BWU’s WAITRESS delivers a tasty treat at Beck Center for the Arts

 

BWU’s WAITRESS delivers a tasty treat at Beck Center for the Arts   Roy Berko (Member:  Cleveland Critics Circle, American Theatre Critics Association)   WAITRESS, which features an all-original score of music and lyrics by singer-songwriter-actress Sara Bareilles, which is now on stage at the Beck Center for the arts, in a production by Baldwin Wallace’s Musical Theatre program, is unique in that, when it opened on Broadway in January, 2010, it featured an all-female production team.      Also distinctive was that, in order to immerse audiences, real cinnamon loaded pies were warming in special ovens creating the aroma of a pastry shop.  Slices of pie were sold before the curtain rose and at intermission.     The musical opened to mixed reviews, with much praise for Bareilles score and some questions about Jessie Nelson’s book.  It ran 1,544 performances, was closed by Covid, and reopened for a short run when Broadway once again went live.   Based on the 2007 film of the same name, it tells the story of Jenna Hunterson, a baker and waitress, who is in an abusive marriage.  She works with a group of supportive and delightful waitresses and waits on some eccentric customers.     After Jenna unexpectedly becomes pregnant, she finds that her former female doctor has retired and has been replaced by a young and attractive man.  A relationship develops between Jenna and Dr. Pomatter, her new doctor, unraveling further her already trauma-filled life.    Looking for ways out of her troubles, Jenna learns of a pie baking contest with a large grand prize that could give her the financial means to get out of her marriage.  She is stopped from participating when her daughter is born early and her sleezy husband finds the stash of funds that she has been hiding to finance her trip to the contest.     A surprise knight in shining-armor gives her the needed funds, allowing Jenna, much to the delight of the audience, to kick her husband to the curb, open her own pie shop, and, in tradition of the American musical, live happily ever after.  (Or, so we hope.)   The production, under the focused direction of Victoria Bussert, has the right balance between pathos, humor and angst.  And, as should be expected from students in BW’s much-praised program, the vocals were well-sung and the farce nicely keyed.   In spite of the excellent musical sounds, the audience is not going out of the theatre singing any of the songs.  Though it plays well on stage, this is not a catchy score…no top ten songs here!  And, the rom-com script, as the Broadway reviews clarified, is not epic.  This is definitely not the tales of DEAR EVAN HANSEN, NEXT TO NORMAL, HAMILTON or WEST SIDE STORY.   In spite of those weaknesses, the production is an audience pleaser.  They cheer for the good lady, boo the scum-bag abuser, delight at the farce, and are entranced by the Shirley Temple cutie (Emilia Menotti) who appears briefly as Jeanna’s daughter.   The show is double cast.  I saw the Apple Pie Cast so these comments concern only those performances.   Sophia Edwards, a BW junior, has a strong singing voice and develops a believable put-upon Jenna who doesn’t have the wiles to get out of a dangerous and degrading relationship.  Her “She Used to be Mine” was well conceived.    Jacob Anderson was appealing as Dr. Pomatter.  The Jenna-Pomatter duet, “Bad Idea” was well sung and showcased a nice emotional bond between the performers.    Matthew Wright nicely honed the role of a cantankerous old guy.  His “Take It from an Old Man” was a show highlight.    Aamar-Malik Culbreth, as the ADHD tightly wound Ogie, the love interest of Dawn (Kat Magocsi), the shy waitress, quickly emerged as the audience favorite.  His “Never Getting Rid of Me” stopped the show!  He has a wonderful feel for farce and is Broadway ready to play any nerdy part.  “I Love You Like a Table,” sung with the Magocsi was delightful.  She, too, is ready for the Big Apple.  Anyone who is going to reprise HAIRSPRAY should immediately cast her as Penny.   Kechanté, as Becky, the third of the trio of waitresses, has a strong singing voice and well uses her sassy personality, “attitude” and flashing eyes.  Her scenes with Marc Dalmau (Cal), the cook, were sensually-filled delights.   Matthew Webb’s orchestra nicely underplayed the score, supporting, not drowning out the singers.    Jeff Herrmann’s scenic design generally worked, but the constant dragging of the pie and ingredient racks on and off-stage became tedious after a while.     For those concerned that Bussert and her staff moving from BWU to Oberlin might signal a break of her talented students appearing at Beck, need not fear.  According to Beck’s Artistic Director, “When asked if Beck Center would join them on this journey, we couldn’t help but say yes.”   Capsule judgement:  WAITRESS is the kind of production that audience’s love.  Though the script is shallow, the plot obvious, and there are no memorable songs, it matters little.  In the hands of the talented and well-directed cast, the standing ovation was well-deserved.  Go, see emerging young talent which will soon be featured in Broadway shows, and enjoy yourself!   Tickets for the production, which runs through MARCH 9, 2025, are available and/or via 216-521-2540 or http://www.beckcenter.org (7:30p.m. evenings, 2:30 p.m. matinees).   Upcoming at Beck:  4/4-5/4—UNDER BASEBALL SKY-- From José Cruz González, author of American Mariachi, comes a new play about baseball’s deep roots in the Mexican American community.    5/30-6/29—THE ROBBER BRIDEGROOM-- A sense of justice for the average person compels us to seek out Robin Hood type heroes. This fairytale is set to bluegrass music - the perfect soundtrack setting for the intimate Studio Theater.

