"MENOPAUSE, THE MUSICAL" heats up the Hanna Theatre!

As the audience was streaming out of the Hanna Theatre, many stopped at the merchandise table in the lobby to purchase t-shirts.  Those garments told the tale of the production.  The pink colored attire was emblazoned with such phrases as: “I’m Still Hot, It Just Comes in Flashes,” “All About Me,” “Cranky, Crabby, Hard to Please,” and “Beware of Mood Swings.” 

Yes, that about sums up the show, which centers on four women, wandering the many floors of Bloomingdale’s Department Store in New York, as they sing about menopause and its many manifestations. 

The quartet sings 25 songs, all parodies of well known vocals, in the ninety-minute show which is staged without an intermission. 

“My Guy” becomes “My Thighs,” a lament of the addition of heft to the upper legs as one ages.  “Puff, the Magic Dragon” is transformed into “Puff, My God, I’m Draggin’.”  “The Great Pretender” laments the loss of memory and how women come to fake that they can’t remember an acquaintance’s name.  “A Sign of the Times” becomes “A Song of the Times” which recounts the startling fact that in middle age, a woman realizes she has become her mother. 

Take-offs on “SATURDAY NIGHT FEVER,” Cher, girl groups of the ‘50s and ‘60s, and the popping of Prozac, a woman’s coping choice of that age, highlight the era of these women. 

Complaints about stress, nerves, bladder control, wrinkles, flushing, not sleeping, chocolate binges, and night sweats, had the largely middle-aged female audience hysterical.  (A quick count found about 10 men in the assemblage.  Most males looked bemused by the howls of the women and confused by the references.)

“MENOPAUSE, THE MUSICAL” opened on March 28, 2001 in Orlando, Florida.  An Off-Broadway production opened in 2002 and ran for 1500 performances.  Then the show hit the road, not only  in the US, but had companies in Australia, Canada, Israel, New Zealand and the U.K.  It’s been seen by over eleven million people.

As the producers state, “MENOPAUSE THE MUSICAL” encourages a healthy dialogue about issues of aging and women’s health and provide a unique opportunity to raise awareness with female audiences.”

This is the second production of the show in Cleveland.  The first was staged in the now closed 14th Street Theatre.   That venue, which found the audience up-close and personal with the performers, made for an intimate setting.  The Hanna’s proscenium stage, where the show is now running, caused a slight disconnect between the audience and the singers.  This was somewhat compensated for by having the cast wander into the audience for some of the numbers.

The cast, Dyan Bender (Iowa Housewife), Donna J. Huntley (Professional Woman), Paula Kline-Messner (Soap Star) and June Lang (Earth Mother) are all show veterans.  Some were in the original Cleveland cast, some appeared in various other productions.

The entire cast was excellent.  Zaftig June Lange, who handles most of the self-deprecating laugh lines, was an instant audience favorite.  Huntley has the most trained voice and used her vocal sounds well.  Each had at least one highlight song.

Capsule judgement:  “MENOPAUSE, THE MUSICAL” is a delightful portrayal of the “Change, Change, Change” that women of a certain age go through, that consists of “Hot Flashes,” as they realize that “I’m No Babe,” and requires a “New Attitude.”  Do you have to be a “mature” women to appreciate the goings on?  No, but from observing the opening night audience, it helps!  (Don’t forget to bring a fan if you are in the “change” age group.

Tickets for the show, which runs through February 2, 2014 can be ordered by calling 216-241-6000 or going to http://www.playhousesquare.org

SPANK!

Screaming women encourage the sexual goings-on at the Hanna Theatre

Roy Berko

(Member, American Theatre Critics Association, Cleveland Critics Circle)

There are some weird and off-beat goings-on in downtown Cleveland’s PlayhouseSquare.  At the State, cross-dressers and a transvestite are feverishly dancing and preening in PRISCILLA, QUEEN OF THE DESERT, THE MUSICAL.  At the Hanna, witches and warlocks are cavorting in BELL, BOOK AND CANDLE.  On stage at the Hanna, in SPANK!  THE FIFTY SHADES PARODY, whips, chains, handcuffs and undulating abs have the mostly 20-something female crowd screaming for more.  Yes, female crowd…the farer sex outnumbered the males by at least 100 to 1.

British author, Ericka Leonard’s Fifty Grades of Grey erotic novel trilogy (e.g., FIFTY SHADES OF GREY, FIFTY SHADES DARKER and FIFTY SHADES FREED) has sold 65 million copies, making it the biggest selling paperback series of all time.

