What makes a man a man explored at Actors’ Summit 

Until the late 1960s and 70s, the age of women’s liberation, the writings and speeches of Gloria Steinem, Betty Friedan, and Bella Abzug, MS magazine, and the National Women’s Caucus, men knew what it was like to be a man.   They were the center of the patriarchal family.  They were the bread winners, the disciplinarians, role models, because father knew best.  The macho man!

That’s not the pattern any longer.  Men are going to stylists, getting plastic surgery to look younger, changing diapers, taking over the role of childrearing, being sensitive, using words like “male bonding” and “relationship,” and wearing clothing of such colors as purple, red and, even pink.  Most importantly, they aren’t sure what their roles are as lover and husband.

Sean Christopher Lewis, the National New Play Network (NNPN) playwright in residence, seized upon the male befuddled state of mind and wrote MANNING UP, a play getting its world premiere at not only Akron’s Actors’ Summit, but at Riverside Theatre (Iowa City, IA) and Salt Lake Acting Company (Salt Lake City, UT).  NNPN champions the development of new plays by giving each of three theatres $7000 to champion the selected new work.  So far, 29 new plays have been produced.

Lewis, either from experience or observation, knows his subject well.  It’s impossible to watch the goings on of two men (Raymond and Donnie) in a basement “man cave” and not realize that their “I am man, see me roar” world has collapsed around them.  In fact, they are planning on attending a “maninar,” a seminar that teaches the modern man how to navigate the new world in which he must travel.

As the duo, both of whom are expectant fathers, discuss, in panic and confusion, such topics as “men don’t have best friends,” “I’m afraid of losing who I am,” “existing as an idiot savant of manliness,” the meaning of being “emotionally absent,” and that “the difference between men and government bond, is that eventually a government bond matures.”  Through using the empty chair technique of Gestalt counseling, we find out much about the men’s insecurities.

As Lewis describes the goings on, the duo is “Looking at the dads they’ve seen and grown up with, though this doesn’t seem the best proposition.  Maninars, Primal Screams and therapy sessions fill their night in Raymond’s basement as they wonder how to be the men they need to for the women upstairs.”

Raymond is an actor who is fighting any semblance of being a modern sensitive man.  He’s afraid of losing who he is, especially since he had such a poor father figure to emulate.

Donnie is a college professor of 14th century English literature, who is filled with fear, acts with caution, is sexually naïve, and displays high anger control.  He is in total fear of fatherhood.

Lewis’s script is more television sitcom than play, but it evokes laughter by pulling out the ridiculousness of the plight of a modern suburban man and how he has been emasculated by the women’s movement and lives in fear of doing the wrong thing because men no longer have the manual on how to be a man.

Director Neil Thackaberry pulls out all the farce plugs, including knocking down doors and overblown hysteria, to set a furious pace.

Peter Voinovich (Raymond) and Keith Stevens (Donnie), who are real-life brothers-in-law and have recently gone through the throes of new fatherhood, have a great time on stage.  They both develop clear characters.  Stevens, whose mobile face often reflects the “deer caught in the headlights look” of a timid academic, unused to operating without a lesson plan, is excellent.  Voinovich, the bigger, more gruff of the two, rants and raves with great buffoonery.  Since the play takes place in New Jersey, the goings on would have been enhanced by hearing some “Joisey” accents.

Capsule judgement: MANNING UP, like the more entertaining comic sitcoms (think EVERYBODY LOVES RAYMOND or SUBURGATORY), delights while making a few thought provoking points about the plight of the modern male.  If you are looking for a fun evening of escapism, this is it!

For tickets to, which runs through, call 330-374-7568 or go to www.actorssummit.org

Unnerving musical about the crime of the century at convergence continuum

Musicals have come from various sources.  There has been the tale of an illiterate flower girl who was transformed into a proper woman (MY FAIR LADY), a Biblical Jewish youth who became a leader in Egypt (JOSEPH AND THE AMAZING TECHNICOLOR DREAMCOAT), a prince who kept searching for his corner of the sky until he realized that it was right where he was (PIPPIN), and a big nosed sassy New York girl who transformed herself into a famous vaudeville star (FUNNY GIRL).

Stephen Dolginoff thought that the story of two wealthy genius teenagers, who in 1924 abducted and killed a young boy, would make for a musical evening of theatre.  Yes, he has transformed Chicago wunderkinds, Nathan Leopold and Richard Loeb, and their kidnapping and carrying out a gruesome murder, into a musical.

Don’t get the idea that Dolginoff envisioned a joyful, song-filled show with fabulous dance numbers or pretty love duets. He didn’t.  In THRILL ME:  THE LEOPOLD LOEB STORY, a version of which is on stage at convergence-continuum, what he produced was a script, to be played by two actors, with haunting music, that tells the tale, or his version of the morbid story.

Nathan Leopold and Richard Loeb came from affluent backgrounds.  They were both brilliant.  Loeb, who was obsessed with crime, and was the youngest person ever to graduate from The University of Michigan, was purported to have an IQ of over 200 (average is 100).  A student of Nietzsche, he perceived the duo to be Übermenschen (supermen) and believed that legal obligations didn’t apply to those like he and Nate, because of their exceptional intelligence. 

They boys were lovers, supposedly with the charismatic Loeb holding the power to withhold affection and manipulate the shy, nerdy Leopold.  Richard made a deal with Nathan that in return for his help in conducting some crimes, he will grant Nate the sexual favors he desires.  Eventually, the petty crimes turn into a murder plot.

The duo spent a long time planning the crime, though the musical almost makes it look like it was a spur of the moment event.  According to Leopold’s book, LIFE PLUS 99 YEARS, the original target of the attack was unavailable when he was taken to a dental appointment by his family’s chauffer, so they substituted Bobby Franks at the last minute.  Franks, Loeb’s second cousin, knew the pair, so getting him into the murder car was probably easy. 

Stories vary as to who actually killed the youth, but, he was definitely murdered.  Also up for question, was the exact motivation.  Causation theories include their desire to pull off the perfect crime, that even though they were rich there was still a need for money, the thrill of the chase, as a sexual stimulant, and that they were privileged kids with nothing else to do.  

The perfect crime was foiled when Leopold dropped his glasses near the place where Frank’s body was hidden.  The hinges on the glasses were unique and were only were only used on three pair of frames.  The police, through a series of maneuvers, tracked the glasses to Nathan and then got confessions. 

A judicial proceeding, rather than a jury trial, found the famous Clarence Darrow as counsel for the defense.  The lawyer’s summation centered on the evils of capital punishment as a means of retribution, rather than rehabilitation.  Leopold and Loeb were found guilty, and each sentenced to ninety-nine years, plus life. 

Loeb was killed by a fellow inmate in 1936.  Leopold, who had an exemplary record in prison, including developing a new penitentiary education system, volunteered to participate in a malaria drug experiment, was released  from jail in 1938.  He went on to live a productive life in Puerto Rico, where he wrote CHECKLIST OF BIRDS OF PUERTO RICO AND THE VIRGIN ISLANDS,
a definitive ornithology book.

Dolginoff’s script adds and omits information about the tale, and should be taken as a story based on the boys and their crime, not as a documentary.  It compresses time, spends a great deal of time on the homosexual aspects of the duos lives, omits the police interrogation that settled the case, mentions Loeb’s getting killed but avoids Leopold’s life after being released, and does not give the actors the words needed to illustrate their super intelligence.  In spite of these flaws, the story development and the production are emotionally charged.

There are no memorable songs, though some of the titles illustrate the serious undertones including, “A Written Contract,” “Thrill Me,” “Superior,” and “Ransom Note.”

The lyrics tend to be overly dependent upon a labored rhyme scheme and the writer seems to be more obsessed with the sexual aspects of the story than the murder itself.  There is also a contemporary sound to the spoken words and song lyrics, which remove the material from its era. 

Con-con’s production, under the focused direction of Clyde Simon, is well paced and the concepts nicely developed.  Use of era an correct typewriter, long handled telephones and clothing help enhance convergence continuum’s first musical endeavor.

The cast is generally convincing.  Both are better actors then singers, but that weakness is tempered by the fact that Dolginoff’s music is mostly talk-sing based, not requiring great singing voices, though, at times, both fell into the trap of following the rhyme pattern rather than the meaning pattern. 

Zac Hudak as Richard Loeb, with evil glinting in his maniacal eyes, generally displayed the cocky attitude of a person who knows how to manipulate the love-starved Leopold.
Mike Majer mirrors the desperation for attention, the need for affection, and the nerdy bird-watching fascination of the easily manipulated Leopold.

Though Anthony Ruggiero’s piano accompaniment was well played, without additional instruments, the musical sound was somewhat hollow.

