tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-74260064501845866622024-02-08T07:27:32.735-05:00Boston Arts ReviewUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger552125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7426006450184586662.post-55727686584838792942019-06-05T11:56:00.000-04:002019-06-11T14:01:50.344-04:00FOUNDERS’ VERSION: History and Highlights of the IRNEs <br />
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<b><span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">1988 on:</span></b><span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"> Precursor
of the IRNEs: Activist/journalists in <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Boston</st1:place></st1:city>
have banded together and are intensifying their coverage of (a lack of) diversity
in the arts. Papers large and small shine a light on institutions like the MFA.
(The Gorilla Girls point out that the only way women are represented in museums
is on a canvas and in the nude.) This small group of activist writers marches
in support of the <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">ICA</st1:place></st1:city>
when city counselor Albert ‘Dapper’ O’Neill threatens to close down the
Mapplethorpe exhibit. There is a proliferation of new companies on the theater
front and one member of the group, writing for the <i>Journal Newspapers</i>, realizes
that these new companies are doing exceptional work and for the most part, are
not being recognized. She forms another organization to honor their work,
joining writers from the brand new, pioneering world of internet review sites
(Theater Mirror and Aisle Say being the earliest of their ilk). Other papers
join up. By the ‘90s they’re known as the “outer critics” to indicate that they
do not write for the big papers. A confluence of events propels the group to
its mission.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
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<b><span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">1988</span></b><span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">—<b>1989:</b> Beverly
Creasey is also a member of the national Theater Communications Group (TCG)
which conducts a country-wide survey of theatrical output, finding that 80% of
all productions in the U.S up ‘til 1988 were all white efforts. In response,
the TCG organized the Non-Traditional Casting Initiative. <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Boston</st1:place></st1:city> is the third city in the nation to
hold a “Non-Traditional Casting Conference,” organized by Creasey with the aid
of Clinton Turner Davis and Harry Newman of the NYC TCG HQ. The June 1989 conference
is co-presented by Black Folks Theatre and Playwrights’ Platform (with support
from the Asian-American Resource Workshop and Boston Theater for the Deaf) and
hosted by actress Jane White (daughter of the founder of the NAACP). <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Artistic directors, actors, theater and film producers are invited to
the conference, to see a video in which James Earl Jones presented scenes from
Chekov, Williams and Wilde with actors of color—and to witness live scenes with
<st1:city w:st="on">Boston</st1:city> actors with disabilities, <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Boston</st1:place></st1:city> actors of color
and women performing in traditionally male roles. They rocked, by the way.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Attendees discover why this is advantageous to their theaters: Greater
resonance for the material, a theater which reflects everyone and a wider
audience for their productions, among other reasons. The conference is covered
in the “papers of record” and television shows like City Line. (Up to this
point, Wheelock Family Theatre is the only company casting “non-traditionally.”
Underground Railway Theatre also tours Black History shows, but opportunities
are few and far between for actors from The New African Company or Black Folks
Theatre to break into the established white companies.) Actors report that some
theaters don’t even allow them to audition. Others agree to, but say they “don’t
know where to find actors of color.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
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<b><span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">1989</span></b><span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">—<b>1995:</b> Creasey
develops and administers the Boston NTC actors file to be used gratis by
casting directors, artistic directors etc. Next step is the NTC playwright
file, also free to anyone who is looking for a new script. After administering
the files for six extremely successful years, they are incorporated into
Stagesource’s member bank and are renamed “the unity files.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
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<b><span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">1995 on:</span></b><span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"> <b>THE <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">MISSION</st1:place></st1:city>:</b> Creasey and
the original outer critics (Larry Stark, Geralyn Horton, Will Stackman et al) founded
their awards to encourage inclusion and to shine a light on the smaller
companies. What started out as the outer critic awards included <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Boston</st1:place></st1:city>, western Mass and
R.I. because that’s where our critics worked. In a year or two, with the
addition of more reviewers, the Outer Critics became the Independent Reviewers
of N.E., to reflect all the communities being reviewed. (There weren’t nearly
as many theaters to cover as there are now. In fact our ballot was not divided
into Small and Large until <span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">2001</span>!)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
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<b><span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">The IRNE Awards</span></b><span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"> were
not intended to compete with any other awards, just to fill a gap.
Astonishingly, we hit a nerve. Our very first year, the <em>Herald</em> critic
complained bitterly about us in his regular theater column calling us “witches
around a cauldron.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
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<b><span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">1998</span></b><span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">—<b>99:</b> IRNE
expands and writers are added from outlets like <i>The Bay State Banner</i> (Kay
Bourne), <i>The Sino-American Times</i> (Beatrice Lee), <i>The Jewish Advocate</i>
(Jules Becker), the <i>Lynn Item</i> (Rich Fahey), <i>South End News/Bay Windows</i> (Creasey), <i>The
Journal Newspapers/Citizen Item</i> (Creasey, Titus Steele) and <i>Metro West</i>
(David Andrews). <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
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<b><span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">The Process</span></b><span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">: To
vote, a reviewer has to have seen a minimum of fifty shows that year, has no
conflict of interest, (i.e., no ties to any theater), and has the tested
ability to write and review fairly. Some see 200 shows a year. Most see approximately 100.
Three (now deceased) members have radio or television shows and concentrate on
interviews. At the end of the year, reviewers submit three nominations in each
category. The nominations are then tallied up, the ballot with the nominations
that received the most mentions is configured and is printed. The ballots are then
sent to the members, with ties being broken by re-votes of those who have seen
both productions. Much like the selection process for the Oscars, Tonys and
All-star teams, this is not an exact science. Simply put, it’s by the numbers. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
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<b><span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">THE NUMBERS:</span></b><span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"> Members
collectively see 200+ shows a year. Here’s the math. Say there are 5 characters
per show vying for either Best Actor/Actress or Best Supporting Actor/Actress.
That’s 1000 actors hoping to be nominated in one of four categories in 34 slots
(Small, Medium and Large, 5 people within a category, M and F, plus 4 musical
slots). That leaves 966 people not even nominated! (Every company faithfully
believes their actors deserve a nod. Many a list has been sent to us and many a
company has been disappointed.) We view the entire field of 1000 and even
though founder Larry Stark is fond of saying “all comparisons are odious” we
have to make the cuts. It’s heartbreaking.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
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<b><span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">2000</span></b><span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">—<b>Present:</b>
IRNE representatives meet numerous times with small companies, to distribute
our contact sheets, to explain the voting process or to offer seminars on
writing press releases. We’ve had requests for more categories (puppetry, projections),
less reviewers and a request to add a second (!) evening of awards. The IRNEs respectfully
consider any suggestion. And we’ve accepted many.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
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<b><span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">2009 on:</span></b><span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"> More
Reviewers are added. The <i>Improper Bostonian</i> calls the IRNE Awards “<st1:place w:st="on"><st1:city w:st="on">Boston</st1:city></st1:place>’s Tonys.” Nancy Grossman
of Broadway World and Talkin’ Broadway joins longtime reviewers Creasey, Fahey,
Becker and Stark (emeritus) in ‘09. At present Michele Markarian and Mike Hoban
represent Theater Mirror. Scott Reedy works for <i>Metro West Daily</i> and
others (through <em>Gatehouse Newspapers</em>), Sheila Barth covers <em>Independent News Group</em>), Robert Israel writes for <i>Arts Fuse</i>,
Michael Cox represents <i>The Edge/Theater Mirror</i>, Susan Mulford does
previews/reviews for <i>Boston & Beyond</i>, Charles Munitz writes for <i>Boston
Arts Diary</i>, Beatrice Lee writes for <i>Sino-American Times</i> and Jack
Craib is South Shore Critic.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
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<b><span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">2012:</span></b><span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"> Fringe
companies ask us to expand from the “Small and Large” ballot distinctions and
add a third entire “Fringe” category. We do. At one time or another, by Stark’s
reckoning, there are over 90 fringe companies. It makes sense to divide “Small”
into “Fringe” and “Midsize,” based on budgetary considerations.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Meeting with the Deaf community after the National 2012 TCG Conference
held in <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Boston</st1:place></st1:city>,
IRNE begins an ASL initiative to address their request for more ASL translated
performances. Our fundraising effort would place interpreters (using the
Wheelock model) in fringe theaters at designated performances during a run and
coordinate with an advocacy agency like D.E.A.F. Inc. to publicize the
performance. IRNE raises funds from two foundations and transfers the funds to
Stagesource to administer.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Another issue arising<b> </b>from the 2012 TCG Conference diversity
sessions is that theater people across the country are beginning to witness a
backlash against actors of color (ironically because of the number of
productions now cast non-traditionally). Because our IRNE reviewers see so many
productions and have an overview of the <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Boston</st1:place></st1:city>
(and environs) scene, we notice that roles designated for actors of color are
being played by white actors. Creasey, Bourne and Becker address the issue in
their publications. Bourne is currently at work on a book about the history of
Black theater in <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Boston</st1:place></st1:city>.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
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<b><span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">2013:</span></b><span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"> The IRNEs
honor the memory of beloved actor Bob Jolly (whose bequest funds a yearly award
given out at the IRNES as well as starter grants to organizations, including
most recently, the Front Porch Collective.)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
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<b><span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">2014:</span></b><span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"> IRNE meets
with STAB (Small Theater Alliance of Boston) regarding the issue of gender
parity (in a year that had fewer female leading roles in the fringe category and
fewer nominations for us to consider for lead actress/fringe). IRNE addresses
the issue by honoring the leading ladies of IMAGINARY BEASTS, thirteen women
who perform as part of an ensemble and in the past had only been nominated in
the “ensemble” category because of the experimental nature of their productions
(where the “lead” is exchanged within a piece). Thirteen women won “Best
Actress” <span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">in 2014</span>.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
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<b><span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">2016: </span></b><span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">The Factory
Space closes, leaving many fringe companies without theaters for shows already
in the works. Members of STAB ask for help. We start making inquiries and one
IRNE member finds a suitable space and paints it himself (a church basement,
with a stage, seats, parking, and a low rental cost). Other IRNE members reach
out to local YMCAs and community centers.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
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<b><span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">IRNE Responds to National and International Crises:<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<br />
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<b><span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">2005:</span></b><span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"> When Hurricane
Katrina devastates <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">New Orleans</st1:place></st1:city>
(and surrounding parishes) IRNE organizes a fundraiser, a concert/cabaret
evening with performances by local actors/singers. The Lyric Stage donates the
theater for the event. Proceeds are sent to the New Orleans Musicians Fund. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
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<b><span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">2010:</span></b><span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"> When an
earthquake ravaged <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Haiti</st1:place></st1:country-region>,
IRNE partners with Metro Stage for a musical evening (with performances by
local musicians and actors). The Huntington Theatre donates the venue. Artists are
invited to donate paintings for an arts raffle at the event. Donations are sent
to Habitat for Humanity and the ASPCA.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
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<b><span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">2011:</span></b><span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"> The week
before the IRNE Awards, a tsunami levels the Fukushima Daishi Nuclear Power
Plant in <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Japan</st1:place></st1:country-region>.
