Bernstein Bros.

CT...
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Review: "Bernstein Brothers Christmas Spectacular" not typical holiday family show

Jim Cavener

ASHEVILLE - Enthusiasm and able stagecraft are the hallmarks of "The Bernstein Brothers' Christmas Spectacular," by one of the the area's new production companies, In The Moment.

The material is all original, either for this production or by company members from earlier forays into holiday mayhem. This is not your traditional year-end entertainment, trying to please everyone with sappy and saccharine nonsense. The first act of this zany romp is equal opportunity offensive material. No one is safe or spared.

Basically a spoof of the 1950's TV 'Holiday Special' genre, the hosts, fictional Jack and Jimmy Bernstein, are in Christmas-colored tux jackets, or plaid blazers, with an ever-present martini glass in hand. Think early Rowan and Martin, Perry Como, or Dean Martin. Even Pat Boone it isn't. However, the then ubiquitous cigarettes are blessedly missing.

"Christmas Spectacular" is a refreshing take on the season, with some excess in the first act. Using actual sponsors of this stage show in "commercials" is a clever twist.There are sketches based on randy reindeer, efforts to unionize Santa's elves and a way dysfunctional family who make a landmark video greeting for their friends.

The language and situations in this act are not for youngsters, nor many oldsters. This audience is the 20-something crowd, and those wishing they were still there.

The second act's "A Twisted Carol" variant on Dickens is simply brilliant in its different perspective. Knowing the frequently performed original, or condensations thereof, will enrich appreciation of this twisted "A Christmas Carol." All the familiar cast members are here: Scrooge, Cratchit, Marley's Ghost, the Sprits of Christmas Past, Present and Future, along with a puppet Tiny Tim. It works very well this way. The skit is focused, incisive and brings this dingy Dickens within reach of the most limited literary lion.

This over-the-top send-up of holiday entertainment is the work of husband-and-wife Karen Strobbe and Mondy Carter who moved from Milwaukee to Black Mountain a couple years ago. They have teamed with Jonathan Frappier and Chall Gray to bring off this high energy romp. Carter and Frappier are the Bernstein Brothers, plus random other outrageous roles. David and Karri Ostergaard joined with equally able regional actor John Crutchfield, plus Trinity Smith and Vivian Smith (no relation), and Darren Marshall to round out the cast. Strobbe directs.

Fast-paced and loud are characteristics of the production. The effort to gross out the audience in the first act was easily accomplished. Still, with some patience even the most traditional theatergoer would be reached by the creativity of the second act's new take on the immortal Dickens' expose of greed and redemption. Authentically written and convincingly delivered, "Christmas Spectacular" is a tribute to theater skills and daring aspirations.

Jim Cavener writes on theater for The Citizen-Times.

Wonderful Life

Don't know if we'll get a local review, with the show only in Asheville a few days, but here's one from Concord of NCSC/ITP's It's A Wonderful Life
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‘It’s a Wonderful Life,’ with a twist

November 18, 2008

By Lee Ann Sides Garrett
For the Kannapolis Citizen

George Bailey would have been proud. The story of his life, a holiday mainstay, was performed live, in a slightly different style, at the new Davis Theatre in Concord on Saturday.
The play, “It’s a Wonderful Life: A Live Radio Play,” delighted the audience with the story of George Bailey’s efforts to help his community and his brush with near disaster, as told in Frank Capra’s original classic movie.
The setting was WBFR in New York, where five actors played some 30 characters, depicting a live radio broadcast as it would have been performed in 1946, complete with sound effects, on air and applause lights.
Audience members were amused with the different methods and items used to make the effects and the many voices used by the actors to play so many characters.
“It was interesting to see how they did the sound effects,” said Mona Barnhardt. “They all worked together like clockwork.”
Barnhardt referred to the fact that all five actors took turns doing sound effects while the others were speaking.
“I thought it was as true to the storyline as you can get,” said Karen Elmore. “It really captured the essence of the original movie and the holidays.”
The play was produced by Asheville’s North Carolina Stage Company. The Davis Theatre performance kicked off a tour of the southeastern United States for the drama.
It is only the second event performed at the new Davis Theatre, created from a former courtroom in Cabarrus County’s historic courthouse. With room for only 227, the theatre provides an intimate setting for professional touring productions.
The theatre provides only events involving professional touring productions and plays, so it does not compete with local talent. Saturday’s play is the only such production in the theatre’s season, the rest consisting of a wide variety of musical reviews.