Con-cons 50 seat theatre, with its runway stage, brings the action up close and personal, enhancing the chilling effects of the action.

Capsule Judgement:  The Leopold-Loeb story has retained its fascination, even after all these years.  Though THRILL ME: THE LEOPOLD & LOEB STORY has a somewhat flawed script and musical score, convergence continuum’s production is very  well worth seeing.  It should grasp and hold the attention of the audience.

The dark musical THRILL ME:  THE LEOPOLD AND LOEB STORY
runs through June 8 at 8 pm Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays at convergence-continuum’s artistic home, The Liminis, at 2438 Scranton Rd. in Cleveland’s Tremont neighborhood.  For information and reservations call 216-687-0074.

Acting overshadows esoteric script at Cleveland Public Theatre

Philip Ridley, the author of TENDER NAPALM, now being staged at Cleveland Public Theatre, was trained as an artist.  His paintings, like his plays, are characterized by using a palate of colors, splashed all over.  There is also a bizarre quality to his writing which is fairly typical of 1990s British “In-Yer-Face” theatre.  Theatre that is filled with fantasy, dark surrealism, which leaves the audience asking, “What the hell is going on?”

TENDER NAPALM, finds a married couple in a room in which they act out a series of fantasies.  Or are they realities?  The audience is entwined in a rambling plot that invites such questions as: “Who are these people?” “Where is this set?” “What caused this invasion of fear, terror, desire and darkness?” “What does the title mean?” Why are they terrorizing each other about the outside world? And, “Do these infantile games have any meaning?”

The “In-Yer-Face” movement attracted young audiences and repulsed traditional critics.  Its subjects included storytelling that resembled the rambling imagination of children.  The movement’s writers examined sexuality, family guilt, racial hatred, and destruction of the traditional structures of society without using traditional organized plot structures.

TENDER NAPLAM, which is only ninety-minutes in length, makes for a long sit.  Within that intermissionless time, sexual decapitation, unicorn fantasies, palaces, monkeys, flying saucers, Neptune the God of the Seas, aliens, a party in a mansion, bombs, parallel universes, space ships, destruction of sexual organs, a child, and islands are all discussed and acted out in a single kitchen-type space.  Actors cavort, jump on and off various set pieces, act out battle scenes, and taunt each other.

While the script, itself, does not satisfy the theatrical requirement for gaining knowledge or entertaining, it acts as a wonderful device for theatricality.  The long speeches and bizarre nature of the goings on are perfect devices for acting exercises.  Director Denise Astorino and performers Melissa Crum and Matt O’Shea use the opportunity well.

Astorino, CPT’s 2013-2014 Joan Yellen Horvitz Director Fellow, pulls out all the emotional stops, guiding with an eye for ferocity of feelings.  She is blessed with a cast that gets beyond the play’s weaknesses and creates vivid visual and emotional pictures.

Both Crum and O’Shea are superb in milking the over-wrought vignettes.  They scream, rant, confront each other, throw their bodies around like rag dolls, leap onto tables and counters, physically exhausting themselves and the audience.   These are premiere performances.

Capsule judgement: TENDER NAPALM is an “In-Yer-Face” flow of pseudo-intellectual double talk and esoteric mumbo jumbo, splattered like colors into a mélange of existential gibberish.  Its real value, however, is that it allows two superb actors (Melissa Crum and Matt O’Shea) to display their talents.  That’s the only reason to go see this production, and that may be reason enough.

TENDER NAPALM runs through May 18 at Cleveland Public Theatre.  For tickets call 216-631-2727 or go on line to http://www.cptonline.org.

THERE IS A HAPPINESS (and absurdity) at Cleveland Public Theatre

Poet, painter and printmaker William Blake was considered to be mad by many of his contemporaries due to his out-of-the-time attitudes.  The mid-eighteenth and early nineteenth century writer is also considered to be one of the leaders of the Romantic Age, but his work was mainly unappreciated until after his death.  Part of this was because of his hostility toward organized religion, that he wrote for the common man rather than the aristocrats, and he created ideas from his imagination rather than paying homage to nature and God.  

It is only appropriate that Mickel Maher, who is noted for his ridiculous and deliberate writing of dry intellectually rigorous academic matters, to pen a play about two eccentrics who teach at a failing small college in a wooded area.  Yes, THERE IS A HAPPINESS THAT MORNING IS should have made Blake proud because the protagonists are cerebral rebels who find themselves in conflict with the institution’s authority, and speak from their emotional centers while searching for their versions of truth.

The literate, profound, quirky, and absurd script, which had its world premiere in 2009, is written in subtle verse.  It centers on the lectures of two poetry professors whose specialty is the poetry of William Blake.  The duo had a publicly observed romp in the bushes the night before and we now observe while each appears before their classes (the audience) to explain both Blake and their actions.  They have been told to apologize for their behavior or lose their jobs.

Bernard, a middle-aged lecturer, a former folk singer who is short on scholarship and long on boundless optimism, gleefully explains, in blank verse, paralleling his thoughts to those of Blake’s poems about love, complete with writing them not only on the blackboard, but the floor, while he rants and challenges the students. 

Ellen, his pessimistic partner in the public show of affection, is angry about having to apologize to the college President who she detests.  Her biting words use language that is sardonic, gross and lowbrow. 

Bernard espouses more than he should.  Ellen rants in rhyme schemes, cadences and poetic tone.  They debate in earnest, often with humorous results until the college’s President emerges from a classroom seat, adds a bizarre twist to the proceedings, and hysteria reigns supreme.

Brian Pedaci is earnestly delightful as Bernard.  He portrays well the lecturer who knows little about Blake, yet waxes brilliantly about him. 

Derdriu Ring is dogmatically perfect as, Ellen, the put upon professor who is indignant that her credentials and abilities are being brought into question by a college leader who she neither respects nor recognizes.

Matthew Wright steals the show as President James Dean, whose obsessive love has cost him his fortune and ethical center.  His performance is a not to be missed experience.

Todd Krispinsky’s set, which cleverly combines a classroom and the woods, helps develop the bizarre mood of the play.

In the hands of a less competent director than Beth Wood, and a superb cast, this overly talky rhyming script would fall flat on its face.  Instead, it becomes a somewhat profound and definitely entertaining evening of theatre.

Capsule judgement: If you went to college, and took a course in poetry, you’ll find yourself morphing back and wishing that your professors had had a romp in the grass, and expressed themselves with such absurd hysterical language, as the duo in THERE IS A HAPPINESS THAT MORNING IS, which is getting a fine production at CPT.

THERE IS A HAPPINESS THAT MORNING IS runs through May 25  at Cleveland Public Theatre.  For tickets call 216-631-2727 or go on line to www.cptonline.org.

Cleveland area summer theatre and dance 2013 calendar

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

PORTHOUSE THEATRE  Kent State University’s summer theatre, performed on the grounds of Blossom Music Center in Cuyahoga Falls, will present SOUTH PACIFIC, June 13-29, WORKING, July 4-20, FIDDLER ON THE ROOF, July 25-August 11.  Curtain time is 8 PM Tuesdays through Saturdays and 2 PM Sundays. The picnic grounds open 90 minutes prior to curtain time.  For tickets call 330-672-3884 or go online to http://dept.kent.edu/theatre/porthouse/index.html

MERCURY SUMMER STOCK  Mercury Summer Theatre, which performs at Notre Dame College in South Euclid, will offer SHREK (June 4-29), RAGTIME (July 5-20) and PETER PAN THE MUSICAL (August 2-17).  For tickets go online to http://www.mercurysummerstock.com or call 216-771-5862.

CAIN PARK  Cain Park, located in Cleveland Heights, produces a musical play each season.  This year’s offering is SMOKEY JOE’S CAFÉ, a review highlighting the songs of Jerry Leiber and Mike Stroller.  The show runs from June 13-30 in the Alma Theatre.  For the $15 tickets call 216-371-3000 or go to http://www.cainpark.com

BLANK CANVAS  Pat Ciamacco’s little theatre that “could and does” presents TWELVE ANGRY MEN, July 12-27, and FRANKIE AND JOHNNY IN THE CLAIR DE LUNE from August 23 through September 7 at their near Westside location, 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.blankcanvastheatre.com

MAMAI THEATRE COMPANY  The area’s newest professional theatre, in residence at Ensemble Theatre in the former Coventry Elementary School at 2843 Washington Boulevard in Cleveland Heights, presents the U.S. premiere of Brendan Kennelly’s translation of Euripides’ MEDEA, June 13-30 and David Mamet’s BOSTON MARRIAGE, July 18-August 4.  For tickets go to http://www.mamaitheatreco.org/home/buy-tickets-subscribe

CLEVELAND PLAY HOUSE Award-winning actor, playwright and concert pianist Hershey Felder returns to Cleveland Play House with his latest composer creation, MAESTRO: LEONARD BERNSTEIN from July 17 to August 4 at the Allen Theatre.  For tickets call 216-241-6000 or go to www.clevelandplayhouse.com

BECK CENTER
THE PITMEN PAINTERS  A new play by the Tony Award-winning writer of BILLY ELLIOT is based on a triumphant true story about a group of miners in Northern England who take an art appreciation class and build an astonishing body of work that makes them the unlikeliest of art-world sensations.  It runs from May 31 through July 7.  

