Well-conceived “The End of the Tour” introduces CLE to Seat of the Pants Productions

Since 2012, Seat of the Pants, self-referred to as a “band of storytellers,” has been traversing the countryside in various locations around Northeast Ohio, focusing their actions on “sharing compelling narratives in unique spaces and developing an aesthetic rooted in imaginative staging and human connection.”

The company is presently displaying their wares in 216/440.  They are in residence at Trinity Church in Tremont and, this summer, will venture into the eastern CLE burbs.

Using an ensemble concept, in which the same group of actors perform in a variety of plays, their present offering, “The End of the Tour,” combines a cast of Equity and non-Equity actors.

“The End of the Tour” is written by Joel Drake Johnson, who indicates that he is “interested in creating stories with characters who, despite their flaws, their bad decisions, their selfish inhibitions, their awkward/comic interactions and tragic setbacks, push themselves on to an enlightened understanding of their place in the world.”

“Johnson is a master of using seemingly ordinary conversations to yield startling depths. His characters are all at life crossroads, forced to acknowledge that past patterns of living are no longer possible yet unsure what directions to take or even whether they're capable of embracing something new.”

He uses humor, high angst, and relational connections and disconnections to develop plays that are both high in drama, while containing realistic humor.  No slapstick, shticks or prat-falls here.  Realism is front and center.

“The End of the Tour” is Johnson at his best, and The End of the Tour’s production, under the adept direction of Craig Joseph, is theater at its best.

The play is serious, yet funny.  Most of the action takes place in a nursing home where the disgruntled, bitchy, opinionated, controlling elderly mother is recovering.  With her middle-aged, recently divorced daughter by her side, she awaits the arrival of her long-estranged gay son who is bringing his male lover for a brief tour of his hometown and his damaging past.

In a parallel story, which takes place in a newly remodeled kitchen, we find the daughter’s former husband sharing, with his best friend, an emotional breakdown caused by a combination of the conflict with his ex-wife and the issue of a dying cat.

Each well-etched character is grappling with a defining moment in his or her life.  Johnson creates characters so real you wonder what will happen to them after the final blackout.

In spite of an echo in the high-ceilinged, long narrow production space at the church, which causes hearing issues, the acting, pacing, and performances are so top-notch that the venue’s flaws are over-come.

Anne McEvoy clearly creates Mae, the mother, as a closed-minded, manipulative woman, who may be in decline as a person, but remains stolid in her ego-centric ways.

Stephanie Cargill is character-correct as the put-on Jan, a daughter and ex-wife, who can’t seem to earn a break.

Stuart Hoffman is clearly angst and guilt-ridden as the son and lover whose every action illustrates a life not well-lived, a victim of verbal and emotional abuse, who, even in the presence of a loving and caring partner, has fears with which he can’t cope.

Scott Esposito, as has come to be expected from this talented actor, is the pillar of support as David, the understanding lover.

Anaias J. Dixon (Chuck), has a highlight emotional monologue in which he expresses that the travails of his life have all come crashing down and life just becomes too difficult to bear.

Jeff Haffner is compassionate as Tommy, the friend who is there to prop up Chuck, and Chris White shines as a dementia-struck nursing home patient.

Capsule judgment:  The play is well-paced, the characters clearly developed, the acting is of high quality, and the over-all effect is respect and awe for the cast and director.  This is a must see production which had a much too short two-weekend run.

“End of the Tour” ran March 29 &30 and April 5-6, 2019.

Next up for Seat of Your Pants in 216/440: “Smokefall,” a play of magic realism in which a man named Footnote acts as our guide for the evening which includes twin boys, in vitro, discussing philosophy while awaiting their birth, their sister, who eats dirt and doesn’t speak, and Father who is about to drive away and never return, leaving  a pregnant and dreamy Mother alone to live out Grandfather’s notion that “every love story is a tragedy, because its ending is built into its beginning.” (August 2-11, 2019 Fridays and Saturdays at 8 PM, Sundays at 2 PM, The Playground at Ensemble Theatre, 2843 Washington Boulevard, Cleveland Heights.  For tickets and information go to www.seatofthepants.org

Overly long, poorly conceived “The Pride” on stage at convergence continuum

convergence continuum recently staged “Rapture, Blister, Burn,” a very well written clearly staged show, that highlighted the author’s intent and purpose.  It was a standout production. 

Sorry, but in spite of a valiant effort by the cast (Amy Bistok, David Munnell, Beau Reinker and Brian Westerley) and director (Jonathan Wilhelm), the same positives cannot be said of their present show, “The Pride.”

Though author Alexi Kaye Campbell won an award for Most Promising Playwright, his “The Pride” is not an easy show to watch.   It is overly long and not well-constructed.  In fact, after an over-ninety minute first act, when the question was “Is the play over or is this intermission?” there was a tacked on “second act.”

As described, “The action of the play is set in two-time periods, 1958 and 2008, which interrelate in several ways, most obviously through the characters: in each period there is an Oliver, a Philip and a Sylvia, all in their mid-thirties, and each played by the same actor in both periods.
 
The 1958 Philip is a well-heeled estate agent married to Sylvia, a children’s book writer. However, when Sylvia invites her illustrator, Oliver, over for drinks, there is an immediate attraction between the two men. Philip is both drawn to and repelled by Oliver’s advances, aware that his whole identity may be at stake should his true feelings be known.
 
In 2008, the names are the same but Philip and Oliver are this time in a relationship, which has been damaged by Oliver’s addiction to anonymous sex. Sylvia is the friend to whom they turn for comfort.”

If it were that simple.  Unfortunately, it is not.

First, it is difficult to figure out, based on the modest setting (a table and a few chairs) which era we are in as scenes jump back and forth with little clear transitions or nothing more than subtle identity variations.  

Maybe a projected date-stamp projected on the scenes would have helped.  Maybe clearer era specific costume designs might have helped.  How about using different accents or even hairpieces?  

Whatever, we needed something to help. 

Even if the technical aspects would have been inserted successfully, the play’s message is unclear. 

There are so many issues including homosexual self-hate, conflicted married gay men, gay men’s quest for sex rather than for love, promiscuity, conversion therapy, fetishes, whether men are born gay or whether it is a “learned or acquired” behavior, that it appears that the British-Greek author simply sat down and listed as many angst-inducing homosexual topics he could think of, and then slammed them together in one script.

The bottom line is:  What was the author’s intent and purpose?  The answer:  ???.

Capsule Judgment:  con-con is noted for doing scripts that other area theaters won’t attempt.  Sometimes their bold steps work well.  In this instance, sorry, no gold ring.  As presented, “The Pride” is a long and tedious sit, interrupted by a few laughs.


“The Pride” runs through June 15th, 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/

Next up at con-con: (May 24-June 15, 2019) “Statements After An Arrest Under The Immorality Act,”  Athol Fugard’s look at what happened, while apartheid reigned in South Africa, when a black man and white woman met secretly in the library where she worked to make love and share their hopes and fears.

“The Taming of the Shrew” is a farcical, thought-provoking delight at Great Lakes Theater

Most of Shakespeare’s plays were written to be performed in the Globe Theatre.  That performance space, a thrust stage, with a great number of the audience, the groundlings, stood around the stage, laughing, hollering insults at the actors, and having a heck of a good time during comedies. 

Groundlings reveled in slapstick, prat-falls, cross-dressing, “shtick” and ridiculous characterizations. 

