Convergence Continuum’s DOG ACT is full of "whys?"!

Liz Duffy Adams is an American playwright who is noted for her liberal use of “flavored” language, expanded wit, and characters who possess animated personas.  Rather than writing in a sequential mode, she tends to write on a random style which often follows no logical cause-effect.    
Her play, DOG ACT, which is now on stage at convergence-continuum, follows the apocalyptic adventures of Zetta Stone, a traveling performer, and her companion Dog, as they wander through the former northeastern United States on their way to perform in China.  
 
The script is a combination of narration, simple songs, and some preposterous interludes. 
 
On the surface, the play’s description sounds easy to understand.  It is not!  There is a theatrical doomsday overlay, accompanied by lewd and poetic language, riddled with Shakespearean resonance, Biblical and Peter Pan-like references. 
 
This is not a script which one can analyze and figure out what the underlying purpose of the play is about and what the author is trying to teach/tell us.  In fact, the only way to wend yourself through this two-act experience is to sit back and let it happen and not dig much deeper.
 
A review of DOG ACT stated, “The dialogue doesn't provoke the listener to struggle to make sense of the various argots and the strangeness of the words by which we communicate – or don’t.” 
 
With that in mind, a question might be, “Why did con-con’s powers that be choose this script?” 
 
Yes, theatre’s mission is to “produce theatre that expands human imagination and extends the conventional boundaries of language, structure, space and performance,” but does producing an abstract script, that has no apparent relevance or message accomplish that goal?  Why chose a script which is loaded with unnecessary use of profanity, with no purpose other than using profanity for the sake of the use of profanity?
 
The issue with the production is not the direction.  David L. Munnell, seems to have a clear process that he used, including assaulting the audience as they were coming in by having Coke and Bud, using “f**k” over and over, desensitizing the viewer to the excessive use of that word in the script, to making the entire process so obscure that the lack of idea clarity is expected, therefore accepted.
 
The performances, though sometimes uneven, are generally acceptable.  
 
Mike Frye (Dog) has a charming and accessible quality as Dog, who as a young boy, while confined to a fortress, knowing the guard at the gate was not always alert, wandered into the outlying areas, leaving the gate opened, allowing marauders to enter and kill most of the population.  As a result, Dog has been self-transformed into a non-human.   
 
Denise Astorino (Vera), who started the evening yelling, rather than stressing ideas, seemed to settle into the role and create Zetta, the leader of the troupe, into a character obsessed in getting to China to perform.  As with many of the issues in the play, we are unaware of the cause of her oriental obsession.
 
Andrea Belser, who we find out near the end of the script, is on a vengeful hunt to destroy Dog, as she was one of the few people to survive the attack on the community destroyed by the youth’s leaving the gate open, is inconsistent in her line interpretation and character development.  At times she was realistic, at other instances, she acted the role.
 
Wesley Allen (Coke) and Emileo Fernandez (Bud) evilly swore themselves through their roles. Why they were forced into meaningless language, only the author knows.  Their costumes, made out of coke and Budweiser cans were clever, but why was Bud wearing a Young Judea stocking cap?
 
Kate Smith, as Jo-Jo, a storyteller, had some humorous moments with her monotone triple-talking of meaningless tales.
 
The technical aspects of the show were well done.
 
Capsule judgment:  As Bud and Coke, two characters in DOG ACT might ask, “Why in F**ckity, F**ck, did con-con choose to do this convoluted script?” 
 
DOG ACT runs March 25 -April 16, 2022, Thu-Sat at 8 p.m. at convergence continuum’s Liminis Theater, 2438 Scranton Rd., Cleveland, OH 44113 in the historic Tremont neighborhood. Fri. and Sat. tickets are $23 general admission, $18 for seniors and $18 for students. Tickets and information are available at www.convergence-continuum.org and 216- 687-0074.

MILLWOOD OUTPOST is a raw look at white men in a changing society at Playwrights Local

 

Playwrights Local says of itself, we are “dedicated to supporting the dramatists of Northeast Ohio.  As a playwrights’ development and production center we foster diverse talents and present locally written works.”  They have done this with excellent results as evidenced by the number of Cleveland Critics Circle and Broadwayworld-Cleveland award recognitions.

After several years of hiatus, caused by the Covid pandemic, the company is back, staging Tom Hayes’ MILLWOOD OUTPOST.

The tale tells that “Confined on a stormy day, six highway workers are forced to share one room in an abandoned Department of Transportation outpost. Over the course of several hours, the men must confront their own fears, prejudices, and beliefs, and those of each other, while elemental forces outside threaten them all.”

Director Rachel Zake, says of the script: “I love how Tom combined realism and mysticism. Particularly, the idea of the storm bearing down and creating a haunting background for the mounting tensions between the characters stood out to me.”

She continues, “The emotions are striking and the conflict is relatable, even for those who aren’t ODOT workers. The struggle between old and new, tradition and progress is one that is familiar. But, we don’t usually see it up close, in a pressure cooker situation, provoked by a mysterious fog. As the audience has the privilege of sitting up close to the action, I think they will feel immediately drawn in by the characters and their journeys.”
 
I wish I could agree with the director, unfortunately, I can not.
 
While the last ten minutes of the play are compelling, the other 70 minutes are slow moving, rambling, seemingly going nowhere.  Then, bang, the real issues are thrown out, tension results, and the playwright’s purpose is exposed, but not fully developed.
 
Where does the problem lie?  
 
Maybe the writer needs to find a way to more quickly get the issues of white male fear of losing their traditional roles in society, concern over women entering the workplace, strongly felt homophobia and anti-Semitism, the differences in the beliefs of the young and educated versus their less schooled elders.  Interestingly, these are the same issues which have stimulated the allegiance to Donald Trump and his fellow hate-spewers.  Maybe this is the hook needed to develop the play’s message.
 
