Reprised BREAKOUT SESSION Misses Opportunity to be Meaningful @ Cleveland Public Theatre

 

Nikkole Slater, BREAKOUT SESSION (OR FROGORSE), was commissioned in 2020 by CPT, with funding from the National New Play Network (NNPN).  It was the intention of funding to have the author write a play that cast a spotlight on racism, bias and violence.  Her goal was to ask, “Can a society legislate a change of heart?”  It was “inspired by Cleveland’s Consent Decree with the U.S. Department of Justice, which required the Police Department to go through anti-bias training.” 

It is as relevant today as it was several years ago.  Maybe more, as the controversy over the Cleveland decree is still in the headlines.

Director Beth Wood, contended back then that “This play is about blind spots due to our unconscious bias.”  She went on to state, “We all have blind spots and we must interrupt them—but how?  How do we know when our automatic associations are hurting other people?”  

Raymond Bobgan, the theatre’s Executive Artistic Director, at the original opening stated, “To believe another’s perspective, there must be trust.  How can we build two-way bridges of trust between us with all of our history—with all that’s happening in the present?  Can society legislate a change of heart?  Can we mandate cultural change?”

He went on to state, “Theatre nurtures a hunger for connection and has the potential for greatness when it deals with complexity.”  

Those views set high levels of anticipation for BREAKOUT SESSION (OR FROGORSE to be a mind-shattering, new and insightful experience.

As I said in my original review, “In spite of a nicely honed production, the over-all effect is unfortunately, not that impactful.”  

I had hoped that the revival would be improved and be more meaningful than the original rendering.

In the play, we find ourselves in a training session with three Cleveland police people, an African American male and female and a Hispanic male.  The session is conducted by a training firm that has hired a Caucasian, with an acting degree, who is supposed to follow a preset lecture/power point presentation.  She fails to hold the attention of the trio, so she diverts from the research-oriented, statistic-centric format, much to the consternation of her female African American supervisor.  
 
Conflicts over teaching style, experiential role-plays and activities, and interjections by a “bat scientist,” “mantis shrimp,” “crocodile magician” and “catfish comedian,” are intended to highlight the author’s “Bias Bubble” diagram. 
 
The Bias Bubble concept centers on our conscious experiences leading us to social psychological perceptions that we make unconscious associations that lead to judgements, prejudices and beliefs, which evolve into ideas which evoke actions.  

Frogorse centers on the concept that two people can see the same incident, or piece of art, and perceive different things. A drawing of a horse may be perceived as a turtle, depending on the angle at which we see it or our pre-conceived attitudes.

Nikkole Salter’s use of the concept source of bias is not unique.  The idea is commonly espoused in social science literature and been musically expressed in “You’ve Got to Be Carefully Taught” in SOUTH PACIFIC and “Everyone’s a Little Bit Racist” in AVENUE Q.

I wish I could say that Salter has added some new dialogue to the stage in his edit of BREAKOUT SESSION (OR FROGORSE), but she hasn’t.  
 
The use of real incidents that led to the consent decree, the showing clearly how the biases develop through actual examples, the effective use of the teaching model to make the audience think of their own experiences, and a plan of action to actually help the police, all would have helped make the experience more meaningful.   
 
As for CPT’s production.  The cast (Jess Moore, Nicole Sumlin, Joshua McElroy, Tina D. Stump, Joey Florez Jr. and Troian Soo) puts out full effort and are all very believable in their roles. 

Beth Wood, doing double duty as director and actress, is outstanding as Sara, the well-meaning but ill-equipped trainer, the white workshop leader, with wonderful intentions, but poor understanding of the reality of prejudice.  

As the director she keeps the action zipping along and gets all she can from the problematic script. 
  
The technical aspects, especially the electronic media effects, are well-conceived.  Inda Blatch-Gelb’s mantis shrimp costume is outstanding.
 