It is, as I was told by Cher, Rachel and Janine, the helpful trio of beauties sitting behind me, a take-off on all those soft back novels available in drug stores, that are consumed by women who sit at home consuming calories and sexual illusions.  You know, the books with the photo-shopped sculpted, gym-toned male studs on the cover.

In addition, the trio told me that some vignettes in the FIFTY SHADES books have allusions to the TWILIGHT series, the four vampire-themed novels by  American author Stephanie Meyer.

I must, in full-disclosure, admit to not having read any of the Leonard or Meyer books, so little did I know what I was getting in for when I entered the “she-den,” known most of the time as The Hanna Theatre.

SPANK! THE FIFTY SHADES OF PARODY is a musical written by seven, yes, seven authors.  There is little music, and the story line, I was told by my bevy of beauties, parallels the first book and tacks on the ending of the second book. (I have to trust them that this is true.  Would those cuties lie to me?)

The “story” concerns a woman writer who has the weekend where her husband and children are off to Disneyland, to write one or more books aimed at adult women.  The requisites?  The novels must contain lots of sex, sado masochism, sex, fantasy, sex, anatomical and slang references to about every part of a woman’s body, sex, and some more sex.

The heroine, Anastasia Steele, is created before our eyes by the writer, who tinkers and adjusts the script as we observe.  Ana encounters wealthy, studly, Hugh Hanson, a man tormented by demons and consumed by the need to control.  A man of perfectly formed abs and a vivid sexual imagination, which centers mostly on s and m.  He is beautiful, brilliant and intimidating, and looks great in his form fitting tiny Batman underwear, that conceal little, and skin tight jeans, which also leave little to the imagination.

The innocent Ana longs to be with him, and surrender her virginity.  (Were you expecting something else?)  Huge (I mean Hugh…hmm…was that a Freudian slip?) wants her, but on his own terms, which is included in a long contract (like the type Sheldon requires of those with whom he is in relationship on TV’s THE BIG BANG THEORY).  Along the way, the story includes snatches from THE SOUND OF MUSIC, Gilbert and Sullivan operettas, CHARLEY AND THE CHOCOLATE FACTORY, and of course, TWILIGHT.  This is a tale of obsession, possession and a night of fantasy when the women viewers go home and relive the experience through dreams in their own beds.

SPANK! is a hoot for the first half hour.  It kind of bogs down after the titillation is over.  It picks up when Alice Moran (Tasha) goes out into the audience to castigate (or castrate) the guy in the front row who has the nerve to be texting while the show is going on, and then ask advice from another audience member about what is proper to insert into one’s posterior, tushie, butt.   (BTW…the woman who was being queried, answered “Nothing,” but was talked into a modification of her response.)

Suzanne Sole (E. G. Janet) has a great time being the “writer” of the novel which develops before our eyes.  After a while, however, her repeated attempts at sexuality got a bit much.  She has a nice singing voice, which, unfortunately, didn’t get a lot of use.

Alice Moran (Tasha Woode), has a wonderful wide-eyed innocence and does well with the humor.

I can assume that the woman would have liked more of handsome, sensual Gabe Bowling (Hugh Hanson) stripping, bumping, grinding, and playing Chippendale dancer.  Moving out onto the runway that surrounded the thrust part of the stage might have met with dollar bills thrust into his Batman briefs.  The women who lined up after the show to have their picture taken with the dangerous dude were loving every minute of it.  Some had to be restrained from touching the merchandise!

CAPSULE JUDGMENT:  SPANK! THE FIFTY SHADES OF PARODY is definitely not a production for everyone.  Twenty-something women, with maybe a few 30s and 40s thrown in, who have read and love THE SHADES OF GREY trilogy, want to let loose, have a couple of glasses of wine and scream and yell, will have a great time.  Others, like this old white guy who hasn’t read the books, should have been at home!

SPANK! runs through January 27 at the HANNA THEATRE.  For tickets call 216-241-6000 or go to www.clevelandplayhouse.com.

Forbidden Broadway-Special Victims Unit

‘FORBIDDEN BROADWAY’ delights at Hanna

“That was fun,” “The ‘LES MIZ’ part was hysterical,” “I didn’t get all the in-jokes but that didn’t matter, I still loved it.” Those were some of the comments I overheard as I was exiting the Hanna Theatre after the reviewer’s night of ‘FORBIDDEN BROADWAY—SPECIAL VICTIMS UNIT.”

