Pleasant “IT’S A WONDERFUL LIFE” @ Theatre in the Circle

Watching “IT'S A WONDERFUL LIFE” is a family viewing tradition for many families.  The sappy, sentimental fantasy was produced and directed by Frank Capra.  It was based on “The Greatest Gift,” a Phillip Van Doren Stern short story.  

The film which starred Jimmy Stewart as George Bailey and Henry Travers as Clarence, has become one of the most beloved in American cinema.   Interestingly, was a financial flop at the movie box office.  Only years later did it become required Christmas TV watching.

The tale centers on George Bailey, a man who has given up his dreams to help others, and whose imminent suicide on Christmas Eve brings about the intervention of his guardian angel, Clarence.  The bumbling angel, who has been angling to get his wings for a hundred years, succeeds when he shows George all the lives he has touched, and how different life in his community of Bedford Falls would be if he had never been born.

It is almost impossible to watch the film and not ask yourself, “What a difference have I made in my lifetime?”  It’s probably why so many people find the story endearing.

A stage version, adapted from the film, is now being performed by Theatre in the Circle.

The University Circle theater bills itself as the only professional theater in the country housed in a senior retirement facility.  Though the producer and director are residents, the performers are not residents, but professional and amateur actors from the CLE community.

The script was written by TITC’s Bill Corcoran and Dudley Saunders.

It was originally performed in 1989 at the Derby Dinner Playhouse in Clarksville, Indiana, one of the oldest and largest operating professional dinner theatres in the United States, where Corcoran was the music director.  

The script was revived once and then went into hiatus.  

Corcoran and his husband, Mark are the duo in charge of Theatre in the Circle. They decided that it was time for the script to come out of hibernation and are now staging it.

Well, reviving and revising it.  The original cast had 20 characters.  The new version has nine, with many characters playing multiple roles.  The producers also needed to adapt the orchestrations to fit the acoustic and space requirements of the Judson Mannor’s Ballroom, where the show is being performed.  They also had to adjust to the postage stamp proscenium/thrust stage, with the audience up-close and personal, and operating on a shoe-string budget which limited the ambiance of the costumes, sets and lighting.

There was little they could do about the hokey story line which is actually what makes the schmaltzy tale so enduring to many. 

In attending a Theatre in the Circle production, it must be realized that, even though there are some professional actors on stage, the general production values, are much like many community theatres—lots of very good intentions and enthusiasm, with often moderate success.  And that’s not all bad.  There is a nice folksy feel in the company’s productions that fits the setting and the intentions of the producers.  This is not intended to be competition for the Key Bank Broadway Series, nor Dobama or Cleveland Play House. 

Michael Snider has the right touch as the do-gooder, put-upon George Bailey.  He has a solid singing voice and makes us believe that George is a down-home real nice guy who has only the best intentions for the people of Bedford Falls.  His rendition of “Wonderful Life” makes for a nice moral conclusion to the show.

Clarence is supposed to be the comic escape for the story.  Though he over-does it sometimes, Robert Kowalewski has the charm, voice and flexible face, to make the role audience-pleasing.

Pert Natalie Green uses her well-developed vocal abilities for “Bein’ Bad” and David Munnell (a Gomer Pile look, sound and act-alike) does a good turn as Uncle Billy.  Stephen Morse is nasty enough as Mr. Porter, the town bad guy that he got “boos” in the curtain call, but could have been even more Simon Lagree-nastier to help showcase George’s goodness.  

The rest of the cast Mason Stewart, Molly McGinnis, Erin Burke ad Braelin Andrzejewski all put out full effort.

The pleasant music, which includes two tangos and a couple of ballads, is not memorable, but helps develop the tale.

  

Musical director Evie Morris and her band do an excellent job of underscoring rather than overpowering the singers.

