Crucifer Funk: Theatre Three’s Steamy Sherlock
Theatre Three kicks off its subscription season with Tony nominated Paul Giovanni’s The Crucifer of Blood, billed as a steampunk Sherlock Holmes production, awash with dark, brooding visuals and cranked along with creaking, hand-turned set changes that thrust out from unexpected nooks and crannies at a-kilter angles. ALL very elemental and imaginatively pleasing, Dr. Watson.
L to R: Austin Tindle, Hilary Couch, Chuck Huber
Steampunk: a literary sub-genre of speculative fiction, often associated stylistically with the 19th century ‘scientific’ romances of Jules Verne, H.G. Wells, Mark Twain, and Mary Shelley. The 1960’s popular television show The Wild, Wild West epitomized the style in its use of futuristic ‘scientific’ gadgetry functioning fully in the 19th century.
Director/designer Jeffrey Schmidt uses the expansive height and eerie light and shadow potential of Theatre Three’s in-the-round space to excellent advantage, whether creating a Victorian brownstone parlor, an Indian fort parapet, the bank of the River Thames or an opium den. Without loading down the space with period clutter, Schmidt creates a rich, clean playing space for his cast to explore as they lead us down Giovanni’s well-crafted path of mayhem and mystery. The show whirls along with opium-laced menace and hallucination, akin to 2009’s Robert Downey, Jr. movie. It’s got atmosphere to burn, or inhale, depending.
Uneven performances range from community theatre to skilled farce. Chuck Huber presents an alluring, believable Holmes, except when he’s masquerading clumsily as the operator of an opium den.
Huber as Holmes
The costume tells one tale, the accent another…. Chinese? Japanese? Austin Tindle seems way too young to play Dr. Watson to Huber’s Holmes, wearing a moustache that looks like it came from a Dollar Store clearance bin. Hilary Couch makes an intriguing entrance as a disguised Victorian femme fatale in Act I. In Act II she behaves like a grumpy debutante, circa 2010, with non-period attire to match. Jakie Cabe: what a fine actor he can be. Where did they find his peculiar, sallow-colored Boy Scout-like costume with sash, and how does it help him define the character of Inspector Lestrade? His Irish brogue developed in Stage West productions kept creeping in, oddly enough, as distracting as his weird costume. Greg Lush ratchets up the messy hodge-podge ensemble with an outrageously delectable performance as the effete, murderous Major Ross, more diabolical in death than alive. Thank you, Mr. Lush, for matching the high quality of the production’s set with your incomparable willingness to “let go” and define a fantastical reality.
No question, the stunning visuals carry the show. What a creative force designer Jeffrey Schmidt is. Forgive the clunky mish-mash of ‘British accents’, community theatre acting and odd array of anachronistic costumes. Enjoy a well-chilled suspenseful tale as Paul Giovanni’s Tony-nominated The Crucifer of Blood unfolds.
http://www.theatre3dallas.com
Speak Up Now! Save Bath House Cultural Center’s Future
Think the arts have positive financial impact, but don’t know how to prove it?
Plug in the data. Conservatively speaking, FIT brought in $40,000 to the Dallas economy; or at the high end: $80,000. Above the roughly $32,000 it garnered in ticket sales. Chump change? FIT is just one small arts festival! Dallas City Council members need to know this before they vote to cut the funding for the Bath House manager’s position. The Bath House Cultural Center warrants Dallas’ continued support and NEEDS its versatile, create manager to keep producing arts programming like FIT…..please read on—-
I’m posting this vital call to action regarding the proposed 2010-11 City of Dallas budget, specifically Key Focus Area: Culture, Arts and Recreation, Line 17, Budget Number OCA-001-C.
Please read and act now.
You know that for the past few years the City budget has cut back funding to the libraries and cultural centers. The 2010-11 budget includes the Bath House Cultural Center manager position, but does not fund the position. Of all the neighborhood cultural centers, the Bath House currently serves the greatest number of patrons (26,300+) from across Dallas with the fewest staff members (3).
Without the manager, we stand to lose a great deal. Besides losing an incumbent with talent, energy, and contacts, we could lose the Bath House itself. We all know instances where a reduction in staff and programming led to lack of use and eventual decline of a facility. Over time, that could happen to the historic Bath House building. 
For the cost of that salary (about $65,000) the City of Dallas invests not only in the Bath House, one of the City’s greatest economic development resources, but also in the quality of life of its diverse citizenry.
We must keep the Bath House fully staffed. You can help support the effort to retain the manager’s position at the Bath House Cultural Center in the following ways:
1. Call or write the three council members whose districts overlap the Bath House. (see below)
2.) Call or write your own City Council member. For contact information, go to
http://dallascityhall.com/government/government.html.
Every time you contact a City Council Member, refer to Key Focus Area: Culture, Arts and Recreation, Line 17, Budget Number OCA-001-C. Tell each Council Member that you request the City of Dallas to fund the Manager position at the Bath House Cultural Center in the 2010-11 budget.
Your input counts! With your help we can keep the Bath House Cultural Center operating with the staff needed to provide quality programming.
Thank you,
Karen Casey, President, Friends of the Bath House Cultural Center
Contact Council members serving the Bath House:
a.) Sheffie Kadane (District 9) at 214-670-4069. Send an e-mail message at Dallas City Hall website: http://www.ci.dallas.tx.us/forms/mcc/CD09_Mail_Form.htm or mail letters to Dallas City Hall, 1500 Marilla St., Room 5FS, Dallas, 75201.
b.) Jerry Allen (District 10) at 214-670-4068. Send an e-mail at Dallas City Hall website: http://www.ci.dallas.tx.us/forms/mcc/CD10_Mail_Form.htm or mail letters to Dallas City Hall, 1500 Marilla St., Room 5FS, Dallas, 75201.
c.) Angela Hunt (District 12) at 214-670-5415. Send an e-mail at Dallas City Hall website: http://www.ci.dallas.tx.us/forms/mcc/CD14_Mail_Form.htm or mail a letter to Dallas City Hall, 1500 Marilla St., Room 5FN, Dallas, 75201
Sincerely yours,
Alexandra Bonifield
arts advocate & theatre critic
criticalrant.com
Sundown in Luv
(il)logical, “a play on love” ran at the Green Space Arts Collective in Denton TX through August 29, 2010. Marjorie Hayes’ guest review of Sundown Collaborative Theatre‘s production follows.
The ambition of Sundown Collaborative Theatre’s latest offering displays the primal urge to create that rests in us all. Where does that come from? Love. To love and be loved is the unspoken goal of every human being. This ambitious and diverse ensemble creates gratifying theatre from nothing. With minimal technical support, but savvy theatrical technique, (il)logical weaves a collage of images from the world of youthful romantic love.
Unrelated scenes unfold using movement, dance, contact improv, verbal improvisation, contemporary song, and silence. Conceived by Olivia de Guzman Emile, George Ferrie, Cody Lucas and Tashina Richardson, they explore love as an Expressionist painter would, seeking an emotional effect from the ensemble’s personal experiences. Actors in basic black with a defining piece of color move freely, coupling and uncoupling, straight and gay, exploring the road between embraces and fights, meetings and partings. Speaking in gibberish, Robert Linder à la a Japanese dating game show host, leads us on a wild ride as the winner wrestles a crocodile. Later a single game time clock symbolizes the chess match between two gay lovers. Lucas and Brittany Willis finally overcome their “obstacles,” played by the ensemble, in a finely crafted reunion scene. Summer Banks and Zaire Adams sing Dylan’s words “I’d go hungry, I’d go black and blue; I’d go crawling down the avenue; There’s nothing that I wouldn’t do; To make you feel my love.” (il)logical makes us remember those crazed moments of excess. This leitmotif occurs again in Emile’s haunting singing of 1000 Miles Away: ”But love is not a rational thing, and my heart is beyond advice.” The penultimate scene is backed by Johnny Cash’s unsentimental and heart wrenching cover of “The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face.” Richardson and Ferrie just stand and face forward. As they let the music sink in, their faces crumble and their hands reach across an expanse of empty space to touch. Simple and eloquently done.
Sundown’s energy and commitment trumps limited scenic, costume and technical elements (despite efforts by designers Gillian Kitchen, Natalie Taylor and Sarah Smith). Some of the young actors still need to develop greater emotional depth and physical responsiveness. And overall there is a tendency for vignettes to dwell in the pain of love rather than other aspects of love. 
However, the main players of the evening, Richardson, Emile, Lucas and Ferrie provide the emotional depth that the loose narratives need to make (il)logical a fulfilling evening of theatre.
Sundown has the broadest scope of the young theatre ensembles in the DFW area. Not satisfied with just presenting realistic productions of gritty hyperrealism, they have taken on Shakespeare, Sartre, farce, and now developed a movement based collective creation in the Open Theatre vein. Seasoned actors from the lower parts of the metroplex need to look to this northern company for meaty work. Sundown needs to consider taking their work down to the city for appreciation by a wider audience. Later this season Richardson directs Sarah Kane’s 4.48 Psychosis. Get your tickets now. 214-729-0313 www.sundowntheatre.org.
Photos: #1–Brittany WIllis, Jenny Fitzgerald, Robert Linder, David Hanna, Summer Banks, Cody Lucas, Tashina Richardson, George Ferrie, Olivia Emile, Zaire Adams
#2 — Olivia Emile, Cody Lucas
Marjorie Hayes is an international performance artist, director and coach, currently a professor in the University of North Texas theatre program. Her solo cabaret “Taking Chances” played to enthused audiences and critical acclaim in LA and NYC this past summer.
What’s “The Open Theatre”? Here’s a Wikipedia overview:
Blue Moon Mud Pie @ CTD
What culinary dish does Ed Graczyk’s comedy The Blue Moon Dancing, currently baking in the premiere oven at Contemporary Theatre of Dallas, evoke? Lead character Connie, a dipsomaniac, pill-popping actress tired of playing big catfish in the crawfish pond while romanticizing Dallas, bewails the fact that the local McCarthy, TX, newspaper sent the food critic to review her most recent production. She got compared to a peach cobbler.
Cast of Ed Graczyk's "The Blue Moon Dancing"
That moment in the play strikes a critic’s funny bone hard since there are certainly far worse kitchen creations she could be compared to, particularly in her self-pitying, booze-soaked, pill-stoked state. Can’t please temperamental actresses. For this production’s opening night, I’ll have to go with a scratch-made Mississippi mud pie. The scent teases like down-home heaven as it slides out of the oven, and its rich, chocolate-y goo and crispy nuts reflect the lyrical and salty balance in Graczyk’s evocative dialogue. All the tantalizing ingredients are there, just like the play’s strong cast, in the right proportions. But the cook must have been anxious and turned the heat up a notch too high to rush it along; the piecrust bottom got a bit toasted, and the middle is a tad mushy.
To be fair, Sue Loncar got ill and had to pull out of a key role two days before opening. That meant her understudy Catherine Wall had one rehearsal plus a preview to fully grasp the blocking, with lots of complicated props to fuss with, and find her place in the ensemble before opening night. The Blue Moon Dancing is a luxurious, poetic work, with dark, pensive threads laced throughout as thematic undercurrents; the play has a dramatic rhythm not unlike Shakespeare, minus the verse structure. It may be set in the back room of a dingy bar with simple country characters, but they all have tales to tell, sorrows to grieve, dreams to share. Had I not known that Wall was understudy, I’d not have guessed it from the focus and confidence she brought to her opening night performance. A real pro.
The strain of the switch showed in other portrayals, nevertheless, with a few notable exceptions. Cindee Mayfield, respected, well versed, capable of exploring a full range of emotion to truest advantage, seemed anxious and strident and flubbed lines as main character Connie. She had some fine comic moments, but I felt she held her character at an uneasy distance rather than immersing herself in it. Nancy Sherrard, another fine actress with superb comic timing and bold presence, seemed off her game as well, essentially tiptoeing throughout. She delivered some hilarious lines almost inaudibly (I sat on Row 2) and hardly connected to the other characters on stage. Jenae Yerger-Glanton as pivotal character Nadine, still fresh from CTD’s Steel Magnolias, seemed to reprise her role as Annelle in vocal intonation and physical presence. She presented a thin, flat characterization in a role faced with learning the play’s most crucial lessons about life and self. On the other hand, Carolyn Wickwire as the hopeless romantic Roselle brought a comforting natural grace to the play as she floated through scenes, clinging to a constructed reality of her heart’s deepest desire. Equally resilient and vulnerable, Don Long, as abandoned, disconsolate husband Howard, handled the play’s complex imagery and dialogue overlap with ease and fluency, made me wonder about his life secrets, wish he stayed on stage more. Nye Cooper and Lee Jamison Wadley, as mostly comic relief, brought their signature spunk and humorous delivery to the performance. Shane Beeson and Kevin Moore, both capable, interesting actors to watch, rounded out the cast and could have done more if Jenae Yerger-Glanton as Nadine had given them more depth to interact with.
I don’t fault Director Cheryl Denson for the uneven opening night performance; Denson’s blocking worked beautifully and gave every actor space to create definitive characters, as Rodney Dobbs wide open yet strategically cluttered barroom set offered a viable playing space. It felt like key actors were collectively holding their breaths. This is a lovely play with much potential. I hope CTD’s talented cast will find its bearings and take the production to the level Graczyk’s writing warrants. Scoop out a big, gooey serving of that yummy mud pie for me, anyway, please.
The Blue Moon Dancing runs through September 12. For tickets go to: www.contemporarytheatreofdallas.com or call 214-828-0092
Organ-meister Idol: Circle Theatre’s Bach at Leipzig
When Bach at Leipzig premiered at the Milwaukee Repertory Theater in 2004, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel commented, “Imagine the Marx Brothers and Tom Stoppard collaborating on a play.”
Who wants to be a star Baroque organ-meister? Clawing, coercing and conniving their way to the revered top organist position at the prestigious Thomaskirche (St. Thomas Church) in Leipzig, Germany, six foppish opportunists and one conceited prig gather in 1722 to vie for the cherished title. Fort Worth’s Circle Theatre has assembled a dream cast of wunderkind performers to bring celebrated playwright Itamar Moses’ 2005 Off-Broadway hit Bach at Leipzig to life under the thorough, fearless guidance of director Robin Armstrong. What results is one of the finest productions of 2010.
L to r: Steven Pounders, Andy Baldwin, David H.M.Lambert, Stephen Levall
Moses’ play radiates a taut symphonic harmony mimicking a real Baroque fugue (via Encyclopedia Britannica: “in music, a compositional procedure characterized by the systematic imitation of a principal theme, called the subject, in simultaneously sounding melodic lines, known as counterpoint”). General bawdiness, wordplay, madcap pratfalls and ironic humor, interwoven with discussion of post Restoration-era theology, freedom of expression v. dogma and the nature of playwriting (with a scandalous dig at Moliere), keep this play lively, entertaining and intellectually stimulating. Moses got his inspiration for it in a Yale sophomore music class where he learned that the 1722 search to replace the Leipzig organ-meister did happen, and that Johann Sebastian Bach did eventually win the post after the composer and multi-instrumentalist Georg Telemann turned it down.
The play opens on a sparsely set stage (Clare Floyd DeVries design). Two plain benches sit downstage right and left, and two low unadorned walls upstage flank a large wooden double door that leads to a resplendently appointed, dimly visible sanctuary (painted backdrop) where the contested organ resides. The waiting room space’s bare simplicity allows audience focus to remain squarely on the clever repartee engaged in by actors creating the roles of aspiring organ-meisters. When the lights come up, organist applicant Johann Fasch (Steven Pounders) enthralls the audience center stage with elegant demeanor and a wicked twinkle in his eye. Attired in detailed Baroque era garb, from pretentious coiffed wig to lace jabot cravat to ornate full waistcoat with huge cuffs, hose and buckled dress hoes, he is every inch the gentleman scoundrel and casts his lines off with disarming, practiced confidence, handily sustained throughout the performance. He’s the kind of actor who inspires entire schools of acting. One by one the other aspiring peacocks enter and preen, squabble, feign affection, conspire, betray and retreat across Act One, only to begin the assault again, fugue-like, in Act Two. Each performance has virtuoso moments of pure hilarity with spot-on timing. All make a “well-tempered” ensemble under the forthright guidance of director Armstrong. ( Armstrong also costumed the show; every costume is a unique reflection of each character’s personality in minute detail. It’s a joy to watch this cast so effectively and appropriately dressed.)
Fasch 'educates' Steindorff; Lenck and Schott plot intrigue
Chris Hauge as the naïve, befuddled “boob” Kaufmann, David H. M. Lambert as the gruff, conventional, underappreciated Schott, Stephen Levall as spoiled rich boy Steindorff who hates music but lusts for the ladies, and Art Peden as ever silent but intimidating Telemann throw their varied and rich talents full force into the reality of this unusual waiting game.
What a treat to see the different but masterful, complimentary comic abilities of David Coffee as the egotistical, overbearing, delusional Graupner and Andy Baldwin as sleazy con artist, pickpocket, unabashed prevaricator and sometime composer Lenck on full display.
David Coffee as Graupner, a pensive moment
They match comic wit and style in two of the funniest portrayals on a metroplex stage this year. And weaving “sanity” through it all strides Stephen Pounders’ inscrutable Fasch, beguiling the audience with his gift of gab and well-feigned sincerity.
We never see Bach, after the convoluted plot unwinds and resolves itself, but who needs to? We hear his organ music pouring forth from the flung open upstage doors and attend in awe, with the characters on stage, finally in full accord and at peace. Buy your tickets now. From word of mouth alone, Bach at Leipzig is sure to be a sell-out.
Tickets: www.circletheatre.com, 817-877-3040
Circle Theatre
230 W. Fourth Street
Fort Worth, TX 76102
Sundance Square Entertainment District
Sound design: David H. M. Lambert; set design: Clare Floyd DeVries: light design: John Leach; props: John Harvey; costumes and fight choreography: Robin Armstrong; wardrobe: Sharon Standard; wigs: Sheryl Myers
Ohlook’s winning title. word.
Oh, look! It’s an unmarked warehouse garage theatre on a back alley in Grapevine, replete with chirping crickets under foot and dive-bombing moths. Don’t tune out, please!
“
Before you point the Lexus to the underground parking of some looming,sterile glass and concrete edifice next to major freeways, consider this: you might be in for a real treat – essential, energized performance, stripped bare of state of the art lighting effects, sliding back walls and valet parking, but replete with fully-committed acting and singing – in a quaintly rustic community-based setting. It’s Ohlook Performing Arts Center’s [title of show], closing August 13, playing to gregarious, enthused capacity crowds since June 22. This reviewer wishes she’d heard about it sooner to post her review early. And that she had photos to post.
Anybody remember 1973 when a unknown rough-edged rock band named Dr. Hook & The Medicine Show recorded a Shel Silverstein tune satirizing the sleazy ins and outs of the music biz, “The Cover of the Rolling Stone”?
Rolling Stone Magazine cover 1973
In spite of its playful lament about not getting featured on Rolling Stone Magazine’s cover, it hit #6 on the US pop charts, and ultimately earned the group its magazine cover, in caricature. Funny stuff. American chutzpah paid off.
Watching Ohlook’s earnest, hyper-kinetic, bright, charming cast of four singing their hearts out bringing this Jeff Bowen/ Hunter Bell Tony-nominated Broadway success to life reminded me of the 1973 feat. It’s basically a parallel story line. Two aspiring New York performer/writers enter a musical theatre contest with a hodge-podge “show” about trying to write a Broadway-bound show with two female buddies. Their show, named [title of show] because they can’t think of anything else to call it, gets selected for performance at a regional festival and ends up on Broadway. No joke. No great orchestrated music, no smoke and mirrors or crashing chandeliers, a little gratuitous nudity, sprinklings of the f word, lots of sincere charm and pure, unadulterated guts. It’s great fun and the perfect venture for Ohlook’s bare bones black box style setting (the flying bugs add earthy atmosphere). The audience is so up close and personal with the performers, it feels like they’re helping them write the show. In a larger, more formal theatre setting the show can lose its personal warmth and verve. It’s saucy; it’s spicy; it’s nervy; it’s young people spouting a rich, modern vernacular while contemplating fifty years’ worth of musical theatre, some winners, some losers, and scraping up the guts as a friendly foursome to put one together, themselves, that makes it to the big-time. Wish I had photos to post, sigh.
Ohlook’s performance team more than does this quirky trifle justice. UNT Opera PhD student and show director Jay Gardner appropriately focuses his youthful actor/singers on the believability of performance while not bearing down too heavily on the music. While all four sing adequately for the show’s needs, their ensemble acting and comic timing are what make their performance a true delight. The audience is 100% with them, clapping and cheering spontaneously throughout the evening. Deft accompaniment on keyboards by musical director James McQuillen, who tosses off the occasional dry, humorous aside, keeps everything zipping right along.
Jennifer Pasion, Marianne Galloway: Dynamic Damsels
Well-cast in this cheery anomaly of a show are John Davenport (with a macho, strong singing voice), Marianne Galloway (leading regional comic diva), Jennifer Pasion (all sexy vulnerability and sweetness) and Marshall Warren (with soulful sincerity and easy, reality-grounded acting style).
Last performance is Friday August 13 at 10:30 pm. That’s correct; it’s not an early show. Ohlook Performing Arts Center is located at 316 S. Barton St., one block west of Main Street in Grapevine. Their website is www.ohlookperform.com, with no map or directions on it. Call 817-421-2825, if you get lost.
About [title of show] on Wikipedia: “[title of show] was first seen in 2004, including at the New York Musical Theatre Festival in New York City. After a few other performances, it ran off-Broadway at the Vineyard Theatre in 2006, earning a second limited run the same year. It played at Broadway’s Lyceum Theatre in 2008 for 13 previews and 102 regular performances, closing on October 12, 2008. The writer-stars, Bowen and Bell, as well as director Michael Berresse all won Obie Awards for their work on the off-Broadway production, and Bell was nominated for a Tony Award for Best Book for the show but did not win.”
The show’s website: http://www.titleofshow.com/
It’s currently running in LA at Celebration Theatre
A FIT Huzzah: the whole dang shebang
Bible Women by Echo Theatre
“The Festival of Independent Theatres continues its commitment to exploring new theatrical work and encouraging diverse voices within the independent theatre scene. FIT was created as an outlet for smaller companies without a permanent performance space to give them an opportunity to produce seldom seen, new or avant-garde works. FIT exists to promote awareness and growth of Dallas area theatre through collaboration, participation and cultivation.”
Seldom seen, new or avant-garde works…
Week two of the 12th Annual Festival of Independent Theatres buzzed along at a rapid pace with adult-geared productions, many shows playing to nearly full houses, even on Saturday and Sunday matinees. It was hard to find a quiet corner at the Bath House Cultural Center to continue my on-going net-cast interviews for This Week in the Arts. Speaking of TWITA, there are five or six more true confessions posted, so tune in to http://thisweekinthearts.flowercast.net/ for more in depth perspectives and insights. It’s been an honor to have them share their FIT experiences with candor, humor and grace.
From my perspective—
Echo Theatre’s Bible Women
Directed by Pam Myers-Morgan
“The angel said to me, why are you laughing?” Elizabeth Swados’ contemporary fourteen-song cycle, an homage to the downtrodden women of the Bible’s Old Testament, ushers in an exotic, dignified, timelessly female essence to the festival. Minus any trace of sugar-coated gloss, the five women singers, accompanied by three onstage male musicians, reveal the tough circumstances, raw sorrows and harsh lives endured by powerful womyn — thriving, loving, sacrificing and triumphing amidst the violent repression of relentless, unabashed patriarchy. Esther, Deborah, Ruth, Sarah, Miriam, Lilith and Eve – all familiar names but almost forgotten for their societal impact. Playwright Vicki Caroline Cheatwood wrote spoken bits to insert between the songs; sometimes the dialogue seems flippant in contrast to the seriousness or beauty of the music. Each singer gives such lucid, tuneful interpretations there is no need for extra bridging. An exquisite, simply revealed performance, it blends gospel, folk, oratorio, modern atonal, and traditional love song styles in a rich tapestry of sound. The ensemble, attired in elegant black with colorful draped sashes, includes regional acclaimed folk-singer Annie Benjamin, Echo Theatre director and founding partner Terri Ferguson, Amy Fisher Hughes, Jodi Wright and regional celebrated performer/song stylist Denise Lee. Musical direction by Scott A. Eckert on keyboards, with George Gagliardi on guitar and multi-instrumentalist / jazz artist Neeki Bey on percussion round out this polished, entrancing performance by a company that has participated proudly in every FIT since inception.
Churchmouse Productions’ Georgie Gets A Facelift & Thank You Berry Much
Directed by Chad Cline
“What do you get if you cross a Mexican with an octopus?” Kurt Kleinmann is known well and loved in this region for his fanciful, stylized “Living Black & White” plays on a grand proscenium scale. With Churchmouse at FIT he takes the monochrome filtered gloves off and strides securely into the arena of intimate thrust reality. This black comedy duet is a tidy, tiny enterprise in delayed gratification, kind of like a Thurber short story compared to a Faulkner novel.
Churchmouse Productions: Georgie Gets a Facelift
All the language and character and thematic depth exist in both, just on a different scale. Impeccable timing by a tight, focused cast ensemble with plenty of textural gravitas and dry comic delivery makes these two ‘incidental’ pieces zing with imagination and welcome release once their connected performances unravel — as much as if they were the result of a full two act production. This is exactly the sort of creative endeavor that matches FIT’s mission and maintains a high level of artistic integrity. Joey Folsom, in a surprising, clean-shaven, buttoned-down turn, helms the two plays with signature crisp stage presence and distinctive voice. His lengthy, surreal, tender conversation with a dead body is an acting high point for the entire Festival. LisaAnne Haram creates a bizarre reality, as horrifying as she is delicious to watch. Stephanie Hall masters the transitional arc from one play to the other with outstanding physical acting; the gratification conceit of the play duet relies almost entirely on her convincing portrayal. And it works famously. Plan on being horrified, then amazed, then relieved; and imagine James Thurber. It’s a strong start for novice director Chad Cline, a mystery man with no bio in the FIT program.
The McClarey Players’ Purgatory, A Bedroom Farce
Written and directed by Cliff McClelland
McClarey Players: Purgatory, A Bedroom Farce
“You’ve turned my tunnel of love into the Great Wall of vagina.” This production company is new at FIT. The program says McClelland’s play is meant to be the “middle piece in The Divine Comedy, a re-imagining of Dante’s masterwork into modern themes. The other two pieces are The Inferno and The Paradise Grill.” His bio says that McClelland has directed over sixty productions for high school theatre and developed c. twenty-eight plays and thirteen screenplays, which indicates solid playwright and director chops. I’m not sure where his FIT endeavor meant to go. The play, itself, lacks imagination and focuses entirely on repetitive, juvenile, scatological humor. If it’s meant to be a Benny Hill-type satire, it doesn’t arrive. The ensemble’s acting is average community theatre level at best, with the exception of Amber Nicole Guest. Ms. Guest — earthy, relaxed, and expressive — conveys a convincing reality in her character’s development. In leaving the theater, I heard negative remarks for the first time at this FIT: “in such poor taste, repulsive, idiotic, dreadful acting, how did they choose this one?” I interviewed McClelland for TWITA and had a delightful conversation with him; he came across as experienced and practical, a well-rounded theatre artist and high school drama teacher. His production caught me by total surprise. It is definitely not appropriate for anyone who is not an adult and may offend many adults. Puzzling.
Second Thought Theatre: Once More, With Feeling (A Power Play)
Directed by Mac Lower
“I’d rather have a good play than a bad boyfriend.” LA based Christina Cigala crafted her warp-speed one-act for five characters in search of connection to satisfy a college assignment and to explore and interweave intersections between two seemingly divergent storylines.
Once More, With Feeling: Second Thought Theatre
Plot A, a romantic break-up with an unresponsive lover, gets pushed along by an elegant female narrator (Tiffany Lonsdale-Hands) standing in for the playwright, with the rest of the ensemble “filling in” as chorus and/or puppet-like imaginative mental constructs that bustle through the disintegrating scenarios in often hilarious, sometimes cacophonous, cartoon-like succession. Plot B concerns a sad woman, portrayed in woeful, droll drag by Sachin Patel, who gets eaten by an invisible pet snake. Cigala says in the depths of her despair during her relationship break-up she “decided all relationships were about who was going to eat whom first. If I was Alanis Morrissette, this would be my “You Oughta Know,” which she wrote about Dave Coulier from Full House.” Hence the genesis for the interactive plots in this startlingly energized, bleak yet fanciful, one-act that crackles with hyper-hip sensibility and a more than a hint of ‘emo’ lamentation. Irritating for some watching it, with its loud, relentless, random repetition of chorus-generated sound effects interspersed between the jibs and jabs of fractured storyline, it reveals a blossoming playwright with a unique voice and the potent ability to create a context with follow-though and fleshed out characters with minimal exposition. Straining to emerge, it feels more like an exorcism than a birth. Second Thought’s creative ensemble invests 200% of its diverse, expressive talents into bringing every crumb of Cigala’s script to vibrant life. Director Mac Lower deftly knits it all together into one polished, tightly wired organic whole, roiling with electric charge. The performance left me exhausted but intrigued with its rapid-fire roller-coaster ride. It seemed I had just spied through a magic window into the brain of a playwright in bloom. Sex toys waved about and sexually explicit content make this definitely a play for adults, but it hasn’t any hint of gratuitous grotesquerie. Ensemble includes: Cara L. Reid, Matthew Clark, Jason Robert Villarreal as well as the above mentioned Sachin Patel and Tiffany Lonsdale-Hands. Asked about her thoughts on the role of emerging playwrights in advancing American theatre, Christina Cigala comments, “I did theater in New York for 3 years. Then I moved to LA. I think if we made more money we’d write more plays, better plays. The fact that some of the best playwrights I know are in the worst financial situations in the most expensive city in the world is a problem. I think if the public and the government were more invested in theater there’d be better theater out there.”
Dynamic, successful enterprises like the 12th Annual Festival of Independent Theatres at the Bath House Cultural Center give promising playwrights like Cigala the opportunity to see their works aired in a nurturing, creative environment with talented, skilled actors, directors and designers enlivening the scripts. Quality performance art can have a brighter future thanks to the collaborations fostered at FIT. I give the whole dang shebang a hearty huzzah.
For the whole shebang line-up, go here:
http://www.dallaspublicart.info/fitpress.cfm
The Festival of Independent Theatres, managed by David Meglino with technical direction by Graeme Bice, runs through August 7 at the Bath House Cultural Center on White Rock Lake.
Visit www.bathhousecultural.com for info and directions
HIT da FIT 2010: Revyooz
Seldom seen, new or avant-garde works….
“The Festival of Independent Theatres continues its commitment to exploring new theatrical work and encouraging diverse voices within the independent theatre scene. FIT was created as an outlet for smaller companies without a permanent performance space to give them an opportunity to produce seldom seen, new or avant-garde works. FIT exists to promote awareness and growth of Dallas area theatre through collaboration, participation and cultivation.”
One Thirty Productions’ The Turquoise Pontiac
Directed by Larry Randolph
Brimming with quirky humor and an undercurrent of mystery as palpable as the shifting sands blowing into a squalid bar next to a lonely highway on the Southwestern desert, this one act premiere by Ellsworth Schave follows close upon One Thirty’s successful 2009 FIT entry also by Mr. Schave, Under a Texaco Canopy. Last year’s show earned high critical and audience acclaim.
The Turquoise Pontiac
In spite of a promising first scene reminiscent of The Prisoner with wry humor and menace, this year’s production doesn’t quite match the caliber of the previous one. Its direction feels untidy in scenes with the romantic leads. Too many confusing plot elements jumble around without resolution, leaving all characters a bit adrift at the end. The acting ensemble and costumes are A+. Elias Taylorson squeezes every hair-raising laugh out of the opening scene script as enigmatic bartender Roscoe, rambling on about a “social contract” with dusky, laconic drawl and mysterious foreboding. Shane Beeson as the hero The Traveler communicates the sheer panic of a Twilight Zone victim as he innocently wanders into the unexpected snare awaiting him in the bar. Morgan Justiss cuts a striking picture as the statuesque heroine, The Soprano, “in her medieval period”, attired in unique body armor made from beer bottle caps from Roscoe’s bar. Dan Tillman as Lee the philosophizing train engineer gets to speak the best line in the play and balances Taylorson’s droll one-liners well with easy demeanor and hulking presence. The audience laughs heartily, in spite of the play’s less than inspired unraveling. A rewrite might be in order, Mr. Schave; rethink and energize some of the blocking, Mr. Randolph?
The Muse by The Drama Club
Directed by Lydia Mackay
Prologue to a much larger work, floating around in the hyper-creative mind of regional director/ set designer Jeffrey Schmidt for ten years, this ritualized, kinesthetic, sensual movement and sound exploration of youth transitioning to adulthood sans dialogue, is equally entrancing and repellant.
The Muse
Not the piece to see if traditional plotline and conventional characterization float your boat. It’s remarkable in the images it creates that lurk in the mind’s eye for days after viewing. Major regional talents Anastasia Munoz, Maryam Baig Lush, Lulu Moore, John L. Flores and Newton Pittman bring a fearless ferocity and collaborative entropy to this work in process, honoring the FIT mantra and the Drama Club mission like swallowing a tequila-soaked scorpion whole and enjoying every gag-inspiring gulp. It’s exciting to see grounded artists take such unearthly risks. Newton Pittman’s three-sided sound contraption, a “cage” from which he controls and defines all onstage action with percussion, keyboard, Theremin and found objects, is sheer genius. This is an addictive one-act to revisit, knowing you’ll experience its heady vitality anew each time. Step WAY outside traditional boundaries.
Wingspan Theatre’s Feeding the Moonfish
Directed by Susan Sargeant
Here’s a mind-blowing, visually satisfying, poetic 1988 psychological thriller of sorts, by award-winning playwright Barbara Wiechmann. Honoring Aristotelian constructs, it portrays one life-changing evening in two young people’s lives. A desperately lonely girl follows an equally lonely and disturbed young man out onto a spooky Florida pier, where he goes regularly to “talk to the moonfish”. Both find that their individual isolation and disenchantment draw them together as their sorrow and rage surface on the moonlit pier.
Feeding the Moonfish
“The moon’s got a force, an it pulls an pulls at the insides of these fish and locks em into a way of behaving,” he tells her. “They got no minds of their own anymore. Once the moon’s got em they’re hopeless beyond all control. All they got is moon minds.” What happens is clearly far beyond their control. Josh Glover and Barrett Nash imbue their roles with painful intensity, which resolves into welcome release as they desperately cling to each other at the end. Not the finest script but a sensitive, evocative production.
White Rock Pollution: Alice in Wonderland
Directed by Tom Parr IV
Based on a production by Andre Gregory and the Manhattan Project
Wow. In spades. Alice in Wonderland on a teensy-weensy budget with minimal props and set pieces in an intimate black box space never looked so fantastic. It’s all about Zen-present acting and mindful direction that honor and illuminate the highly literate, imaginative text better than many ‘realistic’ high budget movie versions.
Alice in Wonderland
Adult actress Danielle Pickard becomes a totally believable 7 year-old girl who falls down THAT rabbit hole, inventively created by the rest of the ensemble, and experiences various escapades drawn with meticulous love from Through the Looking Glass and Alice in Wonderland. Every actor pulls his/ her fair weight and delights the audience. Ben Bryant draws cries of astonished recognition, emerging from clustered umbrellas as The Caterpillar. Clay Wheeler’s Hatter couldn’t act much madder. 
Randy Pearlman earns cheers as a priggishly officious, perilously wobbly Humpty Dumpty and a luridly leering Cheshire Cat. Whitney Holotik breathes metaphorical fire as the manic schizoid duo Red Queen/White Queen. Brian Witkowicz amuses all with his silly, stupid Dormouse (superb comic delivery) and displays unimaginable gravitas as the saddest and most ridiculously lovable White Knight on the planet. As satisfying as any Alice in your dreams….
Interviews with actors/ directors and designers: http://thisweekinthearts.com/
And four more productions to come…get your passes now! 214-880-0202
http://www.dallasculture.org/bathHouseCultureCenter/fitFestival.asp
The Festival of Independent Theatres, managed by David Meglino with technical direction by Graeme Bice, runs through August 7 at the Bath House Cultural Center on White Rock Lake.
Visit www.bathhousecultural.com for info and directions
One in 3: Reality that Chills
The subject: abortion. The play: multi-dimensional and respectful. One in 3. A challenge to undertake? You bet, given the red-hot emotional charge. Under the measured, focused direction of Raphael Parry, Project X Theatre offers a carefully orchestrated, thoughtful, clinically analytical perspective on an abortion clinic’s daily realities. It’s not sensationalized, judgmental or exploitative in the least; instead “One in 3″ provides insight into the emotional and rational issues women and their men are forced to deal with when choosing the terrifying option. Or not. Facing untenable dilemmas, asking tortured questions, coping with rage and sorrow, or with the baffling lack of it, the characters who spill forth reveal the complexity of the “abortion question.” See the play, then count off one in three women at your local supermarket. That’s a chilling reality.
www.onein3.org
Project X at the Green Zone. 214-421-2400 Run extended into February.
Nibroc Trilogy: Appeal of Love’s Eternal Glow
Searching for a unique, memorable way to celebrate St. Valentine’s with a sweetheart? Go see Echo Theatre’s current production of Arlene Hutton’s nostalgia romance, the award-winning The Nibroc Trilogy at the Bath House Cultural Center. Billed as “5 actors, 3 plays, one love story”, it’s a three-play cycle tracing the initial courting ritual and consequent married life of a charming, deeply in love, small-town Kentucky couple from the 1940’s into the post-war era. Purchase a Festival Pass to pick and choose three performance dates to attend, or take in all three plays in one day on one of the two “Nibroc Festival” dates, February 21 and 28.
The first part of the trilogy, Last Train to Nibroc, opened February 5 to an enthralled, near capacity crowd. Morgan Justiss and Ian Sinclair, as the couple May and Raleigh, trade gentle barbs and polite revelation with thorough sincerity and a natural conversational style. Well-matched and engaging, they imbue Hutton’s lyrical script with a veracity that is both a tribute to America’s “greatest generation” and very accessible to today’s audience. Co-directors Ellen Locy and Pam Myers-Morgan capitalized on both actors’ appealing looks, talents and delightful stage chemistry. In elegant balance, they create an aura of romantic intimacy while keeping the play fairly clipping along. The play’s three scenes are set upon a railroad car seat, a park bench and a porch swing. The focus stays on character interaction while clearly revealing time’s passage and setting change, a simple but effective design motif. Nibroc rocks. It soars. It beguiles. It buries sweet memories in a real gentleman’s proffered hankie and restores faith in the values of character and integrity, in the promise of true love.
The Nibroc Trilogy runs through February 28 and includes Last Train to Nibroc, See Rock City (opening Feb. 12) and Gulf View Drive (opening Feb. 19). Advanced reservations are strongly recommended.
Schedule: www.echotheatre.org
echoreservations@att.net, 214-904-0500
Morgan Justiss & Ian Sinclair as May & Raleigh
A Cuckoo That Changed Its Tune
“What we hoped was that we could stop the coming end of the world.” Ken Kesey
In 1959 a Stanford graduate student participated in a government sponsored experiential psychoactive drug study. After ingesting various hallucinogens, Ken Kesey filed his government report and wrote his celebrated novel, One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest. From the considerable income and attention generated by the book, Kesey toured the country in a 1939 International Harvester school bus painted with drug inspired day-glo and became a major catalyst for what became known as the Psychedelic Era, heralding the San Francisco hippie scene. The novel was a quintessential anti-establishment statement and was interpreted as a “compelling cautionary tale that viewed society as a cold, formidable negation of all that is free, lusty and nonconformist.”
www2.lib.virginia.edu/exhibits/sixties/kesey.html
So how does a stage adaptation of this narrowly focused 1962 novel have relevance for today’s theatre audiences? It’s a stretch, even with adaptation penned by multiple Tony and Emmy award-winning author Dale Wasserman. Contemporary Theatre of Dallas’ production of One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest strives valiantly to put fresh bloom on this rainbow-hued vase of withered poppies and largely succeeds, thanks to a strong acting ensemble and the restrained guidance of regional leading director Marianne Galloway. Instead of focusing on the book’s counter-culture polemical duality, Galloway emphasizes the humanity in all the play’s characters, steering her actors clear of oversimplified stereotypes, for the most part.
Consider main character Nurse Ratched. The book portrays this woman supervising the inmates of a psychiatric hospital, the action’s setting, as the embodiment of everything evil in the dominant, repressive government-run culture. The classic 70’s movie with Jack Nicholson did the same; all cheered when the intentionally cruel, all-powerful Nurse Ratched got her comeuppance. In CTD’s production, Galloway has pointed actor Sue Loncar in a different direction. Sue’s Ratched maintains firm control but appears to operate from a belief in “best care” practice, with no trace of sadistic delight at the suffering she doles out. Nurse Ratched juggles supervising recalcitrant, irresponsible, under-qualified staff with caring for a wily collection of voluntarily committed, needy psych ward patients, getting little support from the on staff psychiatrist (played convincingly by Reg Platt), who aspires to become “one of the boys” on the ward. She’s the lone adult voice of sanity and order. Sue’s Nurse is quietly icy and focused, outcome-oriented. She clamps down hard on infractions brought on by the taunting, relentless clowning around of main male character, the grinning misfit McMurphy. To preserve order in the midst of chaos, to do her job, she has no choice.
It’s not the most interesting character I’ve seen Sue Loncar create, but it’s a consistent and believable portrayal. When she returns on stage after McMurphy cracks up and assaults her, her physical discomfort is obvious but her determination to “do her job well” reflects no savage revenge motive. It’s unexpected to consider Nurse Ratched a sympathetic character, but Sue Loncar’s depiction elicits at least empathy.
The shift in Ratched’s portrayal causes a titanic shift in McMurphy. Under Galloway’s direction, Mark Nutter presents him as a self-centered, one-dimensional anti-hero. He’s a “good ol’ boy” in a tight spot, trying to wrest power away from the lady in charge, “just cuz.” If he can scam some spare change off the gullible inmates through gambling in the process, so much the better. He’s also a baldly unrepentant statutory rapist, which distances him further from comic lead or “hero” status. Does he disrupt the lives of the inmates on the ward? Definitely, with dire results. Does his violent attack on Nurse Ratched seem justified? In no way. Does he deserve to have a lobotomy? Probably not. Does the audience sympathize with him? Not much. It’s hard to know if the shift is script or director driven, but it sure changes the show. In the book, his death at the end creates a sense of transcendent release. In this production, it’s a relief he’s gone. Intriguing to watch, I’m not entirely sure it works.
The balance of the cast is a tight ensemble featuring some of the most stage-worthy performers the Dallas region offers. Randy Pearlman as the inmates’ “spokesman” Dale creates a vivid picture of an intelligent man who has chosen to step away from “real world” challenges, curiously more fleshed out than McMurphy. Nye Cooper, Andrews Cope, Ryan Martin, Andrew Bourgeois and Bobby Selah provide a non-stop cacophany of bumbling comic relief and believable psychotic behavior as the gaggle of inmates, effectively defining a reality that has no basis in it, whatsoever. On the other hand, Jim Johnson’s Chief Bromden seems oddly detached from the rest of the production. As the play’s conscience, the agent of transcendence and the only character that “escapes” to the real world, he needs to clearly convey the play’s point, the author’s vision. In this production, he almost fades into the scenery he’s so oddly understated. Director’s decision, dropped line, opening night jitters or scripted that way? Hard to tell.
This isn’t an easy play to stage, given its dated message and apparent reworking of the novel’s core characterizations by the adapter. The full house on opening night seemed to sincerely appreciate the performance. When Ken Kesey died in 2001, his son read this statement at the memorial service: “If there is one thing he would want us to do it would be to carry on his life’s work. Namely to treat others with kindness and if anyone does you dirt forgive that person right away. This goes beyond the art, the writing, the performances, even the bus. Right down to the bone.” Remember that sentiment when you see this production.
One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest by Dale Wasserman, based on Ken Kesey’s novel, runs through March 1, 2009 at Contemporary Theatre of Dallas, 5601 Sears St., Dallas, TX 75206 (one block west of lower Greenville, behind the former Arcadia Theatre). For tickets and directions: www.contemporarytheatreofdallas.com.
Non-profit Arts Stimulate National & Local Economies
Finally! A US president recognizes the positive impact of the arts on our nation’s economy. “Innovation” and “creativity” were welcome words in President Obama’s speech in Denver. Unfortunately, not everyone gets the picture, from elected officials to puzzled citizens. The $50 million for the National Endowment for the Arts in Obama’s Stimulus Package is not “pork”, as some claim. In addition to improving quality of life and providing needed “stimulus” to creatively keep our world functional, thriving arts have a positive, measurable economic impact on communities.
America’s nonprofit arts and culture industry generates $166.2 billion in economic activity yearly—$63.1 billion in spending by organizations, an additional $103.1 billion in event-related audience expenditure. This economic activity supports 5.7 million jobs and $29.6 billion in increased government revenue. Yearly. Between 2000 and 2005, event-related spending by arts audiences increased 28%— from $80.8 billion to $103.1 billion. Documented fact, it’s not chump change nor “pork”. Want to review the economic impact of event-related spending by arts audiences? Check out the Americans for the Arts’ Arts & Prosperity Calculator: www.americansforthearts.org.
When you attend an arts event, you’re ‘stimulating’ the economy and supporting local arts organizations and artists. Thank you, President Obama, for understanding.
Data sourced from 45 year old non-profit arts advocacy organization Americans for the Arts, from an independent study quantifying the impact of the non-profit arts industry on the US economy: www.AmericansForTheArts.org/EconomicImpact
Audacity Theatre Lab: Dishing It Up & Out
If attending live theatre is like sitting down to a prix-fixed meal of the imagination, then Audacity Theatre Lab’s Hello Human Female is gourmet grilled potluck, peppered plumb full enough of implausible characters and wacky situations to sate the humor-seeking palate. It’s kind of like watching Joaquin Phoenix on David Letterman, except these folks mean to be funny and are aware of their audience. Soap opera plot meets Lost in Space meets Young Frankenstein meets Lassie, Come Home and Wizard of Oz, with homage to the faked orgasm scene in When Harry Met Sally. Whew. In retrospect, the chaotic concatenation somehow channels Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales with its over-riding theme of amor omnia vincit (LUV conquers all). In this case, LUV certainly does. Clean your plate and go back for seconds.
The secret to the hyperkinetic, no-holds-barred romp? Matt Lyle, the playwright, currently resides in Chicago, where he’s studying comedy writing at The Second City and screenwriting with Chicago Dramatists. Director of the play and artistic director of the company, Brad McEntire, mounted and produced over fifty plays here in Big D then toured successfully to New York and Austin Fringe Festivals, before sallying forth in 2006 on an artistic sojourn to Hong Kong and other exotic, inspirational locales. There’s a brazen confidence herein, born of endless dribbling of ink on paper and much time spent clamoring to earn and keep the attention of maddeningly fickle audiences. These boys got it down to a science.
On stage, in the kick-ass dual role of codependent overbearing Mother in drag and equally overbearing, smarmy Mad Scientist in gaiters is Jeremy Whiteker, with as much meritorious experience in performing in quirky, absurdist one-act originals as he has in straight ahead musical comedy. S/he is a hoot and a holler, a medium rare sight to behold and savor. Becca Shivers steams into her debut with Audacity Theatre Lab like a locomotive in overdrive in the gender-bending role of pre-teen boy “Timmy”, returns in Act II as the Mad Scientist’s humanoid sweetheart, a real honey-bee of a waspish creation. The star-crossed lovers, Jeff Swearingen as hump-backed humanoid Blork and Arianna Movassagh as perpetual virgin in search of true love or unreasonable facsimile, play off each other effortlessly with a fine balance of physical humor, crisp verbal repartee and droll song. Their duet version of “Somewhere Out There” ought to be filmed and posted on YouTube. Worth a reprise at play’s end, wish it had happened. Stirring in a classical whiff of Ionesco, Beckett and Shakespeare to the madcap hilarity, venerable regional actor Scott Milligan plays Homeless Harry (shades of Everyman) and Timmy’s aw-shucks Gramps. He lends a sober grounding to the enterprise, in a bizarre but comforting way. Narrating the production and guiding the audience in docile compliance to its seats with dulcet-toned instruction of what to do in case of ‘inevitable fire” is professional voice over artist and ex-pat Brit Emily Gray. She adds a zesty dollop of whipped cream ephemera to the absurdist reality sur la table. Jolly bon appetit.
Audacity Theatre Lab’s Hello Human Female runs Wednesdays through Saturdays through March 7 at the Ochre House intimate space, 825 Exposition Avenue. Street parking is ample, close to the venue and well lit. House staff is super-friendly. Reservations and tickets: 469-236-2726 www.audacitytheatrelab.com
Orinoco Loco: Teatro Dallas Afloat
The Orinoco River, at 1330 miles, is one of the longest rivers in South America. Its drainage basin covers 340,000 square miles, three quarters in Venezuela, the rest in Columbia . The Orinoco and its tributaries form the major transportation system for eastern and interior Venezuela and the llanos of Columbia. It offers very rough going with many obstacles and life-threatening hardships, both in the water and out. When nationally celebrated Mexican playwright and distinguished literature professor Emilio Carballido chose the Orinoco as the setting for his late 1970’s play of the same name, he must have been thinking of the lawlessness and exotic remoteness such a setting would present.
In Orinoco!, Carballido’s vividly detailed monologues, describing the reality of the river or an actor’s state of mind, infuse the play with a strangely feral beauty. His lyrical dialogue foreshadows knife-edged potential for death and destruction. Every spoken or sung metaphor, every action of its characters (two down and out burlesque dancers who find themselves abandoned and adrift on a blood-spattered boat floating down the river towards a grim future) portend of violence and savagery. All may not be as it seems, may be worse. Contrast may indicate deceptive surprises. Who is the never seen silent man lying injured in the drifting boat’s stateroom; does he truly exist? Or is he a fabricated “cover” for bizarre mass murder?
Teatro Dallas presents a tentative, safe production of this intriguing, nuanced play. At the play’s opening, we learn that during the night prior, the boat’s entire crew engaged in a drunken, vicious brawl, which escalated into an attempt to break into the showgirls’ room to gang rape them, and ended with all but one crew member savagely murdered and tossed overboard. The set – the ship’s deck – the scene of the brawl, should reflect the bloody, grisly mayhem that took place the night before. Instead, a scant smattering of cautious red paint splatters dot here and there with a few unbroken beer bottles placed unobtrusively at the edges of the playing space. The deck should be littered with a jumble of debris—torn clothing, discarded shoes, shards of bottles, hats, weapons, lots of blood…all of which would offer the two capable actors fertile ground to develop character through and lead the audience into the boat’s dark mysteries. The rest of the production continues on that safe path, taking few risks, pushing no boundaries, hinting at few hidden agendas, creating little conflict and tension. It’s a workmanlike but non- adventuresome realization of Carballido’s evocative work.
Phyllis Cicero and Marbella Barreto as dancers Mina and Fifi are well cast and play believably together. There are moments where each verges on transcending the staidness of the production; the scene passes, and the deeper range of artistic possibility fades away. The only time the sordid un-reality of their situation and lives comes across clearly is when they rehearse a bit of song and dance routine. They aren’t awful; they’re just grimly amateurish. Choreographer Mark-Brian Sonna (www.mbsproductions.net) directs the women to communicate an air of desperation and bone-tiredness, as they laugh and clown and gyrate together in a threadbare routine of unbalanced enticement, almost a squalid dance of death. Too bad it’s a short scene.
Caraballido’s play Orinoco! merits performance. Even with Teatro Dallas’ production’s shortcomings, it provides thought-provoking, spine-chilling theater. For more Dallas stage reviews, go to http://sjamaaka.wordpress.com or www.examiner.com.
Political theatre. Didn’t we just barely survive a year and a half’s worth of non-stop lunacy at operatic pitch? For those who just can’t get enough political soul-bathing, hustle over to TeCo Theatrical Productions (www.tecotheater.org) at the Bishop Arts Theater Center to catch the 7th Annual New Play Competition: The Best of Political Theater. Artistic Director and energizing force at TeCo, Teresa Wash, put out the call last year for Dallas regional playwrights to submit their finest-honed political one-acts to compete in this festival: winner to be chosen, appropriately, by popular vote. From nineteen submissions, six were selected for performance in this year’s festival competition. Each offers thought-provoking, poignant and often humorous commentary on major issues that affect all on a scale from the intensely personal to grandly universal.
“If America can elect a black man, I can sleep with one” declares a white character in Richland College professor and founder of Blacken Blues Theater Willie Holmes’ opening one-act Change, dealing with inter-racial issues and tolerance. Holmes deftly mixes humor with serious exploration of a timely subje
ct. Barbara Macchia received a Jerome Foundation Fellowship through The Playwrights Center in Minneapolis, MN, and is a longtime member of the New York Dramatist Guild. The death penalty and a grisly birthday party in celebration of its enactment sober the audience resoundingly in her The Special Schedule. Oak Cliff homeboy, playwright and film and photographic artist Phillip Morales takes on the subject of illegal immigration through the voice and heart of a US citizen in The Son of A Immigrant, a man who brings his solo protest to the steps of Dallas City Hall. lynuslynell returns to the New Play Competition for the 5th time with the hyper-energized The Assassination of Nathaniel Gary Gamarcus Anderson, in which a revved up revival-style pastor admonishes the Rev.’s Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton as if they sat among the house audience and rouses the dead. Novelist and accidental playwright Richard Carter brings us a whimsical “what if” play set in the Oval Office with President Obama and Secretary of State Clinton faced with a most unusual request from a undeterred middle –aged constituent, in I Only Need a Few. Rounding out the evening of hot button entertainment is local author, teacher, performer and UT Arlington graduate Paula J. Sanders. In her play, The Valiant Never Taste of Death But Once, a smooth talking, well-dressed African American man personifies a deadly worldwide scourge with such terrifying immediacy it’s hard not to avert the eyes.
No shy performances in the acting ensemble; several appear throughout the evening. Keep watching JuNene K, Heather Pratt, Selma Pinkard, Akron Watson and Brandon Christle, as they glide effortlessly from one well-defined character to another. Aubrey Stephenson’s sonorous singing voice in Holmes’ Change sets the tone of the evening with its melodious soulfulness. We do indeed live in interesting times, as reflected by the depth and scope of these productions.
Who will win the competition’s $1000 and airline tickets? I cast my vote, and I’m not telling. I promise it wasn’t as easy a choice to make as last November’s presidential election. The one-act performances end this Saturday the 28th. Dallas’ Bishop Arts District is the place to go and TeCo Theatrical Production’s The Best of Political Theater is the scene to make. Time for real change….
Tickets: www.tecotheater.org 214-948-0716
And the winner is….
The results are in from the 7th Annual New Play Competition: The Best of Political Theater, sponsored by TeCo Theatrical Productions (www.tecotheater.org) at the Bishop Arts Theater Center in Oak Cliff. By popular acclaim, Paula J. Sanders, local author, teacher, performer and UT Arlington graduate won for her entry The Valiant Never Taste of Death But Once, in a tough field of six diverse, competitive one act plays. The play puts a chillingly human face on the killer disease cancer. “Winning came as a total shock,” says Ms. Sanders, a four time previous competitor. “The play is very personal. During 2008 I lost five wonderful people in my life all from very different circumstances. However, the most devastating was the illness of my best friend’s mother, to whom I dedicated the play. She fought a hard battle with cancer and lost it in the spring.” Ms. Sanders feels the strong performances of Brandon Christle and JuNene K. brought her one act vividly to life. “JuNene K. symbolized the strength that we have all seen in our loved ones whether they are fighting cancer, AIDS or drug addiction.” What does she plan to do with her winnings — cash and two roundtrip airplane tickets? She laughs, “More than likely it will involve a creative endeavor or maybe a trip to Disney World with my four year old son. I do plan to put the final touches on that romance novel that I am self publishing….” Stay tuned in for Sanders’ continued success.
There’s more winning news. Each year, the playwright who receives the most points from TeCo’s Reading Committee wins the Literary Prize Award. This year’s prize with a round-trip airfare ticket goes to award-winning playwright, Richland College professor and Blacken Blues Theater founder Willie Holmes. His one act Change is part of a full play comprised of three one acts called Love Changes. Fast-paced and sophisticated, funny yet thought provoking, Change explores the challenges faced by Americans dealing with racial bias and stereotypes in developing inter-racial romantic connections. Holmes says he is honored to be recognized a winner in a political play writing contest as his favorite playwrights are August Wilson and Arthur Miller. “They blend social commentary, thoughtful humor, and provocative story telling. I try to fulfill these goals with each play that I develop.” He may head to New York, the Caribbean Islands, or Bermuda with his winning ticket.
TeCo Theatrical Productions founder and artistic director Teresa Wash glows with pride as she talks about the diversity of this year’s event. “I was particularly excited to receive an entry about immigration issues from an artist right here in District 1 (Phillip Morales) where 90% of the residents are Latino. And Paula Sanders is only the second woman to win the New Play Competition in the history of the event – I believe in encouraging women writers, there are so few of us.” Having a strong artistic success in her sparkling new performance space mattered a great deal, too. “I really wanted to raise the bar on the quality of the performances. This year, we broke box office records with over 600 people in attendance. This community has embraced us in a way I never imagined.” Next year’s competition will build on the diverse, multicultural success of this year’s thanks to Wash’s dedication and artistic vision.
What’s next for TeCo Theatrical Productions? Opening April 16, the company presents August Wilson’s King Hedley II, a “haunting and challenging tragedy of Shakespearean proportion”. It will feature TeCo’s T-an-T (teenagers and theater) in the culminating project of a four month long apprenticeship program.
Paula Sanders
Expect a sell-out.
For more of Alexandra Bonifield’s reviews, check out http://sjamaanka.wordpress.com and keep clicking on www.examiner.com.
A Privilege to Pee in Richland College’s Urinetown
Urinetown. What a dreadful name for a musical – images of nasty hip waders. Richland College’s drama professor Wendy Welch planned to stage the classic musical Fiddler on the Roof this semester, but it wasn’t available. On a hunch she selected the post-apocalyptic “sur-reality” of Gotham-like sewers for a timely, hip, politically relevant show about sustainable challenges, tussling haves and have-nots and the importance of love and peace to human survival. Sound grim? A little shocking in spots, for sure, but Urinetown’s highly entertaining, thanks to Ms. Welch’s clever, crisp staging.
Dystopia reigns supreme due to overpopulation and resource depletion, with pointed reference to 19th century English political economist and demographer Rev. Thomas Robert Malthus. Greedy, evil banker (!) Cladwell B. Cladwell, played with Snidely Whiplash panache by Drew Bramlett, represses the town’s Dickensian rabble by charging them exorbitant fees to use the public toilets, hoards cash (what, a banker?), browbeats politicians and sycophants and murders the occasional upstart. Cladwell’s young, innocent, radiantly lovely daughter falls in love (“But soft, what light…”) with a principled if grimy Jimmy Stewart sort of lad from the wrong side of the plumbing pipes. A curious array of animated, jadedly comic characters lend the production elemental whiffs of Cabaret, West Side Story, Les Miserables, Sweeny Todd, and a faint hint of Our Town, at different times throughout the two act enterprise. Presiding over all action and reminding the audience and cast, often, “This IS a musical”, leers omniscient town cop/narrator, Officer Lockstock, who controls the ebb and flow of the plot and drives the show’s rapid-fire timing.
Lockstock’s portrayal is integral to the show’s success. Director Welch had the good fortune to cast one of the region’s finest song and dance men and comic actors—Shane Strawbridge—in this crucial role. Impeccable timing, rollicking entrances, commanding presence, a soaring, well-supported, in tune singing voice with excellent diction –Strawbridge is a joy to watch perform and must inspire the young cast members treading the boards with him with his infectious enthusiasm and focused energy. Clint Hill and Rachel Legaspi are well matched as the romantic duo, Bobby and Hope. In Act I opening night, Hill’s singing pitch strayed a bit; by Act II he seemed to have found his vocal stride. Legaspi has a rich, warm, expressive instrument that sounds mature for her years and promises a great future. She’s a true talent with eye-catching stage presence, singing or speaking. In the comic relief role of Little Sally, a contrast to Strawbridge’s Lockstock, Katherine Gentsch brings charm and spunk and physical versatility to her portrayal. As the villainess with a changeable heart of gold, Delynda Moravec embodies the most Dickensian character of all in hard-edged Penelope Pennywise and elicits whoops and guffaws from the attentive audience.
Urinetown won the 2002 Tony Award for original score and demands quite a bit from its lead actors and chorus. The show’s strongest moments occur when the entire ensemble of twenty is singing and dancing at full tilt up and down the multi-level expressionistic set. Nary a detectable bobble, nor hesitation in blocking, appeared to take place opening night in Richland College’s production. Vocal harmonies flowed with well-rehearsed professionalism. Sometimes the live band, placed behind the staging area, overpowered the miked singers, a solvable issue.
Musical theatre a dying art form? No one in Richland College’s auditorium opening night would believe that. Urinetown is definitely NOT your granny’s musical, portrays issues and relationships through searing satire that could hurtle a rightwing xenophobe into an apoplectic snit of outrage. It gives the musical art form wide spectrum relevance for today’s youth, both on stage and as audience. For art to instruct and entertain with validity, it must present a viable world through accessible metaphor and language. Excellent choice of shows for our time, delightful, engaging production, Urinetown speaks about YOUR town and to the hearts of all.
Phot0 by Tasleem Khan: Clint Hill and Rachel Legaspi
Ego-Surfing Out of the Loop
Ever done a google search on yourself? It’s an unusual self-reflective experience, almost like watching oneself in a mirror. Many people check it out every so often, meet with no major surprises. But what if it went terribly wrong? What if you learned that someone from your past misappropriated your name to use as a pseudonym as a gay porn star? What if you agreed to meet someone with your name who pretended to want to write an article about you and found yourself drawn into a macabre ménage a trois involving manipulative sado-masochistic violence? There’s no escape here.
Successful Showtime, Fox and ABC TV screenwriter Jason Schafer wrote the stage thriller i google myself as a topical ‘what if’ that descends into nightmarish levels of garishly intertwined relationships between three men, all of whom share names and connect through the google search engine. Featured on opening night of WaterTower Theatre’s 8th Annual out of the loop fringe festival and playing to an enthusiastic near capacity crowd, the short thriller helps kick off the diverse, creative festival in high fashion.
Mixing computer screen film projection of e-mail chat with intensely realistic overt and personal physicality, director Bruce R. Coleman (resdent artist at Theatre Three) masterfully spins his three actors through Mamet-like macho-energized scenes, never losing sight of the characters’ and script’s symbolic contrast between the remote, yet invasive, google medium and their face to face presence. What is googling yourself? “It’s ego-surfing. A surf engine snapshot of how you fit into the world,” flatly declaims one man. Schafer identifies his characters as numbers One, Two, Three in the program, which re-affirms the play’s focus on the character’s names as unique catalyst for the twisted plot. Well-crafted with skillfully potent pauses, the play’s objectives and commentary about the nature of connection in an alienating culture resonate clearly with the rapt audience.
Performances support the tightly wound script. Kevin Moore as One occasionally overemphasizes his diction as though speaking un-miked from the depths of a proscenium stage but conveys unreasonable obsession with measured fluidity. His verbal over-emphasis reinforces the character’s intense need for acknowledgement. Chad Peterson as the gay porn star Two and Joel McDonald as Three, the man from Two’s past, interact with such easy familiarity and natural calm that when they explode into violence, or promise it, the audience never doubts its valid logic for a moment. It’s a great opener for an ambitious Fringe Fest. Make you think twice about googling yourself.
i google myself , presented by Uncommon Ground at WaterTower Theatre’s out of the loop fringe festival, continues March 8, 12, and
13 at the Studio Theatre. For complete schedule times and info, go to 
www.watertowertheatre.org/outoftheloop.asp
Dream of Godless Madness: KDT’s Psychos Never Dream
“I’m kinda like Ozzy Osbourne,” says award-winning novelist, poet and playwright Denis Johnson, who describes himself as a “criminal hedonist” turned “citizen of life.” “What I write about is really the dilemma of living in a fallen world, and asking: Why is it like this if there’s supposed to be a God?” Johnson is the Resident Playwright of Campo Santo, the theater company in residence at Intersection for the Arts in San Francisco, the oldest alternative non-profit art space in a town brimming over with alternative art spaces.
Johnson’s Coen Brothers-ambienced thriller Psychos Never Dream opened Friday March 6 in Kitchen Dog Theatre’s performance space at The MAC on McKinney Avenue, a co-presentation with Project X . Set in rural remote north Idaho, dreams, delusions, and their horrific consequences explode in inebriated Technicolor array, in Johnson’s “fallen world”. Water rights issues, ex-hippies gone to seed or insane, and lust — for sex, for gold, for revenge for perceived betrayal and ancient grudges, all jumble madly together against a stark wilderness background. The play’s lyrical verbal resonance elevates its lonely desperate cacophony to a poignant search for meaning and connection, unexpectedly through gruesome savagery. “Why is it like this if there’s supposed to be a God?” From this play’s perspective, maybe there isn’t one.
The play slams open on main character Critter (Raphael Parry) reveling in surreal horror, as he rants and mumbles, wild-eyed and unkempt, digging a grave in a neighbor’s yard for a cloth-wrapped body he dragged there, a relative he presumably just murdered. The neighbor, Floyd (Sean Hennigan) stumbles upon the grisly proceedings; the action launches with merciless cat-and-mouse vengeance, riveting audience members’ attention, hearts in throats. Critter’s insanity may be due to a mercury-poisoning incident years ago. Raphael Parry cackles, grimaces, sweats and strains with blood-spattered menace and relentless malice, while somehow still conveying a wistful idealism that took a demented detour while he meandered about in life’s wilderness. Critter’s actions are out of control, over the top, random, vulgar and violent, completely irrational. Parry never misses a text-based beat and informs the bizarre script with a credible vitality; a less experienced actor could chew up a lot of idiotic scenery with a misread of this role. Parry’s portrayal never takes license with the script or launches into self-indulgent posturing. In Critter’s solo scene at a pay phone, the audience feels the sad smallness, the vulnerable bewilderment of this strange, unbalanced man, ultimately the universality of his plight, through Parry’s carefully nuanced portrayal.
Floyd comes across initially as a complete contrast, a voice of reason. Hennigan has a commanding presence and deep, gravely voice; his Floyd is a steel-eyed, take-charge sort of redneck. Perhaps he can pull Critter and the mesmerized audience back, teetering as they are at the edge of the black abyss. Soon it becomes apparent that Floyd is just as far gone as Critter, but in a less naked, amoral, manipulative way. Parry’s histrionics and Hennigan’s cool, calm demeanor work effortlessly together in revealing the depth and breadth of insanity and unfettered, calculated desire, so eloquently explored as themes in this play. “Why is it like this if there’s supposed to be a God?”
The play’s third “crazy” is Red, the deranged wife of the murdered man in the grave in Scene 1. Kitchen Dog Theatre’s artistic co-director Tina Parker gives what has to be one of the gutsiest performances of her career, clad scantily in a filthy nightie, stringy hair falling over her face in squalid disarray. She’s every bit a nightmare match for the bad boys, Critter and Floyd. Squealing with fear or grunting with tawdry sexual pleasure, she’s porcine, sub-human, disgusting–and plays her victim role to the hilt. When all is said and done, she may be the mastermind behind all the mayhem that transpires during the course of Psychos Never Dream…. She speaks of vivid dreams, unlike Critter, who reflects, “Six hours a night I sleep in the depths of deepest blackness.” If she’s not “psycho” and out of control, what is she? Trying to make sense of all the Bosch-like pandemonium is the play’s fourth character, the town deputy Sarah, played with dry, realistic understatement by Lisa Lee Schmidt. She’s so real she comes across almost like faded wallpaper when contrasted to the other three characters. But she has her share of issues, too, as her solo monologue on the pay phone reveals. No one escapes the cruel confusions and disappointments of life in Dennis Johnson’s godless universe.
Psychos Never Dream’s director, David Kennedy, worked as the former Associate Artistic Director at Dallas Theater Center, where he directed a staged reading of the play a season ago. It would have been interesting to read his perspectives on the production and his part in its development process in the playbill. His clear understanding of the play’s deranged sensibility and deft skill in holding the playwright’s vision together within modulated chaos enables his actors to create unforgettable relationships. Kitchen Dog Theatre’s mission statement says the company chooses plays that invite audiences to be “provoked, challenged and amazed.” Complimented by a reverberating rock score as sound, sallow-hued, soul-draining lighting effects and a set that unfolds like a hot pillow house hide-a-bed, this production of Dennis Johnson’s Psychos Never Dream is resoundingly awesome in its ability to do all three.
NOTE: Foul language, nudity, sex scenes, graphic violence abound.
Psychos Never Dream runs through April 4, 2009 (Wednesdays through Sundays) at The McKinney Avenue Contemporary (The MAC) 3120 McKinney Ave., Dallas TX. Tickets: 214-953-1055 or www.kitchendogtheater.org
Quotes and bio info about Denis Johnson come from a February 2003 SF Weekly interview and a June 2002 Entertainment feature in New York Magazine
Red & Floyd (Tina Parker. Sean Hennigan) Matt Mrozek photo
- Larry Randolph, Gene Ray Price, Cliff Stephens
Some well-kept secrets need to take a front and center seat on a sunny bench…. For example, at The Bath House Cultural Center, One Thirty Production’s A Bench in the Sun fits that category. A charmingly wry piece of theatrical fluff, it makes for an appealing afternoon’s entertainment, starting at 1:30pm, Wednesdays through Saturdays. Dedicated to producing light, “old-fashioned” plays that tell a good story and are peopled with unforgettable characters with nary a hint of questionable language or situations, One Thirty Productions is the only matinee exclusive producing theatre company in the Dallas region. It’s filling a real need, given the growing size of the audiences in attendance.
This is no Johnny Come Lately community theatre production. A seasoned professional Equity cast of three under the guidance of Charles Ballinger, one of the Dallas area’s most versatile, experienced directors with national credentials from both coasts and many respectable artistic locales in between, create an effortlessly smooth divertissement. They really know what makes comedy work: how to elicit chuckles or a few tears at exactly the right moment, how far to push humor without belaboring a joke, when to pause effectively to allow a more serious thought’s effect to sink in. It’s a pleasure to watch true pros at work—they make it seem as effortless as play. Cliff Stephens and Larry Randolph (also company producer) portray a begrudgingly devoted couple of curmudgeonly geezers, Harold and Burt, who bore each other daily with routine banter while sharing a retirement community park bench. As different in personality and style as Oscar and Felix from Simon’s The Odd Couple, Randolph and Stevens create a perfectly infuriating relationship reality that feels like a well-worn groove of predictability. Witness Harold’s announcement of his secret of getting to sleep at night; “I count my dead friends.” Ah, such excitement. Enter a woman — a flirtatious, retired film star–and suddenly the two gentlemen find their dull lives turned upside down. Gene Ray Price as svelte, stylish Adrienne exudes plucky enthusiasm and just enough mystery to set both men on a crash-course to fervently pursue sunset romance… with a wealth of humorous consequences.