IRNE quickly organizes artists to create “paper prayers” (small paintings
traditionally made for <st1:city w:st="on">Hiroshima</st1:city> and Nagasaki
Remembrance Day) and other artwork to raise funds for <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Japan</st1:place></st1:country-region>, with the
event taking place right at the IRNE Awards. A Huntington Fellow creates 200 origami
paper cranes and scenic designers donate dozens of small sketches and paintings
to raise funds for Japan Relief.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
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<b><span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">2000</span></b><span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">—<b>2019:</b> With
the unfortunate dissolution of print media in the new millennium, our newspaper
reviewers adapted, and now, most write for the internet. Almost all receive no
pay. Since the very first Outer Critics Awards to honor excellence from that
year’s performances, our annual IRNE Awards celebration has been free and open
to anyone. We have had a commitment to diversity and parity from the very
beginning, and as was reflected in final IRNE Awards show held in April of 2019,
that tradition continued. This year, half of the Best New Play nominees were
women in both the Large and Small categories, and both were won by women. In
gender neutral categories (Small Stage), 30 of 54 nominations went to women,
and women won in 6 of 10 categories, including Best Director (Musical and
Play). In 2019, over two dozen people of color were represented in the nomination process
and won </span>Best Supporting Actress in all three categories (Large, Midsize
and Fringe), Best Actor in Midsize and Large, as well as Best Supporting Actor
and Director in Midsize. </div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">But the IRNEs have always been, first and foremost, about honoring
excellence in theater, and it is our fondest hope that it will be our legacy.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7426006450184586662.post-45037480917571416462019-04-19T10:18:00.003-04:002019-04-19T10:18:35.824-04:00QUICK TAKE Review By Beverly Creasey Gleeful Dog Days @ BCA
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Pete Gurney knows dogs. Years ago the late
Boston playwright fell hard for a Lab pup and brought it home, much to the
chagrin of his wife, who was not consulted. That’s pretty much the plot of SYLVIA
(playing through April 21<sup>st</sup>) except to say that the sensational
comedienne Shana Dirik plays Sylvia in Michelle Aguillon’s delightful
production for Theater Uncorked.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Dirik is all pup: She’s saucy, impetuous and
desperate to be loved. And she’s not above flashing those irresistible puppy
dog eyes at her master (Allan Mayo) when his wife (Kim McClure) opposes the
adoption. Gurney’s script is smart, literate and just a bit shameless when
Sylvia does, well, what dogs do with other dogs.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">See the production for Dirik’s outrageous
performance and for David Anderson’s nifty hat trick: first as a macho, nosey,
know-it-all dog owner, then as a ritzy Vassar alumna, and lastly, Anderson <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>tops it off as a lunatic shrink who invites patients
to choose whether they want a male or a female therapist, as (s)he can be
either!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Believe it on not, the hilarious script has
something serious to say about connecting with nature… and our need to bond
with animals. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7426006450184586662.post-82710272980310008702019-04-16T12:36:00.003-04:002019-04-16T12:36:24.742-04:00QUICK TAKE REVIEW By Beverly Creasey The Whirligig of Time
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">TWELFTH Night was first performed in <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Boston</st1:place></st1:city> in 1794. (I missed
that one.) But Paula Plum’s 2019 production (at Lyric Stage through April 28<sup>th</sup>)
should go down in history as one of the most fiercely intelligent versions ever
to contemplate the comedy. There’s the rub, as the Bard might say. Is it really
a comedy? <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
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<st1:place w:st="on"><span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Plum</span></st1:place><span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"> posits the question, this being a play about
strangers in a new, sometimes hostile country, not to mention in a climate
where abuse is tolerated, even encouraged. Having seen <st1:place w:st="on">Plum</st1:place>’s
inspired take on kindness and cruelty, I couldn’t help but surrender my heart
to the poor, “grievously abused” Malvolio. The combined Lyric/Actor’s
Shakespeare Project production features master comedian Richard Snee in the
role of the hilariously “cross-gartered” secretary to Lady Olivia (Samantha
Richert).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Not to worry, there is an abundance of
hilarity in the production, led by the brilliant Rachel Belleman as Feste, the
“saucy” torch singer/nobody’s fool. She tears through David Wilson’s inspired
arrangements of Shakespearean (as well as gorgeous 20<sup>th</sup> century)
songs. In fact, Lady Olivia’s household is bursting to the brim with pranks and
pratfalls. What there isn’t, in <st1:place w:st="on">Plum</st1:place>’s capable
hands, is a pat ending. That may be her triumph… That, and casting Haley Spivey
as the perfect “divided” Viola. Divided, as she is a twin (to Dominic Carter)
and, like Mozart’s divided violas, she takes our breath away with her sublime
performance. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Don’t miss this Twelfth Night.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7426006450184586662.post-78329649651926604362019-03-19T13:34:00.001-04:002019-03-19T13:34:31.463-04:00QUICK TAKE REVIEW By Beverly Creasey Hell Hath No Fury
<br />
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">My short-lived relief
that Flat Earth Theatre’s NOT MEDEA (@Arsenal Arts through March 30<sup>th</sup>)
would not be Euripides’ MEDEA (perhaps the most famous of all “scorned” women)
was quickly replaced with resignation. O K, the play is about that MEDEA but
Allison Gregory’s clever conceit melding the tragic sorceress to a contemporary
single mother makes the story more approachable. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">This mom’s husband,
like Medea’s, has left her for a younger woman. She’s stressed to the max and
can’t cope anymore, certainly a recipe for disaster, if not revenge. I’m not
sold on the link but Gregory mounts an engaging comparison. More importantly,
Flat Earth mounts a crackerjack production.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Just this week, a
fire which consumed a whole family led the news, twice in fact, because
investigators subsequently discovered that the fire had been set to cover a
grisly murder/suicide. We struggle to understand why a parent would kill a
child but turning to MEDEA for an explanation? It’s a gambit and one that
necessitates we buy into the nasty old shibboleth about the fury of a “woman
scorned.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="-ms-text-justify: inter-ideograph; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Is there a comparable
saying for a man who’s been jilted? I can’t think of one, yet it’s used again
and again to discredit a woman. I recall that Anita Hill was accused of being a
“scorned” woman to explain away her motive when she testified against Clarence Thomas…
as was Christine Blasey-Ford in the Kavanaugh hearings. The Greek Chorus in
Gregory’s play doesn’t help much when it proudly proclaims that MEDEA will “be
the hero of scorned women everywhere.” Good Lord.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Gregory jokes that a
theater company might think twice before presenting her play when television
offers similar fare every night of the week. If anything elevates Gregory’s
effort above and beyond the mayhem on TV, it’s her smart dialogue and her humor
(often at her own expense!). Flat Earth is fortunate to have Juliet Bowler as
the cheeky, self deprecating mom so desperate for a night out that she wanders
sight unseen into our audience. Of course she takes over the stage complaining
that it’s, gasp, MEDEA. (We’re with her there!) Bowler maintains an impressive
balance between the comedy in the play and the seriousness it addresses.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">NOT MEDEA is not so
much a play within a play, as it is a treatise within a play: that anyone could
lose control and commit a savage act, given the right circumstances. In point
of fact, judging from the statistical frequency of murder following a break-up (especially
those with an order of restraint attached), one can make a case. But those
murderers are more likely to be male, not female and Gregory is indicting the
females in her audience. We’re the ones, she says, whose love “is so full of
trouble.” There went my hackles, right up again.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">My reservations aside,
see director Elizabeth Yvette Ramirez’ compelling production for the
performances. It’s no easy feat, switching from past to present and from
character to character. Bowler is supported by Gene Dante, charismatic as the
two philandering husbands, and by Cassandra Meyer in an affecting performance
as the Chorus (et al).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7426006450184586662.post-24793891203442906612019-03-03T12:28:00.003-05:002019-03-03T12:28:38.627-05:00QUICK TAKE REVIEW By Beverly Creasey DIN OF THEIVES
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They don’t write barn burners like THE LITTLE FOXES anymore
(@ Lyric Stage through March 17). The Bette Davis movie of the Lillian Hellman
gem has long been a favorite of mine. I recall many riveting stage productions over
the years (including the Lyric’s) but I didn’t realize what new life there was
in this chestnut. Scott Edmiston’s thrilling, almost gothic production (Dewey
Dellay’s music sets the tone from the get-go) mines all the resonance Edmiston can
find in this tale of a greedy, scheming Southern family nipping at each others’
heels.</div>
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The Hubbards will stop at nothing to increase their coffers.