Capsule judgement: BREAKOUT SESSION (OR FROGORSE) has an important purpose with lofty goals.  Unfortunately, the play’s format and development do not satisfy the need to truly explain, “something is not working, people” and teach the reality of the “Bias Bubble.”  I wish that the director had taken the comments from reviews of the first staging and made the necessary changes to make the follow-up performance more meaningful.  Both CPT and Salter wasted a marvelous opportunity to make this a really important play!  So sad, such a wasted opportunity.

BREAKOUT SESSION (OR FROGORSE), runs through November 12, 2022.  For tickets call 216-631-2727 or go on line to http://www.cptonline.org/.

INSURRECTION: HOLDING HISTORY

 

INSURRECTION:  HOLDING HISTORY less than it should be at Con-Con Roy Berko (Cleveland Critics Circle, American Theatre Critics Association) Is it true that in order to understand your present, you must understand your past?  If you understand the past, and could insert yourself into the events happening, could you change your present?  Could you actually change the course of history?  Those and other esoteric questions are at the base of Robert O’Hara’s INSURRECION:  HOLDING HISTORY, now on stage at convergence-continuum. The plot centers on Ron, a gay, black student, who attends a family reunion to celebrate his great-great-grandfather T.J.’s 189th birthday.  Despite the fact that T.J. can’t move, hear, or speak, T.J., given voice by a spirit of a relative, long dead, convinces Ron to take him back to his old home in Virginia.  Fracturing the space-time continuum, they arrive on the eve of Nat Turner’s doomed 1831 uprising.  Encouraged by the facts of the historical rebellion, the desperation of the slaves that encouraged them to face certain death with little chance of success, and the historical pattern of being gay, Ron gains a grasp of his past.  This leads him to an understanding of his present, and that how the authenticity of history unfolds depends on the perception of the storyteller.  He realizes that his frustration with his thesis is based on the concept that his writing will only make sense when he accepts that he is the product of his history. Jeannine Gaskin, the director of the play, did not seem to grasp the concept of the satire in the script, and staged the show as a realistic drama.  This was unfortunate as that approach eliminated the whimsy and creative writing that was described by one critic of a previous staging as “remarkably exciting, deeply provocative, [and] comically profound.” There was no humor in the cc production, thus fracturing much of O’Hara’s writing and seemingly confounding the audience, thus making for a long sit. The cast, which featured Andrew Pope, Chelsea Anderson, Isaiah Betts, Kadijah Wing, Laprise Johnson, Matthew Raybeam, Mike Frye, Sydney Smith, and Wesley Allen, put out full effort. Capsule judgment: Insurrection, will confound many, satisfy some, gets a less than effective production at con-con.   Insurrection: Holding History opened Friday, October 14 and runs Thu-Sat at 8 p.m. through November 5, at convergence-continuum’s Liminis Theater, 2438 Scranton Rd., Cleveland. Tickets and information are available at www.convergence-continuum.org and 216-687-0074.

LES MIZ! still Les Okay, in its tour kick-off at the Key Bank State Theatre

 

