TALLEY’S FOLLY, a tale of love overcoming prejudices and uncertainty, at Actors’ Summit

Theatre, as do all of the arts, represents the era from which it comes or is written about.  For example, Lanford Wilson’s TALLEY’S FOLLY places the spotlight on Missouri in 1944, the border state that, until this day, is noted for its laws and customs regarding prejudice against Jews, Catholics and Blacks (e.g. the Ferguson incidents).  It also showcases many of the feelings of border Southerners regarding “proper” etiquette, the sanctity of the roles that women are to play in society, and the power of gossip.  All this is folded into a charming tale.

Wilson, one of the most prolific playwrights of his generation, was born in Lebanon, Missouri and lived most of his life.  His writing reflects his attitudes toward the traditions of the area.

His themes are often gentle, but what appears to be simple digs deep and reflects “politics, religious discrimination, war, family history [patterns that run deep], money, greed, death and all the mysterious longings of the human heart.”
Because of his stances on social change, he is often compared to Anton Chekov, the late 19th and early 20th century writer, who is sometimes referred to as the predictor of the Russian revolution. 

His characters frequently speak in a flowing dialogue, identified as “musical” in tone.   For example, in TALLEY’S FOLLY, Matt, the thirty-something year old statistician, tells the audience at the start of the play that what they are about to see is a “waltz.”  He not only demonstrates the dance, but the cadence of his words pick up the 1-2-3 beat of the music. 

The “ninety-seven minute” TALLEY’S FOLLY takes place in a single night and exposes the unlikely matching of Matt Friedman and Sally Talley.  He is Jewish, she a member of a wealthy family filled with long held prejudices and social “rights and wrongs.”

Sitting at a dilapidated boathouse next to a river on the Talley farm,  Matt, in a speech given directly to the audience, explains not only the setting, but why he is there. 

He relates that the year before, while summer vacationing in Lebanon, he and Sally met.  He fell in love and sent her a letter each day, and talked to her aunt on the phone at least once a week.  Sally sent only a single letter, which contained little hope for a romantic union.

As the play develops we learn of her eccentric uncle who built “follies,” all over town, because he wanted to do so, no matter the attitudes of others.  Follies like the town bandstand where Matt and Sally met the year before.  Eventually they each share a major secret that both have held, which explains why they are who they are.  As the lyric, sad, funny, touching play comes to its end, we are left with the idea that Matt believes that “an angel has guided” his path to Sally and she agrees to marry him, move to St. Louis, and they vow to return to the boathouse every year so they don’t forget the place where they fell in love.

TALLEY’S FOLLY is part of the author’s Talley Trilogy which includes TALLY’S FOLLY, TALLEY & SON, which tells of a power struggle between Sally’s father and grandfather, and FIFTH OF JULY, which centers on societal attitudes regarding homosexuality and the disposition of the Talley estate. 

The Actors’ Summit production, under the insightful direction of Kevin P. Kern, is charming, humorous and well performed.  Seemingly a true romantic who believes in naturally formed unions, rather than matchmakers or computer dating, Kern states “This is a love story that shouldn’t be possible. . . .But in it’s uncertainty, the love affair is more real, more honest, more true than can be provided by a dot com. He concludes, “It’s certainly more interesting.”

Keith Stevens (Matt Friedman) and Shani Ferry (Sally Talley) have a natural connection that makes their relationship seem totally real.  Stevens creates a Matt who is awkward, uncertain, troubled, yet likeable and charming.  Ferry’s Sally is an injured woman whose resistance to happiness has a rightful cause.  As written and performed, these two wounded birds are meant for each other.

The set, costumes, props, and lighting all add to the success of the production.

Capsule judgement: TALLEY’S FOLLY is a fine play that gets an excellent production.  The cast (Keith Stevens and Shani Ferry) create real, accessible characters.  The story showcases the kinds of prejudices that often cause problems in people’s lives and gives a hopeful glow that there is hope, even in light of hate and gossip mongering.  This is a go-see evening of theatre!
 
For tickets to TALLY’S FOLLY, which runs through May 1, 2016 , call 330-374-7568 or go to www.actorssummit.org

Actors’ Summit’s next show is the Tony nominated TINTYPES, a nostalgic musical review of the popular songs from 1890 to 1917, featuring such tunes as “Meet Me in St. Louis,” “Yankee Doodle Dandy,” and “You’re a Grand Old Flag.” (May 19-June 19, 2016)

LOVE’S LABOUR’S LOST—lesser script done with extended farce @ GLT

LOVE’S LABOUR’S LOST, a production of which is now on stage at Great Lakes Theater, is one of Shakespeare’s earliest plays.  As such, some critics believe that it is the “work of a playwright just learning his art.”  Though many of Shakespeare’s plays are brilliant and have effected the course of Western Literature, Shakespeare scholars tend to view this script as a minor work in the Bard’s folio.   It has never been one of the playwright’s more popular works.

Termed a comedy, it does not have the brilliance or the cleverness of such  comedic works as the writer’s AS YOU LIKE IT, ALL’S WELL THAT ENDS WELL or THE MERRY WIVES OF WINDSOR. 

The story centers on the King of Navarre and his three lords, Berowne, Longaville and Dumaine.  The quartet swear an oath to avoid contact with women for three years and dedicate themselves to scholarship and chastity.  A vow which, of course, will be almost impossible for four hot-blooded English playboys to keep.

The Princess of France arrives for a visit, but because of the King’s pledge, the beautiful woman and her three fair ladies cannot meet with the him at court.  The men agree to visit the women at their camp outside the castle.  Of course, as happens in comedies of love, the octet all fall in love as they banter, exchange witty and biting rhetoric, and tease and taunt each other.   After much subterfuge, the four couples are ready to pledge their troth. 

Usually at the end of Shakespearean comedies, all ill-will is put aside and the couple (TAMING OF THE SHREW) or couples (A MIDSUMMER NIGHT’S DREAM)  are married.  Not so with LOVE’S LABOUR’S LOST.  (Spoiler alert) As the lovers are about to marry, a messenger arrives to tell the Princess that her father has died. 

Berowne states, “Our wooing doth not end like an old play;/Jack hath not Jill:  these ladies’ courtesy/Might well have made our sport a comedy.”  Thus by Shakespearean tradition, a character has alerted us to one of the script’s conundrums.  In this case--the woman have to leave and they and their suitors agree that in a year they will marry.

The themes of the play center on masculine desire, moral judgments, and the conflict between fantasy and reality.   The Bard uses lots of wordplay, humor and some dated allusions.

The script’s noted accomplishment is that it has the single longest word in all of Shakespeare’s plays:  “honorificabilitudinitatibus.”

In her attempt to spark up the very long and often tedious script, director Tyne Rafaeli has decided to use shticks, gimmicks, and farcical devices to enhance the humor level. Ladder after ladder falls, actors scale the mountain high-library set, they perch and lay on shelves, knock books hither and yon, hang from pieces of scenery, scream, yell, rant and rave.  Visual stimuli abound to the delight of many in the audience. 

The four male leads:  Jonathan Dyrud (Ferdinand), Christopher Tocco (Berowne), Jeb Burris (Longaville), and Nick Steen (Dumaine) all create unique characterizations.  Their ladies fair, Erin Partin (Princess of France), Laura Welsh Berg (Rosaline), Christine Weber (Maria) and Heather Thiry (Katherine) also are excellent.  Juan Rivera Lebron does a nice turn as Costard, a clown. 

Kristen Robinson’s library set works as a type of jungle gym for Ferdinand and the boys as they jump all over the well built towering wall for comic effect.  It doesn’t work as well for the out of doors scenes as there is nothing to indicate changes of setting.  Andrea Hood’s costumes, Rick Martin’s lighting and Josh Schmidt’s sound designs all help in developing the production.
     
Capsule judgement:  LOVE’S LABOUR’S LOST is a lesser Shakespearian comedy.  It gets an over-the-top farcical production under the direction of Tyne Rafaeli.  The liking or disliking of the show is going to depend on your reaction to lots and lots of shticks and gimmicks replacing letting the script speak for itself.  The opening night audience seems to have been evenly split…many stood and cheered at the final blackout, others sat politely clapping or silently looking on.  
 
LOVE’S LABOUR’S LOST runs through April 24, 2016  at the Hanna Theatre.  For tickets: 216-664-6064 or www.greatlakestheater.org

Cleveland Orchestra and Joffrey Ballet combine for a thrilling evening

Roy Berko

What happens when you bring together the music of composer Béla Bartók, noted for developing new sounds for a new century, The Cleveland Orchestra under the direction of Franz Welser-Möst, and The Joffrey Ballet, under the creative vision of Ashley Wheater, and the sounds of two well-trained opera singers?   The result is a creative, spell-binding visual and musical concert of high audience pleasing quality.