They find “virtue” in lying, cheating and underpaying everyone they can. The
elder brother delivers a nifty speech about leaving his honest competitors in
the dust, predicting that the business men of the future all will be
“Hubbards.” (How did Hellman know this seventy years ago!)</div>
<br />
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<st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Regina</st1:place></st1:city>
(Hubbard) Giddens, like Hedda Gabler, is a dream role for an actress. Anne
Gottlieb reigns as the avenging daughter who, when only her brothers inherited
their father’s wealth, married money and spends all her thoughts on getting
more. Like Hedda, she wants to escape her provincial life and the restrictions
of second class citizenship. She’s tired of depending on men. Hellman gives her
the chance for payback in THE LITTLE FOXES.</div>
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Hellman has created another plum role in THE LITTLE FOXES: A
sister-in-law named Birdie. She’s everything <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Regina</st1:place></st1:city> is not. She represents the old South
(mind you, from a white perspective). She’s genteel. She treats the Black
servants with respect and she despairs over her husband’s hunting of animals
for recreation. Everyone, even Birdie, knows <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Regina</st1:place></st1:city>’s younger brother married her for her
family’s cotton. So she drinks. </div>
<br />
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Amelia Broome gives a tour de force as the wounded,
heartbroken Birdie. With every word Birdie utters, you know she’s holding back
tears of grief …tears of wasted years …tears of physical abuse. Broome
physically forces Birdie to keep her composure, although it’s a tipsy one,
because she’s a “lady.” When the floodgates open, Broome leaves us devastated and
amused at the same time over Birdie’s wobbly confession. It’s a terrific moment
in the action.</div>
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The women in THE LITTLE FOXES really pack the punches in
Edmiston’s production. Cheryl D. Singleton as Addie, the family’s “beloved”
servant, conveys both Addie’s pride in running the household (and indulging
Regina’s daughter) and her disdain for the avarice expressed in front of her as
if she were invisible. Singleton masterfully plays the lines, as well as the
repressed emotion under the lines. Hellman doesn’t say it outright but she
hammers home the subservient plight of Blacks who are no longer slaves and yet
they still slave for the new plantation class. </div>
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Addie has a powerful ally in Craig Mathers as <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Regina</st1:place></st1:city>’s estranged, savvy
husband. Mathers gives a strong performance as the one family member wise
enough to challenge the Hubbard “take no prisoners” philosophy. Rosa
Procaccino, as the sweet, innocent daughter, gradually learns what happens to
powerless women and her transformation is wonderfully satisfying.</div>
<br />
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Kinson Theodoris is delightful in the role of the servant who
keenly observes the white folk behaving badly. Theodoris steals the scene when
he is asked to deliver a message which doesn’t make sense. He finally agrees to
do it, but he departs, shaking his head at what foolish characters these white
people are.</div>
<br />
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Remo Airaldi, Will McGarrahan and Michael John Ciszewski
portray with frightening gusto (as Addie calls them) “the people who eat the
earth and everything on it.” Bill Mootos in a small but effective role, aids
and abets the Hubbard men by providing them an irresistible opportunity to
amass yet another fortune. Don’t miss the chance to see what happens to men and
women who worship money above all else.</div>
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<o:p> </o:p></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7426006450184586662.post-556988233054201962019-03-01T10:58:00.002-05:002019-03-01T10:58:36.463-05:00QUICK TAKE REVIEW By Beverly Creasey BIRDY’s Winged Victory
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;">Commonwealth Shakespeare (in residence at <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:placename w:st="on">Babson</st1:placename> <st1:placetype w:st="on">College</st1:placetype></st1:place>)
has assembled an impressive team to animate William Wharton’s allegorical novel,
BIRDY (playing through March 17<sup>th</sup>). BIRDY has been adapted by
playwright Naomi Wallace, whose brilliant ONE FLEA SPARE is fondly remembered
by this reviewer. BIRDY is both the play’s title and the nickname of its
central character. The touching, and at times humorously ironic, narrative
soars alternately from past to present, illustrating the value of friendship
and the devastating damage of war. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;">As a child, Birdy (Spencer Hamp) is fascinated by all things
avian. Even before the play begins we hear the flapping of wings, hinting at
what is to come. As a teenager, Birdy befriends a neighborhood boy, Al (Maxim
Chumov) who is more than happy to join Birdy in his pursuit of flight, although
Al is more interested in adventure than birds. With the boundless enthusiasm of
young boys, they scavenge the town for aluminum scraps and bicycle parts to
fashion mechanical wings.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;">WWII intervenes and we find the young men reunited in an
army hospital, both with severe injuries. Adult Birdy (Will Taylor) no longer
speaks. He sits on the floor like a wounded bird, perching on tiptoes, his arms
wrapped tightly around him for protection. His best friend (Keith White), who is
recovering from head wounds, has been summoned by the hospital psychiatrist
(Steven Barkhimer) in a last ditch effort to reach the catatonic Birdy.
Sometimes the younger and older characters appear together: when soldier Al is
interviewed by the obtuse army doctor, his younger self suggests a nifty,
wiseacre way to annoy the blowhard. He does it and we’re delighted.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;">The intricate bird references (about undulating flight
vectors and complex bird song) have the echoing ring of authenticity and Hamp
(as young Birdy) lovingly conveys his intense (perhaps too intense) devotion to
winged creatures. Both Hamp and Chumov perfectly capture the reckless joy of perilous
youthful exploits, clambering over Clint Ramos’ sky high scaffolding crowded
with rusty cages and wing shaped driftwood. Director Steven Maler elicits our
imagination to “see” the boys falling, sliding, and swimming.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;">You may know Alan Parker’s lovely 1984 film with Matthew
Modine as Birdy. The film has an easier time of it, depicting flight. Maler and
company have a tough battle on stage because we struggle with the limitations
of our imagination. Additionally, the realistic flow of the play is interrupted
by the necessity of our collective resourcefulness.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;">Various characters weigh in philosophically on the import of
war. The hawkish doctor doesn’t much like soldiers, especially wounded
soldiers, equating their fear with cowardice. The kindly nurse (Damon Singletary)
whose job it is to tend to the severely wounded, has the opposite opinion. He’s
the compassionate conscientious objector, who knows firsthand the costs of war.
It’s Singletary, in fact, who humanizes the “anti-war message.” He’s the one
character who understands humane treatment. (Certainly the doctor doesn’t.)
That and the tender relationship of the young characters are the reason to see this
BIRDY. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7426006450184586662.post-82488343243023000242019-01-29T11:56:00.002-05:002019-01-29T11:56:13.445-05:00QUICK TAKE REVIEW by Beverly Creasey Extra Extra Read All About It: IMAGINARY BEASTS BANISH WINTER PAUL BUNYAN visits The Charlestown Working Theater through Feb. 10
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 90.0pt;">The Winter Panto is a
seasonal tradition in the U.K. Audiences young and old are regaled by stock
characters (representing good and evil) as they banish old man winter (until
next year) and welcome in the spring.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 90.0pt;">The only people
having more fun than the performers staging a winter panto on this side of the
pond, are the children joining in on the merry mayhem. They don’t have to be
asked twice. They happily shout down the villains in Imaginary Beasts’ PAUL
BUNYAN (and the winter of the BLUE SNOW), to warn the “good and true”
characters of an approaching “baddie.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 90.0pt;">The children (and a
lot of the parents, as well) boo and hiss and at just the right moment, they
offer contrarian advice to a stubborn character who dares to say, “No, I
can’t.” The seemingly spontaneous “Oh, yes you can” audience reply goes back
and forth until the children can’t laugh anymore. For most of them, I suspect
this isn’t their first rodeo.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 90.0pt;">The Beasts have
chosen a bit of <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Americana</st1:place></st1:city>
to hang this panto on: Paul Bunyan (Kiki Samko) and the famous blue ox, Babe
(Colin McIntyre) figure at the center of a wager. King Zero, as in temperature,
(company director Matthew Woods) has issued a challenge to an old storyteller,
(Dan Prior), who sounds suspiciously like Hal Holbrook/ Mark Twain, although
his name would suggest he hails from <st1:state w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Oklahoma</st1:place></st1:state>.
<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 90.0pt;">But I digress… and I
caught it from the Beasts. There’s a contest afoot and if Oakey loses, winter
will never end and the moon (Jemma Tory) will disappear. I’m not 100 % on this
but I think that’s Woods’ plot. It really doesn’t matter because the joy of
panto rests squarely on the shoulders of the characters.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 90.0pt;">From wily,
ecologically motivated trees (James K. Sims and Kim Klasner) that can outfox any
logger… to Amy Meyer’s runaway, tap dancing giant pancake… to Noah Simes’ shamelessly
flirtatious “Dame” (fabulous costumes from Cotton Talbot-Minken and Sophia Nora
for the flapjack), the premium placed on each and every character is to collect
as many laughs as are possible. And, “Oh, yes they can.” Even the puppets get
in on the hilarity.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 90.0pt;">Samko’s sensational
Bunyan is aided in this shaggy dog story by a perky, indefatigable Laura
Detwiler and a sad sack, self-doubting pup whose fleas even flee from his
moaning. He’s portrayed by the incomparable Joey C. Pelletier. The entire kit
and caboodle sing and dance selections, for example, from the late Captain and
(the still with us) Tennille’s <i>Muskrat Love,</i> all the way up to Rogers
and Hammerstein’s <i>You’ll Never Walk Alone</i> (delivered in high operatic
form by Ly Meloccaro in a beard borrowed from James Harden or maybe I’ve been
watching too much basketball), just another surprise to another madcap panto.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 90.0pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7426006450184586662.post-61689546988773570662019-01-13T18:34:00.000-05:002019-01-13T18:35:34.930-05:00QUICK TAKE REVIEW By Beverly Creasey Rendition and Reclamation<br />
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 90.0pt;">Company One’s MISS
YOU LIKE HELL (ostensibly about a family divided by deportation), playing @ A.R.T.’s
Oberon Club through Jan. 27<sup>th</sup>, was written by Quira Alegria Hudes
first as a play; then around 2011 she began developing it as a musical at the
height of President Obama’s stringent immigration policies. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 90.0pt;">Hudes is no stranger
to collaboration. Her work with Lin-Manuel Miranda on IN THE HEIGHTS won them
the Tony for best musical. MISS YOU LIKE HELL, with music and lyrics by
singer/songwriter Erin McKeown, opened to acclaim Off-Broadway in 2018.