The Cabarrus Arts Council moved into the old courthouse in 2005, and the theatre officially opened Sept. 15. The new theatre is named for Roy and Sue Davis, the chairman emeritus of S&D Coffee and his wife, who is active in the Concord community.
The building also houses four galleries downstairs with the state-of-the-art theatre on the second floor and dressing rooms on the third.
The play included radio commercials for S& D Coffee and CESI, Concord Engineering and Surveying, who sponsored the performance, portrayed as they would have been in a 1940s radio broadcast.
“This is how it would have been listening to the radio at the time,” said Vince Brezovic. “It leaves you in the right spirit for the holidays."

Nuncrackers

From the C-T, of course
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Theater review: 'Nuncrackers' is heavenly fun
TIM REID • PUBLISHED NOVEMBER 21, 2008 12:15 AM

ASHEVILLE – The Little Sisters of Hoboken are back in Asheville Community Theatre's good-hearted and hilarious Christmas musical comedy, “Nuncrackers.”

Dan Goggin's sequel in the fabulously successful “Nunsense” franchise about a small convent of nuns' zany fund-raising antics is directed by Jerry Crouch, who also honchoed ACT's blockbusters “The Music Man,” “Annie” and “Fiddler on the Roof.”

This time the good nuns have gone high-tech, televising their annual Christmas concert from their new cable access studio built in the convent basement.

Reverend Mother Mary Regina (Ruth Butler) has her hands full trying to maintain the proper convent decorum while marshalling her disparate crew to put on an entertaining show.

Streetwise Sister Mary Robert Anne (Lisa J.S. Ross) is a perennial show biz wannabe, yearning for the bright lights of Carnegie Hall. Spaced-out Sister Mary Paul (Mandy Phillips) is a former country music singer, and Sister Mary Leo (Heather Taft) aspires to be the first ballerina nun.

It doesn't help that Revered Mother herself grew up in a circus family and can't resist a turn in the spotlight. The audience has assembled and the show must go on, but everything that can go wrong does.

Father Virgil (Bradshaw Call) tries to do a cooking segment but drinks too much of the recipe's rum. Sister Mary Leo gets injured just before her big dancing scene in “The Nutcracker.” Sister Mary Paul, also called Sister Amnesia, keeps teaching the children the wrong lyrics for songs such as “Here We Come-a-Waffle-ing.”

Even the convent's Christmas presents go missing. Necessity is the mother of invention, and the Little Sisters of Hoboken rise to the occasion with escalating mirth and mayhem. They are aided by five talented young cast members - Lexie Moore, Summer Nordmeyer, John Norlin, Milo Norlin and Emma Stoneberg.

It is hard to single out exceptional individual performances in a production that is full of them, but Bradshaw Call nearly steals the show in the very touching “The Christmas Box.” And Lexie Moore brings an unbelievable poise and fine singing voice that are really exceptional for a child actor.

Mandy Phillips has wonderful comic timing as the ditzy but good-hearted Sister Amnesia, and Ruth Butler is hilarious as the stodgy Reverend Mother trying to restore order amid chaos. It is worth going just to see her and Father Virgil in tutus as “dueling” Sugar Plum Fairies or she and Sister Mary Hubert (Eileen Kennedy) singing the joys of a nun's life “In the Convent.”

Musicians Chuck Taft, Jessica Miskelly, Nora Vetro and David Bruce deliver a full sound that keeps the merriment contagious.

