Times Theatre Tributes--2009

TIMES THEATRE TRIBUTES--2009

Greater Cleveland is blessed with a vital theatre scene. It is the purpose of the TIMES THEATRE TRIBUTES to recognize theatrical experiences that, in the mind of this reviewer, were excellent and deserve special recognition.

Only shows performed in 2009 which I reviewed were considered. Selections were limited to locally produced stagings, so none of the professional touring shows are recognized, though actors, directors and technicians who were imported by local theatres were considered. Actors are not separated by gender or leading or supporting roles.

If there are any spelling errors on the list please let me know so I can change the permanent record on my blog.

If you would like to read any of my reviews for the year, please go to www.royberko.info, enter the blog and click on “2009 Reviews” or click on the name of the producing theatre and scroll through their performances. Reviews from previous years may also be accessed.

NOTE: THOSE WHO WOULD LIKE A CERTIFICATE OF THEIR RECOGNITION SHOULD E-MAIL ROY BERKO ( royberko@yahoo.com). PLEASE INCLUDE THE ADDRESS TO WHICH THE CERTIFICATE(S) SHOULD BE MAILED!

2009 BEST OF THE BEST DRAMAS:
BLACKBIRD (Dobama)
CRAVE (Theatre Ninjas)
no CHILD (Cleveland Public Theatre)
YELLOWMAN (Karamu)

2009 BEST OF THE BEST MUSICALS:
I LOVE YOU BECAUSE (Playhouse Square)
PIPPIN (Cain Park)

2009 BEST OF THE BEST PERFORMANCES:
Dominguez, Nina, no CHILD (CPT)
Folino, Dan, SWEENEY TODD (Lakeland)
Hammer, Joel, BLACKBIRD (Dobama)
Koesters, Nick, A FUNNY THING HAPPENED ON THE WAY TO THE FORUM (Porthouse)
Little, Kristi, YELLOWMAN (Karamu)
Mach, Corey, PIPPIN (Cain Park)
Nottage, Mary Jane Nottage, WHY TORTURE IS WRONG AND THE PEOPLE WHO LOVE THEM (CPT)
Primous, Kyle, YELLOWMAN (Karamu)

Also, thanks to the following for making the 2009 theatre scene in the Cleveland area stimulating and memorable:

PLAY
A FUNNY THING HAPPENED ON THE WAY TO THE FORUM (Porthouse)
AROUND THE WORLD IN 80 DAYS (CPH)
BLACKBIRD (Dobama)
CRAVE (Theatre Ninjas)
CRIME AND PUNISHMENT (CPH)
DREAM/HOME (Dobama)
EVIL DEAD THE MUSICAL (Beck)
FOR BETTER (Actors’ Summit)
I LOVE YOU BECAUSE (Playhouse Square)
INHERIT THE WIND (CPH)
MAHALIA ( CPH)
no CHILD (Cleveland Public Theatre)
OPTIMUM PRIME FOR PRESIDENT (Fourth Wall)
PANGS OF THE MESSIAH (JCC)
PIPPIN (Cain Park)
RETURN TO THE FORBIDDEN PLANET (CSU-Summer Stages)
WHY TORTURE IS WRONG AND THE PEOPLE WHO LOVE THEM (CPT)
YELLOWMAN (Karamu)

DIRECTOR
Bussert, Victoria, A LOVE YOU BECAUSE (Playhouse Square)
Bussert, Victoria, PIPPIN (Cain Park)
DeLorenzo, Bart, AROUND THE WORLD IN 80 DAYS (CPH)
Gordon, Seth, INHERIT THE WIND (CPH)
Kent, Terri, A FUNNY THING HAPPENED ON THE WAY TO THE FORUM (Porthouse)
Maudlin, Michael, RETURN TO THE FORBIDDEN PLANET (CSU-Summer Stages)
Messina, Jenna, OPTIMUM FOR PRESIDENT (Fourth Wall)
Ortenzi, Lisa, no CHILD (Cleveland Public Theatre)
Paul, Jeremy, CRAVE (Theatre Ninjas)
Plate, Scott, BLACKBIRD (Dobama)
Robbins, Sonya, DREAM/HOME (Dobama)
Spence, Scott, EVIL DEAD THE MUSICAL (Beck)
Sternfeld, Fred, YELLOWMAN (Karamu)
Thackaberry, A. Neil, FOR BETTER (Actors’ Summit)
Thomas, Rohn, ODD COUPLE, Porthouse
Verciglio, Joe, H.R. (Dobama)
Woods, Beth, WHY TORTURE IS WRONG AND THE PEOPLE WHO LOVE THEM (CPT)