Originally focusing on one mother’s struggle to reconnect with her daughter, in
light of the current president’s attacks on immigrants, MISS YOU LIKE HELL has
a whole new resonance. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 90.0pt;">You can’t watch this
mother’s agony in MISS YOU LIKE HELL and not think of the three thousand
children unlawfully separated from their parents and lost in the “system”</span><span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">—</span><span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 90.0pt;">with two dead</span><span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">—</span><span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 90.0pt;">(despite identification numbers stamped, Nazi
style, on their forearms)… engineered solely to serve as a deterrent to asylum
seekers. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 90.0pt;">The musical may
represent one mother’s cross country journey to win back her child’s affection,
but McKoewn’s songs are universal. Her urgent, plaintive <i>I’m</i> <i>Just One
Slip Away</i> “treading water and waiting for the tide to rise” is a powerful, desperate
anthem not just for this mother (the charismatic Johanna Carlisle-Zapeda) but
for anyone fighting a lost cause. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 90.0pt;">MISS YOU LIKE HELL feels
a lot like IN THE HEIGHTS because of the myriad stories which break in on the main
“road trip adventure plot” (to get mother to a hearing which could lead maybe
to a temporary deportation deferral). Some of the detours interrupt the
momentum, detracting from the principal point of the journey: for Zapeda’s
estranged mother to bond with Krystal Hernandez’ headstrong, resentful
daughter. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 90.0pt;">The best songs and
the best moments are the ones which center on the bonding: McKeown’s lovely
country-rock <i>Dance With Me</i> “under the moonlight” reminded me of Mary
Chapin Carpenter’s lively <i>Down at the Twist and Shout</i>. Hernandez’
inconsolable<i> Miss You Like Hell</i> and mother’s ardent <i>You Are the
Bread. I am the Hunger</i> “Fill me up for one more day” are the showstoppers.
(Kudos to music director David Coleman’s nimble orchestra.) <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 90.0pt;">While the rest of the
musical meanders all over the map, we meet kind souls who help out (and a few
unkind ones who don’t). Director Summer L. Williams and company mine the humor
from the secondary stories, like the gay couple (Matthew Murphy and John
O’Neil) whose goal is to get married in every state now that you can… and the
daunting state trooper (Cristhian Mancinas Garcia) who could, if he wanted to,
arrest mother on the spot… and the charming tamale vendor (Adrian Peguero) who
seduces mother with one bite of his pie and a tasty song. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 90.0pt;">Come to think of it,
though, she actually does the seducing… which is part of the musical’s undoing.
She sells herself as an “earth mother,” brimming with the life force of her
female ancestors, a free spirit possessing a vital spark which she wants to
pass on to her daughter… but she seems rudderless and easily distracted from
her mission. In point of fact, it’s Raijene Murchison as the park
ranger/internet follower whose courage reunites mother and daughter, more than
anything else. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 90.0pt;">The law of unintended
consequences brought me right up to the present again when the park ranger
sings an ode to our national parks praising their grand purpose: to be open to
everyone. NOT anymore. And the ranger isn’t being paid. Perhaps that’s what
MISS YOU LIKE HELL is now, not so much a mother-and-child reunion, but a stand
against that horrific, useless, obscene wall.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7426006450184586662.post-31410462544413732462019-01-08T19:49:00.002-05:002019-01-08T19:49:16.740-05:00QUICK TAKE REVIEW By Beverly Creasey Inside Voices
<br />
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 90.0pt;">SMALL MOUTH SOUNDS, Bess
Wohl’s charming send-up of the self-realization movement is getting a
crackerjack production at SpeakEasy Stage (meditating on itself through Feb. 2<sup>nd</sup>).
Director M. Bevin O’Gara has choreographed space and silence so seamlessly that
our laughter becomes part of the whole. You can’t help yourself when the leader
of the four day, silent retreat greets the newcomers with “I am not the
teacher. You are the teacher. You came here to meet yourself.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 90.0pt;">If you’ve been to one
of these seminars which promise “transformation,” and even if you haven’t, you
recognize the absurdity of guaranteeing “instant karma” (with apologies to John
Lennon). O’Gara’s actors express every emotion we need to understand their
mission, all without speaking. For the most part, everyone but the gravel
voiced leader (the cheeky Marianna Bassham) is silent.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 90.0pt;">Some suffer in
silence. Some (like the hilarious Nael Nacer) suffer in loud, gesticulating
silence when his pompous, full of himself roommate (Sam Simahk) hogs the floor
of their small cabin in the woods, then fills it with irritating incense, which
only serves to aggravate Nacer more. Two sincere women (Kerry A. Dowling and
Celeste Oliva) arrive together, perhaps to strengthen their relationship or
work on their problems.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 90.0pt;">One flirty young
woman (the funny, cell phone addicted Gigi Watson) has signed up, it would
seem, to work on her feminine wiles. (She needn’t have doubted her charms: Two
of the men seem immediately interested.) The last camper/acolyte is a rather vulnerable,
lost looking middle aged man who may be sick (Barlow Adamson, brilliant as the
sad sack we all worry about).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 90.0pt;">The script has a few
missteps, like how did the clueless sad sack get through the admission process
or even get interested in the program … and why fool us, along with the
campers, about a certain animal from THE WINTER’S TALE (I’m trying hard not to
give anything away.) Mostly the play is delightfully amusing, especially when
channeling Christopher Durang (the scene where the so-to-speak “fur” flies in
BEYOND THERAPY). The best part of SMALL MOUTH SOUNDS is that Wohl gives us
permission to laugh at the pedantic guru dispensing metaphors as wisdom.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7426006450184586662.post-19654795714938846672018-12-29T11:27:00.002-05:002018-12-29T11:27:16.212-05:00QUICK TAKE REVIEW By Beverly Creasey Captivating SHIPWRECKED!
<br />
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 90.0pt;">One of the most
charming productions of the year comes at the very end of the year.
SHIPWRECKED! An Entertainment—The Amazing Adventures of Louis De Rougemont (As
Told By Himself) is elegantly performed by Moonbox Productions, with the same
talented cast alternating evenings in TWELFTH NIGHT, also a tale set into
motion by a shipwreck.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 90.0pt;">SHIPWRECKED’s playwright,
Donald Marguiles, creates a larger than life world where a sickly young lad can
dream of sea voyages, rugged sailors and strange animals like flying marsupials—then
sign on with an eager captain and discover new lands for himself. We sign on,
too, hanging on every word the elderly De Rougemont utters. We suspect he may
be embellishing the story but he seems so sincere and kind (a tour de force for
Kevin Cirone as both the old and the young explorer), that we give ourselves
over completely to him. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 90.0pt;">We appreciate
Marguiles’ tongue in cheek reminders here and there that the truth is being stretched
or misrepresented entirely (those flying wombats) but this is a NICHOLAS
NICKELBY experience and we’re all in. Part of the allure is Allison Olivia
Choat’s ingenious staging where everything can become something else in the
blink of an eye, as we watch Michael Lin’s “Foley” sound effects come to life (a
wind machine, aluminum panels for thunder, etc.). Most impressive is the music
(Dan Rodriguez’ department), performed on stage by the extraordinarily
versatile cast. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 90.0pt;">The sincerity of the
players allows us to laugh at De Rougemont’s innocence, as he recounts his wild
discoveries. But when De Rougemont counts his losses, Cirone breaks our hearts,
especially when he loses his faithful friend, Bruno (Sarah Gazdowicz in a star
turn) and when he loses favor with his fellow Londoners.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 90.0pt;">Levity is provided by
the barrelful by Arthur Gomez as the blustery captain, by Charlotte Kinder as
De Rougemont’s over-protective mother, by Gazdowicz and Andrew Winson as stuffy
old society ladies, by Matthew Zahnzinger as a doddering, pinched, octopus
expert…Every member of the taut ensemble has the chance to find laughter in a
moment and lose themselves in a touching character role.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 90.0pt;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7426006450184586662.post-68908305137976231202018-12-24T11:32:00.004-05:002018-12-24T11:32:46.763-05:00QUICK TAKE REVIEW By Beverly Creasey MILE 26.2
<br />
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 90.0pt;">Act I of Leah Nanako
Winkler’s TWO MILE HOLLOW (@ Apollinaire through Jan 20<sup>th</sup>) reminded
me a little of Charles Busch’s wild send-up of those 1950’s Annette Funicella /
Frankie Avalon BEACH movies. Winkler certainly catches Busch’s over the top
spirit but to sustain that level of outrageous hilarity, the liveliness has to increase
exponentially. Act I is hilarious but only in waves. The success of outsized
farce depends on brazen momentum and Winkler’s parody of rich white families
picks up steam, then runs out of it, then gathers it again and runs out again.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 90.0pt;">The plot, if there is
one, hinges on a fraught reunion, when, after the patriarch’s death, the surviving
family members return to their sprawling beach house in the <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:city w:st="on">Hamptons</st1:city></st1:place>, to divvy up possessions, and
revisit old grievances, before it is sold. Mother (Paola M. Ferrer) is a
terror. Daughter Mary (Christa Brown) is a basket case. Two insecure brothers
(Armando Rivera and Mauro Canepa) fight over father’s motorcycle/metaphor (Don’t
ask) and Jasmine Brooks, as the latter brother’s personal assistant, tags along
in the first act and becomes the focus of the second.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 90.0pt;">The beach house,
we’re told, has a strange way of “affecting” its inhabitants. Evidently, it’s
haunted by the ghost of the late father who seems, in his afterlife, to have
grown fond of lightening strikes. Peculiarly, the HOLLOW affects the play, too,
turning Act II into a serious attempt at “message” drama, pontificating about
being “true to oneself.” This carnival of the bizarre is a marathon of unwieldy
dialogue and nonsensical allusions to weighty dramas by Chekov and <st1:state w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Tennessee</st1:place></st1:state> Williams… not
to mention Hitchcock when mother and daughter engage in earsplitting (Caw Caw)
bird-shrieks.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 90.0pt;">Speaking of
carnivals, David Reiffel’s delightful sound design whisks us from “The Days of
Wine and Roses” to Saint-Saens’ gorgeous “Aquarium,” with clever original music
thrown in for the wonderfully goofy “Extraordinary.” Director Danielle Fauteux
Jacques knows her way around comedy and there are plenty of opportunities for
merriment but the playwright moves the target on her</span><span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">—</span><span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 90.0pt;">and
for me, it was too late for the rather weak socio-political points about race
and status. The revelations come tardy as well. (We didn’t even know there were
