RICHARD III and SWEENEY TODD--an impressive duo of bloodbaths at Great Lakes Theater

When Great Lakes Theater’s Artistic Director, Charles Fee, sat down to select the Fall 2013-2014 season, he was either in a laughing bad mood or he decided that what Clevelanders needed, besides watching our pathetic athletic teams, was to have an exposure to blood, manipulation, a reign of terror and a few laughs.  Thus, he chose to bless the north coast with a repertoire of RICHARD III and SWEENEY TODD.

RICHARD III is a historical play by William Shakespeare.  It was believed to be one of the Bard’s early works, supposedly written while he was in his 20s.

The tragedy is part of his First Folio of plays, all of which are based loosely on history, but not necessarily factual.   Due to its length, only exceeded by Hamlet, it is rarely performed in its entirety.  The Great Lakes production has wisely been pared down to about two-and-a half-hours.

The play centers around Richard, a victim of scoliosis and other bodily deformities, including a large facial skin blotch, who is an embittered, power hungry tyrant, with seemingly little or no conscious.

The play is set in the time following the War of Roses, a long civil war in which the York’s gained the throne of England.  There has been a period of peace under King Edward IV.  Richard resents Edward’s popularity and power and will do anything to ascend to the throne, including killing anyone who directly or indirectly gets in his way.

The opening scene finds Richard relating to the audience the pattern of accession to the throne. He explains, in what has become one of Shakespeare’s most quoted speeches, “Now is the winter of our discontent, made glorious summer by this son of York; and all the clouds that low’r’d upon our house in the deep bosom of the ocean buried . . ..”  By the conclusion of this monologue the audience recognizes Richard’s envy, and the deception and political manipulation his path will take.

Before Richard gains the throne, he murders or has had killed, his older brother, the husband of the woman he wants to marry, King Edward, his two nephews, and the list goes on and on.

Eventually, his bad deeds catch up with him.  And, in the end, as he pleads for, “A horse, a horse, my kingdom for a horse,” he, as do most classic tragic characters, seems to recognize his evil ways and that he must pay for his sins.  

All is not blood and guts.  The Bard inserts, as he does in many of his tragedies, some comic material.  It’s not the glee displayed in his comedies or farces, but it does counteract some of the angst.

Shakespeare flows philosophical as he uses the central theme of fate, especially as it relates to the tension between free will and fatalism.  And, since the Bard wrote for the groundlings who stood around the thrust stage in London’s Globe Theatre, he has Richard speak directly to them [in Great Lakes’ case, the audience], making us co-conspirators in his plotting.

One of the central themes of Richard III is the idea of fate, especially as it is seen through the tension between free will and fatalism as revealed by Richard's actions and speeches.

The Great Lakes production, under the direction of Joseph Hanreddy, is a compact, quickly moving, audience grabbing staging.  The actors use traditional Shakespearean dialogue, but break the rhythm pattern by speaking meanings rather than rhyme, thus making the oft-difficult for Americans to understand dialogue, clear. 

The horror of all the deaths is tempered by placing most of them off stage and using a clever pouring of blood from the upper balcony into a container below, and changing the stage lighting to red hue, to highlight the murders. 

Richard is effectively portrayed as deranged, projecting erratic emotional highs and lows, rather than making him into a complete lunatic.  This adds reality to the play and the man.

Modern touches such as the use of cell phones, texting, and a mix of eras in the costumes may upset Shakespeare purists, but will definitely appeal to the many students who will attending the productions.

The major flaw is a directing problem that causes difficulty for the patrons sitting to the right and left of the thrust stage.  I was sitting in the first row, two seats from the proscenium wall, and most of the first act I was viewing the actors’ backsides and not hearing lines as the projection was to stage center.  After I moved to the center for the second act, I heard the dialogue and could watch the faces of the actors.  Moral?  Directing a play in a thrust theatre requires certain adjustments in  blocking.

The huge cast is universally strong.  Lynn Robert Berg made a superb Richard III.  His mood swings were realistic and he was totally convincing.  He was so convincing as the “carnal cur” that when he came out for his curtain call on opening night, many in the audience booed the “villain.”

Laura Welsh Berg, in spite of wearing an outlandish dress that resembled something plucked from a bad rack of prom frocks, was compelling as Lady Anne, the widow of Edward (son of King Henry VI).  Also giving strong performances were Darren Matthias as King Edward IV, Lenne Snively as the Duchess of York, Laurie Birmingham as Queen Margaret, and David Anthony Smith as Duke of Buckingham.

Chris Richards and Eric Damon Smith, as the murderers, and Alex Syick as Henry, were also excellent.

Linda Buchanan’s steel and glass dual level set worked well. Michael Chybowski’s lighting design highlighted the ever changes moods. Martha Hally’s costume designs didn’t work as well.  Mixing contemporary and traditional was not the problem, it was the quality of the craftsmanship of the clothing and some distracting style choices.

Capsule judgement: RICHARD is a finely crafted production and is a perfect compliment  to SWEENEY TODD as the partners of the “ maniacs gone wrong” duet that comprises  Great Lakes Theatre’s fall 2013-2014 season. Go see both!

RICHARD III runs through November , 2013.  For tickets: 216-664-6064 or www.greatlakestheater.org

Impressive SWEENEY TODD shashes its way into the emotions at Great Lakes Theater

The recent release of a list of the 100 greatest musicals of all times has brought about much controversy in the theatre community.  Though there has been conflict created by the plays on the list, there was no controversy over who was the best composer.  Stephen Sondheim was the only writer/lyricist/composer who had five selections in the top sixteen.  GYPSY placed number one, SWEENEY TODD 3rd, WEST SIDE STORY 8th, COMPANY 15^th and SUNDAY IN THE PARK WITH GEORGE was 16^th.

Stephen Sondheim, whose SWEENEY TODD is now on stage at the Great Lakes Theater, has been dubbed by many experts as “possibly the greatest lyricist ever.”

As a youth, Sondheim became friends with James Hammerstein, the son of Oscar Hammerstein, the co-author of such Broadway wonders as OKLAHOMA, CAROUSEL and THE KING AND I.  This surrogate father had a profound influence on Sondheim.  He also was exposed to Robert Barrow, a teacher and musicologist, who made him realize that “all my romantic views of art were nonsense.”  Sondheim’s musicals often reflect that disdain for the traditional emotional view of love by having love go wrong.

Sondheim’s scores are complex.  They often rely on counterpoint and angular harmonies, overlapping singing, and strong muscular musicality that make his works more akin to opera than traditional Broadway.  Sondheim’s music doesn’t mirror the beautiful and hummable melodic sounds of Rogers and Hammerstein, Lerner and Loewe (MY FAIR LADY) or Steven Schwartz (PIPPIN).

The winner of an Academy Award, eight Tony Awards (more than any other composer), eight Grammy Awards, and a Pulitzer Prize, Sondheim has been described as, “the greatest and perhaps best-known artist in the American musical theatre.”

Does this make him a universal favorite?  No. Far from it.  Broadway productions of his works sometimes lose money.  The average theatre-goer often complains that due to the complexity of the music, and the difficulty of singing his songs, the words often get lost, and that his stories are often too abstract.  Sondheim, himself, has described SWEENEY TODD as “a black operetta in which only about 20% of the show is spoken.” 

