Greetings! A heartwarming holiday play
A heart-warming, engaging play, Greetings!, written by Tom Dudzik, is a story that examines life, love, family-relations, and religion during the Holiday season.
Set in Pittsburgh, a former minor-league baseball player and devote Catholic, who is now an old and embittered man, Phil, played by Charles Merlis, is the family patriarch.
His wife, Emily, played by Lynne Mazotas, is the doting but frustrated wife, who has taken to nagging her husband for spending hours in the basement drinking beer.
They have two sons. One of the sons, Andy, is a successful ad writer in New York, played by Victor Gonzalez, who is bringing his fiancé, Randi, played by Jessica LaRussa, home for the dysfunctional family holidays.
Phil is a devote Catholic, and when he learns that Randi is Jewish, and an atheist to boot, he feels somehow that invalidates own belief system.
The other adult son, Mickey, is autistic, played by Greg Murphy. For some of the play his only words are “Wow” and “Oh Boy!”
Every member of the cast fits their roles as if they were born to them; however, Murphy’s character, which is clearly the most challenging to play, was revelation.
Without giving too much of the plot away, Mickey undergoes a transformation so surprising and convincing, that it is like a miracle.
There is humor in the show too, when Phil says he was so poor growing up “we would take the garbage out, and then bring it back in and eat it again.”
Gonzalez’s Andy is amusing also, when, after the initial shock of Mickey’s transformation, rhetorically asks: “Does anybody remember what normal breathing feels like?”
LaRussa’s Randi is moving when she speaks to her estranged father, and Mazotas’ Emily, was believable as the beleaguered but loving mother and wife.
The surprisingly spacious venue, with dinner theater seating, is attached to Kelly’s Pub, at 69 North Street — tucked away in a residential neighborhood.
This is the new home for Phoenix Theater, which is a vast improvement from their pervious location in a church basement in Glastonbury, and hopefully a space where they will perform for many seasons to come.
Greetings!
Three Stars
Theater: Phoenix Theater
Location: Kelly's Pub, 69 North Street, Manchester
Production: Written by Tom Dudzik. Directed by Dan Coyle. Produced by Chris Ryan and Jessica LaRussa
Running time: One hour and 45 minutes with one intermission.
Show Times: Friday and Saturday at 8 p.m.
Tickets: $20. For further information call their box office at
291-2988, or visit their website at www.phoenixtheater.us.
ACTOR...CHARACTER
Victor Gonzalez...Andy
Jessica LaRussa...Randi
Lynne Mazotas...Emily
Greg Murphy...Mickey
Charles Merlis...Phil
Monday, December 10, 2007
Friday, December 07, 2007
Hartford Stage Company's A Christmas Carol a spooky holiday present
Three Stars - very good
Theater: Hartford Stage Company
Location: 50 Church Street, Hartford
Production: From the story by Charles Dickens. Adapted and directed by
Michael Wilson. Associate direction by Jeremy B. Cohen. Choreographed
by Hope Clarke. Original set design by Tony Straiges. Costume design
by Zack Brown. Lighting design by Robert Wierzel. Original music and
sound design by John Gromada.
Running time: 2 hours including one 15-minute intermission.
Show Times: Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday at 7:30
p.m., with matinee performances Wednesday and Sunday at 2 p.m. through
Dec. 29. No Thursday, Dec. 13 or Tuesday, Dec. 25 performances. One
Sunday night performance Dec. 23 only.
Tickets: $42.50 to $61.50. For further information call their box
office at 527-5151, or visit their Web site a
www.hartfordstagecompany.org.
ACTOR…CHARACTER
Bill Raymond…Ebenezer Scrooge
Bill Kux…Mrs. Dilbert, his housekeeper; Jacob Marley
Robert Hannon Davis…Bob Cratchit, his clerk; Mr. Fezziwig
Chris Connor…Fred, his nephew; Young Scrooge
Nafe Katter…First solicitor, undertaker
Gustave Johnson…Second solicitor
Johanna Morrison…Bettye Pidgeon, a doll vendor; Spirit of Christmas Past
Helmar Augustus Cooper…Bert, a fruit and cider vendor; Spirit of
Christmas Present
Kit Treece…Scrooge at 14-years-old; Party guest
Natalie Brown… Mrs. Fezziwig; Old Jo
Rebecka Jones… Mrs. Cratchit
Maya Stogan...Martha Cratchit
Zachary Cyr or Brendan Fitzgerald…Tim Cratchit
Michelle Hendrick…Martha Cratchit; Party guest
Matt Faucher…Mr. Topper; Party guest
Amanda Tudor… Nichola, Fezziwig's daughter
Kaitlin Marrin…Wendy, Fezziwig's daughter
By Kory Loucks
Journal Inquirer
HARTFORD — They say practice makes perfect.
After 10 years of producing "A Christmas Carol," at the Hartford Stage
Company, under the direction and adaptation of Artistic Director
Michael Wilson, nothing could be truer.
Just in case you need a little jump-start to get into the Holiday
spirit, this show more than fills that bill.
Bill Raymond has started a tradition of his own — returning for a
second year to play that timeless tightwad in major need of an
attitude adjustment, Ebenezer Scrooge.
Raymond's Scrooge is a kinder, gentler version of the notorious
penny-pincher, when even in his meanest moments he couldn't quite
suppress a twitch of his nose or a twinkle in his eye.
The ghosts however, were an altogether different story.
From the show's first moments the ghosts where shockingly scary,
flying through the air in flowing white costumes adorned with nasty,
bloody cleavers and daggers stuck at odd angles into their bodies, and
finished off with grotesque masks by costume designer Zack Brown.
The apparitions danced to the accompaniment of marvelously eerie
original music and heart-thumping thunder by music and sound designer
John Gromada, and generous lightening by lighting designer Robert
Wierzel.
For the two or three people in the world over 10-years-old who are
unfamiliar the classic Charles Dickens tale, it is about a bitter,
greedy, old, wealthy man named Scrooge, in Victorian England, who
loved money far more than anything or anyone in the world.
He treats his employee, Bob Cratchit, played with sympathy by Robert
Hannon Davis, terribly — paying him a meager salary, refusing to allow
him any heat while he works, and begrudging giving Cratchit his one
paid Holiday a year — Christmas Day.
Cratchit had a large family to support and one sickly young boy, Tiny
Tim, who needed medical assistance the family could not afford.
But it turns out Scrooge wasn't always such a "baa-humbug" meanie.
One Christmas eve Scrooge has a visitation from the ghost of his
former business partner, Jacob Marley, played with theatrical misery
and remorse by Bill Kux, who tells Scrooge he must change his
penny-squeezing ways or he too will die and be doomed to eternal
suffering in the hear-after.
Scrooge is next visited by three different ghosts who guide him from
the past, when he was a young boy and youthful man, to the present,
and then to the future, after he is dead, where he learns what others
really think of him.
Two children under 10-years-old who had never seen a play before had
similar opinions about the play.
Connor Hillemeir, 8, a hardened veteran of many scary horror movies
admitted: "The ghosts kind of freaked me out."
Afterwards, however, he highly recommended "A Christmas Carol" to
others, "because it is really awesome and scary."
His brother, Christopher, 6, also found the ghosts difficult to watch.
He spend the first half of the production with his hands clasped
firmly over his eyes, peaking out from between his spread fingers when
the ghosts appeared.
Christopher said with unbridled enthusiasm he recommended the show
because: "Its delighted."
When asked why he felt the play's ghosts were so much more frightening
than a scary movie, Christopher said: "Because they were real."
Connor felt the booming thunder accompanying the bright flashes of
lightening was too loud, but was quick to add he has exceptional
hearing, which might have made it more intense for him than for
others.
Connor also was amazed the actors could remember all their lines.
"Their jaws probably hurt now from talking so much — probably more
than 3,000 words," he estimated.
Christopher said it was important for people to know Tiny Tim's "dad
doesn't have enough money to take him to the doctor."
Connor said the moral in "A Christmas Carol" is "a rich man in the
play should have gave the people who work for him some money to use."
Connor said capital letters should be used for the most important
lesson of all — "BE GENEROUS."
And if Christopher and Connor get their wish, the tradition of "A
Christmas Carol," will continue at the Hartford Stage Company for many
years to come.
Monday, December 03, 2007
Hartford Stage Company’s A Christmas Carol a spooky holiday present
HARTFORD — They say practice makes perfect.
After 10 years of producing “A Christmas Carol,” at the Hartford Stage Company, under the direction and adaptation of Artistic Director Michael Wilson, nothing could be truer.
Just in case you need a little jump-start to get into the Holiday spirit, this show more than fills that bill.
Bill Raymond has started a tradition of his own — returning for a second year to play that timeless tightwad in major need of an attitude adjustment, Ebenezer Scrooge.
Raymond’s Scrooge is a kinder, gentler version of the notorious penny-pincher, when even in his meanest moments he couldn’t quite suppress a twitch of his nose or a twinkle in his eye.
The ghosts however, were an altogether different story.
From the show’s first moments the ghosts where shockingly scary, flying through the air in flowing white costumes adorned with nasty, bloody cleavers and daggers stuck at odd angles into their bodies, and finished off with grotesque masks by costume designer Zack Brown.
The apparitions danced to the accompaniment of marvelously eerie original music and heart-thumping thunder by music and sound designer John Gromada, and generous lightening by lighting designer Robert Wierzel.
For the two or three people in the world over 10-years-old who are unfamiliar the classic Charles Dickens tale, it is about a bitter, greedy, old, wealthy man named Scrooge, in Victorian England, who loved money far more than anything or anyone in the world.
He treats his employee, Bob Cratchit, played with sympathy by Robert Hannon Davis, terribly — paying him a meager salary, refusing to allow him any heat while he works, and begrudging giving Cratchit his one paid Holiday a year — Christmas Day.
Cratchit had a large family to support and one sickly young boy, Tiny Tim, who needed medical assistance the family could not afford.
But it turns out Scrooge wasn’t always such a “baa-humbug” meanie.
One Christmas eve Scrooge has a visitation from the ghost of his former business partner, Jacob Marley, played with theatrical misery and remorse by Bill Kux, who tells Scrooge he must change his penny-squeezing ways or he too will die and be doomed to eternal suffering in the hear-after.
Scrooge is next visited by three different ghosts who guide him from the past, when he was a young boy and youthful man, to the present, and then to the future, after he is dead, where he learns what others really think of him.
Two children under 10-years-old who had never seen a play before had similar opinions about the play.
Connor Hillemeir, 8, a hardened veteran of many scary horror movies admitted: “The ghosts kind of freaked me out.”
Afterwards, however, he highly recommended “A Christmas Carol” to others, “because it is really awesome and scary.”
His brother, Christopher, 6, also found the ghosts difficult to watch.
He spend the first half of the production with his hands clasped firmly over his eyes, peaking out from between his spread fingers when the ghosts appeared.
Christopher said with unbridled enthusiasm he recommended the show because: “Its delighted.”
When asked why he felt the play’s ghosts were so much more frightening than a scary movie, Christopher said: “Because they were real.”
Connor felt the booming thunder accompanying the bright flashes of lightening was too loud, but was quick to add he has exceptional hearing, which might have made it more intense for him than for others.
Connor also was amazed the actors could remember all their lines. “Their jaws probably hurt now from talking so much — probably more than 3,000 words,” he estimated.
Christopher said it was important for people to know Tiny Tim’s “dad doesn’t have enough money to take him to the doctor.”
Connor said the moral in “A Christmas Carol” is “a rich man in the play should have gave the people who work for him some money to use.”
Connor said capital letters should be used for the most important lesson of all — “BE GENEROUS.”
And if Christopher and Connor get their wish, the tradition of “A Christmas Carol,” will continue at the Hartford Stage Company for many years to come.
A CHRISTMAS CAROL - A CHRISTMAS GHOST STORY
Three Stars
Theater: Hartford Stage Company
Location: 50 Church Street, Hartford
Production: From the story by Charles Dickens. Adapted and directed by Michael Wilson. Associate direction by Jeremy B. Cohen. Choreographed by Hope Clarke. Original set design by Tony Straiges. Costume design by Zack Brown. Lighting design by Robert Wierzel. Original music and sound design by John Gromada.
Running time: 2 hours including one 15-minute intermission.
Show Times: Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday at 7:30 p.m., with matinee performances Wednesday and Sunday at 2 p.m. through Dec. 29. No Thursday, Dec. 13 or Tuesday, Dec. 25 performances. One Sunday night performance Dec. 23 only.
Tickets: $42.50 to $61.50. For further information call their box office at 527-5151, or visit their website a www.hartfordstagecompany.org.
ACTOR...CHARACTER
Bill Raymond...Ebenezer Scrooge
Bill Kux...Mrs. Dilbert, his housekeeper; Jacob Marley
Robert Hannon Davis...Bob Cratchit, his clerk; Mr. Fezziwig
Chris Connor...Fred, his nephew; Young Scrooge
Nafe Katter...First solicitor, undertaker
Gustave Johnson...Second solicitor
Johanna Morrison...Bettye Pidgeon, a doll vendor; Spirit of Christmas Past
Helmar Augustus Cooper...Bert, a fruit and cider vendor; Spirit of Christmas Present
Kit Treece...Scrooge at 14-years-old; Party guest
Natalie Brown...Mrs. Fezziwig; Old Jo
Rebecka Jones...Mrs. Cratchit
Maya Stogan...Martha Cratchit
Zachary Cyr or Brendan Fitzgerald...Tim Cratchit
Michelle Hendrick...Martha Cratchit; Party guest
Matt Faucher...Mr. Topper; Party guest
Amanda Tudor...Nichola, Fezziwig’s daughter
Kaitlin Marrin...Wendy, Fezziwig’s daughter
HARTFORD — They say practice makes perfect.
After 10 years of producing “A Christmas Carol,” at the Hartford Stage Company, under the direction and adaptation of Artistic Director Michael Wilson, nothing could be truer.
Just in case you need a little jump-start to get into the Holiday spirit, this show more than fills that bill.
Bill Raymond has started a tradition of his own — returning for a second year to play that timeless tightwad in major need of an attitude adjustment, Ebenezer Scrooge.
Raymond’s Scrooge is a kinder, gentler version of the notorious penny-pincher, when even in his meanest moments he couldn’t quite suppress a twitch of his nose or a twinkle in his eye.
The ghosts however, were an altogether different story.
From the show’s first moments the ghosts where shockingly scary, flying through the air in flowing white costumes adorned with nasty, bloody cleavers and daggers stuck at odd angles into their bodies, and finished off with grotesque masks by costume designer Zack Brown.
The apparitions danced to the accompaniment of marvelously eerie original music and heart-thumping thunder by music and sound designer John Gromada, and generous lightening by lighting designer Robert Wierzel.
For the two or three people in the world over 10-years-old who are unfamiliar the classic Charles Dickens tale, it is about a bitter, greedy, old, wealthy man named Scrooge, in Victorian England, who loved money far more than anything or anyone in the world.
He treats his employee, Bob Cratchit, played with sympathy by Robert Hannon Davis, terribly — paying him a meager salary, refusing to allow him any heat while he works, and begrudging giving Cratchit his one paid Holiday a year — Christmas Day.
Cratchit had a large family to support and one sickly young boy, Tiny Tim, who needed medical assistance the family could not afford.
But it turns out Scrooge wasn’t always such a “baa-humbug” meanie.
One Christmas eve Scrooge has a visitation from the ghost of his former business partner, Jacob Marley, played with theatrical misery and remorse by Bill Kux, who tells Scrooge he must change his penny-squeezing ways or he too will die and be doomed to eternal suffering in the hear-after.
Scrooge is next visited by three different ghosts who guide him from the past, when he was a young boy and youthful man, to the present, and then to the future, after he is dead, where he learns what others really think of him.
Two children under 10-years-old who had never seen a play before had similar opinions about the play.
Connor Hillemeir, 8, a hardened veteran of many scary horror movies admitted: “The ghosts kind of freaked me out.”
Afterwards, however, he highly recommended “A Christmas Carol” to others, “because it is really awesome and scary.”
His brother, Christopher, 6, also found the ghosts difficult to watch.
He spend the first half of the production with his hands clasped firmly over his eyes, peaking out from between his spread fingers when the ghosts appeared.
Christopher said with unbridled enthusiasm he recommended the show because: “Its delighted.”
When asked why he felt the play’s ghosts were so much more frightening than a scary movie, Christopher said: “Because they were real.”
Connor felt the booming thunder accompanying the bright flashes of lightening was too loud, but was quick to add he has exceptional hearing, which might have made it more intense for him than for others.
Connor also was amazed the actors could remember all their lines. “Their jaws probably hurt now from talking so much — probably more than 3,000 words,” he estimated.
Christopher said it was important for people to know Tiny Tim’s “dad doesn’t have enough money to take him to the doctor.”
Connor said the moral in “A Christmas Carol” is “a rich man in the play should have gave the people who work for him some money to use.”
Connor said capital letters should be used for the most important lesson of all — “BE GENEROUS.”
And if Christopher and Connor get their wish, the tradition of “A Christmas Carol,” will continue at the Hartford Stage Company for many years to come.
A CHRISTMAS CAROL - A CHRISTMAS GHOST STORY
Three Stars
Theater: Hartford Stage Company
Location: 50 Church Street, Hartford
Production: From the story by Charles Dickens. Adapted and directed by Michael Wilson. Associate direction by Jeremy B. Cohen. Choreographed by Hope Clarke. Original set design by Tony Straiges. Costume design by Zack Brown. Lighting design by Robert Wierzel. Original music and sound design by John Gromada.
Running time: 2 hours including one 15-minute intermission.
Show Times: Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday at 7:30 p.m., with matinee performances Wednesday and Sunday at 2 p.m. through Dec. 29. No Thursday, Dec. 13 or Tuesday, Dec. 25 performances. One Sunday night performance Dec. 23 only.
Tickets: $42.50 to $61.50. For further information call their box office at 527-5151, or visit their website a www.hartfordstagecompany.org.
ACTOR...CHARACTER
Bill Raymond...Ebenezer Scrooge
Bill Kux...Mrs. Dilbert, his housekeeper; Jacob Marley
Robert Hannon Davis...Bob Cratchit, his clerk; Mr. Fezziwig
Chris Connor...Fred, his nephew; Young Scrooge
Nafe Katter...First solicitor, undertaker
Gustave Johnson...Second solicitor
Johanna Morrison...Bettye Pidgeon, a doll vendor; Spirit of Christmas Past
Helmar Augustus Cooper...Bert, a fruit and cider vendor; Spirit of Christmas Present
Kit Treece...Scrooge at 14-years-old; Party guest
Natalie Brown...Mrs. Fezziwig; Old Jo
Rebecka Jones...Mrs. Cratchit
Maya Stogan...Martha Cratchit
Zachary Cyr or Brendan Fitzgerald...Tim Cratchit
Michelle Hendrick...Martha Cratchit; Party guest
Matt Faucher...Mr. Topper; Party guest
Amanda Tudor...Nichola, Fezziwig’s daughter
Kaitlin Marrin...Wendy, Fezziwig’s daughter
"Pentecost" gets high marks
STORRS — If plays were given points for degree of difficulty, as in Olympic gymnastic competitions, for example, playwright David Edgar’s play “Pentecost” would be awarded the highest marks.
This tour-de-force production, directed with dexterity and authority by Gary M. English, head of UConn’s Department of Dramatic Arts and artistic director of Connecticut Repertory Theatre, is a complex and intense play requiring no less than your full and undivided focus
But it is worth the investment.
Set in an unspecified eastern European country, formerly under communist rule, a local curator, Gabriella Pecs, played by Heddy Lahmann, discovers what could be a pre-Renaissance fresco behind a brick façade in a dilapidated graffiti-ridden church, which could be a major find for the art world.
She convinces Dr. Oliver Davenport, a visiting art historian, played by Nicholas Dillenburg, of the possibility of its significant value, and the search for the painting’s provenance begins.
Davenport playfully, and at times patronizingly, teases Gabriella for her broken English, when she uses such words as “de-headed” for “beheaded,” “mending cottage” instead of “repairing a cottage.”
Without question, this intellectual play demands its audience to pay attention. There are no less than eight languages spoken among the 24 characters, most times with translations, but occasionally without.
In this play, written in 1994, language and words are the thing, with the implications of a world in flux, including power, treachery, violence, religion, and the nature of communication and connections are all closely scrutinized.
At one point when numerous languages converge, a character suggests: “We can all be good Europeans and speak in American.”
But because of the extreme emphasis on language and ideas, something has to give, and what does is an emotional connection with the audience to the characters.