any for most of the play. What is a revelation anyway, without suspense and
anticipation to precede it?)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 90.0pt;">What there is in TWO
MILE HOLLOW is an abundance of silliness, like the zany, recurring mispronunciations</span><span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">—</span><span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 90.0pt;">which
made me giggle every time because I didn’t see them coming… Even though I knew
there’d be more of them. So, if you can shift gears half way through, you may
“get” what the playwright is trying to accomplish. There is an exhibit of photos
in the lobby which makes the point that the play missed. You’ll cringe when you
see Lawrence Oliver in blackface as Othello (hovering over a young, white
Maggie Smith). The exhibit doesn’t include brown/black faced opera singers but
it should. The Metropolitan Opera still presents white singers “bronzed up” as
Othello and as Aida, broadcasting the performances without shame, to millions
of viewers in theaters via HD simulcast. No one bats an eyelash!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7426006450184586662.post-81978853541063418452018-12-06T09:59:00.005-05:002018-12-06T09:59:49.328-05:00TWO STAGE REVIEWS By Beverly Creasey REDISCOVERING OUR HISTORY
<br />
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 136.0pt;">Two companies cast
fresh eyes on historical figures with strong ties to <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Boston</st1:place></st1:city> this month. New Repertory Theatre
gives <i>1776</i> the “<st1:place w:st="on"><st1:city w:st="on">Hamilton</st1:city></st1:place>”
treatment (through Dec. 30<sup>th</sup>) and Lyric Stage Company (in
association with The Front Porch Arts Collective) remembers the extraordinary
African-American tenor, Roland Hayes, with BREATH & IMAGINATION (through
Dec. 23<sup>rd</sup>).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 136.0pt;">New Rep’s daring
re-imagining of Sherman Edwards and Peter Stone’s 1776 puts all of us on stage,
in all our diversity, to tell the story this time out. Lin-Manuel Miranda
created a theatrical revolution with his commitment to a theater which reflects
society and, as John Adams famously says in 1776, “We’ve crossed the Rubicon.” There’s
no going back. <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">HAMILTON</st1:place></st1:city>
re-sets the bar. Hallelujah!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 136.0pt;">Austin Pendleton and
Kelli Edwards beef up the choreography and tweak the focus, but otherwise, it’s
the <i>1776</i> you know. Perhaps their biggest hurtle is the music. Because
women are singing some of the male roles (and visa versa in one case), music
director Todd C. Gordon had to rework the score, changing keys to accommodate
the higher voices. He did. It works brilliantly and as a result of the new
casting, you sit up and take notice! <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 136.0pt;">The most
conventional role (as in “traditional” casting) is Benjamin Evett’s as <st1:place w:st="on">Adams</st1:place> and he gives a passionate performance</span><span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">—</span><span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 136.0pt;">but
swirling all around him is the brave new world reinterpreting the old white
world of our founding fathers. You might not think it would work but it does
and there’s resonance to be had that the old, pale version didn’t have. When
Thomas Jefferson is played by an African-American actor, (a serene KP Powell as
the quiet, cerebral author of the Declaration), you’re not about to forget that
<st1:place w:st="on">Jefferson</st1:place> kept slaves and fathered children
with at least one slave. (The “Declaration Descendants” project at Ancestry.com
has found twenty-nine living multi-racial descendants of the signers!)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 136.0pt;">The strange alchemy
at work is that, at the same time, you forget the casting altogether and are
swept up in the action of the musical. Bobbie Steinbach may be portraying Ben
Franklin, but it’s still the cantankerous Ben Franklin out there. Shannon Lee
Jones is delivering the “Molasses to Rum to Slaves” showstopper but Rutledge
still takes your breath away with his indictment of the tall ships “out of
Boston” (knowingly transporting slaves from the West Indies to the South). The
entire ensemble is flawless, with Dan Prior a shimmering Martha Jefferson (the
show’s most courageous role), with Rachel Belleman hilarious as the hard
drinking R.I. delegate and Liliane Klein wonderfully acerbic as the Scotsman
from <st1:state w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Delaware</st1:place></st1:state>.
<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 136.0pt;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“Momma Look Sharp” (sung from the perspective
of a dead soldier on the Lexington Green) is always devastating and Steven
Martin’s gorgeous elegy is exceptionally sweet and powerful. Carolyn Saxon’s
cheeky Abigail Adams contributes spice as well as salt peter to the revolution.
You’ll relish Cheryl Singleton as John Hancock, Aimee Doherty as the
conservative Pennsylvania holdout, Pier Lamia Porter as the preposterous Henry
Lee (of the Virginia Lees), Luis Negron as the steady congressional secretary,
Gary Ng as the delegate who saves the vote, and more, many more. Don’t miss
out.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 136.0pt;">I recall a
reenactment one July Fourth at the Old State House downtown wherein the
Declaration of Independence was solemnly read aloud, followed by Roland Hayes
singing “The Battle Hymn of the Republic.” It must have been well over forty
years ago, yet it made an indelible impression on me. How sad it is that not
many Bostonians remember the ground breaking tenor who lived in <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Brookline</st1:place></st1:city> for the last
fifty years of his life. Daniel Beaty’s BREATH & IMAGINATION is making some
restitution (although the script only covers the early part of Hayes’ remarkable
ninety year lifespan).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 136.0pt;">Davron S. Monroe gives
a tour de force as the pioneering African-American singer in director Maurice
Emmanuel Parent’s evocative production at the Lyric. The Beaty script focuses
in large part on Hayes’ relationship with his mother: Yewande Odetoyinbo turns
in a stellar performance as the tenacious woman who won’t give up easily on her
dream to have a preacher for a son. Beaty takes liberties with timelines and
omissions but manages to convey the hardships Hayes endured on his way to
becoming one of the preeminent interpreters of both operatic and spiritual
music in <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:country-region w:st="on">America</st1:country-region></st1:place>.
<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 136.0pt;">In addition to
Monroe and Odetoyinbo, both of whom are impressive vocalists, BREATH &
IMAGINATION features Doug Gerber as Hayes’ kindly first voice teacher (who
plays a life-changing recording of Enrico Caruso for the young Hayes) and Nile
Scott Hawver who plays everyone else (including a “non-traditional” role like
the ones in 1776). Music director Asher Denburg accompanies the singers on
piano, no small accomplishment. His is quite a spirited performance, as well. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 136.0pt;">Hayes’ ties to <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Boston</st1:place></st1:city> began in 1917 when
he rented Symphony Hall and produced his own sold out concert. Six years later after
major success in <st1:place w:st="on">Europe</st1:place>, he made his “official,”
invited debut with the BSO. He gave his last concert at the age of eighty-five
at the Longy School of Music in <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Cambridge</st1:place></st1:city>.
Of course, his voice is the most important element in BREATH & IMAGINATION
so we hear <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:city w:st="on">Monroe</st1:city></st1:place>
singing Scarlatti, Faure, Schubert and Donizetti as well as famous spirituals
like “Were You There When They Crucified My Lord.” <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
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<st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on"><span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 136.0pt;">Monroe</span></st1:place></st1:city><span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 136.0pt;"> triumphs in Nemorino’s gorgeous aria from L’ELISIR
D’AMORE, “Una Furtiva Lagrima,” when a tell-tale tear reveals true love. Every
operatic tenor worth his salt covers the aria. Add <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Monroe</st1:place></st1:city>’s name to that list. Kudos to the
Lyric and Front Porch for reminding us of the treasure that was <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Boston</st1:place></st1:city>’s for so many
years. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 136.0pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></div>
<br />
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 136.0pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7426006450184586662.post-117247717403788932018-11-14T11:46:00.001-05:002018-11-14T11:46:13.348-05:00QUICK TAKE REVIEW By Beverly Creasey PANdemonium at Hub
<br />
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As the variegated pirates and wildly weird inhabitants of
PETER AND THE STARCATHER are wont to say in the Hub Theatre extravaganza (@ The
First Church downtown through Nov. 17<sup>th)</sup> :T T F N (Ta Ta For Now)…
which means they’ll be back, again and again, swanning and swashbuckling to the
delight of children, parents and ordinarily crusty reviewers. What’s not to
like in Hub’s madcap mash-up of the tightly wound original PETER PAN.</div>
<br />
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Director Sarah Gazdowicz makes the production look like the
inmates have taken over the asylum. The (barely) controlled hysteria reminded
me of Imaginary Beasts’ free wheeling Pantomimes. Gazdowicz and several others
in the Hub cast are stellar IB alumni, where imagination leaves no stone
unturned. The best part of the PAN prequel is watching the characters wind up
and then spin out all over the stage. Chief among them is Joey C. Pelletier’s
nefarious Black Stache, arch-enemy of Peter. You know him as Captain Hook from
the J.M. Barrie version. The clever children in the audience knew at once and
said so out loud. (This version, imagined by comedian Dave Barry takes place
before the other <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Barrie</st1:place></st1:city>
story. If this is confusing to you, just wait for the wacky exposition, which I
still haven’t fully grasped)</div>
<br />
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Pelletier is a whirling dervish whose manic quips and quotes
fly so fast, you can hardly keep up. He’s aided and abetted by Michael John
Ciszewski as his right hand man who’s always right at hand, although the
captain doesn’t notice him, thereby cementing his name. Pelletier bellows and
Ciczewski answers frenetically “It’s me.” (Say this a few dozen times and
you’ll see.)</div>
<br />
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Ciszewski specializes in running the best amok you’ll see all
season. What’s more, you can’t wait to see Bob Mussett return as the elderly
lady who thinks she might like to try romance again… even better still, she (in
full beard, mind you) catches the eye of a gentlemanly seaman portrayed in
marvelous deadpan by Lindsay Eagle! More delicious turns from Robert Orzalli as
a Cosa Nostra chef with a menu you can’t refuse, from Jon Vellante as one of
the lost, so hungry boys that he faints at the mention of sticky pudding, from
David Makransky as the other lost boy who wants to be “leader” and from Molly
Kimmerling as a nasty villain of a captain.</div>
<br />
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The plot is hung on the (mostly serious) characters… who
don’t get to be funny but they do get to deliver some very touching moments.