The Bath House Cultural Center’s intimate theatre space is the ideal setting for One Thirty Productions’ character-driven plays. The simple set by Larry Randolph with sound by M. Graeme Bice and lights by Cory Leugemors work effectively to support the talented cast and sweet charm of Ron Clark’s play. In the mood for some classy, light live entertainment? A Bench in the Sun runs March 18, 19, 20, 21, 24, 25, 26, 27, and 28. 1:30 pm, on the dot. One Thirty Productions.
The Bath House Cultural Center is located at 521 E. Lawther Drive at the end of Northcliff Dr. off Buckner Blvd. on the east side of White Rock Lake.
214-670-8749 or on the web: www.bathhousecultural.com.
Globe-trotting Wager: Epic Fun with Rover Dramawerks
The folks at Rover Dramawerks
Original French edition book-cover
are gutsy, to say the least. First, in tight economic times they move their production to the Courtyard Theater in Plano, a medium sized proscenium theater, twice the size of their usual performance space nearby. Second, when they can’t get the rights to a tried and true stage adaptation of Jules Verne’s 1873 epic novel classic Around the World in 80 Days, they simply write their own…very gutsy. The tale concerns a wager between a club of crusty English gentlemen that one member, stuffier than most Phileas Fogg, can win if he manages to circumnavigate the globe in precisely eighty days. Lots of exotic locales, fabulously costumed natives, steam locomotives, eclectic rafts, ocean liners adrift in typhoons, elephants. Easy stuff to reproduce on stage, right?
Not to say that Rover Dramawerks is the first to attempt adaptation. They’re in good company. Orson Welles produced and starred in a totally forgettable stage version of the show with music and lyrics by Cole Porter. An episode of the classic CBS television series, Have Gun -Will Travel, entitled “Fogg Bound”, broadcast on December 3, 1960, had the series’ hero, Palladin (Richard Boone), escorting main character Phileas Fogg (Patric Knowles) through part of his journey. A 1989 three-part TV mini-series starred Pierce Brosnan as Fogg, Eric Idle as French servant Passepartout, and Peter Ustinov as the show’s villain Fix. The best-known movie version, released in 1956, starred David Niven and Cantinflas with a huge cast of movie celebrities. The movie earned five Oscars, out of eight nominations. It’s an appealing challenge many have taken on.
In RoverDramawerks case the gamble is something of a success. Feeling a bit more like Louis L’Amour in places than Jules Verne, the show manages to inform the ambience of a rambling, eccentric race against superior odds around the world in an era when speed and travel weren’t words uttered in the same breath. The company had a double stroke of luck in the casting of their protagonist Fogg and his nemesis Fix. Embodying the unflappable, always punctual Phileas Fogg, local graphic artist Gary Anderson brings a genteel command to the role and sustains his demeanor with Sean Connery-like aplomb. The rakish working stiff detective Fix dominates the action in every scene he appears. Portraying a lovably bumbling villain who finally sees the error of his ways, Mike Hathaway somehow locates interesting dimensions in a character that bounces erratically along between melodrama stereotype and slapstick pratfall. As in Three Stooges. For some odd reason, Hathaway also portrays a minor character at the gentleman’s club. This is a confusing choice as the audience wonders if as Fix he’s just donning a disguise, not appearing as a completely different (and inconsequential) character. He takes his final bow in the “other guise.” A mistake. The casting of other main character roles is not quite so fortunate. Coby Cathey as Fogg’s French servant Passepartout effectively hacks the French language to bits every time he opens his mouth. American actors don’t generally do accents well, certainly confirmed by Cathey’s withering delivery. “Mon Dieu” is not pronounced “Mon duh.” Fogg acquires a lady friend along his voyage, an Indian woman named Aouda, who accompanies him back to England and endures the rigors of the journey as involved as any man. A role with interesting possibility. In Rover’s production, Aouda is played by the attractive but inexplicably Caucasian Sasha Truman-McGonnell. She seems stiff and bored, like a well-to-do matron suffering through a routine obligatory carriage ride around the park. Even when Fix grabs her around the torso as they are nearly swept overboard during a storm on board a ship, she hardly reacts, out of character for a proper Victorian lady.
Lesser characters ranging from ship’s captains and train engineers to marauding redskins, newspaper hawkers, cavalry officers, court judges and circus performers are played by an ensemble of six game, enthusiastic individuals. Notable among them is Nancy Lamb who creates lively believable snapshots of both genders. Part of the real fun in this production is seeing who shows up next wearing some outlandish get–up and speaking a new lingo. “If I am not always what I ought to be, ” Verne once wrote, “my characters will be what I should like to be.” In the spunky variety portrayed by the lesser characters in Rover’s production, the core vision of Verne’s teeming humanity gets effectively enlivened. And that’s what an epic should do.
This reviewer hopes Rover Dramawerks will go back to their smaller performance space where the confinement inspires invention and the intimacy forces nuanced characterization. Around the World in 80 Days won’t win any major theatre awards, but it sure offers entertaining possibilities that beat staring at the TV screen any time. Runs through March 21. www.roverdramawerks.com 972.849.0358
Upstanding Start: Upstart Productions at the Green Zone
NEWS FLASH: Upstart Productions wins a 2009 Column Award in the Best Non-Equity Play Category for its inaugural production of Topdog/Underdog.
As if haunted by the spirit of Kurt Cobain, lead singer with the 80’s grunge icon band Nirvana, Kenneth Lonergan’s 1996 play This Is Our Youth examines the tortured states of semi-aware existence of three upper class twenty-something drifters set in a New York apartment in the Reagan 80’s. More aptly, the play focuses on their pretenses, vulnerabilities and aspirations with the exacting attention to detail of a forensic investigator analyzing a suicide’s corpse. It’s intense. The stage atmosphere crackles with pervasive chill. Project X welcomes newbie Upstart Productions in this co-production, which completed its run at The Green Zone on March 22.
Playwright Kenneth Lonergan is best known for his award-winning screenplays (You Can Count on Me – 2000, Gangs of New York – 2002). This Is Our Youth, his first play, demonstrates his early interest in creating intimate, character-driven dramas. Lonergan’s characters are consumed with jaded ennui, self-recrimination and puffed up bravado. The play fascinates its audience with fragile relationship structures and the raging, relentless flow of its vivid language and naturalistic style. You don’t root for any particular character, but you sure want to know what makes them all tick and where they’re going, if anywhere.
On stage Matthew M. Fowler as pretentious, smart-ass bully Dennis, Drew Wall as Warren–a slightly younger “male ingénue” awaiting salvation out of an unfocused drug-enhanced fog, and Barrett Nash as alluring, contentious, pseudo-sophisticate Jessica present a triumvirate of idiot ne’er-do-wells, desperately seek validation while devouring the consumerist distractions of the 80’s that prevent them from establishing any self-worth.
Snappy banter trips off the tongues and machismo oozes from the pores of both young men. Characters a contrast in style, presence and temperament, Fowler and Wall instinctively posture and dig at one another as though engaged in an imaginary fencing duel. Forget the foils; get out the rapiers. Layer upon layer of coke and hemp-induced dialogue leads each character to monologues of monolithic emotional proportion. Both actors unleash just enough “sturm” to make the playwright’s point without surging into melodrama. This fine balance reflects their individual skills as artistic craftsmen and the strength and understanding of their director Rene Moreno. He had to take them up to that teeter-y edge, allow them to lean out a ways, then reel them back in before they tumbled to manic destruction. Great fun to watch. A tightrope act.
In waltzes calculating Jessica, tossing her full head of cascading red curls with complacent knowledge of how a little revealed flesh and that gorgeous mop will affect both men. She feigns an innocence that could make her one of the nastiest onstage tease-pricks short of David Mamet. Barrett Nash rises to the challenge, as prickly as any porcupine in heels, eye-liner and lipstick could be. Ultimately she does sleep with Warren, possibly a required rite of passage for both. At least AIDS won’t involve them in the play’s sequel. Nash creates a believable spoiled girl child struggling towards womanhood, picking fights over every perceived insult and some just for fun, for power. Again, restraint lends to her success, thanks to strong direction by Moreno. It pays to know what you’re doing when you have talent this ready and willing.
If playwright Lonergan were firing up the metaphorical grill to barbecue for his drinkin’, partyin’ buddies from the 1980’s, he’d marinade the bloody meat in a liberal dose of angst-ridden narcissistic nihilism with a liberal salt shaker’s worth of misogyny. Master playwright David Mamet he is not, bludgeoning the audience with fine-tuned balance of savagery and cunning in imagery and character. Yet this initial stage endeavor shows the promise that filled his coffers with later film ventures. It also affords a young company like Upstart Theater nuanced fodder to sink their artistic teeth into, particularly under the wise guidance of a seasoned director like Rene Moreno. Look for more high caliber performance from these “upstarts.” Rate this dish? Medium rare to extremely well done.
Farther than Closer: Enter Stage Left’s Launch
I want to support emergent theatre companies with their shiny, new endeavors. I look eagerly forward to attending fresh, energized productions. But when the fragile fledgling spreads its wings, flops from the nest and plummets downward, I‘m obliged to speak truth. Enter Stage Left has just birthed such a bird. Launching on Teatro Dallas’ elongated, narrow performance space with Patrick Marber’s 1997 multiple award–winning drama Closer, Enter Stage Left made an ambitious choice for an initial venture. Set in London with lots of Brit vernacular and reference, good decision the company did not attempt the corresponding accents. Unfortunately, the text gets muddied by Americanized delivery. That’s for starters.
This production disappoints. Sappy. Maudlin. Ponderous. Unfocused. Unconvincing. Points of concern: 1) pace –funereal; 2) tone – one tortured, lengthy “emo” moan, scene after choppy scene 3) direction – hard to detect: the production lacks tension, suspense, mystery, integration and follows no well-defined arc 4) acting – sigh. One solid, believable performance: Chad Cline as Larry, with fifteen years of professional acting experience in film, commercials and stage work. He develops a multi-faceted, living persona, reveals telling, contrasting glimpses into his character’s dark side and higher nature in a steady, naturalistic manner. He understands how to utilize silence, how to allow the space, the pause moments, to shape his conversation. It’s a solo gig. The other three performers, Samantha Chancellor, Chad Halbrook and Jessica Layman, well intentioned and earnest, exhibit a range of melodramatic shtick that includes eye rolling, shoulder twitching, sighing, grimacing, wailing and…well, the superficial. No clear motivations. Buckets of crocodile tears.
Consider the women’s costumes. They do nothing to enhance the two actresses’ physical attributes, as required by the play’s emphasis on “woman as sex object.” Samantha Chancellor, a young woman with a promising, attractive face and an interesting voice and delivery, plays a stripper. But her physical being doesn’t match any sort of sex kitten image. No cleavage in a stripper? A different bra needed…. And a baby doll nightie would far better help her fit the role’s demands in the men’s club scene, The play’s “other woman”, a photographer, (Jessica Layman) looks ill at ease in her poorly conceived and oddly fitting costumes. She deserves a total re-think and a re-do, from the lifeless flat hair style worn throughout to her awkward, tight cocktail dress to the out of character shoes her husband brings her as a gift. Aside from the costume challenges, once she puts down her first scene’s prop camera, her performance waffles in confusion for the play’s duration, as though the actress got little direction and has no clue how to move or think or feel like the character she portrays. What a peculiar realization of a potentially meaty role.
The background music scoring the production certainly reinforces the pervasive “emo” mood, which does not align well with the play’s hard-edged tone. On a positive note, the lighting is crisp and professional; screen projection of an early scene, an e-mail interchange of a faux sex fantasy between the two male characters, works excellently.
Here’s yet another play about despondent, spoiled, well heeled malcontents. They puff cigarette smoke in each other’s faces, spout the f and c words liberally, occasionally take a swipe at each other and obsess about sex and broken relationships, sobbing out their sullied dreams in oceans of self-pity. Enter Stage Left’s mission statement says the company “seeks to…explore current and timeless human issues.” Hope for more artistically satisfying results in the company’s future productions. Ouch. Patrick Marber’s Closer, directed by Jason Folks, runs through April 18 at Teatro Dallas, 1331 Record Crossing Rd. Dallas, TX 75235, an Enter Stage Left inaugural production.
Tickets on the web: www.EnterStageLeft.org
What happens to a dream deferred?
Does it dry up like a raisin in the sun?
Or fester like a sore And then run?
Does it stink like rotten meat?
Or crust and sugar over like a syrupy sweet?
Maybe it just sags like a heavy load.
Or does it explode?
When Lorraine Hansberry selected the line from Langston Hughes’ poem as the title of her 1959 play A Raisin in the Sun she had no clue she had written one of the most important American plays of the 20th century. In fact, when the play previewed on Broadway to mixed reviews, she didn’t know if it would succeed at all, much less break so many barriers so completely.
It was the first play by an African American woman on Broadway, also first with an African-American director. At age twenty-nine Hansberry became the youngest American playwright, the fifth woman and the only African American to date to win the New York Drama Critics Circle Award for Best Play of the Year. In its authentic, realistic depiction of everyday life for an African-American family expressed with such superlative artistry, A Raisin in the Sun ended, definitively, the American stage’s neglect of the African American experience, its creativity and issues. In 1961, a film version, now considered classic, won a special award at the Cannes Film Festival and Hansberry’s screenplay received nomination for a Screen Writer’s Guild Award. A Raisin in the Sun has been translated on all continents into over thirty languages, and performed in numerous productions abroad. In the U.S., through stage, film, television and book publications, literally millions of people have had some acquaintance with the American Southside Chicago Younger family—their fears, challenges and…dreams-some deferred and some realized. Dreams are what it’s about.
On Friday March 27, African American Repertory Theater in Desoto opened a bold, lyrically energized production of A Raisin in the Sun, as fresh and relevant to today’s issues and concerns as it was in 1959. One of few Caucasians in the nearly sold out house, I sat with regional award-winning African-American playwright, director and producer Willie Holmes. With delight we observed the house fill up with an enthused, eager audience— toddlers and moms, pre-teens in small herds, entire families, pairs of young adults on dates, business people rushing straight from the office, retirement center residents, some people clearly well-to-do, others close to indigent. The hall throbbed with noisy anticipation. Holmes and I wondered if the play could still reach today’s audience and hold their attention. As the first scene unfolded, our fears were allayed. Hansberry’s play, William Earl Ray’s sharp, relevant direction and a truly outstanding ensemble cast featuring film and stage star Irma P. Hall had the full focus of the rowdy, diverse crowd. It’s a refreshing experience to be part of an audience that reacts honestly, spontaneously and vociferously to the twists and turns of plot, the successes and failures of family life as depicted by on stage actors. The laughter, the sighs, the groans, the hoots and shouts in on-going response were all visceral testament to the exquisite caliber of art emerging before us.
It’s a rare pleasure to watch an actor own a role. Many inhabit roles well, give unique interpretations and inspire heated discussion long after the final curtain. But to really OWN a role? That doesn’t happen very oft. An honor to watch it take place. I’ve seen Vince McGill give solid artistic performances before but none like this. As Raisin unfolds, we watch his character Walter emerge from a numb sleepwalker state, through rage, sorrow, desperation, bitter dejection and self-recrimination, to a sweet transcendent self-actualization. Effortless, naturally flowing, understated, this “raisin in the sun” does explode and finds inspired validation as he triumphs over mundane distractions to live his dream. McGill masters the role and carries the production.
There is no weak performance in the ensemble. From Regina Washington who portrays Walter’s ambitious younger sister, inhabiting her role kinesthetically from her toenails up, to Taylore Mahogany Scott as Walter’s long-suffering, no nonsense wife– the “backbone” of the household and on stage anchor to reality, to quietly expressive Joshua White as the Youngers’ pre-teen son, to Alonzo Waller as effervescent African Joseph Asagi who dreams of a re-energized African nation, the realities of African-American experience are deftly brought to life with vitality, truth and interest. Presiding over all with wisdom and love is Irma P. Hall as Lena, the matriarch of the family. She reminds everyone where they came from and what paths truly matter in life, as hard as choosing those paths can be. “A force of nature” as described by Quentin Tarantino, Ms. Hall brings a poignant depth to the production. Never a stereotypical tyrant but ever the play’s moral center, her character’s love and determination inspire her confused son Walter’s transformation with credible authority and wit. It’s a refined yet earthy portrayal, a joy to watch this revered professional so at ease in her craft.
Director William (Bill) Earl Ray liberates his cast to fully explore individual possibilities while weaving them into a cohesive whole. He may claim to be ‘cursed with perfectionism’, but it’s sure fun to watch the result when he works his considerable directorial wizardry on such a text with artists of this caliber.
Don’t miss it. A Raisin in the Sun runs through April 12 at the Corner Theater, 211 E. Pleasant Run in Desoto. For tickets, call 972-572-0998 or go online: www.aareptheater.com
Poem “Harlem” (sometimes called “Dream Deferred”) from Montage of a Dream Deferred (1951) by Langston Hughes American visionary poet, columnist, dramatist, essayist, lyricist, novelist, social activist, writer of African and Native American heritage (1902-1967)
Lorraine Hansberry American playwright 1930-1965
Dont u luv me?
Dont u luv me?
Lauren Rosen/ Montgomery Sutton
It’s a simple question, in text message format. Who would ever guess it reflects a growing problem among teen-agers, escalated by technology? Stalking. Obsession. Aggression. Manipulative possessiveness. Date violence. Rape. “I’d seen news stories and movies and books about dating violence, but I’d always been able to separate myself from it. Being in this show has made me realize that it is a real issue. It’s really happening and it’s a dangerous way to live.“ Lauren Rosen “I wish I’d been able to see something like this when I was in high school. Even when abuse doesn’t reach the violent heights of the play or Chris (Brown) and Rhianna, the “small” abuses — emotional and mental as well as physical — can seem normal when you don’t have the relationship experience to see them for what they are.” Montgomery Sutton.
Lauren and Montgomery currently portray lead characters in Dallas Children Theatre’s gripping world premiere teen theatre production – dont u luv me, by resident award-winning playwright Linda Daugherty, author of The Secret Life of Girls and EAT (It’s Not About Food), running through April 26 at the Rosewood Center Studio Theater, 5938 Skillman Rd. in Dallas, Texas. The play deals with the subject of date violence and its epidemic proportions in the US while encouraging young people to make choices that result in healthy relationships.
One in three teens report knowing a friend who has been a victim of peer violence.
Montgomery got his start in theater at age 3 on DCT’s stage and has recently returned to Dallas after earning his BA in theatre at NYU’s prestigious Tisch School of the Arts. Lauren is a dancer and actress studying for her BA at UNT. They portray two “average” teens that start a dating relationship, which goes terribly awry. The play offers a realistically portrayed, intriguing opportunity for families and teens to learn about the problem and recognize the warning signs. It contains professionally choreographed scenes of stage violence with highly charged emotional content. According to play director, Nancy Schaeffer, “We are not backing off from the issues of violence and sexuality. This is not like an “after school special”- because we want it to mirror real life. Both actors have the chops and skills to deliver the complexities of this relationship.” Study guides are available on the website and talk backs with medical and psychology professionals occur after the performances. It’s recommended for ages 13 and up.
Performances are scheduled for Fridays at 7:30pm, Saturdays at 1:30pm and Sundays at 1:30pm and 4:30 pm. Tickets: 214-740-0051, or on-line: www.dct.org
Rated by TIME Magazine as one of the top five theaters in the nation performing for youth, Dallas Children’s Theater is a professional theater serving more than 270,000 young people and their families through its eleven main stage productions, national touring company, and education and outreach programs.
When Love Really Hurts
Dont u luv me: DCT 2009
CJ is a dreamboat, the sort of high school senior many teen-aged girls would love to have for a boyfriend. Tall, handsome, great smile, expressive eyes with sexy, long lashes, charismatic and funny, a good athlete and student, excellent communicator—and most of all, totally devoted to his sophomore girlfriend Angela. A lucky girl, right? Forty percent of teen-aged girls report knowing someone their age that has been hit or beaten by a boyfriend. CJ is an obsessive abuser. He doesn’t know how to stop. Angela is terrified he’ll kill himself if she tries to break up with him, even though he hits her regularly and forces inappropriate sexual contact. It’s heartbreaking to watch and part of a growing epidemic of violence that knows no boundaries of race, class, educational background or gender orientation. Welcome to love that really hurts.
Rated by TIME Magazine as one of the top five theaters in the nation performing for youth, Dallas Children’s Theatre presents the world premiere of Dont u luv me, by its resident award-winning playwright Linda Daugherty, author of national touring shows The Secret Life of Girls and EAT (It’s Not About Food). Part of the company’s “Young Adult Relevant Drama” program, the play deals with the subject of date violence, how to recognize it and how to choose healthy relationships.
Cast in the pivotal roles of CJ and Angela are two dedicated professional Dallas area actors—Montgomery Sutton and Lauren Rosen. Montgomery got his start in theater at age 3 on DCT’s stage, graduated from St. Mark’s School and recently returned to Dallas after earning his BA in theatre at NYU’s prestigious Tisch School of the Arts. Lauren is a dancer and actress studying for her BA at UNT. They create a believable, fully realized relationship. Lauren’s Angela at first is sweet and innocent, open and trusting. As Montgomery’s CJ shifts from playfully affectionate to demanding and tyrannical, Angela loses her friends, distances herself from her family and school activities to please CJ, and her inner light dims. She finds herself in a lonely, terrifying place and clearly reflects the numbing horror she must feel. Lauren makes the audience live the nightmare Angela experiences. Montgomery pleased audiences and critics alike a season ago as Romeo in Romeo & Juliet at Shakespeare Dallas. He brings the same intensity, nuance and physicality to his role as the conflicted, confused CJ. He does behave like a monster, but he also shows a vulnerability that makes his portrayal comprehensible. Director Nancy Schaeffer says, “Montgomery makes us care about CJ. We want the best for him too-but then we see the anger grow and take over his life and love.” There’s a fine line between creating too harsh extremes and sugarcoating a serious issue; director Schaeffer and her two leads confidently pull it off. From their initial cheery conversation when school starts to their escalating text messaging (shown projected on a screen upstage), CJ and Angela’s reality evolves naturally.
No holding back the stage violence in this play. Some families may hesitate to expose their teens to it, so up close and personal. Don’t be deterred. It’s well-rehearsed and choreographed precisely. No one is injured; no one gets out of control. And the point is properly made. Asked about the combat rehearsal process, Montgomery speaks from the heart: “The enacting of it is pretty tough because it’s very brutal, and to take it to a “real” place, even though it’s only fight choreography, is terrifying. The physical combat, itself, has had a very smooth evolution throughout the (rehearsal) process. We run the fight scenes before every show, and Lauren and I have a very strong trust that developed early on.” Without that trust, the play could never have the potent, positive impact it does.
The balance of the cast creates “normal” high school ambience, the background where the abusive relationship develops unchecked. Kelly Brooks as Angela’s best friend Jen cares about her friend but isn’t quite sure what to do to help. Dallas professional actor and producer Josh Blann plays Jen’s non-abusive boyfriend with an ease and affection that provides excellent contrast to the tightly wound CJ. Dancing at the prom, shopping, heading to class or reviewing prom photos on a cell phone (also projected on screen), the teen actors enliven Linda Daugherty’s hour-long script. Daugherty’s play does an excellent job of portraying the problem, and DCT’s cast efficiently executes an enjoyable and educational performance. Asked how she feels about Dont u luv me, Lauren Rosen exudes enthusiasm: “ It’s one thing to talk about these things, and a completely different thing to see it happening right in front of you. That’s why theater is such an important medium. It brings the issue to life and you get to see the consequences unfold right there. It can happen to you, your best friend or anyone. I think everyone should bring their kids, family, friends, everyone!”
Dont u luv me runs through April 26 at the Rosewood Center Studio Theater, 5938 Skillman Rd. in Dallas, Texas. Recommended for audiences age 13 and up. Performances are scheduled for Fridays at 7:30pm, Saturdays at 1:30pm and Sundays at 1:30pm and 4:30 pm. Tickets: 214-740-0051, or on-line: www.dct.org
Carousel: Denton’s First Class Ride
Keith Warren (Billy), Sarah Geist (Julie)
Quick: what Broadway show did Time Magazine name as the “best musical of the 20th century” in its 1999 “Best of the Century” list and composer Richard Rodgers describe as his all-time favorite in his autobiography Musical Stages?
Carousel. Surprised? If you had the good fortune to attend Denton Community Theatre’s recent production at The Campus Theatre in downtown Denton, you‘d understand why. The music takes your breath away. How it’s naturally interwoven into the dialogue with a nod to classical opera recitative weaves an auditory magic unrivalled by many other musical theatre shows.
Carousel is truly all about the music. Director Sharon Veselic chose wisely to emphasize the music over plot and dialogue in her production, infusing this 1945 classic with a fresh vitality far beyond nostalgic re-tread. Instead of placing her orchestra conventionally in front of the proscenium arch at The Campus Theatre, in front of the singers, she placed an uncluttered full stage width thrust runway downstage where her lead singers performed the majority of Carousel’s solo tunes so close to the audience they seemed part of an intimate concert. The orchestra remained in full view of the audience, dimly lit, elevated centrally behind the runway. Full ensemble choral numbers and the balletic dancers used an upstage level behind and slightly above the orchestra and swept down side stairways to spill into the downstage space when crowd scenes required. Veselic’s production revealed excellent use of a large cast on three different levels, while the ever-visible musicians kept the audience aware of the work’s dream-like magical ambience and accompanied the singers so that their voices held full focus. Projections of night sky full of stars, realistic photos of a fishing village and fanciful watercolor renderings of fishing scenes rotated off a screen mounted far upstage, the closest thing to a “set” in this production. Marvelous and free-spirited, Philip Lamb’s artwork projections gave just enough suggestion of “place” to ground the action in a New England fishing village without interfering with movement or seeming trite; Brad Speck’s lighting design and special effects enhanced the romantic mood and sustained the dream world quality of the performance throughout. In front of this effective, inventive artistry, the singers opened their throats and poured forth Richard Rodgers’ beautiful score.
The word “community” when associated with theatre can convey a less than professional quality performance. Amateur wannabes, folks with real day jobs, just a social outlet. In this production’s case, it meant that a community of fine artists gathered together to create a stunning performance. Keith Warren as male lead Billy Bigelow (the gutter-born carnival worker trying desperately to transcend his seedy life through love) brought richly soaring depth and passionate expression to his solos. The emotional content—Billy’s conflicted soul and desire to “make good”—came through more clearly with each song’s passing. His rendition of “Soliloquy” at the end of Act 1 was so powerfully and evocatively sung it would not have surprised me had the audience demanded an encore. A lovely pairing with Sarah Geist as Billy’s suffering girlfriend/wife Julie Jordan, the two leads voices shone solo and blended superbly in duet performance. Erika Ostermiller and Shane Strawbridge as secondary leads Carrie and Mr. Snow provided comic contrast and vocal balance to the tragically dark emotions of the main leads. Their imaginative Act 1 duet “When the Children Are Asleep” was almost a showstopper and exuded playful warmth as well as showcased their respectively fine voices. Act 2’s “Ballet”, featuring Emily Staniszewski choreographed by Katherine Gentsch, matched the high caliber singing in its professionalism and innovative interpretation. Over forty people performed in this Carousel, leads to ensemble; tempos, harmony, stage movement, attitude and expression all worked smoothly in concert to create memorable stage pictures as well as sharp musical definition. Hardly a dry eye in the full house at show’s conclusion. One certainly doesn’t need to drive to Dallas performance halls to enjoy excellent musical theatre performance in this region.
The original production of Carousel opened on Broadway on April 19, 1945, and ran for eight hundred ninety performances. It was considered innovative for its time, with its criminal anti-hero leading character, tragic plot and daring theme of spousal abuse. Based on Ferenc Molnar’s award-winning 19th century play set in Hungary, Lilliom, Rogers and Hammerstein lightened it up a bit for American audiences. In 1994 Carousel was revived as a joint production of The Royal National Theatre and Lincoln Center Theater, at the Vivian Beaumont Theatre, an interracial production featuring Michael Hayden. The revival won five Tony Awards, including Best Revival of a Musical, best direction, best choreography. It won five Drama Desk Awards. Audra McDonald, in her first Broadway role, won the Tony Award for Best Featured Actress in a Musical. McDonald and Hayden received the Theatre World Award. A Japanese tour was followed in 1996/1997 by a major US national tour.
True Magic, True West: Sundown Collaborative Theatre
Bad blood between brothers. Curdles like fresh rattlesnake venom poured into a vat of rancid wolf piss.
Alex Worthington, Cody Lucas
When Sam Shepard conjures up a slice of hyper-real filial discord in his internationally acclaimed 1980 play True West, that’s how it feels. As mounted by Denton’s Sundown Collaborative Theatre composed of entrepreneurial young artists hailing mostly from UNT’s undergraduate drama program, the play springs to life like a pissed off rattler striking unsuspecting prey. It’s cunning. It’s forceful. It’s lethal. Makes magic on stage.
True West examines explosive, unresolved issues between two brothers over several days and nights, punctuated by two brief scenes with a Hollywood movie agent and the brothers’ mother. Since its premiere at San Francisco’s Magic Theatre where Shepard was the resident playwright, its lead actors have included Tommy Lee Jones, Peter Boyle, Gary Sinise, John Malkovich, James Belushi, Gary Cole, Erik Estrada, and Dennis and Randy Quaid. In 2000, Philip Seymour Hoffman and John C. Reilly played the leads in a Broadway revival, switching parts every so often during the run. Both were nominated for Tony Awards along with the play and its director Matthew Warchus.
Sundown Collaborative Theatre actors and director have taken on an estimable task in light of such company. Meaty roles like brothers Lee and Austin offer challenges to seasoned professionals, much less college students. The play is a director’s dream or nightmare, depending. Sundown Collaborative’s Cody Lucas (Austin) and Alex Worthington (Lee), along with director Travis Stuebing, meet the challenge head-on. The daunting balancing act is to maintain the rhythmic flow of the play while exploring dark and light, introspective and extroverted, sane and not so aspects of both characters. Lucas’ Austin seems so safe, so sensible, so responsible, at first; the audience immediately identifies with him as “normal” as they consider the monster-like idiosyncrasies and ignorant, cruel bluster of Worthington’s Lee. Playwright Shepard won’t let the audience settle easily. Comprehending this, Director Stuebing helps his actors sustain the fine-tuned realism required to create believable multi-faceted roles while avoiding simplistic good v. evil stereotypes. They connect, inspire each other only as brothers can, and ultimately escalate conflict into non-resolvable chaos. The disgust and horror response Worthington’s Lee engenders initially is equally matched by the disgust and horror evoked by Lucas’ Austin as his true character and motivation manifest in Act II. Blood will tell, as the saying goes. Sophisticated work by these under age 25 actors, they honor the exceedingly complex text well. I’d love to see them recreate the roles together in a decade.
Puzzlingly, the pivotal scenes with secondary actors could be much more convincing. Neither Karen MacIntyre as Mom nor Sean Ball as Saul dig deep into their characters, hardly seem to belong in the same play as Lucas and Worthington. Their scenes are meant to be revelatory and catalytic. The portrayals seem superficial, as though as actors they don’t understand why Shepard wrote them into the play. It doesn’t impede the tour de force effect of the brothers’ portrayals but does slightly weaken the overall performance.
Hard to create a play’s reality in an echo-prone, low-ceiling meeting room, with limited entrance/exit and lighting options, where the audience sits on folding chairs and an occasional church pew with obstructed views of onstage action. Performance art can overcome many logistical obstacles if the creative impulse sends it there. Sundown Collaborative Theatre creates an awesome artistic reality within the limitations of its space. In 2003, Wilson Milam mounted a lavish and updated production (including 20 working toasters) at the Bristol Old Vic. No expense spared. The first three rows of seats were removed “for fear that the audience would be harmed and a Perspex shield was installed for safety reasons”, preparing for the final showdown. I doubt the Bristol Old Vic created any more believable reality, no expense spared, than Denton’s Sundown Collaborative Theatre does with its gutsy, actor-based sparse production. Savagery can be so simple, done right….
Gut-wrenching pain and resentment, soul-deep and gunny-sacked for years, pervade this play and drive its characters to sub-human acts of desperation. Support these folks at Sundown Collaborative Theatre. Donate time and money- free pizza coupons, intermission refreshments and certificates to local thrift stores. (They’ll destroy a lot of furniture before the run’s end.) It’s okay. Their art’s in the right place.
Sam Shepard’s True West plays through April 18 at Greenspace Arts Collective, 529 Malone St. in Denton TX. http://www.sundowntheatre.com Stay tuned for info. about their production of Shakespeare’s Othello opening May 14.
Transcendence and Loss: Undermain’s Black Monk
“Those who warn against ecstasy are spellbound by modern society,” declares the Black Monk in Anton Chekhov’s novella of the same name. Functioning as metaphor for the pursuit of lofty goals and transcendent imagination, the character plays catalyst for debate between validation of a mystical existence v. common sense pursuit of tangible reality. When playwright David Rabe adapted the novella to the stage, (its premiere highlighted the Yale Repertory Theatre Company’s 2002-2003 season) he clearly had Chekhov’s lyrical musicality in mind and included description of several characters singing Angels Serenade by composer Gaetano Braga.
PHOTO by Brian Barnaud
It naturally followed that when Dallas-based Undermain Theatre selected Rabe’s adaptation of The Black Monk for inclusion in its 2008-2009 season, music would become a major part of the production. Resident Composer Bruce Dubose made sure that music is central to the ambience and sustained breathless quality of mystical doom that permeates Undermain’s production. Sorrowful and somber, the musical elements DuBose introduces enchant the audience with unworldly beauty. Pianist Ariana Cook, violinist Reynaldo Patino and vocal soloist Stefanie Tovar are crucial to the production’s success.
The play turns on a legend about a monk dressed in black that supposedly wandered a desert 1,000 years ago and caused simultaneous mirages of himself to appear in different countries all over the world. The crux of the legend is that 1,000 years after the day the monk walked, his mirage would return to earth and “reappear to men.” This apparition, played with unworldly restraint by Newton Pittman, reveals itself to the play’s main character, the overly intellectual Kovrin, and urges him to delve deeper into his mystical side. When he shares the unworldly experience with his pragmatic fiancée Tanya, concerns about his sanity alter their relationship and lead to the eventual downfall of all involved. Very Russian, very dark, very tragic.
It’s a testament to the collective artistic skills of Undermain’s cast and director Katherine Owens that the play remains dynamic and intriguing from start to finish, that the audience is not overwhelmed by the end of Act I. Undermain regularly takes on this sort of esoteric, ideological challenge and turns it into a vibrant creative endeavor. Directed to communicate the luxury-loving indolence of late 19th century Russian salon attendees, the play’s somber-attired actors gather for tea around a grand piano dressed with dimly lit candelabra. They sometimes chant, sometimes listen attentively to violin and piano duets or songs by Purcell, Glinka, and de Serasate as well as Braga’s Angels Serenade. It feels like time has spun backwards with the Black Monk’s exhortations.
The strident family drama emerges from within the dreamy musical setting. Patrician-featured, forthright Jonathan Brooks plays lead character Kovrin with relentless eloquence and veracity. Brooks as Kovrin puts up a valiant struggle; the audience hangs in with him throughout his tragic descent through delusional obsession and megalomania to his death. As his wife Tanya, Shannon Kearns-Simmons exhibits a natural bewilderment that logically moves from adoration to alienation to complete rejection of all that Kovrin becomes. Bruce DuBose as Tanya’s father, lord of the family orchard and arranger of her marriage to Kovrin, reveals a practical business side that launches into obsession as well, along with a profoundly devoted paternal aspect. All suffer loss, thanks to the downright creepy Black Monk’s intrusion, or Kovrin’s delusion about him. Over all the discordant grief, Stefanie Tovar’s liquid-toned voice and the piano and violin soar. The art of the imagination triumphs as Kovrin gasps his last breath in a moving, tightly woven synthesis of sound and soul ascendancy.
Undermain Theatre’s production of David Rabe’s The Black Monk runs through May 2, 2009. www.undermain.org
In photo, l to r: Jonathan Brooks, Stefanie Tovar, Shannon Kearns-Simmons, Bruce DuBose
Greek for Berliners: MBS Productions’ Oedipus Rex
It’s all Greek to me. Why is it that people are afraid of attending classical theatre — Shakespeare and the Greeks? Their plays offer some of the best writing, plots and characterizations ever seen on stage. Clear, logical, illuminating. Illustrating this is MBS Productions‘ current offering Oedipus Rex, a famous Greek play about a man who gets way too big for his britches with dire consequence. In an elegant, simple manner, Mark-Brian Sonna’s production sheds fresh insight into the ever-conflicted human condition and honors the tradition of one of the oldest and greatest plays ever produced. What’s so frightening about that?
Chorus by Bethany Hubbard
Good theatre doesn’t need a cast of thousands and a complicated set to make its point. In MBS Productions’ Oedipus Rex three Chorus members (who don’t sing harmony or wear sequined costumes) cover that required base for classical Greek Theatre and double in secondary roles, along with one member of the royal household. Anachronism adherents be damned, it may be traditional to cast a Chorus of twelve or fifteen to express various points of view and “witness” the play’s action in stylized enactment, but it’s overkill for today’s audience. We can think for ourselves, thank you. In addition, Greek theatre focuses more on character development than setting. Simplifying the set in the current production to an upstage curtain entranceway and a stage right altar to the gods allows the beauty of the language and the characters to hold deserved full focus.
What an emotional wallop this play delivers. Mark-Brian Sonna infuses the role of King Oedipus with dignity and regal bearing. He’s clearly a character used to making major decisions that affect the well being of many people. He doesn’t just act like a leader– he is one. Problem is he gets off on feeling omnipotent, and that offends the gods. He’s moved to a foreign land to avoid fulfilling a grisly prophecy (patricide and incest) and assumed a vacant kingship left open by a mysteriously murdered man and married the grieving widow. Problem solved, prophecy neatly side-stepped. Or is it?
As his wife and queen Jocasta, Alice Montgomery also exudes a regal bearing and a worldly-wise maturity. Her firm step and confident delivery tells that this woman has weathered many storms and has prevailed through her strong character and common sense. She creates a grounded mate for Oedipus who is prone to raging rants and mood swings. The four-person Chorus and minor character ensemble weaves effectively around the core couple almost like wraiths or spirits. Draped cloth covers heads and faces or falls back to reveal a character change when needed. As the truth reveals itself leading to suicide and self-mutilation, the chorus establishes the ambience and reflects response of the town’s inhabitants. Clear, logical, illuminating.
Directing the play as well as portraying Oedipus, Sonna incorporates appropriate stylized movement to balance the intellectual thought and emotionally charged expression of the work. Sometimes Greek theatre can seem so esoteric and discursive it’s hard to follow. Not here. MBS Productions uses a new, previously unproduced translation of the Sophocles play by Ian Johnston, which ideally suits Sonna’s movement-based directing style. The cast includes: Kevin Wickersham, Chris Hauge, Grisel Cambiasso and Joshua Scott Hancock. Each does an excellent job of bringing to life an aspect of this ancient great play in a way that allows it full resonance with a modern audience.
We’re all Berliners. We’re all just world citizens capable of being tripped up by fate and destiny, like Oedipus.
Sophocles’ Oedipus Rex by MBS Productions runs through April 25, 2009 at the Stone Cottage Theatre, 15650 Addison Road, Addison, TX 75001. Performances are Thursdays through Saturdays at 8 PM. Tickets range from $18 – $21. Tickets on the show’s website www.OedipusRex.org or call 214-477-4942. www.mbsproductions.net
A totally downer life: WTT regional premiere
Based on a Totally True Story. High on style, shy on substance. There must be a discount on royalties for less than compelling plays about 20-something malcontents and their relationship challenges; why else would companies choose to produce them often? In its studio theatre space Water Tower Theatre presents a gay romance with attempts at dramatic overtones by Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa, of comic book and HBO series Big Love fame. WTT production values outpace this predictable script at every turn. Fast-paced direction can’t pull this one out, by the bootstraps or designer deck shoes. Aguirre-Sacasa has garnered a favorable rep in certain circles for his writing, including a GLAAD Media Award nomination and the prestigious Harvey Award (Best New Talent). His possibly autobiographical woe-is-us tale focuses on a gay, selfish, inconsiderate, 20-something screenwriter who suffers hideously from achieving success (poor baby) and soundly rebuffs those people in his life who might give a damn about him (who knows why?).
It is, like, a real downer.
Jared Eaton, Andrew Phifer
WTT’s clever staging (directed by James Paul Lemons) opens with film projection of The Flash cartoon footage, setting up potentially promising metaphorical comparisons between real life and fantasy. Where the writer hoped it would go? The multi-level, brightly lit, u-shaped set allows the contemporary story to zip along at hyper-caffeinated speed. Alas, the show tanks with every utterance from weasel-like main character Ethan (Andrew Phifer), lamenting about failed relationships, his successful career as a comic book writer (oh, the strain of it) and becoming an even more successful screenwriter (horrible, horrible). The most interesting characters crossing the stage are secondary: 1) a Hollywood producer with a heart-a-gold, designer handbag and oft-referenced never seen husband-business partner, played with saucy verve and perpetual LA euphoria by Mary Anna Austin. 2) Ethan’s sweet-natured father, divorcing and blazing new pathways to self-awareness, played by Barry Nash with natural charm and kind wit.
The plot? Ethan has to reveal his self-absorbed misery in play-by-play fashion–the first chance meeting with handsome, hunky boyfriend at a coffee house, the living together in bliss scene, the “why I can’t share myself with you” moment. He manages to drive off said lover Michael (surprise), written as little more than a compliant stereotype nice guy and played with resolutely wooden delivery by Beau Trujillo. Both actors are capable of believable, nuanced performance. I know they are; I’ve seen them do it. Not with this script. Jared Eaton rounds out the cast, filling in with several stock characters of a TV sitcom nature, and getting the most laughs. Displays an impressive set of pecs, too. The play concludes with a projected “screening” of the finale of Ethan’s labor of torture, his HBO script, as all characters join the audience to “watch it.” Best moment in the show.
Like cutesy gay-themed sitcoms? This play’s for you. Water Tower Theatre presents Based on a Totally True Story, a regional premiere in their Discover Series through May 3, 2009 with performances on Thursdays at 7:30 PM, Fridays & Saturdays at 8:00 PM, and Sundays at 2:00 PM in the Studio Theatre at the Addison Theatre Centre. Seating is general admission with no late seating. Tickets $20 Box office: 972.450.6232 or http://www.watertowertheatre.org
PHOTO: Jared Eaton, Andrew Phifer
Five Tons & A Bird at the Greenzone
SEAGULL.
When all you really want is to give life the bird.
The play’s over! It’s over! ALL OVER! Well done, Mom. You totally fucked up my play. SATISFIED?— Alex What are you so angry about? — Maria
Cast: The Seagull readings
Sans overpowering costumes. Sans rubber ferns. Sans foamcore scenery. Sans cheesy recordings of gunshots or train whistles.
Just raw emotion and the words to carry it. “Five tons of love.” Three takes.
Anton Chekhov (updated), Tennessee Williams (re-discovered), Emily Mann (unleashed). You don’t write better than that. No, you don’t.
As expressed by: Heather Pratt, Josh Blann , Paul Taylor, Montgomery Sutton, Vince McGill , Emily Scott Banks Maryam Baig-Lush, Gregory Lush , T.A.Taylor, Kristin McCollum, Parker Hornsby.
Sponsored by Project X at The Greenzone , 161 Riveredge Drive Dallas
No charge, donations gratefully accepted. Free wine.
The Seagull by Anton Chekhov : 8pm April 19 Oct. 1895: “I am writing it with considerable pleasure, though I sin frightfully against the conventions of the stage. It is a comedy with three female roles, six male roles, four acts, a landscape (a view of a lake), much conversation about literature, little action and five tons of love.”
The Notebook of Trigorin by Tennessee Williams. 8pm April 20
A Seagull in the Hamptons by Emily Mann. 8pm April 21 http://www.curtainup.com/seagullinthehamptonsnj.html
“As an actor, I try to choose something that I believe in, that isn’t a lie — something that is life-affirming, that is morally worthwhile, that is not mind-rotting or spiritually diminishing … This is how I contribute.”
--Kevin Kline
KDT TITUS: There will be Bard
Shakespeare. Still relevant? And how. When a Supreme Court justice weighs in about Master Will and makes the front page of the Wall Street Journal with his thoughts (April 18/19, 2009), The Avon Bard is definitely still relevant. Reflect upon the eerily modern themes of his Titus Andronicus, currently in performance at Dallas’ Kitchen Dog Theater. Inhale its relevance. But please don’t take it too seriously.
If William Shakespeare wrote Titus Andronicus, it first appeared between 1589 and 1592, a bit over four hundred years ago. Described by T. S. Eliot as the “worst play ever written”, it has confounded and puzzled critics, directors, producers, other playwrights and academics alike since its cloudy start. It’s just so darn relentlessly gruesome, even for violence-charged Elizabethan theatre. According to critic S. Clark Hulse “It (the play) has 14 killings, 9 of them on stage, 6 severed members, 1 rape (or 2 or 3 depending on how you count), 1 live burial, 1 case of insanity, and 1 of cannibalism—-an average of 5.2 atrocities per act, or one for every 97 lines.” Barf bags could be handed out with programs. It wouldn’t seem ironic.
Where does a company go with such a Frankenstein of a play? We think we’re so far removed from the violence of tragic revenge with our sanitized Western culture, so why not set it in Iraq or Afghanistan, a modern staging? The insane invasion of Iraq resulted as a twisted sort of revenge justification for the 9-11 bombings of the World Trade Center; the conflict in Titus results from a private, murderous feud between the Roman general Titus and Tamora, Queen of the Goths. The Iraq invasion led to further atrocities, mass murder verging on genocide, Abu Ghraib, water boarding, rendition of many innocent people and detention at Guantanamo without defense, escalation of Al Qaeda adherents throughout the world and general destabilization in the Middle East. Similarly, Titus’ hasty violent actions and Tamora’s equally vengeful violent reactions create so much mayhem and destruction that very few of the play’s characters are left alive and/or whole by its conclusion. There’s one big difference. This play is funny. A modern staging would seem ill conceived, in poor taste.
Funny, you ask? That’s what makes it hard to stage. Kind of like Monty Python doing a slasher movie as a cartoon, Titus Andronicus is so overtly absurd with its non-ending gore and totally unreal situations it demands laughter. And yet it’s so overwhelmingly gruesome…. Clever folks at Kitchen Dog. Instead of giving the play a contemporary setting to match its modern adaptation by Lee Trull and Leah Spillman (which could have sent audience members retching to the bathroom or home to horrific CNN-like nightmares) they placed it in the long vanished Mayan metropolis of Tikal. This exotic setting heightens the fantastical aspect so the violence becomes just one wondrous element.
The audience enters the smaller studio space at Kitchen Dog, finding itself thrust deep into the dark, feral wilds of a S. American jungle, and sits all along one side of the space while buckets of stage blood spatter and assorted innards and severed hands spill across a multi-level thrust stage suggesting a Mayan temple. Meanwhile, original indigenous-themed accompaniment by international recording artist and SMU percussion professor Jamal Mohamed stirs up primal rhythms in a blood-curdling way no Elizabethan lute could ever aspire to. Evil lurks in abundance. At the play’s end, villain consort Aaron (Jamal Gibran Sterling) proclaims, “If one good Deed in all my life I did, I do repent it from my very Soul” as he is buried up to his neck alive, to die a slow, cruel death of thirst and starvation. The KDT jungle will hungrily welcome him home as one of its own.
Leading the stellar cast is company co-founder Joe Nemmers, who brings a gravity and surprising sensitivity to the title role, cause of so much destruction. At ease in Mayan loincloth and sporting a Mohawk-like wig that lends him an air of Mel Gibson in Braveheart, Nemmers masters the physical requirements of the role with naturalistic ferocity, while conveying Shakespeare’s soaring imagery with the soul-inspired clarity of a poet. It’s easy to sympathize with Nemmers’ Titus, hard as that may be to believe. Matching him slash for claw in ferocity and passion is company member Christine Vela as the villain goddess Tamora. Wild and conniving, lascivious, without conscience, she feigns sympathy with her subjects while plotting their deaths in a way that must have chilled the heart of ever-cognizant Queen Elizabeth I when she first saw the play produced. Vela enlivens her role as a “Wonder Woman of the Underworld” with reckless abandon, believable as a rabid wolverine that devours her own young. The supporting cast members, made up of regional professionals and SMU students, function as foils or objects for the two leads to battle over and destroy. Rukhmani Desai, as ill-fated Lavinia, comes closest to a real-life portrayal in her depiction of Titus’ daughter, a young woman raped and grotesquely brutalized. Rhonda Boutte as Titus’ relative Marcius gives moral compass and rational perspective to the horrors unfolding and pulls the audience back from blood-induced, numb stupor at the end with dignified, measured delivery. The only odd performance came from John Flores as Tamora’s King Saturninus; his vacillation between seriousness and buffoonery seemed disjointed, accentuated by a strange wig making him look like Moe of the Three Stooges, which fell off during his death scene. Lose the wig?
Was Shakespeare “ exploring the nature of a powerful empire…to see the human side of violence” as Titus director Christopher Carlos suggests? Was he portraying in code the resultant destruction of the soul of England through Catholic persecution at the hands of Elizabeth I’s unscrupulous henchman during the Reformation as British Shakespeare scholar Claire Asquith poses? Was he simply imitating the violent works of Roman playwright Seneca, contemporary to Shakespeare’s original setting of Titus? See Kitchen Dog Theatre’s production of Titus Andronicus for a bloody good time, at any rate.
TITUS ANDRONICUS, a Kitchen Dog Theater and Meadows School of the Arts production runs through Saturday, May 16 in the Black Box Theater at the McKinney Avenue Contemporary (The MAC) located at 3120 McKinney Avenue in Uptown.
For tickets: call the Kitchen Dog Theater box office at 214-953-1055; buy online at www.kitchendogtheater.org
Bunraku Bonanza at The Ochre House
Isn’t there a law of physics that says for every action there is an equal and opposite reaction? I’m no science geek, but Matthew Posey’s Bunraku-based puppet comedy Coppertone II: The Pope of Chili Town uses this law to re-balance Dallas theatre’s humor quotient. Lately an unseemly number of self-indulgent, pompous, belabored “relationship dramas” about selfish, uninteresting, angst-consumed people have dominated the boards ad nauseam. From festival entries to full-length solo engagements. How refreshing to see a play that swings Dallas’ internal thespian pendulum back to an imaginary fantasy world peopled with ingeniously funny puppets for open-minded adults.
Coppertone II, himself
Bunraku. No, it’s not a new falafel pastry at Starbuck’s. Frequently associated with lovers’ suicide plays, “Bunraku” is often used among puppeteers to describe puppets that are manipulated in a way similar to those in traditional Japanese Bunraku theater, That means: human-sized with expressive, movable parts, (eyes, mouths, extremities) and up to three puppeteers on stage with each character, usually dressed in ninja-like black robes with faces shrouded. The main character in Posey’s production, Coppertone, has a particular movable ‘extremity’ that grows in such a manner to make many men green with envy and women laugh uncontrollably. That extremity may have not been envisioned in the 1870’s when the Bunraku puppet tradition got established in Osaka, Japan, but it elicits groans and whoops of delight from the audience at Coppertone II: The Pope of Chili Town.
This play’s action takes place in a bar run by jaded drug-peddling puppet Monte, played with Ted Danson as Cheers’Sam-like sarcastic wit by Xander Aulson. Monte engages the patrons or fights and makes up with his sleazy puppet wife Shinickwa (Walter Hardts) or coos with her over their ever present baby, who only says cuss words. Monte also croons a terribly funny rendition of Frank Sinatra’s “My Way” in Act II. Producer/director/playwright Matthew Posey plays the title puppet role of Coppertone, grumpy regular bar patron with unique growing appendage and a generally droll, dry reserve that contrasts with the wildly hyper-kinetic actions of the other characters. He sets off some of the high-jinks but seems almost oblivious, which makes his portrayal even funnier. The second woman puppet in the play is by far the most outrageous, x-rated and wildly funny character on stage, Topeka, an extroverted prostitute in love with Coppertone. The play’s most intense scenes focus on what Topeka has up her crotch (referred to much more profanely!) and how to remove said object; in Act I it’s a large slice of watermelon, Act II Monte and Shinickwa’s baby. Anastasia Munoz enlivens the Topeka puppet character with gusto and unabashed flair. She’s naughty; she’s garish; she makes a fabulously funny puppet.
Rounding out the cast are Trenton Stephenson as Coppertone’s pre-teen puppet son Spanky, who brings unending athleticism to the proceedings on a tricycle, and a voice-over that sounds like Paul Lynde by Ross Mackey as “the voice of Satan”. Coppertone makes a pact with this devil to save Monte’s bar and vanquish their arch-enemy Vladimir (also portrayed by Anastasia Munoz). The nature of the pact? See the show to learn its dire terms, appreciate its humor.
The puppets are decadently imaginative, the script clever if racy, the pace furious and chaotic. Yes, it’s laced with raw language, stem to stern. If you’re easily offended, don’t go. According to director Posey’s note, Coppertone II: The Pope of Chili Town “ is fashioned after the old “Punch and Judy Show”, only with teeth, that satirizes the importance of family values.” He might have added: and helps re-establish a certain irreverent, balance of hilarity to the Dallas theatrical scene. Ah, such relief!
Coppertone II: The Pope of Chili Town, by MATTHEW POSEY AND THE PIONEERS OF THE SUAVANTE-GARDE runs Wed.-Sat. at 8:15pm through May 9 at The Ochre House, 825 Exposition Ave. in Dallas. For tickets call 214-826-6273, or e-mail: matt@mysterionfilms.com
The Cemetery Club: no fooling around at CTD
+++EXTENDED THROUGH SUNDAY MAY 17TH+++
There’s nothing funereal about Ivan Menchell’s The Cemetery Club, now on stage at Contemporary Theatre of Dallas–nothing slouchy about it, either. Director Susan Sargeant has a real talent for teasing out comic moments from deep within dramatic scenes and illuminating humorous elements within revelation of universal truth, with genuine flair. She fills a panoramic palette with Menchell’s two act script about three elderly but spirited Jewish widows, girlfriends, living in Queens, who find their lives defined by routine visits to their deceased husbands’ graves and strive to search for more out of life.
Doting Dowagers & Willing Object of Affection
Morbid? Not at all. Vivid, energized script meets its match with versatile, confident director and five grounded, diverse, professional performers for an evening of superbly delivered one-liners, amusing comic bickering, a little schmaltz, some hubba-hubba, a whole lotta love….
Menchell, a Yale School of Drama grad and recipient of a Fulbright Fellowship for playwriting, premiered the play at Yale Repertory Company and toured it to Broadway in 1990. In 1993, it found success as a genre movie directed by Bill Duke starring Ellen Burstyn, Olympia Dukakis, Diane Ladd, Danny Aiello and Lainie Kazan. It could be treated as dinner theatre fare along the lines of iconic TV series “Golden Girls”, but CTD’s director and cast never rely on stock shtick or milk the audience unduly for sympathetic response. They give it the full production treatment it deserves. Are you paying attention? Trust me. You’ll laugh. You’ll cry.
The powerhouse trio includes: Ouida White as vivacious, romantic hopeful Ida, Linda Comess as resigned, reluctant participant in drab widow’s weeds Doris and Nancy Sherrard, larger than life and chasing revenge for her deceased hubby’s infidelities, as wisecracking Lucille. At her first entrance upstage, Sherrard sweeps into the cozy living room set, decked out in a full-length mink, fairly glowing with self-important outrage, and barks out “Sonofabitch!” A once in a lifetime scripted entrance moment with maximum impact. The fun cascades forth.
Rounding out the tidy female ensemble in Act II is Susan McMath Platt as “the other woman” Mildred. Platt is a formidable comic force in her own right, clad here head to toe in yards of shimmering silver lame and cackling a laugh only a hyena could adore. As the sole male character on stage, butcher Sam, widower suitor to Ida, UNT Theatre professor H. Francis Fuselier holds his own with the sharp-tongued bevy of feisty females and brings some tender yin energy to their overpowering yang ambience. A multiple Rabin winner, Fuselier touches the audience’s hearts with his simple, low-key portrayal exuding sincerity and hope. Again, director Sargeant expertly guides her seasoned cast to find the natural balance between comic and dramatic moments as relationships unfold and life’s surprises take all off guard. Pleasure to watch these pros at fine-tuned play.
Set, lighting, sound, and props by Wade J. Giampa, Tristan Decker, Lowell Sargeant and Tish Mussey provide the ideal atmosphere start to finish. What a team! Costumer Aaron Patrick Turner must have had more fun than everybody else combined in designing and assembling the quirky, unique costumes that do so much to help each actress explore the tiniest nuance of character. Job superbly done.
No surprise, The Cemetery Club is a solid hit with Dallas audiences. It has been extended through Sunday May 17th. No downer funerals, no lugubrious laments, no fooling.
Tickets: 214.828.0094 or www.contemporarytheatreofdallas.com
Review as posted on Lakewood-now.net
George Wada photo From left: Linda Comess, H Francis Fuselier (seated), Ouida White, Nancy Sherrard
Plain Sarah: DTC work in progress
Sarah, Plain and Tall makes a powerful visual impression. It’s a family friendly musical based on Patricia MacLachlan 1986 Newberry Award-winning novella. Dallas Theater Center Artistic Director Kevin Moriarty chose to mount it as the company’s final production at the Kalita Humphreys venue, before the huge move to the new Dallas Performing Arts Center. The eye-catching set consists of a giant collage of weathered wooden siding that flies in and out, up and down, with dreamlike ease. Some of it defines exterior barn doors and windows; some opens to reveal country interior kitchen and pantry elements. Behind it floats ocean fog, or sky over prairie grasses, rolling on forever. The set immediately conveys a sense of the utilitarian power and dignity found in massive 19th century barns and helps to define the character of a play where the outdoors, a Maine seashore and a Kansas prairie, matters as much as any human character in the script. Elegant, simple and impressive, it’s softly lit to reflect the natural lighting of overwhelming seaside or prairie expanses. Kudos to scenic designer Anna Louizos and lighting designer Chris Lee.
Herndon Lackey, Becca Ayers, Max Ary, Kate Wetherhead
This show has evolved over the years from the book to a memorable 1991 television movie featuring Glenn Close and Christopher Walken to a 2002 children’s musical produced by New York City’s nationally recognized TheatreWorks USA, with book, lyrics and music by the same creative team who developed the current version (Julia Jordan, Nell Benjamin and Laurence O’Keefe). DTC bills the current expanded two-act incarnation as a world premiere. It features a prominent national cast, with one local youth actor, and is directed by the prolific, award-winning New York based Joe Calarco. It feels like a way, way Off Broadway trial run that’s more of a work in progress than a finished production.
Music: For many years musicals featured meager, fluffy plots as thinly disguised excuses to parade a string of show-stopping chorus numbers and virtuoso solos. Singers, with operatic vocal power and training, were usually un-miked. Social issues, when presented, played second fiddle to catchy tunes and sustained vocal lines. The pendulum has now swung. With certain notable exceptions, today’s typical “musical” emphasizes current social and/or political issues. It exhibits sterling special lighting and sound effects that require high-grade professional talents and equipment to execute, mikes its lead singers cleverly so they don’t need to “strain” or practice precise diction. The music folds into the show as downplayed afterthought, an accessory, almost an embarrassment. Why can’t there be balance? Not one memorable song emerges from this show.
Consider the vibrant array of 19th century Americana music and folk tunes, from sea chanties to mournful cowboy laments to rousing tent revival gospel tunes to lyrical love songs with Celtic influence. None of the music in Sarah, Plain and Tall reflects or draws recognizable inspiration from any worthy Americana tradition. Seems that would be a no-brainer for a quintessentially Americana musical. Given the roles they’ve played prior, DTC’s cast members are quite capable of outstanding performance. Not one has a genuine opportunity to showcase a trained, high caliber voice or advance the show’s plot, energy or emotional tension through musical exploration. Herndon Lackey portrays the male lead, widower Jacob seeking a bride. His voice hints at power and intensity, rich masculinity capable of expressing a full range of human emotion. He has portrayed Inspector Javert in Les Miserables. Aha. Watching him in Sarah, Plain and Tall, I wished I were seeing him in the former show. The only attention-getting number comes mid Act I – the comic duet “Let’s Never Do That”, interpreted enthusiastically by secondary leads Matthew and Maggie (Colin Hanlon and Cristen Paige). Interesting as it may be, it feels “tacked on”, exhibiting a different style, tempo and energy from anything else in the score. Curiously, the Song List in my press packet doesn’t list the duet, while the show program does….
Character and Plot: There is plenty of opportunity to reveal the thoughts and emotions of the play’s characters at adult levels. This version keeps everything fast-paced and superficial, as if it is still envisioned as playing to an under age 17 crowd with limited attention span. How does widower Jacob feel about the loss of his wife? There’s a marvelous solo opportunity. He grouches, growls and mopes. We get no sense of a loving relationship or a man longing for reconnection. He forbids his almost adult daughter to sing a lullaby his deceased wife would croon to her two children. Conflict! The lullaby could haunt the show, revealed a cappella in short phrases at first, woven in with increasing accompaniment later as Jacob grows beyond his loss and his daughter establishes her independence. Resolution? Lead character Sarah’s Act I expository solo “The Captain’s Daughter” hints at the reasons why Sarah is “peculiar”, a “loner”, but falls short of lasting dramatic impact. How interesting it could be if the song re-emerged in Act II, with additional verses allowing Sarah to show emotional depth. Instead, Sarah goes through a quick “Eliza Doolittle” type of superficial transformation, and Jacob and his reluctant daughter are completely won over by her change of clothing and a swimming lesson at the farm pond. It’s not convincing or inspiring. I can’t imagine too many regional theatre companies leaping at the chance to produce this show, as it exists, in an economy where people spend discretionary funds carefully. My guess is Sarah Plain and Tall will go through extensive revamping when it moves on. I’m sorry the Dallas production did not live up to its stunning set’s promise.
The Dallas Theater Center presents Sarah Plain and Tall through May 24 at the Kalita Humphreys Theater 3636 Turtle Creek Boulevard. Tickets: www.dallastheatercenter.org 214-522-8499
Well before Tom Lehrer, That Was the Week That Was, Laugh-in, the Smothers Brothers, Sonny and Cher and SNL mixed variety show entertainment with political and social commentary to the delight of satire-hungry contemporary audiences, composer/ lyricist Irving Berlin hunkered down with creative writer Moss Hart and came up with a fresh-seeming concept revue requiring a small cast. It was 1933, during the Great Depression. They titled the show they dreamed up As Thousands Cheer. A hit, it ran 400 performances on Broadway, no small feat in hard times.
Lyric Stage possibly chose to mount the production, running through May 9 in the Dupree Theater at the Irving Arts Center, because current economic times seem so déjà vu. It’s an evening of first class, high-energy high jinks and musical numbers that entertain while they gently jab at celebrities and social issues of the day. The pastiche of vignettes consists of sixteen self-contained scenes loosely based on the news, lives and affairs of the rich and famous of the time, including Joan Crawford, John D. Rockefeller, Jr., Noel Coward, Josephine Baker, Mahatma Gandhi and Aimee Semple McPherson. The jokes don’t resonate sharply today, out of context; but the era isn’t so far removed that the cognitive gist of their satire gets lost. It’s smart witty, with a wealth of sophisticated double entendres and innuendos. SNL would do well to take notice.
Dancing, singing and creating the celeb send-ups is a well-balanced cast of six regional professional actors who appear to have as much fun performing as the audience does watching them. The ensemble includes Feleicia Benton, Shannon McGrann, Brian Patrick Hathaway, Doug Jackson, Randy Pearlman and Diana Sheehan. All have well-schooled, tuneful singing voices and harmonize excellently; they enliven their characters with style and clarity — singing, dancing or acting. Director Len Pfluger capitalizes on the unique strengths and complimentary attributes of his diverse cast. The show flows smooth and crisp, never missing a beat nor losing momentum due to set or costume changes or unclear characterizations.
The set defines the common theme tying the vignettes together. Each sketch illustrates different New York Times’ headlines projected on a 1930’s style classical arch transom spanned above the playing space. It’s quaintly nostalgic to view the newspaper motif, realizing it was the major means of communication then. Never depressing, not much takes itself too seriously in this production.
Several vignettes elicit the strongest applause during the evening. In Act I, the song Heat Wave illustrates “Heat Wave Hits New York” with sultry tongue-in-cheek aplomb. Diana Sheehan demonstrates what “heat” might mean as a comely weather-caster surrounded by a bevy of admiring lads. The final number of Act I surprises and delights: Easter Parade, featured later as a major movie production number with Judy Garland. In Lyric Stage’s version, Randy Pearlman, as an elderly gent, croons the tune as a gentle love ballad to Shannon McGrann, his frail inamorata seated in a high-backed wheelchair. Pearlman’s well-modulated voice exudes lyrical tenderness and understated sincerity that makes the song sound fresh and new. In Act II, the only truly serious commentary in the show comes in Scene 5. Feleicia Benton sings the heart-wrenching Suppertime below headline “Unknown Negro Lynched by Frenzied Mob”. She portrays a working class woman preparing dinner for her children while wondering how she’ll explain why their father won’t be coming home. Benton’s smoky tones caress the song with operatic pathos and emotive power. Curious to learn how audiences reacted to this vignette in pre-Civil Rights 1930’s…. This dark scene is followed immediately by the most completely realized and off-the wall send up in the revue: an imaginary British royal family ”coping with excess” under the NY Times headline “Prince of Wales Rumored Engaged.” Doug Jackson as king and Diana Sheehan as queen preside with Monty Python-esque self-congratulatory pomp as a daffy, frumpy royal couple who fail to comprehend their way less than wholesome Prince of Wales son, played with debauched ennui and lecherous eye for the maid (Shannon McGrann) by hyper-kinetic Brian Patrick Hathaway. Delectably shameful display of “naughty, naughty.” Tut, tut.
Gary Okeson accompanies the charming affair with easy mastery on a rich-toned, full-sized grand piano and triumphs as well as production musical director. As Thousands Cheer draws a polite crowd. Thousands may not exactly be cheering, but they certainly clap loud and long as they surge to their feet in approval at the show’s finale. Not a single off-color word uttered on stage all evening.
Final four performances May 7, 8, 9 at 8pm; May 9 at 2:30pm.
For tickets: 972-252-2787, www.lyricstage.org
Doug Jackson and Diana Sheehan in Lyric Stage’s AS THOUSANDS CHEER. Photo by James Jamison
All aboard: NIBROC Trilogy at Theatre Three
Seize the day. Brighter than any star and living often in larger than life terms, barely into their twenties, the Greatest Generation possessed an intangible and incomparable grace. Courage, vision, honoring one’s word, a pro-active work ethic: they not only understood the importance of integrity and character, they seized every opportunity presented to live lives that would reflect well on future choices. They seemed to realize they were key players at a crucial moment in Western history—all civilization held its breath as these energetic young people shouldered enormous responsibilities and made sacrifices that would provide a much better, safer world for future generations. They would not let evil and repression flourish. They knew that things really worth having were worth waiting for, would be better cherished if cultivated slowly, with respect. So it would go when they strolled down the path of true love.
May and Raleigh view the future
Live this experience of innocent, hopeful Greatest Generation love blossoming into passionate commitment when May and Raleigh meet and stroll down that sometimes thorny path together. Lead characters in Arlene Hutton’s celebrated romantic comedy trio of plays The NIBROC Trilogy, playing currently at Theatre Three’s intimate space Theatre Too, they don’t just make you fall in love with them vicariously; you’ll want to host their wedding shower, attend the marriage vows and fete them at the reception. Echo Theatre mounted the trilogy earlier this year at Dallas’ eclectic Bath House Cultural Center, where it had such enthusiastic response from audiences, many of whom came back repeatedly and filled the houses to capacity, that it made sense to mount a second run where new audiences could find solace and delight in its homespun freshness.
Fresh? A WWII romance? Isn’t that stodgy and old-fashioned? Hutton’s play Last Train to NIBROC, the first of the trilogy, tingles with such vitality you can almost smell and taste the strawberries Raleigh mentions bringing to supper at his sweetheart May’s family’s home. How many plays make your senses come that alive? There’s magic in the vibrant, multi-faceted portrayals created by Morgan Justiss as May and Ian Sinclair as Raleigh. Assuredness, ease and focus mark their characterizations in this second mounting. Not that they gave superficial performances before, but now Justiss and Sinclair know every nuance of each other’s character like longtime friends. No reflective pause gets rushed; every high emotional moment peaks in delicate crescendo, revealing their mastery as performers, the guiding caress of Pam Myers-Morgan and Ellen Locy’s direction, and the considerable genius of Arlene Hutton’s script.
All three plays flow naturally, viewed in sequence; or they can be enjoyed seen alone. The characters are minutely detailed with complex relationships that function as believable catalysts for action that swells and falls with the poetic grace of Edward Albee’s works minus any savage motivations. These are real people, humble, decent folk; you find yourself caring about every one of them. May, Raleigh, May’s optimistic mother Mrs. Gill, Raleigh’s cantankerous mother Mrs. Brummett, and his willful sister Treva who shifts everyone into the second half of the twentieth century at lightning speed; they become old friends instantly. It’s no accident they make such strong impressions.
Arlene Hutton knows her craft from the ground up. She started performing at age 8 in her home state of Kentucky and went on to earn an MFA at the prestigious Asolo Conservatory in Florida. From there she moved to New York, like so many aspiring performers, where she got daytime television and costuming gigs and eventually earned an Equity card. Since that time she has taught, lectured, and thrived as a guest artist at over fifty respected universities, conferences and professional/ academic venues worldwide, as a director, actor and writer. Hutton was named the Tennessee Williams Playwriting Fellow at the University of the South in both 2005/2006 and 2007/2008. She fell into playwriting in 1994, frustrated by the lack of dynamic, worthwhile roles for women. She immersed herself in the creative process, participating in a transformational Lanford Wilson retreat that influenced her NIBROC series in development. She took her writing to the Edinburgh Fringe Festival four times before Last Train to NIBROC first graced the stage on a tiny, tucked-away venue at the 1996 Festival in a short one-act version with The Journey Company, with two people in its first audience. “When I first wrote about May and Raleigh, it never occurred to me that anyone would be interested in what seemed to be an old-fashioned romance. I never really expected the piece to be produced; it was just some dialogue rattling in my head, demanding to be put on paper, one of my first attempts at writing a play,” she explains. She modeled the two main characters on her parents and their experiences , drawn from Appalachian family lore. “The plot is fiction; the details are fact.” After multiple revisions flowing from intense creative immersion, the fully realized first leg of the trilogy premiered at the New York Fringe Festival in 1998. It returned to Edinburgh, with its original cast, and played in a large venue to sold out houses. The production then moved to Off-Broadway, where it received a prestigious Best Play nomination from the New York Drama League. Last Train to NIBROC has delighted audiences at more than one hundred productions worldwide, including at Fort Worth’s Circle Theatre in 2002.