They become more representatives and archetypes of their homelands and religious backgrounds, whether a Kurd refugee, an African, Serbian or Bosnia, a tourist, or a Muslim, Christian or Jew.
The Jewish-American art history consultant from Columbia University, Leo Katz, played with a terrific combination of irreverent confidence by Christopher Hirsh, is the most complex character in the play. He was also the easiest to understand, with no foreign accent to slow him down.
Most of the multitudinous accents were finely wrought, with the exception of Dillenburg, whose English accent drifted arbitrarily.
The single large set of the interior of a church by Tina Louise Jones was sturdy and appropriately decrepit, but the fresco, which may or may not have been painted by the Italian pre-renaissance painter Giotto, uncovered beneath a layer of brick, was beautifully realized.
The reference to Giotto was far from arbitrary, since it was the painter Giotto who first took the quantum leap from the Byzantinian 2-dimentional painting style to a 3-dimentional, secular and more realistic style — laying the ground work the Italian Renaissance, which included such artists as Leonardo Da Vinci, Michelangelo, Rafael and beyond.
There is one brief scene with non-gratuitous male nudity that should be noted for those who might find that offensive.
Near the end of the play, one of the characters said to the another: “We are the sum of all the people who have invaded us,” which is as good as saying, “we are all in this together.”
Pentecost
Three Stars
Theater: Connecticut Repertory Theatre
Location: Harriet S. Jorgensen Theatre, (lower Jorgensen) 132 Hillside Rd., Storrs.
Production: By David Edgar. Directed by Gary M. English. Scenic design by Tina Louise Jones. Lighting design by Dan Rousseau. Costume design by Lucy Brown. Sound design by Wilson Tenneman. Dialect and language direction by Dudley Knight.
Running time: 2 ½ hours with one 15-minute intermission.
Show Times: Wednesday and Thursday Dec. 5 and 6 at 7:30 p.m., and Friday Dec. 7 at 8 p.m.
Tickets: General admission $25 to $28 and $11 to $18 for UConn students. Call 486-4266 or visit their website at www.crt.uconn.edu.
ACTOR...CHARACTER
Nicholas Dillenburg...Oliver Davenport
Heddy Lahmann...Gabriella Pecs
Christopher Hirsh...Leo Katz
Michael Solomon...Grigori Kolorenko
Dudley Knight...Father Sergei Bojovic
Luke Daniels...Father Petr Karolyi
Karen Ryker...Anna Jedlikova
Robert McDonald...Nico
Joseph Gallina...Swedish Man, Raif
Sarah Murdoch...Teenage Girl, Fatima
Peter Mutino...First Soldier
Noah Weintraub...Second Soldier; Derek; Commando
Jeremy Garhinkel...Pusbas
Daniel Sheridan...Michail Czaba
Meghan O'Leary...Czaba’s Secretary, Toni Newsome
Joseph Cisternelli...Restorer, Commando
Zachary Kamin...Restorer, Commando
Quinn Uniacke...Police Woman, Marina
Aaron Johnson...Antonio
Michael Hanson...Abdul
Lauretta Pope...Yasmin
Hillary Leigh Parker...Amira
Kate Shine...Tunu
Alexandra Petrova-Emisti...Cleopatra
STORRS — If plays were given points for degree of difficulty, as in Olympic gymnastic competitions, for example, playwright David Edgar’s play “Pentecost” would be awarded the highest marks.
This tour-de-force production, directed with dexterity and authority by Gary M. English, head of UConn’s Department of Dramatic Arts and artistic director of Connecticut Repertory Theatre, is a complex and intense play requiring no less than your full and undivided focus
But it is worth the investment.
Set in an unspecified eastern European country, formerly under communist rule, a local curator, Gabriella Pecs, played by Heddy Lahmann, discovers what could be a pre-Renaissance fresco behind a brick façade in a dilapidated graffiti-ridden church, which could be a major find for the art world.
She convinces Dr. Oliver Davenport, a visiting art historian, played by Nicholas Dillenburg, of the possibility of its significant value, and the search for the painting’s provenance begins.
Davenport playfully, and at times patronizingly, teases Gabriella for her broken English, when she uses such words as “de-headed” for “beheaded,” “mending cottage” instead of “repairing a cottage.”
Without question, this intellectual play demands its audience to pay attention. There are no less than eight languages spoken among the 24 characters, most times with translations, but occasionally without.
In this play, written in 1994, language and words are the thing, with the implications of a world in flux, including power, treachery, violence, religion, and the nature of communication and connections are all closely scrutinized.
At one point when numerous languages converge, a character suggests: “We can all be good Europeans and speak in American.”
But because of the extreme emphasis on language and ideas, something has to give, and what does is an emotional connection with the audience to the characters.
They become more representatives and archetypes of their homelands and religious backgrounds, whether a Kurd refugee, an African, Serbian or Bosnia, a tourist, or a Muslim, Christian or Jew.
The Jewish-American art history consultant from Columbia University, Leo Katz, played with a terrific combination of irreverent confidence by Christopher Hirsh, is the most complex character in the play. He was also the easiest to understand, with no foreign accent to slow him down.
Most of the multitudinous accents were finely wrought, with the exception of Dillenburg, whose English accent drifted arbitrarily.
The single large set of the interior of a church by Tina Louise Jones was sturdy and appropriately decrepit, but the fresco, which may or may not have been painted by the Italian pre-renaissance painter Giotto, uncovered beneath a layer of brick, was beautifully realized.
The reference to Giotto was far from arbitrary, since it was the painter Giotto who first took the quantum leap from the Byzantinian 2-dimentional painting style to a 3-dimentional, secular and more realistic style — laying the ground work the Italian Renaissance, which included such artists as Leonardo Da Vinci, Michelangelo, Rafael and beyond.
There is one brief scene with non-gratuitous male nudity that should be noted for those who might find that offensive.
Near the end of the play, one of the characters said to the another: “We are the sum of all the people who have invaded us,” which is as good as saying, “we are all in this together.”
Pentecost
Three Stars
Theater: Connecticut Repertory Theatre
Location: Harriet S. Jorgensen Theatre, (lower Jorgensen) 132 Hillside Rd., Storrs.
Production: By David Edgar. Directed by Gary M. English. Scenic design by Tina Louise Jones. Lighting design by Dan Rousseau. Costume design by Lucy Brown. Sound design by Wilson Tenneman. Dialect and language direction by Dudley Knight.
Running time: 2 ½ hours with one 15-minute intermission.
Show Times: Wednesday and Thursday Dec. 5 and 6 at 7:30 p.m., and Friday Dec. 7 at 8 p.m.
Tickets: General admission $25 to $28 and $11 to $18 for UConn students. Call 486-4266 or visit their website at www.crt.uconn.edu.
ACTOR...CHARACTER
Nicholas Dillenburg...Oliver Davenport
Heddy Lahmann...Gabriella Pecs
Christopher Hirsh...Leo Katz
Michael Solomon...Grigori Kolorenko
Dudley Knight...Father Sergei Bojovic
Luke Daniels...Father Petr Karolyi
Karen Ryker...Anna Jedlikova
Robert McDonald...Nico
Joseph Gallina...Swedish Man, Raif
Sarah Murdoch...Teenage Girl, Fatima
Peter Mutino...First Soldier
Noah Weintraub...Second Soldier; Derek; Commando
Jeremy Garhinkel...Pusbas
Daniel Sheridan...Michail Czaba
Meghan O'Leary...Czaba’s Secretary, Toni Newsome
Joseph Cisternelli...Restorer, Commando
Zachary Kamin...Restorer, Commando
Quinn Uniacke...Police Woman, Marina
Aaron Johnson...Antonio
Michael Hanson...Abdul
Lauretta Pope...Yasmin
Hillary Leigh Parker...Amira
Kate Shine...Tunu
Alexandra Petrova-Emisti...Cleopatra
Saturday, November 24, 2007
Something “Wicked” this way comes….
Wicked
Three Stars
Theater: The Bushnell
Location: Mortensen Hall, 166 Capitol Ave. Hartford
Production: Music and lyrics by Stephen Schwartz. Book by Winnie Holzman. Based on the novel by Gregory Maguire. Directed by Joe Mantello. Musical staging by Wayne Cilento. Set by Eugene Lee. Costumes by Susan Hilferty.
Running time: 2 1/2 hours, with one 15-minute intermission
Show Times: Friday Nov. 8 p.m., Saturday Nov. 24 at 2 p.m. and 8 p.m., Sunday, Nov. 25 at 2 p.m. and 7:30 p.m., Tuesday- Thursday at 7:30 p.m., Friday at 8 p.m., Saturday at 2 p.m. and 8 p.m., Sunday at 2 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. through Dec. 9
Tickets: $39-$84. Call 987-5900 or visit their Web site at www.bushnell.org
ACTOR…CHARACTER
Katie Rose Clarke…Glinda
Carmen Cusack - Marcie Dodd (u/s)…Elphaba
Cliffton Hall…Fiyero
Alma Cuervo….Madame Morrible
Deedee Magno Hall….Nessarose
Brad Weinstock…Boq
P.J. Benjamin…The Wizard of Oz
Paul Slade Smith…Witch’s father/Ozian official
Tom Flynn…Doctor Dillamond
Kyle Hill – Jason Davies (u/s)…Chistery
“Wicked” that “spenderific,” “thrillifying” musical is casting its magical “spellification” at the Bushnell through December 9.
The musical, first produced on Broadway in 2003, where it won Tony Awards for best actress, costumes and set, is based on the novel by the same name, written by Gregory Maguire. Basically it is the story of L. Frank Baum’s book “The Wonderful Wizard of Oz” but all upside down, inside out, and backwards, from the point of view of the Wicked Witch of the West.
That witch, named Elphaba (a tip of the hat from Maguire to Baum, whose initials L.F.B. make up her acronymed name) is, as most know, green as green can be, from the tippity-tip of her head to the bottomly-end of her toes.
Bookish Elphaba, played with underdog passion by understudy Marcie Dodd at last Thursday’s matinee performance, gets roomed with the young, blonde and beautiful Glinda, the eventual Good Witch, at witches’ boarding school, and it is “loath” at first sight. Glinda is played to perfection by Katie Rose Clarke.
In “factuality,” its a story of girl meets girl, girl loathes girl, girl likes girl, boy comes into the picture and falls in love with girl, but “witch” girl? And…well, the ending won’t be “spoil-afied” here.
The story eventually catches up to the plot of the original, with Dorothy, the Tin Man, the Scarecrow, and the Cowardly Lion making cameo appearances.
But there are other deeper meanings within the plot, too, with grown up political implications. The Wizard of Oz, played with alacrity by P.J. Benjamin, is manipulating the world he runs to maintain his power, with the help of his public relations assistant, the Madame Morrible, played with “fantabulicious eviliosity” by Alma Cuervo.
The color green also symbolizes the fragility of nature. In this Ozian world where the animals could speak, but are eventually literally used as scapegoats by the Wizard with the unwitting assistance of Elphaba, to make Oz citizens unite against nature to explain why the world has gone horribly wrong.
The music has a “poppish” fast-paced beat, and the performers were all energetic, professional, and well rehearsed, singing songs such as “No One Mourns the Wicked,” “Wonderful,” and “For Good.”
Particularly moving song was the song at the end of Act One, “Defying Gravity,” sung with power and passion by Dodd.
Clarke was “spenderificently” and “goofiliciously” funny as the perfectly popular and spoiled Glinda. Her comic talents were well-showcased in the song “Popular.”
At one point early on in the musical Glinda’s will is thwarted and she says, “I didn’t get my way…I think I need to sit down.”
Later in the classroom, when the learned professor Dr. Dillamond, who happens to be a sheep, played “baaaa-rilliantly” by Tom Flynn, is waxing philosophic about the problems in their world, Glinda blurted out “Don’t you think you could just stop harping on the past and teach us history instead?”
There is a prince, because honestly, what fantasy tale could be complete without one?
However, in this musical that prince, named Fiyaro, is a partying “shallowishified” callow cad, played with just the right air of “entitlementarianism” by Cliffton Hall, who proudly announces he is working on “learning to live the unexamined life by dancing through life.”
The steel-girded solid set with outsized clockwork gears by Eugene Lee were “gi-normous,” and resembling an industrial nightmarish vision from a Tim Burton movie.
The costumes though, by Susan Hilferty were unequivocally brilliant in color, detail, variety, and design.
From Glinda’s” Little Mermaid”-like light blue glittery gown, to the asymmetrically ruffled and petticoated party dresses of the ensemble, to Madame Morrible’s bustled floor-sweeping extravaganza, the costumes were a fanciful amalgamation of Dr. Suess meets Christian Lacroix’s haute couture in munchkin land.
This musical appeals to all ages, but seems to resonate particularly with teenagers, with its moral that appearances are deceiving. Last Thursday’s matinee performance was filled to near capacity, and over half the attendees were school-aged kids.
But is the show too frightening for the very young?
At the conclusion of the show one 9-year-old boy told his mother that he thought the flying monkeys were creepy, but his 4-year-old brother was totally unfazed.
However, children younger than four-years-old are not allowed by management to see the show. Those flying monkeys were pretty creepy.
A good litmus test for the musical would be, if your child has seen the 1939 movie “The Wizard of Oz,” and isn’t frightened, then by all means, they are vigorously “encouragized” to see “Wicked.”
Wicked
Three Stars
Theater: The Bushnell
Location: Mortensen Hall, 166 Capitol Ave. Hartford
Production: Music and lyrics by Stephen Schwartz. Book by Winnie Holzman. Based on the novel by Gregory Maguire. Directed by Joe Mantello. Musical staging by Wayne Cilento. Set by Eugene Lee. Costumes by Susan Hilferty.
Running time: 2 1/2 hours, with one 15-minute intermission
Show Times: Friday Nov. 8 p.m., Saturday Nov. 24 at 2 p.m. and 8 p.m., Sunday, Nov. 25 at 2 p.m. and 7:30 p.m., Tuesday- Thursday at 7:30 p.m., Friday at 8 p.m., Saturday at 2 p.m. and 8 p.m., Sunday at 2 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. through Dec. 9
Tickets: $39-$84. Call 987-5900 or visit their Web site at www.bushnell.org
ACTOR…CHARACTER
Katie Rose Clarke…Glinda
Carmen Cusack - Marcie Dodd (u/s)…Elphaba
Cliffton Hall…Fiyero
Alma Cuervo….Madame Morrible
Deedee Magno Hall….Nessarose
Brad Weinstock…Boq
P.J. Benjamin…The Wizard of Oz
Paul Slade Smith…Witch’s father/Ozian official
Tom Flynn…Doctor Dillamond
Kyle Hill – Jason Davies (u/s)…Chistery
“Wicked” that “spenderific,” “thrillifying” musical is casting its magical “spellification” at the Bushnell through December 9.
The musical, first produced on Broadway in 2003, where it won Tony Awards for best actress, costumes and set, is based on the novel by the same name, written by Gregory Maguire. Basically it is the story of L. Frank Baum’s book “The Wonderful Wizard of Oz” but all upside down, inside out, and backwards, from the point of view of the Wicked Witch of the West.
That witch, named Elphaba (a tip of the hat from Maguire to Baum, whose initials L.F.B. make up her acronymed name) is, as most know, green as green can be, from the tippity-tip of her head to the bottomly-end of her toes.
Bookish Elphaba, played with underdog passion by understudy Marcie Dodd at last Thursday’s matinee performance, gets roomed with the young, blonde and beautiful Glinda, the eventual Good Witch, at witches’ boarding school, and it is “loath” at first sight. Glinda is played to perfection by Katie Rose Clarke.
In “factuality,” its a story of girl meets girl, girl loathes girl, girl likes girl, boy comes into the picture and falls in love with girl, but “witch” girl? And…well, the ending won’t be “spoil-afied” here.
The story eventually catches up to the plot of the original, with Dorothy, the Tin Man, the Scarecrow, and the Cowardly Lion making cameo appearances.
But there are other deeper meanings within the plot, too, with grown up political implications. The Wizard of Oz, played with alacrity by P.J. Benjamin, is manipulating the world he runs to maintain his power, with the help of his public relations assistant, the Madame Morrible, played with “fantabulicious eviliosity” by Alma Cuervo.
The color green also symbolizes the fragility of nature. In this Ozian world where the animals could speak, but are eventually literally used as scapegoats by the Wizard with the unwitting assistance of Elphaba, to make Oz citizens unite against nature to explain why the world has gone horribly wrong.
The music has a “poppish” fast-paced beat, and the performers were all energetic, professional, and well rehearsed, singing songs such as “No One Mourns the Wicked,” “Wonderful,” and “For Good.”
Particularly moving song was the song at the end of Act One, “Defying Gravity,” sung with power and passion by Dodd.
Clarke was “spenderificently” and “goofiliciously” funny as the perfectly popular and spoiled Glinda. Her comic talents were well-showcased in the song “Popular.”
At one point early on in the musical Glinda’s will is thwarted and she says, “I didn’t get my way…I think I need to sit down.”
Later in the classroom, when the learned professor Dr. Dillamond, who happens to be a sheep, played “baaaa-rilliantly” by Tom Flynn, is waxing philosophic about the problems in their world, Glinda blurted out “Don’t you think you could just stop harping on the past and teach us history instead?”
There is a prince, because honestly, what fantasy tale could be complete without one?
However, in this musical that prince, named Fiyaro, is a partying “shallowishified” callow cad, played with just the right air of “entitlementarianism” by Cliffton Hall, who proudly announces he is working on “learning to live the unexamined life by dancing through life.”
The steel-girded solid set with outsized clockwork gears by Eugene Lee were “gi-normous,” and resembling an industrial nightmarish vision from a Tim Burton movie.
The costumes though, by Susan Hilferty were unequivocally brilliant in color, detail, variety, and design.
From Glinda’s” Little Mermaid”-like light blue glittery gown, to the asymmetrically ruffled and petticoated party dresses of the ensemble, to Madame Morrible’s bustled floor-sweeping extravaganza, the costumes were a fanciful amalgamation of Dr. Suess meets Christian Lacroix’s haute couture in munchkin land.
This musical appeals to all ages, but seems to resonate particularly with teenagers, with its moral that appearances are deceiving. Last Thursday’s matinee performance was filled to near capacity, and over half the attendees were school-aged kids.
But is the show too frightening for the very young?
At the conclusion of the show one 9-year-old boy told his mother that he thought the flying monkeys were creepy, but his 4-year-old brother was totally unfazed.
However, children younger than four-years-old are not allowed by management to see the show. Those flying monkeys were pretty creepy.
A good litmus test for the musical would be, if your child has seen the 1939 movie “The Wizard of Oz,” and isn’t frightened, then by all means, they are vigorously “encouragized” to see “Wicked.”
Doubt -A Parable
Three Stars
Theater: TheatreWorks
Location: 233 Pearl St. Hartford.
Production: Written by John Patrick Shanley. Directed by Steve Campo. Set Design Adrian W. Jones. Costume Design by Elizabeth Flauto. Lighting desting by Matthew Richards. Sound design by J. Hagenbuckle
Running time: 90 minutes, no intermission
Show Times: Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays at 7:30 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays - 8 p.m. Matinees on Saturdays and Sundays - 2:30 p.m. Extra Sunday evening shows - 7:30 p.m. (later weeks of most runs). Please note there is no Thursday, Nov. 23 performance, due to the Thanksgiving holiday. The show will run through Dec.23.
Tickets: $35, except Friday and Saturday nights, $45, and are unassigned seating. Center reserved seats $10 extra. $10 student rush tickets at showtime with valid ID (subject to availability). For tickets call 527-7838 or visit their Web site at www.theatreworks.org.
ACTOR…CHARACTER
Glynis Bell….Sister Aloysius
Letitia Lange…Sister James
Mark Saturno…Father Brendan Flynn
Cherene Snow…Mrs. Muller
Doubt, A Parable
Time is such an odd construct. Sometimes, like when you are stuck in traffic and late for work, a minute can seem like forever. But, when you are fully engaged in a stimulating conversation with a dear friend, hours can fly and seem like only minutes.
And then, occasionally, one can feel both experiences simultaneously. So it is with “Doubt, A Parable,” the Pulitzer Prize and Tony Award winning play by John Patrick Shanley.
A 90 minute one act play, it is so tightly-constructed and well-conceived that it feels at once almost over before it begins, and at the same time leaves one with haunting ideas that keep resurfacing.