Maybe the director and some of the cast members needed to realize that there are ways of expressing angst without screaming.  Once an actor has screamed, he has used up the emotion and has no place to go to express his frustrations, fears and hatred.  Underplay rather than overplay has its place if the playwright has given the actor the words to express those feelings.
 
Questions abound in the script and production:  What was the real purpose of the bra stuffed into the chair?  Why was the accused homosexual young man stripped of his shirt?  How does a person get drunk on three or four small drinks of wine and why is this even included?  Why was a bright light shining through the window outside if there was a raging storm and all-encompassing fog?  Why were there no sounds of rain pounding the windows?  Why were people coming in from a storm wearing dry clothing and showing no effects of the rain?  Why were the physical confrontations so unrealistic?  Why the mention of Manischewitz kosher wine when the bottle of liquid being used is not that brand?  Why were mentions made of issues, but the issues, themselves not developed?
 
The ending leaves many issues hanging and was so sudden that the audience wasn’t aware that the play was over until the lights came up with the cast lined up for the curtain call.
 
As to the acting, congrats to Zach Palumbo (Nick) and August Scarpelli (Moon) for developing real and accessible characters.

 
Capsule Judgment:  MILLWOOD OUTPOST is a new script getting its first staged production. It obviously needs work, from the writing, to the staging. The author and director would be wise to use this experience and make changes which would help the important message of the play come out more effectively. 
 
MILLWOOD OUTPOST will be performed Fridays and Saturdays @ 7:30pm and Sundays @ 2:30pm through March 18- April 2, 2022 at the Creative Space at Waterloo Arts.  Get tickets here.
 
Next up for Playwrights Local:  HEY SIRI, written by Mary E. Weems, July 20-24, 2022, BorderlLight Festival.

Meaningful ANTIGONE gets inconsistent production at Cleveland Play Hous

Cleveland Play House’s Artistic Director, Laura Kepley, in her comments in the playbill for ANTIGONE states, “We originally programed ANTIGONE to be produced during the 2019-2020 season.  The play was in its second week of rehearsals when we had to make the heartbreaking announcement that the production was cancelled.”  The rampant COVID epidemic had struck the theatre world! The pause is over and the script is now being staged in CPH’s black box Outcalt Theatre. It is ironic that the play, like the last several years, deals with not only the struggles and angst of how to live life, but how we deal with death.   As Kepley explains, “Our mourning rituals have been altered. ANTIGONE taps into our collective loss and trauma.  It asks questions many of us have been grappling with:  How do we honor those we have lost without losing ourselves along the way?  How do we move forward?”    As Sophocles’ play, ANTIGONE, begins, “the invading army of Argos has been driven from Thebes, but in the course of the battle, two sons of Oedipus (Eteocles and Polynices) have died fighting for opposing sides. Their uncle, Creon is now king of Thebes. He decrees that the body of Polynices, who fought against his native city, will not be given burial rites but will be left to rot, as a warning to traitors. Creon further decrees that anyone who does try to bury Polynices will be punished with death.” Antigone and Ismene are grieving for the loss of their brothers.  Both are upset, but Antigone is also defiant. She vows to give Polynices the proper burial rites. Ismene begs Antigone to not defy the laws of the city and add to their family's tragedy. Antigone will not yield. The play explores such themes as the right of the individual to reject society’s infringement on personal freedoms, the differences between theological law and personal beliefs, civil disobedience, citizenship and the honor of family versus duties to the state. Playwright Emily Mann has taken the script, which normally runs close to three hours in production and reimagined it.  It now runs around ninety minutes and encourages color blind and gender-neutral casting.  In the CPH production Creon (Vanessa Morosco) is a female.  She is married to Eurydice (Laura Starnik), also a female.  Both are white.  Their son, Haemon, is black.  Their nieces, Antigone (Mariah Burks) and Ismene Bridget Kim) are black and Asian. Though these gender, racial and sexual differences have nothing to do with the plot-line and story development, the change from the norm puts the spotlight on the changing attitudes of our culture, as it reflects the concept that the arts, theatre in this case, represents the era from which it comes.  While this play was written many centuries ago, this staging represents alterations that have taken place as the attitudes and beliefs of cultures change. The stances of Creon and Antigone are philosophically at odds with each other.  Questions arise.  Shall tradition rule or should they adapt to personal belief?  Will the laws of the gods be followed, or shall adaptations be made to accommodate the needs and individual beliefs of the living? Those issues are not only at the center of ANTIGONE, but the center of many of the conflicts of today.   Legal issues abound concerning the influence by religious leaders and their followers versus the views of secularists as they affect gay rights, gender equality and abortion. What should be the procedures for teaching about slavery, the role of white supremacy, the intentions of our founding fathers (there were no founding mothers), and the “war of Northern aggression/Civil War?” The Play House production, under the direction of Lauren Keating is often successful, at other times pretentious and unnatural.   Mariah Burks’s Antigone was real, developing ideas and using a presentational style that was accessible, making her thoughts and feelings clear. The same was true for Fabio Palanco (Aide) and  Laura Starnik (Eurydice).    Others used acting styles that harked back to the days of stylization over substance, while one member of the cast used a pronunciation and verbal style that was more appropriate for an August Wilson script.  Whether those choices were intentionally made by the director or cast members, or were accidental, they distracted from the effect of the production. Courtney O’Neill created a thrust stage set that was a perfect space for the staging.  Nathan Motta’s music was properly haunting, foreshadowing the play’s start with ominous overtones. and accenting changes in tension and moods during the show.  Karin Olson’s lighting design helped create the right illusions.  The costuming was as confusing as some of the acting styles. Capsule judgment:  ANTIGONE, as adapted by Emily Mann, carries as important a message of the rejection or blind acceptance of the authority of civic and religious customs and leaders today as it did when the Greek Sophocles wrote the script in the fifth-century BC.  The CPH production was often successful, at other times inconsistent.    For tickets to ANTIGONE call 216-241-6000 or go to:  www.clevelandplayhouse.com Next up at CPH:  THE THREE MUSKETEERS from April 30-May 22, 2020 in the Allen Theatre.

