"Voodoo MacBeth" misses its performance mark at Ensemble

During the great depression of the 1930s the U. S. government attempted to stir up the economy by creating various works projects.  One of the organizations developed was the Federal Theatre Project.  It hired directors, actors and technicians to produce theatrical productions that charged low to no-cost for admission.  Many of these were new scripts, and employed out-of-work and emerging artists to participate in the shows. 

Popular theatrical names that emerged from the FTP included Arthur Miller, John Houseman and Elia Kazan.  Also emerging was a young Orson Welles, whose “Voodoo Macbeth” is considered one of the movements most important works. 

Wells’ script and production was part of a FTP’s African American Project, which had a unit in Cleveland.  AAP provided entry paths into the theatre for black actors and stagehands, and attempted to raise community pride among blacks for not only creating contemporary works, but classics.

In 1936, Wells used an all black cast to transfer Shakespeare’s “Macbeth,” from medieval Scotland to a fictional Caribbean island, probably Haiti, noted for its witchcraft and voodoo-believing population.  

The show was not only a box-office sensation, but is regarded as a classic due to its innovative interpretation.  It secured for Wells, at age 20, an early place on the list of theatrical geniuses.

The exchanging of Scotland for Haiti was accomplished by making the “bubble, bubble, toil and trouble witches” into voodoo conjurers and changing the queen of the witches into a bullwhip-snapping medicine doctor.
 
Much of the Shakespearean cast appears in Wells’  play.  Macbeth, commits murder to become king and fulfill his wife’s ambition for power.  There is Lady MacBeth, who has blood on her hands that she can’t wash off.  There is the rest of the royal extended family who get killed or eventually become the new royalty.  The play retains its reputation as the tragedy of tragedies!

Wells’ production became a sensation not only due to the creative script, but due to the quality of the performances.  It takes amazing actors to develop the complex roles of “Voodoo MacBeth.” 

Unfortunately, except for Carly Germany, who portrays Lady Macbeth, the cast tries hard, but isn’t completely capable of conveying the depth of Shakespeare’s characterizations.  It’s not totally their fault.  The material is just too deep and taxing for less than the most skilled of actors to portray. 

The Ensemble production has some performance highlights besides Germany’s.  Stephen D. Hood gets laughs as the Porter.  Kyle Carthens (Macduff) , Leonard Goff (Duncan), Robert Hunter (Malcolm), Joseph Primes (Hecate) and Jimmie Woody (Macbeth) have some good moments.

Some of the “voodoo” elements are missing due to the lack of Caribbean sing-song accents, and confusing costuming and makeup.  Some of the projections, a technique which Ensemble has adopted as their main means of scenery in most of their recent productions, also is island inconsistent and sometimes size-overwhelming.

Capsule judgment:  “Voodoo Macbeth,” a production of Ensemble Theatre in collaboration with The Cleveland Shakespeare Festival is an ambitious project of a historically important theatrical script. 
 The play requires a level of acting that is beyond the training and talent of most of  the cast, thus the experience is less than it could have been. 

“Voodoo Macbeth” runs Thursday, Fridays and Saturdays (8 PM) and Sundays (2 PM) through June 8, 2014, at Ensemble Theatre, housed in the Coventry Building, 2843 Washington Blvd, Cleveland Heights.  For tickets call 216-321-2930 or go online to http://www.ensemble-theatre.org

"We've come a long way baby,"--no, not quite...ANCESTRA @ CPT

Watching Cleveland Public Theatre’s ANCESTRA is both an enlightening and a depressing experience.  Depressing in that the play adds yet another layer to the still on-going tale of the fight for women’s equality in what was and in many ways still is a conservative white man’s world.  In spite of progress, such issues as gender equity, equal pay for equal work, women’s health care and reproductive rights are still lagging.  Yes, women now have the right to vote, own property, aren’t regarded legally as possessions, and can get advanced collegiate degrees (even though some fields are still generally closed to females).

Enlightening, especially to those who know little about the rights movements in this country,  the rights of women, blacks and homosexuals/transgendered persons.   Unfortunately, those who really needed to get the edification probably won’t attend the play.  It would be too threatening to their closed minds and unbending beliefs. 

The National Women’s Rights Convention was a series of annual meetings that brought visibility to the women’s rights movement in the United States.  The first convention was held in 1850, in Worcester, Massachusetts.  That session attracted men and women who were advocates for temperance, abolition and suffrage for women.

As one of the speaker’s stated, “I conceive that the first thing to be done by the women of this country is to demand their political enfranchisement. Among the ‘self-evident truths’ announced in the Declaration of Independence is this – ‘All government derives its just power from the consent of the governed.’”

“Ancestra,” which is now in production at Cleveland Public Theater, is a play by Holly Holsinger, Chris Seibert, Renee Schilling and Sally Groth that was inspired by the 1853 National Women’s Rights Convention held in Cleveland.

At that convention, in a letter read aloud, the Reverend William Henry Channing, a leader of the Christian socialism movement, suggested that “the convention issue its own Declaration of Women’s Rights and petitions to state legislatures seeking woman suffrage, equal inheritance rights, equal guardianship laws, divorce for wives of alcoholics, tax exemptions for women until given the right to vote, and the right to trial before a jury of female peers.”

The authors have creatively woven flashes from the past with instances of the present to create an effective portrayal of their message “to celebrate those who came before and champions of current efforts to achieve dignity and justice.”

Interesting to locals, who tend to be proud that Oberlin College was the first institution of higher learning to admit women, is a segment which indicates that their education afforded women was not parallel or equal to those given to men.  The women were restricted as to the courses they were allowed to take, how they were treated, and the need to hide in the woods to be able to speak their minds and just not be sponges in the classroom. 

The play is well staged by Holly Holsinger in a creative setting designed by Aaron Benson.  An inner proscenium consisting of twigs and trees, with platforms for portraying various places, providing a pleasing and practical acting space.  Having those from the past always in the background, and vise versa added much to creating the image of the past as it affects the present.

The cast is excellent.  Special kudos to Chris Seibert as Cora, a modern day reporter who fights to continue the assault on tradition to make for continued changes to help the cause of women through the power of activism. 

Anne McEvoy does a nice transition from the stern administrator at Oberlin to Cora’s caring mother.  Rhoda Rosen, as the emblem of elderly women, is endearing.  Katy Lynn Patterson is excellent as the educationally frustrated Lucy.

As is often the case in the CPH theatre, being able to hear the actors is a problem.  The high ceiling, open fly gallery and distance between the audience and the stage makes for echoes and a loss of projection.  Since the production I saw was a preview, I don’t know if several of the females, who were very difficult to hear due to a lack of projection, improved during regularly scheduled productions.

Capsule judgement:  “Ancestra” is a well written play that gets an excellent production at Cleveland Public Theatre.  It is a story that needs to be told.  It should be seen by everyone who assumes that the rights movements…the march for equality for women, blacks and homosexuals, have completed their tasks.  Kudos!

 “Ancestra” runs through June 7, 2014  at Cleveland Public Theatre.  For tickets call 216-631-2727 or go on line to www.cptonline.org.

Baldwin Wallace Music Theatre Program's Ciara Renée makes it big on Broadway

On April 1, Ciara Renée strutted on stage at the Music Box Theatre on West 45th Street as The Leading Player in PIPPIN.  She became one of seventeen Baldwin Wallace Music Theatre Program graduates to appear in a Broadway, Off-Broadway or National Touring company during the 2013-2014 season.

Yes, tiny Baldwin Wallace University, in Berea, Ohio, a suburb of Cleveland, has become a powerhouse in providing polished theater performers for professional stages.

