Porthouse Theatre’s SCHOOL OF ROCK proves that “the show must go on!”

What happens when a musical film earns over $131-million on a $35-million-dollar investment?  If you are Andrew Lloyd Webber, you buy the rights and turn it into the stage musical, SCHOOL OF ROCK, with lyrics by Glenn Slater and book by Julian Fellowes. 

 

What happens when a lead actor experiences an accelerated heart beat mid-production and can’t continue in the show?  In the case of Porthouse Theatre, you pause the show, ask the audience if there is a medical person in attendance, then 20-minutes later, following the old theater adage, “the show must go on,” continue the staging with another actor, script in hand, acting and singing to the delight of the audience and wonderment of this reviewer!

 

So, what’s it all about? 

 

The musical starts with a performance by the No Vacancy Band.  Dewey Finn (Douglas F. Bailey II), who has an ADHD-type personality, has difficulty pulling back his exuberance and keeps upstaging the lead performer.  Enough is enough, and he is kicked out of the group.

 

With no income, he moves in with and mooches off Ned (Morgan Thomas-Mills), his long-time easily manipulated college band buddy, and part-time teacher, much to the irritation of Patty (Kiara Sylvie Durbin), Ned’s domineering girl- friend. 

 

When a call comes for Ned to substitute at Horace Green, a prestigious prep school, Dewey accidentally answers the phone and sees a chance for some much-needed money by posing as Ned. Despite the doubts of Rosalie Mullins (Audra Casebier), the uptight principal, he gets the gig.

 

The kids are wary of him, especially the uber-organized Summer (Parker Towns).  He also has to confront the problems of Tomika (Ava Kimble), the extremely shy daughter of gay men, who turns out to be a superstar singer; Zack (Elliott Wancata), the son of an uptight businessman who doesn’t realize his son is a musical prodigy; Lawrence (Josh DiSantis), who has no confidence, but is a keyboard wizard; Freddie (Axel Schmidt) who everyone thinks is intellectually slow, but once he gets a pair of drum sticks in his hand, he shows how talented he really is; and Billy (Mason Cooper Brosch), who is flamboyant, has an interest in fashion design, but is not appreciated by his macho father.  Each of the other kids also has untapped talent which the creative Dewey brings out through non-traditional means.

 

Dewey decides to enter them in the Battle of the Bands.  They get to the tryouts after sneaking out of school, but they arrive after the deadline time to play in the qualification round.  Summer, the brainiac, tells the casting director that all the children have an illness called “stickittothemanis,” pleads for some mercy. The manager lets the kids perform. 

 

What follows is a series of manipulations, implausible coincidences, and some out and out stretching of dramatic license.  The result?  Farce running wild and the audience having a heck of a good time.

 

Do they win the Battle of the Bands?  That’s not important.  What is significant, is that Dewey and the kids find love and self-respect and new parental understanding for these geeky kids.

 

The musical score, which includes iconic songs from the film, adds well-crafted additional theatrical melodies.  Among the show stoppers are, “You’re in the Band,” “Stick it to the Man,” “Math is a Wonderful Thing,” and “School of Rock.”  Throw in “If Only You Would Listen” and “Time to Play,” and you have the makings of a solid score.

 

A positive staging of SCHOOL OF ROCK requires adorable music-talented kids, an uninhibited slacker dude to portray Dewey, an on-point rock band, and creative staging. 

 

Fortunately, theater director Terri Kent and choreographer Martin Céspedes have found most of the right ingredients.

 

In the original production, most of the kids played musical instruments to the awe of the audience.  In this staging only four of the munchkins actually play, with Jennifer Korecki and her off-stage band providing back-up. 

 

Considering how hard it is to find 5^th graders who can proficiently play musical instruments, it is an acceptable method of meeting one of the scripts challenges.

 

Even with this needed solution, begging the question, why?, several of non-instrumental kid cast members are way too old to be elementary students, and some of the Ensemble are too young to be playing the parents of the kids.

 

Douglas F. Bailey II did the role of irrepressible Dewey in excellent production of SCHOOL OF ROCK at Cain Park several summers ago.  He was “slacker perfect” in that presentation.  Therefore, I was a little off-put in early scenes when he dialed down the broad farce in this production.  Now I realize why the characterization was somewhat off when, during the second act the show was halted and we eventually found out that Bailey was ill and couldn’t continue to the final curtain. (Morgan Thomas-Mills, did the last scenes, sing and acting” with script in-hand.  (BTW…he was quite good and, if the director hadn’t wanted to have a look-alike of Jack Black, who played Dewey in the film version, Thomas-Mills would have creditably played the role.)

 

Special kudos to Josh DiSantis, Parker Towns and Ava Kimble for well-crafting their roles and to all the rest of the kids in the cast for their nicely textured performances.

 

As is usually an issue at Porthouse, due to the open walls of the tent-like theatre, the sound was an issue.

 

The last scene where the kids and Dewey really break loose should have found them in funky rock costumes, not in assorted garments which looked like they were scarfed together.

 

In the long run, at-least not on the rain-filled Sunday matinee, where many of the audience brought bouquets of flowers to give their children after the standing ovation curtain call, did anything matter except for the fact that the show went on.

 

Capsule judgment:  SCHOOL OF ROCK is a fun-filled show with a moral message. The Porthouse production was nicely done, in spite of some age-casting problems and a mid-production medical issue. The music rocked.  The cast entertained.  It’s the kind of show that audience’s love.  

 

SCHOOL OF ROCK runs through August 3, 2024 in the Porthouse Theatre on the grounds of Blossom Music Center.  For tickets call 330-672-3884 or go online to www.porthousetheatre.com.