When LES MISERABLE last came to CLE in November of 2018, in part I wrote:   From the very first time I saw “Les Miserables,” shortly after its opening in London, to the New York production, and through the various touring shows, I have been a fan of the show.  Not just a fan, a fanatic fan!    Interestingly, when “Les Miz” first opened in London in 1985 the production was generally met with tepid reviews.  This was a musical about greed, child abuse, revolution and cruelty.  It contained thwarted idealism, frustration and the seeming defeat of good by evil.     This is a musical with the word “miserable” in the title, has physical beatings and numerous onstage deaths, and lacks a typical happy ending.  Is this the stuff musicals are made of?  Not usually.  But, there is no reason that serious subjects cannot be treated in the musical form.  Les Miz proves that contention, as does “Next to Normal” and “Dear Evan Hanson,” and proves it well.   There is also no reason that strong emotions about death cannot be visualized as “empty chairs at empty tables,” or hope cannot be expressed as, “there is life about to start, when tomorrow comes,” or, that infatuation cannot be explained as “a heart full of love,” or the future can’t be prophesized as, “I dreamed that love would never die,” and a powerful story can’t be summarized with the musical’s ending lyric, “To love another person is to see the face of God.”     Yes, these are all lyrics conceived by Herbert Kretzmer and set to the emotionally charged music of Claude-Michel Schönberg.  These are the thoughts of a great musical.   Those not aware of the tale of musical theatre, may be surprised that all of the dialogue is sung, This format is the way of British musicals, based on the strong history of operas in that country.   “LES MISÉRABLES” is an epic 1862 French tale by Victor Hugo, considered as one of the greatest novels of the nineteenth century.  Though long and complex, the basic story line centers on a period in the early nineteenth century, which culminated in the unsuccessful June Rebellion.  This is not the larger French Revolution of 1788 that overthrew the absolute monarchy of the Bourbons and the system of aristocratic privileges, as many assume when the word revolution is used in a French story.    The plot revolves around Jean Valjean, who was arrested when he stole a loaf of bread to feed his starving nephew.     Imprisonment, frustration and moral awareness are pivotal ideas of the story.  It is played out in front of the history of France’s politics and what is meant by that era’s concept of justice. It is fiction broadly entwined within factual and historical events.   In 1987 the musical debuted on Broadway, after having played in London. After 6,680 performances spanning sixteen years, it closed in the Big White Way on May 18, 2003, making it one of the longest running Broadway shows.  Revivals, tours, and a movie followed that run.     This CLE production is where the current tour starts.  It is probably why it is so fresh and the cast is energized.    The present three-week stay at the State Theatre mirrors the 2018 production, which eliminated the original production’s two turntables, reframed the music, reinterpreted some of the songs, added electronic visuals, such as our experiencing Jean Valjean crawling through the sewers as he saves Marius and Javert falling off a bridge into the raging river below.     There is less vividness.  The battle scene, minus much of the extreme pile of household goods isn’t as dramatic, the marching to the barricades isn’t as vivid.  The lighting is darker, much as the paintings of the period which tended to be painted with less vivid oil colors.  This darkness invades the entire production.   Some things are the same.  I still find the reference to “this one’s a Jew and that one’s gay,” to be unnecessary and offensive.  I never have been a lover of “Master of the House” and “Beggars at Feast,” which I know fulfills the musical theater formula of being “noisy numbers,” inserted mid-first and second acts to excite the audience and keep their attention.     The changes, in the scheme of things, don’t change the overall power and effect of the show.  No one is going to argue with the conceivers and stagers of a show which has been seen by over 70 million people.    Both the solos and choral work is outstanding. Thankfully the cast interpreted the meaning of the lyrics rather than just singing words. This was obvious, for example, in “One Day More,” the sure-thing show stopper, which was mesmerizing.     Nick Cartell, who played the role of Jean Valjean in the last tour, is back again.  He still portrays the role with a full musical voice and compassion.  His youthful presence has matured, giving more texture to the role.  His “Who Am I” and “Bring Him Home” were compelling.   Halley Dortch (Fantine), making her touring debut, grabbed the emotions with the plaintive “I Dreamed a Dream.”  Christine Heesun Hwang was captivating as Eponine and received an extended ovation for her well-nuanced “On My Own.” Gregory Lee Rodriguez gives an appealing earnest quality to Marius.  His “Empty Chairs at Empty Tables” was one of the show’s emotional highlights.    Harrison Fox was adorable and captivating as the spunky Gavrache.  His middle finger salute to Javert after the over-zealous policeman is exposed as a traitor to the student rebels, brought cheers and laughter from the audience.   On the other-hand, Preston Truman Boyd, who displays a strong singing voice, was not evil and overpowering enough as Javert. We need to really hate him for his obsession in making life a living hell for Jean Valjean.  We need to cheer when his guilt gets the best of him and motivates his jumping to his death.   CAPSULE JUDGEMENT:   LES MIZ!  It is still captivating and is a major piece of the musical theater tapestry which gets an excellent staging at the start of its newest national tour.  If you haven’t seen it before or need a refresher, get to Playhouse before “One Day More,” and get “A Heart Full of Love.”   For tickets call 216-241-6000 or go to www.playhousesquare.org.  LES MIZ runs through October 30, 2022.

