Artificial Intelligence trend makes CPH’S MARY SHELLEY’S FRANKENSTEIN even more thought-provoking!

 

 
With the recent uptake in information about Artificial Intelligence, the creation of a monster becomes more real and probably scarier than when Mary Shelley wrote her 1818 novel FRANKENSTEIN; OR, THE MODERN PROMETHEUS.   
 
The tale tells the story of Victor Frankenstein, a young scientist who creates a sapient creature in an unorthodox scientific experiment and the results of that creation. 
 
The real scare may well be that we now are faced with the reality of our ability to “play God” in creating a “life.”  Yes, the danger that lies in willful ignorance, when people neglect to consider the potential negative impacts of their actions.

Frankenstein has become a classic not only because of its of pioneering theme of reanimating the dead and/or creating new life, but also because of the interactions between its two main characters: the young scientist Victor Frankenstein and the creature that he creates, who remains nameless throughout the novel.  (Side note: Since the publication of the novel, the name "Frankenstein" has often been used, erroneously, to refer to the monster, rather than to his creator/father.)

A significant incident In developing her tale took place when, in 1815, Mary Shelley travelled through Europe.  She took a tour along the Rhine River in Germany, and stopping near the site of the Frankenstein Castle, where, two centuries before, an alchemist had engaged in experiments, and it was rumored he created a monster.

As the result of that travel, in 1816, when Mary, her husband Percy Shelley, John Polidori and Lord Byron had a competition to see who could write the best horror story, she imagined the story of a scientist who created life and was horrified by what he had made.  

The book, which she created from her contest story, is considered the first true science-fiction novel. It has had a considerable influence on literature and on popular culture as it has spawned a complete genre of horror stories, films, and plays.

The play, MARY SHELLEY’S FRANKENSTEIN, which is now on stage at Cleveland Play House, is a stage adaptation, by David Catlin, of Mary Shelley's book.

The plot centers on “Victor Frankenstein who creates a monster from human corpses. Once the Creature is brought to life, however, Victor is appalled by his creation's deformed appearance and flees in terror. The Creature wanders through the streets of Ingolstadt, lost and confused. Meanwhile, Gretel, a prostitute, is being assaulted in an alleyway and calls for help. The Creature frightens off her attacker, Gretel recoils from her savior, and a mob of villagers chase the Creature away. The next morning, the Creature sees the dawn for the first time and finds Victor's journal revealing the way in which it was created.”

And, thus we fall deeper into the tale of the horrors of the monster’s existence, lack of having true emotions and, therefore, the lack of being able to love.  In contrast to the book, in which Victor dies, at the end of the play he does not.

The CPH production, under the directorship of Michael Barakiva, is proficiently done.  The cast, Josh Bates, Madeline Calais-King, Ellen Grace Diehl, Gavin Michaels (Victor Frankenstein) and Koydè Soyemi (Creature) are all competent in creating the characters they portray.  

Lex Liang’s scenic and costume design, Jakyung C. Seo’s lighting, and Sharath Patel’s sound design all greatly enhance the staging.

Capsule judgment:  The production, though not as compelling as it could be, tells the tale as Mary Shelly intended it.  If you think of the Frankenstein tale as true horrifying and scary, the monster as epitomized by Boris Karloff in the films FRANKENSTEIN AND THE BRIDE OF FRANKENSTEIN, or ridiculously humorous as portrayed in ABBOTT AND COSTELLO MEET FRANKENSTEIN or HOTEL TRANSYLVANIA, this is not it.  This is a straight-forth telling of the Shelly tale, with the ominous over-tones of what might be in this age of Emotional Intelligence.

MARY SHELLEY’S FRANKENSTEIN runs through November 12, 2023 in the Outcalt Theatre in the Cleveland Play House complex of Playhouse Square.  For tickets call 216-400-7000 or https://www.clevelandplayhouse.com/

Next up at Cleveland Play House…Langston Hughes’ BLACK NAIVITY, directed by Tony F. Sias and Erin Weaver, with musical direction by Dr. David Thomas (December 1-16, 2023) followed by the farcical THE PLAY THAT GOES WRONG, February 10-March 3, 2024.
 

Dramatic, humorous and wonderfully performed, CPH’s THURGOOD, is a marvelous theatrical experience

 

Thurgood Marshall, the subject of THURGOOD, now on stage at Cleveland Play House’s Allen Theatre, was the grandson of slaves.  He was born in segregated Baltimore and attended all-Black schools.  
 
After high school he enrolled at Lincoln University, the oldest college for African Americans in the United States. Marshall desired to go to law school but was not allowed into the all-white University of Maryland. Instead, he attended Howard University Law School.
 
When asked about why he wanted to go to law school, he said that his father, who was an important influence in his life, "he never told me to become a lawyer, but he turned me into one ... He taught me how to argue, challenged my logic on every point, by making me prove every statement I made, even if we were discussing the weather."
 
And what a lawyer he was.  Often referred to as “Mr. Civil Rights,” he devoted his life to championing justice and equality for all people.
 
Prior to his judicial service, he was an attorney who fought for civil rights, leading the NAACP’S Legal and Education Fund.   He won 29 of the 32 civil rights cases he argued before the Supreme Court, culminating in the Court's landmark 1954 decision in Brown vs. Board of Education, which rejected the separate but equal doctrine and held segregation in public education to be unconstitutional.  
 