CAPSULE JUDGMENT:  If you are a fan of the movie “IT’S A WONDERFUL LIFE” you will like Theatre in the Circle’s stage version. Go knowing that it’s the same overly sentimental and hokey tale set to music.  It’s a nice break from the usual holiday shows that are repeated over and over at some local theatres.  

All TITC performances are staged at the historic Judson Mannor, 1890 E. 107th St, Cleveland, OH 44106. Curtain times are Thursday, Friday and Saturday @ 7:30 pm and Saturday and Sunday @ 2 pm.  Ticket cost:  Adults $20, Seniors $18, Judson/South Franklin Circle residents $15, Students $12. For tickets call 216-282-9424 or go to theatreinthecircle.com. There is free parking.

CHARLIE BROWN, with a kind of new twist at Theatre in the Circle

In the Spring of 1967 a group of theater students from Lorain County Community College went to New York to get their first experience with Broadway.

One of the shows they saw was YOU’RE A GOOD MAN CHARLIE BROWN.  Fortunately, due to a friendship between one of the LCCC faculty and Clark Gesner, who wrote the music and lyrics for the show based on the “Peanuts” characters created by cartoonist, Charles M. Schulz,” the students not only got to meet the writer, but spent time socializing with the cast. 

This connection led to LCCC’s drama department getting permission to stage one of the first amateur productions of the work. 

“Peanuts” is often thought of as just a cartoon about kids.  It is, but in fact, it is infused with philosophical, psychological, and sociological overtones.  Not only are relationships, concepts about the American educational system, family connections and the angst of childhood showcased, but as stated in the book, “The Gospel According to Peanuts,” “it sheds more light on the Christian faith and how it is to be lived than many more serious theological works.”

“Peanuts” is among the most popular comics with 17,897 strips published.  At its peak in the mid-to-late 1960s, the strip ran in over 2,600 newspapers, with a readership of around 355 million in 75 countries, and was translated into 21 languages.

The strip focuses on a social circle of young children, where adults exist but are rarely seen or heard. 

The main character, Charlie Brown, is a meek, nervous boy who lacks self-confidence.  He is unable to fly a kite, win a baseball game, or kick a football held by his irascible friend, Lucy, who always pulls it away at the last instant.  “Good grief Charlie Brown!”

The musical, which, during its off-Broadway and subsequent revivals, has starred such theater and television stars as Gary Burghoff (Radar on “Mash”), Anthony Rapp (RENT) and Kristin Chenoweth (WICKED).  The LCCC production featured Crissy Wilczak, who went on to Great White Way fame in A CHORUS LINE, 1940s RADIO HOUR, SEESAW and was featured in TV’s “Mork and Mindy.”

The musical opens with Charlie Brown sitting alone as his friends give their various opinions of him.  Today everyone is singing “You’re a Good Man Charlie Brown,” rather than berating him for the many stumbles as he follows his life path.

The usually depressed Charlie Brown is happy and hopeful, that is, until he notices the Little Red-Haired Girl, who he secretly loves.  He decides to go sit with her. However, in typical Charlie Brown fashion, he cannot find the courage to do so, winding up putting his lunch bag over his head in utter frustration. 

As the tale goes on, Lucy expresses her deep infatuation with Schroeder and asks him what he thinks of the idea of marriage. Schroeder remains aloof as he continues to play his piano. Sally is sad because her jump rope tangled up. And so the tale of Charlie Brown and his “pals” goes on, with humor, pathos and such songs as “My Blanket and Me,” “Queen Lucy,” “The Kite,” “The Book Report,” “Suppertime” and “Happiness” are sung.

 
Theatre in the Circle presented YOU’RE A GOOD MAN CHARLIE BROWN by adding a “new wrinkle or two.”  Though the show is usually done with adults playing Charlie and the gang, this production features actors of “a certain age.”  These are not spry young twenty-somethings.  They are closer to having to use canes and walkers to traverse the stage.  No amount of makeup is going to conceal the frown and laugh lines of lives well spent.