 Dobama stages the first local production of THE HOT WING KING, the 2021 Pulitzer Prize winner for Drama

Roy Berko

(Member:  Cleveland Critics Circle, American Theatre Critics Association)
 
Since THE ROPE DANCERS, the first play it produced over 60 years ago, Dobama has been known for staging alternative works that would not otherwise be seen in Cleveland. 

Their stages have been lit up by such plays as TRUE WEST, CATCH 22, ROOTS, GOD OF CARNAGE, 4000 MILES, THE FLICK, AN OCTOROON, HAND TO GOD, and the first professional area production of ANGELS IN AMERICA.

Cleveland’s off-Broadway theatre is now presenting the 2021 Pulitzer Prize for Drama THE HOT WING KING.

Though the Katori Hall script received mixed receptions in early stagings, the Pulitzer recognition citation described the play as "a funny, deeply felt consideration of Black masculinity and how it is perceived, filtered through the experiences of a loving gay couple and their extended family.”

When I think of Pulitzer Prize winning plays, such classics as OUR TOWN, A STREETCAR NAMED DESIRE, DEATH OF A SALSESMAN,’night Mother, PROOF and WHAT THE CONSTITUION MEANS TO ME come to mind.  Though it has some poignant moments, THE HOT WING KING is not a script of that quality.

The play follows Cordell (Wesley Allen), his boyfriend, and their friends in Memphis preparing for the annual "Hot Wang Festival.”  Cordell’s kitchen is a flurry of activity as his boyfriend, Dwayne (Corin B. Self), their close friends Isom (Charles Mayhew Miller) and Big Charles (Syrmylin Cartwright), are busy marinating, frying, and carrying on in a bid to make him a winner of the annual hot wing competition. 
 
When Dwayne’s nephew, TJ (Prophet Seay), the son of his sister who died of an overdose, shows up, the subject of Cordell’s marriage to a female and his two sons come-forth, it becomes a recipe for angst.

“I am thrilled to further the conversation around what makes a family in Northeast Ohio, especially in the black queer community,” says Director Sheffia Randall-Nickerson. “Navigating my own blended and chosen family these several years made the story behind THE HOT WING KING especially compelling!”
 
Dobama’s production is basically well-conceived…many performances are on-point.  The emotional levels, especially in the dramatic scenes when Cordell and Dwayne clash over their relationship, and the subject of whether they will allow TJ to move into their house comes up, the play hits its emotional peaks.  
 
Other times there is almost a begging for laughs.  Part of this is the cause of the uneven script, other times overdone flamboyance takes over and takes away from the script’s message. 
 
Cameron Caley Michalak’s realistic whole house set is meticulously designed and executed.  Vanessa Cook did an outstanding job of acquiring the many authentic props.  
 
As is often the case at the extremely long and narrow Dobama acting space, speeches were lost due to the lack of consistent projection.
 
CAPSULE JUDGMENT:  The 135- minute play, with intermission, is filled with many moments of laughs and angst, enough to hold the audience’s attention.  In spite of this, the sometimes soap opera-like script just doesn’t garner the quality to be expected from a Pulitzer Prize winning script.  Go, see, but realize that ANGELS IN AMERICA this is not!  
 
Performances are Thursdays through Sunday from January 24-February 16, 2024. Evening performances are at 7:30pm and matinees at 2:30pm. For a complete performance schedule, ticket prices, and reservations, call the Dobama Theatre box office at 216-932-3396. Ask about the "pay-what-you-can" performances.


Some forthcoming area productions include:  
 
2/14-3/9—Beck Center--WAITRESS-- Baldwin Wallace Music Theatre Program Collaboration directed by Victoria Bussert.  The story of Jenna, the titular waitress and expert pie-maker who dreams of a way out of her small town and rocky marriage.
 
2/7th-23—Ensemble--HENRIK IBSEN’S ‘ENEMY OF THE PEOPLE’ A RUSTBELT ADAPTATION-- What inspires people to action? Can scientific discovery mobilize outcomes when economic opportunities are at stake and fear is pervasive? Will a scientist sacrifice everything, her job, her friends, her family--for the truth? Or is she just the enemy of the people?