In January of 1982, out-of-work actor Gerald Alessandrini, who needed a way to showcase his talents, assembled some musical parodies, and made them into a night club act. The result was a critical and audience praised production which morphed itself into ‘FORBIDDEN BROADWAY,’ now the Big Apple’s longest running musical comedy revue.

Alessandrini nicely skewers shows, stars, playwrights, lyricists, choreographers and producers. He has an endless supply of new material as each Broadway season proceeds through its production year. As long as Broadway exists, there is potential for more Forbiddens.

Updated regularly, ‘FORBIDDEN BROADWAY’ has had several editions, countless revisions, national and international tours, and thousands of special performances.

The show being staged in Cleveland, ‘FORBIDDEN BROADWAY—SPECIAL VICTIMS UNIT,’ is not as complete as other productions of the script. Thinking that local audiences will not have seen the latest Broadway hits, parts of the goings-on have been dropped. The result is delightful, but I wish that Alessandrini and Director/Choreographer William Selby had had a little more respect for North Coast audiences and given us the authentic material.

Alessandrini supposedly centers this reincarnation on a format of TV’s ‘LAW AND ORDER.” The idea is that heinous crimes are being perpetrated against hapless victims…those who attend the Broadway theatre by reviving old shows and keeping productions running well beyond when they should have.

As does the TV show, FB-SVU starts out with Jerry Orbach (Greg Violand) and B.D. Wong (Brian Marshall) investigating a murder. In this case it’s the gunning down of aged, cigarette-smoking Annie (Tricia Bestic), while standing center stage in her classic red dress and curly mop of hair, singing her signature tune “Tomorrow.” Well, in this case, it’s "I'm thirty years old/Tomorrow, Tomorrow.”

Unfortunately, the concept of the investigation of other crimes is never again specifically addressed as the show goes merrily along with the Special Victims Unit stars never again appearing. But, this is a review, not a well-written play, so this “minor” oversight can be forgiven.

Most of the shows that are referred to have toured Cleveland. A segment from ‘LION KING,’ in which the actors complain about the discomfort of the costumes and masks, is delightful. ‘BEAUTY AND THE BEAST,’ as well as many other Disney shows, are mocked. A fight for who is a better actress centers on the two female stars of ‘WICKED.’ Greg Violand convulses the audience in his take on ‘MONTY PYTHON.’ Violand, in great voice, also does a delightful bit mocking “THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA.’ Brian Marshall is properly miffed because night after night he has to portray a feline, complete with flees, in ‘CATS.’ An argument between Chita Rivera (Carmen Keels) and Rita Moreno (Tricia Bestic), set to music from ‘WEST SIDE STORY,’ was an audience pleaser. A segment from ‘RENT’ also got extended laughter and applause.

Outstanding individual performances abounded. Violand did a fun take on ‘FIDDLER ON THE ROOF’ entitled ‘FIDDLER WITH NO JEWS’ complete with a Harvey Fierstein in drag take-off. Marshall brought forth an updated version of ‘CABARET,’ while Keels did a great Julie Andrews shtick. Bestic mocked Liza Minnelli and Ethel Merman, while Keels skewered Sarah Brightman.

The cast, composed of Cleveland performers, Tricia Bestic, Brian Marshall, and Greg Violand and New Yorker Carmen Keels is excellent. They all have fine voices and confident stage presence. Director Selby keeps the show moving swiftly along.

Often referred to as “A Cleveland treasure with at least three hands,” Marge Adler serves with wonder as the Musical Director, Pianist, and part-time performer.

Side note: It would have been helpful if the songs and/or shows were listed in the program in their order of presentation.

Capsule judgment: ‘FORBIDDEN BROAWAY-SPECIAL VICTIMS UNIT’ will be a delight for all those familiar with Broadway shows and personalities. But what about the non-theatre regulars? I asked the couple sitting next to me, who confessed that they are not “theatre people,” their views of the production. Their answer? “We loved it! We’re going to bring friends to see it.”

Respect (Hanna Theatre)

‘RESPECT’ leaves ‘em screaming and dancing at the Hanna

Over the last century, the lives of women, have gone through a major transformation. This topic has been the subject of a number of musical and straight plays. ‘RESPECT: A MUSICAL JOURNEY OF WOMEN,’ now on stage at the Hanna Theatre, is another in the series. Judging from the opening night audience, this journey is going to have a lot of travelers on board.

