The Sweepers (Ensemble Theatre)

‘THE SWEEPERS’ leaves much under the rug at Ensemble

It is both ironic and appropriate that on the weekend that the memorial dedicated to those who gave their lives in World War II, Ensemble Theatre opened their run of the Cleveland premiere of ‘THE SWEEPERS.’ The play centers on the final weeks of World War II.

John Picardi’s script is the first in a proposed series of ten plays focusing on the Italian American experience in the USA. He plans to write one for each of the decades in the 20th century.

In ‘THE SWEEPERS’ Picardi examines the problems created by the war and the effect on three life-long Boston Italian-American friends. Each of the ladies must face not only the trio’s relational issues and upholding the “Italian way,” but her own troubles. Dotty (Tracey Field) must deal with a husband in a mental hospital and her son at war. Mary (Meg Kelly Schroeder) must adjust to living life alone while her husband and son fight on the front lines in the Pacific. Bella (Jean Zarzour) fights her battles at home, dealing with her half-Irish lawyer son (James Savage Jr.) and the upper-crust Italian young woman (Jennifer Clifford) he has chosen to marry.

‘THE SWEEPERS’ is not a great play. Its plot twists are predictable, its characters too formulaic, and the writing leaves the viewer out of the loop...never sucking us into the action. In spite of this Picardi does give a glimpse into Italian American traditions and the binding relationships brought about by life-long friendships.

In its Off-Broadway run the play received favorable reviews. The plaudits were for the performances more than for the vehicle. Unfortunately, the Ensemble production misses the strong acting aspects.

Director Lucia Colombi doesn’t get her cast beyond surface level performances. The characters are not real. They need to be real. They need to be true Italian Americans, true people living a series of experiences. Emotions were feigned, not experienced. We need to feel with them and for them. Not so!

This is one play that requires each of the performers to have a clear verbal sound. These are people who have a deep connection with Boston and the Italian culture. There is a sound cadence that is required to create the reality. Not one member of the cast consistently had it.

On paper this was an ideal cast. Three of the actresses are members of Equity, the professional actor’s union. The others have extensive experience. It can only be assumed with proper directing they should have been able to make this, in spite of the script, a compelling evening of theatre.

Applause to Ray Beach and Stephen Vasse-Hansell for their excellent set design and Melanie Guzman on her period correct costumes.

CAPSULE JUDGEMENT: It’s a shame that Ms. Columbi couldn’t pull off the play with more professionalism. She’ll get another chance next year when Ensemble does the second of Picardi’s plays. Let’s hope the results are better.

Menopause (14th Street Theatre)

Clevelands have a better 'MENOPAUSE' than the Big Apple

“Seeking -- Iowa Housewife: mezzo, must be able to sing D below middle C to a high A. General information: Women should be over 42 and size 12-plus. Choreography is not difficult but they need women who can move well.” That definitely is not the traditional casting call for a Broadway musical. But, ‘MENOPAUSE, THE MUSICAL” is not a traditional show. There are no chorus cuties. There are no prancing guys. There is just a lot of fun, good singing, and an audience who knows from experience what it’s all about.

I’ve gone through menopause three times. In my home where my wife kept turning on the air conditioning during the winter and shedding clothing quicker than Gypsy Rose Lee. I also experienced it in New York with the original cast of the musical. But, sorry dear, undoubtedly, my best encounter with the “change” was at Cleveland Playhouse Square’s new venue, the 14th Street Theatre.

‘MENOPAUSE THE MUSICAL’ is a musical parody about the meeting of four women at a lingerie sale at Bloomingdale's. The four are a power professional, an aging soap opera star, an Iowa housewife, and a lost-in-the-sixties ex-hippie.

The quartet sings twenty-eight "re-lyricked" songs from the '60s and '70s which comprise the score, including "I Heard It Through the Grapevine, You'll No Longer See 39" and "Stayin' Awake, Stayin; Awake."

According to the show’s author Jeanie Linders she was inspired by "a hot flash and a bottle of wine." She contends the show is a celebration of a passage that launches women into an exciting new phase of their lives. "Most women know intuitively that every other woman is experiencing memory loss, night sweats or hot flashes," states Linders. "But when they are in a theater of 400 women – not just a few friends who are sympathetic by nature – and all 400 are laughing and shouting ‘That’s me!’ then they KNOW that what they are experiencing is normal. They aren’t crazy. It becomes a ‘sisterhood.’"

The Cleveland cast is wonderful. They work together well, obviously a labor of love. As the power woman, Tina Stump wails and shakes her “bootie” to the screams of the audience. June Lange, as the Earthmother (you’ll remember her as the widowed mother in the long running ‘TONY & TINA’S WEDDING)’ quickly became the audience favorite. The lovely and talented Maryann Nagel portrays the Soap Star with her usual dramatic flair and powerful voice. Dyan Beder doesn’t quite reach the heights of the others, but is so full of charm and enthusiasm that she blends in well.

The 90-minute show, which is performed without an intermission, contains take-offs filled with double entendres of such hits as ‘Chain of Fools,” “The Lion Sleeps Tonight,” “Puff, the Magic Dragon” (which becomes “Puff, My God, I’m Drag ‘in”), “Lookin’ For Love in All the Wrong Places” and “Stayin’ Alive.”

The show climaxes (excuse the pun) with the audience being invited on stage to share the “experience.” Many of them do!

According to the producers, the show’s few glitches are being taken care of. The band is being toned down. At times it was impossible to hear the clever words over the overly loud pounding beat of the musicians. The miking and speakers are being adjusted. And the order of the song titles in the program are being relisted as audience members were complaining that they wanted to know what song was being sung and the random title arrangement didn’t help.

CAPSULE JUDGEMENT: It’s a “Sign of the Times” that I developed a “New Attitude,” while getting “Good Vibrations“ from the wonderful cast. Pick up your fans, pop your pills, grab a bunch of your friends (even men will do) and strut your way downtown to see this hysterically funny, well done show. The production is in an open run and deserves to be held over and over and over!

Cookin' at the Cookery (Cleveland Play House)

'COOKIN’ AT THE COOKERY' pleasant evening at CPH

Billie Holiday, Ella Fitzgerald, Etta James, Janis Joplin, Lena Horne, Alberta Hunter. You probably have heard of the first five, but who was Alberta Hunter? Interestingly, before any of the other divas on the list, there was Alberta Hunter.

Hunter was a super star! So, why haven’t you heard of her? Once a star of Broadway, the Casino de Paris, and the London Palladium, Hunter gave it all up at the age of 60 to become a nurse. She surprised everyone when, at the age of 82, she made a comeback in 1977 at Greenwich Village's THE COOKERY. Thus, the title of the show.

Now, more than a decade after her death, Hunter has made yet another comeback, this time as the subject of an award-winning Broadway play ‘COOKIN' AT THE COOKERY.’ The musical is told "in the key of the blues" by two actresses and four musicians performing soul-shaking renditions of Hunters' classic blues and jazz tunes including "Rough and Ready Man," "I'm Having a Good Time," "Down Hearted Blues" and "The Love I Have for You."

The show is a demanding vehicle for the two actors in the show. The duo playsnumerous characters from the singer, to her mother, to Hunter as a young girl, to Barney Josephson (the owner of the Cookery), and the legendary Louie Armstrong.

Gail Nelson, who sings and acts the lead role, and Carla Woods who plays the majority of the character roles, both have good voices and develop believable characterizations.

CAPSULE JUDGEMENT: ‘COOKIN’ AT THE COOKERY’ is a pleasant evening of theatre. There is not enough drama to make this a great play, not enough challenge to make it outstanding theatre, but the singing is nice and the story is pleasant enough.

Nickel and Dimed (Cleveland Public Theatre & Great Lakes Theatre Festival)

'NICKEL AND DIMED' pays big dividends for CPT & GLTF

Randy Rollison, Artistic Director of Cleveland Public Theatre and Charles Fee, the Producing Artistic Director of the Great Lakes Theatre Festival, stood center stage in the Gordon Square Theatre, welcoming the opening night full house to their jointly produced ‘NICKEL AND DIMED.’ Thus ushered in yet another exciting recent Cleveland innovation...a joint production between two local theatre companies.

There have been others, but this one is unique. In these times of tight dollars, to blend subscribing audiences, to run a jointly-produced show for a run that will last a month, is a gutsy move. It is the kind of creativity that has been the hallmark of Cleveland Public Theatre since the team of Rollison and Executive Director James Levin teamed up.

It has also been the practice of Fee, since coming to the area a short time ago, to look for alternative ways of doing theatre. In yet another of Fee’s moves, GLTF will revert back to its roots this year and produce a summer season of shows in rotating repertory, to be followed by a fall repertory and a holiday program. This is exciting stuff!

As to the show itself...millions of Americans work full-time, year-round, for poverty level wages. In 1998, Barbara Ehrenreich decided to join their forces. She set out to find out how anyone can survive, let alone prosper, on the minimum wage, on six to seven dollars an hour.

Moving from Florida to Maine to Minnesota, Ehrenreich worked as a waitress, a hotel maid, a cleaning woman, a nursing home aide, and a Wal-Mart sales clerk. She discovered that every job required exhausting mental and muscular effort. She also learned that one job is not enough; you need at least two if you intend to live indoors.