PERFORMER
Bredeson-Smith, Lucy, CRAVE (Theatre Ninjas)
Bredeson-Smith, Lucy, BIG LOVE (convergence-continuum)
Bruno, J. R., [title of show], (BW/PLAYHOUSE SQUARE)
Busser, John, THE GOOD DOCTOR (Ensemble)
Cataan, Ursula, THE SHADOW BOX (CSU-Summer Stages)
Chanenka, Lydia, THE SHADOW BOX (CSU-Summer Stages)
Cranendonk, Terence, CRAVE (Theatre Ninjas)
Crouch, Kevin, THE SEAGULL (GLTF)
Cummins, Jackie, THE ALICE SEED (CPT)
Dixon, Ed, INHERIT THE WIND (CPH)
Domingue, Nina, no CHILD (CPT)
Farley, Keythe, AROUND THE WORLD IN 80 DAYS (CPH)
Felder, Hershey, BEETHOVEN, AS I KNEW HIM (CPH)
Folino, Dan, EVIL DEAD THE MUSICAL (Beck)
Folino, Dan, HEDWIG AND THE ANGRY ITCH (Hi Fi Concert Club)
Folino, Dan, SWEENEY TODD (Lakeland)
Foust, Joe, AROUND THE WORLD IN 80 DAYS (CPH)
Garrigan, Alison, SWEENEY TODD (Lakeland)
Germany, Carly, TEN MORE MINUTES FROM CLEVELAND (Dobama)
Halling, Michael, HEAVEN’S MY DESTINATION (CPH)
Hammer, Joel, BLACKBIRD (Dobama)
Harper, Ciara, THE WILD PARTY (BW)
Hawkes, Robert WHY TORTURE IS WRONG AND THE PEOPLE WHO LOVE THEM (CPT)
Jaeck, Scott, INHERIT THE WIND (CPH)
Kennedy, Mimi, THE LADY WITH ALL THE ANSWERS (CPH)
Koester, Nick, BLASTED (B&C)
Koesters, Nick, A FUNNY THING HAPPENED ON THE WAY TO THE FORUM (Porthouse)
Koesters, Nick, TEN MORE MINUTES FROM CLEVELAND (Dobama)
Kozlenko, Val, CRAVE (Theatre Ninjas)
Little, Kristi, YELLOWMAN (Karamu)
Mach, Corey, I LOVE YOU BECAUSE (Playhouse Square)
Mach, Corey, PIPPIN (Cain Park)
May, Andrew, THE COMEDY OF ERRORS (GLTF)
May, Andrew, TWELFTH NIGHT (GLTF)
May, Michael, MA RAINEY’S BLACK BOTTOM (Beck)
May, Michael, MILITANT LANGUAGE (B&C)
Myor, Jennifer, ME AND MY GIRL (Mercury)
Nagel, Maryann, GREY GARDENS (Beck)
Nottage, Mary Jane, WHY TORTURE IS WRONG AND THE PEOPLE WHO LOVE THEM (CPT)
Patterson, Tracee, RETURN TO THE FORBIDDEN PLANET (CSU-Summer Stages)
Prentice, Christian, OUROBOROS (convergence-continuum)
Primous, Kyle, YELLOWMAN (Karamu)
Rosenfeld, Ethan, PANGS OF THE MESSIAH (JCC)
Roth, George, FIDDLER ON THE ROOF (Beck Center)
Schwartz, Layla, CRAVE (Theatre Ninjas)
Seman, Larry, FOR BETTER (Actors’ Summit)
Sills, Brian, AROUND THE WORLD IN 80 DAYS (CPH)
Smith Kelly, PETER PAN (Beck)
Smith, David Anthony, TWELFTH NIGHT (GLTF)
Soto, John Paul, RETURN TO THE FORBIDDEN PLANET (CSU-Summer Stages)
Stewart, Paul Anthony, CRIME AND PUNISHMENT (CPH)
Thomas, Scott, MILITANT LANGUAGE (B&C)
Van Baars, Eric, 14 (Kent State University Theatre)
Van Baars, Eric, ODD COUPLE (Porthouse)
Violand, Greg, THE SHADOW BOX (CSU-Summer Stages)
Weldon, Alyssa, BLACKBIRD (Dobama)
White, Tom AUTOBAHN (CWRU MFA ACTING PROGRAM)
Williams, Leigh AUTOBAHN (CWRU MFA ACTING PROGRAM)
Williams, Natasha Yvette, MAHLIA (CPH)
Zoldessy, Brian, CLEVELAND HEIGHTS (JCC/CCC)
Zoldessy, Brian, THE ODD COUPLE (Fairmount)