MONTY PYTHON'S SPAMALOT  The outrageous musical comedy lovingly ripped off from the cult classic motion picture MONTY PYTHON AND THE HOLY GRAIL with music by Eric Idle, runs from July 12  through August 18, 2013.   For tickets:  216-521-2540 or http://www.beckcenter.org

ACTORS’ SUMMIT
THE BIKINIS, Roderick and Hindman’s musical review about first love and endless summer, centers on a girl-group which reunites for a concert to sing such favorites as “Heat Wave,” “It’s Raining Men,” and “I Will Survive.”  Running:  June 20 through July 21 (no July 4 performance).  Tickets: 330-374-7568 or go to www.actorssummit.org

OBERLIN SUMMER THEATER FESTIVAL  The Festival’s 2013 season will include: THE DIARY OF ANNE FRANK by Frances Goodrich and Albert Hackett; William Shakespeare’s comedy TWELFTH NIGHT; and, Moss Hart’s insider’s view of Broadway, LIGHT UP THE SKY in rotating repertory from June 28 through August 3 in Oberlin's air conditioned Hall Auditorium on State Route 58 at 511, between the Oberlin Inn and the Allen Memorial Art Museum.  For tickets call 440-775-8169.

PLAYHOUSE SQUARE/14th Street Theatre  SPANK! THE FIFTY SHADE PARADY returns, by popular demand, to titillate the damsels in this take off of THE SHADES OF GREY trilogy from August 8-18.  To read my review of the previous showing go to http://www.royberko.info  For tickets call 216-241-6000 or go to http://www.playhousesquare.org

DANCE OFFERINGS:

DANCING WHEELS, July 20, 8 p.m.
INLET DANCE, kid’s performance, July 24, 1-2 p.m., adults—July 25,
    8 p.m.
VERB BALLETS, kid’s performance, August 2, 1-2 p.m., adults—August 3,
    8 p.m.
GROUNDWORKS DANCE THEATER, August 16 & 17—7 p.m.,
    August 18—2 p.m.
All presented at Cain Park.  For program details and tickets go to: http://www.cainpark.com/index.aspx?page=668

DANCECleveland and the Cleveland Orchestra present The Joffrey Ballet with at Blossom Music Center August 20 at 8 p.m.  For information and tickets go to: http://www.clevelandorchestra.com/event-detail/2013-Aug-17-Blossom.aspx?pid=10893

THE INSPIRED BODY presents NOT WHAT I EXPECTED…DANCES OF AGES, STAGES AND RAGES, featuring Tracy Pattison’s SHE THREE at Dobama Theatre, June 20,21, 22, 2013 at 8pm.  For information and tickets call 216-932-3396

NEW GROUND…New. Theatre. Festival. lights up CPH

Cleveland Play House’s The 2013 New Ground Theatre Festival lit up the three stages in the Allen Theatre complex starting on May 2nd with parts running through the 19th.

The annual event showcased cutting-edge productions and readings from nationally-recognized artists.  This year’s offerings included a well written and performed world-premiere comedy, a delightful off-the-wall dance-theatre piece, play readings, new scripts and general excitement to packed houses.

Kudos to Roe Green, the honorary producer for her generous financial and emotional support.

Quick-cuts of the offerings:

RICH GIRL

My capsule judgement of Victoria Stewart’s RICH GIRL was that it grabbed and held the audience’s attention, that the cast was strong, and the technical aspects excellent. I recommended seeing the sure-fire audience pleaser which runs until May 19.  For the entire review of the production which featured Dee Hoty and Liz Larsen, two Tony Award-nominated actresses, and was directed by CPH’s Artistic Director, Michael Bloom, go to http://www.royberko.info

LUCKY PLUSH

Presented May 2nd through the 4th, THE BETTER HALF, performed by Lucky Plush Productions, was a co-presentation of DANCECleveland and CPH. 

This evening of joyous, clownish, acrobatic, thought provoking dance and theatrical glee, was a take-off on the film classic GASLIGHT, blended into glimpses of THE BOURNE IDENTITY, SCENES FROM A MARRIAGE, FLIRT, ALL THE REAL GIRLS and TRUST.  The musical score was a mix of compositions such as “Gaslight,” “Joy in the Morning,” and “My Cruel Heart.” 

This was a special night of entertainment by a very talented group of dancers and a duo of exceptional choreographers.

MARJORIE PRIME

Jordan Harrison, the 2013 winner of the Roe Green New Play Award, challenges the audience to think of a time in the future when both a life lived and a life remembered may be a reality. A time when the living can interact with a “prime,” a backboard which can be input with information that allows for repeating of learned experiences of a particular person through real conversation.  A time when the familiar becomes the fantastical. 

Creatively directed by Laura Kepley, and starring the Grande dame of Cleveland theatre, Dorothy Silver, the well performed staged reading also featured Stephen Michael Spencer, Johanna Day and Thomas Jay Ryan.  

One can only question how this play of words and almost no action, will translate to a full-scale production.

BECOMING LIV ULLMANN

A workshop of a new work by Crystal Finn, who also played the leading role, BECOMING LIV ULLMANN, is a two-person show which takes the audience on a journey of hysterically angst. 

A young woman desperately wants to get back her ex-boyfriend, who once commented upon her being like Liv Ullmann, the famous Swedish, or is it Norwegian, actress who is either alive or dead, and may or may not have been a prostitute, and could have been married to Ingmar Bergman, and may have had a couple of children, or not. 

Yes, Finn, verbally flowing in what sounds like an ad lib presentation, uses play scripts, a chalkboard, wigs, a fellow actor (TJ Gainley) and a man plucked out of the audience, to take the audience on a very funny imaginative exploration.

INFORMED CONSENT and MARGIE AND MIKE

Included in the event, but not viewed by this reviewer were:  Deborah Zoe Laufer’s INFORMED CONSENT, a new play reading.  It will get a full-staged production as part of CPH’s 2013-14 season.  Also presented was Pamela DiPasquale’s MARGIE AND MIKE, new play for ages 5 and up which is part of University Hospitals Rainbow Babies and Children’s Hospital Classroom Matinee Touring program.

Capsule judgement:  NEW GROUND CPH is a giant undertaking by the staff of Cleveland Play House, which garnered wonderful results.  This is a very special area event that deserves the strong support and attendance which it received.  Let’s hope CPH continues to give us many more years of new ground.

LOVE STORY, THE MUSICAL showcases BW talent at the 14th Street Theatre

Fanatics of chick flicks virtually swoon when they hear the words, “Love means you never have to say you’re sorry,” or someone hums a bar or two of “Where Do I Begin?” Ah, yes, Andy Williams crooning the theme song from the 1970 film, LOVE STORY, which starred Ryan O’Neal and Ali MacGraw and holds the #9 place on the American Film Institute’s list of “most romantic films of all time.”

An unusual story centers on the film and book.  Eric Segal wrote the screenplay.  In order to give sales a kick start, the movie company asked Segal to write a book version of the script, which would come out on Valentine’s Day.  To the surprise of many, not only did the book become a best seller, but the movie developed a fanatical cult following.
A musical version, LOVE STORY THE MUSICAL, was recently given its Midwest regional premiere by the students of Baldwin Wallace University, in coordination with PlayhouseSquare.
The musical, like the movie and play, centers on Oliver, a rich young WASP, and Jenny, a poor Italian Catholic girl.  Despite their many differences, they fall in love and marry against his father’s wishes.  Oliver is disinherited.  Jenny withdraws from a scholarship to go to Paris to further her budding piano career, in order to pay for Oliver’s law school education.  Unfortunately, while undergoing pregnancy fertility tests, Jenny is diagnosed with leukemia, and dies. 

At her funeral, Oliver states the second most quoted lines from the movie, “What can you say about a twenty-five-year-old girl who died? That she was beautiful and brilliant? That she loved Mozart and Bach? The Beatles? And me?”

The musical opened in London in December 2010 to moderate reviews and ran ten weeks.  Its US debut was in Philadelphia in 2012.