 

 

 

KIMBERLY AKIMBO—a pleasant theatrical experience at the Connor Palace

 

Offerings of the musical theater cover a vast array of topics.  There is the tale of the young prince who wants to find his “Corner of the sky” (PIPPIN), the flower girl who wants to be a lady (MY FAIR LADY), and the dairy man who has a life ruled by tradition (FIDDLER ON THE ROOF).   Then there is KIMBERLY AKIMBO, now on stage at the Palace Theatre as part of the Broadway series, in which the title character suffers from a rare, fatal disorder that also causes accelerated aging.  KIMBERLY AKIMBO is a 2023 Tony Award-winning musical with lyrics and book by David Lindsay-Abaire and music by Jeanie Tesori.  The show's premiere production opened Off-Broadway on December 8, 2021.  It moved to Broadway on November 9, 2022.  It won five Tony Awards. The reviews stated that, “While some will find the show deeply moving and funny, others feel it falls flat with generic songs.” “KIMBERLY AKIMBO is a show that elicits strong opinions, with many praising its unique concept, strong performances, and heartwarming message, while others will find issues with its pacing, music, and uneven tone.”  And, “It seems to be a show that resonates deeply with some audiences while leaving others feeling underwhelmed.” The story starts at an ice-skating rink in Bergen County, New Jersey.   We are quickly introduced to Kimberly Leveco (Carolee Carmello), an obviously lonely “teenage girl” who has a disease which causes her to age four and a half times as fast as normal, thus trapping her inside the physical body of an elderly woman.  We also meet Seth (Miguel Gil), an employee of the rink, a tuba player, and a quirky outsider.  Also present are Delia (Grace Capeless), Martin (Darron Hayes), Teresa (Skye Alyssa Friedman) and Aaron (Piece Wheeler) a quartet of high schoolers who are members of their school’s show choir, but seem like fringe members of the general school society, who cling to each other for security.    Further into the tale we meet Kim’s alcoholic father (Jim Hogan), her neurotic pregnant mother (Laura Woyasz) who has numerous imagined real physical and psychological illnesses, and her delinquent Aunt Debra (Emily Koch), a schemer who is always just one step ahead of the law.   Kimberly not only has to handle her being the new kid in town with no friends and her illness, but navigate the world of her neurotic mother, drunkard father and felony-prone aunt.  In spite of it all, she is determined “to find happiness in a world where not even time is on her side.” She is befriended by Seth, and her life changes for the better.  In what might be identified as a book weakness, the reason for his attraction to her is not revealed, as are many other actions and character traits in the story, but, this is a fantasy musical tale, so we just accept the issues as author’s license.  Of course, problems develop.  Aunt Debra talks the teens into joining her in stealing checks from the Postal Service, altering and cashing them.  Dad promises to stop drinking and doesn’t.  Mom develops yet another illness.  Kim tells Seth about her illness as part of a class Biology assignment.  Her illness catches up to Kim and she is hospitalized and it looks like she will never get to find happiness before she ages out. An affair between mom and the next-door neighbor is revealed.   Kim and Seth steal the family car and the money fleeced from the check kiting and go off in search of happiness but are thwarted by a hippo and other animals.  (Yep, that really happens!) The touring company cast is excellent.   Miguel Gil is adorably charming and geek-right.  Emily Koch has the right “mafia-light” touch. Laura Woyasz is correctly neurotic.  Jim Hogan switches moods and personas with ease.  The quartet sings well and develops clear characters.   Though Carolee Carmello develops a clear character and sings well it might be wonderful, since she is definitely not a teenager, and displays bodily movments of the age of a mature women, if a younger actress would be more appropriate in the role. The set is rather skimpy.  The music is well performed.  The sound system is poor.    With its small cast, easily performed music, and need for little scenery, don’t be surprised to see this script, after it is released for amateur productions, to see it being staged by numerous little and community theatres.   CAPSULE JUDGEMENT:  The script will never be compared other teen-centered musicals such as WEST SIDE STORY or DEAR EVAN HANSEN or even HAIRSPRAY, but the story is interesting, the touring-show is well performed and all-in-all, it makes for a pleasing evening of theater. Tickets for the show which runs through Sunday, August 3, 2025,  are still available for all performances and can be purchased by calling 216-241-6000 or online at playhousesquare.org.

YOU’RE A GOOD MAN, CHARLIE BROWN ”kind ‘of” misses the mark on Porthouse stag

 

Few realize that when reading a Peanuts comic strip, watching a television show based on the writings of Charles M. Schulz, or seeing the theatrical YOU’RE A GOOD MAN CHARLIE BROWN, a version of which is now on stage at Porthouse Theatre, that they are being exposed to the author’s religious sensibility.

Schultz, a conservative Protestant, believed that only through “sharing of burdens and triumphs and fears and joys a person could navigate the immense challenges of life.” 

An examination of the five decades' worth of Peanuts comic strips, inspired Robert L. Short’s to write a series of books of "popular theology", “The Gospel According to Peanuts” and “The Parables of Peanuts.”

YOU'RE A GOOD MAN, CHARLIE BROWN, with music and lyrics by Clark Gesner, opened off-Broadway) on March 7, 1967, staring Gary Burghoff (who went on to be Radar on M*A*S*H) as Charlie Brown.  It ran 1,597 performances. 

The show was revived on Broadway in 1999. This production, with additional music and lyrics by Andrew Lippa and dialogue by Michael Mayer, attempted to add a playfulness which, according to the producers, was not fully developed in the original script. 

 It also introduced audiences to Anthony Rapp (Charlie Brown), who went on to originate the lead role of Mark Cohen in Broadway’s RENT and Kristen Chenoweth (Sally Brown), who went on to originate the role of Glinda in the 2003 musical WICKED.
 
What’s it all about?  Charlie Brown and the entire Peanuts gang explore life's great questions as they play baseball, struggle with homework, sing songs, swoon over their crushes and celebrate the joy of friendship. 

Through brief vignettes, spanning the months from Valentine’s Day to Beethoven Day, from wild optimism to utter despair we watch as bossy Lucy who is hopelessly in love with piano prodigy Schroeder who doesn’t give her the time of day, as perfectionist Sally mocks blanket-toting Linus, as Snoopy on his doghouse, and the “blockhead,” himself, Charlie Brown, who is in love with the “little red headed girl” all blunder through life. 

Shultz’s bottom line is that persistence wins out.  “Charlie Brown often lost, failed at much, but he never gave up. Even though he knew Lucy was going to pull the football away before he could kick it.... even though he knew the tree was going to eat his kite…he persists.”  When he watches as Lucy “teach” her little brother, Linus the “truths” of life, such as “You can also determine a young elm tree's age by counting its leaves,” “snow comes up out of the ground like grass  and the wind blows it around to make it look like it's falling,” and “the way grass grows involves insects tugging seedlings to the point that they grow to their adult state,” he responds by beating his head against a tree, which, according to Lucy, “will loosen the bark and make the tree grow.”