Composite cast
AROUND THE WORLD IN 80 DAYS (CPH)
BLACKBIRD (Dobama)
CRAVE (Theatre Ninjas)
DREAM/HOME (Dobama)
FOR BETTER (Actors’ Summit)
HEAVEN’S MY DESTINATION (Cleveland Play House)
I LOVE YOU BECAUSE (Playhouse Square)
LADY (Bang and Clatter)
ODD COUPLE (Porthouse)
OPTIMUM FOR PRESIDENT (Fourth Wall)
RETURN TO THE FORBIDDEN PLANET (CSU-Summer Stages)
THE RECEPTIMNIST & HR (Dobama)

TECHNICIANS
Borski, Russ, set and costume design, GREY GARDENS (BECK)
Borski, Russ, set design, FIDDLER ON THE ROOF (Beck Center)
Burch, Ted, THE LADY WITH ALL THE ANSWERS (CPH)
Burns, Trad, scenic and lighting design, THE FARNSWORTH INVENTION (Beck)
Couture, Francois-Pierre, BEETHOVEN, A I KNEW HIM (CPH)
Davis, Jeff, lighting design, CRIME AND PUNISHMENT (CPH)
Davis, Jill, set design, ALL’S WELL THAT END’S WELL, CWRU MFA Acting Company
Folino, Dan and PJ Toomey, special effects, EVIL DEAD THE MUSICAL (Beck)
Gould, Richard, set design, MA RAINEY’S BLACK BOTTOM (BECK)
Herrmann, Jeff, set design, THE MYSTERY OF EDWIN DROOD (GLTF)
Herrmann, Jeff, set design, THE WILD PARTY (BW)
Hu, Tiffany, costume design, CINDERELLA, Mercury Summerstock
Karpinski, Todd, set design, DREAM/HOME (Dobama)
Kata, Takeshi, set design, AROUND THE WORLD IN 80 DAYS (CPH)
Kondilas, Tom, video designer, BIG LOVE, convergence-continuum
McBride, Don, set design, EVIL DEAD THE MUSICAL (Beck)
Metheny, Russell, THE COMEDY OF ERRORS, (GLTF)
Michalak, Amber, painting of the set, PANGS OF THE MESSIAH (JCC)
Middleton, Rayna, costume design, A FUNNY THING HAPPENED ON THE WAY TO THE FORUM (Porthouse)
Needhanm, Ben, scenic design, PETER PAN (Beck)
Roech, Michael, scenic design, THE RECEPTIONIST & H.R. (Dobama)
Savage, Lee, set design, CRIME AND PUNISHMENT (CPH)
Smith, Jim, set design, BIG LOVE, convergence-continuum
Sparano, Jenniver, costume design, EVIL DEAD THE MUSICAL (Beck)
Tarantowski, Laura Carlson, set design, PANGS OF THE MESSIAH (JCC)
VanCurtis, Jeffrey, costume design, ALL’S WELL THAT END’S WELL, CWRU MFA Acting Company
Williams,, Gage, set design, TWELFTH NIGHT (GLTF)
Yetman, Charlotte, costume design, THE MYSTERY OF EDWIN DROO (GLTF)
Yetman, Charlotte, costumes, THE WILD PARTY (BW)