Bartók was a “derivative” composer, part of a group of noted artists, whose voices derived from everything around them.  They refashioned the sounds of everyday life into artistic visions.  Included in this group were Debussy, Shakespeare and Eugene O’Neill. 

“Throughout his life, Bartók composed amid a cloud of influences.  He was a sponge for musical idioms, eagerly soaking up the new and the old, the local and the exotic, the simple and the arcane, integrating them with his musical personality and following them to the limits of his imagination.” Bartók always looked for new ways to create.  He painted music in strong and unexpected shading of colors.

The Hungarian would have been pleased to know that his “Miraculous Mandarin,” a pantomime-ballet, and “Bluebeard’s Castle,” a short story opera, had been effectively incorporated into a stimulating evening of ballet and opera. 

The Cleveland Orchestra, is, of course, recognized as being among the world’s handful of “best” orchestras.  This program advances the organization’s “ongoing commitment to offering dramatic stage works not just as great musical experiences, but also as opportunities for dynamic creativity,” and “unshakeable commitment to innovation and a fearless pursuit of success,” a vision which has highlighted the ensemble since its 1918 founding, and stressed in the present tenure of Welser-Möst.

The Chicago-based Joffrey Ballet is a dance company that is noted for its performances of classical ballets and modern dance pieces.  It was founded in 1956 by Gerald Arpino and Robert Joffrey as a touring company.  It moved into its permanent home, the Joffrey Tower, in 1995.  It has a history of performance with the Cleveland Orchestra, mainly joining together at the Blossom Center.

THE MIRACULOUS MANDARIN, tells the tale of a Young Woman (Victoria Jaiani), who plays the decoy game.  She stands by a window and entices men to come to her so that they can be robbed by three thugs (Raúl Casasola, Paulo Rodrigues, and Joan Sebastián Zamora).  The dance showcases three robbery attempts. 

In the first attempt, an old man (Miguel Angel Blanco) approaches.  The exercise is a failure since he has desire, but no money.  The second attempt also ends in frustration as the shy man (Temur Suluashvili) who is interested, also has no money.  The third attempt finds The Mandarin (Yoshihisa Arai), a man of intense power and sexual appeal, walking away with aloof interest.  He returns and their bodies engage with intensity.  The Thugs steal his money and decide to kill him.  They hang his body up, he is suspended by a rope but does not die, is released by The Young Woman, who embraces him as he expires.

The ballet was performed on the apron of Severance Hall.  Using the 12 feet of space in creative ways, the dance works well.  Yuri Possokhov’s choreography was creative, well performed and told the story well, though the handsome, athletic young Thugs visually were not as menacing looking and as intense as they could be.  Jaiani and Arai make an attractive and sensual team as the Young Lady and the Mandarin.

BLUEBEARD’S CASTLE, with both words and music by Bartók, was the composer’s only opera.   The story concerns a young woman (Katarina Dalayman) who “enters the world of a mysterious older man and gradually learns of his history of imprisoning and/or murdering women.”   His castle is filled with doors, seven of which are locked.  As she demands, and he agrees to open the portals, she finds wealth, jewelry, armaments, a garden, a lake, and finally, his biggest secret, the room of women.  As the psychological archetype is acted and sung out, three of the survivors (Amanda Assucena, April Daly, and Victoria Jaiani) emerge and dance with his newest conquered damsel. 

Staged with a series of sheer drapes representing the doors, which obscured the orchestra during most of the piece, the effects of electronic projections cast upon the drapery were compelling, as was the visual effect of each panel floating down from the very high proscenium arch.

Mikhail Petrenko (Duke Bluebeard) is a Russian bass who, while making his Cleveland Orchestra debut, has sung at many of Europe’s most prestigious opera houses.  Katarina Dalayman (Judith, the young woman), is a Swedish soprano  renowned for her dramatically intense stage performances.   Their soaring voices filled the performance hall with powerful musical sounds.

Capsule judgment: BARTÓK ON STAGE was a special evening of music and dance at Severance Hall.  Combining the eminent Cleveland Orchestra and the well-respected Joffrey Ballet, with a duo of world renowned singers led to a stirring aesthetic experience.  Bravo!
BARTÓK ON STAGE was presented on April 7, 8, 9 and 10, 2016 at Severance Hall s part of the 2015-16 Cleveland Orchestra season.

Upcoming concerts at Severance Hall include:  AT THE MOVIES:  BRIDE OF FRANKENSTEIN (April 26 @ 7:30 p.m.) and STRAVINKSY’S THE FIREBIRD (May 5 @  7:30 p.m., May 6 @ 11 a.m. and 7 p.m., and May 7 @ 8 p.m.)

For tickets and information to future Cleveland Orchestra performances go to clevelandorchestra.com or call 26-231-1111.

MR. WOLF, thought-provoking, dark, confounding @ Cleveland Play House

Over the last several years much attention has been drawn to the abduction of children and, in rare cases, their return.  A short time ago, the Cleveland area had the spotlight placed on it when three young ladies, Michelle Knight, Amanda Berry and Gina DeJesus, were freed after their many years of captivity in the Tremont home of Ariel Castro.  This event makes one of the basic tenets of MR. WOLF, now on stage at Cleveland Play House’s Outcalt Theatre, quite inciting to local audiences.

In MR. WOLF, Cleveland area native, Rajiv Joseph, one of the new breed of young emerging playwrights, has taken the theme of child abduction and looks at it from what happens to a child who was not abused during her years of capture, but treated as a special being.

Joseph, a Cleveland Heights High graduate, was a Pulitzer Prize finalist for his BENGAL TIGER AT THE BAGHDAD ZOO, which starred Robin Williams on Broadway, and was staged by Ensemble Theatre several years ago.  A multi-award winner, he most recently was recognized with the Laurents/Hatcher Foundation $150,000 Award for his THE GUARDS AT THE TAJ. 

Joseph is noted for writing about faith, belief, survival and closely-held truths.  His MR. WOLF is no exception.

As the play starts, we are exposed to a tween, doing what appears to be designs of the universe on a blackboard.  She then walks a pattern on a braided rug on the floor of a large room, with a massive wall of books.  This is her “home.”

We soon find out that Theresa, the girl, lives with Mr. Wolf, an astrophysicist and a teacher at a local college.  He has taught Theresa, obviously a very gifted child, how to think in scientific terms of reasoning and thought.  She seems to be on the brink of understanding the concept of infinity, a term used to apply to whatever we don’t understand.

Mr. Wolf refers to her as a prophet and encourages her to always ask questions and seek fact answers.  Her mantra is that ideas and information must be, “specific to me.” 

He explains that she understands things no one else will understand, but now, “the world is coming!”  He gives her her first taste of chocolate, a new pair of tennis shoes and a coat.

Who is this man?  Is he her grandfather, a teacher, or maybe family friend who is tutoring this gifted child?  No, as we soon find out.  He abducted her at age three in his quest to find a child protégé who could fulfill his dream of creating a “prophet.”  The “world is now” coming in the form of the authorities to free her from his grasp.

In a series of scenes, we are exposed to her father, Michael, who has maniacally searched for Theresa, at the expense of his marriage.  Her wealthy mother, Hana, who appears to have run from facing the stress of the child’s disappearance by moving to a far-away city.  She did, however, offer a million dollar reward, which eventually led to the exposure of Mr. Wolf.  And, Julie, a woman whose young daughter was also abducted, who met Michael at a meeting of survivors of child abduction, and eventually married him. 

Much like a change in the heavens, the script examines the cosmic fallout from a major shift in the dynamics caused by Theresa’s return.  An explosion that not only affects the family, but Theresa, herself.

Questions abound.  Were Mr. Wolf’s influences on Theresa good or bad?  Will her coping mechanism of finding a world full of conundrums be more than she can psychologically handle.  Will she be able to return to the “normal” world without lingering effects of Mr. Wolf?  Will Julie and Michael continue to find solace in each other now that his journey to find his lost child is ended, but her emotional ravages continue?   Will Michael agree to reunite with Hana in order to preserve the family unit?  What will be the fallout of revelation that Theresa was not the only child Mr. Wolf abducted?

Though in some ways the script is captivating, some might question decisions Joseph made in the stories development.  Should the character of Mr. Wolf have been more fully fleshed out so we better understand what drove him to seek out the children?  Should the meeting and connection between Julie and Michael have been clearer?  What brought the shy Michael and the strong willed Hana together in the first place?   Is the opening scene so abstract that the audience may be overwhelmed and confused and turn off?