George Roth is properly introspective as Charlie Brown.  Former “Scene” drama critic, Christine Howey, was born to play the sarcastic, grumpy, self-centered Lucy.  Agnes Herrmann is adorable as Patty.  Bob Navis, Jr. is piano-centric as Schroeder.  Kevin Kelly, the king of overacting and shtick, has a wonderful time as Snoopy.  Noah Budin is endearing as thumb-sucking, blanket-obsessed Linus.  

Director Bill Corcoran keeps the show zipping right along (well, as zipping as he can get a cast of slow moving seniors to move.)

CAPSULE JUDGMENT: “Happiness” is watching a mainly “mature” opening night audience delight in seeing YOU’RE A GOOD MAN CHARLIE BROWN (with a new wrinkle) at Theatre in the Circle.  (Unfortunately, the show only had a one-weekend run so there is no chance to see it.)

All TITC performances are staged at the historic Judson Manor, 1890 E. 107th St, Cleveland, OH 44106. Curtain times are Thursday, Friday and Saturday @ 7:30 pm and Saturday and Sunday @ 2 pm.  Ticket cost:  Adults $20, Seniors $18, Judson/South Franklin Circle residents $15, Students $12. For tickets call 216-282-9424 or go to theatreinthecircle.com. There is free parking.

Liberace, well, facsimile, thereof, coming to Cleveland’s Theatre in the Circle

David Maiocco is noted as being a tour-de force solo-performer, who is presently making a career of portraying “Mr. Showmanship,” the uniquely American icon, Liberace.

Maiocco, a child prodigy, started playing piano at 3.  Quite a feat since his parents were too poor to own a piano.   Young David would go to relative’s homes for Sunday dinner and play, by ear, the hymns she heard in the church.  He didn’t have a formal music lessons until he was nine. 

Once he started lessons, his happiness turned to fear when the shy young man found that at the end of the year he had to play in a recital.  He wanted to quit his lessons.
His father stated, “you are going to see it through and then you can quit.” 

To the delight of the audience, which had heard a series of classical compositions, by lots of aspiring little Mozarts, his “Pink Panther” received an ovation and resulted in a commitment to continue his lessons, with a dream of playing on Broadway.  He has not only achieved that goal, but has been recognized with MAC and Bistro awards as a performer and music director. 

Along the way, at age 15 he became a music director, finished his BA at the Boston Conservatory of Music where he was every music professor’s nightmare, as he only wanted to play show music, not classical arrangements.

He was working on his master’s degree when he was “discovered” by Tommy Femia, a Judy Garland illusionist.  Femia at first thought Maiocco, who was in his 20s, was too young to travel the circuit.  However, within two weeks of meeting and working with Femia on an AIDS benefit production of the off-Broadway Musical “Whoop Dee Doo!” David joined Femia on the road.

Included in his experiences is accompanying such other gender illusionists as Chuck Sweeney as Peggy Lee, James Beaman as Marlene Dietrich and Lauren Bacall, Steven Brinberg as Barbra Streisand and Richard Skipper as Carol Channing.

Someone suggested that since he had a good ear for impersonating, was a top-notch pianist, played piano with flailing arms and excessive bodily movements, and had a physical resemblance to Liberace, rather than just accompany the gender illusionists, he should mount his own show. 

David eventually did develop a Liberace show, which opened an Alice Ripley concert, and the “pseudo” Liberace was born.   (Side note:  Tony Award winning Ripley is a Kent State University graduate.)

“Liberace!,” which will be staged at Theatre in the Circle, is not the script that Maiocco developed.  This version was written by Brent Hazelton, who, ironically Maiocco has never met. 

The show has been described as a “moving and highly entertaining tribute to a legendary performer famous for his charm, glitz and glamour.  It relives the highs (and lows) of Liberace’s prolific life, revealing the real person behind the persona. Interwoven with a rollicking piano score spanning classical and popular music from Chopin to "chopsticks" and Rachmaninoff to ragtime.”