The theatres’ joint production of Barbara Ehrenreich’s ‘NICKEL AND DIMED’ is superlative. In spite of some opening night stumbles, the production, the acting, the setting all work perfectly. It far surpasses the script, which lectures a little too much and makes the director, technicians and actors work too hard to get the message across. The cast, under the creative direction of Melissa Kievman is flawless. Each character is clearly developed. There is never a moment when the audience’s attention isn’t anywhere but on the stage.

Nan Wray, Sheffia W. Randall, Nina Domingue, George Roth, Tracee Patterson each play a multitude of parts, with a multitude of accents, and a multitude of costumes and props. Jill Levin portrays Barbara. This is an ensemble piece that defies separating out the performers. One weak link and the entire chain fractures. There is no weak link. Applause, applause!

Todd Krispinsky has created a series of set piece which wheel on and off the stage with precision and ease. The running crew deserves a special curtain call. Trad Burns light, Alison Hernan’s costumes and Peter John Still’s sound design all work to perfection.

CAPSULE JUDGEMENT: After seeing “NICKEL AND DIMED,’ you will never see a motel bathroom or a eat a restaurant meal in quite the same way again. You’ll think twice before you shop at Wal-Mart. You’ll think twice before stiffing a waitress. ‘NICKLE AND DIMED’ is not just a theatrical experience, it is a life altering experience. This production isn’t just a see...IT’S A MUST SEE!!!

The Last Five Years (Dobama)

'THE LAST FIVE YEARS'--Dobama finds musical that fits its mission

When it opened Off-Broadway in March of 2002, Jason Robert Brown’s ‘THE LAST FIVE YEARS’ was met with superlative reviews. It was termed “compulsively enjoyable. ”The lyrics were called “accomplished, clever, tender, and arching in feeling.” Mr. Brown was lauded as “a leading member of a new generation of composers who embody high hopes for the American musical.”

Brown is the author of superlative musical drama, ‘THE ‘PARADE,’ the well-received ‘SONGS FOR A NEW WORLD,” and the critically panned “URBAN COWBOY.’ His music is not easily categorized, as is say, the writing of Andrew Lloyd Weber, where everything, after a while, all sounds the same. He writes in the mold of Steven Sondheim. His music is dramatic, often witty, always intellectual, yet with shades of wit and sincerity.

‘THE LAST FIVE YEARS’ chronicles a young couple's romance in an interesting way. Her story starts at the end of their relationship; his begins on the day they met. The show captures the heartbreaking and universally felt moments of modern romance.

Dobama is noted as “Cleveland’s Contemporary Stage.” Very seldom will you find a musical in the theatre’s offerings. However, every once in a while the artistic director finds the right fit of theatre and musical. ‘THE LAST FIVE YEARS’ is a wise choice. It has a contemporary message to tell and it tells it well.

The strength and the weakness of Dobama’s production is the cast. As with Sondheim, it takes special performers to get Brown’s work “right.” The two-person cast must not only be superlative singers, but superlative actors to get the numerous textures from the lyrics, and sing what are often difficult musical arrangements.

The Off-Broadway cast was lauded for “making beautiful music together.” Unfortunately, this is not consistently the case at Dobama.

On one hand, Scott Plate is wonderful. He is a superb actor and has developed into quite a singing talent. He commands the stage when he is present. He understands that Brown’s lyrics need interpretation and texturing. He pulls it all off with a well honed performance.

Unfortunately, Emily Krieger did not fare as well in her role as Cathy. Miss Krieger has neither the real life nor stage experience to undertake a role that fits the likes of Audra McDonald. She is a good college level performer, but didn’t quite have the whole package to pull off the quality of performance needed.

Vickie Bussert creatively directed the production which moved smoothly along and was visually interesting. If she knew that Krieger was going to assume the role of Cathy, she needed to work more on polishing her acting skills and working with her on character development.

The show’s musicians Nancy Maier, Morgan Scagliotti and Saeunn Thorsteinsdottir were excellent in both playing proficiently and backing up rather than drowning out the singers.

CAPSULE JUDGEMENT: ‘THE LAST FIVE YEARS’ is a well-conceived musical. The Dobama production, at least the one I saw, does not live up to the level of the script, score and lyrics. Not having seen Sandy Simon I can’t say whether the production would have worked better with the equity actress in the role, but based on her ‘SIDE SHOW’ and ‘MUSIC MAN’ performances at Cain Park, I could assume that she does a fine job and that would have made a major difference.

Cinderella by Houston Ballet (Playhouse Square Center)

Charming ‘CINDERELLA’ by Houston Ballet

The Houston Ballet is recognized as one of the premiere companies in the U.S. Their recent production of ‘CINDERELLA,’ which was the closing show of the University Hospital’s Health System’s Ballet Series at Playhouse Square Center, clearly illustrated the showmanship. The sumptuous costumes, well conceived scenery, the full-orchestra, and generally fine dancing made for a charming evening of dance.

The opening night cast featured the lovely and talented Mireille Hassenboehler as Cinderella. Her strong toe-work, fine dramatic interpretation of the role, and radiant smile made her truly a fairy-tale princess. Her Prince Charming was Andrew Murphy. Though he displayed strong partnering skills, his dancing showed some weaknesses, especially in his leaps. Illya Kozadayev captured the audience with his athletic split jumps and effervesence as the Jester. Julie Gumbinner was fine as the Fairy Godmother, as were the fairies. Audience favorites were Dominic Walsh and Phillip Broomhead, playing the stepsisters in drag. Their exaggerations and facial maneuvers brought gales of laughs from the many children in the audience.

CAPSULE JUDGEMENT: ‘CINDERELLA’ was a perfect way to end what turned out to be an inconsistent season of ballet in the Playhouse Square Center. Without a company of its own, the area has to turn to outside sources for major dance entertainment. When the American Ballet Theatre or the Houston Ballet are the choice, the evening is fine. On the other hand, the performance of The Pennsylvania Ballet left much to be desired.

Long Day's Journey Into Night (Ensemble Theatre)

‘LONG DAY’S JOURNEY INTO NIGHT’ gets good performance at Ensemble

On July 22, 1941, on the 12th anniversary of his marriage, Eugene O’Neill wrote this letter to his wife: “Dearest: I give you the original script of this play of old sorrow, written in tears and blood. A sadly inappropriate gift, it would seem, for a day celebrating happiness. But you will understand. I mean it as a tribute to your love and tenderness which gave me the faith in love that enabled me to face my dead at last and write this play.”

The play he was referring to was ‘A LONG DAY’S JOURNEY INTO NIGHT,’ now on stage at Ensemble Theatre.

The history of the script is fascinating. In the summer of 1939, at the age of 50, O'Neill began work on an autobiographical masterpiece that confronted the truth about his own family. He completed the work in 1941, but said the play was not to be produced until 25 years after his death.

His wife, however, knowing of the power of the work, released it for production in 1956, three years after O'Neill's death. It won a Pulitzer Prize and has often been hailed as O'Neill's greatest play, even being called the greatest American play of all time.

Though the names have been changed, O'Neill gives an account of his explosive home life. James Tyrone is an aging actor and a miserly skinflint. His wife, Mary, has been a morphine addict since the birth of their youngest son, Edmund. Their eldest son, Jamie is an alcoholic, unable an unwilling to find work on his own. Edmund, (Eugene O’Neill himself) who has been away as a sailor has returned home sick and awaits the doctor's diagnosis. Each of them is so self-centered, and self-pitying, that they cannot help one-another as they sink further and further into despair.

During his sanitorium confinement for consumption O'Neill studied voraciously. He devoted special attention to the playwrights Ibsen and Strindberg. His plays reflect these authors’ stark realistic styles.

The 1920 Broadway production of ‘BEYOND THE HORIZON’ marked the start of O'Neill's ascent to fame. He won the Nobel Prize in 1936, the first American playwright to receive the honor. O’Neill’s classics include ‘THE ICEMAN COMETH,’ ‘THE EMPEROR JONES,’‘ANNA CHRISTIE,’ ‘THE HAIRY APE,’‘DESIRE UNDER THE ELMS,’ ‘AH WILDERNESS,’ and ‘A MOON FOR THE MISBEGOTTEN.’

An award winning 1962 film version of ‘LONG DAY’S JOURNEY INTO NIGHT’ starred Dean Stockwell , Jason Robards, Ralph Richardson, and Katharine Hepburn.

‘LONG DAY’S JOURNEY INTO NIGHT’ is a very hard play to perform. It is very long, talky and depressing. Ensemble’s production, under the direction of Licia Colombi, is a very creditable staging.

The handsome and slight Andrew Curse is a perfect Edmund. His body wracks with deep-lung coughs, he perfectly portrays O’Neill’s valiant fight for sanity in an addictively dysfunctional family.

In portraying O’Neill’s mother, Annie Kitral takes on one of the great women’s stage roles. As with actresses who portray Blanche in ‘STREETCAR NAMED DESIRE,’ Amanda in ‘THE GLASS MENAGERIE,’ and Martha in ‘WHO’S AFRAID OF VIRGINIA WOOLF,’ she confronts a major challenge. And, she wins the battle. This is a finely honed performance. She clearly carries us deeper and deeper into her depression as she attempts to escape from reality through drugs.