They loved framing-story plays, a play with a story within a story, often numerous stories within stories.  Plays with double-intendras, identity switches, coarse language and fantasies were prime.

Supposedly, “The Taming of the Shrew” was one of the audience favorites, and, we are led to believe, a favorite of the Bard, himself.  Yes, William of Stratford seemingly loved a riotous, no-holds barred farce. 

And, as the Sara Bruner directed version of “The Taming of the Shrew,” now on stage at Great Lakes Theater illustrates, “Shrew,” in the right production, is hysterically funny and a crowd pleaser.

“The Taming of the Shrew” interestingly is also one of Shakespeare’s most controversial plays.

Controversial?  It's a comedy.  A farcical comedy, at that.  It’s intended to get laughter from the audience.  To incite merriment.  Yet, as a renowned Shakespearean scholar once wrote, “’Shrew” has elicited a panoply of ethically uneasy, or altogether disgusted responses to its rough-and-tumble treatment of the 'taming' of the 'cursed shrew' Katherine.”

Modern day followers of the “me too” movement are repulsed simply by the idea of Katherine, a woman, being “tamed” by her husband, a man.  Many find the last speech of the play to be a symbol of all things wrong with male dominated societies.   They find the references to Kate’s sister, Bianca, as being the “ideal” woman equally repulsive.  Bianca, the cute, petite, frilly-dress-wearing object of all men’s desires, is not, in their minds, “ideal.”

For those unfamiliar with the plot, the main story follows the courtship of Petruchio, a fortune-seeker, and Katherine, a headstrong and unwilling participant in the relationship.  She is a “kind of” chattel, given to the first person who will take her off her father’s hands and tame her.

Petruchio, through various psychological torments, including denying her food, trains her to be “desirable, compliant, and obedient.”  (Any “boos” from the reader, especially feminists and their supporters, would be appropriate here.)

Words matter, and Shakespeare’s language, therefore, becomes the major theme, when the question of “taming” is referred to in the play. 

First, Kate is initially described as a “shrew” because of her harsh language to those around her.  Petruchio sets out to rid Kate of her strong, “manish” language.  He uses terms to describe her which define her as “masculine,” rather than “feminine and describes her as a possession: “my goods,” “my chattels” and “my anything.”

Then, there is Katherine’s final speech in which she appears to have been “tamed” and has become compliant to her “master.”  If you take the words on face value, that’s what it sounds like.  However, if the words are considered sarcastic, given the idea that the “taming” is pretend, and she has duped Petruchio, then meaning changes greatly.  Or, the speech could be considered as part of a play within the play, and, therefore, not be taken seriously. 

Whatever, not only does the play delight, but can also inspire discussion.

Bruner has a long history with “Shrew.”  In high school, she relates in her playbill column, she “became enamored by the comedy and loved the feisty Kate.”  In her theatrical career she not only played Bianca and eventually, in the Great Lakes Theater’s 2011 production, Kate. 

Brunner’s long experience with the Bard’s script is apparent in her direction.  She not only understands the nuances of the script but how to keynote them.  The pacing is quick, the idea development clear.

In addition, she has a flair for farce.  She seemingly understands that farce, exaggerated action, is best when it comes naturally.  She has primed her performers so their exaggerations are in character and part of the action, not imposed upon the goings-on.  They fit into the chaos like a well-made glove, not drawing attention to themselves, but being a natural part of the action.

The cast is excellent.  Jessika D. Williams is a determined Kate, clearly knowing who she is and what she wants.  This is a strong characterization, unlike many interpretations where a lovely actress feigns obstinence until she is “trained.”

Jonathan Dyrud is not the usual handsome macho Petruchio.  He of long hair and lanky body does not look nor act like the typical leading man.  He adds a bit of whimsy to the role that adds to the merriment.

Mandie Jenson makes a lovely Bianca, Taha Mandviwala is fine as Lucentio, one of Bianca’s lovers, and Lynn Robert Berg gets lots of laughs as the bow-legged elf-looking aged, Gremico.

Having audience members seated on the stage has become a “new” Great Lakes tradition, whether appropriate for the play or not.  In this case, the “guests” are included in the action.  In fact, one unsuspecting soul, who becomes a “sheriff” in the goings-on, gets included in the curtain call.

A large group of students from mid-Pennsylvania were present for the opening night performance.  They laughed and clapped throughout the show.  A lineman sized football player, was heard to say to his friends, “If that’s what Shakespeare is about, I want to see more!”  How do you like that Sarah Bruner?

CAPSULE JUDGEMENT:   GLT’s “Shrew” is a wonderful evening of the Bard at his finest, in a production that delights and, if you are also in the mood, illuminates the tale of conflicted love and the battle of men and women.  Go!  See!  Enjoy!
   

“Tiny Houses” gets built saying a lot about life and needs at Cleveland Play House

In 1906, San Francisco had an intense earthquake and resulting fires.  Little did my newly immigrant grandfather know that when he went to build “shacks” in the city by the bay, that he would be part of what has recently become a new trend—building “Little Houses.” He constructed many 200 square feet or less temporary homes, some of which became permanent residences. 

Grandpa appreciated the necessity of building small, quick and inexpensive because of the need to provide living places for displaced people.

On the other hand, as a man who escaped from the shacks of the shtetls, he probably would think the whole “new” trend of tiny house was “meshuga.”

“Tiny Houses,” Chelsea Marcantel’s Roe Green Award winning play, which was originally presented as a staged reading in Cleveland Play House’s 2018 New. Theatre. Festival., is now in its world premiere at CPH, as a fully staged production.

The play, like my grandfather’s little houses, is purposeful.  In this case it is part of the existential question of whether tiny living spaces, existing with few creature comforts like running water, and few possessions, leads to a better life.

It’s the backyard of a large home in rural Oregon.  Center stage is a flatbed truck platform which is eventually to be the foundation of a 200-square-foot house. 

What will transpire is the construction of the structure by four young adults (with the help of a small assemblage of stage hands). 

The purpose of the dwelling is to find out if the trend toward minimalism is practical and whether it will result in happiness for two young people, in a four-month relationship, who have given up their up-scale jobs in New York.  Well, she (Cath) has given up her well-paying career, to come to his (Bodhi’s) home area, to live out his Thoreau-like dream.

Building the house in the backyard of Ollie, who was Bohdi’s college roommate, turns out to be a series of amusingly misguided, awkward stumbles, missteps of relationships and construction.

“Will living small be a huge mistake?”

Besides the house construction, there are a group of idiosyncratic characters, each, looking for a place to physically and psychologically call “home.”

Besides the young lovers, Cath and Bohdi, there is Ollie, a South African, Bodhi’s college roommate, whose profession is selling haunted dolls, on line.  Yep, haunted dolls!

Jevne, Bohdi’s long time next-door neighbor and girlfriend, has a huge following for her on-line sharing of tales intended to put people to sleep through use of her “soothing” voice.  She appears, with the intention of helping out and rekindling her relationship with the Bohdi, the man of her dreams. (The plot thickens.)

Jeremiah, a local resident who left the area in search of self, has returned.  He has a knowledge of construction which becomes a necessity for the amateur builders.  As it turns out, his interest in the project, besides picking up some cash, soon turns to his attachment to Cath.  (The plot thickens further.)

Yep, the plot twists and turns, and the underlying hanky-panky make this comical farce a real attention grabber (and holder).