The difficulty of staging a show like YAGMCB is not apparent.  It has a small cast, little orchestra, one simple set, no costume changes.  Easy, huh?  Nope!  Adults, even young adults, often have difficulty being children.  Simple songs can have complex meanings.  The music must have an underplay of youthful joy.

The Porthouse production, under the direction of Amy Fritsche, is pleasant enough but, in spite of clever choreography and some fun schticks, it lacks the child-like wonder, emotional happiness, and emphasis on the joys of life that makes a script like this grab and hold the emotions of an audience.
 
The most of the cast acts at being children, not being children. They don’t really live in each of their character’s worlds, they pretend to be their characters.

From its opening notes, the music is played way too seriously and there is a lack of child-like wonderment of life. This is not PHANTOM OF THE OPERA.

Highlight numbers include “My Blanket and Me,” and “Beethoven Day.”  

The most realistic performances are given by Cole Stellato as Schroeder and Drew Fitzgerald as Linus.

The set design, which is wisely decorated in crayon primary colors, causes problems for the audiences seated extreme left and right.  They can’t see into the hollowed-out center of the backwall, so the actions that take place in that area can’t be seen.

Capsule judgment:  YOU’RE A GOOD MAN, CHARLIE BROWN, in spite of its appearing to be an easy script to stage, is quite complex.  The Porthouse production is pleasant, but misses out on creating some of the joy of childhood and the textured realities of the Peanuts gang.

YOU’RE A GOOD MAN, CHARLIE BROWN runs July 4-12, 2024 at Porthouse Theatre, on the grounds of Blossom Music Center.  For tickets call 330-672-3884 or go online to www.porthousetheatre.com.  (Note that this is NOT a children’s show.)
 
NEXT UP AT PORTHOUSE:  SCHOOL OF ROCK, July 18-August 3, 2025.

 

Beck’s THE ROBBER BRIDEGROOM encapsulates pseudo-violence, desire, innocence in blue-grass and farce    Like the old tale, my lord: "it is not so, nor `t was not so; but, indeed, God forbid it should be so."   The intimate Beck’s Studio Theatre is a perfect venue for meeting and greeting THE ROBBER BRIDEGROOM a blue-grass, farcical musical with a book and lyrics by Alfred Uhry and music by Robert Waldman.    The story is based on the 1942 novella by Eudora Welty, which is based on a German fairy tale by the Brother Grimm.      This is a tale of a wealthy businessman, his shrewish second-wife, his beautiful spoiled daughter, a handsome but dastardly polite bandit and a bunch of legendary figures, some real and some invented by Eudora Welty, that takes place in the Natchez Trace.  (Yippie, do-da day!) The first Broadway production, which was directed by Lorain, Ohio native Gerald Freedman, who later headed the Great Lakes Theater, opened in a limited engagement on October 7, 1975.   It ran for 14 performances and 1 preview before setting out on a one-year US national tour. Its success on the road convinced the producers to mount a revamped Big Apple production with an extended book and expanded, heavily bluegrass-tinged score. The music, deemed "country and southern" was arranged for guitar, fiddle, mandolin, bass and banjo. (Yah, that there twangy sound!) This second Broadway production opened on October 9, 1976 where it ran for 145 performances and 12 previews.  The tale starts with Clemment Musgrove, the wealthiest planter on the Natchez Trace arriving in town only to have all of the townsfolk trying to steal his money. He finally makes it to a hotel. Little Harp, a largely unsuccessful robber, plots with his brother, Big Harp, who is only a head that he keeps in a briefcase, about how they can steal Musgrove's money.  (You think two heads are better than one?) The duo eventually devisies a plan in which they will  kill him in his sleep. (Owww...scary!) Jamie Lockhart, rescues Musgrove from the Harps by tricking Little Harp into thinking that he killed them and their ghosts attack him. Grateful, Musgrove invites Jamie to his home for dinner and for the chance to meet and woo his greatest treasure, his daughter, Rosamund. (Daddy...the matchmaker.) Farce is difficult to do.  Many parts of the Beck production, directed by Scott Spence, which has great choreography and musical staging by Lauren Marousek, are nicely set up for the telling of the ridiculous, melodramatic tale of overwrought and unbelievable love and lust.  Others are missing.  It features a fine, though, at times overly loud enthusiastic orchestra (Evan Kleve, David Nicholson, Jesse Hogson, Michael Simile and Jason Stebelton), which sometimes drowns out the words of the songs, under the direction of Larry Goodpaster.   Standout cast members are Nic Rhew as Jamie Lockhart, the Gentleman Robber, who possesses a fine singing voice, and, as required, is tall, dark and handsome, Izzy Baker, as the blonde, beautiful, air-headed femme-fatale Rosamund, the daughter of the wealthy Clemment Musgrove, and Jordan Potter, as Musgrove, the wealthy planter.  Seth Crawford, he of slight body and puppy-dog eyes, over-does, much to the audience’s delight, the roll of Goat, the “dumb boy” who is enlisted by her step-mother Salome (Ruby Moncrief-Karten) to carry out her ill-planned scheme to kill Rosamund.  Too bad others didn’t take Crawford’s lead, or weren’t directed to let totally loose. Trad A Burns must have cleaned out all of the antique shops in Lakewood in order to build the marvelously ambitious rustic set! Capsule judgement:  THE ROBBERBRIDGE GROOM is a farcical, nonsensical piece of blue-grass musical theatre fluff, which gets a” funish” production at Beck. The show runs through June 29, 2025.  For tickets call 216-521-2540 or go to beckcenter.org Next up at Beck:  7/11-8/10—CHORUS LINE—The dance centric musical that changed the American musical theatre.  Picture a bare stage, and all the dreams of Broadway performers lay before you. This time, you “gotta get it,” in honor of the 50th anniversary of this Broadway favorite.   (A classic that must be seen and reseen!)   A BELATED CONGRATULATIONS TO EDWARD GALLLAHER ON HIS APPOINTMENT AS PRESIDENT & CHIEF EXECUTIVE, LARRY GOODPASTER AS VICE PRESIDENT OF OPERATIONS, and JULIE GILLILAND, VICE PRESIDENT OF INSTITUTIONAL ADVANCMENT AT BECK CENTER FOR THE ARTS.