Robert Hawkes gives a good performance as the drunken and misguided father. He might have textured the role more to give a clearer picture of the character’s mood swings as his frustration with life builds and we see that, as with most alcoholics, he goes from drug induced rage to depression.

John Kolibab has some fine moments near the play’s ending when he purports both his love and hate for his younger brother while wallowing in a drunken haze. He, as with Hawkes, needed more clearly defined moments of rationality and psychological clashes.

CAPSULE JUDGEMENT: A classic nine word review of the play once stated, “ ‘A LONG DAY’S JOURNEY INTO NIGHT’--yes, it was!” Fortunately for local audiences Colombi has cut almost an hour off the overly-long script and has molded her cast into an effective unit. Ensemble’s production is a fine way to experience the power of O’Neill.

The Merry Wives of Windsor (Actors' Summit)

The Silvers have a Merry Time at Actors' Summit

William Shakespeare was the most influential writer in all of English literature and certainly the most important playwright of the English Renaissance. Born in 1564 in the town of Stratford-upon-Avon in Warwickshire, England he died in 1616 at the age of fifty-two. His legacy is a stable of comedies, farces tragedies, historical plays and poetry that are produced and reproduced by theatres the world over.

One of his most farcical scripts is ‘THE MERRY WIVES OF WINDSOR. The play's comic intrigues create a jovial tone. But, as with many of his plays, ‘THE MERRY WIVES OF WINDSOR’ carries a social message The title of the play declares the primacy of the women's roles: the play is literally the story of the two merry wives and, against the thoughts of his day, how they manipulate the men in their lives.

The plot surrounds the playful but virtuous behavior of the title characters, Mistress Page and Mistress Ford, who are married to two prosperous men of Windsor. The wives set out to dupe the sexually predatory Falstaff while curing Ford of his jealousy. Meanwhile, the Pages' daughter, Anne Page, wooed by Fenton, a man of higher birth but less money. This creates Shakespeare’s other message: romantic love as a kind of social assimilator, transcending class and enabling individuals to create new and inclusive social categories around their romantic relationships.

Shakespeare is noted for his clever use of words and rhyming patterns. Interestingly, this play makes use of far more prose than any other of his plays. It is filled with proverbs and clichés.

For a production of ‘MERRY WIVES’ to be successful, at lease six major characters have to be excellent…the two wives, their husbands, Falstaff and Miss Quickly. Fortunately, in the Actors’ Summit production all of these roles are adeptly acted, thus insuring a happy theatrical experience.

As Mistresses Ford and Page, Sally Groth and Rebecca Knab are delightful. They scheme and the plot and are completely believable. Tom Stephan as Master Page and Andrew Narten as Master Ford are fine. Narten is especially fine in the scenes where he becomes hyper-hysterical when he thinks his wife is having an affair with a gentleman caller.

Reuben Silver, as Falstaff, the lecherous curmudgeon, is character perfect. He delights! Dorothy Silver, the other half of Cleveland’s first acting family, is obviously having a ball playing the interfering Miss Quickly.

Unfortunately, some of the other cast members don’t do as well. In the role of the suitors for the hand of Anne Page, Jeff Nichols as the Frenchman Doctor Caius, overdoes his accent and is entirely too fey and Aaron Coleman, as Slender looks the part, but never quite develops a believable characterization.

Director Neil Thackaberry has wisely chosen to put aside English accents, and has the cast speaking clear General American English.

CAPSULE JUDGEMENT: Shakespeare is difficult to perform, especially for Americans who often can’t identify with either his message or intricate language. The Actors’ Summit production of ‘THE MERRY WIVES OF WINDSOR,’ while it does not have the polish of a professional production, is quite creditable and worth seeing.

Agnes of God (Beck Center)

Thought provoking ‘AGNES OF GOD’ illuminates Beck

Agnes, a 21-year old cloistered nun, gives birth in a convent. The baby is found strangled and disposed of in a wastepaper basket. Agnes remembers nothing about the conception, pregnancy, birth or the murder. The court has assigned Dr. Livingstone, a psychiatrist to investigate. A battle explodes between the protective Mother Superior and Livingstone as they each try to ''save'' the disturbed nun. This is the premise of John Pielmeier’s dramatic mystery, ‘AGNES OF GOD’ being staged at The Beck Center for The Arts.

The play invokes questions of sanity, innocence and spirituality. It asks hard questions about faith and gives no easy answers. The author has stated that he ''offers a story of salvation and hope, [and] through philosophical debate dangles in front of the audience and characters the possibility of miracles.” But, in reality, what does Pielmeir offer the audience? Dissecting the play still leads to head-scratching among actors, directors, theologians, psychologists and theatergoers years after its first production.

From where did the concept for the play emerge? The author states, “Shortly after I moved to New York City in 1977, I saw a headline that said “Nun Kills Baby.” I didn’t buy the paper, and I didn’t read that article, but it gave me the answer to a question that I had been asking for a long time. I had wanted to write a play that dealt with, or that asked questions about spirituality, about sanctity. I wanted to write a play that explored the question: “Would a person who was considered a saint in the 15th century be considered a saint today? Or would he or she be locked up in an institution?”

The play, due to its subject matter, has not been without controversy. As a whole, the Catholic Church never has made any sort of stand against it. However, when the national tour was going through Pennsylvania, the Archbishop of Scranton said, “No, I don’t want this play in the city.” Other Catholics might feel the same way. This is not a settling tale and for some, may put the church and the actions of the seminary in a bad light.

For the play to be successful there must be the melding of a director who understand the intent of the script and a superb cast. The Beck production is fortunate to have Seth Gordon as its conceiver. The production is well paced, is visually effective, and uses sound and lighting well.


The intriguing three-woman cast features Sherri Britton as Mother Miriam, equity member Elizabeth Ann Townsend as Martha Livingstone and Alicia Kahn as Agnes.

Britton is outstanding. She is not only totally believable in her portrayal, but she keys important ideas so they become readily apparent. For example, she states, “What we’ve gained in logic, we’ve lost in faith” with such conviction that the listener’s mind slams on its brakes and ponders the profound concept.

Townsend is a fine actress. Unfortunately, her first act performance was hindered by the necessity to deal with a constantly lit cigarette. The use of the cigarettes caused the timing and emphasis of some of her lines, and her natural body movements, to be compromised. In the second act, when she was sans cigarettes she was brilliant!

Kahn’s performance is moving and entrancing. She didn’t portray Agnes, she was Agnes. Her enactment of the birth and death of her baby was captivating as was her entire ethereal presence.

CAPSULE JUDGEMENT: Beck’s ‘AGNES OF GOD’ is one of this season’s local theatre scenes’ highlight productions! Applause, applause, applause!

Shaw and Stratford Festivals Preview--2004

Shaw and Shakespeare Festivals beckon you!

It’s that time of year again. The weather is turning nice, the orange barrels signaling road repairs are going up, it’s vacation time. And, if you are at all interested in theatre, the “in” place to go for a mega-sized offering of good productions is Canada for the Shaw and Stratford festivals. And, to make it even more tempting, the Canadian dollar is still a good buy against the US buck.

THE STRATFORD FESTIVAL OF CANADA

The Stratford Festival of Canada takes place in Stratford, Ontario, Canada. The ride from Cleveland is about six hours through Buffalo. Go on-line to the festival to get directions. The web address is www.stratfordfestival.ca.

Productions, which started May 4 run through October 31. Spring and summer offerings include: ‘A MIDSUMMER NIGHT’S DREAM,’ ‘GUYS AND DOLLS,’ ‘MACBETH’, ‘KING HENRY VII (ALL IS TRUE),’ ‘THE COUNT OF MONTE CRISTO,’ ‘ANYTHING GOES,’ ‘NOISES OFF,’ ‘TIMON OF ATHENS,’ ‘CYMBELINE,’ KING JOHN,’ THE TRIUMPH OF LOVE,’ ‘THE SWANNE: QUEEN VICTORIA,’ ‘THE ELEPHANT SONG/THE HUMAN VOICE.’

Besides the performances there are post-performance discussions, costume and prop warehouse tours, backstage tours and garden tours.

What’s the lodging like? I’d opt for one of the many bed and breakfasts. Sorry, I can’t recommend a specific choice. We are trying one this summer instead of staying in a hotel. I’ll report on it when I do my reviews later this season.

Last season I made some recommendations for shopping and eating. I’ve been requested to repeat those ideas. For shopping, I strongly recommend Davis Canadian Arts (106 Ontario Street). This is a wonderful art gallery that offers Canadian traditional and contemporary sculptures, ceramics and paintings. For women’s quality clothing make sure to stop at The Touchmark Shop (137 Ontario Street). The establishment offers unique and one-of-a-kind products at excellent prices.

Hungry? For moderate cost, high quality, try The Annex Room (38 Albert Street). For a slightly higher priced meal Bentley’s, a sister to The Annex, is good. I had a very negative dining experience at Carters on Downie. My expensive halibut main course consisted of a fish stick-sized piece of fish and four asparagus spears. It’s lunch portions at upscale dinner prices. And, unlike most Canadian restaurants, the service was poor. For a relaxed and fairly inexpensive breakfast treat try Demetre’s Family Eatery (1100 Ontario Street).

I’ll be visiting the theatres in June and will be giving my suggestions for what shows to see.