PRETTY WOMAN prettier than New York reviewers let on

Roy Berko
(Member:  Cleveland Critics Circle, American Theater Critics Association)

The film PRETTY WOMAN, based on the Roy Orbison song, which was originally planned to be a tale about class and prostitution, but was reconceived into a romantic comedy, opened to both critical and audience delight.  It still gets a considerable audience when it is shown on television.

Unfortunately, PRETTY WOMAN: THE MUSICAL, a version of which is now on stage at the Connor Palace as part of the Key Bank Broadway Series, opened to universally negative reviews.

Based on the film’s success, before it’s official opening, the 2018 Broadway previews broke the then Nederlander Theatre box office record for an eight-performance week.

After the reviews came out, generally calling the Bryan Adams and Jim Vallance score as “pleasant but bland,” and “the plot needing updating” and the “gender dynamics of the movie’s plot having aged poorly,” the show limped along, running 27 previews and 420 regular performances.

The book by Garry Marshall and J. F. Lawton tells the tale of “Vivian Ward a free-spirited Hollywood prostitute who lives with her sarcastic wisecracking best friend and roommate, Kit De Luca.  Vivian is hired by Edward Lewis, a handsome wealthy businessman, to be his escort for several business and social functions.”  The question, of course, is whether this is going to be a Cinderella story where the unlikely duo becomes a real-life “happily ever after” tale.  
 
The touring company pulled off a surprise coupe in its opening night.  
 
Playing with a handful of substitutes, due to medical problems, the audience, which gave tepid applause to “Welcome to Hollywood,” a less than dynamic curtain-raiser, warmed up when charming Olivia Valli, playing the Julia Roberts’s role of Vivian, sang, “Any Where but Here,” the show’s “I want song,” whose purpose is to clarify the desires of the leading character and set the plot on track.  Olivia doesn’t want to be a prostitute, but seems to have no options.  It’s similar in plot development to “Wouldn’t It Be Loverly?” from MY FAIR LADY, where Eliza tells us of her desire to own a flower shop and no longer sell flowers on the street.
 
Eliza is taken in by Henry Higgins and Vivian hooks up with Edward Lewis and the plot and the woman’s wishes are accomplished.
 
The audience-production “hey, this is better than I expected” love-fest continued as comic characters, including Kit De Luca (a delightful Jessica Crouch), Nico DeJuses (a fill in for the role of Guilio, a hotel bellman, almost stole the show with his dancing and comic timing), and Happy Man/Hotel Manager (the dynamic Kyle Taylor Parker, who appeared on Broadway as the co-lead in KINKY BOOTS) came on stage.  
 
DeLuca gave us the image of sex-worker having fun, DeJuses is a munchkin-sized charmer, and Parker delighted with “On a Night Like Tonight,” “Don’t Forget to Dance,” and “Never Give Up on a Dream.”
 
When handsome, gym-toned Chris Manuel, filling in for Adam Pascal, of RENT fame in the role of Edward, sang the plaintive “Something About Her,” and then belted out “Freedom” the applause was prolonged and the audience was on their way to experiencing an evening of satisfying musical theatre.
 
Don’t leave before the curtain call or you’ll miss the joint cast and audience singing, dancing, swaying and clapping version of “Pretty Woman,” the movie’s theme song, which is not part of the musical’s score.
 
Capsule Judgment:  PRETTY WOMAN is not a great musical.  It is definitely not CHORUS LINE, or MY FAIR LADY or WEST SIDE STORY, but this production, even with the obvious story line and mediocre score, is worth a sit-through.  The audience, after rendering the required “we are nice Clevelanders and give almost every production a standing ovation,” left with high positive chatter!
 
PRETTY WOMAN THE MUSICAL runs at the Connor Palace through March 27^th.  For tickets go to 216-640-8800 or go on line to https://www.playhousesquare.org/events/detail/pretty-woman

Please note:  Though you no longer have to show proof of Covid vaccine, this production requires that those sitting in the first two rows of the lower level (Dress Circle A & B, rows D & E) wear a mask during each performance.

Coming up CLE events:

CLEVELAND PLAY HOUSE  
216-241-6000 or go to http://www.playhousesquare.org
7:30 Wednesday-Saturday, 2:30 Saturday and Sunday

ANTIGONE (March 5-27) -- This Sophocles tragedy is reimagined in a dystopian, war-torn world. The show was originally prepared for 2020, but was canceled due to the pandemic.

convergence continuum
convergence-continuum.org or 216-687-0074
Thursday-Saturday @ 8

DOG ACT (March 25-April 16)—Follow the adventures of Zetta Stone, a traveling performer, and her companion Dog (a young man undergoing a voluntary species demotion) as they wander through northeastern United States.

GREAT LAKES THEATER
  http://www.greatlakestheater.org or 216-241-6000
Wednesday-Saturday @ 7:30, Saturdays @ 1:30, Sundays @ 3

 

MUCH ADO ABOUT NOTHING (March 5-April 10) --Beatrice and Benedick would rather exchange scorching insults than sweet nothings. However, the pugnacious pair is forced to forge a partnership in order to defend house and honor.

DANCE CLEVELAND DANCECleveland | DANCECleveland | Modern and Contemporary Dance in Cleveland, OH

PAM GANOWITZ DANCE AND SIMONE DUBBERSTEIN, NEW WORK FOR GOLDBERG VARIATIONS (March 19, 7:30-- The Company will perform one of their most highly regarded works, NEW WORK FOR GOLDBERG VARIATIONS. Premiered in 2017 to rave reviews, the movement explores Johann Sebastian Bach’s Goldberg Variation's musical architecture in a delightful interplay of rhythm, style and idiosyncrasy. The New York Times called the piece a “rare achievement.”

