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Last year’s Porthouse production of “South Pacific” joined the beautiful and gifted Kayce Cummings (Green) as Nellie Forbush with suave and talented Greg Violand as Emile DeBecque, with Terri Kent, the theatre’s artistic director. The result was “an evening of fine entertainment.” This year the trio joined forces for a pleasing “My Fair Lady.”
Kent knows her Porthouse audience well, and as with “South Pacific,” “My Fair Lady” is definitely their kind of show. She directs for audience enjoyment, creating a show filled with joy, sprinkled with pathos. She succeeds well.
“My Fair Lady” has been termed “the perfect musical” and appears on most lists of the ten greatest musicals. It combines a nicely developed story line, based on George Bernard Shaw’s “Pygmalion,” with meaningful lyrics by Alan Jay Lerner and a memorable score by Frederick Loewe.
The story centers on Eliza Doolittle, a Cockney flower girl, who is brought from her life as a poor uneducated waif to being a “lady” through the training of phoneticist Henry Higgins.
The tale contains many of Shaw’s causes: the poor educational system of the British, the class structure, the superficiality of the upper classes and the negative way in which women are perceived.
The musical score includes such classics as: “I Could Have Danced All Night,” “Why Can’t The English,” “The Rain in Spain,” “You Did It,” and “I’ve Grown Accustomed to Her Face.” As in any well conceived musicals, they all move the plot along and/or etch a character’s personality and intentions.
The Porthouse production generally works well. Kent and company take some curves off the usual course. The music is played by two pianos, rather than the traditional large orchestra. For most of the score, which are small ballads, Jonathan Swoboda and Melissa Fiucci’s fine musicianship worked well. In fact, it enhanced the intimacy of such songs as “Wouldn’t It Be Loverly: and “On the Street Where you Live.” However, “Get Me to the Church on Time” and “With a Little Bit of Luck,” could have used the oomph provided by the missing louder orchestra instruments.
Though the set was very attractive, with some fine artistic touches, Porthouse’s small stage was even more confined due to the stage design. Large wagons, which carried the settings onto the stage, often made for some awkward levels, causing dancers and actors to straddle different stage level surfaces. This also seemed to restrict the choreography.
S. Q. Campbell’s costumes were well designed and era correct. Especially beautiful were Eliza’s dresses and the black and white women’s gowns and hats in the “Ascot Gavotte.”
The cast was excellent. Cummings nicely transitioned from the dirt-smudged flower girl to the lady-like Eliza. Her accent changes were distinct and consistent. Her “Rain in Spain” brought spontaneous applause from the audience.
Greg Violand, who has a big voice, nicely pulled in his volume to develop the talk-sing pattern developed by the late Rex Harrison, who created the role. His ability to listen and react, rather than forcibly act, worked extremely well. His was a fine, fine performance.
Lissy Gulick, who plays “cute old lady” so well, again pulled off her character development as Mrs. Pearce, Higgins’ housekeeper. Geoff Stephenson made for a compassionate Colonel Pickering. Elliott Litherland did a nice job 0f creating the love-struck Freddy. His “On the Street Where You Lived” was well sung.
Though he was quite acceptable, Rohn Thomas could have been a little more out of control as the drunken moralist, Alfred P. Doolittle, Eliza’s father.
Daniel Lindenberger, Dylan Ratell, Connor Simpson and Christopher Tuck had nice blending as the Quartet which joined Eliza in “Wouldn’t It Be Loverly.”
I’m not sure why Kent decided to play the role of Mrs. Higgins in drag. That device is so overdone that it has lost it’s kitchiness.
The duo of Cummings and Violand deserves another reprise. How about casting them in such a show as “Man of LaMancha,” or “Evita”?
CAPSULE JUDGMENT: Under the directing awareness of Terri Kent, and the outstanding performances by Kayce Cummings and Greg Violand, the Porthouse production of "My Fair Lady,"was a fine evening of summer entertainment.
“My Fair Lady” ran from June 12-28, 2014 at Porthouse Theatre, on the grounds of Blossom Music Center.
NEXT UP AT PORTHOUSE: “Starmites,” which runs from July 3-19, followed by “Oliver,” July 24-August 10. Curtain time is 8 PM Tuesdays through Saturdays and 2 PM Sundays. The picnic grounds at Blossom open 90 minutes prior to curtain time. For tickets http://www.porthousetheatre.com
Every once in a while a theatrical production results in a “what is going on?” and “why is time and energy being wasted on this?” reaction. Such is the case with “A Map of Virtue” now on stage at convergence continuum.
