TALLEY’S FOLLY, a tale of love overcoming prejudices and uncertainty, at Actors’ Summit

Theatre, as do all of the arts, represents the era from which it comes or is written about.  For example, Lanford Wilson’s TALLEY’S FOLLY places the spotlight on Missouri in 1944, the border state that, until this day, is noted for its laws and customs regarding prejudice against Jews, Catholics and Blacks (e.g. the Ferguson incidents).  It also showcases many of the feelings of border Southerners regarding “proper” etiquette, the sanctity of the roles that women are to play in society, and the power of gossip.  All this is folded into a charming tale.

Wilson, one of the most prolific playwrights of his generation, was born in Lebanon, Missouri and lived most of his life.  His writing reflects his attitudes toward the traditions of the area.

His themes are often gentle, but what appears to be simple digs deep and reflects “politics, religious discrimination, war, family history [patterns that run deep], money, greed, death and all the mysterious longings of the human heart.”
Because of his stances on social change, he is often compared to Anton Chekov, the late 19th and early 20th century writer, who is sometimes referred to as the predictor of the Russian revolution. 

His characters frequently speak in a flowing dialogue, identified as “musical” in tone.   For example, in TALLEY’S FOLLY, Matt, the thirty-something year old statistician, tells the audience at the start of the play that what they are about to see is a “waltz.”  He not only demonstrates the dance, but the cadence of his words pick up the 1-2-3 beat of the music. 

The “ninety-seven minute” TALLEY’S FOLLY takes place in a single night and exposes the unlikely matching of Matt Friedman and Sally Talley.  He is Jewish, she a member of a wealthy family filled with long held prejudices and social “rights and wrongs.”

Sitting at a dilapidated boathouse next to a river on the Talley farm,  Matt, in a speech given directly to the audience, explains not only the setting, but why he is there. 

He relates that the year before, while summer vacationing in Lebanon, he and Sally met.  He fell in love and sent her a letter each day, and talked to her aunt on the phone at least once a week.  Sally sent only a single letter, which contained little hope for a romantic union.

As the play develops we learn of her eccentric uncle who built “follies,” all over town, because he wanted to do so, no matter the attitudes of others.  Follies like the town bandstand where Matt and Sally met the year before.  Eventually they each share a major secret that both have held, which explains why they are who they are.  As the lyric, sad, funny, touching play comes to its end, we are left with the idea that Matt believes that “an angel has guided” his path to Sally and she agrees to marry him, move to St. Louis, and they vow to return to the boathouse every year so they don’t forget the place where they fell in love.

TALLEY’S FOLLY is part of the author’s Talley Trilogy which includes TALLY’S FOLLY, TALLEY & SON, which tells of a power struggle between Sally’s father and grandfather, and FIFTH OF JULY, which centers on societal attitudes regarding homosexuality and the disposition of the Talley estate. 

The Actors’ Summit production, under the insightful direction of Kevin P. Kern, is charming, humorous and well performed.  Seemingly a true romantic who believes in naturally formed unions, rather than matchmakers or computer dating, Kern states “This is a love story that shouldn’t be possible. . . .But in it’s uncertainty, the love affair is more real, more honest, more true than can be provided by a dot com. He concludes, “It’s certainly more interesting.”

Keith Stevens (Matt Friedman) and Shani Ferry (Sally Talley) have a natural connection that makes their relationship seem totally real.  Stevens creates a Matt who is awkward, uncertain, troubled, yet likeable and charming.  Ferry’s Sally is an injured woman whose resistance to happiness has a rightful cause.  As written and performed, these two wounded birds are meant for each other.

The set, costumes, props, and lighting all add to the success of the production.

Capsule judgement: TALLEY’S FOLLY is a fine play that gets an excellent production.  The cast (Keith Stevens and Shani Ferry) create real, accessible characters.  The story showcases the kinds of prejudices that often cause problems in people’s lives and gives a hopeful glow that there is hope, even in light of hate and gossip mongering.  This is a go-see evening of theatre!
 
For tickets to TALLY’S FOLLY, which runs through May 1, 2016 , call 330-374-7568 or go to www.actorssummit.org

Actors’ Summit’s next show is the Tony nominated TINTYPES, a nostalgic musical review of the popular songs from 1890 to 1917, featuring such tunes as “Meet Me in St. Louis,” “Yankee Doodle Dandy,” and “You’re a Grand Old Flag.” (May 19-June 19, 2016)

SAME TIME NEXT YEAR, delightful “old time” comedy at Actors’ Summit

Bernard Slade.  Name sound familiar?  Probably not.  How about “Bewitched,” “The Flying Nun,” “The Partridge Family,” “Bridget Loves Bernie?”  Slade and all of those mid-1900 television shows do have a connection.  He developed, authored or worked on all of them!

The award winning Slade is also noted for such stage plays and films as TRIBUTE, ROMANTIC COMEDY and SAME TIME NEXT YEAR.  The latter is now in production at Actors’ Summit.

SAME TIME NEXT YEAR centers on George, a New Jersey accountant, and Doris, an Oakland housewife.  They meet at a North California Inn in February, 1951, are immediately attracted to each other, and have a one-night fling.  Both are married and have children, but, for the next 24  years, they meet once a year, at the same time and place.  They develop a deep emotional attachment for each other and feel free to discuss births, deaths, and marital problems.

Over the span of the play, which gives a flash of their one day of February get- togethers, every five years (1951, 1956, 1961, etc.).  We observe as they age, both in attitudes and looks, and share life events, both positive and negative.   Our last visit with them is in 1975. 

The play, which was nominated for a Tony Award and won the Drama desk Award for best New American play, opened on Broadway in 1975 and ran for close to 1,500 performances.  The  original cast was Ellen Burstyn and Charles Grodin.   It was transformed into a 1978 film starring Burstyn and Alan Alda.

The script is an early Neil Simon-level comedy.  It is filled with jokes, nostalgia, sweetness, gentle conflicts, and lots of laughs.  By today’s offerings it would be called “old fashioned.”  It  is much in the form and language and incidents of a television sitcom. 

The Actors’ Summit production, under the direction of Paula Kline-Messner, is well done.  The timing is excellent, the laughs nicely keyed, the character development clear.  The scenes are nicely introduced by Kevin Rutan’s era-correct musical segues which also broadcast the tone of the up-coming scene.   For instance, the opening scene is preceded by “Love Is A Many Splendored Thing,” Andy Williams’ mid-century hit.

Keith Stevens nicely textures his portrayal of George, the “up-tight” stereotypical accountant through his personality growth and life-cycles, which include California-west coast Esalen “touchy-feely” persona, to a conservative Republican, and then his mature years.

Natalie Sander Kern, focuses a laser spotlight on Doris as she moves from up-tight Catholic with limited educational background to swinging hippie, to an educated and mature woman.  

Capsule judgement:  SAME TIME NEXT YEAR is an old-fashioned comedy that is filled with tender and humorous lines.  It a perfect play choice for the Actors’ Summit audiences and gets a delightful production under the direction of Paula Kline Messner, with fine performances by Keith Stevens and Natalie Sander Kern.