As Victoria Bussert, the program’s director states, “It is the goal of the BWMTP to create working professional artists.  The team (Scott Plate, Gregory Daniels, David Pepin—the new Music Director who joined the program straight from “Wicked” and “Kinky Boots”  and myself,  combine our professional and academic careers to create a special environment for our students.”

As Ciara said in a recent interview, “The BW program builds a community and we support each other and we are always trying to help BW, which 15 years ago wasn’t even on the national map.”  “The program has a curriculum that changes to make learning relevant, teach each student how to be professional, and how the business works.” 

The results are obvious.  Ciara relates, “Last spring’s showcase (an event in New York where students perform before Broadway directors, agents and managers), every student was prepared, was ready to show our talents, ready to work at a high level.”  “I was totally prepared and jazzed for it.”  Every student left with an agent or a manager.  “A month or two in, I tried out for “Big Fish.”

On October 6, 2013, Ciara opened as the witch in “Big Fish.”  Though the show ran only 34 previews and 98 regular performances, Ciara got positive reviews and after going through the tryout route again, thanks to her agent “being on top of what’s going on,” she was selected to replace Tony Award winner, Patina Miller, as Leading Player in the mega smash revival of Stephen Schwartz’s  PIPPIN.

That “tryout routine included a six-hour call back, and a 3 or 4 day wait until I got the good news.”  Between “Big Fish” and “Pippin,” she worked as a fitness instructor.

Her entry into “Pippin” included “watching Patina’s performances, rehearsing every day, learning about the character, and molding it all into a structure.”

Besides singing and dancing, Ciara has to do aerialist tricks.  She had to go through special instruction at the Circus Warehouse (a training facility in New York where circus stars, Broadway performers and the public come to train in acrobatics), learning how to do the tricks incorporated into the show.  “The cast, old and new, rehearse and rehearse.”  Ciara indicated she “started to hit the gym and become more muscular” to be able to do the routines. 

“Pippin” is scheduled to come to Cleveland as part of the 2014-2015 Key Bank Broadway Series.  In the past, Clevelanders’ Michael Cavanaugh who was appearing in “Moving Out,” and Tony Winner, Alice Ripley, who was in “Next to Normal” took breaks from their shows to return “home” to do their Broadway Series shows.  Any chance of Ciara doing that?   “That’s not in the plans.”  Her “Pippin” contract runs until September and then “some other projects are coming up.”

In response to the comparison to Broadway’s original “Pippin,” which starred Ben Vereen and Jonathan Rubinstein, which Ciara was too young to see, she indicates that people comment that “this one is so different.”  There is the entire circus/acrobatics addition.  Lots of “magic to do.”  But, she indicates, in spite of “lots of stuff going on,” the beauty and meaning of the songs “Corner of the Sky,” and  “Morning Glow,” aren’t diluted. “Nothing crazy goes on during those numbers.”

What advice would she give any kid with Broadway stars in their eyes?  Ciara said, “it’s not easy, not glamorous, you have little social life, you have to put yourself out, be fearless, not look stupid, there is so much to learn, be nice to people, being talented and nice adds up.  It’s hard work!”

She obviously practices what she preaches.  As Bussert said, “Ciara was always an amazing student -- very intelligent, focused and passionate about her work. She got her equity card doing DREAMGIRLS at Cain Park the summer after her sophomore year.  She played a wide variety of roles at BW including Kate in THE WILD PARTY, Emma in LIZZIE BORDEN and Phyllis in FOLLIES.”  “She is truly special.”

Ciara, and the other BW students banner their training in their program bios by including the phrase, “A proud graduate of Baldwin Wallace.”  Grads from other schools don’t necessarily do that.    Why the BW tribute?  What is so special about the BW program?   As Ciara stated, “The focus is on each person individually.  We all have our differences and we are taught not to look at another person, don’t compare yourself, don’t be jealous.”

Having seen Ciara in all of her BW performances, and both BIG FISH and PIPPIN, I can attest to her talent, stage magnetism, and dedication.  Look for the name Ciara Renée, “a proud graduate of Baldwin Wallace,” to appear on lots of Broadway playbills in the future!

Cleveland area summer theatre and dance 2014 calendar

The Cleveland area has a full schedule of summer theatre entertainment.   Here are some of the upcoming stagings:

THEATRE OFFERINGS

PORTHOUSE THEATRE  Kent State University’s summer theatre, performed on the grounds of Blossom Music Center in Cuyahoga Falls, will present
•MY FAIR LADY, June 18-28 (two-piano musical adaptation of George Bernard Shaw’s PYGMALION),
•STARMITES, July 3-19 (musical adventure fantasy in which humans and heroes conquer the sinister inhabitants of Innerspace),
•OLIVER, July 24-August 10 (musical classic, based on Charles Dickens’ novel).  Curtain time is 8 PM Tuesdays through Saturdays and 2 PM Sundays. The picnic grounds open 90 minutes prior to curtain time. 
For tickets call 330-672-3884 or go online to http://dept.kent.edu/theatre/porthouse/index.html

CAIN PARK  Cain Park, located in Cleveland Heights offers
•FROGS, July 31-August 17, Alma Theater,  (a comedy written in 405 B.C. by Aristophanes, freely adapted by Nathan Lane, with music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim.)
For tickets call 216-371-3000 or go to http://www.cainpark.com

BLANK CANVAS  Pat Ciamacco’s little theatre that “could and does” presents •LAUGHS OF FUTURE PAST, May 30-31, June 6-7 (A 90-minute sketch comedy and improv with beer, wine and humor),
•ONE FLEW OVER THE CUCKOO’S NEST, July 18-August 2 (captures the radical and anti-establishment mood of the 1960s),
•HAIR, August 29-September 13 (the 1960s Love-Rock musical)
For tickets and directions go to http://www.blankcanvastheatre.com

MAMAI THEATRE COMPANY  The area’s newest equity agreement theatre, now in residence at The Pilgrim Church in Tremont, presents
•STRANDED ON EARTH, June 5-22 (Clevelander Eric Coble’s script contemplates the exchange between personal freedom and putting down roots against the backdrop of personal tragedy.
•James Joyces’s ULYSSES IN NIGHTGOWN, benefit for Mamai (for details go to the website)
•ARCADIA, July 17-August 3 (Tom Stoppard explores the way the past is interpreted through the lens of the present.)
For tickets go to http://www.mamaitheatreco.org/home/buy-tickets-subscribe

CLEVELAND PLAY HOUSE
Allen Theatre in PlayhouseSquare—Allen Theatre
•MAURICE HINES IS TAPPIN’ THROUGH LIFE, May 30-June 29 (Tap dance legend Maurice Hines stars in this explosive world premiere production.)
• MAD MEN, MUSIC & MARTINIS, CPH Annual Benefit
June 7 @ 5:30pm - 11:00pm
For tickets call 216-241-6000 or go to www.clevelandplayhouse.com

BECK CENTER 
•SEMINAR, May 30-June 29 (a comedy in which four aspiring young novelists sign up for private writing classes taught with recklessly unorthodox instruction.  Tensions arise, romances develop, and the wordplay is not the only thing that turns vicious.)
•YOUNG FRANKENSTEIN, July 11-August 17 (a musical re-imagining of the Frankenstein legend based on Mel Brooks' parody of classic horror films, the story follows bright young Dr. Frankenstein as he attempts to complete his grandfather's scientific work and bring a corpse to life.)
For tickets:  216-521-2540 or http://www.beckcenter.org