Though many think only of Martin Luther King, Jr. as the central lynch point of the civil rights movement, the role of Marshall cannot be overlooked.  King fought outside the system to make his strides, Marshall worked within the system to change laws and legally make change.  
 
Marshall’s motivation was often credited to his education at Howard, where he was taught to be a "social engineer," willing to use the law to fight for civil rights.
 
He was appointed by Lyndon Johnson to be the Supreme Court's first African-American justice.  Marshall served as an associate justice from 1967 until 1991.  A staunch liberal, he frequently dissented as the Court became an increasingly conservative court.
 
THURGOOD, his biographical play, as written by George Stevens, Jr., spans his remarkable 58-year career while highlighting his warmth and sharp wit.  
 
THE CPH production stars film, TV, and regional theatre veteran Lester Purry.  He has performed this script at Geva Theatre center, Portland Playhouse and Penumbra Theatre.
 
Purry doesn’t act the role, he emerges himself so into the character, that there is no doubt we are sharing the two-hour, two-act play with Marshal, himself.  His asides to the audience are Marshall’s asides.  His sorrows become our real sorrows.  His joys, our joys.  What a pleasure to see this marvelous actor on stage.
 
Purry’s lines were often interrupted by applause.  This was not only a tribute to the actor’s performance, but to the knowledge and power of Marshal’s ideas and stances.
 
Award winning Clevelander Greg White understudies Purry and may perform at some stagings.
 
The action takes place on one-set, but is visually enhanced by Rasean Davonte Johnson’s compelling projections.
 
Capsule judgement:  THURGOOD is not only is a fine historical epic, but is wonderful entertainment.  Dramatic, humorous, well performed and clever….it makes for a marvelous must-see theatrical experience.
 
THURGOOD runs through October 1, 2023. For tickets call Cleveland Play House @ 216-400-7000 or go to https://www.clevelandplayhouse.com/
 
Next up at CPH---10/21-11/12—MARY SHELLEY’S FRANKENSTEIN—A gritty yet highly theatrical tale that brings what’s buried back to life.
 

Humor filled ERMA BOMBECK: AT WIT’S END runs as a pre-season attraction at CPH

“Guilt, the gift that keeps giving.” Marriage has no guarantees. If that's what you're looking for, go live with a car battery.” “Encourage independence in your children by regularly losing them in the supermarket.” “Never go to a doctor whose office plants have all died.” 

What do these quotes all have in common?  They are material written by the subject of the one-person, eighty-minute play, ERMA BOMBECK:  AT WIT’S END, a Suburban Outlaw production now on stage at The Cleveland Play House.

Yes, Erma Bombeck, the woman who wrote such best-selling books as The Grass is Always Greener Over the Septic Tank, If Life is a Bowl of Cherries—What Am I Doing in the Pits? and Motherhood:  The Second Oldest Profession.

If you are a person of a certain age, Bombeck’s name is familiar, you grew up reading or listening to someone tell you about one of the country’s most beloved humorists, who gave voice to the everyday joys and struggles faced by the women of her day.  As well as being a leading figure in the fight for passage of the ill-fated “Women’s Rights Amendment.”

ERMA BOMBECK:  AT WIT’S END is the product of the combined minds of Chagrin Falls natives Allison and Margaret Engel.  It has been staged in venues in such places as Washington, D.C., Buffalo, Denver, Rochester and, now in Cleveland.

It stars Pam Sherman, one-time writer of her own “Bombeck-like” column, “The Suburban Outlaw,” who was convinced by Mark Cuddy, then Geva Theatre Center’s Artistic Director, and now CPH’s Interim Artistic Director, to play the role at the Rochester, New York facility.  That production broke box office records for productions causing the run to be extended twice due to popular demand.

Erma Louise Bombeck was born in Bellebrook, Ohio, and raised in Dayton. She started her professional writing career at the Kettering-Oakwood Times in 1964, with weekly columns. The following year, the Dayton Journal Herald requested pieces. After three weeks, the articles went into national syndication in 36 major U.S. newspapers, under the title "At Wit's End."   

By the 1970s, her columns were read semi-weekly by 30 million readers of 900 newspapers in the U.S. and Canada.

“Her work stands as a humorous chronicle of middle-class life in America after World War II, among the generation of parents who produced theBaby Boomers.”

“Erma, with her wonderful, pointed wit and her very sharp powers of observation, brought that whole world out into the open,” said Margaret Engel, co-playwright. “Her fans were legion. They loved her because she illuminated their lives which were funny, tragic, comic, interesting, but really had been so unremarked upon before Erma Bombeck took the world by storm.”

The play, presented without intermission, which is set in Bombeck’s “Dayton home,” is directed by Mark Cuddy, and chronicles the facts and fantasies of Bombeck, spoken in her own words.  It is filled with many of her own pet phrases and oft-quoted clever ideas.  

More stand-up comedy act than play, the CPH staging kept the older demographic audience, who seemed to be familiar with many “Bombeckisms,” amused throughout.  