After the first production’s success, Hutton realized the characters had a bigger story to tell. She wrote the character of Raleigh’s mother for a longtime friend who had supported the play’s development since its earliest fringe incarnation. The second part of the trilogy, See Rock City, where May’s and Raleigh’s mothers join the young couple, began as a fifteen page ‘wedding scene’, and the characters got fleshed out with in depth exploration at improvisational workshops. With the help of a development grant, she added two more scenes and got to continue working with the original Journey Company actors for a full year of rehearsals and readings, an almost unheard of luxury. See Rock City finally came together at the Australian National Playwrights Conference in 2003. Hutton wrote and conducted workshops of the final play in the trilogy Gulf View Drive at the New Harmony Project. The complete trilogy premiered in Los Angeles and played Off-Broadway at the 78th Street Theatre Lab in 2007. It received unanimously positive reviews and was named Critics’ Choice by every major publication, including the LA Times. It received six LA Weekly Theatre Award nominations, including Best Playwriting.
This is your best chance to get aboard for Hutton’s triumphant trilogy, its “last train” in Dallas for a while. The Dallas cast includes some of the most versatile performers in the region: Kristin McCollum as Treva, Susan McMath Platt as Mrs. Brummett, Nancy Munger as Mrs. Gill and Morgan Justiss and Ian Sinclair as May and Raleigh. Echo Theatre founding/producing partners Ellen Locy and Pam Myers-Morgan direct. Come seize the day for May and Raleigh, with hope and honor, integrity and joy. Step out of our complex difficult present day world; get inspired in NIBROC to seek a more positive future.
Catch the trilogy: Thursdays through Sundays through May 31 at Theatre Three’s Theatre Too, 2800 Routh Street in Dallas’ The Quadrangle.
Tickets: 214-871-3300, www.theatre3dallas.com
Attending a production of Shakespeare’s Othello is like watching a high profile match between two of the world’s greatest prizefighters. Its success depends on the relationship of its two main characters, no matter who else exists in the play or how it’s produced. Othello v. Iago: a classic battle between the soul of integrity and the heart of darkness begins and ends with these two.
Sundown Collaborative in Denton is a fledgling theatre company with vision firmly focused on an honest prize – the creative realization of genuine art. The company’s production values and amenities are minimal, the faithful exploration and enactment of its chosen theatrical text exemplary. In their current modern dress adaptation of Othello the dynamic, convoluted, enmeshed relationship created by Andrew Aguilar in the title role and Sean Ball as his ensign Iago rivet the audience’s attention from unsettling start to chaotic finish.
Aguilar is a stocky, broad-shouldered actor with a commanding, patrician presence and vibrant, healthy aspect. It’s easy to imagine him as a noble Moorish general, equally at ease in command of his soldiers or genially circulating at Venetian state affairs where his dark complexion would lend exotic appeal and gain female admirers. In contrast, Sean Ball is a slight man, fair haired and pale complexioned. His agitated awkwardness and homespun speech patterns immediately establish him as a lower class, opportunist grunt. He’s exceedingly ambitious, frustrated to obsessive rage by Othello’s promotion of career soldier-bureaucrat Cassio (played with convincing workmanlike soldierly demeanor by Drew Maggs) to a position of authority instead of his more worthy self. Ball’s Iago weaves his revenge plot, entrapping the unsuspecting Othello, with chilling, credible precision. Ball creates Iago as a man who advances his interests by masterful manipulation and narcissistic will. He’s venial, predatory, reptilian, a conjurer of evil subterfuge. He dances around Othello like a feral beast silently stalking its prey, priming the precise moment to sink his fangs in with dissembling guile. Aguilar plays Othello as grounded and logical, a straightforward leader who sets high conduct standards for himself and expects his soldiers to follow suit without question. Blind to the target he makes of himself, Aguilar’s Othello never suspects Iago’s treason; it’s just not in his noble nature. The fine-tuned symbiosis between these actors exhibits a level of nuance and sophistication that would be admirable in performances by more mature, experienced actors. Both men are currently UNT students; their portrayals are solid accomplishments and reflect as well on director/ adapter and recent UNT graduate David Hanna.
In his director notes, Hanna says, “We had to look for a common truth between Shakespeare’s present and our own…to make Othello our own. Our Othello parallels the current conflict in the Middle East, not to take a political stand, but to connect Shakespeare’s tragedy to our own time.” Hanna believes the play’s essential emotion, unbridled jealousy, drives all the action and its resulting destruction. He keeps his main actors focused on their internal emotional struggles and allows the action to explode forth naturally as logical result of their pent up, conflicting motives and desires. The surging ebb and flow, reflective moments smacked up hard against fast-played scenes of intense physical violence, keep the play far from any static declamatory ambience.
The balance of Hanna’s cast, most UNT students and some in first stage appearances, work effectively as an ensemble. Lauren Rosen gives a particularly haunting performance as the doomed Desdemona, revealing strength and passion along with brave resignation as her death approaches. Hers is no simple ingénue portrayal. Cody Lucas as Desdemona’s dim-witted, petulant suitor, the secondary character Roderigo, mirrors Iago’s overblown jealousy on a diminutive scale, bringing out its ludicrous, petty aspects and contrasting with the deeper tragedies of the deaths of Othello and Desdemona. Lucas captures the essence of his pitiful character, even with limited stage time or lines.
Occasionally the modernized adaptation bogs down in translation or the background sound/music overpowers the actors’ voices. Small complaints about a valid effort to bring a major tragedy triumphantly to life on stage. Sundown Collaborative strives “to provoke thought and incite discussion”; their Othello warrants much contemplation and spirited exchange.
Othello continues Wednesday May 20, Thursday May 21 and Friday May 22 at 8pm
Greenspace Arts Collective
529 Malone Denton, TX 76201
www.sundowntheatre.com
CAST:
Othello: Andrew Aguilar
Iago: Sean Ball
Desdemona: Lauren Rosen
Emilia: Kristy Riffle
Cassio: Drew Maggs
Roderigo: Cody Lucas
Duchess/Bianca: Sarah Dowling
Montano: Ben Darling
Lodovico: Sam Harless
Brabanzio: Daniel Tuttel
Music & Sound:
Prelude – “Black Betty” by Nick Cave
going into II.i – “4th of July” by Soundgarden
II.ii (party) – “Yu-Gung (Remix)
going into III.i – “Is She Weird?” by The Pixies
III.iii (marriage ceremony) – “Lux Aeterna/Convergence” by Johnny Greenwood
opening Act 2 – “Wings Off Flies” by Nick Cave
IV.ii – “Falshgeld
V.i (fight scene) – “Ich Bins”
red scene in V.ii – “Tropar”
Curtain Call – “Mea Culpa” by Brian Eno and David Byrne
Attributing human thoughts and emotions to feline or canine animal companions can become a suspect and saccharine endeavor. But not always. The folks at Water Tower Theatre should be grinning like Cheshire cats with the regional premiere of Kenny Finkle’s engaging domestic short hair romance Indoor/Outdoor in their main performance space. It’s got them sitting smack dab in the catbird seat.
Jessica Cavanagh Wiggers, Regan Adair: Oristano photo
Indoor/Outdoor had its world premiere in 2004 at the Hangar Theatre in Ithaca, New York and has played to sold out houses on both US coasts. Finkle, an award-winning graduate of Columbia University’s MFA Playwriting program, started writing the play in 2002. “I had the idea to write a play about my cat (or rather several of the cats I’ve known in my life) for almost a year before this. I thought a play about a cat was a very, very, very bad idea. But the story kept coming back to me.” During the first act, the play feels faintly derivative, almost like a cat lover’s answer to that doggone guaranteed moneymaker Sylvia. Introduced by alpha tabby Samantha (played by earnest, energetic Jessica Cavanagh Wiggers, clad throughout in t-shirt, jeans and tennis shoes), the play chronicles her nine lives’ span filled with anthropomorphic adventures, from whiskers to tail. Lonely codependent geek boy Shuman (created with convincing understatement and dowdy, Hugh Grant-like rumpling by regional comic lion Regan Adair) adopts Samantha from the local shelter to fill a void in his life. Frustrating love and isolation issues result. Act One purrs along at a sit-com predictable rate, entertaining more because of the high caliber of acting and clean staging then the script’s content. Then the evocative claws come out.
“I realized I wasn’t really writing about my cats at all but that I was writing about my own relationship with my partner and how challenging, thrilling, and surprising that was to me. And so I kept going deeper and deeper.” Enter fang-flashing, New Age animal empath Matilda, with authoritative clairvoyance as portrayed by statuesque, husky-voiced Renee Krapff, and a feral feline amour named Oscar, played by lean, muscular Joey Folsom in his WTT debut with an accent, attitude, wardrobe and physicality that could emerge from the Broadway musical CATS. Folsom’s Oscar struts in un-neutered and unfettered nonchalance, refreshingly straightforward compared to the other three characters. With the second pair’s arrival, Indoor/Outdoor launches into high farce crescendo with surprising emotional depth and unexpected plot twists. Fur flies and impeccable comic timing zings as the four engage in a group counseling “therapy” session conducted by zealot Matilda with mind-boggling intensity. Complications of inter-species communication captivate the full attention of the most catnap prone audience member. It’s delightful. And thought provoking.
WTT director Terry Martin orchestrates superb, balanced ensemble performances from his actors, enlivening four very different characters. Each requires an imaginative leap of faith on the audience’s part to remain credible. Playwright Finkle says, “Indoor/Outdoor for me is about letting go of what the outside world says is right or wrong or how much it’s worth and allowing yourself to trust that you do deserve to love and be loved.” Worldly-wise cats teaching inept humans how it feels to be really human and alive… the play is unequivocally and simply the cat’s pajamas.
Indoor/Outdoor runs through June 7, 2009 at the Addison Theatre Centre, 15650 Addison Road in Addison, Texas. Performance times are 7:30 PM Wednesdays and Thursdays, Fridays at 8:00 pm, Saturdays at 2:00 PM and 8:00 PM, and Sundays at 2:00 PM.
Tickets: 972.450.6232 or online www.watertowertheatre.org
Scenic design is by Michael Sullivan, lighting design by Jared Land, costumes by Barbara Cox and properties by Tish Mussey.
Quotes from Kenny Finkle excerpted from his production remarks on Burbank, CA’s The Colony Theatre website: http://www.colonytheatre.org/shows/indoorOutdoor.shtml
Grapevine groovy: Under the Yum Yum Tree
1960 was a banner year for spectacular Broadway shows with stars at the top of their game. Camelot opened, with Richard Burton and Julie Andrews. Bye Bye Birdie brought a first rock n roll score to Broadway musicals. The Sound of Music, featuring Mary Martin, won the Best Musical Tony. The Fantasticks thrilled off Broadway audiences. A genteel, idealized sense of romance dominated the stage. Lawrence Roman’s bedroom farce Under the Yum Yum Tree, which ran for 173 performances on Broadway starting in late 1960, featuring Dean Jones and Gig Young, offered something fresh and different.
Jill Ethridge, Keith Warren (seated), Shane Strawbridge
Roman’s rather explicit and frank treatment of the emerging sexual mores of the era—“shacking up” and openly “free love”—may have offended some, but it ushered in a new paradigm for American comedy. The New York Times review praised the show, saying Mr. Roman had “a gift for keeping the dialogue lively”. This saucy, slightly dated romance still comes off lively and entertaining, viewing its opening night production at Grapevine’s Runway Theatre. The almost full house buzzed with merry anticipation before the lights came up; the audience chuckled, guffawed and sighed in delight as the scenes unfolded. Rabin and Column award winning Director Chris Robinson assembled a visually appealing cast of recognizable types with well-defined comic skills. The “big” role in the play (played by a disgusted and resentful Jack Lemmon in the 1963 movie version) is that of a lecherous San Francisco landlord named Hogan and requires an actor who can tread the fine line between predatory opportunism and teddy bear vulnerability. Hogan appeals to and seduces a parade of ladies who rent apartments from him, using a carefully assembled bag of hackneyed tricks, predictable macho attire (including a garish, diabolical red suit) and what he clearly considers playboy charm with a much practiced boyish grin. He makes a continuously overbearing pest and fool of himself. Yet he exudes a sort of naïve cuddliness that allows him to gain entry to lots of pre-AIDS concerned boudoirs and makes him, almost unbelievably, a genuine sympathetic character.
It feels as though the role was written for regional comic talent Shane Strawbridge who bounds into it with delicious abandon. He balances both sides of his over the top character like a master juggler, using impeccably delivered comic timing and irrepressible positive energy. The audience can hardly wait to see what sort of new ‘attack’ he launches each time he sneaks or bursts onstage, into the apartment of one of his former conquests. Said former conquest, Irene, re-emerges and manages to inadvertently rekindle passionate flames as a sultry subtext to the main romantic plot. In a role that would look perfectly suited to a youngish Ann Bancroft, director Robinson has cast statuesque, glamorous blonde Staci Cook. Her glare could turn lesser men than Hogan to stone; her voice would command order from a division of randy Marines after a six months assignment on a deserted island. Tossing off pre-women’s lib one-liners like yesterday’s cigarette ashes, she creates the perfect match for Strawbridge’s Hogan and is equally relentless in her narcissistic invasion of the other two characters’ private lives. Local actress Jill Etheridge, pixie and vivacious to the point of hyperactivity, plays the show’s ingénue, Robin. With foreshadowing of the commitment-phobic 70’s, she debates marrying her honorable, devoted, handsome boyfriend. Maybe she should just live with him? And no sex…she’s a proper young lady, after all. As the sole ‘straight’ character in the show, regional leading man Keith Warren cuts a dashingly Cary Grant-wholesome picture as clean cut junior executive Dave trying to repress his natural desires while accommodating his insecure girlfriend’s unreasonable wishes. With the wildly randy behavior erupting around him and Hogan’s non-stop determination to offer him unwelcome ‘conquest advice’, Warren’s Dave struggles valiantly to take control of the situation with hilarious result. Warren’s “adult” delivery and droll expression works well in contrast to Strawbridge’s camped up, juvenile-acting Hogan and makes the romantic pursuit of his scatterbrained ingénue girlfriend really fun to watch. The 60’s costumes are perfect in detail and pastel color scheme (designed by Patsy Daussat). The multi-level chic San Francisco high rise flat makes an ideal playground for the sex-crazed foursome (Dennis Canright design with props by Ryan Mathieu Smith); and the 60’s romantic ballads as background sound provide an ideal torchy ambience (Wendy Bowman).
Feeling nostalgic and a trifle risqué? Under the Yum Yum Tree is the groovy scene to make. Dine out in downtown Grapevine before the show at one of its varied, sophisticated options— it’s a perfect date evening that could lead to…whoever knows what later on?
Under the Yum Yum Tree runs through June 7 at 8:00PM Fridays and Saturdays, 3:00PM on Sundays.
Runway Theatre
215 North Dooley Street
Grapevine, Texas 76051
(817) 488-4842
www.runwaytheatre.com
Flower Mound’s Wiser & Deeper Tuna
If there is truly no rest for the wicked, Rabin and Column award-winning stage director/actor Chris Robinson must be a very naughty boy. He just completed directing the delightful 60’s bedroom farce Under the Yum Yum Tree for Grapevine’s Runway Theatre (running through June 7). Now he’s appearing in the two-actor multiple character comic marathon Greater Tuna at Flower Mound Performing Arts Theatre. Did I mention he co-directed this Tuna production as well? Somebody give this man an award for creative endurance. Talk about living for art.
If you know the play Greater Tuna, it feels comfy as a favorite pair of dusty old cowboy boots. It’s been around the pasture and back, national and internationally speaking; but it’s always a welcome experience. If you aren’t familiar with the show, you’re in for a real treat as you encounter the homespun humor and wisdom of the nineteen denizens of the “third smallest town” in Texas, the fictional Tuna.
In some Greater Tuna productions, the director chooses to emph asize the farcical comedy of the piece with much shtick and gimmickry, dazzling the audience with the speed of costume and character transitions and the campy-ness of portrayals. FMPAT’s is a different sort of Greater Tuna, a wiser and deeper, thoughtfully paced, even reflective, production. Restaged as it is by Chris Robinson and Ryan Roach, with assistance from executive producer Scott Kirkham, this Greater Tuna maintains the humor and madcap pacing but allows the humanity to shine through. What gives this play the universal appeal it has isn’t just its comedy, it’s the deeply felt emotion that underscore the actions and motivations of its loony but believable characters. It’s better appreciated if the laughs just happen as the characters reveal their vulnerabilities and greatest desires. In accomplishing this feat FMPAT scores a genuine winner. Actors Robinson and Roach bring a depth, skill level and obvious joy to their performances that attest to their distinctive professionalism and dedication to performance art.
About Chris Robinson: He recently gave a Column Award winning performance as Natalie Green in Uptown Player’s acclaimed extended production The Facts of Life: The Lost Episode and reprised his role for a special engagement on RSVP Vacation Cruises. Chris has performed in the DFW theater community for over nineteen years, as well as at several regional theaters across the country. Chris has been seen locally at: Uptown Players, Stage West, Runway Theater, Garland Summer Musicals, Oklahoma’s Lyric Theater, and Garland Civic Theater: Chris has also appeared as Al Deluca in three productions of A Chorus Line. In addition to performing, Chris also directs, choreographs, and designs multi-media for many theater companies in DFW. A Rabin and multiple Column Award winner, Chris serves on the board of directors for The Column Awards and produces the multi-media for the ceremony each year.
About Ryan Roach: Charles Ryan Roach makes his FMPAT debut with Greater Tuna. Ryan has performed throughout the DFW area, most recently as Lycus in A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum for WaterTower Theatre, where he has also appeared in Parade and Urinetown: The Musical. Roach’s diverse, encompassing work has received wide acclaim at Theatre Three, Contemporary Theatre of Dallas, Lyric Stage, Theatre Arlington, Stage West, Uptown Players, and Shakespeare Dallas. Roach has served on the Board of Directors for The Column Awards since its inception, and is a graduate of The University of North Texas and The British American Drama Academy’s Midsummer at Oxford program.
Greater Tuna encompasses the interactions of the town’s nineteen residents, ranging from the macho town sheriff to a sulky teenaged girl and her murderous thug brother to the town’s leading matron, its pompous reverend, and the wide-eyed president of the local humane society. All explore aspects of life againstthe backdrop filter of the town’s local radio station, through the perceptions of its radio DJ duo Thurston and Arles. Robinson and Roach create vivid, memorable portrayals and move smoothly through the myriad transitions. Can’t review Greater Tuna without a shout out to its intrepid costume designer, FMPAT’s Ryan Matthieu Smith. Not a hair out of place, every ensemble and funky wig supports both actors in the clear creation of all characters. Smith has designed for many theaters in the Metroplex and has received both Column Awards and Critics Forum Awards for his work. Ryan lives in Los Angeles where he has styled for Rachel Zoe, fashion designer George Clinton, and worked with renowned photographers such as Gilles Bensimon and David Lachapelle. Ryan is also the artistic Director of The Wit Gallery in Dallas. He is currently producing two reality television shows and recently completed the screenplay for The Beautiful People.
Characters, in order of appearance-
Charles Ryan Roach:
Thurston Wheelis
Elmer Watkins
Bertha Bumiller
Leonard Childers
Pearl Burras
R.R. Snavely
Reverand Spikes
Sheriff Givens
Hank Bumiller
Chris Robinson:
Arles Struvie
Didi Snavely
Harold Dean Lattimer
Petey Fisk
Jody Bumiller
Stanley Bumiller
Charlene Bumiller
Chad Hartford
Phinas Blye
Vera Carp
Head down to Greater Tuna for a dose of impeccably timed comedy and the gentle revelation of universal human truth. The show runs through June 7 at the cosy FMPAT performance space at 830 Parker Square in Flower Mound, just west of Lewisville on FM 1171.
Tickets: www.fmpat.org 972-724-2147
Make it an entire evening. Dine ahead of time at one of the finer Parker Square restaurants: http://www.parkersquare.com
Bios excerpted from the FMPAT Greater Tuna show program.
Greater Tuna is written by Jaston Williams, Joe Sears and Ed Howard
Casa on the Money: Always, Patsy Cline
During the music-filled stage fantasy about a fan’s encounter with country/pop singer Patsy Cline, the fan reports Patsy told her: “I don’t want to get rich; I just want to live good.” Maybe Patsy Cline did make that remark, but there’s no question about her estate raking in substantial bucks based on audience attendance and response to Casa Manana’s Always, Patsy Cline running through June 7 at the venerable Ft. Worth venue. Casting film and TV star Sally Struthers as the fan doesn’t hurt either.
Patsy Cline
In addition to Ms. Struthers, the two-act performance features Julie Johnson as the iconic song-stylist. Ms. Johnson graduated from Austin College in Sherman and has had a distinguished career in film, concert and on stage, including on Broadway. Through the evening she sings twenty-seven numbers, some in their entirety. With not much to the show’s plot or dialogue, it’s crucial that the “Patsy” embody enough of the singer’s persona and unique vocal style and interpretation to thrill the audience and carry the show along. Johnson fills the bill. In stature, expression and song, Ms. Johnson offers a smooth, effective presentation, creating a believable Patsy Cline. She inspires spontaneous applause and cheers with her soulful renditions of Cline’s classic repertoire: Crazy, Sweet Dreams, She’s Got You. The show also contains numbers primarily associated with other artists. Although Johnson sings them well, in clear Patsy Cline style, they feel slightly out of place, like filler. Johnson has performed the role of Patsy six times.
Sally Struthers has a charming delivery and strong stage presence, but she doesn’t seem well-suited to the role of Louise, the blue collar divorcee who develops a passion and eventual letter writing friendship with Cline. Antics and predictable shtick dominate the dialogue scenes – often appearing out of context and distracting. Occasionally she delivers what feels like a mechanical line reading, particularly when addressing the audience directly. Her selection of a “random” cowboy audience member to drag up on stage for a dance looked and felt downright phony. Johnson singing as Patsy got shoved aside, hardly fitting playwright Ted Swindley’s intentions. The audience guffawed, but the scene came off as awkward and staged, not spontaneous. Struthers’ costuming as Louise in no way flatters her, makes her look dwarf-like, freakish, with heavy hanging hair blocking much of her face. It’s not a convincing, comfortable performance from someone with a lifetime of sterling accomplishment including Emmy and Golden Globe Awards. Why is someone of Struthers’ caliber and background touring the summer musical circuit in this role?
Accompaniment, adding much needed vitality to the production, is provided with panache and accuracy by a six-piece band: W. Brent Sawyer on piano/ conducting, James Aaron on steel guitar, Rex Bozarth on upright bass, Drew Lang on percussion, Gordon McCloud on fiddle/guitar and Kim Platko on guitar. They provide excellent back up to Julie Johnson’s superior singing.
Always, Patsy Cline is a nostalgia hit, pleasing to attend, but offering little substance. Its success indicates the depth and range of musical impact the singer had, in spite of her death in a plane crash at age 30 after a short six-year career span in the 60′s. Die-hard Patsy Cline fans will adore Julie Johnson in this production. Newbies will enjoy the music, the light-hearted banter and maybe become Patsy fans, as well. And the Cline estate? Makes out like a bandit.
Always, Patsy Cline runs through Sunday June 7 at Casa Manana in Ft. Worth.
Tickets: 817.332.2272 or http://www.casamanana.org/summer/patsy.html
http://www.casamanana.org
Days of Wine and Roses at Rover Dramawerks
Wow. A two act infomercial, relentlessly torchy, about the nightmare of alcohol abuse and the shining hope Alcoholics Anonymous offers. Stage-worthy entertainment? “You’d be surprised how much fun you can have sober” exclaims newly sober drunk Joe, clutching his little red book, to remorselessly plastered wife Kirsten near the end of Act II in Days of Wine and Roses, by JP Miller.
Fun like a dead barrel of monkeys.
How does a theatre company select its shows? More specifically, why would Plano’s Rover Dramawerks select something so labored and preachy, so utterly depressing, no matter how well intentioned? I never saw the 1962 film, starring Jack Lemmon, Lee Remick, and Charles Bickford. My only previous encounter with the work is the hysterical send-up skit of it Carol Burnett did on her weekly television show. Frankly, I prefer her version. Over the top works better for laughs. Come on, guys. There are so many fine works of stage drama out there that deal with alcohol and its detrimental effects on people’s lives; just because your mission is to “produce lost or forgotten works of well-known authors” doesn’t justify dredging up a trite downer like this play, an adaptation of a 1958 teleplay turned into a not-so successful Jack Lemmon vehicle. I asked Rover Dramawerks’ house staff if this was chosen as part of some sort of partnership with the city of Plano re: alcohol awareness, a social cause. Nope. Artistic merits.
I hate to see a good company waste its time (and money) and the talents of a strong director and a capable, if lost, cast on a play with a dated, wooden, soap opera bad script and predictable proselytizing plot. It even ends with main character Joe mumbling the Serenity Prayer. No chorus of angels? It’s not that I object to the prayer or its sentiments. Nor to the good work AA does. This play would drive one to drink if one didn’t already imbibe.
When this pet project of JP Miller’s emerged in 1958, he received high acclaim for the clear dramatization of Alcoholics Anonymous meetings (still a mystery in the early 1950s). The teleplay received strong praise for its non-glamorized examination of the alcoholic’s life descent. The New York Times’ Jack Gould raved in his review. “It was a brilliant and compelling work… Mr. Miller’s dialogue was especially fine, natural, vivid and understated. Miss (Piper) Laurie’s performance was enough to make the flesh crawl; yet it also always elicited deep sympathy. …Mr. (Cliff) Robertson achieved first-rate contrast between the sober man fighting to hold on and the hopeless drunk whose only courage came from the bottle.” Rover Dramawerk’s script (maybe not the teleplay’s?) is so stiff and trite it’s hard for the actors to look like anything but stereotypes of what a “drunk” should be. Kind of like watching “Reefer Madness” – perhaps it had relevant impact for its time, hard to take it seriously today, much less sit through it.
A note to parents of young children, like the ones with bored babes whimpering, sneezing and rustling two rows below me tonight:
This play is not for kids. Do not bring them with you. Get a babysitter. Or, rent the 1962 movie and stay home.
The cast: Jim Croall, Heather Hill, Erik Knapp, Daphne Coulonge, James Hansen Price, Robin Daphne Coulonge, Greg Hullett, Dana Harrison.
The director: Lisa Devine.
Bless you all; you certainly put forth honest effort. I hate writing negative reviews.
Days of Wine and Roses runs through June 21 at the Cox Building Playhouse in Plano
Tickets: www.roverdramawerks.com
On the Receiving End: Water Tower Theatre
“Let’s give this another try….”
The Receptionist at Water Tower Theatre delivers a mind-bending paranoia punch, and I don’t mean the saccharine kind served from a crystal bowl. It’s a wallop you don’t see coming. This one act play gives the idea of “being present and accountable” startling new meaning.
During the 2007-2008 New York theatrical season, Adam Bock’s dark comedy with savage underlying social commentary was produced Off Broadway at the Manhattan Theatre Club. “I was the temp receptionist at a temp office. Then I got a job as a receptionist at a design firm in San Francisco and worked there for three years. I discovered I have a facility for it. Most people can’t do it….
The Receptionist is) about how people work, and how your work impacts you.” But there’s more.
This one clever hour jolt opens, innocently enough, on a middle management office boss, Mr. Raymond, (Randy Pearlman) sitting downstage center in a chair under an intense light, delivering a monologue to unknown persons about hunting rabbits and the finer points of fly-fishing. Pretty jolly fellow, pretty innocuous monologue. Except there is something a trifle unsettling about him; several lines seem out of context, like his conclusion. “Let’s give this another try….”
The scene immediately widens to reveal a pleasant, generic blah office with blah wall art and blah office music (exquisitely executed by Clare Floyd Devries). The office receptionist, Beverly, (Nancy Sherrard) captures audience attention and never lets go. She launches into a non-stop rapid-fire mixed monologue conversation with multiple incoming phone calls and several in person arrivals. Director Marianne Galloway has fine-tuned this performance to thrum like a Stradivarius violin. Sherrard hits every beat, phrase and chord, from the tilt of an eyebrow to the motherly pause with an anxious phone-caller to the sympathetic ear for an officemate in romantic distress, like a first chair violinist. When does she breathe? Her portrayal is an unforgettable triumph, full of humor, pathos, diffidence and gossipmonger all at one time. Playwright Bock should see this keen realization. “I wanted to write about somebody who had to manage a whole bunch of different kinds of language,” he says. “She has to talk one way to someone she doesn’t know, another way to someone she knows but doesn’t like, another way to a friendly person, another way to someone walking in. I thought it would be great to watch an actress have to quickly shift between all those different languages.”
Enter Beverly’s office mate Lorraine, ever late, same lame excuse, always blubbering about her narcissistic boyfriend and her codependent inability to shed him. Jennifer Pasion brings a genuine quality to this role, even with its farcical behavior and laugh lines. Every office has a ditsy gal like Lorraine. Shortly after, “main office” three-piece suit guy Martin arrives for an appointment with Mr. Raymond but finds himself drawn into a silly flirtation with Lorraine. Robert McCollum’s smooth style and wholesome good looks present a predictable up and comer’s demeanor. Warm smile, polite, charming. Yet, there’s something disturbing about him, intangible, lurking, hard to shake off.
That’s all I’m saying. Other than The Receptionist is the tightest script on the boards, with some of the crispest ensemble acting and well-defined direction in Dallas today. Coming full circle, at the play’s conclusion, the sense and context of Mr. Raymond’s opening monologue hit with a thud, considering Pearlman’s deceivingly innocent delivery. Adam Bock says he wrote this one-act “in response to the politics of the time, 2006/2007”. Artistically speaking, it whisks the audience into a unexpected twilight zone. “Let’s give this another try”, shall we?
Water Tower Theatre’s The Receptionist runs through June 21, 2009 in the Studio Theatre at the Addison Theatre Centre, 15650 Addison Road in Addison, Texas.
Performance times are Thursdays at 7:30 PM, Fridays and Saturdays at 8:00 PM, and Sundays at 2:00 PM. Tickets are $20.
WTT Box Office: 972.450.6232 or online at www.watertowertheatre.org.
Quotes from Theatre Development Fund’s “Live NY Performances” page
Bring it on! Trinity Shakespeare
It’s time to leap for joy, fans of classical theatre. This past week Fort Worth’s revitalized Trinity Shakespeare Festival sprang forth fully formed, like Athena from the head of Zeus. It’s a bold birth, ready to make dynamic artistic statements and enliven the words of Western culture’s leading playwright with a vision that connects the Bard’s texts to the modern world. Under the guidance of T.J. Walsh and Harry B. Parker, the 2009 Festival employs two Texas Christian University venues to present combined professional/ student staffed and cast productions of comedy Twelfth Night and tragedy Romeo and Juliet. Not always perfect, they both do admirable justice to the plays and provide high caliber entertainment to full house audiences. No tentative rebirth!
You won’t encounter more masterfully designed, exquisitely beautiful or performance enhancing sets at any regional venue. Twelfth Night, designed by TCU professor and union designer Michael Heil, with credentials ranging across the US, Europe and Asia, creates lyrical magical surrealism on the proscenium-style Buschman Theatre at Landreth Hall. A massive rectangular panel floats upstage at the back of the uncluttered playing space, painted in rich Mediterranean hues to look like sky. It presides over all action and opens up the space with clean linear definition. While clearly man-made, it constantly reminds the audience of the setting’s proximity to nature and the play’s contrasting themes of artifice and truth. Fanciful, stylized, Styrofoam trees frame the playing space and reinforce the clean Mondrian-like linearity of the overall design. Readily movable elements, the actors use these trees to enhance the humor of particular scenes. Like the free-floating sky painting panel, the trees visually reinforce the contrast between the artificial and the real throughout the play. All other set elements are simple and uncomplicated, either carried in and out by actors or softly flown in from above. A whimsical triumph, takes the breath away.
Chiaroscuro, the contrasting use of light and dark elements in pictorial art, comes to mind in the earth-toned, austere reality of the Brian Clinnin set design for Romeo and Juliet on the thrust of the Hays Theatre at TCU’s Walsh Center. It feels like you’ve entered a Caravaggio or Rubens painting set in Verona, with jutting promontory, precarious “balcony” strung taut on wires high above and a rock-filled gutter bisecting the stage, reinforcing the theme of “two houses divided” when it runs red with blood. Without actors, it’s a peaceful scene; yet the shadows and tension created by the looming balcony, the jagged gutter and the downstage promontory portend of disaster to come. With the actors on stage, solo or in stage combat, the wash of “claire-obscure” light envelops them in every moment. Director Alexander Burns and Lighting designer Michael Skinner envisioned together well, arriving at exquisitely evocative stage pictures. The tragic waste of life, the sadness of parental loss, could not be better expressed through light and structural elements, even before the actors speak Shakespeare’s text.
What works on stage?
Twelfth Night: It’s David Coffee’s show as he croons and intones composer Martin Desjardins songs as the court clown Feste. He comes across as part conjurer/ part madman, seems to spin the illusionary tale of romance and mistaken identity. Secondary characters dominate the stage, from J. Brent Alford as irreverent drunk Sir Toby Belch to scheming, lusty Emily Gray as Maria, to indefatigable Daniel Frederick, clearly favored by the audience, who makes a completely geeky donkey of himself with reckless, joyful abandon any time he strides on stage. David Fluitt creates an unforgettable, suffering steward Malvolio, Shakespeare’s satirical depiction of the Puritan opportunists running amok at Elizabeth I’s court at the time. (Stephen Colbert has nothing on the Bard in the way of incisive character assassination.) Trisha Miller Smith has some lovely moments as Countess in mourning Olivia. I wish she had stronger lead portrayals to act against, so her transition from shrewish mourner to impassioned lover could become more clearly drawn.
Romeo and Juliet: Kelsey Milbourn delivers up a feisty, vibrant and eminently lovable Juliet; I wish she were cast with Montgomery Sutton, Romeo from Shakespeare Dallas’ recent production. Once again, secondary characters provide the most interesting, worthy portrayals: Emily Gray as the chatterbox, seedy Nurse and David Fluitt as Friar Lawrence deserve an entire play to themselves for their intriguing performances; Desmond Ellington makes a sympathetic, feckless Paris, and Bryan Pitts evokes a noble command as the frustrated Prince. Mercutio’s spellbinding “Queen Mab” speech seems unfocused and inconsequential as delivered. Tybalt, the “villain” of the play comes across more like Snidely Whiplash than a tragic hothead caught up in a pointless feud. This is such a stunning play it’s easy to overlook some less than inspired interpretations. For the production visuals—set, costume, light, stage pictures, stage combat by Eric Domuret and for Richard Frohlich’s entrancing sound design – ”it’s all one.”
Welcome back to life, Trinity Shakespeare. You’re needed; your aspirations and accomplishments are honorable. I’m delighted to see such enthusiastic, engaged audiences. Bring it on!
Trinity Shakespeare Festival runs at TCU through June 28, with Twelfth Night and Romeo and Juliet in repertory.
Tickets:
817-257-5770
boxoffice@trinityshakes.org
Hitch a death-defying ride: The Ochre House
“Time is precious and there’s no accounting for it.” So sayeth the writer iconoclast Hunter S. Thompson who suicided at his Colorado retreat on February 20, 2005. Pretty mild comment for a guy who hung out with Hells Angels, was a liberal poster child for the NRA and regularly pissed off the media establishment with his scintillating, irreverent Rolling Stone features (23 years’ worth). Hunter S. Thompson defies pigeonhole categorization from the git-go. Anybody who tries to capture his essence in stage portrayal submits to a freak show funny-house experience from Hell in just trying to keep up with the energy and free associative thought patterns of this mad genius. Hitch a ride with Matthew Posey’s Ochre House production of 14 Death Defying Acts: An Autopsy of Hunter S. Thompson. I dare you to survive it without altering your perception of the universe….
Matthew Posey as Hunter S. Thompson
GONZO JOURNALISM: it’s on the books, named in honor of an article Thompson penned in 1970. It’s a narrative journalism style that thrusts a defiant metaphorical finger in the faces of sanitized AP writers everywhere. Subjective experience, slice of life, first person perspective, facts be damned. Let the reader live the experience as the words spill from the writer’s pen. Jump right into the FUBAR mess of it. Thompson handily set the editorial world on edge and booted it right off a cliff. That’s exactly what Matthew Posey’s production accomplishes. And how. Pass me another American Spirit with that tequila shot. The fourth one.
Scene opens with Hunter (Posey) alternating between typing madly on a worn typewriter and searching his hot pillow hotel room for more pills and booze to get lit. He needs to get to LA. He’s joined in short order by three characters: Gonzo, a puffy, pallid version of the writer who looks like he stepped out of an Elvis Presley Convention, post 1970 (Xander Aulson); seedy, smacked out Leach (Kevin Grammer) with his “girlfriend” an inflated rubber titty lady he alternates between mauling, abusing and cooing over; and Juan, Thompson’s real life son (Ross Mackey) who comes attached to a wailing electric guitar and seems oblivious to his dad’s peculiar ways. They cram themselves into a “car” of sorts, with booze and pills a plenty; the road trip to LA ensues, at least in Hunter’s mind. Highway footage upstage projected behind them manifests the travelogue. You don’t need to be a genius to figure out that Gonzo and Leach are versions of Hunter, at various life stages and altered states of inebriation or drug-induced madness. Posey as Thompson seduces the mind as he drones gonzo gab non-stop, while manning the wheel. Sometimes the cast changes places in the speeding car when different aspects of Thompson rise to the forefront of chatter. Gonzo journalism as living art. Surely Thompson is leering down from some far-off constellation, fried to the gills, old typewriter at hand, laughing and spitting and cursing his approbation in one foul-mouthed cigarette-stale breath. Ha! If you’re a writer, you’ll go home itching to flick on the computer and not look up for hours. If you’re a boozer or into pills, you’ll stop off on the way home to stock up. If you’re a virgin voyeur, you’ll have a baptism you won’t soon forget. Don’t pray you can escape, once you’ve settled into your seat. Why would you want to? It feels better than first time sex on cocaine and is totally legal. The mood-enhancing music, the off kilter lighting, the relentless, raging voice of Thompson pounding words into your head, best sensually provocative yet literary high in town.
Hunter S. Thompson died at his self-described “fortified compound” known as “Owl Farm” in Woody Creek, Colorado, at 5:42 p.m. on February 20, 2005, from a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head.
14 Death Defying Acts: An Autopsy on Hunter S. Thompson
Written, directed and performed by Matthew Posey
Runs through June 27, Wed.-Sat. @ 8:15 PM
THE OCHRE HOUSE
825 Exposition Ave., Dallas TX 75226
TICKETS: $15.00 (cash or check at the door)
FOR TICKET RESERVATIONS: (214) 826-6273; theochrehouse@gmail.com
King & Us: a triumph, no puzzlement
Like falling in love at first sight…within the first couple of minutes of the entrances of Mrs. Anna (Luann Aronson) and The King of Siam (Joe Nemmers) in Lyric Stage’s The King and I, the audience finds itself smitten. Good thing, too. This is an unforgettable production, resplendent with a wide array of vocal power, imagination-sparking visual imagery, masterful choreography and the Rodgers & Hammerstein Organization’s original Robert Russell Bennett’s orchestration for thirty-five-piece orchestra. What a let down if Mrs. Anna and the King didn’t strum audience heart strings with full resonance. This show’s a winner in every aspect.
Luann Aronson, Joe Nemmers: James Jamison photo
It’s the first time since 1951 that any audience has seen or heard The King and I as it was fully envisioned. Bruce Pomahac, Director of Music for The Rodgers & Hammerstein Organization describes the re-creation process, “For four years we’ve been tracking down and examining the original Broadway scripts, scores and instrumental parts in order to put back into the show pieces of the puzzle that have been missing for over fifty years.” To see this musical performed by Lyric Stage’s 2009 cast feels like how it must have during an earlier era when the musical theatre art form dominated the imaginations and tastes of a performance-hungry public. Opening night’s full house adored and cheered and wept over this stunning re-creation. What a score—full, rich, enhanced with tuba and harp and percussive elements, it results in an orchestration that illustrates, foreshadows, accents and sets the tone for a dynamic story of love and transformation.
The believable characterizations and engaging chemistry of Anna and the King of Siam as portrayed by Aronson and Nemmers facilitate the triumph. Ms. Aronson exudes a calm, lady-like grace, and a steady confidence attesting to character and life experience. It makes her a commanding figure, even swathed in the restrictive bodice and huge hoop skirts of late 19th century Western culture, a “burka” of sorts. At the same time, she reveals vulnerability, a modern, human side, so easy to relate to today. Her vocal technique and interpretation are impeccable. Her “Getting to Know You” is as full of warmth and personal delight in addition to lyrical voicing as her “Hello, Young Lovers” reveals the mature sorrow of a widow still capable of deepest passion. This sets the audience up to understand her ultimate entrancement with the King of Siam. And what a king Joe Nemmers creates. Slightly shorter than Aronson, Nemmers dominates the stage through force of personality. He possesses the regal bravado of a caring, intelligent man deeply committed to leading his people wisely yet more and more confused and overwhelmed by an encroaching world that threatens his entire culture. Nemmers has a complicated challenge. Not only does he have to convey the personal transformations of a man falling in love in spite of himself and learning restraint in dealing with other people without losing regal demeanor and control, he has to overcome its Yul Brynner stereotype. Like Brynner, Nemmers isn’t a powerful singer; but that’s where the similarity ends. He infuses the role with a masculine vitality and endearing innocence that makes him a powerful delight to watch. He’s fresh, as though the role has never been performed before. The audience can’t wait to see his exchanges with Mrs. Anna explode. The spontaneous joy and romantic fire generated by their triumphant “Shall We Dance” deserves encore repetition. The audience is swept away by the revelation of honest attraction as its reality overtakes the King and Mrs. Anna. We are all left breathless. Positively breathless.
The Lyric Stage production of The King and I teems with excellent performances. Adrian Li Donni excels in superior vocal delivery and clearly defined acting as the Concubine TupTim’s illegal lover Lun Tha as if Broadway great Alfred Drake has been reborn. The lovers’ duet “I Have Dreamed”, sung with statuesque, glamorous Jung Eun Kim as TupTim, soars to glorious operatic heights in Act 2, while firmly remaining mainstream musical theater, thanks to the talent and skill of the two performers. The Uncle Tom Ballet with twelve dancers plus eight leads and an onstage percussionist, choreographed by Ann Nieman, is a completely transformational, evocative performance unto itself.
The King and I, considered by Oscar Hammerstein to be “our best work”, is about as politically incorrect as a 1951 musical can be. Yet given the sensitive, respectful staging and interpretation by Music Director Jay Dias and Stage Director Cheryl Denson with a boldly undisguised multi-cultural cast, it makes a potent statement about the clash of incongruent cultures in a fast-paced modern world. We in the Dallas/Ft. Worth region are so lucky that the National Endowment for the Arts saw fit to award Lyric Stage with a grant to mount this magnificent production. Please don’t miss The King and I. It’s no “puzzlement” that it’s a stunning success.
Performances of The King and I continue June 25, 26 and 27 @ 8:00 PM and June 28 @ 2:30 PM. Performances are in the Irving Arts Center’s Carpenter Performance Hall, 3333 N. Mac Arthur Blvd, Irving, Texas. Tickets, priced from $20-$50, are available online @ www.lyricstage.org or by calling 972-252-2787.
Shakespeare Dallas Rides Again
Bonanza, Blazing Saddles, Dallas, Deadwood…and Shakespeare Dallas, all in one ten-gallon mental picture? Yeehaw. Shakespeare Dallas turns on the heat this summer with fetching Western-style stagings of two of the Bard’s best: The Merry Wives of Windsor TX and The Taming of the Shrew. Theatre companies across the country spend considerable energy and time re-imagining Shakespeare’s works in novel ways to make them appealing and readily accessible to today’s audiences. Few do so with Shakespeare Dallas’ comprehensive mastery.
The Merry Wives of Windsor TX erupts as a rip-roaring 60’s era thigh-slapper from its cheesy Olde West storefront set emblazoned with a giant Texas map and a garishly tipsy neon sign sleazily promoting the ‘Garter Inn’ to its toe-tapping hoe-down celebration of marital bliss at Act II’s conclusion. The play’s signature practical jokes, double entendre machinations and marital scheming bound along at unbridled full gallop thanks to the cleverly detailed modern script full of topical references and jokes as adapted by production director Rene Moreno. His re-vision and direction build upon the play’s intrinsic structure, enhancing the scenes and characterizations without losing the original’s sense, even with broad Texan accents. Added musical numbers and current motif innovations foster hilarity. The surprise “Dating Game” send-up at Act I’s conclusion, hosted by the lascivious Nurse Mistress Quickly (comic talent Kara Torvik-Smith in virtuoso form), makes delightful use of Shakespeare’s comical dueling suitors. Act II’s torchy 70’s style pop love song, worthy of Lionel Ritchie, delivered in dulcet tones here by handsome crooner Joseph Maddox, decked out in a snow-white suit with cherry-hued follow spot and choreographed groupies in matching disco-era attire, reflects the Access Hollywood-style nature of the play’s overblown “match-making.” A terrific comparison in modern guise.
Moreno sweeps his large cast of actors on and off the multi-level set as smoothly as Clint Eastwood herding doggies on a ‘Rawhide’ Hollywood cattle drive. Natural, comic stage pictures burst forth in rapid succession with energy and purpose. “Contemplative” monologues, love protestations, thwarted horse and gun play, bodies hustled about in a huge laundry basket, and a stunning Dia De la Muerta “fairy dance” around the Windsor TX Oak Tree keep the laughs and surprises coming fast and loose while unfolding the tale with clarity and definition. The acting ensemble seems to relish the bawdy mayhem they create so effectively. “Straight guy” T.A. Taylor as the cuckolded Mr. Ford, Drew Walsh as an ingenious, ingenuous Boy Scout, Constance Gold Parry and Kateri Kale as “merry wives” fresh off the page of a Danielle Steele novel, and Christian Taylor as unwilling marriage suitor Slender, the play’s ‘Nancy boy’ dressed as an unholy cross between Andy Warhol and Lyle Lovett, all entertain and honor the text. Aaron Roberts as love besotted, murderous French physician Dr. Caius and Michael Johnson as meddling Irish priest Hugh Evans interject yet another layer of utter silliness into the play, along with managing understandable ‘furrin’”accents. Bradley Campbell is perfectly cast as unbearably pompous, self-impressed John Falstaff; a master of nuanced delivery and physical comedy, his well-honed skills work handily with director Moreno’s over-the-top vision.
The Taming of the Shrew, directed by Shakespeare Dallas’ Artistic Director Raphael Parry, presents equally compelling potential for an Old West realization and is handsomely mounted. Directed as a farcically light melodrama, the production struggles to find a modicum of balance between stylized physicality and more serious themes. A darker play dealing with multi-layered human emotion and issues, Shrew loses impact enacted as a farce. Kate’s capitulation speech at Act II’s conclusion felt particularly awkward with this treatment; Kate (Lydia Mackay) appeared ill at ease throughout the production. Petruchio’s distractingly odd costume as the Easter Bunny in the wedding scene in no way enhanced the play or helped in his character’s development. The choice seemed inserted for cute effect, not for coherence or plot illumination. Ian Leson made an intriguing, laid back, Petruchio in his sexy Paladin black attire, minus typical bluster and fury. I would have preferred viewing him in a production where the dramatic co-existed with the comic. It was pleasant to see the ingénue role of Bianca played with piquancy and spunk by the well-cast Danielle Pickard, instead of sappy compliancy; her Bianca also seemed better suited to a different production. It’s an attractive presentation even if the style fights the play’s sense.
Shakespeare Dallas rides again and proves that it’s worth enduring an evening of lawn sittage, excessive perspiration and bug spray for a healthy dose of The Bard.
The Merry Wives of Windsor TX runs Wednesdays, Thursdays and Fridays through July 24. The Taming of the Shrew runs Tuesdays, Saturdays and Sundays through July 25 at the Samuell-Grand Amphitheatre off Grand Avenue in Dallas.
Tickets: www.shakespearedallas.org, 214-559-2778
PHOTO: Constance Gold Parry, Bradley Campbell, Kateri Cale in The Merry Wives of Windsor TX
Review as submitted to lakewood-now.net
Theatre Three’s Americana Song
A folk song is what’s wrong and how to fix it or it could be
who’s hungry and where their mouth is or
who’s out of work and where the job is or
who’s broke and where the money is or
who’s carrying a gun and where the peace is.
– Woody Guthrie
On the heels of its much praised landmark production of Kurt Weill’s Lost in the Stars, Dallas’ Theatre Three launched performances of a tribute to iconic American folksinger Woody Guthrie in the intimate Theatre Too space on June 19, 2009. Strong on tunes and light on biographical detail, Woody Guthrie’s American Song reflects the prolific songsmith’s connection to the working classes of the United States through an ensemble of five men and three women, singing while accompanying themselves on a range of acoustic musical instruments in a humble setting.
L-R: Daniel Svoboda, Alexander Ross, and Willy Welch
Deemed the “original folk hero” by the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame when inducted into it at its 1988 opening, Woody Guthrie spent much of his life touring the country vagabond-style from east to west, observing ‘real folks’ and commenting on their trials and tribulations through his unique musical ballad style of song. Twenty-four homespun, heartfelt tunes, some better known than others, fill the two act span of this production, as the ensemble strolls in and out, solo or in twos and threes, while the remaining cast members casually attend each other’s performances seated or standing about the space. It’s easy to imagine how Guthrie entranced transient workers gathered around hobo town campfires from the engaging presentation style of the production. The June 22 audience clapped and sang along when invited by the performers (Do Re Mi”, “So Long, It’s Been Good to Know Ya”, “This Land Is Your Land”) and appreciated the depth and forthrightness of the musical revue unraveling before them.
Theatre Three’s ensemble transitioned seamlessly from one number to the next, with each voice featured in outstanding solo moments or blending well in harmonic interplay. Sheryl Etzel, Doug Jackson, Natalie Wilson King, Arianna Movassagh, Alexander Ross, Daniel Svoboda, Willy Welch and Christina Harpine on fiddle comprised the cast. Alexander Ross’ soulful interpretation of “Dust Storm Disaster” and Natalie King’s rousing rendition of “Union Maid” stood out as particularly representative of the Guthrie spirit at opening night’s performance; all singers brought their varied slices of Americana to vivid life with guitar, banjo, piano, bass and mandolin accompaniment.
NEA grant recipient playwright Peter Glazer, the creator and original director of Woody Guthrie’s American Song, came by his interest in the subject naturally. A 60’s born son of parents deeply involved in the political labor movement, his father Tom was a folksinger contemporary of Guthrie’s. Glazer conceived of and created the work in the late 80’s, partly in backlash to the Reagonomics-based greed of the era. Since 1988, the musical revue has been produced in more than seventy-five theaters around the country, winning rave reviews and numerous awards along the way, including three Bay Area Theater Critic’s Circle Awards for productions at Berkeley Repertory Theater and San Jose Repertory Theater. “Woody’s material is seductive in any time,” Glazer said. “It resonated in its moment many decades ago as well as the late 80′s. It isn’t any less seductive given the climate it appears in, and that’s its beauty. I didn’t want to strip it of politics,” he said, “but I didn’t want the audience to forget they were dealing with theatrical entertainment [either].”
Theatre Three’s production of Woody Guthrie’s American Song continues through July 26 at the intimate Theatre Too space, ideal for enjoying this production.
Tickets: 214-871-3300 or on-line: www.theatre3dallas.com
Photo Credit: Ken Birdsell
CTD’s Chapter Two: No Simple Simon
I am not much of a fan of Neil Simon’s plays, but I try to remain open-minded if I review one. Contemporary Theatre of Dallas’ current production of Simon’s Chapter Two should thrill true-blue Neil Simon devotees. Don’t let my ambivalence deter you.
Marcia Carroll, Scott Latham: George Wada photo
Simon wrote this two couple comedy with dark overtones in 1977 after he moved to California, which may explain its rapid succession of short cinematic-like scenes. The entire first act is a string of such short scenes, all expository in nature. I found myself wondering when the prologue would end and the action begin.
The play is billed as semi-autobiographical. Simon, a widower, had recently wooed and married actress Marsha Mason. In this play the main character, a successful middle-aged novelist, has problems getting over the death of his first wife and meets, woos and marries a soap opera divorcee on a whirlwind whim. When the play was adapted for film in 1979, Marsha Mason played the part of the second wife, which must have felt odd.
In CTD’s current production, ever-capable director Cynthia Hestand has assembled a strong cast of regional actors very suited to the characters they portray. Quick study Scott Latham plays novelist George with a steady ease and familiarity that belies the fact he took on the role a scant two weeks before opening, when the original actor became ill and had to withdraw. Lots of initiatory lines, some non sequitur, scads of complicated blocking—it’s rewarding to watch a real pro negotiate those challenges sans bobble and make it look like he’s had a full rehearsal schedule to grow into his role. Opposite him as the soap opera actress Jennie is the well-versed and nationally experienced Marcia Carroll. The chemistry clicks immediately between the pair, thanks to their complimentary skills and director Hestand’s firm grip on Simon’s wordy script. Jennie spends a lot of time fussing, whining and groveling, once she marries George. She never lets up. With a lesser actor, the profusion of codependent dialogue would have been hard to take. There is a shockingly unexamined and out of character surprise in Act II—stage violence — Jennie slaps George twice, hard; he then knocks her to the floor. Did Simon really write it that way? Did he find spousal abuse funny? The actors pick themselves up and go on with the scene, never discussing the violent outburst or altering their relationship in any way because of it. I never could relax afterwards, wondering if/when the abuse might emerge again.
As comic contrast, Jennie’s best friend Faye attempts to have an extra-marital affair with George’s brother Leo. The well-matched romantic team of Sue Loncar and super-kinetic Ted Wold romp through their scenes, pre-Viagra, providing welcome relief from the narcissism, dismissive cruelty and incessant nattering of the lead couple. Loncar can toss off a pithy comic line with perfect deadpan timing; in Wold she has found a sparkling match. The off-kilter, middle-aged Yin Yang energy generated between Loncar and Wold is worth the price of admission, alone.
Neil Simon’s Chapter Two opened on December 4, 1978 at the Imperial Theatre on Broadway. In January 1979 it moved to the Eugene O’Neill Theatre where it garnered a very respectable run of 857 performances. It was nominated for the 1978 Tony Award for Best Play. Clearly celebrated at its time, today Chapter Two feels over-written; its unexpected episode of spousal abuse veers off a cliff from the rest of the play. CTD’s production team has worked its usual magic with sumptuous set, costumes, sound, lights. The acting ensemble and director could hardly improve upon their performances. Fans of Neil Simon: go to.
Contemporary Theatre Of Dallas’ Chapter Two runs through July 19, Thursdays through Sundays.
Tickets: 214-828-0094, www.contemporarytheatreofdallas.com
DCT: Pocket Full of Dragon Luck
The good folks who run the show at Dallas Children’s Theatre must have their very own Luck Dragon. Americans for the Arts, the national non-profit that advocates for the arts in Washington DC, just announced the 2009 recipients of National Endowment for the Arts grants from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. Close to $30 million in awards (a miniscule sum compared to bank bail-out or military funds) has been designated to support 631 local arts entities nationwide, all affected adversely by the economic recession inherited from the GW Bush administration. Twenty grants went to arts organizations in Texas. Dallas Children’s Theatre has the singular honor of being the only theatre company in the North Texas region selected for inclusion. Rated by TIME Magazine as one of the top five theater companies in the nation performing for youth, the company website says, “Dallas Children’s Theater serves more than 270,000 young people and their families through its main stage productions, national touring company, and education and outreach programs.” A worthy entity to endow with stimulus funds.
Everyone should have a personal Luck Dragon: a fantastic creature with all the beneficial attributes of a unicorn, ET, Tinker Belle and a magic carpet rolled into one. Falkor the Luck Dragon, as created by regional equity actor Gregory Lush, energizes the show in Dallas Children’s Theatre’s current production of German author Michael Ende’s beloved 1979 fantasy hero’s journey tale The Neverending Story. Lush’s Luck Dragon feels real, brims over with such playful enthusiasm and genuine caring; most audience members (adult and child alike) would love to tuck him in a pocket and take him home. Fantasy tales are hard to bring to life on stage, when cinema can do much more with special effects. DCT‘s production is so engaging you forget it isn’t a movie. Balancing colorful visuals as screen projected settings with Kathy Burks’ life-sized Taymor-like multi-cultural puppet magic, DCT Associate Artistic Director and play Director Artie Olaisen creates a believable yet entrancing fantasy reality. His human actors develop interesting characters both easy to relate to and follow. It can be a challenge to hold the attention of today’s youth audience; the rustling and oohing and whispers I heard reflected an audience quite wrapped up in the stage action.
Appropriate for ages seven and up, the tale revolves around life dilemmas faced by a lonely, timid boy named Bastian Bux, played with Harry Potter-like charm and sincerity by Alex Heika, a sophomore at the Chicago College of Performing Arts. Bastian loves books and acquires a strange story “with no end”. As he turns the pages and lives the tale, roaming across the Swamps of Sadness and the Silver Mountains in the world Fantastica, he meets all kinds of creatures of the imagination with lessons to teach. He encounters sorcerers and bats, witches and night hobs, gnomes and spiders, a Childlike Empress (ethereal Heather Pratt), a young earnest hero Atreyu (debut performance by SMU graduate and Dallas Theatre Center associate Andres Ortiz) accompanied by his lovable, loyal horse Artax (Karl Schaeffer) and the scheming, evil Gmork (played with dastardly menace by David Lugo). The 1985 Hollywood film version may have popularized this saga, but the stage adaptation by Canadian playwright David S. Craig and DCT’s production do equal justice in faithful and breath-taking realization. There’s something really special about seeing a fantasy world come flesh and blood alive. Gregory Lush’s brave, winsome, sparkling, ever playful, ever watchful Luck Dragon, with a splendid costume that could rival anything Michael Jackson ever dreamed up, seals the deal.
Celebrate the National Endowment for the Arts’ stimulus grant to Dallas Children’s Theatre by attending this lyrical, imaginative production of a stunning children’s fantasy tale. Maybe you’ll find a Luck Dragon in your pocket? Catch it before it fades away.
Cast includes: Alex Heika, Andrés Ortiz, David Lugo, Douglass Burks, Gregory Lush, Rhianna Mack, Karl Schaeffer, Heather Pratt, Anastasia Munoz, Sally Fiorello
Artistic team: Director – Artie Olaisen; scenic design – Randel Wright; lighting – Linda Blase; costumes – Aaron Patrick Turner; sound – Marco Salinas; puppet design – Kathy Burks Theatre of Puppetry Arts
Tickets: 214-740-0051; www.dct.org
The Neverending Story runs through July 12 with an evening performance on Friday July 10 and matinees July 11 and 12.
Forgotten Wanton: Pope John XII
Absolute Johnny on the spot! Consider it a sin of omission to not attend MBS Productions‘ narrative drama John XII. A unique interweaving of historical fact and torchy romance, the former never lapses into dry and dull while the latter piques the prurient keyhole voyeur in all who attend the enactment mass. Bless me, father, for all your sins…..
Joshua Scott Hancock(l), Kevin Wickersham(r)
Picture this. It’s 956 AD, in Rome, lots of jockeying for power in an unstable state. The feudal lord currently holding sway has just appointed as pope an 18-year-old nobleman, known for “excesses”, not even an ordained priest. The 18-year-old should be easy to manipulate or kill off if he proves a problem. No one considers he might be brilliant at political games, himself, and a master of vicious court intrigue. No one foresees that he could have the charisma and general appeal of a Bill Clinton and earn such adulation from the common people that he becomes a political force to reckon with. Sound like the set up for a risqué historical novel? Fact is, it’s fact.
Mark-Brian Sonna possesses an uncanny ability to ferret out forgotten, unique, historically based situations that lend themselves well to dramatization. This original play, John XII, portrays events re-created from the brief span of time, with even briefer details, that one Octavius became Pope John XII. His edicts set precedent for the separation of church and state, the election of the Pope by a body of Cardinals and the creation of the Pope’s permanent home, The Vatican, on undesirable land at Rome’s then outskirts known as Mt. Vaticanus. Never heard of him? The Church has suppressed his place in history due to his actions, appetites and “excesses.”
The play is no intentional allegory for current US politics, but it’s hard not to spy certain similarities to recent movers and shakers in its characters. The youthful, arrogant, over sexed, rapacious John reveals hints of Tom Delay, Dick Cheney and Bill Clinton, or what they might have been like had they lived in tenth century Italy as one person. Chill your blood? Slim, slight Joshua Scott Hancock, with firm jaw and direct gaze, portrays John XII as a combination budding statesman and utter monster, amoral down to his toenails and obsessed with advancing his own agenda, from the bedroom to the halls of state. You don’t exactly empathize with Hancock’s boyish creation thanks to John’s blatant savagery, but he inspires intrigue as he reveals the inner workings of an absolutely brilliant and unbalanced mind. This is no doddering potentate in training. Want to eliminate a potential threat to the papacy? Have him castrated and let him die of septicemia. With so little historical record to go on, Hancock does an admirable job of creating a tangible, interesting reality. If a repellant one.
As Berengarius, the senior mastermind responsible for appointing John as Pope, tall, gaunt Mike Hathaway defines the play’s context. He schemes to advance his own nefarious goals in the manner of Karl Rove, quiet but lethal. He provides the only real obstacles to the young pope’s success as he towers over him like a crafty, care-worn vulture. In Act One, he appears capable of taking down the precocious upstart. In Act Two he seems to accept John’s out-maneuvering without much fuss. Or does he? A fascinating character as developed by Hathaway, he could warrant his own play separate from John XII. Much lurks beneath the surface of a placid, calm demeanor: do not turn your back. Ever.
John’s sometime lover, dim-witted but devoted, Adalbert, never learns from his stupid mistakes but engages audience pity with the sincerity of his devotion and genuine hurt after John uses and ditches him, in a clean, consistent, utterly human portrayal by Kevin Wickersham. He’s the only sympathetic character in the play and the only one who goes fully nude.
The play’s three other characters are one-dimensional shadows that add atmosphere but advance little, compared to the interactions of John XII with Berengarius and Adalbert. There is already a lot happening here. Still, expanding the role of the senior priest Liutprand, played with barely masked outrage and disdain by David Swanner, would reveal a broader picture of the culture wars and life and death political jockeying of the time, the challenges a young pope faced in making his sweeping changes that still affect governance today. No character reminds one of GW Bush. They think and express themselves much too clearly. Yes, John XII gets done in, but I won’t reveal how.
Tickets available for added Saturday and Sunday matinees: August 1 and August 2 at 2:30 PM
The show will run through Sunday August 2, 2009 at the Stone Cottage Theatre, 15650 Addison Road , Addison TX 75001 . Regular show times are Thursdays through Saturdays at 8 PM .
Tickets:t www.MBSProductions.net or call 214-477-4942.
This play is rated NC-17 for adult language, and male frontal nudity. You must be 18 or older to attend.
PHOTO CREDIT: Bethany M. Hubbard
FIT to be tried: Festival 2009
July in Dallas means it’s time for the Festival of Independent Theatres at the Bath House Cultural Center by White Rock Lake. Cooperative groups of artists without permanent performance spaces unite to bring to life unique, forgotten, overlooked or original one-act productions. Some are plays, others hard to define. All tend to the “edgy”, whether that means socio-artistically inspiring or over a cliff. The well-attended yearly event, now in its eleventh year, surprises and enchants, offers over four weekends something to appeal to or confound the theatrical sensibilities of just about everyone who relishes off the beaten path productions.
Rehearsing The Old Woman in the Wood
What follows is my evaluation of: THE DRAMA CLUB’s The Old Woman in the Wood by the Brothers Grimm, adapted and directed by Jeffrey Schmidt; AUDACITY THEATRE LAB’s Arsenic and Roses by Brad McEntire, directed by Jeff Hernandez; PEGASUS THEATRE’s Know-No by Matt Lyle directed by Kurt Kleinmann; WINGSPAN THEATRE COMPANY’s Seagulls by Caryl Churchill, directed by Susan Sargeant.
The 2008 Bath House Cultural Center website explains that “FIT was created in 1999 as an outlet for smaller companies without a permanent performance space to give them an opportunity to produce seldom seen, new, or avant-garde works. FIT exists to promote awareness and growth of Dallas area theatre through collaboration, participation and cultivation.” Of the four performances viewed so far, one stands out as a sterling example of the FIT mission. Jeffrey Schmidt’s adaptation of The Old Woman in the Wood is a highly imaginative, multifaceted, sometimes confusing adaptation of a lesser-known dark Grimm fairy tale for adult audiences. Interdisciplinary art forms in wide ranging scale intermix through dance, puppetry, percussion, nature, music, song, and magic. Styled almost as a children’s interlude with broadly drawn characters and grotesques, it makes an artistically effective adaptation appealing to adult sensibilities. Maryam Baig Lush creates an intriguing heroine with nuanced vocal technique and precise, stylized movement. John Davenport, as the tree-encased human Lush’s character comes to love, provides fascinating visual and emotive characterization in spite of his “costume’s” movement limitations. The forest setting he is part of looms provocatively, brooding and lyrical, and fully informs the performance space. John Flores uses a wealth of vocal and puppetry skills in expressing and flying an enchanted dove puppet that changes to reflect the main characters’ emotional and psychological growth, a feat of pure metaphorical magic. The production is a lovely “fit” for the venue and festival, hard to imagine in any other setting. And, according to the playbill, the play’s communally designed and constructed set and props are mostly made from found or recycled items. A+ for cooperative creativity on all fronts. The other three productions don’t rise to the same creative level. Perhaps there is good reason for these plays to be “seldom seen.”
Audacity Theatre Lab claims its mission is to develop and produce dynamic new works—“new interpretations” or “incubation and exploration of original works”. Arsenic & Roses offers little more than soap opera-style realism, not much fresh or new about it. Another ho-hum predictable entry in a long line of twenty-something romance and angst plays, this two-person show offers no unique or fresh perspectives on life and love or with the characters presented. Someone needs to let the actors in all three of the following plays know they don’t need to yell, grimace, thrash about or storm around the intimate acting space to be seen, heard and understood. Interesting that the least “realistic” production, the stylized adaptation of a fairy tale, offers layers of nuance and subtlety, whispers and silence, while its more naturalistic companion productions brim over with strain, din and artifice. It’s as though the latters’ performers attended a Loud, Fast & Busy Is Better School of Acting together and hope to outdo each other in declamatory technique. Ouch.
Jeff Swearingen is a sophisticated actor with normally commanding physicality, ill cast and/or poorly directed in Arsenic & Roses. He flounders, sleep-walks the role without conviction. No chemistry develops with Teresa Valenza’s character, no chance for it, given the pretentious overacting and lung exercising she exhibits non-stop. Destroy a dozen roses centerstage at the top of the show, mostly ignore the proliferation of debris, tread all over the petals and stems like they aren’t there the rest of the time? Disappointing, pointless effect. Opportunity lost.
Pegasus Theatre’s director Kurt Kleinmann is known and respected for directing tight, suspenseful, highly stylized, large cast performances on a full-sized proscenium stage set, triumphant feats. Matt Lyle’s surreal script offers Kleinmann the chance to do something entirely different in The Bath House’s quirky semi-thrust intimate space with just two actors. Not an inspired realization, the intentional repetitiveness of the script verges on boring as directed; props are cumbersome and puzzling; the static perimeter set adds nothing to the play’s off kilter fantasy world that the two actors can interact with creatively. A. Raymond Banda has some curious reflective moments, very effective, as he floats in and out of his desires and reality. But Lorina Lipscomb is so busy being “active” and vocally out of control that no believable relationship can develop between the two. She really doesn’t need to shriek to be heard in the space, honest.
Wingspan’s Seagulls has the potential to be an ideal entry in FIT. Eminent postmodernist feminist playwright Caryl Churchill’s 1978 three-person play about an average British woman who gains celebrity status for an unusual talent is full of exquisite imagery and metaphorical language. It’s a delicate dramatic work, exploring the instability and fluctuating self-worth of an everyday housewife turned freakish celeb. Susan Sargeant has a lovely knack for directing such concept plays, so I can’t imagine why her three actors chomp up the text and scenery like hyper-caffeinated fiends. The two women employ English accents—Emily Gray’s native born, Cindy Beall’s painfully not so. Andrews Cope gave an exceptionally heart-wrenching performance as the stuttering Billy Bibbit in Contemporary Theatre of Dallas’ recent One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest. In Seagulls his speech is so garbled and rushed, it’s almost incomprehensible. All three actors race through their lines, again overly loud. They win the white noise competition. It’s not a customary Wingspan Theatre Company performance. Like The Old Woman in the Wood, Seagulls feels quirky enough to be hard to mount outside a festival setting, wish it had been brought to life with the deliberate pacing and artistic nuance of The Drama Club’s original adaptation.
The Festival of Independent Theatres runs through August 8 with festival passes as well as single tickets available. The other plays are: Rite of Passage Theatre Company’s Angry Glances by Clay Wheeler, directed by Christopher Eastland; White Rock Pollution’s Holy Rollers by Edmund Penn, directed by Tom Parr IV; One Thirty Productions’ Under A Texas Canopy by Ellsworth Schave, directed by Larry Randolph; Echo Theatre’s Overtones by Alice Gerstenberg, directed by Brandi Andrade. Please don’t yell, y’all. I beg you.
For tickets, call 214-880-0202
Take Two: FITS 2009
Week Two at the Festival of Independent Theatres held annually at White Rock Lake’s Bath House Cultural Center—here are reviews of three of the four remaining shows.
ECHO Theatre’s Overtones
Often taking on controversial political and social issues of the day and producing them with the savagery of a moose cow in heat, ECHO Theatre focuses on presenting the works of female playwrights. This year’s FITS entry, its eleventh, had its original production in 1915 and comes across a little stale now. Not much new or unique here—concept, script or production. Overtones is considered Chicago-based playwright Alice Gerstenberg’s signature piece. According to the FITS stage notes, “it became her most popular and widely produced play…her legacy to American theatre.” Sigmund Freud had just toured the US with his “new ideas” about the power of the unconscious. The play portrays two properly attired, stuffy Victorian matrons, with alter egos (here in black stretch pants and leotards) flitting about like invisible mosquitoes, while they discuss the prospects of one woman’s painter husband. The Victorian ladies exhibit decorum; the black-clad mosquitoes spout non-stop catty commentary. We get the play’s drift in its first three lines. There is no growth, reversal or transformation. The women were teen-aged rivals for the same man, a painter. One married him; the other now wants to lure him back. The alter egos express the women’s inner desires and feelings, in contrast to the excruciatingly sedate, superficial conversation that takes place over tea. Think The View on an average day with uninhibited loud-mouthed devils lurking over each woman’s shoulder. I found the portrayal of the Victorians too sedate, the alter egos too frenzied. At no moment do we wonder if the two women could become friends or allies. This may have broken new theatrical ground in 1915, but. Isn’t its result exactly where the patriarchy has always endeavored to keep women: at odds with each other? Hardly a proto-feminist statement: divide and conquer…Overtones is directed by regional actor and Echo Theatre producing partner Brandi Andrade in her directorial debut. Cast includes—Tracie Foster, Ginger Goldman, Leslie Patrick, Lauren Paige Patterson. I have high expectations of Echo Theatre.