For tickets to SAME TIME NEXT YEAR, which runs through February 7, 2016 , call 330-374-7568 or go to www.actorssummit.org

GUYS ON ICE: THE ICE FISHING MUSICAL drops bait at Actors’ Summit

The American Folklore Theatre (AFT), located in Door County, Wisconsin, is a theater company that creates musicals and plays which are based on the populist culture and heritage of the United States.  They have developed such works as MULE FOR BREAKFAST AGAIN, LUMBERJACKS IN LOVE, LOOSE LIPS SINK SHIPS, and GUYS ON ICE.  The latter is now being staged by Actors Summit.

The script, with book and lyrics by Fred Alley and music composed by James Kaplan, tells the tale of a day in the life of Marvin and Lloyd, two ice fisherman and their arch pain-in-the-neck, Ernie the Moocher.

The show tends to play to sold-out houses in the Sturgeon Bay area of Minnesota where little wooden shanties sit on winter lake ice with puffs of smoke rising from their chimney pipes.  Marvin and Lloyd, long-time fishing buddies, philosophize and sing such ditties as “The Wishing Hole,” “Ode to a Snowmobile Suit,” “Things Aint Like They Used to Be,” and the stirring, “Fish Is the Miracle Food.”

Every once in a while, Ernie the Moocher pops in to “borrow” beer, food and whatever else he can get from the duo who are so desperate to get rid of him that they hand over whatever he wants.

Why is Actors’ Summit showcasing this Green Bay Packer, Wisconsin-centric tale?  As director MaryJo Alexander, who finds the script “endearing,” states in her program notes, “I love this show!  No it’s not Shakespeare, or Sondheim. . . It’s dressed up with quirky music, Packers jokes, and beer references.”  She also reveals that her parents were from Wisconsin and her grandparents are listed in the history books of beer making. 

For those of us not from Wisconsin, and who don’t have relatives who brew beer, the goings on may be a little cheesy.  That’s not to say the show is bad.  It just isn’t much.  The music isn’t catchy, the lyrics are rather sophomoric, and the story is almost non-existent.

Frank Jackman is familiar to Actor Summit audiences for his 30 productions with the theatre company.  He also is noted for his commercials, print ads and voice-overs.   He does a nice job of developing Marvin into a believable Wisconsinite (though a little more of the sing-song Scandinavian-sound, the area is noted for, would have helped). 

Bob Keefe displays a nice sense of humor as Lloyd, as well as a nice singing voice. 

Shawn Galligan does what he can with the poorly conceived role of Ernie the Moocher.  He is also given the unenviable task of adding minutes to what should have been a one-act, by conducting an audience participation quiz between the acts, which garnered few participants.

Capsule judgement:   As a couple said in the elevator while exiting the theatre,  “It was kinda cute.”  Yep, all righty, if you are in the right mood, and don’t expect Shakespeare or Sondheim, GUYS ON ICE is kind of cute. 

For tickets to GUYS ON ICE which runs through December 20, 2015, call 330-374-7568 or go to www.actorssummit.org

Actor’s Summit’s 2016 shows are:  SAME TIME, NEXT YEAR (Jan. 21-Feb. 7), CHIAPATTI (Feb. 25-Mar. 13), TALLY’S FOLLY (April 14-May 1), and TINTYPES (May 19-June 19).

Honky Tonk, Nashville, and pop music invades Actors’ Summit

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ALWAYS…PATSY CLINE, now on stage at Actors’ Summit, is a well formed musical review in which a Patsy Cline-imitator wails away Cline’s signature songs, including “Walkin’ After Midnight,” “I Fall to Pieces,” “She’s Got You,” “Anytime,” “Stupid Cupid,” “Lovesick Blues, “Faded Love,” and “Crazy.” The songs are interspersed with comments by a Cline fan and Cline, “herself.”

Born Virginia Patterson Hensley in 1932, she became the signature voice of the Nashville sound, a subgenre of American country music, which was noted for substituting the honky tonk previous style of country music which used fiddles and a nasal sound by the lead vocals, with strings, background music, and crooning lead vocalists. 

Cline’s success, more than anything else, was probably brought about by her appearance in 1957 on the “Arthur Godfrey’s Talent Scouts,” radio show. 

Cline proved to be one of the few country stars of her day who could make the crossover to pop music.

Cline’s sound was distinctive.  She had a rich tone, unusual phrasing, a hitch in her voice that is the key to any singer duplicating her sound, as well as an ability to pronounce words in a way that often made single syllable words into three or four parts. 

She died in a plane crash at age 30.  Ten years after her death, she became the first female solo artist inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame.  Her induction plaque read, “Her heritage of timeless recordings is testimony to her artistic capacity.” And even today, she is recognized as one of the greatest women in country music and rock and roll.

The script and song order for ALWAYS…PATSY CLINE was created by Ted Swindley.

The Actor’s Summit production, under the direction of MaryJo Alexander, is very entertaining.

The two-person show features Jennifer Browning as Cline and Chanda K. Porter as Louise, an avid Cline fan.  The duo is backed up by a wonderful group of musical artists consisting of JT Buck, Musical Director and pianist, Patrick Altmire as percussionist and drummer, Brian Del Bianco on bass, and a set of guitarists who alternate nights.

Porter steals the show as the dynamic, funny, “in your face” Louise.  She has a wonderful sense of comic timing, is totally uninhibited on stage, connects well with the audience, and has a great singing voice.  She is a delight to watch.

Jennifer Browning a has a VERY strong singing voice and has mastered the “Cline” sound and pronunciation.   She fails, however to display the “dynamic” presence for which Cline was noted.  She acts Cline, rather than being Cline. Thus, she becomes a caricature of the great singer rather than Cline.

The bandstand stage design works well.

Capsule judgement: ALWAYS PATSY CLINE makes for a pleasant evening of songs, humor and musical delight.  If you appreciate country music or are an avid fan of Patsy Cline, you will have a wonderful time.

For tickets to ALWAYS…PATSY CLINE, which runs through June 21, 2015, call 330-374-7568 or go to www.actorssummit.org

Actor’s Summit’s 2015-2016 season includes:  QUILTERS, (Oct. 8-Nov. 1), GUYS ON ICE (Nov. 25-Dec. 22), SAME TIME, NEXT YEAR (Jan. 21-Feb. 7), CHIAPATTI (Feb. 25-Mar. 13), TALLY’S FOLLY (April 14-May 1), TINTYPES (May 19-June 19).

Roy Berko's commentaries and reviews appear on coolcleveland.com, artsamerica.org, with selected reviews posted on broadwayworld.com and BWWdanceworld.com  To subscribe to his blog go to and follow the directions in the right hand column:  www.royberko.info 

BAD JEWS, bad title, bad script at Actors’ Summit

Shortly into Actors’ Summit’s production of BAD JEWS, several things become obvious.  The off-setting title was not only a turn-off for many, but was misleading.  Secondly,  author Joshua Harmon, self-admitted stumbler into the world of playwriting, may need a re-thinking about his career. 

On the surface, the play has been described as a black comedy about family, faith and legacy.  It definitely is about family.  More specifically about the role of egocentricism and attempts to control other family members through manipulation for personal gain.  As for the faith and legacy, those are questionable.