Dorothy Marcic, the show’s author, based the script on her book, ‘RESPECT, WOMEN AND POPULAR MUSIC.’ That manuscript analyzed the top-40 female song lyrics since 1900. She conceived the show in a chronological sequence, mainly centering on the experiences of one woman, her female relatives and the individuals with who they came in contact, or were the movers and shakers during the 60-some year journey.

The author states, “ For more than the first half of the last century, the voices of women in Top-40 popular music has been one of neediness and dependency. I'll do anything for you; just be my baby, even if you're no good and treat me bad; just LOVE me and I'll stand by my man. By the end of the century, things were quite different. Popular music had come far enough so that women looked for the hero within themselves, were urged to get on their feet and make it happen, ready to stand on her own with or without a man.”

The conclusion that Marcic reaches is "I am woman-hear me roar," and "I will survive." Thus, women should find and follow their own dreams. Where this leaves men is another topic, one not dealt with in this script.

The script generally flows well with logical verbal and vocal transitions. Though a little long, a 90 minute one-act, rather than a two-act production would be preferable. Some songs could be easily dropped such as, “How Much Is That Doggie in the Window,” the television tunes segment, and “Video” even though it was cleverly choreographed.

The Hanna show is well directed by David Arisco, with strong music supervision by Phil Hinton and musical direction by Gary Rusnak. Russ Borski’s scenic design, Jean Tessier’s lighting design and Mary Lynn Izzo’s creative costumes add to the quality of the production. Though no choreographer is listed, the dance sequences were cleverly conceived.

The stars of the show, besides the songs, are the cast members. Working their way through the likes of “Bird In a Gilded Cage,” “Someone to Watch Over Me,” “I Enjoy Being a Girl,” “You Don’t Own Me,” and “R-E-S-P-E-C-T,” the four woman cast generally acted, danced and sang with purpose. They accomplished the goal of clearly interpreting the songs and using verbal transitions to further the author’s purpose.

Tina D. Stump, who is pure soul, wailed her way through “I Will Survive” and ripped her way through “Hard Hearted Hannah.” The woman controls the stage and every song she warbles.

Tricia Bestic is a dynamic and endearing performer. Her version of “As Long As He Needs Me” was electrifying. “I Wanna Be Loved By You” was a smile highlight as was “These Boots Are Made for Walking.”

Melissa Barber was generally fine, but, at times, she displayed some inconsistency in her vocalizations and song interpretations.

Paula Kline-Messner was excellent as the narrator. She was totally believable in the spoken segments and sang well.

Capsule judgment: ‘MENOPAUSE’ ran and ran and ran at the 14th Street Theatre in Playhouse Square. Judging by the opening night audience’s reactions, the same production group has another hit with RESPECT.

Love, Janis - Hanna Theatre

Love Rock and Roll? ‘LOVE, JANIS’ is your thing!

"Some people live, some survive. I'm a survivor. I plan to be around for a long time." Those were the words of legendary rock singer Janis Joplin, whose life story, ‘LOVE, JANIS’ is now on stage at the Hanna Theatre.

As it turned out, Joplin was wrong. She died before her twenty-eighth birthday of an overdose of morphine and heroin.

Noted for her wailing blues sound, Janis Joplin broke the mold of traditionally pretty band singers, so prevalent during the 50s and early 60s, to become one
of the icons of rock music. But in spite of her
fame, she couldn’t overcome her self-destructive instincts

Born Janis Lyn Joplin on January 19, 1943 in Port Arthur, Texas, a small Southern petroleum industry town, she proved early in life to be a rebel. She broke with local social traditions during the tense days of racial integration, standing up for the rights of African Americans whose segregated status in her hometown conflicted with Janis’s youthful ideals.
She, along with fellow beatnik-leaning high school friends, pursued the non-traditional via arts and literature, especially music. She found her voice and was soon playing in coffee houses in the small towns of Texas. After a short stint in college her big break came. Chet Helms, a Lone Star state friend who was living in San Francisco, called to offer her a singing audition with an up-and-coming local group. Janis accepted, went to California and became the lead singer for "Big Brother and the Holding Company.” And, as the saying goes, “the rest is history.”

‘LOVE, JANIS’ was created by Joplin’s sister, Laura, whose goal was to show a side of the legendary singer that her fans may not have known. Through the use of pictures, letters that Janis wrote to her parents, and her songs, we learn of the star’s life. Or, at least the life her sister wants us to see.

