Compelling, superbly acted and staged “CONSTELLATIONS” at convergence continuum

On a blackboard, center-stage, a message is written.  The words state, “You are one decision away from a completely different life.”

Ah, yes, think back to the climax points of your life.  Did you say “yes” or “no” to a proposal, an opportunity, a vital decision that would have changed your very path of existence? 

This “what difference did that decision make?” is at the heart of British playwright Nic Payne’s thought-provoking two-person script, “CONSTELLATIONS,” now closing the 2019 season of convergence-continuum.

Artistic director Clyde Simon looks for uncovered gems that “challenges the imagination and extends the conventional boundaries of language, structure, space and performance” that insights his loyal groupies. Sometimes he misses, but with “CONSTELLATIONS” he has hit the proverbial “home run.”  

This is a quality script that gets an imaginative and proficient production under the focused eye of director Geoffrey Hoffman.  

The performances of Max Elinsky and Laurel Hoffman are top quality.   Each inhabits their role with clarity of purpose.  They don’t’ act.  They live their roles with complete authenticity. 

The duo is aided by the multi-talented Bobby Williams live musical sound effects and underscoring music.

“In the beginning Marianne [a cosmologist] and Roland [a beekeeper] meet at a party. They go for a drink, or perhaps they don't. They fall madly in love and start dating, but eventually they break up [or maybe they don’t]. After a chance encounter in a supermarket they get back together, or maybe they run into each other and Marianne reveals that she's now engaged to someone else and that's that. Or perhaps Roland is engaged. Maybe they get married, or maybe their time together will be tragically short.” 

“Marianne often waxes poetic about cosmology, quantum mechanics, string theory and the belief that there are multiple universes that pull people's lives in various directions. This is reflected in the play's structure as brief scenes are repeated, often with different outcomes.”  It is the basis for the play’s title and the molecule/bee hive set decorations.

Sound confusing?  It’s not. Hoffman has clearly chosen to present the series of non-connected scenes in such a way that we know this is not a linear story.  Every major event is clued by light changes (kudos to Eva Nel Brettrager’s light designs), and sounds that alert us to “pay attention.”  The actors seamlessly go back and forth, repeating lines, inventing connections that, while sometimes confounding, meld into a logical tale.

Though the presentation appears to be razzle-dazzle and abstraction, it never gives a feeling of leading the audience on through tricky writing and staging.  There is gentle humor, enough pathos and irony to grab and hold the attention.

The play’s 2012 London debut was met with strong positive reviews.

The subsequent limited-run Broadway production starred film-star Jake Gyllenhaal in his Broadway debut and Ruth Wilson, who won the 2015 Tony Award for Best Performance by a Leading Actress in a Play.

Capsule Judgment: “CONSTELLATIONS” is one of con-con’s best stagings.  It combines a well-conceived script, superb acting and well-focused directing.  It’s a must-see experience!

“CONSTELLATIONS” runs through December 21, 2019 at 8 pm on Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays at convergence-continuum’s artistic home, The Liminis, at 2438 Scranton Rd. in Cleveland’s Tremont neighborhood.  For information and reservations call 216-687-0074 or go to http://www.convergence-continuum.org/

Pleasant “IT’S A WONDERFUL LIFE” @ Theatre in the Circle

Watching “IT'S A WONDERFUL LIFE” is a family viewing tradition for many families.  The sappy, sentimental fantasy was produced and directed by Frank Capra.  It was based on “The Greatest Gift,” a Phillip Van Doren Stern short story.  

The film which starred Jimmy Stewart as George Bailey and Henry Travers as Clarence, has become one of the most beloved in American cinema.   Interestingly, was a financial flop at the movie box office.  Only years later did it become required Christmas TV watching.

The tale centers on George Bailey, a man who has given up his dreams to help others, and whose imminent suicide on Christmas Eve brings about the intervention of his guardian angel, Clarence.  The bumbling angel, who has been angling to get his wings for a hundred years, succeeds when he shows George all the lives he has touched, and how different life in his community of Bedford Falls would be if he had never been born.

It is almost impossible to watch the film and not ask yourself, “What a difference have I made in my lifetime?”  It’s probably why so many people find the story endearing.

A stage version, adapted from the film, is now being performed by Theatre in the Circle.

The University Circle theater bills itself as the only professional theater in the country housed in a senior retirement facility.  Though the producer and director are residents, the performers are not residents, but professional and amateur actors from the CLE community.