The drama is set in 1964 at a St. Nicholas school in Brooklyn. Sister Aloysius, played with passionate conviction by Glynis Bell, is the school’s principal. She has unshakable suspicions that the priest, Father Brendan Flynn, charsmatically played by Mark Saturno, may be engaging in inappropriate behavior with the new black student.
Letitia Lange plays the young nun Sister James, who Sister Aloysisus interrogates about Father Flynn. Lange reaches a fine balance about her struggle to be a strict nun, striking terror in her students as the principal ditates and her love of teaching.
Three Stars
Theater: TheatreWorks
Location: 233 Pearl St. Hartford.
Production: Written by John Patrick Shanley. Directed by Steve Campo. Set Design Adrian W. Jones. Costume Design by Elizabeth Flauto. Lighting desting by Matthew Richards. Sound design by J. Hagenbuckle
Running time: 90 minutes, no intermission
Show Times: Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays at 7:30 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays - 8 p.m. Matinees on Saturdays and Sundays - 2:30 p.m. Extra Sunday evening shows - 7:30 p.m. (later weeks of most runs). Please note there is no Thursday, Nov. 23 performance, due to the Thanksgiving holiday. The show will run through Dec.23.
Tickets: $35, except Friday and Saturday nights, $45, and are unassigned seating. Center reserved seats $10 extra. $10 student rush tickets at showtime with valid ID (subject to availability). For tickets call 527-7838 or visit their Web site at www.theatreworks.org.
ACTOR…CHARACTER
Glynis Bell….Sister Aloysius
Letitia Lange…Sister James
Mark Saturno…Father Brendan Flynn
Cherene Snow…Mrs. Muller
Doubt, A Parable
Time is such an odd construct. Sometimes, like when you are stuck in traffic and late for work, a minute can seem like forever. But, when you are fully engaged in a stimulating conversation with a dear friend, hours can fly and seem like only minutes.
And then, occasionally, one can feel both experiences simultaneously. So it is with “Doubt, A Parable,” the Pulitzer Prize and Tony Award winning play by John Patrick Shanley.
A 90 minute one act play, it is so tightly-constructed and well-conceived that it feels at once almost over before it begins, and at the same time leaves one with haunting ideas that keep resurfacing.
The drama is set in 1964 at a St. Nicholas school in Brooklyn. Sister Aloysius, played with passionate conviction by Glynis Bell, is the school’s principal. She has unshakable suspicions that the priest, Father Brendan Flynn, charsmatically played by Mark Saturno, may be engaging in inappropriate behavior with the new black student.
Letitia Lange plays the young nun Sister James, who Sister Aloysisus interrogates about Father Flynn. Lange reaches a fine balance about her struggle to be a strict nun, striking terror in her students as the principal ditates and her love of teaching.
OKLAHOMA!
Three Stars
Theater: Opera House Players
Location: Broad Brook Opera House, 107 Main Street, Broad Brook
Production: Music by Richard Rodgers. Book and lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II. Direction and choreography by Lesley Gallagher. Music direction by Amy Crawford.
Running time: 3 hours, with one intermission
Show Times: Friday and Saturday at 8 p.m., Sundays at 2 p.m. through Nov. 25.
Tickets: $20, seniors over 60 and youth under 12 pay $12. Call 860-292-6068 or visit their Web site at www.operahouseplayers.org
ACTOR…CHARACTER
Moonyean Field…Aunt Eller
David R. Pelletier…Curly McLain
Jessica Ferraday…Laurey Williams
Michel Corman…Ike Skidmore
Jason Ellsworth…Slim
Bruce LaRoche…Will Parker
Keith Paul…Jud Fry
Nicole R. Giguere…Ado Annie Carnes
Larry Marino…Ali Hakim
Khara C. Hoyer…Gertie
Jim Metzler…Andrew Carnes
Jim Byrne…Cord Elam
Lee Helwig…Tim
Philip D. Vetro…Fred
Sarah Lewis…Aggie
Claudia J. Pospisil…Virginia
Renee Rehmer…Dream Laurey/Sylvie
Betsy Ellsworth…Vivienne
Kera Keene…Kate
Dust off your best cowboy boots, buff up your Stetson, hitch up your gettalong and high-tail it down to the Opera House Players thigh slapping, two-steppin’ production of “OKLAHOMA!” at the Broad Brook Opera House in East Windsor.
For those poor souls who have gotten through life thus far without having the pleasure of seeing this musical, don’t wait one more cotton pickin’ minute.
“OKLAHOMA!” was the first of many box office smashes on Broadway by the Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II, originally produced in 1943. With classic songs like “On What a Beautiful Mornin’,” which kicks off the show, sung with confidence and clarity by David R. Pelletier who plays Curly McLain, to the unforgettable “Oklahoma!,” and the sweet love song, “People Will Say We’re In Love,” the music is about as a June bug in December, and twice as delicious as a sweet potato pie.
The story is straightforward. Curly is in love with Laurey Williams, who loves him too, but is a bit coy. Then there is the farm hand, Jud Fry, who wants her for his own.
The other love story has a more comic bend to it, with Nicole R. Giguere playing Ado Annie Carnes, who is being courted by Will Parker. Giguere practically steals the show with her sly winks and smiles, singing that terrific fun song “I Can’t Say Know.”
Will is played by Bruce LaRoche with a fine comic turn, oozing oodles of effervescent energy while amusingly clearly not the sharpest tack in the saddle bag.
McLain’s voice is a joy to hear, which is a good thing, because he sings many songs. He and Jessica Ferraday, playing the lovely, sweet and feisty Laurie Williams so a real affection together that is touching to watch.
Ferraday’s voice too is lovely and clear. In fact, everyone of the cast members, from the leads all the way down to the smallest parts, have excellent diction, not a single word is lost, and their voices were all pitch perfect.
The orchestra, lead by musical director Amy Crawford, was small but excellent. Orchestra’s can have the bad habit of easily overpowering the singers, but this was never the case in this production, where they showed admirable restraint.
The Opera House Players really embrace and epitomize the “community” in community theater. Before the show they have a teacup action, to help fund these significant productions, and after the show all the actors stand along the stairwell in a receiving line, greeting each patron as the exit the theater.
So, what er ya’ll a-waiting fer? Head on down the holler afore it be too late and see OKALAHOMA!
Three Stars
Theater: Opera House Players
Location: Broad Brook Opera House, 107 Main Street, Broad Brook
Production: Music by Richard Rodgers. Book and lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II. Direction and choreography by Lesley Gallagher. Music direction by Amy Crawford.
Running time: 3 hours, with one intermission
Show Times: Friday and Saturday at 8 p.m., Sundays at 2 p.m. through Nov. 25.
Tickets: $20, seniors over 60 and youth under 12 pay $12. Call 860-292-6068 or visit their Web site at www.operahouseplayers.org
ACTOR…CHARACTER
Moonyean Field…Aunt Eller
David R. Pelletier…Curly McLain
Jessica Ferraday…Laurey Williams
Michel Corman…Ike Skidmore
Jason Ellsworth…Slim
Bruce LaRoche…Will Parker
Keith Paul…Jud Fry
Nicole R. Giguere…Ado Annie Carnes
Larry Marino…Ali Hakim
Khara C. Hoyer…Gertie
Jim Metzler…Andrew Carnes
Jim Byrne…Cord Elam
Lee Helwig…Tim
Philip D. Vetro…Fred
Sarah Lewis…Aggie
Claudia J. Pospisil…Virginia
Renee Rehmer…Dream Laurey/Sylvie
Betsy Ellsworth…Vivienne
Kera Keene…Kate
Dust off your best cowboy boots, buff up your Stetson, hitch up your gettalong and high-tail it down to the Opera House Players thigh slapping, two-steppin’ production of “OKLAHOMA!” at the Broad Brook Opera House in East Windsor.
For those poor souls who have gotten through life thus far without having the pleasure of seeing this musical, don’t wait one more cotton pickin’ minute.
“OKLAHOMA!” was the first of many box office smashes on Broadway by the Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II, originally produced in 1943. With classic songs like “On What a Beautiful Mornin’,” which kicks off the show, sung with confidence and clarity by David R. Pelletier who plays Curly McLain, to the unforgettable “Oklahoma!,” and the sweet love song, “People Will Say We’re In Love,” the music is about as a June bug in December, and twice as delicious as a sweet potato pie.
The story is straightforward. Curly is in love with Laurey Williams, who loves him too, but is a bit coy. Then there is the farm hand, Jud Fry, who wants her for his own.
The other love story has a more comic bend to it, with Nicole R. Giguere playing Ado Annie Carnes, who is being courted by Will Parker. Giguere practically steals the show with her sly winks and smiles, singing that terrific fun song “I Can’t Say Know.”
Will is played by Bruce LaRoche with a fine comic turn, oozing oodles of effervescent energy while amusingly clearly not the sharpest tack in the saddle bag.
McLain’s voice is a joy to hear, which is a good thing, because he sings many songs. He and Jessica Ferraday, playing the lovely, sweet and feisty Laurie Williams so a real affection together that is touching to watch.
Ferraday’s voice too is lovely and clear. In fact, everyone of the cast members, from the leads all the way down to the smallest parts, have excellent diction, not a single word is lost, and their voices were all pitch perfect.
The orchestra, lead by musical director Amy Crawford, was small but excellent. Orchestra’s can have the bad habit of easily overpowering the singers, but this was never the case in this production, where they showed admirable restraint.
The Opera House Players really embrace and epitomize the “community” in community theater. Before the show they have a teacup action, to help fund these significant productions, and after the show all the actors stand along the stairwell in a receiving line, greeting each patron as the exit the theater.
So, what er ya’ll a-waiting fer? Head on down the holler afore it be too late and see OKALAHOMA!
Friday, November 23, 2007
"Doubt — A Parable" tightly constructed and well conceived
HARTFORD — “Doubt — A Parable,” the 90-minute one act play at TheatreWorks is so tightly constructed and well conceived it feels like it is over almost before it starts, and at the same time leaves one with compelling thoughts and images that linger for days.
The drama is an intellectual and emotional roller-coaster ride, examining religious doctrine, male privilege, race relations, and pedophilia from four diametrically opposed perspectives.
The Pulitzer Prize and Tony Award winning play by John Patrick Shanley is set in 1964 at St. Nicholas school in Brooklyn. Sister Aloysius, played with passionate rigid certitude by Glynis Bell, is the school’s principal.
Sister Aloysius has unshakable and apparently unfounded suspicions, bordering on the obsessive, that the priest, Father Brendan Flynn, played with appealing charisma by Mark Saturno, may be engaging in a sexual relationship with the new 12-year-old black student — the first African American to attend the school.
Letitia Lange plays a young nun, Sister James, whom Sister Aloysius interrogates about Father Flynn. Lange achieves a fine balance between her struggle to be a good and strict nun, striking terror in her students as Sister Aloysius advocates, and her unabashed joy of teaching and connecting with the students.
The elder nun admonishes the younger, attempting to quash Sister James’ enthusiasm — instructing her that “innocence is a form indulgence,” “satisfaction is a vice,” and every easy choice today will lead to trouble tomorrow.
Bell’s Sister Aloysius is not a generous woman, and it is easy to dislike her, which makes it all the more challenging and disturbing to see her point of view as the story unfolds.
Sister Aloysius also represents the “old school” religious dogma, which emphasized suffering and self-sacrifice as the path to salvation, before the 1962 Second Vatican Council.
The Second Vatican Council advocated a new, more inclusive philosophy towards its parishioners — a progressive approach that Flynn espouses.
Similarly, Fynn is an easy man to like, which makes his possible pedophilia all the more wrenching to fathom.
At one point Flynn compassionately comforts the distraught and conflicted Sister James, supporting her passionate enthusiasm for teaching, saying: “There are people who go after your humanity, and kill kindness in the name of virtue” — clearly alluding to Sister Aloysius in his forceful admonition.
Cherene Snow, who plays the young boy’s mother, Mrs. Muller, is memorable as the black mother who understands her son well, with a point of view of her own, which is as surprising as it is compelling.
The single set by Adrian W. Jones of the Sister Aloysius’ office with the small sidewalk scattered with dead leaves is brightly lit by Matthew Richards, and perfectly well suited for austere religious institution.
Saturno and Bell have worked together before at TheatreWorks in “The Retreat from Moscow” in 2006.
Whether it is because of their previous history together or not, the volatile and dynamic chemistry between these two was fascinating to witness.
In fact, all four of the actors brought a reality and truthfulness to their roles, infusing this production with an immediacy that was breathtaking to experience.
Three Stars
Theater: TheatreWorks
Location: 233 Pearl St. Hartford.
Production: Written by John Patrick Shanley. Directed by Steve Campo. Set Design Adrian W. Jones. Costume Design by Elizabeth Flauto. Lighting design by Matthew Richards. Sound design by J. Hagenbuckle
Running time: 90 minutes, no intermission
Show Times: Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays at 7:30 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays at 8 p.m. Matinees on Saturdays and Sunday at 2:30 p.m. Extra Sunday evening shows at 7:30 p.m. during the later weeks of most runs. The show will run through Dec. 23.
Tickets: $35, except Friday and Saturday nights, $45, and are unassigned seating. Center reserved seats $10 extra. $10 student rush tickets at showtime with valid ID, subject to availability. For tickets call 527-7838 or visit their website at www.theatreworks.org.
ACTOR...CHARACTER
Glynis Bell...Sister Aloysius
Letitia Lange...Sister James
Mark Saturno...Father Brendan Flynn
Cherene Snow...Mrs. Muller
HARTFORD — “Doubt — A Parable,” the 90-minute one act play at TheatreWorks is so tightly constructed and well conceived it feels like it is over almost before it starts, and at the same time leaves one with compelling thoughts and images that linger for days.
The drama is an intellectual and emotional roller-coaster ride, examining religious doctrine, male privilege, race relations, and pedophilia from four diametrically opposed perspectives.
The Pulitzer Prize and Tony Award winning play by John Patrick Shanley is set in 1964 at St. Nicholas school in Brooklyn. Sister Aloysius, played with passionate rigid certitude by Glynis Bell, is the school’s principal.
Sister Aloysius has unshakable and apparently unfounded suspicions, bordering on the obsessive, that the priest, Father Brendan Flynn, played with appealing charisma by Mark Saturno, may be engaging in a sexual relationship with the new 12-year-old black student — the first African American to attend the school.
Letitia Lange plays a young nun, Sister James, whom Sister Aloysius interrogates about Father Flynn. Lange achieves a fine balance between her struggle to be a good and strict nun, striking terror in her students as Sister Aloysius advocates, and her unabashed joy of teaching and connecting with the students.
The elder nun admonishes the younger, attempting to quash Sister James’ enthusiasm — instructing her that “innocence is a form indulgence,” “satisfaction is a vice,” and every easy choice today will lead to trouble tomorrow.
Bell’s Sister Aloysius is not a generous woman, and it is easy to dislike her, which makes it all the more challenging and disturbing to see her point of view as the story unfolds.
Sister Aloysius also represents the “old school” religious dogma, which emphasized suffering and self-sacrifice as the path to salvation, before the 1962 Second Vatican Council.
The Second Vatican Council advocated a new, more inclusive philosophy towards its parishioners — a progressive approach that Flynn espouses.
Similarly, Fynn is an easy man to like, which makes his possible pedophilia all the more wrenching to fathom.
At one point Flynn compassionately comforts the distraught and conflicted Sister James, supporting her passionate enthusiasm for teaching, saying: “There are people who go after your humanity, and kill kindness in the name of virtue” — clearly alluding to Sister Aloysius in his forceful admonition.
Cherene Snow, who plays the young boy’s mother, Mrs. Muller, is memorable as the black mother who understands her son well, with a point of view of her own, which is as surprising as it is compelling.
The single set by Adrian W. Jones of the Sister Aloysius’ office with the small sidewalk scattered with dead leaves is brightly lit by Matthew Richards, and perfectly well suited for austere religious institution.
Saturno and Bell have worked together before at TheatreWorks in “The Retreat from Moscow” in 2006.
Whether it is because of their previous history together or not, the volatile and dynamic chemistry between these two was fascinating to witness.
In fact, all four of the actors brought a reality and truthfulness to their roles, infusing this production with an immediacy that was breathtaking to experience.
Three Stars
Theater: TheatreWorks
Location: 233 Pearl St. Hartford.
Production: Written by John Patrick Shanley. Directed by Steve Campo. Set Design Adrian W. Jones. Costume Design by Elizabeth Flauto. Lighting design by Matthew Richards. Sound design by J. Hagenbuckle
Running time: 90 minutes, no intermission
Show Times: Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays at 7:30 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays at 8 p.m. Matinees on Saturdays and Sunday at 2:30 p.m. Extra Sunday evening shows at 7:30 p.m. during the later weeks of most runs. The show will run through Dec. 23.
Tickets: $35, except Friday and Saturday nights, $45, and are unassigned seating. Center reserved seats $10 extra. $10 student rush tickets at showtime with valid ID, subject to availability. For tickets call 527-7838 or visit their website at www.theatreworks.org.
ACTOR...CHARACTER
Glynis Bell...Sister Aloysius
Letitia Lange...Sister James
Mark Saturno...Father Brendan Flynn
Cherene Snow...Mrs. Muller
Monday, November 12, 2007
OKLAHOMA! way Okay
Dust off them cowboy boots, buff up that there Stetson, hitch up your get-along and high-tail it down to the Opera House Players thigh-slappin’, two-steppin’ production of “OKLAHOMA!” at the Broad Brook Opera House in the Broad Brook section of East Windsor.
For them poor folks who have gone through life without the heart-warming pleasure of seeing this musical, don’t wait another cotton-pickin’, hood-blinkin’ minute.
“OKLAHOMA!” the musical was the first of many box office smashes by the prolific team of Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II and was originally produced on Broadway in 1943.
With classic tunes like “Oh, What a Beautiful Mornin’,” which kicks off the show, sung with confidence and clarity by David R. Pelletier playing Curly McLain, to the unforgettable “Oklahoma!,” as well as the sweet love duet, “People Will Say We’re In Love,” and everything in between, the music is as memorable as a June bug in December, and twice as delicious as a sweet potato pie.
Pelletier’s voice is a joy to hear, which is a good thing, because he sings a lot. He and Jessica Ferraday, playing the lovely, sweet, and feisty Laurie Williams, exhibit a real affection towards each other, which is moving to watch.
Ferraday’s voice too is lovely and clear. In fact, every gosh dern one of the cast members, from the leads all the way down to the smallest parts, exhibited excellent diction — not a single word was lost, and their voices were all pitch-perfect.
The plot is straightforward. Set in a time when Oklahoma was still a territory and not yet a state, a cowboy, Curly is in love with a farm girl, Laurey Williams, who loves him too, but is a bit coy. Then there is the farm hand, Jud Fry, who wants to possess Laurey for his own.
Keith Paul, who plays Jud Fry, brings a scary menace to his role that provides real gravitas to the production, adding immeasurably to the show’s intensity.
A second love story in the show has a more comic bend to it, with Nicole R. Giguere playing Ado Annie Carnes to the hilt. Giguere practically steals the show with her sly winks and smiles, singing that darlin’ song “I Can’t Say Know.”
Will Parker, who is head-over-heels in love with Annie, is played by Bruce LaRoche with fine comic timing — his character oozes oodles of effervescent energy while at the same time amusingly showing that he isn’t the sharpest tack in the saddle bag.
The Persian peddler Ali Hakim, played by Larry Marino, lends a surprising depth to a role that could have easily been reduced a stereotypical, two-dimensional caricature.
Moonyean Field, who played Aunt Eller, did a fine job as the matriarchal glue holding the various strands of the show together.
The orchestra, lead expertly by musical director Amy Crawford, was small but just right for this venue. Occasionally orchestras can unintentionally overpower singers, but that was never the case here. They showed admirable restraint throughout the production.
The Opera House Players really embrace and epitomize the “community” in Community Theater. Before the show they held a teacup action and fund-raiser to help pay for these significantly expensive productions and after the show all the actors stood along the stairwell in a receiving line, greeting each patron as they exited the theater.
So, what ‘er y’all a-waiting fer? Hitch up the wagon and mosey on down a-fore it’s too late and see OKLAHOMA! at the Broad Brook Opera House.