Other complaints are that his work is too dark.  SWEENEY TODD, for example, explores the psyche of a mad murderer, a social outcast, and is filled with killings, rape, judicial corruption and visual mayhem. 

The tale of the demon barber of Fleet Street takes place in London in 1846.  Anthony Hope, a young sailor, arrives on a ship accompanied by Sweeny Todd,  who he rescued during a storm at sea.  The aloof, embittered, uneasy Todd has a secret of a past life that will soon unfold.  The duo is confronted by a mad Beggar Woman who seems to recognize Todd who is returning to England after fifteen years of unjust incarceration in an Australian penal colony.  Todd has revenge in mind, for not only the unfair banishment, but for having lost his wife due to the machinations of a corrupt judge.  What follows is a series of bizarre events in which Todd returns to his former barber shop to be told by a pie-shop keeper that he has a daughter who is now the ward of the judge and that his wife is dead.  Through a series of plot twists, some funny, others appalling, revenge is extracted and some semblance of justice is reached.

SWEENEY TODD opened on Broadway in 1979.  It is based on a 1973 play by Christopher Bond.  An instant hit and Tony Award winner, it has been revised several times on Broadway, had a long run in the West End in London, and was made into a film. 

Great Lakes Theater’s production, under the focused direction of Victoria Bussert, is mesmerizing.  The staging is creative, the characterizations clearly etched, the intensity builds to a heart-thumping conclusion.  

Jeff Herrman’s scenic designs and Mary Jo Doninger’s lighting create the right dark and ominous feel.  Charlotte Yetman’s costumes are era correct.

The cast is universally excellent.  Though he seems to overly scowl, Tom Ford makes for an uneasy, hell-bent-on-revenge Sweeney Todd.  He has a strong singing voice that has the right menacing sound.  This is a tormented man, who exudes his angst.  His well nuanced The Barber and His Wife clearly develops the exposition for the tale. 

Sara Bruner is hilarious as Mrs. Lovett, the pie shop owner who has her romantic hooks set for Todd.  Her intent is absolutely consistent, she knows how to play for laughs, and that more than compensates for the fact that she is sometimes a little hard to understand.  Her musical versions of The Worst Pies in London and By The Seas delight.

Young Chris Cowan is pitch and performance perfect as Tobias, the shop clerk

of limited intelligence.  His Pirelli’s Miracle Elixir is delightful, and his rendition of Not While I’m Around is an emotional show stopper.

Zach Adkins creates Anthony into an appealing suitor for Todd’s daughter, Johanna.  His rendition of Johanna is poignant.  Clare Howes Eisentrout sings the role of Johanna well.

Darren Matthias is properly evil as Judge Turpin and M. A. Taylor builds a clear character as The Beadle. 

Jodi Dominick makes for a believable Beggar Woman, Todd’s wife, who has been shocked into insanity.

Unfortunately, musical director Matthew Webb doesn’t keep the orchestra under control and often their sounds drown out the singers.  Since the lyrics are so important to the understanding of the plot, and some of the songs, such as A Little Priest are so clever, it’s a shame that they can’t easily be heard.  Some listeners may also have a little trouble cutting through the necessary Brit accents.  In spite of these hiccups, the story line is easy to follow.

Capsule judgement:  Great Lakes Theater’s SWEENEY TODD is a spell binding production of a Stephen Sondheim masterpiece.  Those turned off by violence, or who aren’t Sondheim aficionados, may not appreciate the show, but anyone interested in hearing complex music, well sung, encased in a well-honed script that is finely performed, will be turned on by this must see production.

SWEENEY TODD runs through November 2, 2013.  For tickets: 216-664-6064 or www.greatlakestheater.org

Sondheim on Sondheim: The Revue of a Lifetime

Disappointing SONDHEIM ON SONDHEIM at Hanna Theatre

In the self-revealing probe of his life, principles, writing philosophy and revelations about musical theatre, Stephen Sondheim, in both of his recently published books, FINISHING THE HAT and LOOK, I MADE A HAT explains that “content dictates form,” “less is more,” and that “theater lyrics are not written to be read but to be sung.” He illustrates how a writer’s philosophy, life experiences and beliefs are revealed in what he writes about and the way in which he expresses his ideas.

Stephen Sondheim, with few exceptions, writes musical dramas. He usually takes on serious subjects—the inability to make commitment (COMPANY), revenge (SWEENEY TODD THE DEMON BARBER OF FLEET STREET), false illusions (FOLLIES), world issues (PACIFIC OVERTURES), haunted souls (SUNDAY IN THE PARK WITH GEORGE), misguided motivations (ASSASINS).

What’s surprising about Sondheim’s approach is that he was a protégé of Oscar Hammerstein II, who was among the kings of musical theatre. His productions often had an undercurrent of comedy, while stressing homey community centered themes, with a philosophical message. These are not Sondheim's techniques.

Early in life, following the divorce of his parents, and his mother’s realization that she did not want to be a parent, Stephen was turned over to Hammersteins, who were family friends, for tutelage. Hammerstein, according to Sondheim, taught him most of what he knows about music and musical theatre.

With this background in mind, I went to see the co-produced PlayhouseSquare and Great Lakes Theatre, SONDHEIM ON SONDHEIM THE REVIEW OF A LIFETIME, with great anticipation. It would make the written words of the Sondheim books live….make the lyrics soar, make the story vivid by hearing the great man in his own words, supported by a professional cast of singers and dancers.

In general, what a disappointment. Yes, Sondheim was there. But, instead of the chronological development of his books, the ideas jumped around with no organizational format, sometimes repeating themselves. The staging lacked the dynamic quality of Sondheim’s ideas. The singing was mediocre. The vocal blendings were sometimes off. The orchestra often drowned out the words to the songs…words that we must be able to clearly hear. The choreography was often flat. The cast sometimes looked like they were walking through their numbers with little joy or pizzazz. They often sang words, not meanings. Articulation was sometimes mushy. Hopefully I saw the show on an off-night and during the rest of the run some of these issues don’t rear their ugly heads.

There were some high points, beyond hearing Sondheim explain himself and his works. Production numbers such as A Weekend in the Country, The Best Things That Ever Happened, and Losing My Mind were successful. The humor highlight was a YouTube compilation of various people, from the famous (Frank Sinatra, Barbra Streisand and Liz Taylor) to unknowns, doing their renditions of Send in the Clowns. The setting, a series of white levels, lent itself well to the free flowing staging. A number of gold frames were effectively used to place visual borders around the action and to create a screen for the Sondheim video clips.

But these were balanced off by the indistinguishable lyrics in Getting Married Today, the questionable interpretation of Happiness, and the less than funny, usually hysterical, Comedy Tonight.

How could this be? Thirteen months was spent putting the script together and getting permissions to produce the piece. It incorporated the work of James Lapine, long time Sondheim collaborator. There were all the hours of Sondheim interview tapes. Over 1200 performers were auditioned in Cleveland and New York. Victoria Bussert, the reigning local queen of musical theatre directors and a nationally recognized theatrical wizard staged the show. Matthew Webb, an accomplished musical director was on staff. Gregory Daniels, who has a proven record as a choreographer, planned the dancing.