Call Stratford Escapes, a division of Niagara Falls Tours for reservations. For information call 877-356-6385 or go on line to www.niagarafallstours.com. For individual tickets or a festival brochure call 800-567-1600 or go on-line to www.stratfordfestival.ca.

THE SHAW FESTIVAL

The Shaw Festival is perfromed in three lovely theatres in Niagara on the Lake, Ontario, Canada, an easy four-hour trip from Cleveland. You travel through the wine countries of Ohio, New York and Canada enroute. It’s worth the ride, even if you don’t go to the theatre, to visit the lovely little city. And, if you are a gambler or want some interesting side-trips, Niagara Falls is less than half-an-hour away as is the Welland Canal. Toronto is a short drive away.

Productions run from April 2 through December 4. This season’s productions include ‘PYGMALION,’ ‘THE IMPORTANCE OF BEING EARNEST,’ ‘THREE MEN ON A HORSE,’ ‘PAL JOEY,’ ‘AH, WILDERNESS!,’ ‘RUTHERFORD AND SON,’ ‘WAITING FOR THE PARADE,’ ‘THE TINKER’S WEDDING,’ ‘MAN AND SUPERMAN,’ ‘NOTHING SACRED,’ ‘HARLEQUINADE,’ and ‘FLOYD COLLINS.’

Again, I’ve been asked to repeat my comments on the Niagara area restaurants, shopping and places to stay. The area is dotted with wineries, many of which, besides offering wine tastings and sales, have restaurants . I have, in general, been disappointed in the winery restaurants with the exception of Inn on the Twenty, located in historic Jordan Village (www.innonthetwenty.com), about forty minutes from Niagara-on-the-Lake. It ranks as one of my favorite restaurants in the world. The service is always wonderful, the facility is beautiful, the gardens behind the facility lovely, and the food is outstanding! This is a “must go-to.”

Also on the must do list is eating at The Queenston Heights Restaurant. Located in a park just over the Canadian line, the facility has a breathtaking view of the Niagara River gorge. I’ve been there a dozen times and never had a meal that was anything less than outstanding. Try and get seated at one of Christine’s tables. She’s a total delight and a wonderful server.

Fans Court Chinese Restaurant (135 Queen Street) is a good buy. It has a very pleasant outdoor patio and the food is fine. Try the fruit chicken dish for a different taste treat.

Greaves Jams and Marmalades is famous for its products since 1927. A Niagara tradition is the Maple Leaf Fudge store. Also, don’t miss out on the several stores that sell frozen yogurt which is blended before your eyes with Niagara fresh fruits.

The area has many excellent hotels and bed-and-breakfasts. We have found Abbotsford House Bed and Breakfast to be our home-away-from-home. Owner Margaret Currie is a total delight. Her breakfasts are scrumptious, she gives a new meaning to the word “clean,” and the antiques and decorations are impeccable. Return guests are the rule here. For reservations and/or information call 905-468-4646 or e mail AbbotsfordBandB.com. Splurge places include The Prince of Wales Hotel, Queen’s Landing Inn and The White Oaks conference Resort and Spa.

For theatre information, lodging suggestions or tickets call 800-511-7429 or go on-line to www.shawfest.com. Ask about packages that include lodging, meals and tickets. Also be aware that the festival offers Sunday night specials, rush tickets and senior matinee prices.

Friendly people, good value and wonderful theatre awaits you hosted by our neighbors to the north.

Free Will (convergence-continuum)

'FREE WILL' confronts wanton lust at convergence-continuum

Clyde Simon, convergence-continuum’s Artistic Director and Brian Breth, its Executive Director remind us in the program notes for their season opening production of ‘FREE WILL & WANTON LUST’ that the theatre was founded with the idea of “going against the grain” and doing “in-your-face style theatre.”

Nicky Silver is a hot, hip, now playwright who has much to say. Much in the tradition of Edward Albee and Arthur Kopit, Silver writes of the absurdities of life. His works and the play selection preferences of convergence-continuum are a perfect match.

‘FREE WILL & WANTON LUST’ is about Claire, a wealthy, self-absorbed 40-something married woman who takes lovers half her age to allow herself to feel young, beautiful and fulfilled. Her current playmate is Tony, a studly artist who hopes Claire’s connections will help further his career. Claire’s children are Amy, a 15-year-old who is bitter, intoxicated and possibly pregnant, and 20-year-old son, Philip, who is in search for self. It’s a play which discusses loneliness and the nature of humans.

Silver, is less concerned with structure than with words. Unfortunately, a little more structure and less verbiage would have helped. The first act is hysterically funny, exposes us to the characters and sets the stage for a lesson to be taught in Act II. The second act unfortunately fails to satisfy. It features several very, very long monologues which go well beyond making their point regarding metaphors centering on spitting and the sexual nature of men.

Clyde Simon’s directing is basically competent though the pacing and character development could have been enhanced. After a while the play got very draggy and the line between believability and the bizarre was often unnecessarily crossed. Part of this is the writing, especially of the less than satisfying second act.

Lauri Hammer handled the difficult characterization of Claire quite well. The character is written to be shallow, vain and self-centered, which makes it difficult to believe she has anything important to say. This, plus some surface level acting, caused a problem for her Act II monologue in which Hammer manages to keep our attention even if she fails to gain our interest in her fate.

Lisa Bradley tries vainly to give us a creditable Amy. However, she misses the delicate balance needed to imbue her character with the depth and desperation of the swings between teenage brat and the confused moral center of the play.

Geoffrey Hoffman as the young lover, doesn’t fulfill the physical requirements needed for the body builder-stud role. His acting however developed the cockiness of the character well, but missed the shadings necessary to illustrate in Tony’s true nature.

As Philip, the son, Steve Needham was excellent in the shorter scenes. He, as did Hammer, had difficulty in commanding attention for his very long monologue. The depravity of the mother-son relationship was wonderfully captured in his emotional collapse at the play’s curtain as he was rocked in his mother’s incestuous arms.

Allyson Rosen, as the disturbed Vivian, came on stage like a Nazi storm trooper and created a character that was more laughable than believable. This overdone characterization overshadowed the fine scene when she explained the history that caused her to be so emotionally detached.

Capsule Judgement: The dark comedy, "FREE WILL AND WANTON LUST," turns heads with its title alone. It is an interesting play that needed a more riveting and textured production. If for no other reason, it’s worth seeing to appreciate what has made Nicky Silver the new “infant terrible” of modern playwrights.

Danceworks '04 (Groundworks)

Groundworks again captivates audience with Danceworks '04

David Shimotakahara, the artistic director of GroundWorks Dancetheater has a reputation for inspiring his audience’s to think. He also illustrates for them what it means to have a disciplined dance corps.

The evening, presented as part of Cleveland Public Theatre’s ‘DANCWORKS 04,’ consisted of two equal length pieces, “The Book of Water” and “At Once There Was A House.”

“The Book of Water,” as explained by Shimotakahara, the piece’s choreographer, continues his interest in connectivity. He challenges the audience to experience, as the company did, the questions: “Is life a series of isolated pools through which we pass alone in our encounters? Is memory held in separate cups, secret and contained? Or are we connected in our course?

The choreographer answers his own questions, as he leads the viewer through a seamless connection of each of the vehicle’s segments. Each unit, danced to a unique piece of music, had a feeling all its own, but with the unmistakable unity of flow and movement. Slashing hands, flying bodies danced to a heavy drum beat; bodies moving across the floor in controlled moves set to heavy organ music; slow controlled moves of arching bodies, swimming, moving like water birds to plaintive piano music. Whatever the music, whatever the movements, the parts all melded into a single unit. Even the ending, which found Shimotakahara bathed in a pool of blue light, bare-chested and breathing heavily, was a perfect fit.

Felise Bagley, Amy Miller, Mark Otloski, and Shimotakahara are all fine dancers. Bagley and Miller make the most difficult of moves look easy. They display total body control. Shimotakahara has always been a dance machine, well-oiled and in perfect sync. It has been especially interesting to watch Otloski, who was a principal dancer with the Cleveland/San Jose Ballet, mature under the tutelage of Shimotakahara into a more disciplined dancer.

“At Once There Was A House,” a Cleveland premiere choreographed by Beth Corning, and danced to the music of such composers as Tom Waits, Kathleen Brennan and Lou Harrison, was a much more complex piece.

Most interesting was listening to the audience’s conversation following the performance about what meaning the piece held for each of them. Comments were made of children playing dress-up, child abuse, the experiences of growing up and looking back at childhood, and childhood delight. One thing appeared certain. The meaning of piece remained abstract, but the concept purported by psychologists is that each of us creates our reality through our stories, narratives, and questions of life.

Dressed at the start in oversized adult shoes and children’s clothing, the company interacted with the audience with childish delight. Later segments found Felise Bagley partnering with a white picket fence that folded and bent as she created illusions of life’s experiences? Another segment was danced accapello, consisted of changing partners, searching other others and freezing in place. Often the words and the movements were not in parallel to each other causing discordant thoughts. Another portion found the dancers moving across the stage in parallel lines, never intersecting, never touching. fifth One unit found Otloski illustrating high school experiences in both movement and words. In another part Shimotakahara, with a large soft sculpture door attached to his body, danced to discordant music. Yet another unit exposed a balancing act of dancer and a chair. The finale repeated the opening in costume and theme.

The piece, a departure from the usual serious mood of Danceworks numbers, was thought-provoking for the audience and physically challenging for the dancers.