Sherman, a noted actress, as well as a lawyer and writer, was comfortable with the role.  Maybe her long background with the script was in effect the night I saw the show, as she seemed to working on auto-pilot, saying lines, rather than actually giving the illusion of spontaneity of first-time awareness of the clever dialogue.  The lack of dynamism didn’t keep the audience from having a good time.

Capsule judgment:  ERMA BOMBECK:  AT WIT’S END, CPH’s “pre-season treat,” will delight those of a “certain age” who are familiar with the era and role of women as described in Bombeck’s references.  Modern feminists will roll their eyes at many of her situational references.

Tickets for the Outcalt Theatre production, which runs through August 20, are available at clevelandplayhouse.com or by calling (216) 241-6000. 

KEN LUDWIG’S MORIARTY not one of CPH’s shining moments

 

Ken Ludwig is the crown king of writing modern farcical plays.     Ludwig and the Cleveland Play House seem to have a “thing” for each other.  He has had world premiere productions of his scripts A Comedy of Tenors (2015), The Games Afoot (2011) and Leading Ladies (2004) on CPH stages.  His KEN LUDWIG’S MORIARTY: A NEW SHERLOCK HOLMES ADVENTURE is now having its premiere on the Allen stage.   The public relations release from the Cleveland Play House states of the show, “Five actors play over 20 roles in this brand-new adventure that has danger—and laughter! —around every corner.”   The stories of Sherlock Holmes by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle have been very popular as adaptations for the stage, and later film, and still later television.    A recent source lists over 25,000 Holmes-related productions and products. They include the original writings, "together with the translations of these tales into sixty-three languages, plus Braille and shorthand, the writings about the writings or higher criticism, writings about Sherlockians and their societies, memorials and memorabilia, games, puzzles and quizzes, phonograph records, audio and video tapes, compact discs, laser discs, ballets, films, musicals, operettas, oratorios, plays, radio and television programs, parodies and pastiches, children's books, cartoons, comics, and a multitude of other items — from advertisements to wine.”  Talk about a cottage industry!   Ken Ludwig’s professional theatre career started with his first Broadway play, LEND ME A TENOR in 1989 which was bannered in the New York Times as "one of the two great farces by a living writer.”  That play won three Tony Awards.   His second Broadway show CRAZY FOR YOU ran for over five years and won the Tony, Drama Desk, Outer Critics Circle, and Laurence Olivier Awards as Best Musical.    Too bad A NEW SHERLOCK HOLMES AVENTURE isn’t going to add to that reputation.  It definitely is not of the quality of his very clever and humorous adaptation of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's 1902 novel THE HOUND OF THE BASKERVILLES.   My review of that show stated, “CPH’s production, creatively directed by Brendon Fox, leaps over all the farcical barriers to create mayhem.  Sets zoom on and off stage, costumes morph from being one thing to being another, lighting and sound effects create mystery and intrigue.  The audience is taken on a silly overly dramatic journey as the intrepid investigators escape a dizzying web of clues, silly accents, disguises, and deceit. “    The story line for the NEW SHERLOCK HOLMES ADVENTURE centers on the investigation into the Bohemian king’s stolen letters and cascades into an international mystery filled with spies, blackmail, and intrigue.  Holmes and Watson join forces with American actress, Irene Adler, to take down criminal mastermind Professor Moriarty and his network of devious henchmen.   The overly obvious plot, the poorly developed humor, and poor directing, all add up to a rather boring sit.   The cast Jeffrey M. Bendere, Talley Gale, Nick Gaswirth (Dr. Watson), Olivia Gilliatt, and Christian Pedersen (Sherlock Holmes) try hard, but the slow pace, poorly designed sets, in which the same chairs never leave the stage and are shuttled around in attempts to try and create different settings, all just get in the way. The show isn’t helped by the lack of vocal projection by several of cast members.   Maybe the problem is Ludwig tried to duplicate what he has done before and the gimmicks seem repeats and miss the mark. Maybe it’s the lack of creative staging.  Maybe it’s the lack of dynamic technical works.     Whatever, this is not one of CPH’s shining moments!   Capsule judgement:   I wish I could say that the relationship of positive productions by CPH, Ludwig and Sherlock Holmes continue with their latest co-adventure.  Unfortunately, I can’t.  KEN LUDWIG’S MORIARTY: A NEW SHERLOCK HOLMES ADVENTURE is short on clever writing, adventure, humor, pace and enjoyment.  Too bad!   The show runs through May 21, 2023 in the Allen Theatre.  For tickets call 216-400-7000 or go to https://www.clevelandplayhouse.com/

Humor, resilence and life-affirmation highlight must-see BECOMING DR. RUTH at CPH

 

