Much of the chaos centers on the mischievous Puck, who attempts to “help” not only Oberon, King of the Fairies, who is having marriage problems, as well as the Athenians.

The scripts translator Jeffrey Whitty (author of the book for the Tony winning musical, AVENUE Q hopes “that my translation will lift audience spirits as a supplement to Shakespeare’s indelible original. While the language is sometimes mine, the architecture is all Shakespeare, as fresh as anything on the boards these days.”

It must be recognized that Whitty has wiped out much of the Bard’s beautiful language and structure in his attempt to win over modern-day viewers.  Shakespeare lovers will have problems with this approach.  Bardisms such as “Love looks not with the eyes, but with the mind, And therefore is winged Cupid painted blind,” gets short-shift in this version.  As does Puck’s “Now to ‘scape the serpent’s tongue, We will make amends ere long; Else the Puck a liar call’ So, good night unto you all.” This is the type of language that has made Shakespeare a legend!

No matter the language, because this is a comedy, thus insuring a happy ever-after ending, each of the couples unite in harmony.

Once the audience settled in and realized that this was not the Bard they were used to, The GLT production was met with prolonged bouts of laughing and clapping. 

The key to what was to come was revealed to all on the open-curtain stage set at the start of AMSND.  The view was of lots of vertical and horizontal multi-colored Eucalyptus tree platforms and shafts adorned with flowers and plants constructed of equally colorful pool noodles.  

Courtney O’Neill had created a visual illusion of a drug induced illusion of “into the woods.”   Mieka van der Ploeg’s costumes continued the visual assault with non-descript multi-colored costumes, which were illuminated by Trad A Burn’s creative lighting.  Yep, this was not going to be, nor was, traditional Shakespeare!

The cast, who clearly understood the concept of “farce,” performed all the schticks, asides, slapstick and exaggerations of director Bruner’s imagination.
Joe Wegner was properly puckish in carrying out his devilishly delightful deeds, Nick Steen appealingly brayed his way through his transformation from Bottom, a weaver, to a purple headed ass and the youths all well-created exaggerated youthful lovers.  

CAPSULE JUDGMENT:  GLT’S A MIDSUMMER NIGHT’S DREAM will delight those who enjoy unbridled farce and mod language, while Shakespeare purists will rue the day they saw this “reimagined,” Bard-light edition.  Me?  I started out on the side of the purist’s and ended up an advocate of the modernists.  Go…see…enjoy (maybe!).

SPECIAL REQUEST:  PLEASE VOTE YES ON ISSUE 55…IT PROVIDES MUCH NEEDED FUNDING FOR 485 LOCAL ARTS & CULTURE ORGANIZATION.  

Farcical message play PURLIE VICTORIOUS at Karamu

 

“Neither Ruby Dee or Ossie Davis ever appeared in a Karamu stage production but both had significant presence and impact in the organization and in the lives of Karamu artists. They often visited for speaking engagements, to instruct master classes, and to support Karamu's mission.” The duo met at Karamu.   Dee’s large portrait adorns one of the walls at the oldest Black Theatre in the country, which she loved and supported.   Davis’s play, PURLIE VICTORIOUS, which once starred the duo, is now on stage at Karamu.   The story follows Purlie Victorious Judson, a Black traveling preacher who returns to his segregated Georgia hometown with the purpose of claiming his inheritance and buying and rehabbing its now derelict black church.  His obstacle?  The town, is in the grip of racist tyrant Ol' Cap'n Cotchipee.   PURLIE VICTORIOUS is alternately titled, A NON-CONFEDERATE ROMP THROUGH THE COTTON PATCH.   Yes, this is farce!  With, of course, a happy ending!   Leslie Odom, Jr., credited Ossie Davis with giving the American theater an American hero in Purlie Judson.  He stated, “I have loved this piece and its author, Mr. Davis, for well over half my life. His writing and acting, his integrity, the commitment he and his brilliant wife made to nurturing young talent, and the example of citizenship have meant so much to me! Mr. Davis’s pages are full of joy and rhythm, laughter and hope.”    One review of PURLIE VICTORIOUS, which opened on Broadway in 1961, stated that, "It is marvelously exhilarating to hear the Negro speak for himself, especially when he does so in the fullness of his native gusto and the enveloping heartiness of his overflowing laughter."   In viewing this play, it must be remembered that it represents the era and attitudes of the 60’s, not 2024.  It must be realized that many of the changes regarding segregation, integration and gains by African Americans were not fully in effect.  Many of the attitudes and situations expressed by Davis are no longer in existence.     It is not surprising that the primarily black audience at Karamu the afternoon I saw the production probably didn’t react as the viewers of the mid-20th century probably did.  There were few call-and-responses, few gasps to the treatment of the blacks by the “massa,” not even many laughs at the farce.  Yes, the play is very dated and has lost some of its effect.    How effective is the Karamu version?   In seeing a production at Karamu, due to its many fine past stagings, such as BLACK NATVITY, THE COLOR PURPLE and PASSING STRANGE, all of which were recognized as being among area’s best shows by both the Cleveland Critics Circle and Broadwayworld.com-Cleveland, it can be ignored that this is not a professional theatre.   Added to the situation is that farce is very difficult to perform.  The exaggerations must be realistic, yet overdone.  The slapstick must result in the audience laughing at the situation, not the gimmicks that insighted the ridiculousness.  The timing must be perfect.  Unfortunately, this was not always the case.   Does this mean the show is now worth seeing?  Absolutely not.  It is a valuable piece of historical theatre, that shows, through exaggeration what times were like.   Capsule judgment:  The cast, headed by Dyrell Barnett, as Purlie, gives full-effort and has some fine moments.  Treva Offutt directs. If you are interested in seeing a slice of Black Americana, and want to back the continued efforts of Karamu, the country’s oldest Black theatre, go see PURLIE VICTORIOUS!   PURLIE VICTORIOUS runs through 9/27 -10/20 at Karamu, 2355 East 89th Street. For tickets call 216-795-7077 or go on-line to Karamuhouse.org   PLEASE VOTE YES ON ISSUE 55:  Cuyahoga Arts & Culture (CAC), which was approved by voters in 2006 and reapproved in 2015 allows CAC to fund millions of arts and cultural experiences for residents each year.