The action centers on three cousins, and the girl friend of the oldest cousin, Liam, who are forced to share an efficiency apartment in New York, to commemorate the death of their beloved grandfather, “Poppie.”  A Holocaust survivor, he went through much of his concentration camp survival, as the tale is told, hiding a gold “chai” under his tongue. 

“Chai,” is a combination of two Hebrew letters, “Chet” and “Yod,” which represent being  alive or living, and has been made into a visual symbol, usually a gold amulet worn on a chain around the neck.  It can be worn by both men and women, as a symbol of the word of God and for good luck. It  also represents the number 18, a good luck number in Hebrew tradition.

Two cousins, Daphna and Liam, both want Poppie’s “chai.”   Daphna, who purports to be the “most  Jewish” of the cousins, has studied the religion, practices and traditions of the faith, is supposedly moving to Israel after she graduates from college.  Liam has spent most of his life distancing himself from his cultural traditions, including getting an advanced degree in Japanese culture, and dating numerous non-Jewish girls.  He shows disdain for family by going skiing in Aspen rather than attending Poppie’s funeral and showing up with his Christian girl friend to sit “Shiva” (the mourning period for the dead). He wants the “chai” to use as a substitute for an engagement ring, much as Poppie did when he asked their grandmother to marry him.

The third cousin Jonah, is passive (or maybe, passive aggressive), wanting not to get involved in the family feud.   He has nothing to gain from the “chai” battle.

The action centers on a constant war of attack and nasty accusations between Daphna and Liam, as each displays their insecurities.  Two selfish people in a fight for dominance.

It is from this conflict, while fighting over an symbol of their religion, and a family heirloom, that the duo become “bad Jews.”  Jews behaving badly. 

Tradition and family are two of the most important Jewish values, and these are thrown to the wind in the war for dominance and satisfying selfish desires.

The Actors’ Summit production is burdened with a poorly conceived script. Many of the lines are written in “written,” rather than “spoken” English, making the characters caricatures rather than theatrical characters, not real people.  The plot which is cellophane, easily seen through, and not very compelling.  Even the “startling” ending, doesn’t evoke much feeling.  The laughs are there, but in comedies the humor is often used to relieve stress or define the characters.  Except in the case of Jonah, BAD JEWS laughs don’t do this.

Director Constance Thackberry keeps the action moving right along and gets what she can from the script.

Nate Miller stars as Jonah.  Miller has a mobile face, a nice touch with comedy timing and plays “defeated” with the best of them.  He not only looks like Johnny Galecki, Leonard, of television’s GREAT BANG THEORY, but displays the same whipped dog face and body gestures. 

Brittany Gaul does her best to make Daphna self-centered, manipulative and a teller of white lies.  Her oral presentation of choppiness of word flow, and awkward line interpretation, becomes annoying after a while.  It’s not clear as to why she, or the director, decided to take this presentation approach.

Kyle Huff stays right on the acting surface as Liam.  He often sounds unreal, saying words, not meanings.  Whether it’s the writing or the acting, I really didn’t care who won the battle of the “Chai.” I didn’t like either Daphna or Liam as characters or people.

Gabi Shook gives a creditable performance as the shallowly written Melody, who, as conceived, raises deep questions over why someone on his way to a doctorate would be interested in this Barbie-doll.  But maybe that’s the point.

The set, a well conceived New York efficiency with a view of the Hudson river, aids in setting the right mood.

Capsule judgement:  BAD JEWS is a poorly conceived play with a title that is a put-off for many and may well be misleading.

There are after-production discussions following some performances.  Check the theatre’s website for dates and panel members!

For tickets to BAD JEWS, which runs through May 3, 2015, call 330-374-7568 or go to www.actorssummit.org

Roy Berko's commentaries and reviews appear on coolcleveland.com, artsamerica.org, with selected reviews posted on broadwayworld.com and BWWdanceworld.com  To subscribe to his blog go to and follow the directions in the right hand column:  www.royberko.info 

Must see, thought provoking, entertaining, EINSTEIN, at Actors’ Summit

Brian Zoldessy, one of the area’s most awarded actors, seems to be making a career of bringing real people to life.  He was Ned Weeks, the AIDS activist in Ensemble’s THE NORMAL HEART, Sigmund Freud, the recognized father of Psychoanalysis in Actors’ Summit’s FREUD’S LAST SESSION, and now he’s reincarnating the renowned physicist, Albert Einstein.  He won both Cleveland Critics Circle and Times Tribute Theatre awards for the former two roles, and the odds are he’ll be receiving similar recognition for his most recent portrayal.

EINSTEIN, now on stage at Actors’ Summit, is a one-performer snapshot of the personal life and scientific revelations of the German Jewish scientist who changed the understanding of the world of science. 

We observe as Einstein tells the tale of his going from gymnasium (high school) drop-out to one of the most revered men on the planet.  We see him argue with peers, teachers, professors and other men of letters, as he rejects teaching methods which discourage creative thinking and stress rote learning.

This is the man who seems to be a typical absent minded professor, losing his pipe, glasses, letters and papers of importance, even forgetting where he lives, but, in reality, living in a world where he is overwhelmed with internal thoughts that get in the way of his traveling through life with organization and clarity.  He is a man who is less than an acceptable husband and father because his world is consumed with probing theoretical thoughts.  He is always in the office located in his mind.

We become aware that, at age 26, Einstein had a miracle year.  In a short period in he published 4 groundbreaking academic papers, established the building blocks of quantum theory, proved the existence of atoms,  conceived the theory of relativity, including the equation of the matter-energy conversion rate, E = mc2, often dubbed the world’s most famous equation.

He is the pioneer who explored new frontiers in science, opposed quantum mechanics and the Big Bang Theory, while becoming a fighter who brought refugees from Hitler’s Germany and was proposed as the President of Israel.
 
Potential audience members may fear seeing a play of deep scientific matters that will be boring and hard to understand.  Fear not!  Writer Willard Simms has overcome those issues by using “a conversation with the audience” format.  Einstein wanders the stage, talking to the audience, clarifying his ideas with stories, jokes, absent minded forgetfulness, and written and drawn examples.  He keeps the ideas on the shallow side, which may be frustrating to scientists, but works well for the rest of us. 

Praise for this production’s staging was heard from a large number of MENSA members, people who score in the 98th percentile or higher on standardized IQ tests, who attended the opening night performance as a group, as well as Kent State University advanced science students, and the “regular” members of the audience.

The script is light on some details of Einstein’s life, his theories, and motivations which developed his acceptance/rejection of God and organized religion, his skepticism, and the causes of family conflicts, but the general concepts are there.

Simms does help open the doors to understanding why Einstein was perceived as arrogant, his belief that only musical composers and scientists express the unknown and the power of the universe, his strong stand against injustice, acceptance of Zionism, and beliefs in morality.

The winner of the 1921 Nobel Prize in Physics for his discovery of the law of the photoelectric effect, Einstein wrote a letter to President Roosevelt in the 1940s about Germany’s potential development of “extremely powerful bombs of a new type.”  His action helped develop  the Manhattan Project which gave birth to the atomic bomb.  In an about face, when he discovered that the Nazis could not develop a similar weapon, ironically because they had either killed or expelled their Jewish scientists, Einstein denounced the idea of using the newly discovered nuclear fission as a weapon in the now famous “Russell-Einstein Manifesto.”