Preview of FIDDLER ON THE ROOF at Porthouse

 

At the age of fifteen Solomon Rabinovich adopted the pseudonym  “Sholem Aleichem,” a Yiddish variant of the Hebrew expression meaning "peace be with you" and used as a greeting.   As an adult he was a European “folkshrayer” (a folk-story teller) who wrote over forty volumes in Yiddish thereby becoming a central figure in Jewish literature, best remembered for his fictional confessions, letters, and monologues.   In spite of the success of FIDDLER ON THE ROOF today, Sholem Aleichem was not a successful playwright in the US in his lifetime.  When he came to the US, near the turn of the 20th century, his plays were not well received because they were “old fashioned” and about experiences the newly arrived immigrants wanted to forget.    Success came three years after his death, when the Yiddish theater actor, Maurice Schwartz, did an adaptation of Aleichem’s TEVYE DER MILKHIKER, which consists of 8 of his tragic-comic stories.   Each of the tales had a farcical plot, employing stylistic humor, with a serious under-belly.  In a classically rabbinic manner, Tevye, the main character, tells stories about his village of Anatevka and life with his wife Golda and his five daughters.  He asks questions of God and sprinkles his speeches with “biblical verses.”  Some of these are mangled and others are just made up.  Of the eight Tevye stories, five were later woven into the script of the musical, FIDDLER ON THE ROOF, which became a Tony award winning musical.   Mistakenly, many believe FIDDLER is a translation of a play written in Yiddish (Jewish).  It is not!  The musical was written in English and is based on a compellation of Aleichem’s stories. It was not until 2018, when the National Yiddish Theatre, Folksbiene, mounted a Yiddish adaptation entitled FIDLER AFN DAKH that FIDDLER was spoken and sung in Jewish.   The musical takes place in Tsarist Russia in 1905.  Tevye attempts to maintain traditions while outside influences encroach upon century-long patterns.  His three older daughters each make life changing decisions, which moves them further from customs of their faith, and an edict from the Tsar, that evicts the Jews from their village, further destroys life as Tevye has known it.   When Joseph Stein, Sheldon Harnick and Jerry Bock joined forces to write FIDDLER ON THE ROOF, now recognized as one of the greatest of American musicals, they did so in order to create an homage to their heritage.  A heritage which included hundreds of years of Jews in eastern Europe, whose life style and lives had been destroyed by pogroms (uprisings), forced evacuations, and ultimately by the “final solution,” the Holocaust.     Traditions are the guts of the life of these people, for, as Tevya, the central character indicates, "A fiddler on the roof. Sounds crazy, no. But in our little village, you might say everyone is a fiddler on the roof. You might ask, 'if it's so dangerous there, why do we stay up?' Because Anatevka is our home. And how do we keep our balance? That I can tell you in one word: Tradition!”    The original Broadway production, which opened in 1964, was the first run of a musical to surpass the 3,000-performance mark. In spite of original doubts that it would only be of interest to Jewish audiences, the show has been extraordinarily financially profitable and well-received.  The original production was nominated for ten Tony Awards, winning nine, spawned four Broadway revivals, a film adaptation, and countless international, community and school productions, one of which is now on stage at Porthouse Theatre. It may surprise many to know that FIDDLER almost didn’t make it to Broadway. The show’s out-of-town tryouts were met with many of the audience walking out of the theaters before the final curtain.   When Jerome Robbins came in as the new director the problem was unearthed.  He asked what the show was about.  The usual answer was “a dairyman and his marriageable daughters.”  It’s is recounted that Robbins said, “No, no, no, that’s no good.” Someone said, “It’s about the dissolution of traditions, a way of life.”  Robbins responded, “Yes, that’s it.  We have to establish the traditions at the beginning and then the audience will see how they’re breaking down.  That’s the show!  The song has to set up the major theme of the villagers trying to keep their society running as the world around them changes.  It sets the show on a clear journey and the audience’s bought into the tale.”  Instead of walking out, they started to give it standing ovations and a clear path to Broadway and beyond.                          The song “Tradition” (“Traditsye”) replaced the original opening, “We’ve Never Missed a Sabbath Yet” which showed the frantic preparations for the Sabbath but not clearly enough to understand what was to come, which is a requirement for an opening song of a musical.     Robbins added the circle entrance, holding hands, introducing the unity of people of Anatevka.  He then enhanced the theme by adding lots of ferocious dancing, including the bottle and bar dances, to express Jewish robustness and resilience.   It may surprise many that the now famous bottle dance is not a Jewish wedding tradition.     Robbins did “field research” for Fiddler by attending Orthodox Jewish weddings and festivals where he was thrilled with the men's dancing.  He observed one man entertaining the participants by tottering around with a bottle on his head pretending to be drunk.  Research revealed that what the man was doing a traditional Paraguayan dance.  Robbins combined that idea with Klezmer music and the now famous bottle dance sequence came to life.  (“To life, to life, l’chaim.”)   The script went through many titles including TEVYE, A VILLAGE STORY, TO LIFE, ONCE THERE WAS A TOWN, and WHERE POPPA CAME FROM.  Finally, the producers settled on the painting "The Fiddler" by Marc Chagall, one of many surreal paintings he created of Eastern European Jewish life.  The fiddler is a metaphor for survival, through tradition and joyfulness, in a life of uncertainty and imbalance.  Chagall’s art was also the inspiration for the original sets for the show.   The story is carried through not only words, but significant and meaningful music and lyrics.  The score includes such classics as “Matchmaker,” “If I Were a Rich Man,” “To Life,” and “Sunrise, Sunset.”   Confession:  Inadvertently, I came to the show the night of the preview performance, a no-no for reviewers.  The comments which follow must be tempered by my not giving the performers and musicians the opportunity to properly prepare for being reviewed.   The role of Tevya will normally be played by Porthouse favorite and Kent State faculty member, Tom Culver.  His understudy, Baldwin Wallace University vocal performance major, Aiden Eddy, performed the role at the preview.  Eddy has a powerful and well-trained voice.  He is a loving Tevya, much in the pattern of Broadway’s Luther Adler and the film’s Topol.  Though there were laughs, he does not play for them through exaggeration as Harvey Fierstein and Zero Mostel did when they played the role.  The scenes where Tevya’s resolves are tested are well-interpreted with sincerity and emotional confusion.  If it was not announced that he was understudy he would have been more than accepted as the “for-real” Tevya.)   The production started with a twist on the norm:  a Hebrew blessing, which was entirely appropriate, set a perfect tone for cuing the audience to the serious underpinning of the tale.  The perfectly pronounced and cantorial sound of Noam Siegel, the recipient of the Dr. Roy Berko Endowed Commemorative Scholarship, was inspiring.   Tevye’s older daughters’ Tzeitel (Marianna Young), Hodel (Ellie Stark) and Chava (Chloe Lee Hall) were all excellent.  Stark’s character development and her vocal rendition “Far From the Home I Love” was a show highlight.   In most productions, the Fiddler appears at the beginning and end of the tale.  Not so with Terri Kent’s inventive direction.  Fiddler Jared Morisue-Lesser, was intertwined within the tale, thus highlighting the importance of continued adherence to tradition throughout the show.     This bowing to tradition was also displayed in actors’ touching the mezuzah (a prayer scroll placed on the doorpost of a Jewish homes) and then kissing the fingers in respect to God, the appropriate wearing of prayer shawls and male head coverings, the kissing of a prayerbook when it was picked up after it was dropped on the floor, and the conservative women’s clothing.   The show’s highlight is Martin Céspedes’s inventive choreography.  Every scene sparkled with meaningful movement.  Mazal tov!   Many of the cast needed to keep in mind that there is a cadence to the way Yiddish, the language of the residences of Anatevka, is spoken.  It is not an accent, but a rhythm.  Accents need not be used, but the cadence is necessary to help create the “tam,” the taste, of the script.   Jennifer Korecki’s large orchestra was cantorial and klezmer-correct, but, at times, needed some work on the blending of sounds.  This should come as the group plays the run-of the-show.   CAPSULE JUDGEMENT:  Reviewing a preview performance of a show is a disservice to the director, choreographer, musicians and cast.  Usually this is the first chance to perform before and get used to an audience’s presence.  But, seeing a preview, I did, and I was pleased that Director Terri Kent and choreographer Martin Cespedes’s FIDDLER, was generally set and ready, only needing little polishing needed in vocal cadence, keying and waiting for laughs, and some musical blending.     FIDDLER ON THE ROOF runs until August 11 at Porthouse Theatre, on the grounds of Blossom Music Center.  For tickets call 330-672-3884 or go online to www.porthousetheatre.com.   NEXT UP AT PORTHOUSE:  YOU’RE A GOOD MAN, CHARLIE BROWN, a musical based on the “Peanuts” comic strip.  (Note that this is NOT a children’s show.)

