Dobama stages the first local production of THE HOT WING KING, the 2021 Pulitzer Prize winner for Drama

Roy Berko

(Member:  Cleveland Critics Circle, American Theatre Critics Association)
 
Since THE ROPE DANCERS, the first play it produced over 60 years ago, Dobama has been known for staging alternative works that would not otherwise be seen in Cleveland. 

Their stages have been lit up by such plays as TRUE WEST, CATCH 22, ROOTS, GOD OF CARNAGE, 4000 MILES, THE FLICK, AN OCTOROON, HAND TO GOD, and the first professional area production of ANGELS IN AMERICA.

Cleveland’s off-Broadway theatre is now presenting the 2021 Pulitzer Prize for Drama THE HOT WING KING.

Though the Katori Hall script received mixed receptions in early stagings, the Pulitzer recognition citation described the play as "a funny, deeply felt consideration of Black masculinity and how it is perceived, filtered through the experiences of a loving gay couple and their extended family.”

When I think of Pulitzer Prize winning plays, such classics as OUR TOWN, A STREETCAR NAMED DESIRE, DEATH OF A SALSESMAN,’night Mother, PROOF and WHAT THE CONSTITUION MEANS TO ME come to mind.  Though it has some poignant moments, THE HOT WING KING is not a script of that quality.

The play follows Cordell (Wesley Allen), his boyfriend, and their friends in Memphis preparing for the annual "Hot Wang Festival.”  Cordell’s kitchen is a flurry of activity as his boyfriend, Dwayne (Corin B. Self), their close friends Isom (Charles Mayhew Miller) and Big Charles (Syrmylin Cartwright), are busy marinating, frying, and carrying on in a bid to make him a winner of the annual hot wing competition. 
 
When Dwayne’s nephew, TJ (Prophet Seay), the son of his sister who died of an overdose, shows up, the subject of Cordell’s marriage to a female and his two sons come-forth, it becomes a recipe for angst.

“I am thrilled to further the conversation around what makes a family in Northeast Ohio, especially in the black queer community,” says Director Sheffia Randall-Nickerson. “Navigating my own blended and chosen family these several years made the story behind THE HOT WING KING especially compelling!”
 
Dobama’s production is basically well-conceived…many performances are on-point.  The emotional levels, especially in the dramatic scenes when Cordell and Dwayne clash over their relationship, and the subject of whether they will allow TJ to move into their house comes up, the play hits its emotional peaks.  
 
Other times there is almost a begging for laughs.  Part of this is the cause of the uneven script, other times overdone flamboyance takes over and takes away from the script’s message. 
 
Cameron Caley Michalak’s realistic whole house set is meticulously designed and executed.  Vanessa Cook did an outstanding job of acquiring the many authentic props.  
 
As is often the case at the extremely long and narrow Dobama acting space, speeches were lost due to the lack of consistent projection.
 
CAPSULE JUDGMENT:  The 135- minute play, with intermission, is filled with many moments of laughs and angst, enough to hold the audience’s attention.  In spite of this, the sometimes soap opera-like script just doesn’t garner the quality to be expected from a Pulitzer Prize winning script.  Go, see, but realize that ANGELS IN AMERICA this is not!  
 
Performances are Thursdays through Sunday from January 24-February 16, 2024. Evening performances are at 7:30pm and matinees at 2:30pm. For a complete performance schedule, ticket prices, and reservations, call the Dobama Theatre box office at 216-932-3396. Ask about the "pay-what-you-can" performances.


Some forthcoming area productions include:  
 
2/14-3/9—Beck Center--WAITRESS-- Baldwin Wallace Music Theatre Program Collaboration directed by Victoria Bussert.  The story of Jenna, the titular waitress and expert pie-maker who dreams of a way out of her small town and rocky marriage.
 
2/7th-23—Ensemble--HENRIK IBSEN’S ‘ENEMY OF THE PEOPLE’ A RUSTBELT ADAPTATION-- What inspires people to action? Can scientific discovery mobilize outcomes when economic opportunities are at stake and fear is pervasive? Will a scientist sacrifice everything, her job, her friends, her family--for the truth? Or is she just the enemy of the people?

2/7-3/2—Great Lakes Theater--PETER AND THE STARCATCHER— Set sail to explore the Neverland you never knew with this Tony Award-winning prequel that charts a course through Peter’s untold escapades. A dozen actors portray over 100 unforgettable characters in this high-flying adventure bursting with imagination and ingenious stagecraft.

2/6-3/2—Ohio Shakespeare Festival--ROMEO & JULIET--Two dignified households, two star-crossed lovers, and one famous balcony.
 
2/4-23—Key Bank Series--PARADE-- The Tony Award-winning musical drama is based on the true story of the trial and lynching, in early 20^th-century Atlanta, of Jewish factory manager, Leo Frank, who was accused of murdering a teenaged factory girl the day of the annual Confederate Memorial Day parade.
 

“Electrifying PARADE pays homage to the pain of prejudice!