As a friend who I spoke to following the show stated, “I was bored and frustrated with the level of performances and lack of focus.” Whatever the reason for the derailment, it led to a less than standout evening of theatre.

CAPSULE JUDGEMENT: SONDHEIM ON SONDHEIM, in its regional premiere, was a major disappointment. I wanted so much to be involved, to be excited, to gain a further appreciation of the “amplifications, dogmas, harangues, anecdotes and miscellany” that makes Sondheim Sondheim.

Romeo and Juliet

Juliet shines in Great Lakes Theatre’s ROMEO AND JULIET

ROMEO AND JULIET, the tale of star-crossed lovers, is considered one of Shakespeare’s great plays. Filled with unbridled love, beautiful illusions, conflict, plot twists, and an emotional ending, it has all the elements of audience appealing theatre.

Interestingly, Shakespeare did not invent the plot for the play. Poet Arthur Brooks is credited with writing a tale of Romeus and Juliet in what is often referred to as a “long plodding poem.” Many of the story threads in the Bard’s version, including the lovers meeting at a ball, their instant love and secret marriage, Romeo’s fight with Juliet’s cousin, the sleeping potion, and the eventual suicides, are all “stolen” from Brooks. In Shakespeare’s hands, however, the tale is not plodding.

The story centers on a feud between the families Capulet and Montague in the city of Verona. The play starts with a battle between servants of the families and concludes with the end of the grudge.

In short, Romeo is in love with Rosaline. Rosaline deflects his attention. Benvolio, Romeo’s friend invites the melancholy youth to accompany him to a feast in order for him to relieve his depression. There Romeo sees the fair Juliet, instantly falls in love, his affections are returned by the lovely teen and, thus, a tale of forbidden love and senseless, yet poetic and dramatic deaths follow.

Great Lakes Theatre’s production of ROMEO AND JULIET, under the direction of Charles Fee has many high points. Betsy Mugavero is luminous as Juliet. She perfectly develops the child/woman qualities needed. She is as irrational as a youth should be, hits the right level of being impetuous and head strong, and makes Juliet totally believable.

Laurie Birmingham successfully textures the role of Nurse. It becomes readily apparent, due to Birmingham’s interpretation of the role, that Juliet is the product of Nurse’s constant devotion. The portrayal is filled with compassion and humor.

Lynn Robert Berg nicely develops Friar Laurence into a wise and understanding sage, helping the young lovers in their plotting. J. Todd Adams, is excellent as Mercutio, Romeo’s friend. He has a nice flair for comedy and the ironic. Laura Perrotta is correctly passionate as Lady Capulet, Juliet’s mother, avoiding the common mistake of some American actors of overplaying Shakespeare.

The sword fight scenes, under the guidance of Ken Merckx, are exciting, filled with acrobatics and clever movements, including participants hanging from the scaffolding. Star Moxley’s costume designs were appropriate and the women’s garb elegant. There is some nice plot heightening underscoring music. The pacing keeps the story flowing.

On the other hand, Fee, infuses verbal and nonverbal sexual innuendos that distract from the plot line. With a large number of students coming to production, the titillation, which is unnecessary, seems inappropriate.

Aled Davis, as Juliet’s father, screamed his way through the role. There was little texturing, mainly unbridled volume. In addition, the important final scene of the play, in which the Friar summarizes the Bard’s message, was drowned out by the overdone wailing of Melissa Owens, Romeo’s mother.

Yes, Romeo is supposed to be melancholy, but Christian Durso, so underplayed the character, that the youth was almost devoid of personality. There appeared to be no real passion between him and Juliet. Even the kisses were tepid.

A major visual and audio problem was created by scenic designer Gage Williams’ set. Because of the large mid stage heavy wall, and the small size of the gate-entrance into the death vault, those audience members seated stage right and left could neither see nor hear the important scene between Romeo and Paris, just before the play’s conclusion. A high school student sitting behind me whispered to her friend, “What’s going on back there?” That’s definitely not a good sign. The set and blocking should serve the play, not obliterate important scenes, especially the climactic ones.

Capsule judgement: ROMEO AND JULIET gets a credible performance at GLT, highlighted by an enchanting performance by Betsy Mugavero as Juliet, good pacing, and some fine supporting acting, but the production does have some problematic elements.

Great Lakes Theatre Shakespeare Composing Contest

GREAT LAKES THEATRE celebrates Shakespeare’s birthday with music

April 23 is the anniversary of William Shakespeare’s 448th birthday. That gala date will be celebrated by Great Lakes Theatre, Cleveland’s classic company, in grand style. In cooperation with WCPN 90.3 FM, the announcement of their 2012 songwriting contest winners will officially be announced.

The competition was open to junior and senior high school soloists or bands. The assignment was to submit new, original music inspired by ROMEO AND JULIET, which will be in production at GLT on the Bard’s birthday.

“The idea of the songwriting contest is to connect musically talented students to classic works of literature appearing on the Great Lakes stage,” said the theatre’s Education Director Daniel Hahn. “Shakespeare has inspired countless artists, and since his plays are often musical and lyrical, we wanted to see how student composers might respond to his work.”

“We had over 75 students enter the contest this year, far and away the most ever,” said Hahn, “and the entries were so good we actually added a fifth grand prize winner, after originally planning for just four.”

The grand prize winners were: Alex Berko (grade 10, Solon High--pictured above), Lexi Clegg (grade 7, Laurel School), Maria Bernadette DiDonato (grade 12, Normandy High), Keifer Wiley (grade 11, Orange High), and the band “InTandem,” featuring Wil Birsic (grade 12, Elyria Catholic), Brett Diederich (grade 12, Elyria Catholic), Zach Gunelach (grade 12, Elyria Catholic), and Caitlin Terrell (grade 12, Medina High).

Music submissions of all styles and genres were accepted. Each grand prize winning entry received a $250 cash prize, a professionally engineered recording, commemorative CDs and a radio broadcast of the song on a special edition of WCPN’s Around Noon. Winners were interviewed by Dee Perry, the host of the program. In addition, winners received tickets for a production of ROMEO AND JULIET.

The Mousetrap

THE MOUSETRAP gets rare professional production at Great Lakes Theatre

During the pre-talk of the opening night production of THE MOUSETRAP, Charli Fee, Great Lakes Theatre’s Producing Artistic Director, shared that when the company was designing the 2011-2012 season, they wanted to add a different dimension to their offerings. The show selected had to take a diverse approach to the usual offerings, but retain the theatre’s classic tradition.

When someone suggested Agatha Christie’s THE MOUSETRAP, the play that opened in 1952, and is still running in London, making it the longest running theatrical production in the history of modern theatre, everyone laughed. It’s an old warhorse that everyone has seen. Not quite. When a poll was taken of the laughers, all theatre experts, not one had ever seen a professional production of the show. And, no one had seen a movie version of the script. Of course not. The permission agreement states that no movie will be made until the show ends its London run. Interest was peaked and a decision was made to produce the show. Easier said then done.