Actors’ Summit’s production, is excellent.  A. Neil Thackaberry directs the show with precision and Brian Zoldessy is brilliant in his portrayal of Einstein.

On stage, alone for an hour-and-a- half, Zoldessy become the great scientist.  Rather than portraying Einstein, Zoldessy becomes the hair flying, unkempt genius.  He does not allow the audience’s attention to wander.  His is not a good performance, it’s a great performance.  Wow!  Standing “O!”

Capsule judgement:  EINSTEIN is a must see production that offers an opportunity to access the man and his myths.  It also allows for a showcasing of Brian Zoldessy becoming Einstein!

There are after-production discussions by science educators following some performances.  Check the theatre’s website for dates and panel members!

For tickets to EINSTEIN, which runs through February 1, 2015, call 330-374-7568 or go to www.actorssummit.org

Farcical “Hounds of the Baskervilles” at Actors’ Summit

There’s a moor, a diabolical hound, a maiden, a man who dies of a heart attack (well, maybe), a butler who carries around a tray of plastic food and wears an obvious fake beard, an attempt to perform CPR on an obvious stuffed dummy, men in a sauna wearing towels over their suits, men dressed as women, and lots of doors slamming. 

Then there’s Sir Henry, the last of the Baskervilles (well, maybe).  Sherlock Holmes and his faithful companion, Dr. Watson, are brought in to protect Sir Henry, but bumble so badly at the start of the production, the play has to be started over.  Then there’s a series of tweets about the play, while it is going on, requiring the cast to redo the entire show to prove its not as outlandish as the tweet indicated. 

Yes, Actors’ Summit is staging a British farce entitled “Hound of the Baskervilles.” 

The mystery novel “The Hound of the Baskervilles” by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle was the third of his novels about the detective Sherlock Holmes.  It, like the play adaptation by Steven Canny and Frank Nicholson, takes place on Dartmoor in Devon, located in England’s West Country.  Like the play, the book tells of an attempted murder of the last in the line of Baskervilles, wealthy landowners. 

Any resemblance between the serious tone of the book and the ridiculous staged version ends there.

Canny and Nicholson pull out all the stops to create a typical British farce, much in the vein of “The 39 Steps” and “Noises Off.”  They have three men playing fifteen parts, which results in lots of quick costume changes, males playing females, bad wigs and beards, maniacal changing of sets, ridiculous double entendres, the stretching of reality to its limits, and general exhausting chaos on both the parts of the actors and the audience.

British theatrical farces, commonly referred to as “foolish shows,” “mockeries,” or “ridiculous shams” can be very, very funny.  The difficulty is that to make them hilarious requires meticulous staging.   British and Canadian actors and directors have been trained to be sensitive to making over-exaggeration look natural and the real, a requirement for effective farce. Double takes, side glances, asides to the audience are all part of the farce lexicon. Think Monte Python. 

Much of British humor is tongue-in-cheek.  This has also built a pattern for the presentation, as does the ability to play with the sound of British punctuation and the pitches of the voice.   These techniques do not come naturally to Americans.  Few U.S. playwrights use that type of humor.  Most, like Neil Simon, put their characters in real humorous situations, not preposterous ones.  Mel Brooks uses exaggeration, but not of the British variety.  American jokes tend to be self-deprecating or sexually laden.  Neither of these lend themselves to farce presentation.  It accounts to why Americans often “don’t get” British humor.

Accepting the difficulty of staging and acting in farce, the Actor’s Summit production of ‘Hound of the Baskervilles” is quite nice, especially considering I saw an early-in-the-run staging.  Farce tends to improve as the production goes on, as the timing becomes more crisp, adding to the folly.

Stuart Hoffman, who not only played Holmes, but four other males and two females, was properly staid as the great detective and humorous as Cecile Stapleton and Mrs. Barrymore.

Frank Jackman was on target as Watson and a local yokel.

Jim Fippin nicely carried much of the load with his six characterizations.

British accents, when used, were well done, the costume changes fun to watch, many of the shticks worked.  The numerous movements of set pieces slowed down the production and got monotonous.  Some other way of making the shifts would have helped so that there were not long pauses.

Capsule judgement: You have to go to Actors’ Summit to see “The Hounds of the Baskervilles” in the right state of mind.  Understand that this is not a “real” Sherlock Holmes mystery tale.  Be prepared to laugh, accept the outlandish, and groan at the ridiculousness.

For tickets to “Hound of the Baskervilles” which runs through December 21, 2014, call 330-374-7568 or go to www.actorssummit.org

Enjoyable “Making God Laugh” at Actors’ Summit

Families can be interesting to observe.  Take for example, the family who is the subject of Sean Grennan’s “Making God Laugh,” the 125th main stage production of Actors’ Summit. 

The quintet are functional, but with some over-arching problems, mainly centering on Ruthie, an obsessive-compulsive wife and mother.  Ruthie, who believes rules are rules, traditions are traditions, and none these are up for discussion or change.

Ruthie’s “absolutes” include serving her foul tasting and smelling Fantasia Dip on every holiday, the infallibility of the Catholic church, her drive for making everything “perfect,” and her harassing two of her three children. Only Thomas, the youngest, who, at the start of the play is a priest-in training, is exempt.  The oldest son, Rick/Rickie/Richard, an alcoholic “wanna be” playboy, whose life centers on “a guy told me” get-rich schemes, purchases of off brand and weirdly colored cars, such as a “pink” Gremlin, wears trendy clothing, and perceives himself as a woman’s man.

Then there is middle child, Maddie.  Insecure Maddie, a lesbian, would-be actress and sometime teacher, is the constant recipient of her mother’s attempts to get her married, bring forth grandchildren, and be the duplicate of “Ruthie’s former best “friend.”

Bill is a quiet, undemonstrative dad and enabling husband, who puts up with Ruthie’s manipulations and control, including sleeping in a separate bedroom, for no other reason than that he loves her.  But even that parameter meets its match when Ruthie finally goes too far.

This a family filled with unresolved issues, met and unmet dreams, and angst.  Yes, a family, like many families. The negatives come forward during the holidays.  Ah, yes, the holidays, which are supposed to be happy times, but often, as is true of other stressing situations such as weddings, turn from happy anticipation to intra-family squabbles.

As outsiders looking in, the audience can laugh at the idiocy, sigh as they relive similar personal comparisons, and feel the tug of heart strings as each family member changes before our eyes due to attitude changes, realizations, and physical and mental illnesses.

The play covers three decades, each accented by a holiday.  First, there’s Thanksgiving (1980)…the era of green and gold furniture, David Hasselhoff, polyester clothing, words like “cool,” and “Fantasy Island” on television. 

Then comes Christmas Eve (1990)…gas selling for $1.16 a gallon, Pinto autos, Tom Sellick, huge portable phones with bad reception, sideburns, and dudes in denim duds. 