Three Stars
Theater: Opera House Players
Location: Broad Brook Opera House, 107 Main Street, East Windsor
Production: Music by Richard Rodgers. Book and lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II. Direction and choreography by Lesley Gallagher. Music direction by Amy Crawford. Choreography by Lesley Gallagher. Fight choreography and weapon master Michael Corman. Stage manager Jessica Russell. Assistant stage manager Tom Russell. Lighting design and operator Diane St. Armand. Sound design and operator Devon Gamache. Set design David A. Gilfor. Costumes by Moonyean Field. House manager Michelle Tetrault
Running time: Under 3 hours, with one intermission
Show Times: Friday and Saturday at 8 p.m., Sundays at 2 p.m. through Nov. 25.
Tickets: $20, seniors over 60 and youth under 12 pay $12. Call 860-292-6068 or visit their website at www.operahouseplayers.org
ACTOR...CHARACTER
Moonyean Field...Aunt Eller
David R. Pelletier...Curly McLain
Jessica Ferraday...Laurey Williams
Michael Corman...Ike Skidmore
Jason Ellsworth...Slim
Bruce LaRoche...Will Parker
Keith Paul...Jud Fry
Nicole R. Giguere...Ado Annie Carnes
Larry Marino...Ali Hakim
Khara C. Hoyer...Gertie
Jim Metzler...Andrew Carnes (Judge)
Jim Byrne...Cord Elam
Lee Helwig...Tom
Philip D. Vetro...Fred
Sarah Lewis...Aggie
Claudia J. Pospisil...Virginia
Renee Rehmer...Dream Laurey/Sylvie
Betsy Ellsworth...Vivienne
Kera Keene...Kate
Dust off them cowboy boots, buff up that there Stetson, hitch up your get-along and high-tail it down to the Opera House Players thigh-slappin’, two-steppin’ production of “OKLAHOMA!” at the Broad Brook Opera House in the Broad Brook section of East Windsor.
For them poor folks who have gone through life without the heart-warming pleasure of seeing this musical, don’t wait another cotton-pickin’, hood-blinkin’ minute.
“OKLAHOMA!” the musical was the first of many box office smashes by the prolific team of Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II and was originally produced on Broadway in 1943.
With classic tunes like “Oh, What a Beautiful Mornin’,” which kicks off the show, sung with confidence and clarity by David R. Pelletier playing Curly McLain, to the unforgettable “Oklahoma!,” as well as the sweet love duet, “People Will Say We’re In Love,” and everything in between, the music is as memorable as a June bug in December, and twice as delicious as a sweet potato pie.
Pelletier’s voice is a joy to hear, which is a good thing, because he sings a lot. He and Jessica Ferraday, playing the lovely, sweet, and feisty Laurie Williams, exhibit a real affection towards each other, which is moving to watch.
Ferraday’s voice too is lovely and clear. In fact, every gosh dern one of the cast members, from the leads all the way down to the smallest parts, exhibited excellent diction — not a single word was lost, and their voices were all pitch-perfect.
The plot is straightforward. Set in a time when Oklahoma was still a territory and not yet a state, a cowboy, Curly is in love with a farm girl, Laurey Williams, who loves him too, but is a bit coy. Then there is the farm hand, Jud Fry, who wants to possess Laurey for his own.
Keith Paul, who plays Jud Fry, brings a scary menace to his role that provides real gravitas to the production, adding immeasurably to the show’s intensity.
A second love story in the show has a more comic bend to it, with Nicole R. Giguere playing Ado Annie Carnes to the hilt. Giguere practically steals the show with her sly winks and smiles, singing that darlin’ song “I Can’t Say Know.”
Will Parker, who is head-over-heels in love with Annie, is played by Bruce LaRoche with fine comic timing — his character oozes oodles of effervescent energy while at the same time amusingly showing that he isn’t the sharpest tack in the saddle bag.
The Persian peddler Ali Hakim, played by Larry Marino, lends a surprising depth to a role that could have easily been reduced a stereotypical, two-dimensional caricature.
Moonyean Field, who played Aunt Eller, did a fine job as the matriarchal glue holding the various strands of the show together.
The orchestra, lead expertly by musical director Amy Crawford, was small but just right for this venue. Occasionally orchestras can unintentionally overpower singers, but that was never the case here. They showed admirable restraint throughout the production.
The Opera House Players really embrace and epitomize the “community” in Community Theater. Before the show they held a teacup action and fund-raiser to help pay for these significantly expensive productions and after the show all the actors stood along the stairwell in a receiving line, greeting each patron as they exited the theater.
So, what ‘er y’all a-waiting fer? Hitch up the wagon and mosey on down a-fore it’s too late and see OKLAHOMA! at the Broad Brook Opera House.
Three Stars
Theater: Opera House Players
Location: Broad Brook Opera House, 107 Main Street, East Windsor
Production: Music by Richard Rodgers. Book and lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II. Direction and choreography by Lesley Gallagher. Music direction by Amy Crawford. Choreography by Lesley Gallagher. Fight choreography and weapon master Michael Corman. Stage manager Jessica Russell. Assistant stage manager Tom Russell. Lighting design and operator Diane St. Armand. Sound design and operator Devon Gamache. Set design David A. Gilfor. Costumes by Moonyean Field. House manager Michelle Tetrault
Running time: Under 3 hours, with one intermission
Show Times: Friday and Saturday at 8 p.m., Sundays at 2 p.m. through Nov. 25.
Tickets: $20, seniors over 60 and youth under 12 pay $12. Call 860-292-6068 or visit their website at www.operahouseplayers.org
ACTOR...CHARACTER
Moonyean Field...Aunt Eller
David R. Pelletier...Curly McLain
Jessica Ferraday...Laurey Williams
Michael Corman...Ike Skidmore
Jason Ellsworth...Slim
Bruce LaRoche...Will Parker
Keith Paul...Jud Fry
Nicole R. Giguere...Ado Annie Carnes
Larry Marino...Ali Hakim
Khara C. Hoyer...Gertie
Jim Metzler...Andrew Carnes (Judge)
Jim Byrne...Cord Elam
Lee Helwig...Tom
Philip D. Vetro...Fred
Sarah Lewis...Aggie
Claudia J. Pospisil...Virginia
Renee Rehmer...Dream Laurey/Sylvie
Betsy Ellsworth...Vivienne
Kera Keene...Kate
Tuesday, November 06, 2007
1776
Three Stars
Location: Goodspeed Opera House, Route 82, East Haddam/
Production: Music and Lyrics by Sherman Edwards. Book by Peter Stone. Based on a concept by Sherman Edwards. Directed by Rob Ruggiero. Scenery design by Michael Schweikardt. Costume design by Alejo Wietti. Lighting Design by John Lasiter. Orchestrations by Dan DeLange. Assistant musical director William J. Thomas. Production manager R. Glen Grusmark. Production state manager Bradley G. Spachman.
Running time: 3 hours, with one intermission
Show Times: Wednesday at 2 p.m. and 7:30 p.m.; Thursday at 7:30 p.m. (select performances at 2 p.m., Nov. 1, 8, 15, and 29); Friday and Saturday at 8 p.m. with Saturday matinee at 3 p.m.; and Sunday matinee at 2 p.m., with Sunday evening performance at 6:30 p.m. through Sunday, Dec. 9.
Thanksgiving week schedule, Monday Nov. 19 and Friday Nov. 23 at 2 p.m. and 7:30 p.m., Saturday Nov. 24 at 3 p.m. and 8 p.m. and Sunday Nov. 25 at 2 p.m. and 6:30 p.m.
Tickets: $26 - $66. Call the box office at 860-873-8668 or visit their Web site at www.goodspeed.org
ACTOR…CHARACTER
Peter A. Carey…John Adams of Massachusetts
Ronn Carroll…Ben Franklin of Pennsylvania
Edward Watts…Thomas Jefferson of Virginia
Glenn Seven Allen…Edward Rutledge of South Carolina
Jayne Paterson…Abigail Adams*
Teal Wicks…Martha Jefferson
Will Lampe…Roger Sherman of Connecticut
Jay Goede…John Dickenson of Pennsylvania
Paul Jackel…Robert Livingston of New York
Alan Rust…John Hancock of Massachusetts
Jack Agnew…Dr. Josiah Bartlett of New Hampshire
John Newton…Stephen Hopkins of Rhode Island
Michael A. Pizzi…Lewis Morris of New York
Marc Kessler…James Wilson of Pennsylvania
Trip Plymale…Caesar Rodney of Delaware
Jerry Christakos…Jonathan Witherspoon of New Jersey
Kenneth Cavett…Col. Thomas McKean of Delaware
Dean Bellais…George Read of Delaware
Paul Carlin…Samuel Chase of Maryland
Michael P. White…Joseph Hawkes of North Carolina
* Beginning Oct. 31, Rebecca Watson will replace Jayne Watson.
Who would have thought that the story of our founding fathers political debate for independence from England would be fodder for a Tony Award winning musical?
First produced in New York in 1969, it is an unlikely combination to be sure, but one that ultimately succeeds at the Goodspeed Opera House.
Through debate, song, some humor, at a soupcon of romance, the Goodspeed, under the direction of Rob Ruggiero has put together an entertaining and educational production, for those of us who managed to sleep through our American History in high school.
The story, music and concept was the brainchild of Sherman Edwards, a former history teacher who also a successful songwriter. Based on actual events, with some artistic license, our Declaration of Independence in a sweltering Philadelphia in the summer of 1776 was not a foregone conclusion. Of the 13 colonies, many were opposed to war for a variety of reasons.
It is a complement to the musical that so many different characters were able to present such distinct personalities in relatively short period of time.
The casting couldn’t have been better, with everyone, from tall, handsome (and I do mean good looking?) Thomas Jefferson played with proper reserve and did I mention looking fabulous, by Edward Watts, to the diminutive firecracker tempered John Adams, played with intensity and passion by Peter A. Carey, to Ronn Carroll playing the wise and witty Ben Franklin, looking just as Ben should.
And while none of the songs had a tune you can’t get out of your head melody, they all worked together, sometimes as exposition set to music, other times as powerful drama, most notably at the start of the second act when, Edward Rutledge, the South Carolina delegate, played with energy and punch by Glenn Seven Allen, sings a moving condemnation of northern hypocrisy in the song “Molasses to Rum.”
A side note. There is an essay of dubious origin floating around in cyberspace, called “The Price They Paid,” that claims many of the signers of the Declaration of Independence suffered a variety of atrocities, including torture by the British, before they died.
While the online document appears official and has been believed on face value by many to be true, by and large it is not.
There are kernels of factual events within the patriotic-hyping propaganda piece, but ultimately it has been found by an online resource, called www.snopes.com, to be largely an exaggeration of events with layers of fanciful fiction. The Snopes group research urban legends and myths of all kinds to determine, where possible, what is true and what is false.
Once again, Goodspeed has spared no cost on their lavish costumes, designed by Alejo Vietti, from the elaborate embroidery detailing on the southern delegates’ colorful velvet frocks, to the more simple and somber woolen outfits of the north, which helped immeasurably to visually remember who was who in this stellar cast.
On a stage only 18 feet deep and 22 feet wide, the set designed by Michael Schweikardt is a miracle of inventiveness, including a clever sliding brick wall used effectively in several scenes.
If you think you know who cast the last vote that changed the tide of American history, and what his motives were, you may be in for a surprise at the end of this fine ensemble performance.
Three Stars
Location: Goodspeed Opera House, Route 82, East Haddam/
Production: Music and Lyrics by Sherman Edwards. Book by Peter Stone. Based on a concept by Sherman Edwards. Directed by Rob Ruggiero. Scenery design by Michael Schweikardt. Costume design by Alejo Wietti. Lighting Design by John Lasiter. Orchestrations by Dan DeLange. Assistant musical director William J. Thomas. Production manager R. Glen Grusmark. Production state manager Bradley G. Spachman.
Running time: 3 hours, with one intermission
Show Times: Wednesday at 2 p.m. and 7:30 p.m.; Thursday at 7:30 p.m. (select performances at 2 p.m., Nov. 1, 8, 15, and 29); Friday and Saturday at 8 p.m. with Saturday matinee at 3 p.m.; and Sunday matinee at 2 p.m., with Sunday evening performance at 6:30 p.m. through Sunday, Dec. 9.
Thanksgiving week schedule, Monday Nov. 19 and Friday Nov. 23 at 2 p.m. and 7:30 p.m., Saturday Nov. 24 at 3 p.m. and 8 p.m. and Sunday Nov. 25 at 2 p.m. and 6:30 p.m.
Tickets: $26 - $66. Call the box office at 860-873-8668 or visit their Web site at www.goodspeed.org
ACTOR…CHARACTER
Peter A. Carey…John Adams of Massachusetts
Ronn Carroll…Ben Franklin of Pennsylvania
Edward Watts…Thomas Jefferson of Virginia
Glenn Seven Allen…Edward Rutledge of South Carolina
Jayne Paterson…Abigail Adams*
Teal Wicks…Martha Jefferson
Will Lampe…Roger Sherman of Connecticut
Jay Goede…John Dickenson of Pennsylvania
Paul Jackel…Robert Livingston of New York
Alan Rust…John Hancock of Massachusetts
Jack Agnew…Dr. Josiah Bartlett of New Hampshire
John Newton…Stephen Hopkins of Rhode Island
Michael A. Pizzi…Lewis Morris of New York
Marc Kessler…James Wilson of Pennsylvania
Trip Plymale…Caesar Rodney of Delaware
Jerry Christakos…Jonathan Witherspoon of New Jersey
Kenneth Cavett…Col. Thomas McKean of Delaware
Dean Bellais…George Read of Delaware
Paul Carlin…Samuel Chase of Maryland
Michael P. White…Joseph Hawkes of North Carolina
* Beginning Oct. 31, Rebecca Watson will replace Jayne Watson.
Who would have thought that the story of our founding fathers political debate for independence from England would be fodder for a Tony Award winning musical?
First produced in New York in 1969, it is an unlikely combination to be sure, but one that ultimately succeeds at the Goodspeed Opera House.
Through debate, song, some humor, at a soupcon of romance, the Goodspeed, under the direction of Rob Ruggiero has put together an entertaining and educational production, for those of us who managed to sleep through our American History in high school.
The story, music and concept was the brainchild of Sherman Edwards, a former history teacher who also a successful songwriter. Based on actual events, with some artistic license, our Declaration of Independence in a sweltering Philadelphia in the summer of 1776 was not a foregone conclusion. Of the 13 colonies, many were opposed to war for a variety of reasons.
It is a complement to the musical that so many different characters were able to present such distinct personalities in relatively short period of time.
The casting couldn’t have been better, with everyone, from tall, handsome (and I do mean good looking?) Thomas Jefferson played with proper reserve and did I mention looking fabulous, by Edward Watts, to the diminutive firecracker tempered John Adams, played with intensity and passion by Peter A. Carey, to Ronn Carroll playing the wise and witty Ben Franklin, looking just as Ben should.
And while none of the songs had a tune you can’t get out of your head melody, they all worked together, sometimes as exposition set to music, other times as powerful drama, most notably at the start of the second act when, Edward Rutledge, the South Carolina delegate, played with energy and punch by Glenn Seven Allen, sings a moving condemnation of northern hypocrisy in the song “Molasses to Rum.”
A side note. There is an essay of dubious origin floating around in cyberspace, called “The Price They Paid,” that claims many of the signers of the Declaration of Independence suffered a variety of atrocities, including torture by the British, before they died.
While the online document appears official and has been believed on face value by many to be true, by and large it is not.
There are kernels of factual events within the patriotic-hyping propaganda piece, but ultimately it has been found by an online resource, called www.snopes.com, to be largely an exaggeration of events with layers of fanciful fiction. The Snopes group research urban legends and myths of all kinds to determine, where possible, what is true and what is false.
Once again, Goodspeed has spared no cost on their lavish costumes, designed by Alejo Vietti, from the elaborate embroidery detailing on the southern delegates’ colorful velvet frocks, to the more simple and somber woolen outfits of the north, which helped immeasurably to visually remember who was who in this stellar cast.
On a stage only 18 feet deep and 22 feet wide, the set designed by Michael Schweikardt is a miracle of inventiveness, including a clever sliding brick wall used effectively in several scenes.
If you think you know who cast the last vote that changed the tide of American history, and what his motives were, you may be in for a surprise at the end of this fine ensemble performance.
Monday, November 05, 2007
"Cahoots" a night of black comedy at Valley Rep.
Are you ready for a night of black-as-midnight humor? The laughs don’t get any darker than in this play, “Cahoots” where somewhat incongruously, death and murder becomes diabolically funny.
This light, but ultimately satisfying black comedy doesn’t make any grand social statements, and feels a bit like watching a sit-com, which makes sense since the playwright, Rick Johnston, has also written for television.
First produced in England in 1986, the play revolves around four married, successful, yet ultimately discontented New Yorkers — a somewhat mediocre architect, Ken, his dilettante actress wife, Jan, her best friend Lois, a book editor, and Lois’s husband, Al, who is in advertising.
One of the four, Al, whose brother was murdered by a mugger 11 months prior, is obsessed with crime, and breaks into the apartment of Jan and Ken just to show them how lax their security is.
Ken Estvanik plays Al, with over-the-top anger, and a highly amusing demonstration of “defensive walking.”
The dialog is witty and sharp, with many one-liners, as when one of them comments that a mutual acquaintance is “so rich, they don’t have to have antiques.”
The fast-as-lightening repartee was extremely well executed, especially as the play progressed. In the beginning of the play the casual conversations between Jan, played connivingly by Lorrie Bacon, and Lois, played with appropriate and funny stunned hysteria by Lisa Eaton, seemed more forced than organic in feeling, but once they got warmed up, they were great.
Ken, the architect, played by Enrico DiGiacomo, was believable and amusing as the grand schemer, who advised to his fellow conspirators, “stick as close to the truth as possible, it is easier to lie that way.”
Particularly impressive was the scene when all four were sitting at the dinner table and two entirely different conversations were going on contemporaneously — no easy feat that, and it came off seamlessly.
Brendan Albetski, who plays Grant the security-guard-cum-law-school-student, was spot on. A senior in high school, Albetski more than held his own next to the other more seasoned actors.
The Valley Repertory Company, located in the old senior center in the Thompsonville section of Enfield, is a perfect venue for this community theater.
The single set, which is the interior of Ken and Jan’s New York apartment, was spacious, solid and functional.
At times the one-liners and dark humor are so shocking and unexpectedly funny you don’t know whether to laugh out loud or sit there with your mouth agape. “Cahoots” is one terrific night of entertainment that constantly keeps you guessing.
CAHOOTS
Three Stars
Location: Valley Repertory Company, 100 High Street, Enfield
Production: Written by Rick Johnston. Directed by Chris Bushey. Produced by Celeste Estvanik. Set design, lighting design, and technical direction by Eric J. Albetski. Stage manager Melissa Styche. Costumes by Jan Albetski. Lighting and sound by Steven Chaban. Props and set dressing by Nicole Bushey.
Running time: 2 hours, with one intermission
Show Times: Friday and Saturday at 8 p.m. through Nov. 17.
Tickets: $10 prepaid — $12 at the door. Seniors and youth $8 prepaid — $10 at the door. Call 860-749-4665 or visit their website at www.valleyrep.com
ACTOR…CHARACTER
Ken Estvanik...Al
Lorrie Bacon...Jan
Lisa Eaton...Lois
Enrico DiGiacomo...Ken
Grant...Brendan Albetski
Are you ready for a night of black-as-midnight humor? The laughs don’t get any darker than in this play, “Cahoots” where somewhat incongruously, death and murder becomes diabolically funny.
This light, but ultimately satisfying black comedy doesn’t make any grand social statements, and feels a bit like watching a sit-com, which makes sense since the playwright, Rick Johnston, has also written for television.
First produced in England in 1986, the play revolves around four married, successful, yet ultimately discontented New Yorkers — a somewhat mediocre architect, Ken, his dilettante actress wife, Jan, her best friend Lois, a book editor, and Lois’s husband, Al, who is in advertising.
One of the four, Al, whose brother was murdered by a mugger 11 months prior, is obsessed with crime, and breaks into the apartment of Jan and Ken just to show them how lax their security is.
Ken Estvanik plays Al, with over-the-top anger, and a highly amusing demonstration of “defensive walking.”
The dialog is witty and sharp, with many one-liners, as when one of them comments that a mutual acquaintance is “so rich, they don’t have to have antiques.”
The fast-as-lightening repartee was extremely well executed, especially as the play progressed. In the beginning of the play the casual conversations between Jan, played connivingly by Lorrie Bacon, and Lois, played with appropriate and funny stunned hysteria by Lisa Eaton, seemed more forced than organic in feeling, but once they got warmed up, they were great.
Ken, the architect, played by Enrico DiGiacomo, was believable and amusing as the grand schemer, who advised to his fellow conspirators, “stick as close to the truth as possible, it is easier to lie that way.”