THEATER NINJAS
•STRANDED ON EARTH, June 5-22 (This is Eric Coble’s one-woman show, starring Derdriu Ring.  Co-produced with Mamai Theatre Company. 
For tickets and information: http://theaterninjas.com

ACTORS’ SUMMIT
•BACK TO BACHARACH AND DAVID, JUNE 12-JULY 20 (The hits of Burt Bacharach and Hal David, including “Alfie,” “Walk on By,” “I’ll Never Fall in Love Again,” and twenty more.
For tickets: 330-374-7568 or go to www.actorssummit.org

convergence continuum
A MAN OF VIRTUE, June 20-July 12 (An unlikely friendship that derails into a quiet, pitiless nightmare.)
AMAZONS AND THEIR MEN, August 8-20 (Inspired by the life and work of Leni Riefenstahl (Hitler’s cinematographer) who recruits a Jewish man to play her lover in acting out a scene in the Trojan war.)
For tickets: convergence-continiuum.org or 216-687-0074

OBERLIN SUMMER THEATER FESTIVAL
For information about the summer offerings call 440-775-8169

DANCE OFFERINGS

(All presented at Cain Park.  For program details and tickets call 216-371-3000 or go to:  http://www.cainpark.com

GROUNDWORKS DANCETHEATER
Thursday-Saturday, June 12-14, 7pm, Alma Theater
$25 advance, $28 day of show
GroundWorks will reprise two audience favorites from its extensive repertory, "Hindsight" by Lynn Taylor-Corbett, a tribute to Akron-born rock legend Chrissie Hynde, and "All I Do" by David Parker, a whimsical and intricate invention set to music from the American film classic “Singin’ in the Rain. ” The series will also feature a World Premiere by GroundWorks' Artistic Director David Shimotakahara.

INLET DANCE
Wednesday, July 30, Kids Matinee, 1-2pm. Evening performance Thursday, July 31, 8pm, Evans Amphitheater. FREE

VERB BALLETS
Friday, July 25, Kids Matinee, 1-2pm. Evening performance Saturday, July 26, 8pm, Evans Amphitheater
Kids Matinee: $5/child, $8/adult general admission
Evening: $25/20 advance, $28/23 day of show

"The Bridges of Madison County," well conceived musical that deserved a better fate on Broadway

Some musicals are filled with flash, glitter, large production numbers and massive choruses.  “The Bridges of Madison County” is not one of these.  It is a well-conceived, tender, and low-keyed experience.  It is a “little” musical, much in the realm of “She Loves Me.”

Adapted from the novel “The Bridges of Madison County,” by Robert James Waller, is a story  based on the author’s desire to expand on his belief that some people experience “a special love that happens just once in a lifetime—if you’re lucky.” 

“I don't want to need you, 'cause I can't have you.” “I realize love won't obey our expectations, its mystery is pure and absolute.” “Things change. They always do, it's one of the things of nature.” “And in that moment, everything I knew to be true about myself up until then was gone. I was acting like another woman, yet I was more myself than ever before.” These lines, spoken by Robert Kincaid and Francesca Johnson, the script’s love-struck lovers, appear to be excerpted from a Harlequin romance novel.   But they aren’t.  They are part of a script that is exceedingly well-crafted, has a solid emotional foundation, a fine score and a meaningful libretto.

The story centers on Francesca, an Italian-American unfulfilled house wife, who met her husband-to-be while he was serving in Italy during World War II.  She is quickly swept off her feet, marries, and is whisked off to Iowa.  Flat, unexciting Iowa, very unlike her beloved Italy.  A place filled with corn and little culture, but good caring folks.

Unexpectedly, into Francesca’s  life wanders Robert Kincaid, a “National Geographic” photographer, in the area to take photos of the renowned bridges of Madison County.  It’s the summer of 1965, and her husband and teenage children are at the Illinois state fair.  Robert is having difficulty finding one of the fabled structures, stops for directions at her family’s farm, and a tale of infidelity, love, unfulfilled experiences, and then the inevitable need to make a pivotal decision that will not only affect the lives of Francesca and Robert, but her entire family. 

Those who read the best selling novel may be disappointed with the changes made in the staged version.  The musical is contracted and the ending changed to fit both the time restraints and cutting down on the Harlequin nature of the original material.  For those who have not read the book, the differences, of course, matter little.

Jason Robert Brown’s music is nicely tucked into and enhances Marsha Norman’s understated book.  The songs grow out of the story, not, as is often the case of musicals, placed in to highlight a character or change the mood. 

The opening number, “To Build a Home,” lays the exposition for understanding the life and ways of Iowa.  “Home Before You Know It,” sets up Francesca’s being left alone while the rest of the family goes to the fair.  “Look at Me,” shows the blooming love between Robert and Francesca. “Falling Into You” brings their relationship to a climax. “Almost Real,” sets up the inevitable separation. “Always Better” brings the story to a forlorn ending.  The music and the book flow seamlessly together.

The staged production, under the deft direction of Bartlett Sher, is compelling.   Michael Yeargan’s fragmented sets move on and off the stage in a beautifully choreographed flow.  Donald Holder’s lighting design enhances the moods.  The orchestra sound is lush, and helps develop a clarity of mood in the songs, nicely underscoring the performers singing.

Kelli O’Hara (Francesca) and Steven Pasquale (Robert) have a wonderful chemistry that makes the joy of their meeting, and sadness of their parting, heartfelt.  They both posses fine singing voices, sing meanings not words, and create characters that live.

Seldom during most musicals, other than for preplanned showstoppers, do audiences respond with overly extended applause.  Not so in “Bridges.” So excellent is the music and the singing that four times during the production the audience showed extreme adoration for the performances by O’Hara and Pasquale.  

Cass Morgan is delightful as Marge, Francesca’s next door neighbor.  Hunter Foster is totally believable as Francesca’s well meaning husband, Bud.  His “Something as a Dream,” is well sung.  Caitlin Kinnunen (Carolyn) and Derek Klena (Michael) are spot-on as the angst-filled Johnson teenagers who mature before our eyes.

Much to the dismay of many, and the frustration of this reviewer, in spite of four Tony Award nominations, including one for O’Hara as Best Actress in a Musical and Best Original Score, the producers of “The Bridges of Madison County,” announced that the show will close after the Sunday, May 18 staging, its 137th performance.

Why the early closing?  One of the issues may well we that this is a “little” show.  It doesn’t have the razzle-dazzle of a “Pippin,” the farcical underpinnings of “A Gentleman’s Guide to Love and Murder,” nor the realistic depth of “Lady Day at Emerson’s.”  In a smaller, more intimate theatre, maybe an off-Broadway space, the show may have showcased better.  This is similar to last year’s charming “First Date,” which met a similar, shorter than it should have, run. 

This is the type of script that will quickly be optioned by professional and non-professional theatres in the hinterlands, and have a long life. 

Those theatres will have to wait, however, as the producers have announced that a touring production, under the direction of Sher, will be mounted for the Fall of 2015.

Capsule judgment:  “The Bridges of Madison County,” is one of those special, intimate, meaningful, well-conceived and performed shows that deserved a longer shelf-life than it is getting.  It will be interesting to see how the show runs on the road as a touring production. 

“The Bridges of Madison County,” is running at the Gerald Shoenfeld Theatre, 236 W. 45th Street, New York, through May 18, 2014.

"Bathroom Humor" flushes as Blank Canvas

Before the lights went up on Blank Canvas’s production of “Bathroom Humor,” the couple sitting to my right and I carried on an animated conversation about which they thought were their favorite Guest Artist Theatres in the area.  A Guest Artist Theatre is “a theatre which has an agreement with Equity, whose productions normally include one or more Equity members, and/or who pay all or some their actors in a performance or supply their actors with a stipend.” 