Meticulously staged KILL MOVE PARADISE is a must see at Dobama

When evaluating a performance at Dobama the mantra to be used is, “Would Donald approve?”  Donald, in this case is Donald Bianchi, who, in 1959, with a small and enthusiastic group of thespians, founded what we now know as Dobama, Cleveland’s off-Broadway theatre.

 
Donald was a quirky, creative, perfectionist.  He set the theatre’s mission as “to premiere important new plays by established and emerging playwrights in professional productions of the highest quality.”  He was undoubtedly the best director I have ever worked with. He demanded high quality!  
 
Would Donald have looked favorably on KILL MOVE PARADISE?  Yes, absolutely YES!  The play script is creatively written.  The production is high quality from the cast, to the set, to the lights, to the sound, to the electronic media.  The essence of Donald is shining on this meaningful staging.  
 
“Mr. Ijames, who has said his play is inspired by the shooting of 12-year-old Tamir Rice by a Cleveland police officer… shows his characters trying to find the logic in the senselessness. It is a torturous and fruitless process.”  In this production, it creates a hypnotic theatrical energy of fear, rage, disgust, and helplessness.
 
KILL MOVE PARADISE is a tone poem of a play.  Using vocabulary that is expressive, emotional and often figurative, the tale of African American males who are wrenched out of their young lives, before they have fully lived those lives, simply because they are black and subject to stereotypes and societal fears and prejudices.  They learn the lesson early to keep both hands raised, never looking “the man” in the eye, and being careful of what and how they communicate. 
 
“KILL MOVE PARADISE tells the story of Isa, Daz, Grif and Tiny, four black men who find themselves stuck in a cosmic purgatory in the afterlife. While balancing the reality of their past and the uncertainty of their future, their souls try to find peace from senseless action and hope in the life they left behind.”
 
The play is a clear statement that black lives matter, that these young men do not deserve the fate that has been handed to them, that enough is enough, and that there is a major problem in America that needs to be fixed! 
 
Using a fascinating theatrical device, the actors spend much of their time looking at and talking directly to audience members.  They provoke reaction by directly asking, “Why are you sitting there staring at me?” “Do you see me.”  “Do I scare you?”  
The Dobama production, performed in a set that resembles a skateboard park, is brilliantly staged by Nathan Henry.  He wrenches all the emotion that is present in this bleak, often humorous, beautiful drama.

The cast, Mell Bowens, Jr., Ananias J. Dixon, Aamar-Malik Culbreth and Daris Stubbs work as a well-oiled unit. They play off each other, create clear individual characters, yet mold into a symbol of a common message.  They are each remarkable.
 
Because, we Clevelanders, are so attuned to the heinous murder of Tamir Rice, as youthful Culbreth, known as Tiny, slides over one of the walls of the skateboard park, holding a toy gun, we know he represents Tamir.  The BWU freshman develops the youth with clarity and purpose.  The other characters are not as person-specific, but as the list of those who have been murdered by police is read, individuals come to mind.  This effect is made vivid by the electronic media.
 
Laura Calrson Tarantowski’s set, Marcus Dana’s lighting design, Derek Graham’s sound design, all enhance the show.
 
Capsule judgement:  The Dobama production is brilliantly staged by Nathan Henry. The cast, Mell Bowens, Jr., Ananias J. Dixon, Aamar-Malik Culbreth and Daris Stubbs work as a well-oiled unit to create a vivid depiction of the misguided mistreatment of young black men in America! This is an absolute must see production!  As Donald Bianchi said, “Take the risk with us.  We are all in this together.  We all own it.”
 
KILL MOVE PARADISE runs through March 27.  For tickets call 216-932-3396 or go to https://www.dobama.org/tickets-index

Apollo’s Fire’s ISRAEL IN EGYPT takes audience on a compelling journey

 

As the story goes, “In 1991, Jeannette Sorrell was invited to interview for the position of Assistant Conductor with The Cleveland Orchestra.  Sorrell met with Music Director Christoph von Dohnányi who told her that there was no point in trying to find time in the orchestra's schedule for an audition because the audience in Cleveland would never accept a woman as a conductor. Sorrell replied that she had actually not sought this post and she really wanted to work with period instruments. Following this interview, the orchestra's artistic administrator, Roger Wright, offered to help Sorrell launch a period-instrument orchestra in Cleveland." 

With Wright's assistance, “Sorrell received start-up funding from The Cleveland Foundation. The ensemble made its debut in June 1992 under the name of Apollo's Fire - The Cleveland Baroque Orchestra. The debut concerts were sold out. Apollo's Fire began receiving touring invitations within a few months.”  

And, a legend was started. Apollo's Fire, with Sorrell as Music Director, has developed a national and international reputation.

Apollo’s Fire’s recent production, HANDEL’S ISRAEL IN EGYPT A DRAMATIC ORATORIO, a concert which is a new adaptation, took the audience on a triumphant musical journey from the Israelites being enslaved in Egypt, escaping with the aid of the plagues that were cast upon their oppressors, and Moses leading the assemblage crossing the Red Sea into what is now Israel. 

The piece, which has a “dramatic arc, from grief and lamentation, through fear and crisis to triumph,” is a display of the startling abilities of the orchestra’s musical sounds and solo and choral performances.  

The two-hour evening is divided into two segments.  “Part I. Lamentations of the Israelites for death of Joseph.” It starts with the chorus singing, “The sons of Israel do mourn, and they are in bitterness; all the people sigh, and hang down their heads to the ground,” and ends with, “But the waters overwhelmed their enemies, there was not one of them left.”

Part II: “Exodus” and Part III.  “Moses’s Song” begin with “I will sing unto the Lord” and ends “I will sing unto the Lord for he hath triumphed gloriously.”

The printed program wisely provides a narration of the words being sung, which are easy to follow as the auditorium’s lights are left on.