It’s been called “exquisite,” “a masterclass performance,” “wonderful,” and “optimistic.” I’d label it “MUST SEE.”  What?  Cleveland Play House’s BECOMING DR. RUTH.   The script, written by Mark St. Germain, premiered in July, 2012 at the Barrington Stage in the Berkshires, played at Hartford Theaterworks, and was brought to NYC’s Westside Theatre, before being reimagined by the Theatre J, the nation’s largest and most prominent Jewish theatre.  It is the purpose of that theatre to “preserve and expand a rich Jewish theatrical tradition and to create community and commonality through theater-going experiences.”  This script does exactly that!   The one-woman show is a heart-warming, have the Kleenex available, theatre masterpiece which stars Naomi Jacobson, who appeared in this production at Theatre-J.  (Note: “The CPH’s production staff is responsible for the sets, costumes, lighting, props, furniture, scenic painting, sound, and special effects used in this production.”)   The 90-minute play, which takes place on June 9, 1997 in an apartment in Washington Heights, New York, follows Karola Ruth Westheimer (nee Siegel) from her birth on June 4, 1928, in Germany, to Switzerland when she was put on the Kindertransport by her parents, through her many moves to such places as Mandated Palestine, where despite being 4 foot 7 inches she joined the Haganah and was trained as a sniper, to France and the United States, and three marriages. She earned an M.A. degree in sociology and a doctorate at 42 years of age from Columbia. Over the next decade, she taught at a number of universities, and had a private sex therapy practice. “Westheimer's media career began in 1980 with the radio call-in show Sexually Speaking, which continued until 1990. In 1983 it was the top-rated radio show in the country's largest radio market. She then launched a television show, The Dr. Ruth Show, which by 1985 attracted 2 million viewers a week.”  Dr. Ruth, a name given to her by one of her listeners, spoke openly, using the scientific and “real-people” language to talk “dirty” while giving clarification and advice about sexual issues.   She changed the way many think and talk about sex and relationships.   The CPH production, directed by Holly Twyford is creatively staged.  With a fascinating set design by Paige Hathaway, lighting by Colin K. Bills, and projections by Sarah Tunderemann, the technical aspects of the show, minus poor sound design, which made listening to the phone calls difficult to understand, are outstanding.   Capsule judgment:  If you only go to one theatrical production this year, make it BECOMING DR. RUTH! Bravo!  Bravo!  Bravo!  The theatre’s public relations states, “Due to the intimate size of the Outcalt Theatre and this production featuring one performer, please consider wearing a mask inside the theatre. Masks are not required, but are encouraged.” BECOMING DR. RUTH runs through April 23rd at the intimate black-box Outcalt Theatre, in the Allen Theatre Complex.  For tickets 216-400-7000 or https://www.clevelandplayhouse.com/

THE GREAT LEAP

 

THE GREAT LEAP at CPH is a slam dunk!   Roy Berko (Member---Cleveland Critics Circle, American Theatre Critics Association)   Lauren Yee, the author of THE GREAT LEAP, the Cleveland Play House production, which is now on stage in the Outcalt Theatre in the Allen complex, states of her play, “This is a play about basketball, but it is also a basketball play. The game is reflected not just in the subject matter but the rhythm, structure, language, and how the characters move through space. We also should have a sense that someone is always watching. We may or may not see any actual basketballs on stage.”   The play she is describing is the tale of an American basketball team traveling to China for an exhibition game.  It is 1989. There is stress between the countries. For two men with a past and one teen with a present and future, the game is a chance to claim personal victories on and off the court.    Underlying the game is an exploration of the cultural and political risks of both raising one’s voice and standing one’s ground.   “Not everyone in San Francisco’s Chinatown may think that Manford is the best point guard to play the game of basketball, but Manford does. And he is relentless.”   “Not everyone may realize that Saul, the men’s basketball coach at the University of San Francisco, is washed up. But Saul can see the writing on the wall, and coaching his team to victory in a rematch of a 1971 game against Beijing University is his last chance to prove himself.”   “Not everyone in China knows that Wen Chang, a former translator and current coach of the Beijing basketball team, doesn’t really want the apartment, the air conditioner or any of the perks associated with a Chinese man of his stature. But Wen Chang knows, and it makes him afraid.”   When Manford--a Chinese-American high school student with a chip on his shoulder and fine basketball skills, Saul---a foul-mouthed, washed-up coach of the University of San Francisco’s men’s basketball team, who credits himself with introducing the game of hoops to China, and Wen Chang—the observant and efficient coach of Beijing University’s men’s basketball team, come together in Beijing for the big game in 1989, they discover their meeting is about far more than basketball.    “One finds a mother, one finds a son, and all of them find courage.”   The CPH staging, under the direction of Esther Jun, is not only well-staged but clearly focused.  The characterizations are finely etched, the pacing nicely ebbs and flows with the energy of the writing, and the technical aspects are perfectly sewn into the production.   The creative use of Scenic Designer Yu Shibagaki’s meticulously created basketball court, makes each audience a member of the staging.  You are at a basketball court, not only cheering for a player and involved in the strategy of the game, but entwined in the lives of four people…three who appear on stage and one whose existence catapults the plot.      Michael Boll’s lighting enhances the action as do the sounds created by Melanie Chen Cole and projections of T. Paul Lowry.   Eric Cheung is captivating as Manford, the under-sized powerhouse point-guard, who has a maniacal desire go to China to play in a grudge basketball during the Tiananmen Square Protests.  His is a quality performance!   Amanda Kuo, is totally believable as Manford’s “cousin.”    David Mason clearly conveys the frustration and maniac drive of a man compelled to succeed, whether as a basketball coach and human being, but falling short on all levels.   Reuben Uy beautifully creates a Wen Chang, who displays the emotional control demanded by his culture, but which results in a life of frustration and unfulfilled personal satisfaction.   CAPSULE JUDGMENT:  THE GREAT LEAP is a well-written, thought-provoking play that gets a slam dunk production at CPH!  This is a must-see that uses the Outcalt stage configuration in epic ways.   The show runs through November 20, 2022.  For tickets call 216-241-6000 or go to:  www.clevelandplayhouse.com Next up at CPH: I’M BACK NOW--Sara travels to Cleveland to meet her birth mother. As she strives to reconcile the legacy she thought she knew with her actual origins, Sara discovers that she is a descendant of the last woman prosecuted under the Fugitive Slave Act.                February 4-24 @ the Allen Theatre