The wonder of the theatrical enterprise is watching as an actual little house, complete with roof, windows and solar panels, is built during the 90-mimute play with no intermission. 

Arnulfo Maldonado’s set design, Technical directors Davin Gallo and Liam Roth and the Tiny House carpenters, Cayla DeStefano, Andy Rowland and Kaleb Yandrick all deserve their own curtain call for the design and construction.  (And think of this—they not only have to build the house each night, but have to dissemble it and get the pieces-parts ready for rebuilding at the next performance!)

Director Laura Kepley’s direction is spot on.  The pacing is swift, the laughs constant, the fascination with the construction of the house impressive and the overall effect wonderful.

The cast is a perfect blend of eccentrics and “normals.” 

Michael Doherty delights as Ollie, the free spirt fascinated with haunted dolls.  Though we know little about how he wound up in a huge house in Oregon, or why he is entranced with the eerie figurines, Michael Doherty creates a character that is creatively etched.

Pretty Kate Eastman is believable as Cath, caught up in an adventure which had many unexpected twists and turns.  Eastman leads us on a path of discovery that is both revealing and satisfying.

Studly Peter Hargrave, who played Bohdi in the staged reading, is a grad of the Case Western Reserve University/CPH MFA Acting program.   He develops a real and conflicted character whose dreams are bigger than his realities, whether it’s building a tiny house or raising free range chickens.

Cutesy Nandita Shenoy delights as the seemingly air-headed Jevne.  At times her soft voice becomes hard to hear, but, in the main, her sense of comic timing wins out, as does her character’s quest for Bohdi.

James Holloway gives a realistic performance as Jeremiah.

CAPSULE JUDGMENT: “Tiny Houses” is one of those special pieces of modern theater that both delights and causes audiences’ to think.  Is tiny better?  Is minimalism good for society and individuals?  Can we live deliberately?  Was Thoreau all wrong, “a nut job,” in his search for authenticity?  Whatever, go, see, be delighted, and learn how tiny houses are built!

“Tiny Houses” runs through April 14, 2019 in The Outcalt Theatre in the Allen Complex of PlayhouseSquare.  For tickets call 216-241-6000 or go to http://www.clevelandplayhouse.com.

Local playwright Eric Coble’s “The Velocity of Autumn” entertains and informs at Karamu

Cleveland Height resident Eric Coble is the area’s most prolific and successful contemporary playwright.  His scripts have been produced locally, as well as on- and off -Broadway, and at a significant number of national theaters. 

 Coble’s “The Velocity of Autumn” had its Broadway premiere at the Booth Theatre. It starred Estelle Parsons and Stephen Spinella.  “Fairfield”, “Southern Rapture”, “Bright Ideas”, “The Dead Guy”, “My Barking Dog”, “A Girl’s Guide to Coffee,” and “The Giver” have been produced Off-Broadway.  Not bad for a stay-at-home dad who served on the Cleveland Heights-University Heights Board of Education.

To make matters even more interesting, Coble was born in Edinburgh, Scotland and raised on the Navajo and Ute reservations in New Mexico and Colorado, “playing with rocks, sticks, seeing 1940’s serials at the movie theatre thirty miles away, and wandering the desert with his friends trying to avoid cactus until he was 15 years old.”

He notes that “moving off the reservation led to acting in high school, which led to majoring in English at Fort Lewis College (Colorado) before winging it to Ohio University for an MFA in Acting.”  Along the way “he started writing plays, which were well-received enough to spur him on.”

“The Velocity of Autumn” swirls around “Alexandra, an 80-year-old artist in a showdown with her family over where she’ll spend her remaining years.  In Alexandra’s corner are her wit, her passion, and the fact that she’s barricaded herself in her Brooklyn brownstone with enough Molotov cocktails to take out the block.  But her children have their own secret weapon: estranged son Chris, who returns after 20 years, crawls through Alexandra’s second-floor window and becomes the family’s unlikely mediator.”

The 90-minute one-act play centers on their confrontation, during which long-simmering issues rise to the surface.  It’s a vision of onset senility, the indignities of aging and the realistic intra and interpersonal conflict of what happens when the mind and body start to betray us.  It also confronts the issue of homosexuality and the value of art.

“The Velocity of Autumn” has been produced locally at Beck Center and now is on stage at Karamu.  The Dobama staging featured Dorothy Silver, the grand-dame of CLE theater.  It opened to glowing reviews.  This was not the case in all of the other venues where the story has been told.  One reviewer thought the play “uneasily alternates between jokey, one-liner filled banter and such dark moments which lead to an expected conclusion.”

Maybe it’s 440/216 pride, but I thought the pathos, the humor, the interplay between the mother and the only one of her children whom she really likes, because he is most like her because of his artistic temperament, was realistic.  The ending is obvious, but what did you expect?  This is not a tragedy. The building was not going to explode and this spirited woman was not going to go flaming off into this good night.

The Karamu production features Jeanne Madison as Alexandra, the aging artist, Imani Khiry, as Chris, her son and is directed by Nathan Lilly.

Though not up to the level of the Dobama production, the intent and purpose of the author are adequately developed. 

The lovely Ms. Madison is much too young to be playing an over-eighty-year-old.  In order to add the appearance of aging she often feigned difficulty in walking and getting out of a chair.  In spite of these obvious ploys, her lines were sharp and pointed and the characterization is clear.  Along with Khiry, she will be helped by simply running the play before an audience, as some of the comic timing was off.

Khiry played Christopher on the surface.  It was often difficult to feel the depth of his love for his mother, the real feeling of distress with his siblings and his interpersonal angst, though his lines said those things.

Director Lilly seemingly needed more time and insight into truly developing his actors to undertake this emotionally laden topic-relevant script.

The long, narrow arena theatre was too set-heavy for this sensitive show.  Though well designed and nicely decorated, the space overwhelmed the play.  Performing in a smaller three-quarter round configuration would have helped both the actors and the audience to get closer to the action.

Capsule judgement: “The Velocity of Autumn” gets an acceptable production.  Audiences should leave having both enjoyed themselves and come in contact with the issue of aging and its consequences.
For tickets to “The Velocity of Autumn,” which runs through April 21, 2019 call 216-795-7077 or go to http://www.karamuhouse.org/

Superb “Lady Day at Emerson’s Bar and Grill” jazzes up Beck Center

Having seen Audra McDonald’s Tony Award winning Broadway performance of Billie Holiday in “Lady Day at Emerson’s Bar and Grill,” I went to see the Beck production of the show with trepidation.

I should have feared not.  As it turns out Nicole Sumlin, in the lead role, and Ed Ridley portraying Jimmy Powers, Holiday’s musical director and jazz pianist-extraordinare, were more than up to the challenge.

“Lady Day at Emerson’s Bar and Grill” is a jukebox bio-musical by Lanie Robertson which loosely recounts some of the life of Billie Holliday, an American jazz singer whose career as the first-lady-of-jazz spanned over thirty years.

Known for her seminal influence on jazz and pop singing, as well as her manipulation of phrasing, tempo and improvisational skills, the talented Eleanora Fagan, better known as Billie Holliday, had little formal music education and training.

The child of unwed teenagers, she had a turbulent childhood and became a hit at Harlem nightclubs and brothels at an early age.