Even with those issues, the overall effect of the script is powerful.   The many questions it asks are all part of the strength, rather than a weakness of the story development.  That is, unless audience members like their theater to have a clear beginning, middle and end, all tied together for them, complete with a happy ending.

Giovanna Sardelli’s directing keeps the play moving along at an appropriate pace and the characters are as clearly developed as the script allows.

Timothy R. Mackabee’s set is a fascinating mélange of moving platforms, scenery that comes courtesy of the electronic traps in the theatre’s floor, a backdrop of stars and the universe, and an impressive wall of what appears to be hundreds of books.  It makes for smooth scene transitions.

The cast is outstanding.  Julie Brett, who has a long theatrical history that makes her fifteen year old looks, seem like an aberration.   She not only portrays Theresa fluently, but totally becomes Theresa.  This is an impressive and flawless performance.

Rebecca Brooksher gives us a Julie who is compassionate while deep in depression.  This is a character who could have faded into the background with a less competent performance.

Todd Cerveris gives life to Michael, a conflicted, communicatively challenged man who finds himself in grief, relief and then emotional conflict.

Jessica Dickey has little to work with as Hana, whose history is only sketchily laid out.  The lasting image is of a less than nice, self-absorbed woman, who puts her needs and wants above all else.

John de Lancie fascinates as the evil Mr. Wolf, whose life and motives are not made clear in the script, but is maniacal in his purpose for Theresa.

CAPSULE JUDGMENT:  MR. WOLF is a study of a girl, a man and a family in turmoil.  The dark drama leaves many unanswered questions that should tweak after-production discussions.  It is a play which will confound some, and exhilarate others (including me).  It is the kind of script that CPH should do more of in order to stretch the audience to be exposed to a wide range of theater.
MR. WOLF, which is part of “New Ground CPH” runs through April 24, 2016, in the Outcalt Theatre in Hanna complex of PlayhouseSquare.

Other offerings in the 2016 New Ground CPH, which runs from April 14-23 are:  THE GOOD PEACHES by Quiara Alegria Hudes, April 14-16, a collaboration with the Cleveland Orchestra;  FEED, Cleveland Heights’ playwright Eric Coble’s new play, in a reading on April 23 @ 2:30 in the Helen; and LITTLE ROW BOAT OR, CONJECTURE, Kristen Greenidge’s Roe Green Award Winner for New Play, in a reading on April 23 @ 5 PM in the Helen. For tickets call 216-241-6000 or go to http://www.clevelandplayhouse.com.

BEAUTIFUL THE CAROL KING MUSICAL delights at Conner Palace

As the curtain rises, it’s 1971, Carole King is on stage at Carnegie Hall.  She sings, “So Far Away,” one of her classic hits.  Thus starts BEAUTIFUL THE CAROL KING MUSICAL, now on stage at the Connor Palace as part of the Key Bank Broadway series

King is being portrayed by the very talented Abby Mueller.  Mueller.  Sound familiar?  Her sister, Jessie Mueller, won the Tony Award for her portrayal of Carol in the original Broadway production of the show.

BEAUTIFUL is a juke box musical in which a story is written, and previously released music is shoe-horned into the script.  Think MAMMA MIA!, JERSEY BOYS, AIN’T MISBEHAVIN’, LOVE JANIS, and THE BUDDY HOLLY STORY.  No new music was written specifically for the show as the reason for selecting the person(s) or topic is that the songs have already been penned.

In contrast to many other juke box musicals, the songs for BEAUTIFUL seamlessly flow into Doug McGrath’s nicely honed story. The segues aren’t forced, the songs are logical choices for the tale being told.  They develop the story not only of King, but of rock and roll, itself.  

Not only are there King classics, and those co-written with her husband, Gerry Goffin,  such as “Some Kind of Wonderful,” “Take Good Care of My Baby,” “Will You Love Me Tomorrow,” and “One Fine Day,” but there are reimagined performances by the likes of Neil Sedaka, The Drifters, and The Righteous Brothers, as well as tunes by Cynthia Weill, Barry Mann and Phil Spector.

The story tells the tale of Carole King, a 16-year old Brooklyn high school student, who goes into Manhattan to sell a song to music publisher Don Kirshner, the rock music producer, talent manager and songwriter, who was known as the “Man With the Golden Ear,” because of his ability to identify potential hit songs and match them with the appropriate talent.

Genie, her mother, is opposed to the idea.  Being a typical headstrong young lady and true to her Brooklyn heritage, Carole goes anyway.  She not only sells Kirshner “It Might As Well Rain Until September,’ but he asks for more.  Thus, her song writing career is launched.

While attending Queens College, she meets handsome lyricist Gerry Goffin  In spite of her inferior complex over her lack of beauty, the duo falls in love and start to collaborate not only as song writers, but as lovers.  When she gets pregnant, they get married. 

The duo meet fellow song writers, Cynthia Weil and Barry Mann and develop a love/competition relationship. 

Eventually Goffin’s philandering ways destroys the marriage, King moves to California to write more hits, and becomes a performer with the success of her performance album “Tapestry,” which includes the poignant, “(You Make me Feel Like) A Natural Woman.”

The show ends on a high note.  When King comes back to New York to appear at Carnegie Hall, Goffin comes to her dressing room to apologize for all the ways he hurt her.  King comes onto the stage, sits at the piano, and sings “Beautiful.” 

Curtain!  Applause, applause, and more applause.

BEAUTIFUL premiered in San Francisco in 2013, and made its Broadway debut, with direction by Marc Bruni and choreography by Josh Prince in January, 2014, to rave reviews.  The touring production, with the same director and choreographer, started in September, 2015 with the projected run ending in San Francisco in August.

Talent obviously runs in the Mueller family.  Abby is as good as Jessie was in her recreation of Carole King.  She has a solid voice, sounds a lot like Carole King, complete with many of the physical mannerisms and vocal shadings.  She is a convincing actress and sings song meanings, not just words.

Canadian born, matinee star handsome, Liam Tobin, who has never been on a Broadway stage, has a strong stage history.  He has a big voice and hits the vocal and verbal notes well as the psychologically fragile Gerry Goffin.

Betsy Gulsvig, who will appear in the April 5-10 performances (she is triple cast), delights as Cynthia Weil.  She has a nice touch with comedy, and sings and acts with ease.  Playing opposite her is the scene stealing Ben Fankhauser, as the hypochondriacal song writer, Barry Mann.  Fankhauser has a wonderfully expressive face, and puppy dog eyes, which he uses to get laughs.  He has the verbal ability to clearly key his many funny lines.

Suzanne Grodner uses every Brooklyn mother’s stereotypical accent and attitude to milk laughs as Genie Klein, Carole’s mother. 

The rest of the cast is strong.  The singing and dancing are top notch.

The choreography is dynamic and creative.  “The Locomotion” had the audience rockin’ in their seats!

This is no cheap imitation of a Broadway show.  The scenic and costumes designs are high quality.  The orchestra sound is full.

CAPSULE JUDGEMENT:  BEAUTIFUL THE CAROL KING MUSICAL is a solid script which gets a superior production that should delight local audiences.  Every element of the juke box show, the performances, the visual effects and the musical sounds are appropriately “beautiful!” 

Tickets for BEAUTIFUL, which runs through April 17 , 2016 at the Connor Palace Theatre, can be ordered by calling 216-241-6000 or going to www.playhousesquare.org.

Well written SHINING CITY on stage @ Beck Center

SHINING CITY, Conor McPherson’s script now on stage at Beck Center, is a play about people who are in a search for “self.”  Each of the four characters has an unclear image of who they are, and are in a quest for clarity, love, and the need to emotionally and physically touch someone.

The play, which is performed without intermission, takes place in five scenes, each set about two months apart.  Each scene leaves a series of questions in the minds of the audience as to their intent and foreshadows later actions in the play.

The setting is an office in present day Dublin.  Ian (Adam Heffernan), who has left the priesthood, has established himself as a counselor.  His practice is housed in a sparsely furnished office.  His first client is John (Robert Hawkes), a middle-aged man who tells a tale of being haunted by the ghost of Mari, his dead wife, who was killed in an auto accident.  Afraid to be in his large house, with a ghost present, he has moved into a B&B.  Is the ghost real?  Is it a figment of John’s imagination?  Or is it a psychological manifestation striving to get out of the unconscious and into the man’s consciousness?     

Scene two reveals that Ian has an estranged fiancée, Neasa (Ursula Cataan), who is the mother of his child. Why has Ian left this women and the youngster?  Will Ian relent and come “home?”  Will Neasa’s confession of having a one-night stand seal the doom for this relationship?