Particularly impressive was the scene when all four were sitting at the dinner table and two entirely different conversations were going on contemporaneously — no easy feat that, and it came off seamlessly.
Brendan Albetski, who plays Grant the security-guard-cum-law-school-student, was spot on. A senior in high school, Albetski more than held his own next to the other more seasoned actors.
The Valley Repertory Company, located in the old senior center in the Thompsonville section of Enfield, is a perfect venue for this community theater.
The single set, which is the interior of Ken and Jan’s New York apartment, was spacious, solid and functional.
At times the one-liners and dark humor are so shocking and unexpectedly funny you don’t know whether to laugh out loud or sit there with your mouth agape. “Cahoots” is one terrific night of entertainment that constantly keeps you guessing.
CAHOOTS
Three Stars
Location: Valley Repertory Company, 100 High Street, Enfield
Production: Written by Rick Johnston. Directed by Chris Bushey. Produced by Celeste Estvanik. Set design, lighting design, and technical direction by Eric J. Albetski. Stage manager Melissa Styche. Costumes by Jan Albetski. Lighting and sound by Steven Chaban. Props and set dressing by Nicole Bushey.
Running time: 2 hours, with one intermission
Show Times: Friday and Saturday at 8 p.m. through Nov. 17.
Tickets: $10 prepaid — $12 at the door. Seniors and youth $8 prepaid — $10 at the door. Call 860-749-4665 or visit their website at www.valleyrep.com
ACTOR…CHARACTER
Ken Estvanik...Al
Lorrie Bacon...Jan
Lisa Eaton...Lois
Enrico DiGiacomo...Ken
Grant...Brendan Albetski
Magnificent musical "MAME" at Little Theatre of Manchester
Don’t let their name fool you. The Little Theatre of Manchester has put together one great big beautiful production of that perennial favorite, the musical “Mame.”
First produced on Broadway in 1966, the multiple Tony Award winning musical spans the era from the Great Depression onwards.
Set in New York, it is about a well-to-do, eccentric, bohemian Mame Dennis whose life is interrupted when her nephew, whose parents have both died, comes to live with her.
The music has many memorable tunes, such as its namesake, “Mame,” as well as “We Need a Little Christmas,” and “Bosom Buddies,” all of which are well sung, and led throughout by a fine, full orchestra.
The cast is first rate. Marge Patefield plays Mame, in a role that seems to have been created just for her. Patefield even looks strikingly like Angela Lansbury who first played the part on Broadway.
Mame’s scenes with her friend and actress, Vera Charles, played to the hilt by Jayne Newirth, are a delight to behold.
The young Patrick Dennis’s part is played to perfection by Jeremy Clavette, a seventh grade student at Tolland Middle School, who keeps up with the adults in the complex choreography, and whose clarion singing voice is a joy to hear.
Some of the more memorable numbers were “The Man in the Moon” scene, with one terrific, and sturdily constructed moon for Mame to hang onto for dear life. It was controlled chaos at its best.
The only technical glitch came from a couple of the cordless microphones the lead’s wore to be heard clearly over the orchestra.
When Beauregard Burnside, played with southern charm and chivalry by John Michael Whitney, was singing his big number, the microphone stopped functioning.
The choreography, created by director Sheila Waters Fucci, is simply incredible. The featured dance numbers, of which there were many, were timed to perfection and carried off with style and finesse. Fucci has a background in dance, and it shows, to the benefit of all.
Clearly no expense was spared on the elaborate and numerous costumes, designed by Brenda Fraiser, including a pink southern bell hoop skirt Mame wears for only minutes, but must have taken many hours to create.
Do yourself a favor and make sure you go see this life-affirming, magnificent production of “Mame.”
Mame
Three and ½ Stars
Location: Little Theatre of Manchester, Cheney Hall, 177 Hartford Road, Manchester
Production: Book by Jerome Lawrence and Robert E. Lee, Music and Lyrics by Jerry Herman. Directed and choreographed by Sheila Waters Fucci. Musical director William Pelto. Stage manager, Tom Goodin. Lighting design by Jared R. Towler. Costume design by Brenda Frasier. Sound design by Connecticut Audio & Theatrical Supply. Properties by Jennifer Lysomirski.
Running time: 3 hours, with one intermission
Show Times: Thursday, Friday, and Saturday at 8 p.m. Sunday at 2 p.m. through Nov. 18.
Tickets: $21 - $28. Call the box office at 647-9824, or visit their Web site at www.cheneyhall.org
ACTOR...CHARACTER
Marge Patefield...Mame Dennis
Jayne Newirth...Vera Charles and mother Burnside
Mary deManbey...Agnes Gooch, Sally Cato and ensemble
Jeremy Clavette...Patrick Dennis (age 10), and Peter Dennis
John Michael Whitney...Beauregard Burnside and ensemble
David Addis...Older Patrick Dennis
Keith Giard...Ralph Devine, leading man, elevator operator, and ensemble
Doug Stoyer...M. Lindsey Woolsey and ensemble
Todd Santa Maria...Ito
Carol Hewey...Mrs. Upson and ensemble
Samuel Green...Uncle Jeff, Mr. Upson, and ensemble
Lisa Garofalo...Gloria Upson and ensemble
Pierre Marteney...Doorman and ensemble
Mal Matthews...Artist, Messenger, and ensemble
Ed Burke...Dwight Babcock
Candice Anglin...Art model and ensemble
Patricia Covino...Dance teacher and ensemble
Chris Rataic...Stage manager and ensemble
Denise Gagne...Mme. Branislowski, Cousin Ivy, and ensemble
Robbie Siemon...Gregor, Junior Babcock, and ensemble
Jenna Levitt...Cousin Fan
Katie Goodin...Pegeen Ryan
Mike Donnelly...Bishop and ensemble
Marguerite Kelly, Pam Thomas, Michelle Hong...Ensemble
Marguerite Kelly, Lisa Garofalo, Michelle Hong, Todd Santa Maria, David Addis, Robbie Siemon, John Michael Whitney...Featured dancers
Don’t let their name fool you. The Little Theatre of Manchester has put together one great big beautiful production of that perennial favorite, the musical “Mame.”
First produced on Broadway in 1966, the multiple Tony Award winning musical spans the era from the Great Depression onwards.
Set in New York, it is about a well-to-do, eccentric, bohemian Mame Dennis whose life is interrupted when her nephew, whose parents have both died, comes to live with her.
The music has many memorable tunes, such as its namesake, “Mame,” as well as “We Need a Little Christmas,” and “Bosom Buddies,” all of which are well sung, and led throughout by a fine, full orchestra.
The cast is first rate. Marge Patefield plays Mame, in a role that seems to have been created just for her. Patefield even looks strikingly like Angela Lansbury who first played the part on Broadway.
Mame’s scenes with her friend and actress, Vera Charles, played to the hilt by Jayne Newirth, are a delight to behold.
The young Patrick Dennis’s part is played to perfection by Jeremy Clavette, a seventh grade student at Tolland Middle School, who keeps up with the adults in the complex choreography, and whose clarion singing voice is a joy to hear.
Some of the more memorable numbers were “The Man in the Moon” scene, with one terrific, and sturdily constructed moon for Mame to hang onto for dear life. It was controlled chaos at its best.
The only technical glitch came from a couple of the cordless microphones the lead’s wore to be heard clearly over the orchestra.
When Beauregard Burnside, played with southern charm and chivalry by John Michael Whitney, was singing his big number, the microphone stopped functioning.
The choreography, created by director Sheila Waters Fucci, is simply incredible. The featured dance numbers, of which there were many, were timed to perfection and carried off with style and finesse. Fucci has a background in dance, and it shows, to the benefit of all.
Clearly no expense was spared on the elaborate and numerous costumes, designed by Brenda Fraiser, including a pink southern bell hoop skirt Mame wears for only minutes, but must have taken many hours to create.
Do yourself a favor and make sure you go see this life-affirming, magnificent production of “Mame.”
Mame
Three and ½ Stars
Location: Little Theatre of Manchester, Cheney Hall, 177 Hartford Road, Manchester
Production: Book by Jerome Lawrence and Robert E. Lee, Music and Lyrics by Jerry Herman. Directed and choreographed by Sheila Waters Fucci. Musical director William Pelto. Stage manager, Tom Goodin. Lighting design by Jared R. Towler. Costume design by Brenda Frasier. Sound design by Connecticut Audio & Theatrical Supply. Properties by Jennifer Lysomirski.
Running time: 3 hours, with one intermission
Show Times: Thursday, Friday, and Saturday at 8 p.m. Sunday at 2 p.m. through Nov. 18.
Tickets: $21 - $28. Call the box office at 647-9824, or visit their Web site at www.cheneyhall.org
ACTOR...CHARACTER
Marge Patefield...Mame Dennis
Jayne Newirth...Vera Charles and mother Burnside
Mary deManbey...Agnes Gooch, Sally Cato and ensemble
Jeremy Clavette...Patrick Dennis (age 10), and Peter Dennis
John Michael Whitney...Beauregard Burnside and ensemble
David Addis...Older Patrick Dennis
Keith Giard...Ralph Devine, leading man, elevator operator, and ensemble
Doug Stoyer...M. Lindsey Woolsey and ensemble
Todd Santa Maria...Ito
Carol Hewey...Mrs. Upson and ensemble
Samuel Green...Uncle Jeff, Mr. Upson, and ensemble
Lisa Garofalo...Gloria Upson and ensemble
Pierre Marteney...Doorman and ensemble
Mal Matthews...Artist, Messenger, and ensemble
Ed Burke...Dwight Babcock
Candice Anglin...Art model and ensemble
Patricia Covino...Dance teacher and ensemble
Chris Rataic...Stage manager and ensemble
Denise Gagne...Mme. Branislowski, Cousin Ivy, and ensemble
Robbie Siemon...Gregor, Junior Babcock, and ensemble
Jenna Levitt...Cousin Fan
Katie Goodin...Pegeen Ryan
Mike Donnelly...Bishop and ensemble
Marguerite Kelly, Pam Thomas, Michelle Hong...Ensemble
Marguerite Kelly, Lisa Garofalo, Michelle Hong, Todd Santa Maria, David Addis, Robbie Siemon, John Michael Whitney...Featured dancers
Wednesday, October 31, 2007
Something “Wicked” this way comes
“Wicked” that “thrillifying” musical is casting its magical spell at the Bushnell through December 9.
The musical, first produced on Broadway in 2003 where it won Tony Awards for costumes and set and best actress in a musical, is based on the novel by the same name, written by Gregory Maguire.
Basically it is the story of L. Frank Baum’s book “The Wonderful Wizard of Oz” but all upside down, inside out, and backwards, from the point of view of the Wicked Witch of the West.
That witch, named Elphaba (a tip of the hat from Maguire to Baum, whose initials L.F.B. make up her acronymed name) is, as most know, green as green can be, from the tip of her head to the bottom of her toes.
Bookish Elphaba, played with underdog passion by understudy Marcie Dodd at last Thursday’s matinee performance, is roomed with the young, blonde and beautiful Glinda, the eventual Good Witch, at witches’ boarding school, and it is “loath” at first sight. Glinda is played to comic perfection by Katie Rose Clarke.
Its a story of girl meets girl, girl loathes girl, girl likes girl, boy comes into the picture and falls in love with girl, but “witch” girl? And…well, the ending won’t be “spoil-afied” here.
The story eventually catches up to the plot of the original, with Dorothy, the Tin Man, the Scarecrow, and the Cowardly Lion making cameo appearances.
But there are other subtexts within the plot, too, with grown up political implications. The Wizard of Oz, played with alacrity by P.J. Benjamin, is manipulating the world he runs to maintain his power, with the help of his public relations assistant, the Madame Morrible, played with “fantabulicious eviliosity” by Alma Cuervo.
The color green also symbolizes the fragility of nature. In this Ozian world where the animals could speak, but are eventually literally used as scapegoats by the Wizard with the unwitting assistance of Elphaba, to make Oz citizens unite against nature to explain why the world has gone horribly wrong.
The music has a “popish” fast-paced up beat, and the performers were all energetic, professional, and well rehearsed, singing songs such as “No One Mourns the Wicked,” “Wonderful,” and “For Good.”
Particularly moving song was the song at the end of Act One, “Defying Gravity,” sung with power and passion by Dodd.
Clarke as Glinda the Good Witch was “spenderificently” goofy as the perfectly popular and spoiled Glinda. Her comic talents were well showcased in the song “Popular.”
At one point early on in the musical Glinda’s will is thwarted and she says in a stunned manner, “I didn't get my way…I think I need to sit down.”
Later in the classroom, when the learned professor Dr. Dillamond, who happens to be a sheep, played “baaaa-rilliantly” by Tom Flynn, is waxing philosophic about the problems in their world, Glinda blurted out “Don’t you think you could just stop harping on the past and teach us history instead?”
There is a prince, because honestly, what fantasy tale could be complete without one?
However, in this musical that prince, named Fiyero, is a partying callow cad, played with just the right air of entitlement by Cliffton Hall, who proudly announces he is working on “learning to live the unexamined life by dancing through life.”
The steel-girded, solid set with outsized clockwork gears designed by Eugene Lee resembled an industrial nightmarish vision right out of a Tim Burton movie.
The costumes by Susan Hilferty were unequivocally brilliant in color, detail, variety, and design. From Glinda’s “Little Mermaid”-like light blue glittery gown, to the asymmetrically ruffled and petticoated party dresses of the ensemble, to Madame Morrible’s bustled floor-sweeping extravaganza, the costumes were a fanciful amalgamation of Dr. Seuss-meets-Christian Lacroix’s haute couture in munchkin land.
This musical appeals to all ages, but seems to resonate particularly with teenagers, with its moral that appearances are deceiving. Last Thursday’s matinee performance was filled to near capacity, and over half the attendees were school-aged kids. But is the show too frightening for the very young?
At the conclusion of the show one 9-year-old boy told his mother that he thought the flying monkeys were creepy, but his 4-year-old brother was unfazed.
However, children younger than four-years-old are not allowed by management to see the show. Those flying monkeys were pretty creepy.
A good litmus test for the musical would be, if your child has seen the 1939 movie “The Wizard of Oz,” and isn’t frightened, then by all means, they are vigorously “encouragized” to go see “Wicked.”
WICKED
Three Stars
Theater: The Bushnell
Location: The Bushnell, 166 Capitol Ave. Hartford
Production: Music and lyrics by Stephen Schwartz. Book by Winnie Holzman. Based on the novel by Gregory Maguire. Directed by Joe Mantello. Musical staging by Wayne Cilento. Set by Eugene Lee. Costumes by Susan Hilferty.
Running time: 2 1/2 hours, with one 15-minute intermission
Show Times: Friday Nov. 8 p.m., Saturday Nov. 24 at 2 p.m. and 8 p.m., Sunday, Nov. 25 at 2 p.m. and 7:30 p.m., Tuesday- Thursday at 7:30 p.m., Friday at 8 p.m., Saturday at 2 p.m. and 8 p.m., Sunday at 2 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. through Dec. 9
Tickets: $39-$84. Call 987-5900 or visit their Web site at www.bushnell.org
ACTOR...CHARACTER
Katie Rose Clarke...Glinda
Carmen Cusack...Elphaba
Cliffton Hall...Fiyero
Alma Cuervo...Madame Morrible
Deedee Magno Hall...Nessarose
Brad Weinstock...Boq
P.J. Benjamin...The Wizard of Oz
Paul Slade Smith...Witch’s father, Ozian official, Wizard and Dillamond understudy, ensemble
Tom Flynn...Doctor Dillamond
Kyle Hill...Chistery
“Wicked” that “thrillifying” musical is casting its magical spell at the Bushnell through December 9.
The musical, first produced on Broadway in 2003 where it won Tony Awards for costumes and set and best actress in a musical, is based on the novel by the same name, written by Gregory Maguire.
Basically it is the story of L. Frank Baum’s book “The Wonderful Wizard of Oz” but all upside down, inside out, and backwards, from the point of view of the Wicked Witch of the West.
That witch, named Elphaba (a tip of the hat from Maguire to Baum, whose initials L.F.B. make up her acronymed name) is, as most know, green as green can be, from the tip of her head to the bottom of her toes.
Bookish Elphaba, played with underdog passion by understudy Marcie Dodd at last Thursday’s matinee performance, is roomed with the young, blonde and beautiful Glinda, the eventual Good Witch, at witches’ boarding school, and it is “loath” at first sight. Glinda is played to comic perfection by Katie Rose Clarke.
Its a story of girl meets girl, girl loathes girl, girl likes girl, boy comes into the picture and falls in love with girl, but “witch” girl? And…well, the ending won’t be “spoil-afied” here.
The story eventually catches up to the plot of the original, with Dorothy, the Tin Man, the Scarecrow, and the Cowardly Lion making cameo appearances.
But there are other subtexts within the plot, too, with grown up political implications. The Wizard of Oz, played with alacrity by P.J. Benjamin, is manipulating the world he runs to maintain his power, with the help of his public relations assistant, the Madame Morrible, played with “fantabulicious eviliosity” by Alma Cuervo.
The color green also symbolizes the fragility of nature. In this Ozian world where the animals could speak, but are eventually literally used as scapegoats by the Wizard with the unwitting assistance of Elphaba, to make Oz citizens unite against nature to explain why the world has gone horribly wrong.
The music has a “popish” fast-paced up beat, and the performers were all energetic, professional, and well rehearsed, singing songs such as “No One Mourns the Wicked,” “Wonderful,” and “For Good.”
Particularly moving song was the song at the end of Act One, “Defying Gravity,” sung with power and passion by Dodd.
Clarke as Glinda the Good Witch was “spenderificently” goofy as the perfectly popular and spoiled Glinda. Her comic talents were well showcased in the song “Popular.”
At one point early on in the musical Glinda’s will is thwarted and she says in a stunned manner, “I didn't get my way…I think I need to sit down.”
Later in the classroom, when the learned professor Dr. Dillamond, who happens to be a sheep, played “baaaa-rilliantly” by Tom Flynn, is waxing philosophic about the problems in their world, Glinda blurted out “Don’t you think you could just stop harping on the past and teach us history instead?”
There is a prince, because honestly, what fantasy tale could be complete without one?
However, in this musical that prince, named Fiyero, is a partying callow cad, played with just the right air of entitlement by Cliffton Hall, who proudly announces he is working on “learning to live the unexamined life by dancing through life.”
The steel-girded, solid set with outsized clockwork gears designed by Eugene Lee resembled an industrial nightmarish vision right out of a Tim Burton movie.
The costumes by Susan Hilferty were unequivocally brilliant in color, detail, variety, and design. From Glinda’s “Little Mermaid”-like light blue glittery gown, to the asymmetrically ruffled and petticoated party dresses of the ensemble, to Madame Morrible’s bustled floor-sweeping extravaganza, the costumes were a fanciful amalgamation of Dr. Seuss-meets-Christian Lacroix’s haute couture in munchkin land.
This musical appeals to all ages, but seems to resonate particularly with teenagers, with its moral that appearances are deceiving. Last Thursday’s matinee performance was filled to near capacity, and over half the attendees were school-aged kids. But is the show too frightening for the very young?
At the conclusion of the show one 9-year-old boy told his mother that he thought the flying monkeys were creepy, but his 4-year-old brother was unfazed.
However, children younger than four-years-old are not allowed by management to see the show. Those flying monkeys were pretty creepy.
A good litmus test for the musical would be, if your child has seen the 1939 movie “The Wizard of Oz,” and isn’t frightened, then by all means, they are vigorously “encouragized” to go see “Wicked.”
WICKED
Three Stars
Theater: The Bushnell
Location: The Bushnell, 166 Capitol Ave. Hartford
Production: Music and lyrics by Stephen Schwartz. Book by Winnie Holzman. Based on the novel by Gregory Maguire. Directed by Joe Mantello. Musical staging by Wayne Cilento. Set by Eugene Lee. Costumes by Susan Hilferty.