For those who have not experienced the offerings of this wonderful company, Danceworks will be performing on July 2 and 3 at Cain Park Theatre in Cleveland Heights. There will be Talk back sessions following each of those performances. For information call 216-932-0222.

A tribute to Marji Dodril

Every once in a while we meet a very special person. My life has been made better by having known Marji Dodril. Marji was a woman of beauty, charm, kindness, talent and class. Marji died on March 17. A memorial will be held at 6 p.m. April 4 at Dobama Theatre, 1846 Coventry Road, Cleveland Heights.

It is only fitting that Marji should be memorialized at Dobama. That theatre was a major part of her life. It, ironically, was also where I met Marji.

Dobama’s second play was Benjamin Levy’s ‘RAPE OF THE BELT.’ Dobama had no permanent home, so they borrowed the performing space at Chagrin Falls Little Theatre. I was the public relations director for Dobama at the time, and I loved to just hang around and watch Marji, her husband to-be, Ev Dodrill, and Mary Jane Nottage cavort. She was wonderful in that play and in everything else in which she performed.

Whenever I saw her, I could count on a smile and a hug. Even when cancer was raging in her body she was radiant. Her last performance, was a commercial in support of Issue 31, a proposed arts tax which was recently on the ballot. She had little strength, but she needed to do what she could for a cause for which she had great enthusiasm. That was Marji.

Marji may have made her last entrance and exit in this life, but she will long be remembered by those of us who loved and respected her. Applause! Bravo! Curtain down!

Five Guys Named Moe (Beck Center)

Cespedes pulls off another coup with 'FIVE GUYS NAMED MOE'

Musical reviews are hard to make into good theatre. They are a bunch of songs usually held together by a thread of a script. It takes real creativity to do something other than have the singers stand around singing and maybe dancing around a little. Well, fortunately for The Beck Center, they have that creative director/choreographer. His name is Martin Cespedes.

Those who saw Beck’s ‘SMOKEY JOE’S CAFÉ’ which won a Times Tribute Award last year for both the production and it’s director/choreographer, know what a wonder that production was. Well, Cespedes has done it again with his production of ‘FIVE GUYS NAMED MOE,” He lets out all the stops as he takes on a musical journey based on the music of Louis Jordan. He does it so well that at the curtain call on Sunday afternoon, which was filled with “mature” citizens, the audience was on their feet screaming for more.

In the hands of a lesser director/choreographer, cast, and musical ensemble, this could have been a long and lethal experience. The story is trite, some of the musical sounds repetitive, but it matters little, you won’t even think about it.

It’s not even worth relating the so-called story. It’s more important that you know the show contains such songs as “Messy Bessy,” “I Know What I’ve Got,” “Caledonia,” and “Is You Is.” The music covers the spectrum of sound. There’s a little jazz, a little rock, a little Calypso, a ballad or two, and great harmony songs. You’ll be delighted by “I Like Them Fat Like That!” and “Saturday Night Fish Fry.”

The cast is uniformly excellent. Lester Currie, Devon Settles, Geoffrey Short, Aric Calhoun and Lawrence Maurice all have a great time, sing well, and move to some creative dance steps. Kyle Primous, as No Max, the participant supposedly not a member of the Moe singing quartet, is phenomenal. He dances, he sings, he acts, he mimes—all extremely well.

As an audience member you just won’t sit and watch. You may find yourself on stage getting sung to by members of the cast. You might “volunteer” to join a Congo line that snakes through the theatre. (Okay, here’s one flaw…that segment was way too long!)

Cespedes ignites the stage with creative and disciplined choreography. David Anthony Williams, the musical director, has these guys wailing. His orchestra doesn’t hit a sour note. Don McBride’s scenic design, consisting of floating radio dials, makes a perfect setting for the goings on. Sharon Stark’s costumes are a hoot! Erik Seidel’s lighting and Casey Jones’ sound design add a strong positive dimension to the show.

Hurrah Martin! Hurrah cast! Hurrah crew!

CAPSULE JUDGEMENT: If you miss ‘FIVE GUYS NAMED JOE’ you’ll be very, very sorry as it’s one of this theatre year’s highlights!

A Grand Night For Singing (Kalliope Stage)

Kalliope Stage, the North Coast's new musical theatre

It’s always a dangerous undertaking to start a new theatre. It is even more tenuous in these times of economic wariness. In spite of the odds, the Cleveland area has seen the birth of several new theatrical enterprises in the last year or so. The newest is Kalliope Stage which has settled into a space at the corner of Lee and Cedar Roads, diagonally across from the Cedar Lee movie theatre. Kalliope has a unique role in the area…it is the only venue dedicated exclusively to the American musical.

The American musical, for all practical purposes is the child of Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein. They conceived ‘OKLAHAMA!’ the first true book musical, in which the music, the lyrics and the storyline all melded into one. In contrast to previous musicals, the dancing, the singing, the spoken lines of ‘OKLAHOMA’ were all integral to the story, which cannot be told if any of the elements is missing. The Rodgers and Hammerstein scheme gave birth to works by Lerner and Loewe (e.g., ‘MY FAIR LADY’), Steven Sondheim (‘FOLLIES’), Stephen Schwartz (‘PIPPIN’), Leonard Bernstein (‘WEST SIDE STORY’) and a number of others.

It is only fitting that Kalliope Stage open its doors with a tribute to the fathers of the American musical. Their production of ‘A GRAND NIGHT FOR SINGING’ is a review which blends together songs from such hit shows as ‘CAROUSEL,’ ‘THE KING AND I,’ ‘SOUTH PACIFIC,’ and ‘THE SOUND OF MUSIC.’ The title comes from the song “It’s a Grand Night For Singing, written for ‘STATE FAIR’ the only movie musical the duo wrote.

Kalliope’s theatre is a spanking brand new, intimate space, consisting of about 50 comfortable seats, placed in three rows. The audience is right up front and there isn’t a bad seat in the house. The box office personnel, ticket taker, ushers and theatre staff are warm and welcoming. They even hand out chunks of home made chocolate “thingies” to every patron.

It would be wonderful to say that Kalliope Stage’s opening production was superlative. Unfortunately, it wasn’t, but it was entertaining. It was extremely well sung. The music was well played. The production is filled with some very fine moments. But, there are also some problems.

On the plus side, all five cast members individually sing extremely well. Unfortunately, because they are all essentially soloists, the choral sounds were not as blended as they could have been.

The women, both in their acting and singing, were fine. Lisa Spinelli was a total delight flashing her sparkling eyes and playing perfectly the fallen innocent in “I Cain’t Say No.” She captures the stage as soon as she makes an entrance.

Joan Ellison’s “Something Wonderful” was wonderful. She does a nice job of altering her presentational style to fit the mood and ideas of each song.

Allison Hedges has a beautiful voice but needed more glee in “A Wonderful Guy” and more passion in “If I Loved You.” Joan and Allison did a delightful version of “Stepsisters’ Lament” from ‘CINDERELLA.”

Robert Burian has a full and powerful voice. Unfortunately, has not learned to visualize images of the things he is singing about. When he sings a love song, he has to feel the love, we have to see it in his eyes and observe it in the way he looks at and touches his partner. Often he sings off in space, eyes blank, his gestures automatic, not powered by emotion. It’s too bad because he has a gorgeous voice. His ‘We Kiss In A Shadow” for example, had a wonderful vocal sound.

Though he doesn’t have Burian’s vocal abilities, John Paul Boukis does have a pleasant voice. Unfortunately, as with Burian, he seldom makes emotional contact with the person with whom he is singing. His finest moments were during “All At Once You Love Her” and “Maria.”

Reviews often get bogged down in song after song with little variation. Paul Gurgol, the show’s director, made sure this didn’t happen by adding some very creative moments to the show. Having males sing traditional female songs and vise versa was a nice touch. “Kansas City” was delightfully staged as was “It’s Me.” Unfortunately, some of the “schticks” were over-the-top. The twister game in “Don’t Marry Me” put singers in positions where singing was nearly impossible. The constant moving of the hay wagon/table was distracting. In fear of falling into the “bogged down trap,” he over directed, trying to make too much of songs that may have done with less trappings.

Technically, the lights and set were nicely conceived. Especially effective were the trees, with trunks in the form of human bodies and branch like arms reaching out to enfold the audience. On the other hand, Kim Brown’s costume designs detracted rather than added. The costumes often drew attention to the clothing rather than assisting the performer to develop his or her character.

CAPSULE JUDGEMENT: Kalliope Stage is a welcome addition to the Cleveland theatre scene. It takes guts and determination to give birth to a new theatre. The theatre’s directors, John Paul Boukis and Paul F. Gurgol, can only be wished the very best. Their ‘A GRAND NIGHT FOR SINGING’ was a pleasant way to start the season.

Verb Ballet, Inlet Dance, Antaeus Dance, American Ballet Theatre--March, 2004

QUICK COMINGS AND GOINGS: VERB BALLET, INLET DANCE, ANTAEUS DANCE, ABT

One of the problems with short run productions is that before the word can get out, they are gone. This is especially true with many of the performances of local dance companies, which usually run one weekend. A case in point is the Cleveland Public Theatre’s “Dance Works ’04.” Some of the area’s finest choreographers are being showcased. Unfortunately, each group gets a one weekend three-performance slot. Since you can’t get to see what has been, maybe you can get ready for what’s going to be. If you see that these companies are presenting, go before they are gone once again.