I thought maybe it was just my limited insight into the world of the obtuse, so I went on an internet search to find out the “true meaning” of what I had just seen.
A reviewer of the first staging of the play stated, “I think the play is a little bit of a formal adventure, because it's symmetrical, but it contains a varied emotional landscape which includes love, horror and friendship. It's also about the present, the supernatural, and the ways we try to understand evil.”
(Okay, that’s enough to stimulate a “with all that double talk, what are you, or for that matter the playwright, trying to say if it takes that much obfuscation to explain the unexplainable?)
The review continues, “The thing is, you think it's about something and then it's not. It's vague, because you have to invest in the story. There's a possible love story, and then there isn't. There's all these bird images.”
(What’s the play about? What’s the purpose of the author? Why did she spend time writing it if the only result is vagueness and no message?)
And, yet, another attempt to educate the attendee: “Mark and Sarah are obsessed with birds, and that's what brings them together. Once things happen in the middle of the play, the second half of the play is these characters trying to understand what they saw, and how to live with it.” “A Map Of Virtue is about morality.”
(Oh, its about morality! What specifically leads to that conclusion? What does morality in this context mean?)
The author, herself, says, “A lot of the fear and mystery and silence came out of the fact that I was in the woods; I wasn't able to talk, and I was a little bit scared. The flip side of that is: when you're out in nature, and you're silent, you can explore issues that are more complicated than when you're in the city, when you're so busy multitasking and your imagination can get somewhat limited. Going out into the woods gives you a larger creative landscape that you can play around in.”
(Well, that should clear it up. Yeah, sure!)
Another reviewer tries to save the day (and the play) by explaining, “In the end, ‘A Map of Virtue’ is the mirror image of the way it’s told. Just as a tidy structure frames some serious quirks, an outrageous episode becomes a window into a resonant tale of loss, lives not lived and the unlikely moments that hold relationships together.”
(What? What? What?)
So, here’s my conclusion: The narration is unclear, the plot development is unclear, the author seems unclear as to her purpose. The reviewers are confused, but afraid to admit it, so they write in circles and abstractions. They don’t want to be accused of being unintellectual.
You want to know the story? There is a Hitchcock-like bird attack while two people (Sarah and Mark) in a coffee shop are looking at each other, but not communicating. There is a little bird statue, who becomes our guide through the story, which was stolen by Mark from the office of the school official who molested him as a preteen. The duo accidentally meet two other times, the second time at a party, are invited to a stranger’s house for another “party,” which turns out not to be a party. They are locked up in a room, visited by a man in a bird mask and the female who invited them to the party, given little food, have no bathroom facilities. Through a window they see smoke or children or something playing outside, are saved by Mark’s lover who tracks them on Mark’s cell phone GPS, and spend a lot of time babbling about if they saw children.
(I swear, that’s it.)
The cast (Mike Majer, Kat Bi, Jack Matuszewski, Logan Smith, Eric Sever, Lucy Bredeson-Smith, Robert Hawkes) is fine.
(I do wonder if they understand the play any better than the past and present reviewers, the director, or anyone else.)
Cory Molner creates some nice lighting effects.
Capsule Judgement: I guess I’m old fashioned. I prefer a play that, when it is over, I have some idea of what went on and take from it either having experienced a good laugh, a bit of real intrigue, a message, or a moral. Sorry, philosophically abstract gibberish, and a plot in search of a purpose, isn’t my thing. If it’s yours, you’ll really be turned on by “A Map of Virtue.’
“A Map of Virtue,’ July 12, 2014 at 8 pm Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays at convergence-continuum’s artistic home, The Liminis, at 2438 Scranton Rd. in Cleveland’s Tremont neighborhood. For information and reservations call 216-687-0074.
Con-con’s next show is “Amazon and Their Men” by Jordan Harrison, which runs from August 8-30.
Actors know that sometimes, what happens at rehearsals and backstage during a production, is a bigger event than what happens on-stage during a performance. This idea come to English playwright, Michael Frayn, who, while watching from the wings, experienced the goings on during a staging of his play, “The Two of Us.” He declared, “It was funnier from behind than from in front.” This gave him the idea for “Noises Off,” a farce that is now on stage at Rabbit Run Theatre.
The theatre, referred to as “Ohio’s Premiere Barn Theatre,” surrounded by the Madison/Perry area’s agricultural tree farms, nurseries and grape orchards, is a true “old fashioned” summer theatre. This is a no-frills venue. The converted barn has no air-conditioning and hard seats (portable pillows are provided). RR offers a four-production season, consisting of two comedies and two musicals. A center of community pride, the theatre gets financial and advertising backing from the area’s businesses and residents.