Rating: C- for production, B for historical interest.
Rite of Passage Theatre Company’s Angry Glances
Lots of well-respected local talent pulled together to help Rite of Passage Theatre Company produce the original play Angry Glances by the company’s producer and Plano native Clay Wheeler. Rite of Passage exists to support young “coming of age” theatre artists. This cast includes regional well-known professionals Charles Ryan Roach and Marianne Galloway and is directed by Baylor graduate Christopher Eastland. The other cast members are newcomers Quinten Quintero, a recent SMU graduate, and Baylor graduate Cassie Bann. All four performers create lively, believable characters and are well suited to their roles. Unfortunately, the play is less than excellent work in process. Far too many short scenes necessitating massive furniture and set changes mar the production, almost to the point of becoming comical. The plot wanders; the dialogue fluctuates between flat realism and heightened melodrama; out of place Shakespearean elements pop up every so often. A bizarre, abrupt, unsatisfying ending finally chops off the continuous moving about of set pieces. This small production proves that excellent actors cannot overcome an inadequate script, no matter how hard they try.
Rating: A for community effort, directing and casting, D- for unworkable script.
One Thirty Productions’ Under A Texaco Canopy
Every year at FITS one company steps up to the plate, digs in its ensemble cleats, takes focused aim, swings with all its creative might and hits a metaphorical home run that knocks creative endeavor far out into the universe. This year it’s One Thirty Productions’ turn.
Morgan Justiss, Shane Beeson: Under A Texaco Canopy
Known for producing traditionally safe afternoon entertainments geared to more conservative tastes, One Thirty’s production of Ellsworth Schave’s magical surrealist Under A Texaco Canopy triumphs with unexpected zest and freshness under the guidance of seasoned director Larry Randolph. The play opens pleasantly, quietly, at a leisurely pace, lulling the audience with its homespun 1950′s quaintness, then veers off into an edge-of-seat surreal treatment of life and death issues through masterfully drawn characters and sheer plot magic. Stan Graner captures the heartfelt essence of Slim, an average man baffled by and deeply disappointed in life with gritty grace and bone-tired physicality. Relish his mid-play monologue about “looking back” as it soars with spirited revelation while torturing him to contemplate and deliver. Newcomer Donny Avery enlivens Slim’s callow, not-so–bright sidekick in almost syncopated contrast to Slim’s darker personality with casual ease. Regional professional Shane Beeson creates a strange protagonist, equal parts unnerving and sympathetic, always intriguing, in full command of his role and the space. Morgan Justiss’ comely, eerie waitress with a heart of steel is tangibly lovable and not exactly of this world at the same time. This is the one to see, folks. Go back to re-savor its delight-filled transformational arc before the festival ends.
Rating: Script, direction, execution, cast, set, FITS mission — A+ across the board.
FITS runs Thursdays through Sundays through August 2, ends Saturday August 8. Tickets: 214-880-0202
PHOTO: Enrique Fernandez C.
Second Thoughts: Some Guy(s)
There’s nothin’ you can do
To turn me away
Nothin’ anyone can say
You’re with me now
And as long as you stay
Lovin’ you’s the right thing to do
Lovin’ you’s the right thing…
I’ve got a prediction and a lament. I’ve seen some fine productions this summer around the DFW region. I predict when fall colors and temperatures afford welcome relief from August’s bleached out sultry frazzle, Second Thought Theatre’s Some Girl(s) by Neil Labute will have proven itself the audience hit of the summer crop.
Jessica Wiggers, Ashley Wood, Lulu Ward, Catherine Dubord
Dallas loves its gorgeous, spunky women, particularly when they’re all decked out in full display – fashionable attire, plenty of visible cleavage, clean-shaven legs in full view up to there, risqué undies on a select few…the ladies of Some Girl(s) don’t disappoint in any such respect. What’s more, director Jonathan Taylor assembled five of the brightest female talents in the DFW pantheon to get down to the thespian business challenge of bringing the various gals to life. Captivating, nuanced, sexy, righteous, vindictive, wounded, vengeful, fully fleshed out, in every sense. Diane Worman, Catherine DuBord, Lulu Ward, Natalie Young, Jessica Wiggers. Eye candy with creative minds ablaze.
I know you’ve had some bad luck
With ladies before
They drove you or you drove them crazy
But more important is I know
You’re the one and I’m sure
Lovin’ you’s the right thing to do
Lovin’ you’s the right thing…
So what’s my lament? Ashley Wood’s portrayal of Guy, the Man, the pivot around which all these fulsome babes swing. Neil Labute writes exquisitely crafted, visually potent plays in which men are sometimes shown to be total jerks. In Guy’s case, he’s more complicated than that. How does Mr. Wood fall short? There’s hardly a woman alive over the age of 35 (unless she married early and hung in with it or joined a reactionary religious cult) who won’t recognize this type of codependent verging on sociopath man. He’s a true love addict, needs a woman’s touch and adoration as much as oxygen. He just can’t function unless he’s leaving one behind and wooing the next one, heart, mind, soul and body, a better one, he hopes, he prays. A goddess to fulfill all his needs.
Hold me in your hands like a bunch of flowers
Set me movin’ to your sweetest song
And I know what I think I’ve known all along
Lovin’ you’s the right thing to do
Lovin’ you’s the right thing
To perfect this serial synchrony, he has developed amazing technique that works every time, almost Pavlovian. Know him, ladies? He’s not the handsomest man at the party, but he’s the warmest, the most empathetic. He looks deep into a woman’s soul with sincere, steady gaze, like no other has done before. His hand brushes hers so softly, or her cheek, or the nape of her neck with non-invasive innocence, sending electric shocks pulsing through her body. It’s how he reels her in. It’s so personal. And oh so calculated. And his lips, a bit moist and slightly parted, just beg for her kisses. Somehow he knows just the right moment to flick them with his tongue tip to catch her gaze. Mesmerizing. A human Venus flytrap. I suspect none of this went into developing Mr. Wood’s portrayal. His decision? The director’s?
Nothing you could ever do
Would turn me away from you
I love you now and I love you now
Labute understands this character implicitly. This sort of man would never, ever return to revisit “old flames”– (the past is inconsequential; the current love is the only true one) — unless he had ulterior motives. As an audience, we need to see Guy re-work his magic on all the exceptional women from his past and wonder where he’s really going. The revelation of true motive should arrive, and satisfy, as a total zinger. Hence my lament. Mr. Wood plays Guy as a fun-loving ex-frat guy on a final bender before the chains of matrimony descend. It’s almost anticlimactic to learn the truth, and it’s harder to fathom what all the women saw/still see in him. No meaningful eye contact, no sensual touch to captivate the imagination and fire off the afterburners. Darn. Perhaps if Second Thought had hired a female director to helm the production? Any number of wise womyn exist in the region, Latina and otherwise.
It’s still a fun show, just to see the sterling gaggle of gals do their artistic best and give Guy his comeuppance. Bound to top the list of audience preferred plays, Summer 2009.
Neil Labute’s Some Girl(s) runs through August 1st. Catch it fast.
Thursday @ 7:30pm, Fri-Sat @ 8pm.
Addison Theatre Centre Studio Space, 15650 Addison Road, Addison, TX.
Tickets: WaterTower Theatre Box Office 972-450-6232 or www.secondthoughttheatre.com
Even though you’re ten thousand miles away
I’ll love you tomorrow as I love you today
I’m in love babe
I’m in love with you babe
Let’s close now.
© 1972 Quackenbush Music Ltd., Carly Simon music & lyrics
Photo: Brian Bartaud
Coppertone III: Asylum, Just Like Coors Light
Remember back in your halcyon pre-teen days when you were sent to some mosquito-infested summer camp and had to write and perform a skit with your cabin mates at the session’s “last” campfire, to show off how much fun you’d had? You didn’t have time or incentive to perfect the humor or script, devise believable costumes or sets. Your goal became to come up with something utterly outrageous and preferably gross, focused on body parts and/or functions, and included unrelated pop/rock music on a cassette player for background noise. Something that might tick off the wholesome, early-rising powers-that-were, a twinge of incipient anarchy?
That’s what Ochre House’s current production of Coppertone III: Asylum feels like. It consists of two sets (not well-defined enough to be acts) of loosely-at-best scripted skit, with crammed together whiffs of One Flew Over the Cuckoos Nest, Mommy Dearest and Rocky Horror informing the tone through Bunraku-style puppets. The full house opening night audience came prepared to roar with laughter at the lowbrow, kinda lame humor and got a bellyful. A rubber vagina painted to look burned to a crisp: such savory, sinful, funny, yummy good times.
Coppertone III: Asylum doesn’t offer the dimensional characters or stylized artistry of Matt Posey’s Coppertone II: The Pope of Chilitown, almost a parody of August Wilson, presented earlier this year. It’s not even remotely in the same league as Posey’s 14 Death Defying Acts: An Autopsy of Hunter S. Thompson, his superlative nihilistic absurdist portrayal of the bastard daddy of narrative “gonzo” journalism. But my guess is that the Coppertone III: Asylum audience would come out of the Thompson piece with a stress headache, feeling like they’d been slipped a bad Cosmo at the latest trendy restaurant and wondering what it was all about. They had a really good time watching Posey’s current show; who am I to buck mass appeal? Just look at what presumes to be arts entertainment on television, with huge, loyal audiences. Go to.
I describe this play as “Coppertone Light”, as satisfying as Coors Light. Ochre House performers Josh Jordan, Trenton Stephenson and Elizabeth Evans are okay, I guess. When they learn their lines enough to close the gaping pauses hamstringing the dialogue, the play’s lack of depth, humor and commentary won’t be so obvious. I sure miss Xander Aulson’s, Walter Hardts’ and Anastasia Munoz’s spot-on performances from the earlier production. Trenton Stephenson reprised his earlier role minus its zany physical energy. Matthew Posey’s torchy rendition of “What Kind of Fool Am I” pales in comparison to his gut-splitting performance of “My Way” in the previous show. Sequels never quite have the “zing” of originals.
Enjoy Coppertone III: Asylum for what it is. Shakespeare it ain’t, but then it isn’t the grossly overpriced third string touring show of Legally Blonde, either. Support local theatre, particularly if it’s not performed in a huge glass and concrete box with preferred parking for Lexus cars….
The Ochre House’s Coppertone III: Asylum rolls out its version of bedlam through September 19, Wednesdays through Saturdays. It’s at 825 Exposition, just down from the Amsterdam Bar and around the corner from the Meridian, two grungy, delightful watering holes. Many more choices beyond Coors Light.
Call for tickets: 214-542-8931.
2009 DFW THEATRE CRITICS FORUM AWARDS
“In the arts, the critic is the only independent source of information. The rest is advertising.” Pauline Kael
Pity the poor theatre critic. More often reviled than revered. Seen by some as an unqualified evil scourge inflicting him or her-self on innocent artists of unquestionably high principles and spreading base lies to bolster an inflated, insecure ego. Underappreciated and most often unpaid, why any arts journalist would repeatedly subject him or her-self to the trying ordeal of writing reviews is a wonder. Yet, here in the DFW region, a bevy of brave, determined wordsmiths settle into their reserved seats most weekends, pen and paper or laptop in hand, to view live theater and share their opinions in print, on line and across the airwaves.
This past Saturday eight such critics, members of the DFW Theatre Critics Forum, met at the home of Turtle Creek News reviewer Martha Heimberg to share potluck lunch and decide what accomplishments to highlight from the 2008-2009 theatre season.
“My land is bare of chattering folk; the clouds are low along the ridges,
and sweet’s the air with curly smoke from all my burning bridges.”
Dorothy Parker
My first year to get included in the group, I wasn’t sure what I’d encounter: rancorous food-fights or nuanced, impassioned discussion of specific performances? Would I be an odd woman out with my favorite performances? Au contraire. It was a delightful afternoon. What came across was how much everyone cares about the arts and artistic community. It was a lively discussion, peppered with laughter and enthusiastic camaraderie. Not everyone saw the same shows; not everyone felt the same about the shows they saw. There was a surprising amount of commonality of appreciation, from the old hands and us new faces on the reviewer scene alike. We expressed a lot of admiration for the hard work and artistic contributions made over the year.
So when you read Lawson Taitte’s article about the DFW Theatre Critics Forum meeting in the Dallas News, or read about it in The Voice or click on Theater Jones or my blog here, or wherever you find it, realize its results represent sincere analysis and respect for the performance arts scene.
If you’re not mentioned this time, maybe next year is your turn….
Dallas-Fort Worth Theater Critics Forum Awards, 2009
(shows that opened between Sept. 1, 2008 and Aug. 31, 2009)
DIRECTION:
Jac Alder: Lost in the Stars, Theatre Three
Robin Armstrong: Incorruptible, Circle Theatre and Vincent River, Theatre Britain
B.J. Cleveland: The House of Blue Leaves, Theatre Arlington
Ellen Locy and Pam Myers-Morgan: The Nibroc Trilogy, Echo Theatre
Doug Miller: Click Clack Moo, Dallas Children’s Theater
Rene Moreno: The Seafarer, Stage West and This Is Our Youth, Upstart Productions
Katherine Owens: The Black Monk, Undermain Theatre
Ed Smith: The Bluest Eye, Jubilee Theatre
Jonathan Taylor and Christina Vela: The Pillowman, Kitchen Dog Theater
T.J. Walsh: Defiance, Theatre Three and Twelfth Night, Trinity Shakespeare Festival
NEW PLAY OR MUSICAL:
Death! The Musical by Scott Eckert, Pocket Sandwich Theatre
The Good Negro by Tracey Scott Wilson, Dallas Theater Center
Hello Human Female by Matt Lyle, Audacity Theatre Lab
Under a Texaco Canopy by Ellsworth Schave, One Thirty Productions
ACTOR:
Jonathan Brooks: The Black Monk, Undermain Theatre
David Coffee: Twelfth Night, Trinity Shakespeare Festival
Michael Federico: Jihad Jones and the Kalashnikov Babes, Kitchen Dog Theater
Vince McGill: A Raisin in the Sun, A Soldier’s Play and Seven Guitars, African American Repertory Theater
Jerry Russell: The Seafarer, Stage West; On Golden Pond, Contemporary Theatre of Dallas
Lee Trull: The Pillowman, Kitchen Dog Theater
Drew Wall: Defiance, Theatre Three; A Skull in Connemara, Second Thought Theatre; This Is Our Youth, Upstart Productions
Ted Wold: The House of Blue Leaves, Theatre Arlington
ACTRESS:
Sue Birch: Vincent River, Theatre Britain
Diane Casey Box-Worman: Defiance, Theatre Three; The Goat, Kitchen Dog Theater
Catherine DuBord: Some Girl(s), Second Thought Theatre
Emily Gray: The Norman Conquests, Stage West; Romeo and Juliet, Trinity Shakespeare Festival; Seagulls, WingSpan Theatre Company
Julie Johnson: Always…Patsy Cline, Casa Manana
Regina Washington: Neat, African American Repertory Theater
Wendy Welch: The Light in the Piazza, Theatre Three
Kimberly Whalen: The Light in the Piazza, Theatre Three; West Side Story, Lyric Stage
ENSEMBLE:
As Thousands Cheer, Lyric Stage
The Nibroc Trilogy, Echo Theatre
Topdog/Underdog, Upstart Productions
A Very Merry Unauthorized Children’s Scientology Pageant, Circle Theatre
CREATIVE CONTRIBUTION:
John Arnone: scenic design, The Black Monk, Undermain Theatre
Bruce R. Coleman: costume design, Trysts in Toledo, Theatre Three
Terry Dobson and Vonda Bowling: Music direction, Lost in the Stars, Theatre Three
Bruce DuBose: music and sound design, The Black Monk, Undermain Theatre
Cameron Cobb: violence and gore design, Titus Andronicus, Kitchen Dog Theater
John S. Davies: makeup design, The Last Meeting of the Knights of the White Magnolia, Contemporary Theatre of Dallas
Design team: Romeo and Juliet and Twelfth Night, Trinity Shakespeare Festival
Matthew Posey: Puppetry design, The Coppertone Trilogy, Balanced Almond
John de los Santos: choreography, Altar Boyz, Uptown Players
Aaron Patrick Turner: costume design, The Neverending Story, Dallas Children’s Theater
Jeffrey Schmidt: Production designs, The Old Woman in the Wood, The Drama Club
TOURING PRODUCTION:
A Chorus Line, Dallas Summer Musicals
The Play About the Coach, Rocketship Productions at the Out of the Loop Festival
Rent, Dallas Summer Musicals
SPECIAL CITATIONS FOR ARTISTIC CONTRIBUTION:
1) B.J. Cleveland, for his outstanding achievement during his 27-year association with Theatre Arlington (15 as artistic director), and for his unstoppable energy.
2) Irma P. Hall, co-founder of the African American Repertory Theater, for her lifetime contribution to North Texas and national performance art.
3) Kevin Moriarty, artistic director of the Dallas Theater Center, for reintroducing a resident acting ensemble to the DTC, and for his generous spirit of community building.
Participating Critics:
Joan Arbery: D Magazine and Renegade Bus
Alexandra Bonifield: Critical Rant & Rave, Dallas Examiner, Renegade Bus, THE Magazine
Martha Heimberg: Turtle Creek News
Arnold Wayne Jones: Dallas Voice
Elaine Liner: Dallas Observer and TheaterJones
Mark Lowry: TheaterJones and THE Magazine
Punch Shaw: Fort Worth Star-Telegram
Lawson Taitte: Dallas Morning News
Joy Tipping: Dallas Morning News
PHOTO: African American Repertory Theater’s A Raisin in the Sun, directed by William “Bill” Earl Ray
Sticky Wicket: Echo’s Mauritius
Why do some playwrights think it’s a good thing to people their works with selfish, unpleasant, generally repellent characters? Even Edward Albee and David Mamet, masters of creating malevolence and unadulterated nastiness in the folks that fill their texts, give their reprobate characters redeeming qualities and balance their vitriol with more sympathetic types. It’s not a dismal, alienating experience to attend their plays, no matter how dire the motives, actions or consequences. In contrast Theresa Rebeck’s play Mauritius, currently in production at the Bath House Cultural Center with Dallas’ Echo Theatre, presents five cold, hard, selfish miserable characters, none of which inspires a single drop of audience sympathy or empathy.
Leslie Patrick, Pam Myers-Morgan photo
It’s an odd play to start with and concerns stamp collecting, which masks an unresolved sibling rivalry, which in turn falls prey to con games with sexual overtones. Picture this play as the start of a plot for Angela Lansbury’s Murder, She Wrote, before the series writers add in the murder victim element for suspense. As is, the only suspense generated concerns wondering who gets to keep Grandpa’s stamp collection and if it’s maybe fake….
Rebeck has had a prolific career as a writer, notable in this circumstance for high profile TV dramas like L.A.Law, NYPD BLUE and Law and Order: Criminal Intent. She has certainly made estimable income doing this commercial work (quite a lot more than I will ever make writing stage reviews), an admirable achievement. Her play Mauritius feels like a working model for a TV script for one of her successful show gigs and is one act too long for the substance it contains as presented.
Echo Theatre’s mission, to “unearth the power of the female voice by presenting works written by women for the stage” takes them into unexpected corners and vistas of artistic expression. As usual, their show is superbly cast and smoothly directed. The lighting, sound, sets and costumes create a vivid, believable picture on stage. Too bad the material isn’t up to the company’s capabilities.
Mauritius, by Theresa Rebeck, runs through September 26, 2009 at The Bath House Cultural Center. Terri Ferguson directs, with set design by Kateri Cale, sound by Pam Myers-Morgan, lighting by Bryan S. Douglas and costumes by Terri Ferguson. The cast includes: Leslie Patrick, Brian Witkowicz, David Meglino, Tony Martin and Brandi Andrade.
Tickets: 214-904-0500 www.echotheatre.org
Vigilant Sorrow: KDT’s VIGILS
Kitchen Dog Theater hosts a benefit for the National Fallen Firefighters Foundation on Friday, September 25, in honor of our nation’s fallen firefighters. Benefit performance tickets to Noah Haidle’s Vigils will be sold for $25. $10 of every ticket sold will be donated to the National Fallen Firefighters Foundation. The performance begins at 8 PM reception to follow, sponsored by Frankie’s Sports Bar and Grill and iFratelli Pizza.
For tickets, please call 214-953-1055 or buy online at www.kitchendogtheater.org.
Touch fire in ice. Feel the burn. The stabbing, searing agony of loss and lingering memories, torturous and addictive, re-imagines itself with a vengeance, casting all in reach into a hellish half-life. The numbness of existence after such loss punishes worse than death, each breath drawn rougher than the last, each step taken more cumbersome, any attempt at escape accompanied by gut-wrenching remorse like raging harpies, clawing at the eyes, eliminating restful sleep. No matter the pain and self-destruction involved, the moth returns to the flame. Until the inner fire fades and the ice simply melts away. And the heart can open.
Kitchen Dog Theater captures the excruciating essence of a wife’s experience of loss and her attempt to free herself from its clutches in the southwestern premiere of Noah Haidle’s Vigils. After her firefighter husband (Matthew Gray) perishes in a conflagration while attempting to save a child’s life, the Widow (Tina Parker) exists in a dim world where she alternates between re-living pivotal moments in her marital relationship and surreal conversations with her husband’s soul (Ira Steck), which she has imprisoned in a recessed wall box over their living room sofa. All sequential action takes place in her tiny studio apartment, present and past. High above the playing space floats a raked walkway where over and over and over the audience watches the fully rigged out, brave fireman battling a furious blaze in dramatic, mesmerizing counterpoint, calling out to a wailing child, “Hold on, I’m coming.” The cries cease. The flames engulf the struggling man. It’s almost more than an audience can sit through. Imagine how it feels to be the widow, reliving it for the five thousandth time. Enter a new man, the Wooer (Jim Kuenzer), who cautiously, clumsily, kindly attempts to draw the Widow out of her self-imposed Hell and to inspire her to release her dead husband’s captive soul to the universe, to the heart of God, or beyond.
Hyperrealism meets surreal conceptualism and intense psycho-suggestion. Like lightning the play moves from domestic interlude to self-reflection to classic high drama. It’s a breathtaking, satisfying experience. LA based director Aaron Ginsburg, founder and co-artistic director of Meadows Basement, considered one of LA’s best performance ensembles, creates taut, unforgettable stage pictures while spinning his cast through rapid-fire exchanges and carefully choreographed repetitions. Each actor is so at ease, exhibits such trust and commitment to the ensemble, it’s as though they are complimentary musical elements in a chamber-sized oratorio. Not one misstep or miscued line delivery, not one extraneous movement, yet totally natural and plausible. Vital, focused, in your living room real. Vigils must be equally exhilarating to actors and director alike at performance’s end, to know they have given all to the work and created a transformational reality, to recognize how profoundly they have affected an audience, and to realize how well they have served the theatrical muse. A deep bow to the production team: Stage Manager Ruth Stephenson, Set Designer Craig Siebels, Lighting Designer Laura McMeley, Costume Designer Christina Dickson, Sound Designer John M. Flores, Dance Choreographer Elaine Hewlett, Fight Choreographer Bill Lengfelder, Props Designers Jen Gilson-Gilliam and Judy Niven, and the glue that binds it all together, Technical Directors Abby Kraemer and Michael Wang. All worthy artists.
Vigils runs through Saturday, October 10 in the Heldt/Hall Theater at the McKinney Avenue Contemporary (The MAC) located at 3120 McKinney Avenue in Uptown.
For tickets or information: 214.953.1055 www.kitchendogtheater.org
About the playwright: Noah Haidle’s plays have been or will be produced at South Coast Repertory, The Long Wharf Theater, The Goodman Theater, The Woolly Mammoth Theatre, The Huntington Theater and The Roundabout Theatre Company. Haidle is currently working on a new play commission from The Goodman Theater and a screenplay for Scott Rudin Productions. He is a graduate of Princeton University and The Juilliard School, where he was a Lila Acheson Wallace playwright-in-residence. He is the recipient of three Lincoln Center Le Compte Du Nouy Awards, the 2005 Helen Merrill Award for Emerging Playwrights and an NEA/TCG theater residency grant.
PHOTO– by Matt Mrozek. Top to bottom: Matthew Gray, Ira Steck, Tina Parker
Julius Caesar Says, “You lie!”
Does a company producing the classic political tragedy Julius Caesar leap heart and soul into emphasizing its current cable news event parallels at risk of losing touch with the classical text, or does it focus on classical interpretation, ignore modern relevance and risk boring and losing today’s audience? I prefer Shakespeare Dallas’ productions of the Bard’s comedies to their interpretations of his tragedies. With the comedies the director’s hand and vision are always clear and connection to modern times evident, relevant and celebratory. Their productions of the serious plays seem to attempt to straddle both approaches and end up being muddy, neither fish nor fowl.
Brutus (Anthony L. Ramirez) & the Zombies, Jared Land photo
If I didn’t already know the play Julius Caesar, I’d have come away very confused after seeing Shakespeare Dallas’ opening night performance of it at the Samuell-Grand Amphitheatre. Lots of spectacle, vivid sound effects, flashy swordplay and histrionics — sure hard to follow the plot as presented or understand the nature and motivations of the key characters. Well-done, the plot and character elements could be superbly conveyed on a bare stage without lighting and sound effects, with actors in neutral-toned casual dress. A perturbing visual cacophony permeates this production.
Shakespeare Dallas’ actors present either broadly drawn caricatures (title role, Brutus and conspirators) or a reality TV like swagger with way understated vocal and facial expression (Mark Antony, Octavius, and peeps). In what world do these characters co-exist? A benumbed nonchalance and bizarre physicality pervade the stage during murder and suicide scenes, almost as though the physical acts are of secondary consequence to the actors speaking their lines. Per example: after the monstrous ritual murder of J. Caesar in Act I, the conspirators amble around the stage as though Caesar’s mangled body is a piece of furniture, not in-your-face graphic evidence of their horrific savagery. Have these men killed like this before? I don’t think so. They proceed to wave their bloodstained hands around in the following scene like zombies, almost comic. Was this an intentional ghoulish effect, or did the costume mistress threaten the actors with bodily harm if they “got any of that nasty stage blood on the nice costumes”? It presents a most distracting, disconcerting picture. To what end? What is going on?
Speaking of costumes, ouch. Is this production set in any particular time period? Is there a defined costume theme? I’m nonplussed. In Act I the conspirators wear a type of modern day business suit attire while Caesar looks like a cross between a generic pontiff and an Elvis impersonator. Mark Antony and youthful friends are attired somewhat like 1990’s punk rock idols, visibly tattooed. Act II heads off in another direction. The men’s costumes seem like a cross between Star Trek uniforms and 1920’s aviator outfits with knee boots and breeches, an attractive enough jumble on the younger actors, but a bit like Tom Delay’s dance attire on the mature fellows (surely unintentional?). When Brutus adds a gaudy, short smoking jacket to his boots/ breeches/ Star Trek ensemble I pictured Liberace and wondered how this attire helped to reinforce or develop the tragic decline of the “noble” character Shakespeare created. Very confusing. Disappointing.
I hate writing negative reviews, so I’ll stop here. This is a truly great play, stuck in a baffling, hodgepodge production. Should have known something was awry when the music blaring from the speakers pre-show was by The Beatles. Huh?
Julius Caesar by William Shakespeare, as presented by Shakespeare Dallas through October 3 at the Samuell Grand Amphitheatre, then at Addison Circle Park October 7–11. Directed by Raphael Parry.
Features many fine performers: Anthony L. Ramirez, Aaron Roberts, Adrian Spencer Churchill, Austin Tindle, Hilary Couch, Ginneh Thomas, Justin Locklear, Michael Johnson, Francis Fuselier, Eric Devlin, Mike Schraeder, Randy Lee Chronister, Calvin Roberts, Matt Fowler, Josh Hepola, Thomas Brazzle, Ryan Martin and Alex Worthington
Tickets: www.shakespearedallas.org
Spell Me a Song: T3′s Bee-Dazzlement
Can you spell PREDILECTION? That’s what the nearly full house audience demonstrated tonight at the opening of Theatre Three’s production of the Tony award winning, internationally produced, Broadway play turned musical OPUS The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee. They loved what they witnessed and gave it a rousing standing ovation at FINIS.
PREVARICATE: that’s what I’d be doing if I said I entirely concurred with the favorable assessment. While the merits of the production outshine its shortcomings, it has some issues that cause me CONSTERNATION.
Theatre Three's Spellers
This musically demanding work awash with subterranean psychological complexity deals with the beneficial transformation that excelling in anything can cause in eccentric people who don’t “fit in” with the cool crowd, whether in a junior high classroom or at an office holiday party. The Spelling Bee setting creates the MILIEU for self-discovery. Contestants assume the roles of children but offer a more mature perspective; similarly, school staff managing the contest reveal more than professional mentoring demeanor. REVELATION of the transformational process takes place within the fourteen-fifteen musical numbers created by William Finn to accompany Rachel Sheinkin’s book, as in Stephen Sondheim’s OEUVRE. This musical seems deceptively easy to produce, a “kids’ show”. But it’s not.
The show’s youth-like VIGOR lends itself readily to a rushed pace. Director Bruce R. Coleman focuses his actors on maintaining the playground recess-like, buzzing tempo, making it difficult to understand words to some songs. That’s a problem when the songs carry much of the sense of the show. A CONCOMITANT result of the hurtling tempo, subtle, tender moments and depth of portrayal get sacrificed. Characterization becomes CARICATURE. With a few exceptions (Alexandra Valle as Marcy and Chad Peterson as Leaf) there isn’t much going on here below the surface.
What’s with humor based on putting people down for their IDIOSYNCRACIES or differences from perceived “norms”? I heard and watched people all around me cackling with glee at the scripted jokes while I winced at the pervasive sarcasm and poor taste ribbing based on culture/ ethnicity/ pedophilia/ domestic abuse/ religious and sexual orientation. (Define guacamole: Guacamole is Mexican pudding). Why is that funny? If that’s your kind of humor, this is the show for you.
It’s a visually pleasing endeavor with a minimalist set and freewheeling, playful costumes, props and backpacks constructing a representational junior high MONTAGE (Set Design Jeffrey Schmidt, Lighting Design Amanda West, Costumes Bruce R. Coleman). Musical accompaniment excels (Musical Director Terry Dobson or Ass’t Musical Director Vonda Bowling on piano, Mike McNichols or Justin Preece on percussion, Peggy Honea on bass and Ellen Kaner and Michael Dill on woodwinds). Random audience members incorporated into Act I add to the general hilarity, although some are more “random” than others. Theatre Three’s The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee spells well enough to make it to the second round but not to win a championship trophy.
The cast includes: Amy Mills, Paul J. Williams, Darius-Anthony Robinson, B.J. Cleveland, Megan Kelly Bates, John Garcia, Arianna Movassagh, Chad Peterson, and Alexandra Valle. “Guest” appearances by Corey Stoner, Morgan Justiss, Nick Evin and Mary Norman, opening night, thrilled the crowd….
Runs Thursdays through Sundays through Sunday October 25.
TICKETS: 214-871-3300 or www.theatre3dallas.com
Grim Gardens at Watertower Theatre
Everybody suffers with Grey Gardens, now in production at Dallas’ WaterTower Theatre. Endlessly! The characters suffer; the actors suffer; the audience suffers. Most of all, the play suffers. This musical is a perfect example of a prevalent malady in today’s theatre—it exhibits promise, an intriguing plot, dynamic characters, and memorable music in Act I. Then Act II inflicts itself upon everyone after intermission, and all suffer. Endlessly.
I realize that Act II is somewhat loosely based on a thirty-year-old documentary examining the decline of the high-class Bouvier women who inhabited a creaky old mansion in disgusting disrepair in the 1970’s. But that‘s no justification for not connecting into the actions, characters or story arc so well created in Act I. I don’t feel the audience should have to conduct extensive filmography research prior to attending to have a solid clue about what the hell is going on. Why are these old gals stuck there, with scads of cats, refuse and “rabid” raccoons? The door isn’t locked. No reason given, just a chaotic jumble of disconnected musical numbers strung together aimlessly.
Endless suffering.
No song in Act II advances the play’s arc one iota, no matter how powerful its stand alone impact. “The Revolutionary Costume for Today”: is the main character singing this an aspiring protestor of some sort? What is she protesting? How does she relate to the person she was in Act I?
“Jerry likes My Corn”: why should we care? Who IS Jerry? A homeless person? A thief? An unwashed, underage gigolo? Who pays him to show up with used appliances and eat corn on the cob? Is he a Samaritan? A distant relative? No hint.
“Choose to be Happy”: a choral number, featuring the main female character Edie in different ‘revolutionary’ garb, the rest of the cast striding about in choir robes led by someone purporting to be Norman Vincent Peale. Honest to gosh. Why is he in this play? Don’t give me that “it’s in the documentary” line. Plays should stand alone, from start to finish. This one disintegrates into nonsense. The playbill quotes main character Edith Bouvier Beale, “It’s very difficult to keep the line between the past and the present. You know what I mean. It’s awfully difficult.”
I couldn’t agree more.
What a disappointment! Act I is a delight. Diana Sheehan, Pam Dougherty, Kimberly Whalen, and Gary Floyd interact and sing beautifully, create a fine ensemble of zany, fascinating characters. R. Bruce Elliott portrays the family patriarch with believable gruff pomposity. Secondary characters Kaylee King, Dani Altshuler, Kenne Sparks and Matt Moore flesh out their scenes and advance the story with wit and nuance. What follows does not.
Christopher Pickart has designed an impressive multi-level set that translates readily from crisp Hampton mansion to seedy firetrap and provides a range of settings for all matter of scenes. The lighting compliments the mood with some fine creepy projection work, and the costumes and wigs fit the period while allowing the actors to establish strong portrayals with abandon and energy. (An exception: young Jacqueline Bouvier’s equestrian attire is totally 2009, in no way reflects the type of riding habit a proper young horsewoman would have worn in 1941.)
Diana Sheehan’s singing, voiced with a tremolo vibrato popular in the 40’s yet clear as a bell, is exquisite. Go for her divine performance and delivery. Ignore the fact that Act II is grim. “You know what I mean?”
Grey Gardens, a musical in two acts by Doug Wright, Scott Frankel and Michael Korie, directed by Terry Martin with musical direction by James McQuillen, runs at WaterTower Theatre at the Addison Theatre Centre through October 25. .
Tickets: 972.450.6232; www.watertowertheatre.org
I have no photo from this production.
Bright Monkeyshines at DCT: Junie B. Jones
She defies definition and breaks the rules. She’s a real live wire with an abundant, overactive imagination. Too big for her britches? Definitely. Junie B. Jones is a vibrant character with charm and energy to burn, and kids love watching her get herself into scrapes and back out again. Unscathed!
Lisa Schreiner (Lucille), Jessica Jain (Junie B. Jones), Ashley S. Duplechain (That Grace) Photo by Mark Oristano
Regional theatre audiences are fortunate to have one of the nation’s top-rated children’s theatre companies based here in Dallas. The company’s production of Junie B. Jones & A Little Monkey Business is a stellar example of why the National Endowment for the Arts selected Dallas Children’s Theatre as the only North Texas theatre company to receive a 2009 grant from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. The show is a non-stop delight for both young and old. Based on the beloved 1992 children’s book series by Barbara Park, with book, music and lyrics by Joan Cushing, DCT’s Junie B. Jones & A Little Monkey Business follows the intrepid kindergartener through ten musical numbers and a snappy story line. Depicting the arrival of a little brother for Junie, a cast of six adults, some playing multiple characters, creates the world she inhabits and helps her find a way to accept the newest family member with enthusiasm, not dismay.
Recent University of Calgary graduate Jessica Jain infuses the main character with a natural wonder and sweetness that balances her signature hyper-physicality and outrageous ideas. Her clear, strong voice soars with earnest emotion and holds focus start to finish. Lisa Schreiner, DCT’s PR director, enlivens the dual roles of Junie’s very expectant mother (oblivious to her daughter’s concerns) and Junie’s wealthy kindergarten friend Lucille, the ultimate Miss Priss. She is so outrageously funny as the snobby, self-centered Lucille who sings with a swooping quivery vibrato, kids watching her had tears running down their faces they were laughing so hard. Chad Patrick Smith switches effortlessly between the roles of Junie’s classroom nemesis “Meanie Jim” and that of Junie’s kindly, supportive Grandpa. The rest of the cast forms a crisp professional ensemble, and includes Ashley S. Duplechain, Deborah Brown and Karl Schaeffer (DCT Artist in Residence) in a triple-hitting combo of roles. Knitting it all handily together under the able direction and choreography of Nancy Schaeffer (DCT’s education director) are award-winning set designer Randel Wright and lighting designer Linda Blasé, regional musical director, orchestrator and composer Adam C. Wright, and long-time professional costume designer (stage and film) Leila Heise. They all make it look so easy to pull a fast-paced, complex show like this together. Sit back and enjoy the magic they create from an adult perspective and appreciate how much enjoyment DCT’s Junie B. Jones & A Little Monkey Business brings to young audiences. Suitable for ages 5 and up.
Runs Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays through November 1, 2009 in the Baker Theater at DCT’s Rosewood Center for Family Arts. Tickets: 214-740-0051 www.dtc.org
WingSpan Theatre Goes A-Haunting
T’is the season for the macabre. At theatres throughout the metroplex, a bizarre witch’s brew of overblown, melodramatic slasher tales with sloshing buckets of stage blood compete for audiences with camped up singing trans-gendered dancing maniacs sporting layers of black eye-liner and fishnet stockings. Gleeful ghouls and goblins will emerge by the hundreds to celebrate the season as Halloween creeps into view. Over at the Bath House Cultural Center, spooky at night any time of the year, WingSpan Theatre Company offers a blood-curdling, scary tale; stone cold sober, based on real events, without a whiff of camp or melodrama. Don’t bring the kiddies….
My Sister In This House, by Wendy Kesselman, portrays the circumstances in an upper class French home in 1933 that led to the mysterious, savage, grisly murder of the homeowner’s wife and her grown daughter by two live-in maids, the Papin sisters, with unclear motive and shady past. (And possibly an “unnatural” affection for each other.) The dead women’s eyes had been gouged out, faces beaten unrecognizable. The sisters used a kitchen knife, a hammer and a pewter pot that had stood at the top of the stairs. Treated at the time as a celebrity murder on O.J. Simpson scale, some viewed it as a symbol of class struggle. Books, multiple films and stage plays emerged, even opera, inspired by the actions and fates of the sad, mad sisters. Jean Genet’s The Maids, play later adapted to a film directed by Christopher Miles, gained notoriety for its portrayal of sadomasochism and power play ritual.
Whitney Wilson, Catherine DuBord: Photo by Lowell Sargeant
Distinguished American playwright Wendy Kesselman won the national Susan Smith Blackburn Prize in 1981, for the version WingSpan performs, My Sister In This House. Making excellent use of the shadow-filled nooks and crannies at the unique Bath House Cultural Center performance space to bring this taut-wound, no nonsense play to life, WingSpan’s production treads a fine line between realism and the grotesque with superlative, understated assurance. The audience feels an invisible cord tightening around its collective neck as the sisters go progressively berserk with desperation and enmeshment.
Played with complete honesty, intimate detail and mutual trust by Whitney Wilson and Catherine Dubord, the Papins transform effectively from neat-as-a-pin, compliant servant girls to disheveled, cold-blooded murderers while the effete, foolish homeowner’s wife and daughter are too self-absorbed to notice or to see what’s in store for them approaching.
Upstairs/Downstairs fashion, scenes play in counterpoint with only occasional interaction between the two pairs of women. Yet tension mounts like a vise clamping down. Susan Sargeant (Madame) and Stephanie Stuart (daughter Isabelle) inhabit a selfish, narrow-scoped bourgeois world, creating a well-defined mother-daughter relationship whether trying on hats or playing cards or bickering. Madame exhibits a cruel need to dominate. Isabelle reacts with passive-aggressive ennui. They treat the maids dismissively, callously, yet in keeping with the cultural norms of the era. Did they drive the sisters to murder, or was it something else? The play leaves the audience wondering, wondering….
Award-winning international director and UNT drama professor Marjorie Hayes guides this production with a firm vision and the wisdom to follow the play’s arc as written but not to wrap it up too neatly at the end. Nobody knows for sure, for real, what happened that evening to cause the Papin sisters to snap and commit murder. Respecting the art of this finely crafted, haunting work involves letting the candle flicker at the finish without quite snuffing it out.
A stuffy, cluttered bourgeois set with a pretentious stairway to nowhere, somber, morose lighting and perfectly pitched sound with excellent inclusion of song and radio snippets help make this odd and disturbing play a worthy, intriguing experience. The sisters’ final moments of disintegration at the end reveal Dubord and Wilson’s depth and courage as performers as they brush hard against madness and evil and strike a universal chord of sorrow.
My Sister In This House runs without intermission through October 24th, presented by WingSpan Theatre Company in cooperation with the Bath House Cultural Center.
Tickets: 214-675-6573 www.wingspantheatre.com
Enchantment on The Road to Qatar
“We want you to write musical. How much?” Stephen Cole didn’t take it seriously when he received e-mail from Dubai. An award-winning New York musical theatre writer with international production credits, theatre awards, definitive books on theatre and major screen options in his life, he shrugged it off. The inquiries persisted.
Saved by a camel!
The Dubai interests hired musical theatre composer David Krane, with twenty-nine Broadway show hits plus dance music and additional score adaptation credits for the Oscar-winning Chicago on his CV. Stephen and David embarked on an international artistic adventure together, fraught with unimaginable madness and excess.
They wrote their show in five weeks, under constant scrutiny and duress. It resulted in the first American musical to premiere in the Middle East. Ever. Accompanied by a 70-piece orchestra, it played in a giant soccer stadium in Qatar, for the Emir and 1000 of his closest friends. Its climax featured twenty camels dwarfed by the performance space and included a bit on Muhammad Ali. “Las Vegas on steroids.”
International disaster potential? The producers hired an emotional Italian opera director, a British cast, Russian dancers and a language-challenged Bratislava chorus, none of whom had ever worked together —-to perform Jewish Stephen and David’s creation. In Qatar. In English. To everyone’s relief: a triumph.
Returning to the US, Stephen and David felt compelled to write a show about their experience– it was so darn funny, and a prime example of the arts as catalyst for international cultural diplomacy. Result: The Road to Qatar, now in its premiere run at Lyric Stage in Irving.
Imagine a musical that combines the hijinks of the Bob Hope/ Bing Crosby “buddy movies” in a tongue-in-cheek Cole Porter review style send-up while taking a stab at fostering Middle East peace. A skilled, versatile ensemble, four men and one woman, with impeccable timing and consummate mastery of physical comedy technique, comprise the cast and romp their way through the adventure, even portraying a camel at the show’s finale. Phillip George, with enough international, national and regional credits and Best Of’s to cram full a pirate ship’s hold, directs. He keeps the action crisp and focused, facilitating the mayhem, while maintaining its underscored cross-cultural sensibility and soul. The commonality in “being human” comes across as much as the hysterical differences. Bruce Warren’s transitions from the macho, terrorist-like film actor/ “consultant” Farid to flamingly gay, incompetent Italian opera director/ diva Claudio bring tears to the eyes. Bill Nolte creates an unforgettable picture as the pompous, overblown Egyptian producer Mansour, clueless about theatre, obsessive about schedule. The cast includes Brian Gonzales, Lee Zarrett and Jill Abramovitz as an enthused, out-of-touch translator who finds ‘personal freedom’ in London.
The show would benefit from an intermission. So much takes place with rapid-fire energy and speed; the audience needs a break to fully ingest the chaotic fun. The Road to Qatar runs through October 24th at Lyric Stage.
“Sometimes truth is stranger than fiction.” Funnier, too.
Bioneers Bumps Carson Film
The 2009 Bioneers Conference bumped Rachel Carson to the back of the bus, a puzzling faux pas. It relegated the award-winning film A Sense of Wonder, adapted from acclaimed actor Kaiulani Lee’s internationally celebrated one woman play about Rachel Carson (mother/catalyst of the modern environmental movement) to last day screening at its 20th annual eco-conference in Marin County, California. The showing of this much-lauded film, subject of a Bill Moyers Journal on PBS program, was buried amidst a handful of “break out sessions” on the final day, late Sunday afternoon, when many of the event’s several thousand participants had already packed it in for the year and headed home. Maybe twenty people attended the screening. The Q & A session following, with playwright/actor Lee in attendance, clearly puzzled her (used to performing the live version to packed, enthusiastic houses of 1000 and up). Irony emerged upon reviewing the Bioneers 2009 “Moving Image Festival” schedule—on opening night, Friday Oct. 16, the conference featured films A Sea Change and Witness to Hiroshima in the Rachel Carson Tent at the Marin Convention Center Grounds. Not intending to denigrate those worthy films, it would have honored the environmental movement better as well as the memory of the tent’s namesake to feature the film about her in this time slot at the start of the conference, in her own tent, when more people would/could have attended. We need to understand where we came from in order to comprehend where we are in order to plan where we need to go. Rachel Carson, as definitively portrayed in the play turned film, is living proof of what one person can accomplish, a “mere” woman no less, in a male-dominated movement. Unfortunate placement, surely unintentional?
Kaiulani Lee as Rachel Carson, sea by Maine cottage
“There wasn’t an environmental movement fifty years ago; it was Carson’s book Silent Spring that created the modern environmental movement.” Former Secretary of the Interior Stewart L. Udall minces no words in assessing Rachel Carson’s impact.
It’s 1962. What we watch at first on screen, documentary-style (Act I of the stage play) is a strong-willed woman struggling with packing her belongings to leave her beloved seaside Maine cottage for what may be the final time, to return to city life, publishing deadlines and the rigors of breast cancer treatment. Through Kaiulani Lee’s masterful, inward-drawn portrayal, Carson emerges as a principled, articulate, analytical woman with dry wit and enormous compassion for all living beings. In no way deifying Carson, Lee shows us a real woman who suffers, worries about her adopted son’s future, feels frustration with the perversity and cruelty of others and places huge demands upon herself to speak truth and fight for the rights of nature. “The aim of science is to discover and illuminate truth, the same with literature.”
In Act II, set two months later, Carson paces her office in Maryland, anguished yet determined. The publication of Silent Spring, causing a huge uproar, has thrust this very private woman into full public debate over its dire conclusions. She finds herself engaged in full battle with the nation’s leading chemical companies and government regulatory agencies, willing to do anything to discredit her and prevent her from getting her wake-up message to Congress and the US populace. The press hounds her. Requests to address universities and scientific conferences flood in. And her health is deteriorating. Rachel Carson fights on.
No dry eye left in the tiny Bioneers audience. Lee’s portrayal of Carson is so vivid and real, all watching want to reach through the screen to take her by the hand and reassure her, “We’re with you, Rachel, we’ve got your back.” In 1962, when Carson fought her brave battle to expose the devastation of pollution and won, hardly anyone knew there was a war to wage, much less a paradigm to shift. The film’s final image leaves the audience filled with awe, at both Carson’s accomplishments and Kaiulani Lee’s breathtaking performance. Believe in the impossible and act; follow Carson’s no nonsense lead, so lovingly nurtured by Lee. The birth of a movement.
A Sense of Wonder, the stage play, written by and featuring Kaiulani Lee, has toured the United States, Canada, England, Italy and Japan for sixteen years. It has been the centerpiece performance of major educational, environmental, journalism and conservation conferences. The Broadway award nominated Lee brings over thirty-five years of stage, film and television experience to her depiction of Rachel Carson and has been awarded an honorary doctorate by Bowdoin College for her distinguished contribution to performing arts. In 2007 Kaiulani Lee appeared as Rachel Carson on Capitol Hill, where she performed the play for Congress.
The film adaptation, A Sense of Wonder, directed by Christopher Monger, was shot in HD by Oscar-winning cinematographer Haskell Wexler at Carson’s cottage on the coast of Maine. Since its premiere tour in March 2009, the film has shown so far to well over 10,000 people in more than 175 cities from Mexico to Canada.
The yearly Bioneers Conference co-founders describe their three-day event with pre and post-conference day long eco-seminars as “the network of networks of visionary innovators with breathtaking solutions to restore people and planet.” Too bad so few 2009 Conference attendees had the chance to gain insight and inspiration from A Sense of Wonder.
To learn about the film and play, go to http://www.asenseofwonderfilm.com/
To learn about the Bioneers and the yearly environmental conference: http://www.bioneers.org/
Waltzing A World Without Collisions: Master Harold…and the Boys
S. African playwright Athol Fugard must be one heck of an optimist. The son of an Afrikaner mother and a father of Irish Huguenot descent, he began writing plays in 1959, plays that took direct exception to the bigotry and repression of the apartheid regime ruling S. Africa at the time. After his first play appeared in 1961, the South African government passed censorship laws that forbade racially mixed casts and/or audiences in theaters. When the English BBC broadcast that play in 1967 the South African government confiscated Fugard’s passport, and he was not allowed to leave the country until 1971. Rage could rightfully dominate his works. Instead, they are infused with a poignant poetry and compassionate portrayal of the human condition unmatched by many playwrights living today. Fugard’s plays explore the transcendent possibilities of the human soul and reflect his evident optimism about human potential. Optimism that has proven to be justified.
Andrew Bourgeois, William Bill Earl Ray, Christopher Piper: Buddy Myers photo
His play Master Harold…and the Boys, considered his best by many, made its premiere on Broadway in 1982. Among its awards were the 1982 Drama Desk Award for Outstanding New Play, the 1983 London Critics’ Circle Theatre Award for Best Play, Leading African actor Zakes Mokae won the 1982 Tony Award for Featured Actor in a Play, and the play, itself, was nominated for best play at the 1982 Tony awards.
At the same time, Master Harold…and the Boys was banned from production in South Africa. Today South Africa is producing a filmed version of the play for 2010 release starring Freddie Highmore and Ving Rhames. The Emmy winning director Lonny Price, Master Harold in the original 1982 Broadway show, directs the film. Definite justification for Fugard’s optimism.
Metroplex audiences can see an exquisitely executed production of Master Harold …and the Boys right now—playing at the African American Repertory Theater in Desoto through November 1st.
Three characters lead desperately grim lives. Restraint and dignity crash into despondent rage and frustration, climaxing in an act of utter humiliation. Somehow love and hope redeem them all by simple acts: flying a kite…and by the transformational images conveyed of ballroom dancing, Fugard’s “world without collisions”. With subtle direction by Sharon Benge, the ensemble cast of William Bill Earl Ray, Andrew Bourgeois and Christopher Piper convey the dismal realities of each man’s existence, the dark anguish they each hold deep inside with barely containable restraint and the soul-healing power of love and forgiveness that lights the path to a peaceful, hate-free future.
When you go to this production, you will see one of the best-written plays by a living playwright today. And you will also see one of the finest performances in our metroplex for this year.
For tickets to Master Harold…and the Boys, call 972-572-0998 or visit African American Repertory Theater on-line. www.aareptheater.com
Buddy Meyers photo
L to R: Andrew Bourgeois, William Bill Earl Ray, Christopher Dontrell Piper
DTC’s Dream Inaugurates Wyly Theatre
Dallas Theater Center embarked October 30 on its new venture at the Wyly Theatre in Dallas’ Arts District with a visually stunning, hyper-kinetic take on William Shakespeare’s comedy A Midsummer Night’s Dream. Mostly an adaptation that uses the Shakespeare classic as a launch pad, it sometimes felt like High School Musical meets Hair. Director Kevin Moriarty adorned the sumptuous, austere cavern of a performance space with wall graffiti a la Basquiat on monumental scale, chalked on progressively by a spry slew of Booker T. Washington high school students, representing Titania’s fairies. By the play’s 2nd act euphoric nuptial conclusion, filled with cascading balloons, soap bubbles and cast members crooning pop and rap-style songs (tuneful and entertaining), the walls were awash in crayola-hued tones and the audience surged onstage to join in. I half expected to hear “Let the Sunshine In.”
No, this is not your college English teacher’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream. A definite downer for traditionalists or purists, it was a hit with the opening night audience. I’m not sure how some audience members felt about actors crawling over them, aisle by aisle, or treading across the backs of their seats, or how they felt about getting sprayed with nerf balls in the “battle scene” between Oberon and Titania’s graffiti minions or getting soaked by Oberon’s giant water gun. Everyone else enjoyed watching the “by-sitters” squirm under assault.
Expository, illustrative sections of text and key plot elements are eliminated, perhaps in favor of maintaining warp-speed pace and entertainment value for today’s audience. Sometimes the “battle between the sexes” between the young lovers lost in the Athenian forest (never present in any visual way) looked like an extreme gym workout with non-stop yelled conversation. Subtlety, even delicacy, normally exists in this play, if not this production.
Matthew Steven Tompkins as a regal, commanding Oberon in Bruce Springsteen-like costume with mesmerizing vocal power and tone delivered a strong performance, as did lithe Cedric Neal as his mischievous sidekick Puck. Neal made frequent “amends” with his delectable singing voice. The audience hit of the show was Chamblee Ferguson, excelling with a virtuoso, over the top performance as “rude mechanical” Nick Bottom. Turned into an “ass” by Oberon’s magic marker, he’s also the hammy hero of the play within the play. Such clever, inventive ways to die may have never graced an improvisation class, particularly the symbolic sawing off of all extremities with a soft rubber sword. The audience roared their approval.
Stunning, surprising visuals, exhilarating displays of speed ladder-climbing, superbly sung and danced musical numbers, all wedded to one of Shakespeare’s most revered romantic comedies—it added up to a resplendent hit for Dallas Theater Center’s inaugural performance in the Charles and Dee Wyly Theatre. Consider bringing a raincoat if seated close to the stage.
A Midsummer Night’s Dream runs through Nov. 22 at Wyly Theatre, AT&T Performing Arts Center, 2400 Flora St., Dallas TX. This production is part of Shakespeare for a New Generation, a national initiative sponsored by the National Endowment for the Arts in cooperation with Arts Midwest.
For tickets, 214-880-0202, www.dallastheatercenter.org
Talk Radio at Upstart: Catch the ‘Tude
Elias Taylorson as Barry Champlain
Check out the audio interview with featured actor Elias Taylorson on This Week in the Arts.
Tough to find a DVD of Oliver Stone’s 1988 screen adaptation of Eric Bogosian’s Pulitzer-nominated play Talk Radio. A cult favorite flick featuring Bogosian and a fresh-faced Alec Baldwin, it’s not filed by the hundreds on the local Blockbuster shelf. People who know it OWN it. Ever seen it staged? Got the cojones to produce it? This tension-riddled, cynical play about a fictitious Cleveland-area shock jock, surly, chain-smoking, booze-swilling Barry Champlain, who runs his mouth and eviscerates his soul non-stop in front of a “live audience”, has prescient, ominous relevance for today. Guess that’s why when its stage revival hit Broadway in 2007 it knocked a metaphorical crater in the Great White Way.
Directed by Tony Award-winner Robert Falls and starring Liev Schreiber, it garnered Tony, Drama Desk, Outer Critics Circle, and Drama League award nominations for Best Revival of Play and Best Actor in a Play. Additionally, Schreiber was awarded the prestigious Drama League Award for his Distinguished Performance. Playwright Bogosian commented, “Talk Radio kind of surprised people, because they revived it last year, twenty years after it had been written, and it felt fresh. But that’s because I don’t really write about topical stuff; I write about American attitudes, American values, my values, my attitudes.” A Play with ‘Tude.
It takes a theatre company with ‘tude to do it justice. The creative folks steering Dallas’ Upstart Productions possess those creative cojones to embrace Talk Radio and make it their own, sweeping the audience right along with them. Their production running at the Green Zone off Irving Blvd. through November 21 is a must-see for media junkies, aspiring shock-jocks and lovers of knife-edged, realite theatre alike.
It starts when you pass through black velvet drapes and beneath the dark On Air sign to find your chair on the risers facing the inward-driven playing space. You’ve just traveled through time to find yourself a fly on the wall inside the recesses of an 1980’s era radio station in Cleveland, Ohio. Across the back of the space spans weird little glass-faced cubicles where sound techies and programming staff work their voodoo so the “talent”, the DJ’s du jour, can focus on spinning LP’s and amusing themselves aloud to anonymous nobodies. Center stage, unlit, perches a long desk with mikes and headsets, various recording paraphernalia and a black leather office chair behind, empty. The staff bustle and tweak things in their glass-fronted boxes, anxiously readying the ‘show’ for the next diva as the audience gets seated, subdued, expectant.
With no fanfare he bursts onto the scene, all business, harried, cigarette hanging from his lips. He hurls himself into the chair, barking orders with accustomed cynical vehemence, sans pleasantries or eye contact. The man creating talk radio has arrived. Like a conductor with baton, he pulls the mike to his face and the sound tech counts him down to airtime. The On Air sign flashes crimson. Barry Champlain has ascended the throne. He’s controversial and popular, and he doesn’t give a damn. He’s ready to dish out as good as he gets to a twisted, adoring public. Don’t mess with him; he might hurt you.
Eric Bogosian wrote this play with Tad Savinar, this role, for himself, based partly on the real life of cutting edge sensation shock-jock Alan Berg, murdered by a racist for his provocateur style and risky subject matter. It made Bogosian’s career. Upstart Productions features Elias Taylorson in the title role. It may prove to be a defining role for him as well.
It’s all Barry on the mike, never a hint of Taylorson acting as Barry. Regional director Regan Adair has created intense focus with classical pace and rhythm. Barry bounces in a blink from fending off a stream of wackos on air to dressing down his co-workers to hard-edged negotiating with the smarmy, controlling station manager, played with reptilian officiousness by Shane Beeson. The non-stop barrage never gives Taylorson time to pause or think; he simply reacts in character, lit cigarette dangling and booze close at hand, in what amounts to a poetic but offhand stream-of-consciousness performance. At moments he seems like a benign fatherly figure dispensing kindly advice; other times he seems like a cornered, rabid beast, lashing out at tormentors. Without warning he crumbles into a bewildered, exhausted loner — the weight of the world’s soul bearing down on him. The fluctuating beats flow naturally, as if he is living them. The other characters flutter around Barry in oddly syncopated yet naturalistic harmony, again reflecting the thoroughness of director Adair’s artistic vision and the trust and focus of this tight, professional ensemble.
Long before Lockerbie, the Unabomber, McVeigh and 9-11, or the likes of Michael Savage and Rush Limbaugh, Barry Champlain (nee Alan Berg) hunkered close in to his microphone amidst clouds of cigarette smoke, and prophesied a drugged-out, fear and hatred-riddled future in a nation consumed with trivial, consumerist pursuit. Powerful commentary for its era. Upstart Productions explores current relevance in the work and sends the audience out to ponder what the future may hold. They got ‘tude.
The excellent cast includes: Joey Folsom, Lulu Ward, Raquel Lydia Leal, Tony Martin, Meridith Morton, Michael Rains, Darren Steptoe and Clay Wheeler. Joel and Scott Bayer, Scott Payne and Mason York designed the time-suspending set, lighting and sound.
BONUS! Post performance, Upstart shares an informative video documenting an interview Elias Taylorson conducted with Judith Lee Berg, ex-wife of Alan Berg, the model for Barry Champlain, and Stephen Singular, Berg’s biographer. Stick around for the facts.
Talk Radio runs through November 21 at the Green Zone, 161 Riveredge Drive. Co-produced with Project X.
Tickets: www.upstarttheater.com
Link to Lawson Taitte’s Dallas News feature on actor Elias Taylorson:
http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/ent/columnists/ltaitte/stories/DN-talkradio_1104gd.ART.State.Edition1.4bbe2db.html
My Nightmare on Pearl St.
Like most theatre-loving folks in Dallas and as a regional theatre critic, I was very curious to see what the experience of attending a performance the new Wyly Theatre would be like. I got my chance this past Friday night, October 30, when Dallas Theater Center inaugurated its use of the Wyly Theatre with the production of Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream. I call the evening “My Nightmare on Pearl St.”
WYLY: Giant Gray Water Cooler
It took a while for my press pass to get confirmed by DTC staff, but when it did, I learned they arranged a parking pass for me at “the garage” so I wouldn’t have to pay $15 to park. I was instructed to “enter the garage from Pearl St. to get my parking pass.” Sounded simple. Seek parking pass, Wyly Theatre garage off Pearl St.
I hardly ever go downtown. Why would I? The theatre productions I review weekly are performed at a wide range of accessible venues in neighborhoods throughout the community. The closest I generally get to downtown is Deep Ellum for Undermain Theatre or Uptown for Kitchen Dog Theater. Plenty of free parking, close to the venues, with interesting bars and restaurants nearby for post-show discussion. I didn’t feel the need to Google the location; after all, the Wyly Theatre is a tall building standing off alone, probably sporting a prominent marquee of some sort, right? Hard to miss. I figured I’d get on Pearl St., cruise down to the theatre and park in its garage, as instructed. Just to be on the safe side, I left home fifteen minutes early, to allow for traffic.
I get to Pearl St., no problem. Except, it’s one way. Not the way I need to go. I know the general location of the venue, so I start exploring the frustrating one-way, ‘no turns allowed’ zigzags one has to follow to negotiate downtown Dallas’ street maze. If there are street signs, I can’t see them at night. I know I’m somewhere close as I can see the lipstick red of the Winspear Opera House as I foray along. Oddly, I can find no sign saying, “This is the Wyly Theatre”, or “Wyly Theatre Parking Here”. Five minutes pass. I go by what looks like a giant old-fashioned evaporative cooler, a tall, grayish box-y building. Not attractive or welcoming. Maybe the Wyly? Nothing much near it except the Winspear glowing like a space ship in full bloom about a football field away. I keep making turns, sure I’ll see a line of cars going into the bowels of the earth below the building, with signs and uniformed attendants. Finally I come across a line of cars heading into a parking structure. Delighted, I join the queue. This has to be it; I won’t arrive late. As I approach the attendant gate, it occurs to ask if I’m at Wyly parking. There are no signs anywhere, none that I can see. Wouldn’t it be silly to be at the wrong garage? “You’re at the Meyerson, miss.” Oops. I glance at the LONG line of cars behind me. “How do I get out, and where is Wyly parking?” I ask in panic. Told to “drive on through” with a shrug as though this is an everyday occurrence, I begin the labyrinthine search for an exit, recalling the Minoans and Sartre, realizing that at least three of the four cars parading along ahead of me are being piloted by lost souls, too. Another five minutes passes, feels like half an hour. The exit looms, and I pull to its lip. “Right Turn Only” greets me, again no street signs. I am truly lost now.
“The Wyly, a tall box of a building wrapped in a skin of aluminum tubes, is standoffish outside and yoga-flexible within; in classic Koolhaas form, the 600-seat theater dares the Dallas arts establishment to complain about its severe, basement-level concrete lobby, the almost punitively narrow main staircase and a terrace lined with bright-green fake grass.” Christopher Hawthorne, in the Los Angeles Times
I note again that giant grayish water cooler structure looming darkly, and there appear to be cops wearing reflective orange vests on another street corner a half block away, directing creeping carloads of confused people. Maybe they’ll guide a lost soul? Cheerily, they point me to the Winspear. I insist I’m there for the Wyly. “The WYLY. It’s over there?” Cop smiles broadly. “It’s got no parking yet, miss; you have to park under Big Red.” Big Red: a revelation. I turn left to approach Winspear parking entrance off yet another no-name street. To my amazed delight, the attendant has my name on his press-parking list, and I’m waved on in. By now, my “extra” five minutes have elapsed. My heart races, even if my car cannot due to the line of lost souls chugging ahead of me, seeking similar respite. I park my 2004 Kia Hatchback on Lexus P2, exhale a huge sigh and follow two ladies in stiletto heels to an escalator up. Up? I’m feeling disoriented by now. Am I still in Dallas or on some weird glass and concrete planet?
We arrive at ground floor level by Big Red. I can see Giant Gray Water Cooler some distance away. Trying not to fall into a dusky reflecting pool at walkway level, I approach another orange-vested gent. “Is that the Wyly over there, and how do I get to it?” I query him. “Just hop right in this golf cart, young lady, and I’ll buzz you on over! There’s a long, steep slope and I’d hate to see you fall in the dark, hurrying down it.” Golf cart? I notice a flotilla of them. Steep slope? And howdy, more concrete. A bonanza for the skateboard set, ought to be real interesting to negotiate in heels when black ice season hits. So, the terrain is flat around here…why dig a hole with a steep slope to bury the theater entrance below ground level? How will limos or cars with elderly and disabled people pull up close to disgorge their attending patrons? I flash on a sudden image of a graceful circular drive, landscaped attractively with colorful, live plants, flowing under an elegant, arching portico, bright-lit and welcoming. A bevy of handsome doormen bustle to assist patrons to alight. Chandeliers, buzz, merry anticipation? Wishful thinking. Back to dark, steep slope in a golf cart. Fake greenery. Grim aspect. It doesn’t even look like a theater.
Jeremy Gerard (former Dallas Morning News theater critic), in Bloomberg News: “In the Wyly, “There seems to be no quiet way for the actors to make exits and entrances; footsteps on metal stairs throughout the building pierce the walls, as do noises from the lobby. The seats are torture-chamber hard. All that stacked technology, I guess, required the entrance to the theater to be below the plaza level, down a concrete hill that seems to invite tripping.”
I emerge from my chariot and enter the Wyly’s main doors that remind me of a 1960’s science fiction movie set. I’m hoofing it now, don’t want to miss the opening moments of A Midsummer Night’s Dream. 8pm curtain. Can’t be hard to locate my seat.
I get my ticket at the press table and go through more sci-fi doors. Stairs loom ahead of me. LOTS of steep stairs. In grey metal, dimly lit. Whoa. No time to lay carpet before opening? I trudge slowly up, placing my feet carefully. On the landing, an usher purrs, “Thanks for going slow up these stairs, that’s very wise of you.” Ominous, yet. “Where is the carpet?” I wonder. “Gosh, these stairs are ugly and slippery. Hope there’s an elevator.” I’m baffled.
I find my seat on the ground floor, against the back wall, toss my purse and press packet into the empty chair bucket next to me and fall into mine. I need a stiff drink, but the show’s about to start, once the junior league chairman of the auxiliary committee to redefine art as we know it for the next century concludes his opening remarks. What’s this? No cush for the tush? Hard grayish plastic bucket seat, following the grey metal stairs motif. Ouch! Rough to sit through O’Neill’s Desire under the Elms or Stoppard’s The Invention of Love in chairs like these. Venue booking requirement; only short one-act plays, please, seats hurt audience bums too much for longer performance. How much did Dallas pay for this theater? Does the architect hate audiences? Did he ever take time to sit in these seats? I’ve sat on high school gym bleachers more comfortable than this. These seats will be easy to wash–just hose them down. Note to self: if you ever return here to review, bring ample stadium pillow for comfort.
Then I look up and around. The seating here is raked, so why can’t I see the stage? A man, average-sized, no Afro, no Stetson, sits in the row below, directly in front of me. I can’t see most of the stage through his head. I’m no midget. A seat with an obstructed view in a theater that cost how much? I shift to the empty seat to my left. Better, I think, until I realize my view of stage right is now blocked by a huge, grey, (no other color will do) column. A seat with an obstructed view in a theater that cost how much? I’d be pretty mad by now if I’d paid for this.
Finally, relief! Shakespeare’s words begin to grace the air. It’s a fast-paced show with much running up and down levels, climbing ladders, and entrances and exits from all sides of the modified thrust stage. There’s a catwalk about five feet above my head. I realize I’m missing dialogue because of the loud clomping of the herd of elephants, “fairies”, charging pell-mell down the ramp above to get to their next entrance on time. No baffling? No carpet? More bleak grey metal surface perhaps? Another venue requirement: only produce shows here where actors are barefoot and tiptoe along the catwalks. Whose ridiculous idea was this?
Intermission arrives. My neck aches from leaning way over to try to view stage right action, and I can’t feel my derriere. I stand up. Presumably there’s a ladies’ rest room and a BAR, somewhere, but I may need to rappel back down the slippery metal stairs to find them. I stretch and eat a breath mint. Pass on bathroom and adult beverage. At least for here. Visions of Knox-Henderson late night.
The play ends with cascades of balloons and soap bubbles, loud music and dancing, commingling of audience and cast in what feels like the final scene from the film Slumdog Millionaire. I find an exit out of Giant Gray Water Cooler Wyly at street level. I don’t have to climb the steep slope back out of the hole in the ground. I pause at the street corner en route to Big Red, marveling at the discomfort and confusion I’d just experienced. Who will want to endure it when winter comes, when rain and ice and wind whip across the vast emptiness between the Winspear and the Wyly, with no way to avoid their onslaught? Didn’t the architect learn about Dallas weather?
I ride a crowded elevator with other exhausted, stressed playgoers to Lexus P2 and slide into the comfy, padded driver’s seat of my lowly Kia. Before I turn on the ignition I find I can’t stop smiling. I really love reviewing Dallas’ regional theatre. Visions dance on my dashboard. I picture Undermain Theatre with its congenially tended parking lot right next to it on Main St. and Flower Mound Performing Arts Theater with its rustic charm, up close ground level access, free parking. I smell the breezes wafting off White Rock Lake by the Bath House Cultural Center and recall the warmth of its reception/ gallery/ box office area, the friendly staff. I recall how welcome I feel at well-lit WaterTower Theatre in Addison with its two clearly designated performance spaces, ground floor accessible, and easy to find bathrooms. Right next door is the Stone Cottage where MBS Productions performs with folding padded chairs, but no obstructed view in the house. I don’t mind sharing the one bathroom with Mark-Brian’s cast. At Lyric Stage I can drive right up to the brightly lit entrance and drop off a companion before I park in the lot adjacent; the excitement of live theatre spills out of the building from its ample carpeted lobby. No obstructed views and well-padded seats help make attending theatre there a pleasure. At Shakespeare Dallas’ Samuel-Grand Park setting, I set up my folding chair wherever the PR director escorts me to, ease back and enjoy a great view with snack and libation right out of my own ice chest. In Ft. Worth, there’s free parking after 6pm in the downtown garages on the square. Whether I’m heading to elegant Bass Hall or intimate Circle Theatre, I feel safe strolling to any of the eight or ten restaurants not five minutes from either venue before the show, or after, even if I’m alone. There are no steep concrete slopes to negotiate, unprotected from severe weather. I’m so glad the metroplex has a wide array of thriving performance arts groups and venues that serve the needs of attendant audiences and artists so well. My Nightmare on Pearl St.? It offers a different sort of memorable experience. I wish the Wyly Theatre speedy resolve with some of their evident opening challenges. I also wish Dallas Theater Center, flagship theatre company for the region, the very best with productions at its new, modern venue.
“Although Los Angeles is often dismissed (and misunderstood) by Europhiles as a city with no center and no heart, Dallas would be the better example….The Arts District is the cultural version of that city. Here star projects sit in self-satisfied isolation, unrelated to each other, unconcerned. If these buildings are supposed to be part of an effort to ‘regenerate’ or ‘reconnect’ the city center, they have failed.” Edwin Heathcote, in Financial Times
Quotes pulled from Scott Cantrell’s article in the Dallas Morning News Sunday, November 1, 2009: “Critics weigh in on Wyly Theatre and Winspear Opera House”
As Minds Lie: Second Thought Theatre
Bryan Lewis, Chad Gowen Spear: David Leggett photo
A Lie of the Mind. I want to call it “LIES of the Mind”. All the characters in this play inoculate themselves from life’s painful realities with lies. Layers of ‘em. That’s only one aspect of Sam Shepard’s dramatic masterpiece about spousal abuse, family dysfunction and the path of self-destruction his despondent, degenerate characters crawl down. It’s more like LAY of the land; get a handle on this ‘lie of mind’.