Next, it’s New Year’s Eve, 2000.  Yes, the time of the Y2K prediction of the millennium bug, the impending apocalypse, changes in the Catholic church, the forecast of Google, the fall of Enron, and soy beans as the farm crop of choice. 

The last scene is Easter Morning, in 20??...sometime in the near future.  When reality sets in, the “children” have found their niches in life, the physical and psychological woes of the elders are apparent, “pleasant dementia” is on display, and a new reality and family dynamics have set in and need to be managed.

The dramedy’s title was inspired by a Woody Allen’s classic line, “If you want to make God laugh, tell him your plans.”  This family had its plans and they make not only God, but the audience laugh, in the process of watching these plans followed, changed, accomplished, and fall apart.

“Making God Laugh” is formulaic, more television than theatre in its writing style.  It’s not Neil Simon or Woody Allen funny, more “Modern Family” cute.  It does have its “ah ha” moments and “aw isn’t that nice” inclusions.

The Actors’ Summit production is nicely paced by director Neil Thackaberry.  The natural farcical instances are stressed, the laughs are abundant.

MaryJo Alexander’s costume designs are era-exaggerated, especially carried out in Rick’s garb and hairstyles and Maddie’s wardrobe.

The cast, Chanda Porter (Ruthie), James Hill (Bill), Keith E. Stevens (Richard), Shani Ferry (Maddie), and Adam Klusty (Thomas) develop consistent characterizations.  These are theater characters, not real life people, and are portrayed as such with exaggerated facial expressions and body movements.

Capsule judgement:  “Making God Laugh” is one of those nice escapist evenings of theater that will induce laughter, cause nostalgic trips to yesteryear for the more mature members of the audience, and incite awareness of the fears of some as they look forward to the “golden” years.   
“Making God Laugh” runs at Actors’ Summit, located in Greystone Hall, 6th floor, 103 S. High Street, Akron, through November 2, 2014.  For tickets call 330-374-7568 or go to http://www.actorsummit.org

Actors’ Summit’s next show is “Hound of the Baskervilles, the original Sherlock Holmes story, which runs from November 26-December 21, 2014.

Actors' Summit..HANDLE WITH CARE, it's mostly Hebrew to me

Picture this:  on a Thursday night, an American theatrical comedy, one-third of which’s dialogue was spoken in Hebrew, was viewed by an audience composed primarily of Hebrew speaking Israelis.  The setting:  Actors’ Summit in Akron.  Yes, Akron, Ohio!

How did this occurrence come to pass?  A group of Israeli teenagers were in the United States on an exchange program.  They were spending time in Cleveland, their hosts became aware of the production of Jason Odell Williams’ “Handle With Care,” and brought the Israeli students, and the students at Beachwood’s Akiva (Jewish) High School to the play.

Being in the audience with the students added a dimension to the theatrical experience.  During the show there was an underlying stream of comments.  One of the patrons thought the Israeli students were being disrespectful until it was pointed out that the sounds being heard were interpretations from English to Hebrew by the Akiva students.  The Israelis were as lost in the English as most of the rest of the audience was in the Hebrew spoken segments.

There was laughter from the students when Hebrew was being spoken, which was absent from the English speaking audience, and laughter when the English was being spoken from the rest of the audience, but not from the Israelis.  The subsets were reacting to what they understood, which was not available to the other group.

During the question and answer session, members of the cast, none of whom knew any Hebrew before their appearance in the play, were curious as to their ability to correctly pronounce the words they were speaking.  The Israeli students laughed as they explained that like any language, there are differences in pronunciation  in Hebrew.  They came to the conclusion that the accent being used was Russian-Hebrew (former Russians who emigrated to Israel, learned Hebrew, but pronounce it based on their Russian language pronunciation).  Not surprisingly, Oudi Singer, who acted as the Hebrew coach for the cast, speaks Russian-Hebrew.

Williams’ play is a pleasant comedy which has a feel good sit-com format.  It is one of those plays where the outcome becomes obvious about one-third into the goings-on.

Loosely following some aspects of the film classic “It’s a Wonderful Life,” complete with a bumbling “guardian angel” and lots of happy coincidences, it’s the kind of script that will probably be produced by Jewish theatres and temple drama groups.

The story centers on a trip to America by grandma Edna, on an undisclosed mission, and her granddaughter, Ayelet, who has recently broken up with her boyfriend.  As we come upon Ayelet, in a rundown motel in backwoods Virginia, she is hysterically yelling in Hebrew at Terrence, an air-headed delivery man.  We eventually find out that grandma Edna had died and her body was placed in a box for shipment back to Israel for burial.  (How the body got put into the box, doubtfully handled by Jewish ritual, which requires special preparation and the body never be left alone, is a mystery.) 

The body was “lost” when Terrence left the keys in his delivery truck and the vehicle was stolen while he made a 7-ll food stop.  Into the chaos enters Josh.  He’s a high school friend of Terrence’s, one of the few Jews in the area, and, of course, Terrence assumes that because of his religion he will be able to communicate with Ayelet.  The non-observant and Hebrew-illiterate Josh is of no help.  (But, as the audience figures out, he’s there for a plot-purpose.)

Josh’s wife died a few years ago.  Hmm….the plot unfolds.  Ayelet and Josh are both nice, Jewish, unmarried, and open for love!

The body is found, and grandma Edna’s belief in the “beshert” (Yiddish for “meant to be”) comes true.

A 2013-2014 off-Broadway production of “Handle With Care,” starring Carol Lawrence (of “West Side Story” fame), ran 112 performances and was called “fearlessly adorable” by the “NY Jewish Review.” 

The Actors’ Summit production, under the direction of Constance Thackaberry, who is a friend of the playwright, is quite pleasant.  The performances are very good.  Natalie Sander Kern undertook the daunting responsibility of learning hundreds of lines in a language she didn’t know.  She also had to learn to pronounce the words, and make dramatic sense of them.  She was outstanding, and, according to one of the Israeli students, “made me laugh.”

Keith Stevens was charming as the befuddled Josh.  Arthur Chu (who some in the audience knew as the very successful contestant on the nationally televised  “Jeopardy”) added with his southern-accented interpretation of the dim-witted Terrence.  Marci Paolucci made a nice “Savta” (Hebrew for grandmother), with a surprising past.

Capsule judgment: “Handle With Care” isn’t a great script, but makes for a smiling evening of theatre.  Seeing the show with a group of Israeli, Hebrew-speaking students, added a dimension of understanding of culture and language.

For tickets to HANDLE WITH CARE, which runs through April 13, 2014, call 330-374-7568 or go to www.actorssummit.org

What makes a man a man explored at Actors’ Summit 

Until the late 1960s and 70s, the age of women’s liberation, the writings and speeches of Gloria Steinem, Betty Friedan, and Bella Abzug, MS magazine, and the National Women’s Caucus, men knew what it was like to be a man.   They were the center of the patriarchal family.  They were the bread winners, the disciplinarians, role models, because father knew best.  The macho man!

That’s not the pattern any longer.  Men are going to stylists, getting plastic surgery to look younger, changing diapers, taking over the role of childrearing, being sensitive, using words like “male bonding” and “relationship,” and wearing clothing of such colors as purple, red and, even pink.  Most importantly, they aren’t sure what their roles are as lover and husband.