The book by Stephen Clark is composed of a series of scenes.  There is a lack of smoothness in the development, causing the emotional impact of the movie’s soppy story to be fragmented, thus not allowing for emotions to build.  Howard Goodall’s music is beautiful.  That’s both a strength and the score’s weakness.  It all sounds pretty much the same.  Like the script, there is little emotional texturing. 

A careful observation of the audience the night I saw the play didn’t reveal a single Kleenex to the eye, or gasps of heartfelt emotion from the audience.  That’s a big negative for a story developed with a clear objective of invoking a blathering of tears.

Scott Plate, the director, and his cast cannot be blamed for the lack of emotional reaction.  They did all they could to overcome what they were given.  The voices were all good, the staging effective, the show well paced, the acting effective.

Lucy Anders, who played Jenny the night I saw the show (she alternated with Sara Masterson) was lovely as the high spirited, honest young woman who put love before her career.  (This was 1971, before the age of women’s liberation, so her June Cleaver/Carol Brady actions can be excused or, at least accepted.)  Anders has a lovely singing voice and displayed just the right amount of spunk to be realistic.

Though he lacked the physical appearance of macho-hockey jock Oliver, Zachary Adkins had the right preppy attitude and displayed a nice singing voice.  His strongest scenes were those when he conflicted with Alex Syiek, portraying Oliver’s father.

Syiek and James Penca, as Jenny’s father, were both effective in developing roles well beyond their chronological ages. 

Musical director Andrew Leslie Cooper and his band did a nice job of supporting rather than drowning out the singers.  It’s a difficult task in the miniscule 14th Street theatre with its low ceiling and hard walls.

CAPSULE JUDGEMENT: LOVE STORY was yet another of those special productions resulting from the collaboration of PlayhouseSquare and BW.  Bravos to Scott Plate and his BW students for a well- performed performance of a flawed script and music track.

LOVE STORY THE MUSICAL ran May 3 through May 5, 2013.

Creatively conceived and thought provoking WORKING at Blank Canvas

Probing into the lives of real people often yields fascinating theatre.  The classical musical CHORUS LINE was based on interviews that Elyrian, James Kirkwood, wove into a fascinating tale of the true life and theatrical experiences of Broadway singers and dancers. 

Cleveland writer Faye Sholiton used her experiences in interviewing Holocaust survivors to develop her heart wrenching THE INTERVIEW.

Studs Terkel, noted as the spokesman for the workingman, wrote the book WORKING:  PEOPLE TALK ABOUT WHAT THEY DO ALL DAY AND HOW THEY FEEL ABOUT WHAT THEY DO, based on his probing into the workday lives of men and women.  Terkel’s book was made into the musical WORKING with book by Stephen Schwartz (PIPPIN, GODSPELL, WICKED) and Nina Faso.  The music and lyrics were the creation of not only Schwartz, but a bevy of others.

A version of WORKING is now on stage at Blank Canvas Theatre.  Version, because the musical has gone through many incarnations.  It was brought to life in Chicago in 1977.  It was rewritten and staged on Broadway, where it had a short run, in 1978.  In 1999 another version was presented, while in 2009 Schwartz had another go at it, which included adding new songs.  In 2011 a further revised version opened in Chicago.

At Blank Canvas, Pat Ciamacco, the ingenious artistic director of Blank Canvas, has taken on the task of shrinking the cast and added an awe-inspiring visual dimension.  It’s going to be interesting to compare this edition to the one that will be staged at Porthouse Theatre, on the grounds of Blossom Center, this summer.

The show explores Cleveland workers from their early Monday morning blues, to the pride, rewards, stresses and frustrations of average working people.  Through the lives of such individuals as a corporate executive, schoolteacher, fireman, policeman, waitress, bricklayer, millworker, truck driver, call center operator, housewife, UPS deliveryman, laid off worker, nurse, cleaning woman, and student, we get a vision of real people, doing real jobs, while leading real lives.  (Editorial note:  the use of “man” and “woman”, rather than “person” is used to specifically designate the sex of the person being described and who was interviewed.)

Their tales are related through both words and songs.  The day starts off, for example, with the song, “All the Livelong Day,” where the steelwork tells the dangers of his job, as a hedge fund manager relates what he does, as a project manager relates her life and goals.  The various people relate individually and sometimes in groups, to flesh out the tales of real life, real jobs, and real thoughts and feelings.

We experience, in “Nobody Tells Me How,” the frustration of a schoolteacher who has seen her idyllic small classroom of motivated students who want to learn morph into large classes of students who she must teach English as a second language, as well as the fear of a stewardess who knows that the landing gear on her plane is stuck and the plane is about to make a crash landing, but must keep the information a secret so as not to panic the flyers.

In the emotionally “If I Could Have Been,” one of the production’s highlights, the company sings of things wanted but not achieved.  Caregivers relate their emotional highs and lows in “A Very Good Day,” while a steelworker laments how much of family life he missed in “Fathers and Sons.”

The production wraps up with a message that everyone should have “Something to Point To.”  It echoes Theodore Roosevelt’s theme that, “Far and away the best prize that life offers is the chance to work hard at work worth doing,” and is a Terkel homage to working men and women.

Ciamacco has relocated the setting to the Cleveland area.  References are made to local communities, costumes include Browns, Indians and local college paraphernalia.  During the staging, two screens show pictures and drawings that relate specifically to the places being referenced in the songs and words.  Hundreds of local images, specifically photographed by Andy Dudik and Ciamacco, are displayed.  Archive pictures of the building of the Terminal Tower and historic Cleveland scenes are also inserted.  This is a masterwork of visual supports that amplify the oral ideas.

The set, also designed by Ciamacco, resembles the metal framework of a building, complete with art deco trim, similar to the Terminal Tower and other downtown buildings, with a backdrop, painted expertly by Noah Hrbek, depicting the Cleveland skyline.

The cast is universally strong.  Six performers (Doug Bailey, Ian Atwood, Derrick Winger, Tasha Brandt, Joanna May Hunkins and Sarah Edwards-Maag) aided by wigs and costume changes, recreate the twenty-six lives that exemplify the working people of the area.

Special kudos to the vocal abilities of Derrick Winger, Ian Atwood and Tasha Brandt, though all the voices are excellent.

Luke Scattergood (costumes) and Sarah Lynne Nicholas (props) did yeoman work in gathering the many design specific requirements for creating correct visual imagery.

Musical director Lawrence Wallace and his fellow band members, Chris Andrews and Cody Lumsden, do a great job of musical interpretation and underscoring rather than drowning out the singers.

Though the production makes for a little long sit of almost an hour and a half without an intermission, the production is well paced and holds the attention.

CAPSULE JUDGMENT:  WORKING is the type of theatrical experience that is both purposeful and entertaining.  The message is clear, the lyrics and spoken words meaningful.  This is a well performed, meticulously conceived, and fine production under the creative powers of Pat Ciamacco.

Blank Canvas’s WORKING runs though May 18 in its near 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.  It’s an adventurous battle. For tickets and directions go to http://www.blankcanvastheatre.com

THE LYONS roar at Dobama

A New York reviewer once wrote, “If I have to see one more play about a dysfunctional family, I’m going to commit suicide.”  Broadway and local audiences may be thinking the same thing after being exposed to the likes of two productions of NEXT TO NORMAL, RICH GIRL, SORDID LIVES, SPANK, and SONS OF THE PROPHET, within a short period of time. 

Ah, yes, Nicky Silver’s THE LYONS is yet another of those “We’ve got ‘tsuris’ plays,”  scripts that, according to the English definition of the Yiddish term, are tales with problems and angst.

Silver is noted for his “go-for-the-laugh” style.  He writes sitcoms for the stage.  It’s been said of him, “Silver never met a pain he couldn’t laugh at.”  Even the titles of his plays reflect that attitude.  Think…FAT MEN IN SKIRTS, THE AGONY AND THE AGONY, FREE WILL AND WANTON LUST.

THE LYONS, as is true with many of the writer’s works, showcases his recurring themes of the prodigal son as disappointment and challenging the homophobic stereotypes of gay men.

With all that said, THE LYONS is the kind of play and production which will delight many and frustrate some.  Some will leave thinking, “And, I thought our family was screwed up.  Compared to the Lyons, we’re the Cleavers of television’s 1950’s LEAVE IT TO BEAVER. ”

Ben Lyons is lying in a hospital room dying of cancer.  He will not go gently into this good night.   He screams, swears, and degrades his visitors.  He says to his daughter, “Your mother is a bitch,” dismisses his son’s attempt to make peace by rejecting the boy’s statement of “I forgive you for letting me know I was the child you never wanted.” He forbids his wife from changing the furniture in the living room because he was responsible for “every rear-end indent in the sofa.”  Yes, this is a miserable man!

His wife, who states, “My whole life was a long parade of disappointments,” reveals on the day of her husband’s funeral that she is flitting off to Aruba that night with her daughter’s young male Alcoholics Anonymous sponsor. 