The performance piece has an interesting premise. There are two Janises. One, the performer who puts on a face and a voice for the world, and the private Janis who wrote letters which indicated her successes and self doubts. Both Janises appear on stage, sometimes solely, sometimes together. This is accomplished by having two actresses portray the single person. One sings, the other speaks.

The present Cleveland production (in 1999 the Cleveland Play House mounted a very successful version) has two casts. I saw the duo of Katrina Chester as the singing Janis and Helen Coxe as the speaking Janis.

Chester has a big voice. She sings with gusto and lets loose with ease. I, at points, found her voice shrill and the song interpretations to be words rather than meanings, stressing the emotion rather than the meanings. A woman who shared my table at the performance, and who is a Janis fanatic, indicated that Chester, though good, didn’t have the audience-commanding presence of the original star.

I found Helen Coxe, who played the speaking role, unimpressive. She was constantly fiddling with her hair, seemed uncertain on stage and failed to develop a textured character. She simply didn’t display the emotional core of the character. She was missing the inner fire of a woman in chaos.

Local Cleveland favorite, Paul Floriano, is the off-stage voice who questions Janis and makes transitional comments.

On the way into the theatre the usher handed me a pair of ear plugs. She said, “Believe me, honey, you’ll need these.” She was right. Sitting in the first row, immediately in front of a huge speaker, my chair actually vibrated from the base notes. After a while the sound so overshadowed the singing, that I was hearing “boom, boom, boom,” not words. I wish that
bands would realize they are playing backup to the singer and if we can’t hear the lyrics, there is no sense in having a singer.

Capsule Judgment If you love rock and roll, if you are a Janis Joplin fan, you’ll like the concert segments of ‘LOVE, JANIS.’ If you have sensitive ears and aren’t into rock, there are probably shows around town that will be more to your liking.

MacHomer - Hanna Theatre

‘MACHOMER’ delights at Hanna

Before the action starts, the voice of Rick Miller, the creator and sole performer of ‘MACHOMER,’ now in a short run at the Hanna Theatre asks, “How many of you have seen the Simpsons TV show within the last month?”
The majority of the audience screamed a positive response. He then asked, “How many of you have read Shakespeare’s ‘MACBETH’ in the last month? A few feeble voices, including mine, responded in the affirmative. In actuality, I lied. I haven’t picked up a copy of ‘MACBETH’ in many a year, but I did read it in high school and probed it deeply in two Shakespearean theatre classes in college and have seen at least a dozen productions of one of the Bard’s
greatest tragedies. Someone needed to stand up forthe Bard!

What did Miller’s questions have to do with the show? ‘MACHOMER’ is a hyper-meld of Shakespeare and 50 Simpsons voices. And, yes, you guessed it, Homer is Macbeth, well, is Machomer.

The show actually follows most of the original script,though it is abbreviated. But as pronounced and phrased by Bart, Ned Flanders, Troy McClurem, Barney Gumble and Marge, the words take on altered meaning.
Add some classic Simpson’s characteristic lines, and you have an idea of what the evening is like.

Capsule Judgment This little-over-an-hour intermissionless production is not for Shakespearean purists. It is for Simpson followers. Those of us who aren’t “Simpsonites” greatly appreciated the tremendous talent of Miller and the creative use of the cartoon power point presentation that accompanied Miller’s voices and antics, but weren’t swept up in the gales of laughter which surrounded us.

Googlewhack (Hanna Theatre)

‘Googlewhack! adventure’ hysterical, but I’m not allowed to say much more

How does a reviewer comment on a production when the author and performer (who happen to be the same person) stands stage center during the curtain call, and explicitly forbades viewers from telling anyone other than the people in that audience what the production was about or revealing the ending. So, what can I say about ‘DAVE GORMAN’S GOOGGLEWHACK! ADVENTURE’? Okay, try this on...it’s about 2 words, 4,285,199,774 web pages and what happens when an obsessive-compulsive creative man goes berserk on the internet. I can also say it’s hilarious, delightful, mind bending, comical, hysterical, side-splitting, cleverly conceived and a one-of-a-kind experience.