The script was written by TITC’s Bill Corcoran and Dudley Saunders.

It was originally performed in 1989 at the Derby Dinner Playhouse in Clarksville, Indiana, one of the oldest and largest operating professional dinner theatres in the United States, where Corcoran was the music director.  

The script was revived once and then went into hiatus.  

Corcoran and his husband, Mark are the duo in charge of Theatre in the Circle. They decided that it was time for the script to come out of hibernation and are now staging it.

Well, reviving and revising it.  The original cast had 20 characters.  The new version has nine, with many characters playing multiple roles.  The producers also needed to adapt the orchestrations to fit the acoustic and space requirements of the Judson Mannor’s Ballroom, where the show is being performed.  They also had to adjust to the postage stamp proscenium/thrust stage, with the audience up-close and personal, and operating on a shoe-string budget which limited the ambiance of the costumes, sets and lighting.

There was little they could do about the hokey story line which is actually what makes the schmaltzy tale so enduring to many. 

In attending a Theatre in the Circle production, it must be realized that, even though there are some professional actors on stage, the general production values, are much like many community theatres—lots of very good intentions and enthusiasm, with often moderate success.  And that’s not all bad.  There is a nice folksy feel in the company’s productions that fits the setting and the intentions of the producers.  This is not intended to be competition for the Key Bank Broadway Series, nor Dobama or Cleveland Play House. 

Michael Snider has the right touch as the do-gooder, put-upon George Bailey.  He has a solid singing voice and makes us believe that George is a down-home real nice guy who has only the best intentions for the people of Bedford Falls.  His rendition of “Wonderful Life” makes for a nice moral conclusion to the show.

Clarence is supposed to be the comic escape for the story.  Though he over-does it sometimes, Robert Kowalewski has the charm, voice and flexible face, to make the role audience-pleasing.

Pert Natalie Green uses her well-developed vocal abilities for “Bein’ Bad” and David Munnell (a Gomer Pile look, sound and act-alike) does a good turn as Uncle Billy.  Stephen Morse is nasty enough as Mr. Porter, the town bad guy that he got “boos” in the curtain call, but could have been even more Simon Lagree-nastier to help showcase George’s goodness.  

The rest of the cast Mason Stewart, Molly McGinnis, Erin Burke ad Braelin Andrzejewski all put out full effort.

The pleasant music, which includes two tangos and a couple of ballads, is not memorable, but helps develop the tale.

  

Musical director Evie Morris and her band do an excellent job of underscoring rather than overpowering the singers.

CAPSULE JUDGMENT:  If you are a fan of the movie “IT’S A WONDERFUL LIFE” you will like Theatre in the Circle’s stage version. Go knowing that it’s the same overly sentimental and hokey tale set to music.  It’s a nice break from the usual holiday shows that are repeated over and over at some local theatres.  

All TITC performances are staged at the historic Judson Mannor, 1890 E. 107th St, Cleveland, OH 44106. Curtain times are Thursday, Friday and Saturday @ 7:30 pm and Saturday and Sunday @ 2 pm.  Ticket cost:  Adults $20, Seniors $18, Judson/South Franklin Circle residents $15, Students $12. For tickets call 216-282-9424 or go to theatreinthecircle.com. There is free parking.

BWW-CLE Professional Theater Tributes--2019

Greater Cleveland is blessed with a vital theater scene.  It the purpose of BROADWAY WORLD.COM-PROFESSIONAL CLEVELAND THEATER TRIBUTES (BWW-CLE Theater Tributes), to recognize theatrical experiences and theater personnel that, in the subjective view of this reviewer, deserve distinctive mention.

            

Special recognition to:

•Terri Kent (director) and Martin Cespedes (choreographer) for their creative and outstanding productions of MAN OF LA MANCHA (Porthouse) and HAIR (Kent State University)

•Baldwin Wallace Music Theatre Program for staging the Collegiate Premiere of KINKY BOOTS and its sensational production under the direction of Victoria Bussert with Gregory Daniels (Choreography) and Mathew Webb (Musical Direction).  As well as their continually praised Senior Showcase in New York, where students earn their gateways to Broadway productions, and their production of ONCE in coordination with Beck Center.