Her life and career were marked with many unwise love affairs, brush-ups with the law, which included jail and prison sentences, and singing with Count Basie.  Basie once said, of Holliday’s tenacity, "When she rehearsed with the band, it was really just a matter of getting her tunes like she wanted them, because she knew how she wanted to sound and you couldn't tell her what to do.”

Her life was also filled with incidents in which she found herself at odds with the “white’s only” policy of many nightclubs, business, hotels, hospitals and restaurants. 

Holiday is noted for many songs but her two biggest hits were “God Bless the Child,” which she supposedly wrote as a tribute to her mother, and “Don’t Explain,” written after she caught her husband, Jimmy Monroe, with lipstick on his collar.

She appeared in a number of films including  ”New Orleans,” which also featured Woody Herman and Louis Armstrong.

Drug usage and alcohol consumption paid their toll.  In 1947 she was arrested in her New York apartment for possession of narcotics and was sent to Alderson Federal Prison in West Virginia.

Unfortunately, after her release, in-spite of a sold-out Carnegie Hall concert attended by over 2700 fans and a musical entitled “Holiday on Broadway,” which ran three weeks, she was again arrested on drug charges.

Thus we find ourselves in Emerson’s Bar and Grill, her favorite Philadelphia haunt, obviously drunk, singing and recounting the highs and lows of her life.

This is a withered Holiday, the lows of her life having taken over, in what was probably going to be one of her last performances.

The Beck production is compelling.  Nicole Sumlin is spot on as Holiday.   The signature phrasing, the flow of ideas filled with hurt, the sultry jazz sound, are all present.  Sumlin has put on the Holiday aura and wears it with fidelity throughout. 

She is brilliantly supported by Ed Ridley, the master of the keyboard, who also portrays the role of Jimmy Powers, Bradford McGhee, a very talented bass player, and Leonard Goff, as the Emerson’s bartender.

Cameron Michalek’s simple set, a small stage surrounded by tables, Trad Burns’ lighting and Carlton Gur and Angie Hayes’ sound designs all enhanced the production.  Scott Spence directs.

CAPSULE JUDGEMENT:  Nicole Sumlin is superb as Billie Holiday, Ed Ridley plays one mean piano and Bradford McGhee plucks a happy tune.  The result is a special evening of musical theater!  This is an absolutely must see!
   
“Lady Day at Emerson’s Bar & Grill” is scheduled to run at Beck Center for the Arts through April 14, 2019.  For tickets and information call 216-521-2540 or go online to http://www.beckcenter.org  

Thought provoking “The Nether,” at Dobama

In this era, confusion and uncertainty are the present trend in many cutting-edge plays by a new breed of playwrights that Dobama is using as its writing stable.

Following this trend, the theater’s play selections have landed on the side of intellectual thought-provoking scripts that often leave the audience confounded and with few answers to the many questions asked by the playwrights. 

“The Nether” is another one of those scripts. 

As can be expected, the directing, technical aspects and acting are top-notch.

The audience is confronted with a sci-fi “crime” drama written by American playwright Jennifer Haley.  Haley is noted for delving into the ethics of virtual reality and the impact of technology on our human relationships and identity. 

The time is “soon” and the setting jumps from an interrogation room to the “Hideaway.”

“The internet has evolved into the Nether, a vast network of virtual reality realms. Users may log in, choose an identity, and indulge any desire. When Detective Morris investigates a realm called The Hideaway where pedophiles may live out their fantasies involving children, she brings its creator in for interrogation. They discover they have made emotional attachments in his realm that blind them to the greater questions of ethical behavior, both in the imagination and the outside world.”

Recent psychological studies have raised the question of whether being able to “act out” needs and fantasies, through game playing and simulations, relieves a person from performing deeds and actions in reality. 

Is the need to act sexually through rape and sexual imposition reduced by having vicariously watched pornography reduce the need for actual sex and control? 

Does having killed and maimed via the play of X-box games taken away the desire to actually pick up a gun and shoot a real person? 

Or, as proposed in “The Nether,” does the ability to role play pedophilia suppress the desire to really perform the act? 

Or, as Nathan Motta the Artistic Director of Dobama asks in his program notes, “What happens when we are able to completely immerse ourselves in a world without consequences?  Is it accurate to say that there are no consequences in a virtual world?” 

Shannon Sindelar’s direction of “The Nether” is flawless, as is the performance of Matthew Wright as Sims/Papa, the facilitator into the pedophilia-world of the Nether.  Wright creates a clear character, who justifies his not acting on his child-centered desires, by being above the philosophical fray by participating in a make-believe world.  His is both an illuminating and psychologically chilling character portrayal.
 

Young Calista Zajac as Iris, a child avatar, whose purpose is to welcome and satisfy the “guests” in Papa’s Nether Hideway, proves herself to be one of the few child actresses in the area, capable of being an equal of the professionals with whom she is surrounded.  Hers is an amazing performance.

Equally excellent are the character developments of Sarah Durn as the investigator who is trying to ascertain the value or harm of the Hideway, and Joe Pine and David Peacock as participants in the on-line experience.

T. Paul Lowry’s projections, displayed within Patrick Rizzotti’s set design, add to the smooth transition from scene to scene.

Side comment:  It is interesting to note that following the staging I saw, a number of audience members, knowing I was a reviewer, asked, “what is all this about?” That can be a positive evaluation of the play as it shows that it inspired the viewers to think, or it can be perplexing in that the intent and purpose of the author wasn’t clear. Hmm.

Capsule judgement: “The Nether” is a thought-provoking, disturbing script which gets a fine production.  It is not for those who go to the theater to escape from the real world, but for those who wish to probe into ideas and are willing to look for the consequences of the decisions we make, whether they be in real life or a fantasy world. 

“The Nether” runs through March 31, 2019 at Dobama, 2340 Lee Road, Cleveland Heights.  Call 216-932-3396 or http://www.dobama.org for tickets.

Next up at Dobama:  Melissa James Gibson’s “THIS” an un-romantic comedy which captures the uncertain steps of a circle of friends backing their way into middle age, staged
from April 26 through May 26, 2019.

Enjoyable touring “School of Rock The Musical” at the Connor Palace

What happens when a musical film earns over $131-million on a $35-million-dollar investment?  If you are Andrew Lloyd Webber, you buy the rights and turn it into the musical SCHOOL OF ROCK with lyrics by Glenn Slater and book by Julian Fellowes.  


What happens when you take a bunch of adorably geeky fifth-graders who are singing, dancing and musical instrument playing phenomes, and add to the mix the rock musical sounds of Andrew Lloyd Webber?  It becomes SCHOOL OF ROCK, THE MUSICAL. 



In contrast to his usual scheme of things, Britain’s Webber opened the show in New York rather than in London.  Why?  Child labor laws are more relaxed in the United States than in England.  In addition, the subject matter better fit Broadway than London’s West End.  But, most importantly, the American schools “produce the sort of kids required to actually perform the show.” 

The capsule judgement of my Broadway review of “School of Rock” stated that it “is a fun-filled show with a nice moral base.  The music rocks.  The cast entertains.  It’s the kind of show that audiences love, will do well as it tours the country, and should have a long Broadway life!”

It did have a long Broadway life.  It made its Broadway debut and world premiere on December 6, 2015 and ran through January 20, 2019. The tour opened on September 30, 2017 in Rochester, New York, and is now making a three-week stop at the Connor Palace.
 

So, what’s it all about?  As was the film, the plot centers on rock singer/guitarist Dewey Finn. There is, however, a lot more emphasis on the kids and their parents than in the flick, which was basically a vehicle for comedian Jack Black.



