Compelling world premiere of THE PROSPECT OF EQUALITY, the Ruth Bader Ginsburg story, at Ensemble

 

In her book, “I Dissent--Ruth Bader Ginsburg Makes Her Mark,” author Debbie Levy states that one of the guiding principles of the former Supreme Court Justice was, “Disagreeing does not make a person disagreeable.  In fact, it can change the world!”  And, with that message, “R.B.G. made a big difference…one disagreement at a time.”
 
In watching Rachel Zake’s play, THE PROSPECT OF EQUALITY, a live-action revelation about Ginsburg, which is having its world premiere at Ensemble Theatre, the viewer soon realizes that the brilliant and gifted “Notorious R.B.G.,” as she was popularly called by her many admirers, was a wonder.  
 
As Celeste Cosentino, Ensemble’s Executive Artistic Director and director of THE PROSPECT OF EQUALITY states in the program notes, “What an amazing woman to write about and what unique approach Rachel has taken with this new work!  Although many of us look at Ruth as an “Icon,” I think Rachel really wanted to try and understand her as a human being, who, like all of us, experiences loss, what seems like insurmountable challenges, and uncertainty, but who also feels passion, compassion, and above all, love.  This is very much a love story about her love, and in turn about our love for her and what she has done for us.”

The play’s author shares that, “Writing THE PROSPECT OF EQUALITY gave me deeper insight into Ruth Bader Ginsburg not only as a judge, which we know quite a lot about, but also as a Jewish woman, mother and wife. It was particularly important for me to focus on and highlight her struggles and successes, and shed brighter light on the relationships that helped move her forward, along with her own determination and grit.

R.B.G., was a woman, wife, mother, lawyer, jurist, associate justice of the Supreme Court, consensus-builder, and advocate for all persons, no matter their gender, sexual preference or political views.  She accomplished all those tasks, with strength, humor and intelligence.
 
She was the first Jewish woman and the second woman to serve on the Court.  During her tenure on the courts, she authored not only well-reasoned majority opinions, but equally clarifying minority statements.
 
We watch in wonder as this determined woman navigates prejudice against her for being a woman, a Jew, and an advocate against male perceived rules.  She is a woman who fought the odds to get into Harvard Law School, study in the restricted Harvard Law Library, graduate first in her class at Columbia Law, yet after graduation, not get a single job offer, while male’s, far her inferiors, were offered stellar positions.

She was wise in her approaches to legal success.  “Rather than asking the [Supreme] Court to end all gender discrimination at once, Ginsburg charted a strategic course, taking aim at specific discriminatory statutes and building on each successive victory. She chose plaintiffs carefully, at times picking male plaintiffs to demonstrate that gender discrimination was harmful to both men and women.^”

During her life she had many fine muses—her mother, husband, father-in-law.  Each of these acted as a stimulant for reaching beyond the expected to achieve the seemingly impossible.  

Ensemble’s production, under the focused concepts developed by Celeste Cosentino, is engulfing, encompasses both drama and humor, and stresses not only the history of the amazing woman, but her sense of humor and love and respect for humanity.

Erin Moran shines as the Young Ruth.  She fleshes out a Ruth that has depth of character and purpose.  She portrays a real person, driven by high ideals, superior intelligence and a grasp of what it means to be a real “mensch”—Yiddish for “a good and honest person.”

Cleveland Critic Circle and Broadwayworld.com best actress award winner, Laura Perrotta, portrays RBG as a mature woman, as well as being a psychological guide for the younger Ruth, with clear character understanding.  

Both Nicholas Chokan, as Young Martin and Doug Sutherland, as the mature Martin Ginsberg, Ruth’s supportive life-partner, clearly create a man of compassion, strength and support.
Dan Zalevsky adds both humor and a view of Antonin Scalia, the Supreme Court Justice and long-time RBG friend and philosophical opposite, that adds an added dimension to the story.

The rest of the cast, Samantha Cocco, Keenan Carosielli and Claudia Lief Zalevsky, who each play multi-roles, are all excellent.