Who wants to sit through a three-act play about such grim subject material, anyway? What soap opera: isn’t life sad and seamy enough? Here’s the genius of Sam Shepard. He writes about really messed up people and makes it so interesting the three acts fly by. If the play is executed well, that is. In Dallas’ Second Thought Theatre’s case, the company rises to the occasion with style, grit and relish.
Aside from being fascinating to watch at some squirrelly, voyeuristic level, this play is amazingly cathartic. An actor just can’t sleepwalk his/her role mumbling the lines and looking rough and raunchy bespattered in stage blood and gore. Nope. He/she has to inhabit a role, find plausible motivations (within the ‘mind’s lie’) for irrational behavior and hold the audience perched taut on seat edge through a highly tortured search for transcendence. Kind of like juggling hand grenades, wondering if they’re live or not. Try really hard not to drop one, but keep on juggling.
Helming Second Thought’s production is Mac Lower, a youngish but seasoned director who has studied with Sir Peter Hall, participated in the Edward Albee New Playwrights Workshop and the Lincoln Center Theater Directors Lab. He gives his actors the freedom to follow outrageous instincts and become monsters enmeshed in their fantasies and lies, while leading them through a grounded reality that looks on the surface like “normal” life to an audience’s gaze. He has the Second Thought cast leap, eyes open, into a dark abyss of mind exploration.
Consider the two mothers in the play. Sylvia Luedtke plays Lorraine, mother to the play’s protagonist, psychotic wife abuser Jake. In order to keep him safe from the world that forces him to act like a monster (not his fault, not a bit), she attempts to imprison him in her home in a near catatonic state, killing him with “kindness” and cream of broccoli soup. When he flees, she simply burns the house down. Luedtke portrays Lorraine as an All-American mom, just looking out for her boy and cleaning up after, with simple sincerity and the utter conviction she has the world by its tail and is following the most logical game plan. She’s nuts, but the audience buys her rationale as she treads a fine line between over the top caricature and naturalism. Luedtke has amazing interpretive instincts as an actor; Lower’s direction makes excellent use of them.
Nancy Sherrard plays Meg, mother of Jake’s now brain-damaged wife. Meg is abused, herself, bullied by her cruel sadist husband Baylor, played with relentless, ego-inflated self-delusion by Barry Nash as an unredeemable misogynist bigot. Sherrard has a huge presence on stage and often plays commanding roles; yet her character in this play is beaten down and soft, has retreated to a selective reality fantasy world where she no longer engages in any confrontation. Impeccable timing and nuanced line delivery inform Sherrard’s acting in any role she takes on; here, working with director Lower, she uses these well-honed skills to reveal a cloying simplicity punctuated with brief moments of mental clarity like ephemeral puffs of smoke. Pitiful yet believable, crazy as a loon, she creates a superb metaphorical contrast to Luedtke’s hyper “action mom”.
Can one sympathize with a wife abuser, particularly when one sees the hideous bruising and brain damage inflicted on his wife, the result of savage beatings? Jake is deranged and dangerous, easy to make him a one-dimensional sadistic jerk. Lock him up, fry his ass. Shepard works his artistic magic and gives this character the play’s charge to seek and find transcendence. Chad Gowen Spear merges childish unreasonableness with child-like bewilderment in creating the role. Intensely physical yet reflective, the actor reveals an ever-changing kaleidoscope of attributes and motivations in a presumptively “unthinking” character. Gowen Spear looks like a man who “thinks”; in this role, he must feel first. His mind “lies” on unexpected ground. Director Lower pushes this actor to experience such intense suffering as Jake that it carries him and the audience to a new perspective on the life experience of an abuser. Unusual and unforgettable portrayal.
Guess what, abused wife Beth isn’t just a stereotypical victim here. She’s also pretty handy at dishing out abuse. Oddly enough, her brain-damaged state renders her as the clearest thinker in the play. Anastasia Munoz embraces physical roles with complete abandon. Director Lower ekes every last drop of kinesthetic sensibility out of her performance as Beth. The audience aches with her every bruise and broken bone then watches in horror as she evolves into an inadvertent abuser, too. It’s quite a transformation.
Rounding out the solid ensemble cast are Duane Deering and Bryan Lewis as innocent family members swept up in everyone else’s misery and Elizabeth Evans as Jake’s sister desperately trying to flee the codependent dysfunction surrounding her. They all look and feel like “family” and work as both foils and catalysts for the main characters’ actions. Superb casting all around by Mac Lower. What a fine study of the potential for and expression of madness where “a mind lies.”
Realistic multi-level set design by Chris Jenkins, effective sound with original composition by Heath Gage and lighting by Jason Driggers creates the right ambience. Marty Van Kleeck’s costumes reinforce the stark realities of each character while helping to maintain an overall subdued sense of impending doom.
A Lie of the Mind, by Sam Shepard, runs through November 14 with one matinee on November 8 at the Addison Centre Studio Space next to Water Tower Theatre.
Tickets: www.brownpapertickets.com, 800-838-3006
Information: www.secondthoughttheatre.com
Ochre House’s Empty Room: Fill your Head
Rock music mantra “free your head,” echoed across the late 60’s-early 70’s, when our nation’s repressive government pitted a frightening arsenal of mind control techniques against the drug and free spirit ideology-induced revolutionary paradigm shift of a rebellious generation.
"If you cooperate, things will go much easier...."
SDS, the Weathermen, Socialist Workers Party members, Earth First-ers and the artists and musicians who crystallized their diverse, anarchy-leaning thought into bumper sticker slogans and catchy acoustic tunes found themselves arrested, interrogated, imprisoned, fined, black-listed, blackmailed and sometimes killed off for real or perceived nefarious infractions. True civil disobedience was met with harsh retribution, as it would be today. Snitches and CIA operatives infiltrated naïve, idealistic “focus groups” and cells of dissent with ease. The clashes of the forces of ordered control and those who seek to undermine them provide stage worthy fodder to fill the mind.
“Lots of people do a lot of horrible things in the name of right.”
Or so thinks Kevin Grammer, local actor, creative persona and regular member of Matt Posey’s The Ochre House acting company, THE PIONEERS OF THE SUAVANTE-GARDE. With Empty Room, running at The Ochre House through November 21, Grammer dips his peripatetic big toe into the play-writing pond and disturbs the still, deep waters with quicksilver ripples that make you wonder what unplumbed tsunami of thought may lurk behind.
Empty Room is a short five-character play, with four of them on stage. It takes place in a blank room, a timeless lock-down holding cell. Two TV monitors, facing the house, are mounted above the cell, where on-going interrogation can be viewed in counterpoint to the scenes progressing main stage. On stage characters lament, berate one another, cling tight and deal with the waiting limbo madness with various degrees of resignation, distrust or paranoia. It could be now; it could be 1969. Catalyst for much of the interaction, spoken of sadly by all, is a sister, killed accidentally when a bomb goes off in her hands. Civil action gone awry. Each stage character disintegrates as the interrogation torture begins, delivered by a crisp, courtly doctor in bowtie and suspenders played with firm but polite reserve by Grammer, himself. How does the mental torture of regret affect the mind? Does physical torture affect the mind less? After they return from individual ‘sessions’, does the room the characters occupy seem emptier? You decide.
The solid cast of Empty Room includes Laurel Whitsett, Mitchell Parrack, Brian Witkowicz and Kevin Grammer. Grammer wrote and directed the play; Matthew Posey designed the set, lighting and sound. Roll up your pants legs, Mr. Grammer, and wade on into the oceanic possibilities of crafting plays. The water’s fine.
As is Empty Room.
The play runs through November 21, Wednesdays through Saturdays, at 8:15 pm. The Ochre House is located at 825 Exposition Avenue, in the same block as the Amsterdam Bar. Plenty of accessible, FREE parking.
RESERVATIONS: (214) 826-6273
“How do you stop terrorism? Quit participating in it.” Noam Chomsky
PHOTO: left to right, Kevin Grammer (Doctor), Brian Witkowicz (Man 2), Laurel Whitsett (Woman), Mitchell Parrack (Man 1)
Full Sail Ahead: Port Twilight premieres
Mad Scientists in Port Twilight by Len Jenkin
Sci-fi thrillers make perfect viewing for autumn nights. Undermain Theatre sweeps into Fall 2009 with the world premiere of Port Twilight: or A History of Science (A Chronicle of Folly, Wisdom and Madness). It’s a sci-fi fantasy/ thriller by Len Jenkin, one of the nation’s most distinguished playwrights, directed by Lakewood resident and Undermain Theatre’s artistic director Katherine Owens. Owens met Jenkins while touring a production in New York more than a decade ago. In 2006, Undermain’s production of Jenkin’s Margo Veil: an entertainment, also directed by Owens, earned kudos from The Dallas Morning News as the number one pick of the seasons’ top ten productions. Jenkins’ credentials and awards are quite impressive: they include three Obie Awards for directing and playwriting, a Guggenheim Fellowship, a Rockefeller Foundation Award, a nomination for an Emmy Award, four National Endowment for the Arts Fellowships and a PhD in literature from Columbia University. His stage plays have been produced throughout the United States, as well as in England, Germany, France, Denmark, and Japan. Dallas is honored.
A member of a group of New York based writers known as “The Language Playwrights” with pronounced language-based, lyrical focus, Jenkin feels right at home in Undermain’s unique, always magical performing space under Main St. in Deep Ellum. Mel Gussow of the New York Times opines, “In his plays, Len Jenkin often takes us on dark midnight rides to mythic environments…he leads us through a stretch of the American landscape tantalizing our senses and creating a haunting world.” He could be describing the fantastical ambience of Undermain Theatre, as well.
In Port Twilight, the landscape plays a defining role. Owens brought in two leading Texas scenic painters and designers, Linda Noland and Terry Hays, to create a layered landscape effect in the performance space, like public murals. The designers worked furiously for over a month, using the same techniques to create the murals that Michelangelo used in decorating the Sistine Chapel. At completion, over two hundred feet of painted muslin in bright color schemes energizes and encases the whole underground space, including wrapping around the numerous columns that define the performance area.
Owens says working with Jenkin on his plays is inspirational as well as good fun. Jenkin came down from New York (he teaches at NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts) in October to sit in on rehearsals. Both director and playwright felt the production was moving along so well, they decided to take time off and play one afternoon at the Texas State Fair. All Undermain designers involved with Port Twilight joined in on the outing. Owens laughs about the excursion:” Four and a half hours later we got back to the rehearsal space. I was so exhausted keeping up with the merriment, I fell sound asleep for three hours in the theatre, with people working all around me.”
When Port Twilight opens this Saturday night November 14th, all that imaginative exploration, lyrical writing, hard work painting and good times playing will come together. Like magic.
Undermain Theatre’s production of Port Twilight: or A History of Science runs through December 12 at their Deep Ellum location in the basement of a six-story red brick building at 3200 Main Street, Dallas, TX between Hall St. and Exposition Ave.
Plenty of FREE, well lit, accessible, cordially attended parking.
For tickets, call (214) 747-5515 or go to www.undermain.org
PHOTO: Danielle Piccard, Ariana Cook, Josh Blann and Christian Taylor
Ashley Randall, photographer
Don’t pity this whore: Slasher at Kitchen Dog
Slasher is way too bold and bright to pity as a whore. Kitchen Dog Theater’s production of Alison Moore’s national stage hit is more of a bright-eyed, new ‘recruit on the street’ type of play, a saucy tart oozing charm and redemptive qualities in flashing neon-lit burn. Moore’s high dudgeon farce weaves two close-hooked themes like patchouli incense through the production; one is an exploration of manipulation and (s)exploitation, the other examines aspects of good and evil.
Don't mess with Frances
Not a whit heavy-handed, the only hammer near this production is wielded by wheelchair-disabled mother Frances who smashes her painkillers as personal release and declaration of war on cheap porn. Go, Frances.
All the fun and frolic’s in the action, just like in the slasher film genre the play pillories, replete with a breadth of blood-smeared, jiggling tits and ass revealed alluringly en route to chainsaw. The plot unfolds like the film Waiting for Guffman: sleazy film producer (Chris Hury) blows into town and cons local ingénue Sheena (Martha Harms) into becoming the “last girl” killed in his newest slasher venture, i.e. his ‘star’, with more lustful intent than artistic sensibility. But wait, he’s no match for the pragmatic, independent-minded Sheena who negotiates a high pay package for her film appearance (“It cannot be exploitation when they are paying me this much money”), nor for her Bates Motel savage mother Frances (Lisa Hassler), spouting Gloria Steinem-speak on one hand, through drug-addicted haze, and wielding a home-made bomb in the other. Don’t mess with this Mama, no how. Add a sweet, sprightly, dim-wit aspiring film assistant (Drew Wall), minor “luv interest” for Sheena, and a parade of Kentucky-fried catalytic characters and disposable wenches, some with hatchets imbedded in their skulls and revealingly clad (Leah Spillman); Kitchen Dog serves up a theatrical feast heftier than a Manwich Sanwich with a heaping, ketchup-laced side of Hamburger Helper. Mm-mm, good.
Clare Floyd Devries’ set defines the space mostly vertical, with pulsating neon lights and two raunchy portraits (one a nasty slasher dude, the other a wide-eyed blonde babe) flanking the stage area and stretching way up into fly space, painted by Cathey Miller. Mama Frances enters through a backlit upstage arch on her ‘power-chariot’, Jaws-like accompaniment pumping up every time she motors in ready for battle. Garish lighting by Suzanne Lavender defines the wholly unwholesome mood. Cameron Cobb goes to extravagant and perverted lengths, utterly delightful, in creating original music and sound design and choreographing the lurid fight/seduction scenes. What’s a genuine slasher-flick without a dose of gratuitous sexploitation masquerading as a fight scene? How many such films did Cobb endure viewing to get that slimy ambience down pat? Christine Vela’s costumes and Jen Gilson-Gilliam and Judy Niven’s props are the cheesy cat’s pajamas, like Cool Whip and sprinkles on this 7-11 banana crème pie special.
Good clean fun!
Director Tina Parker’s ensemble purrs along in chaotic, cartoon-like squalor, portraying the unfolding dichotomy of good and evil with merry vengeance. Rebekah Kennedy as Frances’ school-aged daughter gives a nice turn as a school-focused innocent, oblivious to all the chaotic folderol unleashed around her. Don’t bring your Tums; it goes down real smooth.
Considered “a gathering point for theater professionals and critics to take the temperature of the American theater” (St. Paul Pioneer Press, April, 2008) the 33rd Humana Festival honored playwright Allison Moore by featuring her play Slasher in its 2009 line-up. The Humana Foundation has sponsored the festival for thirty years, the largest and longest-running current partnership between a theatre and a corporation in the country.
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Slasher at Kitchen Dog Theater runs through December 12
Tickets: 214-953-1055 or www.kitchendogtheater.org
Zen-ergy Shoots the Moon at Undermain Theatre
Watch a small child get lulled to sleep by a fantastical tale that concludes in total peace and quiet. As the final moment of Undermain Theatre’s production of Port Twilight: A History of Science wound down to a silent, “zen-ergized” finale on opening night November 14, I could feel most of the audience join me in a collective gasp, breath caught in sheer delight. I felt like that small child.
"Enjoy yourself: it's later than you think!"
The chameleon-like wonder of it, the pulsating wave after wave of lyrical language and startling sensory effect that infuses every atom of playing space, the humorous tangents commingled with ominous pauses like droplets of honey and tart lemon on the tongue, we watched, fascinated, as mere, foolish humans struggled to solve enormous universal riddles while barely managing mundane existence. Hard to call it a play, more of a mesmerizing meditation carried out by ritual celebrants commonly known as “actors.” It is, indeed, a true staged celebration of life.
Ogle the set design, enthralled, when you walk into the theatre. Over two hundred feet of muslin stretches throughout every recess and blank wall of the labyrinthine space, wraps around the support columns, disappears back stage, drifts out towards the lobby. Boldly splashed in radiant, resplendent graphic display, the panorama was meticulously hand-painted over a month’s time span by fine artists Linda Noland and Terry Hays, under the guidance of Undermain’s Tony Award-winning set designer John Arnone. A nod to Lascaux’s cave art flows into comic book characters that twist into Picasso-esque fantasy worlds and strident graffiti that would fit naturally into a New York subway tunnel. Strings of tiny, white lights dot the landscape, far and near, twinkling at appropriate moments like magical fireflies. The visual impact is as brilliantly evocative, reminiscent of special effects in 2001: A Space Odyssey. The expansive panorama depicts the whole universe unfolding before your eyes, draws you in deeper and deeper…and deserves mounting in a museum or gallery once the play closes.
I am no quantum physicist. No way! But the multiple threads of odyssey-like tale in Port Twilight weave together with such structured rhythm that I suspect the presence of some genius algorithm driving them along. Ten actors play a myriad of overlapping roles and stroll or scamper in and out of each other’s scenes/ realities. In one, a young girl (Danielle Pickard) wanders the landscape in search of love and acceptance, encounters an obsessed, fatalistic scientist neighbor (Josh Blann with a hair-do from Hades) and finally finds her heart’s desire (Ian Sinclair).
"Too many detours" Josh Blann
In another reality, a blasé middle-aged couple (slicked back Jonathan Brooks looking like a 60’s movie idol and Shannon Kearns-Simmons adorned all Neiman’s sheik in black cocktail ensemble) alternate between addressing the audience from lawn chairs in the jaded town of Port Twilight like a slightly inebriated Greek chorus, snubbing each other, and assisting a dominatrix research scientist (Stefanie Tovar) in a search for extraterrestrial contact. Along the way they re-connect with each other. Another thread lampoons the machinations of bad script writing and LA-textured B-movie filmmaking (Jessica Cavanagh, Arianna Cook, Bruce DuBose, Josh Blann, Ian Sinclair) with satisfying resolution. In yet another scenario, a crazed rabbi mumbling rote incantations (Bruce DuBose) wanders aimlessly through several layers of reality, in vain search of a new Messiah, accompanied by a bedraggled orphan servant (Ian Sinclair). What they find, (loincloth clad, feral Christian Taylor) is unanticipated. There’s more, which I won’t spoil for the reader by describing. At routine intervals, a chorus line of scientists in dark sunglasses and white lab coats dances vaudeville-style while singing the 40’s samba tune Enjoy Yourself (It’s Later Than You Think). There’s an intense, apocalyptic video interlude and a wacky alien machine puppet with a huge exotic head and moving appendages with flashing red lights. A menacing organ grinder (Kent Williams) with a monkey dispensing Chinese fortunes from a tin cup strolls through many threads and directly accosts the audience, grinning like a Cheshire cat. Does he hold the key to the universe? The end arrives and steals everyone’s breath away. Enjoy yourselves, y’all.
Undermain’s versatile acting ensemble is in fine form here, drops nary a line, misses no quintessential physical moment. With the endless cacophony of non sequitur action rounding the play’s arc, the cast demonstrates admirable trust and focus. This show could not reach its kinesthetically stunning heights without the dedicated work of a superlative tech crew. The “unsung stars” are: John Arnone (scenic design), Giva Taylor and Angus Deardoff (costume design), Steve Woods (lighting design), Bruce DuBose (musical composition), Jeffrey Franks (video design), Jessica Barnett (stage management), Brooks Aubrey (prop fabrication), Ben Bryant (master electrician), Rob Menzel (audio consultant), Sean-Michael Galgano (sound board operator), Sean Springer/ Erik Cardenas (additional creative construction). Quite a team; take a much-deserved bow.
And then there is the Merlin of the piece, playwright Len Jenkin. Jenkin’s credentials and awards include three Obie Awards for directing and playwriting, a Guggenheim Fellowship, a Rockefeller Foundation Award, a nomination for an Emmy Award, four National Endowment for the Arts Fellowships and a PhD in literature from Columbia University. His stage plays have been produced throughout the United States, as well as in England, Germany, France, Denmark, and Japan. Dude knows his stuff.
Undermain Theatre’s production of Port Twilight: or A History of Science runs through December 12 at their Deep Ellum location in the basement of a six-story red brick building at 3200 Main Street, Dallas, TX between Hall St. and Exposition Ave.
Plenty of FREE, well lit, accessible, cordially attended parking. But…watch out for poorly marked “no parking” spaces on the street.
For tickets, call (214) 747-5515 or go to www.undermain.org
PHOTOS by Ashley Randall
Top: (l to r) Danielle Piccard, Ariana Cook, Josh Blann and Christian Taylor
BOTTOM: Josh Blann
Swamped with Misfortune
What a technical delight. Jeffrey Schmidt directed as well as designed set and sound for Theatre Three’s current production of Lanford Wilson’s 1980 Pulitzer Prize-winning play Talley’s Folly. His creative juices and resourcefulness shine in assembling the derelict boathouse set for the play. It’s simple and effective–all elements recyclable, re-used lumber, found objects, masses and strips of paper, crumpled up old show posters. The diverse elements seem incongruous, yet the finished design exudes the tangible ambience of a formerly elegant, now derelict, shanty on the edge of a swamp. Easy to picture the mosquitoes that must breed and swarm there, the nests of poisonous snakes that lurk under its disintegrating pilings. Wilson’s quirky WWII romance soars with lyrical flights of language and imagery that dive off into unexpected turns of phrase and reflection. Director Schmidt’s inventive, innovative set couldn’t be more appropriate for this play, with his sound design and Amanda West’s moonlight-washed lighting design intensifying its impact.
Unrequited, Unquiet Love
Unfortunately, the acting does not follow suit. This play is basically one long lover’s spat, with the inevitable peaks and valleys of communication that a spat entails. Chuck Huber as oddball suitor Matt demonstrates intriguing potential in his opening monologue, which curiously loops back upon itself for self-examination and pulls the audience in close. Huber understands how to utilize a script to reveal subtext, the power of silence, and how decisive movement can inform a character like no words ever can. But from the moment Shauna McLean baldly shouts her entrance as Sally, all possibility of nuanced performance or interaction dissipates like the morning mist around the boathouse. Hers is a stressful, unconvincing performance. She appears to have been given a single stage direction, “Enunciate clearly and speak loudly. VERY loudly.” She grimaces and yells, which doesn’t give Huber’s Matt much of a place to go, much less the evolving love affair any basis for credibility. Nobody yells his/her way into a love affair.
Two issues here: first, fine that Theatre Three does not mike its actors. Teach the actors how to project properly so a whisper can be heard and understood as well as a shout. McLean’s voice must be pretty hoarse after each performance. Second, Huber’s character Matt gets irrationally agitated numerous times, which should physically threaten Sally. McLean delivers her lines that she’s leaving but makes next to no effort to do so, in spite of Huber not blocking her avenue of escape, in spite of him behaving threateningly. She seems to shrug his emotional explosions off, hardly notice them? The culminating kiss at play’s conclusion looks out of place, does not reflect mature acceptance of love’s power. It doesn’t make logical sense. Huber and McLean look attractive together as Matt and Sally; but with her strained delivery, lack of subtle expression or appropriate physical response, there is little believable chemistry generated. It’s a poignant, intriguing play with abundant emotional content and a romantic setting to die for. Too bad it suffers the misfortune of early demise in this particular realization.
Talley’s Folly runs through December 20 at Theatre Three. Tickets and Reservations: Theatre Three’s Box Office at 214-871-3300, option 1 or www.theatre3dallas.com
Photo Credit: Ken Birdsell
L-R: Shauna McLean, Chuck Huber
Good Things, Still Waiting: Stage West
Good things come to those who wait, or so the saying goes. Walking out of a performance of Scottish dramatist and poet Liz Lochhead’s play Good Things at Stage West, I realized I was still waiting. I have tremendous respect for the wide-ranging body of creative work created by Stage West artists. Earlier this year they mounted an admirable production of Thornton Wilder’s demanding, complex, experimental, three-act opus The Skin of Our Teeth. An unwieldy, at best, play. Tough and long for a modern audience to follow, it’s even harder for modern actors, barely versed in enacting the ‘well-made play’ tradition, to perform with believable characterization given its abrupt leaps from stylized comedy to political theatre within a surreal over-arching apocalyptic world view…. Stage West really pulled it off and provided as much of a satisfying audience experience as any company that doesn’t have Julie Taymor’s production budget and technical execution team could hope to do.
So why present Good Things by Liz Lochhead? It’s Scottish, with at least four dialects, maybe more. I lost count. I don’t know them. I watched four qualified actors playing multiple roles wander adrift in a sea of clumsy voicing, occasionally falling out of whatever dialect they were attempting completely. So distracting. With the plethora of available well-penned American comedies, why does any company choose to stray across the pond and face its actors with the prospect of trying to create strong characters while speaking in foreign accents, dialects, idioms they aren’t familiar with? And then expect the audience to follow along cheerily and comprehend it, too? The 20-somethings seated near me fidgeted and checked text messages with increasing frequency as the play proceeded, as the dystopian challenge of making ha-ha out of another culture strained their patience. Mine, too. Will they come back, after a dose of this?
Then there is the play, itself. Act I is a long expository set-up dealing with a middle-aged aged woman trying to come out of her shell and start dating again: pratfalls, lost shoes, mixed up identities, ex-husbands, summer/winter romance, repressed desire, a full bag of tricks, like many American plays. Then in Act II we learn a stalker has pursued the woman relentlessly. What has been light and funny suddenly goes dark, very dark, when it’s revealed the stalker either commits suicide or gets accidentally run over by a bus. Just ask any woman who has dealt with a stalker. It’s NOT funny. This play becomes Not Funny with muddy Scottish accents.
Love ya, Stage West! I’m patient and devoted and glad to wait for good things to come. Jim Covault directed Good Things with creative input from Jerry Russell. The cast included Stephanie Dunnam, Jim Covault, Amber Guest and John S. Davies (with closest to comprehensible accent). Jim Covault designed the set and co-designed costumes with Peggy Kruger O’Brien. Lights by Michael O’Brien, props and décor (voluminous and detailed) by Lynn Lovett.
Good Things by Liz Lochhead ran at Stage West Oct. 29 – Nov. 29.
Their holiday offering A Don’t Hug Me Christmas Carol opens December 10, features Bradley Campbell, Lana K. Hoover and Jim Johnson and is directed by Jerry Russell and Aaron Albin.
For tickets call: 817-784-9378, or visit www.stagewest.org
Rim Rock Opera Delights at Circle Theatre
So much holiday fare leaves a flat taste in the mouth like last year’s store-bought sugar cookies. It’s got all the razzle-dazzle of tinsel, shiny ornaments and consumerist frenzy but misses the true heart and soul of the holiday by a country mile.
Hitch your team of mules to your buckboard and trot on over to Circle Theatre at Sundance Square in Ft. Worth. Their holiday offering, the world premiere of the “rim rock opera” A Lone Star Christmas, will tickle your funny bone, please your ear, keep your toe tapping, drive a tear down your cheek and honor the core of the love lesson mean ol’ Scrooge learns in the classic Dickens tale.
Combining bluegrass, swing, country ballad, and a cappella voicing, it’s stitched together by a kindly, homespun storyteller (Gary Moody, who also penned the book and lyrics), who steps in and out of the action at appropriate moments, Circle’s production offers a gentle unfolding of the adaptation. It sways along in tempo with the Taylor-Made Boys’ guitars and upright bass (Charles Crawford, Rick Norman & Gary Taylor), poised upstage for much of the show like at a West Texas barn dance.
Sound corny? Not a bit. It’s more fun than a “horned frog on a red ant hill.” The cast of six plays multiple roles, sings non-stop and strolls in and out with easy grace as the narrator unfolds his story. The humorous, dire fate of Jacob Marley (played with charm and gusto by Jeff McGee) contrasts vividly with the poignant daydreams of Mrs. Cratchit, and Scrooge’s loss of his life’s love Belle as the love of money overtakes him. The singing voices, while not always perfect, please the ear and fit the musical style. One song “Oh Ebenezer/ Lie to Me” hints at the rhythmical complexity of Sondheim and makes you want to holler out ‘encore’ with its melodious harmonies and soaring sadness. John Venable, a tall, slim handsome drink of water in tight jeans, delivers an outstanding vocal performance with tender interpretation of Scrooge as younger Ebenezer and as Bob Cratchit. Burl Proctor as older Scrooge brings a rough-edged vigor to the role, equally at home center stage nasty and growling or pleading his case trailing after a ghost. He makes the redemptive transition believable. Director Chris Robinson keeps the scene transitions snappy while honoring the overarching gentle tempo of the piece. Eddie Floresca’s choreography flows smooth and natural, and Drenda Lewis’ cheerful costume choices define characters and mood alike. The versatile stage ensemble includes: Rachel Rice, Heatherton Hardy Wilson, John Venable, Burl Proctor, Jeff McGee and Gary Moody.
Take a break from the rush, crush and commercial frenzy. Remember what richness of joy love and generosity can bring this season with Circle Theatre’s A Lone Star Christmas Carol.
CD’s of the music, produced and performed by Gary Taylor and Lloyd Maines are available in the theatre lobby.
A Lone Star Christmas Carol, book by Gary Moody, music and lyrics by Gary Taylor and Gary Moody, runs through December 19. Reservations: 817.877.3040 or www.circletheatre.com
PHOTO: Front row: Rachel Rice, Heatherton Hardy Wilson
Second row: John Venable, Burl Proctor, Jeff McGee
Third row: Gary Moody, Gary Taylor
Good Times of the Season, Yah, Ya Know, at Stage West
A Don’t Hug Me Christmas Carol? What sort of high carb Minnesota goulash casserole is Stage West serving up for its holiday entrée? A cheery one, with a Waring-style blender mix of farcical high-jinks, zany, hug-able characters, and a romantic story loosely crafted (as in goose) on Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol, set in a small-town Minnesota bar in blizzard conditions. Director Jerry Russell’s impeccable comedic instincts insure that all musical numbers (eighteen of them) flow naturally, feel like vaudeville routines, get funnier as they proceed along and somehow never detract from the play’s ice-thin plot’s unfolding.
Is this a play or a musical? It’s requires a leap of faith for the local audience at first. Lights flashing and pulsing, the karaoke machine sitting downstage right in the barroom set takes over and turns itself on at will, engaging the hapless characters onstage in spirited song and dance, from wherever they are standing, whatever their dialogue. About the third ‘interruptus’, the audience gets the hang of the show’s tongue-in-cheek format and starts chuckling; thereafter, they’re rooting for the gags, eagerly awaiting the next twist of homespun farce or musical hyper hyperbole as it launches. Stage West’s production takes aim and pleases, across the board. Hugs earned all around, in spite of the title.
A Don’t Hug Me Christmas Carol is no lame, haphazard second stringer in the major market success department. The brothers Olson, Paul and Phil, who wrote and composed the show, hail from Edina, Minnesota. A major part of the play’s genuine charm arises out of these brothers’ ability to poke fun at themselves and at the Minnesota cultural stereotypes they create within the Scrooge tale. In addition, like A Tuna Christmas following close on the success of Greater Tuna, this holiday adventure tags along after its triumphant predecessor. Stage West’s press release reveals: “Don’t Hug Me was a smash hit in Los Angeles, where it won four Artistic Director Achievement Awards, including Best Original Musical. It was so successful that three theatres booked the sequel even before it was written. A Don’t Hug Me Christmas Carol opened in five cities simultaneously in 2006, playing for sixteen weeks in Los Angeles to sold-out houses.” The show’s tone may feel hokey-dokey-pokey, but it’s as classically styled as a Noel Coward production.
Stage West’s cast brings the right complement of energy, talent and ensemble professionalism to the enterprise. Bradley Campbell and Lana K. Hoover play a couple resigned to the fact their marriage has lost its luster, Gunner and Clara, with Bradley doubling as the “Scrooge” who needs to learn a lesson about love and generosity. Randy Pearlman and Mary Jerome-Autrey play a second couple at odds, Knute and Bernice, he hopelessly in love with her, she dazzled by the idea of stardom away from the bar and mundane life. Jerome-Autry also doubles as the pseudo-Tiny Tim of the show, almost bringing the house down in Act I with her rendition of “You Can Call Me Tiny”. Tying the Dickens tale together is Jim Johnson, playing aging roué Sven Yorgenson, with a penchant for Dean Martin impersonation. He also performs as the ghosts who visit the bar to educate the Scrooge-like Gunner. Oozing smarmy charm like a leaky tube of suntan lotion on a hot tin roof, Johnson’s Sven and the ghosts he plays, thinly disguised, amplify the hilarity to high pitch in Act II. “The Bunyan Beguine” could make one pee one’s pants as Johnson delivers it. And there’s a karaoke sing-a-long at the end for the laughter-inebriated audience to join in on the fun. Oh, the ribs do ache.
Holiday stage fare in Ft Worth is a winner this season. Enjoy dinner at Stage West’s café and see A Hug Me Christmas Carol first. The next night dine at Sundance Square and attend A Lone Star Christmas at Circle Theatre for a different, enjoyable experience. Stage West’s A Don’t Hug Me Christmas Carol runs through January 17. The company will host its popular New Year’s Eve party on Thursday, December 31, an evening featuring the performance, followed by light food (including traditional black-eyed peas) and a champagne toast at midnight. Reservations and information are available through the Box Office (817-784-9378), or on the website, www.stagewest.org.
PHOTO: Bradley Campbell (bottom), Lana K. Hoover & Randy Pearlman
Lyrical magnificence: Black Nativity at Bishop Arts
The show begins in complete darkness, silence. When the curtain rises, a simple wooden cradle rests upstage on a small raised platform strewn with straw. The women enter, slowly, decisively, tall and short, clad in colorful, flowing robes reflecting their African–American heritage; and their music inhabits the space. “Go Tell It on the Mountain.” Earth-born elegance. Incandescent artistry. Celebratory, heart-pounding rhythms drawn from classical to gospel repertoire. Looking for a unique way to honor the spirit of the season and community-driven, superior performance art, too? Langston Hughes’ Black Nativity provides that magic.
“My seeking has been to explain and illuminate the Negro condition in America and obliquely that of all human kind.” Langston Hughes
Adjacent to the Bishop Arts District in Oak Cliff sits a first-class, unassuming performance venue that entertains, educates and serves over 15,000 children, adults and thespian artists every year with cultural relevance and diversity. Through December 20th, TeCo Theatrical Productions at the Bishop Arts Theater Center presents African-American poet, activist and playwright Langston Hughes’ retelling of the Nativity story, Black Nativity. He incorporates traditional Christmas hymns, all interpreted in Gospel style. When the show was first performed on Broadway on December 11, 1961, it was one of the first plays written by an African-American to appear there. And it featured 160 performers arranged by age group and vocal range, with full orchestration
In TeCo’s production, a smaller cast fills the stage with their remarkable classically trained voices and fine acting presence. Included in the ensemble of eleven performers are the members of the acclaimed New Arts Six ensemble, including their director as play narrator. This unique collaborative of classically schooled women artists focuses on producing original musical/theatrical works and utilizes Spirituals to musically record history and folk tradition. What a rare opportunity to see New Arts Six employ the full range of their diversity of talents in performing Hughes’ breathtaking two-act masterpiece. 
The ensemble includes: Glenda Cole Kay (lyric coloratura, opera and oratorio touring artist, DISD instructor); Dorothy Regina Powell (mezzo-soprano, internationally sought after opera and choral touring artist); Linda Hall Searight (contralto, featured classical soloist and tenured DISD teacher, touring artist, founding/artistic director of the Grammy-winning recording choir, God’s Property); Gale Washington Tyler ( lyric soprano, writer, actress, arranger, extensive performing experience with symphonies, orchestras and opera companies in Europe and the US, Masters in Music from SMU); Monya Davis Logan, music director and pianist ( UIL accompanist, teacher with Dallas Symphony’s Young Strings Orchestra, former instructor at Booker T. Washington School of Performing Arts, Music Director at St. Luke Community United Methodist Church; Cynthia Dorn Navarrete, director/ narrator ( extensive performance experience in major feature and industrial films, TV movies, commercials, voice over and on stage). Their performances are riveting, in solo or harmonizing with the five other skilled singer/performers joining them on stage. These five include Crystal Pool, Brandon Dillard, Jacqueline Lawrence, Aubrey Stephenson and Trey Birkhead. Voices soar with precision and soulful abandon.
This minimalist production may not be what Langston Hughes originally envisioned, but it captures and distills the majesty and musical eloquence of his work in a way he would surely approve of. Hughes is one of the earliest innovators of jazz poetry as art form and is best known for his work during the Harlem Renaissance. In 1960, the NAACP awarded Hughes the Spingarn Medal for distinguished achievements by an African American. In 1961 Hughes was inducted into the National Institute of Arts and Letters, and in 1963 Howard University awarded him an honorary doctorate. If you see no other holiday performance this season, you owe it to yourself to attend this rich, reverent, inspired, magnificent production of Hughes’ work
Tickets for Black Nativity are $15 in advance and $20 at the door, reserved seating. Showtime starts at 8:00 p.m. on Thursday and Friday nights and 3:00 PM Sunday matinees. For ticket information, call (214) 948-0716 or to purchase tickets online, visit www.tecotheater.org.
The Bishop Arts Center is located at 215 South Tyler Street in Oak Cliff.
Romance and realism can make entertaining bedfellows. What could be more entrancing than to watch two realistically depicted people fall deeply and believably in love on stage? Getting to watch them do so as they sing Rodgers and Hammerstein’s melodic, romantic songs with impeccable vocal styling, talent and a gorgeous production enveloping them evokes euphoric thrill.
"There is Nothin' Like a Dame"
Given Rodgers and Hammerstein’s extensive output of romantic musicals and the stilted, cliché-ridden staging their works often endure, it’s easy to forget the true artistry in their creative collaborations. The Lexus Broadway Series presents the Lincoln Center Theater’s production of the duo’s 1949 classic South Pacific as their opening selection at the AT&T Performing Arts Center’s Winspear Opera House and delivers a fresh, vibrant performance that wins the audience’s hearts from the moment the leads Nellie and Emile exchange first love-struck glances.
Not one iota of diva mindset “don’t touch me, muss my costume and make-up, or get in my light” body language emanates from anyone on stage in this production. Leads to ensemble, they are all beautiful and engaging and cut exquisitely romantic pictures, whether in WWII uniforms, evening attire, period swimming suits or even (briefly) less. All performers exist vibrantly in the moment, whether wooing a potential sweetheart, dancing in a USO-style girlie revue, lounging about the island’s “seashore” or atop the WWII fighter plane that rolls onstage in Act I to the audience’s amazement and delight. Dreamy, dazzling, pure stage magic.
This production’s Nellie, Carmen Cusack, wraps the audience around her little finger as soon as she steps onstage and launches into “A Cock-Eyed Optimist”, with definite hint of Patsy Cline-like country twang and infectious spirit of genuine fun. After all, Ensign Nellie Forbush hails from down-home Little Rock and describes herself as a ‘hick.’ Houston native Cusack is an international singing artist with major cast recordings and leads in national tours of Phantom of the Opera and Wicked under her trim, girlish belt; her fluid, clear voice could melt icebergs and her sincere charm drive many an admirer to fantastic escapist dreams of island romance. Matching Cusack in every aspect is the ebullient, glamorous, dashing Jason Howard, performing as Emile de Becque in this US tour with support from UK Equity. Howard conveys an old-fashioned chivalry and mature elegance in his demeanor while matching any 2009 Romeo in youthful vigor and earnestness while pursuing love and arguing for tolerance of mixed race relationship. Who wouldn’t want a modern-minded lover with the manners and panache of a free spirited entrepreneur from the “greatest generation” era? Howard’s characterization blends the classic and modern with every gracious movement and word he utters. And when the man sings? His confident, resplendent baritone soars out through the multiple levels of the gorgeous, new performance space, a superb test case for the Winspear’s resonant acoustics. In addition to singing opera and musical theatre from Strasbourg to Seattle, Howard has recorded a personal solo tribute album to Gordon MacRae and Howard Keel. Seize the opportunity to appreciate his rare vocal talents and his defining portrayal of a Rodgers and Hammerstein iconic romantic lead.
Providing relentless, zany comic relief and a surprisingly caring workingman’s perspective is the inventive, expressive, physically fearless Matthew Saldivar as mischievous, scheming Luther Billis. An MFA graduate of NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts, Saldivar has originated major classical and modern roles on and off Broadway. Whether leading the chorus of singing/dancing Seabees in ”There is Nothing Like A Dame” or dancing over the top drag in the Act II high-energy romp ”Honey Bun” with Nellie, Saldivar informs his role with hilarious vigor and spot-on professional comic timing.
Offering a satisfying performance with a powerful, youthful tenor voice in contrast to Jason Howard’s mature baritone, Anderson Davis makes a handsome, thoughtful junior romantic lead as Lt. Joseph Cable, physically fit but not narcissistic and steroid-pumped. Davis’ Cable evolves believably from a cocky Princeton-educated snob to the conscience of the play, as an advocate for racial tolerance.
Lt. Joe Cable and Liat
His passionate response in the courting scenes with the young Polynesian girl Liat (Sumie Maeda) seems to take him by surprise and reveals his growing awareness of the common bonds of humanity. Rodgers and Hammerstein took a risk here in bringing racial tolerance to the forefront in 1949. A politically relevant musical may have seemed disgraceful, out of place, at the time. Davis’ Cable gives the tolerance issue prominent dignity and makes his point in “You’ve Got to be Carefully Taught” without diminishing the play’s dominant romantic themes. Keala Settle’s physical energy and presence as the bold temptress, roustabout and camp huckster Bloody Mary fit her role excellently, although her rich, dark voice seems occasionally muffled in her microphone, making her words, sung or spoken, indistinct.
This South Pacific possesses a gutsy sensuality and abandon, reveals a willingness to risk all for higher purpose, whether that purpose be true love or love of country and freedom from tyranny and repression. The people living on the island setting are isolated and close to siege and imminent destruction from the enemy Japanese nearby. The consistency of these themes in set design, revealing period costumes (not always flattering), technically complicated moments, musical abandon within classically correct delivery and honest romantic exchanges reflect and reinforce a conscious artistic decision on show director Bartlett Sher ‘s part. He positions what is often considered a dated nostalgia piece into a fresh context able to connect well with modern sensibility and tastes. All design artists, Catherine Zuber with costume, Donald Holder with lighting, Scott Lehrer with sound, Michael Yeargan with set and Ted Sperling with musical direction, share in the well-knit success of this absolutely entrancing production.
Watching this South Pacific feels like peering down a time-warp telescope into the lives of real people in 1949. James A. Michener’s Tales of the South Pacific inspired the show’s book, by Hammerstein and Joshua Logan. Most politically aware of Rodgers and Hammerstein’s shows, the musical portrays the everyday lives and loves of soldiers and civilians on two remote Pacific islands during WWII, when things weren’t going so well for the Allies. Instead of glorifying or demonizing he impact of war on people’s lives, the musical depicts its effects on an intimate human scale. Humans are dominated by nature and larger than life events in the colorful, provocative set design by Michael Yeargan. The painted sky as massive upstage backdrop filling the back wall which flows effortlessly from sunset to clear blue mid-day to darkening clouds, the fighter plane poised waiting to fly into battle stage right, the massive drop down map of the Pacific “Theater” dominating the “war room”– all effectively reinforce the pitiful smallness of human existence while allowing its participants to find true meaning in everyday relationship. The audience shares vicariously, hungrily, in this connective experience.
One technical issue: several audience members seated in the center orchestra section mentioned they were distracted seeing cast members entering and exiting the set from both sides during major scenes and wished sight lines had been better reviewed and entrances masked off. I had no such problem seated stage left.
Brooks Atkinson, writing in The New York Times over half a century ago, described the original production of South Pacific as “a tenderly beautiful idyll of genuine people inexplicably tossed together in a strange corner of the world.” He could be describing this Lincoln Center Theater production. If superior art educates and illuminates as well as entertains, Lincoln Center Theater’s production of South Pacific as performed at the Winspear earns superior marks on every artistic level. And it makes it oh so easy to fall in love.
Photos: Peter Coombs
Sumie Maeda as Liat; Anderson Davis as Lt. Cable
My Best of Live Theater in DFW 2009
Magic on stage in the Dallas-Ft. Worth region. A wealth of creative theatrical endeavor: satisfying, dignified and quirky, heart-warming and spine-chilling, thought-provoking and side-splitting, high art to lowly farce. Performance ritual reveals truths of the human condition through magical transformation. Or we hope that happens. Here’s what wove that special magic for me this year, of those I had the privilege to review.
My 10 Top Productions of 2009
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Talk Radio, Upstart Productions: Regan Adair, director
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The Nibroc Trilogy, Echo Theatre: Ellen Locy and Pam Myers-Morgan, directors
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The Black Monk, Undermain Theatre: Katherine Owens, director
Any of the above three shows could hold the #1 slot. I loved every one, went back several times. All featured taut, dynamic, evocative scripts. All featured superbly balanced acting ensembles with sophisticated, nuanced direction. All presented fully realized worlds with detailed, seamless technical execution. Their artistry soared. I chose Upstart Productions’ play for #1 after much deliberation. Its bold success amazed me. Talk Radio is only Upstart’s third show; yet their production made as powerful an artistic statement as the larger, longer established companies’ plays did. Very few shows I saw this year are scripted as innately static (cast stuck in sound booths, lead tied to a microphone most of the time) and “talky” (disembodied voices for page after page of phone calls) as Talk Radio. Yet there was nothing sedentary about it. Overwhelmingly and immediately it captured the audience’s full attention with its unique, well-delineated setting and through the nerve-jangling, suspense-filled energy the spontaneous-feeling phone calls created. It never let up; in fact, it continued to build to the final monologue, thanks to director Regan Adair. The “show” started long before any major players stepped on stage. Director Adair, widely respected and versed as a leading actor in the metroplex, understands the full blown sensory importance of mood, timing and setting. He fully embraced the opportunity to create a vivid, detailed late 80’s world in the pre-show as the catalytic motive-defining setting for his cast, in a realistic but fictitious radio station. The station was full on up and running before audience members entered and took their seats. Its dynamic seized focus before even coats could come off and programs get perused, Adair’s directorial intent. National political commercials aired (Bush/Dukakis, Willie Horton), along with weather, news reports and station identification in a loop recorded by some of the area’s leading talent in cameos. Cast members bustled about their “normal” duties as station employees, establishing the gritty realism, the bustle, the impersonal disembodiment of an on air world, the anticipation surrounding the arrival of on-air personalities, long before any word was spoken. I felt like I’d entered a magic time machine. I sat, fly-on-the-wall fashion, fascinated, watching a real live event unfold, not a stage play. Adair’s comprehensive vision created a vibrant, viable world, again, before one word was spoken. I respect the superior work of all three companies; Talk Radio earned the #1 slot for its audacious commitment to excel, with the wise and seasoned guiding the dynamic, fresh and raw, upholding the Upstart mission statement. Elias Taylorson and Lulu Ward received 2010 Dallas ‘Column Awards’ for Best Actor and Best Featured Performer, respectively, in a Non-Equity Play for their performance in Upstart Productions’ Talk Radio.
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Trinity Shakespeare Festival, Twelfth Night and Romeo and Juliet: J.T. Walsh and Alexander Burns, directors
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South Pacific, Lexus Broadway Series at the AT&T Performing Arts Center’s Winspear Opera House: the Lincoln Center Theater’s revival on tour, Bartlett Sher, director, Ted Sperling, musical director
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Lost in the Stars, Theatre Three: Jac Alder, director, musical direction by Terry Dobson and Vonda Bowling
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The Road to Qatar, Lyric Stage: Philip George, director, David Caldwell, music director
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A Raisin in the Sun, African-American Repertory Theater, William “Bill” Earl Ray, director
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14 Death Defying Acts: An Autopsy of Hunter S. Thompson, Balanced Almond Productions: Matt Posey, director
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Oedipus Rex, MBS Productions: Mark-Brian Sonna, director
That’s just the tip of the iceberg. Those are ten 2009 shows I might take along (in virtual reality) to a desert island if I retreated from civilization. Some other noteworthy productions I’d happily include: a tiered, multi-faceted, pathos-filled Vigils at Kitchen Dog Theater; the macabre My Sister in the House from Wingspan (imaginatively directed by UNT’s Marjorie Hayes); Lyric Stage’s The King and I, with original score, multi-cultural cast and splendid ballet sequence; Rene Moreno’s lively re-imagining of Merry Wives of Windsor, TX for Shakespeare Dallas and his taut, charismatic direction of This Is Our Youth for Upstart Productions; Circle Theatre’s facile realization of Steve Martin’s intellectual comedy Picasso at the Lapin Agile; Stage West’s bold, brave mounting of Thornton Wilder’s three act baffling experimental opus The Skin of Our Teeth; and Kevin Grammer’s promising emergence as a playwright with Empty Room at The Ochre House. I could go on, but my private desert island isn’t a continent. It’s been a diverse year of theatre, resplendent with creative variety, nevertheless.
And artists to celebrate?
Performances by Male Actors: David Coffee (Trinity Shakespeare Festival and Picasso at the Lapin Agile); Akin Babatunde in Theatre Three’s Lost in the Stars; Bradley Campbell in Merry Wives of Windsor; William “Bill” Earl Ray in African-American Rep’s Master Harold…and the Boys; Shane Beeson in Under a Texaco Canopy (One Thirty Productions) and Talk Radio (Upstart Productions); Jonathan Brooks in Undermain’s The Black Monk; Ian Sinclair in The NIBROC Trilogy (Echo Theatre); Daniel Frederick, Trinity Shakespeare Festival and Picasso at the Lapin Agile (Circle Theatre)
Memorable Performers--"The Nibroc Trilogy": Ian Sinclair, Morgan Justiss
Women Performers of Note: Susan McMath Platt and Morgan Justiss, The Nibroc Trilogy (Echo Theatre); Tina Parker, Vigils and Psychos Never Dream (Kitchen Dog Theater); Catherine Dubord, My Sister in This House (Wingspan); Marianne Galloway, Rabbit Hole (Contemporary Theatre of Dallas); Anastasia Munoz, A Lie of the Mind (Second Thought Theatre); Nancy Sherrard, A Lie of the Mind (Second Thought Theatre) and The Receptionist (Water Tower Theatre); Diana Sheehan, As Thousands Cheer (Lyric Stage) and Grey Gardens (Water Tower Theatre): Lauren Rosen, don’t u luv me (Dallas Childrens Theatre) and Othello (Sundown Collaborative)
Directors: Rene Moreno, This Is Our Youth (Upstart Productions) and Merry Wives of Windsor, TX (Shakespeare Dallas); Mac Lower, A Lie of the Mind (Second Thought Theatre); Jerry Russell The Skin of Our Teeth, Stage West; Marjorie Hayes, My Sister in This House (Wingspan); Katherine Owens, The Black Monk and Port Twilight (Undermain): Regan Adair, Talk Radio (Upstart Productions)
Poulets de Printemps: Some of the most creative work I saw this year was presented by “spring chickens”, daring young lads and lasses still in college or recently exited and blazing forth with energy, commitment and passion. I’m talking about Cody Lucas’ Sundown Collaborative in Denton and Broken Gears Project Theatre that debuted at Dallas’ The Hub Theater. The former opened its season with Shepard’s gritty, demanding True West, followed shortly after by Shakespeare’s ominous tragedy Othello—ambitious undertakings, to say the least. Uneven at times and light in technical merit, both productions still gave highly effective interpretations of complex, demanding stage works and exhibited breathtaking moments of true artistry. Such promise thrills me.
Sundown Collaborative's "True West"
Demonstrating his budding talent as a producer and artistic director with Sundown and as an actor equally at ease in period or modern plays, Lucas also excelled in his portrayal of Vincent Van Gogh in UNT’s Vincent at Brixton, A talent to reckon with, in present and future.
Then there is Broken Gears Project Theatre, which closed its inaugural offering December 19 at The Hub Theater. Undaunted by the scope and demands of a major work, like Sundown, Joey Folsom and Andrew Aguilar’s company presented an inventive, gripping production of Eugene O’Neill’s expressionist drama with political overtones, The Hairy Ape. Main character Yank, a demanding role for a mature actor, was portrayed with gravitas and potent believability by Brad Smeaton, still in his twenties. Director Joey Folsom, fresh off a memorable cameo acting role in Upstart Productions’ Talk Radio, created memory-burning moment after striking moment across the convoluted arc of this sophisticated, demanding work, incorporating stunning sound and movement effects an experienced director might never dream of. Next to no set, lousy acoustics and primitive lighting, spare costumes, some odd casting choices. Still, it was palpably mesmerizing theatre. Andrew Aguilar’s portrayal of a real caged ape in the play’s final scene brings a lump to my throat and tears to my eyes every time I recall it. Now. That’s Memorable. Theatre.
Best Performance of 2009
UPDATE: Elias Taylorson has just been awarded Best Actor in Non-Equity Play for 2009 by the 2010 Dallas regional Column Awards, for his role as Barry Champlain in Talk Radio ( tied with comic master wizard Jeff Swearingen for his role in Audacity Theatre Lab’s Hello Human Female).
In October, Elias Taylorson created a riveting virtuoso portrayal of Eric Bogosian’s signature character, shock jock Barry Champlain, in the stage version of Talk Radio, co-produced by Upstart Productions and Project X: Theatre.
“It’s all Barry on the mike, never a hint of Taylorson acting as Barry.” (Critical Rant & Rave Oct 2009).
Seething with a desperate ferocity, Taylorson’s portrayal demonstrated such visceral realism and integrity it was hard to remember he was acting. On stage for almost the entire play and held captive on mike, assaulted non-stop with random rapid-fire talk show callers, he held his audience at seat’s edge, even as Barry’s vulnerability emerged and he sank into disillusionment and alcohol-induced resignation in the final moments. It was a masterful feat to keep the energy coming strong while allowing the character’s intimate unraveling to permeate his performance. In addition, Taylorson’s research for the role led him to Denver where he created and filmed a compelling short documentary (now undergoing review for screening at film festivals) about murdered real-life talk radio host Alan Berg, the inspiration for Bogosian’s Barry Champlain. In future, this chameleon-like actor deserves serious consideration for other powerful leading roles. Put simply, he can electrify the stage.
A word to patrons at decade’s end: What a real difference cash can make to the success of a fledgling arts group. The next generation of theatre artists in the metroplex, the passion-filled edgy ones, the visionaries burning the midnight oil, all need your support. Want to see the arts thrive in Dallas/Ft. Worth’s future? Fund the little guys, the bold upstart ventures, the youthful collaboratives peopled with dedicated talent balancing Starbucks jobs with college final exams while producing Shepard and Shakespeare and O’Neill in their ‘free time.’ For your entertainment. They need your tax deductible donation; it’s time to do your part in these tough economic times. Plant the seeds that can establish a glorious Eden. That’s how you can truly make a difference. It’s not just about big, shiny, new buildings.
PHOTOS:
Train to NIBROC, Echo Theatre: Ian Sinclair, Morgan Justiss
Sundown Collaborative’s True West: Alex Worthington, Cody Lucas
Talk Radio shot by Marc Rouse: Elias Taylorson
Limited Vistas: Amy’s View at Theatre Three
Sir David Hare, internationally honored actor, playwright, stage and film director, is considered one of the finest British playwrights living today. Earning a BAFTA Award (1979), the New York Drama Critics Circle Award (1983), the Berlin Film Festival Golden Bear (1985), the Olivier Award (1990), and the London Theatre Critics’ Award (1990), he has seen his distinguished works played with great success to audiences around the world, interpreted by some of the world’s finest actors. Amy’s View, playing at Theatre Three in Dallas through January 31, 2010, received its World Premiere at the Royal National Theatre’s Lyttleton Theatre in London in June 1997 with Dame Judi Dench and Samantha Bond in the key mother/daughter roles, repeated by them at the Ethel Barrymore Theatre on Broadway in 1999. Closing my eyes during the opening night performance at Theatre Three, I could imagine hearing Dench and Bond’s voices in the roles and envision the singularly resonant chemistry and conflict they must have generated together. Amy’s View is a substantial challenge to mount in terms of scope, complexity of characterization and thematic context. It’s a granite-faced mountain of a play with gentle slopes leading up to it. Theatre Three’s cast straps on its climbing gear with ambition and care, yet it bogs down when the slopes grow steep and intense.
Linear in structure, this play takes place over a sixteen year period from 1979 to 1995 and deals with two intriguingly interwoven themes: unconditional love, or “sacrificial love” as playwright Hare describes it, and the clash of public art forms: theatre v. various manifestations of modern pop culture. Over four acts, or scenes, layers of personal relationship pour forth in intensifying cascades of revelation. The divergent cultural perspectives clash in a sort of counterpoint to the family drama, reinforcing the personal challenges and providing catalytic fodder for the oppositional characters to latch on to in conflict. I am not sure if any Dallas cast could truly master this play. I respect the Theatre Three cast’s valiant effort, while at the same time I am acutely aware of the production’s shortcomings.
Scene One, the exposition, should crackle with dramatic tension and pause and define the characters in opposition much like players on a chessboard. When Esme, the grand dame actress mother, enters, she should command the stage space with accustomed, regal aplomb and dictate the tempo of all that transpires. Rapier-sharp repartee and maddeningly slow deliberation are her fine-tuned weapons. She should own the stage. All other characters should feel vulnerable, whipped about by her whim, her slightest glance. Connie Coit certainly looked the part and has the vocal power and quality to deliver it.
Theatre Three's Connie Coit, Kevin Moore, Danielle Pickard
Sadly, her entrance seemed tentative, her motives not clearly defined; she never quite commanded the space. As the play’s primary catalyst, she never exhibited the drive or energy to light requisite fires. With so little to react to, the other characters appeared hazy and isolated from each other. Amy, the protagonist, played by Danielle Pickard, needed to demonstrate, throughout, the very soul of pure unconditional love. Mostly she seemed frustrated that no one will listen to her. She grew more strident, bitter and unloving as the play proceeded. Her climactic histrionic scene was very stage-y, did not arise naturally. I watched her acting the role but felt no sorrow for her character’s circumstance. Hare wrote Amy’s View as the middle part of a trilogy about love relationships; it’s integral that Amy embody “unconditional love” with truth and simplicity.
As Dominic, Amy’s narcissistic, ambitious lover/husband, riding the tide of materialistic pop culture, Kevin Moore had the presence, charisma and voice to carry his role well. In Scene One, he wears a ridiculous moppet of a wig and a wife-beater t-shirt that make him look more like a hunky biker dude circa 2002 than an aspiring bohemian filmmaker in 1979. As his character matures through the play, he might as well be playing different characters. Often his costume distracts, does not seem to fit him properly in later scenes, nor reflects the fashion-conscious sense of a media empire entrepreneur on the way up. He looks “frumpy.” Moore is handsome and intense, offers a focused delivery with a sardonic, leonine physical quality. He’s well cast as Dominic. I could not tell if he didn’t grasp the arc of his character’s development as an actor, or if he was simply directed in a disconnected way from scene to scene. In any case, the goofy Scene One wig does him, and the play, a real disservice.
The other three characters help advance the plot with actors who look appropriate to their roles. Sonny Franks as Esme’s suitor/ investment advisor Frank brings a lumbering, bewildered everyman energy to the work, appealing in contrast to Moore’s Dominic. But Franks gives the audience little to ponder when it is revealed late in the play that he has taken risks with Esme’s investments he never took with his own. Did he intend to control her by losing her fortune, or was it circumstantial? Terry McCracken, with a convincing British accent, and Jason Kennedy, also perform.
In most major reviews of the initial productions of Amy’s View, the play’s set and its transformation over sixteen years are discussed as an element of primary importance. “The curtain pulls up and opens like an ever-widening camera lens,” which is an interesting concept, as the play is metaphorically a “series of snapshots from a woman’s life.” (Terry Byrne, Boston Herald. Boston, Mass.: Apr 26, 1999). Theatre Three’s set seems thrown together using random thrift shop elements in the first scene, dowdy rather than opulent; Esme’s deceased husband’s paintings, hung floating over the main entrance, look like the work of a mediocre dilettante, rather than classy representations of a lesser-known impressionist, as the play describes them. As the play progresses, we see less furniture on stage. Its loss neither conveys encroaching poverty nor the passage of time. The final scene, played on an elevated theatre stage dressing room, rolled in on castors, looks curious, trendy, but doesn’t help to define Esme’s final brave moments of resolve and illumination. Theatre Three’s Talley’s Folly set made an encompassing statement, illustrated its playwright’s work exquisitely. The set, costumes and other technical elements of this production look hastily thrown together with little plan. This shortchanges the production.
Amy's View on Broadway with Dame Judi Dench, Samantha Bond
For Theatre Three to open up Dallas theatre in 2010 by mounting Sir David Hare’s Amy’s View is a bold, ambitious and admirable undertaking. I think one 1999 reviewer summed up the play’s overall needs best: “Amy’s View, David Hare’s play opening tonight at the Barrymore Theatre, could easily, but for the presence of Judi Dench, be taken for nothing more than a bit of witty and stylish fluff, a soap opera, a fictional theatrical biography of the pitiful last 16 years in the life of a fading actress.” No Judi Dench. No defining theatrical experience.
Amy’s View runs at Theatre Three through January 31.
Seattle Shakespeare’s Electra-Illumination
“I call upon Persephone and the Furies: bring back my brother. My life is a river, it floods with grief….”
Seattle Shakespeare’s Electra, in Sophocles’ play of that name, tells it like it is and screams and wails her raging sorrow. No holds barred, she bears her ravaged soul, her desperate anguish, her longing to reunite with the one being who can help her assuage her obsessive grief over the horrific murder of her father by her mother and her lover, by murdering them. It sounds like bad soap opera festering at Wagnerian pitch, but Sophocles’ savage tragedy, written several millenia past, transcends such skanky gutter-crawling. A bare-chested, au courant adaptation by Irish playwright and medieval scholar Frank McGuinness transports the classic’s relationships and events to modern-day vernacular and ties them to broad universal experience while emphasizing the intensely personal, familial. Directed for Seattle Shakespeare Company by Sheila Daniels at the Center House Theatre, the SSC production merges ominous suspense with ritualized grieving and bloodlust, squeezing every last tortured drop of the play’s lifeblood onto the stage, into the receptive minds and senses of an enthusiastic opening night audience. Electra - illumination.
Full Sail Ahead: Port Twilight extended through January
Sci-fi fantasy makes perfect viewing for chill winter nights. Undermain Theatre Company swept into November 2009 with the world premiere of Port Twilight, or A History of Science (A Chronicle of Folly, Wisdom and Madness). Thanks to wide critical acclaim and high audience demand, the company now extends the production through January 30. Penned by Len Jenkin, one of the nation’s most distinguished national playwrights, the show is directed by Lakewood resident and Undermain Theatre’s artistic director Katherine Owens. Owens met Jenkins while touring a production in New York more than a decade ago. In 2006, Undermain’s production of Jenkin’s Margo Veil: an entertainment, also directed by Owens, earned kudos from The Dallas Morning News as the number one pick of the seasons’ top ten productions. In 2009, The Dallas Morning News theatre critic Lawson Taitte hailed Port Twilight as his Number One Production of the year.
Jenkin’s credentials and awards are quite impressive: they include three Obie Awards for directing and playwriting, a Guggenheim Fellowship, a Rockefeller Foundation Award, a nomination for an Emmy Award, four National Endowment for the Arts Fellowships and a PhD in literature from Columbia University. His stage plays have been produced throughout the United States, as well as in England, Germany, France, Denmark, and Japan. Dallas audiences recognize the entertainment value and literary merit of his work.
A member of a group of New York based writers known as “The Language Playwrights” with pronounced language-based, lyrical focus, Jenkin feels right at home in Undermain’s unique, always magical performing space under Main St. in Deep Ellum, about seven minutes’ drive from Lakewood. Mel Gussow of the New York Times opines, “In his plays, Len Jenkin often takes us on dark midnight rides to mythic environments…he leads us through a stretch of the American landscape tantalizing our senses and creating a haunting world.” He could be describing the fantastical ambience of Undermain Theatre, as well.
In Port Twilight, the landscape plays a defining role. Owens brought in two leading Dallas scenic painters and designers, Linda Noland and Terry Hays, to create a layered landscape effect in the performance space, like public murals. The designers worked furiously for over a month, using the same techniques to create the murals that Michelangelo used in decorating the Sistine Chapel. At completion, over two hundred feet of painted muslin in bright color schemes energizes and encases the whole underground space, including wrapping around the numerous columns that define the performance area.
Owens says working with Jenkin on his plays is inspirational as well as good fun. Jenkin came down from New York (he teaches at NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts) in October 2009 to sit in on rehearsals. Both director and playwright felt the production was moving along so well, they decided to take time off and play one afternoon at the Texas State Fair. All Undermain designers involved with Port Twilight joined in on the outing. Owens laughs about the excursion: ”Four and a half hours later we got back to the rehearsal space. I was so exhausted keeping up with the merriment, I fell sound asleep for three hours in the theatre, with people working all around me.”
When Port Twilight opened last November, all that imaginative exploration, lyrical writing, hard work painting and good times playing came together. Like magic. And the marvel continues through January.
Alexandra Bonifield’s review of Port Twilight, or A History of Science:
http://sjamaanka.wordpress.com/2009/11/16/zen-ergy-shoots-the-moon-at-undermain-theatre/
Undermain Theatre’s production of Port Twilight, or A History of Science runs through January 30, 2010, at their Deep Ellum location in the basement of a six-story red brick building at 3200 Main Street, Dallas, TX between Hall St. and Exposition Ave.
Plenty of FREE, well lit, accessible, cordially attended parking.
For tickets, call (214) 747-5515 or go to www.undermain.org
Audacity Theatre Lab: A Second Helping, Dish It Up
Gimme dat LUV! Dallas’ sweetest, funniest on stage romance springs back to life, this time at Teatro Dallas’ space off I-35. Audacity Theatre Lab’s Hello, Human Female regales its audience with farce, drag performance, true love, weird science and a hilarious twisted plot as the trials and tribulations of 37 year old virgin Tamela (Arianna Movassagh) and her man of many parts (35 different humans), Blork, played by hyperkinetic, deadpan comic maniac Jeff Swearingen, unfold.
Hello, Human Female
If attending live theatre is like sitting down to a prix-fixed meal of the imagination, then Audacity Theatre Lab’s Hello Human Female is gourmet grilled potluck, peppered plumb full enough of implausible characters and wacky situations to sate the humor-seeking palate. It’s like watching Joaquin Phoenix on David Letterman, except these folks mean to be funny and are aware they have an audience. Soap opera plot meets Lost in Space meets Young Frankenstein meets Lassie, Come Home and Wizard of Oz, Whew. In retrospect, the chaotic concatenation somehow channels Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales with its over-riding theme of amor omnia vincit (LUV conquers all). In this case, LUV certainly does. Clean your plate, honey bun, and go back for seconds.
The secret to this effervescent, no-holds-barred romp? Matt Lyle, the playwright, currently resides in Chicago, where he’s studying comedy writing at The Second City and screenwriting with Chicago Dramatists. Director of the play and artistic director of the company, Brad McEntire, mounted and produced over fifty plays here in Big D then toured successfully to New York and Austin Fringe Festivals, before sallying forth in 2006 on an artistic sojourn to Hong Kong and other exotic, inspirational locales. There’s a brazen confidence herein, born of endless dribbling of ink on paper and much time spent clamoring to earn and keep the attention of maddeningly fickle audiences. These boys got it down to a science from the heart.
On stage, in the kick-ass dual role of codependent overbearing Mother in jog-suited drag and equally overbearing, smarmy Mad Scientist in gaiters is Jeremy Whiteker, with as much meritorious experience in performing in quirky, absurdist one-act originals as he has in straight ahead musical comedy. S/he is a hoot and a holler, a medium rare sight to behold and savor. Becca Shivers endears herself like a locomotive in overdrive in the gender-bending role of pre-teen boy “Timmy”, returns in Act II as the Mad Scientist’s humanoid sweetheart, a real honey-bee of a waspish creation. The star-crossed lovers, Jeff Swearingen as hump-backed humanoid Blork and Arianna Movassagh as perpetual innocent virgin in search of true love or an unreasonable facsimile, play off each other effortlessly with a fine balance of physical humor, crisp verbal repartee and droll song. Their duet version of “Somewhere Out There” ought to be filmed and posted on YouTube. Worth a reprise at play’s end! Stirring in a classical whiff to the madcap hilarity, Audacity regular Tyson Rinehart plays Homeless Harry (shades of Everyman) and Timmy’s aw-shucks, loveable Gramps. He lends a sober grounding to the enterprise, in a bizarre but comforting way. The narrator, seated stage right, adds the spicing of dry humor and perspective. Alas, the actor was not listed in the program handout, so I can not credit him.
Audacity Theatre Lab’s remount of Hello Human Female runs through January 23 at the Teatro Dallas space, 1331 Record Crossing Rd. Dallas TX 75235. It’s a challenge to find the space but well worth the effort. The show will keep you smiling for an hour or two after you drive away and chuckling for days.
Reservations and tickets: 469-236-2726 www.audacitytheatrelab.com
The Hollow Play: August: Osage County
“Whatever was disappearing had already disappeared, and no one saw it go.
This country. This experiment. This hubris.
And no one saw it go.”
A hurricane force gale cycle of illusion, delusion and half-forgotten truth sweeps over the Westins of Oklahoma, a large dysfunctional family depicted in Tracy Letts’ August: Osage County. It envelops the audience and blows out the venue doors into the heavy night, permeating every nook and cranny of American cultural myth, where it dissipates unnoticed. All are too busy to pay attention; no one sees it go…. Once gone, a huge gaping hole opens up, a well of sorrow, in the hearts of every character in the play.
http://www.augustonbroadway.com/
From drunken, pill-popping Greatest Generation elders to agitated, delusional Baby Boomers, from a stimulant-stoked teen living vicariously through drugs, nicotine and electronics to an indigenous subsistence worker who sticks with a most unpleasant job because she “needs the work”, all play a vital part in August: Osage County’s epic tragi-comedy, a tightly wound depiction of modern life’s delusion and unraveling. This play won both Pulitzer and Tony awards in 2008, along with the Drama Desk Award for Best New Play, Drama League Award for Distinguished Production of a Play, New York Drama Critics’ Circle Award for Best Play and the Outer Critics Circle Award for Outstanding New Broadway Play.
I sometimes view plays several times before I write my review, a benefit of being an on-line review blogger. I saw August: Osage County twice. Would it be a “potboiler soap opera” as some critics have described it, featuring a host of mostly well-acted but unpleasant characters, punctuated occasionally with one-line zingers for comic relief, or would it be the new Great American Stage Epic, as other voices have pronounced it? In the final analysis, I concluded I had observed a profoundly moving, evenly balanced production full of human pathos, drama and humor, worthy of honor.