The title, “Noises Off,” comes from a theatrical terms which refers to the theatre sounds which arise from places other than the stage. And, in “Noises Off,” much of the play within the play, the sounds from off-stage and backstage are often more entertaining than what comes from the play being performed in the acting area. The plot is similar to George Kelley’s farce, “The Torch-bearers,” which gave birth to a favorite question of actors, “Do you think they noticed?” after things go wrong on stage. In the Kelley play, this was said following the set falling down when an actor slammed a door too hard and the cast walked over, placed the set upwards, watched it fall over again, and then held up the flats as they said their lines.
“Noises Off” centers on the performance of the first act of a British play which the audience is viewing as a play within a play. The script being produced is a bad, very bad farce, entitled “Nothing On.” Even the “fake” play’s program is a program within a program. An insert into the RR printed program is the Grand Theater’s program for “Nothing On,” which includes the cast listing and fake ads.
Act One is the final rehearsal of “Nothing On.” And, as happens in farces, everything goes wrong. Lines are blown, props are misplaced, doors get stuck, actors enter from the wrong places at the wrong times. It’s a hysterically funny disaster with scantily dressed women, men whose trousers hit the floor to reveal baggie boxer shorts, risqué language and a ridiculous plot. And, as in this kind of nonsense, there is the most ridiculous of the ridiculous. In this case, the laugh keynotes are plates of sardines that appear and disappear. (Yes, this is a farce and definitely not for the uptight.)
The play hasn’t improved much as we find out in Act Two, a matinee performance one month later at a theatre in Ashton-under-Lyne. For this act the audience is viewing the play from backstage. The front of the set is now facing toward the backwall and we are exposed to the flats that make up the set, the backs of doors, the prop table, a waiting area for the actors and the stage manager’s station.
The second act is enhanced, not only by the continuing problems with a drunk actor who keeps disappearing in search of booze, but with complicated love and lust relationships.
In Act Three, the play is near the end of its ten-week road run and we are in Stockton-on-Tees. The personal frictions are so intense that there is a danger that the show will not go on due to in fighting. Mishap after mishap happens, and attempts to kill and unnerve the members of the cast by each other, aids to make the farcical nature of the play reach its hysterical climax.
This is a farce which depends on realistic character development which leads to laughing not being dependent upon what the actor is doing, but the incongruity of who s/he is with and what s/he is saying and doing. Slamming doors, double entendres, costume malfunctions and slapstick provide an entire air of ridiculousness, which becomes even more laughable because of the serious intentions of the actors.
This play, with two intermissions, in the hands of a lesser director and cast, could be a long, tedious sit at almost three hours. But director Ann Hedger and her merry bunch of farcesters, make the time go fast, with laughs rolling quickly one after another.
Farce is hard to do. Most British farces are impossible for American actors to do as the timing, the accents and the requirement for tongue in cheek humor is prime for the Brits, but almost impossible for their cousins from across the pond. The RR cast pulls it off with seeming ease.
The accents are consistent and not over done, the realism that leads to humor is well developed, and the pacing is admirable. Non-actors don’t know how hard it is to ride out a laugh…being sure not to cut it off too early and give the audience the message that if they laugh they will miss the next line. It’s also difficult to keep in character and not laugh at the ridiculousness of what is going on. Not to anticipate a fall down the stairs, and not forecasting preset things going wrong, takes great skill. The RR cast is excellent at playing for laughs without begging for them.
There were times when a little less shouting would have saved the vocal chords of the actors and the attack on the ears of the audience, but all in all, most of what happens on stage is impressive.
Applause to the cast: Nancy Shimonek Brooks, Dennis R. Dixon, Bob Kilpatrick, Evie Koh, Sandy Kosovich Peck, James Lane, David Malinowski, Roger Principe, and Myrissa Yokie.
Be sure to stay in the theatre during scene changes. “Noises Off” requires a realistic set. The one designed by Chris Meyers is outstanding. Due to the small stage and off-stage space at RR, it was necessary to split the set onto three large wagons which are turned individually to get them reversed back and forth for each of the scenes. Working like a bunch of teamsters, Caerl Simoncic, Kassie Cudnik, Brian Cervelli, Alex Cervelli, Susie Griffin, Bill Smith and a number of others not named in the program did the changes with ease and lots of muscle. Good job!