AMERICAN MARIACHI @ Cleveland Play House

 

Music, humor, empathy--AMERICAN MARIACHI hits all the right notes @ CPH   Roy Berko   “Mariachi is a genre of regional Mexican music that dates back to at least the 18th century.  It is usually played by a male group who play violins, trumpets and a guitar.  All of the players take turns singing lead and do backup vocals.”  The songs they sing celebrate their struggles, joys and growth.   A telenovela is a Mexican Soap opera.  The scripts are filled with overly-dramatic and stereotypical characters, obvious and transparent plots, and melodramatic acting. (Think television’s “Ugly Betty,” which not only followed the formula format, but was presented as a telenovela within a telenovela.)   Mariachi and telenovela are central to the present Cleveland Play House’s 20222-23 season opener, AMERICAN MARIACHI.   Lucha spends her days caring for her ailing mother, but longs to shake up her home life. When a forgotten record album sparks her mother’s memory, Lucha and her cousin strike upon a radical idea: to create an all-female mariachi band.  But it’s the 1970s, and girls can’t be mariachis … or can they?     Lucha and her spunky cousin hunt for bandmates, uncover the strong machismo attitudes of Hispanic men, reveal wife battering, run into disapproving relatives, and expose a hidden family story, while dealing with her mother’s Alzheimer’s disease.     Will the band come together? Will an odd-combination of women overcome societal attitudes and their personal angst?  Will they get help from unexpected sources?   Sound like a melodramatic epic?  Yes, it is a one hour, forty-minute telenovela, filled with mariachi music!   In comments of other productions, the reviews stated, “A vibrant ode to music and memory!”  “It is all about familia, amor and tradición.” “What we come away with, after laughter and even tears, is a warm feeling of familia and a greater appreciation of Mexican American pride, culture, and music!” “It's that rare show that brings tears and laughter, while using musical tradition to deal with modern issues.”   The live Mariachi music is well played and infectious.  It is expertly performed by Diego Lucero (guitarrón), Daniel Ochoa (vihuela), Ayan “Yaha” Vasquez-Lopez (violin) and Ricardo Vejar (trumpet).   Two of the songs were written by José Cruiz González, the script’s author.    There are original musical arrangements by Cynthia Reifler Flores.   The production is creatively directed by Henry Godine.  The use of Spanish at various times, adds a touch of authenticity.   Many members of the proficient cast performed in productions of the script at the Goodman Theatre Center, Alabama Festival and Dallas Theater Center.   Capsule judgment:  AMERICAN MARIACHI allows audiences to experience a telenovela, a Hispanic story-telling technique, and be exposed to mariachi music, while sharing a tale of universal angst.  The CPH production is well staged and performed.  This is a fine evening of theatre.    AMERICAN MARIAHI runs through October 9 at the Allen Theatre. For tickets 216-400-7000 or go on-line to clevelandplayhouse.com