Claire Koenig as Peter is a wonder. We believe she’s the boy who doesn’t want
to grow up (because grown-ups lie and cheat). Smart fellow! Lauren Elias as the
Wendy stand-in (Please don’t ask me why she’s not actually named Wendy), does
have some sport, challenging and besting the “lost boys” and some heartache
when she leaves them. Liz Adams as her stalwart father oozes good breeding and
fair play. Valera Bamgala, likewise, is the stand up captain of the ship with
the wrong cargo. (Again, don’t ask me about the cargo. I completely lost track
of the second treasure chest and I’ve seen the play before.)</div>
<br />
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Here’s the deal. The brilliant ensemble cast keeps you on
your toes, expecting another surprise around the next corner. And the surprises
keep coming. You’re laughing so hard, you’re afraid you’ll laugh over the
dialogue so you try to squeal quietly, using your inside voice so you won’t
miss anything. It’s exhausting, having such a grand time. Who cares about the silly
plot anyway.</div>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7426006450184586662.post-84569911169904613272018-11-07T13:01:00.003-05:002018-11-07T13:01:30.488-05:00Capsule Review By Beverly Creasey ACCOMODATION COMPLICATION
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One of the best performances of the season is Paula Plum’s as
a lonely, timid soul who opens up to a ROOMMATE (@ Lyric Stage through Nov. 18<sup>th</sup>).
The play turns on a very thin, implausible dime about half way through but
director Spiro Veloudos picks up the pace and pulls it off, even as you shake
your head in disbelief that it could work. The best line in the play is
Adrianne Krstansky’s about children: “They don’t have to like us. They just
have to live long enough to become us.”</div>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7426006450184586662.post-57140899023369867502018-11-07T12:59:00.002-05:002018-11-07T13:04:55.740-05:00QUICK TAKE REVIEW By Beverly Creasey CENTENARY CELEBRATION<br />
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American Classics’ revue, YIP! <span lang="ES-TRAD" style="mso-ansi-language: ES-TRAD;">YIP! </span>YAPHANK (Irving Berlin’s World
War I Soldier Show) pulls out all the stops. <st1:state w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Berlin</st1:place></st1:state> became a citizen, became famous for
his popular songs, got drafted into the Army and convinced the Brass he’d be
more useful writing them a show. Everyone, not just the doughboys, knows <i>Oh</i>,
<i>How I Hate to Get Up in the Morning (Someday I’m going to murder the
bugler…)</i> The American Classics’ combo, led by Joe Della Penna, included drums
(Dean Groves), and of course, a bugler (Jason Huffman)! </div>
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Since 2018 is the 100<sup>th</sup> anniversary of the “War to
End All Wars” you’ll be seeing a lot of historical footage but American
Classics’ effort, for my vote, hits just the right notes. It seemed like a cast
of thousands (really only 17) but they packed the Longy Stage in Cambridge with
precision marching, not to mention an impressive precision tambourine drill
from one of Berlin’s Minstrel Shows.</div>
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Just like the boys at boot camp (near Yaphank in Long Island)
donned wigs and pearls, the American Classics ensemble dressed up as the famous
Floradora Girls, led by AC founder Brad Conner as Ethan Sagin’s sweetie in <i>Sterling
Silver Moon.</i> Ben Sears kicked off the bittersweet songs <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:state w:st="on">Berlin</st1:state></st1:place> wrote to buck up his fellow
infantrymen, with the charming <i>Smile and Show Your Dimple (Light your face
up and brace up)</i>. </div>
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Narrated by Peter A. Carey, AC found delightful parodies and more than a few show
stopping sentimental songs like Joel Edwards’ gorgeous (<i>Dream on, Little)
Soldier Boy</i>, sung with a humming chorus. If Brian DeLorenzo’s letter home
to mother<i>, (I Can Always Find a Little Sunshine in) The YMCA</i>, didn’t
already have us in tears, the barbershop harmony sold it, sliding into a heart-wrenching
finish. Then the soldier boys trooped off the stage with the sobering <i>We’re
On Our Way to France</i>. They returned for an encore of the original 1918
version (two decades before Kate Smith’s smash hit) of <i>God Bless America</i>,
written to a slightly different tune. For an hour or so, you felt hopeful for a
world dedicated to peace and prosperity.</div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7426006450184586662.post-31424167067314792982018-11-03T13:11:00.001-04:002018-11-03T13:20:06.033-04:00QUICK TAKE REVIEW By Beverly Creasey UNSAFE At ANY SPEED<br />
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Theatre on Fire has a gift for finding cheeky, boisterous
British comedies like Lucy Kirkwood’s naughty, savagely funny NSFW (playing @
CWT through Nov. 17<sup>th</sup>). NOT SAFE FOR WORK debuted in 2012 at the <st1:placename w:st="on">Royal</st1:placename> <st1:placetype w:st="on">Court</st1:placetype> <st1:placename w:st="on">Theatre</st1:placename> in <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:city w:st="on">London</st1:city></st1:place>
and it couldn’t be more current now.</div>
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You know, of course, that the British are obsessed with sex… not
just those cringe-worthy BENNY HILL comedies. Their daily rags sport titillating
front page headlines like “House of Lords entangled in sex ring” and worse on
line. It’s the way we’re obsessed with political conspiracies here (although
thanks to this president, you’re hard pressed to find a respected daily that
doesn’t reference his sexual assaults). We’re at last becoming British! Two
wars couldn’t do it but this pathological narcissist has accomplished it
without even trying.</div>
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Here’s the set-up for NSFW. A British version of PENTHOUSE named
DOGHOUSE may have published something clearly illegal and we get to see A) How
they try to wriggle out of it and B) How everyone, it seems, will compromise
their morals when there’s a substantial payoff involved and C) We get to observe
the inner workings of a creepy, sexist enterprise. In point of fact, we see it
twice, when C) reverses itself in Act II, with turnabout/fair play except that
nothing is fair in <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:city w:st="on">Kirkwood</st1:city></st1:place>’s
dog eat dog publishing world.</div>
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The dialogue is clever and heady, referencing everything from
the latest endocrine research to Nancy Mitford’s code words to identify class.
Director Darren Evans’ cast is spot on. The physical comedy is inspired, with
one character’s humiliating journey from pillar to post (the hilarious Isaiah
Plovnick) to another’s battle to the death (metaphorically speaking, of course)
with Spanx. Anna Wintour can’t hold a candle to Becca Lewis’ man-eating
managing director. </div>
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David Anderson turns in another tour de force (you may recall
his dazzling work for Zeitgeist), this time as the sleazy head of DOGHOUSE
magazine. He knows every dog whistle in a journalist’s lexicon, reducing each
and every one of his employees to rubble. There’s Ivy Ryan in a nicely nuanced
performance as his willing assistant (whose face and body language register
“unwilling”) and Padraig Sullivan, utterly charming as a poor, benighted,
Argyle (sweatered and souled) homebody totally unsuited for this kind of work. </div>
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Best of all, to my mind, is Dale J. Young as a wronged
citizen, a father who just wants to bounce his little girl on his knee again, a
wretched creature with no family now, no hope ahead of him and no way to
prevail against Anderson’s cold-hearted, manipulating bastard. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7426006450184586662.post-31830345718262737042018-10-27T17:25:00.001-04:002018-10-27T17:25:15.778-04:00New Review By Beverly Creasey Nunsensical Naughtiness
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Who would have thought that a small, out-of-the-way theater
like Curtain Call would have the answer to the overwhelming Sturm and Drang
oppressing us daily! They’re offering the chance to escape the relentless
political mayhem by embracing the comic mayhem of NUNSENSE THE MUSICAL (playing
through Nov. 4<sup>th</sup>). Laughter, it seems, may be the only respite we
have. </div>
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Audiences evidently adore nuns behaving badly… almost as much
as misbehaving puppets: Dan Goggin’s musical has both, from an irreverent Reverend
Mother to an unruly puppet called Sister Mary Annette. It seems the NUNSENSE
franchise is going strong still, with sequels and spin-offs everywhere. But essential
to a successful send-up are comic timing, truthful portrayals and crackerjack
performers who can sing, dance and spoof. Director/choreographer David Costa
has a professional cast who make it look easy, even the raucous tap number!</div>
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Mary Beth Murphy as Mother Superior reigns over her brood
with a severe side glance that most school children instantly recognize… but you
don’t have to be Catholic to be familiar with the stern stance of authority, or
to delight in the Reverend Mother’s unintentional tumble from grace. Murphy’s
momentarily lapsed Right Reverend is a hoot. </div>
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Christine Kenney as Sister Robert (with a decidedly broad <st1:place w:st="on">Bronx</st1:place> accent) gets lots of laughs complaining about
playing second fiddle to Mother Superior. She even gets a song about it. Nikita
DaRosa gives a winning performance as the sweetest ballet dancing Sister Mary
Leo I’ve encountered in many a NUNSENSE… and Kels Ferguson wins our hearts
hands down, as the slightly vague Sister suffering mightily from amnesia. <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Ferguson</st1:place></st1:city> and her puppet
steal the show outright. Not only does she voice Sister Marie Annette without
moving her lips, her own voice in their duet is a unique blend of Disneyfied
warble and operatic Bel Canto. Bravo. </div>
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Rena Pemper-Rodriguez gets to fire up the audience as if it
were a Revival Meeting with her <i>Holier Than Thou</i> hoedown. Music director
Danielle Clougher steps up the tempo for a rip-roaring finish to the show. When
I attended, the audience was responding to Sister Hubert like it was an
evangelical service with call and response! David Costa and company have
conjured up some virtuoso alchemy for a truly delightful NUNSENSE.</div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7426006450184586662.post-13169858290781412012018-10-24T10:01:00.003-04:002018-10-24T10:01:34.414-04:00QUICK TAKE REVIEW By Beverly Creasey Remembering and Revisiting Childhood
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FUN HOME (@ BCA through Nov. 24<sup>th</sup>) is the kind of
intimate, artful musical which is right up SpeakEasy’s alley. They take small
works like Jason Robert Brown’s <i>A New Brain</i> or Tony Kushner’s <i>Caroline,</i>
<i>or Change</i> and give them the definition that might be lost in a huge
theater. That said, FUN HOME won a slew of Tony Awards in <st1:state w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">New York</st1:place></st1:state> including Best Musical, being the
first musical with a lesbian central character to do so.</div>
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FUN HOME (music by Jeanine Tesori/book and lyrics by Lisa
Kron) is based on the graphic novel by Alison Bechdel, which Bechdel
sardonically calls “A Family Tragicomedy”… Tragic certainly as the loss of a
parent can be to the survivors, but comic because she had inventive siblings
for support. In the musical they make up a delightfully irreverent, faux
advertisement for their father’s funeral home business (hence the title of the
musical).</div>
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All isn’t fun for Alison and her brothers. Their father is
remote and can be cruel on occasion. We meet Alison at three times in her life,
as a schoolgirl (Marissa Simeqi), as a college student (Ellie van Amerongen)
with Amy Jo Jackson as principal narrator of the musical at age 43. The trick
is that they’re all sharing the stage together. </div>
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The forty three year old has a grown-up’s empathy for her
gay, closeted father because “he didn’t know what to do… he wanted more out of
life” but the eight year old didn’t understand why he constantly belittled her
ideas. In fact both father (Todd Yard) and mother (Laura Marie Duncan) burden
Alison with their problems. Both parents have musical moments where they lay
bare their emotions but <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Duncan</st1:place></st1:city>’s
“Days and Days” about “the day you disappear” is a show stopper.</div>
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Director Paul Daigneault has a talented cast to bring home
the coming of age story… and because music director Matthew Stern and the
small-scale ensemble are on stage, FUN HOME becomes a cozy chamber musical.