As Fee found when he tried to get only one professional production a year is authorized. But, since it is the 60th anniversary of the show, which was originally written as a radio play in 1947, in honor of Queen Mary’s 80th birthday, the producers are allowing 60 world-wide professional stagings. GLT was fortunate to get one of the agreements.

Several other interesting tidbits surround the history of the show. Christie’s grandson was born on the day the play opened. As a birth present the author granted him full royalties to the script. That means that all of the pounds and dollars in income that have been made, have gone to the future millionaire in swaddling clothes. That’s one great present from gram!

THE MOUSTRAP, which was originally entitled THREE BLIND MICE, was a bold play for its time. It was not only a fascinating who-done-it, with a great twist at the end, but it is a well crafted piece in which clues are dropped continually that lead to the revelation of the murderer. It is a mystery that probes what fear does to people and what happens when people are crowded together. It is also a play that, because it was not written to be performed, but read on radio, has dialogue that is often hard to act. It has its own texture and word puzzles, and the action has to be created by the director to make it visual rather than imagined.

At the start of the play, a woman is killed by someone whose identity is shrouded by a hat, coat and scarf. Who is this killer?

The scene shifts to Monkswell Manor, outside of London, where a group of supposedly randomly assembled people gather. Those present are the proprietors of a newly opened English guest house, five visitors, and a detective who arrives in order to protect the residents from the London killer who, it is reported, has a connection to one or more of those at the manor. Hmmm!

A snow storm rages outside so no one can come or go. The telephones stop working. One person is killed. There is fear for the death of more. The audience spends its time trying to grasp the clues as to the identity of the murder!

Who did it? Since there is no butler, that option is erased. I know, but I’m not telling. You won’t either if you attend the GLT production. At the end of the show you will be sworn to secrecy, just as all audiences have in the 60 year run of the script. What happens if you tell the untellable? No one knows, but, are you willing to tempt the fates?

The GLT production, under the direction of Drew Barr, is generally good. The pacing is a little slow, the set is somewhat disconcerting with the entrance areas confusing and a room filled with unexplained radios which dominates the stage, is a distraction. On the other hand, the acting is excellent, the sound effects add to the mystery, and the incidental music and lighting effects help build the tension.

David O’Byrne steals the show as the flighty, affected Christopher Wren. He is a total delight. Laura Perrotta makes the uptight, complaining Mrs. Boyle, a former judge, a figure to be reckoned with. Fine performance here! Sara Bruner, as the mannish Miss Casewell; Aled Davis, as the attentive Major Metcalf; Jodi Dominick, as Mollie Ralston, the owner of the manor; Tom Ford as Mr. Paravicini, he of fake Italian accent (hmm!); Dan Lawrence, as intense Detective Sergeant Trotter; and Paul Hurley as Mollie’s suspicious husband, are all excellent.

Capsule judgement: THE MOUSETRAP is a classic British murder mystery that gets a good performance at Great Lakes Theatre and deserves to be seen. It is one of your only opportunities, unless you go to London, to experience the creative genius of Agatha Christie’s script in a professional setting.

Cabaret

No standing ovation for CABARET at Great Lakes Theatre

CABARET. It’s 1931 in Germany, a country of unrest. We find ourselves at the Kit Kat Klub, a seedy cabaret, a place of decadence and emotional abandonment. Hanging over the entire scene is the growth of the Nazi party and the impending reign of terror.

CABARET. A musical loosely based on John Van Druten’s play I AM A CAMERA, which was adapted from Christopher Isherwood’s GOODBYE TO BERLIN, with music by John Kander and lyrics by Fred Ebb.

CABARET. A glimpse at Sally Bowles, a young English cabaret singer, her seedy life as a performer, her doomed relationship with American writer Cliff Bradshaw, and a strong subtext of another doomed relationship between German boarding house owner Fraulein Schneider and her suitor Herr Schultz, a Jewish fruit vendor. Not to be overlooked is the Master of Ceremonies at the Kit Kat Klub, who oversees the entire affair, not aware that he is also on a doomed path.

CABARET. A version of which is now on stage at Great Lake Theatre.

The musical opened on Broadway in 1966. Immediately upon entering the theatre, the audience was struck by the difference between this and other shows. The curtain was up, a large convex mirror reflected each person out of proportion as s/he walked down the aisle. Lights and the theatre’s brick walls were all exposed. Ironically, the staging was reflective of exiled German Jewish playwright Bertolt Brecht’s theory of theatre: alienation (awareness that you are watching a theatrical production), epic (that which was presented is bigger than life), and historification (a message from the past, which the viewer was to bring into the present, and learn from the experience).

The original cast included award winning Clevelander Joel Grey as the Emcee. Grey went on to also star in the 1972 movie version which featured Liza Minnelli as Sally.

In the London revival of 1993, under the direction of Sam Mendes, the show took on a new persona. The emcee morphed from an asexual, malevolent character to a highly sexualized homosexual (brilliantly portrayed by Allen Cummings) who, at the ending of play, along with all the other “decadents”—Jews, Communists, the physically disabled—are taken off to the concentration camps. Other changes added references to Cliff's bisexuality, including a scene where he kisses one of the Cabaret boys. A 1998 Broadway revival, which also starred Cummings, further refined the script, added wandering musicians to bring out the alienation and identifying each character with a musical sound.

The Great Lakes Theatre production, under the direction of Victoria Bussert, works on some levels, stumbles on others. Basically using the Mendes rewrite, the general staging is acceptable, creating many of the right highlighting to illustrate the impending horror. On the other hand, some questionable casting, pedestrian choreography and a costume glitch, produce problems.

Neil Brookshire develops a believable character as American writer Cliff Bradshaw. Laura Perrotta, is properly both hard and tender as Fraulein Schneider, whose purpose in life is to survive at all costs. John Woodson is wonderful as Herr Schultz, the Jew who thinks he is a German and naively assumes that the forces that are coming will assume the same.

Perrotta and Woodson’s versions of It Couldn’t Please Me More and Married, Perrotta’s So What and What Would You Do?, and the wrenching Tomorrow Belongs to Me were the production’s vocal highlights.

Danny Henning (Bobby), with a snarl and a sneer, makes for a fine Kit Kat male dancer and one of Cliff’s former lovers. Jim Lichtscheidl (Ernst) is properly despicable as a scheming Nazi. Sara Bruner is spot on as Fraulein Kost, Fraulein Schneider’s roomer, who offers sexual favors to numerous sailors.

On the other hand, Eduardo Placer feigns at being the Master of Ceremonies. The performance is all on the surface, filled with vocal and physical gimmicks, never giving a clue that he understood the power of his character. The same can be said for Jodi Dominick’s Sally. Besides having difficulty singing the marvelous songs that the role is given, she never gives a clear reading of her basis for desperateness, the vulnerability that is covered by bravado. The flailing hands, high pitched vocal adventures into trying to dispilay desperateness, didn’t help create a believable character. Don’t expect to hear an emotionally moving version of the theme song Cabaret.

Gregory Daniels’ choreography was efficient, but never developed the underlying sensuality of the Kit Kat girls, nor the power needed to create the impending issues, nor was there any clear distinctive style displayed.