ISRAEL IN EGYPT is different than many of the orchestra’s presentations as the music is played mostly by traditional Western instruments.  In contrast, in their recently released O JERUSALEM CITY OF THREE FAITHS, the musicians play regional and baroque instruments.  In addition, EGYPT is sung entirely in English, in contrast to many of the orchestra’s offerings in which a variety of languages are used.

The soloists, sopranos Margaret Carpenter Haigh and Molly Netter, tenor Jacob Perry Jr. and baritone Edward Vogel were excellent, singing meaning, not just words.  Daniel Moody captured the audience with his compelling countertenor tones.  Moody’s range, the highest male adult singing voice, was impressive in its pure tone.
 
Capsule judgment:  Whether you are a believer in the tale as a religious statement or as a piece of literature, the effect of Sorrell’s adaptation and arrangements and the quality of the Apollo’s Fire music and the singing, makes ISRAEL IN EGYPT a powerful emotional journey and an audience pleaser. 
 
Look forward to Virtuoso Bach & Vivaldi, March 18-22, 2022; and Mozart and the Chevalier, May 6-8, 2022. 

 

For information call 216-320-0012 or visit apollosfire.org.

Michael Cavanaugh rocks audience with THE MUSIC OF BILLY JOEL AND ELTON JOHN

  

 

Cleveland native, Michael Cavanaugh, has been called the “New Voice of the American Rock and Roll Songbook.”  He came to national fame when he was handpicked by Billy Joel to star in his Broadway musical MOVIN’ OUT.

 

Cavanaugh appeared in the Broadway show for three years, logging over 1300 performances, and receiving both Tony and Grammy nominations.

 

In THE MUSIC OF BILLY JOEL AND ELTON JOHN, which was on stage at the State Theatre for one night, the handsome, youngish-looking and charismatic Cavanaugh sings and plays some of the greatest hits of the two rock piano legends.  Included are Piano Man, Rocket Man, Bennie and the Jets, Movin’ Out, I’m Still Standing, and My Life.

 

How did Cavanaugh gain his fame?  The story goes, “When he was 7, his parents bought a piano and he began playing immediately. He played his first club show at age 12. By age fourteen, Cavanaugh was playing keyboard with bands at weddings and other events several nights a week.  In January 1999, Cavanaugh had the opportunity to play in Las Vegas, where he happened to catch the attention of Billy Joel.”  And, as the song goes, he was “Movin’ Out.”

 

Besides his theatrical performances, he appears with symphony orchestras playing music, not only songs of Billy Joel and Elton John, but those of John Lennon, Paul McCarthy, Paul Simon, Neil Diamond and James Taylor.

 

Cavanaugh has synesthesia. As explained when doing a media interview, "When I hear a note of C, I see the color red in my mind's eye. A is blue, F is gray. Growing up I thought everyone was like this." 

 

The local concert was a combination of music, comments by Cavanaugh, and some audience participation, consisting of singing and clapping. 

 

Most of the music segments found the performer accompanied by his five-piece band.  

 

Cavanaugh’s comments paid homage to his Cleveland, western burbs, Midpark High School roots.  His loyalty to his hometown was stressed when he related that during the Broadway run of MOVIN’ OUT he was made aware that the touring production of the show would be coming to 216/440.  He made arrangements for his Great White Way standby to take his place, while he came home to perform. 

 

Even his back-up band consists mainly of Ohioans. 

  

Those attending the concert hoping that, like his performance in MOVIN’ OUT, you would be able to hear his fine voice, clear articulation and beautiful piano playing, would have been disappointed.  Most of the evening was a loud rock concert, with sound and lighting fitting that type of venue, rather than allowing for the clear hearing of the words to the songs.  

 

The large audience, seemed to really be into the goings on, clapping, singing, hooting and giving every song explosive applause.  

Controversial JESUS CHRIST SUPERSTAR celebrates its 50th anniversary at the Connor Palace

 

JESUS CHRIST SUPERSTAR, now on stage at the Connor Palace as part of the Key Bank Series, is a show with a history of controversy.  It has been condemned by some religious groups, as well as sectarians.  

Some of the controversy is based on comments made by the script’s lyricist, Tim Rice, who said, “It happens that we don't see Christ as God but simply the right man at the right time at the right place.”  

Some Christians cried out that the comment was blasphemous and went on to complain that the characterization of Judas was too sympathetic, and that Jesus was misinterpreted.  The lack of resurrection of Jesus was also a point of contention as was the insertion of contemporary attitudes, slang and illusions to modern day life.  

Jewish organizations claimed that some of the illusions bolstered antisemitism.  Agnostics and atheists declared that it was religious propaganda, and it was banned in South Africa for being irreligious.

What’s the controversy about?  JCSuperstar is a rock opera with music by Andrew Lloyd Webber with lyrics by Tim Rice.  It is loosely based on “the Gospels’ account of the Passion.”  It “adds a texture above the religious text by examining the motives and psychological underpinnings of not only Jesus, but of Judas, who it spotlights acted as he did because he was dissatisfied with the direction Jesus was steering his disciples, and not for the gold he was given. 

The score is eclectic and powerful.  It is 80’s rock at its finest.  The score includes such classics as “Everything’s Alright,” “Hosanna,” “I Don’t Know How to Love him,” and, “Superstar,” as well as the showstopping, “What’s the Buzz.”

Released as a concept album, before it was staged, it was already a hit before it hit the theatrical boards.  When it finally opened, it ran for eight years in London and was the longest-running show for almost a decade.
In 2016, celebrating 45 years since the musical debuted on Broadway, JESUS CHRIST SUPERSTAR returned to London.  As a further tribute to the show, a 50^th anniversary tour edition, based on the London revival, was mounted.  It is this reconceived show that is now in CLE, after an opening and then an elongated delay.
 
In March, 2020, after performing two shows of a planned three-week run at Playhouse Square, the effect of COVID-19 pandemic hit.   The show, as was true with Broadway shows and all national touring productions, was closed!  Eighteen months later, it is back to audiences with their proof of vaccinations and the wearing of masks. 