Cleveland is blessed with some wonderful choreographers and company artistic directors. Three of the very best are being showcased in the “Danceworks ‘04” series. Two have already had their works presented: Hernando Cortez of Verb Ballets, and Bill Wade of Inlet Dance. Here are mini-reviews of what was presented.

VERB BALLET

The company’s ‘CONTEMPORARY ARTISTS COLLECTION 04’ was a wonderful and creative evening of dance. The dancers worked with assurance and displayed a complete understanding of each the choreographer’s works. Mark Tomasic and Tracy Vogt were superb in “In Passing.”

Dancing on boxes, in ballet shoes on toe, “The Last Sun” showcased wonderful dancing by Meghan Haas and DeAnn Petruschke. Unfortunately, Robert Wesner’s affected movements and lack of body control were distracting.

“The Envelope” was an absolutely delightful piece centering on the passing of an envelope from dancer to dancer. The melodramatic music and quick short moves delighted the audience.

“A Twist of Fate” was brilliant! It was a powerful, unsettling piece, accomplished with wonderful shadows projected onto the back scrim by lighting designer Cheanult Spence.

“Mozart Piano Trio in C Major” was danced to the fine live accompaniment of Eric Ziolek and Sara and Jeffrey Schimpelfenig. The classical music and contemporary stylized movements blended to give a sprightly conclusion to a wonderful evening of dance.

All in all, this was an entertaining, eclectic evening of dance. As a patron said as he walked out, “I could see that again.” I agree!! For information about Verb Ballets and their next performances call 216-397-3757.

INLET DANCE

Inlet Dance is at its very best when the company is performing to the ingenious choreography of Bill Wade. This was well-illustrated in their “Dance Works ‘04” program. Every one of Wade’s staged pieces was compelling. The works of the other choreographers left much to be desired.

Wade’s “B’roke,” danced to a Vivaldi violin concerto, was beautifully presented. He created involving stage pictures through the inter-twining of bodies. Each physical move perfectly fit the musical underscoring. Jennifer Lott lit up the stage. Marget Ludlow, M. Leila Pelhan and Devon Schlegelmilch were outstanding in this and each piece in which they performed.

“Doppleganger” was the evening’s highlight. Featuring 16-year old African American twins, Bryan and Ryan Peoples, who helped develop the choreography, the dancers displayed amazing physical strength and body control and blended into a co-joined tandem of gymnastic dance movements. Wow!!

“ImPAIRED” saw Leila Pelhand and Christopher Whitney impressively performing the entire piece blindfolded. The slow gymnastic movements were beautifully executed. This was a powerful piece, well conceived and well executed.
Less effective were “Tides and Solitude” which Sally Wallace choreographed using long poles which were used by the dancers to propel themselves across the stage. The effect worked for a while but the extended music and repeated movements became tedious and the piece called for cutting.

Jennifer Lott danced her own choreographed piece, “Duet” competently. The single dancer partnered with a square of light. The choreography failed to captivate.

“Dante’s First Night,” staged by Leilani Barrett, failed to coordinate the tone of the music with the dance movements. The repetitious music and lack of group unity hurt the piece. Interestingly, it was the performance of the choreographer that was most responsible for the lack of precision.

Steve Rooks’ “You Are Now Connected” missed the mark. The dancers, though they valiantly tried, were not capable of interpreting the rap music’s intent.

For information about Inlet Dance call 216-382-0201 or email inletdancetheatre@sbcglobal.net.

ANTAEUS DANCE COMPANY

Starting with a series of bangs and cymbal clashes, choreographers Dough Lodge and Joan Meggitt’s “Moments of Repose” had an impressive beginning. But, as the piece went on and on, repeating and repeating the same musical tones and movements, the audience lost interest. It was too much of the same. Supposedly inspired by Frank Gehry’s Peter B. Lewis Building on the campus of Case-Western Reserve, the piece should have, like the building, flowed, flashed, attracted emotional attention, brought about strong emotional reaction. It didn’t. After a while more attention was paid to Greg D’Allessio’s solo manipulation of the musical instruments than to the dancers. The female dancers—Jenita McGowan, Sherri Mills, Latifa Sage, Beth Salemi and Shanna Sheline--were all very proficient.

A shortened piece, programmed with something of a different feeling, would have made the evening much more satisfying.

For information about Antaeus Dance Company call 216-486-2874.


AMERICAN BALLET THEATRE

Performing as part of the Ballet Series at Playhouse Square Center, American Ballet Theatre proved why it is a world class company. The program, danced to a full orchestra, opened with “Raymonda,” a classical piece with folkloric overtones. Well staged, it featured Irina Dvorovenko and Maxim Beloserkovsky in lead roles. Maxim and Carlos Lopez’s high scissors leaps and the precision dancing and toe work of Erica Cornejo were the piece’s highlights.

“Pillars of Fire,” was a somber, beautifully danced piece which combined traditional movements with modern staging. The result was a moving choreographic concept in which the moods of the dance and the music became one.

“Within You Without You: A Tribute to George Harrison” was the lesser segment of the evening. Though it was interesting to see the former Beattle’s music set to dance, there was a lack of consistency in interpreting many of Harrison’s lyrics to the movements. This was especially true in “Something.” “I Dig Love,” with its interesting lift patterns and inter-weavings of bodies, was more on target as was “While My Guitar Gently Weeps” which featured powerful gymnastic movements. “Isn’t It a Pity” consisted of a series of countermoves created by having the dancers work in lines. “Within You Without You” evoked little emotional feeling, while “My Sweet Lord” was a high spirited gleeful dance.

All in all, if you missed ABT, you missed a dance season highlight. They will undoubtedly be returning to the area. Make sure to see them.

Miss Gulch Returns (Playhouse Square Center)

Miss Gulch attempts to bribe a critic!

Halfway through his one-person performance of ‘MISS GULCH RETURNS!’ Nick Vannello was explaining to the audience that the reason Miss Gulch, Dorothy’s nasty, dog-snatching, basket-wielding spiteful spinster-next-door neighbor of ‘WIZARD OF OZ’ fame had been overlooked was because of the critics. Vannello contended that the critics played up Dorothy and that “damn dog” Toto and left Miss Gulch high and dry. He then sneered, “Are there any critics in the audience?” No one responded. He then said, “I know Roy Berko is here!” He knew exactly where I was. That had been arranged by placing my press kit on the table, front and center in the cabaret setting! The next thing I knew a huge piece of chocolate cake had been thrust into my hands. Vannello then skipped off saying, “Well, that should insure I don’t get another bad review.” The audience and I were hysterical! Vannello didn’t have to waste the money on the cake. I would have given him a favorable review without it.

Let’s get one thing straight, Vannello is not the all-around super performer…his voice doesn’t quite have the necessary finesse, his acting is sometimes a little automatic, he could have let loose a lot more with feeling rather than feigning emotions. However, he does have what this one-person show requires..he knows how to play an audience! He teases, he sidles up unsuspecting victims, he doesn’t take himself seriously, and he does a great double entendre. The result is our really, really liking Vannello, which parleys into a really, really good time for the audience.

‘MISS GULCH RETURNS!” is the brainstorm of Fred Barton who gives us an endearingly demented look at Dorothy’s next door neighbor, Agnes Gulch, who later in the movie becomes the Wicked Witch of the West. You know, the one with the horrid monkeys. Barton has written a score of comedy numbers much in the style of Cole Porter. The rhyming patterns are cute and obvious. As Gulch says as a side-comment during the song “I’m a Bitch,” “Oh, come on now, what else rhymes with witch?” The sold-out audience howled.

The score also included the beautiful ballad, “Everyone Worth Taking, Part 2,” the hysterical “Pour Me A Man” and “Give Me to the Blonde” during which a handsome blonde waiter appeared to fill Gulch’s martini glass, much to the delight of the audience and the leering Vannello.

Charles Eversole provided the musical accompaniment and a few interactions with Vannello and the audience. The production was directed by Lora Workman.

CAPSULE JUDGEMENT: ‘MISS GULCH RETURNS’ is a fun evening of theatre for the right nitch audience. Vannello doesn’t have the late Margaret Hamilton’s compelling presence (Hamilton, a Cleveland native, played Miss Gulch in the movie version of ‘THE WIZARD OF OZ’), but he does have the ability to lead the audience on a fun-filled voyage, and that’s the whole purpose of this show.

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!

Bee-Luther-Hatchee (Karamu)

Script overshadows production at Karamu

For many years Karamu Performing Arts Center was a crown jewel in the Cleveland theatre scene. This, the oldest African-American cultural arts center in the country, has produced the likes of Langston Hughes, Ron O’Neal, Gilbert Moses, Diane McIntyre and Mel Stewart. It brought Reuben and Dorothy Silver, the reigning king and queen of local theatre, to the area to produce and direct the company’s shows for many years.

Unfortunately, the recent past has not been a period of shining light at Karamu. Recently, Terrence Spivey was brought on board to revitalize this important center as the true local voice for Black theatre. Spivey’s first season is entitled, “The Season of the Woman.” His latest offering is ‘BEE-LUTHER-HATCHEE’ by Thomas Gibbons.