Scene three finds John back for a repeat session.  He reveals that his marriage was not without conflict.  The couple had no children, felt isolated at social events when others spoke of their off-spring.  He tells of a failed attempt at an extra-marital affair and an unfulfilled visit to a prostitute.  Will John’s probing into his troubled marriage help him to gain an understanding of why his wife has “reappeared” as a ghost?  Will his recounting of his failed sexual liaisons clarify why he felt isolated in his marriage?  Will Ian help John to gain the clarity needed to move on with his life?

Scene four finds Ian bringing home Laurence (Nicholas Chokan), a male prostitute.  Ian admits that he has never sexual been with a man.  Why did Ian bring Laurence home? Does Ian bringing Laurence home explain his alienation from Neasa?  Will Ian and Laurence have sex, develop a relationship and move forward from there?

In the last scene, as Ian is packing up his office, John appears bearing a “thank you” gift.   John reveals that he is now dating a woman he likes, is no longer seeing his former wife’s ghost, is selling his large house and moving to an apartment, that he now realizes that the ghost was a manifestation of his need to punish himself for the intended affairs and his thoughts that he was responsible for his wife’s death.  Ian reveals that he, Neasa and the baby are being reunited.  As John leaves, Ian is left alone in the office, with the image of Mari lingering in his doorway. 

Why has Ian changed his mind about his relationship with Neasa?  What is the significance of Mari’s ghost?  What is the moral, lesson, and/or concept that McPherson is trying to share with the audience?

The reviews of SHINING CITY, both in its 2004 London production and its 2006 Broadway premiere, were generally exemplary.   In New York, the play received two Tony nominations, including being selected for consideration as Best Play. 

A critical comment about the script included that it was a “ haunting and glorious new play.”  Others called it “a marvel and delight” and “absorbing and witty,” and noted that “McPherson fuses extra-ordinary skill at shaping language with an aching awareness of difficulties of communicating.”

The comments about the productions, themselves, referred to the “flawless timing,” the “effective pace,” “the wit,” and that “time flies while the actors rivet your attention as this gripping story unfolds.”

The Beck production, under the direction of Bernadette Clemens, has some excellent performances, but lacks some of the “flawless timing” “effective pacing”  and “wit” that the reviewers of the other productions commented upon. 

Hawkes gives a splendid, textured realism to the conflicted John.  His guilt over the failed marriage, and his role in that failure, were crystal clear.  Verbally stumbling, gulping water, pacing with tension…Hawkes clearly creates a man in torment.  His relaxed mannerisms in the last scene showed the effect of his coming to terms with his issues and the character’s ability to move on.

Cataan was properly wrought as the confused Neasa.  Sometimes speaking at a lightning rate, she blurted out her tale of frustration, clearly conveying her confusion.  Her emotional cracking, while revealing her affair, is riveting.

Some of the stage movement, actor placement and lack of interactive tension was frustrating as was evidenced by the audience’s on and off attention and the polite applause at the curtain call.

One of the factors that all of us who are mental health professionals are taught, is that for effective counseling to take place there must be a connectedness between client and patient.  Though the world of the stage takes some liberties because of “theatrical” needs, Ian’s sitting behind the desk during most of his first session with John created an emotional void.  The same occurred in the third scene when Ian sat across the room in a chair with a vast chasm between the two.  Even theatrically this was problematic.  The placement of the chair cheated the audience seated stage left, from having a vision of Ian’s face and made seeing John almost impossible.  The staging techniques could well have accounted for the lack of a feeling of a link between Ian and John.

At the end of the fourth scene, there was no connection between Ian and Laurence.  Why had Ian brought Laurence home?  Was he interested in probing his possible latent homosexuality?  If so, there should have been some sexual tension developed between the two.  If Ian discovered that he had made a mistake there needed to be some act of rejection.  As is, the scene didn’t help clarify Ian’s actions in the last act.

CAPSULE JUDGEMENT:  SHINING CITY is a well-written script which tells a compelling set of stories.  Past productions of the play were praised for their emotional development and wit.  Though the Beck production had some excellent performances, the pace, staging and some shallow character connections, left some of the over-all effect missing.  Hopefully, as the show runs, the performers will add some of the missing or muted elements.

SHINING CITY is scheduled to run through May 1, 2016 at Beck Center for the Arts.  For tickets and information call 216-521-2540 or go on line to http://www.beckcenter.org

Next at Beck:  HEATHERS:  THE MUSICAL in its regional premiere.  It’s a heartfelt, homicidal, tune-filled reliving of the 1989 film of the same name.  (May 27-July 2, 2016)

BOOTY CANDY pushes the envelope at convergence continuum

Both Cleveland Public Theatre (CPT) and convergence-continuum (con-con) are noted for producing “on the edge” theatre.  Ironically, both are now featuring plays that examine the human experience from the viewpoint of sexual orientation and race/ethnicity.

Yuval Boim’s SEXCURITY, in a short run at CPT, is a devised piece which delves into the angst of being gay and Jewish.  It probes into the deep need to define ourselves and the challenges of finding a safe corner of the world.  Boim, the author and Darren Katz, the director, contend that the play is not autobiographical, per se, but has bits of each of them, which have been extrapolated into a theatrical vision.

Now on stage at convergence-continuum, Robert O’Hara’s BOOTY CANDY is a series of interconnected sketches which portray growing up gay and black.  The piece, which is both dramatic and funny, is a biographical work that illuminates O’Hara’s personal pain and pleasure.

O’Hara is blunt in his language and story telling.  His kaleidoscope covers such topics as foreskin, mother-child relationships, a cross-dressing preacher, genitalia, gay sex, racial issues, playwriting techniques, teenage sexual identity, lesbianism, a noncommitment ceremony (the opposite of the gay marriage ceremony), rape, death, suicide, aging, and sexual perversion.  There is full male nudity, the mocking of religion, and lots of four letter words. 

It’s the author’s coming to terms with his sexuality and the damage that the American culture’s attitudes towards sexual orientation and race has had on his psyche.

Many of the scenes are filled with fun.  Others are empathic and soul searching.

Among the standout segments are the opening in which Sutter (the name the author has tagged on the character who represents him), creatively portrayed by Wesley Allen, asks his mother questions about his childlike awareness of sex and his “booty candy” (uncut penis). 

“Dreamin’ in Church,” is a hysterically funny segment in which Michael May, portraying a hyper-evangelical black minister, comments on the number of gay men in the church’s chorus, while scolding the church members for their “salacious spreading of rumors.”  Following his rant, he rips off his churchly robes to reveal a pink dress, red high heeled shows, puts on a female wig, and comes out to the parishioners.

A funny but revealing scene takes place when India Nicole Burton and Rochelle Jones portray four different black women having multiple phone conversations as they discuss the name, Genitalia, which one of them is about to give to her soon-to-be born daughter.

Another segment places the spotlight on Genitalia, now all grown up, as a lesbian who is in the process of dissolving her marriage from her girlfriend, Intifada, in what the author has named, a “noncommitment” ceremony.

“Last Gay Play,” is a troubling segment in which a drunk, psychologically fragile straight man who has just been abandoned by his on-line female date, approaches Sutter and his black friend.  He propositions them. (The scene would have been aided if Nate Miller, who plays the white man, was more drunk and out-of-control.) The trio go back to the man’s hotel room.  The now naked Miller, his gym-ripped body shaking and quivering, is properly pathetic as he pleads to be touched and sexually attacked, both physically and with a “large black dildo.”  The ending of the scene is the strongest serious segment of the play.

Under the direction of Terrence Spivey, the cast, India Nicole Burton, Wesley Allen, Rochelle Jones, Michael May and Nate Miller, are excellent as they flow from one part to another.

Capsule Judgement:  BOOTY CANDY, as is true with most con-con plays, will please many (including me), and offend others. It is funny, revealing and generally well-staged. As publicity for the show states, “PLEASE BE ADVISED:  This play is called BOOTY CANDY, so they’ll be talking about booty, and show some booty.  That means strong language, mature themes, and full nudity.  You’ve been warned!”

BOOTY CANDY runs through April 16, 2016, at 8 pm on 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 or go to http://www.convergence-continuum.org

Groundworks Dance Theater stresses imagination you can see @ Breen Center; IT TAKES TWO--annual fundraising

The reconfigured Groundworks Dance Theater, with two new dancers this season, again proved that they are one of the area’s premiere dance companies in their presentation of “Falling Awake,” in its world premiere, and Artistic Director David Shimotakahara’s spellbinding, “Ghost Opera.” 

“Falling Awake” found the entire company interpreting choreographer Loni Landon’s creation about tension, connection/disconnection and how people relate to each other.