As one reviewer stated, it is "A glorious tribute to the uncanny performer and gifted musician."

The musical has been performed in Milwaukee (where Liberace was born), as well as Philadelphia, Phoenix, and Connecticut by other performers. 

David first did “Liberace!” in Kalamazoo, Michigan.   It was there that the producers of Circle in the Circle saw the production and contracted him to perform in Cleveland.

Recently, David was informed that he was nominated for Broadwayworld.com’s Detroit area best actor award, and the production was nominated for best costumes and lighting.  

The $20,000 costume collection for the show, which is owned by Maiocco, are exact replicas of Liberace’s performance costumes, with some having been built to evoke the Vegas heyday of his career.  The wardrobe is specific to Liberace and references to the clothing are written into the script.

Clevelanders can re-acquaint themselves with Liberace from February 14 thru 17, 2019 at The Theatre in the Circle. 

All performances are at the historic Judson Manor, 1890 E. 107th St, Cleveland, OH 44106. Curtain times are Thursday, Friday and Saturday @ 7:30 pm and Saturday and Sunday @ 2 pm.  Ticket cost:  Adults $20, Seniors $18, Judson/South Franklin Circle residents $15, Students $12. For tickets call 216-282-9424 or go to theatreinthecircle.com. There is free parking.

Charming “Love Letters” @ Theatre in the Circle

What happens when you present a charming script and add two of Cleveland’s most beloved actors?  You get five sold out houses and calls with attempted bribes to get in the door.

The play, A. R. Gurney’s “Love Letters.”  The performers, Cleveland’s first lady of the theater, Dorothy Silver and much lauded and awarded actor, George Roth.

Oh, what a special night it was!

George Roth sits at a desk.  Beside him, Dorothy Silver sits at a companion desk.  They are seated in front of a large, beautifully painted canvas of what looks like a wealthy, refined woman, in the recently redecorated ballroom in the Judson Manor, home of Theatre in the Circle, where Mark and Bill Corcoran’s  Theatre in the Circle performs.

They read letters written by Andrew Makepeace Ladd III (Roth) and Melissa Gardner (Silver), wealthy and positioned childhood friends.  Their lifelong correspondence began with required birthday party thank-you notes and then summer camp postcards.  Their parents thought they were likely candidates for a life-long romantic commitment.

Through many years we follow the duo through boarding school and college years.  Andy goes off to Yale and great success.  Melissa flunks out of a series of private schools.  Alex goes off to war.  Melissa marries, but Andy still remains as her first and only real love. 

He marries, becomes a lawyer.  She becomes a semi-successful artist.  The letters continue.  He gets involved in politics.  She gets divorced and becomes estranged from her children and turns to alcohol.  She and Andy have a brief affair, but it’s too late for either of them to commit to one another.     

“Andy's last letter, written to her mother after Melissa's untimely death, makes it eloquently clear how much they really meant and gave to each other over the years—physically apart, perhaps, but spiritually as close as only true lovers can be.”

This is a unique piece of theater.  As the author states, “it needs no theatre, no lengthy rehearsal, no special set, no memorization of lines, and no commitment from its two actors beyond the night of performance."

Capsule judgement:  Silver and Roth are spirited, evocative, humorous, touching, and, of course brilliant in milking meaning for Gurney’s words and grabbing and holding the audience’s attention.  If you didn’t get a chance to experience this special evening of “must see” theater, it’s a shame!
“Love Letters’ played from February 8-11, 2018 at Judson Manor in Cleveland.





 

Next up at Theatre in the Circle:  ”Nunsense A-Men:  The little Sisters of Hoboken grow a pair,” from May 10-13, 2018 (Thursday, Friday and Saturday at 7:30 and Saturday and Sunday at 2).  For tickets go to theatreinthecircle.com or call 216-282-9424.