The story concerns Shelita Burns, a young black New York editor who travels to the south in search of seventy-two year old Libby Price, the author of the award-wining Bee-Luther-Hatchee, meaning “the next stop after hell.”

(Side note: If you are planning on seeing the production stop reading now as I have to include the plot twist in order to talk about the production).

Okay, for those of you still with me… ironically, Libby Price turns out to be a white male. Interestingly, the play’s author Thomas Gibbons is also a white male who has authored a play centering on the lives and history of Black Americans.

The play is very well written and has captivating questions: Do you have to be a member of a cultural group to write about that group, to identify with the feelings of that group? Can a male really empathize with a woman? Can a Catholic view a Jewish-themed play with any compassion? Extending it further, can I (this white male reviewer) have empathy for a play centering on the female African American experience? I, and the white male character in the play say “Yes.” Shelita, the black female doesn’t agree.

As thought-provoking as the play is, the production doesn’t live up to the challenge. There are many positives. Renee Matthews-Jackson captivates as Libby Price. Richard Morris, Jr. has created a wonderful workable set consisting of levels which appropriately look like volumes of books. Spivey uses the stage well. Scenes flow together seamlessly. The problems are the tedious pacing and the mediocre level of acting. Most of the cast is simply not believable. They fail to create real people. There is too much acting and not enough reacting. There is a lot of emoting and little feeling of the intent of the words. Gestures are phony, pantomiming is poor. It’s too bad as they had a wonderful vehicle with which to work.

CAPSULE JUDGEMENT: In spite of the weaknesses of the production, the play is worth seeing. It evokes thinking and forces the viewer to ask questions about himself/herself. That’s not a bad thing for a play to do, not bad at all.

Underpants (Cleveland Play House)

Cleveland Play House drops its ‘UNDERPANTS’

Steve Martin is one of the crown-princes of off-the-wall comedy. He leaves no schtick unturned to get a laugh. It is no surprise, therefore, that when he came upon Carl Steinheim’s 1910 farcical play, ‘THE UNDERPANTS’ he thought, “Here’s a cabbage right for slawing.”

The story centers on an incident when a woman's underpants fall down in public while she is attending a parade for the king. The result is newfound fame for the woman and over-blown frustration for her husband. It also is an opening for Martin to pick up the play’s underlying themes of German excess and go with it. He probes German inflexibility and prudishness, anti-Semitism (one character insists that his Cohen named is spelled with a “K” and that kosher is spelled with a “C”), the male attitude of superiority over women, and a false Germanic sense of propriety.

When the jokes are bawdy, the play is reminiscent of the Steve Martin we know from ‘THE MAN WITH TWO BRAINS.’ When at its most ironic, flashes of his recent hit movie ‘CHEAPER BY THE DOZEN’ appear. Martin uses the original story to make leaps into both the ridiculous and academic when he mocks the very fabric of marriage and society, at least Germanic nuptials and society.

To make this play work takes a keen sense of comedic timing, consistency of characterizations, and presenting lines so believably that they become farcically hysterical. It is in these elements that the Cleveland Play House production is lacking. Under the often ill-conceived directing of Peter Hackett, accents (one can only wonder why they were used at all), come and go. Actors change pacing and characterization in mid-sentence. The constant screaming becomes ear piercing. The pacing varies from hysterical to languid. Laughs are lost due to poor line interpretation. The results? The play which a New York critic called “The funniest play in town” becomes less than could be expected. That’s not to say this production lacks laughs. Some are there. Just not as many as there could have been, nor in a format that grabs and holds the whole audience.

Chaz Mena, as the husband, yells his way through the first part of the play and then has a total character change for the second segment. His German accent vanishes, then returns, then vanishes again. Tanya Clarke, as his wife Louise, never seems involved in the goings on. Johanna Morrison is absolutely wonderful as the interfering neighbor. She, along with Brad Bellamy as Cohen, one of the men who is infatuated by Louise, are the production’s highlights. Sam Gregory, as one of the other renters, begins well and then seems to get lost in who his character is, what he represents.

CAPSULE JUDGEMENT: The CPH production of ‘THE UNDERPANTS’ is less than could be desired. As the man sitting next to me kept saying to his wife, as he squirmed in his seat, “When is this thing going to end?”

Amy's View (Dobama)

High quality acting in Dobama's ‘AMY’S VIEW’

It is somewhat ironic that the weekend before the vote on whether Cuyahoga County should fund the arts that Dobama Theatre opened ‘AMY’S VIEW.’ Much of the play is about the value of theatre, cultural changes, and the role and purpose of the arts.

‘AMY’S VIEW’ follows a mother-daughter relationship over a sixteen year period from 1979 to 1995. As is the general pattern with Hare’s writing, the play is built around what he calls, a “fragrant” woman. In this case, it’s Amy, who believes that “you have to give love unconditionally and that one day it will be rewarded.”

The play’s first half mainly revolves around the conflict between the assertive Esme, Amy’s mother, and Dominic, Amy’s future husband. When we meet them in 1979, she is a well-known stage actress, he a young nobody who despises the theatre as "irrelevant" and has impregnated Amy. Come 1985, Dominic is a big media success, while Esme is on the slide playing germs in ads for disinfectants. The play then jumps to the 1990s. Dominic is achieving world fame by making “action” movies and Esme is hugely in debt due to misguided investments and has succumbed to playing a doughty nurse in a TV soap. Without revealing the “startling incident” which changes the course of the play, Hare has Esme losing pretty well everything, but somehow ending up the gainer.

The play is well-crafted, but the ending is too contrived, unsatisfying. And, as often is the case with Hare, the male characters are too clearly the “bad” guys. Whether you agree with Dominic’s point of view or not, it is obvious from his first outburst that he is going to be the heavy in this story. In a sea of positive reviews regarding Judi Denche’s magnificent performance, one London critic stated of the play, “He’s a peculiar case is David Hare. Always, even in his best work, there are patches where you feel you’re having your ear bent by someone still compelled to score points in the manner of some cocky little snit and a voice inside you wants to scream, more at the dramatist than at the character speaking, “Oh, for God’s sake grow-up!” Another stated, “somewhere during a quarrel between Amy and Esme about the meaning of “talking control” of one’s life, it must be wondered if the play was getting too unfocused, too scattered.

Dobama’s production is well-directed by Sonya Robbins. It is well-acted by most of the cast, three of whom are former Times Theatre Tribute winners for their performance abilities.

Catherine Albers as Esme gives her usual flawless performance. Though there are times when Hare doesn’t give her a clear set of motivations, she invents them and develops a clear characterization.

Derdriu Ring, who always lights up a stage, glows brightly as Amy. The character’s goodness and anguish are both evidently clear.

Todd Krispinsky is given the difficult task of being Hare’s whipping boy. He does it well, though his last act transition was not well textured. Part of this is the script’s fault as Dominic isn’t given much character variance in the lines. The lack of makeup and wardrobe adjustments also didn’t assist Krispinsky.

Robert Hawkes gives a clear and consistent interpretation to the nebbish-like Frank, Esme’s next door neighbor, suitor and financial adviser. But as was the case with the character of Dominic, Hare didn’t give Frank the same dimensions as the female characters.

Tom Weaver is appealing as a neophyte actor. Only Ursula Korneitchouk fails to develop a real being as Evelyn, Esme’s aging mother-in-law. Her lines have a flat, memorized sound.

Michael Louis Grube’s aesthetically pleasing set design works well, except during a set change in which the back wall folds in order to allow it to fade backstage. For an instance it appeared that it was going to annihilate Evelyn, who is sitting in a wheel chair in front of the wall.

CAPSULE JUDGEMENT: ‘AMY’S VIEW’ gets a wonderful production at Dobama. In fact, the production qualities outshine the problematic script.

A Nigth With Dame Edna (Playhouse Square Center)

DAME EDNA DELIGHTS AT THE PALACE

Cleveland audiences are noted for giving standing ovations to theatrical presentations. Never, however, has the Palace Theatre been the setting for the standing “O” given for and orchestrated by Dame Edna Everage. Dame Edna Everage? The character is the creation of Australian, Barry Humphries, who calls herself, an icon and a megastar, among other things. One thing he/she is not is an impersonator. Barry Humphries IS Dame Edna, pure and simple, period! He’s been doing the character since the 70s and he has it down perfectly.

Dame Edna has been credited with being “one of the funniest characters to grace the stage.” She was the winner of the "Special 2000 Tony Award" for Best "Live Theatrical Event" and received the National Broadway Theatre Award for "Best Play" and for "Best Actor.”

During her nearly two-and-one-half hour show, she combines a few patter songs, with chatter in which she addresses the entire audience but singles out some for close scrutiny. She calls them by name, harasses them in a passive aggressive manner, which, according to Dame Edna is “delivered in a tasteful and loving way.” As she says, “I don’t pick on people. I empower them. It’s Australian tough love.”