Meaningful ANTIGONE gets inconsistent production at Cleveland Play Hous

Cleveland Play House’s Artistic Director, Laura Kepley, in her comments in the playbill for ANTIGONE states, “We originally programed ANTIGONE to be produced during the 2019-2020 season.  The play was in its second week of rehearsals when we had to make the heartbreaking announcement that the production was cancelled.”  The rampant COVID epidemic had struck the theatre world! The pause is over and the script is now being staged in CPH’s black box Outcalt Theatre. It is ironic that the play, like the last several years, deals with not only the struggles and angst of how to live life, but how we deal with death.   As Kepley explains, “Our mourning rituals have been altered. ANTIGONE taps into our collective loss and trauma.  It asks questions many of us have been grappling with:  How do we honor those we have lost without losing ourselves along the way?  How do we move forward?”    As Sophocles’ play, ANTIGONE, begins, “the invading army of Argos has been driven from Thebes, but in the course of the battle, two sons of Oedipus (Eteocles and Polynices) have died fighting for opposing sides. Their uncle, Creon is now king of Thebes. He decrees that the body of Polynices, who fought against his native city, will not be given burial rites but will be left to rot, as a warning to traitors. Creon further decrees that anyone who does try to bury Polynices will be punished with death.” Antigone and Ismene are grieving for the loss of their brothers.  Both are upset, but Antigone is also defiant. She vows to give Polynices the proper burial rites. Ismene begs Antigone to not defy the laws of the city and add to their family's tragedy. Antigone will not yield. The play explores such themes as the right of the individual to reject society’s infringement on personal freedoms, the differences between theological law and personal beliefs, civil disobedience, citizenship and the honor of family versus duties to the state. Playwright Emily Mann has taken the script, which normally runs close to three hours in production and reimagined it.  It now runs around ninety minutes and encourages color blind and gender-neutral casting.  In the CPH production Creon (Vanessa Morosco) is a female.  She is married to Eurydice (Laura Starnik), also a female.  Both are white.  Their son, Haemon, is black.  Their nieces, Antigone (Mariah Burks) and Ismene Bridget Kim) are black and Asian. Though these gender, racial and sexual differences have nothing to do with the plot-line and story development, the change from the norm puts the spotlight on the changing attitudes of our culture, as it reflects the concept that the arts, theatre in this case, represents the era from which it comes.  While this play was written many centuries ago, this staging represents alterations that have taken place as the attitudes and beliefs of cultures change. The stances of Creon and Antigone are philosophically at odds with each other.  Questions arise.  Shall tradition rule or should they adapt to personal belief?  Will the laws of the gods be followed, or shall adaptations be made to accommodate the needs and individual beliefs of the living? Those issues are not only at the center of ANTIGONE, but the center of many of the conflicts of today.   Legal issues abound concerning the influence by religious leaders and their followers versus the views of secularists as they affect gay rights, gender equality and abortion. What should be the procedures for teaching about slavery, the role of white supremacy, the intentions of our founding fathers (there were no founding mothers), and the “war of Northern aggression/Civil War?” The Play House production, under the direction of Lauren Keating is often successful, at other times pretentious and unnatural.   Mariah Burks’s Antigone was real, developing ideas and using a presentational style that was accessible, making her thoughts and feelings clear. The same was true for Fabio Palanco (Aide) and  Laura Starnik (Eurydice).    Others used acting styles that harked back to the days of stylization over substance, while one member of the cast used a pronunciation and verbal style that was more appropriate for an August Wilson script.  Whether those choices were intentionally made by the director or cast members, or were accidental, they distracted from the effect of the production. Courtney O’Neill created a thrust stage set that was a perfect space for the staging.  Nathan Motta’s music was properly haunting, foreshadowing the play’s start with ominous overtones. and accenting changes in tension and moods during the show.  Karin Olson’s lighting design helped create the right illusions.  The costuming was as confusing as some of the acting styles. Capsule judgment:  ANTIGONE, as adapted by Emily Mann, carries as important a message of the rejection or blind acceptance of the authority of civic and religious customs and leaders today as it did when the Greek Sophocles wrote the script in the fifth-century BC.  The CPH production was often successful, at other times inconsistent.    For tickets to ANTIGONE call 216-241-6000 or go to:  www.clevelandplayhouse.com Next up at CPH:  THE THREE MUSKETEERS from April 30-May 22, 2020 in the Allen Theatre.

CLEVELAND PLAY HOUSE PRESENTS A HOLLY-JOLLY MUSICAL OF HOLIDAY CHEER

It’s that time of year again.  Yes, stores are all decked out in holiday decorations, the Allen Theatre lobby is filled with Christmas Trees, and local theatres are strutting their stuff doing holiday productions. Many of the venues have run out of fresh material so they are remounting scripts from the past or trying to conceive some new holiday cheer and eliminate mid-Covid angst.

An enterprising composer/writer could make a fortune writing some quality holiday shows.  The theatres could sure use them.  

The Cleveland Play House, after years of reprising THE CHRISTMAS STORY finally gave in this year and is trying LIGHT IT UP! which their advertising states is “a holly-jolly musical event that features original pop, rock, gospel, and jazz holiday tunes and new arrangements of traditional Christmas carols.” 

Co-creator Lelund Durond Thompson states, “Coming out of the last year with the pandemic where we have been isolated and where we’ve not had the opportunity to feel, inspire, connect – we really wanted to create a piece that spoke to the need for us to really enjoy living life.” 

Director Christopher Windom adds, “Where we are at this time in this moment in this year, I can’t think of anything that would be more meaningful than a dose of delight during the holiday season.”

The evening is a blend of new and old holiday songs sung by a very talented cast (Florrie Bagel, Kristina Gabriela, Matt Gittins, Brennyn Lark, Terica Marie, Gustavo Márquez, Benjamin H. Moore, Christopher B. Portley, Helen Marla White, Mariama Whyte).

The staging included “Light It Up” a rousing singing and dancing show opener, a joyous “Joy to the World,” a moving Yiddish version of “Maoz Tzurz” (“Rock of Ages”), and an inspiring “Santa Lucia,” among others.

The musicians were excellent, both as backups to the singers, as well as when they came center-stage and showcased their talents.

One might question why the decision was made to break up the wonderful singing with such trite devices as adding the Tinselville Players, playing unfunny audience participation games and faking a storyline.  Musical reviews, composed of only songs and some dancing have entertained for years.  There doesn’t have to be a story line, especially one that is so trite.  

Capsule judgment:  The cast sings well…let them sing!!!  The audience was lite up when the singing and dancing were being performed!  Cut out the trite tale and accent the positive! 

LIGHT IT UP!, which plays through December 22, 2021 at the Allen Theatre, was developed with support of the Roe Green Fund for New American Plays.

For ticket, which range from $15 to $95, call 216.241.6000 or go on line to  www.clevelandplayhouse.com.
 