I felt drawn in by the prologue. I grasped the booze-soaked reality of the long-suffering poet and family patriarch Beverly as he hired a local Indian girl to keep house for him and his pill-popping wife Violet. An embittered but dignified realist, one of the few in the script, Beverly minced no words with his new hire. He slurred resignedly, almost to himself, “My wife is cold-blooded and not just in the metaphorical sense.” Quoting T. S. Eliot in practiced, professorial, dulcet tones or cackling in self-deprecation, stage and television actor Jon DeVries created a memorable portrait of a man ready to set down life’s burdens on his own terms. His own terms. I carried the chilling image of this brief prologue scene with me throughout the three acts, which speaks very well for both playwright Letts and director Anna D. Shapiro, as well as for Mr. DeVries.
I appreciated the performances given by the distinguished ensemble. Jeff Still as eldest daughter Barbara’s soon to be divorced husband Bill portrayed a real human being with ease, simplicity and effective stage presence. No caricature, no stereotyped mugging, just a straying middle aged man, struggling to maintain decency and sanity in the midst of dysfunction. He made his character interesting and sympathetic (also played the role on Broadway). Accomplished stage and screen actor Laurance Lau created a fully developed, intriguing character in the show as Steve, the lecherous, smarmy fiancé of the family’s youngest daughter Karen. The play came alive with energy and focus every time he entered a scene. His betrayal and amorality reinforce the tragedy of self-delusion that characterizes his fiancée Karen (Amy Warren), as well all the women in the family.
And there it is. The women in this play and the actresses who play them drove the show to its heights and depths. “Dissipation is worse than cataclysm,” acknowledged one sister in a non-agitated, lucid moment. Violet’s sister, three daughters, and the granddaughter all converged on the family home, with husbands and boyfriends in tow, to support her in her loss, grief and illness. Each one slammed hard into a brick wall of illusion and delusion and ultimately drifted away to the safety of each’s world, leaving “cold-blooded” mother Violet to deal with the lonely reality alone. “Who is stronger? When there’s nothing left, I’ll still be here,” snarled Estelle Parsons as matriarch Violet near the play’s end. Elder daughter Barbara (played with steel-willed multi-dimensional sorrow and ferocity by Shannon Cochran in a fascinating yet exhausting portrayal) shrugged back as she began to fade out, “You’re right, mom, you’re the strong one.” She was most like her mother; she tried the hardest to combat the dysfunction. Her stoic exit slammed the door shut with grim finality.
Estelle Parsons at age 82 has the stage presence, commanding voice and energy of a much younger actress. The family “wet blanket”, uncontrollable pill-popper and in-your-face harbinger of unwelcome truths, she manipulated the family with dismissive ease, deals them savage emotional blows with her funny but cruel one-liners and reveals her own raw vulnerability with keenly distilled nuance. Watching these two women interact as mother and daughter on stage, raging and aching, alienated yet bonded by habit and heredity, squeezing vitality from every wellspring of craft and art they possess, is at once excruciating and entrancing. Superior performances with intense familial resonance back up the two main antagonists: Angelica Torn, Jean Fordham, Amy Warren and Libby George. (The slightly off moment in both viewings of the play arose during the free-for-all physical confrontation scene in Act II, which lacked force and seemed slow and stage-y. Stage combat is hard to make believable, even by pros.)
Many people have declared August: Osage County on a par with the works of Eugene O’Neill and Arthur Miller. It certainly deals with major themes on a grand scale in an effective, entertaining manner. Yet it remains to be seen where this play and future Tracy Letts plays will fit into the canon of American dramatic literature. Letts, himself, seemed somewhat dazed by the scale of positive response to his play. Chicago Tribune critic Chris Jones in a September 2009 LA Times article writes, ”On the day he heard about the Pulitzer, Letts described himself as “happy, sad.” “My dad,” he said, heavily, “was much more sure of this than me.”” (Letts’ late father, actor and professor Dennis Letts, performed as the play’s patriarch in the original Chicago premiere and continued with the role on Broadway until cancer sidelined him.) Will it be revered and performed frequently in five years, in ten? Although I agree that August: Osage County is a remarkable work, I’m not ready to set it respectfully on the bookshelf next to the works of Miller, O’Neill, Albee, and Shepard. Not yet.
The play ends, house darkened and empty, Violet sobbing in lonely despair, crouched on the lap of the Indian housekeeper Johna (DeLanna Studi). Johna strokes her hair and croons, chanting lines from T. S. Eliot’s 1925 poem, The Hollow Men. The play curls full circle back to the prologue, when deceased patriarch Beverly quoted Eliot in drunken defiance and gave Johna the book of poems. Light fades to black….
“This is the way the world ends
This is the way the world ends
Not with a bang but a whimper.”
August: Osage County, on national tour, runs through January 24, 2010, as part of the Lexus Broadway series at the AT& T Performing Arts Center in Dallas TX.
“The Hollow Men” by T. S. Eliot: http://poetry.poetryx.com/poems/784/
A well-written contrarian’s review:
http://theatrenotes.blogspot.com/2009/06/review-august-osage-county.html
Interview with playwright Tracy Letts in the LA Times:
http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/news/arts/la-ca-tracy-letts6-2009sep06,0,1611019.story?page=1
National touring website: http://www.augustonbroadway.com/
Business of Funny: Laughter on the 23rd Floor
Why laughter, why on the 23rd floor? Neil Simon’s comedy, Laughter on the 23rd Floor, which opened on Broadway in 1993 starring Nathan Lane, is a love letter in play form about Simon’s days as a comedy writer on the 1950’s Your Show of Shows. Simon portrays himself as the youthful narrator Lucas Brickman, the “new guy on the team” and creates larger than life versions of key writers, most of whom went on to major show business careers: Larry Gelbart, Mel Tolkin, Carl Reiner, Mel Brooks, Selma Diamond, Woody Allen and Dave Caesar.
The "Gang" on the 23rd Floor
Got to be hard not to laugh when you think about the witty repartee that took place when this irascible, sharp-tongued group met daily to churn out comedy routines for Sid Caesar. Simon put his fictional writers on an imaginary 23rd floor as actual script sessions took place on NBC’s eleventh and twelfth floors: 11 plus 12 equals 23.
Water Tower Theatre‘s production of Laughter on the 23rd Floor presents a satisfying, if somber, fly-on-the-wall picture of what it might have been like to function daily amidst a swarm of oddball creatives writing like busy bees for the likes of Jackie Gleason/ Sid Caesar. Exciting times! McCarthy is grilling Commie witches from the arts community in Congress and network executives fret that Middle America won’t get the sophisticated jokes the “team” turns out like State Fair taffy. It drives the comedian they write for, Max Prince, to distraction, so much that he punches holes in his luxurious office suite walls.
Director Terry Martin’s cast is comprised of some of the ablest comic talent in the DFW region. Put Brian Hathaway, Regan Adair, Ted Wold and Ginger Goldman in a room together, and it has to get funny fast. Add a dose of ethnic leavening from John Daniel Psyk (as writer Val who can’t say f***k) and Erik Achilla as Irishman Brian, and the firecracker just aches for a match. In this case, Brian Gonzales as comedian Max and Brandy McClendon as secretary/ writer wannabe Helen set off hysterical explosions every time they make an entrance. And newcomer Daniel Frederick as Simon’s alter ego Lucas keeps the audience engaged with his aw shucks fresh Rob Petrie-like demeanor, a quiet hint of the next generation of writer closing in fast.
Director Martin emphasizes the serious undertones of the play: job security, censorship, network downsizing. This tamped down the excess of manic repartee and potential high jinks, which could result from seating Woody Allen at a table with Carl Reiner and Mel Brooks. I expected more rumble, but enjoyed the nostalgic respect for a bygone day expressed so clearly in Simon’s script.
Rodney Dobbs’ set, a stunning recreation of a 1950’s penthouse office, replete with boxy furnishings, green marble columns and an upstage picture window with projection of a 1950’s downtown New York vista, brings a down-to-earth reality to the scenes. It reminds the audience that after all, writing comedy is a business.
If you want a glimpse into a bygone era with a group of talented folks who take the business of laughter on any floor seriously, catch this Neil Simon gem at Water Tower before some network cancels it.
Runs through February 7 at the Addison Theatre Centre, 15650 Addison Road in Addison, Texas. Performance times are Wednesdays and Thursdays at 7:30 PM, Fridays at 8 PM, Saturdays at 2 PM (February 6 only) and 8:00 PM, and Sundays at 2:00 PM. Tickets: 972.450.6232 or www.watertowertheatre.org
Your Show of Shows: http://www.tvshowsondvd.com/news/Shows/5460
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sid_Caesar
PHOTO: Erik Archilla (kneeling), Joh Pszyk, Daniel Fredrick (seated), Ted Wold, Brian Hathaway, Ginger Goldman & Regan Adair; Photo by Mark Oristano
Bloody, Jolly Good Fun: The 39 Steps
Dallas audiences, are you ready for some bloody, jolly good fun? The national tour of twice Tony and Drama Desk winner The Thirty Nine Steps, adapted from Alfred Hitchcock’s 1935 film thriller, blesses the Dallas Summer Musicals‘ Majestic Theatre with a fast, furious performance you won’t want to miss. A loose adaptation of the Hitchcock classic, it’s been a runaway hit in London’s West End since the mid-1990’s and premiered on Broadway in 2008. It combines a rollicking thriller-romance script with vaudeville style comedy routines and Monty Python-esque farce enhanced by an overlay of highly sophisticated mime-like precision movement. Two acts’ worth of hilarity, madcap vaudeville, exotic accents, old-fashioned presentational romance, thrills, chills, classic movie nods and feats of sheer acting magic conspire to amuse and charm both novice and seasoned theatre-goers. A winner with a tight, witty script, the key to this play’s bright success is the many-faceted skills of four dynamic, indefatigable stage talents who perform it.
Ted Deasy, Claire Brownell as Richard and Pamela: photo by Craig Schwartz
Filling the stage with the presence, energy and substance of a large cast show, Claire Brownell, Ted Deasy, Eric Hissom and Scott Parkinson demonstrate as an ensemble and individually why live theatre can offer a unique memorable experience to savor long after the final curtain rings down. With only rudimentary set elements to define the stage reality, sometimes a bare window frame or an overstuffed chair, a toted on Victorian lamppost, a set of handcuffs, or a line of steamer trunks, these four actors create multiple characters and define settings so clearly, so fast you marvel how they can possibly remember what’s next. A complex feat, superbly mastered. What fun, just watch ‘em fly!
Ben Brantley, The New York Times, “Absurdly enjoyable! This gleefully theatrical riff on Hitchcock’s film is fast and frothy, performed by a cast of four that seems like a cast of thousands. The actors themselves seem to be having a helluva good time. As does the audience.”
I met with three of the performers after viewing the show. All shared personal challenges and rewards in being part of the tour. A graceful Montana-bred beauty with cascades of auburn ringlets, peaches and cream complexion and direct, warm gaze, Claire Brownell, the female lead, exudes the poised confidence of a talented youthful artist at ease with her considerable accomplishment. Yet she’s respectful of the over-arching artistic worth of the work. Fresh from the Broadway production, she finds the touring experience illuminating. Even though she feels she knows her three totally different characters “in her bones”, she finds that each new town’s house makes the performance feel fresh. She’s amazed how willingly the audiences embrace the show’s unique concept and welcome the chance to laugh heartily. She tosses her curls, “We ALL need to laugh more!” Suddenly serious, she describes valuing The 39 Steps as a show that promotes ‘culture for the future’ as it is as easily understood and enjoyed by young children as by adults. Brownell creates her characters with distinctive style and conviction. Her first character, Annabella Schmidt, is a femme fatale, a Mata Hari sophisticate swathed in a svelte black dress replete with ominous black wig, spouting dialogue in heavily accented patois. Every syllable she speaks is clear and distinct, amazingly comprehensible to the audience. She delivers her lines with a Garbo-like deadpan sincerity that makes the male lead’s inability to understand her hilarious. “Zere were zeese men in ze seatre trang to zhoot me, ZHOOT me!” she laments to a befuddled Richard Hanny, the lead man played with patrician Jeeves-like diffidence by Ted Deasy. With the help of venerable dialect coach Stephen Gabis, her fantasy accent, with German, Russian, Italian, Slovakian and pure invention overtones, becomes one of the most memorable aspects of her character. Brownell finds the boudoir scene her second character, perky blonde Pamela, plays while handcuffed at the wrist to Richard, her favorite and most challenging. “Most of the show is stylized and presentational, very theatrical; suddenly we have this intimate, almost real moment where the audience gets to sympathize with the hint of a blossoming romance.” At the same time, maintaining the scene’s frenetic comic pace and tension (rolling on and off the bed and Richard’s lap, hurtling around the room) while avoiding injury from the handcuffs has proven a challenge. “It’s completely choreographed, but it still has to look fresh and alive; so there’s risk.” The scene comes off with spontaneous charm and perfectly controlled timing.
Erik Hissom and Scott Parkinson play the myriad of other characters in the show, a Greater Tuna-like fruit-basket turnover of personas, fleshed out with a high degree of conceptual, playful physicality. Man #1, Florida-based actor Erik Hissom, laments, “I’m too old to do all this!”, to which Chicago-bred Scott Parkinson (Man #2) shakes his head and scoffs, “No way, man.” Both actors, with extensive professional stage credentials, are particularly well versed in performing Shakespeare, which they feel helps to inform and support the complex interplay of their closely allied characterizations in The 39 Steps. Parkinson says he thought the play looked difficult at first viewing in New York; the original actor in his role in the Broadway cast (Arnie Burton) told him it was the “hardest thing I’ve ever performed.” Both gleefully admit they relish the nightly onslaught of tightrope paced ensemble work. “Toughest parts are the Mr. Memory scenes,” reflects Hissom;” it’s a vaudeville interlude, a play within the play, where we ask an imaginary audience to pose questions to Mr. Memory.” “And sometimes the live audience jumps in with questions, not supposed to happen…!” Parkinson rolls his eyes in feigned alarm.
Eleven months from now when their tour wraps up, all four actors will have a cart-full of unforgettable memories and a most distinguished achievement to add to their resumes. Come on out, Dallas, and give the sterling production of The 39 Steps your most enthusiastic welcome. Standing Ovation? It’s richly deserved.
Alfred Hitchcock’s The 39 Steps is adapted by Patrick Barlow, directed by Maria Aitken and features sets and costumes by Peter McKintosh. The production is based on an original concept by Simon Corble and Nobby Dimon and on the book by John Buchan. It features lighting by Kevin Adams and sound by Mic Pool. The dialect coach was Stephen Gabis. Toby Sedgwick created original movement with additional movement by Christopher Bayes.
Dallas Summer Musicals, presented by Comerica Bank, presents the comedy vaudeville through January 31 at The Majestic Theatre, 1925 Elm Street in Dallas. Tickets, priced from $15-$71, are on sale now at The Box Office, 542 Preston Royal Shopping Center, or area Ticketmaster outlets including The Majestic Theatre Box Office. Tickets are also available by calling 214-631-ARTS (2787) or online at www.ticketmaster.com. For groups of 10 or more, call 214-426-GROUP
For more information, see www.39StepsOnBroadway.com.
Visit the Dallas Summer Musicals website at www.dallassummermusicals.org, or call (214) 421-5678.
A Sense of Samsara: Adaptations in Reflection
OMG, they’ve done it again. The Dallas Theater Center has just mounted another peppy world premiere musical full of attractive, dancing, singing, and casually attired youths under the guise of classical adaptation. This time it’s an even looser nod to Aristophanes’ Lysistrata than their last Fall’s production of Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream. It’s set in fictional Athens University, where the male basketball team members don’t care if they lose games, but their cheerleaders do. So, the girls refuse to “give it up” to the team until they agree to try to win, hence the name of the musical: Give It Up.
Give It Up: Liz Mikkel & the Cheerleaders
Unfortunately, Lysistrata is a powerful anti-war play. Led by one principled, strong woman, Lysistrata, the women of Athens refuse to sleep with their men until they end the Peloponnesian War. They don’t refuse to sleep with them unless they win the war.
It’s not a minor distinction. It’s a bone of contention.
Wonder if I dislike adaptations? I admire them if they work well. Sometimes they’re the best way to make a classical work acceptable to a tentative or non-adventuresome modern audience. Alas, there’s not much classical theatre on mainstream television or in the movie houses today. It’s province remains the stage, where adaptation can reconnect modern audiences to great works they will encounter nowhere else. Through January 30 UT Dallas professor Fred Curchack and his partner, California actress Laura Jorgensen, perform Milarepa, a delightful adaptation at the Bath House Cultural Center based on The Life of Milarepa and The Hundred Thousand Songs of Milarepa. The title character, played by Curchack, was an 11th century Buddhist poet/saint, the most beloved figure in Tibetan history for attaining enlightenment in one lifetime. Sound pretty esoteric? The Curchack/ Jorgensen production features modern music (percussion, wind instrument and guitar), rap, humor, special lighting effects and interpretive movement. Their adaptation works well to honor the spirit and word of the original text while making it entertaining and accessible, grounded in current metaphor.
“Originally performed in classical Athens in 411 BC, Aristophanes’ Lysistrata is a comic account of one woman’s extraordinary mission to end The Peloponnesian War. Lysistrata convinces the women of Greece to withhold sexual privileges from their husbands and lovers as a means of forcing the men to negotiate peace, a strategy however that inflames the battle between the sexes. The play is notable for its exposé of sexual relations in a male-dominated society and for its use of both double entendre and explicit obscenities.” (Wikipedia)
Aubrey Beardsley Illustration for Lysistrata
Get the picture? It’s fine to bring in song and dance and a live band for DTC’s production of Give It Up. As a matter of fact, the choreography around the basketball court with actual hoops and basketballs cleverly worked into the routines steals the show (directed and choreographed by Dan Knechtges). The music, lyrics and orchestration (Lewis Flinn) offer nothing particularly memorable, while the singing is excellent, notably by Liz Mikel, Patti Murin and Curtis Holbrook.
Where I have a problem is with the book and its thematic intent. It has virtually nothing to do with Aristophanes’ Lysistrata, in spite of Douglas Carter Beane’s excellent writing. (His book for the Broadway musical Xanadu earned him the Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Book of a Musical and a Tony Award nomination as well.) About Give It Up, Beane says: “I want theatre goers to have a good time, and I want them to leave with something fresh. Give It Up poses the question, ‘If you take away sexual attraction from a relationship, would you really fall in love with that person? Who would you fall in love with?’ Ultimately, it’s about being who you truly are, learning to love who you truly are and not having to pretend to be something other than that.” Fine sentiments, worthy of writing into a show. But what do they have to do with the anti-war battle of the sexes theme of Lysistrata? There is nothing approximating an Eros Motel in Lysistrata; the women in protest seize and lock themselves inside the Acropolis, guarding away the money the men would use to continue funding war. The sexual battle ensues once they blockade themselves in, with a warring, but comical, Chorus of Men and Chorus of Women. If one is going to call a play an adaptation of another work, shouldn’t it have distinct correlation to that work? Give It Up has so little to do with Lysistrata, they shouldn’t be mentioned together. It’s more of an adaptation of High School Musical.
Round and round and round it goes,
And where it stops, nobody knows.
We could speculate until tomorra,
But that won’t help us get out of …
Samsara….
Milarepa, on the other hand, manages to do just that. Not only does it provide charming entertainment and educational information, it offers enlightening sustenance for the heart, soul and mind. This play begins with a few moments of silent meditation, which allows audience members to center themselves, step away from the mind clutter of cell phones and daily life chaos, and focus quietly on the performance at hand. A bell dings. Curchak and Jorgensen, seated stage right on stools with guitar, wind and percussion instruments close at hand, begin to tell the life story of Buddhist teacher, poet and saint Milarepa, (c. 1052—c. 1135 CE). They show the course of his path towards enlightenment through story, short scenes, song and interpretive dance. Curchak portrays Milarepa. Jorgensen, masterfully defining a wide range of personas through voice and movement with wit and clarity (and minimal costume change) plays seventeen different characters, ranging from the story’s narrator to Ferocious Deities, from Marpa, Milarepa’s severe teacher to a Concubine who sounds and saunters a lot like Mae West.
Wheel of Life
Curchack and Jorgensen draw their material from The Songs of Milarepa, canonical Buddhist texts that emphasize the temporary nature of the physical body and the need for non-attachment (No Mind) and from The Life of Milarepa, a romanticized account full of references to magic which lacks the devout non-attachment of the songs. Not written down by the saint, himself, or for many centuries, the songs and tales were dutifully recorded by adherents, contemporaries, successors, and within the oral tradition of the people. So although the subject matter may sound lofty and yawn inducing to an action-hungry public, the accessible way that Curchack and Jorgensen portray the life history using modern vernacular, jokes, stylized movement and irreverent song not only holds audience attention but charms and amuses while offering a clear glimpse into Tibetan Buddhist enlightenment process. There is substance in what these performers create and magical artistry in how they achieve it. It’s a valid adaptation that works on many levels and sparks the creative mind. When the play ends in darkness with Curchack as Milarepa standing at rest center stage, entirely wrapped in softly blinking Christmas lights indicating enlightenment, the audience exclaims with delight and tastes a hint of the reality of that delicate transformation. Much of the performance deals with the concept of samsara, loosely defined (thanks to wordIQ.com) as the continuous cycle of birth, life, death, full of suffering and illusory goals and values. To become liberated from this endless cycle of rebirth when Enlightenment is achieved is the focus of the dharmic religions. The high point, and funniest part, of the play’s performance is the Samsara Rap Curchack wrote describing the “six realms of illusion”.
Samsara
This is a song of Mila-rapper,
Who saw the world as one big crapper,
He ate the world without salt or pepper,
That Buddhist rapper, Milarepa.
Round and around on illusion’s wheel,
There are six realms that seem real,
But they’re just projections, your creation,
For self-protection, not liberation.
The name of the game: samsara, my friend,
And there’s no way to win a game with no end,
When you’re there, you’re nowhere, are ya,
Ready to play the game samsara?
First stop is the Realm called Hell,
Anger’s the state where demons all dwell,
In hell everything everyone does is wrong,
And you and them can’t get along,
You’re in a rage, you can’t act your age,
Cause on this stage, the whole world’s a cage,
Friends you enjoyed, you now avoid,
You’re annoyed, an android in a paranoid void,
Your mind is a demon of terror, horror,
In the hell realm of samsara.
Next is the realm of the Hungry Ghosts,
Who always crave the best and the most,
They’re miserly, covetous, stingy, greedy,
Always thirsty, hungry, so needy,
But they get no elation from accumulation,
No excitation from starvation,
No gratification from masturbation,
No consummation from imagination,
No ejaculation from copulation,
There’s no vacation from their frustration,
No liberation from desperation,
Their main sensation … deprivation.
Their belly’s too big, their mouth’s too small,
And they’re always dying to have it all,
But it’s never alright, it’s always almost,
Cause more is less for a hungry ghost.
In the Animal Realm they’re as ignorant,
As a slug, a chicken, a pig or an ant,
They’re serious, practical, not much fun,
And subtlety? They ain’t got none,
They’re automatons, deaf, dumb, and blind,
With predictable ways and predictable minds,
If you break their routine, they’ll feel it’s a threat,
And they’ll bark and they’ll bite like a pet at the vet.
Woof. Woof. Woof. Growl.
Their sense of humor is so moronic,
They don’t understand anything ironic,
They don’t get symbols, they don’t get signs,
Literal minds need everything defined,
Show ‘em something unknown, they’ll just disdain it,
And don’t tell ‘em a joke, you’ll have to explain it.
The Human Realm is full of practical fools,
Busy with research, developing tools,
To achieve success, gain position,
While they eye each other with suspicion,
They’re cunning, shifty, slippery too,
There’s nothing humans wouldn’t do,
To get their way, have their say,
Come what may, they’ll win the day,
They’ve got a passion for fashion, a passion for sex,
Passion for flashin’ credit cards and cashin’ checks,
But whatever… a human owns is,
Never enough to keep up with the Joneses.
They lust after love and they fall in and out,
Just to have something to talk about,
And they’ll talk, and talk, and talk till tomorra,
Just to kill time in samsara.
The Jealous Gods are ultra slick,
They make diplomacy their shtick,
Lemme give you a tip, don’t give ‘em lip,
Cause they’ll come back bad with one-upsmanship.
They play hardball in the big league,
And the name of the game they play: intrigue.
Intrigue’s their way to have a relation,
It’s their vocation to rule the nation.
And every relation’s about survival,
Plotting, scheming against a rival,
Their own shadow’s a threat that gets ‘em annoyed,
Ask Freud … paranoid.
And because they need to stand high above,
They can’t stand kindness, can’t stand love,
Can’t stand in another’s shoes,
All they understand is win or lose.
The God Realm is paradise,
Everything there … nice.
The gods feel really, truly free,
Cause they’ve got individuality,
The ego that they have created,
Has got them so intoxicated,
Their self-esteem knows no measure,
The name of the game of the gods: pleasure.
Oh, oh, oh, oh, ohhh … do it again.
Oh, oh, oh, oh, ohhh … do it again.
Now the highest realms where gods are born,
Are the four heavens beyond all form,
(one) Infinite space, (two) infinite thought,
(three) Nothingness, (four) neither thought nor naught.
But even this bliss must come to pass,
Cause formless gods can’t tell their head from their ass,
The joy they feel, they think it’s real,
But in their pride they don’t see the whole deal.
Hare Krishna, Hare Krishna,
Hallelujah, Hallelu …
You see, the seeds of habitual thought lie deep,
Rooted in the mind, they sleep, then reaping,
What they sow, the gods’ hearts harden,
As nasty weeds overgrow their garden,
So they jump over the garden wall,
And with divine grace, they fall,
Down from heaven, sad to tell,
They find themselves right back in hell.
Round and round and round it goes,
And where it stops, nobody knows.
We could speculate until tomorra,
But that won’t help us get out of …
Samsara.
Namaste, y’all….
The Dallas Theater Center’s Give It Up runs through February 14, 2010 at the Dee and Charles Wyly Theatre, AT & T Performing Arts Center.
For tickets: 214-880-0202 www.dallastheatercenter.org
Milarepa by Fred Curchak and Laura Jorgensen runs through January 30, 2010 at the Bath House Cultural Center www.bathhousecultural.com
For tickets call: 972-740-2769
“Samsara” by Fred Curchack
From Sexual Mythology part two: PURGATORY (1989) and MILAREPA (2009)
Inspired by: The Hundred Thousand Songs of Milarepa, p. 662 – 668
The Tibetan Book of the Dead, Introduction by Chogyam Trungpa
Jeff Grygny
PHOTOS:
Dallas Theater Center’s Give It Up with Liz Mikkel as Hetairai, and the Cheerleaders
An illustration for Lysistrata by Aubrey Beardsley
Milarepa’s program image: the Wheel of Life, depicting the Six Realms
Be(a)stly Genius at Undermain Theatre
Evolving into its twenty-sixth year of presenting leading edge, intelligent, entertaining theater for loyal Dallas audiences, Deep Ellum’s Undermain Theatre presents the internationally acclaimed performance artist/ playwright Taylor Mac in a two week run February 3 through 13 of his one man show, The Be(a)st of Taylor Mac. The New Yorker describes Mac as “the talk of the town” for his unique multi-faceted performance pieces and plays.
Mercedes Lagunas illustration, The New Yorker
Lakewood resident and Undermain artistic director Katherine Owens learned of Mac’s intimate yet spectacle-filled performances while on a recent trip to New York and felt his artistry was a good match for Dallas theatre-goer tastes.
Using highbrow and lowbrow humor, song (with ukulele accompaniment), movement, fantasy costumes and make-up and sharp-edged geo-political monologue to create an impression of “structured chaos”, The Be(a)st of Taylor Mac deals with the problematic subject of conformity. Mac’s performance shows how recognizing and celebrating differences are key to accepting the commonality of human experiences.
Mac inhabits a “drag” persona to make his point clear. “I needed to expose my inner reality, what I found I was hiding from the world. “ He expands the definitions of “drag queen” or “gay political performer” far beyond conventional female impersonation stereotype. “My work is extremely personal as I believe the more personal risk I take the more the audience will relate and see their humanity reflected back at them. So, through art, I try to be as masculine, feminine, ugly, beautiful, intelligent, base, chaotic, graceful, joyful, sorrowful, perfect and flawed as I am in real life.”
Taylor Mac is widely acclaimed as a playwright/performer phenomenon. He is the recipient of a Sundance Theater Lab Residency, a Rockefeller Map Grant, The Creative Capital Grant, The James Hammerstein Award for playwriting, The Edinburgh Festival’s Herald Angel Award, a Jeff Award nomination, two GLAAD Media Award Nominations, PS 122′s Ethyl Eichelberger award, a New York State Council of The Arts Grant, an Edward Albee Foundation Residency, The Franklin Furnace Grant, a Peter S. Reed Grant, and The Ensemble Studio Theatre’s New Voices Fellowship in playwriting.
Directed by OBIE-Award-winner David Drake, The Be(a)st of Taylor Mac has taken Taylor Mac on tour to The Sydney Opera House, The San Francisco MOMA and Opera House, New York’s Public Theater, Stockholm’s Sodra Teatern, The Spoleto Festival, The Bumbershoot Festival, Dublin’s Project Arts Center, London’s Soho Theater, and literally hundreds of other theaters, museums, music halls, cabarets, and festivals worldwide. He’s now here in Dallas, performing at Undermain Theatre, about ten minutes from Lakewood. Don’t miss out on an opportunity to witness a celebrated American artistic genius on stage.
http://www.undermain.org/undermain-now-playing.htm
Radio station WRR (FM 101) describes Undermain Theatre as “both literally and figuratively Dallas leading underground theatre”. It’s located at 3200 Main St. in Deep Ellum. Tickets: 214-747-5515, www.undermain.org
The New Yorker illustration by Mercedes Lagunas, February 1, 2010 edition
Revolution in drag: Taylor Mac
“The revolution will not be masculinized….”
Taylor Mac unleashes the beast within, or is it his best? You decide; I’m not going to tell you. In fact, I can’t tell you what he’s like, as he defies comparison. Pouting petulantly, glitter-encrusted eyes flashing, he stamps a dainty foot encased in faux- leopard skin platform heels and dares us to try.
Taylor Mac wants us to join him on an odyssey voyage deep inside, where he reveals heart and soul truth in the most intimate way possible. He hopes the participatory act will give audiences courage to embark on the voyage, themselves. After all, we’re bound tightly together in this life and culture, passengers linking arms on Spaceship Mother Earth, careening at warp-speed towards Armageddon. Or are we?
Yes, it’s a drag show. But it’s not your everyday, hothouse garden-variety man over-painted with savage defiance to vaguely resemble some deceased femme movie star or enshrined, glitzy celebrity. No impersonation about it. It’s far, far more subversive than that. And far more revelatory. It’s not amplified. There’s only one light on the solo performer inside his downstage bubble circle. It’s more of a shamanic ritual with coyote trickster in pastel fishnets and heels, grinning mysteriously, coquettishly, from under an array of feral wigs in acute disarray, from behind a Mardi Gras glitter face while accompanying himself in song on ukulele. Does he reveal an aboriginal tattoo face, a Greek Chorus mask, an earthy Commedia Arlecchino, or ferocious Noh Oni? Taylor Mac’s visage is chameleon in scope, presence and impact, not static. Occasionally he dons a mammoth “prosternida”, affectionately termed “boobies”, to complete the transformative effect and spike humor. Bring him your tulle, your Mylar, your silk shawls, your slinky teddies, your huddled masses, yearning for inner freedom…and he’ll light the pathway there.
Taylor Mac
Taylor Mac is a brilliant, unique playwright, actor, singer-songwriter, political activist and entertainer with a dedicated penchant to inspire and illuminate. He is the recipient of a Sundance Theater Lab Residency, a Rockefeller Map Grant, The Creative Capital Grant, The James Hammerstein Award for playwriting, The Edinburgh Festival’s Herald Angel Award, a Jeff Award nomination, two GLAAD Media Award Nominations, PS 122′s Ethyl Eichelberger award, a New York State Council of The Arts Grant, an Edward Albee Foundation Residency, The Franklin Furnace Grant, a Peter S. Reed Grant, and The Ensemble Studio Theatre’s New Voices Fellowship. His one man show The Be(a)st of Taylor Mac, in performance at Dallas’ Undermain Theatre through Feb. 13, has toured to The Sydney Opera House, The San Francisco MOMA and Opera House, New York’s Public Theater, Stockholm’s Sodra Teatern, The Spoleto Festival, The Bumbershoot Festival, Dublin’s Project Arts Center, London’s Soho Theater, and literally hundreds of other theaters, museums, music halls, cabarets, gay sex clubs and festivals worldwide. He invites you, dares you, encourages you, longs for you to join him in reflective play, where you’ll discover your shared humanity and change the world by leaving repressive conformity behind.
“The revolution will not be masculinized.
The revolution will not be masculinized.
We’ve nothing to fear but fear, itself.”
http://www.undermain.org/undermain-now-playing.htm
WRR describes Undermain Theatre as “both literally and figuratively Dallas leading underground theatre”. It’s located at 3200 Main St. in Deep Ellum. Tickets: 214-747-5515, www.undermain.org
Quotes from Taylor Mac’s opening night performance: 2/3/2010
It’s a Wondearrghful Pirate’s Life
A play for boys, and it’s not about sports? Imagine that!
Nationally recognized Dallas Children’s Theatre takes on a wide range of topics and challenges every year in its programming. Right now it’s running a swash-buckling, high energy, funny-bone tickling musical adaptation of Melinda Long’s best selling book How I Became A Pirate, in a southwestern premier engagement.
The Pirate Crew at DCT
It’s a winner with both boys and girls, if the delighted interaction I witnessed at intermission is any indication. “Aargh! Swab the decks, mate-y, or you’ll walk the plank!” reverberated from merrily vociferous preteen male voices as they waited for the second half of the show to begin. Their little sisters danced around them, enthusiastically engaged in “air swordplay.”
It could fire the imagination of many a young boy to stumble upon a hapless band of pirates mistakenly landing on a beach near his home, eager to adopt him into their tribe of misfits and to find a safe hideaway for their hoard of buried treasure. How I Became A Pirate was named winner of the Irma S. and James H. Black Award for Excellence in Children’s Literature, Book of the Year, in 2004, followed in 2007 by its World Premier Stage Production at the Emerald City Theater in Chicago (book and lyrics by Alyn Cardarelli and Music by Grammy award winner Steve Goers).
Young Jeremy Jacob, played with a sweet, energetic appeal by Dallas newcomer Scott Zenreich, discovers life on the “high seas” has great freedom. But it has its challenges, too. He has to learn how to “Talk Like A Pirate” to forget his good manners, avoid a menacingly grinning shark (huge cheers from the audience every time the creature poked its snout from the water) and survive a loud storm that tears up part of the pirate ship. He begins to miss his family at home and can’t fall asleep easily when he learns that “Pirates Never Tuck You In”. In the end, Jeremy makes a wise decision but helps out his newfound friends, as well. Mum’s the word—ye’ll have to go spy what ‘appens for yerself….
The cast included: Zenreich as hero Jeremy, with pirates Chad Patrick Smith, Karl Schaeffer and Alexandra Valle singing and sparring with equal zest. Paul Taylor imbued Captain Braid Beard with warm élan and stole the show as the pirate captain with a loving heart and a twinkle in his eye. He made a fine role model for lads of all ages.
A fantastic pirate ship set, pre and post storm, designed by Randel Wright, engulfed the entire DCT stage, the sort of ship a bevy of young boys would have a wild heyday exploring. The light and sound effects (Linda Blasé and Marco Salinas) made the storm wrecking the pirate ship snap and crackle with vitality and enough scary reality to find Jeremy’s second thoughts about becoming a pirate believable. Nancy Schaeffer directed and choreographed the show with musical direction by B. Wolf.
Shiver me timbers! Don’t miss this boat, with whatever youngsters age 4 and over you can tow along. How I Became A Pirate runs through February 21 at Dallas Children’s Theatre, 5938 Skillman St., at Dallas’ Rosewood Center for Family Arts.
Tickets: 214-740-0051 www.dct.org
YouTube video about building the pirate ship:
http://www.youtube.com/dallaschildrensthr#p/c/BC9405F4E7D6C39B/4/pJ1SaVOd2KY
About the book: http://www.melindalongbooks.com/pirate.html
PHOTO by Mark Oristano Shown clockwise from highest point: Scott Zenreich (Jeremy Jacob), Chad Patrick Smith (Wheezing Stephen McGee), Lloyd Harvey (Jacque LaToe), Karl Schaeffer (Stubby Barbossa), Paul Taylor (Captain Braid Beard), Alexandra Valle (Millicent “Milt” Skeeter)
Back to the Future with TeCo Productions
Take a short trip back to the future. The 8th Annual All Star Playwright Festival and Annual New Play Competition sponsored by TeCo Theatrical Productions at the Bishop Arts Theater Center in Oak Cliff launched seven new one-acts this past weekend, penned by promising playwrights from across the metroplex.
2010 Playwrights
This year’s competition displays an 80’s theme, so all productions take the audience back to aspects of a recent cultural milieu that offers perspective and commentary on our world today, some with humor, others with poignant insight. They provide an entertaining, thought-provoking evening or afternoon’s jaunt back to that “kinder and gentler” future.
How does the competition work? More than twenty playwrights submitted short one-act plays in response to a general call for entries. A reading team of writers, theatre professionals and educators rated and scored all of them as to quality of writing and stage-worthiness. I was one of this year’s readers. The top seven scorers then advanced to the Playwriting Festival. At each performance, audience members vote for their favorite production. After the final performance February 21, the votes get tallied and the winning playwright wins $1000 in cash and airline tickets to the destination of his/her choice. A fine reward for all the hard work.
This year the playwrights include: a former stand-up comic and award-winning script writer; the founder of The Playwrights Forum; the artistic director and co-founder of a a well-established non-profit theatre company; an award-winning author, poet and performance artist; a Dallas-based renaissance performance artist with his own entertainment company; a graphic designer and film-maker; and a well-respected regional set designer and co-founder of a successful for profit theatre company. All bring a wealth of experience and a range of artistic focus to the performance pieces.
What gets reinforced in the festival viewing is how a script can be only as good as it is interpreted and performed, no matter how well written. In several cases, more polished scripts got saddled with less than stellar performances and unimaginative direction. Phillip Morales’ Back in the Day: Or How to Transcend the Mix-Tape and Carol M. Rice’s Waltzing Matilda’s, both interesting scripts at first reading, ended up a bit flat in production. Several other plays’ scripts, not quite as well crafted as literary works, sprang to life due to their tight, energized direction and spot on acting performances. Love, Snakes and Thriller by Rodman Goode and The Cosby’s: The Lost Episode by Buster Spiller both surprised and delighted me on stage when they had not impressed me particularly on the written page.
The strongest production was Rodney Dobbs’ Date Three, Date Four: ’83-’84. Powerful at first reading, this play presented the most consistent plot structure and fully developed characters, which changed in interesting ways from Scene 1 to Scene 2 as their relationship evolved. The play posits a clear snapshot of the era, in vivid direct contrast to a similar scenario today. It centers on a realistic setting of a dating couple with certain behavior expectations and mores reflective of the era. In Scene 1, Randy, played with natural ease and macho arrogance by Marty Moreno, discusses his “screw and scram” philosophy and how he doesn’t view this date as a likely conquest. Cavalier to the max, Randy boxes everyone into a disposable category. It’s hard not to cringe when he tosses off the thought that he doesn’t use condoms as there’s not much out there to catch from unprotected sex a shot won’t fix. Shannon Rasmussen, as Dana, plays her romantic co-dependence to the hilt with believable neediness in Scene 1. In Scene 2, they enact a similar meeting a year later. Dana has wised up and Randy is no longer “in charge” of his sex-life. This time, Dana, as realistic sex kitten with devil horns and tail, presents him with a condom en route to the bedroom. Suddenly her character expands to include the looming specter of AIDS in her alluring devil suit, an unexpected, effective combination of the realistic and metaphorical.
Very funny characterizations and efficient, fast-paced, believable blocking in Buster Spiller’s self-directed The Cosby’s: The Lost Episode elicit the most audience response of the evening. JuNene K. as Clair Huxtable is the hilarious stand-out of the entire performance with her multi-layered repeated delivery of the line, “Mama gonna tear that ass up.” Who knew that line could be so funny, said so many ways? Spiller’s solid cast includes Akron Watson, J.R.Bradford and Sequoia Houston.
The seven plays presented are, in program order:
84 by Jonathan Norton
Waltzing Matilda’s by Carol M. Rice
The Cosby’s : The Lost Episode by Buster Spiller
Date Three, Date Four: 83’-84’ by Rodney Dobbs
Love, Snakes and Thriller by Rodman Goode
To the Max by Camika Spencer
Back in the Day: Or How to Transcend the Mix-Tape by Phillip Morales
The 8th Annual All Star Playwright Festival and Annual New Play Competition runs through February 21 at the Bishop Arts Theater Center, 215 South Tyler St. in Oak Cliff.
For tickets visit TeCo Theatrical Productions:
www.tecotheater.org 214-948-0716
Stages of Love: MBS and Broken Gears
Ache is the sorrow of the soul…
That finds in its path a fragrance
Of burnt acorns and emptiness forlorn.
The view from the land of the crow
Is that of bitter peace.
For desolation is the home
Of my traveling soul.
Love is a battlefield and a counterfeit and an inspiration and a conundrum. Do you prefer yours doled out in refined, elegant chapbooks or drenched in acrid sweat, beer and blood?
Two Dallas area productions offer valid and vastly different options for celebrating St.Valentine’s Day February 14, providing sustenance for the soul, fodder for post-play discussion and perspectives on that singularly elusive emotion and state of being.
That thing called love.
Out at the Stone Cottage in Addison, MBS Productions offers an ephemeral trifle, 24 hrs. of Love, that reveals hidden depths along unexplored pathways to the heart. Two early 20th century couples in Madrid, one rich and elderly, the other their youthful attendants, visit a park daily over the course of years, to take in the sun, visit the swans, read a little poetry. Their visits never coincide until one chance day the young formally attired male attendant comes alone for a walk and discovers the proper young female attendant crying, alone and lonely, seated on a bench. Their discourse is refined and courteous; he sits beside her only if she so indicates, inquires politely for her welfare, offers a linen hanky, no direct eye contact. Yet the subtext reads charged with the rapturous energy that results when the unanticipated discovery of mutual heart’s enchantment occurs. They fall in love.
Cast: 24 hrs. of Love
At once. The young pair scheme to get their daily strolls with the elderly employers to coincide. This is no small task, as each older person has a “schedule” to keep and much to grouse and lecture about, objections to raise. The real delight transpires when the elderly couple finally meets face to face and makes a rare discovery…. Mark-Brian Sonna directs and translated the work from a Spanish script by Alejandro de la Costa and Joaquin and Serafin Alvarez Quintero. His four-person cast is exquisitely costumed and well suited to their characters, if a bit unsteady and tending to “recite” on opening night. There’s plenty of underlying sizzle in this script; by now Cupid’s darts should buzz the air space above their heads. The handsome cast includes: Laura L. Watson, Rey Torres, Adrian Godinez and Janye Anderson.
MBS Productions’24 hrs. of Love runs through Feb. 20.
Go to www.MBSProductions.net or 214-477-4942 for tickets.
Far, far on the other side of love’s tracks, Broken Gears Project Theatre in Irving presents an equally delightful production of John Patrick Shanley’s Danny and the Deep Blue Sea (Apache Dance), as passionately romantic in its own rough, raw, quirky way as the previous play. In his one act two person work, Shanley presents us with a pair of disillusioned lost souls, alienated losers, awash in pugilistic self-loathing and soul-burning loneliness. Both carry a shameful secret and cannot be set free to love until they confess their dark deeds. A play fit for Valentine’s celebration? You bet.
Danny and Roberta: John Hunter photo
The sorrow and disgust the audience feels observing the hostile, angst-ridden wallowing get far surpassed by the redemptive elation that sweeps over audience and characters alike as love and hope lead to transformation. You see it coming, and you really want to witness and celebrate its arrival.
John Patrick Shanley is best known for his 1988 Academy award-winning screenplay for Moonstruck and for his stage play Doubt: A Parable, which won the 2005 Drama Desk Award for Outstanding New Play and the 2005 Pulitzer Prize for Drama and Tony Award for Best Play. He also wrote the screenplay adaptation for the Academy-award winning film version. Danny and the Deep Blue Sea (Apache Dance) was his first published play and got its initial professional premiere at Actors Theatre of Louisville in February 1984 before moving on to a successful run in New York. In it, he explores imagery and ideas that get fuller treatments in later work, and the final scene feels somewhat superfluous. But the crude vitality, the heart-wrenching loneliness and the arc of transformation of the play’s two characters grab the audience’s attention from the start and hold focus to the end.
In Broken Gears’ production, director Nathan Autrey places Roberta (Whitney Holotik) on stage before the audience arrives. She sits slumped at an upstage table in a seedy bar, slovenly, sullen and forlorn, staring into space. Danny (Joey Folsom) hurtles in, beer pitcher and glass in hand, and collapses at a down stage left table, where he proceeds to catch his breath, guzzle the beer and wipe a generous splattering of blood off his face, shirt and hands with a filthy beer-soaked rag. He’s one scary-looking dude. Even with the dim lighting, you can’t miss the hostile tension as it builds between the two characters, determined to ignore each other even as they feel drawn together. Director Autrey hones in on the magnetic pull of the characters, nudging it along with subtlety belied by the crude language and jarring Bronx accents. As the characters reflect on the ocean and the fake moon, an almost oceanic rhythm pervades the work. The play’s lyrical poetry weaves through the crude dialogue, wooing the audience into believing that real love can come of a one-night stand in almost the same way the two characters come to believe it. Autrey carefully fixes the audience’s ear to resonate with the play’s lyricism in how he has his characters relate.
Folsom’s Danny is so real, so complete in every detail down to the blood-soaked eyebrows and shoulders slumped in resignation, you can picture him being some ne’er-do-well truck driver who picks fights unprovoked. He’s the sort of dim-witted guy “stuff” just happens to, true love never crossed his mind. He explains to Roberta, “I ain’t never planned no single fuckin’ thing in my life. I ain’t never done nothin. Things happen to me. Me, you, what you did. We didn’t do that stuff. It happened to us.” And then after their screwing, their conversation lights a fire in Folsom’s Danny until we see him stand tall and straight, radiating fired up hope and love. We believe him and want it all to be real.
Danny and Roberta: John Hunter photo
Holotik has a harder job with Roberta, to make her transformation believable. Her character suffers more inwardly. She throws a brief tantrum in the bar scene and tries to brush Danny off brusquely after their tryst; otherwise, she reacts, she envisions, she pretends, she dreams. We can’t see all she is on the surface. It would be an easy path to jack her up as a weepy melodrama wench, in order to match Danny’s extrovert energy. Instead, director Autrey has Holotik keep a translucent reserve, maintain her mysterious darkness, which masks her grief and rage at her terrible secret. As the onion layers of rage roll off Danny’s downtrodden persona, they peel much more slowly off Roberta. The audience feels drawn into the lovers’ “apache dance” as Folsom’s Danny reaches out to Holotik’s Roberta, transformed by love. Neither is left to drown in the “deep blue sea”; they have found each other. What more powerful statement about love could a play make? Sophisticated directorial choices, two masterful, in balance, riveting acting performances.
Broken Gears Project Theatre’s Danny and the Deep Blue Sea (Apache Dance) runs through February 20 at Industrial Strength Productions, 1957 East Irving Blvd., in Irving.
CALL AHEAD for directions! 817-470-6378
Tickets and info: www.brokengearstheatre.com
In this box, in this trunk,
you will find
the vestiges of me
where my soul is the sorrow
and the sorrow is the ache
and the ache is the sorrow of my soul….
Excerpts from a love poem by Mark-Brian Sonna, 2007
Circle Theatre Opus: A Musical Game of Life
Four chairs make a first class string quartet, five gifted musicians scheming and vying to fill them…who gets no chair, and the broken heart, when the music stops? Learn the truth watching Circle Theatre’s southwestern premiere production of Michael Hollinger’s elegant, heart-stopping Opus, running at the Sundance Square venue in downtown Ft. Worth through March 13. It’s a lyrical, brilliant work, thrilling audiences and critics alike since 2006.
Circle Theatre's cast of Opus
In this real life-inspired Hollinger play, after years of grueling practice, perfectionist fears, personal sacrifice, dreams realized and dashed, petty jealousy and fleeting instances of love and connection, peak moments of brilliance and truth arrive. And pass. Whether it’s a passionate personal admission of what it means to face terminal cancer or the jubilant euphoria the fictional Lazara Quartet experiences collectively as the applause dies down after a command performance for the US president, the audience observes those fleeting moments as they pass by on stage. The recognition of those moments is the rare, exquisite, deeply human, yet transcendent essence of Hollinger’s masterpiece, his opus, about the personal, professional and back stage lives of five top-flight musicians.
They rehearse; they record; they give documentary interviews; they hire and fire; they fight over musical execution nuance and the lighting levels in performance halls. They love, cherish and betray each other. Life reaches a crescendo, as they perform Beethoven’s Opus 131 for that one shining moment, with the music “flowing through all four of us like an electric current”. The audience recognizes the quartet’s uniqueness along with its common humanity. After seeing a vibrant production like Circle Theatre’s Opus, it’s hard to leave the theatre without believing that humans can and will make life better and more beautiful. The quartet’s pure commitment to the music, the vital experience of it, elicits a transcendent grace.
TCU Theatre professor Alan Shorter took on a leviathan of a challenge in agreeing to direct Opus, the opening act of Circle Theatre’s 29th Season. His set consists primarily of four simple armless chairs with corresponding music stands; actors adjust the seating arrangements in dim light from scene to scene. The play’s fifteen scenes unfold in staccato fashion, moving back in forth in time with symphonic complexity, allowing for sparse, stylized set and costume change as they flow along uninterrupted. Shorter’s actors learned the play as an organic, orchestrated whole to be ready to leap into the next moment fully energized and cognizant of situation, mood, blocking and whatever took place before the scene began.
We first meet the five musicians in the middle of an individualized documentary film interview in flashback, with rapid overlapping dialogue. They jump immediately to a present day audition for a new quartet member with more witty, fast-paced conversation, followed by a short flashback duet-style dialogue interview (with intense romantic overtones) with the first violinist and his violist lover. The play then leaps back to the present at the second violinist’s apartment, for an expository scene with a new violist who shows up two hours early for rehearsal…. all scenes are clearly defined in setting, time and pace. The crowning challenge for director and cast (and an amazing accomplishment in execution) is how they cleverly integrate musical performance on stage. Starting with the alla danza tedesca from Beethoven’s Opus 130 in the play’s Prelude, the five actors must simulate playing excerpts from more than six sophisticated, complicated movements and sequences for quartet, performing them with accuracy, assurance and passion, at the same time not dropping a word or nuance from a line of overlaid dialogue. They bow with real bows (silenced) on real instruments, without fingering, while a recorded quartet plays the actual selections. Director Shorter told me in a pre-performance interview that he and the cast felt like they were rehearsing two plays simultaneously, a musical superimposed on a straight stage play. The simulation effect is remarkably realistic and believable under Shorter’s focused tutelage; the audience cannot guess that two cast members don’t read music at all. The opening night performance I attended hit its notes head on and true under Shorter’s able baton. A direct result of Shorter comprehensive skill as a professional musician as well as his wealth of experience as a composer, conductor, pianist, and national tour music and stage director, this unique conceit of Hollinger’s Opus comes off without a hitch.
Life sometimes feels like soap opera, imitating “art” instead of the other way around. Opus’ plot and characters head down that entertaining path as well, offering an experienced, gutsy ensemble of actors ample opportunity to explore a full range of passion-filled emotion in a short span of time and space. Ulterior motives, revenge, love sacrificed and spurned, rampant opportunism, the mysterious disappearance and timely reappearance of a key musician and a one-of-a-kind instrument, cancer, budding romance, a “chance of a lifetime” concert playing a command performance for the Commander-in-chief: these issues all intertwine here in torchy, tuxedo-clad glory, just as they might in real life. Or on daytime television.
Shorter’s cast rises to the challenge to find solid, “real life” moments. Cellist Carl (David H. M. Lambert) functions as the moral compass of the quartet and lurks at its periphery, telling corny jokes while attempting to reel in some of the cruel tongue-lashings other quartet members dole out, and settling raging disputes with a simple coin toss, upholding the group’s democratic ethos. A dedicated family man with a stray binky in his pocket, Carl has endured cancer and understands the meaning of life lived as a ticking time bomb. With powerful physicality Lambert lends a sonorous dignity to the role, as well as delivers some of the play’s best laugh lines with resonant punch. When his cancer returns and the quartet spins off into emotional overdrive, Carl exhibits Promethean strength of character, earning audience empathy and respect. Lambert steers clear of melodrama in his portrayal of a cancer victim and finds simple, natural levels. “Play every note,” he urges newcomer violist Grace, with gentle resignation, eminently aware of his precarious future. Live every moment as if it really counts. Lambert makes Carl so easy to love.
Circle Theatre's cast of Opus
The stakes here are highest for Elliott, first violinist and group leader. He’s talented but no virtuoso, organized and fully committed to the quartet’s success to a compulsive-obsessive fault. Holding the group together for over ten years has become his raison d’etre. Elias Taylorson as Elliott employs an array of vocal, mental and physical skills to explore the peaks and valleys Hollinger’s script affords him. A pissy diva, Elliott can be funny. He also can be manipulative and cruel. Hollinger’s intentionally symphonic script inspires Taylorson to emote fluently as Elliott, almost in counterpoint with the music performed during the show. “Our work is ephemeral. Like us,” intones a lyrically persuasive Elliott attempting to seduce the newly recruited violist with his aspirations for the quartet. “A Beethoven cycle, though, well, that might feel like an opus, something…worthy of posterity.” Taylorson just received a 2010 Dallas ‘Column Award’ for Best Actor in a Non-Equity Play for his 2009 performance in Upstart Productions’ Talk Radio.
As Elliot’s lover and unreliable, chemically-dependent violist Dorian, Mark Shum has a special acting challenge. Deemed the “wunderkind” of the quartet, he needs to exude enough inspired passion to “channel Mozart”. Yet as written by Hollinger, Dorian is shown playing an instrument fewer times than anyone else in the play; he never performs a solo where he could demonstrate his Gift and solidify his character. Shum’s Dorian clowns effectively as the irresponsible bad boy of the quartet, but the script never shows him profoundly inspired by the music or driven by intense desire to get back into the quartet any way he can. He reveals the clearest glimpse of Dorian’s inner soul when he encounters his replacement Grace warming up before she auditions for the Pittsburgh Symphony. He asks to borrow the viola she is playing for her audition, the special Lazara he used to play in the quartet, for his own audition. He explains softly, almost apologetically, “the viola I borrowed doesn’t know the notes.” In that moment the audience senses a hint of Dorian’s hypersensitive, if nonchalant, genius.
Meg Bauman, playing recent college graduate and new violist Grace, balances her untested novice persona with driving ambition. Vulnerable yet practical, she allows herself to be beguiled by Elliott’s manipulative mentoring to a point. When push comes to shove, Grace looks out for Grace. She appears almost angelic when playing the viola, but she’s no altruistic saint. Grasp that paycheck with health benefits, first; follow the art, after. “She’s got her future to think of,” snarls Elliott in the play’s final scene, when the survival of the Lazara Quartet lies in question, and Grace turns her back on him. Bauman’s Grace doesn’t show much emotion but reveals her opportunistic objectives clearly. She is the independent “artist contractor” of the future. Curious that Hollinger chose to name this character “grace”.
Jakie Cabe, playing Alan, the second violinist and play’s sometime narrator, conveys a consistent warmth and easy-going sincerity throughout. Not the most committed musician in the quartet, Alan’s concern for the missing Dorian (maybe a suicide?), as well as his desire to keep everyone else on an even keel, is keenly palpable in Cabe’s portrayal. Alan’s the one “regular guy” in the quartet, divorced but grounded, thrust into a miasma of extreme temperaments and personalities. He never misses the chance to appeal for “normalcy.” The audience can breathe a needed sigh of relief every time Alan interacts on stage. It’s perfectly understandable and fitting, in both the musical and plot line sense, for Alan to offer the play’s final words. Addressing the audience with a chuckle, he exclaims, “End! Why should it end? …Well obviously it’s got to end sometime, right? The rest is silence…You play your part the best you can till you run out of notes, and the rest…is….” Lights fade on Cabe’s Alan, smiling reassuringly.
After seeing a vibrant production like Circle Theatre’s Opus, it’s hard to leave the theatre without believing that humans, even flawed ones, can and will make life better and more beautiful.
The southwestern premiere of Michael Hollinger’s Opus runs through March 13 at Circle Theatre. Go to www.circletheatre.com or call 817-877-3040 for tickets.
Circle Theatre is located at 230 W 4th St, in Fort Worth, TX.
Set design by Clare Floyd deVries, lighting by John Leach, sound by David H. M. Lambert, costumes by Drenda Lewis, and dramaturgy by Dorothy Sanders.
This Week in the Arts 2/10/2010 netcast interview with director Alan Shorter: http://thisweekinthearts.flowercast.net/
Violist turned Playwright Michael Hollinger’s website: www.michaelhollinger.com
PHOTOS by Glen E. Ellman–
TOP: l to r- Meg Bauman, Elias Taylorson, Jakie Cabe, Mark Shum, David H.M. Lambert (seated)
BOTTOM: l to r – Elias Taylorson, Jakie Cabe, Mark Shum, David H.M.Lambert, Meg Bauman
Speaking their truth: African American Repertory Theater
“Life is short, and it’s up to you to make it sweet.” Sadie Delany
When lights come up on Having Our Say at DeSoto Corner Theatre, resident venue for African American Repertory Theater, a curious audience finds two kindly looking elderly African American women inviting it into their comfortably appointed home to share a cup of tea. That audience just doesn’t know what it’s in for. The duo are Mount Vernon, NY’s famous Delaney sisters, Sadie and Bessie, spry, vivacious centenarians, ready to share one hundred years’ worth of life experience and wisdom in no nonsense, intimate detail, along with tea and a meal they prepare and serve during the course of the two-hour play.
Based on a series of 1991 interviews with the two actual sisters, Amy Hearth wrote a New York Times article that became a 1993 best-selling book, Having Our Say: The Delany Sisters First 100 Years, In 1995, Emily Mann, multi-award winning Artistic Director and Resident Playwright of McCarter Theatre in Princeton, New Jersey, adapted the book into play form. On Broadway it received three Tony nominations, including Best Play and Best Direction, and a Drama Desk nomination. It won a Joseph Jefferson Award and an NAACP award, and it went on to receive Peabody and Christopher Awards for Mann’s screenplay adaptation for the 1999 television movie version starring Diahann Carroll and Ruby Dee.
African American Repertory Theater’s production, directed by William “Bill” Earl Ray, features the august, complimentary talents of versatile stage and screen actresses Irma P. Hall and Selma Pinkard, playing, respectively, Bessie at age 101 and Sadie at age 103. Neither actress is anywhere near centenarian status. Yet they convey that reality with well-defined, accurate physicality and vocal delivery that goes far beyond grey wigs and age make-up, while imbuing their characters with intriguing vitality that holds the audience fascinated and charmed. Hard to tell they’ve never worked together before, Hall and Pinkard convey a time-earned sense of sisters and housemates who know each other so well they complete each other’s sentences without hesitation and hold their teacups in almost the same manner. Older sister Sadie, a retired schoolteacher, presents a gentler, more philosophical view of life; while retired dentist Bessie still rails against life’s injustices. ”She has trouble forgiving and forgetting,” Sadie says of her sister Bessie, who doesn’t deny it: ”Most of the people I’m still mad at are long dead.”
Hall as Bessie speaks most of the play’s laugh lines; “I’m a naughty little darky,” delivered with deadpan devilish merriment, elicits quite a guffaw from the audience. Both describe hardships and adversity they and their family endured, from the 1920’s through the Civil Rights era, as they grew up and chose unusual professions, with a clarity and respectful awareness that attest to their inner strengths as well as reveal the history of a changing century in an unforgettable manner. Full of love and gracious good manners, Hall and Pinkard present a heart-warming picture of two remarkable women who lived with principles, knew who they were, loved each other and believed in a mission to “help somebody.” A remarkable feat of story-telling spanning over one hundred years in history, it’s not “new and trendy”; but Emily Mann’s play as brought to life by these two terrific actresses makes worthwhile, enjoyable theatre. At the end it’s hard to keep from wanting to rush up on stage into the dining room set to join hands with the two women as they pray over the meal they’re about to enjoy. You know they’d make room at their table, no matter your race, status or political orientation.
William “Bill” Earl Ray directs Having Our Say with low key, stylized naturalism. The exquisite, homespun set design is by Bryan Wofford with set construction by Arthur (Karioki) Riggin and Jessie (Yishael) White. Lighting by Nikki DeShea Smith, sound by Craig Willis and properties by Julia E. Cotton compliment the “at home” effect. Video projection on the “dining room mirror” in the Delany home by Trey Simeon helps place historical events alongside the play’s narrative.
Having Our Say runs through Sunday, February 28, at the DeSoto Corner Theatre, 211 E. Pleasant Run, DeSoto, Texas.
For ticket information, please visit the AART website at www.aareptheater.com or call (972) 572-0998.
March to a Different Drummer: boom
“Peter Sinn Nactrieb’s play flips from pants-around-the-ankles comedy to hipster Twilight Zone takeoff… boom is imaginative and easy to like.” –The New Yorker
Boom. Boom, boom, boom goes Kitchen Dog Theater. Inspired by ominous percussive cascades played by an on stage actor assaulting a drum machine with gusto, the focal characters in Peter Sinn Nactrieb’s 2008 play about apocalypse, boom, embark on new relationships, fight dirty, struggle to survive, reflect on corporate management and the nature of existence, and escape out into the void, or whatever awaits beyond their underground bunker confines. Primal essence meets societal veneer and the intricacies of social intercourse. “Newscaster hair keeps the public from going insane,” states one character. Truth, or fiction? On an Earth where a comet has destroyed the newscasts, along with everything newsworthy, what really matters?
Nactrieb writes complex, entertaining plays that lead an audience on a merry chase between reality which seems like fantasy and vice versa. In his 2007 award winning comedy The Hunter Gatherers, the seeming reality of two “average” couples celebrating a joint wedding anniversary fast devolves into something wildly pinioned between a parody of Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf and a deathly mystery play portraying survival of the fittest. Nactrieb has a real knack for creating characters that seem utterly natural while in truth they have as much substance as cartoon personas. His imaginative, layered, highly visual dialogue and actionable plots offer appealing challenges to actors and directors conspiring to create metaphorical realities. At play’s end, there is always a point to the madness generated. It’s much fun to watch it roll out like a magic carpet ride piloted by Alice’s Mad Hatter.
Kitchen Dog Theater, with its customary penchant for bold, engaging visual statement, presents boom through March 13, 2010. Company member Christie Vela directs and fires up her production with as much dramatic intensity as a nuclear reactor. Dueling realities, or reeling dualities, amuse and fascinate the audience as Vela’s three actors flail about within interconnected but non-communicating worlds. KDT company member Karen Parrish as Barbara functions both as narrator, museum curator, self-pitying employee and unlikely percussionist. More catalyst and concept than part of the action, Parrish knits the play together as a comprehensible whole while presenting a Nactrieb signature “believable yet caricatured” persona. She’s one strange gal. The play’s slim thread to reality hangs on this character’s presentation. Parrish and director Vela clearly have aligned understanding of the role; Parrish hits her high notes in focused harmony in contrast to the seemingly more realistic plot thread. As the two mismatched inhabitants on display in “Barbara’s Museum”, Eric Steele as research scientist Jules and Jenny Ledel as youthful journalist Jo launch themselves into their theoretical reality with vengeance and physical adeptness. It’s a while before the audience realizes the altered, theoretical nature of their reality, but even then their well-balanced, strong performances arouse empathy. “In no strings sex, hope is still possible.” As Vela tweaks the kaleidoscopic nature of boom’s perspective, each character responds as if a master puppeteer rules the universe.
For a fast-paced, witty performance of ricocheting, non-traditional theatre, you’ll go far to best Kitchen Dog Theatre’s production of Peter Sinn Nactrieb’s boom.
The Texas premiere of boom runs through March 13, 2010. For tickets and information, go to: http://www.kitchendogtheater.org
Mount Up & Ride: Uptown Players’ “Equus”
Is Peter Shaffer’s 1973 psychodrama Equus really just one more overblown horse-opera? Contemplate Dallas’ Uptown Players’ visually stunning production of the convoluted, highly symbolic work, and decide for yourself. Running through March 21 and directed by Bruce R. Coleman, the play kicks off the company’s ninth season and inaugurates its use of the Frank Lloyd Wright-designed Kalita Humphreys Theater (former full-time home of the Dallas Theater Center). The term horse opera, originally coined by silent film-era Western star William S. Hart, can be used variously to convey either disparagement or affection and refers to a performance piece that can be extremely cliched or formulaic ( in soap opera style). The name also comes in part from the musical sequences frequently featured in performance showing a cowboy singing to his horse. Uptown Players’ production features no singing cowboys, but it does real justice to Shaffer’s controversial play. A genuine horse opera, worthy of both affection and disparagement.
Alan with Nugget in Equus
What controversy? On stage nudity, pervasive sensuality, man/beast relationships, and unsavory behaviors including repressive religiosity and extreme animal worship and cruelty. The play offers up a draft horse sized hay-net full of seething controversy-fomenting opportunities for divergent interpretation, outrage and heated post-show discussion. That’s on top of the substantial theatrical challenges it presents for creating believable characters within its symbol-laden, twisted psycho-dramatic script. Classically-structured by Shaffer according to Greek Apollonian v. Dionysian value systems (light versus darkness, or civilization versus primal nature), there’s enough hoof-stomping, nostril-flaring, cinched up metaphor in this play to gallop a mid-1970’s English lit master’s thesis across a Kentucky race course finish line without turning a hair.
The subject matter: Equus concerns a deeply depressed, repressed psychiatrist, Martin Dysart, who longs for a life of meaning and passion. He gets talked into taking on as a client a deeply disturbed, even more repressed 17 year old boy, Alan Strang, who has gouged out the eyes of a stable of horses he cares for, in an act of psychotic passion. The play explores the reasons for the boy’s cruel act, his repressive family relationships, sexual longings and ecstatic worship of horses, with Dysart mirroring the boy’s outward anguish with inner turmoil. By the play’s end Dysart realizes he may do more damage in rendering children “normal” than in allowing them to continue their “madness.”
What does this play say about psychiatric cures and the reasons for madness? Here’s where the play shows it’s long in the tooth. “The then voguish theories of R. D. Laing, which championed the creative beauty within madness while fixing blame on the repressiveness of the conventional family” seem to receive full credence here. Laing stressed the role of society, and particularly the family, in the development of what he termed “madness”. The philosophy seems to go along with the free love and doin’ your own thing spirit of the 70′s era, “communing with your own inner madman.” Given the number of “outward madmen” today’s assault-weary world must deal with on a daily basis, who fly planes into buildings and the like, it’s hard to empathize with a play that seems to champion such “mad” behavior.
So where’s the affection? The ominous, looming, ethereal set (also by director/ designer Bruce R. Coleman) consisting of Stonehenge-like columns, blocks and benches clustered around the Humphreys’ on stage revolve, morphs effortlessly from psychiatrist office to dream-world sacrificial slab to mental ward to stable-yard. Lights and sound (Jason Foster/ Andi Allen) dramatically reinforce the stark other-worldliness of the play’s reality and enhance the sensuality and the madness overwhelming the boy Alan. The growing sense of desperate alienation the audience feels mirrors Alan’s from “normal” society. All technical elements intensify the alienation effect without overwhelming the text or characterization. The costuming of the horses (Suzi Cranford), played by shapely men in stylized, horse-head masks, half-clothed with muscles rippling (much like actual horses), conveys the wanton sense of a pagan ritual, unleashed to prey on the unstable mind of a vulnerable boy. (Superlative mask design by Jeffrey Schmidt) The horse concept and equine choreography (also by Coleman) are exquisitely executed and alternate between fascination and horror, as the horses occupy in one instant a very real stable scene and in the next moment a Horse-God Hell of the mind. When the final blinding attack arrives, the stylized dance ritual, choral screaming and pulsating red wash of lights transport the audience far enough away from the grotesque cruelty of the perpetrated act to prevent them from fleeing the building. (Note: I have never seen this play before, avoided it; I spent over thirty years passionately involved with horses as an equestrian professional and could not bear the thought of watching the maiming if it was portrayed realistically. It worked well artistically here, and I kept my seat.). Nudity in this play represents the baring of the soul and escape from societal repression. In scenes where actors appear nude, their nakedness reinforces the play’s message and allows them to reveal deeper aspects of character in appropriate, effective ways. The shadowed silhouette lighting effect on nude form enhances the nightmarish quality required by the play to convey the descent into madness. Are the forms real, or are they ghost? Delusion? The script does not call for full nudity in the final scene between Alan and the stable girl Jill (Scene 33), but its presence in this production does not seem gratuitous. Uptown Players’ Equus is haunting and revelatory.
What disparagement? As evocatively detailed as the design and technical elements are, as effectively executed as the ritual depiction of psychological imbalance and symbolic portrayal of the world of the Horse Gods are, much of the acting in the show never rises to the same level. It seems as though director Coleman focused most on spectacle elements. At first, Rick Espaillat as Martin Dysart conveys the professional distance one expects in a psychiatrist, but he never ventures much beyond it convincingly. Clearly repressing his own demons, Dysart needs to reveal his accelerating inner torment as the play unfolds. His relationship to Alan, the disturbed boy, never seems to connect beyond a professional level. Curiously, he seems disconnected from his own nightmare scene, where he enacts child sacrifice. His later emotional outbursts don’t fit with the reserved persona he has created. British accent, or not? Cast members attempt it with limited success. Supporting actors seem to know their lines and blocking but portray relationships and motivation with superficiality. Costuming the contingent of men at the porno film scene all in trench coats seems camp, almost humorous in its incongruity. On the other hand, back in the world of ritual and symbol, Daylon Walton as lead horse Nugget gives a majestic, noble performance; he clearly responds to Alan’s worshipful attentions and shows his adoration as only a horse can. Lee Jamison Wadley as the stable girl Jill embodies an uncomplicated wholesomeness, an unsuspecting, virginal sweetness, in pointed contrast to Alan’s warped, unbalanced, obsessive behavior.
Winner’s Circle: Max Swarner as Alan delivers the strongest, most engaging performance of the production, unquestionably the most difficult role to portray. He connects Alan directly and clearly to every other character, even when refusing to relate to them. His anger and frustration, pent up and tortured, are terrifying and heartbreaking at the same time. No matter how crazed he becomes, how obsessive his behavior, he invites the audience inside his head and heart. His crazy love for the horses is exciting, infectious. When he rides Nugget alone and naked in the dark, the audience revels in his exultation and feels his heart pounding along with the flying hooves. In spite of the cruelty of the violent act Alan commits, the audience never stops wanting to understand him. Swarner gives an expansive, nuanced performance that fully engages the audience and carries the play. Through him, the symbolic merges with the real, and what remains remarkable about Shaffer’s tumultuous Equus springs full-blown to life.