The daughter, who relapses after months of sobriety, has two sons by an physically abusive  husband she met at AA, but for whom she still lusts.  She has found solace in befriending a terminally ill man, who occupies a room on the same floor as her father.  He was introduced to her by her mother.  When her brother objects with the statement, “But, he’s dying,” the mother states, “Nobody’s perfect.”

The gay son lives in a fantasy world of invented boyfriends.  He’s so warped that he is the poster boy for The Great Lie Theory, which indicates that if you tell a lie enough you begin to believe it’s true.  These are not fictitious boyfriends, they are real to the warped Curtis.  As a result of one of his fantasies, the obsession with the handsome young man whose apartment window faces Curtis’s, and on whom he spies, Curtis gets beaten up and winds up in the same hospital room that his father occupied.

Yes, this family has “tsuris” and we watch the pain play out before our eyes.  Yet, due to Silver’s penchant for high humor in an absurdist way, THE LYONS, at least in the first act, is a laugh fest.  The second act sets us up for watching their world crash in bizarre ways.

Dobama’s production, under the smart direction of the theatre’s new artistic director, Nathan Motta, milks the lines for all they are worth.  The character development is generally well honed, the pacing appropriately fast, the humored horror is focused.

Dudley Swetland screams his way through the role of Ben Lyons with such ferocity that it’s a wonder he doesn’t wind up in a real hospital bed with a stroke.  Maybe a little more texturing and a little less screaming might have helped, but, as is, he creates a mean, cranky, frustrated, self and other loathing lout!

Jeanne Task well plays wife and mother, Rita, part ditz, part woman filled with life’s regrets.  She creates a woman who when confronted with reality, says that she wanted to kill her husband, but “it was just a whim.”  A woman who, instead of facing reality, is going to redo the living room in a “calming blue” because “even the carpeting is matted down with dysfunction.”  Task has several long speeches which carry much of the regret of the play.  They are nicely performed.

Anjanette Hall effectively portrays a woman in a sober state of drunkenness, caused by a combination of liquor and depression, which has dulled her senses. 

Christopher M. Bohan (Curtis) walks the fine line between being an overly affected gay man, with being a pathetic troubled liar, with nice texturing.  He is especially effective in the forgiveness speech to his father and the scene where he reveals his maniacal lust for Brian, his fantasy boyfriend.

Sean Grandillo gives a nice straightforward interpretation of Brian, the handsome young man who is the focus of Curtis’s fantasies.

Joyce M. Meadows plays the nurse with professional efficiency.

Laura Carlson’s multi-setting scenic design, works well as do Michael Roesch’s appropriately selected musical interludes. 

CAPSULE JUDGEMENT:  Nicky Silver’s absurdist play, THE LYONS, gets an excellent production at Dobama.  The balance between comedy and tragedy should get positive audience response and inspire some personal awareness.

THE LYONS runs through March 17, 2013  at Dobama Theatre.  Call 216-932-3396 or http://www.dobama.org for tickets.

RICH GIRL, a sure to please the audience production at Cleveland Play House

The plot:  self-made vindictive wealthy person, inhibited daughter, handsome suitor who may be after her money, parent attempts to torpedo the relationship.  Sound familiar?  It should.  That’s basically the storyline of the Henry James novella WASHINGTON SQUARE and the play and film, THE HEIRESS.  It’s also the basic description of Victoria Stewart’s RICH GIRL which takes from the past, but the play which is opening  Cleveland Play House’s 2013 NEW. THEATRE. FESTIVAL., adds comedy, infuses a little intrigue, and takes a 21st century twist.

The story centers on Eve and her daughter, Claudine.  Eve, is a self-made woman with a very large chip on her shoulder regarding men, and a mission to make sure that all women of means go into marriage with a pre-nup.

Eve’s marriage, which produced Claudine, ended when her husband, after years of being supported by Eve, walked out when he finally “made it.”  Eve develops a large foundation with a healthy endowment.  She becomes a television empire financial expert and evangelist--think CNBC’s Suze Ormand--with a large female following.

Obsessive compulsive Eve manages the world around her.  She controls the foundation, her assistant, her daughter, her apartment, and everything that enters her sphere, even, for a while, the cancer which she has fought into remission.  Suddenly her sphere is invaded by Henry, a young, handsome and charismatic theatrical actor and director, who attended a prestigious eastern academy with the shy, inhibited, klutzy Claudine.  Henry has applied to the foundation for funding.  Claudine, who is an intern at the foundation, has been told to refuse him.

She does so, but much to Eve’s displeasure, the duo gradually develop a relationship.  Mamma dearest suspects Henry’s only interest in the daughter, who she perceives as having many negative physical and psychological characteristics, is his desire to latch on to Claudine’s money.

What follows is both a funny and intriguing tale of women and their relationships with men, other women, and money, which ends with Claudine having to make a decision about whether to agree with her mother about Henry’s intensions. 

Stewart’s script is well-written, though one might question whether the ending would have been more emotionally wrought if the last blackout would have come fifteen second earlier.  (No, I won’t reveal what happens as it ruins the ending.)  As is, the conclusion leaves us semi-hanging, rather than completely left on our own to figure out the outcome.

The production, with this same cast and director, premiered the play at the George Street Playhouse in New Brunswick, New Jersey this past March to very positive reviews.

The cast is headed by Lakewood native Dee Hoty who earned her equity card at CPH.   She went on from here to become one of Broadway’s favorite leading ladies, earning three Tony nominations.

Later this month she will be inducted into the Cleveland Play House’s Hall of Fame.  Past inductees include Joel Gray, Dom DeLuise, Margaret Hamilton, Ed Asner, David Frazier, and Marlo Thomas.  Each of the inductees has made “meaningful contributions to CPH.”

Hoyt dominates the stage as Eve.  This is a focused, well conceived characterization.  She doesn’t portray the character, but consumes it from beginning to end.

Crystal Finn well transforms from the inhibited Claudine, who we meet early, into a motivated leader, who we view at the conclusion.  But, even channeling in that growth, Finn has developed a person who still retains the underlying vulnerability of a girl/woman with insecurities.

Liz Larsen, creates the proper levels of humor and sincerity as Maggie, Eve’s assistant and Claudine’s only true friend.  She has a nice touch for comedy.

Tony Roach is convincing as Henry, Claudine’s handsome suitor.  He wisely develops the role so that we are never quite sure if he is a charlatan, after Claudine’s money, or a nice guy who loves and wants to protect her.

Wilson Chin’s set design allows for easy flow from restaurant, to television studio, to grand New York apartment.  This is another good example of the value of CPH’s move into its new homes.  The effects that Chin creates on the thrust stage would have been impossible in the theatre’s previous proscenium arched spaces.

Michael Bloom has paced the show well, aided the cast to develop focused characterizations, and done a nice job of building both the humor and the pathos.

CAPSULE JUDGMENT:  RICH GIRL grabs and holds the attention, the cast is strong, and the technical aspects excellent.  Go see this sure-fire audience pleaser!

RICH GIRL runs through May 19 at the Second Stage Theatre of the Allen complex in PlayhouseSquare.  For tickets call 216-241-6000 or go to www.clevelandplayhouse.com.

THE ICEMAN COMETH,  a four-hour marathon at Ensemble

Eugene O’Neill, along with such writers as Anton Chekhov, Henrik Ibsen and August Strindberg, transformed western theatre.  They transitioned the stage from a place for escapist ideas into a mecca for the examination of real life problems.  The quartet laid the foundation for what is now known as “the modern theatre” and laid the groundwork for such luminaries as Arthur Miller, Tennessee Williams and William Inge. 

O’Neill wrote in the dialect of the area of the country in which his plays are set.  He looked at a wide view of the population, and examined the struggle of people to set goals, maintain their hopes and dreams, and confront disillusionment and despair.

O’Neill was extremely prolific.  Between 1914 and 1983, he wrote over 30 plays including such masterpieces as ANNA CHRISTI, THE EMPEROR JONES, DESIRE UNDER THE ELMS, MORNING BECOMES ELECTRA, LONG DAY’S JOURNEY INTO NIGHT, MOON FOR THE MISBEGOTTEN, all with serious themes, and one comedy, AH,WILDERNESS.  He won the Nobel Prize and four Pulitzer Prizes for Drama.

One of his epic scripts, THE ICEMAN COMETH is in production at Ensemble Theatre.

The script was first professionally staged in 1946 and centers on Harry Hope’s Greenwich Village bar and rooming house.  It’s 1912.  The patrons, a group of alcoholics who use liquor to dull their senses, spend day after day, year after year, inside the establishment, forming a dysfunctional family.  Most are penniless, living off the generosity of the owner, who is psychologically no better off than his customers.  Three prostitutes hang around the place which is run by two bartenders.  