MUSICAL DIRECTION
Carney, Eddie, GOODSPELL (Mercury Summer Stock)
Carney, Eddie, ME AND MY GIRL (Mercury Summer Stock)
Garrett, Ryan, musical accompaniment, [title of show] (BW, PLAYHOUSE SQ)
Goodpaster, Larry, FIDDLER ON THE ROOF (Beck Center)
Goodpaster, Larry, PETER PAN (Beck)
Krol, John, RETURN TO THE FORBIDDEN PLANET (CSU-Summer Stages)
Maier, Nancy, PIPPIN (Cain Park)
Taylor, Brian, THE WILD PARTY (BW)
Webb, Matthew, I LOVE YOU BECAUSE (Playhouse Square)
Yurich, Dennis, HEDWIG AND THE ANGRY INCH (Hi Fi Concert Club)

CHOREOGRAPHY
Brault, Pierre-Jacques, CINDERELLA (Mercury Summer Stock)
Brault, Pierre-Jacques, GODSPELL (Mercury Summer Stock)
Céspedes, Martin PETER PAN (Beck)
Céspedes, Martin, THE COMEDY OF ERRORS (GLTF)
Céspedes, Martin, EVIL DEAD THE MUSICAL (Beck)
Céspedes, Martin, I LOVE YOU BECAUSE (Playhouse Square)
Céspedes, Martin, PIPPIN (Cain Park)
Céspedes, Martin, THE MYSTERY OF EDWIN DROOD (GLTF)
Céspedes, Martin, THE WILD PARTY (BW)
Deering, Lynn, RETURN TO THE FORBIDDEN PLANET (CSU-Summer Stages)
Van Baars, Eric, A FUNNY THING HAPPENED ON THE WAY TO THE FORUM (Porthouse)

SPECIAL RECOGNITION
Michael Bloom, Fusion Fest, CPH
Jewish Community Center for their good intentions in commissioning a play that would commemorate the Cleveland Jewish Community
Eric Coble for his authorship of ‘H.R.’ and ‘FOR BETTER’
Margi Herwald Zitelli for her authorship of ‘OPTIMUS PRIME FOR PRESIDENT’
Sarah Morton for her authorship of ‘DREAM/HOME’
Mercury Summerstock for the initiation of “My First Musical Program,” a program which makes available performances to children who would otherwise not have the opportunity to attend live theatre.
Roe Green, for her financial backing of the JCC Arts program, as well as her contributions to the Kent State University Theatre and Dance programs
John Cameron for his authorship of ‘14’

January 2010 Theatre/Dance Calendar

January is coming and the theatre and dance season looks promising!

Roy Berko

(Member, American Theatre Critics Association and Dance Critics Association)

--THE TIMES NEWSPAPERS--

Lorain County Times--Westlaker Times--Lakewood News Times--Olmsted-Fairview Times

COOLCLEVELAND.COM

January in Cleveland is normally dark and dreary, but attending a dance or theatre offering can be a good break from the overcast skies. Here’s a list of offerings that you can experience.

SUPPORT LOCAL THEATRE AND DANCE!

DOBAMA
BLUE DOOR
Box Office:
January 29-February 21
Left alone by his wife, an African American math professor is forced to face the ghosts of his ancestors as they shatter the silence of his insomnia.

KARAMU
A HOUSE WITH NO WALLS
January 23-February 15
Box Office: 216-795-7070
The grounds of George Washington’s presidential home erupt into an emotional minefield when two opposing African-American politicos weigh in on how to honor both American liberty and the memory of the nine slaves who lived in the eight-by-eight foot square quarters on site. Based on real events, the play exposes a modern challenge of successful African-Americans while revealing still-hidden prejudices.

ACTORS’ SUMMIT
NOBODY DON’T LIKE YOGI
Box Office: 330-342-0800
January 7-January 24
An evening with baseball legend Yogi Berra, the man who said: "I didn't really say everything I said."

PLAYHOUSE SQUARE CENTER
Box Office for all Playhouse Square Center shows: 216-241-6000

CHICAGO
Palace Theatre
January 12- 24
Broadway's hit musical, the recipient of six Tony Awards, two Olivier Awards and a Grammy, is a tale of sin, corruption and all that jazz. If you loved the Academy Award-winning film, nothing beats the live show, and if you are already intimately acquainted with the musical, experience that sizzle again.