The duo proposed none too fragile, whose “On The Line” was chosen as the best non-musical production of 2013, Ensemble, whose “The Iceman Cometh” was recognized for superior achievement, and Blank Canvas, whose “Twelve Angry Men” also was recognized for its superior achievement, as their choices.  We were in for a treat, right?  Wrong!

Blank Canvas mixes creative audience-delighting shows, such as “The Texas Chainsaw Musical,” “Psych Beach Party,” “Debbie Does Dallas,” and “Hell Cab,” with traditional shows such as “Godspell” and ”Working,” with exceptional stagings, such as “Next Fall” and “Of Mice and Men.”

Usually, the creative and dedicated Pat Ciamacco can find some way to save even the silliest and slightest of scripts.  Add blood to spatter the audience, cut off a few legs and arms and juggle them, there has to be a way.  Unfortunately, he met his match in Billy Van Zandt and Jane Milmore’s ineptly conceived, poorly written, plot-light farce, “Bathroom Humor.”

Set in a bathroom in a house during a party, the play centers on bad bathroom humor, fat jokes, who cares gossip, urinary problems, affairs between the party goers, alcohol and drug trips, falling out and climbing in windows, hiding behind the shower curtain, penis enlargements, party games, and well . . .who cares.

If you are at all interested, the “story,” (note the quotes around the word story) centers on Laura, who is married to Arthur, who is having an affair with Sandy, one of Arthur’s employees.  Sandy is attempting to get a raise from Andy, who is trying to have an affair with Babette.  Stu is a degenerate whose goal is to consume as much drugs and alcohol as possible.  Peg is overweight and has a negative self image.  The Big El is a totally untalented Elvis impersonator who is the party’s entertainment, and he falls for Peg.  Peg’s elderly father, who has bladder incontinence keeps coming into the bathroom, but never at the right time to use the toilet, and…you lost? Doesn’t matter, nothing of much importance happens. 

Oh, there is one hysterical scene when Peg can’t zip up her overly tight jeans and winds up on the floor trying to put them on. 

The publisher bills the play as recommended “for dinner theatre, community theatre, and summer stock audiences.”  Believe me, no self respecting theatre should be interested in producing this bottom-feeding schlock.

Farce is hard stuff to do, even if it is well written. Believe me, “Bathroom Humor” is not well written.  The cast tries hard, but there is little of value to work with.  In order to protect the innocent, I’m not even going to list their names.  During the run of the show, if I were in the cast, I’d wear a paper bag over my head, so no one would recognize me.

Ciamacco is usually capable of coming up with some way to save any lemon.  In this case, even he couldn’t create lemonade!

CAPSULE JUDGMENT: As we exited the theatre after “Bathroom Humor,  my next-to-seat neighbor said, “Oh well, it is what it is, and I’m not sure why it was!”  ‘nuff said.
 
Blank Canvas’s “Bathroom Humor” runs though May 24, 2014 in its west side theatre, 1305 West 78th Street, Suite 211, Cleveland.  Get directions to the theatre on the website.  (My GPS was of little help).  Once you arrive at the site, go around the first building to find the entrance and then follow the signs to the second floor acting space.  It’s an adventurous battle. For tickets and directions go to www.blankcanvasthetre.com

A magnificant Audra McDonald channels Billie Holiday in Broadway's "Lady Day at Emerson's Bar and Grill"

What could be better than having Audra McDonald singing for an hour and-a-half?  How about McDonald channeling the singing style and interpretative abilities of the late, great Billie Holiday?  McDonald doesn’t portray Holiday, she slips into Holiday’s persona and becomes the jazz singer, with a blues soul.

Holiday, the granddaughter of a slave, endured much success in her life, but also was the victim of overt racism, poor choice in mates, and dependence on drugs and alcohol.

Near the end of her life, the woman who was considered “the world’s greatest jazz singer,” had lost so much of her public appeal that she appeared before an audience that was reported to be seven people.

Lanie Robertson, the author of “Lady Day at Emerson’s Bar and Grill,” reports that in 1959 a boyfriend of hers saw, “The Duchess,” as Holiday was often called, in a “little dive” about three months before she died.   The boyfriend reported that Holiday “was obviously high, carrying her little Chihuahua, Pepi, whom she introduced to the audience.”  He further reported that she had “a water glass which was filled and refilled with booze.”  She sang ten to 12 songs and “staggered out.”

The image of this, one of America’s icons of music, having imploded , “so undervalued at the end of her life and career was an image that has always haunted me” [Robertson].  It was this reflection that inspired her to write, “Lady Day.”

The song list is a tribute to Holiday’s career.  The score includes “I Wonder Where Our Love Has Gone,” “When a Woman Loves a Man,” “Somebody’s on My Mind,” “Easy Livin’” and “Deep Song.”

Included is the song that many consider Holiday’s anthem, “God Bless the Child.”   Holiday never had any children, which was a personal regret.   The unnerving song, and its haunting presentation, is a message that trumpets her life of fame and angst.

Of the play, McDonald said, “It’s about a woman trying to get through a concert performance, which I know something about, and she’s doing it at a time when her liver was pickled and she was still doing heroin regularly. . . I might have been a little judgmental about Billie Holiday early on in my life, but what I’ve come to admire most about her –and what is fascinating in this show – is that there is never any self-pity.  She’s almost laughing at how horrible her life has been.  I don’t think she sees herself as a victim.  And she feels an incredible connection to her music – she can’t sing a song if she doesn’t have some emotional connection to it, which I really understand.”

McDonald is nothing short of mesmerizing.  She enters as Holiday, performs as the tortured soul, getting more and more drunk as the show goes on, staggers off stage for a few minutes, and returns not only with her dog cradled in her arms, but one glove pulled down, with needle tracks clearly showing on the bare arm.  She continues the show in a stupor, babbling about her personal life, and finally stumbles out.

The production is meticulously directed by Lonny Price.  The pace, blocking and character interpretation are perfectly designed.

Shelton Becton, who serves as the conductor/pianist for the production, also proficiently fills in as Holiday’s pianist and protector.   His band, consisting of Clayton Craddock (drums), and George Farmer (bass), play “mighty fine.” For an extra treat, get to the theatre early and listen to the trio conduct a jazz concert before the play’s performance.

Pepi, the dog that McDonald cuddles with for a segment of the show, is a rescue dog named Roxie, who was trained to be in “Legally Blonde,” and then was cast in “Lady Day.”

McDonald has proven that she is not only a singer, but a fine actress.  She has  starred  in a range of Broadway shows such as “Ragtime,” “Master Class,” “Carousel,” and “Porgy and Bess.”  She has won five Tony Awards and is nominated for yet another for her performance in “Lady Day.”  She starred in a television version of “A Raisin in the Sun,” after winning a Tony for the stage production.  She won the 2008 Emmy  for her performance.  

It has been reported that she will star, alongside Oprah Winfrey, in a Broadway revival of Marsha Norman’s “‘night Mother,” during the 2015-2016 season.

Capsule judgment:  “Lady Day at Emerson’s Bar and Grill” is an amazing way to not only learn about Billie Holiday, get a lesson about the overt prejudices against Blacks during the mid-twentieth century, be exposed to jazz, but be captivated by Audra McDonald.  Yes, as one of the show’s songs says, “Somebody’s On My Mind.”  Actually two somebody’s:  Billie Holiday and Audra McDonald!

“Lady Day  at Emerson’s Bar and Grill” opened at the Circle in the Square, West 50th Street, on April 13, 2014, for a limited run which is scheduled to end on August 10.