Running time: 2 1/2 hours, with one 15-minute intermission
Show Times: Friday Nov. 8 p.m., Saturday Nov. 24 at 2 p.m. and 8 p.m., Sunday, Nov. 25 at 2 p.m. and 7:30 p.m., Tuesday- Thursday at 7:30 p.m., Friday at 8 p.m., Saturday at 2 p.m. and 8 p.m., Sunday at 2 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. through Dec. 9
Tickets: $39-$84. Call 987-5900 or visit their Web site at www.bushnell.org
ACTOR...CHARACTER
Katie Rose Clarke...Glinda
Carmen Cusack...Elphaba
Cliffton Hall...Fiyero
Alma Cuervo...Madame Morrible
Deedee Magno Hall...Nessarose
Brad Weinstock...Boq
P.J. Benjamin...The Wizard of Oz
Paul Slade Smith...Witch’s father, Ozian official, Wizard and Dillamond understudy, ensemble
Tom Flynn...Doctor Dillamond
Kyle Hill...Chistery
Wizard in Wicked says show is Wonderful
Unless you are Kermit the frog, being born green ain’t easy.
That’s just part of the story behind “Wicked,” the Broadway musical coming to the Bushnell Memorial as part of its national tour.
Based on the novel of the same name, written Gregory Maguire, the show is the “pre-quel” to the story of the Wizard of Oz, before Dorothy came on the scene.
“Wicked” examines at the relationship between the green witch of the north, Elphaba, and the Glinda, the witch of the west.
“When you are born green, and people pick on you, it makes you mean,” P.J. Benjamin who plays the role of the Wizard in the musical, says.
“The eventual acceptance of that person who is not born ‘normal’ is what makes the show have such a universal appeal,” Benjamin observes.
A theatre veteran with over 35 years of experience, including roles in “Chicago,” “Torch Song Trilogy,” and “Pippin,” the Chicago, Il. native is excited about his current character.
Of his role as the Wizard in the land of Oz, Benjamin says: “He is a little darker than in the movie. What do you do when things are falling apart around you? He takes the pressure off himself by turning on the animals,” placing all the blame for on what he perceives, and wants everyone to believe is their common enemy.
Benjamin, who said he never missed a day for sickness during his year and a half touring with “Wicked,” and rarely has missed a day in his long career, said he Hartford will be his last stop with the show.
“I love playing the role of the Wizard, but it is time,” he acknowledges. “All the ingredients came together and made this show. It is wonderful to be a part of this.”
With over 35 years on the stage, Benjamin said nothing he has ever done before has had the impact on audiences the way this musical has.
“What is interesting about this show is that appeals to everyone,” the actor says. “I think because you have two witches with two different points of view who learn to accept each other.”
Benjamin says in addition to its appeal to adults as well as children, “Wicked” has a universal message of acceptance of those who are different, which strikes a chord with audiences everywhere.
“If everyone could do that in the world, what a better place it would be,” Benjamin says. “I am glad kids are seeing our show. Maybe they will become more accepting of others.”
In addition to the show’s theme, Benjamin says “the music is terrific and it is a funny show, and a touching show.”
The music and lyrics are by Stephen Schwartz of “Godspell” and “Pippin” fame, with the book by Winnie Holzman.
“It is wonderful to see so many children coming to the show, and the grandparents and adults,” Benjamin adds. “It is not just for kids.
And even though he wouldn’t say how the musical ends, he did say “one thing good about our show is there is a surprise ending.”
The show opens in Hartford on Wednesday, Nov. 14 and runs through Sunday, Dec. 9.
To purchases tickets, call the Bushnell box office at 987-5900 or visit their website at www.bushnell.org
Unless you are Kermit the frog, being born green ain’t easy.
That’s just part of the story behind “Wicked,” the Broadway musical coming to the Bushnell Memorial as part of its national tour.
Based on the novel of the same name, written Gregory Maguire, the show is the “pre-quel” to the story of the Wizard of Oz, before Dorothy came on the scene.
“Wicked” examines at the relationship between the green witch of the north, Elphaba, and the Glinda, the witch of the west.
“When you are born green, and people pick on you, it makes you mean,” P.J. Benjamin who plays the role of the Wizard in the musical, says.
“The eventual acceptance of that person who is not born ‘normal’ is what makes the show have such a universal appeal,” Benjamin observes.
A theatre veteran with over 35 years of experience, including roles in “Chicago,” “Torch Song Trilogy,” and “Pippin,” the Chicago, Il. native is excited about his current character.
Of his role as the Wizard in the land of Oz, Benjamin says: “He is a little darker than in the movie. What do you do when things are falling apart around you? He takes the pressure off himself by turning on the animals,” placing all the blame for on what he perceives, and wants everyone to believe is their common enemy.
Benjamin, who said he never missed a day for sickness during his year and a half touring with “Wicked,” and rarely has missed a day in his long career, said he Hartford will be his last stop with the show.
“I love playing the role of the Wizard, but it is time,” he acknowledges. “All the ingredients came together and made this show. It is wonderful to be a part of this.”
With over 35 years on the stage, Benjamin said nothing he has ever done before has had the impact on audiences the way this musical has.
“What is interesting about this show is that appeals to everyone,” the actor says. “I think because you have two witches with two different points of view who learn to accept each other.”
Benjamin says in addition to its appeal to adults as well as children, “Wicked” has a universal message of acceptance of those who are different, which strikes a chord with audiences everywhere.
“If everyone could do that in the world, what a better place it would be,” Benjamin says. “I am glad kids are seeing our show. Maybe they will become more accepting of others.”
In addition to the show’s theme, Benjamin says “the music is terrific and it is a funny show, and a touching show.”
The music and lyrics are by Stephen Schwartz of “Godspell” and “Pippin” fame, with the book by Winnie Holzman.
“It is wonderful to see so many children coming to the show, and the grandparents and adults,” Benjamin adds. “It is not just for kids.
And even though he wouldn’t say how the musical ends, he did say “one thing good about our show is there is a surprise ending.”
The show opens in Hartford on Wednesday, Nov. 14 and runs through Sunday, Dec. 9.
To purchases tickets, call the Bushnell box office at 987-5900 or visit their website at www.bushnell.org
Monday, October 29, 2007
"1776" the musical a soupcon of romance at Goodspeed
Who would have thought that the story of our founding fathers’ political debates for independence from England would be fertile material for a Tony Award winning musical?
First produced in New York in 1969, it seems an unlikely combination to be sure, but one that ultimately succeeds in the current production at the Goodspeed Opera House.
Through debate, song, some humor, and a soupcon of romance, the Goodspeed, under the direction of Rob Ruggiero, has put together an entertaining and ultimately informative show, particularly instructive for those of us who managed to snooze through our American History class in high school.
The story, music, and concept were the brainchild of Sherman Edwards, a former history teacher who was also a successful songwriter.
Based on actual events with some artistic license, the decision to claim independence from England cobbled together in a sweltering Philadelphia in the summer of 1776 was not a foregone conclusion. Of the 13 colonies at the time, many were opposed to declaring war against England for a variety of reasons.
It is a complement to the musical that so many different characters were able to develop such distinct personalities in a relatively short period of time.
The casting couldn’t have been better, with everyone, from tall, handsome Thomas Jefferson played by Edward Watts with proper reserve towards the delegates and playful passion with his spouse, to the diminutive firecracker-tempered John Adams, played with intensity and passion by Peter A. Carey, to Ronn Carroll playing the wise and witty gout-ridden Benjamin Franklin, looking just as one imagines Ben should look, and behave.
At one point, Franklin begs the strident incessantly shouting Adams: “Softly John, your voice is hurting my foot.”
And while none of the songs had a “tune you can’t get out of your head” melody, they all worked well together — sometimes as exposition set to music, and other times as powerful drama — most notably at the beginning of the second act when Edward Rutledge, the South Carolina delegate, played with energy and punch by Glenn Seven Allen, sings a moving condemnation of northern hypocrisy in the song “Molasses to Rum,” about the economics of slavery.
A side note. There is an essay of dubious origin floating around in cyberspace called “The Price They Paid,” claiming many of the signers of the Declaration of Independence suffered a variety of atrocities by the British, including torture, before they died.
While the online document appears official, and has been believed on face value by many to be true, by and large it is not.
There are kernels of factual events within the propaganda piece, but ultimately it has been found by another online resource, called www.snopes.com, to be largely an exaggeration of events with fanciful layers of fiction.
The Snopes group researches urban legends and myths of all kinds to determine, where possible, what is true and what is false.
Build in 1876 by shipping and banking businessman William Goodspeed, could there be a more fitting venue for this musical than the historic Goodspeed Opera House?
Once again, Goodspeed appears to have spared no expense on their lavish costumes, designed by Alejo Vietti.
From the elaborate embroidery detailing on the southern delegates’ colorful velvet frocks, to the more simple and somber woolen outfits of the north, the costumes assisted immeasurably to visually recall who was who in this large, stellar cast.
On the challengingly small stage at the Goodspeed, a scant 21 feet wide, the set designed by Michael Schweikardt is a miracle of inventiveness, including a clever sliding brick wall used effectively in several scenes.
If you think you know who cast the last vote that changed the tide of American history, and what his motives were, you may be in for a surprise at the end of this fine ensemble performance.
1776
Three Stars
Location: Goodspeed Opera House, 6 Main Street, East Haddam.
Production: Music and lyrics by Sherman Edwards. Book by Peter Stone. Based on a concept by Sherman Edwards. Directed by Rob Ruggiero. Scenery design by Michael Schweikardt. Costume design by Alejo Wietti. Lighting design by John Lasiter. Orchestrations by Dan DeLange. Assistant musical director William J. Thomas. Production manager R. Glen Grusmark. Production stage manager Bradley G. Spachman.
Running time: 3 hours, with one 15-minute intermission
Show Times: Wednesday at 2 p.m. and 7:30 p.m.; Thursday at 7:30 p.m. (select performances at 2 p.m., Nov. 1, 8, 15, and 29); Friday and Saturday at 8 p.m. with Saturday matinee at 3 p.m.; and Sunday matinee at 2 p.m., with Sunday evening performance at 6:30 p.m. through Sunday, Dec. 9.
Thanksgiving week schedule, Monday Nov. 19 and Friday Nov. 23 at 2 p.m. and 7:30 p.m., Saturday Nov. 24 at 3 p.m. and 8 p.m. and Sunday Nov. 25 at 2 p.m. and 6:30 p.m.
Tickets: $26 - $66. Call the box office at 860-873-8668 or visit their Web site at www.goodspeed.org
ACTOR...CHARACTER
Peter A. Carey...John Adams of Massachusetts
Ronn Carroll...Ben Franklin of Pennsylvania
Edward Watts...Thomas Jefferson of Virginia
Glenn Seven Allen...Edward Rutledge of South Carolina
Jayne Paterson...Abigail Adams*
Teal Wicks...Martha Jefferson
Will Lampe...Roger Sherman of Connecticut
Jay Goede...John Dickenson of Pennsylvania
Paul Jackel...Robert Livingston of New York
Alan Rust...John Hancock of Massachusetts
Jack Agnew...Dr. Josiah Bartlett of New Hampshire
John Newton...Stephen Hopkins of Rhode Island
Michael A. Pizzi...Lewis Morris of New York
Marc Kessler...James Wilson of Pennsylvania
Trip Plymale...Caesar Rodney of Delaware
Jerry Christakos...Jonathan Witherspoon of New Jersey
Kenneth Cavett...Col. Thomas McKean of Delaware
Dean Bellais...George Read of Delaware
Paul Carlin...Samuel Chase of Maryland
Michael P. White...Joseph Hawkes of North Carolina
* Beginning Oct. 31, Rebecca Watson will replace Jayne Watson.
By Kory Loucks
Journal Inquirer
Who would have thought that the story of our founding fathers’ political debates for independence from England would be fertile material for a Tony Award winning musical?
First produced in New York in 1969, it seems an unlikely combination to be sure, but one that ultimately succeeds in the current production at the Goodspeed Opera House.
Through debate, song, some humor, and a soupcon of romance, the Goodspeed, under the direction of Rob Ruggiero, has put together an entertaining and ultimately informative show, particularly instructive for those of us who managed to snooze through our American History class in high school.
The story, music, and concept were the brainchild of Sherman Edwards, a former history teacher who was also a successful songwriter.
Based on actual events with some artistic license, the decision to claim independence from England cobbled together in a sweltering Philadelphia in the summer of 1776 was not a foregone conclusion. Of the 13 colonies at the time, many were opposed to declaring war against England for a variety of reasons.
It is a complement to the musical that so many different characters were able to develop such distinct personalities in a relatively short period of time.
The casting couldn’t have been better, with everyone, from tall, handsome Thomas Jefferson played by Edward Watts with proper reserve towards the delegates and playful passion with his spouse, to the diminutive firecracker-tempered John Adams, played with intensity and passion by Peter A. Carey, to Ronn Carroll playing the wise and witty gout-ridden Benjamin Franklin, looking just as one imagines Ben should look, and behave.
At one point, Franklin begs the strident incessantly shouting Adams: “Softly John, your voice is hurting my foot.”
And while none of the songs had a “tune you can’t get out of your head” melody, they all worked well together — sometimes as exposition set to music, and other times as powerful drama — most notably at the beginning of the second act when Edward Rutledge, the South Carolina delegate, played with energy and punch by Glenn Seven Allen, sings a moving condemnation of northern hypocrisy in the song “Molasses to Rum,” about the economics of slavery.
A side note. There is an essay of dubious origin floating around in cyberspace called “The Price They Paid,” claiming many of the signers of the Declaration of Independence suffered a variety of atrocities by the British, including torture, before they died.
While the online document appears official, and has been believed on face value by many to be true, by and large it is not.
There are kernels of factual events within the propaganda piece, but ultimately it has been found by another online resource, called www.snopes.com, to be largely an exaggeration of events with fanciful layers of fiction.
The Snopes group researches urban legends and myths of all kinds to determine, where possible, what is true and what is false.
Build in 1876 by shipping and banking businessman William Goodspeed, could there be a more fitting venue for this musical than the historic Goodspeed Opera House?
Once again, Goodspeed appears to have spared no expense on their lavish costumes, designed by Alejo Vietti.
From the elaborate embroidery detailing on the southern delegates’ colorful velvet frocks, to the more simple and somber woolen outfits of the north, the costumes assisted immeasurably to visually recall who was who in this large, stellar cast.
On the challengingly small stage at the Goodspeed, a scant 21 feet wide, the set designed by Michael Schweikardt is a miracle of inventiveness, including a clever sliding brick wall used effectively in several scenes.
If you think you know who cast the last vote that changed the tide of American history, and what his motives were, you may be in for a surprise at the end of this fine ensemble performance.
1776
Three Stars
Location: Goodspeed Opera House, 6 Main Street, East Haddam.
Production: Music and lyrics by Sherman Edwards. Book by Peter Stone. Based on a concept by Sherman Edwards. Directed by Rob Ruggiero. Scenery design by Michael Schweikardt. Costume design by Alejo Wietti. Lighting design by John Lasiter. Orchestrations by Dan DeLange. Assistant musical director William J. Thomas. Production manager R. Glen Grusmark. Production stage manager Bradley G. Spachman.
Running time: 3 hours, with one 15-minute intermission
Show Times: Wednesday at 2 p.m. and 7:30 p.m.; Thursday at 7:30 p.m. (select performances at 2 p.m., Nov. 1, 8, 15, and 29); Friday and Saturday at 8 p.m. with Saturday matinee at 3 p.m.; and Sunday matinee at 2 p.m., with Sunday evening performance at 6:30 p.m. through Sunday, Dec. 9.
Thanksgiving week schedule, Monday Nov. 19 and Friday Nov. 23 at 2 p.m. and 7:30 p.m., Saturday Nov. 24 at 3 p.m. and 8 p.m. and Sunday Nov. 25 at 2 p.m. and 6:30 p.m.
Tickets: $26 - $66. Call the box office at 860-873-8668 or visit their Web site at www.goodspeed.org
ACTOR...CHARACTER
Peter A. Carey...John Adams of Massachusetts
Ronn Carroll...Ben Franklin of Pennsylvania
Edward Watts...Thomas Jefferson of Virginia
Glenn Seven Allen...Edward Rutledge of South Carolina
Jayne Paterson...Abigail Adams*
Teal Wicks...Martha Jefferson
Will Lampe...Roger Sherman of Connecticut
Jay Goede...John Dickenson of Pennsylvania
Paul Jackel...Robert Livingston of New York
Alan Rust...John Hancock of Massachusetts
Jack Agnew...Dr. Josiah Bartlett of New Hampshire
John Newton...Stephen Hopkins of Rhode Island
Michael A. Pizzi...Lewis Morris of New York
Marc Kessler...James Wilson of Pennsylvania
Trip Plymale...Caesar Rodney of Delaware
Jerry Christakos...Jonathan Witherspoon of New Jersey
Kenneth Cavett...Col. Thomas McKean of Delaware
Dean Bellais...George Read of Delaware
Paul Carlin...Samuel Chase of Maryland
Michael P. White...Joseph Hawkes of North Carolina
* Beginning Oct. 31, Rebecca Watson will replace Jayne Watson.
By Kory Loucks
Journal Inquirer
Saturday, October 27, 2007
Chick, the Great Osram, like the man is flawed but ultimately fascinating
What happens when an immovable object meets an irrepressible force? Plenty of fireworks, frustration, but in the end, a legacy that is remarkable.
That is the story, told in three monologues, based on the life of J. Everett Austin, Jr., known as “Chick,” a young and fearless visionary, who came to Hartford at the tender age of 27 from Harvard’s Fogg Art Museum to be the director of the Wadsworth Atheneum.
So often museums seem to be repositories of the old and dead, but Austin arrival in Hartford attempted to change all that. He dragged the oldest museum in the country from the ancient, stuffy past towards the cutting edge of modern vital art.
It must have been a trying time to be a museum director anywhere — first with the Great Depression, and then World War II. Despite his rocky relationship with the board of directors, Austin remained there for 16 years, until he was asked to leave in 1944, moving on to direct the John and Mable Ringling Museum of Art in Sarasota, Fla.
But in that 16 year span, what a legacy Austin left Hartford, particularly in the realm of modern art, but also accumulating important masterworks by Baroque painters such as the Italian artist, Caravaggio.
It is difficult to imagine today how the surrealist, cubist, and expressionist art of Pablo Picasso (who had his first America retrospective at the Wadsworth), Vincent Van Gogh, Piet Mondrian, Salvador Dali, Alexander Calder, Paul Klee, and Joan Miro could have been viewed with such violent and intense revolt, but that was exactly what Austin was up against.
The play is a chronological retelling of Austin’s life through three monologues, the first and last by Austin and the second by his wife, Helen. It felt like a lively, entertaining lecture on one man’s passion and vision of art, particularly modern art.
The first scene is set at Trinity College where Austin taught art history, the second is a living room at the couples’ home, which still stands on Scarborough Street in Hartford, and the third is a stage set where Austin preformed as a magician, the Great Osram.
Austin took the name of “Osram” from the name of a German light bulb company.
If ever there was an instance of perfect casting, this is it. Robert Sella, who plays Chick, looks uncannily like Austin, whose photograph is part of the program, and inhabits the character of the passionate and flawed man with energy and wit.
However, no matter how energetic one is, nothing but monologues gets to be a bit monotonous after a while.
Helen, well played by Sella’s real-life partner, Enid Graham, emerges as a sympathetic and unexpectedly non-conventional, but ultimately lonely woman — heartbreakingly in love with a flamboyant, gifted, narcissistic, gay man — love story that notably parallels Cole Porter’s complex relationship with his wife, Linda.
There were times during the production when the imaginary third wall was broken, and the actors would speak directly to the audience, but then at other times they would lament that there was no one there to share their story, which felt confusing and awkward.
The last act, featuring Austin’s magic act where he is dressed as a sea-god, and then transitions to his illness, had at times a silhouetted thorn bush branch lighting, which perhaps was an attempt to create a surrealistic theatre, but ultimately was difficult to follow and felt disjointed.
Rarely has a play’s program been such an excellent companion to a play. Thoroughly researched, it not only has a synopsis of Austin’s career, but also includes major events from 1927 till Austin’s death from cancer in 1957 at the age of 57.
In light of the financial difficulties the museum is currently struggling under, the timing of this play couldn’t be better. It is an entertaining reminder of the remarkable gift Austin’s legacy of vision and passion left us all.
CHICK, THE GREAT OSRAM
Three Stars
Location: Hartford Stage Company, 50 Church Street, Hartford.
Production: By David Frimm. Directed by Michael Wilson. Scenic design by Tony Straiges. Costume design by David C. Woolard. Lighting design by Rui Rita. Original music and sound design by John Gromada. Magic consultant, Marc Gilday. Production stage manager Gregory R. Covert. Associate producer and dramaturg, Christopher Baker. Associate artistic director, Jeremy B. Cohen. Production manager, Deborah Vandergrift.
Running time: 90 minutes with no intermission.