Charlotte Yerman’s costumes were era correct and worked well, but her yellow stars for the Jews and pink triangles for the homosexuals, were so small that unless a viewer knew what was going on, there was no way to catch the meaning in the quick last scene. In fact, while exiting the theatre, a woman was overheard saying, “I didn’t know the MC was Jewish,” which obliterated part of Mendes’ rewrite highlighting that more than Jews were taken to their deaths.

Capsule judgement: CABARET gets a serviceable, yet flawed production at Great Lakes. The very fact that the production I saw received light applause, not a Cleveland automatic standing ovation, gives a clear message that director Victoria Bussert did not get the most out of the script.

The Taming of the Shrew

Farcical THE TAMING OF THE SHREW entertains at GLTF, but…

Though it is billed as a comedy, Shakespeare’s TAMING OF THE SHREW, a version of which is now on stage at Great Lakes Theatre, is a play of controversy.

To understand the hullabaloo, knowledge of the plot is necessary.

The tale, which is set in Hollywood, California, in this version, finds Lucentio, a rich young man, arriving in the city with his servants, Tranio and Biondello, to attend a local university. Lucentio’s center of attention changes when he sees and instantly falls in love with the beautiful Bianca. As happens in such tales, there are problems. In this case, Bianca already has two suitors and, most importantly, her wealthy father will not let Bianca be courted until her older sister, the ill-tempered Kate, has married. Petruchio, a suitor for Kate comes along, and we are carried into Shakespeare’s tale of how the shrew is “tamed.”

The quote marks around the word “tamed” are not by accident. That word is the center of the script’s ability to inflame strong reaction.

The controversy centers on the play’s ending, when the strong-headed Kate does, or appears to buckle into the will of society, in this case, the will of her husband and declares, “The husband is the lord,” indicating the misogynistic and patriarchal view that women are persons to be controlled by men. This concept, of course, does not sit well with modern women. It reeks of the views of the rulers of such countries as Saudi Arabia and Iran and males who abuse and denigrate women.

While feminists and their followers declare that the play’s ending needs to be dropped, altered, or that Kate’s lines should be coded to indicate that what she is saying is not what she means, others have defended the play by highlighting the play's sentiments are not meant to be taken at face value, that the entire play is, in fact, a farce.

This disagreement places a clear obligation on each production’s director to choose an interpretation of Kate’s final speech, as it is this scene, which in the end defines the meaning of the entire production. The director has at least four choices: (1) Kate's speech is sincere and Petruchio (her husband) has successfully tamed her or she has come to see that they're well-matched in temperament; (2) Kate’s speech is ironic: she is not being sincere in her statements but sarcastic, pretending to have been tamed when in reality she has completely duped or is humoring Petruchio; (3) Kate's speech cannot be taken seriously due to the farcical nature of the play; (4) Kate’s speech both satirizes gender roles and emphasizes the social need for wives to be obedient to their husbands.

In the GLT’s production, there is no satirical verbal or nonverbal hint of tongue in cheek, there is no wink as Sara Bruner (Kate) is stating her speech, there is no overdone farcical aspect to the scene as was present in much of the production. So, does this mean that Young, a woman, opted for option 1? Since she writes no program notes, the viewer has no way of knowing.

As to the rest of the production, Young has pulled out all the shticks to produce a staging that will delight all those who love the Three Stooges, Saturday morning cartoons, and productions that are way bigger than life.

Young has set the production in 1980, with many references to Tinsel Town. There are tourists going on home tours of the stars, mention of Elizabeth Taylor, Richard Burton, and Ralph Loren clothing designs. Slang, rock music, nonverbal gestures and somewhat era correct clothes waft across the stage.

The wedding scenes are each delightful, the elevator thrust stage is used effectively to make set pieces and people appear and disappear before our very eyes, the music is fun, the choreography properly over the top, and the fights are of well staged. The first act is let loose fun; the second stanza seems to run out of steam.

Sara Bruner goes totally overboard as Kate. How she gets through a performance without getting hurt from the flips, rolling on the floor battles, and headlocks, is amazing. She is beyond real, obviously creating a character true to her director’s desires. As such, she is a delight.

Her Petruchio, (Jim Lichtscheidl) a gentleman of Montana, who is used to roping wild things, wrestles and abuses his Kate into submission by withholding food, holding her captive and generally taming her. Unfortunately, he is somewhat inconsistent in his character development.

Reggie Gowland makes for a handsome and realistic love-sick Lucentio. Kjerstine Rose Anderson is adorable as the cheerleader perky Bianca. Neil Brookshire and Danny Henning, as Lucentio’s servants, are delightful.

Michael Locher’s steel-clad set is distracting. The doors don’t always work well as devices of quick exits, the constant changing of pictures and window coverings on the second floor rooms is distracting, and the straight line walls seems to get in the way of the action, rather than helping it.

Capsule judgement: Great Lakes Theatre’s production of TAMING OF THE SHREW will be a delight for those who like their theatre and Shakespeare over the top. It well may infuriate those who champion women as equals of men.

Two Gentlemen of Verona

GLTF’s TWO GENTLEMAN OF VERONA--where is Tom Hanks when we need him?

In 1978, the Great Lakes Theater Festival produced TWO GENTLEMEN OF VERONA, one of Shakespeare’s lesser comedies. It may be a lesser comedy, but that season a young man named Tom Hanks had his first professional starring role in the show. His Proteus, one of the two lead roles, resulted in Hanks being selected by the Cleveland Critics Circles as the best actor of the year. (I proudly cast my vote for him and have watched in pleasure as he became a megastar!)

Don’t go to see the present production of TWO GENTLEMEN expecting to see another Tom Hanks on stage, nor to see the same quality of production as was staged in Lakewood High School’s auditorium, then the home of GLSF. (The theatre later changed its name from Shakespeare Festival to Theatre Festival in order to widen its offerings.)

Not that the present production is bad, it isn’t, It’s just flat, lacking in the special dynamics, creativity and performance quality that make a show more than acceptable.

THE TWO GENTLEMEN OF VERONA is believed to be one of the Bard’s earliest works, probably penned around 1590. It may well have been his first play. Though many literature experts consider it to be a minor work, it does contain some devices that Shakespeare would later use in his other plays, including a girl dressed as a boy, the use of clownish servants, love conflicts that work themselves out in the end, infidelity, and best friends who engage in conflict. On the other hand, it pales in comparison to the style and humor level of such comedies as ALL’S WELL THAT ENDS WELL, THE MERRY WIVES OF WINDSOR, A MIDSUMMER NIGHT'S DREAM, THE TAMING OF THE SHREW and THE COMEDY OF ERRORS.

In Verona, Proteus and Valentine (the two gentleman of Verona) discuss the qualities of love. Valentine announces he is leaving for Milan. Valentine's servant reports to Proteus that Julia, his love, gave no response to his letter to her. At Julia's house, her servant, after some delay, gives her Proteus' letter. Although Julia tears it up and refuses to read it, she eventually pieces it together and shows her desire for Proteus. And thus we start down a path of twisted tales, true and false love, lovers thwarted, lovers united, and a happy ever after ending.