The musical starts with a performance by the No Vacancy band.  Finn, who has an A.D.D. personality, has difficulty pulling back his exuberance and keeps upstaging the lead performer.  Enough is enough, and he is kicked out of the group.



With no income, he moves in with and mooches off Ned, his long-time easily manipulated college band-buddy, much to the irritation of Patty, Ned’s domineering girlfriend.  



When a call comes for Ned to substitute at Horace Green, a prestigious prep school, Dewey sees a chance for some much needed money by posing as Ned. 

Despite the initial doubts of Rosalie, the uptight principal, he gets the gig.



The kids are wary of him, especially the uber-organized brainiac, Summer.  

He has to confront the problems of Tomika, the extremely shy daughter of gay men, who turns out to be a superstar singer; Zack, the son of an uptight businessman who doesn’t realize his son is a musical prodigy; Lawrence, who has no confidence, but is a keyboard wizard; Freddy, who everyone thinks is intellectually slow, but once he gets a pair of drum sticks in his hand, he shows how talented he really is; Billy, who is flamboyant, has an interest in fashion design, but is not appreciated by his macho father.  

Each of the other kids has untapped talent which the creative Dewey brings out through non-traditional means.



Dewey decides to enter them in the Battle of the Bands. They get to the tryouts after sneaking out of school, but they are too late to play.  Summer tells the casting director that all the children have “stickittothemanis,” (a made-up “disease”), pleads for some mercy, and the heartbroken manager lets the kids perform.  Of course, they get into the competition.



What follows is a series of manipulations, implausible coincidences, and some out and out stretching of dramatic license.  The result?  Farce and hysteria run wild and the audience has one heck of a good time.

Do they win the Battle of the Bands? 

That’s not important.  What is significant, is that Dewey and the kids find love and self-respect.

The musical score, though it includes iconic songs from the film, adds many well-crafted additional theatrical melodies.  Among the show stoppers are, “You’re in the Band,” “Stick it to the Man,” “In the End of Time,” “Math is a Wonderful Time,” and “School of Rock.”  Throw in “If Only You Would Listen” and “Time to Play,” and you have the makings of a very good score.

The cast is generally excellent. 

Though he is properly hyper and often compelling, Gary Trainor, who played Dewey on press night (he alternates with Merritt David Janes), lacked the needed spontaneity.  His actions seemed preplanned and lacked authenticity.

Layne Roate nicely creates an awkward, hen-pecked Ned, yearning to put on skin-tight banger-leather pants and let loose.  

Most of the kids are excellent.  Camille De La Cruz stopped the show with her wailing rendition of “Amazing Grace.” Special credos to Cameron Trueblood, Mystic Inscho, and Julian Brescia. 

Unfortunately, one of the lead lasses kept breaking character, looking at the audience, upstaging others.  Normally this could be over-looked, but this is a professional production and these kids are getting equity pay.  

 
Director Laurence Connor has molded together a cast of kids and adults, created the right attitude for the farcical staging, and hit the right emotional notes.  The choreography is creative.  John Rigby, the music supervisor, nicely incorporated the kids on-stage musical performances with the pit orchestra.



CAPSULE JUDGEMENT:  I didn’t find the touring production to be as dynamic as the Broadway show, but few patrons are going to leave not entertained. Come on, the stage is filled with talented kids, loaded with shticks and gimmicks, a dynamic score enfolded in an easily follow feel-good story.  What’s not to like?



“School of Rock” runs through March 24, 2017 as part of the Key Bank Broadway Series.  To purchase tickets, call 216-241-6000 or go to www.playhousesquare.org.

SPIDER WOMAN weaves intriguing web @ Blank Canvas

Musicals come in different forms.  Musical comedies, such as “Cinderella” and “School of Rock” intend to entertain.  Musical dramas--think “Dear Evan Hansen,” “Come From Away,” and “Hamilton,” relay thoughtful ideas in words, song and dance. The musical tragedy, such as “Sweeney Todd” and “The Kiss Of The Spider Woman,” which is now on stage at Blank Canvas, finds a “victim” in a society which doesn’t understand or appreciate them, resulting in dire consequences.

“Kiss of the Spider Woman,” with music by Oberlin grad, John Kander, and his writing partner, Fred Ebb, the conceivers of “Cabaret” and “Chicago,” is based on Manuel Puig’s novel “El Beso de la Mujer Araña.”  The musical won the 1993 Tony Award for Best Musical.

In “Spider Woman,” Luis Alberto Molina, an Argentinian, has been sentenced to an eight-year jail term for corrupting a minor.  The fey homosexual former window dresser, who has a mother fixation, lives in a fantasy world as a means of escaping the horrors of prison.  His obsession is movies which featured Aurora, a sultry diva, who starred in bigger-than life telenovela soap-opera films of high emotion.  

In one of her movies, Aurora, as a spider woman, kills her lovers with the kiss of death.

Molina has learned to live with the taunting and sexual impositions of the prison guards, but one day his world is rocked when a new prisoner, Valentin, a handsome Marxist political revolutionary, is cast into his cell.

Valentine, who has been severely tortured, is nurtured back to health by Molina.  In order to block out the cries of other tortured prisoners, Molina talks non-stop.  He shares his history, his love of movies, his obsession for Aurora. 

At first the duo clashes. Valentin draws an imaginary line down the middle of the cell with an understanding that Molina will stay on his own side.   Eventually, however, Molina starts to win over Valentin with his story telling and humorous charm. 

Valentine is again severely tortured.

Molina again nurses him back to health.  In a show of faith, Valentin shares information about his personal life and his revolutionary activities.

In an attempt to get Molina to relate the vital information the warden offers to free him so he can go home to his “ill” mother.

The relationship between the cellmates deepens. Molina is forced to make a decision of whether or not to share the evidence that Valentin has secretly shared, while the “kiss of the Spiderwoman” hangs over the lives of the men.

“Kiss of the Spider Woman” is a difficult musical to produce.  It requires two exceptional actors to create the roles of Molina and Valentin. Director Patrick Ciamacco was fortunate enough to find the perfect duo.  

Scott Esposito develops a Molina who gives just the right level of fey, while not going over-the-top.  He is real, accessible, allowing the audience to feel his emotional pain.  He has a fine singing voice, which is beautifully showcased in “She’s a Woman” and “Mama, It’s Me.”  “Only in the Movies” is a showstopper.  His is an exceptional performance.

Michael Snider creates a well-textured macho, yet sensitive, Valentin.  His developing affection toward Molina unfolds in a shroud of reality.  The duo’s affection has an air of authenticity.  His strong vocal talents are showcased in “Over the Wall III” and “The Day After That.”  “Anything for Him,” sung with Esposito and Rachel Maria Ines (Spider Woman/Aurora) was powerful.  The emotional arching between Snider and Esposito was extremely believable, a necessity for the “realness” of the story development.

The male chorus sings exceptionally well.  Their “Morphine Tango” was engaging.  The men’s dancing generally has an air of clumsiness and lack of spontaneity which adds to their macho, rather than chorus boy image.

Rachel Maria Ines does not have the stage dynamics needed for Spider Woman/Aurora.  Though she sings well, and her aerial work is intriguing, she fails to spotlight the firepower to be the subject of Molina’s obsession.