PREVIEWS: I'M PUTTING MY ACT TOGETHER AND PUTTING IT ON THE ROAD & CHURCHILL AT WAR

 

I’M GETTING MY ACT TOGETHER AND TAKING IT ON THE ROAD 

 
Gretchen Cryer (Book and Lyrics) and Nancy Ford (Composer), whose I’M GETTING MY ACT TOGETHER AND TAKING IT ON THE ROAD which will soon be locally staged by The Musical Theater Project, are known for their “firsts.”  They were the first female writing team in the history of American musical theater and the duo’s NOW IS THE TIME FOR ALL GOOD MEN (1967) was the first anti-war musical of the Vietnam era.  
 
Their family revues for American Girl—two surveys of strong young women against the backdrop of American history—played over a 10-year period in New York, Chicago and Los Angeles. Another saga celebrated a free-spirited female teenager, ANNE OF GREEN GABLES, was based on Lucy Maude Montgomery’s 1908 novel.  Other creations include ELEANOR: A MUSICAL FANTASY (about Eleanor Roosevelt), STILL GETTING MY ACT TOGETHER,
 (the sequel to their 1978 show), and HANG ON TO THE GOOD TIMES (a musical revue). 
 
As a musical theater historian once pointed out, what makes the Cryer-Ford collaboration unique is that “they have always brought an intensely individual voice to all of their works. They have never been, nor are they ever likely to be, creators who can adapt themselves to concepts other than their own; their songs and librettos have all shown marked originality in both subject matter and viewpoints, as they have consistently reflected the collaborators’ mutual attitudes and deep concerns.”                           
 
I’M GETTING MY ACT TOGETHER AND TAKING IT ON THE ROAD, which is a look at sexual politics, was an international success.  It had a three-year, 1,000-performance run, in New York and was a milestone in the integration of pop-rock and musical theater. 
 
Generally considered a feminist vehicle, I’M GETTING MY ACT TOGETHER AND TAKING IT ON THE ROAD, which was a controversial sensation in the late ’70s, is the story of a 39-year-old singer-songwriter who is making a comeback, throwing out “the crap of the past” – her commercial sex kitten image – in order to forge a new identity, writing songs that express how she really feels and who she really is. Her manager (a former lover) is appalled. He likes her the way she used to be and says he can’t sell this new woman. They battle it out to a bittersweet  conclusion.

The score includes such compositions as “Smile,” “In a Simple Way I Love You,” “If Only Things Were Different, ““Lonely Lady, “Old Friend” and ‘Dear Tom.”

Original reviews of the show called it “Brash, funny, very agreeable… it touches a special emotional chord for our times” and “The lyrics, and the music, are effortless.”  
 
The performers in The Musical Theater Project production, which will take place on Friday, June 27 and Saturday, June 28 at 7:30 pm and Sunday, June 29 at 3 pm, are: Joe--CHRIS RICHARDS, Heather--NATALIE GREEN, Alice--MARIAH BURKS, Cheryl--JENNIE NASSER, Jake (Acoustic Guitar) --BENSON ANDERSON, Piano--NANCY MAIER, Keyboard/Synthesizer--DANIEL MAIER, Electric Guitar--MICHAEL SIMILE, Bass--JASON STEBELTON and Drums/Percussion--JUSTIN HART.
 
Tickets are $50 (plus fees) per person for assigned seating. To purchase tickets, go to musicaltheater project.org.   (For a 50% discount on reserved tickets insert the word BERKO on the order form.)

The performances are at Dobama Theatre, 2340 Lee Rd, Cleveland Heights, OH 44118. The building may be accessed from the back parking lot, the front of the building facing Lee Road, and by the pedestrian bridge over Lee Road. Be aware that the pedestrian bridge is only open during the Heights Library operating hours. Please visit the Library website for specific hours. The theatre may be accessed by stairs or by a public access elevator.
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World Premiere of CHURCHILL AT WAR at Actors Summit

The world premiere of CHURCHILL AT WAR is being staged by Actors Summit.  
 