WHERE DO WE SIT ON THE BUS? Is a trip centering on Latinx-American culture at CPH

 

For the last several years more and more attention has been placed on The Black Lives Matter and Me-Too movements, woke language, micro-aggression, radical feminism, transgenderism, Critical Race Theory and aggression against Asians.  They have become issues for laws, politics, education, media and the arts.

 

After almost two-years of non-live production, the Tony winning Cleveland Play House opened its 106^th season with Brian Quijada’s solo show, WHERE DID WE SIT ON THE BUS?”

 

During a third-grade lesson on the Civil Rights movement and Rosa Parks, a Latina child raises her hand to ask, “Where did we sit on the bus?” Her teacher can’t answer the question.

 

“This autobiographical solo show follows that kid from her childhood to adulthood as she explores her family’s history, her identity as a first-generation American, and what the world will be like for her future children. Featuring live music that brings together Latin beats, hip-hop, and looping, WHERE DID WE SIT ON THE BUS?  examines what it means to be Latinx [and a lesbian] in America.”

 

Brian Quijada, the play’s author, explains that he felt alone growing up as a first-generation Salvadorian-American in a basically all white Chicago suburb, where his friends were almost all Jewish. 

 

He wrote the autobiographic, WHERE DID WE SIT ON THE BUS, in an attempt to put his thoughts in order.  As the play has been performed around the country, he “was delighted to find that many people from diverse backgrounds felt a deep kinship with the themes of the show.” 

 

Quijada’s retelling reminds us that we are each the product of not only our heredity, but our environment (our family, theological experiences, school, community, media, and the era in which we lived, among others).  They are the formation blocks for our attitudes and beliefs and the language(s) spoken.

 

In Quijada’s case, he was “heavily influenced by his upbringing, his immigrant parents, and his continued search for identity.”  Because of this background his writing is infused with Latin rhythms, hip-hop, R&B, ‘70s and ‘80s rock, finger drumming, slam poetry, and looping (the repetition of small musical phrases that are edited together back-to-back), as well as the spoken word.

 

It is this multi-dimensional-approach, that should have made the production extra-ordinary.  Unfortunately, the fact that the approach is overdone, and also some decisions by director Matt Dickson that detract from the story and instead overly draw attention to the staging devices, the experience, though positive, is not compelling.

 

Constant sounds, both on-stage produced by the Satya Chávez, as Bee Quijada, and off-stage, drown out the words.  Chavez’s constant moving around, with no purpose other than to step on the multi-number of looping pedals, picking up and strumming a guitar for a couple of chords and putting them down without really playing them, and adjusting electronic instruments, often becomes overwhelming.   They distract rather than add purpose. 

 

Maybe those who are used to music played loudly with no emphasis on the words spoken, or being constantly stimulated with multi-sources of outputs, the cacophony of sounds and actions would add to the experience, but to the theatre-goer interested in words having meanings, and movements being motivated to stress the understanding and build the action, the sensory overload is not helpful.  The oft-random movements also slowed down the action and broke audience involvement.

 

The script was written by and originally performed by a male.  In the CPH production Bee is played by Satya Chávez, an out-lesbian.  Adjustments have been made in the script to add the gay spotlight as well as the Latina experience.  One must also wonder if, in other productions, the ever touched, but seldomly actually played guitars, were actually used to accompany the songs.

 

One of the productions highlights was a piano/singing solo by Chávez.

 

The author served as the music supervisor for the CPH production.  He provided additional music looping compositions and played multiple instruments through the reimagined production.

 

CAPSULE JUDGMENT:  WHERE DID WE SIT ON THE BUS tells the angst of being Latino and gay in modern day America.  The CPH production, due to the play’s format and staging, is somewhat frustrating.  Since the piece, according to the author, was intended to be a collection of original poems and songs, it might work best in a concert format, where the huge Allen stage would not have to be traversed and the attention would be just on the performer and the relevant material.

 

WHERE DID WE SIT ON THE BUS, runs from October 23 through November 14, 2021 in the Allen Theatre at Playhouse Square. Tickets can be purchased by calling 216.241.6000 or by visiting www.clevelandplayhouse.com

“CLUE” is a farcical delight at Cleveland Play House

“CLUE” is a stage play of murder and blackmail, based broadly on the Hasbro board game, and the Paramount motion picture of the same name, has gone through several adaptations.  The latest, by Sandy Rustin, with additional material by Hunter Foster and Eric Price, is now on stage at Cleveland Public Theatre.  

Since this is the first staging of this version, Clevelanders have the honor of seeing a world premiere.

The tale takes place in 1954 in the Boddy Manor, a house of epic proportions and terrifying secrets, located in a remote area of New England. 

Six guests, Colonel Mustard (John Treacy Egan), a pompous, not too bright military man, Professor Plum (Michael Kostroff), an academic self-styled Casanova, Mr. Green (Alex Mandell), a timid, rule-follower who is a bit awkward and very anxious, Miss Scarlet (Eleasha Gamble), a DC madam who seems more interested in secrets than sex, Mrs. Peacock (Kathy Fitzgerald), a batty church-going wife of a U.S. Senator, and Mrs. White (Donna English), a woman with lots of dead former-husbands, have been invited for an unusual dinner party.  

A meal with murder and blackmail on the menu! 