The electronic graphics strongly enhance the production.
Capsule judgment:  Though the script could use a little more dramatic tension, and possibly some additional humor, and the staging would be aided by eliminating the excessive movement of furniture to create different settings, the general quality of the writing and the acting excellence makes for an evening of highly satisfying theatre and added appreciation and admiration for Ruth Bader Ginsburg, a woman who optimizes the phrase, “A life well lived!”  See this!

THE PROSPECT OF EQUALITY continues at Ensemble Theatre, which is doing its final show on the campus of Notre Dame College, through June 9.  For tickets call 216-321-2930 or go to www.ensembletheatrecle.org

Angst-filled, laugh-centric SIGNIFICANT OTHER gets outstanding production at Dobama

 

Artistic Director Nathan Motta says of Joshua Harmon’s SIGNIFICANT OTHER, which is having its regional premiere at Dobama, “This play is both a fun night out at the theatre to share with friends and a thought-provoking examination of adult relationships, emotional wellness, and the ways we connect with the people in the world around us.”   Dobama bills itself as Cleveland’s Off-Broadway Theatre, with the goal of examining our contemporary world.  Their plays may not appeal to the older, more traditional based theater-goer, but it does give snapshots of the world in which we presently live.  Their script choice is thinking-people’s theater which is often filled not only with angst, but dark humor.   SIGNIFICANT OTHER is a perfect script for Dobama!     The story was written by Joshua Harmon, the author of BAD JEWS.  As was the case of in that script, SIGNIFICANT OTHER centers on companionship, loneliness and love.   The play centers on Jordan, a gay, Jewish, twenty-something who has a strong loyalty to his near end-of-life Boobie (grandmother) and who is the best friend of three females.  His life besides some joyous moments, is filled with the angst of not being able to find a boyfriend with whom to have a long relationship, marriage and children.    The angst increases as one-by-one his friend-girls, each finds a mate.  Jordan attends and participates in showers, bachelorette parties and weddings.  Everyone’s, but his own!   Crush after crush, even ones that seem promising, lead to frustration and increased insecurity.   Jordan, increasingly “discovers that the only thing harder than finding love is supporting the loved ones around you when they do.”   The play has received critical acclaim ever since it was first produced in 2015.  The “New York Times” called SIGNIFICANT OTHER, “A tenderly unromantic romantic comedy, as richly funny as it is ultimately heart-stirring.”   The play highlights the adage, “We enter relationships for a season, a reason or forever.  Jordan wants forever from his connections, an unrealistic expectation, which often leads to intrapersonal conflicts.   Dobama’s production, under the clearly focused directing of Colin Anderson, is filled with fine acting, clearly-focused characterizations and well-tuned humor countered by seriousness.   Broadwayworld and Cleveland Critics Circle acting award winning Scott Esposito, is superb as Jordan.  He swings in his manic angst-ridden reactions to his life with clarity and consistency.  This is another award-winning worthy performance!   He is well supported by his friend-girls, Mary-Francis R. Miller (Vanessa), Kat Shy (Kiki), Katherine Nash (Laura) as well as Michael Glavan and Adam Rawlings, who excellent portray multi-male roles.     One of the area’s finest vintage actors, Catherine Albers, portrays Jordan’s Boobie with humor and warmth.     The technical aspects of the show: scenic design by Richard Morris Jr., lighting design by Adam Ditzel, sound design by Jim Swonger, costume design by Suwatana Rockland and props design by Andy Zicari all enhance the staging.   Hurrah to the crew, who do a fine job of moving set pieces at a rapid and accurate pace!    Dobama’s Full Circle program actively engages members from communities represented in the scripts the theater produces.  For this production, the theater’s partner is the LGBT Community Center.   Capsule judgment.  SIGNIFICANT OTHER is a significant contemporary play that gets an outstanding production.  Go experience the fine performance of Scott Esposito, and the rest of the cast, and be exposed to a must-see production!   SIGNIFICANT OTHER runs through May 19, 2024.  For tickets: 216-932-3396 or visit: https://www.dobama.org/significant-other

Reimagined COMPANY lights up Connor Palace as part of Key Bank Broadway Series

Stephen Sondheim is generally considered the most important composer/lyricist of the 20^th century American musical theater.  Many consider him to be the person who reinvented the genre.
 