No matter one’s religious beliefs, or lack of them, looking at the show from the standpoint of the musical score and the potential staging effects, there is much to admire.

Having seen the original staging in the early 1970 and many touring productions, I have usually left the theatre with an emotional hangover. Unfortunately, though admiring much of it, I found this edition to beoverdone and over-loud, stressing abundance over story telling.  
 
This is not a rock concert, it is a theatrical production, and hearing the lyrics that carry the meaning is paramount.  Often the band and orchestra, for this production there were 22 local string players added to the usual 11 musicians, overpowered the superb voices of the singers. (As the woman sitting behind me loudly whispered, “I wish I could hear the words.”)
 
The crucifixion, the cumulation of the production, dragged on and on, leaving the audience minus the passionate grip that the scene should evoke.
 
The staging is often breath taking.  The viewer is wrapped in stimulating lighting and exciting visual displays.  The question is, “Is this a story that is being told or a sound and light show?”  
 
Aaron LaVigne effectively underplayed the role of Jesus.  Omar Lopez-Cepero left a clear image of a philosophically tortured Judas.  Tommy McDowell was impressive as Peter.  The entire cast had strong singing voices and carried out the complicated choreography with ease.  

Capsule judgment:  JC SUPERSTAR, 50^th anniversary edition, is a spectacle that will leave some with the reaction that it is overdone, overly loud, stressing abundance over story telling. This is not to say the audience will not marvel at the show.  They will leave talking about the grandeur of what they have seen and heard.  The question is, did they see a sound and light show or an epic musical that effectively told its story?
 

Tickets for JESUS CHRIST SUPERSTAR can be obtained by calling 216-640-8800 or going on-line to https://www.playhousesquare.org/ 

Spell-binding LIZZIE THE MUSICAL rocks at Beck Center

Vickie Bussert, the director of LIZZIE THE MUSICAL, an exploration of the Lizzie Borden story, now on stage as a joint production between Baldwin Wallace’s nationally respected Musical Theater Program and Beck Center of the Arts, is no stranger to the show.
 
Bussert staged the show at the 14th Street Theatre, in Playhouse Square in 2012.  Three of the cast members, Ciara Renee, Keri Rene Fuller and Shannon O’Boyle, went on for Broadway careers.  
 
She then directed the Danish, London and Chicago premieres of LIZZIE, before making a return to PHSquare for four performances in 2017.  Veronica Otim, of that cast, has gone on to a Broadway career. 
 
Bussert says, “LIZZIE is such an exciting musical. I can’t wait to tackle it again for the Beck Center!”  
 
And, tackle it she does! 
 
The BW/Beck production is a high tension, rock-centric musical that has the audience bopping in their seats.  Matthew Webb’s high-octane band wails, and the cast powerfully develops that story with superb acting and singing.
 
Bussert went on to say, “This piece has the power of transformation for the actresses — I’ve seen it over and over again.  There’s just nothing written like this for women in the musical theatre canon.”  
 
She continued, “Although the cast is only 4, we not only double cast the show but added 5 amazing understudies — we weren’t going to let Covid win!”

What’s the show about?  Remember the jump rope rhyme, “Lizzie Borden took an ax and gave her mother forty whacks. When she saw what she had done, she gave her father forty-one.”

Yes, the Lizzie in the title is the infamous Lizzie Borden.

The story is set the late summer of 1892.  We discover that Lizzie Borden was accused of murdering her father and stepmother with an axe. During the trial, testimonies were muddled, evidence was incomplete, and, much to the chagrin of many of the townsfolk, Lizzie was acquitted.

“The musical delves into the mysterious mind of Lizzie Borden and speculates on the motivations she may have had: loss of inheritance, history of sexual abuse, overwhelming oppression, and madness.”

As for Lizzie, her birth name was Lizzie Andrew Borden.  Her father, as she reminds us throughout the show, wanted a son, thus her middle name.  
She was, at least by her recounting, sexually molested by her wealthy father. In addition, she and her sister, Emma, were harshly treated by her step-mother.

The murders and trial received widespread publicity throughout the United States and remain a topic in American popular culture to the present day. They have been depicted in numerous films, theatrical productions, literary works, and folk rhymes.  She, and the murder house, have become a cottage industry in Fall River.

The BW/Beck production is outstanding. From the opening notes of “Forty Whacks” the cast demands attention.  
 
(Note: The show is double cast.  All comments in this review are based on my seeing The Axe cast.”
 
The exposition is laid out clearly in “The House of Borden,” in which the cast of four, tells of the evil and angst within the four walls. The tale is broadened by Lizzie’s narration of the molestation by her father in the haunting “This Not Love” and the wrenching, “Gotta Get Out of Here,” both well-interpreted and sung by petite BW sophomore, Jessi Kirtley.  She commands the stage throughout the show.
 
We gain an understanding of the family dynamics when Lizzie joins in “Sweet Little Sister,” with dynamic BSW senior Autumn Key (Emma).  Displaying a strong singing voice, Key sometimes over did her volume, substituting loudness for line and lyric interpretation.  The duos “What the F#%k Now Lizzie” laid out what was going to happen now that their parents were dead.
 
Graduating BW senior, Colette Caspari, has a wonderful approach to humor and created a delightful Bridget, the family housekeeper, who knows all and tells all.  It is easy to see this talented lady on Broadway stages playing comic roles.  Her “The Fall of the House of Borden/The Alibi” was well-interpreted.
 
Pretty BW junior Andie Peterson nicely textured the role of Alice, Lizzie’s neighbor and secret lover. Her “Will You Stay?,” jointly sung with Kirtley (Lizzie) was nicely interpreted.
 
Jeff Herrmann’s free-standing house, which not only forms the boundaries for the acting area, but reveals the on-stage band, is right on as a setting design for Bussert’s image for the show.  
 
Charlotte M. Yetman’s spandex, see-through materials and goth costumes, help both in character development and in setting the right rock attitude.  
 