Equus as horse opera? Yes. And no. Equus the play, lusciously written but outdated in concept, may not warrant deeper analysis than a dose of soap opera. With respect and affection, I believe that Uptown Players’ production makes a genuinely entertaining evening of theater that can inspire lively, thought-provoking discussion after. Like Martin Dysart, we all “need a way of seeing in the dark” to discover inner truth. We all suffer at some level from a “sharp chain in the mouth that never comes out.” The ritual that live theater embodies can light a path to restoration and resolution. Strap on your spurs; get ready for satisfying theatrical horseplay with Uptown Players.
Peter Shaffer’s Equus runs through March 21. For tickets:
Uptown Players 214-219-2718 www.uptownplayers.org
PHOTO: by Mike Morgan– Max Swarner, Daylon Walton (above)
The term horse opera, originally coined by silent film-era Western star William S. Hart, is used variously to convey either disparagement or affection and refers to a performance piece that can be extremely cliched or formulaic (in the manner of a soap opera). The name “horse opera” was also derived in part from the musical sequences frequently featured in performances which depicted a cowboy singing to his horse. (from Wikipedia)
Brief quote about Laing’s psychological theories from Ben Brantley’s NT Times review of Equus from September 2008: theater.nytimes.com/2008/09/26/theater/reviews/26equu.html
Wendy Wasserstein’s Sisters
The Sisters Rosensweig at Contemporary Theatre of Dallas by Wendy Wasserstein
Can’t mistake Pulitzer-winning playwright Wendy Wasserstein’s voice for anyone else’s. There’s a rich liquidity and a mature intelligence to her dialogue, no matter the play. She distilled, honored and validated women’s voices in a way few playwrights had prior to her time. Her death in 2006 at age 55 due to lymphoma complications struck a serious blow to American theater. In Charles Isherwood’s 2006 New York Times tribute article to Wasserstein, he quotes André Bishop, the artistic director of Lincoln Center Theater. “She was known for being a popular, funny playwright, but she was also a woman and a writer of deep conviction and political activism. In Wendy’s plays women saw themselves portrayed in a way they hadn’t been onstage before — wittily, intelligently and seriously at the same time. We take that for granted now, but it was not the case 25 years ago. She was a real pioneer.”
Feeling curiously dated, a tad adamant and shrill, but still making a valid case as a prime example of Wasserstein’s exceptionally fluid, comprehensive work with richly depicted, believable, characters, The Sisters Rosensweig, about three middle-aged Jewish American sisters in London, finds an ideal home in Contemporary Theatre of Dallas’ current production. Wasserstein received the William Inge Award for Distinguished Achievement in American Theatre for this play, which opened in Seattle in 1992.
Maneuvering the CTD cast of regionally well-respected actors through the play’s predictable but smoothly executed arcs with deliberate snap, director Marianne Galloway demonstrates a thorough understanding of the playwright’s sophistication and nuanced character realization. As much as she allows the play’s humor to rise through natural situational development, Galloway underscores the seriousness of each female character’s life path. She makes it easy for the audience to get to know each woman, and characters are not sacrificed here just to get laughs. Wasserstein’s work feels almost choreographed it’s so solidly structured. With Galloway’s clear-headed direction and attention to every logical detail, the plot seems to unfold with casual spontaneity. (I’d like to see her direct Three Tall Women or The Little Foxes).
The cast forms a classy ensemble. The Rosensweig sisters, played by Marcia Carroll, Elizabeth van Winkle and Shannon J. McGrann, are as enmeshed, baggage-laden and bicker-prone as any three real life sisters could be. Never resorting to caricature, each actor displays her character’s singular eccentricity, balanced at all times by a powerful bond of sisterly love. Cassie Bann as eldest sister Sara’s daughter Tess gives every indication of falling into her elders’ footsteps with natural grace, free-spirited but respectful of the unique family bond. This play isn’t a feminist treatise; instead it’s a work that honors the power of feminine love and individuality. Director Galloway and her female cast members have captured this essence head and heart on.
Male characters, little more than foils and adornments as written in The Sisters Rosensweig, reveal an intriguing depth and substance they might never have found under the guidance of a less able director. They provide much of the play’s comedy. In a role absolutely tailored to his boyish charm, good looks and hint of effeminacy, John Venable earns the lion’s share of laughter as youngest sister Pfeni’s bisexual boyfriend Geoffrey. He’s an absolute hoot, manic, irrepressibly engaging, and ultimately unavailable. Geoffrey is unforgettable lounging about the set’s living room clad in little more than his briefs, so at ease with his body the audience can almost forget how much of it they are viewing. And forgive him totally for the “impropriety” of it. Randy Pearlman presents a smooth cobbled mix of blatant, clever salesmanship and honest adoration in creating eldest sister Sara’s unlikely suitor, the ‘faux furrier’ Mervyn. He could become downright annoying in a lesser actor’s hands with his relentless persistence. Pearlman under Galloway’s direction lets Mervyn’s kindness and decency shine through under non-ending verbosity and ubiquity. Laugh at him if you choose, but root for him to win Sara’s heart, too. Reg Platt reveals a scandalously believable prude with a prurient penchant in Sara’s unacceptable suitor Nicholas. Finally, Andrews Cope provides a hunky, rough-hewn, welcome contrast to the classier men as Sara’s daughter Tess’ clueless, working class boyfriend Tom, even if his accent wanders across dialects a bit.
You don’t have to be Jewish to feel the love and humanity surging through Wendy Wasserstein’s The Sisters Rosensweig, playing at Contemporary Theatre of Dallas through March 7. You just need an open heart and a genuine appreciation for an intelligent, sophisticated play by a woman whose gift to the theater will continue to resonate long past her untimely death. Thank you, Ms. Wasserstein.
For tickets go to www.contemporarytheatreofdallas.com or call 214.828.0094
About Wendy Wasserstein: http://www.nytimes.com/2006/01/31/theater/31wasserstein.html?ex=1296363600&en=5f1fd4313e8b7d1e&ei=5088&part
PHOTO: l to r – Elizabeth van Winkle, Marcia Carroll, and Shannon J. McGrann
Shaping Up Nicely: LaBute & Dallas Theater Center
The Dallas Theater Center attacks Neil LaBute’s 2001 drama The Shape of Things with fiendishly razor-sharp vigor at the Wyly Theatre’s Studio Theatre black box space. An outrageous, amoral love story with gross betrayal, the role of art in society, loss of innocence, and boundaries between intimacy and manipulation at issue, the play revolves around an opportunistic art student, instructed to “change the world” by her graduate adviser, who decides to “sculpt” a vulnerable man into a more attractive version of himself as her MFA project.
The Beauty Plays
Evelyn and Adam (blatant metaphor, as in flashing neon sign) become a couple as Evelyn manipulates and cajoles him into losing weight, upgrading his wardrobe, wearing contact lenses, having a nose job, cutting off his friends and even videos their love-making sessions, all in the name of making art. “It’s a visceral thing. You’ve got to feel it. Love it, hate it–it isn’t a casserole, “intones cold-hearted Evelyn, describing her “passion” as an artist. Or is it just her psychosis, cruelly projected on another human being?
Tony-nominated Neil Labute is known as a “playwright provocateur”. He wrote and produced the award-winning In the Company of Men in 1993, a savage stage play and film about two misogynist office mates who scheme to emotionally destroy a deaf female co-worker. Actors spit out words like penis and cunt with punctuated, lurid fervor in his plays, with the intention to shock and provoke thoroughly with language, situation and character. Small wonder he was “dis-fellowshipped” from the Mormon Church. The Shape of Things is part of a trilogy known as the Beauty Plays, all spinning image and beauty as dominant, often destructive features in modern American culture. “Beauty is a liability if it becomes one. We’re drawn to it, we desire it, we often despise it if we can’t have it.”
DTC’s cast of four brings each character in The Shape of Things to vivid, well-rounded life, acid-tongued to waspish, shrinking violet to compliant “Romeo.” It’s hard to empathize with any of the characters. Yet, in smooth harmony as full ensemble or as two romantically involved college-aged couples, they hold audience interest. You couldn’t ask for a better cast, tighter ensemble. Lee Trull as the pompous, overbearing Philip plays against type and creates a satisfying, if repellent, portrayal of a man who uses truth to browbeat his friends and associates. He seems to see through artist Evelyn’s manipulations, but his brusque, overly aggressive manner makes the unwitting victim Adam discount his opinions. As Philip’s fiancée Jenny, Aleisha Force builds believability into the play’s one “ordinary” character. Yes, she’s conventional and something of a doormat, but she reveals manipulative tendencies, herself. Hard to avoid thinking that LaBute dislikes and fears women immensely after seeing this play. Abbey Siegworth creates a realistic monster in Evelyn with reasoned rationale and exceedingly well-honed feminine wiles. Initially, she seems likable and earnest. In her final monologue, as she describes her MFA project, calmly, cruelly, in minute detail, the audience finds itself recoiling from her, considering the enormous extent of her deliberate abuse of another human. Steven Walters as Adam matches Siegworth’s calculated manipulation with a compliant hunger for acceptance and approval. He plays right into her game, blindly, willingly. Everyone wants to be loved; some will grovel at any level, completely re-invent themselves, to gain that love and acceptance. Never just a one-dimensional nerd, Walters’ Adam possesses an Everyman quality that inspires sympathy more than disgust.
This is a satisfying production, with only a few minor drawbacks. It whets the appetite to see the other two plays in the trilogy. Sometimes Matthew Gray’s direction limits his actors’ ability to use the entire stage or to play to both audience seating areas effectively; it’s almost as if the actors were instructed to play to 12 o’clock or to 3 o’clock at times. Donna Marquet’s monochromatic minimal set pieces backed up flush to the set’s two walls also keep the actors working in flat, limited planes. Slightly annoying, neither oddity ultimately detracts from the cast’s solid realization of a blistering script. In the performance I saw, paper coffee cups tumbled from a wall-bound café table in one scene, as they apparently had no liquid in them; surely props will rectify that situation. The Dallas Theater Center Production of The Shape of Things shapes up pretty nicely. It runs in repertory through May 23 with Fat Pig and reasons to be pretty (opening at later dates) in the Wyly’s 103 seat Studio Theatre.
For tickets: call 214-880-0202, or visit www.dallastheatercenter.org
No Slacking Off: Upstart Productions’ subUrbia
Eric Bogosian's subUrbia: Upstart Productions
Feel like getting sucker punched by a velvet-gloved fist?
Watch Upstart Productions’ subUrbia, Eric Bogosian’s 1994 dystopia drama about a group of slackers malingering outside a Pakistani owned convenience store, and you’ll get so caught up by the curiously engaging drama you might just miss its hard cold facts. Don’t worry—they’ll grab you when the time comes. Those realities creep up like day-old pizza grease dribbling down on a sweat-stained t-shirt. Wham-bam, your gut recoils from the impact and the head spins; you might reel back to find your butt planted against the convenience store pee-splattered brick wall with the slackers and not know how you got there. But then, reality has a nasty way of catching people off guard, and Bogosian exhibits a master’s expertise in expressing that sensation. This subUrbia is voracious, raging theatre for the sensation-starved.
Directorial bent: Upstart Productions is comprised of a ballsy bunch of intrepid theatre artists and savvy production wizards that brought to vivid life TopDog/UnderDog, This Is Our Youth and Talk Radio. In the small non-profit company’s first two years of existence, they have garnered Column Awards, high critical praise by the DFW Theatre Critics Forum and year end Critic’s Pick accolades for their artistic ventures. Don’t think they’ve slacked off one iota with the slacker play subUrbia. Following boldly on the heels of esteemed regional artists Rene Moreno and Regan Adair, who directed This Is Our Youth and Talk Radio, respectively, Upstart’s Artistic Director and play director Josh Glover has assembled a heavenly hellish cast of young regional talents and melded them into a fine-honed ensemble bursting with reality-based angst, anger, aspiration and blind self-delusion. Just as Moreno and Adair stamped their shows with signature style and clarity that elevated their works’ universality, Glover has directed subUrbia in a way that honors its 1990’s sensibility while its themes resonate with relevance for today’s audience. The play’s only cell phone carried by the one ‘privileged’ character is an actual relic of the era; the attire of successful singer-songwriter/folk rock artist character Pony is accurate down to self-conscious fashionista detail, as is the sort of acoustic music he plays. Glover describes the creation of Pony’s sound: “After Kurt Cobain committed suicide in ’94, there was a big resurgence in the folk rock genre. Hootie & the Blowfish had the top-selling album of the year in 1995. I imagine Pony’s band could be seen opening for the likes of the Goo Goo Dolls or Hootie…the lyrics appear in Bogosian’s script as performed, but (actor) Justin Locklear and I work-shopped the melodies and accompaniment”. His directorial intention to keep the intense, intimate slice-of-life performance as gritty and believable as possible spans from the characters’ violent physical contact to their solo monologues. Artistically, the show flows seamlessly along with each character depiction and plot element woven tightly, almost effortlessly, together. Yet the disparity between seeming and actual reality underpins the entire production through Glover’s careful blocking and natural-seeming character arcs. The play’s surprise ending elicited audible gasps of horror and surprise from opening night’s rapt, unsuspecting audience.
The “heavenly hellish cast”: Gracious, they are terrific. Every actor creates intriguing, nuanced, often repellent, but vibrant characters. Bogosian’s genius comes out in his characters and their voices. The success of his plays rests squarely on the veracity of their portrayals. With a show about twenty-something angst, it would be easy for actors to mope and whine themselves into predictable, nauseating, boring one-note performances. In Upstart Production’s subUrbia, just like in its fall 2009’s Talk Radio, (also by Bogosian) the stage crackles with valid human emotion, and boredom never enters the picture.
subUrbia's heavenly hellish cast
Lending an embittered air of xenophobic menace to the slacker crew, Andrews W. Cope holds nothing back in creating the sad reality of a disillusioned war vet whose passive and active aggression functions as the unsavory glue holding the group together. Closest thing to a true realist in the group, Cope portrays a macho, angry man who deals out pain to mask his own, yet still comprehends the ‘big picture’ reality of his life. With Zen-like resignation, he knows he’s stuck; his unwillingness to change is one of the play’s grim tragedies. Cope’s is an oddly beautiful and sensitive, sophisticated portrayal of a lost and repugnant character. Ryan Martin brings a hyper-kinetic comic physicality to the play as Buff, the group’s airhead, doper and general screwball. As written, Buff is a manic, over the top buffoon, a perpetual testosterone-driven Peter Pan. Martin explores with gusto every possible aspect of Buff, from cuddly to repulsive, in his nihilistic yet jovial determination to take absolutely no responsibility for his life whatsoever. When his performance veers towards caricature, he holds back just enough to avoid soaring over that brink; it’s delightful high-wire tightrope act to watch. Justin Locklear’s doe-eyed, romantic good looks and soulful delivery, speaking or singing, make him an ideal casting for the part of Pony, the up and coming folksinger/songwriter who has returned from LA with limo and publicist in tow to impress his former school chums, the slackers, and hit up on classy, ambitious Sooze. Pony is obnoxiously oblivious to the group dynamic destruction his arrival engenders as he’s so caught up in his self-indulgent nostalgic “memory” trip. Locklear portrays him to the sappy hilt, including singing his disgustingly banal folk songs with soggy lyrics with utter sincerity. Natalie Young’s depiction of her character Sooze’s aspiring actor monologue is so bizarre and full blown it ranks with Meg Ryan’s fake orgasm scene in the film When Harry Met Sally for memorable if gross humor. Sooze is an ambitious, bright gal with places to go; Young hauls the audience right along and then some. In contrast to Sooze’s fresh energy and naiveté, Samantha Rodriguez creates a consciously polished, spoiled LA brat/publicist in her portrayal of the risk-taking, superficial opportunist Erica, the least honest and moral character in the play. Her Erica works well with the ensemble, but I’d have preferred it if she were costumed and made up to look decidedly older than the rest of the cast. As sibling Pakistani owners of the convenience store parking lot cursed with the slackers’ unwelcome presence, Nasir Mehdi and Maryam Baig-Lush portray the genuine disgust and incomprehension motivated immigrants must feel when they encounter native born citizens wasting their lives with booze, drugs and consuming self-pity. Written pre-9/11, the immigrant perspective and issues portrayed have particular relevance today. That leaves the soul and protagonist of Bogosian’s play. In subUrbia, Bogosian splits these focal elements in two characters, adding an unexpected twist to the plot and uncanny emphasis to his themes of alienation and isolation. Cassie Bann’s character Bebe floats along like inconsequential background scenery through most scenes, to the point it’s easy to wonder why Bogosian even included her. Don’t get fooled. Bann portrays Bebe, an unmotivated, easy to ignore woman-child and occasional sex object with delicate subtlety, so much so that you may not notice her major transition as it emerges. As soul and catalyst of the play, nothing will remain the same after grubby, mousy Bebe makes her mind up. Cassie Bann does so much by doing so little and transforms absolutely everything like a bad dream come to life. Hers is an unforgettable performance. As protagonist Jeff and the playwright’s voice (presumably modeled after Bogosian, himself), Joey Folsom anchors this play and drives the action with his unique style that fluctuates somewhere between youthful Humphrey Bogart and pensive James Dean. Not to imply his acting is somehow derivative — Folsom is an original, a natural, a genuine article. He immerses himself in whatever character he portrays and can hold an audience breathless in the palm of his hand; in this case he’s rational-seeming Jeff, a man-boy who refuses to see the forest for the trees and acknowledge his self-sabotage until it’s too late. Like a degenerate Hamlet, Jeff dithers and makes reasonable sounding excuses to avoid change. The audience finds itself leaning in, straining to will Folsom’s Jeff to wake up and take charge of his life. His transformation does occur at the play’s end; the audience feels cathartic release as Folsom‘s Jeff recognizes his self-delusion through shocked grief. See it flicker in his eyes; sense it in the smallest shift of his lanky frame. His inaction, even as he remains totally still at the play’s end, is a thing of the past. He’s done with all that. It’s an impeccable portrayal.
The set: Another huge WOW, like Talk Radio’s. Upstart Productions isn’t a high budget operation, yet their designers manage to create utterly believable playing spaces. In Talk Radio’s case, it was the realistic interior of a 1980’s radio station; in subUrbia’s case, it’s the sidewalk and lot in front of and massive brick wall adjacent to a 1990’s convenience store. The parking lot curb looks made of concrete; the brick wall appears like real masonry; the convenience store–from interior light strips to its stocked shelves, to the pay phone out front—all seen at a slant so the action focuses on the slackers’ corner of the parking lot – feels like it got transported to the theater directly from the 1990’s. It’s artistic and realistic at the same time. Kudos to the design team of Zachary Broadhurst and Cindy Ernst as well as sound designer Mason York and lighting designer Scott Payne who conspired to define the ongoing 1990’s ambience. Hats off as well to props designer Donny Covington and costume designer Korey Kent for finding all the right stuff to make those aspects of the 1990’s come to life so effectively. In spite of the intimacy of the Green Zone theater space, Jeremy Stein’s fight choreography never looks “staged” or feels anything but delivered with real punch. Up close and in your face.
Upstart Productions has done it again, folks. Their subUrbia by Eric Bogosian is the real deal. It’s voracious, raging theatre for the sensation-starved. It plays through April 10th at The Green Zone, 161 Riveredge Drive.
For tickets go to www.upstarttheater.com. Or call SmartTix at (877) 238-5596. Check out their video trailer for the production and join Team Upstart Wednesday nights after the show, 3/24 and 4/7, at Buzzbrew’s, 4334 Lemmon Avenue, for specially-priced three course meals, reverse happy hour, trivia games and live karaoke.
NOTE: this play contains adult language and content as well as cigarette smoking.
PHOTOS by Marc Rouse.
#1: (Left to right) Cassie Bann, Justin Locklear, Natalie Young, Ryan Martin, Joey Folsom
#2: (Left to right) Cassie Bann, Ryan Martin, Natalie Young, Joey Folsom
Upstart’s Suburbia: R. Andrew Aguilar Raves
Suburbia by Eric Bogosian
Presented by Upstart Productions
Andrew Aguilar
Inaugural review for Emerging Rants & Raves by UNT Senior and Broken Gears Theatre producing partner R. Andrew Aguilar
Alienation, apathy, ambition, despair, disillusionment, racism, competition, envy, social myopia, decay, and the American Dream are all themes which are present within Eric Bogosian’s whirlwind of a play “Surburbia” . . .a COMEDY! Well, maybe a tragicomedy.
This play, originally produced in 1994 at the Lincoln Center Theatre, was later made into a feature film starring two of the original cast members, Steve Zahn and Samia Shoaib. It’s about a handful of twenty something Gen-x’ers stuck in a proverbial rut hanging out on the corner of a convenience store and has often been cited as a slacker’s “Iceman Cometh,” as Pony, the one-time geek who escapes and makes something of himself, returns to his hometown of Burnfield, Mass., and acts as the catalyst for eventual dissolve of the stasis, monotony, and safety that “the corner” has provided to the group of young misfits. However, unlike Eugene O’Neill’s “Iceman” Hickey, the emotional and intellectual center of the play is not Bogosian’s “Iceman” Pony. Rather ii is rationed out between all of the characters that inhabit “the corner,” with the majority of the weight falling on Jeff(played by Joey Folsom) and Tim(Andrews W. Cope.) These two characters most reflect the playwright’s mind, as if he took the Yin and Yang of his own struggling conscience and split it into two separate and equal entities. Tim made it out of Burnfield, Mass., then tucked tail and ran back and has fallen into an anarchistic and destructive shell of his former self. 
He possesses acute intelligence, logic, and perception. Instead of using these traits for the betterment of his life, or the lives of his “friends,” he uses them to amuse himself in the only way he knows how: to cause discord among those who surround him, and to shield his own terror and despondency in a world he feels has forgotten him. Jeff, protagonist in the play, rants about society and the world’s ills in general but equivocates over taking any action himself by making excuse after excuse to cover his own cowardice and inertia. Exhibiting elements of the Hamlet complex, Jeff lets his mind stalemate himself with wishful thinking that he can do something “that shatters the world,” while blinding him to the very real and dangerous problems that are right in his face. When he finally opens his eyes, the consequences are devastating. Both Jeff and Tim fear failure, but not as much as they fear success, because success as Jeff suspects, and Tim knows – is not what they dreamed it to be. They choose to remain in a purgatory of their own making, cursing the fire below and denouncing the clouds above.
Upstart Productions has once again raised the standard of theatre in this city. This is the third show I have seen produced by these artists. Even though I have seen three other productions of “subUrbia,” as well as the film, I still laughed and gasped like I had never seen it before. Of all the productions I have seen, this is the best by far, in every aspect. Everything from the direction, to the performances, to the set, costumes, sound, lights, and props were painstakingly detailed and breathtaking. Josh Glover makes an astonishing professional directorial debut with intuitive, intelligent, and kinetic blocking, superb casting, and outstanding attention to the hidden symbolism within the play. Zachary Broadhurst and Cindy Ernst absolutely outdid themselves with the set, which looked more believable to me than several of my own neighborhood “corners.” Down to the cracks in the concrete that ran along the audience’s feet, no detail was neglected. Jeremy Stein’s fight choreography blended seamlessly, never causing a raised eyebrow or a moment of disbelief. The Sound (designed by Mason York) and Costumes (designed by Korey Kent) threw us right back into the post-grunge fantasia of the mid nineties with more clarity than any other aspect in this production.
Now, the performances across the board were stellar, and I would not feel satisfied if I did not mention everyone. Joey Folsom, in the role of Jeff, once again exhibits amazing focus, specificity, and commitment as he whittles out every nuance the role offers. Andrews W. Cope plays Tim with such menace, hidden beneath both a matter of fact bluntness and a deliberately transparent “good old boy” disposition, that you truly fear what he is capable of, and what he might do next. Natalie Young is the first actress to ever play Sooze and not make me detest every aspect of her character. I did not just see a spoiled brat who is looking for the easiest way to the top, but a girl who desperately wants to get away from Burnfield and burn away all the memories that place holds for her, and she will look for any means to that end. Ryan Martin plays Buff with such blissful ignorance, that you cannot help but smile every time he comes onto the stage. Buff is not exactly the most complex character in the world, but he is reminiscent of that slow kid who used to be in your class, though he never really contributed much to the conversation, he always said really nice things about you- and that made you feel good. Nasir Medhi as Norman communicated way more about his attitude towards these losers with his narrowed eyes, than he is ever given the chance do with dialogue, and his sister Pakeeza, played by Maryam Baig-Lush, communicates a growing sense of frustration and unease with surprising ease on her part, especially considering she never speaks English. Justin Locklear as Pony and Samantha Rodriguez as Erica are both effective counterpoints for the rest of the inhabitants of the corner, with Locklear’s frustratingly fake sincerity and “aw, shucks” attitude, and Rodriguez’s vapid, almost poisonous delight at finding a new plaything, and tossing it aside as soon as it’s run its course. To me however, the most effective performance was Cassie Bann as Bee-Bee. The real heart of this play, she has the confidence as an actress to let herself fade completely into the background even though she is center stage for the majority of the show. I felt my heart breaking every time I looked in her direction and saw that she as an actress was still so connected to the world of the play and the other actors, but completely disconnected from the environment and the characters within it. I truly hope that her performance does not go unacknowledged, which quiet performances so often are when faced with characters that are written to be scene stealers. . .Just look at Aaron Eckhart in “the Dark Knight.”
Anyway, I cannot recommend this play enough. If you want to see some of the best work in Dallas, if not THE best work, make your way over to the Green Zone over the next three weeks and catch “SubUrbia,” you won’t be disappointed.
If you are. . .what’s wrong with you?
Suburbia plays through April 10th at The Green Zone, 161 Riveredge Drive. For tickets go to www.upstarttheater.com. Or call SmartTix at (877) 238-5596.
Check out their video trailer for the production and join Team Upstart Wednesday night after the show, on 3/24 and 4/7, at Buzzbrew’s, 4334 Lemmon Avenue. Special menu, karaoke, trivia contests.
NOTE: this play contains adult language and content as well as cigarette smoking.
Sprung Wide Awake @ the Winspear
Call me a pompous old fuddy-duddy, if you will. I am not particularly impressed by the national touring production of Steven Sater and Duncan Sheik’s Spring Awakening, playing currently at the Winspear Opera House as part of AT&T Performing Arts Center’s Lexus Broadway Series. More teen angst?
Paul Kolnik photo: Steffi D as Ilse
Sexual awakening erupts again in the theatre with a profusion of uncontrollable urges and lovesick ballads; parents who “just don’t understand” confound and repress the innocent young; girls in their twenties run around the stage in short, skimpy nighties, pretending to be in their teens and 20-something men also acting like teen-aged boys fret with “boners” and such. The lead characters just HAVE to get it on together. How exactly is this ‘new and fresh’? Just off the top of my head, I’m thinking Pippin and Grease, West Side Story, all of which featured sensual contact and “groovy” music, much of it memorable. Somehow the lyrics and orchestration didn’t clash with the time periods these shows are set in and still made their points quite clearly. There’s poetry in the lyrics. Themes? Love is eternal; youth need to explore it. Sex happens, naughty, naughty. Sometimes it results in babies. Backroom abortions don’t work.
The whole world loves Spring Awakening, but not me. Here’s some of what it won in 2007. It received eleven 2007 Tony Award nominations; it won eight, including for best musical, direction, book, score and featured actor. The show also won four Drama Desk Awards, while its London production won four Olivier Awards. In 2008 it also won the Grammy Award for Best Musical Show Album.
So what displeases me? To start with, I don’t think the alternative rock/ballad style music fit the play as set in 1890’s Germany. At all. This musical is based on an often banned and/or censored play written in 1891 by pre-expressionist German playwright and satirist Frank Wedekind: Spring Awakening: A Children’s Tragedy. Considered a ground-breaking work for its time, or any time, it decried the socially and sexually repressive mores of fin-de-siecle Germany. It has upset many, many people with its portrayal of homoeroticism, masturbation, incest, rape (in the musical it appears consensual), bondage (an entire song “The Word of Your Body” pays homage), suicide, and abortion. It’s a profoundly upsetting play, given its subject matter. All of this is addressed, in vivid terms, by the musical. I found it confusing, distracting and off-putting to see the characters attired in 19th century clothes, in 19th century settings, whipping hand held mikes out of their coat pockets to scream, jive and gyrate around to modern agitated rock music or to croon new-age-y pop ballads. The disparity kept me constantly aware I was watching a ritualized spectacle presumably intended to “coddle the masses”; so no matter how clever the choreography or blocking or dynamite lighting effects or cool elevated platforms looked, I never found reason to believe in the plight of any character. With so much energy focused on creating rock and roll hyper-fantasy, there were no character arcs to follow as the characters functioned as little more than metaphor. What the children went through was horrifying; how it was portrayed felt like a YouTube cartoon video. I left the theatre in despair, admiring the production values, disliking the performance intensely. I expect good theatre to provide a fresh, transforming experience, to illuminate some aspect of life, to show me intriguing revelations through thematic and character development. With a musical, I expect its music to drive the ambience of the show, at the very least, to reflect and compliment the moods and themes expressed. Not this.
My companion du soir, who enjoyed the production more than I, purchased the Grammy-winning CD and left it with me. For several days I’ve played it in my car, to consider the lyrics, which were largely unintelligible from the stage. (What’s with the Winspear sound? The couple seated to our immediate left departed at intermission, unable to understand the words. Then two people took their seats, saying they came down from one of the balconies where they could understand nothing….) The orchestrations, while hardly memorable, were sweet, haunting and energizing. I wanted to know what thoughts they expressed, as the show had won basically every available honor for “Best New Musical” as well as the Tony for “Best Book” in 2007. An ounce of curing redemption could be worth a pound of dismay. Here are two examples of the lyrics:
The Word of Your Body
O, I’m gonna be your wound.
O, I’m gonna bruise you.
O, you’re gonna be my bruise.
Totally F***ed
Yeah, you’re f***ed, all right – and all for spite.
You can kiss your sorry ass good-bye.
Totally f***ed. Will they mess you up?
Well, you know they’re gonna try.
Blaa blaa blaa blaa blaa blaa blaa blaa
blaa blaa blaa blaa
Those are the sort of lyrics that seem to please the critics worldwide and win all the major respected awards going today? If that appeals to you, have at it. Call me a pompous old fuddy-duddy, if you will.
Oh yes, here is the New York Times review of Spring Awakening from 2006:
http://theater.nytimes.com/2006/12/11/theater/reviews/11spri.html
I’m holding out for genuine art, and I’m sprung wide awake.
Spring Awakening, the 8-time Tony Award® winning Broadway musical, will play the AT&T Performing Arts Center Winspear Opera House in Dallas from Tuesday, March 23, 2010 through Sunday, April 4, 2010 for a strictly limited run of only 16 performances. Spring Awakening is part of the AT&T Performing Arts Center’s Lexus Broadway Series.
Tickets can be purchased at www.attpac.org, by phone at 214.880.0202, at the AT&T Performing Arts Center Box Office at the Winspear Opera House, 2403 Flora Street (Monday through Saturday, 10 am – 6 pm; Sunday 11 am – 4 pm), or at the remote Box Office at Park Place Lexus Plano at 1025 Preston Road. Ticket prices range from $25.00 to $150.00.
PHOTO: “Blue Wind”
Steffi D in the Spring Awakening national tour.
Photo by Paul Kolnik 2009
Rooting for LaBute: DTC’s Fat Pig
Fat pig. What a nasty way to describe someone. Leave it to Tony-nominated Neil LaBute to work it into his body of mean-spirited, largely misogynist work. Dallas Theater Center’s Kevin Moriarty spikes up the spite in his fast-paced realization of Fat Pig, the second entry of Dallas Theater Center’s LaBute trilogy, known as The Beauty Plays, running through May 9 in the Studio Theatre in the Dee and Charles Wyly Theatre at the AT&T Performing Arts Center.
DTC's The Beauty Plays
There’s little room for nuanced performance in LaBute’s lightweight treatment of a heavy subject –how our society hates fat people and the lengths to which people will go to ostracize them. The Shape of Things, DTC’s promising first entry in its trilogy, presented four complex, intriguing characters, relating best through flawed neuroses. What a disappointment to find cardboard characters in Fat Pig, interacting with the depth of Saturday morning cartoons, with the exception of the play’s lead character Tom, who struggles with his culturally-driven fat prejudice and ultimately succumbs to peer pressure and his own insecurities.
Tom, played by Regan Adair, with as much dignity, scope and dimension as he can dredge up from an otherwise shallow script, meets and woos a jolly, obese librarian, played bravely by plus-sized Christina Vela. She doesn’t have to do a lot, mostly fawn over Tom and eat, wear increasingly revealing costumes. The cuddling couple is fine as long as they remain alone; public knowledge of their romance throws it into disarray. Aleisha Force and Steven Walters play Tom’s disrespectful, nosy office mates, both graced with way too much free time on their hands. They browbeat and bully the weaker Tom into revealing a photo of his more than buxom babe, post it on office internet and launch a campaign to reclaim him for thin society, save him from that “fat pig”. With a transparent plot from the get-go, LaBute lets loose his venomous polemical vitriol.
Adair is a lovely casting as the insecure Tom. Handsome to a fault, trim, dapper, elegant—he’s the very picture of an eligible bachelor in the GQ/ TV reality show mode. Disconcerting that director Moriarty has chosen to have Adair moderate the play’s scene changes as well as play the main role. Snap: house lights up, Adair the host talks directly to the audience. Snap: stage lights up, he’s back in a scene as Tom. It’s unclear how this transition aids the production; what it does do is clutter the performance of the one multi-level character in the show. Adair is a true professional and handles the frequent switcheroo with efficient charm and smooth aplomb, even as it’s sometimes hard to follow when the actor leaves off and his character picks up. Partly due to seating? The private romance scenes between Tom and obese Helen sounded fine, although I could barely glimpse them locked in embrace downstage on the floor or upstage on a sofa. Seating in the Studio Theater is as tight as it comes. None of us crammed like sardines on the top back row of the space could see all the play’s action due to obstructed view (patrons seated below) and downstage floor blocking, without leaning way out in front of whoever sat next to us. It’s a very uncomfortable way to try to properly review a play.
Force and Walters are talented actors with serious chops, both wasted here, exercising the script’s limited range. The characters they play buzz along on limiting obnoxious notes like bees disturbed around their hive. Force rages and rages and rages, puffing up shriller with each appearance. Walters’ utterly unsympathetic character serves to annoy and belittle Tom, drive him to the despicable act of finally rejecting the unsuspecting Helen. Supposedly he and Tom are long-time friends; too bad it’s never shown why.
The set, effectively designed by Donna Marquet, is all minimalist sharp edge, glass and mirrors, brightly lit. It feels like Tom’s office could exist in any looming concrete downtown Dallas edifice. I hope the production team found a way to fix the external door to Tom’s office, which kept falling open at inopportune times. Ambient sound filtered through on occasion throughout the performance; I’m not sure if it was part of the production or bleeding in from another space in the building? Fat Pig offers curious commentary, in a sad, snide, voyeuristic way, on one of our culture’s dominant fixations.
All performances of The Beauty Plays, including Fat Pig, take place in the Studio Theatre located in the Dee and Charles Wyly Theatre at the AT&T Performing Arts Center, 2400 Flora St.. For tickets, call the box office at 214.880.0202 or visit www.dallastheatercenter.org.
A World of Women for World Peace 4/24/2010
Conference sponsored by
The Honorable Congresswoman Eddie Bernice Johnson, TX-30
The Women’s Museum
3800 Parry Avenue, Dallas, TX
Saturday, April 24th, 2010, 1:00 PM – 3:00 PM
2010 Conference Panelists
The Honorable Bisera Turković –
Former Bosnian Ambassador, United States
Sherry Mueller – President of the National Council for International Visitors
Elizabeth Kucinich – Human Rights Advocate
Miki Jacevik – The Institute for Inclusive Security
Mary Njoroge – Former Director of Basic Education of Kenya
Marilyn Sutherland – RESULTS Global Education Fund
This event is free and open to the public
Are they dead? Not once Act II kicks into gear. Water Tower Theatre tickles Spring’s fancy with an unusual farce offering, playwright David Ives’ adaptation of the Mark Twain next to forgotten play Is He Dead. Chock-full of some of the region’s brightest, most versatile comic talents, some of them delivering hilarious performances, it’s worth enduring the stodginess of Is He Dead’s Act I to enjoy the hysterical cascade of roller-coaster delight that erupts in Act II. Kevin Moore, Ben E. Bryant, R. Bruce Elliott, Jessica Cavanagh, Elizabeth Kaminski, Mark Shum, Randy Pearlman, Jane Willingham, Nancy Sherrard, Shane Strawbridge, Paul Taylor. That clutch of comics can brew up some genuine funny, clowning solo or in ensemble formation. So what’s up, er down, with Act I?
Solve the mystery in the history. A deeply depressed Mark Twain wrote Is He Dead in 1898 in three weeks in Vienna, where he moved to recuperate from bankruptcy and the 1896 death of his favorite daughter. Written in three acts, the play was discovered in mothballs in 2002 by Stanford English professor Dr. Shelley Fisher Fishkin. 
Never published, never performed, with good reason. Curiously derivative of Charley’s Aunt, Brandon Thomas’s popular 1892 cross-dressing comedy, Twain’s original featured twenty-four characters, not counting walk-ons. He understood it presented challenges; text notes included, “Do whatever you like to make this work.” Respected widely today as a novelist, Twain had found lucrative success in playwriting. His 1874 play Colonel Sellers earned him more annual income than all his books combined, according to Dr. Fishkin. Yet there were structural challenges in Is He Dead that necessitated adaptation by another playwright. Enter David Ives, master modern playwright and adapter.
“It has a great idea,” Mr. Ives allowed. “In movie terms, ‘La Bohème’ meets ‘Tootsie.’ But even at first reading I thought it really does need help, which is not surprising, because Twain had little practice with dramatic construction. The construction is like a shack that is not very well buttressed; at the slightest touch pieces of it would fall off. Three acts were reduced to two; 24 separate roles, not counting extras, were pruned to 16 and assigned to a cast of 11.”
Even shortened and spiffed up a bit, Act I doesn’t light any creative fires. Too much exposition, not enough action or conflict or in depth characterization. Serious or comic? Hard to tell. A light-hearted farce about people starving in French garrets? And a pushy character named “Chicago”, minus explanation? The main character, French painter Jean-Francois Millet (The Gleaners, The Angelus) enters almost as an afterthought and fails, as written, to engage the audience’s hearts and minds much. It’s not until his multi-cultural bumpkin companions convince him to fake his own death and dress as a woman, as his fictitious sister Daisy, that the whole affair springs up out of the doldrums. Sadly, on opening night, a reasonable percentage of the audience left at intermission. Please stay! Buy a glass of wine in the lobby. ACT II is well worth the wait!
Charming, almost elfin, comically wise Mark Shum fades into the background scenery as Millet in Act I, through no fault of his own. But when he steps out of the boudoir in a full hoop-skirted frilly pink dress, curly blonde wig and make-up to match in full disguise, settle into your seat for a wholly unsophisticated but genuinely funny performance. Shum’s madcap zaniness as Daisy Tillou is just the start. Dueling courting scenes up the ante. Aging hypochondriac Papa Leroux (R. Bruce Elliott), Daisy’s lame suitor, finds “polygamy” joyful with daffy, loquacious Mme.’s Bathilde and Caron (played with full-busted fervor and snappy timing by Jane Willingham and Nancy Sherrard). Then the lascivious, usurious attentions of villainous Bastien Andre (played with ludicrous, deadpan solemnity by comic maestro Randy Pearlman), around the center stage coffin supposedly containing Millet, kick this farce into high gear. Shum’s Millet disguised as Daisy cleverly escapes them both, tops everything off with a positively unforgettable climactic moment, not to be shared and spoiled here. Paul Taylor disturbs every scene he enters with impeccable, delightful flair, whether it’s as a pouffy French art collector, a smarmy police investigator, or the effete, clueless king of France in splendiferous attire. Elizabeth Kaminski also plays the amusing gender-bending game with verve, in a romantic sub-plot involving the “Chicago” character (a lively catalyst in Kevin Moore). Elegant in all black hoop-skirted funereal glamour, Jessica Cavanagh plays Millet’s suffering sweetheart and all-time good sport Marie. The good guy does win that sweet gal, after all, at final curtain. Seeming to exist mostly to move furniture, Millet’s large paintings and his coffin, Ben E. Bryant ekes all he can out of a stale limburger cheese joke as “Dutchy”, like Shane Strawbridge does as a stereotypical dumb, pugnacious Irishman, exemplifying culture-based humor about as far away from politically correct as a Klan meeting.
Possibly the star of this production is the marvelous set by Clare Floyd Devries, assisted by Jen Gilson Gilliam and Joseph Cummings. Act I is a rambling shamble of a poor artist’s studio, with scuffed wooden floors, raw nooks and crannies and random easels overflowing with blown up reproductions of Millet’s poignantly evocative paintings. Act II transforms the entire set into a classy, elegantly appointed Paris drawing room with white tile flooring and tall French doors opening to the outside, upstage, with a Empire fountain statue leading to gardens behind. Lighting by David Natinsky ranges from dreary and shadowed in Act I to bright and crisp in Act II, supporting the play’s shift from morose to manic. Costumes, particularly the finely detailed, elaborate women’s dresses and Paul Taylor’s suit as the art collector dandy, fit the mood, tone and style of this mid 19th century play with roguish flair. (Aaron Patrick Turner) Forgive Water Tower Theatre, its fine cast, director James Lemons and adapter David Ives for Act I of Is He Dead. They are doing the best they can. You MUST stick around to enjoy the fine work and winning tomfoolery of Act II.
Is He Dead, adapted by David Ives from Mark Twain’s dreadful original, runs through April 25 at the Addison Theatre Centre, which is located at 15650 Addison Road in Addison, Texas. Box Office: 972.450.6232, or www.watertowertheatre.org
Historical references about Mark Twain as playwright and David Ives’ comments about adapting the script gleaned from 12/09 NYTimes articles by Jesse Green and 12/10/2007 review by Ben Brantley.
About playwright David Ives: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Ives
(And a big thank you to James Lemons and Terry Martin for producing a comic play that is not set in a New York or London apartment nor requires its cast to speak with British accents.)
AART’s Inspired Light: Coretta’s Song
Coretta Scott King, American peace, social justice, women’s rights, anti-apartheid and LGBT activist, author and civil rights leader, recipient of the International Gandhi Peace prize, passed away on January 30, 2006.
Martin Luther King, Jr. & Coretta Scott King
On Feb. 7, 2006 a reverential, multi-ethnic, multi-generational crowd of over 115,000 people filed past the open coffin of Coretta Scott King, during a public viewing at Atlanta’s historic Ebenezer Baptist Church, where both her husband and his father had preached. More than 40,000 men, women and children viewed her body in the Georgia Capitol’s rotunda, the first woman and the first African-American given such an honor.
After an eight-hour funeral at the New Birth Missionary Baptist Church in Lithonia, Georgia, a hearse brought her coffin to the Martin Luther King, Jr. Center for Nonviolent Social Change, which she founded in 1968 to continue her husband’s legacy. The service in honor of Mrs. King featured tributes from political leaders, longtime friends and celebrities, including Sens. Hillary Rodham Clinton and Edward Kennedy; poet Maya Angelou; singer Stevie Wonder; and civil rights leaders Joseph Lowery, Andrew Young and Jesse Jackson. Then Senator Barack Obama attended the funeral.
During the service, Atlanta Mayor Shirley Franklin referenced King’s training as a singer. “The last stanza and the highest note of Coretta King’s freedom song remains to be sung,” she said. “She’s gathered us here today from all walks of life and all persuasions to lift our voices in songs of freedom, equality, social and economic justice.”
www.aareptheater.com
Pearl Cleage’s play A Song For Coretta, presented by African American Repertory Theater in DeSoto, is a loving, evocative tribute to a remarkable woman whose life inspired and uplifted the lives of so many others. It’s February 7, 2006, rain pours down, and strangers gather outside the Ebenezer Baptist Church, waiting their turn to pay homage to Mrs. King’s remains inside. Five women, different ages, different circumstances, different reasons to attend, converge outside the church entrance and learn about tolerance, acceptance and the strength to go on, in spite of adversity. A respectable society widow, over 40, who met Mrs. King as a child, a pushy college wannabe journalist, a middle aged portrait artist and Katrina survivor, a street-smart, wise-mouthed teen-aged mother-to-be, and a traumatized Iraq war veteran contemplating desertion: all have faced harsh realities, and all seek inspiration from the woman they have come to honor. Lives that at first seem so alien and inspire hostility, begin to resonate with commonality. By the time the Katrina survivor and Iraq war veteran pour out their tortured personal tales of horror and destruction together in grief and outrage, speaking sometimes in unison, sometimes in counterpoint, the importance of Coretta Scott King’s vision, accomplishments and legacy fills the stage. It’s a potent, artistic work of political theatre and a powerful statement about the resiliency of women, unified.
Director William (Bill) Earl Ray has cast this show with strong performers, each equally suited to the individual challenge her role presents and the overall challenge of creating an ensemble piece, not just recounting a string of disconnected, if interesting, stories. Eleanor Threatt, Regina Washington, Dee Smith, Shundra Grubb and Kristal Jemerson create vital portrayals in private sorrow and expectation. Every woman follows a believable, unique theatrical arc of self-realization as each one awakens to the inspired fire that unites. Bryan Wofford’s sparse scenic design, Regina Washington’s realistically detailed costumes and props, Scott Davis’ lights and Craig Wills’ sound help define the reality of this somber moment in history with enormous respect for the subject matter, clarity and accuracy. “She’s not a real saint, but she’s the closest thing we’ve got,” exclaims one character, describing Mrs. King. Walk into this play feeling you’re a lonely sinner, you just might waltz out humming a saintly song for Coretta, ready to take on the world. A Song for Coretta, by Pearl Cleage, runs through April 25 at The Corner Theatre, 211 E. Pleasant Run in DeSoto. For tickets, visit African American Repertory Theater at www.aareptheater.com, or call 972-572-0998.
This little light of mine, I’m going to let it shine.
This little light of mine, I’m going to let it shine.
This little light of mine, I’m going to let it shine,
Ev’ry day, ev’ry day, ev’ry day, ev’ry day,
Gonna let my little light shine.
On Monday, He gave me the gift of love;
On Tuesday, peace came from above.
On Wednesday told me to have more faith;
On Thursday, gave me a little more grace.
On Friday, told me to watch and pray
On Saturday, told me just what to say,
On Sunday, gave power divine
Just to let my little light shine. (oh)
Now some say you got to run and hide.
But we say there’s no place to hide.
And some say let others decide,
But we say let the people decide.
Some say the time’s not right,
But we say the time’s just right.
If there’s a dark corner in our land,
You got to let your little light shine. (oh)
Coretta Scott King's temporary gravesite in Atlanta, Georgia
This Little Light of Mine, folk song & spiritual, artist unknown
Seagull Stew @ Kitchen Dog Theater
“Don’t bring in anything to the theater that doesn’t make the play clearer.” Anton Chekhov
What I like most about Kitchen Dog Theater is the intense way the company normally enlivens a script, its bold exploration of plays through physicality, emotion and relationship connections. These artists can transform an average play into a rich, exciting theatrical event. I anticipated a resplendent feast of artistic expression when they took on the 1896 Anton Chekhov classic tragic-comic masterpiece The Seagull, a detailed two-act examination of unrequited love and artistic aspirations at a remote lakeside Russian villa. While this production is an even production, at times compelling, it’s neither especially faithful to classical Stanislavski/Chekhovian roots in its execution, nor particularly effective in its attempt to “modernize”. It’s a bit of a hodge-podge, straddling classical and modern approaches with puzzling, discordant elements. It’s seagull stew.
L to R: Gregory Lush, Martha Harms, Michael Federico
Lines of text, by themselves, do not make a Chekhov play comprehensible and stage-worthy; the characters do. The scenes are often disconnected, but the emotional underpinnings of the characters, their back-stories, knit the production together, which makes the performance interesting. It’s what happens in real life, not an arbitrary, artistic Aristotelian construct. All the primary action in The Seagull takes place off stage. Therefore, all the characters need to reveal a defined, energized relational history and subtext in their onstage interaction, based upon previous experiences. Otherwise, it’s just so much blather. Barry Nash as Sorin, Kent Williams as Dorn and Gregory Lush as Trigorin grasp the necessity of allowing the offstage past to inform the onstage present as well as exploring a late 19th century style sensibility in their performances. They “fit” within classical presentation parameters and allow their transitioning social situations to determine their psychological suffering. The rest of the cast acts with a contemporary mindset and physicality, in an abstract “present”, seeming to ignore the structure inherent in Chekhov’s play or how he wanted it created and presented.
Not to say that “modernizing” reinterpretation has no benefit — but it must be consistent and make sense. Costuming major character Arkadina primarily in what appear to be splashy, metallic 1930’s-1950’s dresses (while everyone else is in 19th century period attire) makes her into a distracting caricature, no matter how well Shelley Tharp-Payton can act. The weather, the natural environment, as written, has huge impact in The Seagull. In this production: no crickets, no singing birds, no retreat inside from oppressive cold or reluctance to head out into it, no sense of place and context. A hard-to-hear soundtrack of “blowing wind” is no substitute. The characters get swept along by multi-layered contexts in this play; ignoring the omnipresent role of elemental nature, as a “modernizing” conceit, weakens and flattens their performances. A small stage with elegant curtain, the “set” for the first scene’s lakeside experimental performance, remains pristine and unworn throughout, in spite of standing out in the elements unprotected over the course of several extreme Russian seasons, the play’s time frame. Realism? 
Virtual reality?
Vsevolod Meyerhold, the director described by Constantin Stanislavski on his death-bed as “my sole heir in the theatre—here or anywhere else”, described years later the poetic effect of Stanislavski’s treatment of The Seagull: “Probably there were individual elements of naturalism but that’s not important. The important thing is that it contained the poetic nerve-centre, the hidden poetry of Chekhov’s prose, which was there because of Stanislavski’s genius as a director. Up to Stanislavski people had only played the theme in Chekhov and forgot that in his plays the sound of the rain outside the windows, the noise of a falling tub, early morning light through the shutters, mist on the lake were indissolubly linked (as previously only in prose) with people’s actions.”
About casting: Michael Federico is an excellent actor, but that can’t make him look or act age 25 or younger, the age of his character Konstantin. The outrage, frustration and infatuation his character seethes and explodes with are expressions of a younger man’s passion. Federico comes off as bombastic and looks too old to play Konstantin.
Most of the time, Kitchen Dog Theater can turn kitchen sink goulash into delectable caviar. Their production of The Seagull, directed by Cameron Cobb, is a pleasant but uninspired potluck stew. 214-953-1055, www.kitchendogtheater.org. Production runs through May 8, 2010.
For in depth discussion about producing and acting Chekhov: Stella Adler on Ibsen, Strindberg and Chekhov, Barry Paris, editor
See an intriguing Wikipedia article with links and references about the fledgling Moscow Art Theatre’s 1898 production of The Seagull (co-directed by Vladimir Nemirovich-Danchenko and Constantin Stanislavski) described by the Stanislavski scholar Jean Benedetti as “one of the greatest events in the history of Russian theatre and one of the greatest new developments in the history of world drama:
Eternal Checkmate: Undermain’s Endgame
What dreams! Those forests!
(Pause.)
Enough, it’s time it ended, in the shelter, too.
(Pause.)
And yet I hesitate, I hesitate to… to end. Yes, there it is, it’s time it ended and yet I hesitate to—
(He yawns.)
—to end.
Hamm, Endgame
I expect an entertaining evening of performance at deep Ellum’s Undermain Theatre, the non-profit company under Main Street that consistently produces some of the most innovative shows in the Dallas-Ft.Worth area. But with Samuell Beckett’s Endgame? They lob that artistic orb clean out of the park and far across the galaxy. It’s an individual, ensemble, design and directorial triumph, an astonishingly crisp, effective production that will be tough to match by any other in the region as the performance year progresses.
Bruce DuBose, Jonathan Brooks
If Beckett’s Waiting for Godot isn’t on the boards, it’s got to be Endgame. A nihilistic, hinted at post-apocalyptic world confined to an almost bare space, peopled with four peculiar characters (two in oversized trash cans) and one three-legged dog puppet comprises the work’s bricolage. They are alienated yet connected, deeply tragic yet brimming with comic patter, all highly symbolic and ritualized, yet as humanly real as the audience they hold spellbound. Undermain’s Endgame manages to caress its audience into enchanted immersion rather than grabbing it by the shoulders and slapping it around.
The set: stark, minimalist, full of portent. One office chair on rollers center-stage, two oversized lidded trashcans upstage. One stepladder. One exit door upstage left, two curtained, horizontal, grimy windows, one up right, the other extreme left. One unpainted muslin drop cloth to cover the character Hamm seated in the office chair with a soiled handkerchief draped over his face. Effect? Claustrophobic but limitless. The audience finds itself imprisoned bodily in this space along with the actors, where imagination can roam across the universe, swept along by Beckett’s evocative script.
The four players: symphonic, ritualistic, symbolic yet hyper-realistic, stripped bare yet fully fleshed out. The play itself seems an ultimate expression of human degradation and disintegration; yet each character sparkles with unique vitality and vibrant physicality within its peculiar stillness. Voices are pitched to a conversational level yet resonate as fluid and rich as operatic recitative. Fred Curchak and Laura Jorgensen, in sallow whiteface make-up, provide grisly comic relief as the elderly, frail “parents” Nagg and Nell, confined to a grotesque, dependent existence in the two huge trash cans upstage. Tall, angular Jonathan Brooks redirects his normally exuberant stage energy to embody a doddering, deliberate, petulant, forgetful Clov. He creates a self-absorbed, fatalistic reality incorporating what feels like hints of John Cleese, Peter Sellers and Buster Keaton delicately rolled into one. Bruce DuBose as central character Hamm controls the pace and thought transitions of the play’s progress with the deft precision of a musical conductor with keen, intimate knowledge of every artist in his orchestra and their instruments’ capabilities. Almost Hamlet-like, he suffers from over-arching helplessness, as he remains confined to the wheeled office chair, unable to stand or care for himself. Bitterness and delusion fire his character’s passions; DuBose defines a Hamm who isn’t just a talking head spouting rhetoric and metaphor. Director Stan Wojewodski, Jr. knits this rag-tag gaggle of expressive misery and repression into a cohesive flow, fostering individual character development while preserving ensemble feel throughout. His key stage moments reinforce the almost mechanically ritualized beats in the absurdist text while possessing a natural transitional sense, easy on the eye and ear.
Endgame, or Fin de Partie, was first performed in a French-language production at the Royal Court Theatre in London, opening on April 3, 1957. The title in English refers to the last part of a chess game when very few players remain on the board.
Undermain Theatre’s splendid production of Samuel Beckett’s Endgame runs through May 8, 2010. Box Office: (214) 747-5515 or www.undermain.org
Scenic and Costume Design: John Arnone
Asst. Set, Costume and Properties Design: Brooks Aubrey
Scenic Artist: Linda Noland
Lighting Design: Steve Woods
Assistant Director: Erik Carter
A Dose of Trailer Park Mojo @ Circle Theatre
Trailer Park Floozies: Lin (Mary Gilbreath Grim); Betty (Sara Shelby-Martin); Pickles (Kayla Carlyle)
Get your permed platinum blonde bump and grind mojo on. Ft. Worth’s Circle Theatre and its trashy troupe of trailer park troubadours and trollops will learn ya how to scratch that darn itch real fine. I’m talking about the one that aches hard to have a grand ol’ time enjoying the rowdy, howdy-y’all hijinks and non-stop 80’s inspired tunes of The Great American Trailer Park Musical. No finer venue exists to watch trailer park trials and trysts portrayed through campy song and dance vignettes than Circle Theatre’s intimate thrust-style performance space. No mikes or opera glasses required. Under the experienced guidance of regional award-winning director Chris Robinson (last helmed Circle’s highly successful A Lone Star Christmas Carol) and Musical Director Hans Grim, Circle’s versatile cast of super-gulp sized talents will wow you with their vocal prowess, over the top ensemble antics and perfectly timed comic depictions throughout both acts.
Jim Johnson; Heatherton Hardy Wilson; Andy Baldwin; Grace Neeley; Kayla Carlyle; Mary Gilbreath Grim; Sara Shelby-Martin
Handsome hunks: Reprising his role (from WaterTower Theatre’s Out of the Loop Festival) as straying husband and mournful tollbooth worker Norbert, broad-shouldered, Jim Johnson of the noble visage fills the stage with warm-hearted aw shucks sincerity and charm. As silly as this show’s overall premise may be, you sense the universal, human “reality” of Norbert’s plight through Johnson’s genial portrayal, whether he’s singing the pensive love duet “Owner of My Heart” with wife Jeannie (Heatherton Hardy Wilson) or gyrating provocatively in afro wigged, hammy fashion in the 80’s send-up Act I finale “Storm’s A-Brewin’” with the full cast. You can’t hate a cheating heart this sweet for long. Andy Baldwin?
Andy Baldwin as Duke
He’s the show’s sizzling hot dish, a raunchy “blue plate special”, combining in his tightly wound persona the zaniest energy of a one-man kazoo band, a red state Benny Hill and a magic-marker sniffing pit bull busted off his chain. Baldwin’s character Duke functions as the show’s madcap catalyst; this serious, multi-talented actor ekes the most out of every hilarious, x-rated moment he’s on stage. At the point the entire cast soaks him with strategically aimed water pistols, the audience may wish they could join in on the boorish baptism as well. Too bad it would ruin the theatre seat upholstery. Not hard to imagine that David Nehls and Betsy Kelso channeled Andy Baldwin when they wrote the Duke role. Baldwin also reprises his role from the earlier production….
Hankerin’ hussies: Fancy frothy, fetching pole dancing? Circle Theatre and Trailer Park virgin Grace Neely as “exotic” dancer Pippi is sure to make church ladies frown as she heats up the local trailer park dive shimmying for dollar bills on a clothesline pole stuck into a downstage concrete-filled truck tire.
Grace Neely as Pippi
Pure, innocent, scantily clad Pippi’s on the lam to escape wildly possessive Duke, and sashays into Armadillo Acres and right into the unsuspecting arms of hard up Norbert. Sully those satin sheets, by golly; it’s Jerry Springer meets Laugh-In. Not only is Neely a persuasive pole queen (how did she “research” her role?) she reveals a potent, bluesy singing voice with considerable range and excellent vocal control. Her brazen rendition of “The Buck Stops Here” with the other actresses dressed in male drag as the tongue-lolling admirers of her pole dance just about stops Act I in riotous tumult. It’s pee your pants funny. Neely makes an alluring sex kitten but clearly has both acting and singing chops for more substantial roles. Other bestial virgins at Circle and in this show include droll mistress of comic repartee Kayla Carlyle as dense, pregnant trailer park resident Pickles and Pippi’s home-girl best friend and flan salesperson (?) Donna and Mary Gilbreath Grim as tattooed Lin, who lounges lasciviously, lusting after her man Earl, doin’ time in the big house. Both actresses have solid singing voices and ‘flesh out’ the seedy shenanigans with well-defined zest. Carlyle’s dual roles afford her the opportunity to deliver some of the show’s funniest lines and zing its peak moments. There are times she goes tit for tat (or is it tit for tit?) with the irrepressible Andy Baldwin and holds her own, no small feat. Rabin and Column Award winner Sara Shelby-Martin reprises her roles as senior trailer park matron Betty and the talk smut show host from the WaterTower production and grand-martials the proceedings with her commanding presence and rock solid vocal technique. Don’t mess with big Betty, even when she breaks the fourth wall in the first scene and welcomes you into Armadillo Acres. Finally, as wife Jeannie, perfect match to Jim Johnson’s Norbert, Heatherton Hardy Wilson brings a genuine poignancy to her portrayal as the repressed agoraphobic who learns to overcome her personal demons and forgive Norbert his transgression.
Jeannie (Heatherton Hardy Wilson) & Norbert (Jim Johnson)
Less of a caricature than the other female roles, Jeannie provides accessible balance to the non-stop mayhem, even within her own personal soap opera. It’s a masterful touch for the musical’s creators to “bookend” the play’s wild farce elements with two completely sympathetic characters in Norbert and Jeannie and excellent casting on Director Chris Robinson’s part to match Johnson and Wilson in these less colorful, pivotal roles.
Costumes? By Drenda Lewis — definitely bright, contrasting camp and revealing, but functional and never distracting — wigs by Chuck Petty add oomph to each character’s ensemble. The set designed by Clare Floyd Devries — main elements cartoon-ish painted flats with slamming doors representing old-fashioned trailer homes and a slide out interior for Jeannie and Norbert’s home (detailed in delightfully hokey ticky-tacky by prop designer Cathy O’Neal) — gives a tangible down home feel that provides 100% usable playing space for the actors to create Armadillo Acres’ reality. Sound and lighting design by David H. Lambert and John Leach, respectively, are crisp, effective and professional. Live music backstage by Circle Theatre first-timers Sam Walker (guitar), Peggy Honea (bass) and James Reyes (percussion) adds a lively “live” touch without ever drowning out the un-miked singers. “Make like a nail and press on down” to Armadillo Acres at Circle Theatre and get ready to hoot and holler with glee. Given the show’s salty language and sexy, suggestive moves, it’s adult fare.
The Great American Trailer Park Musical runs through May 29. For reservations: 817.877.3040 or purchase online at www.CircleTheatre.com.
Photos provided by Circle Theatre box office
Stage West’s True Lonesome
“I thought Leenane was a nice place when first I turned up here, but no. Turns out it’s the murder capital of f***ing Europe.”
So comments the mournful, young, alcoholic parish priest Father Welsh as he introduces himself in acclaimed playwright Martin McDonagh’s hard-hearted comedy The Lonesome West, running through May 9 at Ft. Worth’s Stage West. Comedy a la McDonagh doesn’t fit into the neatly demarcated compartments that delineate American stage expression. The very blackness of it, its bleak life commentary revealed through clenched teeth and a knee to the groin, seems out of touch with what gets considered ha-ha funny here. Stage West’s director Jim Covault and his four person ensemble of physically apt actors get the distinction and present McDonagh’s play with the delicate, wry sensibility the playwright surely intended. Pay close attention to the arc of its action. Therein lies the laughter.
“The murder capital of f***ing Europe”: an overstatement? Hardly so. The play revolves around the vengeful, childish, grotesquely physicalized relationship of two brothers, bound together by blood and habit and the mutual knowledge that one killed their father in a grisly, deliberate act of murder. Coleman and Valene work out their issues as only a pair of guilt-crazed, booze-soaked Irishmen can—by beating the living tar out of one another. In Ireland most likely every wince inducing on stage gut punch and head butt is met with huge guffaws of recognition; it’s how men like these two would relate, in the extreme. Stage West’s audience seems engrossed but baffled, waiting for the ‘funny bits’ to start, unsure where to laugh.
Jakie Cabe portrays pissy, older brother Valene and also conceived and directed the stunt choreography. It’s brilliantly executed. Unfolding non-stop, the destruction develops a persona of its own as it envelops everything and everyone it touches on the set. The Irish would howl with glee. Stage West’s space is fairly intimate, yet Cabe and his counterpart Trey Walpole as crude, younger brother Coleman handle the physicality with natural grace, as if it simply emerges out of their needs of the moment. What a superbly crafted and subtle ballet they perform.
Trey Walpole, Jakie Cabe, Justin Flowers
McDonagh is a master at building unique characters that offer a wealth of social commentary. He clearly had some sardonic fun creating secondary characters Girleen and Father Welsh, who act as catalysts and foils to the ever-sparring brothers. Instead of providing a stereotyped innocent schoolgirl and wise, kind local priest, he writes a worldly wench, perhaps the most grounded person in the play, and pokes sharp fun at the clergy with his well-intentioned but rudderless, ineffectual reverend father, a drunk reeling down his own sorry path of descent.
Meg Baumann, Justin Flowers
Delightful in the unexpectedness of their portrayals, they also drive the arc of the play. Meg Baumann as Girleen lets the audience glimpse a survivor whose tough-mindedness and infatuation balance each other well under a blunt, foul-mouthed external guise. Baumann brings a gritty level-headedness to her role, and finds the precise, subtle moments in her final scene with Father Welsh to reveal glimpses of the strong woman she will likely become.
Justin Flowers as Father Welsh gives an exquisitely infuriating performance as the sodden, inept priest, determined to ‘do good’ in spite of himself or the hopelessly vile reality of the circumstance. His Act II monologue, breaking the 4th wall, inspired spontaneous applause at the performance I attended, well deserved. It’s interesting to watch an actor become this strong on stage by playing so weak. Kudos to both Flowers and Director Covault for recognizing the potential in this character and enlivening it for all it’s worth.
Realistic working-class set design by Jim Covault and drab, dark costumes by Covault and Peggy Kruger-O’Brien reinforce the play’s mood and support the actors in creating their topsy-turvy world. Prop and set décor mistress Lynn Lovett must have invested in a lifetime supply of saintly figurines to replace the ones smashed to bits during each performance.
Once again, Stage West has taken on an artistic challenge of major scope and done it justice in a way that would surely thrill its playwright. Some may say, “But this isn’t funny,” not understanding the sort of humor engendered by the brothers’ physical relationship or by the death and destruction all around. In McDonagh’s black comedy The Lonesome West, no resolution “punch line” comes after all the punching. What a sly, wise theatrical endeavor to raise a pint to after the actors’ final bow. Slainte. Anyone for a spot o’ Sam Shepard?
The Lonesome West runs through May 9
For tickets call (817) 784-9378 (STG-WEST) or go to www.stagewest.org
Photos by Buddy Myers
reasons to be pleased: The Beauty Plays 2010
“Sticks and stones can break my bones, but words will never hurt me.”
Want to bet? Hard truths. Interpersonal dysfunction. Devastating betrayal. Neil LaBute explores relationship abuse overlaid with a heavy dose of misogyny from a variety of perspectives in three of his plays presented as a trilogy by the Dallas Theater Center. The first two plays, Fat Pig and The Shape of Things closed their runs on May 9. The final play, reasons to be pretty, runs through May 23 in the Studio Theatre at the AT&T Performing Arts Center (Wyly Theater) and concludes the series with a satisfyingly well-defined, artistic performance, downright disturbing in its impact. Solid acting, strong direction and smooth, slick production values conspire to make the final entry in The Beauty Plays its most successful endeavor.
As soon as the lights come up, playwright LaBute punts reasons to be pretty into full-scale confrontation mode by having his character Steph (played with give-no-quarter, heart-wrenching sincerity by DTC company member Christina Vela) launch into a relentless, invective-laced tirade of outrage and fuming recrimination against her character’s careless, passive-aggressive boyfriend Greg (Lee Trull).
Christina Vela, Lee Trull
It’s one stereotype shattering, masterfully written attack, unexpected from a woman character in its level of sheer ferocity, alone. Women are almost never encouraged to unleash this much righteous indignation in “real life” ( not nice, not pretty) and frequently get cast in on stage roles written in mere reaction to male protagonists’ initiative. How delicious to watch Vela savor the script’s salty words with unrequited fire. Scanning the audience, I observed reactions ranging from shock and dismay (older patrons) to clenched jaws and narrowed eyes (middle-aged white males) to grins of delighted recognition (other women). Vela plays Steph with absolute conviction, a very human woman who knows when she’s been wronged and won’t take it, one who also recognizes her own fallibility. Director Joel Ferrell has capitalized on actor Vela’s range and skill in creating her role, perhaps more than any other director I’ve seen guide her. He fosters her Kali-Hecate-Medusa essence, yet allows her to underpin her character with genuine, palpable grief and a poignant need to be valued, not denigrated. In contrast, he shows no pity for Greg’s dilemma. He has actor Trull scurry away from Steph’s verbal assault like some slack-jawed, blank-staring rat, offering up feeble, pissy excuses and never meeting her accusations head-on. Another detailed character with subtle levels, Trull’s Greg doesn’t just say stupid, cruel things, he recognizes how stupid and cruel they are yet still repeats them, can’t bring himself to admit his mistake, or effectively apologize and set things right. Lazy? Uncaring? Director Ferrell helps Vela and Trull find a natural familiarity that bespeaks realistic “relationship” without ever letting the audience forget the symbolic communication challenges they represent as Man and Woman.
Ferrell has a different task in directing the other couple in the play, Carly (Abbey Siegworth) and Kent (Regan Adair). More recognizably conventional, individually and as a couple, Carly and Kent function in counterpoint to Steph and Greg, yet exhibit universal communication issues of their own. Ferrell balances their symbolic cultural aspects with their individualized humanity with ease. Theirs is a highly physical relationship, with crass public display of ass-grabbing, crotch-grinding and full tongue kissing as a crude, defiant part of it. Carly fits into the dutiful wife role, reacts to Kent’s overt attention like a trained seal and wonders (to others) if he might be seeing another woman, even after she becomes pregnant. Siegworth is a tall, elegant, strong-featured actor; yet under Ferrell’s direction she conveys an almost bland mousiness, perfectly believable as the working class wife of a sexist, extroverted chump. As Kent, Regan Adair plays against type, stomping around with earthy, blue-collar machismo, laced with a potent streak of arrogant meanness. Adair generally exhibits an open, engaging intelligence in the roles he creates; as Kent, under Ferrell’s direction, he portrays an unlikable, oversexed bully. Adair possesses impeccable timing and physical control on stage, which makes him fascinating to watch in both comic and dramatic roles. He uses these skills (overwhelming the weaker Greg or groping wife Carly) to bypass his normally elegant, intelligent bearing and convey the venial, low class brute Kent is. Kent has no deep motivations, but his challenge is. The creative task for a bright actor and director in creating this role arises in revealing the breadth of the societal dilemma he faces (marital fidelity) while allowing his superficiality and brutishness to dominate all his actions. The vitalization of a believable, fully fleshed out Kent is an artistic coup for both actor Adair and director Ferrell.
reasons to be pretty is by far the best of the three plays produced as The Beauty Plays: in script, direction, acting and production values. Neil LaBute ought to be very pleased with the outcome.
All performances of The Beauty Plays take place in the Studio Theatre located in the Dee and Charles Wyly Theatre at the AT&T Performing Arts Center, 2400 Flora St.. For tickets, call the box office at 214.880.0202 or visit www.dallastheatercenter.org.
“The road to Hell is paved with good intentions”, or so they say….
I applaud the energy, commitment and audacity with which young theatre companies in our local scene, on limited budgets and with limited directorial wisdom and experience, launch themselves into productions of plays that require a high degree of theatrical artistry. Sometimes the combination of raw, innocent youth and dynamic script fuses with genuine synthesis. Broken Gears Theatre Project’s recent production of John Patrick Shanley’s 1983 triumph Danny and the Deep Blue Sea, on a shoestring budget in a film production warehouse space in Irving, created some of the most gripping stage moments I’ve seen this year. Yet, sometimes, good intentions are for naught.
The latter case encompasses two productions currently playing in the region: SATER at The Dallas Hub Theater’s the dreamer examines his pillow (also by John Patrick Shanley), directed by David Jeremiah, and Sundown Collaborative’s No Exit (by Jean- Paul Sartre), directed by Tashina Richardson, at TWU in Denton. Both productions have appealing elements and some respectable acting, but I would be making it up if I said either did justice to the artistry or sentiment in the respective texts.