Reuben Silver, the crown prince of Cleveland theatre, remembered

The State Theatre marquee lights were dimmed on Saturday evening, May 10, from 8 to 8:15 in memory of Reuben Silver, who died on Thursday, May 8.  Reuben was 88 years old.

Reuben Silver was a brilliant actor, director and educator, but most important, he was a kind and caring human being.  His impish smile and twinkling eyes could make a character live on stage, and calm and encourage those who he came in contact with off-stage.

He was the artistic director of Karamu from 1955 to 1976, and professor and Chair of the Theatre Department at Cleveland State for 17 years.  He awed audiences with his performances on such stages as Dobama, Great Lakes Theatre, Ensemble, Cleveland State, and Actors’ Summit.

He and his wife, Dorothy, to whom he was married for 64 years, were deservedly Cleveland theatrical royalty.  

They were the consummate team. He often appeared with Dorothy on stage.  In some productions each would director the other.

The Silvers were recognized in 1984 with a Special Citation for Distinguished Service to the Arts.  In 2012 they were recognized by the Cleveland Critics Circle for their “Outstanding Body of Work.”

Reuben’s presence will be missed by those of us who knew, admired and loved him for being such a special person, performer and friend! 

There is one less star in the local theatre community sky, and tears in many eyes, with his passing.

The details of a service celebrating Reuben’s life will be announced at a later date.

For an excellent article about Silver's life and career go to: http://www.benrose.org/MythBusters/mb_silver.cfm

"Kin" is a special experiece at Dobama

Every once in a while a play comes along that, without histrionics, searching for laughs or mystery plot twists, resonates with the human connection.  “Kin,” now on stage at Dobama, is such a script.

Bathsheba Doran, the play’s author, has a wonderful sense of language selection, creates scenes that are clear in their intent, puts forth interactions that allow for understanding of the motivations of the speakers, and blends mostly two-person dialogues into a cohesive whole.

Take director Shannon Sindelar’s precise direction, add a creative set design by Tiffany Scribner, meaningful lighting by Marcus Dana, era and character right costumes by Jenniver Sparano, appropriate musical bridges by Richard Ingraham, and put them on stage with a superlative cast.   The result is an engaging evening of theatre.

“Kin” centers on Anna, a Texas-bred army brat and young Ivy League poetry scholar, who is having difficulty finding both her path to academic success and a person with whom to share her life. 
In her search for career success, she writes a magnum academic opus with the deadly title: “Keats’s Punctuation.”  The issue becomes--how does one get such a tome published?

For someone to of share her life, after being harshly rejected by her egotistical collegiate mentor, she turns to internet dating sites.  Lo and behold a total mismatch, an Irish physical trainer, comes onto her screen and into her life. 

What follows is a web of interactions which takes the viewer from the US to Ireland, and the intertwining of multiple relational stories that include mother-son, daughter-father, lover-lover, and husband-wife connections, as well as  forays into infidelity, rape, alcoholism, agoraphobia, and cancer.

On the surface this is a soap-opera type plot, but in the hands of a wordsmith like Doran, the result is an attention getting and keeping experience.

The landscape of the modern world and the meaning of kin and kinship sparkles.   The elusiveness of true human connection is probed.  The effect of family is examined.  There’s drama, there is pathos, and there are laughs.

Over a period of seven years and across two continents, we pleasurably watch a collage of interlocking lives come together for better or for worse.

Elena Kepner puts on the persona of Anna, and creates a real person who carries the weight of her past, hidden and exposed secrets, loyalties and confusion.  This is a nicely controlled performance that rings of character understanding.

Geoff Knox as Sean, Anna’s mismatched boyfriend, fully creates a character filled with a sense of gentleness and sensitivity, which, in spite of the odds, overcomes a lost-love and an upbringing filled with angst.

Lenne Snively, who along with Knox perform with consistent, understandable,  Irish accents, is superb as the agoraphobic Linda, Sean’s maligned, near alcoholic  mother.  There is a wonderful natural sense of being in her characterization.

Rachel Lee Kolis well-develops the role of Rachel, Anna’s boarding school friend.  This is a real Rachel, a ditsy, fragile young lady, desperate for attention, at all costs.

Pete Ferry is properly military-uptight as Anna’s father.  The rest of the cast all develop persons who are real and help move the story nicely along.

CAPSULE JUDGMENT: KIN is one of those special scripts that happily gets a superb production at Dobama.  It’s a play for everyone, whether the viewer is looking for thoughtful moments, humorous interludes, or fine acting.  KIN is a must see evening of theater.

KIN runs through May 25, 2014 at Dobama Theatre.  Call 216-932-3396 or http://www.dobama.org for tickets.

"Murder Ballad" continues high quality collaboratin between BW & PhSquare

PlayhouseSquare and Baldwin Wallace’s renowned music theatre program and the school’s arts management program, have come together for seven consecutive years to present an opportunity for the students to interact with professional theatrical figures in a real world unique way.

The theatre students get an opportunity to work in the second largest arts complex in the country.  The arts management students get to collaborate with the PhSq professional market wizards.   What better educational experience could a student ask for?

This year the theatrical production moved from the cramped space, formerly known as the 14th Street Theatre, to the Allen complex’s Helen Stage.  The Helen is a black box facility which allows for as many configurations as the mind can conceive.  For MURDER BALLAD, the audience was partially seated three-quarters of the way around a rectangular performance area.  The remaining patrons were seated at tables.  Against one walls the band was placed.  A pool table and a long bar were intermingled among the tables.  The design of the theatre space made the performance appropriately up-tight and personal.

MURDER BALLAD is a “sexy and dangerous” rock musical which played a five-week limited engagement in 2012 off-Broadway.  Reviewers called it, “hot and sweaty,” “energetic and intriguing,” “rough and ragged,“ “sexy and explosive,” and “sultry.”  In spite of generally positive reviews, the preview run ended earlier than scheduled. 

The story centers on a love triangle gone wrong.  Sara, an Upper West Sider seems to have it all...handsome and devoted husband, a healthy child, and a life of luxury.  Unfortunately, she can’t rid herself of her desire for bad-boy bartender, Tom. 

We luxuriate in a strong musical score, listening to such melodies as “Troubled Minds,” “Turning into Beautiful,” “Mouth Tattoo,” “My Name,” “Built for Longing,” and “You Belong to Me,” as the plot leads us through the complications of love, the compromises that people make in the name of amour, and the betrayals that love can generate in people, while undoing them.

“Murder Ballad,” is the type of script that Victoria Bussert directs so well.  It requires creative staging, a fine sense of story development, and a talented cast.  Bussert is more than capable of the former duo, and has a treasure trove of “Vickie’s Kids”—the musical theatre students at Baldwin Wallace University.  As a survey of Broadway casts over the recent years proves, she picks,  trains and sends out the cream of the crop.

The four performance run of “Murder Ballad” showcased two different casts.  I only saw the “Spades” cast, so my comments will be narrowed to their performances.  What wonderful performances they were!  I can say, however, that I have it from a “knowledgeable source,” who was seated next to me at Moko Café between the two Saturday shows, that the “Clubs” cast was, ”also good.”

The role of Michael, Sara’s husband, was portrayed by tall and matinee idol handsome Anthony Sagaria.  He’s much in the mold of Strongsville High and BW grad, Corey Mach, who recently was in town playing the lead role in “Flashdance.”  He has a strong singing voice, excellent stage presence and good acting chops.  His duet, “I’ll Be There,” with Narrator Nyla Watson, was one of the show’s highlights.