The piece, Landon said, was inspired “from a recurring image [she] had after several chaotic dreams following Hurricane Sandy.”  Her hope for the piece, “to have it feel like a continuous stream of consciousness—a dream—a movie,” was achieved.

Danced to select music from the soundtrack of “The Great Beauty,” it incorporated redundant segments of action and feelings which would not go away.  The fragmented scenes, eerie electronic and piano music, and  effective lighting by Dennis Dugan, combined to create the desired image of a fracture dream.

The slight but powerful newcomer, Michael Marquez, continued to impress with his strong movements, controlled precision and fluidity.   Attractive Lauren Garson, the other company neophyte, fit seamlessly into the strong female corps  of Felise Bagley and Annika Sheaff displaying strong dance moves and a complete performance vocabulary.

“Ghost Opera” is a brilliant dance and theatrical experience.   Combining live music and ancient theatrical methods, it left an indelible impression.

The piece, Shimotakahara’s re-imagining of Tan Dun’s master work, brings spirits from the past present and future, from east and west culture, from nature and technology, together into an emotionally satisfying presentation.

First danced at the Cleveland Institute of Music on June 28, 2014, this is a piece that should be a permanent fixture in the Groundworks lexicon of works.

The multi-textured piece found the musicians (Solomon Liang, Andra Belding, Aaron Mossburg, Erica Snowden and Yihan Chen) moving from place to place on stage, interweaving with the dancers, filmy curtains and spectacular lighting effects by Dennis Dugan.   Using water in bowls, paper, Asian instruments such as the Pipa, and traditional Western musical instruments, they set a perfect mood for the performers’ use of Oriental hand, arm, leg and body movements.

A highlight segment of the dancing was an extended duet by the ever proficient Felise Bagley and Michael Marquez.   A wonderful segment centering on the manipulation of a large box was filled with humor and skill.

Capsule Judgement: An appreciative audience expressed their pleasure as the  final curtain fell on Groundworks Spring Concert at Breen Auditorium.  The company continues to smoothly integrate new dancers into their membership without losing any of their precision and living up to their motto of “Imagination You Can See.” 

Performance dates were:  March 18 and 19, 2016 at Breen Center for the Performing Arts

IT TAKES TWO…annual fundraiser
Seven local celebrities will be featured in fantastic and fun duets with seven GroundWorks artists. 2016 Celebrity Dancers
¥    Margaret Richards Frankel, Dentist, Richards Frankel Dentistry
¥    Ian Friedman, Attorney, Friedman & Nemacek, LLC
¥    Brian Marita, Managing Partner, Ciuni and Panichi
¥    Heidi Gartland, Vice President, Government & Community Relations, University Hospitals
¥    Kristen Morris, Chief Government and Community Relations Officer, Cleveland Clinic
¥    August A. Napoli Jr., Deputy Director and Chief Advancement Officer, Cleveland Museum of Art
¥    Sylvia Pérez, VP for Corporate Governance and Governmental & International Affairs, The Cleveland Foundation
Matt Zone, Cleveland City Councilman

¥    When: Saturday, April 2nd, 2016
¥    Where: The Cleveland Museum of Art
¥    Parking: Free indoor parking provided
¥    Suggested Attire: Casual, Cool, Cocktail

For information about GroundWorks go to http://www.groundworksdance.orgor call 216-751-0088

Devised SeXcurity probes for sense-of-self and identity at CPT

Roy Berko

Member: Cleveland Critics Circle and American Theatre Critics Association



Native Clevelander Darren Katz and Israeli born, Yuval Boim, have many things in common.  The duo are gay, Jewish, have an intense interest in probing into the psyche of self-identity, security of identification, and victimhood.  As revealed in a face-to-face interview, they both seem to thrive on probing psychological barriers and delving into the layers of personal development as an artist.



That delving is at the very core of their SeXcurity.  The devised theater-piece is the kind of work that Raymond Bobgan, the Artistic Director of Cleveland Public Theatre, champions.



SeXcurity is billed as a darkly funny performance about the deep need to define ourselves and the challenges of finding a safe corner of the world – and our minds – in which to do so. It concerns an Israeli-American Jewish gay screenwriter whom, when confronted with a crisis, has to discover who he really is.


The character sees himself as a victim.  He has a boyfriend who is German.  His life and sexual actions connect with trauma, and have life and death ties.  He struggles to let go of his perceived victimhood and history, which, in reality, have nothing to do with his contemporary self.



Though Katz and Boim contend that the play is not autobiographical, per se, but thematically has bits of each of them. As they stated, “it is based in autobiography and then extrapolated."



Katz was brought up in Shaker Heights and graduated from University School in 1992.  He was a student of the late Michael LiBassi in the Heights Youth Theatre, worked with Victoria Bussert at Cain Park, and was influenced by Carol Pribble, his drama teacher at US.  He went on to earn a BA in Urban Studies and Architecture from Columbia University.  He now lives in New York with his husband and their child.



Like architecture, his philosophy of theatre directing centers on “working with the playwright to find the best form to tell their story in a three-dimensional way.”  He believes that “form follows function and that theater is a physical art.”  He contends that “theater should not be derivative, but should stress the invention of story.”



His NY credits include being the Resident Director of The Lion King, which entails rehearsing the understudies and crafting the performances of new cast members who are entering into the production.  He has directed such shows as the 2nd national tour of The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee. (For more professional information on Darren go to: http://www.darrenkatzdirector.com/)



He returns to Cleveland regularly as his family still resides here.  He nostalgically related that when he was young he used to take the rapid downtown to his father’s law office.  He remembers well the beauty of the marbled walls which used to be in the lower levels of the Terminal Tower.



Yuval Boim is a “Sabra.” He was born in Holon, a city on the coastal strip just south of Tel Aviv to a first generation Sabra father and a Romanian mother.  His family moved to Johannesburg, South Africa when he was young, back to Israel when he was three, and moved to Houston, Texas when he was thirteen.



He is a graduate of the conservatory at the Boston University College of Fine Arts.  Following college he moved to New York to pursue a career in theater.  He also spent two years in London studying Lecoq at the London International School of Performing Arts, which “emphasizes methods of physical theater, movement and mime.”  The performance language of the school emphasizes the physical playing of the actor, which is Yuval's first approach to playwriting.



Boim’s conception and performance in SeXcurity harks back to his Lecoq training.



Boim has appeared in numerous television shows and movies including “That Awkward Moment” with Zac Efron and Miles Teller. (For more information on Boim, go to: http://yuvalboim.com/)



Natalie Gershtein, an independent New York based producer, is the producer of SeXcurity.  In her role as producer, her aim is to “support artists and connect the show to the right audience.”  She has become passionate about the work of Katz and Boim and hopes that through this workshop, they can pair the show with the right future audiences and venues. 



As they go forward Katz, Boim and Gershtein hope that they can cultivate mindfulness around the subject of identity, bringing this theme from the unconscious to the conscious.



SeXcurity (a workshop production),which is part of the OUT OF THE BOX series, will be performed March 24-26 at 7 PM.  For tickets call 216-631-2727 or go to www.cptonline.org

A KID LIKE JAKE probes the effects of heredity & environment at none too fragile

In their catalog, Dramatists Play Service, which owns the production rights to Daniel Pearle’s A KID LIKE JAKE, states, “On the eve of the admissions cycle for Manhattan’s most exclusive private schools, Alex and Greg have high hopes for their son Jake, a precocious four-year old who happens to prefer Cinderella to G. I. Joe.  But as the process continues, Jake’s behavior becomes erratic and perplexing, and other adults in his life start to wonder whether his fondness for dress-up might be cause for concern.”

Yes, that’s a surface level description of Pearle’s explosive and thought-provoking play.   What the catalog description misses is the need to look beyond the story line and get into the psychological and sociological issues raised.

A major topic in theories in the social sciences centers on roles of nature and nurture.  Is a person destined to be and do what their genes dictate?  Can predispositions be influenced by a person’s environment?  Is a person’s sexual orientation, gender identity, possible addictions (e.g., alcoholism, eating dysphoria, drug dependency) set by heredity or influenced by cultural inputs?

There is a ritual of competition that seems to arise from living in a place where it is difficult to gain recognition.  There is a mass of people competing for the same thing, whether it is for school placement or finding a parking spot.

Manhattan residents tend to be anxiety driven, failing to take a deep breath and relax.  They walk fast, talk fast, set extremely high goals, go to extremes. 

From the time an upper middle to upper class New York child is born, they are on a tread mill to get into the “best” pre-school, elementary school, high school and college, to rise to the top, be a winner, no matter the cost.