2/7-3/2—Great Lakes Theater--PETER AND THE STARCATCHER— Set sail to explore the Neverland you never knew with this Tony Award-winning prequel that charts a course through Peter’s untold escapades. A dozen actors portray over 100 unforgettable characters in this high-flying adventure bursting with imagination and ingenious stagecraft.

2/6-3/2—Ohio Shakespeare Festival--ROMEO & JULIET--Two dignified households, two star-crossed lovers, and one famous balcony.
 
2/4-23—Key Bank Series--PARADE-- The Tony Award-winning musical drama is based on the true story of the trial and lynching, in early 20^th-century Atlanta, of Jewish factory manager, Leo Frank, who was accused of murdering a teenaged factory girl the day of the annual Confederate Memorial Day parade.
 

“Electrifying PARADE pays homage to the pain of prejudice!

 

PARADE, which is now on stage at the Palace Theatre as part of the Key Bank Broadway series, is a musical with a book by Alfred Uhry and music and lyrics by Jason Robert Brown.   It is a dramatization of the 1913 trial and imprisonment, and 1915 lynching, of Jewish-American Leo Frank. But the story goes well-beyond what appears on stage.  Besides encapsulating the pain of American history, and paying homage to a man convicted and murdered for a crime he did not commit, it lays forth the tale that reinvigorated the Ku Klux Klan and brought about the birth of the Anti-Defamation League, a Jewish international non-government organization based on civil rights law and the defense against the defamation of Jewish people. The musical premiered on Broadway in December, 1998, and won Tony Awards for Best Book and Best Original Score.   The show was Brown's first Broadway production. The show’s music, has been noted as, "subtle and appealing melodies that draw on a variety of influences, from pop-rock to folk to rhythm and blues and gospel.”  The intriguing sounds and words are one of the most superb story-telling blending of melodies and compositions yet created in the dramatic tales presently being highlighted on theatrical stages.   Like such modern classics as RENT, DEAR EVAN HANSEN, CABARET, A CHORUS LINE, NEXT TO NORMAL, COME FROM AWAY, RAGTIME and HAMILTON, PARADE uses the art form to tell a tale of significant importance.   While other musical dramas take-on mental health, historical events, social causes, and sexual orientation this script confronts the modern-day angst of prejudice. PARADE takes the audience from the events which lead up to, and then through the 1913 trial of Leo Frank, a New York-native who is the superintendent of a pencil factory in Atlanta, who was convicted of the murder of a 13-year-old girl.   With Frank convicted in the first act, the second act takes us through the appeals of the verdict and his ultimate murder.    When, in 1915, Frank's death sentence was commuted to life in prison by the departing Governor of Georgia, John M. Slaton, due to his detailed review of over 10,000 pages of testimony and possible problems with the trial, Leo Frank was transferred to a prison in Milledgeville, Georgia, where a lynching party kidnapped him. Frank was taken to the victim’s hometown of Marietta, Georgia, and hanged from an oak tree.  The musical's story implies that the likely killer was the factory janitor Jim Conley, the key witness against Frank at the trial. The other villains of the piece are the ambitious and corrupt prosecutor Hugh Dorsey (later the governor of Georgia and then a judge) and the rabidly antisemitic publisher Tom Watson (later elected a U.S. senator). The touring company, a follow-up to the show’s recent Broadway revival, is meticulously staged by Tony Award winning director, Michael Arden.   He has taken the rewritten script and added his own interpretation of the staging concept. Shaker Heights native, Max Chernin, is nothing less that astounding as Leo Frank.  He does not portray the character; he inhabits his persona.  His up-tight, hand-wringing, Yankee frustration with Southern tradition, especially the Jewish southern attitudes, is encompassing.  He does not give a copy of Ben Platt, who recently played the role in the 2023 Broadway revival, he presents his own impressive interpretation.  His vocals "How Can I Call This Home?" and "It's Hard to Speak My Heart!" were spell-binding. Though, at times, it seems like Talia Suskauer, who plays Franks wife, Lucille, shows little depth of love for her husband, her powerful “You Don’t Know This Man,” is a show highlight. The rest of cast forms an excellent support for the tale, with strong southern values and loyalties.  The vocalizations are all excellent. Dane Laffrey’s set, which uses every inch of the stage, seems too busy, large and overly decorated for the space, giving an almost a cluttered feeling.  Capsule judgment:  In the present era of rising antisemitism in this country, PARADE stands as a vivid reminder of the past history of such hideous actions.  The touring company, headed by local actor Max Chernin, is a compelling production that deserves respect and accolades by paying homage to the pain of prejudice. PARADE continues through February 23, 2024.  Tickets are currently still available for all performances and can be purchased by calling 216-241-6000 or online at playhousesquare.org