            

•Set designs of NATIVE GARDENS (Jason Ardizzone-West) and TINY HOUSES (Arnulfo Maldonado) @ Cleveland Play House

•Costume designs by Leah Piehl, THE TAMING OF THE SHREW @ Great Lakes Theater and Inda Blatch-Geib, AIDA @ Karamu

•Co-production of THE IMPACT OF SHUFFLE ALONG by Karamu (Tony Sias) and The Musical Theater Project (Bill Rudman) for placing a spotlight on the story of the first all African American written, produced and performed hit Broadway musical

•Playwrights Local for its important production of LIVE BODIES FOR SALE, playwright Christopher Johnston’s tale of sex trafficking in the Cleveland area 

•Patrick Ciamacco for staging the outstanding production of KISS OF THE SPIDERWOMAN @ Blank Canvas featuring a sensitive performance by Scott Esposito

•Clyde Simon for presenting the intriguing HOMOS OR EVERYONE IN AMERICA @ convergence-continuum with a bravo performance by Kieron Cindric

•Tarah Flanagan for her compelling solo performances in both AN ILIAD and EVERY BRILLIANT THING at Cleveland Play House

•Sean Derry of none-too-fragile for staging TWO with award-winning performances by Derdriu Ring and David Peacock

•Celeste Cosentino of Ensemble for her staging of THE PENELOPIAD starring the power-house performance of Amy Fritsche, as well as BY THE BOG OF CATS starring the incomparable Derdriu Ring.

•T. Paul Lowry for his continued excellence in Projection Design (NETHER, 

33 1/3, STUPID FUCKING BIRD, WAKEY, WAKEY)

•Nicole Sumlin for her over-arching performance in LADY DAY AT EMERSON’S BAR & GRILL at Beck Center (musical direction by Ed Ridley).

•Additional attention-demanding productions:  Seat of the Pants--THE END OF THE TOUR, Great Lakes Theatre --WITNESS FOR THE PROSECUTION, THE TAMING OF THE SHREW, JULIUS CAESAR; Cleveland Play House—SHERWOOD--THE ADVENTURES OF ROBIN HOOD, NATIVE GARDENS, and PIPELINE, Dobama--NETHER, STUPID FUCKING BIRD and WAKEY, WAKEY, none-too-fragile—WOODY’S ORDER!, Karamu—AIDA, Cain Park--RAGTIME

If any names are spelled incorrectly, or there are errors in identifications, please let me know so I can change the permanent record of these citations.

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 “2019 Reviews” or click on the name of the producing theatre and scroll through their performances. Reviews from previous years may also be accessed.

“THE OLD MAN AND THE OLD MOON,” an adult fantasy at Dobama

Billed as a “play with music, “THE OLD MAN AND THE OLD MOON,” which is now on stage at Dobama, tells the tale of an old man who has kept his post as the sole caretaker of the moon for as long as he or his wife, the Old Woman, can imagine.   

Unfortunately, his wife disappears and the old man must abandon his duties of filling up the moon with liquid light to cross the seas to search for her.  

The journey takes him to the sea, to a war, and like the Biblical Jonah, into the belly of a giant fish.  Ghosts, animals and an assortment of other oddballs accompany him on a trek that is sometimes comical, sometimes melancholy, sometimes tedious.  Eventually, the old man and his wife are reunited and the moon continues to shine.

 

Don’t confuse this script with “The Man in The Moon,” the Robert Mulligan film, Earnest Hemingway’s tale, “The Old Man and the Sea,” or the R.E.M. music video, “Man on The Moon.”  

This musical was conceived by the PigPen Theatre Co., a group of former Carnegie Mellon School of Drama students, who have been creating their unique brand of theatre, music and film since 2007.

 

This story can be staged in as many ways as it can be imagined.  The music, the puppets, the sound effects, the very world of the play, can appear and disappear in an instant without hiding anything from the audience. The sound effects - from the filling of the moon to the lapping of the waves on the shore are created live in full-view of the audience.

 

Dobama’s production takes the advice of the author and creates a world which will enchant many but confound others.  

 

Though told in linear format, it is telling a fantasy legend, not a reality tale.  This means that not all the actions are logical.  There are spoken lines, sung lyrics, puppets and shadow emblems.  This is not traditional western theatre, but combines formats from Asian and historical tale-telling.  

Appreciation requires the viewer to let the production qualities carry you where the actors and musicians will you to go as they follow the inventions of the directors, in this case, Nathan Motta and Melissa T. Crum.