Watson, of powerful voice and imposing presence, controls the stage when she is belting!  She had some wonderful comic asides that added needed light moments to the heavy theme.

I would not like to meet Zachary Adkins, Tom, the bartender, in an alley.  At least not the Adkins who made Tom and his menacing baseball bat into a potential weapon of mass destruction.  He displayed a nice singing voice and developed a clear character.

Keri René Fuller, a red haired vixen, populated the role of Sara.  Sensual, sexy and seductive, she had both characters, Tom and Michael, wrapped around her little finger.

Musical Director and BW student Andrew Leslie Cooper, and his band nicely walked the musical line between the needed rock intensity and underscoring the singers.  Special kudos to Jesse Stephen Penfound, the percussionist, for realizing that this wasn’t a rock concert and a very heavy foot and pounding hands weren’t necessary to get the needed effect.

CAPSULE JUDGEMENT”  It’s no wonder that Bussert commented in the program that “she loves her job!”  Being able to unearth the right script, to  put her unique touch on a production, and having a dream team of talented students to work with, would make anyone happy to go to work.  Standing “O” to all connected with ‘Murder Ballad.”  My only regret was that the show only ran four performances.  It could have developed a cult following and run for a long time!  Oh well, there’s the PhSq/BW production to look forward to next year!

“MURDER BALLAD” ran April 25th through the 27th, 2014.

"Beyond the Horizon," seldom seen classic at Ensemble

Each year, Ensemble Theatre selects a classic play to be part of their season offerings.  Last year it was “The Iceman Cometh,” which was recognized by the Cleveland Critics Circle for Superior Achievement for a Non-Musical Production.  This year’s choice is Eugene O’Neill’s 1920 Pulitzer Prize winning, “Beyond the Horizon,” the author’s first full-length work.

A review of the first staging of “Beyond the Horizon” called the play “the closest approach any native author has yet made to the great American play.”  O’Neill’s epic gave birth to the play category of “new American tragedy.” 

Ironically, the playwright used a take-off on the romantic story line to achieve his goal.  It was probably the formulaic romantic story line that led an opening night reviewer to write, "There can be no question that it is a work of uncommon merit and definite ability, distinguished by general superiority from the great bulk of contemporaneous productions. However, the play ‘is not quite a masterpiece.’”

The play centers on a slowly evolving portrait of the Mayo family.  Andrew and Robert are bound by brotherly love, but are totally different.  One is a pragmatist, the other a dreamer.   The brothers fall in love with the same girl.  Both wind up sacrificing what they really want out of life in order to do what they think may be better for the other, and, in the end, both lose out. 

“Beyond the Horizon” is a play about dreams.  Every character has clearly etched desires.  The father, James, wants a bigger farm with his older son accomplishing his vision.  Ruth yearns to have a husband.  Robert and Andy have opposite dreams.  Andrew wants to accomplish his father’s goal.  Robert, a poet and reader, envisions himself living out his romantic dreams of going “beyond the horizon,” going to “the far places of the world that beckon alluringly.” 

The script effectively walks the fine line between melodrama and prescription romantic saga.  In lesser hands the plot probably would have strayed from reality and into romantic fantasy.  But, fortunately, O’Neill is too proficient a writer to allow for that.

The script follows the format of a three-act play, so popular in the early to mid-twentieth century.  It makes for a long, over two-hour sit.

Ensemble’s production, under the direction of Celeste Consentino, develops the playwright’s intentions.  The pacing is languid, maybe a little too languid in places.  Tensions don’t always build to their climax. The acting mainly stays on the surface, actors not digging deeply beneath the surface level of the thoughts and feelings of their characters, a digging that often unearths deep pain and emotional feelings that aids the performer to illuminate the person they are portraying.

James Rankin generally gives a nice poetic dreamer quality to Robert.  His closing scenes are properly wrought with pain and the letting go of any hope for the life he dreamed he’d live.

Keith Stevens, as the hard working Andrew, develops a nice contrast to his escapist brother.  Robert Hawkes clearly creates a rough, determined father.

The technical aspects are unnerving.  Large electronic projections of fields and a house interior visually overwhelm in the small Ensemble venue.  The pictures of Mary, the young daughter, many times larger than an actual child, with an overpowering voice, makes the youngster surreal.  That might have been fine for horror movie,  but this is a realistic play.

Capsule judgment:  “Beyond The Horizon” is a Eugene O’Neill classic which gets few stagings.  The Ensemble production, in general, allows us to experience the beautiful writing of a master playwright. Ensemble is to be praised for continuing in its task to help keep the classics alive by producing this and other epic plays.

“Beyond The Horizon” runs Fridays and Saturdays (8 PM) and Sundays (2 PM) through May 18, 2013, at Ensemble Theatre, housed in the Coventry Building, 2843 Washington Blvd, Cleveland Heights.  For tickets call 216-321-2930 or go online to http://www.ensemble-theatre.org

To read the views of other Cleveland area theatre reviewers go to:  clevelandtheaterreviews.com

Compelling, humorous "Informed Consent" enlightens at Cleveland Play House

If you were carrying a genetic factor that, in the future, doomed you with Alzheimer’s, cancer, or some other disease, even if science didn’t have a cure for the ailment, would you want to know it?   Would you be willing to allow your blood, bone marrow, or a tissue sample, to be used in scientific experiments to determine genetic possibilities?   What is an experimental scientist’s obligation to reveal what they will do with the information gained from the consent of volunteers in a medical study?  

Sound like subjects right out of tales that are popping up daily in our newspaper?   Those probes are the foundation of “Informed Consent,” now on stage at the Cleveland Play House as part of the New Ground Festival.”

Plays by Deborah Zoe Laufer, the author of “Informed Consent,” recipient of the Helen Merrill Playwriting Award and a Lilly Award, have been called, “rapturously funny,” “poignantly redemptive,” “hilarious,” “engaging,” “funny as hell,” “touching,” and “weird and illuminating.”

Her “End Days,” which is receiving a staged reading by Interplay Jewish Theatre (http://interplaycleveland.com), as does “Informed Consent,” rips its topic out of the headlines.  The playwright exposes a dysfunctional family caught, in the aftermath of 911 attack, that is  trying to survive in a world hurtling toward Armageddon.  Only Stephen Hawking or Jesus can save them.

“Informed Consent,” like “End Days,” is a black comedy which centers on Gillian, an ambitious geneticist, who anxiously takes on a project to investigate why a Native American tribe is being devastated by diabetes.  Since diabetes is not her major interest, and also she wants to use the blood samples to probe into the genetic component of Alzheimer’s, her motives are not altruistic.  Her mother and other relatives have been the victims of the mind-ravaging illness and she would like to find a cure, not only for others, but to help herself and her daughter, who may also carry the errant gene that she suspects is the culprit. What to do?

Sound like a downer?  Not with the fertile imagination of Laufer.  The audience finds themselves in a conundrum of whether to laugh or cry, often doing both.

Is truth more interesting than fiction?  “Informed Consent” is based on a real event.  It takes on conflicts between cultural patterns, the roles of science and religion, the obligation of researchers to do their work with the weight of  governmental and university constraints.  The tale asks, among other questions, “just how much knowledge is too much?”

The Cleveland Play House production, under the insightful direction of Sean Daniels, is excellent.  The ninety-minute play, presented without an intermission, holds the audience with excellent pacing and allows the fine writing to develop both the drama and the comedy.

Jessica Wortham is superb as the scientist.  She creates a completely believable woman caught in a conflict between her obligation to the scientific process and protocol, self and child survival, and the need to be truthful, as well as her respect for cultural beliefs.