Carlton Guc does a nice job of balancing the loud band sounds with the performer’s voices.  Somehow, he even tames the bad Beck sound system, so that every spoken and sung word and lyric is easily heard.
 
Capsule judgment:  The BW/Beck production is a high tension, rock-centric musical that has the audience bopping in their seats.  Anyone who likes good singing and acting, powerful music and interesting story, will have a goth-blast at LIZZIE.
 
LIZZIE THE MUSICAL runs through February 27 in the Senney Theater of Beck Center for the Arts.  For tickets go to beckcenter.org or call 216-512-2540 X10.
 

Dobama’s HURRICANE DIANE may inspire you to rip out your manicured lawn!

 

HURRICANE DIANE, a 90-minute play without intermission, now on stage at Dobama, has been described as “An astonishing new play which whirls ancient myth, lesbian pulp, ecological thriller and The Real Housewives of Monmouth County into a perfect storm of timely tragicomedy.” 
 
The play opens with a delightful monologue in which Diane, a permaculture gardener, with supernatural powers, since she is, in fact, the Greek god Dionysus, explains that she has come for an earthly visit to try and alert the modern world of the needed climate change.  She plans to start this by restoring the Earth to its natural state.
 
Where-or-where does Diane decide to start her daunting task?  Why, of course by convincing four New Jersey suburban housewives of the need to get rid of the their well mowed grass, eliminate their formal gardens and go natural.  (“Yeh, shuw, in N’wjoisey.  Wha-kind-a nutsy ideur.”)
 
Her tools of persuasion?  Seduction, conjuring up a hurricane complete with blackouts and home destruction, and pitting the women against each other.
 
HURRICANE DIANE’S author, Madeleine George, was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize for Drama in 2014 and she won the 2016 Whiting Award for Drama.   She has been described as "a playwright at home in the messiness of us. She writes rigorously about love and its great sacrifices, and we are pulled to her scenes and words because she will not compromise how complicated we truly are."
 
She says of her script, “The question that I was groping towards in this play is I feel like nobody wants to deal with climate change.”  She goes on, “My partner was telling me that when she was at the Women’s March, some people got up at the rally, after the rally was kind of cooking, and started talking about climate change and the place emptied out. Everybody is just like, ‘Nope, nope. Can’t.’ Nobody wants to think about it, nobody wants to talk about it. It feels like it’s just going to be like somebody hitting you with a slab of concrete and there’s nothing you can do.”
 
She has developed a script which may confound many who want to dig beyond the obvious topic of the need to be aware and do something about climate change.  It is full of laughs, elicits gasps and carries an important message.  
 
As Nathan Motta, Dobama’s Artistic Director states in his program notes, “Climate change is no joke.  The devastating effects of drought and flood, fires and storms, threaten human lives now and in the future.  It’s an epic problem now and in the future.”  He goes on to state that it is hard to get people to listen to the message, but Madeleine George has found a way to get the audience involved by using laughter to put the audience at ease and make the experience wildly enjoyable, so that we let our guard down.
 
Dobama’s production is compelling.  It is well-conceived, well-cast and technically masterful.
 
The ensemble cast is flawless.  Each character is well-conceived.  

 
Aimee Collier, who has received recognition by both the Cleveland Critics Circle and Broadwayworld.com for her performance excellence, is other-world perfect as Diane.  She has a keen sense of comic timing and is bigger than life in transforming herself into a real “dyke” god.
 
Lara Melcarei (Pam Annunziata) is nothing short of perfect “Nujoisee-centric.” Complete with lots of jewelry, over-done makeup, ostentatious clothing, and a stereotypical loud whine, she screams “lady of the garden state.”  
 
Natalie Green showcases her talent for getting into the mind of the characters she portrays by accurately creating Beth Wann as a woman who lacks self-pride and an understanding of her personal worth.  Green allows us to see, hear and feel Beth’s pain.
 
Renee Shapiro-Epps is written as a strong, black, successful woman.  As created by Coleen Longshaw, Renee’s vulnerability also becomes clear. It is obvious why Longshaw has had a successful career in professional theatre. 
 
Lana Sugarman has perfectly nailed the persona of the up-tight, “what will the neighbors think,” insecure Carol Fleischer. 
 
Director, Shannon Sindelar, again displays her creativity and ability to take the written word and create a living entity of the script.  She has selected a well-balanced cast and molded the performers and technical aspects into a play worth seeing. 
 
The one thing Sindelar was not able to conquer is Dobama’s newly conformed performance space.  The soccer field length stage makes it impossible for everyone to consistently hear and connect with the performers.  The former arrangement, which was a three-quarter round configuration, left those seated on the extreme sides isolated and not hearing clearly.  This new configuration is probably worse as no one is in a consistent hear-and-react zone.  Motta and his staff need to go back to the drawing board!
 
Jill David has created a good set design.  The upscale kitchen, in front of a long wall of painted duplicate cul-de-sacs, is a perfect image of New Jersey suburbs.
 
Kevin Duchon’s light design carries us from warm and comfortable suburban kitchen to a hurricane-like atmosphere and isolation.
 
Megan Culley’s sound design is astounding.  It creates music and sounds that carry us through the emotional segments of the performance.
 
CAPSULE JUDGMENT:  HURRICANE DIANE is a well-written script which gets a top-notch production at Dobama.  Sit back, appreciate fine acting and top-notch tech work, as you hopefully learn about the need for all of us to work to curb climate change.  You might also conjure up a more audience-friendly configuration for the Dobama performance space.
 
HURRICANE DIANE runs January 21-February 13, 2022.  For tickets go to dobama.org or call (216) 932-3396.
 
 

CLEVELAND PLAY HOUSE PRESENTS A HOLLY-JOLLY MUSICAL OF HOLIDAY CHEER

It’s that time of year again.  Yes, stores are all decked out in holiday decorations, the Allen Theatre lobby is filled with Christmas Trees, and local theatres are strutting their stuff doing holiday productions. Many of the venues have run out of fresh material so they are remounting scripts from the past or trying to conceive some new holiday cheer and eliminate mid-Covid angst.