CLEVELAND: THE MUSICAL
Hanna Theatre
January 16
Jon Leiken and Friends relate the untold story of the greatest city on the earth through speech and song. Special guests: Michelle Federer (WICKED), David Wain (THE STATE), Larry Marrow, and students from Mercer School and Shaker Heights High School. This performance a benefit for the Great Lakes Theatre Festival.

BILL T. JONES/ARNIE ZANE DANCE COMPANY
Ohio Theatre
January 30
Presented by Dance Cleveland and Cuyahoga Community College
Bill T. Jones’s newest work, FONDLY DO WE HOPE…FERVENTLY DO WE PRAY, examines the legacy of Abraham Lincoln.

VERB BALLETS
Breen Center opposite St. Ignatius High School
Tickets: 216-961-2560
January 17
Program: PETER AND THE WOLF, VESPERS, LADY BE GOOD AND SPEED

CLEVELAND PLAY HOUSE
LOST IN YONKERS
January 8-31
Tickets: 216-795-7000
Neil Simon’s Pulitzer Prize and Tony Award winning comedy which is set in Yonkers, New York, in 1942, focuses on two young brothers, Arty and Jay, left in the care of their feuding relatives, Grandma Kurnitz (played by Broadway veteran Rosemary Prinz) and Aunt Bella.

GROUNDWORKS
Groundworks at the new Breen Center
2008 W. 30th Street, Cleveland
Tickets: 216-961-2560
January 22 and 23, 2010 at 8 p.m.
Program: World Premiere of a commissioned work by choreographer Dianne McIntyre with composer Olu Dara; DELAYED by Zvi Gotheiner; POLARITY by David Shimotakahara

TRUENORTH AT FRENCH CREEK NATURE PRESERVE
THE LAST FIVE YEARS
January 8-24
4530 Colorado Avenue in Sheffield Village, Ohio
Tickets: 440-949-5200
Jason Robert Brown’s play about Jamie, who is an up-and-coming Jewish writer and Cathy an up-and coming summer stock actress. Mirroring their self-absorbed identities, Jamie and Cathy sing the story of their marriage from differing perspectives: Jamie from beginning to end, Cathy from ending to beginning. And never the two shall meet?

CLEVELAND PUBLIC THEATRE/THEATRE NINJAS
January 28 - February 13
Anna Bella Eema
Tickets: 216-631-2727 x501
Written by Lisa D'Amour
Anna Bella Eema is a dark comedy about a woman, her daughter, and a strange girl in a trailer park. Written by Obie Award Winning playwright Lisa D'Amour, it combines creepy campfire stories, music, sound and fairy tales in an original, highly stylized one-act.

Peter Pan

‘PETER PAN’ flies into the hearts of kids at Beck

Just before the conclusion of Beck Center’s ‘PETER PAN’ a short scene was needed to give time to change the sets. So Peter (John Paul Soto) and Tiger Lilly (Alexis Generette Floyd) stood in front of the closed front curtain, and asked some children in the audience to come on stage and “crow.” Three little ones, a shy girl and two vocal boys, bounded up. One of the boys, probably having been Peter for Halloween, came forth in a total Peter Pan costume, making him look like a clone of Soto. The kids on stage crowed, the kids in the audience crowed, and the entire experience was charming. And so was most of the rest of the production.

Beck’s Artistic Director Scott Spence decided to bring back ‘PETER PAN’ for yet another holiday season. But this time, he took over as director, whacked away at the overly long script, brought in a new Hook (George Roth), and supported him with many of last year’s strong cast and production team.

‘PETER PAN’ is a musical adaptation of J. M. Barrie's 1904 play. The music is mostly by Mark Charlap, with additional music by Jule Styne. Most of the lyrics were written by Carolyn Leigh, with additional words by Betty Comden and Adolph Green.
The 1954 Broadway musical production, which starred Mary Martin as Peter and Cyril Ritchard as Captain Hook, earned Tony Awards for both stars. The show has enjoyed many revivals and has become a holiday staple at many theatres.

The story centers on Peter, a boy who ran away from his parents because he heard them discussing what he would be when he grew up. Peter didn’t want to grow up. He desires to be a boy forever. Missing a mother for himself and the other Lost Boys, he talks Wendy, a young British girl, into coming to Neverland and being the troupe’s mother. She flies away, with her brothers, John and Michael, to find a world of Indians, pirates and a crocodile. It’s a fantasy with a strong underlying message.