His musicals introduced the “darker elements” of human experiences.  “His music and lyrics were tinged with complexity, sophistication, and ambivalence about various aspects of life.”
 
He opened the door to “serious” topics that emerged in such musicals as RENT, NEXT TO NORMAL, DEAR EVAN HANSEN and HAMILTON.
 
He won eight Tony Awards, an Academy Award, eight Grammy Awards and the Pulitzer Prize.
“A theater is named after him both on Broadway and in the West End of London.” 
 
His works include GYPSY,  A LITTLE NIGHT MUSIC, SWEENEY TODD: THE DEMON BARBER OF FLEET STREET, INTO THE WOODS and WEST SIDE STORY. 
 
Included in his lexicon is COMPANY, an adaptation of which is now on stage at the Connor Palace, as part of the Key Bank Broadway Series.  He wrote the music and lyrics, with a book by George Furth, which deals with “contemporary dating, marriage, and divorce.”  

As Sondheim wrote, COMPANY is about "the challenge of maintaining relationships in a society becoming increasingly depersonalized.  As the musical points out, it is the key to "being alive."
 
The original 1970 production was nominated for a record-setting 14 Tony Awards, winning six. 
 
In the early 1990s, Furth and Sondheim revised the libretto, cutting and altering dialogue that had become dated and rewriting the end of act one.   
 
COMPANY tells the story of Robbie, a confirmed bachelor who, on the night of his 35^th birthday, contemplates his unmarried status with the “help” of his married, divorced, happy, frustrated, gay and straight friends.  
 
In 2020 there was a 3^rd Broadway revival of the show, based on the 2018 West End production.  It opened December 9, 2021, to broad acclaim.  It featured a Bobbie who was a female, rather than the original male lead character.  In addition, the very delightful, “Getting married today,” sung by a prospective bride who is on the verge of a nervous breakdown caused by pre-marriage fears, is now sung by a gay male.

“Five days before he died, Sondheim discussed the revival's change of the lead character's gender. He expressed how theater is distinguished from film and video because "you can do it in different ways from generation to generation…What keeps theater alive is the chance always to do it differently, with not only fresh casts, but fresh viewpoints. It's not just a matter of changing pronouns, but attitudes." 

The newest version became the most nominated musical revival of the season, receiving nine Tony Award nominations and winning five including Best Revival of a Musical.  It is this version of the script that is in on tour in Cleveland.

The production well-develops the original, along with the adjusted story changes.  The female Bobbie has the additional angst of her ticking body clock, as well as taking a more assertive gender role.  

The technical approach is modern, using many electronic graphics rather than traditional set pieces.  The orchestrations have also been modernized, as have been the costumes and the language.

The score, filled with musical theater classics including the title song, “You Could Drive a Person Crazy,” “Another Hundred People,” “Marry Me A Little,” “Side by Side,” “Barcelona,” and “Being Alive,” are all well-presented.  

Matt Rodin (Jamie), gives a show-stopping, rapid patter delightful dynamism to “Getting Married Today,” while, Judy McLane (Joanne), hits all the emotional levels in “Ladies Who Lunch.”

Though well-versed theater-goers, who have grown-up with a male Bobbie, may have some trouble adjusting to a female Bobbie, Britney Coleman should be able to win most of them over.  She develops a clear character, sings well, and is generally convincing.

The show is well-conceived and staged by director Marianne Elliot. 

Capsule judgment:  The “new” gender-bender, reconceptualized COMPANY, nicely displays how a script can grow and become relevant, once again, in the hands of the right writing and production crew.  It makes for a feeling of “Being Alive” while you are “Side by Side by Side” with other joyous theater-goers.
 
COMPANY runs through May 19, 2024 at the Connor Palace.  For tickets: 216-241-6000 or www.playhousesquare.org