Capsule judgment: The Rabbit Run production of the farce, “Noises Off,” was well directed, well acted, well technically presented and turned out to be a laugh riot! I saw this show in London was convulsed with laughter. The PP show had much the same effect on me.
For anyone wanting a fun summer experience, the trip to Madison, the hospitality and hometown welcome of the RR community, as well as the quality of this production, all say, “You all come!” You won’t regret it.
“Noises Off” runs through June 21, 2014 at Rabbit Run Theatre at 5648 Chapel Road, Madison. For tickets go to http://www.rabbitrunonline.org or call 440-428-7092
George Bernard Shaw, considered by many to be the premiere English playwright of the late twentieth and early twenty-first century, had very set opinions, which he expressed in his writing. A member of the Fabian Society, which was an utopian movement dedicated to establishing a socialist society, he attacked the English education system, organized religion, the blindness of the upper classes in ignoring not the needs of others, but for living lives of deceit and hypocrisy.
Shaw felt that women were the “wiser” and “stronger” of the sexes, that war was an unnecessary evil, and that people and governments could change.
He wrote dramas filled with comedy and often included farcical overtones. He mocked and satirized to make his points. Many of his plays, as was the style of the day, were three act, three-hour epics.
Shaw is often compared to the Russian playwright, Chekhov, who also wrote of the unwillingness of the upper classes to recognize that “the revolution is coming,” thus earning him the title of the “literary father of the Russian Revolution.” Shaw never met with the political effect of Chekov, but his attitudes toward women’s equality and the rise of Socialism, came to pass.
Shaw wrote “Heartbreak House” in 1912, but due to the outbreak of World War I, the opening was delayed until after the war. Ironically, many of the pronouncements he had made in the script were enacted by the time the play was produced.
The play takes place mainly in a room in a manor named Heartbreak House, which is designed to recreate the interior of a sailing ship. The place is owned by The Captain, a former maritime skipper.
The house is a metaphor for a place where the captain and his crew (the family and guests) journey together through good and bad, beautiful days and rain- filled eras.
Each of the characters in the play represents some facet of British society. There is Mangan, the business tycoon, who has been offered a place in the British government but is, in reality, a fake; the captain’s daughter, Hesione, a modern Brit with Bohemian attitudes; Mazzini, a nice person who is taken advantage of; Ellie, Mazzini’s daughter, who will do anything to marry for money as she believes this is the only way to happiness; Ariadne, the old time/old liner who believes manners and class standing are most important; and Randall, the pampered man who has inherited wealth and has no reason or purpose in life. They each represent what Shaw saw as, “ignorance and indifference exhibited by the upper and upper-middle class that was self-indulgent and lacked the understanding of the central issues of that days British society.”
Hanging over the entire play is the threat of war, which, even when it comes, is not fully realized by the inhabitants of Heartbreak House.
Traditionally, local play productions are presented by theatrical producers (PlayhouseSquare, Great Lakes Theatre), sponsoring theatres (e.g., Dobama, Beck Center), civic sponsors (Solon Center for the Arts), or educational institutions.
“Heartbreak House” is produced under the auspices of the Actors’ Equity Association Members’ Project Code. The MPC was created in 1987 by Equity, the labor union that represents professional Actors and Stage Managers in the United States, for the purpose of permitting members to showcase their talents. As of now, according to director, Bernadette Clemens, this staging of “Heartbreak House” is a one-time event.
Most plays showcased in the area, unless they are a professional touring company, may have none or a few equity members. In this production eleven of the twelve of the cast are equity members.
One issue with Shaw is that his plays are long. Most modern productions are cut so that they run about 2 hours. Not this production. It is the full script. This gives the viewer the advantage of hearing the entire presentation of the Shavian language as the author intended it. Viewers who are used to the recent trend in theatre of ninety-minute stagings will probably find this a long sit.
The cast are all excellent, but, due to the very live acoustics in the Pilgrim Church theatre, there are echoes which bounce around and make for unclear sounds. This is especially obvious when actors, trained to project in large performance spaces and proscenium stages with no microphones allow their full voices to boom in the small enclosure. This makes understanding difficult. Also, because of the echo, those speaking in heavy dialects sound garbled. It’s a shame because, though the acting is superb, many of the spoken words are unintelligible.
Director Bernadette Clemens’ staging was excellent and the pacing kept the show moving, but she needed to work with some of the cast to modify the yelling and vocalizations to avoid sound overload.
Jason Coale’s scenic and lighting designs and Inda Blatch-Geib’s costumes enhance the production.
Any organization using the Pilgrim Church auditorium must work on sound baffling and make their casts aware that excessive projection equals a lack of vocal clarity.