The rest of the cast, all of whom play various roles, Fajer Al-Kaisi, Larissa FastHorse, Gilbert Cruz, and Tina Fabrique, all are excellent, balancing the fine line between humor and drama with ease.  They get the laughs by playing real people, not caricatures.  What a wonderful assemblage of professionals.

CAPSULE JUDGMENT:  “Informed Consent” is a play for all theater-goers.  There is intellectual interest, mystery content, and humor, all rolled into one well-written script, which gets a superb staging!  This is a must see production!


“Informed Consent” runs through May 17, 2014 at the Allen Theatre in PlayhouseSquare.  For tickets call 216-241-6000 or go to http://www.clevelandplayhouse.com

"American Idiot" rocks the Palace, but the hallow book thwarts over-all effect

In 1968 “Hair,” dubbed the American Tribal Love-Rock musical, exploded on Broadway.  It shocked the nation, but gave an accurate picture of a world rocked with chaos.  The Vietnam war raged, the peace movement flourished, draft cards were burned, rebellion against traditional values exploded.  ”Drugs, sex and rock and roll” became the mantra of the day and were clearly exposed on stage.  The show’s book was strong and the score was filled with top ten hits including “Aquarius,”  “Good Morning Starshine,” “I Believe in Love,” and “Where Do I Go?”  It became the seminal musical theatre offering illustrating “theater representing the era from which it comes.”

In 1996 RENT, opened on Broadway.  The rock musical, aimed at the MTV generation, was a reflection of the era’s turn of the century dilemmas including HIV/AIDS, regentrification, the coarseness of a nation torn apart by political turmoil, and the emerging gay pride movement.  It had a strong story, identifiable characters, and contained such mega musical hits as, “Light My Candle,” “Life Support,” “Another Day,” “Your Eyes,” “Santa Fe,” and “Seasons of Love.”  It is considered to be the seminal musical theatrical work for entering into 21st century America.

Green Day, Billie Joe Armstrong and Michael Mayer, who created “American Idiot,” seemingly tried to duplicate the success of “Hair” and “Rent” in reflecting the societal image of the mid-2010s by creating a musical based on high-octane rock guitar riffs, vigorous singing and dancing, and what they term “an evergreen narrative of teen rage, love and loss.”

Unfortunately, their creation, though it works on some levels, does not have the story line depth, the quality of music, and the stage presence of “Hair” or “Rent.”

The show is an adaptation of the concept album “American Idiot” by punk rock band, Green Day. 

The show opened on Broadway in April of 2010 and ran for a year, marking up 422 performances.

A road tour version of “American Idiot” is running at the Palace theatre for an abbreviated four performance run.

The musical is filled with energy, but the wafer thin story lacks emotional depth.  There is little to grab and hold the audience’s imagination.  In contrast to “Hair” and “Rent,” it is difficult to feel empathy or attachment for any of the characters.  

Though the show’s album won a Grammy, there isn’t a standout song.  In fact, after a while, all the songs sound somewhat alike….loud and guitar heavy.

The choreography, though filled with high level energy, is repetitious and helps little in developing the story.

The tale takes place “in the recent past,” and concerns three guy friends who plan to escape their suburban “wasteland.”  As they are about to part, one (Will)  finds out that his girl friend (Heather) is pregnant.  He decides to stay home, leaving the other two to go on their way. 

Life in the “big city” doesn’t turn out to be what the boys expected.  One (Johnny) wanders down the road to drug addiction (supplied by the snarly St. Jimmy) and sexual depravity (with Whatsername).  The other (Tunny) enlists in the army and goes off to fight in the much hated Iraqi war.   Tunny loses a leg, but falls in love with his nurse (The Extraordinary Girl).  Eventually, Johnny recognizes the error of his ways and returns to suburbia, as does Tunny and his love.  (Oh, yes, the plot is thin.)

The cast of the touring production is excellent, especially considering the group has little to no professional experience.   They are recent college grads who are displaying their talents in their hopeful march to fame and fortune. 

Lead characters are Jared Nepute (Johnny), Casey O’Farrell (Will), Dan Tracy (Tunny), Mariah MacFarlane (Heather), Carson Higgins (St. Jimmy), Olivia Puckett (Whatsername), and Taylor Jones (The Extraordinary  Girl).

As was the case on Broadway, the set and lighting are outstanding.  

There is a nice trend in recent touring shows.  Strongsville native and Baldwin Wallace graduate, Corey Mach, starred “Flashdance” on the Palace stage, and the “American Idiot” band includes the talented bass playing of Josh Sebo, son of Temple Tifereth Israel’s superb cantor, Kathy Sebo, and husband Rommie Sebo.

Capsule judgment:  “Green Day’s American Idiot” is a loud, brash musical which attempts to tell the tale of modern day America.   In spite of a well-performed and musically proficient  performance, the thin script and redundant musical sounds resulted in a quickly to be forgotten theatrical experience. 

“American Idiot,” a part of the US Bank Star Performance Series, run at the Palace Theatre form April 25th through the 27th, 2014.

THE DROWNING GIRLS @ Cleveland Public Theatre

Hint:  Don’t read the program notes before “The Drowning Girls” at Cleveland Public Theatre

A person’s identity is based on the culture in which s/he was raised.  It has been the custom in many Euro-American societies to raise women with the attitude that they are not complete without a man in their lives.  Unmarried women have been identified as “old maids,” or “spinsters.”  The implication is that these women are less than their married gender mates.  Since many of our attitudes of self are based on the names we are called, the negative titles of those husbandless females perceive themselves negatively.  This phenomenon often leads to desperation to get married to whomever offers themselves for matrimony.

“The Drowning Girls,” by Beth Graham, Charlie Tomlinson and Daniela Vlaskalic centers on the lives of three woman who became victims because of their perceived need to marry.  In these cases, they each unknowingly married a fiend, with little time to really discover his true self, until it was too late.

Alice Burnham, Beatrice (Bessie) Mundy and Margaret Lofty, the women in the story, all were what the general society of the day would call, “getting on in their years.’  Each perceived that they needed to be quickly married, each was convinced by the same man, using a different name for his relationship with each woman, to marry.  Each had a tidy sum of money, were talked into buying life insurance policies in their husband’s name, and all met an untimely death in the same manner.  Each was found dead in a bathtub.  Each, it was assumed, died from natural causes. 

The script is nicely developed, though it may have been dragged on a big too long by extensive repetition.  Crum,who is Cleveland Public Theatre’s 2013-14 Joan Yellen-Horvitz Director Fellow, creatively staged the show.  Interesting visual images abound with the use of three bathtubs on a platform, backed up by a clothing line.  The use of water for not only each character’s demise, but for anointing, creating of illusions and analogies is interestingly woven into the production.   Sam Fisher, the 2013-14 Kulas Composer Fellow, adds mood enhancing music.

Natalie Green (Alice), Sarah Kunchik (Bessie) and Jaime Bouvier (Margaret) are entirely convincing in their portrayals.  The meld together into a cohesive unit.  These are each very impressive performances.

Val Kozienko’s set design and Ben Gantose’s lighting design both help in creating the correct moods.  Fisher’s music aids in heightening and highlighting the moods.

Normally, I urge theatre-goers to read the program notes before the show.  In this case, I would urge to hold off until after the production.  Reading the “Note form the Director” and “Following the Story” reveal too much information and almost makes watching the play redundant.  It ruins the heightening of emotions and takes the mystery out of the production.

Capsule judgement: “The Drowning Girls” is an intriguing script which gets a fine staging at Cleveland Public Theatre.  Be warned:  reading the program notes before the play may take some of the excitement out of experiencing the production.