Highlights of the GLTF production include: Jodi Dominick and Sara Bruner who beautifully sang the music by Nick Drake, Ingrid Michaelson, Zion and Regina Spektor and played by Matthew Webb and Andrew Pongracz. Russell Metheny’s metal sculpture set adds an airy feel to the goings on. Lee Stark makes for a charming Julia, the beloved of Proteus. And the audience favorite, Mojo, the large shaggy dog, steals every scene in which he appears.

It is surprising that Director Charles Fee, noted for his ability to dig deep into the humor well, restrained both M. A. Taylor (Speed) and David Anthony Smith (Launce), the two servants who usually are the play’s comic reliefs. In the lead male roles, both Neil Brookshire (Valentine) and Paul Hurley (Proteus) fail to ignite the characterizations, presenting them as one dimensional beings. Nika Ericson doesn’t create a clear vision of Silvia, the beloved of Valentine. Eric Perusek (Eglamour) and Robert Williams ((Panthino) are difficult to understand and present their lines in near-monotone. We should expect better from a GLTF cast.

CAPSULE JUDGEMENT: THE TWO GENTLEMEN OF VERONA may not be a great Shakespearean script, but there have been some excellent productions of the work, including a local version some years ago that was an award winner. The present TGoV misses the humor and creativity mark.

The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (Abridged)

SHAKESPEARE ABRIDGED not all that riotous at GLTF

The advertisement for Great Lakes Theater Festival's THE COMPLETE WORKS OF WILIAM SHAKESPEARE (ABRIDGED) reads,”3 GUYS. 37 PLAYS. 1 RIOTOUS ROMP.” Yes, there are 3 guys, and 37 plays, well, actually 36 plus HAMLET done 4 times. But, this is not a riotous romp. It is more an uneven production with some very humorous segments, which is often difficult to hear, and gets boring due to the repetition of duplicate shticks and allusions.

The play, whose alternate title is COMPLEAT WRKS OF WLLM SHKSPR (ABRIDGED), was written by Adam Long, Daniel Singer, and Jess Winfield, the founding members of the Reduced Shakespeare Company. It was first performed at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival in 1987 and has become one of the most produced scripts.

As the writers explain the birth of the production, “We decided to do the complete works of Shakespeare in less than two hours. Bill was a pretty good playwright, but he used too many words.”

Though it is a scripted show, much of what happens is ad-libbed by the actors according to the audience reactions. While some audience members are actually brought on stage, and others are addressed by the cast, the whole audience becomes cheering sections. (Warning: if you don't want to become an actual part of the action, avoid sitting in the first few rows, and definitely not in the seats added where the thrust stage usually is place, which is referred to by the cast as the “vomitorium.”)

In sum, the production is a parody of the plays written by William Shakespeare. All of the Bard's comedies, history plays and tragedies are performed, or at least alluded in the two-acts.

As is the case with many of the script's productions, references to local topics of the day are included. The GLTF creation includes visual and verbal comments to LeBron (the traitor of Cleveland), the Browns, SPIDERMAN, THE MUSICAL, Parma and Tom Hanks (did you know he has a favorite urinal in the men's room and the Hanna Theatre bar is named after him?)

GLTF's production is directed by Charles Fee, the king of farce, double-takes and broad interpretations. There are many humorous, downright funny parts of the show, but Fee's seeming obsession to anal references and kicks to the groin become tedious after a while. And, no matter how much you like and admire the guy, how many Tom Hanks references have to be made? After the first ten uses of his name, his urinal and his bar, the impact gets lost.)

The cast, Paul Hurley, Jason O'Connell and M. A. Taylor, who are basically classically trained actors, don't' seem to have the comic timing to pull off all the broad and physical humor. O'Connell does a fun stand-up comedy bit at the start of Act II. Hurley has some fun moments, especially as Hamlet. M. A. Taylor, garbed out in Indians' paraphernalia, is fun at the start of the show, but in other places he doesn't project well. This is especially true when he goes into falsetto when portraying the many women's roles. If we can't hear the lines, we can't laugh at them!

The most entertaining parts of the production centered on the free form segments.

Do you have to know all of the Shakespeare portfolio to appreciate the goings on, to even understand the show? No, but some knowledge helps.

CAPSULE JUDGEMENT: I've seen CWOWS(A) done before, and done well. Unfortunately, though humorous at times, the GLTF production is long on shticks and short on riotousness.

An Ideal Husband

AN IDEAL HUSBAND delightful yet purposeful at GLTF

Oscar Wilde's AN IDEAL HUSBAND, now running in repertoire with OTHELLO at the Great Lakes Theater Festival, is a social comedy. Comedy because it is full of Wilde's wonderful use of paradox (absurd statements that express truth) and sarcastic comments about society and people. In addition, it deals with important social issues, which are as relevant today as when the play was written in the late 1800s.

To understand Wilde's plays it is helpful to understand Wilde, the man. During his college years he became part of the “Oxford Movement,” a group that expounded upon the virtues of classical culture and artistry. They stressed art for art's sake. This philosophy carries over into his plays. Then there is Wilde's personal life. He was married, but had an affair with the much younger Lord Alfred Douglas, whose father did not approve of the gay relationship and accused Wilde of sodomy. Wilde, unwisely, tried to sue the father. Wilde's case was dropped when his homosexuality, acts which were outlawed in England, was exposed. Wilde was sentenced to two years hard labor in prison. His trial took place during the London run of THE IMPORTANCE OF BEING EARNEST and AN IDEAL HUSBAND. His name was taken off the billboard of the plays and they were originally published without his being credited as the author.

It is prophetic that in AN IDEAL HUSBAND Wilde states, "we shall all have to pay for what we do." He paid heavily for what he had done as he left jail penniless and died shortly thereafter at the age of 46.

AN IDEAL HUSBAND revolves around the lives of two men, successful political figure, Sir Robert Chiltern, and his friend, the charming and frivilous Lord Arthur Goring. The world of these men is turned upside down by the arrival of an old acquaintance, Laura Cheveley, who has come with blackmail in mind. Chiltern could lose everything, including his wife Gertrude, if Cheveley succeeds and Goring could lose his adored Mabel. Underlying the actions is the question of what makes for an ideal husband.

The Great Lakes production, under the direction of Sari Ketter, is delightful. Ketter proposes that the play is like a fairy tale and carries out the theme in manner, dress and setting. She perceives that there are prince charmings (Chiltern and Goring); princesses (Gertrude and Mabel); a wicked witch (Laura Cheveley); a couple of mean gossips (much like Cinderella's step sisters); galloping horses (the stage hands who prance through the choreographed set changes); and in, the end, as in every good fairy tale, an ending in which the “good ones” live happily ever after.

Ketter's concept is not the usual approach to the script. Therefore, some might complain that the production is too light, too frothy and loses the serious undertone. Since I like to see Wilde's comedies take on this light approach, while letting the underlying meaning of the words carry the message, I am most pleased with this production.