Also present are Wadsworth (Mark Price), an uptight butler, the cook (Mariah Burks), a threatening presence, an FBI agent, a cop, Mr. Boddy (Graham Stevens), and Yvetta (Elisabeth A. Yancey), a sexy French maid.

Add a rope, candelabra, wrench, pipe, knife, gun, a falling chandelier, a trap-door, many mistaken identities, a pile of dead bodies, lots of farcical actions and improbable incidents, and you have the makings of a joyous evening.

Farce is hard to do.  Most actors and directors think that playing the lines for laughs creates the right mood.  Unfortunately, that is not the case.  To be successful, the lines and actions must be so realistic that the audience laughs at the writing and the interpretation, and not the over-done actions.  That takes skill and talent!

Fortunately, CPH’s production is blessed with director, Casey Hushion, who totally understands how to create credible visual and language farce and shares her vision with a talented cast who each inhabit their role.  The effect is engaging and creates one laugh after the other and a series of “ah-hahs” as the audience is led on a merry chase of solving the mystery.

Lee’s Savage’s creative set design gives Hushion a perfect playground to lead us on our march of delight.  Ryan O’Gara has the blackouts, lightening-flashes, and fade outs down pat.  Michael Holland’s original music adds to the intrigue and nicely under-scores the action, Jeff Human adds scary sounds, and Jen Caprio’s costumes are era-correct.

A conversation with CPH personnel and other producers, including The ARACA Group, a NY production company operated by Cleveland area expats, indicates that representatives from various national theatres are coming to see “CLUE”, and the script, and maybe even this production, may have life after this staging.

Even if the show doesn’t go national, the script will eventually be grabbed up by many community theatres and produced.  

CAPSULE JUDGMENT: If entertainment is your theatrical pleasure, head to the Cleveland Play House where the finely directed and performed “CLUE” is a must see!

For tickets to “CLUE,” which runs through February 23, 2020, call 216-241-6000 or go to http://www.clevelandplayhouse.com.

Brilliant EVERY BRILLIANT THING is a must see @ Cleveland Play House

If you saw ‘AN ILIAD” at Cleveland Play House earlier this year, you are aware of the brilliance of actress Tarah Flanagan.  She is a master at interacting with an audience and creating empathy and reality onstage.  Fortunately for CLE audiences, Artistic Director Laura Kepley has found another vehicle to showcase the extraordinary talents of Ms. Flanagan.

Duncan MacMillan’s “EVERY BRILLIANT THING” is a humorous, joyous, tender, emotional play about depression, suicide and living life, solo-piece, with active audience participation.

Words like joyous and humorous usually don’t appear in the same sentence with depression and suicide, but in the hands of a fine playwright and a brilliant performer, they meld nicely.

First produced by Paines Plough and Pentabus Theatre Company at Britain’s Ludlow Fringe Festival in 2013, the script later was later broadcast on HBO.  The television performance was fine, but this hour-long show is best experienced live, where the audience can be up-front and participating in the experience.

CPH again illustrates why it moved from its previous home in the Hough area to Cleveland downtown.  The show, which is being performed in the Helen Theatre is the perfect intimate black box space for “EVERY BRILLIANT THING.”  On a proscenium stage the emotion of the piece would be lost, as it was on the television screen.

As they enter, many theater-goers are given slips of papers, or are whispered to by the stage manager or the performer.  The slips hold numbers and words and phrases.  The whispers share information that audience members will need to know when they are called on to engage in the production. 

For the shy…don’t worry.  You will not be embarrassed or put on the spot to perform against your will.  The entire concept, as developed by the writer, performer and director (Laura Kepley) is relaxed and non-threatening.  The communal sharing, as is the case in self-help suicide and depression support groups, allows an anonymous crowd to become theatrical comrades, an ad hoc ensemble united by a total stranger’s story, while learning the value of sharing grief and fears and working toward mental health awareness.

The numbered slips contain terms such as “ice cream,” “water fights,” “staying up past your bedtime,” and “being allowed to watch TV.”  The terms are part of a list, born out of a child’s fantasy for rescuing her/his mother from her suicidal depression.  The whispering helps some of the participants to help the performer as his/her father, intimate friend, counselor, professor.

Her/his? Depending on which production you see, the role is played by either Flanagan (a female) or Alex Brightwell (a male).  [Since I saw Flanagan, my comments will be about her performance.]

As the performer shares with us, “There are so many reasons to want to live, if only my mother’s clouded mind could be awakened to everyday delights.”  How better to do this than to illustrate all the wonders of the world.  Thus, the list.

To be effective in the roll of the child, later the adult, requires quick thinking, ad lib skills, a warmth and supportive caring nature.  Flanagan has all of these qualities in spades.  This is an amazing actress with natural charisma.

Kudos also to Maryann Morris, the stage manager and Nick Drashner, the sound designer.

CAPSULE JUDGMENT: “EVERY BRILLIANT THING” is a brilliant and absolutely must-see production.  Mental illness and its impact on a family, mortality and existential despondency are central themes. These are heavy subjects but, ironically, the approach is almost frolicsome and totally mesmerizing.

“EVERY BRILLIANT THING” which runs ninety-minutes without an intermission, can be seen in CPH’s Helen Theatre through December 22, 2019.  For tickets call 216-241-6000 or go to http://www.clevelandplayhouse.com.