Tesori’s score ranges from mother’s classical etude to a wonderful rock n’ roll
number, <i>Ring of Keys</i> featuring solid guitar work from Tom Young. </div>
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Van Amerongen totals up lots of laughs when she finally feels
comfortable enough to come out, in the riotous <i>Changing My Major</i> [to
Joan]. Desire Graham is a standout as the object of her affection, as are Cameron
Levesque and Luke Gold portraying her precocious, younger brothers.</div>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7426006450184586662.post-66224493912214893802018-10-22T10:15:00.001-04:002018-10-22T10:15:16.334-04:00QUICK TAKE REVIEW By Beverly Creasey Line of Demarcation
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The Improbable Players develop plays about addiction
(alcohol/ cocaine /heroin/opiates etc.) which they perform in schools and
community settings, with education and prevention their goal. Their impressive
showcase, END OF THE LINE: “Confronting the Epidemic” occupied the Mosesian
main stage at the Watertown Arsenal this past Wednesday night (Oct. 17<sup>th</sup>).</div>
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Originally conceived and directed by Lynn Bratley (and
continued by Joanna Simmons and Chris Everett), the evening of stories and
vignettes were gathered by interviewing people who know the pain of addiction
without knowing how to embrace change. The actors have lived similar stories
because they themselves are in recovery. What comes across to an audience is
their generous spirit and a genuine affection for the characters they inhabit.</div>
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In one heartbreaking sketch, a small child (Caryn May) finds
drugs in her mother’s unattended purse. In another a desperate woman (Meghann
Perry) calls multiple pharmacies to renew an opiate prescription with “no
refills.” In another scene, a game show host (Jon Riemer) asks the audience to
identify the addict. In the last scene of the evening Christian Santilli’s
character is literally tied in knots trying to find his way out of the
addiction cycle. What we witness in all the depictions is how easily someone in
dire need will turn to another, far more dangerous drug without realizing or
caring what it will do to them.</div>
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Years ago it was thought that ads and slogans could “scare
people straight”… Now we know that doesn’t work. Remember Nancy Reagan’s “Just
Say No” campaign or the public service television spot showing an egg crack
open in a frying pan. The baritone voice warned us “This is your brain on
drugs.” The problem is that these platitudes are impersonal or at best, one
size fits all. The dozen or so actors of Improbable Players make their live
message of hope “up front and personal” and that makes all the difference.</div>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7426006450184586662.post-31338367230230320172018-10-21T10:25:00.001-04:002018-10-21T10:25:28.558-04:00QUICK TAKE REVIEW By Beverly Creasey SILENCE = DEATH
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Although David Meyers’ WE WILL NOT BE SILENT (@ New Rep
through Nov. 4<sup>th</sup>) takes place in Nazi Germany over 70 years ago
(based on real members of the Resistance movement) it seems to mirror events in
our time…the only difference is that the German woman at the heart of Meyers’
play is put to death for protesting against Hitler and protesters in the U.S.
are not… Except that it does happen here. A woman attending a peaceful rally in
<st1:place w:st="on"><st1:city w:st="on">Charlottesville</st1:city>, <st1:state w:st="on">Virginia</st1:state></st1:place> was murdered by Neo-Nazis… and the
president refused to condemn the right wing nationalists, saying there were
“good people on both sides.” And now he sets the tone for more violence by
telling his supporters that peaceful dissenters are “angry mobs” which should
be feared.</div>
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Sophie Scholl’s small resistance organization (the White
Rose) published leaflets which were her undoing when the police found them in
her possession. Among other charges against Hitler were the words, “<i>Every
word that comes from his mouth is a lie</i>.” We often wonder how the Germans
could <i>let</i> the Holocaust happen. “<i>Never Again</i>” is written above
the concentration camps that still stand as horrific reminders. Yet the
Nationalist (trans. Nazi) Party is gaining ground today in <st1:country-region w:st="on">Germany</st1:country-region> (and all over <st1:place w:st="on">Europe</st1:place>).
And here.</div>
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Tim Spears gives a strong performance as Sophie Scholl’s
interrogator, playing “good cop/bad cop” with her emotions. Sarah Oakes
Muirhead as Sophie has the difficult task of playing the nobility beneath her
stalwart exterior. Muirhead seems so frail, yet the resistance rested on her
small shoulders. Like Brecht’s Galileo, she is offered leniency if she recants
and like Shaw’s Joan of Arc, she can’t deny what she believes, even to see her
beloved family again. Like Shaw’s Joan, Meyers gives Sophie a lovely speech
about the earthly beauty she will lose. Meyers also affords her the chance to
see her brother (a graceful Conor Proft) again, if only in her imagination.
Director Jim Petosa’s resonant production reminds us of the terrible
consequences of “silence.” </div>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7426006450184586662.post-29560299117696913232018-10-14T16:06:00.003-04:002018-10-14T16:06:55.593-04:00QUICK TAKE REVIEW By Beverly Creasey A BARBER of QUALITY
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Boston Lyric Opera pulls out most of the stops in Rossini’s
knock about comic opera, THE BARBER OF SEVILLE, parading through Oct. 21<sup>st</sup>
@ Emerson Cutler Majestic. Director Rosetta Cucchi (and scenic designer Julia
Noulin-Mérat) have imagined a set inspired by M.C. Escher with endless
stairways, some going nowhere. Certainly, mistaken avenues and mistaken identities
pepper the (Beaumarchais) story. Precautions prove useless (as in Rossini’s
first title for the opera) as a lecherous old doctor tries to outwit a dashing
count in pursuit of a beauty.</div>
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The “beauty” is mezzo-soprano Daniela Mack, as Rosina, who
delivers a triumphant <i>Una Voce Poco Fa</i>, as Rossini wrote it, in the
original key! We know everything we need to know from that aria: She can be
sweet if she wants, but do not cross her or you will feel her wrath. Her
gorgeous top notes are surpassed only by her astonishing, comic low notes.
Equaling her prowess and power is tenor Jesus Garcia as the count. Their
playful duets propel the comedy forward. (The speed of the music has to match
the speed of the farce and music director David Angus keeps the momentum apace.)</div>
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Act I by itself is a wonder, with Matthew Worth’s brash <i>Largo
Al Factotum</i> to “humbly” introduce himself as the “barber of quality,” with Rosina’s
spectacular aria, Figaro’s driving duet with the count, Steven Condy’s
hilarious Doctor Bartolo, a wild sextet to end the act and, best of all, David
Crawford’s lashing, scene stealing turn as Don Basilio: Looking like one of the
Munsters, walking like a peacock who is having difficulty unfurling his tail,
Crawford makes the schemer irresistible. His <i>La Calunnia</i>, to my mind, is
the highlight of the opera.</div>
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For BARBER veterans, little unexpected touches are a delight,
as long as they don’t change the narrative or the music. Case in point, Don
Basilio’s slightly sado-masochistic bent and his misinterpretation in Act II of
the endless farewells. It’s extremely clever to have him return because he wants
to be polite… And Rosina’s personal tempest for the orchestral storm… And Dr.
Bartolo’s headphones: so silly but effective in keeping him occupied while the
lovers plot their elopement. (A few of the comic bits seemed cringe worthy to
me but they got lots of laughs.)</div>
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I wish director Cucchi and company had embraced the ‘useless
stairway’ conceit to its full extent, mining humor from foiled exits but I only
noticed one false comic departure (Don Basilio’s) and it didn’t involve a
stairway at all. Dr. Bartolo trouped endlessly up and down the same flight but
mostly, the Escher effect itself went nowhere except to separate characters who
are ordinarily in the same room (Dr. Bartolo eyeing the furtive lovers at the
piano). I did love Rosina’s frustration, however, when neither the count nor
the doctor paid her any attention in the music lesson.</div>
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See this BARBER for the lovely voices and the ingenious flourishes,
both vocal and dramatic. </div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7426006450184586662.post-3413474322602448742018-10-14T15:57:00.004-04:002018-10-14T15:57:57.595-04:00QUICK TAKE REVIEW By Beverly Creasey Perilous PICNIC
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If you know <i>Imaginary Beasts</i> from the inspired lunacy
of their Winter Pantos, you will be surprised by the depth and intensity of
their haunting PICNIC AT HANGING ROCK (through Oct. 27<sup>th</sup> @ <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:city w:st="on">Charlestown</st1:city></st1:place> Working
Theater).</div>
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This is the 50<sup>th</sup> anniversary of the Joan Lindsay
novel (which inspired the eerie Peter Weir film) about several impressionable
schoolgirls who went missing during a field trip to the 500 foot high volcanic
rock “corpse” hanging over the Australian plain.</div>
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<i>Imaginary Beasts</i> is the always inventive brainchild of
Matthew Woods. He fuses atmospheric music, physicality, shadow play and a
powerful gestural language into his creations… whether or not he’s working from
a pre-existing script. </div>
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This adaptation (by Tom Wright from the novel) is enhanced by
the ensemble’s seamless story telling. (Each IB project is a collaboration.)