 

PARADE, which is now on stage at the Palace Theatre as part of the Key Bank Broadway series, is a musical with a book by Alfred Uhry and music and lyrics by Jason Robert Brown.   It is a dramatization of the 1913 trial and imprisonment, and 1915 lynching, of Jewish-American Leo Frank. But the story goes well-beyond what appears on stage.  Besides encapsulating the pain of American history, and paying homage to a man convicted and murdered for a crime he did not commit, it lays forth the tale that reinvigorated the Ku Klux Klan and brought about the birth of the Anti-Defamation League, a Jewish international non-government organization based on civil rights law and the defense against the defamation of Jewish people. The musical premiered on Broadway in December, 1998, and won Tony Awards for Best Book and Best Original Score.   The show was Brown's first Broadway production. The show’s music, has been noted as, "subtle and appealing melodies that draw on a variety of influences, from pop-rock to folk to rhythm and blues and gospel.”  The intriguing sounds and words are one of the most superb story-telling blending of melodies and compositions yet created in the dramatic tales presently being highlighted on theatrical stages.   Like such modern classics as RENT, DEAR EVAN HANSEN, CABARET, A CHORUS LINE, NEXT TO NORMAL, COME FROM AWAY, RAGTIME and HAMILTON, PARADE uses the art form to tell a tale of significant importance.   While other musical dramas take-on mental health, historical events, social causes, and sexual orientation this script confronts the modern-day angst of prejudice. PARADE takes the audience from the events which lead up to, and then through the 1913 trial of Leo Frank, a New York-native who is the superintendent of a pencil factory in Atlanta, who was convicted of the murder of a 13-year-old girl.   With Frank convicted in the first act, the second act takes us through the appeals of the verdict and his ultimate murder.    When, in 1915, Frank's death sentence was commuted to life in prison by the departing Governor of Georgia, John M. Slaton, due to his detailed review of over 10,000 pages of testimony and possible problems with the trial, Leo Frank was transferred to a prison in Milledgeville, Georgia, where a lynching party kidnapped him. Frank was taken to the victim’s hometown of Marietta, Georgia, and hanged from an oak tree.  The musical's story implies that the likely killer was the factory janitor Jim Conley, the key witness against Frank at the trial. The other villains of the piece are the ambitious and corrupt prosecutor Hugh Dorsey (later the governor of Georgia and then a judge) and the rabidly antisemitic publisher Tom Watson (later elected a U.S. senator). The touring company, a follow-up to the show’s recent Broadway revival, is meticulously staged by Tony Award winning director, Michael Arden.   He has taken the rewritten script and added his own interpretation of the staging concept. Shaker Heights native, Max Chernin, is nothing less that astounding as Leo Frank.  He does not portray the character; he inhabits his persona.  His up-tight, hand-wringing, Yankee frustration with Southern tradition, especially the Jewish southern attitudes, is encompassing.  He does not give a copy of Ben Platt, who recently played the role in the 2023 Broadway revival, he presents his own impressive interpretation.  His vocals "How Can I Call This Home?" and "It's Hard to Speak My Heart!" were spell-binding. Though, at times, it seems like Talia Suskauer, who plays Franks wife, Lucille, shows little depth of love for her husband, her powerful “You Don’t Know This Man,” is a show highlight. The rest of cast forms an excellent support for the tale, with strong southern values and loyalties.  The vocalizations are all excellent. Dane Laffrey’s set, which uses every inch of the stage, seems too busy, large and overly decorated for the space, giving an almost a cluttered feeling.  Capsule judgment:  In the present era of rising antisemitism in this country, PARADE stands as a vivid reminder of the past history of such hideous actions.  The touring company, headed by local actor Max Chernin, is a compelling production that deserves respect and accolades by paying homage to the pain of prejudice. PARADE continues through February 23, 2024.  Tickets are currently still available for all performances and can be purchased by calling 216-241-6000 or online at playhousesquare.org

 

Broadwayworld-CLE BRAVO RECOGNITIONS—2024

 

Roy Berko, BW-Cle Reviewer

 

At the end of each year, Broadwayworld-CLE elects to recognize productions, performers and technicians to be recognized from Cleveland, OH stagings.  The format for these acknowledgments is being altered.  Starting with the 2004 production year, attention will be given, in the form of BRAVOS, rather than to specific classifications (e.g., Best Performer, Best Musical).

 

THE 2024 BW-CLE BRAVOS ARE AWARDED TO:

 

·      VICTORIA BUSSERT FOR HER FOCUSED DIRECTION OF INTO THE WOODS (GREAT LAKES THEATER), RIDE THE CYCLONE (BALDWIN WALLACE/BECK CENTER) AND ORDINARY DAYS (BALDWIN WALLACE/PLAY HOUSE SQUARE).

 

·      TERRI KENT, DIRECTOR & MARTIN CÉSPEDES FOR THEIR EXECUTION OF JESUS CHRIST SUPERSTAR (PORTHOUSE/KENT STATE UNIVERSITY).

 

·      CELESTE COSENTINO FOR HER DIRECTION OF A VIEW FROM THE BRIDGE (CAIN PARK) AND THE PROSPECT OF EQUALITY (ENSEMBLE THEATER).