The GLTF cast is excellent. Richard Kalutsch, who ironically has a strong physical resemblance to former British Prime Minister Tony Blair, is a believable Sir Chiltern. David Anthony Smith is nothing short of delightful as Viscount Goring (probably Wilde's alter ego). Aled Davies is full of bluster as Goring's nagging father. Jodi Dominick is properly uptight as Chiltern's wife and Sara Bruner is charming as Mabel, Chiltern's sister. Maryann Nagel is so very, very proper as Lady Markby, a prominent member of London society, and Laura Perrotta hones in on the role of scheming Mrs. Chevely as makes her into the “wicked witch” with a vengeance. Credit must also go to the young men playing the servants and footmen for their precise movement of set pieces, which often brought applause and laughs from the audience.

Jason Lee Resler's costume designs are exquisite and Nayna Ramey's fragmented set works well.
CAPSULE JUDGEMENT: GLTF's AN IDEAL HUSBAND is a production which should please and delight audiences.

Othello

Interpretation of OTHELO at GLTF open to debate

OTHELLO, a version of which is now on stage at Great Lakes Theatre Festival, is considered by many literature scholars to be Shakespeare's greatest tragedy. Of all of the Bard's writings, it most shows what happens when love turns bad because of unfounded jealousy.

Shakespeare's use of tragedy in such plays as ANTONY AND CLEOPATRA, HAMLET , JULIUS CAESAR, KING LEAR, MACBETH, ROMEO AND JULIET differs from the traditional western world definition put forth by Aristotle. In the Aristotelian perception, the protagonist, the tragic hero, must be an admirable but flawed character, with whom the audience sympathizes. He is often guided by outside forces to follow a preset path. Think Oedipus, who we feel empathy for in spite of his misguided love for his mother, and his murder of his father. Shakespeare's tragic protagonists are capable of both good and evil because of the Bard's belief in the doctrine of free will, wherein people make decisions, not because the gods have willed they take prescribed actions, but make the decision which leads to their own doom.

When Othello, the only Blackman in the Venetian state and a superstar general, appoints the Florentine Michael Cassio to a prominent position, Iago his right hand man, in a fit of jealous rage, plots to undermine Othello. Thus, starts a series of events that leads to calamity. Iago manipulates all other characters by trapping them in an intricate net of lies. He achieves this by getting close to the people and playing on their weaknesses while portraying himself as "honest" Iago.

This is one of the Bard's character driven shows, centering on six individuals: Othello, a Moor who is a general in the Venetian army; his wife Desdemona; his lieutenant, Cassio; his trusted ensign Iago; Emilia, Iago's wife and Desdemona's maidservant; and, Roderigo, a fool who is in love with Desdemona. We clearly see the character of Othello choosing to believe his friend Iago, to reject his wife due to the lies told by Iago, and make foolish decisions that are his own doing, thus displaying the free will in which Shakespeare believed.

OTHELLO centers on such themes as love, jealousy and betrayal. And, because it also has overtones of racism and political intrigue, it has a modern feel. Director Risa Brainin has used these overtones to stage the show in modern dress and use General American pronunciation.

Besides the format and pronunciation, Brainin has made other decisions, some of which are problematic. The pace of the show is languid, often lulling the audience, before it explodes in the final several scenes. There is a strong question over what might be called the “soap opera” approach of some of the performers' acting styles and line interpretation.

In order for the audience to feel empathy for Othello, the tragic hero, we must accept him as a real person, with real feelings. David Alan Anderson's Othello, is not a real person, he is more a caricature, whose emotions are on the surface, who shows little real love connection for Desdemona, and who is often hard to understand because of slurring and often being inarticulate. He does not display the power of a man who leads armies and is envied by all about him.

David Antony Smith is a delightful Iago. But should Iago be getting laughs? He is the villain. He is the manipulator who must be so real, so innocent (he is usually played as a sweet natured young blue-eyed blond). As is, it is hard to believe that a wise and worldly Othello would fall prey to the obvious manipulations of Smith's Iago.

Kevin Crouch's Cassio is so young and played as being so naïve that why a great nation would eventually turn over it's military to him is a puzzlement.

On the other hand, Sara Bruner (Desdemona) and Laura Perrotta (Emilia) are right on target with their character development. We feel pity for Desdemona as she is unfairly accused and pays dearly for Iago's maniacal, self-centered manipulations. We clearly see what happens when Emilia sees her husband for what he is and takes a stand against him.

Russell Metheny's set design caused problems. Though building a cage around the characters, showing them trapped in their decisions, was effective, the vertical pillars often blocked the facial expressions of the actors as they moved around the stage and made for some strange blocking.

Throughout, the fight and death scenes were obviously choreographed to the degree that they looked unnatural. One of the deaths even got a laugh from the audience the night I saw the show, because of the lack of believability.

Written in five acts, productions vary in their format. GLTF has decided to divide, what turns out to be close to a three hour production, into two long segments.

CAPSULE JUDGEMENT: Whether audience members will like, dislike or tolerate GLTF's OTHELLO will depend on their view regarding how Shakespearean tragedy should be interpreted. I, personally, do not like my tragedies presented as soap operas.

A Midsummer Night's Dream

A Beetles infused ‘A MIDSUMMER NIGHT’S DREAM’ at GLTF

‘A MIDSUMMER NIGHT'S DREAM,’ a comedy by William Shakespeare, is one of the Bard’s most popular works and one of the English language’s most performed scripts. It concerns the adventures of four young Athenian lovers, a group of amateur actors, some fairies, and Greek gods.

Though a comedy, it is widely believed that the play develops at least two themes: the dark side of love and the blurring of fantasy and reality. As for love, Shakespeare makes light of love by having Puck, the forest’s fairy-in-resident, mistakenly mismatch various couples, including a goddess with an ass.

The plot also makes the fairies such an integral part of the plot that we accept the fantastic reality of the fairy world, and its magical happenings, as natural.

As locals who attend Great Lakes Theatre Festival are aware, Charlie Fee, the theatre’s Artistic Director, has never failed to grasp any and all farcical opportunities. In his vision of ‘A MIDSUMMER NIGHT’S DREAM,’ his dervish mind flows overboard. This version is set not in Greek times, but in London in the 1960s. And, much like the 1590s, the time of Shakespeare’s life and writing, it’s the time of a flowering youth movement. The Bard used the slang of the day to reflect the times just as Fee uses the voice of youth represented by the music of The Beatles.

Fee has dressed the cast in 1960s clothing, updated Shakespeare’s language and, as he explains in the program, his image included “Lysander and Demetrius as Paul and John, and the Mechanicals (Bottom, Flute, Quince and Company) as Sergeant Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band. You have to give Fee credit. His imagination runs deep.

Since MIDSUMMER is a comedy, without real depth of message, why not play around with the concept, as long as the audience has fun and the cast and director bring the audience a fun filled evening? Remember, that was Shakespeare’s purpose in his comedies.

The first act is draggy, but all heck lets loose in the second act, especially the scenes of mistaken identity, the romps through the fields, and the play within the play.

Aled Davies is fun as Theseus, Gisela Chipe is cute as Hermia, Kevin Crouch is delightful as Lysander, David Anthony Smith is a hoot as Bottom and the Donkey, and Lina Chambers is charming as the lovesick Helena. On the other hand, Eduardo Placer feigns Puck…practically begging for laughs with his surface level portrayal and Dane Agostinis is not on track as Demetrius.