Show Times: Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, and Sunday (Oct. 28 only) at 7:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday at 2 p.m. and 8 p.m., with Wednesday matinees on Oct. 31 and Nov. 7. Show runs through Nov. 11. No evening shows on Wednesday, Oct. 31 or Sunday, Nov. 11.
Sunday, Oct. 28 2 p.m. matinee and 7:20 p.m. shows will have a text screen display of dialog simultaneous with performance for deaf and hard-of-hearing audiences.
“Afterwords” discussion after the show led by artistic staff and actors on Oct. 23, Oct. 30 and Nov. 7 matinee.
Sunday afternoon discussion, Nov. 4, with associate producer Christopher Baker and special guest after the matinee performance.
Tickets: $37.50- $68.50. Call 527-5151 or visit their Web site at
www.hartfordstage.org.
ACTOR...CHARACTER
Robert Sella...Chick
Enid Graham...Helen
What happens when an immovable object meets an irrepressible force? Plenty of fireworks, frustration, but in the end, a legacy that is remarkable.
That is the story, told in three monologues, based on the life of J. Everett Austin, Jr., known as “Chick,” a young and fearless visionary, who came to Hartford at the tender age of 27 from Harvard’s Fogg Art Museum to be the director of the Wadsworth Atheneum.
So often museums seem to be repositories of the old and dead, but Austin arrival in Hartford attempted to change all that. He dragged the oldest museum in the country from the ancient, stuffy past towards the cutting edge of modern vital art.
It must have been a trying time to be a museum director anywhere — first with the Great Depression, and then World War II. Despite his rocky relationship with the board of directors, Austin remained there for 16 years, until he was asked to leave in 1944, moving on to direct the John and Mable Ringling Museum of Art in Sarasota, Fla.
But in that 16 year span, what a legacy Austin left Hartford, particularly in the realm of modern art, but also accumulating important masterworks by Baroque painters such as the Italian artist, Caravaggio.
It is difficult to imagine today how the surrealist, cubist, and expressionist art of Pablo Picasso (who had his first America retrospective at the Wadsworth), Vincent Van Gogh, Piet Mondrian, Salvador Dali, Alexander Calder, Paul Klee, and Joan Miro could have been viewed with such violent and intense revolt, but that was exactly what Austin was up against.
The play is a chronological retelling of Austin’s life through three monologues, the first and last by Austin and the second by his wife, Helen. It felt like a lively, entertaining lecture on one man’s passion and vision of art, particularly modern art.
The first scene is set at Trinity College where Austin taught art history, the second is a living room at the couples’ home, which still stands on Scarborough Street in Hartford, and the third is a stage set where Austin preformed as a magician, the Great Osram.
Austin took the name of “Osram” from the name of a German light bulb company.
If ever there was an instance of perfect casting, this is it. Robert Sella, who plays Chick, looks uncannily like Austin, whose photograph is part of the program, and inhabits the character of the passionate and flawed man with energy and wit.
However, no matter how energetic one is, nothing but monologues gets to be a bit monotonous after a while.
Helen, well played by Sella’s real-life partner, Enid Graham, emerges as a sympathetic and unexpectedly non-conventional, but ultimately lonely woman — heartbreakingly in love with a flamboyant, gifted, narcissistic, gay man — love story that notably parallels Cole Porter’s complex relationship with his wife, Linda.
There were times during the production when the imaginary third wall was broken, and the actors would speak directly to the audience, but then at other times they would lament that there was no one there to share their story, which felt confusing and awkward.
The last act, featuring Austin’s magic act where he is dressed as a sea-god, and then transitions to his illness, had at times a silhouetted thorn bush branch lighting, which perhaps was an attempt to create a surrealistic theatre, but ultimately was difficult to follow and felt disjointed.
Rarely has a play’s program been such an excellent companion to a play. Thoroughly researched, it not only has a synopsis of Austin’s career, but also includes major events from 1927 till Austin’s death from cancer in 1957 at the age of 57.
In light of the financial difficulties the museum is currently struggling under, the timing of this play couldn’t be better. It is an entertaining reminder of the remarkable gift Austin’s legacy of vision and passion left us all.
CHICK, THE GREAT OSRAM
Three Stars
Location: Hartford Stage Company, 50 Church Street, Hartford.
Production: By David Frimm. Directed by Michael Wilson. Scenic design by Tony Straiges. Costume design by David C. Woolard. Lighting design by Rui Rita. Original music and sound design by John Gromada. Magic consultant, Marc Gilday. Production stage manager Gregory R. Covert. Associate producer and dramaturg, Christopher Baker. Associate artistic director, Jeremy B. Cohen. Production manager, Deborah Vandergrift.
Running time: 90 minutes with no intermission.
Show Times: Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, and Sunday (Oct. 28 only) at 7:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday at 2 p.m. and 8 p.m., with Wednesday matinees on Oct. 31 and Nov. 7. Show runs through Nov. 11. No evening shows on Wednesday, Oct. 31 or Sunday, Nov. 11.
Sunday, Oct. 28 2 p.m. matinee and 7:20 p.m. shows will have a text screen display of dialog simultaneous with performance for deaf and hard-of-hearing audiences.
“Afterwords” discussion after the show led by artistic staff and actors on Oct. 23, Oct. 30 and Nov. 7 matinee.
Sunday afternoon discussion, Nov. 4, with associate producer Christopher Baker and special guest after the matinee performance.
Tickets: $37.50- $68.50. Call 527-5151 or visit their Web site at
www.hartfordstage.org.
ACTOR...CHARACTER
Robert Sella...Chick
Enid Graham...Helen
Thursday, October 25, 2007
Chick, The Great OsramThree Stars
Location: Hartford Stage Company, 50 Church Street, Hartford.
Production: By David Frimm. Directed by Michael Wilson. Scenic design by Tony Straiges. Costume design by David C. Woolard. Lighting design by Rui Rita. Original music and sound design by John Gromada. Magic consultant, Marc Gilday. Production stage manager Gregory R. Covert. Associate producer and dramaturg, Christopher Baker. Associate artistic director, Jeremy B. Cohen. Production manager, Deborah Vandergrift.
Running time: 90 minutes with no intermission.
Show Times: Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, and Sunday (Oct. 28 only) at 7:30 p.m.; Friday and Saturday at 2 p.m. and 8 p.m., with Wednesday matinees on Oct. 31 and Nov. 7. Show runs through Nov. 11. No evening shows on Wednesday, Oct. 31 or Sunday, Nov. 11.
Sunday, Oct. 28 2 p.m. matinee and 7:20 p.m. shows will have a text screen display of dialog simultaneous with performance for deaf and hard-of-hearing audiences. “Afterwords” discussion after the show led by artistic staff and actors on Oct. 23, Oct. 30 and Nov. 7 matinee. Sunday afternoon discussion, Nov. 4 with associate producer Christopher Baker and special guest after the matinee performance.
Tickets: $37.50- $68.50. Call 527-5151 or visit their Web site at www.hartfordstage.org.
ACTOR…CHARACTER
Robert Sella…. Chick
Enid Graham…. Helen
What happens when an immovable object meets an irrepressible force? Plenty of fireworks, frustration, and in the end, a legacy that is remarkable.
So often museums seem to be institutions of the old and dead. But there was a time in 1927 when a young and fearless visionary, J. Everett Austin, Jr., known as “Chick,” came to Hartford from Boston’s Fogg Museum to change all that, when he was appointed the director of the Wadsworth Athenaeum at the youthful age of 27.
Ah, the fearless audacity and confidence of youth. Austin dragged the oldest museum in the country, from the ancient stuffy past to the cutting edge of modern art.
It was a trying time to be a museum director anywhere - first with the Great Depression, and then World War II. Despite his rocky relationship with the board of directors, Austin remained there for six years, until he was asked to leave in 1944, and then went to direct the John and Mable Ringling Museum of Art in Sarasota, Fla.
But in that short six year span, what a legacy Austin left Hartford, particularly with modern art, but also accumulating important masterpeices by baroque painters such as the Italian artist, Caravaggio.
It is difficult to imagine today how the surrealist, cubist, and expressionist art of Pablo Picasso (who had his first America retrospective at the Wadsworth), Van Gogh, Piet Mondrian, Salvador Dali, Alexander Calder, Paul Klee, and Joan Miro could have been viewed with such violent and intense revolt, but that was exactly what Austin was up against.
Of course, looking back now, his views and vision have all been vindicated, but at the time modern art was so new it was disturbing and misunderstood for many.
From the representational paintings, which Austin called “dead art,” to paintings in the moment, in the “now,” with visions right out of the artists’ imagination – that was where Austin’s passion lay.
Austin’s vision was to have the Athenaeum to be the center of all the arts, not just paintings, but also music, theatre, dance and, during his brief tenure was able to get the International style Avery wing built onto the museum, with it’s theatre, that still stands today. To that end, he invited the Russia ballet impresario George Balanchine to Hartford, but Balanchine eventually chose to settle in New York.
The play is a chronological retelling of Chick’s life through three monologues, the first and last by Chick and the second by his wife, Helen. It felt like a lively, entertaining lecture on one man’s passion and vision of art, particularly modern art.
The first scene is set at Trinity College where Austin taught art history, the second is a living room at the couples’ home, which still stands on Scarborough Street in Hartford, and the third is a stage where Austin preformed as a magician, the Great Ostram.
If ever there was an instance of perfect casting, this is it. Robert Sella, who plays Chick, looks uncannily like Austin, whose photograph is part of the program, and inhabits the character of the passionate and flawed man with energy and wit.
Helen, well played by Sella’s real-life partner, Enid Graham, emerges as a sympathetic and unexpectedly non-conventional, but ultimately lonely woman, heartbreaking in love with a flamboyant, narcissistic, gay man.
There is nothing sadder than being in love alone.
Rarely has a play’s program been such an excellent companion to a play. Thoroughly researched, it not only has a synopsis of Austin’s life, along with a chronology of his career and life, but also includes major events of the time, from 1927 till Austin’s death from cancer in 1957.
There were times during the production when the imaginary third wall was broken, and the actors would speak directly to the audience, but then at other times they would lament that there was no one there to share their story, which felt confusing and awkward.
The third act, with Austin’s magic act and then his illness, had at times a silhouetted thorn bush branch lighting, which perhaps was an attempt to create a surrealist theater?, but ultimately was difficult to follow and felt disjointed.
In light of the financial difficulties the museum is struggling under currently, the timing of this play couldn’t be better. It is an entertaining reminder of the remarkable gift Austin’s legacy of vision and passion left us all.
And perhaps the museum's board of directors might want to take a page from history, while searching for their next museum director.
Monday, October 08, 2007
The Arabian Nights
The Arabian Nights production at the Connecticut Repertory Theatre at the University of Connecticut is a Persian delight of sights, sounds energy and color.
The story of the Arabian Nights, here adapted by Mary Zimmerman, is an old one. A compellation of tales and legends gathered from oral traditions of India, Persia, Syria, Egypt and Arabia, and first written in Arabic around 1,200 years ago, may be familiar to many.
Also known as “1001 Nights,” the central story focuses on a king, Shahryar, (played with authority by Luke Daniels) who kills his wife after she is found in the arms of another. He proceeds to marry and summarily executes a new bride nightly, until he marries Scheherezade, (play by Lauretta Pope with gritty determination).
Scheherezade determines to tell Shahryar a tale nightly- each night ending with a cliffhanger so compelling he postpones her imminent death one more night, night after night for 1001 nights.
But what many may not know about this story is the variety, rich beauty, and humor within the numerous allegories, poetic allusions, fables and moral tales themselves.
The troop of 16 actors and musicians, a truly ensemble cast, weave an enchanting spell of visual and musical magic.
The first act has a carnival-like bawdy atmosphere, with precision juggling, energetic acrobatics and perfectly timed choreography are a perfect fit for this youthful college production.
The second act is more subdued, with a glorious elegiac, although rapid definition of the Koran shared with confidence by Hillary Leigh Parker, playing Sympathy the Learned.
The costumes, but Katarina Urosevic, are a visual riot of oranges, fuschias, purples, and blues. Particularly notable were the learned men’s vibrant robes at the start of the second act, in stark contrast to Sympathy's simple cream-colored garb.
The set on the thrust stage at the Nafe Katter Theatre was bestrewn with silken pillows and piles of oriental rugs, worked well to enhance the enchanted, mystical atmosphere.
Places evoked and referred to in this production, such as Iraq, Iran, Baghdad, and Basrah, are important reminders that the Middle East is much more than an embattled and war-scarred land, but home to a complex and glorious culture worth understanding, appreciating and respecting.
THE ARABIAN NIGHTS
Three Stars
Location: Nafe Katter Theater 802 Bolton Road, Storrs.
Production: By Mary Zimmerman, Directed by Dale AJ Rose. Scenic design Isaac Ramsey. Lighting Design by Jen Rock. Costume design by Katarina Urosevic. Composer, Jamal Mohamed. Production stage manager by Mary P. Costello. Voice and speech coach, Karen Ryker. Choreographer, Monica Willding. Technical direction by John W. Parmelee. Choreographed by Monica Willding. Movement coach, Gregory Webster. Musicians Nickolai Ruskin and Fugan Dineen on percussion.
Running time: About 2 1/2 hours with one intermission.
Show Times: Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday at 7:30 p.m., Friday and Saturday at 8 p.m. and Sunday at 2 p.m. through Oct. 14.
Tickets: From $11 to $28. Call 486-4266 or visit their Web site at www.crt.uconn.edu.
ACTOR...CHARACTER
Luke Daniels...Shahryar and others
Lauretta Pope...Scheherezade and others
Catherine Yudain...Dunayzade and others
Nicholas Dillenburg...Harun al-Rashid and others
Michael Hanson...Jafar and others
Christopher Hirsh...Madman and others
Heddy Lahmann...Perfect Love and others
Daniel Sheridan...Jester and others
Dean Alcott...Greengrocer and others
Meghan O'Leary...Butcher and others
Andrew Grusetskie...Clarinetist and others
Dan O'Brien...Boy and others
Kate Shine...Girl and others
Joseph Gallina...Abu al-Hasan and others
Hillary Leigh Parker...Sympathy the Learned and others
Wayne Pyle...Ishak of Mosel and others
The Arabian Nights production at the Connecticut Repertory Theatre at the University of Connecticut is a Persian delight of sights, sounds energy and color.
The story of the Arabian Nights, here adapted by Mary Zimmerman, is an old one. A compellation of tales and legends gathered from oral traditions of India, Persia, Syria, Egypt and Arabia, and first written in Arabic around 1,200 years ago, may be familiar to many.
Also known as “1001 Nights,” the central story focuses on a king, Shahryar, (played with authority by Luke Daniels) who kills his wife after she is found in the arms of another. He proceeds to marry and summarily executes a new bride nightly, until he marries Scheherezade, (play by Lauretta Pope with gritty determination).
Scheherezade determines to tell Shahryar a tale nightly- each night ending with a cliffhanger so compelling he postpones her imminent death one more night, night after night for 1001 nights.
But what many may not know about this story is the variety, rich beauty, and humor within the numerous allegories, poetic allusions, fables and moral tales themselves.
The troop of 16 actors and musicians, a truly ensemble cast, weave an enchanting spell of visual and musical magic.
The first act has a carnival-like bawdy atmosphere, with precision juggling, energetic acrobatics and perfectly timed choreography are a perfect fit for this youthful college production.
The second act is more subdued, with a glorious elegiac, although rapid definition of the Koran shared with confidence by Hillary Leigh Parker, playing Sympathy the Learned.
The costumes, but Katarina Urosevic, are a visual riot of oranges, fuschias, purples, and blues. Particularly notable were the learned men’s vibrant robes at the start of the second act, in stark contrast to Sympathy's simple cream-colored garb.
The set on the thrust stage at the Nafe Katter Theatre was bestrewn with silken pillows and piles of oriental rugs, worked well to enhance the enchanted, mystical atmosphere.
Places evoked and referred to in this production, such as Iraq, Iran, Baghdad, and Basrah, are important reminders that the Middle East is much more than an embattled and war-scarred land, but home to a complex and glorious culture worth understanding, appreciating and respecting.
THE ARABIAN NIGHTS
Three Stars
Location: Nafe Katter Theater 802 Bolton Road, Storrs.
Production: By Mary Zimmerman, Directed by Dale AJ Rose. Scenic design Isaac Ramsey. Lighting Design by Jen Rock. Costume design by Katarina Urosevic. Composer, Jamal Mohamed. Production stage manager by Mary P. Costello. Voice and speech coach, Karen Ryker. Choreographer, Monica Willding. Technical direction by John W. Parmelee. Choreographed by Monica Willding. Movement coach, Gregory Webster. Musicians Nickolai Ruskin and Fugan Dineen on percussion.
Running time: About 2 1/2 hours with one intermission.
Show Times: Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday at 7:30 p.m., Friday and Saturday at 8 p.m. and Sunday at 2 p.m. through Oct. 14.
Tickets: From $11 to $28. Call 486-4266 or visit their Web site at www.crt.uconn.edu.
ACTOR...CHARACTER
Luke Daniels...Shahryar and others
Lauretta Pope...Scheherezade and others
Catherine Yudain...Dunayzade and others
Nicholas Dillenburg...Harun al-Rashid and others
Michael Hanson...Jafar and others
Christopher Hirsh...Madman and others
Heddy Lahmann...Perfect Love and others
Daniel Sheridan...Jester and others
Dean Alcott...Greengrocer and others
Meghan O'Leary...Butcher and others
Andrew Grusetskie...Clarinetist and others
Dan O'Brien...Boy and others
Kate Shine...Girl and others
Joseph Gallina...Abu al-Hasan and others
Hillary Leigh Parker...Sympathy the Learned and others
Wayne Pyle...Ishak of Mosel and others
Monday, October 01, 2007
Somers Village Players’ “Don’t Drink the Water” is Community Theater at its best
When it comes to Woody Allen, he’s either you’re cup of tea, or he isn’t. Not many writer/actor/directors bring out such visceral and divergent reactions as the diminutive and prolific raconteur.
If you do like his humor, then the current production of “Don't Drink the Water” is 100 percent Darjeeling. The comedy was first produced on Broadway in 1969, when Allen was 33-years-old, and subsequently made into a movie starring Allen and Jackie Gleason, and then again into a television movie in 1975.
The plot centers on a boorish husband, Walter Hollander, played with Archie-Bunker like bravado by Ron Blanchette, his wife Marion, who suffers him with remarkable good nature, played by Joan Perkins-Smith, and their daughter, Susan, charmingly played by Emily Frederick.
The three Americans are vacationing for some reason in a communist country sometime in the 1960’s, somewhere behind the Iron Curtain. Walter inadvertently takes photographs of a military installation and all heck breaks loose.
The three run, guns firing behind them, into the American Embassy where the Ambassador's failure of a son, Axel Magee, is attempting to hold down the fort whilst his father, played by John McKone, is away. Axel is the Woody Allen character, played with just the right level of whiney ineptitude by Frank LoBianco.
The screwball cast of characters, include a Catholic priest-come-magician, Father Drobney, played with sweet sincerity by David Crowell, who has holed up at the embassy for six years, a chef, played with flamboyance and fun by first-timer Ernie Santanella, a gun-toting communist humorously played by Peter Desauliners, and the Sultan of Bashir, played with appropriate hautiness by Tim Lavery.
The Ambassador’s assistant, Kilroy, played with uptight reserve by John Lepore, gets to be the unfortunate victim of numerous physical calamities, none funnier than when he gets a concussion and thinks he is both Orville and Wilber Wright.
Like Allen’s movies “Sleeper” and “Bananas,” the play has a subversive political bent, with countless sight gags and one-liners of the “Take my wife — please” vaudevillian variety — think Bob Hope and Groucho Marx — but with an ensemble cast of 15 members playing 14 roles.
And play they do. In fact, at times it was difficult to tell who was having more fun, the audience or the actors, which is as it should be.
The Somers Village Players, now in their 30th year, are in their new location at Joanne's Café and Banquet House, with seating for 150. The stage was a three-quarter set, which guaranteed a good seat from almost any table, after a satisfying buffet dinner.
Director Gus Rousseau and the cast pulled off the daunting task of keeping this one-funny-line-after-another moving at the breakneck pace it required.
There were a few inconsequential acting jitters here and there, which is understandable considering the amount of dialog this play has, but the actors’ persevered impressively and seemed more relaxed in the second act.
Honestly, how many times in your life will you hear the words “submarine” and “your silver pattern” in the same sentence and have it make perfect sense?