The highlight of the Beck production is Martin Céspedes’ choreography. He is a master at taking a group of semi-talented movers and making them appear to be dancing with ease and delight. His restaging of last year’s choreography, with a few new tricks, works again, especially in “Ugg-a-Wugg,” and “Indians.”

In contrast to the usual productions of the show, Peter is played by a male rather than a female. This gives a totally different dimension to the role. In the hands of Soto, Peter is not delicate and charming, but all boy. In fact, he may be too manly to being portraying a kid who doesn’t want to grow up, but in general the interpretation works. He is softer this year than last, but he still has trouble in the higher song registers.

Kelly Smith, as in the past, is engaging as Wendy. This is one talented young lady. She sings and acts well and is totally believable.

Brothers Lincoln and Stephen Sandham (there are four Sandham brothers in this production) are British-correct as John and Michael. Stephen is a little scene stealer, and lights up the stage with his antics.

Floyd is delightful as Tiger Lily, the leader of a group of the nicely performing tribe of female Indians. She dances and sings with vigor.

Some of the lost boys are a disappointment. Often their lines are flat, lacking meaning and there is tendency for several to look at the audience during scenes, breaking continuity rather than staying focused on the action and reacting to what is going on.

The pirates are acceptable, but generally lack the dynamics that should make them outrageously funny bumblers, rather than ruthless cutthroats.

George Roth is the new Father and Captain Hook. It appears that he decided to underplay the Hook role, so he loses some of the fun that is usually inherent in the overblown version of the role. He’s not bad, just a little lacking in dynamics. Often, in other productions, when Hook meets his doom, the kids applaud. Nothing here.

The fight scene, which should be swashbuckling and a hoot, lacks energy. It is very plotted and is almost slow motion. Maybe a strobe light would have helped.

Do you believe in fairies? The kids on the night I saw the show sure did. They seemed primed and ready for the scene where Peter informs the audience
that Tinker Belle, his personal fairy, will die if children don’t clap and yell that they believe. Several of the children around me yelled and clapped and jumped around so much that I’m sure they went home hoarse. Yes, they believed!

CAPSULE JUDGEMENT: Beck’s ‘PETER PAN’ is generally a delight and should be loved by the kids of all ages who see the show. It’s a nice holiday break from the usual Christmas plays.

Nutcracker

Underwhelmaing ‘NUTCRACKER’ by Winnipeg Ballet at Allen

Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky’s ‘NUTCRACKER’ is a musical score that lends itself to a dynamic ballet. It is musically filled with passion and lyrical texturing. In the hands of a creative choreographer and the proper lead dancers, the stage explodes with excitement and delight.

Unfortunately, though they presented a ballet that was proficiently danced, the overall effect of the Winnipeg Ballet’s presentation of the Christmas time classic was a lack of passion. It was bland. Maybe those north of the border would say, “Canadian sensibility” prevailed.

Traditionally, ‘NUTCRACKER’ is set at Christmas time in Tchaikovsky’s Russia in the late 1800s or a British Victorian home. This version is set in Canada in 1913. The plot revolves around 12-year old Clara, whose family is hosting a large holiday party. Clara receives nutcracker from Drosselmeier, her Godfather. She takes the doll to bed with her and spends the night dreaming of various adventures including a fight with mice and a magical swan sleigh ride.

On the positive side, the usual excessive amount of walking often found in ‘NUTCRACKER’ stagings is eliminated, the sets are gorgeous, the costumes era correct, the orchestrations work well. A cute bit with a Canadian bear, the delightful young corps of local children, and a charming snow ballet complete with falling snow, add to the positives. A clever device of having hockey players cavort during the overture, which shows guests arriving for the party, is definitely a Canadian addition.

Anyone who saw Karen Gabay and Raymond Rodriguez, of the late Cleveland Ballet, dance Clara and the Nutcracker Prince, know how enthralling the performance of those roles can be. On Thursday night, Vanessa Lawson danced the role of Clara. Lawson is a fine dancer, but lacked the necessary enchanting presence. Gael Lambiotte, who performed as the Nutcracker Prince opposite Lawson, was also competent, but lacked the needed prince charming charm. Alexander Gamayunov didn’t radiate the dynamism usually inhabited by Drosselmeier. The battle between The Mouse King and the Nutcracker Prince lacked excitement.