Choreographer Martin Céspedes makes classical actors move like they actually don’t have two left feet. He has a nice touch with the movements of the 70s and inserts hand, feet and body actions that well fit the mood of The Beatle’s sound.

CAPSULE JUDGEMENT: If you are a Shakespearean purist, you’ll run for the exits as soon as the lights go up, you see the costumes and hear the first Beatle song inserted into the script. For the rest of us, we’ll just let Fee have fun and take us along as we rock to Shakespeare.

Bat Boy

GLTF spreads its wings with the bizarre ‘BATBOY’

When one thinks of the Great Lakes Theatre Festival, the normal vision is for a Shakespearean drama or comedy, or maybe a Noel Coward farce, but, not a musical, and especially not a musical based on sensational headlines from The National Inquirer.

In a search for new and younger audiences, and wanting to go down a path less traveled, the company’s Artistic Director has reached into his hat of tricks and pulled out Keythe Farley, Brain Flemming and Laurence O’Keefe’s outrageous Off-Broadway” ‘BAT BOY: THE MUSICAL,’ which in its Big Apple run was referred to as the “musical of the year.”

What is this outrageous show all about? According to the Weekly World News, the Bat Boy saga began in 1992 when the 19-pound mutant, described by scientists as half human and half bat, was captured in a cave in Virginia's Shenandoah Mountains. Supposedly, the strange creature had enormous amber eyes that enabled him to see in the dark and oversized ears that worked like radar! The feisty creature was taken to a secret federal laboratory, where experts from all over the world came to study him. In 1993 and again in 1994, government officials denied rumors that Bat Boy had escaped from the lab and was on the loose. His present whereabouts is unknown. (Gee, maybe that kid sitting next to you in the theatre is not really a nice little child, but….Bat Boy!)

THE musical tells the tale of finding the Bat Boy and his struggle to assimilate and gain societal acceptance against great odds. It takes on a ‘MY FAIR LADY’ meets sci-fi, as Bat Boy is taught how to behave like a respectable citizen, complete with a proper British accent, and finds out the “real” story of his conception. The moral? Who cares! You go to see ‘BAT BOY: THE MUSICAL’ to be entertained. It’s the National Inquirer, Cleveland-Action 19 News version of theatre.

The Great Lakes Theatre Festival production, under the direction of Victoria Bussert, starts slowly but, in the second act picks up steam. So much of the fun, the outrageous visual images, is undoubtedly the creation of Martin Céspedes. Listed as the choreographer, his imprint is all over the staging, from the gestures, to the body poses, to the visual images, to the movements. He not only gets Shakespearean actors to dance--let’s say, move creatively to music--but he creates physical images that become the mountain folk caricatures that the show needs to be outrageous.

Mitch McCarrell, a Baldwin Wallace musical theatre graduate, is Bat Boy incarnate. He hangs from the rafters, sings with gusto, textures the role with pathos, and captivates the audience. His diminutive physical size enhances his believability. He is one of the few cast members who can actually sing as a musical theatre performer should sing. The others, unfortunately, are actors who have been required, because of the repertory nature of GLTF, to vocalize.

Lynn Allison is fun as the mother with a secret. Lynn Robert Berg is less successful in portraying the tortured doctor/father. An even more outrageous melodramatic interpretation is needed to flesh out the role. Erin Childs makes for a nice “forbidden” love interest for the Bat Boy, though she could have been filled with more disdain and teenage angst in the opening scenes. Aled Davis is a hoot as the Barney Fife-like Sheriff. Eduardo Placer does a wonderful vocal version of “Children, Children.”

Unfortunately, many of the lyrics to the songs are drowned out by the overly enthusiastic on-stage band. Why, oh why hasn’t musical director Matthew Webb learned that the purpose of the band in musical theatre is to back up, not drown out the singers. This is not a rock concert. Calm down the guitar and percussion. If the audience can’t hear the singers, there is no story line understanding.

CAPSULE JUDGEMENT: You have to go see ‘BAT BOY: THE MUSICAL,’ with the right attitude. You have to will yourself to have fun, realizing that you are participating in a tabloid fantasy. Set aside your traditional beliefs about what GLTF theatre should be. If you do, once you get past the draggy first act, you are in for a fun-filled flight of fantasy.

Twelfth Night

TWELFTH NIGHT farce for the sake of farce at GLTF

Charles Fee, the Director of ‘TWELFTH NIGHT’ now playing in repertory at the Great Lakes Theatre Festival, loves farce. He appears to see almost any play as a palate on which to paint brightly colored visual images in hysterical poses. Up to his usual tricks, he has staged Shakespeare’s play about mistaken identities and love with an eye toward laughs. And, since the script is slight on realism and message, his vision works.

Shakespeare wrote the script in either 1600 or 1601, supposedly as entertainment for the Christmas season. (Twelfth night, is the last night of the holiday season.) It was the last of his so-called "mature comedies." The others were ‘MUCH ADO ABOUT NOTHING’ and ‘AS YOU LIKE IT.’ Like most of his comedies ‘TWELFTH NIGHT’ celebrates romantic love and contains many of the devices found in other Elizabethan romantic comedies such as separated twins and gender-crossing disguises.

The story centers on Viola, who is shipwrecked on the shores of Illyria, a mythical Mediterranean coastal area with Turkish and Persian flavor. Viola loses contact with her twin brother, Sebastian, believing he has drowned. She masquerades as Cesario, a young male page, and enters the service of Duke Orsino. Orsino is in love with the bereaved Lady Olivia, whose father and brother have recently died. His love is not returned. Orsino decides to use Cesario as an intermediary. Olivia, believing Viola to be a man, falls in love with him (her). Viola, in turn, has fallen in love with the Duke, who also believes Viola is a man, and who regards him (her) as his confidant. (Getting confused? Actually, on stage it’s easy to follow.)

Adding extreme humor to the goings-on is a comic subplot involving Olivia's heavy drinking uncle Sir Toby Belch, her servants Maria and Fabian, her steward Malvolio, her suitor Sir Andrew Aguecheek, and, the fool Feste.

Fee’s directing, as is his custom, often goes over the top. This is much to the delight of the audience, who, on opening night convulsed with laughter every time there was a pratfall, overdone characterization or three-stooges type exaggeration.

Andrew May is fun incarnate as Toby. Ian Gould, complete with his clownish white make-up, is delightful as Aguecheek. Eduardo Placer sings well and taunts with ease as the jester, Feste. Laura Perrotta manipulates with glee as Olivia’s gentlewoman, Maria. David Anthony Smith is the perfect foil as the pathetic love struck Malvolio.

Sara Bruner carries off the role of Viola with charm, while Jodi Dominick is generally effective as Olivia, though at times her characterization wavers. The rest of cast nicely fulfills Fee’s directing philosophy.

Choreographer Helene Peterson and Fight Coordinator Ken Merckx add a nice tone with their contributions. Gage Williams’ set design creates the right Moorish image.

CAPSULE JUDGEMENT: If you like your Shakespearean comedies smothered with outlandish farce, you’ll enjoy yourself at GLTF’s TWELFTH NIGHT.