Sean Christopher Lewis, the National New Play Network (NNPN) playwright in residence, seized upon the male befuddled state of mind and wrote MANNING UP, a play getting its world premiere at not only Akron’s Actors’ Summit, but at Riverside Theatre (Iowa City, IA) and Salt Lake Acting Company (Salt Lake City, UT).  NNPN champions the development of new plays by giving each of three theatres $7000 to champion the selected new work.  So far, 29 new plays have been produced.

Lewis, either from experience or observation, knows his subject well.  It’s impossible to watch the goings on of two men (Raymond and Donnie) in a basement “man cave” and not realize that their “I am man, see me roar” world has collapsed around them.  In fact, they are planning on attending a “maninar,” a seminar that teaches the modern man how to navigate the new world in which he must travel.

As the duo, both of whom are expectant fathers, discuss, in panic and confusion, such topics as “men don’t have best friends,” “I’m afraid of losing who I am,” “existing as an idiot savant of manliness,” the meaning of being “emotionally absent,” and that “the difference between men and government bond, is that eventually a government bond matures.”  Through using the empty chair technique of Gestalt counseling, we find out much about the men’s insecurities.

As Lewis describes the goings on, the duo is “Looking at the dads they’ve seen and grown up with, though this doesn’t seem the best proposition.  Maninars, Primal Screams and therapy sessions fill their night in Raymond’s basement as they wonder how to be the men they need to for the women upstairs.”

Raymond is an actor who is fighting any semblance of being a modern sensitive man.  He’s afraid of losing who he is, especially since he had such a poor father figure to emulate.

Donnie is a college professor of 14th century English literature, who is filled with fear, acts with caution, is sexually naïve, and displays high anger control.  He is in total fear of fatherhood.

Lewis’s script is more television sitcom than play, but it evokes laughter by pulling out the ridiculousness of the plight of a modern suburban man and how he has been emasculated by the women’s movement and lives in fear of doing the wrong thing because men no longer have the manual on how to be a man.

Director Neil Thackaberry pulls out all the farce plugs, including knocking down doors and overblown hysteria, to set a furious pace.

Peter Voinovich (Raymond) and Keith Stevens (Donnie), who are real-life brothers-in-law and have recently gone through the throes of new fatherhood, have a great time on stage.  They both develop clear characters.  Stevens, whose mobile face often reflects the “deer caught in the headlights look” of a timid academic, unused to operating without a lesson plan, is excellent.  Voinovich, the bigger, more gruff of the two, rants and raves with great buffoonery.  Since the play takes place in New Jersey, the goings on would have been enhanced by hearing some “Joisey” accents.

Capsule judgement: MANNING UP, like the more entertaining comic sitcoms (think EVERYBODY LOVES RAYMOND or SUBURGATORY), delights while making a few thought provoking points about the plight of the modern male.  If you are looking for a fun evening of escapism, this is it!

For tickets to, which runs through, call 330-374-7568 or go to www.actorssummit.org

Actors’ Summit motherhood out loud—delightful, thought provoking

The great fear of realizing that MOTHERHOOD OUT LOUD is a series of vignettes which look at varying phases of motherhood, is that it will turn out to be a Hallmark sentimental mindless experience.  Fear not.  The eighteen authors of the vignettes avoid making the experience sappy and purely entertaining.  Instead, there is a balance of humor, pathos, and social commentary.

Four actors, play multiple roles, examining life in a full circuit birth to rebirth process, starting with the delivery experience of three women (“Fast Births”—Michele Lowe), and end with the birth experience (“My Baby”—Annie Weisman).  Yes, life is a circular process.  In between, we view sleep deprivation (“Next to the Crib”—Brooke Berman), play dates “New Motherhood”—Lisa Loomer), the first day of school (“First Day Fugue”—Michele Lowe), child as transgendered being (“Queen Esther”—Michele Lowe), international adoption (“Baby Bird”—Theresa Rebeck), gay parenthood (“If We’re Using a Surrogate, How Come I’m the One with Morning Sickness”—Marco Pennette), sex education (“Sextalk Fugue”—Michele Lowe), the plight of both the daughter’s first period and being an immigrant mother (“Nooha’s List”—Lameece Issaq), step-motherhood  (“My Almost Family”—Luanne Rice), autism (“Michael’s Date”—Michele Lowe), graduation from high school (“Graduation Day Fuge”—Michele Lowe), empty nest syndrome (“Threesome”—Leslie Ayvazian), going off to war (“Stars and Stripes”—Jessica Goldberg), holidays (‘Thanksgiving Fugue”—Michele Lowe), the onset of depression and dementia (“Elizabeth”—David Cale); and generational differences (“Report on Motherhood”—Beth Henley).

Sounds like a lot in a short 90-minute period of time, but under Constance Thackaberry’s insightful directing, the time moves quickly, the characterizations are well etched, there is a nice texturing of meaning, and comedy and pathos are well developed. 

The cast are all excellent, with Paula Kline-Messner shining.  Her “Queen Esther,” and “Stars and Stripes” are show highlights, as is Gabriel Riazi’s “If We’re Using a Surrogate, How Come I’m the one with Morning Sickness.”  Other highlights are Messner and Sarah Grewitt’s “Report on Motherhood.“  Shani Ferry is consistent in her various roles.

The set, a series of platforms, backed up by a wall of bicycles, strollers, stuffed animals, wagons, and baby toys is a perfect visual image for the goings on.

Capsule judgement: MOTHERHOOD OUT LOUD is a delightful, thought provoking evening of theatre that should be positively perceived by all audience members. 

For tickets to, which runs through, call 330-374-7568 or go to www.actorssummit.org

FREUD’S LAST SESSION a fascinating look at belief or lack of beliefRoy Berko
Member, American Theatre Critics Association, Cleveland Critics Circle

Sigmund Freud founded the discipline of psychoanalysis.  His concepts centered on sexual drives, parental influences, transference, dream interpretation and unconscious desires.  Known as an atheist,  he was not without religion.  He was an assimilated secular Jew.

C. S. Lewis was a novelist, academic, medievalist, literary critic, essayist, lay theologian and Christian apologist who wrote such works as The Screwtape Letters and The Chronicles of Narnia.  At age 15 he declared himself an atheist.  At 32 he returned to the Anglican Communion and fervently re-embraced God and Christianity.

What would have happened if these two men had met to discuss their conflicting ideas?  They may, in fact, have met as there is an illusion in Freud’s records that he had an appointment with someone who may have been Lewis.  If the duo met or not, we can eavesdrop in on playwright Mark St. Germain’s  concept of the interaction in FREUD’S LAST SESSION, a two-character "what-if" play now on stage at Actor’s Summit. 

The play is based on the best selling book The Question of God by Dr. Armand M. Nicholi, Jr.
The setting: Freud’s study in his London house.  It’s September 3, 1939, and, as the room’s radio informs us, the war between England and Germany is about to break out.  As the two debate, air raid sirens wail and Freud, a life-long smoker, is pain-ripped due to mouth cancer which requires him to wear an uncomfortable oral prosthesis.