Dobama’s THE THIN PLACE, a pseudo-intellectual play that confuses rather than clarifies

  

Out-of-town published comments about THE THIN PLACE, now on stage at Dobama, include: “a Horror Drama that You Think You’ll Forget, Then Won’t.” “It’s a story about storytelling that defies your ability to tell a story about it.” And, it’s a twisty tale that throws you off the scent and doubles back behind you.” 
 
Other comments about the play states that it is a “sort of elusive, atmospheric piece.”  And, “it bristles with disquieting suggestion, probing the most timeless questions about reality, the impressionability of the mind, and the omnipresence of death as we float through life. Ever gifted at taking the pulse of the world around him, Hnath matches these universals with a timely resonance, distilling collective feelings of national chaos—and our political and spiritual vulnerabilities therein—to a chillingly personal scale.”  Sound like double-talk?  It, like the play, is!

Exiting the theatre, the most common comment heard was, “What was that all about?”  “Did I miss what the author was trying to say?”
 
Yes, the touted Lucas Hnath’s THE THIN PLACE seems to avoid the purpose of a play--that of having a purpose.
 
Guess I’m still living in the modern era of theatre, the Arthur Miller, Eugene O’Neil, William Inge, Tennessee Williams times, when a play had a clear story to tell and left a moral, or a lesson, or a challenge to accomplish.  This play is definitely not part of that era.
 
“THE THIN PLACE is the story of two women, Hilda and Linda. Linda communicates, professionally, with the dead, who are still here, just in a different part of here, in the "thin place." She can make those who believe that they hear their departed, offering the remaining soul peace and closure and meaning. Hilda, a keen listener and observer who’s grappling with loss, takes a great interest in Linda’s abilities. She befriends the veteran medium, seeking answers that lie across the fragile boundary between our world and the other one.”
 
The Dobama production, under the direction of Colin Anderson, is effectively staged.  

That is, if you can avoid the problems that the powers that be have created by imposing a stage area in which there is probably no good seat.  The long narrow performing area makes it often impossible to hear, or in some cases see the action. This is especially true when the performers are extreme stage right or left.   (But, that is for another column, this one if about the other misguided issue, THE THIN PLACE.  Wait, that could be that name for the performance space.  Woops, I digress.)

The cast is strong.

As expected, multi-Cleveland Critics Circle and BroadwayWorld best actress award winner, Derdriu Ring, is dynamic as Linda, the skilled con-artist, who has learned the art of giving people what they want, a taste of the unreal, that meets their self-centered needs.

Kelly Strand creates a Hilda whose thin voice and halting language appears to be very needy, but may, in fact, be a bigger con-artist than Linda.

Anjanette Hall’s Sylvia is a wealthy young woman, who uses the world and its people as her play things.

Jerry (James Rankin) seems to have no rhyme or reason to be included in the cast.  One can only wonder why the author included the character.  But, again, Hnath’s motives are often unclear.

Capsule judgment:  THE THIN PLACE is a disappointing script that gets a better-than- deserved production at Dobama. If you are a true theater- buff and like trying to figure out if an author has an intent and purpose, while observing good performances, this may be a show for you.