CAPSULE JUDGEMENT: Those interested in being exposed to George Bernard Shaw and his philosophy of life, the beauty of his language, and his use of humor and satire to develop his message, and are willing to sit through three hours of words, words and more words, many of which can’t be grasped because of the echo in the theatre, will enjoy the Actors' Equity Association Members' Project Code production.
“Heartbreak House: runs through June 29, 2014 at Pilgrim Church in Tremont. For tickets call 216-570-3403 or go to http://www.heartbreakhouse.org
In the last century, the Cleveland Foundation, the first community foundation in the world, has given $1.78 billion dollars in grants to enrich the lives of young and old through working for sustaining a vibrant local economy, developing human potential, reimagining Cleveland, pioneering housing options, and preserving the arts. What better way is there to celebrate these achievements than to throw well-earned celebrations?
The Cleveland Foundation has given Clevelanders free entrance to various venues during this year and held a major event on June 11th at the Palace Theatre.
The highlights of that evening, were the granting of the Homer C. Wadsworth award to Steven D. Standley, Chief Administrative Officer of University Hospitals, for his “innovative, visionary and energetic leadership,” as well as the presentation of a delightful and thoughtful speech by Retired General Colin L. Powell, and an opening cavalcade developed by award winning choreographer Martin Céspedes.
Powell’s speech covered facts of his life, his experiences in the world’s political venues, personal philosophical concepts, the value of the Cleveland Foundation, and a scolding of the present Congress for failing to compromise and work together. As he comfortably wandered the stage, speaking directly to the audience, Powell used personal anecdotes and humorous references to enhance and charm the audience during what appeared to be an ad-libbed speech.
Céspedes’s dance concept was inspired by the organization’s visual image, the oak tree. The choreographer envisioned that tree as the center of a connective story line through dance movement, lighting, electronic images and music.
As the story unfolded, a child finds an oak leaf on the ground. A leaf which has fallen from a mighty oak, whose roots have grown deep and whose image inspires strength and longevity. This allusion parallels The Cleveland Foundation’s growth from a sapling to powerful entity.
A woman comes into the scene. She symbolizes the guiding wisdom of the organization as she looks into the future.
As Cleveland, circa 1914, appears on the screen behind her, we hear the woman’s voice filling the historic Palace Theatre with the strains of “Over the Rainbow” as visuals and movement illustrate the story.
The image of the oak is framed against a landscape of Cleveland across the decades, with archival photographs moving from sepia tones of the past to the color-drenched palette of modern day.
Dancers (representing the organization’s Board, the philanthropists, and workers) help a girl along the path to today.
To the final measures of the music, the girl rushes toward the horizon. The oak tree springs to life. The bold energy and innovative spirit encapsulated in the Foundation’s mission, the importance of its lasting significance, and the anticipation of what lies beyond the rainbow, is brought into focus!
Evelyn Wright, who brilliantly sang “Somewhere Over the Rainbow,” is an award winning jazz, R&B and pop vocalist. Talented David Dittloff did the song’s arrangement and accompanied Wright. The accomplished dancers were: Frankie Zevnik, Natalie Welch, Holly Harris, Kelly Love, Jens Peterson, Tom Sweeney and Paige St John.
It’s too bad the entire program was not as well choreographed as the dance. Multiple showings of the same video, and an excessively long and uninspiring State of the Foundation speech somewhat took the shine off the excitement and caused some of the audience to exit the venue before the completion of the program.
Congratulations to the Cleveland Foundation, its founder Frederick Harris Goff, the many volunteer board members, philanthropists, and the organization’s staff for ensuring the legacy of giving to and enhancing the community for the past hundred years.
Ed Falco, who teaches writing and literature in Virginia Tech’s MFA program, may best be known for his being the uncle of Edie Falco, who played the role of Carmela Soprano on the Sopranos. He is also noted for his work with artists and actors through exploring the healing power of drama.
Falco’s “Possum Dreams” is now getting its world’s premiere at Akron’s none too fragile theater.
Slightly resembling Edward Albee’s multi-award winning “Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf,” Falco examines the lives of two troubled alcoholics, who have flawed histories and are products of troubled families. In the case of ‘Possum Dreams,” the names are Walter and Jan Landing, not the famous George and Martha of “Virginia Woolf” fame.