Freud purported that those who believed in God were suffering from obsessional neurosis.  Lewis thought that human existence depended on the belief in a supreme being.  A lively, contentious, yet joke-filled debate takes place, and though they approach ideas quite differently, they find themselves bonding in ways they might not have expected.

The script is filled with many insightful statements and questions that can excite or incite strong feelings.  These include:  “Satan is a brilliant creation,” “Is there a moral law?”  “Is shame a good thing?” “Are our deepest desires ever satisfied?”  “The God of the Bible is a busybody.” “Is the story of Christ the greatest myth of all time?”  There is also the revelation that both Freud and Lewis had bad relationships with their fathers, which taught them “how not to be adults.”

Hanging over the end of the play is whether Freud will, as he has indicated, destroy himself before the cancer can do it.  We do know, in fact, that two weeks after the date of the play, Freud, assisted by his doctor, did end his own life. This adds to the intrigue of the script as Freud tells Lewis that if Lewis is right about his belief in the afterlife, he can tell Freud about it in heaven, but if Freud is right, then neither of them will ever know the truth.

The 90-minute intermissionless production, which is mainly talk with little action, is excellent. 

Brian Zoldessy, last year’s Cleveland Critics Circle and Times Theatre Tributes best actor winner for his portrayal of Larry Kramer in Ensemble’s THE NORMAL HEART, is compelling as Freud.  He inhabits the role to the degree that the viewer forgets s/he is in a theatre and is actually part of the conversation and partaking in the character’s physical pain.   His slight Austrian accent allows for the correct effect, without making understanding difficult.

Keith Stevens holds his own as C. S. Lewis.  His English accent comes and goes, but he is consistent in developing Lewis’s uptight moralistic attitude.  His highlight is a scene in which he has a PTSD-type  reaction to a radio command to put on of gas masks based on his horrific military battle experiences in World War I. 

No credit is given in the program to whoever collected the numerous props on stage, but bravo to that person.  Ditto for the set design which well illustrates the script’s line of “One hundred colors around you.”  The rugs, Freud’s famous psychoanalysts couch, and decorations all set the right mood.

Capsule judgement:  FREUD’S LAST SESSION is a must see, fascinating theatre, for anyone who is interested in a philosophical, thought laced drama, with laughter and fine acting.

For tickets to FREUD’S LAST SESSION, which runs through March 17, call 330-374-7568 or go to www.actorssummit.org

Actors' Summit:  Well written script gets excellent production

Tennessee Williams, Edward Albee, William Inge, Arthur Miller, Stephen Dietz.  What do these playwrights have in common?  They are on the list of the top ten American writers who have the most produced plays.  Never heard of Dietz?  You are not alone. He is a regional playwright who makes a living as a college professor and writing scripts that are done in mid-America.  

Dietz is a prolific writer, having penned more than 30 original plays. He’s scribed political, comedic, and personal scripts.  Most center on the effects of personal betrayal and deception. 

In contrast to playwrights who write a script, showcase it, and then have some production company stage it, many of Dietz’s works go from computer right into acting editions that are published by Dramatists Play Service or Samuel French.  Many of his short plays appear in anthologies.  Broadway is not on the list of sites for his works.

Actors’ Summit, which is producing FICTION, a 2002 Dietz work, did a delightful production of his commissioned piece, BECKY’S NEW CAR, in 2011, which was written as a birthday present from a man to his wife.

Dietz is a wordsmith.  He writes poetic language and produces quotable feasts.  His lines include such bon mots as describing a character in FICTION as “having a mouth like a machine that goes by itself.”  Another character states, “you don’t leap a shadow, you just run through it.”  Describing a discussion between a man and his wife, he states, “The point? Why does there need to be a point. . .the Great Reductiveness in which everything we say must be shrunk down to You Make a Point and I Refute it; I Make a Statement and You Rebut It. Is that really the best we can do?.” A secret that his ill wife is keeping inspires the statement, “A secret, like a disease, is a very human thing. It hides inside you. Discovers where you are most vulnerable. And then it hurts you.”

FICTION centers on an author (Michael), his wife (Linda) , his lover (Abby), and a series of secrets.  The married duo originally met at a Paris café, develop an argumentative repartee, and avoid “real talk” by playing verbal ping pong.  Michael and Abby met at a writer’s seminar, and have a strained relationship.

Linda, who has been diagnosed with a fatal brain tumor, teaches literary fiction and book writing, and is the author of a critically acclaimed novel based on her supposed rape while in South Africa. Michael is a commercially successful novelist who is uncomfortable with his having “sold out” to the movie industry and forced to write best selling pithy novels. Both are prolific journal keepers and it is their journals which serve as the touchstone of their problems.

Linda figures she has about " twenty meals" left in her life, and asks Michael to read her heretofore strictly private journals after her death, and she asks to read his.  She explains " “It's ludicrous…not to mention vain -- I mean vain in a truly Tom Wolfe-ian sort of way -- to think that they are not real, that I am not real unless someone reads them."   From this request, through a series of audience affronts and interactions, we are led down an intriguing path which reveals much and makes for the questioning of the truth of it all.

The well paced Actors’ Summit production, which is adeptly directed by MaryJo Alexander, is compelling.  Though it is all words, with no comedy, and no explosive action, there are enough highlighted twists and turns and questions of what is true and what is fiction, to grab and hold the audience.

Sally Groth (Linda), Bob Keefe (Michael) and Cassandra Capocci (Abby)  each develop a real, living character.  The parts aren’t acted, they are lived. 

CAPSULE JUDGEMENT:  FICTION is a well crafted script which should be appreciated by people who enjoy good acting and literate dialogue.  I’d class it as a “go see” for those who can forsake lots of pseudo-drama or escapist comedy.

For tickets to FICTION, which runs through February 3, call 330-342-0800 or go to actorssummit.org.

Coming up:  ACTORS’ Summit’s next offering is the recent off-Broadway smash, FREUD’S LAST SESSION, from February 28-March 17.  It will star 2012 Cleveland Critics Circle’s Best Actor award winner Brian Zoldessy.  For a review of the off-Broadway show go to http://www.royberko.info and search under the Broadway link.

Delightful, thought provoking MY MOTHER’S LESBIAN JEWISH WICCAN WEDDING at Actors’ Summit

Where do you get information and inspiration to write a musical about a Jewish lesbian who gets married to a Wiccan?  If you are David Hein, you turn inward and write about you, your mother, your other mother, your father, and your grandmother.  Sound like a mindless piece or escapist theatre?  Well, it’s not!

MY MOTHER’S LESBIAN JEWISH WICCAN WEDDING is a unique, delightful, tune filled, charming, heartfelt exploration that takes a number of twists and turns as it explores self revelation, relationships, and the politics of marriage.  It’s been called “The most tuneful weapon you’ll ever find for advancing marriage equality.” 

MY MOTHER’S LESBIAN JEWISH WICCAN WEDDING should be required viewing for all the members of the U.S. Supreme Court before they act on the marriage case before them this term.

The musical review play, written by David Hein and his wife, Irene Carl Sankoff, centers on Hein’s real life memories of spending his teen years with his biological mother, Claire, and his other mother, Jane. 