In A KID LIKE JAKE, Alex, Jake’s mother, is the product of not only wealth but an exacting mother.  She is obsessive compulsive.  Everything has to be right. Things must be preplanned and structured.  She obsesses over the selection of every single word in Jake’s school entrance essays.  Jake is prepped for ERB entrance tests, his every action is scrutinized. Alex constantly checks in at his pre-school regarding the boy’s actions.  His Halloween costumes and birthday parties must be “right.” 

Each night she reads him fairy tales, with an emphasis on Cinderella, just as Alex was.  He is surrounded by stereotypical “girl” stuff.  He has no “boy” toys and listens to no “boy’ stories. 

Is there any question of why Jake identifies with girls and girl things?

Wonder if his identity patterns would have been different if she had read him “boy” stories and exposed him to “boy” toys? 

Greg, his father, a non-athlete, doesn’t toss around a ball with his son in the park, they don’t share any rough-housing.   Environmentalists might conjure if this is also part of the reason for Jake’s actions and identity. 

Greg  is a psychologist who deals with adults and their issues.  He is in emotional control and approaches the world logically, but not in a non-flexible way.  A product of the public schools and a modest financial background, he seems less driven than his wife to find the “perfect” school.  He sneaks Jake out to McDonald’s, much against his wife’s wishes.

Is Jake reflecting his environmental influences when he states he wants to be a girl or does he have a pre-disposition toward awareness that he was born into the wrong gender body?

In an interview the author indicates that he went through a ‘Cinderella phase.”  He states, “My mom read me a lot of fairy tales when I was little.”  “Snow White was the first movie he saw.”

Pearle’s script encourages much discussion and thought regarding Jake.  The author might consider doing a follow-up, centering around Jake in early adulthood with not only a spotlight on his gender “decisions,” but the relationship of his parents, who we leave with Alex hinting at divorce and Greg saying, “Good luck on finding someone who will put up with you.”

Rachel Lee Kolis must be close to collapse at the end of each production.  With repeated physical gestures, facial expressions and vocal hysterics she creates an Alex who is on the very edge of psychological collapse because of her obsessive tendencies.  She is like a rubber band, about to snap.

 Geoff Knox develops a Greg who has learned well the mental health professional’s ability to control his emotions in the face of stress and chaos.  His speech where he confronts Alex’s potential divorce scenario was powerful.

Katie Wells is effective in her roles as a nurse and a grown-up Jake in a dream sequence.

The play’s pacing was hampered by time consuming and emotional stopping excessive movements of set pieces and costume changes.

Capsule judgement:  A KID LIKE JAKE is a well-developed, thought-provoking script, centering on the contemporary topics of gender identity, parental relationships, and the controversy of nature versus nurture.  The acting is excellent.  It is the type of production that incites discussion and will be appealing to a thinking audience.

For tickets to A KID LIKE JAKE which runs through March 26, 2016 at none too fragile theater in Akron, call 330-671-4563 or go to nonetoofragile.com

The next none too fragile production is Martin McDonagh’s THE BEAUTY QUEEN OF LEENANE from April 22-May 7, 2016.

Personal thoughts on the passing of David O. Frazier

It is with great sadness that I write this tribute to David O. Frazier.

When my wife and I walked into many an opening night performance, it was our pleasure to find David and Joe Garry, David’s partner for 40 years and husband for two, and schmooze about the theater scene in Cleveland and New York, and the many places all of us had visited. 

Lately, David had entered the theatre in a wheel chair and was transferred by Joe into his seat.  It was sad to watch this strapping, energetic, talented performer fade before our eyes.   

David left us early Monday morning.

David was not only a fine singer, actor and writer, but a wonderful person.  His ready smile was infectious.  It was impossible to listen and watch David and not smile back. 

On July 15, 2009, Representative Dennis J. Kucinich rose before the Congress to honor and recognize David for his induction into the Cleveland Playhouse Hall of Fame for Outstanding Achievement in the Theater.  The proclamation was placed in the Congressional Record (Vol. 155 Issue 106).

David may best be remembered for his 1973 appearance in the record-breaking run in “Jacques Brel is Alive and Well and Living in Paris,” which ran for two-and-a-half years in the lobby of the State Theatre.  That production stopped the demolition of and revived Cleveland’s five historic movie theatre houses, which now constitute the second largest professional performing arts center in the country.   In 2012 David and Joe were recognized for their “vision, commitment and significant contributions to the saving of the historic theaters of Playhouse Square.”

David and Joe, besides collaborating on “Conversations With An Irish Rascal,” co-wrote and produced fifteen original musicals.  

Joe and David were great hosts.  Their Bratenahl condo is filled with many mementos of their travels as they sailed around the world entertaining on many cruise ships and gained recognition.

All of us who considered David to be a special friend will miss him very, very much. 

The curtain has fallen on his life, but David O. Frasier will long be remembered as holding a special place in our collective hearts.

THE 39 STEPS, British farcical fun, at Blank Canvas

What do you do if  you are bored?  If you are Richard Hannay, the major character in Patrick Barlow’s THE 39 STEPS, now on stage at Blank Canvas, you go to the theater to see “something mindless and trivial.”  If you, personally are bored and looking for something to fill your time, THE 39 STEPS should fill the bill!

The farcical melodrama, a mix of a Hitchcock mystery and Monty Python-like ridiculousness, is based on a 1915 novel by John Buchan and Alfred Hitchcock’s 1935 film of the same name.

In 2007 the play won the prestigious Olivier Award, the British equivalent of the Tony Award.  It also holds the record as the fifth longest running play in West End history.

In the play, Hannay goes to the theatre to see a clairvoyant perform.  An attractive blond sits next to him in his London music hall box.  A shot rings out, chaos follows, the blond and Hannay wind up in his flat. 

The next morning the blond is killed, Hannay, sure he will be accused of being the killer, flees to Scotland’s most remote highlands.  He is confronted by a man with a severed pinky, detectives who want to arrest him, and a plot against Britain by the Nazis. 

Hannay is constantly pursued, having interludes with attractive women, and escaping via train, car and on foot.  Of course, in the end, as is the case with all over-blown melodramatic farces, he wins both the girl and his freedom.

The script is filled with puns and allusions to such Hitchcock flicks as “Strangers on a Train,” “Rear Window,” “Psycho,” and “Vertigo.”  It isn’t required that the viewer can identify these references, but it doesn’t hurt.

The meaning of the title?  I’m not going to tell, that would reveal the little bit of real mystery in the script.

The format for the play can be exhausting, for both the cast and the audience.  Four players portray many, many characters…keeping track is of who is who is almost impossible.  One actor inhabits the role of Hannay.  A female plays three different femme fatales who find themselves in romantic interactions with Hannay. 

The remaining two actors, complete with lots of hats, dresses, jackets, coats, wigs and mustaches, are the police, hotel owners, announcers, and every other person, both male and female, who lead us on a merry, no-holds barred chase for justice.

To achieve the desired hilarity, the staging requires lightening swift quick-changes.  This is where the Patrick Ciamacco directed show both succeeds and stumbles.

On the positive side, the projection designs created by Perren Hedderson, and carried out by projectionist Zac Hudak, not only instantly create moving trains and cars, but fill in for what would normally be scenery and informing signage.  Also, the actors are adequately able to quickly change character clarifiers, such as hats, coats and mustaches.

On the other hand the use of four large and heavy wooden crates, which stand in for railroad cars, desks, tables and other scenery items, are cumbersome and take much time to move around.  Though creative, they slow down the quick movements necessary, and cause long blackouts while they are flipped, shuffled and carried into place. 

In addition, the actors sometimes flub lines and lose track of their vocal characterizations.   Though this sometimes adds to the hilarity, it breaks the flow of the show and we wind up laughing at the errors rather than the goings on.

Ciamacco, in his directorial play program notes, comments on his love of the Marx Brothers and their vaudeville comedy style.  He has applied this to the “let’s put on a show” nature of the script with great intention, but the execution is sometimes not the required perfection of the Marx Brothers, whose impeccable timing was all-important to create farce in which we laughed at the lines and the situations, not the shticks and gimmicks.

As for the cast, Joe Kenderes delights as Richard Hannay.  He, in contrast to others in the plot, plays his role totally straight, thus fulfilling the dictum of good farce…laugh with the characters, not at them.   Both Kevin Kelly and Michael Prosen, playing all the male roles, get lots of laughs, but would have been more effective had they let the farce play out and not begged for laughs.  Rachael Swartz was didn’t always differentiate between the three females she played, but was generally effective.

The London production of the show was a total romp.  The British are perfectionists in doing musical hall farce.  Unfortunately, Americans often aren’t quite up to that level.