Musical director, Bradley Wyner, needs to rethink some of his musical choices.  Often, such as in “The Day After That,” the singers had to fight with the music to be heard.  In general, the heavy handed keyboard pounding was over-the-top.  The purpose of the music is to support the singers, not drown them out.

Patrick Ciamacco’s metal spider-webbed design is functional and works well to keep the action moving along, as does his precise and nicely-conceived stage movements.

Jenniver Sparano’s costume designs, especially as they relate to Spider Woman/Aurora helps develop the image of the character.

CAPSULE JUDGEMENT: “Kiss of the Spider Woman” is a haunting musical drama which generally gets a fine performance. The stellar performances by Scott Esposito and Michael Snider is a master class in musical theater performance.  It is a production very well worth seeing!

“Kiss of the Spider Woman” runs through March 16, 2019 at Blank Canvas, 1305 West 78^th Street, Suite 211, Cleveland.   For tickets and directions go to http://www.blankcanvastheatre.com//

Next up at Blank Canvas is “Art” an examination of the world of art and the resulting conflict between three “friends” who are forced to ask question of not only the nature of painting, but the purpose of friendship.  (April 5-20, 2019)

Plot twisting “Witness for The Prosecution” compels at Great Lakes Theater

Agatha Christie, the “Queen of Crime,” was a British writer of murder mysteries, noted for creating plays, books and short stories.  They not only contained intriguing plot twists, which centered on scandalous murders, elaborate twists and turns, but revealed basic “truths” that are not what they seem.

Her “The Witness for the Prosecution,” now in production at Great Lakes Theater, is a typical intriguing Christie script.  In this work, however, instead of a death or deaths taking place on stage and a search taking place for “who did it,” the murder has already occurred, and the police have already arrested a solid suspect.”

“Prosecution” was originally published as a short story, and later, after supposedly laying in a drawer with other manuscripts for years, was transformed into a play.
 
A review of the initial production stated, “The author has two ends in view, and she attains them both.  She takes us into the Old Bailey during an exciting trial for murder, into chambers where the human reactions of the lawyers engaged in the case may be studied; and when the trial is over and there seems no more to be said, she swiftly ravels again the skein which the law has confidently unraveled, and leaves herself with a denouement which is at once surprising and credible."
 
The tale begins with a conversation between Sir Wilfrid Robarts, Q.C., a lawyer, and Leonard Vole, a handsome young man who is accused of the murder of Miss Emily French, an elderly, wealthy, woman who Vole recently befriended.
 
The young man seems honest to the core.  He states he is innocent, but is soon arrested by the police.  

The quickly evolving plot is pushed along when Robarts takes the case. 
 
The majority of the rest of play, with the exception of one pivotal scene, takes place in the courtroom where the details of the murder, Vole’s relationship with his “wife,” and what really happened, unfolds.
 
Christie creatively leads us down one path, changes directions, throws other possibilities out, and then, as good writers of mysteries do, taunts us once more.  In the end, a sudden twist, or in this case, several plot turns, leaves not only no doubt of “who did it,” but exhausted from the chase.
 
The Great Lakes production, under the solid direction of Artistic Director Charles Fee, quickly grabs and holds attention.  The drama, humor and clever plot construction are finely tuned.
 
Gage Williams’ meticulously constructed court room set, with the jury stage right and the visitor’s gallery stage left, the judge presiding over the hearing, stage center, creates a perfect setting. 
 
Rick Martin’s lighting effects help transfer us out of the courtroom for several scenes.  Esther M. Haberlen’s period-correct costumes aid in creating the needed reality and point to the personalities of the characters. 
 
The acting is all top-notch.  Aled Davies nicely creates Robarts as a strong, dedicated lawyer.  Taha Mandviwala plays naïve well as the accused Leonard.  Jodi Dominick’s Romaine Vole, Leonard’s “wife,” is chillingly iceberg-cold and manipulative.  David Anthony Smith is delightful as the judge, Mr. Justice Wainwright.
 

CAPSULE JUDGEMENT: With fine acting, clear directing, impressive technical aspects, and encompassing writing, “Witness for the Prosecution” makes for a wonderful theatrical experience. Go.  See.  Enjoy!

The show runs through March 10, 2019 in the Hanna Theatre.  Tickets can be ordered by calling 216-241-6000 or going to http://www.greatlakestheater.org/

Next up at GLT: “The Taming of the Shrew,” Shakespeare’s fun-filled battle of the sexes from March 29 through April 14.

The Shaw Festival’s 2019 season

It’s still cold and snowing, especially in the eastern provinces of our neighbors to the north, but things are heating up in Niagara-on-the-Lake, home of Canada’s Shaw Festival.  It’s getting closer to “curtain up, light the lights at Shaw Festival 19.


Many Clevelanders take the four-hour drive up to “The Shaw,” as it is called by locals, just to participate in theater.  Others tour the “most beautiful little city in Canada,” eat at the many restaurants and go shopping for Canadian goods.  Some take a side trip to Niagara Falls to see the world’s water wonder or to gamble.  Other go to shoot-the-rapids on the Niagara River.  Some go for a round or two of golf.  Whatever, The Shaw is a wonderful spring, summer or fall adventure.

 

It’s a good idea to make both theater and lodging reservations early, especially on weekends. 

Our home away from home is the beautiful and well-placed Wellington House (www.wellington.house@sympatico.ca), directly across the street from The Festival Theatre, where Karen, and her fabulous breakfasts and immaculate rooms, holds forth. For information on other B&Bs go to www.niagaraonthelake.com/showbedandbreakfasts




There are some wonderful restaurants.  My in-town favorites are The Grill on King Street (905-468-7222, 233 King Street), Ginger Restaurant (905-468-3871, 390 Mary Street) and Niagara’s Finest Thai (905-468-1224), 88 Picton Street, with Old Winery, (2228 Niagara Stone Road/905-468-8900), a worth-while ten-minute ride from downtown.

Tim Carroll says, of the varied play choices in this, his third season as The Shaw’s Artistic Director, “I could afford to be bold in my [play] choices, because of the incredible Ensemble there.”

The season, which opens on April 6 and runs through December 22, has audiences experiencing musicals, passion, crime, laughter, pure escapism, and romance. 

Here are his 2019 theater offerings:

THE HORSE AND HIS BOY—C. S. Lewis’s family friendly tale of four runaways—a boy, a girl and their horses, who are called upon to rescue Narnia.  (Recommendation:  Strongly consider a pre-show workshop that is filled with an exposition of the magic that happens on the stage.  A great fun and educational delight for adults and children.  April 6-July 21.

BRIGADOON—Lerner and Loewe’s charming musical, which contains such songs as “Almost Like Being in Love” and “I’ll Go Home with Bonnie Jean” asks, “What would you give up for love?”  May 5-October 13.

THE LADYKILLERS—Based on the beloved Alex Guinness film, this comedy is set in post-World War II London where five oddball crooks find out how hard it is to kill a little old lady who is getting in the way of their heist.  June 11-October 12.

MAN AND SUPERMAN WITH DON JUAN IN HELL—G.B. Shaw’s script which states, “There are two tragedies in life.  One is not to get your heart’s desire.  The other is to get it.”  Only 17 performances.  August 27-October 5.

ROPE—A gripping psychological thriller about two friends who commit a murder and host a party for the victim’s friends with his hidden body as the center piece.  April 12-October 12.