Maybe it’s just best to let Gorman himself tell you what’s it all about. That way I won’t get into trouble. On his webpage he states, “At the age of 31 I decided to give up my stupid ways, grow a beard and write a novel. I guess this show is the story of my failure to do two of those things. (Yes, I have a beard) All sorts of unpleasantness could have been avoided if other people had told me not to do it. Instead, they took me seriously. Meetings were set up, deals were done and a novel was commissioned. To make matters worse, a publisher even gave me a chunk of money as an advance on the project. This was an exceedingly stupid thing to do. Needless to say, the novel doesn't exist and I've spent the money. What on? On a googlewhack adventure.”

He goes on to state, “It started when I received an e-mail from a stranger telling me that I was a googlewhack. I didn't know what a googlewhack was. Now I do. A googlewhack is what happens when two words are entered into Google and comes back with one and only one hit. So when the stranger told me that I was a googlewhack, he didn't mean that my name Dave Gorman was one... he meant that my website contained one.”

And with that premise, Gorman went on an adventure. Sorry, I can’t tell you what kind of adventure, or what happened, or how the whole thing turned out. The only way you’ll ever find out is to go see the production yourself.

CAPSULE JUDGEMENT: I loved, loved, loved the show and thanks to Mr. Gorman, I have become a slave to my computer, having spent the last 12 hours googlewhacking! Be warned--Gorman and googlewhacking are addictive.

Nunsense (Hanna Theatre)

NUNSENSE less than hysterical

If those who attended ‘NUNSENSE, the 20th ANNIVERSARY ALL-STAR TOUR’ were expecting a hysterically delightful repeat of the long running Hanna Theatre production of ‘LATE NITE CATECHISM,’ they must have been disappointed. The “play” is based on the ridiculous premise that Sister Julia Childs, the convent’s head cook, had accidentally poisoned most of the order’s nuns. Since there wasn’t enough money to bury all of the sisters, some of were placed in the freezer and we (the audience) were supposedly attending a fund-raiser to bury the remaining souls. Yeah, sure, okay, you get the point! Twenty-five years of stirring hasn’t improved the piece.

Most people, I assume, came to see the old time stars, rather than be enthralled by the goings-on. Well, even that was disappointing as Georgia Engel was off shooting an “Everybody Loves Raymond” episode and Mimi Hines was ill. That left Cleveland’s own, the delightful Kaye Ballard, the “I can still belt-out a song” Darlene Love, and “I was Miss America” Lee Meriwether to carry the load.

Capsule Judgement: It was a slightly entertaining evening. There were some laughs, there was some okay singing, and there was some presence of Ballard’s statement for the reason for the show…”We are here to prove that nuns are fun.” Okay, I’ll accept her word for it, but at $52.50 a ticket, there should have been more fun!

Tony and Tuna's Wedding, adds a new star (Hanna Theatre)

TONY N’ TINA adds a new star for the night

After a lifetime on stage as an actor and director, I hadn’t appeared on stage in over 15 years. That string was broken on July 17 when I had made a cameo appearance in TONY N’ TINA’S WEDDING, the longest running play in Cleveland history. The program addition read, “At this performance Roy Nunzio will be played by theater critic Roy Berko.”

Not only did I have a wonderful time, but was again impressed with the delight the cast shares with the audience as they enact a wild Italian wedding complete with fights, a priest and nun who get drunk, dollar dances, a gay romance, an Italian feast highlighted by Orlando’s bread, a bad-joke MC, wedding guests singing and dancing, and a congo line down 14th Street.

The members of the cast are dedicated to the production and were wonderful hosts. Pete Ferry, the father of the groom, steered me through the evening with the able assistance of beautiful Erika Nicol Whites, who portrays his blond bimbo girlfriend. Michael Herzog, a charmer who conned my wife into giving him a backrub, and who portrays Tina’s brother, was always at hand with a smile to assist when Pete had to leave me alone. Tony, James Klein, and Mark Gates, portraying Father Mark were wonderful in our interactive scenes.

People in the audience who I knew tried, of course, to get me to break character. After a while they just started to play along.

My favorite moment? When a woman asked me to dance and slipped a dollar bill into the cummerbund I was wearing with my tux!

If you’ve seen it before, come back to see TONY N’ TINA’S WEDDING, it’s even more fun the second time. If you haven’t seen it, do so, you’ll have a wonderful time. According to Jeon Francis, the show’s public relations coordinator, the show is scheduled to run through New Year’s Eve.

By the way, if Jacqui Loewy, the show’s production stage manager, ever needs a fill-in cast member, I ‘m willing to appear at a moment’s notice.