THE THIN PLACE runs through October 30, 2023 at Dobama. For tickets call 216-932-3396 or go to: https://www.dobama.org/tickets

 

THE CURIOUS INCIDENT is well-conceived at Beck, but…   Roy Berko  (Member:  American Theatre Critics Association, Cleveland Critics Circle)   THE CURIOUS INCIDENT OF THE DOG IN THE NIGHT-TIME, which is now on stage in the Senney Theater in the Beck Center complex, is a play by Simon Stephens which is based on British writer Mark Haddon’s book of the same name, which, in turn was based on the 1892 short story ‘The Adventure of Silver Blaze.”  The story centers on Christopher Boone, a 15-year-old autistic math prodigy.  Although Christopher's condition is not stated, per se, a blurb in the book refers to Asperger syndrome, which today would be described as a physical/psychological disorder.    In July 2009, Haddon wrote on his blog that "The Curious Incident is not a book about Asperger's...if anything it's a novel about difference, about being an outsider, about seeing the world in a surprising and revealing way, and that he, Haddon, is not an expert on the autism spectrum or Asperger syndrome.” Christopher lives in Swindon, England, with Ed, his “widowed” father.  The boy was told that his mother, Judy, died of a heart attack two years prior to the events of the story.  One day, Christopher discovers that his neighbor Mrs. Shears’ dog, Wellington, of whom Christopher was fond, has been fatally speared with a garden fork.  As Christopher mourns over Wellington’s body, Mrs. Shears calls the police, thinking he is the murderer.  A policeman, unaware of Christopher’s condition, grabs Christopher by the arm.  (Note: Many of those on the autism spectrum abhor being touched.)  Christopher panics and hits the Bobby, resulting in him being arrested for assaulting a police officer.  After being released, Christopher decides to investigate the dog's death.  As is the case with those on the spectrum, he is obsessive with his task.  He chronicles all the information he receives in a notebook, which eventually forms the basis for this play. During his investigation, he meets the elderly Mrs. Alexander, who informs Christopher that his mother had an affair with Mr. Shears, a neighbor, and the two moved from the area. Thus, we enter into an adventure of Christopher’s obsessive search for his mother, discovering who killed Wellington, deciding whether to take his mathematics A-level, and whether he can again have a relationship with his father. The play gained high praise in professional productions. It ran for over 5 years in London, winning the Oliver Award.  It won the 2015 Tony Award for its Broadway staging. The Beck production, under the direction of William Roudebush is effective, but missing some of the elements that made it so compelling in its professional productions.    The cast is universally strong.  Maurice Kimball IV, a nondivergent actor, adds authenticity to the role of Christopher.   The director states, “Working with this gifted Neuro-diverse actor, Maurice Kimball, has been an unfolding, surprising revelation for me, as a director. He continues, “Maurice quietly teaches me more and more each day of rehearsal. He informs the telling of this bountiful story. The rehearsal process challenges me every day and I'm as intimidated as I am excited to walk into that rehearsal tonight and learn how to tell this story of surviving life from his uniquely different, deeply human perspective.” The rest of the large cast, some of whom play multiple roles, create believable people.  Kudos to Khaki Hermann (Siobhan), Terence Cranendonk (Ed), Katherine DeBoer (Judy). The pacing holds the attention.     On the other-hand, Joe Burke’s projection designs and the supporting sounds are interesting, but fail, as those in the London and New York productions did to truly get the viewer into Christopher’s head so we experience what it is like to be autistic.   Dialect Coach Chuck Richie has done an excellent job of teaching the cast a creditable and consistent British-English pronunciation pattern.  The only issue is that the American ear is not used to the sound and there are times when the word meanings are lost. And, the decision not to use the short scene after the curtain call, in which Christopher reappears to brilliantly solve his "favourite question" from the mathematics exam, eliminates one of the best and endearing play endings. Capsule judgment:  THE CURIOUS INCIDENT OF THE DOG IN THE NIGHT-TIME is a brilliantly written play.  Neuro-divergent actor, Maurice Kimball IV is compelling in the lead role.  The Beck production catches most of the script’s effectiveness, but stumbles on some technical and directing decisions.  Even with those issues, this is a production well-worth seeing.    THE CURIOUS INCIDENT OF THE DOG IN THE NIGHT runs September 23-October 16, 2022 in the Senney Theatre @ Beck Center.  For tickets:  Beckcenter.org or call 216-521-2540.