Positive performances were mounted by Maureya Lebowitz, who was delightful in the Chinese segment of the Kingdom sequence, as were Jo-Ann Sundermeier, as the Sugar Plum Fairy, and Robert Pleschke and Liam Caines in the Arabian segment.

Not once during the presentation were the cries of “bravo,” so common at well-performed ballets, heard. There was no traditional Cleveland standing ovation during the curtain call. The children sitting around me were not entranced. Not an “ooh” or “wow” came from their lips. Their eyes were not twinkling with wonder.

CAPSULE JUDGEMENT: At the conclusion of the performance of Canada’s Royal Winnipeg Ballet’s ‘NUTCRACKER,’ the adorable nine-year old girl sitting behind me was asked by her mother, “Did you like it?” Her response was a perfect review of the evening. She sighed and said, “It was okay.”

Gutenberg! The Musical

‘GUTENBERG!’, a slapstick musical spoof at Dobama

This is the time of year when theatres go in three directions: serious scripts with moral messages (think ‘A CHIRSTMAS CAROL’ at Great Lakes Theatre Festival and ‘GODS TROMBONES’ at Karamu); family warm and fuzzy (‘A CHRISTMAS STORY’ at Cleveland Play House and ‘A LITTLE HOUSE CHRISTMAS’ at Magical Theatre), or just plain out and out goofy (‘THE SANTALAND DIARIES’ and ‘BROWNS RULES’ both at Cleveland Public Theatre).

Dobama, now settled in its new home on Lee Road, has chosen to go goofy with ‘GUTENBERG! THE MUSICAL.’ The script by Scott Brown and Anthony King, was the winner of the 2006 New York Theatre Festival Award for Excellence in Musical Theatre Writing.

It is billed as a two-man musical spoof about a pair of aspiring playwrights auditioning their new project, a big, splashy musical about printing press inventor Johann Gutenberg. Quickly we discover that their dreams are ill-advised and those in attendance aren’t really “producers” but theatre attendees.

Using a multiple number of blue baseball caps adorned with the name of the character being portrayed, such as Gutenberg, The Anti-Semite, Beef Fat Trimmer, Helvetica, Monk, Young Monk, Rats, and Feces, the duo play all 30 or so parts.

The music from the show is basically unmemorable, and consists of such ditties as “I Can’t Read,” “The Press Song,” “What’s the Word?” and “Tomorrow is Tonight.” There is a charming ballad entitled “Biscuits,” and “Words, Words, Words” is a show highlight. The sound is rock, rap, ballad and show tunes.

Critical reviews of the NY festival and the off-Broadway production called the production, “A gleefully goofy affair that is loaded with laughs” and “Riotously funny.”

The Dobama production, under the direction of Marc Moritz and musical director Brad Wyner, who also plays the piano to accompany the goings on, is fun, but not of the level of praise applied to it in New York.

Dane Castle, who is a BFA Music Theatre major at Kent State, and Chris Richards, a recent graduate of KSU, are full of youthful enthusiasm. They put out total effort, to the effect that the audience is as exhausted as they are by the end of the show. Their comic timing is basically good. Their singing voices are acceptable for the musical requirements of the score. They are, however, pretty hard to accept as being the authors and that may be why what locals see is not what was experienced in New York. Would the whole thing work with veteran actors who know how to milk an audience? As is, too much of what goes on is just too “staged” for it to be spontaneous. Maybe as the show runs, the boys will learn to make the goings on look and feel more adlibbed, which is needed to pull in the audience.

CAPSULE JUDGEMENT: Don’t go to Dobama expecting to learn about how Gutenberg invented the printing press, or gain any mind bending message. ‘GUTENBERG! THE MUSICAL’ is a slight piece of ridiculousness that is good for some laughs, if you are in the right mood and just let your sensibilities flow away and appreciate the efforts of the two enthusiastic young performers.