GETTING MARRIED—Shaw’s witty comedy which claims, “Married people should take holidays from one another if they are to keep at all fresh.” May 10-October 13.

THE RUSSIAN PLAY (lunchtime one-act)—A small-town flower girl falls for a gravedigger in Stalinist Russia.  What can go wrong?  About everything! (mature content) June 8-October 12.

CYRANO de BERGERAC—The tale of Rostand’s swashbuckling 17 th century swordsman who can do anything—except tell the woman he loves, how he feels.  July 27-October 20

THE GLASS MENAGERIE—Tennessee Williams’ classic autobiographical play which asks if we can ever truly escape the life we have been given.  May 22-October 12.

SEX—Margy LaMont, a quick-witted prostitute in Roaring Twenties Montreal, is looking for a better life.   This comedy drama got its author locked up for “corrupting the morals of youth.”  June 21-October 13.

VICTORY—A controversial play set in the aftermath of Charles II’s Restoration on the thrown of England.  The play may enrage you, but it won’t leave you!  (Warning: “VICTORY is deliberately offensive.  It is not for the squeamish as it contains very strong language.”)  July 14-October 12.

A CHRISTMAS CAROL—Ebenezer Scrooge is back. ”Bah, humbug!”   November 13-December 22.

IRVING BERLIN’S HOLIDAY INN—Fun loving, tap-dancing, romantic comedy with such classic songs as “Cheek to Cheek,” “Easter Parade” and “White Christmas.”  November 16-December 22.

For theater information, a brochure or tickets, call 800-511-7429 or go on-line to http://www.shawfest.com. Ask about packages that include lodging, meals and tickets. Also be aware that the festival offers day-of-the-show rush tickets
and senior matinee prices.

The Shaw’s social consciousness is clearly stated in their statement: “We acknowledge and honour the land upon which we gather as the historic and traditional territory of First Nations peoples.  In particular we recognize and thank the Neutral Nation, the Mississauga and the Haudenosaunee for their stewardship of these lands over the millennia.  



Go to the Shaw Festival! Find out what lovely hosts Canadians are, and see some great theater! 

Don’t forget your passport as it’s the only form of identification that will be accepted for re-entry into the US.

Seeing BW/Beck’s wonderful “Once,” once, is not enough

“On Stage” recently announced that Baldwin Wallace University's Music Theatre program has risen to number one calling it "a top destination for any student wanting to study musical theatre."

The honor is no wonder as around twenty of Victoria Bussert’s thespians have graced Broadway for each the last several years.  This, along with all those who are staring in professional productions, such as Great Lakes Theater, Idaho Shakespeare Festival and Lake Tahoe Shakespeare Festival have brought much attention and prestige.

If you need personal proof, and you haven’t seen productions by the collegiate group at BWU or Play House Square, get over to Beck Center, where the students are appearing in “Once,” the Edna Walsh (book), Glen Hansard and Marketa Irglová (music and lyrics) Tony Award winning musical, based on John Carney’s 2006 film of the same name. 

As “Once” starts, Guy, a busker, is singing a ballad of unrequited love.  He is in despair over the loss of the-love-of-his-life who left him and went to America. 

Girl is watching, listening, and approaches him.  Posing personal questions, she finds out that he is giving up music because singing songs of love is just too difficult.  

Seem like an extreme reaction?  Not if you remember that the Irish are noted for their strong display of emotions, the acting out of their angst, and the expression of those feelings in songs, poetry and staged drama.

Of course, the two develop an emotional relationship, but are confronted with the barrier that Girl is married to a man who has left her and their daughter, but may return.  Over the period of one week, the duo, with the help of various friends, creates a CD of raw, emotional, music. 

A vacuum cleaner, a piano, a recording studio, hope, laughter and Irish angst all play into the tale.  The expected happy ending may or may not take place, depending on how you interpret the touching final scene.

Jordan Janota’s minimalistic set is transformed into various places by adding a few tables and chairs and some strategic lighting. 

Though the songs are often dynamic, there is no rock and roll, no hip hop, nor show stoppers, leading to a laid-back feeling, not often found in musicals. 

The cast members are four-level performers who act, sing, dance and play instruments.  They present the depressing “Leave,” the pretty and plaintive “Falling Slowly,” the beautiful “Gold,” and the dance-inducing “North Strand.”  There’s nothing here that will make the hit parade of great songs.  It’s mainly emotional Irish “woe-is-me-music.”

This is the kind of script that BW’s Music Theatre Director, Victoria Bussert, does so well.  It is full of pathos, needs creative staging and a firm understanding of the subtle, as well as the importance of blended dancing, good vocals, strong acting and a comfortable pacing.  Bussert and her BW “cherubs” make it a “wee “grand experience. 

The choreography, which is well-performed staged movement, is nicely designed by Gregory Daniels.  The vocal blends and musical sounds are impressively conceived by Matthew Webb.

The entire cast impresses with their musical performances, proficient singing and clear characterizations.

Kelsey Brown is Broadway ready!  Her nicely textured creation of Girl grabs and holds the audience.  She has a good take on subtle comedy.  Her singing voice and acting talents are well-honed.  Her Czech dialect, developed under the coaching of Matthew Koenig, was clear, crisp and easy to understand.  Her piano playing added a special dimension to her performance.

Jake Slater grows nicely into the role of Guy as he transforms from depressed, even by Irish standards, to having a positive outlet for life.  He has a nice singing voice and displays good guitar skills.

The rest of the strong ensemble cast was impressive, displaying clear Irish dialects, thanks to Brennan Murphy’s guidance, and excellent singing blends and solos.  Their character development and playing of instruments impresses. 

CAPSULE JUDGEMENT:   The Beck Center/Baldwin Wallace Music Theatre Program production of “Once,” is vibrant, and has talent overload.  This production rivals the Broadway staging and is much superior to the touring show which was part of the Key Bank Series.  It’s the kind of production that you might be tempted to go back and see again!  Go. You will enjoy!
“Once” is scheduled to run at Beck Center for the Arts through February 24.  For tickets and information call 216-521-2540 or go online to http://www.beckcenter.org  

Farcical “Robin Hood” delights at Cleveland Play House

Ken Ludwig's first Broadway play, “Lend Me a Tenor,” has been called "one of the two great farces by a living writer.”   It won three Tony Awards.  He has gone on to win another other Tony Award, two Helen Hayes Awards and the Edward Award.  It is no wonder, therefore, that plays by the "the purveyor of light comedy has been performed by almost every regional theatre in America.”

Ludwig’s major works include “Leading Ladies,” “Moon Over Buffalo,” “The Game’s Afoot,” “Baskerville, The Sherlock Holmes Mystery” and “A Comedy of Tenors.”  His musicals include “Crazy for You” and “An American in Paris.”  Many of these have been seen on CLE stages.

Ken Ludwig’s “Sherwood the Adventures of Robin Hood “is a romp full of swashbuckling and romance, and it’s also a moving tale of a young man’s discovery that everyone has a responsibility to care for his fellow man." 

Of course the script, which is set in Sherwood Forest and the town of Nottingham, England, around 1194, is peopled by Greedy Prince John (Price Waldman) and his bad henchmen-- Sir Guy of Gisbourne, The Sheriff of Nottingham, and the good guys-- the dashing “outlaw” Robin Hood, the band of Merry Men (and women) the lovely Maid Marian, Friar Tuck. Little John, Deorwynn (Andrea Goss) and King Richard the Lionheart. 