CAPSULE JUDGMENT:  THE 39 STEPS is a farcical romp which gets a good, but not great production.  If your theater liking is for improbable plot twists, and extended ridiculousness, the Blank Canvas production makes for a chucklefest that should delight you.

Blank Canvas’s THE 39 STEPS runs though June 27, 2015 in its west side theatre, 1305 West 78th Street, Suite 211, Cleveland.  Get directions to the theatre on the website. 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.  For tickets and directions go to www.blankcanvasthetre.com

Blank Canvas’s next show is LAUGHING FROM THE FRINGE, directed by theatre reviewer, playwright and actor Christine Howey.  It is part of Blank Canvas’s Factory Series and consists of two one-acts from the 2015 New York International Fringe Festival.  It will be staged from April 15-23, 2016.

LUNA GALE expertly places the spotlight on the child welfare system at the Cleveland Play House

As revealed in the CPH program:  43 percent of children placed in the child welfare system in Ohio are eventually returned to their families, 24 percent are taken in by relatives (“kinship care”), 15 percent are adopted and 14 percent stay in the system until they become adults.

What really is the child welfare system, how does it work, is it successful?  Few outside of those who have been involved with the workings have any idea of the machinations and the potential horrors faced by those who are participants.

When something goes wrong in the child welfare system who is responsible?  Normally, the spotlight goes onto the parent(s) who don’t have the skills or the life style to accommodate a child.  Sometimes it appears to be the social service system.  The underfunded, short-staffed organization who sometimes find themselves with poor leadership, burned out social workers, and internal conflicts.  Sometimes the problem is the foster care “parents” who take on the children for selfish or financial reasons.  Whatever, sometimes the child welfare system just doesn’t work.

Rebecca Gilman’s LUNA GALE, which is now being staged at Cleveland Play House, asks the question, “How do we make the right decision where there is no clear right choice as it relates to Luna Gale, an infant with druggie parents, a religious fanatic grandmother with an agenda, and a burned out social worker in a dysfunctional organization?”

The story concerns Caroline, a long-time social worker, whose most recent case centers on Peter and Karlie, two teenage drug addicts who, after bringing their sick daughter, Luna Gale to a hospital, are accused of neglecting the child.  Can the two be rehabilitated so they can take care of their child in a healthy way?  Is it best to place her with her maternal grandmother who is a religious fanatic whose purpose in taking the child appears to be to “save her” for the Lord?  Or, should she be placed in foster care?

As the story unfolds, we discover deep secrets in Karlie’s past and are led to believe that her mother, Cindy, had a hand in driving her daughter to escape from the real world. 

A subplot centers on Lourdes, a “success story” of foster care who has made it through the system and is off to college to pursue her dreams, or maybe the dreams of Caroline, desperate to prove that all of her efforts and good intentions are worth it all.  But Caroline, has a secret that is as deep as Kalie’s and that of Lourdes.

Rebecca Gilman has crafted a well-written play, made of real conversations, plausible conflicts, some emotional-inducing plot twists, and a “hopeful” ending that challenges credibility, a kind of feel good ending that is probably more to
let the audience go home happy than dealing with statistical realities.

Austin Pendleton has directed the play with creativity.  Rather than having scene follow scene with the usual set changes, he has worked with Scenic Designer Michael Schweikardt to create a stage in which the fragmented scenery is interconnected.  This allows actors to flow from area to area with ease, keep the continuity seamless, and allow characters to observe each other in real time.  The effect is powerful.

The cast, which has a strong contingent of Case Western Reserve/Cleveland Play House MFA Acting Program students, and their Associate Director, is universally strong. 

Jeremiah Clapp shines as the drugged-out Peter, Luna Gale’s father, who takes advantage of an intervention and rises to be a hero who may well save the child’s emotional and physical life.  He is balanced by Megan King, who nicely textures the role of Karlie, Luna Gale’s mother, who, in the end realizes that she is and could be more of a detriment than an aid in the child’s future.

Lee Roy Rogers shows tremendous acting depth in showcasing Caroline’s personal conflict as a woman who has put out years of effort to try and erase her problems by serving the needs of others, but has probably reached the emotional end of the road.

Angela Pierce clearly develops Cindy, Karlie’s mother, into a woman who has been “saved” and wants that for her granddaughter.  Pierce nicely spotlights that though the character’s outward motives are clear, her underlying guilt may well be the reason for her actions.

Donald Carrier (Pastor Jay) has a pivotal scene in which he tries to win Caroline to his side by praying with her.  Carrier is so effective that he moves all with his charismatic fervor.

Athena Colón is impressive in presenting a Lourdes who appears to be stronger than she is in fighting to shed the effects of her past life, which couldn’t be erased, even through a seemingly successful foster care experience.

Kenneth Lee is often hard to hear and understand as he portrays Cliff, Caroline’s supervisor.

CAPSULE JUDGMENT: One of the purposes of good theatre is to enlighten and educate an audience.  LUNA GALE does just that as it continues CPH’s quality centennial season. The script is well written, the acting top notch, the directing spot on. This is a must see for anyone who wants to experience an emotionally wrenching tale of the real world of social work and the fragile child welfare system.

LUNA GALE runs through March 20, 2016, at the Allen Theatre in PlayhouseSquare.  For tickets call 216-241-6000 or go to http://www.clevelandplayhouse.com.

THE REVISIONIST exposes the need for connectedness @ Dobama

 Social anthropologists offer that humans have four basic needs—survival, pleasure, security and territoriality.  They also propose that we need to belong to some group or groups.  Most commonly that of a family.  Jesse Eisenberg in his play THE REVISIONIST hits on the needs and the desire for connectedness in his thought-provoking script.

Eisenberg is known for his Oscar-nominated role in “The Social Network,” as Facebook founder, Mark Zuckerberg.  Other noted parts included appearances in “Holy Rollers,” the 2010 Sundance Film Festival Grand Jury Prize winner, and the forthcoming “Batman versus Superman:  Dawn of Justice as Superman’s archenemy Lex Luther.  Few know of him as an author, playwright and comedian.

Eisenberg has written three play, ASUNCION, THE REVISIONIST, and THE SPOILS.  His first book, “Bream Gives Me Hiccups,” a collection of short humor pieces, was published in 2015 to laudatory reviews. 

THE REVISIONIST, which ran at the Rattlestick Playwrights Theatre in 2013, with a cast that included Eisenberg and Vanessa Redgrave, centers on Maria, a Holocaust survivor who opens her modest Polish apartment to her second cousin, David, a book author with writer’s block.  David, who had written a very successful young adult’s novel, has supposedly come to Poland for solitude in order to revise his science-fiction novel which is six-months past submission deadline.

Instead of quiet, David is confronted by a stubborn woman who wants to get to know her distant “American family.”  It’s a cultural collision. 

Maria’s life consists of watching CNN, talking to telemarketers, going on weekly shopping trips with her taxi-driver friend Zenon, and obsessing over her many, many family pictures.  People who she has never met and only one of whom has visited her.  That visit was for a quick couple of hours.  She did go to America once to visit David’s grandfather and his immediate family.  It was then that she met the very young David.

Maria fusses over meals, plans for side-visits for David, tries to dictate what David should wear, do and believe.  High-wired, David tries to escape reality by smoking pot in his room by opening the window, much to Maria’s consternation.  He can’t stick to the rewriting task for very long. 

David’s ambivalent relationship with his family frustrates Maria.  She can’t understand why he doesn’t call his mother, has had no contact with his sister or grandfather for months.  She yearns for family interaction, looking forward to her weekly short phone calls from David’s grandfather.

David and Maria’s disquieting togetherness comes to a climax when she wants him to sign a negative review of his anti-fascist allegorical novel in the New York Times that his grandfather sent. 

The play climaxes when Maria, drunk on vodka, reveals to David, who is also pickled, a secret that unravels the whole family connection. 

It is from here on that the characters end their relationship and Eisenberg fumbles with an ending.

THE REVISIONIST had a staged reading last year by Faye Sholitan’s Interplay Jewish Theatre, directed by Jackie Lowey, which starred Dorothy Silver.

Silver, the first lady of Cleveland theater, also stars in the Dobama production.  Silver digs deep into Maria’s soul and mines actions and reactions that only a great actress could uncover,  Silver does not portray Maria.  She is Maria.  Eyes flashing, emotions on edge, smirk on face, voice cracking and trembling, hands animated, Silver compels.  She commands and gets attention.  This is Silver at her finest!  Bows, curtain calls and trumpets of praise!

Andrew Gobmas also is excellent.  Trying to balance the acting scales when one is on stage with greatness is hard, but Gombas succeeds.  He has a vulnerability, a way of making his actions and reactions real, the ability to texture a character, that makes David real.