Two late arrivers were asked their names and why they were tardy. As expected Dame Edna goes on a bit about it. Is she done with them? No! She returns to the latecomers over and over, to the delight of the audience. She addresses a “senior” in the third row, and before he knows it he ends up on stage in Dame Edna’s recreation of the Royal Family of England. She collects audience members’ shoes for a “reading” of their characters. She uses local references with ease. WEWS-TV’s Adam Shapiro, Rocky River, the West side Market vendors who buy tomatoes as Giant Eagle and spread them with manure to give the idea that they are selling organic products, Shaker Heights and Streetsboro all get their share of attention. They are skewered, as is the clothing of audience members, and their decorating skills. Two women end up dining on pasta on stage during the second act. A young couple who Dame Edna declares are having marital problems are dragged onto the stage and a long distance call is made to the woman’s Australian mother who is living in Maryland, so she can be told of their problems and invited to come live with them. No one and nothing is really safe as she talks to people in the boxes on each side of the theater and to the paupers in the balcony, does a monologue about prostrates, and the elderly who have been placed in the “home for the burdened.” Hysteria is the order of night.

In the hands of someone else it could come across as mean-spirited and crude but Dame Edna’s personality puts her audience at ease so even those who were the brunt of her jibes appeared to enjoy themselves.

CAPSULE JUDGEMENT: If you are in the right mood, and allow yourself to “let loose”“A NIGHT WITH DAME EDNA” is 2 1/2 hours of some of the funniest material on the planet. Obviously, some didn’t appreciate her double entendres and style of fun as there was a small exodus at intermission. It was their loss! From my perspective, it was one of the most enjoyable evenings of fun I’ve had in the theater.

Vincent in Brixton (Cleveland Play House)

‘VINCENT IN BRIXTON’ is a fine production at CPH

The legend of Vincent van Gogh lives on through his paintings, those swirling, thickly pigmented canvases filled with sunflowers, soulful faces and starry night skies. Rumors live on of his life, the famous cutting off of his own ear, his co-dependent relationship with his brother, his monumental fits of depression, and his penniless existence.

The painter has been depicted as a tortured genius, but in ‘VINCENT IN BRIXTON, Nicholas Wright’s award winning play now on stage at the Cleveland Play House, van Gogh takes on the image of a raw, naive, tactless and even comical character.

Van Gogh had three uncles who were art dealers. In 1873, at age 20, in order to train him for entrance into the family business, he was moved from his native Holland to work in the London office of an international art-dealing firm. It is at this point that author Wright starts his play. The script traces the transforming effects of love, sex and youthful adventure on van Gogh's still-unformed talent.

Vincent rented a room in the house of a widow named Ursula Loyer and her adult daughter Eugenie. Wright speculates that van Gogh fell in love with both women, but it was his affair with Mrs. Loyer that was a life-altering experience in a journey that ultimately ended with mental breakdown, death and immortality.

The “facts” of this story were taken from letters written by van Gogh to various family members. Wright has filled in the gaps where real information does not exist, thus creating a biodrama, not a histodrama.

The play, which won the Olivier Award for its London production, has been called "a fascinating, funny and sometimes deeply moving Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man," “Wright's best play," “an enthralling play,” and “fascinating, funny and moving.”

The CPH’s production, under the expert direction of Seth Gordon, is generally on target. As he did with last year’s ‘PROOF,’ Gordon again proves himself to be the most talented of CPH directors. He is the only director so far who has found a way to use the poorly designed Baxter Stage with any positive effect. It can only be hoped that with the reorganization of the theatre Gordon is not only encouraged to remain, but is given more responsibilities.,

Beth Dixon gives a fine performance as Ursula, van Gogh’s mature lover. Simon Kendall is perfect as Vincent. His frail body and delicate face give a vivid picture of the troubled van Gogh as a youth. His acting nuances, foretell the torture that the man will experience. Virginia Donohoe and Patrick Jones are excellent as the daughter and her lover/husband. Only Emily Frazier Klingensmith is weak in her performance. Complete with overdone accent, hers is not a believable portrayal of Vincent’s sister.

Kent Dorsey’s set is excellent, but one must wonder about the modern plumbing and running water in a London house in 1873.

CAPSULE JUDGEMENT: ‘VINCENT IN BRIXTON’ is excellent. It is the bringing together of a well-honed script and fine production values. This is what the Cleveland Play House should be doing on a regular basis.

Winter Repertory (Ohio Ballet)

Ohio Ballet presents full evening of well choreographed dancing

Dance is composed of four elements: choreography, movement, music and message. When the four come together it makes for an exciting evening. Ohio Ballet’s ‘WINTER REPERTORY PROGRAM’ had three of the elements consistently present...choreography, music and message. The movement, the dancing, was inconsistent.

The program opened with a light, sprightly, South American beat. “Bossa Nova,” consisting of four short pieces, was given its world premiere in this program. They were well choreographed by Leslie Cook. The very talented Amanda Cobb was wonderful as the lead dancer in all the segments. She was ably backed by Kristin Knapp, Alicia Pitts and Eva Trapp. Brian Murphy’s facial expressions, pelvic thrusts and quick feet picked up the beat and created a perfect feel. Unfortunately, the other males were often flat footed and appeared to be laboring rather than enjoying themselves.

“Wanders Night Song” was a classic ballet whose choreography was the weakest of the evening. Toby George was acceptable, if not spectacular as the soloist. He displayed nice leaps and good flow, but lacked the charisma needed to capture the audience.

“Etudes” was performed to ear jarring modern music. The choreography of Jean-Pierre Bonnefoux didn’t always fit Gyorgy Ligeti’s tonal intentions. In spite of this, the piece was superbly danced by Alicia Pitts, whose toe work was wonderful, Eva Trapp and Kristin Knapp.

Chung-Fu Chang’s “Traveling in the Frost”was danced to pianist David Fisher’s live piano accompaniment and the poetic messages of Wilhelm Muller and Peter Hartling. Chang challenged the five male dancers with interesting choreography, pushing the performers to their limits. Though some of the unit timing was off, the overall effect was generally positive. Especially effective was Dennis Dugan’s lighting in a segment in which the dancers’ shadows were projected onto the back curtain.

Bennefoux also choreographed “Chaconne” which was danced to violin soloist Amy Barlowe Bodman’s interpretation of composer Johann Sebastian Bach. The piece was very nicely performed by Amanda Cobb.

The world premiere of “Transformation!” by Ohio Ballet’s Artistic Director Jeffrey Graham Hughes was highlighted by the outstanding singing and musical sounds of the group Divine Hope. Damien Highfield, portraying Paul, stood out in the story taken from the “Bible,” Acts 6: 1 through 9:19. Eric Carvill was effective as Stephen. Though no great piece of ballet, the overall effect was positive.

CAPSULE JUDGEMENT: Ohio Ballet continues to draw small but appreciative audiences. The group needs to take steps to make people want to come through more innovative programming and improved presentation, especially by their male dancers.

Of Mice and Men (Beck Center)

Classic ‘OF MICE AND MEN’ gets fine production at Beck

John Steinbeck is one of America’s greatest writers. His works have received numerous awards, been translated into many languages and have been revised into films, plays and operas.

Steinbeck’s deep roots in the earth and understanding of the people of California’s Salinas Valley become vividly clear in each of his writings. His keen observations and powerful descriptions of the human condition suck the reader into his fictional worlds. Noted for his views on social values, he championed the forgotten and disenfranchised while affirming the strength of the human spirit.

Steinbeck was not only a writer for America, but a writer for the world, as exemplified by his winning the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1962. His impressive list of works include “Grapes of Wrath,” “East of Eden,” “Cannery Row,” and “The Pearl.”

Published in 1937, Steinbeck’s “Of Mice and Men” was made into movies in 1939 with Burgess Meredith as George and Lon Chaney, Jr. as Lennie , in 1981 with Robert Blake (George) and Randy Quaid (Lenny) and in 1992 with Gary Sinise (George) and John Malkovich (Lennie). It was transformed into an acclaimed opera by Carlisle Floyd.

The story is based on the 1785 poem “To A Mouse,” by Scottish poet Robert Burns which states that the best laid schemes of mice and men matter little, as no matter how hard or well we plan, something stops us from achieving our goals.

The story centers on lonely and alienated George and Lennie, drifters who dream of a place to call their own. After numerous incidents in which the kind hearted, but huge, hulking and simple-minded Lennie gets into trouble, the two find themselves, once again, working for meager wages on a ranch. As usual, problems arise and tragedy ensues.

The Beck Center’s production of ‘OF MICE AND MEN’ is a well conceived if slowly paced production. Director Fred Sternfeld’s pacing brings out the meaning of the lines, but makes the evening a little long. Not boring, just long.

The acting is generally excellent. Robert McCoy, as the simple Lenny gives a fine performance. He does not play the role as a retard, just as a slow-thinking, logically challenged childlike person. This portrayal is nicely nuanced, as is Greg Del Torto’s George. Nowhere in his performance does Del Torto give us the feeling, so often found in interpretations of this role, that George is using Lenny as his whipping boy. We see and feel real concern. Almost of love of father for child.

Glenn Colerider, as the old, one-handed laborer, is compelling. The rest of the cast interprets their roles well, with the exception of Brian Honohan whose Curley, the boss’s son, is basically unbelievable.

Richard Gould’s settings are astounding. The bunkhouse, barn and outside areas are works of art. Richard Ingraham has added some fine background sounds and fine underscoring musical interludes. Jeffrey Smart’s costumes are era perfect.

CAPSULE JUDGEMENT: Though slowly paced, ‘OF MICE AND MEN’ is an excellent production of a classic Steinbeck piece of literature. It is a fine opportunity for students and those interested in the classics to see a staged version of an important American tale.