Knowing a little about England in the twelfth century helps to understand the conflicts that evolve.  A quick picture shows that “English society is a feudalist one with a king and royal family at the top, countless peasants and serfs at the bottom and knights and nobles in between.”

About a hundred years before this tale enfolds, William the Conqueror, a Norman descendent of the Vikings, earned his title by conquering England. His success set up an on-going battle between the Normans and Saxons.  (An excellent abbreviated explanation is contained in the CPH program that is well-worth reading before the play.)

As is the case with Ludwig’s other plays, farce and slapstick runs wild.  Add sword fights and arrows flying around the stage, direct involvement of the audience, and lots of chaos, and you have the possibility of delight.

To make farce work, a creative director and a disciplined cast is needed.  Having an inventive set designer also helps.

Fortunately for the audience, CPH has all the necessary requirements.

Director Adam Immerwahr, has a long resume of directing shows that are “wildly funny and full of heart.”  His local directing includes well-reviewed productions of “The Games Afoot (Or Holmes for the Holidays),” “A Comedy of Errors,” and “Baskerville; A Sherlock Holmes Mystery.”

Immerwahr pulls out all the stops for “Sherwood.”  Shticks, gimmicks and slapstick abound.  Swords clang, actors fly around stage with abandonment, sexual innuendoes erupt, ramparts are attacked, actors fall off buildings and are pummeled with glee. It’s all in good fun.  Farce at its very best.

Misha Kachman’s impressive set, complete with a massive tree, platforms, and a revolving center stage which is cleverly used for moving set pieces, fight sequences and acting stunts, becomes as much a performer as a visual delight.

 J. Allen Suddeth’s choreographed fight scenes are obviously staged, but delight with their well-executed movements.  The sequences often not only evoke laughter, but prolonged applause.

The cast is universally strong.  The good guys are pure and innocent, and the bad guys are evil to the core.  The audience got into the mood of the piece by cheering on our heroes and booing the evil-doers.

Handsome Zack Powell is Robin Hood, swashbucklingly perfect, displaying an impish quality that made the character endearing.  

Amy Blackman as his lady love, Maid Marian, nicely textures her acting and shows masterful physical moves as the “#Times Up” modern woman before her generation. 

As Little John, the physically imposing Jonah D. Winston got laughs on his entrance and got more and more guffaws as the show developed.  Our “narrator,” Doug Hara’s Friar Tuck, led the audience on a delightful journey. 

Josh Innerst is so successful in developing Sir Guy of Gisbourne as a bad guy that he got well-deserved “boos” on his curtain call entrance.  And Steven Rattazzi is delightfully pseudo-evil as The Sheriff of Nottingham.
 

CAPSULE JUDGMENT: “Sherwood” is for those who love to laugh at the ridiculous and see a well-written farce performed at the highest level.  The staging, the acting, the technical aspects are superb.  Go…laugh…escape from the ridiculousness of what’s going on in this country and the world, and have a good time!!!

“Ken Ludwig’s Sherwood the Adventures of Robin Hood” runs through February 24, 2019 at Allen Theatre in PlayhouseSquare.  For tickets call 216-241-6000 or go to http://www.clevelandplayhouse.com.

Next up at CPH:  March 23-April 14, 2019) “Tiny Houses,” a world premiere comedy in which a couple builds a 200-square foot tiny house to create a “simpler” life.  (Outcalt Theatre)

Lakeland Civic Theatre’s “Freaky Friday” is missing the freaky!

“Freaky Friday” is a musical based on the 1972 book by Mary Rodgers.  Yes, the daughter of Richard Rodgers, composer of such classic musicals as “Oklahoma” and “Carousel.”  Others are aware that she collaborated on the musicals “Once Upon a Mattress” and “The Mad Show.” Some might know that she is the mother of Tony Winning composer, Adam Guettel (“The Light in the Plaza”).  

Her endearing book was made into 1976 and 2003 films.

As in the book and film version, the storyline centers on Katherine, the overworked, obsessive-compulsive, stressed-out mother of Ellie, a sarcastic, self-involved, angst-driven teenager, who lives life in constant emotional self-imposed “drama queen” hell. 

Through a quirk of fate, the duo switches bodies, and then has one day to put things back. 

Yes, it’s one day before Katherine’s wedding, and both females are about to find out what it’s like to live life in the other’s body surrounded by wedding plans, school stresses, a runaway kid, burgeoning love, mistaken identities, and the loss of the device which “caused” the biological time-switch to take place. 

The musical was produced at the Cleveland Playhouse in April, 2017, with Broadway’s Heidi Blickenstaff and Emma Hunton in the lead roles.  Of that production, I wrote, “if you don’t go see “Freaky Friday” you are going to miss out on a special event.” 

I wish I could say the same thing for the Lakeland production, but I can’t.

“Freaky Friday” is a farce. Okay, not a totally well-written one, but it is still a farce.  Farces are meant to delight the audience.

Things started well as the psychedelic set designed by Aaron Benson created the right off-kilter mood. 

The overture and “Just One Day” did a good job of developing the exposition, getting us ready for the “delight” that was supposed to come. 

Matthew Dolan and his orchestra did a masterful job of underscoring, rather than drowning out the performers.  They played the pop-rock score by Tom Kitt and Brian Yorkey well. (The mediocre score includes “What You Got,” “Oh, Biology,” “Busted,”” Just One Day,” and “No More Fear.”)

To make the script display its farcical level, requires letting out all the slap-stick, over-done physical and humorous stops.  This, of course is dependent upon the director building in shticks and gimmicks and the cast being able to pull off all the exaggeration, making each character a caricature.

Director Martin Friedman has given us some great theater. His Sondheim productions usually are top-tier and his recent production of “The Bridges of Madison County,” was an award winner.

Somehow, Friedman seems to have missed the key to “Freaky Friday.”  The needed cartoon characterizations, emphasis on the ridiculous, and creative staging were missing.  The performance seemed under-rehearsed and not well thought-out.

The director needed to make his cast aware of the qualities of farce.  As is, many acted, rather than reacted to the material.  Preset gestures and fake facial expressions, signs of bad performance, peppered the stage.

In spite of what was going on around her Trinidad Snider, as has come to be expected from this very talented woman, gave a stellar performance as Katherine/Ellie.  Her version of “After All of This and Everything” was beautiful. “Today and Ev’ry Day,” her duet with Alley Massey (Ellie) was nicely done.  Massey consistently sang well.

Rick McGuigan nicely developed the role of Mike, Katherine’s fiancé.

Jay Lee had the right touch as Adam, the high school hunk who Ellie lusts after.  “Women and Sandwiches” was delightful.  Several of the female high school students were on track.

The static and mechanically performed choreography didn’t help much to create the right mood.  The same could be said for the costumes, which were often ill-fitting and lacking in the needed visual polish.  In one scene, a lead actress came on stage with her dress inside out…label and seams exposed.

Capsule judgment: “Freaky Friday” is a farce which should delight an audience.  As is, except for the audience member on opening night who thought he was at a football game, and kept loudly cheering “way to go” and “good job” after each song and scene, the production should disappoint many.  Too bad!

“Freaky Friday” runs Friday and Saturdays at 7:30 and at 2 on Sundays February 1 through 17 at Lakeland Community College, 7700 Clocktower Drive, Kirtland. For tickets call 440-525-7134.  (The college is only 10 minutes from the 90-271 split!)