The story starts as Claire divorces young David’s father and moves to Canada to accept a job as a university professor of psychology.  The moves is eased by Clarie’s finding an apartment in Michelle’s home.  Michelle, an outgoing lesbian, is part of a musical group.  Claire starts singing with the troupe, meets Dawn, a Wiccan therapist, they fall in love, and marry in 2005 after Canada becomes the fourth nation to legalize same sex unions.

The score, while not memorable, is filled with meaningful tunes which move the plot along.  Foremost of these is A Short History of Gay Marriage, which traces the frustration of gays in trying to get equal rights and allows members of the audience to literally participate in a protest march.  The song has been updated to include the recent election in which several more of the U.S. states approved gay marriage.  Some of the other vocal highlights are:  Feelings Are Important, Jew-ish, Five Mothers, and You and Me.  Quite funny is Hot Lesbian Action, Double Date and Romance 101.

Under Neil Thackaberry’s wise directing, the show moves along at a pleasant pace.  The music, under the direction of J. T. Buck, wisely supports and underscores rather than drowning out the singers. 

The performers are all excellent.  They sing well and the are natural in their characterizations.  Kevin Kern has a nice twangy voice, plays the guitar with gusto, and creates a real person as the older David.  Daniel Sovich is charming and shows a nice teenage sensibility as the younger David.  His side role as a cross dressing Hooter girl is fun and funny.  Lindsey Mitchell (Claire) makes for a charming mother, who grows and changes before our eyes.  She has a fine singing voice and a nice grasp of her character.  Keith Stevens creates in Garth, Claire’s former husband, a supportive father and real person.  Elizabeth Lawson Homes, (Michelle), is a hoot as Claire’s landlady and friend.  The Dawn Sniadak-Yamokoski (Jane) has a wonderful singing voice and is totally believable as Claire’s Wiccan girl-friend and then wife.  Megan Brautigam, Zach Griffin and Hope Caldwell are excellent in multiple supporting roles.

The multi-level set is cleverly festooned with the Human Right’s Campaign’s blue and gold striped pride insignia. 

CAPSULE JUDGEMENT:  MY MOTHER’S LESBIAN JEWISH WICCAN WEDDING is a meaningful musical production which has a solid message enforcing the need for equal rights for all, while also being totally delightful.  This is a must see show!

For tickets to MY MOTHER’S LESBIAN JEWISH WICCAN WEDDING, which runs through December 23, call 330-342-0800 or go to actorssummit.org.

Will Rogers shares wisdom at Actors' Summit 
 

William Penn Adair Rogers, known to millions of Americans as Will said, “When I die I want my epitaph, or whatever you call those signs on gravestones, to read:  I joked about every prominent man of my time, but I never met a man I didn’t like.  I am so proud of that, I can hardly wait to die so it can be carved.”  Unfortunately, he got his wish on August 15, 1935 when the Alaskan bound plane he was flying in with aviator Wiley Post crashed.

Rogers, who is the subject of the one-man show, WILL ROGERS’ U.S.A., which is now on stage at Actors’ Summit Theatre, was probably Oklahoma’s favorite son.  What many don’t know is, this adored story teller, actor, writer and world-famous figure was born to a prominent Cherokee National family in the Indian Territory.

A leading Progressive Era wit, after many years in vaudeville, doing rope tricks and making humorous comments, he became the top-paid Hollywood star during the 30s.  He poked fun at gangsters, politicians, parents, teenagers, law schools, colleges, political conventions, Republicans, economists, and government programs in a way that didn’t offend.  (Wow, could we use his sage comments during the present vile political race.)  

He is widely known for his, “I am not a member of an organized political party, I am a Democrat.”  He marked among his friends, President Franklin Delano Roosevelt.

Some of his other sage comments included:  “An ignorant person is one who doesn’t know what he has just found out, ” “Don’t gamble, take all your savings, buy some good stock and hold it till it goes up, then sell it.  If it don’t go up, don’t buy it,” “Politics is the best show in the world,” “War is the only game that everyone loses. Why do we keep playing?” and “I have always noticed that people will never laugh at anything that is not based on the truth.”

These, and many other of Roger’s truthisms, are now being spoken by Neil Thackaberry, who is portraying the revered icon at Actors’ Summit.

It’s a difficult task to do a one-man show.  It is even more difficult when people have a visual image and know the vocal sounds of the person being portrayed.  Doing Rogers is further problematic as he was a quiet comedian, a story teller who didn’t raise his voice, didn’t swear, told  cute tales not hysterical jokes.  To make a play about his life that will hold attention his material needs to be incorporated into a song-filled, dance infused, and humorous script like the delightful WILL ROGERS FOLLIES, rather than to a 90-minute monologue.

Given the challenge, Thackaberry, who bears little physical resemblance to the lanky Rogers, and doesn’t possess the political philosopher’s natural audience connection, does a nice job.  Thackaberry sends forth the many, many lines with ease, getting smiles from the audience, and creating a nice atmosphere.  He even delights the audience with a couple of rope tricks.   Two segments highlights were his discussion of corsets and Calvin Coolidge.

The set is a blank stage with a desk and chair way upstage.  Why the decision was made to put the desk so far away from the audience is a mystery.  Each time Thackaberry wandered to it, he broke his connection to the audience.  That connection is the heart of the show.

 CAPSULE JUDGEMENT:  Will Rogers was a great American humorist and philosopher.  His understated humor is sage wisdom, but does not make for compelling theatre, in spite of a nice presentation by Neil Thackaberry at Actors’ Summit.  

This Actor’s Summit production is dedicated to the memory of Ira Sherman, Board member, Set Builder, and Friend!

I Love You, You're Perfect, Now Change

I LOVE YOU, YOU’RE PERFECT, NOW CHANGE: a nice escape at Actors’ Summit

Every once in a while it’s nice to go to a theatre, relax, hear some pleasant music, enjoy stories of love and life, and smile. That’s the situation at Actor’s Summit with their present offering, I LOVE YOU, YOU’RE PERFECT, NOW CHANGE.

ILY,YP, NC is a review by Joe DiPietro (book) and Jimmy Roberts (music) which takes a journey from dating and waiting to fall in love, to marriage. Then it lightly probes into the agonies and triumphs of newborns, children, and the pick-up attempts of geriatrics. Not mind blowing, not even mind bending, just a series of songs, some light hearted vignettes, and an occasional emotional twist.

The music is nice. Not memorable, but pleasant. No top ten hits on the play list here, but also nothing grating, ear splitting, or heavy bass.

The Actors’ Summit cast have nice voices, interpret the songs well, hit the right emotional levels and make the ideas flow right along. Stephen Brockway, Aubrey Caldwell, Abigail Allwein, and Keith Stevens play multi-roles with comfort.

It is ironic that Stevens does a charming song, complete with baby talk about the joys of fatherhood, since he is a very, very recent new daddy!

New grandpa Neil Thackaberry’s directing keeps the show moving at a pleasant pace. And, new grandma MaryJo Alexander does a great job with the costumes and props.

CAPSULE JUDGEMENT: I LOVE YOU, YOU’RE PERFECT, NOW CHANGE makes for a pleasant afternoon/evening of theatre.