The 90-minute one-person show, which is written by Neil Thackaberry, will star Peter Voinovich.
 
The tale, which is a tribute to one of the world’s greatest leaders, takes the audience deep into the early military experiences that shaped Winston Churchill’s leadership, along with the stirring speeches and sharp wit that defined his legacy. The play paints a vivid portrait of a man whose words and courage changed the course of history.
 
The staging, which will be directed by Thackaberry, will be performed on June 20-29 at Greystone Hall, 103 S High Street in Akron.  Performances are scheduled at 7:30 PM on Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays, with additional Sunday matinees at 2:00 PM.
 
 Tickets at actorssummitproductions.com or 234-817-8414

GLTF’S NOISES OFF leaves many delighted, others running for the aisles

As I stood outside the Hanna Theatre, after seeing a matinee performance of NOISES OFF, the woman to one-side were overheard saying, “That was the funniest thing I’ve ever seen.”  Her companion looked askance and groaned, “That was stupid!”   I’m sure the interactions on their ride home would have been an interesting experience to overhear. 
 
Yes, Michael Frayn’s NOISES OFF is that kind of script.
 
Two aspects are important in understanding why people often react diametrically to the play.   First is that it is a British farce.  It is not intended to carry a social message.  It is not a Shakespeare drama or tragedy.  It is, aimed to delight. It is not meant to teach history or expand knowledge.  It is British low comedy, “humour” intended to probe improbable situations, in the vein of Monty Python and Joe Orton. It is trouser-dropping and door-slamming with a vengeance.
 
Secondly, it is British farce.  It leaves no prate-fall, tumble down the staircase, repeated ridiculousness after repeated ridiculousness unturned.  The British know how to create the right pictures in subtle, laugh-with me, not at me ways.  It is as natural to them as Borscht-belt comedy is to Jewish entertainers or musicals are to Americans.  There is a way to do it!  Unfortunately, Americans generally over-do British farces.  
 
I’ve seen this script produced three times.   First, in London, where I literally left the theatre with sore stomach muscles from having laughed so hard.  Its West End production was dubbed, “the funniest farce ever written."  Yes, the Brits know their farce and do it well.  

Second time was on Broadway, where I found the American premiere lacking subtlety, as did some of the other reviewers.  The next was a Canadian production, where those lovely people up north, where the Brits live in exile, can pull of the Limey timing.  And, now the GLFT version.

In the Great Lakes production of NOISES OFF there is nothing natural or subtle about the staging.  The schticks are obvious, not natural.  
 
Director Christopher Liam Moore has his cast well-primed to get the laughs.  Every slap, door slam, tumble down the stairs is choreographed.  None of it just happens naturally.  All the gimmicks are groomed.  The result is laughing by those willing to be told, “laugh,” and they do as they are told.  Others, who see through the manipulations, are not taken in.

So, what’s the farcical epic about? 

Act One is set at the technical rehearsal at the (fictional) Grand Theatre in the English hinterlands.  It is very late on the night before the first performance and the cast is hopelessly unready. Baffled by entrances and exits, missed cues, missed lines, and bothersome props, including several plates of sardines, they drive Lloyd, their director, into a seething rage.

Act Two shows a Wednesday matinée performance one month later at the Theatre Royal in another Brit village. In this act, the play is seen from backstage, providing a view of romantic rivalries, lovers' tiffs and personal quarrels that lead to offstage shenanigans, onstage bedlam and an occasional attack with a fire axe.

Act Three depicts a performance near the end of the ten-week run. Relationships between the cast have soured considerably, the set is breaking down and props are winding up in the wrong hands, on the floor. The actors remain determined at all costs to cover up the mounting chaos, but it is not long before the plot has to be abandoned entirely and the characters are obliged to ad-lib towards the chaotic final curtain.

The GLTF cast works very hard.  They must be totally exhausted following each performance, especially Jeffrey C. Hawkins (Gary) who spends his time madly running around the stage, slamming doors and falling down the steps. 

Nick Steen (Frederick) plays the dumb leading man with an air of confusion, looking handsome while, wiping up red stage goo from his many bloody noses.  

Jennifer Joplin (Dotty) proves she is queen of misplaced sardines, David Anthony Smith spends his time in a mad search for booze, while Kinza Surani (Brooke) shows off her curves while appearing mainly in her undies.  

Topher Embrey displays frustration as the frustrated Director, Lloyd who tries to balance love affairs with two members of the company and reign-in the chaos.  
Zoe Lewis-McLean (Poppy) and Domonique Champion (Tim) help in putting out emotional and theoretical pandemonium.

Jeff Hermann’s dual sided set is a creative masterpiece.  Jason Lynch’s lighting and Patrick John Kieran’s sounds aid in highlighting the turmoil.

CAPSULE JUDGMENT:  The GLFT proves the old saying in theatre that performing drama is easy but doing farce is hard.  At the end of the performance, half the audience was on its feet cheering, while the rest were in the aisles running for the exits.  Didn’t hate it, but I was caught in the stampede.

NOISES OFF runs through May 18, 2025.  For tickets go to greatlakestheater.org or call 216-241-6000

One-liners, playful puns, rapid-fire jokes and hoedown music=delightful SHUCKED @ Connor Palace

Cobb County loves its corn. Or, so we are told by the storytellers in SHUCKED, the Tony nominated musical, now on stage at the Connor Palace Theatre, as part of the Key Bank Broadway series.

SHUCKED, with music and lyrics by Brandy Clark and Shane McAnally, and book by Robert Horn, opened on Broadway in April of 2023 and ran through January 14, 2024, popping 327 performances. 

The Great White Way production garnered generally positive reviews and went on to receive nine Tony nominations. 

Reviews tended to praise the show's high energy comedy, acting and the vocal and the choreographic talents of the performers. 

Its music was generally noted as good but not stand-out as there are no songs that will inspire audience members to sing their way out of the theatre. 

After its opening, the show launched a marketing campaign with country singer Reba McEntire as its spokesperson. Since that superstar is one of the show’s producers, her role as spokesperson makes good sense. 

The show was also hailed because cast member Alex Newell became one of the first openly non-binary performers to be nominated for and win a Tony Award as Best Featured Actor in a Musical. 