Six actresses trade characters as diverse as a crusty old carriage driver, a
dogged policeman, an Englishman on holiday and the highly susceptible students
of <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:placename w:st="on">Appleyard</st1:placename> <st1:placetype w:st="on">College</st1:placetype></st1:place>.</div>
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In the same way that you give yourself over to a puppet
(blinding yourself to the puppeteer), your eyes will see only the climbers, as
the foolhardy girls clamber up the (human) rock face and tumble over an actor’s
back into a ravine below. Woods manages to evoke the wild spirit lurking
beneath the repressed veneer of a Victorian education (reflected cleverly in
Cotton Talbot-Minken’s proper, buttoned up British attire). </div>
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Woods has found some wonderful additions to his solid troupe
of performers, who when exchanging persona and placement, act as an organic
whole, all contributing to the unity of the performance. IB is unique in making
the ensemble the point, and the star, of their shows.</div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7426006450184586662.post-18429230319255291752018-10-07T19:44:00.004-04:002018-10-08T12:38:33.769-04:00QUICK TAKE REVIEW By Beverly Creasey Fission Vision at Flat Earth<br />
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FLAT EARTH THEATRE, despite its playfully antediluvian name,
is carving out a niche for itself, discovering lovely plays about women of
science. DELICATE PARTICLE LOGIC by Jennifer Blackmer (pulsing through Oct. 13<sup>th</sup>)
places atomic physicist Lise Meitner (a tour de force by Christine Power) at
the epicenter of the unearthing of nuclear fission… for which her male
laboratory partner, the noted chemist Otto Hahn (a solid Thomas Grenon) received
the Nobel Prize. (You may remember Flat Earth’s extraordinary production of SILENT
SKY from last season, about the women of the Harvard Observatory who weren’t
credited for the stars they discovered.)</div>
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In Blackmer’s ingenious memory play, Meitner and Hahn join
forces to find the next new element… and beat out the rest of the field, which
included Enrico Fermi, for the bragging rights. Everyone, it seems, was
bombarding radium and uranium to find heretofore unknown heavier elements. Meitner
suggested to Hahn that what they were, or rather, weren’t seeing, were lighter
elements emerging with unstable centers, and those center nuclei would yield
infinite energy when bombarded. Please insert Einstein’s Theory of Relativity
here because I, not being a scientist, can only grasp that splitting these
molecules creates fission and fission is essential for a very, very large
explosion… like the horrific bombs unleashed on <st1:city w:st="on">Hiroshima</st1:city>
and <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Nagasaki</st1:place></st1:city>.</div>
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It is now widely accepted that Meitner and Hahn should have
shared in the accolades. Blackmer ingeniously places Meitner in the center of a
tiny emotional sphere as well, with Hahn and his wife (a glorious performance
from Barbara Douglass) swirling in various combinations. We first meet Edith
Hahn in a sanitarium of sorts, where she has been committed for hurling a vase
at her husband! When she is visited by Meitner, the two reminisce as if they
were old friends. We’re given several versions of the past to choose from,
charming recreations, which, like Edith’s water colors, float in undulating
memory pools.</div>
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Blackmer is extremely kind to Hahn, painting him as an
affectionate lab partner to Meitner, even helping her escape from the Nazis.
However, the playwright intimates that the two may have been more. Meitner
calls him Hahnchen, the “chen” indicating intimacy, perhaps only ‘wished for’
on her part. And he may have been nudged, the playwright hints, to accept sole
ownership of the Nobel. You decide once you’ve weighed all the dramatic evidence.
That’s what’s so fascinating about Blackmer’s play, that all this information has
been filtered through time and fragile recollections.</div>
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Director Betsy S. Goldman’s shimmering
production is enhanced exponentially by Christine A. Banna’s dancing
projections (from sparkling snow to theoretical formulae which flow right over
the actors) and PJ Strachman’s shadowy, evocative lighting. Kudos to Flat Earth
for again offering performances with American Sign Language interpreters. </div>
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As I was leaving the theater, bemoaning Meitner’s fate, a
friend reminded me of the wonderful Nobel news of last week. Even as half the
Senate was dismissing a woman’s testimony and embracing a judge’s lies, two
women were recognized by the worldwide scientific community. Frances H. Arnold
(and two men) won the Nobel Prize in Chemistry and Donna Strickland won the
Nobel for Physics. Flat Earth Theatre calls us to remember all the women who
have stood up over the centuries. Thanks, Flat Earth. </div>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7426006450184586662.post-67730445402823676702018-09-30T11:35:00.002-04:002018-09-30T11:35:36.477-04:00QUICK TAKE REVIEW By Beverly Creasey BURGESS Goes Mamet One Better
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Eleanor Burgess’ brilliant two hander, THE NICETIES, may have
used David Mamet’s OLEANNA structure (student confronts teacher/ professor gets
rattled/ says and does untoward things/ consequences ensue) but that’s where
the comparison ends. THE NICETIES isn’t about radical feminism. Racism and
history are at odds in the <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:city w:st="on">Huntington</st1:city></st1:place>’s
savvy production (playing through Oct. 6<sup>th</sup>) and unlike the static
Mamet play, I truly enjoyed Burgess’ serious and often humorous writing. </div>
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The law of unintended consequences, however, has intervened
in my review because I saw Burgess’ extraordinary play mere hours after I
watched Dr. Blasey Ford and Judge Kavanaugh testify before Congress on Sept. 27
(prior to Senator Flake’s successful maneuver for an F.B.I. investigation).
Words like <i>prep school, bravery, hearings</i> and <i>death threats</i>
jumped across the footlights at me, clanging like “The Anvil Chorus.” Suddenly,
Burgess’ play became an indictment of the current (hopeless, helpless) state of
our democracy, when, in fact, she sets her play in 2016 before the car wreck of
an alt-right government.</div>
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Burgess is concerned with the bias of history, especially
American history<span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">—</span>written, as the
pundits say, by the victors. So why should we be surprised that there are few
accounts from African slaves or Native-Americans of what transpired? The young
African-American student whose paper is being skewered for both grammar and
content (by her elegant but pretentious white professor) makes the case that
she’s carrying around “real history” in her skin and bones. (Fats Waller made
the case seventy years ago about “what is on my face” in his searing “Black and
Blue.” Yet African-Americans today still find their lives endangered by the
color of their skin.) </div>
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Jordan Boatman’s Zoe is audacious and impetuous and her
professor (Lisa Banes, oozing a Seven Sisters superiority) doesn’t much like
her tone. She tries to tell the student she’s sympatico: “I get it,” she says.
And you know the response to that! The back and forth is exciting stuff. You
think the teacher has a point (about books being better than Google for
academic reference material), then you side with the student (about the
importance of demonstrations and marches over classes). It’s a marvelous debate
until it goes very wrong.</div>
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You’re even drawn into the argument at the center of their
academic disagreement: that revolutions don’t work. The professor maintains
that the repressive government which is violently overthrown makes way for yet
another repressive regime, citing <st1:country-region w:st="on">Russia</st1:country-region>,
<st1:country-region w:st="on">Iran</st1:country-region> and <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:country-region w:st="on">Cuba</st1:country-region></st1:place>. The student is sure that in <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:country-region w:st="on">America</st1:country-region></st1:place>’s
case, “democracy was fertilized by oppression” but her professor isn’t signing
on, especially without proof.</div>
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Director Kimberly Senior gets a clever dramatic rhythm going
on stage for the two dynamic performers and Act I hurtles by. The second act
resolution, for me, is less satisfying than the set-up but whether we favor one
point of view over the other, Burgess manages to make both characters compelling
and sympathetic.</div>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7426006450184586662.post-44526749826315823092018-09-29T14:19:00.000-04:002018-09-29T14:19:01.992-04:00QUICK TAKE REVIEW By Beverly Creasey “Not a Puppet… Not a Puppet” Fred is us.
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You must MEET FRED, at the <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:placename w:st="on">Boston</st1:placename> <st1:placetype w:st="on">Center</st1:placetype></st1:place>
for the Arts only through Sept. 30<sup>th</sup> so hurry! He’s a plucky little
fellow who just wants “to be a regular guy.”… But it’s not so easy for someone
who needs help to get around. The PUPPET SHOWPLACE in <st1:city w:st="on">Brookline</st1:city>
(celebrating its 45<sup>th</sup> year) is instrumental in bringing FRED all the
way from <st1:country-region w:st="on">Wales</st1:country-region> to <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Boston</st1:place></st1:city> as part of FRED’s
cross country tour. (The Showplace presents ingenious puppet performances for
adults, in addition to their children’s shows and their riotous puppet SLAMS.)</div>
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Two Welsh companies conceived MEET FRED, their hilarious and
deeply touching theater piece about a puppet and his existential existence. The
puppeteers from Blind Summit joined up with the Hijinx organization, which
creates extraordinary work performed by actors with and without learning
disabilities… and the result of their merger is remarkable.</div>
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Fred resembles those small, featureless, wooden models with
hinged appendages, used to practice drawing the human figure. No face, just an
oval head perched on a moveable torso. But FRED is definitely not made of wood.
He’s soft cloth, animated by three puppeteers in black who recede, like the
puppeteers in WAR HORSE did. We experience Fred’s enormous struggle to stand up
(literally and figuratively) in a world not particularly interested in him. He’s
got heart and gumption and he’s determined to make his mark. (Dan McGowan,
Morgan Thomas and Sam Harding work every joint and sinew the little guy has,
with McGowan supplying Fred’s charming, squeaky and sometimes defiant voice.)</div>
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Lucky for us, Fred’s adventures take him into Monty Python
territory: He meets a hostile job councilor in Richard Newnham, a bewildered
human date in Lindsay Foster and a fifty mile per hour hurricane, conjured up
by director Ben Pettit-Wade and stage manager Gareth John. </div>
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If you have seen <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Boston</st1:place></st1:city>’s
IMAGINARY BEASTS, then you’re familiar with the seamless mix of puppetry and
humanity for creating profoundly moving theater. This is the Welsh version of
the Beasts. When Fred expresses deep sorrow, you’ll feel it, too. But mostly,
the show mines laughter born out of the everyday frustrations we all
experience. Fred really is all of us.</div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com