Seemingly up-tight, conservative, Walter, who achieved minor fame for writing a trashy novel, which was thoroughly trashed by reviewers, but hit the best seller’s list for two weeks, is an adjunct (part-time) English instructor at a no-reputation college. He is frustrated by his students’ lack of sophistication and knowledge, the lack of respect for him by not only his students, but the other faculty members, and has not had sex for over 8 months with his wife. He expresses fascination for a transsexual (male to female) student. As we meet him, he is obviously agitated, sloshing down martinis and Scotch, and looking for a fight.
Jan, also an “alchie,” who follows the sage given to her by her mother that, “Men will ask you to do terrible things. Do them!,” edited the infamous novel. The mother of eighteen year-old twins, she is obsessive compulsive. She doesn’t like to live in a world without a clear set of procedures and focus. She needs to have control. Supposedly knowing that the twins, who will soon be going to their high school prom will probably “get killed” in an auto accident that night, and will have sex, which will ruin their lives, she plans to limo them to the dance and then rent rooms for them and their dates, with a healthy supply of condoms, at a fancy bed and breakfast, so that she will know they are safe.
As the evening rolls on, we are exposed to illicit affairs, transsexuality, sex toys, swearing, panic, painting of the living room, tables being upended, decoration of living space with a possum pelt, and lots of drinking.
In contrast to the clear and powerfully developed existential “Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf,” “Possum Dreams” fails to give a clear picture of why these people are out to destroy each other. The language and situations are often forced, and the play screeches to a “cop out” unresolved conclusion.
Why should we care about these people? Why should we even bother to care what happens after the black lights indicate our experience with them is over. What was Falco trying to impart to the audience about people, life or consequences of our actions?
Yes, there are many, many laughs, especially on opening night when, what appeared to be a drunk gentleman, kept yelling out comments and advice to the actors.
Is this supposed to be a meaningless comedy, a black comedy or a tragedy? These forms all have purpose. What’ s the purpose of this play?
In spite of being given absurdity to work with, both Andrew Narten and Leighann Niles DeLorenzo are superb in the development of these depraved people. They rant, harass and taunt with glee. They make palatable lemonade out of bad lemons. Without their fine sense of timing, mobile faces, creation of situations out of rambling lines, and the direction of Sean Derry, the entire evening would have been a disaster. They each present several powerful and hysterical monologues which are worth the price of admission, if you are willing to put up with the rest of it.
Capsule judgement: “Possum Dreams” is a poorly written and conceived script which gets a better than deserved production at none too fragile theater. While Andrew Narten and Leighann Niles DeLorenzo are excellent, the play, itself is not. Oh well, even none too fragile has to stage something that is less than outstanding every once in a while.
Possum Dreams” runs through June 28, 2014 at none too fragile theater which is located in Bricco’s Restaurant, 1841 Merriman Road, Akron. Use the free valet parking, as car space is limited. For tickets call 330-671-4563 or go to http://www.nonetoofragile.com
The theatre’s next production is “Ride,” a dark comedy by Eric Lane.
Eric Coble, a Cleveland Heights-based writer, is the author of the Alexandra Trilogy. Each play showcases Alex/Alexa/Alexandra at different ages and stages of her life.
The series starts with “A Girl’s Guide to Coffee,” which was staged by Actors’ Summit in their 2012 season. The plot finds twenty-two year old Alex, a college grad, working as a barista. Alex’s plan is to have no plan at all. But into her life accidentally flows handsome, artistic and some-time repairman, Christopher, who seems, in his subtle, and often bumbling way, to have other ideas for Alex’s existence.
“Stranded on Earth,” which finds Alexa, in her 40s, is the second script in the series, but was written last. It is presently getting its regional premiere in a co-production of Mamai Theatre Company and Theater Ninjas.
“The Velocity of Autumn,” which recently had a Broadway run, garnered Estelle Parsons a Best Acting Tony nomination. The play had a run at Beck Center last season, feaqturing a superb Dorothy Silver performance. Velocity was the third play in Coble’s Alexandra trilogy.
Velocity found 78-year old Alexandra barricaded in her NY brownstone, resisting being put “away” by her children. She does have slips of memory, her knees and back hurt, she can no longer hold a paint brush, but she is sharp enough to know that she doesn’t want to leave her home and go to an extended care facility. She thoroughly believes, ‘There are good and bad ways to die.”
The one-hour, “Stranded on Earth,” an existentialistic exercise, finds Alexa in a state of emotional distress, “asking why do I exist?” She’s a creative artist who finds herself in the midst of midlife chaos. Everything has changed. She isn’t sure where her life went off track and how, or if, can she get restarted.
As she probes and rants, she creates a Jackson Pollack-like abstract painting, tossing and splattering paint from above, then wallowing in it and then traipsing around, blurring the colors to create a final image that is much like her chaotic thoughts.