The production starts with a sprightly, foot-stomping opening number, “Corn.” Two tale-tellers relate the tale of Maizy and Beau, a couple who are planning their wedding, but because of the sudden corn crop dying, a sign of bad luck, the marriage is called off. Maizy leaves, hoping to find a cure for the curse on the corn, and seeking a life away from Cobb County. For some unexplainable reason she winds up in Tampa, gets involved with a scammer, and brings him back to Cobb. 

Since this is a fantasy the ending is obvious…the corn crop is saved, Maizy and Beau get hitched and her cousin, Lulu, the town distributor of corn moonshine, and the scammer make woopy! 

Sound like a fantasy? It is. A delightful fantasy that has laughs galore, lots of corny jokes, and wonderful characters. The touring show, under the direction of Jack O’Brien and choreographed by Sarah O’Gleby, is an emotional joy. The singing, dancing, acting, comic timing and preposterous storytelling, all work well. 

Tyler Joseph Ellis and Maya Lagerstam are endearing as the narrators. Danielle Wade has a well-trained singing voice and nicely develops the character of Maizy. Her song, “Holy Shit,” had the audience gasping. 

Jake Odmark is studly right as her beau, Beau. His version of “OK” was more than okay! 

Cecily Dionne Davis, a fill-in for Miki Abraham, who normally plays the over-sexed, Lulu, was “zaftig”-right as Lulu. She has a great flair for comedy. Her “Independently One” was poppin. 

Mike Nappi, as Beau’s eccentric brother, delighted the audience with every stage presence. His was a Tony Best Supporting role performance. The rest of the cast was Chagrin Falls Popcorn Shoppe gourmet popcorn fine! 

CAPSULE JUDGMENT: “Holy Shit,” I “Do Believe” that seeing the fun-filled musical farce, SHUCKED, will make you feel more than “OK!” Get away from the stresses of life. GO! LAUGH! ENJOY! 

SHUCKED is at the Connor Palace through Sunday, May 11th, 2025. Tickets are currently still available for all performances and can be purchased by calling 216-241-6000 or online at playhousesquare.org.

TWELFTH NIGHT (or WHAT YOU WILL) delights many at Great Lakes Theater

In 2023, stating that it “encouraged homosexuality” because of its cross-dressing characters, a New Hampshire school system banned a production of William Shakespeare’s TWELFTH NIGHT, sub-titled:  WHAT YOU WILL.

The romantic comedy, which contains the honored lines of the Bard, including ““Be not afraid of greatness. Some are born great, some achieve greatness, and some have greatness thrust upon 'em,” and “Why, this is very midsummer madness,” is a play that, though it contains no references to or scenes of Christmas, was supposedly commissioned for production at the end of that holiday season. 

The play centers on “the twins Viola and Sebastian, who are separated in a shipwreck on the coastline of Illyria.

Viola (disguised as a page named 'Cesario') falls in love with the Duke Orsino, who in turn is in love with Countess Olivia. Upon meeting Viola, Countess Olivia falls in love with her, thinking she is a man.”

Sounds farcical?  It contains many segments which, as Shakespeare oft did, was filled with humor and melodramatic opportunities. 

“Some modern scholars believe that TWELFTH NIGHT, with the added confusion of male actors and Viola's deception, addresses gender issues "with particular immediacy".  They also accept that its depiction of gender stems from the era's prevalent scientific theory that “females are simply imperfect males.”

Yes, TWELFTH NIGHT does explore gender identity and sexual attraction, having a male actor play Viola enhanced the impression of androgyny and sexual ambiguity.  It also, as was the custom of the day, that the role of young men and boys would be played by males.  Homosexuality?  No, a little cross-dressing, yes!  

“In the comic subplot, several characters conspire to make Olivia's pompous steward, Malvolio, believe that she has fallen for him. This involves Olivia's uncle, Sir Toby Belch; another would-be suitor, the squire Sir Andrew Aguecheek; Olivia's servants Maria and Fabian; and Olivia's fool, Feste. Sir Toby and Sir Andrew engage themselves in drinking and revelry, disrupting the peace of Olivia's household.”
 
GLT’s production, under the direction of Sara Brunner states in her program notes, “Our production illuminates how grief and joy are not opposites but rather are intimately linked.”
 
She accents the dramatic and comic, and throws-in some farcical interludes.  Not as many as is common in other productions of the script, thus cutting down the chance for hysteria.  This restraint may account for the polite, rather than screaming standing ovations that often conclude other stagings.
 
Courtney O’Neill’s curving levels, which create the illusion of continuous water movement, works well.  It is enhanced by Rich Martin’s lighting.  Mieka van der Ploeg’s ageless perky costumes work well.
 
The cast is universally strong.  Grayson Heyl (Viola/Cesario), and Nic Scott Hermick (Sebastian) are believable as the twins.  James Alexander Rankin makes a perfect fool of himself as squire Sir Andrew Aguecheek.  Dar’Jon Marquise Bentley well fits that role of Sir Toby Belch.
 
CAPSULE JUDGMENT: TWELFTH NIGHT gets a pleasing production at GLT.  It could have been enhanced by broader farce and more joyous attitude.  As might be said of the New Hampshire Board of Education that banned the play, “The fool doth think he is wise, but the wise man knows himself to be a fool.” (AS YOU LIKE IT)

TWELFTH NIGHT continued at Great Lakes Theater, in performance at the Hanna Theatre through April 6, 2025.

Next up at GLT:  NOISES OFF, the uproarious backstage farce, from April 25-May 18.

For tickets to GLT shows go to greatlakestheater.org or call 216-241-6000.

CVLT’S JERSEY BOYS --” Oh, What a Night”!

 

A juke box musical consists of pre-existing songs which are melded into a script to tell a story.  The songs, in contrast to lyrics and music, which are specifically integrated into a traditional musical’s story, don’t always smoothly transition into the juke box tale.  
 
The songs can be by one specific artist or songwriter, for example MAMMA MIA features songs by ABBA and WE WILL ROCK YOU features tunes by Queen.  On the other hand, MOULIN ROUGE! THE MUSICALfeatures a score primarily composed of the material of many artists. 
 
JERSEY BOYS, which is now on stage at Chagrin Valley Little Theater features songs by Frankie Valli & the Four Seasons.