An enterprising composer/writer could make a fortune writing some quality holiday shows.  The theatres could sure use them.  

The Cleveland Play House, after years of reprising THE CHRISTMAS STORY finally gave in this year and is trying LIGHT IT UP! which their advertising states is “a holly-jolly musical event that features original pop, rock, gospel, and jazz holiday tunes and new arrangements of traditional Christmas carols.” 

Co-creator Lelund Durond Thompson states, “Coming out of the last year with the pandemic where we have been isolated and where we’ve not had the opportunity to feel, inspire, connect – we really wanted to create a piece that spoke to the need for us to really enjoy living life.” 

Director Christopher Windom adds, “Where we are at this time in this moment in this year, I can’t think of anything that would be more meaningful than a dose of delight during the holiday season.”

The evening is a blend of new and old holiday songs sung by a very talented cast (Florrie Bagel, Kristina Gabriela, Matt Gittins, Brennyn Lark, Terica Marie, Gustavo Márquez, Benjamin H. Moore, Christopher B. Portley, Helen Marla White, Mariama Whyte).

The staging included “Light It Up” a rousing singing and dancing show opener, a joyous “Joy to the World,” a moving Yiddish version of “Maoz Tzurz” (“Rock of Ages”), and an inspiring “Santa Lucia,” among others.

The musicians were excellent, both as backups to the singers, as well as when they came center-stage and showcased their talents.

One might question why the decision was made to break up the wonderful singing with such trite devices as adding the Tinselville Players, playing unfunny audience participation games and faking a storyline.  Musical reviews, composed of only songs and some dancing have entertained for years.  There doesn’t have to be a story line, especially one that is so trite.  

Capsule judgment:  The cast sings well…let them sing!!!  The audience was lite up when the singing and dancing were being performed!  Cut out the trite tale and accent the positive! 

LIGHT IT UP!, which plays through December 22, 2021 at the Allen Theatre, was developed with support of the Roe Green Fund for New American Plays.

For ticket, which range from $15 to $95, call 216.241.6000 or go on line to  www.clevelandplayhouse.com.
 

Convergence-Continuum exposes gay entrapment in THE 20TH CENTURY

 

Convergence-Continuum exposes gay entrapment in THE 20TH CENTURY WAY

 

Roy Berko

(Cleveland Critics Circle & American Theater Critics Association)

 

California is noted as the home of liberal beliefs and a relaxed attitude toward sex.  That wasn’t always the case. 

 

In 1914, men were arrested during a raid of the 606 Club and the 96 Club, two gay spaces that had been on the police force’s radar for some time. The bust was huge, and one of the first entrapment schemes that garnered wide press. 

 

The Los Angeles Times and oth­er sen­sa­tion­al­ist news­pa­pers prin­ted the names of the ar­res­ted men.  The results of the arrests and trials were devastating.  Many lives were ruined and at least one life was lost.  John Lamb, a prom­in­ent Long Beach banker and Epis­copal Church of­ficer, killed him­self soon after he was ar­res­ted.

 

The scandal, among other things, led to an ordinance against “oral sodomy” in California.  That law was followed by similar laws in other states.

That tale of entrapment, and how it came about, is the basis for Tom Jacobson’s THE 20^TH CENTURY WAY, now on stage at convergence-continuum, Cleveland’s “we don’t do plays that any other local theater stages.” 

 

Yes, the artistic director of con-con, as it is referred to by its followers, prides himself on shocking his audience with his play choices. And, this play is definitely shocking.

 

The script tells the tale of how two out-of-work actors hired themselves out to the Long Beach Police Department.  Their goal was to entrap “social vagrants” (homosexuals) in public restrooms. Their motivation?  They got a fee for every “pervert” they exposed, as well as being able to play “real” policemen.

Jacobson uses a play within a play format in which the two characters are portraying trying out the entrapment roles they are to play as well as how the entrapments will take place. 

The author approaches the exposition using a Pirandello type concept in which each of the characters walks the fine line between “reality, sanity and identity.” 

In the script, Jacobson challenges the meaning of morality, explores sexual identity, and if it is possible to be honest and true to oneself.

The performers are required to quickly switch from being the actors who are going to do the entrapments, to being the many men who are being entrapped.  Their only devices are a few costume parts, vocal changes, non-verbal alterations and lighting changes. 

To make the play work requires the actors to seamlessly slip in and out of the characters.  They must be totally believable and the staging must be meticulous, leaving no doubt of the realness of these men.

Con-con’s production, unfortunately, proves to be too much of a stretch for both the actors and the director. 

The many line flubs broke the character development and did havoc on a lighting device that was intended to separate reality from role play.   Costume changes were often awkward.  The improvisational techniques, a requirement for this script, were seemingly not part of the tool chest of the cast.

Previous productions of the script have called the stagings “intriguing,” “fast-paced,” “a display of sexual tension,” “fun” and “a piece that makes us think.”  

Con-con’s staging lacked in being both intriguing and fast-paced.  The ninety minutes dragged into what seemed like hours.  Fun?  There wasn’t an audible laugh heard from the attenders.  There was no sexual tension between the performers.   The script did make one think.

CAPSULE JUDGMENT:  The topic of THE 20^TH CENTURY WAY, if, not the play’s production, should please con-con regulars.  The theme is intriguing and spotlights an important moment in US history that led to many bad laws being passed, gay men being persecuted and prosecuted, and great angst.  It took a late 20^th century Supreme Court decision to undue the horror.

THE 20TH CENTURY WAY plays through December 18, 2021.  For tickets go to www.convergence-contnuum.org

Next up at con-con:  The Cleveland premiere of DOG ACT by Liz Duffy-Adams (March 25-April 16).