Coble’s poetic writing in “Stranded on Earth, in contrast to his sequential and traditional verbiage of “A Girl’s Guide to Coffee” and “The Velocity of Autumn” is a little off-setting. Alexa’s grasping to make things come together in some logical form not only alludes Alexa, but, at times, the viewer.
Coble, who lived on Indian reservations as a youth, uses allusions to the artistic and religious pattern of creating “unfixed sand paintings,” ritual artistic arrangements which are destroyed or blow away after a ceremony is finished.
Derdriu Ring is compelling as Alexa. Hers is an impressive performance. She flows in a torrent of torment, unable to find the right colors, blends, words, images, and clarity to explain to herself, or convey to the viewer, a clear line that makes us believe that she, and us, will be able to find our way.
Director Jeremy Paul, the artistic director of Ninja, has helped Ring develop a mesmerizing performance.
CAPSULE JUDGEMENT: MamaÃ’s mission is “to create intelligent, relevant classical theatre that offers an artistic home for Cleveland’s theatre artists, and equal opportunity for women in the professional theatre community.” Theater Ninja’s goal is to “reimagine how and why we tell stories, and help us to create deep, fascinating worlds for the audience to explore.” Their production of Eric Coble’s “Stranded on Earth,” with a master class demonstration of finite acting by Derdriu Ring, well meets both organization’s purposes.
Mamaà and Theater Ninja’s STRANDED ON EARTH runs through June 22 at the Pilgrim Church, 2592 West 14th Street, Cleveland, For tickets go to: http://www.mamaitheatreco.org
“Woody Sez: The Life and Music of Woody Guthrie,” “Maestro: Leonard Bernstein,” “The Devil’s Music: The Life and Times of Bessie Smith,” “One Night with Janice Joplin.” What do these all have in common? They are shows that Cleveland Play House has staged in the last several years, and they are productions that showcase the musical talents of a particular artist.
Before you state “These aren’t plays, they are night club acts,” realize that CPH is not the only place where these types of shows have become staples. Broadway’s 2013-2014 season featured “Beautiful The Carole King Musical,” “Soul Doctor (Rabbi Shlomo Carlebach),” “A Night With Janus Joplin,” “After Midnight” (Duke Ellington), and “Lady Day at Emerson’s Bar and Grill” (Billy Holliday).
CPH is closing its season with “Maurice Hines Is Tappin’ Thru Life.” With such a title one would expect tapping, tapping, and more tap dancing. ‘Taint the case. More than two-thirds of the show is Hines talking and singing about his childhood, his relationship with his brother, Gregory, the influence of his mother and father on his life, and his connections with the likes of Judy Garland, Frank Sinatra, Ella Fitzgerald, Sammy Davis, Jr., Dean Martin, Lena Horn, and Harry Belafonte.
Hines sings, shows pictures, has his “Diva Orchestra,” an all-women’s musical group, play as a unit and as solo performers, and has brothers John Manzari and Leo Manzari, who appeared with him in “Sophisticated Ladies,” dance. He also makes some tapping-like moves and lets loose for one good clackity-clack routine.
Played and sung big band songs include: “I’ve Never Been in Love Before,” “Smile,” “A Tisket, a Tasket,” “Caravan,” “It Don’t Mean a Thing,” and “Too Marvelous for Words,” and such Broadway favorites as “I’ve Grown Accustomed to Her Face” and “Luck Be a Lady.”
The personal history is interspersed with social and political comments regarding integration, segregation, and his fondness for President Obama.
Much of the dialogue, comments to and with the audience and the band, are ad-libbed, making for a comfortable interaction in the intimate Allen Theatre.
Hines is charming and knows how to play a room. He localizes the show by talking about eating at Hot Sauce Williams Restaurant with Laura Kepley, the artistic director of the Play House. There is so much kitsch that it’s surprising that he didn’t put on an Indians cap or a Brown’s or Cav’s jersey sometime during the show.
The band is big and bold. No subtlety here. Horns blare, the drums get a workout, the pianist pounds the keys. Good stuff.
The show hits its dancing peak when John and Leon Manzari come on and “tap out a beat” and make sparks fly as they tap in various styles. Ditto for an appearance by an adorable and talented teen-aged dancer, Grace Cannady, from Boston. In Atlanta, DC, Boston and at the Manhattan Club 54 Below, where the show has been staged before, there was a child dancer or two added to the goings-on. Part of the reason may be that Hines probably can’t dance with the same vigor or steam as he did in his far-distant youth and needed to prop up the tapping segments.