 

·      DEIDRU RING, SOMETHING CLEAN, (DOBAMA THEATER), DANNY BÓ, ORDINARY DAYS (BALDWIN WALLACE UNIVERSITY/PLAY HOUSE SQUARE), MATTHEW GITTINS, JESUS CHRIST SUPERSTAR (PORTHOUSE/KENT STATE UNIVERSITY), REESE HENRICK, BEAUTIFUL (BECK CENTER), DANIEL PARKER, THE MERRY WIVES OF WINDSOR (GREAT LAKES THEATER) AND ANJANETTE HALL, A DOLL’S HOUSE-PART II, (BECK CENTER) FOR QUALITY OF PERFORMANCES.

 

·      POTUS (DOBAMA THEATRE) FOR QUALITY OF PRODUCTION AND RELEVANCE TO PRESENT-DAY POLITICS.

 

·      TRAD BURNS FOR THE SCENIC AND LIGHTING DESIGNS FOR RIDE THE CYCLONE (BALDWIN WALLACE UNIVERSITY/BECK CENTER).

 

·      RACHEL ZAKE, THE PROSPECT OF EQUALITY (ENSEMBLE THEATRE), LISA LANGFORD, BREAKFAST IN THE BOOKSTORE (KARAMU HOUSE THEATRE) AND TANIA BENITES, ALTER (CLEVELAND PUBLIC THEATRE/ TEATRO PÜBLICO DE CLEVELAND FOR THEIR DEVELOPMENT OF QUALITY NEW SCRIPTS.

 

·      CHARLES FEE FOR THE LENGTH AND QUALITY OF HIS SERVICE AS ARTISTIC DIRECTOR OF GREAT LAKES THEATER.

Creative, thought-provoking LIFE OF PI captivates at the Connor Palace

Yann Martel is noted for his ability to write tales filled with adventure, survival and spirituality.  His novel, LIFE OF PI, sold more than 15 million copies and won numerous awards. The novel has been translated into a film and now a stage play by Lolita Chakrabarti.  It is on stage at the Connor Palace Theatre, as part of the Key Bank Broadway Series. The play premiered in June, 2019 in Sheffield, England and was transferred to London’s West End in November, 2021.  It went on to win numerous awards.  It came to Broadway in 2023 and had a healthy Big Apple run. The story centers on Piscine (Pi) Patel, a teen boy from India.  His family owns a zoo.  In the 1970s the country was swept with political and economic unrest.  In order to ensure a better life for the children, they sold the zoo.  The parents and their two children, along with some of the more exotic animals, boarded a cargo ship to Canada.    A storm sinks the ship in the middle of the Pacific Ocean.  All are lost except for Pi, who is marooned on a life boat with a Bengal tiger (named Richard Parker), a zebra, a hyena and an orangutan.  Over the next 227 days, the question of existence becomes paramount.  How does one deal with hunger, thirst, and dangerous animals in such a confined environment?    In order to live, Pi has to face conflicts of man versus nature, man versus self, and man versus animal.  An added element is the role of faith and the role of “God.” David Greene, the Senior Vice President of Programming for Playhouse Square, states in the well-crafted show’s program notes, “The immersive sensory experience created left me entranced.”  I totally agree.  I was mesmerized by the quality of the production.   The cast is excellent.  Taha Mandviwala is masterful as Pi.  His physicality, emotional immersion and total believability is awing.      Mandviwala is no stranger to the Cleveland area.  In 2019 he starred in two Great Lakes Theater productions, TAMING OF THE SHREW and WITNESS FOR THE PROSECUTION.  In addition, his brother is a doctor at University Hospital.    He states of LIFE OF PI, “On the surface it is just a very simple story, about a young boy who is ship-wrecked and just trying not to die.”  He further states, “However, it’s more than a survival story, the production dives into deeper themes about family, nature and faith, challenging audiences to ponder what it means to believe when you have every reason to give up.”    Is the tale one of truth or fiction?  “In the author’s note to the book, Martel states that he met a man named Francis Adrubasamy at a coffee shop.  Francis told Martel he had a story that would make Martel believe in God.  That story ended up being the basis for the book.   Is the story fact or fiction?  Does it matter?  In the hands of a masterful writer, it makes for a wonderful book, movie and theatre production!   The staging by director Max Webster is creative.  He places demands, not only by the actors to create reality, but for technical creativity and expertise that go far beyond the usual performance.   The puppet designs are by Nick Barnes and Finn Caldwell.  The puppeteers performing as Richard Parker were Austin Wong Harper, Jon Hoche and Betsy Rosen.  They render a master class in puppetry.  The special lighting effects by Tim Lutkin and Tim Deiling, video and animation design of Andrzej Goulding and sound design by Carolyn Downing, help create compelling effects.   Capsule judgment:  It is difficult to watch such a combination of writing, acting and special effects and not be swept up in the wonder of live theatre.  The written story made for a thrilling experience in imagination. The film version added the visual experience.  The stage presentation offers an immersive experience that goes well beyond either of the other formats.  Do yourself a favor and see this production of LIFE OF PI.    LIFE OF PI runs at the Connor Palace through January 26, 2025. Tickets are available for all performances and can be purchased by calling 216-241-6000 or go online to playhousesquare.org.