“The Drowning Girl” continues at Cleveland Public Theatre through February 24.  For tickets go to: 216-631-2727 or go to www.cptonline.org

CPT’s next show is ANCESTRA, May 22-June 7.  It is an intimate biography of a contemporary woman which was inspired by the 1853 National Women’s Rights Convention held in Cleveland Performed from March 6 to 22 in Gordon Square Theatre @ 7:30.

The Musical Theater Project presents "Deconstructing Kurt Weill"

The wording on the gravestone of Kurt Weill comes from the song “A Bird of Passage” from his musical, “Lost in the Stars.”  It reads:  “This is the life of men on earth:  Out of darkness we come at birth.  Into a lamplit room, and then—Go forward into dark again.”

Weill’s life epitomizes that Maxwell Anderson poem.  Born into a secure Jewish-  German family in 1900, he grew to be one of the country’s more prominent and popular composers.  He, along with his equally well-know wife, singer Lotte Lenya, were forced into exile by the Nazis in 1933 because, not only were they Jewish, but held and espoused populist views. 

He emerged from the dark when he arrived in America, and assumed his place in American composing nobility by producing many well known works.

He felt so strongly about his expulsion from Deutschland, that he and wife, Lottie Lenya, decided not to speak German again, except in letters and conversations with his parents who had escaped to Palestine (now Israel).  They also Americanized the pronunciation of their name, using the “W,” rather than the Germanic “V” sound at the start of their last name.

His “American” compositions were a departure from his former work.  He wrote with an immediacy theme.  As he said, “I am writing for the masses.  Music they can sing, and music that deals with their problems.  That is the only significant form of composition nowadays.”

His massive music portfolio included stage and film works, cantatas, chamber music, piano music, orchestral works, and Lieder cycles/songs/chansons.  He is probably best known by the general public for “Mack the Knife,” from his “The Threepenny Opera,” which became a jazz standard via the Louis Armstrong and Bobby Darin recording. 

The Musical Theater Project will present “Deconstructing Kurt Weill: The American Songs,” featuring narration by TMTP Executive Director Heather Meeker , input from Cleveland composer-arranger, Ty Alan Emerson, as sung by Fabio Polanco and Christine Fader, with music by guitarist Jake Fader and the instrumental trio “No Exit.”  

The concert centers on the theme, “How might Weill’s music sound if it were arranged and performed by contemporary artists?”   Emerson’s concept in arranging the music centered on his belief that “Weill became jaded by the Old World and wonderfully excited about becoming an American artist.  Where ever you turn in the songs, that colors his musical and dramatic choices.” 

“This composer embraced whatever sound he heard swirling around him—and in New York in the 1930s and 40s, those sounds included jazz, swing, the blues and pure Broadway ballads.”

Emerson also notes, in regard to Weill’s work, “I found that whether you’re a musical theater fan, opera or jazz musician, glam-rocker or indie-punk all-star, you can make Weill your own.”

Audiences will get their chance to experience Emerson’s interpretations of Weill on May 2 and 3 at 7 PM in the James Levine Theatre of Cleveland Public Theatre.  For tickets call 216-631-2727 or visit cptonline.org.

"As You Like It"-- comedic farce delights at Great Lakes Theater

What do the phrases, “all the world’s a stage” and “too much of a good thing” have in common?  They are both quotes from Shakespeare’s pastoral comedy “As You Like It.”  As is true of that genre, the play, which was written early in 1600, deals with shepherds and the rustic life, but, also concerns love, in its various forms.

“As You Like It” is  one of the Bard’s most famous works and, as presented at Great Lakes Theater, one that delights an audience.

The plot seems complicated, but, as is true of many of Shakespeare’s works of exile and romance, which are meant to entertain, there is a great deal of farcical slapstick, overly wrought lovers who find bliss by the time the final curtain falls, and what seems confusing is, in fact, simplistic.

The plot:  Frederick has taken over and exiled his older brother, Duke Senior.  The Duke’s daughter, Rosalind, has been allowed to stay in the castle to be a companion to her cousin Celia.  In a parallel plot, Orlando, whose wealthy father has died, is denied his part of his father’s estate by his older brother.  The stories join when Rosalind and Orlando fall in love, but their connection is broken when the Duke has a change of heart and exiles Rosalind.  Celia and Rosalind steal away to the forest where Duke Senior is ensconced with a group of his followers.  Rosalind, is dressed as a male, a common Shakespearean theatrical device of hidden identities.   Add a jester, a couple of sheppards, some chance encounters, some twists and turns, lots of farcical shticks, more music than is normal for Shakespearean play, and a happy ending.  Of course, to quote the Bard, “All’s well that ends well.”

Great Lakes Theater’s production, under the direction of Edward Morgan, is entertaining, but doesn’t seem to fulfill Morgan’s director’s notes.  He has reinvented the play, he contends, by changing its setting to America, which he feels, “gives the text new resonance.” 

Morgan writes that the play starts in New England, in the midst of the second Industrial Revolution, not long after the start of the 20th century.  “The Forest of Arden is in the foothills of the Adirondack mountains.  The villains are greedy, thriving Industrialists.”  “Rosalind and Orlando are the new Americans.”  “Rosalind becomes a kind of metaphor for American womanhood.”  The Elizabethan songs have been replaced “with tunes that echo these themes through Yankee sentiment and syncopation.”

Though he philosophizes those goals, starting the play with a metal grinding scene, does not an industrial revolution make.   How are we to know that is his intent?  None of the language of Shakespeare’s script carries the “industrial revolution” message nor any implication of the villains as “greedy Industrialists.”

The music insertions, though many create the right mood, do not all fit the time period described.

Rosalind, rather than being a metaphor for the liberated woman, follows the historical, tried and true path of putting a man (Orlando) above all else and gets her desire, not a career, but a marriage.

If Morgan wanted to really reimagine the play he needed to add dialogue that makes his message clear.  He would not have been the first to add to, or delete the Bard’s words.

All theorizing aside, the production delights.  Martin Céspedes’s choreography, which is evident throughout, is creative and brought applause from the audience.  Especially endearing is the soft-shoe tap dance of Touchstone (Dustin Tucker), the court fool.  Also creative is the dance at the end of the play in which Céspedes has developed character identifying moves for each couple.

The pacing, the visual images, the Borsht-belt shticks, and the performances are all top notch. 

The petite and talented Betsy Mugavero, makes for a radiant Rosalind.  Though she doesn’t really look like the “man” she is supposed to play during her “disguised” segments, she is right for the Shakespeare habit of sex switching.  (Interestingly, during the Bard’s time the task was easy, as young boys played the female roles.)

Handsome and gym-toned Torsten Johnson is a physically strong, yet gentle Orlando.  Johnson and Mugavero have a wonderful interpersonal chemistry that makes their love-in-bloom scenes engaging.

Dustin Tucker, who has a remarkable resemblance to old vaudeville performer Red Buttons, delights as the Court Fool.  He does slapstick exceedingly well.

The rest of the cast develops appropriate characterizations.

Russell Metheny’s set designs and Rick Martin’s lighting help in developing the story.  Kim Krumm Sorenson’s costumes often confuse.  They don’t always develop the era depicted.  Her backwoods inhabitant’s costumes, however, are character right.

Capsule judgement: Great Lakes Theater’s “As You Like It,” though it doesn’t
fully develop director Edward Morgan’s philosophical objectives, is delightful.  The many students who will attend should go away with a very positive concept of the Shakespearean comedy at its best.

“As You Like It” runs from April 9-14, 2014 at the Hanna Theatre.  For tickets go to: 216-664-6064 or www.greatlakestheater.org