The lighting by Dick Oswald and Justin Martin was spot-on, as were the sound effects by Martin — those little details are often only noticed when they go wrong, and they never did.
The costumes, by Carolyn Sullivan and Peter Desauliners were simple but effective, with special mention going to the remarkably horrid wig wife Marion wears, particularly after she and Father Drobney, dubbed “the Holy Houdini” by Walter, attempt to get him out of a straight jacket. This is Community Theater at its best.
Don’t Drink the Water
Three stars
Location: Joanne's Café and Banquet House, 155 Main Street, Somers
Running time: Two hours with one intermission.
Show Times: Oct. 5 and 6. Social hour starting at 6 p.m. Dinner at 7 p.m. Show at 8 p.m.
Tickets: $33, including buffet dinner, with cash bar. Call 749-0245 for reservations.
Production: By Woody Allen. Directed by Gus Rousseau. Produced by Betty Domer. Stage Manager, Joyce Benson. Stage Crew, Sue Moak and Sherry Samborski. Set Décor, Blinky Calder, Sherry Samborski, and Joyce Benson. Lighting by Dick Oswald and Justin Martin. Set Construction by David Crowell, Emily Fredrick, Justin Martin, Tyler Anderson, Ron Blanchette Jameson, Nathan, Jen and Tim Lavery, Dick Oswald, Kathryn and Gus Rousseau. Sound by Justin Martin. Props by Sherry Samborski. Costumes by Carolyn Sullivan and Peter Desauliners. Box office, Dee and John Moak. Program by Shirley Warner. Front of House, Sue Moak. Prize Coordinator, Betty Domer. Goodie Prize Table, Marilyn Anderson. Photography by Dick Jackson. Display by Joanne Chadbourne. House Flowers by Becky Smith. Public Relations by Dee Moak. Publicity by Wendy Peterson, Tim Lavery, Gloria Knak, Dee Moak, George Warner, Anne Kirkpatrick, Shirley Warner, John Moak, Dottie Cowan, Fred Domer, and Malcolm Chadbourne.
ACTOR...CHARACTER
Ron Blanchette...Walter Hollander
Joan Perkins-Smith...Marion Hollander
Emily Frederick...Susan Hollander
Frank LoBianco...Axel Magee
David Crowell...Father Drobney
John Lepore...Kilroy
Peter Desauliners...Krojack
John McKone...Ambassador Magee
Ernie Santanella...Chef/Kasner
Sally Frederick...Burns
Tim Lavery...Sultan of Bashir
Sherry Samborski...Sultan's First Wife
Sue Moak...Countess Bordoni
Jeff Lipton...Novotny
When it comes to Woody Allen, he’s either you’re cup of tea, or he isn’t. Not many writer/actor/directors bring out such visceral and divergent reactions as the diminutive and prolific raconteur.
If you do like his humor, then the current production of “Don't Drink the Water” is 100 percent Darjeeling. The comedy was first produced on Broadway in 1969, when Allen was 33-years-old, and subsequently made into a movie starring Allen and Jackie Gleason, and then again into a television movie in 1975.
The plot centers on a boorish husband, Walter Hollander, played with Archie-Bunker like bravado by Ron Blanchette, his wife Marion, who suffers him with remarkable good nature, played by Joan Perkins-Smith, and their daughter, Susan, charmingly played by Emily Frederick.
The three Americans are vacationing for some reason in a communist country sometime in the 1960’s, somewhere behind the Iron Curtain. Walter inadvertently takes photographs of a military installation and all heck breaks loose.
The three run, guns firing behind them, into the American Embassy where the Ambassador's failure of a son, Axel Magee, is attempting to hold down the fort whilst his father, played by John McKone, is away. Axel is the Woody Allen character, played with just the right level of whiney ineptitude by Frank LoBianco.
The screwball cast of characters, include a Catholic priest-come-magician, Father Drobney, played with sweet sincerity by David Crowell, who has holed up at the embassy for six years, a chef, played with flamboyance and fun by first-timer Ernie Santanella, a gun-toting communist humorously played by Peter Desauliners, and the Sultan of Bashir, played with appropriate hautiness by Tim Lavery.
The Ambassador’s assistant, Kilroy, played with uptight reserve by John Lepore, gets to be the unfortunate victim of numerous physical calamities, none funnier than when he gets a concussion and thinks he is both Orville and Wilber Wright.
Like Allen’s movies “Sleeper” and “Bananas,” the play has a subversive political bent, with countless sight gags and one-liners of the “Take my wife — please” vaudevillian variety — think Bob Hope and Groucho Marx — but with an ensemble cast of 15 members playing 14 roles.
And play they do. In fact, at times it was difficult to tell who was having more fun, the audience or the actors, which is as it should be.
The Somers Village Players, now in their 30th year, are in their new location at Joanne's Café and Banquet House, with seating for 150. The stage was a three-quarter set, which guaranteed a good seat from almost any table, after a satisfying buffet dinner.
Director Gus Rousseau and the cast pulled off the daunting task of keeping this one-funny-line-after-another moving at the breakneck pace it required.
There were a few inconsequential acting jitters here and there, which is understandable considering the amount of dialog this play has, but the actors’ persevered impressively and seemed more relaxed in the second act.
Honestly, how many times in your life will you hear the words “submarine” and “your silver pattern” in the same sentence and have it make perfect sense?
The lighting by Dick Oswald and Justin Martin was spot-on, as were the sound effects by Martin — those little details are often only noticed when they go wrong, and they never did.
The costumes, by Carolyn Sullivan and Peter Desauliners were simple but effective, with special mention going to the remarkably horrid wig wife Marion wears, particularly after she and Father Drobney, dubbed “the Holy Houdini” by Walter, attempt to get him out of a straight jacket. This is Community Theater at its best.
Don’t Drink the Water
Three stars
Location: Joanne's Café and Banquet House, 155 Main Street, Somers
Running time: Two hours with one intermission.
Show Times: Oct. 5 and 6. Social hour starting at 6 p.m. Dinner at 7 p.m. Show at 8 p.m.
Tickets: $33, including buffet dinner, with cash bar. Call 749-0245 for reservations.
Production: By Woody Allen. Directed by Gus Rousseau. Produced by Betty Domer. Stage Manager, Joyce Benson. Stage Crew, Sue Moak and Sherry Samborski. Set Décor, Blinky Calder, Sherry Samborski, and Joyce Benson. Lighting by Dick Oswald and Justin Martin. Set Construction by David Crowell, Emily Fredrick, Justin Martin, Tyler Anderson, Ron Blanchette Jameson, Nathan, Jen and Tim Lavery, Dick Oswald, Kathryn and Gus Rousseau. Sound by Justin Martin. Props by Sherry Samborski. Costumes by Carolyn Sullivan and Peter Desauliners. Box office, Dee and John Moak. Program by Shirley Warner. Front of House, Sue Moak. Prize Coordinator, Betty Domer. Goodie Prize Table, Marilyn Anderson. Photography by Dick Jackson. Display by Joanne Chadbourne. House Flowers by Becky Smith. Public Relations by Dee Moak. Publicity by Wendy Peterson, Tim Lavery, Gloria Knak, Dee Moak, George Warner, Anne Kirkpatrick, Shirley Warner, John Moak, Dottie Cowan, Fred Domer, and Malcolm Chadbourne.
ACTOR...CHARACTER
Ron Blanchette...Walter Hollander
Joan Perkins-Smith...Marion Hollander
Emily Frederick...Susan Hollander
Frank LoBianco...Axel Magee
David Crowell...Father Drobney
John Lepore...Kilroy
Peter Desauliners...Krojack
John McKone...Ambassador Magee
Ernie Santanella...Chef/Kasner
Sally Frederick...Burns
Tim Lavery...Sultan of Bashir
Sherry Samborski...Sultan's First Wife
Sue Moak...Countess Bordoni
Jeff Lipton...Novotny
Monday, September 17, 2007
STAGE REVIEW
Three stars
EVITA
Phoenix Theater’s production of the seven-time Tony Award-winning musical “Evita,” at St. Paul’s Hall in Glastonbury is not to be missed.
From the show’s leading characters to the well-rehearsed chorus, musicians, sets, choreography, and costumes, this clearly challenging show was convincingly performed.
The costumes, by Starr McLean, were simple but effective, with the cast in basic black, and changing jackets for shawls or military garb when appropriate. Eva Peron’s outfits, of which there were many, were gorgeous.
The set was spread out into four separate areas in the basement of St. Paul’s Hall — a bar, a radio station, a bedroom, and military office — on either side of the stage where the band was located.
This creative solution to a less than ideal space worked perfectly, and saved the need for major set changes which helped keep the production on the move.
And move it did. This musical does not allow for any margin of error for two hours. With the syncopated rhythms and musical dialog, it is clear that if any of the actors missed one line, they would be sunk. There is no safety net in this musical high-wire act.
Fortunately, none was needed.
Joyce Sakowicz played Eva Peron with a charisma and charm that was enthralling with a fine, strong clear voice.
Jason Ferrandino’s narrator Che blended the right balance of anger, admiration and sarcasm with power and conviction.
Jim Metzler, who played Juan Peron, was also convincing as the Argentinean general who loved and admired remarkably ambitious wife.
John Peifer as Augustin Magaldi was pitch-perfect as the sleazy lounge lizard who was Evita’s first in a long line of lovers.
The band was excellent and never overpowered any of the performers, who each gave it their all.
Theater: Phoenix Theater Company
Location: St. Paul’s Hall, 40 Naubuc Ave., Glastonbury.
Production: Music by Andrew Lloyd Webber. Lyrics by Tim Rice. Directed by Chris Ryan. Produced by Maggie Jackson. Musical direction by Jason Ferrandino. Choreographed by Keri Boe. Costumes by Starr McLean. Tech direction by Roy Ryzak. Light operator, Debbie Staves. Spotlight operator, Stacy Constantine. Sound operator, Chris Ryan. Poster design by Peter Riley. Playbill by Keri Boe. House manager, Patrique Hurde. House staff, Emily Mazotas and Kate Shaw
Band: Aaron Sinicrope on piano, Mark Monroe on drums, Stevie Ray on guitar, and Steve Anderson on bass
Running Time: Two hours with one intermission
Show Times: Friday and Saturday, 8 p.m., and Sunday 2 p.m. through Sept. 29.
Tickets: $20, $18 for students and senior citizens. Call 860-291-2988
Actor...Character
Jason Ferrandino...Che
Joyce Sakowicz... Eva Peron
Jim Metzler...Juan Peron
John Peifer...Augustin Magaldi
Jessica Reily...Mistress
Samantha Frank, Evan Galatz, Maggie Jackson, Stephen Kelly, Jessica LaRussa, Doug Seelye, Jennifer Swerdlick...Chorus
Three stars
EVITA
Phoenix Theater’s production of the seven-time Tony Award-winning musical “Evita,” at St. Paul’s Hall in Glastonbury is not to be missed.
From the show’s leading characters to the well-rehearsed chorus, musicians, sets, choreography, and costumes, this clearly challenging show was convincingly performed.
The costumes, by Starr McLean, were simple but effective, with the cast in basic black, and changing jackets for shawls or military garb when appropriate. Eva Peron’s outfits, of which there were many, were gorgeous.
The set was spread out into four separate areas in the basement of St. Paul’s Hall — a bar, a radio station, a bedroom, and military office — on either side of the stage where the band was located.
This creative solution to a less than ideal space worked perfectly, and saved the need for major set changes which helped keep the production on the move.
And move it did. This musical does not allow for any margin of error for two hours. With the syncopated rhythms and musical dialog, it is clear that if any of the actors missed one line, they would be sunk. There is no safety net in this musical high-wire act.
Fortunately, none was needed.
Joyce Sakowicz played Eva Peron with a charisma and charm that was enthralling with a fine, strong clear voice.
Jason Ferrandino’s narrator Che blended the right balance of anger, admiration and sarcasm with power and conviction.
Jim Metzler, who played Juan Peron, was also convincing as the Argentinean general who loved and admired remarkably ambitious wife.
John Peifer as Augustin Magaldi was pitch-perfect as the sleazy lounge lizard who was Evita’s first in a long line of lovers.
The band was excellent and never overpowered any of the performers, who each gave it their all.
Theater: Phoenix Theater Company
Location: St. Paul’s Hall, 40 Naubuc Ave., Glastonbury.
Production: Music by Andrew Lloyd Webber. Lyrics by Tim Rice. Directed by Chris Ryan. Produced by Maggie Jackson. Musical direction by Jason Ferrandino. Choreographed by Keri Boe. Costumes by Starr McLean. Tech direction by Roy Ryzak. Light operator, Debbie Staves. Spotlight operator, Stacy Constantine. Sound operator, Chris Ryan. Poster design by Peter Riley. Playbill by Keri Boe. House manager, Patrique Hurde. House staff, Emily Mazotas and Kate Shaw
Band: Aaron Sinicrope on piano, Mark Monroe on drums, Stevie Ray on guitar, and Steve Anderson on bass
Running Time: Two hours with one intermission
Show Times: Friday and Saturday, 8 p.m., and Sunday 2 p.m. through Sept. 29.
Tickets: $20, $18 for students and senior citizens. Call 860-291-2988
Actor...Character
Jason Ferrandino...Che
Joyce Sakowicz... Eva Peron
Jim Metzler...Juan Peron
John Peifer...Augustin Magaldi
Jessica Reily...Mistress
Samantha Frank, Evan Galatz, Maggie Jackson, Stephen Kelly, Jessica LaRussa, Doug Seelye, Jennifer Swerdlick...Chorus
Stage Review
Two and a half stars
BABY
Theater: Broad Brook Opera House
Production: Book by Sybille Pearson, music by David Shire, and lyrics by Richard Maltby, Jr. Directed and Lighting Design by Paula Cortis. Musical Direction by Tom Slowick. Pit Orchestra, Tom Slowick on piano, John Hagopian on bass, and Dane Scozzari on drums. Stage Manager, Paul Leone. Stage crew, Rebecca Murray. Light Hang by Sharon FitzHenry, Jerry Zalewski. Light Board Programmer and Operator, Diane St. Amand. Sound Design by Devon Gamache. House Managers, Joy Iloff and Michelle Tetrault. Box office, Ginny Zdebski.
Running Time: Three hours with one intermission
Show Times: Friday and Saturday, Sept.21 and 22 at 8 p.m. and Sunday, Sept. 23 at 2 p.m.
Tickets: $17, $15 for over 65 and under 12
Actor...Character
Richard Damaso...Danny Hooper
Amy Szczepaniuk Meek...Lizzy Fields
Paul DiProto ...Nick Sakarian
Christine Voytko ... Pam Sakarian
Marge Stepansky ... Arlene MacNalley
Ed Reed III...Alan MacNalley
Reva Kleppel...Nurse, Ensemble
Pam Dexter, Khara Hoyer, Barbara LaValley, Michael May, James Rhone, Julie Thorin ...Ensemble and various characters
“Baby” has to win the award for one of the most unusual concepts for a musical — no pun intended.
First produced on Broadway in 1983 and nominated for seven Tony Awards, the story revolves around three couples, one in their 20’s, another in their 30’s, and a third in their 40’s, who all have dramatically different feelings about children.
The young college couple is caught unprepared for the news of a baby on the way, as are the older couple who thought their child rearing days were a thing of the past, while the couple in their 30’s who passionately want children are experiencing difficulties conceiving, the reasons for which they learn under amusing circumstances is a “common problem.”
There is some choreography, but the show’s strength is in it songs, of which there are over 30. The theme song “Baby, Baby, Baby,” is a catchy and memorable tune interwoven throughout the show.
It is remarkable that so many talented local people willing to devote their time committing to memory a three hour musical — particularly considering, according to the program notes, the entire production was put together in just four weeks.
This is truly a production where the star of the show is the ensemble cast of six. Each performer has their clear strengths, while all performed with convincing affection. Most outstanding vocally were Marge Stepansky, playing Arlene MacNalley, the wife in her 40’s, Richard Damasco, and Christine Voytko, who plays Pam Sakarian, the wife trying without success to become a mom.
Amy Szczepaniuk Meek, who has a striking resemblance to the actor Claire Danes, brings wide-eyed enthusiasm to her role as Lizzie Fields, the college student.
Paul DiProto as Nick Sakarian, the want-to-be dad, plays his humorous and sometimes frustrated character with energy and wit.
Ed Reed III is convincing as Allan MacNalley, a man who admits he has been a better father than a husband to his wife.
The singing could be challenging, especially during the finale when all three couples sing distinctly different parts contemporaneously. It could have easily collapsed into a cacophonous mess, but they admirably plowed through the complex number with aplomb and verve.
Special mention goes to the outstanding orchestra of three, lead by musical director Tom Slowick on piano, John Hagopian on bass, and Dane Scozzari on drums, who performed without a hitch practically non-stop for the entire show.
Kudos too go out to the backstage crew — stage manager Paul Leone and stage crew Rebecca Murray — who, with help from the cast, have to make at least a scene change a song. These unsung heroes dressed in black moved faster and with more precision than a NASCAR pit crew.
Two and a half stars
BABY
Theater: Broad Brook Opera House
Production: Book by Sybille Pearson, music by David Shire, and lyrics by Richard Maltby, Jr. Directed and Lighting Design by Paula Cortis. Musical Direction by Tom Slowick. Pit Orchestra, Tom Slowick on piano, John Hagopian on bass, and Dane Scozzari on drums. Stage Manager, Paul Leone. Stage crew, Rebecca Murray. Light Hang by Sharon FitzHenry, Jerry Zalewski. Light Board Programmer and Operator, Diane St. Amand. Sound Design by Devon Gamache. House Managers, Joy Iloff and Michelle Tetrault. Box office, Ginny Zdebski.
Running Time: Three hours with one intermission
Show Times: Friday and Saturday, Sept.21 and 22 at 8 p.m. and Sunday, Sept. 23 at 2 p.m.
Tickets: $17, $15 for over 65 and under 12
Actor...Character
Richard Damaso...Danny Hooper
Amy Szczepaniuk Meek...Lizzy Fields
Paul DiProto ...Nick Sakarian
Christine Voytko ... Pam Sakarian
Marge Stepansky ... Arlene MacNalley
Ed Reed III...Alan MacNalley
Reva Kleppel...Nurse, Ensemble
Pam Dexter, Khara Hoyer, Barbara LaValley, Michael May, James Rhone, Julie Thorin ...Ensemble and various characters
“Baby” has to win the award for one of the most unusual concepts for a musical — no pun intended.
First produced on Broadway in 1983 and nominated for seven Tony Awards, the story revolves around three couples, one in their 20’s, another in their 30’s, and a third in their 40’s, who all have dramatically different feelings about children.
The young college couple is caught unprepared for the news of a baby on the way, as are the older couple who thought their child rearing days were a thing of the past, while the couple in their 30’s who passionately want children are experiencing difficulties conceiving, the reasons for which they learn under amusing circumstances is a “common problem.”
There is some choreography, but the show’s strength is in it songs, of which there are over 30. The theme song “Baby, Baby, Baby,” is a catchy and memorable tune interwoven throughout the show.
It is remarkable that so many talented local people willing to devote their time committing to memory a three hour musical — particularly considering, according to the program notes, the entire production was put together in just four weeks.
This is truly a production where the star of the show is the ensemble cast of six. Each performer has their clear strengths, while all performed with convincing affection. Most outstanding vocally were Marge Stepansky, playing Arlene MacNalley, the wife in her 40’s, Richard Damasco, and Christine Voytko, who plays Pam Sakarian, the wife trying without success to become a mom.
Amy Szczepaniuk Meek, who has a striking resemblance to the actor Claire Danes, brings wide-eyed enthusiasm to her role as Lizzie Fields, the college student.
Paul DiProto as Nick Sakarian, the want-to-be dad, plays his humorous and sometimes frustrated character with energy and wit.
Ed Reed III is convincing as Allan MacNalley, a man who admits he has been a better father than a husband to his wife.
The singing could be challenging, especially during the finale when all three couples sing distinctly different parts contemporaneously. It could have easily collapsed into a cacophonous mess, but they admirably plowed through the complex number with aplomb and verve.
Special mention goes to the outstanding orchestra of three, lead by musical director Tom Slowick on piano, John Hagopian on bass, and Dane Scozzari on drums, who performed without a hitch practically non-stop for the entire show.
Kudos too go out to the backstage crew — stage manager Paul Leone and stage crew Rebecca Murray — who, with help from the cast, have to make at least a scene change a song. These unsung heroes dressed in black moved faster and with more precision than a NASCAR pit crew.
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