The group looks forward to the semi-annual visits of Theodore Hickman, know to them as Hickey.  Hickey, who buys them all booze, tells funny stories, and relates mythical tales about his wife and her so-called iceman boyfriend, who supposedly shows up when Hickey leaves on one of his selling trips.

Hickey is due as it’s Harry’s birthday.  There is much anticipation.  Hickey arrives, but is seemingly a different person.  Instead of a jokester, he preaches that “honesty with yourself leads to true peace.”  He attempts to motive the men to turn off their pipe dreams and return to the real world.  They each go forth to face the world without the protection of their liquored personas.  The results are disastrous, the goals unmet, and the play ends with a revelation and disillusionment.

THE ICEMAN COMETH is not an easy sit.  It’s four hours of philosophical investigation of anarchism, socialism, depression and despair.

The Ensemble production, under the direction of Ian Wolfgang Hinz, is well paced.  The major problem, besides the length, is the poorly staged ending. 

Unfortunately, to reveal the problem requires telling part of the shocking conclusion of the play, but there is no way to avoid it.  One of the characters commits suicide.  We hear what sounds like a gun shot but the script lines relate that the victim jumped from a window.  In addition, the person who is supposed to see him jump is placed on a staircase from which he could not possibly see the act, resulting in a confounding ending.

The cast is universally excellent.  Dana Hart as Hickey textures his role with realism.  His almost half-hour fourth act monologue, though overly long, is compellingly presented. 

Other impressive performances include Mitch Rose (Willie) who goes through agonizing alcoholic shivers and withdrawal before our eyes. 

Michael Regnier (Harry) vividly portrays his character’s agoraphobia. 

Robert Hawkes (Larry Slade) is the intellect held captive by his need to escape from past reality or face profound despair. 

Bobby Williams (Joe), effectively develops the black man who carries the strong O’Neill messages of bitterness and envy.

Valerie Young is pathetically real as the hooker who wants a different life, but can’t escape from this all encompassing world. 

Capsule judgement:  THE ICEMAN COMETH is a daunting undertaking.  It has a huge mostly male cast, all of whom have major speeches.  Keeping an audience’s attention for four act, is nearly impossible.  Ensemble should be praised for not only the general quality of this production, but for taking on staging this classic.

Charming re-imagined CINDERELLA with a social message

Richard Rogers and Oscar Hammerstein II, the fathers of the modern American musical, were advocates of social responsibility.  In OKLAHOMA, they stressed the building of community, in SOUTH PACIFIC they pegged prejudice, and in THE KING AND I, the duo examined intercultural understandings. 

They would be pleased to know that Douglas Carter Beane, who wrote the new book for their 1957 for-television musical, CINDERELLA, has picked up their social cause theme and added the need for civility, and that there can be democracy within a monarch, and a plea for forgiveness, to their fairy tale story. 

Fairy tales have been the subject of many Broadway musicals, including BEAUTY AND THE BEAST, INTO THE WOODS, and THE LITTLE MERMAID.  As evidenced by the many little girls adorned with tiaras and chiffon gowns at CINDERELLA, Broadway’s newest tale of happily-ever-after, it may be one of the most beloved fantasy stories.  Interestingly, more than a few adult females stopped at the merchandise sales booth to buy their own rhinestone headgear.

The legendary Cinderella story centers on the put-upon Ella, an orphaned girl, being brought up by her mean stepmother and harassing sisters, who is forced to do manual labor and sit by the fireplace, thus being tagged “Cinder-Ella.”   The handsome prince of the kingdom is looking for a bride.  A ball is held to showcase the country’s female candidates.  Of course, while her sisters are invited, Ella is not.  Her fairy godmother (a forest bag lady) arranges for a pumpkin to be transformed into a golden coach, mice into horses, forest creatures into footmen, and dresses the young lady in princess garb.  And, of course, there are the glass slippers, her appearance at the ball, the prince falling in love, the search for his ladylove, and the happily ever-after ending. 

But this script doesn’t exactly totally follow the tale’s traditional story line.

Beane’s version cuts out the king and queen, and adds new characters, such as Jean-Michel, a peasant political do-gooder, who lusts after Cinderella’s nice sister, Gabriella, and Sebastian, the prince’s mean-spirited advisor.  He has made the prince, Topher (short for Christopher and about middle six names), into a naïve youth who transforms before our eyes into a benevolent leader and all-around nice guy.  The changes work well, adding some mild intrigue. 

The score includes such favorites as “In My Own Little Corner of the World,” “Impossible,” “It’s Possible,” “A Lovely Night,” “Do I Love You Because You’re Beautiful,” and “There’s Music In You.”

There has also been some adding of Rogers and Hammerstein songs that never made it into any of the duo’s original script, but remained for future use.  The future has arrived and the score has been enhanced with “Me, Who Am I,” “Loneliest of Evening,” The Pursuit,” and “Now Is the Time.”

The production, under the creative direction of Mark Brokaw, with choreography by Josh Rhodes, is full of visual enjoyment.  Images transform the stage into a forest, complete with puppet animals, the prince riding on a great steed, and a golden coach with prancing horses.  There’s  Cinderella’s house and the palace with the stairs on which the glass slipper is lost. 

Costume illusions dazzle the imagination.  (One little girl, after Cinderella’s simple frock transformed into a beautiful ball gown, squealed, “How did that happen?  It’s magic!”  It was a question and answer that many adults probably thought but were too inhibited to voice their wonderment.

The cast is universally appealing.  Laura Osnes (Cinderella) was seen on Broadway as the female lead in BONNIE AND CLYDE and ANYTHING GOES.  She looks like a princess, sings like a Broadway star, and has all the qualities to not only entrance a prince, but an audience.

Santino Fontana as Toper (the prince) isn’t the typical tall, dark and handsome Broadway star.  What he is, is a charmer with a great singing voice, and the acting skills to make for a believable naïve spoiled young man, thrust into the role of being a king to be, who transforms into a benevolent monarch, with the aid of a wise woman and a rabble-rousing do-gooder.  His duets with Osnes are show highlights.

Ann Harada, known to TV audiences for her continuing role in SMASH, adds laugh-delight as Charlotte, the prince-lusting evil step sister.

Both Greg Hildreth, as Jean-Michel, the do-good campaigner, and Marla Mindelle (Gabrielle) his lady love and nice step-sister, well develop their roles. Hildreth’s “Now Is the Time,” adds the show’s political heart.

Peter Bartlett, makes for a gentle evil-guy as Sebastian. He’s nasty, but not enough to scare the kiddies.

Victoria Clark creates Marie, the itinerant woodland wanderer turned fairy godmother, into a charming character.  She has a lovely singing voice and strong stage presence.  Harriet Harris uses farcical humor to create Madam as a less than fearsome wicked step-mother.

The beautiful and very hummable score is well played by the large pit orchestra.

Clevelanders will be pleased to see that The Araca Group, composed of hometown boys Matthew Rego, Michael Rego and Hank Unger are among the producers of CINDERELLA, adding to their other hits which include WICKED, ROCK OF AGES, and URINETOWN.

Capsule judgement:  The first-ever Broadway staging of Rogers and Hammerstein’s CINDERELLA is delightful.  No, this isn’t a great musical, but it will offend no one, delight many, and just the names Roger and Hammerstein and CINDERELLA will insure a long run, road shows, and lots of tiara sales.

ROGERS AND HAMMERSTEIN’S CINDERELLA is in an open-ended run at The Broadway Theatre, 1681 Broadway at 53rd Street.

Absurd VANYA AND SONYA AND MASHA AND SPIKE delights

Roy Berko
(Member:  American Theatre Critics Association, Cleveland Critics Circle)
 
Playwright Christopher Durang, who is noted for his absurdist ideas, has incorporated “pieces-parts” of three Chekov plays (THE CHERRY ORCHARD, UNCLE VANYA and THE WILD DUCK) and lots of Greek tragedy references into his hysterically funny VANYA AND SONYA AND MASHA AND SPIKE.

Does it help to know the sources of the bizarre plot takeoffs?   It might, but it could even get in the way of just sitting and having a great time watching master actors take laugh inducing material, and create great comedy.

It’s Buck’s county, Pennsylvania.  There is an attractive country house situated on the shore of a lovely lake, where a loon visits daily, and life seems serene until we observe 57-year old Vanya and his 52-year old spinster step-sister Sonia wallowing in their life regrets.  They’ve led solitary lives centering on taking care of their now deceased parents.  Now, the duo is left to realize that they both put aside any chance for personal happiness.