A Christmas Story

‘A CHRISTMAS STORY on stage’ is soon to be a memory at CPH

It’s that time of year when theatres roll out their holiday cash cows, yearly offerings which fill the seats and help make the rest of the schedule possible. Great Lakes is offering ‘A CHRISTMAS CAROL,’ Cleveland Public Theatre is showcasing, ‘THE SANTALAND DIARIES,’ Karamu welcomes “GOD’S TROMBONES,’ Beck flies in ‘PETER PAN,’ Magical Theatre Company takes us to the prairie in, ‘A LITTLE HOUSE CHRISTMAS’ and for the fifth year Cleveland Play House brings up the curtain on ‘A CHRISTMAS STORY.’ Unfortunately, it’s the last showing of the script.

Though ‘A CHRISTMAS STORY’ takes place in Hohman, Indiana in 1938, most Clevelanders consider the movie and the play to be ours. Yes, part of the movie was made here, using a house at 3159 West 11th Street, which is now the official “A Christmas Story House,” and which you can tour to see many of the now famous visual images including the leg lamp. And, yes, Higbee’s decorated holiday windows and the welcome to Santa parade were centerpieces for the movie. But, to be honest, most of the film was shot in Toronto because the usual Cleveland “bad weather” refused to cooperate and there was no real snow for the outdoor shoots.

The film, as directed by Bob Clark, is a semi-fictional series of anecdotes of author, story teller and radio personality Jean Shepherd. It includes material from his books, In God We Trust, All Others Pay Cash and Wanda Hickey's story Night of Golden Memories. ,

Though not a box office hit, the movie has become a holiday tradition through numerous television viewings. The film stared Peter Billingsley as Ralphie, Darren McGavin as The Old Man (Ralphie’s father) and Scott Schwartz as Flick, the kid gets his tongue stuck on a metal light pole. The play, as written by Philip Grecian, parallels the film.

A charming light comedy, the story centers on 9-year-old Ralphie Parker whose Christmas want-list includes only one thing: "an official Red Ryder carbine-action 200-shot range model air rifle with a compass in the stock, and this thing which tells time."

It’s a snapshot of life pre-television, Nintendo Wii, and gas furnaces. The days when the major trauma in Ralphie’s life centered on putting up with his weird younger brother, Randy, confronting school bully, Scut Farkus, and hanging out with his sidekicks, Flick and Schwartz. He feels the pangs of first love, in the form of Esther Jane. There is also his punishment of sucking on Lifeboy soap for swearing, waiting with impatience for his Secret Decoder pin from Little Orphan Annie, and his “watch the margins” teacher. There are the annual trip to visit Santa Claus at Higbee’s, the next door neighbor’s dogs who hated “The Old Man,” and the wars with the clinkers in the coal furnace. Oh, for the return to those days of innocence.

The CPH production, under the direction of Seth Gordon, is delightful. All the elements are there for enjoyment.

The adorable and talented Joey Stefanko is Ralphie, Charles Kartali is the bigger than life “Old Man,” Elizabeth Ann Townsend is the always right-on mother, Matthew Taylor is the “I have to go wee-wee” Randy (probably the best of all the kids who played this role at CPH), charming Olivia Doria is Esther Jane, Courtney Anne Nelson is the smart and feared Helen, Christian Flaherty, is the “if there is trouble I’m going to get into it’ Flick, Daniel Sovich acts well but is actually too handsome to be the menacing Scut Farkas, Christopher Burns is the reminiscing older Ralph and Pat Nesbit is the up-tight teacher.

The set is visually appealing, especially Santa’s home at Higbee’s.

Alex, “the kid reviewer,’” my 14 year old grandson who I take along to see if shows are kid friendly, loved the show, giving it an 8.5 on a ten point scale. He delighted in the farcical elements, liked the characterizations and, though he warned that there were “old time” references, like clinkers in the furnace, Little Orphan Annie and Lifeboy soap, he assured me, “kids will like this show.”

BTW….As much as I like to encourage parents to bring their children to the theatre, there were some younger kids on reviewer’s night who should not have been there. One child screamed his way through most of the first act and, at intermission, proceeded to almost wreck a Christmas tree in the lobby. Some discretion needs to be made in bringing young kids to any theatre production and a little discipline, other than smacking a child, which only encouraged more crying, is in order.

CAPSULE JUDGMENT: So long to Cleveland Play House’s ‘A CHRISTMAS STORY on stage.’ It’s been a good run. For those who haven’t seen in it, go! For those who have, go again, and have a sweet memory of life as it was!