John Busser, who played Zenon, a taxi driver, who spoke only in Polish, got his highest compliment from a Polish couple that was brought to the production by a member of Dobama’s original acting company.  The duo said Busser’s pronunciation was language correct!

The appropriate pacing for the one and a half hour intermissionless production, and the on-target character development can be credited to Leighann Delorenzo’s direction.

Aaron Benson’s modest Polish apartment set did much to set the right mood.

Nathan Motta, Dobama’s artistic director, in his program notes asks: “Without personal connection without someone to share our human experience with, left completely alone with our thoughts can we truly survive?  He goes on to write, “Maria needs her family.  David takes his family for granted while hunting for something else.”  I challenge, “What can we learn from this clash of cultural ideologies?”
 
CAPSULE JUDGEMENT:  Though there are flaws in the writing, Dobama’s THE REVISIONIST is a must see to experience the great Dorothy Silver and the very talented Andrew Gombas.  These performances deserve a standing ovation!

THE REVISIONIST runs through April 3, 2016 at Dobama Theatre.  Call 216-932-3396 or http://www.dobama.org for tickets.

New ending adds a twist to AND THEN THERE WERE NONE @ GLT

Agatha Christie is one of the world’s best-selling authors.  Her 66 detective novellas and fourteen short story collections have sold over a billion copies.  She is also credited with writing the play and movie scripts for some of her works. 

Two of her most popular works are AND THEN THERE WERE NONE, which is now in production at Great Lakes Theatre, and THE MOUSETRAP, which opened in London in 1952 and is still running.  The latter is the longest running play in Western theatre history, clocking up close to 30,000 consecutive performances. 

Several little known facts about THE MOUSETRAP are that Christie gave the rights to her grandson, Matthew Prichard, as a ninth birthday present, making him an instant millionaire.  In addition, the contract terms of the play declare that no film adaptation can be made until the West End production has been closed for at least six months.

AND THEN THERE WERE NONE, was first a successful book which Christie transformed into a play.  Because of the complexity of all the deaths and incidental actions, many thought the play impossible to produce.  But staged it was.  The show opened in 1943 on the West End to positive reviews.  It ran 260 performances.  It would have lasted longer, but the theatre was destroyed during a Nazi blitzkrieg, interrupting the run.  A New York staging ran for 426 performances and the script has gone on to be one of the most produced at community theatres and high schools.

The play was written with two endings.   One, a happier conclusion, which was thought to be appropriate for war-torn Britain and an alternate, which parallels that of the original novel.  The latter, which was commissioned by Christie’s grandson, the same chap who gets all the royalties from THE MOUSETRAP, was first performed in September, 2015 and is the ending that director Charles Fee is using for the local production.

The “new” ending fulfills the dictates of the nursery rhyme on which the book was based, while the “old” ending leaves that poem unfinished.

The story concerns eight strangers who are invited by a “Mr. Owen,” to spend a weekend at the isolated Indian Island, off the English coast.  When the group arrives they find a butler and housekeeper, who have been informed that the host will not arrive until the next day. 

What do the group members have in common?  Why have they been invited?  Mystery is in the air.  Shortly after dressing for dinner, as they meet in the drawing room, a recorded voice accuses each of having committed a murder for which they have never been punished. They soon realize that none of them knows a Mr. Owen, and that they are trapped on the desolate island.  On the mantle are 10 little Indian statues. 

When one of the guests chokes to death from poisoned whiskey and an Indian figure falls to the floor and breaks, the plot takes off.  One down, nine to go!!

The GLT production holds the attention but is not compelling. 

The show was nicely staged by Fee, Russell Metheny’s up-scale set is gorgeous, Rick Martin’s lighting and Joe Court’s sound design help build the tension, Kim Krumm Sorenson’s costumes are era correct, but the pacing was a little languid and the excitement didn’t build as much as possible.  The ending seemed forced.  (Explaining why would expose the surprise ending, which is “no-no” in theatrical reviews and would require that I break the pledge I took at a London attendance of THE MOUSETRAP in which I swore never to reveal the ending of a Christie mystery.)

The cast is universally excellent with each character nicely developed.

Capsule judgement:  AND THEN THERE WERE NONE is a typical Agatha Christie mystery, filled with plot twists and turns.  It receives a very competent, if not compelling production at Great Lakes Theater.  It is a staging worth seeing for those who are novices to the world of Christie or want to activate their “who done it” prowess and figure out the “villain” based on the new ending to the script.

AND THEN THERE WERE NONE runs through March20, 2016 at the Hanna Theatre.  For tickets: 216-664-6064 or www.greatlakestheater.org

MR BURNS: the post-apocalyptic future according to The Simpsons @ CPT

It should come as no surprise to anyone who has seen Anne Washburn’s MR. BURNS A POST-ELECTRIC PLAY, now in production at Cleveland Public Theatre, that when the show opened in Washington, DC in 2012 and then in New York in 2013, it received mixed reviews that ranged from “passionate dissent” to raves.  

Comments varied from, “you’re likely to feel both exhausted and exhilarated from all the layers of time and thoughts you’ve traveled through” to “a talky deep think,”  and “the piece loses sight of its humanity with an overproduced pop-rap-operetta third act and an under plotted second act.” 

It’s that kind of script…you’re probably either going to love it or hate it.  The gaggle of twenty-something young women sitting next to me on opening night laughed hysterically through most of the play, giving it a standing ovation at the conclusion.  On the other hand, the middle-aged couple that sat in the row in front of me left their seats after the first act, never to return.

As the play opens, we are confronted by a group of survivors from the collapse of civilization.  They may have experienced a plague, or radioactivity, or mass failure of the power grid…all are mentioned by the participants.  They sit by a campfire and piece together the plot of “The Simpsons” episode of “Cape Feare.”  Much like the “Seinfeld” sitcom fanatics, these people flow “Simpson-talk” with comparative ease.  They recount the episode in which Bart is confronted by the evil Sideshow Bob.   (The television episode is a take off on Martin Scorsese’s movie “Cape Fear,” which was a remake of the 1962 film.)

Skip forward 7 years for Act Two.  A comedy/drama group is enacting Simpsons episodes, complete with commercials.  As a television show and commercials are being made using television show plots, commercials, jingles and pop songs from the past, now part of the post-apocalyptic society are recreated.  It’s an attempt to cling to what was in order to create a what is. 

Act III, takes place 75 years later.  Using a Gilbert and Sullivan operetta approach, with the actors wearing masks that depict the various Simpson characters, the troupe repeats the “Cape Feare” tale. 

Yes, Bart Simpson, and his family, we are told to believe, has become the catalyst for the myths and legends from which our society is to be remembered.

Being a Simpson aficionado, and being-up-to-date on modern pop culture, aren’t necessary to gain a general understanding of what’s going on, but it sure helps to quickly decode and find the humor and references to many of the lines. 

CPT’s production, a regional premiere, under the adept directing by Matthew Wright, is nicely paced, creative and develops Washburn’s intent.  The cast is universally strong. Trey Gilpin has Homer Simpson’s actions and sound down pat and displays a strong singing voice.  Nicole Sumlin shows off her comic chops as the devilish Bart Simpson.  Evan Thompson is evil incarnate as Mr. Burns, while Megan Elk uses her well-trained operatic voice to narrate the third act. 

Cathleen O’Malley, Beth Wood, Tim Keo and Abigail Anika Svigelj are all believable in their role development.

Challa Geib-Fenske & Inda Blatch-Geib’s masks are outstanding additions to the production, as is Brad Wyner and Ryan McDermott’s music.  (Joe Parker replaces McDermott from 2/22 through 3/5).   

Director Wright states in his program notes, “MR. BURNS is about everything.  In a very real sense.”  He continues, “To parse out meaning and attempt to guide the viewer to any particular interpretation would run counter to the nature of the play, which really invites a kind of contemplative awe at the wonder of human ingenuity.”  He concludes, “After enjoying the gem that is MR. BURNS, take some time to appreciate everyone around you.”

Capsule judgement: MR. BURNS A POST-ELECTRIC PLAY is not a production that will please everyone, nor is it meant to be.  It can be obtuse, is overly long, and too reference specific.  If you are a “The Simpsons” fan, it will help you to understand the images to which the author is referring.  For the rest, it could be the basis for a discussion, an attempt to determine what Anne Washburn is trying to tell, and an adventure into the post-apocalyptic future.

MR. BURNS A POST-ELECTRIC PLAY runs through March 5, 2016, at Cleveland Public Theatre.  For tickets call 216-631-2727 or go on line to www.cptonline.org.