Vanya reads and seems to internally wonder about acting on his gay impulses.  Sonia, a psychological hypochondriac, wallows in her being adopted, and stressing her fondest memory, that of her father calling her his “little artichoke” and that he “never molested me.”   But, at least they have the pleasure of living in this lovely setting.

As in any good Chekov-invoked story, realistic conflict must rear its ugly head.  The problem comes in the form of their self-absorbed, controlling, insecure sister Masha, who has become well known for her role in a series of films where she played a nymphomaniac pscyho-killer.  Masha sweeps in with Spike, her studly boy toy, who has trouble keeping his clothes on.  She announces she is having money problems and is going to sell the house.

Absurdity reigns as Masha commands that they are going to a neighbor’s swanky costume party.  She is going as Snow White, Spike as Prince Charming, and the rest as her dwarfs.  Spike skirts off in his very brief black briefs, finds a cute young girl (Nina) by the water who he brings home, much to Masha’s irritation.  The cleaning lady (Cassandra), an amateur practitioner of voodoo, starts sticking pins in a Snow White dressed doll to create pain for Masha each time she thinks about selling the house and making predictions which amazingly come true.  

Frustrated by the presence of Spike, a young man who represents attitudes of instant gratification, as well as the changing world, society’s loss of innocence, and his loss of hope, Vanya rants through a hysterical and breathtaking eight-minute tirade about television shows, postage stamps that don’t have to be licked, tweeting, instant gratification, and all the other ills of modern society.

Much against Marsha’s wishes, Sonia decides to go to the party as the wicked witch.  Beautifully attired, and feigning a British accent, she attracts positive attention, and a potential suitor, while Masha’s outfit confounds.  Of course, this is too much for the insecure Masha, and overblown angst ensues.

Spike reveals that he is sneaking off to the Caribbean with Masha’s assistant, and is sent packing, further enhancing the chaos.

How does it all end?   Realization, hope, and maybe a happy ending, but with Durang writing a la Chekov, who knows, and who cares, since a good time is had by all.

The script is studded with philosophical and humorous lines, such as “If everyone took antidepressants, Chekov would have nothing to write about,” and a series of self-loathing pity parties, which only highlight the humor.

The cast is wonderful.  Each character is clearly etched.  David Hyde Pierce makes “Uncle” Vanya totally his.  He is pathetic and endearing, dramatic and dynamic, and plays humor like a fine musician playing a well-tuned violin.

Kristin Nielson almost steals the show as the self-loathing Sonia.   She knows how to play comedy.  Her timing, facial expressions, and other nonverbal signals are endearing and laugh invoking.

Sigourney Weaver weaves a web of hyper-superficiality as the sister from hell.  Her sparring matches with her siblings all hit the target.  Her desire to hold on to her boy toy creates humorous acts of desperation.

Sensual Billy Magnussen (Spike), with his gym sculpted body and undulating abs, has the very difficult task of creating a Ken doll with such sincerity and lack of inhibition that he is perceived as real and not an overblown stereotype.   He pulls off the feat with admirable ease.

Shalita Grant is delightfully endearing as the voodoo-spouting cleaning woman and Genevieve Angelson is properly charming as Nina, the waif Spike brings home from the beach.

Director Nicholas Martin wisely paces the action with an emphasis on the humor, yet leads his actors to stress the reality of the characters.  David Korin’s realistic set creates the right moods, as does Emily Rebholz’s costumes and Justin Townsend’s lighting.

Capsule judgement:  VANYA AND SONIA AND MASHA AND SPIKE is a well performed, creatively written, laugh fest that should have a long Big Apple run and become a favorite vehicle for community theatres across the country.

VANYA AND SONIA AND MASHA AND SPIKE is in an open running run at the Golden Theatre , 252 W. 45th Street in New York.

Cleveland Orchestra and Chorus perform the epic CARMINA BURANA
The Cleveland Orchestra, Cleveland Orchestra Chorus, and the Children’s Chorus and three soloists combined to perform Orff’s masterpiece, CARMINA BURANA, for four sold out performances.

The epic sounds of one of the world’s greatest orchestras, and its renowned choruses and guest soloists (Nicholas Phan, Stephen Powell, Rebecca Nelsen), was greeted by a screaming standing ovation at the conclusion of the concert, which continued for four curtain calls.

The many textured moods, from nuanced to spell binding to swelling to forceful, to climactic, were all exceedingly well defined and performed.

The evening started with Bach’s CONCERTO IN A MINOR, usually performed on the keyboard, but in this instance played on an oboe d’amore, a nasal sounding woodwind.   As performed by orchestra member Robert Walters, the soothing rendition was a nice balance to the long and complicated     CARMINA BURANA.

The program was directed by James Feddeck, filling in for the ill Franz Welser-Möst.  Feddeck is a delight to watch as he flows with the music, arms creating pictures in space, body almost dancing, face reflecting the various moods.

Bittersweet evening for Inlet Dance

Inlet Dance, Bill Wade’s innovative company, had a bittersweet experience in its latest concert, which was part of Cleveland Public Theatre’s DANCEWORKS ’13.
The program, which featured a world premiere, was mainly composed of dances from the group’s repertoire.  This was intentionally done, as this program brought to a close the dance career of Justin Stentz, one of the area’s best, if not the very best, male dancers.

Stentz, who joined the company’s training program in 2005, was promoted to apprentice status in 2007 and the next year was made a member of the company.  He has been studying to be a Physician’s Assistant, and will start pursuing that career goal-full time.

The handsome Stentz, whose sculpted body lends itself to powerful gymnastics and physical moves, has a keen sense of the dramatic while on stage.  His face and body clearly reflect the changing moods of the music and the message of the piece being performed.  His coupling with Joshua Brown, another proficient dancer, have created some of the most dynamic pieces showcased on local stages.  Stentz will be very difficult to replace.

The program opened with LET GO, which featured dynamic choreography consisting of running, flips, carries, and male-female reverse role interactions.  The exhausting piece probed working through past issues, learning, forgiving, and letting go as a means to maturity and freedom.

imPAIRed is a signature Stentz showcase.  Coupling with Elizabeth Pollert, the duo, having gone through experiences while in residency at the Cleveland Sight Center, dance the entire piece blindfolded.   Imagery, intimacy, and tension are evident as the couple moves near, on and over each other i perfect partnership.

BALListic is an Inlet “have fun” segment.  Dressed in bug-inspired blue costumes, the dancers use huge red balls to bounce, jump on, roll over, and as catapults for flips.  Their funny faces, slurping sounds and joyous movements create a feeling of absolute joy.

A much repeated Inlet favorite, A CLOSE SHAVE, highlights the artistic and dramatic flair of both Stentz and Brown.  Creating a dual image of actions on both sides of an imaginary mirror, the morning activities of shaving and face washing become synchronized dance movements.

In her book THE FOUR ELEMENTS OF SUCCESS, Laurie Beth Jones describes how each person has characteristics of one personality type.  Wade, a proponent of Jones’s philosophy, is creating a four or five installment piece illustrating each element.  The recent program contained two of the segments:  WATER, created in 2011, and its companion piece, AIR, in its world premiere.
Both WATER and AIR illuminate the attitudes, moods, thinking styles of those classified as having Water or Air personality elements via impressive choreography.

Capsule judgement: The Cleveland dance scene bids a farewell to Justin Stentz and though he will be sorely missed, the intelligent and talented young man moves forward into a helping career where he will transfer from entertaining people, to saving their lives.  Inlet Dance and its audiences will miss Justin.

none too fragile’s WHITE PEOPLE, wrenching, powerful theater!

What does is feel like to be uncomfortable in your own skin, even when you think you know, understand, and act like a moral and good person?  What happens when a playwright forces the viewer to have an unsettling, sobering experience by forcing him or her to challenge assumptions about race, what it means to be an American, and be brutally frank about the language we use?  These are just some of the reasons J. T. Rogers’ play, WHITE PEOPLE’ is such a hard, but valuable sit-through.

WHITE PEOPLE, now on stage at none too fragile theater, is what Rogers terms, “theater that engages the public realm.” Rogers asks, “What does it mean to be a white American?”  “What does it mean for any American to live in a country that is not the one you were promised?”

The play is sobering.  It is unsettling.  It is a  valuable experience for those open-minded enough to absorb the author’s message.  It is the kind of message that stays with you long after the production is over.

The dark, yet sometimes funny play centers on three Americans.  Martin, a Brooklyn-born type-A high powered perfectionist lawyer, now living in St. Louis, Missouri, has very specific values by which he lives, including what to wear, how to speak, and what makes for a proper work ethic.  He has tried to pass these on to his children and is confronted by the realities of life, when many parts of his world collapse around him.