The bandstand set works well. Instrumentalists rise as they do their solos. Hines walks up and down the large white platform/steps to add visual dimension. Pictures are electronic graphics shown on panels which slide on and off stage.
CAPSULE JUDGMENT: “Maurice Hines Is Tappin’ Thru Life,” is a personable concert, which is more a Vegas act, than a play. Audiences anticipating 90-minutes of non-stop dancing may be frustrate. Some might question why CPH is doing a “touring” show rather than producing its own product and why they stage these one-person bio-musicals. Whatever. The majority of the audience will come and enjoy themselves.
“Maurice Hines Is Tappin’ Thru Life” runs through June 29, 2014 at the Allen Theatre in PlayhouseSquare. For tickets call 216-241-6000 or go to http://www.clevelandplayhouse.com
When a student pays $5000 for a ten-week educational seminar, s/he doesn’t expect to be verbally attacked, viciously belittled, diminished, called names, and have a sexual liaison with the instructor. But that’s exactly what happens in Pulitzer Prize nominee Theresa Rebeck’s provocative comedy, “Seminar,” now on stage at Beck Center.
“Seminar,” which takes place in present tense New York City, in a plush Upper West Side apartment, allows for a glimpse into the experiences of four young writers as they confront writing, language, and the art of creating meaningful prose.
The writing quartet includes Bennington-educated, defensive, prickly, women’s activist, Kate, whose family owns the apartment; the preppy, pretentious Douglas, whose uncle is a famous playwright and spouts about “the exteriority and the interiority” of a writers’ colony where he has spent time, and tries to impress by dropping terms like “postmodernism” and “magic realism;” the intense, possibly autistic Martin, who refuses to share his work with the others; and the sexy Izzy, who seems totally out of her element, but knows how to play the game of “get what I want.”
And then there is their teacher, Leonard.
Leonard, the brilliant writer, who travels the world, edits major works of literature, and appears to be a vicious, maniacal destroyer of egos and dreams.
Leonard, who reads one story, up to the first semi-colon and dismisses it, even though it has been six years in the making.
Leonard who spouts such concepts as: “Writers aren’t people,” “It doesn’t matter if there isn’t a story,” and “If you are not being honest, who gives a damn about what you are writing.”
Leonard, who has a history the quartet didn’t knew about.
Wars rage, sex happens, cruelty reigns, laugh after laugh erupts from the conflicts, and awe is inspired by what humans will endure, will pay for, to be destroyed.
And then, about two-thirds through the 95-minute play, comes a turning point, when the intellectual sadism abates and Leonard responds to a piece of writing he is handed with humility, awareness, and a hint of joy. Something that leaves us wondering if the “Leonard Method,” is nothing short of teaching brilliance.
The play which opened on Broadway in November of 2011 and ran through May, 2012, has been called “an enriching study,” “ tight, witty and consistently entertaining,” and “a play that, as the layers are peeled back, reveals both scarred humanity and the numbness beneath.
Beck’s production, under the extremely creative and competent direction of Donald Carrier, is compelling. It is well staged, perfectly paced, and a creative tale of twists and turns.
The cast works as a well-tuned ensemble. Scott Plate seems to relish the role of Leonard, especially when he is annihilating his students by shredding their egos. His long tirades fascinate and chill. He puts on Leonard before his first entrance and wears him with conviction throughout.
Andrew Gombas gives Martin a persona of fragility and vulnerability, edging on the Asperger actions of social ineptitude, shyly on the edge, and being unable to hold consistent eye contact.
Brian Gale is perfectly Ivy-League uptight as Douglas, with an air of dazzle ‘em with bullshit if you can’t bowl them over with real talent. He moves, carries himself and appears designed for the part.
Lara Knox nicely textures Kate into a real rich girl, whose crush on Martin is obvious to everyone except Martin, and whose women’s lib sensitivities are both real and a protective device.
Aily Roper displays the right believable sexual attitude to create a woman who we can believe manipulates men for her own designs.
Cameron Caley Michalak’s set and Trad Burns lighting designs help develop the play’s concept.
CAPSULE JUDGEMENT: “Seminar” is one of those special evenings of theatre: well written script, quality acting, perceptive direction! The show is filled with both laughter and message that makes it a must see for a perceptive audience!
“Seminar” is scheduled to run through June 29, 2014 at Beck Center for the Arts. For tickets call 216-521-2540 or go on-line to www.beckcenter.org
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
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.
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!
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
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.
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