The best part of this particular Shanley play (written in 1985) is its imaginatively evocative title. In the dreamer examines his pillow, three people strain hard to externalize their deepest internalized thoughts and feelings about love and commitment. A more static piece than the earlier Danny and the Deep Blue Sea, its characters get all wrapped up in heady angst and tend to become symbolic mouthpieces for fountains of verbose psychobabble. The play feels constipated. Without masterful direction or riveting performances, it becomes tiresome. In the SATER production, Christopher Dontrell Piper as the ever-reflective Tommy demonstrated promise, particularly when addressing his downstage apartment-sized refrigerator. Without ever chewing scenery, he communicated his character’s inner turmoil and conflicted motivations subtly and effectively. Too bad the other two actors were not directed to mirror and compliment Piper’s sincerity and simplicity. The production was lit poorly, as well. Often the three actors delivered portions of their voluminous tirades in half-light, a step beyond where light instruments seemed to be pointed.
Denton’s Sundown Collaborative shares similar out of balance elements with their No Exit production. The initial set up held promise. Hell’s valet (Christopher David Taylor), ushered audience members into the space one at a time, to designated seats, just as the play’s characters are escorted into the first scene. 
The rehearsal hall/performance space was lit very brightly to mimic the heat of the Hell setting to a nearly sauna-like level, an interesting, if trying, environmental effect. Also a play with three primary characters immersed in heady self-examination, No Exit deals with the existential question of self-deception. The three characters moved in and out of each other’s triangulated private space on three sets of blocks cumbersomely dressed to resemble couches, as they are referred to in the script. The play’s arc calls for careful delineation and offers clearly defined beats, peaking at moments of self-revelation. Mostly director Tashina Richardson’s cast ignored the play’s internal structure and rhythms and seemed to meander aimlessly. The most interesting performance arose out of Travis Stuebing as Garcin. He conveyed a sense of grand foreboding from his entrance and devolved gradually into hopeless resignation as the play progressed. No Exit is hardly a realistic play, but Stuebing portrayed Garcin with realistic detail and nuance that inched the trenchant work beyond a purely rhetorical realm. Costumes on the two women cast members neither reinforced their roles nor seemed to belong in the same play.
The best of intentions, duly noted.
The dreamer examines his pillow runs through May 23 at the Dallas Hub Theater (www.dallashubtheater.org or www.shane-arts.com). 214-749-7010
No Exit, as produced by Sundown Collaborative at TWU’s Redbud Studio Theater, runs through May 15 (www.sundowntheatre.org). 214-729-0313
Ben Brantley, in an August 31, 2009, NY Times review of a production of the dreamer examines his pillow, comments, “…there are rewards in watching talented interpreters turn muddy poetry into flowing prose. The tone is dizzyingly cerebral, and I shudder to imagine how “Dreamer” might be with a less grounded cast.”
http://theater.nytimes.com/2009/08/31/theater/reviews/31dreamer.html
Well-Wrought @ One Thirty Productions
If you haven’t yet attended a stage performance by One Thirty Productions at White Rock Lake’s Bath House Cultural Center in Dallas, take advantage of a wonderful opportunity to do so. Named One Thirty Productions because it always performs matinees at 1:30 pm Wednesdays through Saturdays, this quiet company of well-schooled professionals is earning quite a reputation as one of the best kept performance art secrets on the east side of the metroplex. In 2009 at the Bath House’s Festival of Independent Theatres, One Thirty Productions premiered Austin-based playwright Ellsworth Schave’s one-act play Under a Texaco Canopy and garnered rave reviews for the hauntingly surreal production, including a 2009 Best New Play nod by the DFW Theatre Critics Forum. See http://sjamaanka.wordpress.com/2009/07/27/take-two-fits-2009/
L to R: Jason Kennedy, Morgana Shaw, Ted Wold, Larry Randolph
Through May 22nd One Thirty Productions performs Well-Traveled, But Not Well-Known, Ellsworth Schave’s sprightly, loving full length homage to summer stock theater (with Chekhovian undertones) chock-full of surprises, mystery and romance. The show’s cast include some of the best-loved performers in the metroplex; they seem so comfortable together on stage they might have all worked together for years. Ted Wold plays Thurman, the kindly impresario of a small summer stock theatre company, firmly determined to see his long-disappeared mother elevated to near sainthood in this summer’s play production. He’s engaged a perky young playwright named Chip, played with cherubic, harried dedication by Jason Kennedy, to pen the work — and hired a ‘well-traveled but not well-known’ professional actress with an intriguing past, named Ziller ( femme fatale Morgana Shaw), to play the feature role. Summer stock director Henry (John Venable) longs to mount Blood Wedding and rebels at the rose-colored tint Chip’s play exudes, finds a kindred spirit in Ziller whereupon romance blooms. Meanwhile, Thurman’s merrily interfering and a tad senile father Hiram (Larry Randolph, who also directed the piece) gets at cross purposes with the enigmatic, sharp-shooter Grace (masterfully created by Gene Ray Price) who arrives on the scene with all the puzzling bits to everyone’s life histories up her voluminous sleeves.
Gene Ray Price means Business!
Well-Traveled But Not Well-Known is gentle madcap entertainment, perfect mid-afternoon summer fare, featuring the sort of lyrical dialogue and charming relationships that have earned playwright Ellsworth Schave multiple play-writing and indie film awards for over a decade. It feels almost as if Thornton Wilder collaborated with Anton Chekhov then had Garrison Keillor do the final edit on the text….Director Larry Randolph has woven his wise, self-assured magical wand over the ensemble; stage picture after picture emerges in effortless natural flow, allowing the diverse talents of all performers to flourish. Sound design by Graeme Bice plays up the whimsy of the work (ranging from Beatles to Marlene Dietrich and Ethel Merman); and Marty Van Kleeck’s costumes add style and humor as the plot thickens. When Ziller finally emerges attired as Thurman’s “Madonna”, swathed in a black nun’s habit with gypsy aspects, the audience howls with delight. No salty language, endless spite-filled tirades or steamy sex scenes here, but somehow the theatrical muse gets well served, regardless.
One Thirty Productions’ Well-Traveled But Not Well Known runs through May 22nd. For tickets call 214-532-1709 or visit www.bathhousecultural.com
Little Prairie Home Conundrum
For every child star that has gone on to a successful performance career as an adult, be it in theatre, music or film, there are fifty who have tried to make the transition and failed — some more miserably than others.
Such a performer is Melissa Gilbert, currently headlining Dallas Summer Musicals’ Little House On the Prairie, The Musical through May 22 at the State Fair Music Hall. Not only is middle-aged Gilbert’s adult acting amateurish, wooden and unconvincing, her singing is cringe-worthy. Good thing she doesn’t pipe up often. If her agent advised her to take on the singing, acting role of Ma in the musical version of her hot 70’s television show, he/she ought to be fired. I have nothing against Gilbert, per se. She is obviously a bright, motivated businesswoman, having served as President of the Screen Actors Guild from 2001–05, and currently working as the Standing Board Chair and Spokesperson for the Children’s Hospice and Palliative Care Coalition. An effective singing actress in a major nationally touring musical she’s not.
Invented clearly as “sure-fire box officer draw” by Adrianne Lobel (Frog and Toad) with Francesca Zambello’s direction (Disney’s The Little Mermaid), the show capitalizes on the nostalgia and fame of the 1970’s television show, which starred Michael Landon and perky, young Gilbert as its heroine, Laura. According to the DSM press release, the musical “had its world premiere production in August, 2008 at the Guthrie Theatre in Minneapolis, where it shattered all box-office records and sold-out for 12 consecutive weeks.” Amazing.
Minimalist set design by Lobel provides handsome settings and imaginative backdrops with projection and choreography by Michele Lynch keeps the ensemble of fifteen creating interest and energy behind the show’s seven main characters. Music, by Academy-award nominated Rachel Portman, is pleasant if forgettable. Two actors give stand out performances in the show: Kate Loprest, who performed last year in Dallas Theater Center’s Sarah Plain and Tall, infuses her character Nellie with notable verve and humor (her solo Without An Enemy is the best song in Act II); and Kevin Massey portrays Laura’s shy beau Almanzo with charm and sensitivity. He makes a dull, predictable role interesting. His singing voice is exemplary, justifying his touring credentials from the US and Europe. Kara Lindsay as Laura tries really hard to eke believability out of the hum-drum script and succeeds most as adult Laura. Young girls will emulate her ever-present toothy grin. Definitely a family-geared show, it’s one to enjoy if you remember the television series with great fondness.
Single tickets for the Dallas Summer Musicals engagement of Little House on the Prairie are priced from $15-$71, and are on sale now at The Box Office, 542 Preston Royal Shopping Center and all Ticketmaster locations. Buy online at www.ticketmaster.com or by calling 214-631-ARTS (2787). For groups of 15 or more call 214-426-GROUP.
Visit their website: www.dallassummermusicals.org
FW Opera 2010: Don Giovanni Soars
With Mozart’s Don Giovanni as the opening salvo in its 2010 Festival, Ft Worth Opera’s creative guns were loaded and they came out blazing. Saturday night’s opening performance at Bass Hall was as vital and pumped full of youthful vigor and masterful artistry as any a Mozart lover could hope to see. Forgive the company some uneven staging and quirky editing of the classic work; the fine cast assembled addressed the complex, non-stop challenges of the music and roles and gave a performance that thrilled the rapt audience and infused the opera with soaring vitality, capitalizing on its humor as well as its somber themes.
Michael Todd Simpson as Don Giovanni
Call him Don Alluring, Don Irresistible, Don the Snake Charmer. By the time 2006 McCammon Competition winner Michael Todd Simpson in the title role seduced Donna Elvira’s maid, he’d won over every romantic in the house. A stylish “hottie” in cape, flowing locks, thigh high boots and six-pack revealing poet’s shirts, his rich, powerhouse baritone evokes the cold, calculated lasciviousness of the role while imbuing it with a boyish charm at the same time. Recent successes in Dallas with Cosi fan tutte as well as 2010 Metropolitan Opera debut in The Tales of Hoffmann bode well for this attractive young man with decided acting chops as well as vocal talent and enviable technique on full display in this demanding role. Almost sad to see him descend into Hell.
As Don Giovanni’s sidekick and foil Leporello, and the strongest actor in the cast, Tom Corbeil gave the audience ample chance to sympathize with his unearned plight and laugh at his antics.
Tom Corbeil, Matthew Young, Michael Todd Simpson
The orchestra occasionally overpowered his warm bass baritone in the lower register. But his accurate, expressive voicing and dynamics more than made up for the slight imbalance. Slightly taller than but similarly built to Simpson, equally dashing in macho swashbuckling attire, Corbeil’s acting made the role switch in Act II more believable and funnier than I’ve ever seen it. This 2009 Liederkrantz Foundation winner thrilled Fort Worth Opera’s opening night’s audience with his nuanced, sterling performance. He’s the perfect fall guy for libertine Don Giovanni’s machinations.
Hard to describe Susanna Phillips’ performance as Donna Anna, without sounding star-struck and ingratiating. To start with, she’s won almost every major vocal award and competition possible, with clear justification. Earlier this year, she was awarded the fifth annual Beverly Sills Artist Award for young singers at the Metropolitan Opera. She possesses a heavenly unique gift as a singer, from delicately colored notes, almost whispered, in reflection, to expression of full-throated coloratura anguish.
Susanna Phillips and Matthew Trevino
I found myself closing my eyes to fully relish her vocal talents and technical mastery; she made Mozart’s challenging arias soar like child’s play. Judging from the cheers and applause resounding throughout the Bass Hall every time Phillips finished singing, the whole audience recognized and appreciated her gifts as well.
Lyric tenor David Portillo as Donna Anna’s faithful suitor Don Ottavio, could have been overshadowed by Phillips’ breathtakingly exquisite performance if he were not so accomplished a singer and actor, himself. Portillo made Don Ottavio very human and loving and honored Donna Anna’s depth of grief with depth of devotion. His arias, executed with heartfelt simplicity and technical adeptness, revealed the soul of a good man, in perfect contrast to Don Giovanni’s lustful duplicity. In voice and action, he measured up to Phillips’ Donna Anna in a satisfying performance.
As Donna Elvira, comic object of Don G’s derision and his relentlessly co-dependent wronged lover, Holli Harrison brought a tangibly plaintive quality to the role. Uneven at times in opening night’s performance, her soprano voice exhibited a huge range, resilience and power that promise quite a future. It’s easy to comprehend her grand prize win at the 2006 Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions (like Phillips’ from 2005). Her costume, a distracting, tacky salmon and pink gown and pretentious plumed hat, seemed to belong to a different opera and forced a static quality on her otherwise engaging performance.
Ft. Worth Opera Studio Artists Ashley Kerr and Matthew Young as comic peasant lovers Zerlina and Masetto sang competently but lacked inspiration and depth in their acting. Matthew Trevino as Commendatore offered an exceedingly low-key performance of this catalytic role, perhaps a directorial choice? His understated presence and low vocal projection made the final scene with Don Giovanni’s descent anti-climactic, given the splendid build-up from the rest of the production. The austere set, mostly archways and pillars with silhouetted backdrops, rented from Lyric Opera of Kansas City, added little to the performance but provided an adequate backdrop for the fine singing and acting. Why was Don Giovanni’s final scene cut from this production? Puzzling and abrupt, the ending seemed to leave the audience stunned for a moment. All soon recovered once curtain call began. Go for the beautifully executed score as conducted by Joe Illick and the ethereal harpsichord accompaniment by Emily Jarrell Urbanek. Most of all go to enjoy outstanding performances by some of modern opera’s strongest young talents.
Fort Worth Opera opens its 2010 Festival with a rousing, lyrical Don Giovanni by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, directed by Richard Kagey, at Bass Performance Hall, 330 E. Fourth Street, Fort Worth, TX 76102.
Performances remaining: May 30, 2pm; June 4, 8pm
Run time: Three hours, 15 minutes, with one intermission
For tickets: 817-731-0726, or www.fwopera.org
Photos by Ellen Appel
About the Metropolitan Opera’s Beverly Sills Award:
http://www.metoperafamily.org/metopera/news/press/detail.aspx?id=11926
About the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions: http://www.metoperafamily.org/metopera/auditions/national/
About the Liederkrantz Foundation winners: http://www.liederkranznycity.org/vcompetition.asp
About the McCammon Competition: http://www.fwopera.org/Discover-Opera/McCammon/
Black Pearl Shines at WaterTower Theatre
Everyone come together, let us work hard; the grave is not yet finished;
let his heart be perfectly at peace.
Thwarted ambition. Dancing chickens, ancient African funeral chants, slave-era spirituals, voodoo ritual and Old South mountain ballads. Perception of authenticity. Cultural exploitation. Racism. Sexism. Intellectual property. Friendship forged out of mutual need. In a performance at once intimate and epic, Frank Higgins‘ Black Pearl Sings! at Water Tower Theatre weaves an illuminating tapestry of song, sorrow and strife. Liz Mikel and Diana Sheehan portray two very
Diana Sheehan, Liz Mikel
different women in Depression era Texas, whose lives become deeply intertwined through recording spirituals that lead the pair to bankable command performances in New York City. One woman is a recalcitrant prisoner doing hard time for murder, the other a frustrated Ivy League academic doing backbreaking field research for Library of Congress. It’s an entrancing performance by both women, ably directed by Terry Martin and Akin Babatunde (music director) to realistically portray the natural relationship that develops and emphasize their singing talents.
Ah wakuh muh monuh kambay
yah lee luh lay tambay
Playwright Higgins created his show’s premise from real life experience involving folk musician Huddie William Ledbetter (known as “Leadbelly”), discovered in a Texas prison in the ‘30’s and recorded by musicologist John Lomax, a Library of Congress folksong collector. “For a couple of years, I’d toyed with the idea of writing a play about Leadbelly and John Lomax, but something kept me from doing it.” When Higgins found an African women’s song that arrived in America on slave ships and was still being sung by African descendants, he knew he had to make it a focal element of his play and created the women instead. “Amelia’s Song”, named for a Georgian woman who sang it in the 1930’s for a folk archivist, came from Sierra Leone 200 years ago, where the British ran a slave castle. The song was traditionally performed at graveside ceremonies called Tenjami (crossing the river), by women, who were responsible for birth and death rites. In Higgins’ play, Susannah (Sheehan), the archivist, searches hard to find a slave trade era song; but Pearl (Mikel), the slave descendant, never shares hers, instead singing it alone at the play’s end to honor the recent death of her own daughter.
Ha suh wileego seehai yuh gbangah lilly
Ha suh wileego dwelin duh kwen
Ha suh wileego seehi uh kwendaiyah.
Higgins covers a lot of turf and time with this play (Act I is in a Texas prison, Act II in a New York apartment) and oversimplifies the details occasionally. Mikel and Sheehan find all the right reasons to develop the core relationship that make it believable and transcendent. The unglamorous, bare bones set by Christopher Pickart, realistic period costumes by Michael A. Robinson and subdued, well-tempered lighting and sound by Leann Ellis and Scott Guenther reinforce the bleakness of the Depression era while allowing the show’s music to take center stage.
Sudden death commands everyone’s attention, like a firing gun.
Sudden death commands everyone’s attention, oh elders, oh heads of family
Sudden death commands everyone’s attention, like a distant drum beat.
WaterTower Theatre presents Liz Mikel and Diana Sheehan in the Regional Premiere of Black Pearl Sings! May 27 through June 20 at the Addison Theatre Centre, 15650 Addison Road in Addison, Texas.
Tickets: 972.450.6232, www.watertowertheatre.org
About Amelia’s Song and its lyrics:
http://merrimackrep.wordpress.com/2010/02/16/the-african-song/
Translation of song by Tazieff Koroma, Edward Benya and Joseph Opala
Frank Higgins quote from an interview with Interact Theatre Company:
By the Short Hairs @ Kitchen Dog Theater
Care about illegal immigrants in Phoenix? Go down the long way in blood and bigotry. Go the rough, violent way down. Or choose tolerance and love and rise up in grace. Some get sacrificed because they can’t adapt. Others endure the hell that life offers, bare their souls and survive because they can change.
Bruce DuBose, Ani Celisa Vera, Drew Wall
Headlining Kitchen Dog Theater’s 12th Annual New Works Festival is the winner of their national new play competition, Long Way Go Down, by nationally respected playwright Zayd Dohrn. Kitchen Dog’s production of Dohrn’s lyrical, intense drama will grab you by the short hairs from the second the lights come up in their black box space and keep you breathlessly satisfied, on seat’s edge. It’s the raw, expressive sort of performance that makes Kitchen Dog Theater a Southwest region artistic leader.
Zayd Dohrn, a Lila Acheson Wallace Fellow at Juilliard, is an affable, warm-spirited, educated writer, who earnestly wants to entertain an audience but hopes that his work will edify and inspire them as well. Dohrn says he starts out writing plays about human relationships but social issues creep in, too. Hard to escape that focus on human rights and social activism given he grew up on a progressive commune in Arcata, CA and lived under an assumed name in New York City as the son of Bill Ayers and Bernadine Dohrn, who helped found the militant Weather Underground. Dohrn infuses some of his plays with comedy and satire (as in his SICK, a 2008 hit at KDT). He believes that Long Way Go Down deals with such a complex, harsh subject it needed a different, darker approach, no happy neatly resolved ending. What results is a magical ethnic folktale of transformation, a suspenseful human epic filled with pathos and hatred, unexpected kindness and overwhelming violence, and ultimately, transformation.
The four characters that inhabit the Long Way Go Down milieu are average people, just trying to get by. Nini and Violetta (KDT newcomers Ivan Jasso and Ani Celise Vera) are a young Mexican couple trying to escape the extreme poverty of their homeland. They have employed the services of coyotes, father and son Billy and Chris (Undermain Theatre’s Bruce DuBose and Drew Wall) to bring them, illegally, to the United States. They arrive in Phoenix unable to pay the required fees. Billy has Chris hold Violetta captive, while he makes another “delivery” until Nini can come up with the money. Nini can’t get any cash, from anyone. Their lives surge into hyper-drive desperation.
DuBose and Wall make a convincing father and son duo, each with a skewed version of reality that ultimately sends them down different paths. DuBose brings a matter-of-fact calmness to the murderous business of exploitation, a steady, amoral glint in his ever-watchful, bigoted eye. Dealing out death to penniless illegals comes so easy to his Billy. Wall’s Chris seems ingenuous, almost simple, in his adamant desire to just make friends with both Violetta and Nini, in his complete lack of awareness of their frightful circumstance. A peculiarly innocent character in this world-weary reality, Chris is the catalyst for change. Because he’s really not smart enough or motivated enough to stereotype anyone, he can transcend racial and cultural stereotypes. When he falls in love with Violetta, it’s genuine.
Drew Wall as Chris, Ani Celisa Vera as Violetta
He sees her as a person, beyond her skin color or heritage. Drew Wall gives a most impressive performance, delivering a multi-faceted character, equally infuriating and endearing. The play’s main events and its literary pace and rhythms revolve around Chris, yet Wall keeps Chris just floating along with unsuspecting vulnerability and naiveté. Ani Celise Vera balances Violetta’s surprised response to Wall’s powerful portrayal as Chris with an underlying “old soul” pragmatism. Does she really fall in love with him? Maybe not, but she recognizes the good in Chris and knows that’s worth latching on to if she’s to have any sort of future at all. Ivan Jasso creates a Nini who is just as cruel and bigoted in his own way as DuBose’s Billy. Clearly stronger in action than word, Jasso’s Nini can be as violent as a caged predator and oozes that energy in every scene. His choices are consistently harsh and unforgiving; he, like Billy, will go that long, hard way down. Whether you want progressive immigration reform legislation or for all the Mexicans to go home, Long Way Go Down will make you ponder the madness of intolerance and the value of love and acceptance.
Brilliant fight choreography by Bill Lengfelder and Cameron Cobb adds hyperrealism to the clearly defined pictures and artistic statement director Christopher Carlos makes with his ensemble. What a simpatico production team; set, lighting, costume, props and music and sound designers work smoothly together to create a vibrant black box reality that reflects the gritty grimness of the dire, specific circumstance while always underscoring the play’s epic, magical elements and its potential for transformation. Set design – Bryan Wofford; lighting design – Linda Blase; costume design – Tina Parker; props design – Jen Gilson-Gilliam; music and sound design – John M. Flores
Zayd Dohrn’s Long Way Go Down runs through June 26 at Kitchen Dog Theater located at The MAC, 3120 McKinney Ave. Dallas, TX 75204
For tickets & to learn more about the readings of the eleven other plays in the New Works Festival 2010: go to www.kitchendogtheater.org, or call 214-953-1055
Photos by Matt Mrozek
Corpus Carma @ Dallas’ Cathedral of Hope
What’s a nice girl like Molly O’Leary doing performing in a Terrence McNally play about a gay Jesus? 
She’s reaching out with a message of love and tolerance and entertaining her audience with lively, varied characterizations, that’s what…. Corpus Christi, the controversial “gay Jesus play” comes to Dallas courtesy of Los Angeles based 108 Productions this coming weekend in celebration of the Feast of Corpus Christi and promises to be at the least a thought-provoking, inspiring performance if not a shockingly unconventional one.
Terrence McNally wrote Corpus Christi in 1997 and inspired a hurricane-gale level uproar. According to the blog-site Gays Without Borders, he “created a gay Jesus partly as a way of exploring the feelings of rejection and persecution he experienced as a gay youth growing up in Texas. When the play opened in the UK in 1999 in addition to taking harsh criticism from conservative Christians, McNally became the target of a fatwa issued by an Islamic group.” Islamic fatwa? Through a modern retelling of the life of Jesus in which Jesus and the disciples are all gay, McNally wanted to foster tolerance and acceptance. Instead, before its first production in New York, the play was nearly canceled after board members of the Manhattan Theatre Club received death threats if they allowed it to go forward. According to Wikipedia, “A production of the show by the company 108 Productions opened in 2006 and went on to become the most successful and well received to date.” That’s who is bringing Corpus Christi to Dallas. www.108productions.org
Molly O’Leary has toured the world as a Corpus Christi cast member with 108 Productions since the beginning and has never missed a performance. I asked her to share some of her feelings about the production. Like other women in the cast she plays a mix of gender roles including the Apostle Thomas, Sister Joseph (Joshua’s drama teacher), Patricia Rudd (Joshua’s girlfriend in high school) and Lazarus. She says it doesn’t matter that she’s a woman portraying men; when her character Thomas enters s/he engages the audience on an internal journey, sharing a monologue that feels like a baptism in the word and reality of the play.
Molly O'Leary
“Performing McNally’s incredibly spirit-filled work sent me on a personal quest, even to India.” She describes a New York Catholic priest’s reaction — exclaiming the performance “felt like a Mass, a beautiful ritual event.” Yes, they have experienced some protests, so will there be any in Dallas? Molly hopes, as do all her fellow cast members, that people will come to the Cathedral of Hope with open minds and hearts to honor Terrence McNally’s play Corpus Christi as a reflection of God’s love, tolerance and acceptance. May ‘corpus carma’ protect us all?
Corpus Christi comes to Texas!
Friday, June 4 – 7:30pm
Saturday, June 5 – 3:00pm and 7:30pm
Sunday, June 6 – 7:30pm
Cathedral of Hope, 5910 Cedar Springs Rd., Dallas, TX 75235-6806
Tickets available at 214-351-1432 or www.h4pj.org
$1.00 from every ticket sale goes to Cathedral of Hope AIDS Crisis Fund
For more information: http://www.108productions.org/
About Molly O’Leary: Molly is thrilled to be playing the Apostle Thomas. Her past theater credits include her one woman show, For Your Benefit, Heroine Addicts, Bits and Pieces, and Unsafe Sketch. She is currently starring in The Todd and Molly Show (she plays Molly). You can also see her as Auntie Ruth in the webisode series WeHo. Molly is most memorable as the “make a path, please!” lady on a recent episode of TMZ. You can look for her in the hit show, “So you think you can Dance?” but you won’t find her because she’s not in it.
About Terrence McNally: For his distinguished work as a playwright, Terrence McNally has received four Tony Awards, two Guggenheim Fellowships, a Rockefeller Grant, the Lucille Lortel Award, the Hull-Warriner Award, and a citation from the American Academy of Arts and Letters.
McNally’s commentary about 108 Productions:
http://www.corpuschristi-themovie.com/message-from-mcnally.html
Gays Without Borders: http://gayswithoutborders.wordpress.com/2008/01/25/was-jesus-gay-corpus-christi-provokes-outrage/
Heads or tails? Al Pacino, Robert Duvall, John Savage, Kenneth McMillan, William H. Macy, JT Walsh, William Petersen, Tracy Letts, Dustin Hoffman, Dennis Franz: names of some of the toughest, most charismatic, versatile and well-versed actors on the modern stage or screen who have performed in David Mamet’s gritty, profanity-laced, iconic working class drama American Buffalo since it premiered at Chicago’s Goodman Theatre in 1975. It opened on Broadway in 1977 to critical and artistic acclaim. So why does American Buffalo seem like a rambling, impotent, stodgy jumble, a masturbatory writing exercise in exposition (30 pages’ worth before much happens) and character development today? Broken Gears Project Theatre’s current incarnation of the work, running through June 19 at ISP Studios in Irving, Texas, is a mixed bag of Ft. Knox gold and wooden nickels.
Maybe it’s really not built to pass time’s bite-test, or maybe it’s one of those sneaky plays that appear relatively easy to produce on the surface but require a higher degree of polish and skill from its actors and director than a well intentioned but novice performance company can muster. It’s almost a winner, as I call it.
Mike Schraeder, Terry Yates in American Buffalo
American Buffalo is about an essential part of American consciousness, which is the ability to suspend an ethical sense and adopt in its stead a popular accepted mythology and use that to assuage your conscience like everyone else is doing.
DAVID MAMET London Times Jun. 19, 1978
Roll out the wooden nickels. Mamet collaborator and Goodman Theatre production director Gregory Mosher asserts, “Mamet’s profanity … (is) an integral component of his characters’ “profane poetry” (that) worked the iambic pentameter out of the vernacular of the underclass.” Mamet may have worked out the elitist tones in his slice of life con-man gambit which speaks jaded volumes about the disintegration of the decaying capitalist system, but all three actors performing American Buffalo need to have comparable reverence for language and script, beat and nuance, tone and emphasis as any Sir Ian or Laurence have for Shakespeare’s work.
David Mamet brings you to the edge of your seat with language. Not just the force of it, but the cunning deployment of everyday American speech patterns that cut corners and pure grammar to distill hard meaning and veiled threats from the frenzied banter of a trio of articulate burglars in a downtown junk shop. Hearing Pinter for the first time must have been something like this.
MICHAEL COVENEY, Financial Times, Jun. 29, 1978
This reverence was not evident in Broken Gears’ production, opening night, primarily due to the over the top performance of Mike Schraeder as Teach. Seldom have I seen as experienced an actor as his bio testifies he is jump repeatedly on other actors’ lines and cues, shouting over them if they raised their voices as required by the script. He refused to share focus or allow anyone else to set scene tone or tempo. My objection isn’t about “overlapping lines” or snappy cue pick-up; it’s that American Buffalo is not, NOT, a one-man show. Where was Director Diana Gonzalez? Her physical blocking of the ensemble worked effectively and created realistic pictures, including the blocking of stage violence, hard to make believable in so intimate a setting. Yet Schraeder entered Scene One in high dudgeon with nowhere to go but into orbit. By the climax of Act II, after all the high energy posturing, yelling and mugging, he simply seemed to wear out. Terry Yates (Don), an able, versatile, experienced actor, bore the brunt of Schraeder’s onslaught in shared scenes. Yates found the tempo and texture of Mamet’s language in dialogue with secondary character Bobby (Alex Worthington) and played with the dryness of this play’s black comic elements at every opportune moment. In 2009, Alex Worthington gave a chillingly real performance as Lee in Sundown Collaborative’s True West; in American Buffalo he unfolds a fascinating slow burn of poignant desperation and confusion as simple-minded, needy Bobby. I ache to see this young actor explore his talents and instinct for depth in stillness with a meaty role in a major, relevant work.
The Fort Knox gold of the performance? Mine it in Broken Gears’ production values. Set designer Cindy Ernst, along with her team of assistant designer/ head carpenter Joe Truitt, assistant set dresser Clare Kapusta, scenic painter Kaori Imai and properties designer Joel Frapart met the major challenge of creating a viable seedy junk shop circa 1970’s with style, class and veracity. It was hard not to wander into the set at intermission just to snoop through all the “stuff” collected. Yet the playing space remained well lit and open (tech director/lighting designer David McKee), allowing the actors to move about freely amidst the impinging chaos of clutter. Justin Locklear’s costumes capture the essence of the era and each character. Teach’s macho leather jacket and Western-style leather belt with white piping were notably outstanding. It’s clear that the collective brainpower within this young company is moving it in a first class direction. Did they stumble a bit with this production? More of a miss-step than a major mistake. Their mission is to take risks with art, not “play it safe”—you have to admire their guts in mounting a difficult play forty years well past its first bloom. I’ll go back for a second viewing. I believe the collective wisdom and creative instinct in the Broken Gears Project Theatre team may find the play’s artistic balance and master its non-elitist poetic language that set David Mamet apart in the 1970’s.
See my review of their production of John Patrick Shanley’s Danny and the Deep Blue Sea: http://sjamaanka.wordpress.com/2010/02/11/stages-of-love-mbs-and-broken-gears/
I’ll gamble more than a wooden nickel on their next season.
Broken Gears Project Theatre’s production of David Mamet’s American Buffalo runs through June 19, 2010. For tickets go to www.brokengearstheatre.com
American Buffalo won the New York Drama Critics Circle Award for best play of the 1977 season, and was also nominated for two Tony Awards: Best Direction of a Play and Best Scenic Design (Santo Loquasto). It received four Drama Desk Award nominations, including Outstanding New Play (American).
Tending Bard @ Trinity Shakespeare Festival
Hey, y’all: it’s the Trinity Shakespeare Festival!
Audiences and critics alike have eagerly anticipated the arrival of the 2010 Trinity Shakespeare Festival in Ft. Worth at TCU (Texas Christian University), given the resounding success of the inaugural festival in 2009. Its initial productions of Romeo and Juliet and Twelfth Night received positive accolades from the Dallas Fort Worth Theatre Critics Forum including awards for Outstanding Performances by an Actor and Actress, Outstanding Direction and Outstanding Design. The 2010 Trinity Shakespeare Festival productions easily meet expectations and in many ways surpass them.
Andrew Milbourn as Hamlet
The tragic Hamlet is directed by TCU professor, festival artistic director and nationally recognized stage director Tom Walsh. The relationship comedy Much Ado About Nothing is directed by Stephen Fried, former resident assistant director at Washington DC’s Shakespeare Theatre Company and current acting and directing professor at The New School of Drama. In addition to the stunning original technical and design achievements of both, the plays feature outstanding talents of leading regional and national actors and dedicated TCU drama students. The 2010 Trinity Shakespeare Festival is intense; it’s celebratory; it brings Shakespeare’s works to life with vibrant artistry. What makes the Festival such an uplifting fully fleshed out creative experience? Festival Director Tom Walsh sums it up:
“I want Trinity Shakespeare Festival to focus on story telling – particularly intimacy, clarity and beauty in story telling. Every person I hire knows that we are working toward those three fundamental elements of the festival. 1) Folks familiar and unfamiliar with Shakespeare must be able to hear every word, understand every word, and perhaps, most importantly, believe every word that is said by the characters… 2) Because of the intimacy of our theatres at TCU, we can provide actors and audiences with an experience of Shakespeare that is rare – it is a close up version of Shakespeare, where actors don’t have to shout at each other, but rather the characters can talk to each other. 3) Everyone needs to come away from our productions having seen the beautiful – in design and in directing – that the designs (set, costume, lights, sound) support the intimacy, support the clarity in story telling, and in and of themselves are beautiful.”
What results is a comprehensive experience of Shakespeare in performance the audience will not likely find anywhere else in this region. Guaranteed.
Critical Comments Part One: Hamlet
Staged thrust-fashion in the black box Hays Theatre, with four sharply defined corner points of entry and exit, it feels like a wooden plank floored formal hall or great room in Denmark’s Elsinore Castle. The only permanent set elements are an enormous brocaded tapestry upstage depicting idealized nobility, the “arras” behind which sad, silly Polonius loses his life, and a massive, interlocked wooden architectural labyrinthine construction spanning the entire head space high above the actors, reflecting the complexity and rawness of the human interaction below. Created by nationally recognized scenic designer and TCU professor Brian Clinnin (who also designed the award-winning set for 2009’s Romeo and Juliet), this set’s coolness and undefined menace reflects lurking madness and grave misdeeds. When Hamlet’s father’s ghost appears (Alex Chrestopoulos), foreshadowed by unearthly bright, intense sidelight, it feels “natural” for him to inhabit the amorphous, eerie space (lighting design by Michael Skinner). How Hamlet’s father’s ghost gets handled often diminishes an otherwise perfectly acceptable staging of this play. In this production, Director Tom Walsh allowed the text to instruct him instead of adding hokey effects with dry ice, etc., interpreting lines to reveal that the ghost can freeze time and action: “In staging the scene I asked myself why would Shakespeare write “’tis here” “tis here” “tis gone”, all in a row. Then I said, well, the ghost has moved from one part of the stage to the other. Well, how could he move in the course of three, two word lines. And then, of course, I came to the conclusion that the ghost could “freeze” time, move, and unfreeze it. And so the ghost could control time….” A chilling effect, it allows the actors dealing with the ghostly apparition to develop real fear, based, while frozen still and silent, in out of control hysteria. An enthralled opening night patron wrote Director Walsh to express his enthusiasm: “Over the years, I’ve seen MANY a production of Hamlet. Never has the ghost scene worked so well, or communicated so clearly a terror befitting the rolls our heroes must occupy for the next three hours prior to flights of angels singing us all back out to our cars.” I found the scenes with the ghost intriguing and compelling, although I would have preferred its voice left natural, not amplified in an echo chamber, and less of an Obi Wan in Denmark costume.
Directors Walsh and Fried have assembled a diverse, skilled repertory ensemble, from pro equity actors to TCU drama majors, to enliven both productions. Some casting and directorial choices in Hamlet work better than others. As Hamlet, TCU’s Andrew Milbourn informs the monologues and serious dialogue scenes with a reserved noble bearing and lively intelligence. Oddly, his expression of madness comes across more as cheekiness or flippancy rather than a calculated show to distract nefarious King Claudius from his real purpose. I found the ever present orchestrated underscoring beneath Hamlet’s monologues distracting and feel Milbourn’s interpretation and voicing deserve non-enhanced appreciation. Jessica Cavanagh, with a commanding yet feminine presence, brings a somber dignity to Queen Gertrude, even as she seems too young to be the mother of Milbourn’s Hamlet. Alyssa Gardner makes a pretty as a picture Ophelia but acts with a breeziness that lends a more contemporary air to her performance than exhibited by most of the cast. Aaron Kirby presents a caring, honest Horatio, Hamlet’s trusted friend, in limited viewing; as the play’s epilogue is cut from this production, Kirby doesn’t get to speak Horatio’s satisfying, signature speech at the end. Actors delivering stand-out performances in this production include Richard Harratine as the eccentric, earthy gravedigger, Justin Bryant Rapp as analytical, honor-driven Laertes, James Crawford as the Player King, David Coffee as the long-winded but well-intentioned, homily-spouting Polonius and David Fluitt as Claudius. Fluitt’s Claudius shows a crafty pretender’s false confidence that becomes increasingly (and satisfyingly) undermined as Hamlet’s plot and the horror of his misdeeds come home to roost. Attired more stunningly resplendent from one scene to the next (Ric Druemont Leal, costume design), by play’s end Fluitt’s Claudius appears to be little more than a rooster-like “puppet king” in fancy duds, every bit the unworthy usurper Hamlet reveals him to be.
I have never experienced a more clearly delineated, more beautiful or more perfectly cast production of Much Ado About Nothing than in Trinity Shakespeare Festival’s current production. Gaze at the idyllic, pastoral, sun-splashed villa courtyard of Messina’s governor Leonato under the broad proscenium arch of the Buschman Theatre, framed with real grass and massive live trees, and feel gently transported across space and time. Kick back, un-furrow your brow, loosen up your smile muscles and your appreciation for rapier-sharp wit; get ready for Trinity Shakespeare Festival’s Much Ado About Nothing. It’s magnificent, funny, ribald, thought provoking, artful, playful, and sober, everything a Shakespearean comedy should be and more. A glorious realization of the Bard’s wise and witty play about love and honor, it’s directed by national Shakespearean scholar Stephen Fried to explore Chekhovian undertones while eking out every farcical nuance imaginable. The rambling, elegant, realistic, imaginative set makes one want to climb up on it, apply sunscreen and move in. Stay tuned for my discussion… Critical Comments Part Two: Much Ado About Nothing
Trinity Shakespeare Festival’s Hamlet and Much Ado About Nothing continue in a revolving schedule through June 27. Performances will be in TCU’s newly renovated, intimate, indoor, air-conditioned theaters: the Jerita Foley Buschman Theatre and the Marlene and Spencer Hays Theatre.
Get tickets at www.trinityshakes.org or call 817-257-8080.
Also in person, at the Buschman Theatre box office (located in Ed Landreth Hall on the TCU campus, just west of S. University Drive and W. Cantey Street)
Check out my interview with festival actor and TCU senior Justin Bryant Rapp on This Week in the Arts netcast: http://thisweekinthearts.flowercast.net/2010/06/19/twita-elaine-taylor-mark-brian-sonna-and-justin-bryant-rapp/
Amy Peterson photo
A Surfeit of Song: 4 Musical Ventures
If music be the food of love, cry me a river until another hundred people get off of the train…. It’s Summertime so musicals start bustin’out all over like raindrops on roses and whiskers on kittens, which makes the livin’ less easy for busy reviewers. Another opening can be trouble with a T, but many a new day will shine before bringing him home will make me a comedy tonight. Enough, already! Bring on da funk….
Here’s a composite review of a selection of musical theatre I’ve seen lately in the Dallas/Ft. Worth region with a new rating system I’m attempting to employ. 5 is Excellent; 4 is Solid Work; 3 is Average; 2 is Needs Help; 1 is Abysmal.
- Gospel at Colonus African-American Repertory Theater The Corner Theatre DeSoto TX
- Poseidon An Upside Down Musical Level Ground Arts The Hub Dallas TX
- Beehive Theatre Three Dallas TX
- Bye Bye Birdie Lyric Stage Irving Arts Center Irving TX
1) The Gospel at Colonus recasts the Sophocles play Oedipus at Colonus as an oratorio in a black Pentecostal church service. Greek myth with universal themes replaces Bible story, but a devout Pentecostal reverence and sense of the service remains. There is an onstage choir, a Choragos trio (in this production), a pastor, a preacher Oedipus and a singing Oedipus, a live onstage band, plus four other characters. 
That’s a lot of robed people crowded on the limited space stage at The Corner Theatre in DeSoto, with a whole lot of story to tell. Add a substantial set of crumbling Greek ruins, and nobody got to move very much if not blocked far downstage.Overall it seemed minimally directed, more of a staged concert than a play; it was difficult to distinguish some of the characters or understand their function. Outstanding vocal performances by the Choragos trio costumed in somewhat incongruous Supremes-like contemporary attire (Eleanor Threatt, Kristal Jemerson, Simone Gundy) and Sheran Goodspeed Keyton as Singer Ismene kept the show buoyant. Gil Pritchett made a commanding Preacher Oedipus; his delivery and presence offered intriguing contrast to Terrence Charles Rodgers’ Singer Oedipus. Overall impression: 3+; staging, use of space, effective direction: 2; set and production values: 3; vocal performance: 4+; acting, movement: 2
2) Level Ground Arts’ Poseidon An Upside Down Musical faced major challenges in its mounting: an action heavy show with twenty-seven actors on a minimally lit black box stage with next to no fly space and ongoing air conditioning problems and sight line challenges. Lively, clear, focused direction by Andi Allen and Bill Fountain plus a multi-talented, high energy cast made this an extremely fun show to attend, no matter how stuffy and hot the house or hard it was to see some of the action. It helped to have seen the 1970’s disaster movie upon which the musical was based, now something of a cult favorite with disaster aficionados.
Not a fan of disaster movies, I realize I missed many of the inside jokes. Still I found it very funny and believable in an improvised, imagination-rich way and an utterly charming entertainment. I hope Level Ground Arts can continue its programming in a larger, more flexible facility with better audience amenities. Most memorable performances: Shane Strawbridge in ever-melodious, commanding voice as Reverend Scott; Lon D. Barrera in hausfrau drag as sympathetic audience favorite Belle Rosen; Greg Hullett as Jim/Purser, delivering an excruciatingly realistic personal monologue in Act II; Jason Robert Villarreal as precocious, obnoxious Robin Shelby; and Andi Allen as Linda Rogo, singing a show-stopping number about ladies’ panties with naughty, delicious verve. Props to the entire creative team for being so inventive in conveying the sense of climbing up and out of a capsized ocean cruise ship. The main choreography by Brittany Levraea and Andi Allen and additional choreography by Dance Captain and cast member Darius-Anthony Robinson deserves special mention, as it was remarkably effective given the cast size and the limitations of the performance space. Overall impression: 4+; staging, use of space, effective direction: 4+; set and production values: 3; vocal performance: 4; acting, movement: 4
3) Where’s the bee-hive? A show called Beehive with six women portraying and covering the tunes of major female stars from the 60’s, and not one of them wears a beehive hairdo for the Act I early part of the era? What’s with that? This is a show that will succeed largely due to the casting of really strong singers who can imitate the stars portrayed to perfection. 
In Theatre Three’s production, the singers fall pretty far from the mark most of the time: one is consistently off key, another strains uncomfortably to fit her voice to her song ranges; harmonies that should be tight wander; without benefit of amplification, the singers get routinely drowned out by the live offstage band accompaniment. Why have them mime singing on mics; why not just use mics so they could be heard and save their voices? Generally the acting/ interpretations of the songs worked better than their delivery. Costuming, by show’s director Bruce R. Coleman, was erratic—hard to tell exactly what era some of the attire belonged to; oddly, in Act II, some costumes and hair changed, while other ensembles did not. Choreography and stage interaction worked well for the most part, occasionally drifted into superfluous movement for movement’s sake. Best moments: in Act I—“I’m Sorry” delivered with expressive humor by Marianne Galloway and “The Beat Goes On” as a tragic commentary on the changing era, delivered with great feeling by Natalie King. In Act II, the poignant interpretation of “Society’s Child” by Britney Hudgins awed the audience; and “Respect” by Natalie King interwoven with “Natural Woman” by Crystal Hannah got everybody clapping along. Beehive at Theatre Three is an almost hit with songs that can inspire fond nostalgic memories in an older audience. Overall impression: 3; staging, use of space, effective direction: 3; set and production values: 2; vocal performance: 2; acting, movement: 3
4) Bye Bye Birdie took Broadway by storm in 1960. Based upon the media circus following the 1958 drafting of Elvis Presley into the Army, it won Tony Awards for Best Musical, Best Featured Actor in a Musical (Dick Van Dyke), Best Choreography and Best Direction of a Musical (Gower Champion) and was nominated for Best Featured Actress in a Musical (Chita Rivera) and Best Scenic Design for a Musical and Best Conductor and Musical Director. Lyric Stage revives the show with its fully orchestrated original score, as in 2009 with The King and I, and gives audiences the chance to see a fully mounted, richly appointed, solidly cast production of a classic. The Carpenter Performance Hall at the Irving Arts Center is a magnificent space with a deep, wide proscenium stage, multiple fly rails and lighting instruments and excellent acoustics (as opposed to that offered by several major, newer Dallas venues). Regional stage director Cheryl Denson assembled a versatile cast of local through out of the area performance artists. With Jay Dias’ musical direction and conducting, Christopher Potter’s innovative high concept set design, Drenda Lewis’ costumes and Ann Nieman‘s choreography, it’s hard to conceive of this production as being anything but a major hit. Yet, I came away slightly disappointed. It’s been years since I’ve seen this show live, but I don’t remember it starting so slowly before and proceeding along at so sleepy a pace. It picked up, some, in Act II, but not much; I wonder if my current expectations of crisp, energetic scenes and snappy song delivery and lightning fast set changes based upon contemporary shows made this venerable production seem old-fashioned and dated, far beyond the quaint cultural issues it addresses. The cast seemed dwarfed by the set and stage, as if it needed more members to fully realize the show. 
The Act I song The Telephone Hour, so integral to the show’s early success with its charming youthful vigor, seemed lackluster and superfluous in delivery. There was an air of incongruity to the set design, fluctuating widely between a stage-y sort of realism and a pastel-washed fantasyland, both valid and creatively intriguing, but not well integrated. Opening night, Catherine Carpenter Cox sang and danced superbly as lead Rose Alvarez but hardly ever seemed to connect with anyone else on stage. Steve Barcus as lead Albert Peterson sang well but lacked the spark needed to define his lead role with Dick van Dyke charisma and made a number of amateurish script gaffes opening night, surprising in an Equity performer. Strongest performances came from secondary characters: Charlotte Franklin as Mae owned the stage whenever she was in a scene as did Mike Gallagher as Mr. MacAfee; and Lee Jamison Wadley exhibited Lucille Ball-like comic flair in her one brief hilarious scene as sensual distracter Gloria Rasputin. 
UNT student Daniel R. Johnson gave a polished, Broadway caliber performance as Elvis clone heartthrob Conrad Birdie (predict a natural segue to the lead in Bloody, Bloody Andrew Jackson on tour?). Strongest musical number cam in Act II: Baby Talk To Me with the men’s quartet (Martin Antonio Guerra, Eric Domuret, Babakayode Ipaye and Ben Giddings); best choreographed scene was also in Act II, the Shriner Seduction Ballet with Rose and the Shriners at a long, draped banquet table. This production is a charming, sweet version of an oldie Broadway hit with less than scintillating music; it doesn’t compare in artistry, majesty or musical validity to last year’s The King and I, so superbly mounted by Lyric Stage. Overall impression: 3+; staging, use of space, effective direction: 3; set and production values: 3; vocal performance: 4+; acting, movement: 3
Poseidon An Upside Down Musical runs through June 26 at Dallas’ The Hub in Deep Ellum. For tickets to Level Ground Arts productions, visit: www.levelgroundarts.com
Lyric Stage’s Bye Bye Birdie runs through June 27 at Carpenter Hall in the Irving Arts Center. For tickets call 972-252-2787 or online: www.lyricstage.org. Watch out for rudely unhelpful ushers.
Theatre Three’s Beehive runs through July 4 at The Quadrangle in Dallas. For tickets call214-871-3300 or online: www.theatre3dallas.com. PHOTO info: Credit: Jeffrey Schmidt
L-R Top: Natalie King, Lisa-Gabrielle Greene, Crystal Hannah
L-R Bottom: Marianne T. Galloway, Yolonda Williams, Britney Hudgin
For information about future African American Repertory Theater productions go to: www.aareptheater.com
Righteous memory: Contemporary Theatre of Dallas
Neil Simon’s Brighton Beach Memoirs pulls back a magical nostalgic curtain. It reveals a slice of life moment, in a 1937 Brooklyn flat, told from the perspective of a mature man reliving that moment through the experiences of the young boy he once was. 
It’s not a documentary; it’s not a drama. It’s not pure comedy, either, but it contains elements of all three, with a gentle saltshaker toss of ennobling embellishment. The play’s characters are bigger than life as the man/boy recalls them, yet they interact with humble, everyday truth and recognizable mortal sentiment in every scene.
Contemporary Theatre of Dallas excels at presenting this sort of play. Under the judicious, masterful direction of Michael Serrecchia and on an exquisitely detailed, homey and period correct set by Rodney Dobbs, CTD’s cast of seven brings a condensed month in the life of a struggling working class Jewish family to vivid life. Filled with humor, poignancy and the challenges of survival, the performance never flags, never becomes cloying, always remains crisp and true to Simon’s carefully crafted text.
The play require a strong lead, a versatile adult actor who can convey the mannerisms, thoughts and feelings of a teen-aged boy with total honesty, yet still maintain the reserve and wisdom of an adult in his many asides to the audience as he comments upon or inspires the action. After all, the audience doesn’t see an exact portrayal of a teen-ager; they experience a manifestation of a teen-ager as recalled from a loving adult perspective. There are moments when Andrews W. Cope functions clearly as the narrator/stand-in for playwright Simon. At other times his teen angst, frustration and overwhelming energy burst forth with palpable youthful vigor. Cope possesses a genuine chameleon talent, grounded in kinesthetic reality. It allowed him to create a believable embittered, explosively violent war vet in Upstart Productions’ recent SubUrbia, a frightening loose cannon. Yet in Brighton Beach Memoirs he reveals such a sweet, innocent naiveté it’s hard to picture the portrayals coming out of the same actor. Cope presents his character Eugene’s family story like an oil painter deftly dipping into the pigments arrayed on his palette and meticulously, lovingly, tapping his brush to the canvas, no extraneous strokes. He makes it looks so easy. Before the audience knows it is happening, Cope’s Eugene has coaxed every character into full self-revelation and sneaks a wink at the audience to be sure they admire his handiwork.
The other actors in the cast create the absolute reality of Eugene’s family with passion, skill and grace. Cindee Mayfield throws herself into a complete embodiment of the quintessential Jewish mother Kate: worrying, fussing, cooking non-stop, lecturing, caring for everyone in her world to the bone, with an ever-present wary, unforgiving eye on the Irish neighbors next door. Utterly believable as Kate’s widowed and not so worldly-wise sister Blanch, Diane Worman mixes soft helplessness born out of loss and grief with fierce survivor-ship and dignity. As her daughters Laurie and Nora, Jourdan Stein and Marla Jo Kelly create a tangibly habituated sibling dynamic. Eugene’s older brother Stanley presents a complex acting challenge – he’s the family ‘bad boy’, yet must reveal genuine love for and mentor the younger boy in order to mesh with adult storyteller Eugene’s “memory” of the relationship. Will Christoferson creates a young adult torn in many directions, by life and family demands, by a weak nature and by his genuine devotion to his clearly much brighter younger brother.
Andrews Cope, Will Cristoferson
Director Serrecchia doesn’t have the two actors play the well known ‘wet dream scene’ in Eugene and Stanley’s shared bedroom for laughs. Instead, he has them play the pivotal scene realistically, emphasizing the relationship’s poignancy while allowing the humor of the circumstance to creep in as undercurrent. Rock of the family, with the world’s challenges weighing him down in near Willie Loman proportion, father Jack dispenses wisdom and knits the family together with honor, dignity and a love so quiet yet so intense it makes the audience ache to watch him. Doug Jackson gives a riveting, heart-rending performance as the family breadwinner, failing in heath and almost overwhelmed by the responsibilities thrust upon him to deliberate. Jackson’s sophisticated, modulated portrayal substantiates the truth that far better acting occurs in stillness and silence than it does in chewing up lots of scenery. When Jackson’s Jack is in a scene, no one, on or off stage, takes his or her eyes off him. I’m not that fond of Neil Simon as a playwright. Seeing his work performed, set and directed this well reminds me how important he is in the canon of modern American stage drama. What a rewarding way to spend a few hours in a cool, pleasant theater.
All production elements flow smoothly together as executed by CTD’s professional team. Lighting design: Jason Foster; costumes by Aaron Patrick Turner; sound design by Richard Frohlich; props by Jen Gilson-Gilliam; stage manager – Lindsay Anderson.
Contemporary Theatre of Dallas’ production of Neil Simon’s Brighton Beach Memoirs runs through July 3. For tickets, call 214.828.0094.
5601 Sears St., Dallas, TX 75206 – one block west of lower Greenville, behind the former Arcadia Theatre. Visit the website for directions: www.contemporarytheatreofdallas.com
PHOTOS: Above- l to r: Cindee Mayfield, Andrews W. Cope, Diane Worman, Will Christoferson, Marla Jo Kelly, Doug Jackson, Jourdan Stein; Below – Andrews W. Cope
Missing Christopher Reeve: Dallas remounts Superman
Remember how great Christopher Reeve made you feel when you watched him play Superman with his crooked, toothy grin in the corny 1970’s movie of the same name? He was so strong and wise and confident and beneficent, everything an all-American guy aspired to be and all any all-American girl wanted to date. He radiated so much sparkling charm as bumbling, shy Clark Kent, he wasn’t the least bit annoying or nerdy. And when he flew, ooh la la, he made your heart leap and soar with him.
Brandon Thibodeaux photo
After months of publicity, Dallas Theater Center opened a major re-tooling of the 1966 Charles Strouse and Lee Adams musical It’s A Bird…It’s A Plane…It’s Superman, to an enthused, nearly full house in Dallas’ Wyly Theatre June 25, 2010. Alas, Superman as presented here and portrayed by Matt Cavenaugh just doesn’t compare to Christopher Reeve’s film creation and leaves the production flat for the lack. He’s too slender and androgynous as the Man and too petulant, uninspired and indecisive as Clark Kent to engender empathy. 
His singing veers into nasal reediness, occasionally drowned out by the orchestra. His flying looks stiff and tentative, executed on a single flat line from one stage right entrance spot to downstage center, never in front of the proscenium arch. He completes one very careful somersault in Act II. Chitty Chitty Bang Bang gave bigger flying thrills when it toured at the State Fair Music Hall.
It seems the original show had problems with the book by David Newman and Robert Benton. Award-winning stage, HBO and Marvel Comics writer Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa came in to pep things up for the DTC production. Not enough. A musical about Superman where the main character is a villain named Max Menken (Patrick Cassidy, son of Jack who originated the role on Broadway), not Superman, and the least interesting female character onstage is Superman’s girlfriend Lois Lane (Zakiya Young), presents challenges hard to surmount. Secondary leads gossip columnist Sydney Sharp (Jennifer Powers) and Max’s Girl Friday, Miss Marilyn Nesbitt (Cara Statham Serber), develop the strongest characters and have the best songs, as well as the finest musical theatre voices in the show. They overshadow Lois Lane.
The musical score, itself, (revised orchestrations and arrangements by Eugene Gwozdz) offers nothing particularly memorable. Songs possess a sameness throughout, with no climactic crescendos or suspenseful minor keys, no show-stopping tune that allows a really fine singer to showcase a splendid set of pipes or a spectacular dancer to wow and awe with amazing moves. The most energy arises whenever Max’s “Secret Society of Super Villains” takes stage, and they seem to belong to a different show than the main characters, more at home in a Mad Hatter’s Tea Party than in a Metropolis. The musical is set in the 1930’s, but numerous jokes and asides focus on current humor/events, which lends the production an air of incongruity and confusion. Max refers to Superman as an “illegal alien who bypassed Ellis Island” and Roosevelt’s New Deal as a “stimulus package”. A child on a train refers repeatedly to his Superman doll as “an action figure.” Which period is the show set in?
Brandon Thibodeaux photo
The set, by Beowulf Boritt, is spectacular, with fly-rail drops of towering back-lit skyscrapers upstage, painted with rakish visual perspective to add dimensional height against a brilliant blue sky backdrop. Costumes by Jennifer Caprio work in some cases—the “Secret Society of Super Villains” exudes an effective Brechtian decadence, a delight to the eye every time the curtain opens on them. Superman’s flying costume recalls the comic hero well; but his Clark Kent suit in red, white and blue to match the palette of his Superman costume looks overdone and clownish. Joel Ferrell’s stage choreography, always sharp and professional, works as well as can be hoped for with the show’s limited musical inventiveness.
It’s A Bird…It’s A Plane…It’s Superman: it’s no musical theatre hit, but. Consider it a wholesome G-rated entertainment, perfect for that special family outing where both grandma and teen-agers can enjoy themselves equally well. I, for one, miss Christopher Reeve.
The Dallas Theater Center presents It’s A Bird…It’s A Plane…It’s Superman, directed by Kevin Moriarty, at the Dee and Charles Wyly Theatre, A T & T Performing Arts Center, in Dallas through July 25.
TICKETS: 214-880-0202, or www.dallastheatercenter.org
Stage West’s Roleplay: a trifle titillating
Roleplay unfolds like Peter Shaffer’s Black Comedy on steroids. A titillating trifle with a surprisingly stiff kick like a single malt scotch served neat, it represents what British playwright Alan Ayckbourn does so well across his span of seventy plays. It sets up a massive comic relational disaster that delights its audience in its final arrival at a satisfying resolution after excruciating, ludicrous twists and turns. Stage West’s current production of Roleplay under master comic director Jerry Russell does Ayckbourn’s play full justice with an able, go-for-broke cast of regional talents. Is it filled with deep, penetrating life commentary and social relevance? Nah. Bring tears to your eyes funny? You bet.
It’s an implausible tale of woe and unintentional mayhem, delicious to follow. Lead character Justin (played with an endearing, cuddly, doe-eyed innocent victim demeanor by Justin Flowers) is hosting a dinner party for his girlfriend’s parents and his mother and her date, the first time any of them have met, in order to announce the couple’s engagement.
"Run, Justy, run!" Justin Flowers & Cheryl Lowber
Girlfriend Julie-Anne (Cheryl Lowber in full on fingernail on blackboard mode) is candy box cute but a nightmare of ruinous complications, as are her overly doting, racist parents, delineated in perfectly maddening overbearing detail by the deft comic team of Jim Covault and Amy Mills. Add to the inflammatory mix Justin’s daft, inebriated, blunt-tongued mother Arabella (Judy Keith, giving a virtuoso performance in degenerate high style) and a drop-in upstairs neighbor, a lap dancer, on the run from a mobster brute boyfriend with a dimwit enforcer in tow. The recipe for total social disaster is complete.
“There’s no such thing as immortality, not in this life, anyway.”
Jerry Russell’s directorial mastery arises from his ability to help his actors play their arcs and hit their comic beats full tilt, without any unnatural pause or faint trace of hambone on stage. Under his solid guidance the complicated and scandalously illogical plot threads unfold like silk in Act II. By the time potty-mouthed lap dancer Paige (Dana Schultes believable as a sexy, scared waif) has given everyone a sample of her “services”, and she and her out of place, tough guy guard Micky (gun waving, perpetually scowling Jeff McGee) have destroyed the last semblance of proper dinner party demeanor, they have ruined Justin’s chance to marry Julie-Anne.
Jeff McGee, Dana Schultes, Cheryl Lowber, Justin Flowers
The audience laughs so hard it’s gasping for air. It all turns out fine, but you knew it would from the start. The lovable guy ends up with the right girl…happy lap dances nightly! Stage West’s production team works its customary magic in creating set, costumes, sound and lighting to bring this titillating trifle effectively to life. Dinner and a classic romp at Ft. Worth’s Stage West? What a fun way to spend a hot summer’s evening or afternoon.
Roleplay runs at Stage West through July 25. Call 817-784-9378 or visit www.stagewest.org
Buddy Myers photos
As fascinating as it is in concept, there’s something slightly, tangibly, askew in Circle Theatre’s current production of Bruce Graham’s Something Intangible. Maybe it’s the text or in elements of execution? Circle’s second major production of the year dealing with the creative milieu, its process and the relationships it affects (Michael Hollinger’s Opus ran through March 13, 2010, to general critical acclaim), this production lacks the textual substance, continuity and tight ensemble structure of the earlier one. Yet, it still has much to recommend it as viable performance art.
Dennis Maher, Regan Adair, Chamblee Ferguson (l to r)
Based loosely on the Disney brothers’ story and rise to fame during the creation and production of their groundbreaking film Fantasia, Something Intangible frames its tale from the perspective of brother Dale Wiston (Regan Adair), the sensible businessman of the sibling duo. As he consults with a psychiatrist throughout the performance about his feelings of jealousy, guilt and frustration relating to his manic, creative brother Tony (Chamblee Ferguson), the audience is left to wonder if the scenes with Tony are recreations from Dale’s memory while “on the couch” or if they take place concurrently with the psychiatric sessions. Given that the psychiatrist never leaves the stage (Nancy Sherrard, who remains seated downstage right for almost the entire play), it’s probably a memory piece. A good thing, since Tony is so broadly played and presented as a pill-popping, selfish, irrational, irresponsible playboy and roughshod, prejudiced misanthrope it’s hard to imagine any “reality” where he could be taken seriously enough for major film studios to spend millions on his creative output.
Tony’s character, or the portrayal here, is the main problem with the production. In Act I he parades through in a series of ill-fitting costumes (a tennis outfit, polo or yachtsman garb, various tuxedos/ dinner ensembles) as he berates his dutiful brother Dale and the young graphic designer Leo (Daniel Fredrick) non-stop, mostly at intense volume. We never see the “creative genius” at work, nor any examples of his creativity. The sheets of paper carried through multiple scenes as sketches or drafts or finished work are blank. Blank. Intentional? Inadvertently overlooked? One of Dale’s ‘memory’ elements, representing the “blank slate”? In Act II, Tony continues emoting and not creating, works himself into such an emotional state when he doesn’t get his way that he ends up curled into a whimpering fetal ball downstage center. It’s a less than believable stage moment, falling flat as climax of an important emotional scene. It feels as though Graham’s award-winning play and this production work extremely hard to be at odds with each other.
You couldn’t ask for a stronger cast, for more talented performers. Regan Adair as Dale gives a polished, sensitive performance as the ever-caring brother, wracked with guilt for his own jealousy, yet furious with his brother’s excesses.
Regan Adair, Daniel Fredrick (l to r)
Adair could give a stage-worthy reading of the Denton phone book if he chose to. Chamblee Ferguson can give nuanced performance with depth and pathos (Stage West’s Copenhagen, Dallas Theater Center’s Death of A Salesman, to mention two recent examples of his superb work). In this production, he enlivens a stereotypical caricature of an ‘artiste’ and often so overpowers the other actors on stage he renders the production’s ensemble out of balance. Creative genius can be still and pensive, not just loud and hyperactive. Daniel Fredrick grounds the performance in day-to-day reality as the young gay artist on staff that Tony loves to torture. Nancy Sherrard makes a sensible, very human psychiatrist; her scenes with Regan Adair’s Dale shed the most light on the real challenges of life with a creative partner. Dennis Maher provides comic relief with easy confidence, naturalistic delivery, welcome respite from the overblown ‘sturm und drang.’ Matthew Gray directs, with set by Clare Floyd DeVries, lighting by John Leach and sound by David H. M. Lambert.
If you’re a fan of Walt Disney and find an imagined account of what his 1940’s life may have been like intriguing, Something Intangible will provide a fascinating evening of live theater, even with the curious incongruities in this production.
Something Intangible runs through July 24 at Circle Theatre at 230 W. 4th Street, Fort Worth, TX 76102 – in fabulous Sundance Square. TICKETS: www.CircleTheatre.com or call 817.877.3040. Stop by Circle’s box office, Tuesday through Friday, from 12:00pm to 5:00pm and one hour before show time.
Review of Michael Hollinger’s Opus: http://sjamaanka.wordpress.com/2010/02/17/circle-theatre%E2%80%99s-opus-a-musical-game-of-life/
Glen E. Ellman photos
Putting the right director in charge can make a less than stellar show sparkle like the 4th of July. Opening night of Grapevine’s Runway Theatre production of Once Upon A Mattress lit up like a first-class fireworks display, thanks to the creative vision of clever director Andy Baldwin and his versatile cast of comics with engaging singing voices and supple dance moves. What could have been a pleasant but ho-hum production delighted its audience with non-stop infectious fun and a surprisingly fresh interpretation.
Director Andy Baldwin contemplates his comely flapper girl ensemble: Joy McKay, Kelsey Andrae, Libby Sherman
There are far worse musicals, guaranteed. Once Upon a Mattress’ original production opened on May 11, 1959 at the off-Broadway Phoenix Theatre and ran on Broadway for a respectable run of 460 performances. It received a Tony Award nomination for Best Musical as well as a Best Leading Actress nomination for stage and screen legend Carol Burnett in her Broadway debut. The Sound of Music and Fiorello! tied for Best Musical in 1960; Burnett lost out to Mary Martin for Best Actress in The Sound of Music, along with Ethel Merman performing in Gypsy. It’s just that neither book nor score of Once Upon a Mattress are all that interesting.
In Runway Theatre’s production, running through August 1, director Andy Baldwin turns predictable on its head by re-setting the show in the 1920’s with a vaudevillian flair. Yes, there is still a medieval Princess Winnifred and a Hans Christian Anderson story romance. But now the whole show zings along with camp, stylized hilarity and recognizable nods to early film stars as comic characters. Upstage, 1920’s styled film projection adds wry commentary on the stage action behind the show’s keyboard accompanist/music director Michael Plantz visibly plying the keys. It’s a fast-flying ensemble effort with individually notable performances. Shane Strawbridge, Darius Anthony Robinson and Dave Harper make shtick-sensational Marx Brothers-like hijinks heroes as a trio of mischievous bumpkins. Individually, each has a captivating moment. Strawbridge kicks off the show in enchanting form, emulating Charlie Chaplin as the Minstrel, crooning the expositional ballad “Many Moons Ago”. In Act II Robinson, playing the Jester, adds a warm-hearted hint of Ben Vereen panache during his dance number ”Very Soft Shoes”. Harper as the mute King Sextimus sends the audience into gales of laughter with his ‘silent’ duet with Prince Dauntless: “Man to Man Talk”. Recent high school graduate Cameron A. Mumford gives a fearlessly funny performance as Prince Dauntless and holds his own with the bubbly energy and charismatic stage persona of Shelbie Mac as lead princess Winnifred. Tyler Cochran adds Edward Gorey-like black humor to his menacing but bumbling evil Wizard and gives a wincingly memorable lullaby rendition as the squawking “Nightingale of Samarkand”. Secondary romantic leads Michael P. Rausch (Sir Harry) and Rachel Joy Robertson (Lady Larken) possess excellent singing voices and comic flair and add well-rounded symmetry to the madcap zany-ness. Christine Chambers makes a perfectly despicable (and shrill) villainess as the ample-bosomed Queen Aggravain in pretentious, glittery attire. The ensemble of six, dancing, singing or pestering the leads like a bevy of manic fireflies, never lets up and keeps the show tripping furiously along, even when some of the show’s less inspired song numbers sag. Director Baldwin knows just how far to push and pull his cast to inspire the most laughter from an audience. He never lets camp get too muggy or mayhem become utter chaos… and adds a few unexpected farcical touches of his own to the show I’ll leave undisclosed to surprise. Ready to laugh until your mouth corners ache? Here ‘tis.
The classic late 1950’s musical romp Once Upon A Mattress runs through August 1, 2010, at Runway Theatre located at 215 N. Dooley Street in Grapevine, For tickets call 817-488-4842 or visit http://www.runwaytheatre.com
FIT @ Dallas’ Bath House Cultural Center
The Festival of Independent Theatres 2010 :
http://www.dallasculture.org/bathHouseCultureCenter/fitFestival.asp
Artist/production interviews on This Week in the Arts:
http://thisweekinthearts.com/
Glide your silver Prius, red Ford or Pontiac of any color, on down to the Bath House Cultural Center, where the Festival of Independent Theatres is now taking place, July 16-August 7.
The Muse by The Drama Club at FIT 2010
Overlooking White Rock Lake, the Bath House Cultural Center is one of the region’s most congenial intimate theatre spaces. The beauty of the Center’s natural setting can’t be surpassed in the metroplex area. Right now you can sample fearlessly intriguing, creative performance offerings from eight varied independent producing theatre companies and stroll through the Bath House’s art gallery admiring an array of imaginative art works inspired by the 12th Annual FIT. Enjoy this community asset while you can. With upcoming draconian City of Dallas budget cuts, Bath House Cultural Center access and staff hours face major curtailment, if not outright elimination. A sad fact and commentary on values and times….
What a worthy regional cultural endeavor. The 2010 FIT brochure claims, “since 1998, FIT has grown into one of the most significant theatrical events of the year and, has since become the longest running festival of its kind in the North Texas region. The Festival of Independent Theatres continues its commitment to exploring new theatrical work and encouraging diverse voices within the independent theatre scene. The Bath House Cultural Center website explains that “FIT was created as an outlet for smaller companies without a permanent performance space to give them an opportunity to produce seldom seen, new or avant-garde works.
Wingspan Theatre's Feeding the Moonfish at FIT 2010
FIT exists to promote awareness and growth of Dallas area theatre through collaboration, participation and cultivation.” Keep those three words close to mind when you pick up your Festival Passes and take your seats in the theater: seldom seen, new, avant-garde. Get ready for a rich, enlightening cultural experience you won’t soon forget!
Stay tuned for reviews, to be posted soon……
If you want to help support and save the Bath House Cultural Center as a worthy community asset, go here:
http://www.dallasculture.org/bathHouseCultureCenter/getInvolved.asp
New blog post: New blog post: Crucifer F
New blog post: New blog post: Crucifer Funk: Theatre Th – New blog post: Crucifer Funk: Theatre Three’s Steamy Sherl… http://ow.ly/18Tr5G
New blog post: Crucifer Funk: Theatre Th
New blog post: Crucifer Funk: Theatre Three’s Steamy Sherlock http://ow.ly/18SCoi