 

Don’t assume that, since this is a type of fairy tale, it is appropriate for children.  The material is sophisticated, often abstract and, though generally inventive, probably will not grab and hold a young person’s attention.  

 

The script was originally meant to be performed in 90-minutes without intermission.  The directors’ decided, probably unwisely, to make this into a two-act with an intermission.  There were times when cutting of movement, music and effects, especially during the shipboard segment, would have helped.  As is, there is a degree of tediousness.

 

On many levels, the production is creative.  The blending of lighting, sound, and visual elements intrigues.

 

The cast is outstanding.  They sing, play musical instruments, and create sound and visual effects.  They use cloth to create boats and water.  They use flashlights to spotlight people and actions.  They dance, move and act as people, animals and illusions.  

Gabe Reed, Kieran Minor, Treva Offutt, Tim Keo, Jourdan Lewanda, Emmy Brett, Josh Innerst and Amy Bransky each play multiple roles and musical instruments with proficiency.  (Applause, applause!)  

Capsule judgment:   Dobama’s “OLD MAN AND THE OLD MOON” creates a world which will enchant many and confound others.  In order to truly participate in the experience, you must combine your inner curious child and let loose of your inhibitions and expectations of the format for traditional theater.  It’s worth seeing if just to immerse yourself in experiencing what “non-traditional” theatre can be, realizing that this is not theater for everyone, especially children.

“OLD MAN AND THE OLD MOON,” runs through January 5, 2020 at Dobama, 2340 Lee Road, Cleveland Heights.  Call 216-932-3396 or http://www.dobama.org for tickets.

Next up at Dobama:  SKELETON CREW, a Dominique Morrisseau play, in its Cleveland premiere from January 24-February 16, 2020.

MEAN GIRLS, a musical for youth of the 2019s

Just because it basically takes place in a high school, don’t expect “MEAN GIRLS,” now on stage at the Connor Palace as part of the Key Bank Broadway series, to have the emotional impact of “DEAR, EVAN HANSEN.”   

Does this mean “MEAN GIRLS” doesn’t make for an entertaining evening of music?  No, it’s a general audience pleaser.  But, since the latest shows in the Broadway series (“DEAR EVAN HANSEN”, “COME FROM AWAY” and “THE BAND’S VISIT”) have been musical dramas, the audience needs to shift its psychological gears and get ready for glitz and gigantic musical numbers, rather than a story-line centered experience.

OMG!  Think back to high school, specifically the cafeteria, at lunch time.  Horror of horrors!  There was the table of Show Choir geeks.  Another of drama kids.  The testosterone-laden jocks held out over there and the cheerleaders were right next to them.  Then there was the queen bee and her small swarm of drones.  The mean girl and her attack team.  They are perfectly coiffed, expensively dressed, spoiled, lacking in empathy, are anorexic, and devour the weak and vulnerable.  

With that in mind, you are now ready to immerse yourself into “MEAN GIRLS,” the stage-show with music by Jeff Richmond, lyrics by Nell Benjamin, and a book by the queen of television comedy, Tina Fey. 

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

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

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

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

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

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

In order to “keep” Aaron’s interest the super, bright math whiz Cady, plays dumb, turning to him for “extra” help (and some personal time). 

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

Though it received 15 Tony nominations, “MEAN GIRLS,” as evidenced by the fact that it won no statues, is not a great musical.   It is, however, enjoyable and it has caught on and has developed its cult following. 

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

“Where Do You Belong” stopped the show.

The cast is strong.   Eric Huffman was delightfully endearing as the flamboyant Damian.  He was nicely balanced by Mary Kate Morrisey as Janis, his side-kick and outspoken bud.  Their opening song, “A Cautionary Tale,” set the right mood for what was to come.

Danielle Wade transitioned from curious newcomer to Queen Bee with charm and appeal.  Her reprise of “Fearless” was well sung, as was “Stupid with Love.” “More is Better,” sung with heartthrob Adante Carter (Aaron), had the female teens and tweens pining for more.

Megan Masako Haley and Jonalyn Saxer are character-perfect as “the Plastics,” while Mariah Rose Faith is bitch-correct as Regina George.

The choreography, as designed by director/choreographer Casey Nicholaw, is typical Broadway dynamic.

Capsule judgment:  “MEAN GIRLS” is filled with music, characters and Tina Fey-satire that will appeal to audiences.”  Go, see, enjoy, but don’t expect “DEAR EVAN HANSEN” or “COME FROM AWAY” greatness.