There is a special aura about New Jersey, excuse me, “Nu-joisy.”  “De joisy guys” talk different. “Dey” have an “add’e’tude dat” which reeks of testosterone (even the women), and find glee in being “in-ya face.”  They live by “der own ruhls.”  This combination of being and doing flows onto the stage in JERSEY BOYS.  
 
It supposedly is the tale of how a group of blue-collar boys from the wrong side of the tracks became one of the America’s biggest pop music sensations. They supposedly wrote their own songs. They invented their own sound and sold 175 million records worldwide - all before they were thirty.

You’ll note in the last paragraph I wrote “it supposedly is the story” and they “supposedly wrote their own songs.” There is some controversy over how much the script’s writers, Marshal Brickman and Rick Elice, deviated from the real story. There is also some question about whether Bob Gaudio, in fact, did write all of the songs. 
 
Be that as it may, the show is filled with hummable after hummable song.   As evidenced at intermission, almost everyone was singing, humming or bopping down the aisles. There is no question about the entertainment value and the wise choice of staging of the tale. 

The Broadway version opened in November of 2005. It won four 2006 Tony Awards including Best Musical.  It has become a staple for productions at community and little theatres.  
 
The score features the group’s four early smash hits, “Sherry, “Big Girls Don’t Cry,’” “Walk Like a Man,” and “Oh What a Night.”  After those four are presented, the audience is screaming for more!
 
The biggest difficulty of doing a show about real people, who sing and dance, is the necessity of the cast sounding and looking like the originals.  This production has the vocal sounds down pat, it’s the looking alike that is difficult.  But, if you can overlook that yo’ll have a fine experience.

This production includes Nathan Park as Tommy DeVito, the founder of the group.  DeVito’s ego-centrism and wild way of living, his spending and gambling, caused the quartet problems and eventually was the reason for its break up.  He sings and moves well and is properly obnoxious.

Ian Ward portrays Nick, Tommy’s brother, who was basically along for the ride. Ward fits well his part and sings effectively.

Patrick Jalbert, not only looks like the real Bob Gaudio, but has the right boyish charm. Portraying the “intellect” of the group, wraps himself in the role and is completely believable.

The star of the evening is Eric Mortenson as Frankie Valli.  His falsetto is perfection!  Wow!
 
David W. Coxe and his musicians are excellent.  They are right on key and support rather than drowning out the performers.
 
The boy-band choreo by Jennifer Justice is excellent.
 
CAPSULE JUDGEMENT: Go, go, go see ‘JERSEY BOYS.’ You will have one hell of a time and feel like “The Big Man [or Woman] In Town” as you go out of the theatre humming, “My Eyes Adored You.”
 
The show runs through April 6, 2025 at 40 River Street, Chagrin Falls.  Be aware that parking is extremely difficult in the area.  Your best plan is to go very early, go to dinner at a restaurant that has valet parking.  It’s worth the cost.  For tickets to the show 440-247-8955 call or go to www.cvlt.org
 

 CPT’s thought-provoking, SHOWIN’ UP BLACK, focuses on a view of the Black family seldom seen on stage

 

Roy Berko

(Member:  Cleveland Critics Circle and American Theatre Critics Association)

 

In a recent email Cleveland Public Theatre’s Executive Artistic Director, Raymond Bobgan stated, “At Cleveland Public Theatre, we believe in the power of art to transform, heal, and build community. In these times of uncertainty, fear, anxiety, and division, we remain steadfast in our mission to center diverse voices, to celebrate bold and courageous storytelling, and to open space for those who seek refuge in creativity and expression. As we reaffirm our commitment to nurturing compassion and raising consciousness, we believe our collective imaginations can provide comfort in times of darkness and spark the light for ways forward.”

 

The theatre’s present staging, SHOWIN’ UP BLACK, which is getting its world premiere, banners that commitment.

 

“The tale centers on the eve of their daughter's cotillion, the Hopegoodes, an affluent African American family in Cleveland, see their plans for the perfect debutante ball collide with a Black Lives Matter protest. As the protest gets nearer, secrets and competing desires get shaken loose, tearing at the fabric of the family, challenging what, exactly, it is to be Black.” 

In contrast to most of the plays about Blacks which illustrate the moving into white neighborhoods, attending all white schools, fighting to get out of bad neighborhoods, or dealing with gangs, playwright Jeanne Madison places the spotlight on a well-to-do, influential, professional black family, their honor-student daughter and her MIT-attending boyfriend.

Jeanne Madison, a member of the Dramatist Guild, is the 2022-23 Nord Family Foundation Playwright Fellow at Cleveland Public Theater (CPT), which includes a mentorship with prolific Cleveland Heights award-winning playwright, Eric Coble. 

 
Jeanne holds a BA, and an MBA from Case Western Reserve University. She recently completed Scene Study and Playwrighting Master Classes at The Cleveland Play House. After many years in the corporate, and non-profit sectors, during which she lived in Chicago, New York City, and Washington DC, Jeanne now makes her home in Cleveland where she finds inspiration for her writing.

 

The script is generally well-structured and written, though, at times it has some forced and soap-opera-like scenes.  The language is authentic but in some scenes uses written rather than oral language and leaves the actors sometimes sounding like characters in a book.

 

The CPT production, under the direction of well-respected local director, Jimmie Woody, moves along at a nice pace and has balanced performances.

 

Ashley Aqulla, portraying Claire, the college educated mother, has a nice touch with both drama and humor.  Tamicka Scruggs, is delightful as her side-kick, Marie.  Darryl Tatum, is believable as the lawyer/father who has carved a political-oriented path of influence and wealth.  Highlight performances are given by Makayla Smith as Evie, the daughter who finds herself caught in the world of Black cotillions conflicting with her need and to express her independence as a young adult and Drew Pope (Kwan), her MIT black activist boyfriend.  Both create believable and realistic characters.

 

Capsule judgement:  SHOWIN’ UP BLACK gives a thought-provoking view of a non-traditional Black family.  Though there are times when the script writing seemed forced, the over-all effect is positive.  It is a production worth seeing.

 

SHOWIN’ UP BLACK February 20 through March 8, 2025.  Tickets can be purchased at www.cptonline.org through the theater’s Choose-What-You-Pay option which allows patrons to pay what they’d like with no handling fees.