Mara Lynn, a twanging young mother from Fayetteville, NC, who was the high school beauty queen, finds herself in a marriage with her high school love who was a high school hero, who was injured, lost his college wrestling scholarship, is floundering in a job he hates and is passed over for promotions by “foreigners.”  They are parents of an epileptic son who is being treated by a “foreign” doctor who Mara Lynn feels looks down on her.  She pleads to understand why others, not “Americans” are living a life she, a white women whose roots go deep into American soil, is being pushed aside by “those people.”

Allen is a young historical anthropology professor who finds himself in New York teaching many black students who he believes don’t have the desire to succeed.  He is filled with angst and frustration as he recounts a set of interactions with one of his students, and an experience when he and his pregnant wife are attacked by ghetto thugs.

Guilt, prejudice, and the price we pay for not only our actions, but that of others is central to WHITE PEOPLE.

The none too fragile production, under the focused direction of Sean Derry, is compelling.  Robert Branch is excellent as the moralistic Martin.  He is uptight down to his starched white boxer shorts and non-polyester suit and perfect blue shirt.  Michael Gatto creates in Allen a man who is an expert in his study or race and history, who has difficulty living his understandings.  Kelly Strand, though she loses her accent at times, is realistically pathetic as Mara Lynn.  She often stands, staring out in space, internally trying to understand what is going on and why. They each are so real that we identify and suffer with their inner pain.

The performance space is a small thrust stage with audience members no more than ten feet away from the action.   The three-section creative set is cramped.  All this adds to intensifying the  message by making the ideas up close and personal.

Capsule judgement:  WHITE PEOPLE is very well worthwhile for anyone who thinks that gaining insight into personal ideas and values is a mission of theatre.  You won’t leave this production the same person as when you entered.  This is compelling theater!

WHITE PEOPLE runs through May 11, 2013 at none too fragile theater which is located in Bricco’s Restaurant, 1841 Merriman Road, Akron.  Use the free valet parking, as car space is limited.  For tickets call 330-671-4563 or go to http://www.nonetoofragile.com

Stratford Shakespeare Festival, a place of discovery and delight

Want to get away this spring, summer or fall?  Drive to Canada for great theatre, good food, and nice scenery.  This year marks the 61st anniversary of the Stratford Festival of Canada.

This season’s 12 productions in the Festival’s four theatres are:
ROMEO AND JULIET—Shakespeare’s tale of youthful passion which dares to challenge generations of enmity in the most famous love story ever told. (May 1-October 19)
FIDDLER ON THE ROOF—The poignant musical tale of family, faith and tradition, with such songs as ’If I Were a Rich Man” and “Sunrise, Sunset.”(April 23-October 20)
THE THREE MUSKETEERS--an adaptation of Alexandre Dumas’ epic swashbuckling novel of intrigue and adventure in 18th century France.  (May 18-October 19)
THE MERCHANT OF VENICE--Shakespeare’s controversial look at intolerance and the vengeance it provokes. (July 30-October 18)
TOMMY, The Who’s classic rock tale of a traumatized child who becomes a “Pinball Wizard.”  (May 4-October 19)
BLITHE SPIRIT—Noel Coward’s tale of ghosts, second marriages, séances, mischief and wit. (May 16-October 20)
OTHELLO—Shakespeare’s tragic tale of love, betrayal, vengeance and relationship destruction.  (August 4-October 19)
MEASURE FOR MEASURE—The Bard of Avon satirically takes on sex, the church and the state, while questioning the very nature of virtue. (May 18-Setpember 21)
MARY STUART—Even queens become pawns in the life-and-death power struggle driven by faith, fear, ambition and desire. (May 3-September 21)
WAITING FOR GODOT—Samuel Becket’s existential absurdist masterpiece that some consider the greatest play of the 20th century.
TAKING SHAKESPEARE—John Murrell’s celebration of the power of words, and the surprising power of the heart as an aging professor tutors the university president’s floundering son.  (July 13-September 22).
THE THRILL—A love story in which a successful lawyer and fiery activist takes on a right-to-die movement celebrity with consequences that neither has anticipated.  (July 28-September 22).

Besides their regularly scheduled plays, the Festival offers stage-side chats, the Celebrated Writers Series, Night Music, Table Talks, pre-show lectures, lobby talks, public lectures, the teaching Shakespeare School and The Teachers’ Conference.

What’s the lodging like?  Hotels, motels and bed and breakfasts abound to fit any wallet.  I like a b & b.  You get to meet new people and there is a nice friendly feel of being more than a guest.   My favorite is the Avery House (http://www.averyhouse.com).

Hungry?  For moderate cost and high quality, try The Annex Cafe (38 Albert Street) and the Stratford Thai Cuisine (82 Wellington Street).

Packages can be arranged by www.theatrevacations.com.   Stratford Escapes (theatrevacations.com), is an efficient way to make reservations.  For individual tickets call 800-567-1600 or go on-line to http://www.stratfordfestival.ca.

Helpful hints: The ride from Cleveland is about six hours through Buffalo.  Go on-line to the festival for directions.  The routings offered by AAA and Yahoo maps are confusing and miles longer.  To satisfy border requirements carry your passport.  Nothing else will do.

Go to Stratford, Canada!  Find out what lovely hosts Canadians are, and see some great theatre!

Compelling WARHORSE grasps the imagination at the Palace

Roy Berko

Member, American Theatre Critics Association, Cleveland Critics Circle

One of the fears of seeing a show which I regarded as one of the most mesmerizing that I’ve ever seen, was that the touring company of WARHORSE would fade by comparison.  It did, somewhat, but still came out an exciting winner in the derby called theatre.

WARHORSE, which was originally staged in the US at the Vivian Beaumont Theatre in New York’s Lincoln Center, after a smash London run, is the story of the bond between Albert, a British farm boy, and Joey, his magnificent horse.  It is based on a World War I novel by Michael Morpurgo, as adapted by Nick Stafford.

World War I, the war to end all wars, was a bloody battle in which an estimated 10 million soldiers lost their lives.  An overlooked fact is that, since the conflict was highlighted by cavalry battles, eight million horses were slaughtered.  The steeds were cut down as the weapons of warfare, including barbed wire, machine guns, cannons and armored tanks, became the weapons of destruction.  Animals were no match for these instruments.

The plot travels from the English countryside to the fields of France and Germany.  Joey, a colt, which was bought by Albert’s father in a drunken bidding contest with his hated brother, has developed into a prized horse.  At the start of the war, the father, enticed by money, sells the animal to the British military.  Distraught, underage Albert enlists in an attempt to search out and save his steed.  Through a series of searing battles we see how horse and boy eventually are reunited.

WARHORSE won 2011 Tony Awards for best play, directing, scenic design, lighting and sound design, plus a special award for Handspring Puppet Company of South Africa for creating all the realistic animals (horses, birds and a hysterically funny goose).   Every one of those citations was well deserved.

The visual elements of the production are impresively honed.  The battle scenes are scary and realistic, especially since this is a live stage production, not a movie where scenes are done over and over and graphics added.  The death and carnage of humans and animals is engrossing.  Projections and physical elements, barbed wire, and bomb explosions, fill the stage.  Birds fly, weather changes, people and animals live and die.

Nothing is more impressive than the life-sized puppet horses.  They are magnificent creatures which are ridden, whinny, display unique personalities, and become living creatures before our eyes.  The only technical thing missing in the touring production, besides the stylized armored tanks, was the lack of change in physical size as the steeds become malnourished.

Even the musical interludes, which help tell the story, are focused and encompassing.

Nicholas Hytner and Nick Starr’s direction and Toby Sedgwick’s horse choreography are flawless.  The staging is mind-boggling.

The cast is excellent.  Local theatre goers recognized Andrew May, long time Cleveland Play House and Great Lakes Theatre actor and director, as the tender-hearted, horse loving Captain Muller, the German officer.  As came to be expected in his local appearances, May was excellent.   Outside of the horses, May got the loudest applause during the curtain call.

Alex Morf makes young Albert so real that his agony becomes ours.  Angela Reed, as Albert’s mother, personifies a woman caught between the love for her son and finding a way to live with her often drunk and sullen husband. Megan Loomis as Song Woman and John Loughlin as Song Man create numerous emotional moments with their music.  In the huge cast, there is not a weak performance.

The audience appreciation was evident by the resounding curtain call.  The human actors were applauded, the horses got an extended standing ovation, and  even the goose got screams of approval.

Capsule judgement: Filled with amazing puppetry, stirring music, a riveting story, compelling graphics, and fine acting, WARHORSE is mesmerizing must see theatre.
WARHORSE runs through April 21, 20013 as part of the Key Bank Broadway Series at the Palace Theatre in downtown Cleveland.  For tickets call 216-241-6000 or go on-line to www.playhousesquare.org