Fans of earlier “Nunsense” productions will find this one a worthy successor, and first-time viewers will become quick converts to the charm of the Little Sisters of Hoboken.

Crouch, who is known for packing the house in some of the most successful shows in ACT's history, has apparently done it again with “Nuncrackers,” which is sure to be a big hit this holiday season. Better get your tickets early.

Tim Reid reviews theater for the Citizen-Times. He can be contacted at timreid4@charter.net.

No Shame Theatre

When I first heard about No Shame Theatre at NC Stage, I was excited- 15 new plays that were rehearsed for just an hour, with only three rules (original works only, you can't break anything, and the lights will go out if you go over 5 minutes). But I've only come out for it a couple of times, because I have yet to see much that holds my attention, even for 5 minutes.
Of course you expect a mixed bag when folks have less than hour to rehearse play that itself may or may not be any good, but where I was expecting and hoping to find a forum for innovation --with a full range of bad plays and good plays, innovative and conventional plays, successful and failed attempts (all of which could be interesting)-- it seems to be pretty mediocre, smutty, and, frankly, boring across the board.
Not exclusively of course, but take this last week. It was ok. There were a few scattered kind-of-interesting pieces that I didn't really understand, but which at least seemed like a playwright working on something with actors and a director-- the first piece comes to mind (about McCain office staffers). There was a strange piece that sort of featured two typewriters (not sure it was successful, but at least it seemed like it was trying to do something). There was a monologue about taking over City Hall with monkeys, that seemed like it was building towards something, although it was too long, so we never saw the ending. There was a two-person political/poetical mumbo-jumbo piece that was of refreshingly different tone, even if it was fairly confusing. And there was... well, a lot of yelling "Vagina" and talking about sex after the prom, and sleeping with your sister, and eating babies. None of which was clever or sophisticated enough to qualify as satire or social commentary. I mean, "shock" only has "value" when used to break people out of their dreary, expected existence, right? I have no problem with smut, but when a potentially interesting and disturbing and conflicted piece about the secret urge to basically rape a friend is played for laughs because --guess what! there's a surprise ending "she's my sister!" ha ha ha!-- it just seems to me like wasting a thoughtful piece on a stupid punchline designed to undermine anything of real merit in the piece and appeal to the lowest common denominator. Were people laughing at this stuff? Yes. Did that make me want to come back? No. It made me wonder if maybe I needed to be drinking more.
I guess I'm disappointed that there is not more to it. Where is the theatricality? Where is the experimentation? I guess I'm tired of "No Shame" being so consistently interpreted to mean "No Taste." I thought it meant "dare to take risks, dare to fail." But guess what: if everybody's doing it, it's not a risk. In fact, it's not even "original."
Maybe I'm just a smart ass for suggesting that "original" should mean something other than "something you wrote yourself," and maybe I'm just not the target audience, but if No Shame ever actually becomes a forum for exploring new theatrical ideas, somebody let me know. I'd like to give it another try.

Lyman

Two Rooms

"Two Rooms" Review
from http://nathanhadams.blogspot.com/

I had the pleasure of experiencing the North Carolina Stage Company Catalyst Series production of Lee Blessing's "Two Rooms". If perchance a performance is starting soon and you are sitting down to read this review, let me save you some time, go see it.

I usually hate it when a production uses the word "timely". It usually denotes the dragging of politics, like a corpse, into the middle of the stage, for the actors and audience to trip over. This play is timely in the best way. The press release describes it as thus, "The play sheds light on the anguish of a man taken hostage in Beirut, and the emotional torture and helplessness of his wife, impatient for something to be done, and government officials who must be guided by logic rather than emotion." Obviously, the place and conflict are familiar, it is timely. This play succeeds in being timely because at the center is not why or why not we should do this or that, but the simple human pain that drives what we need to do. And it is the presence of human pain, today, tomorrow, and yesterday that makes this play beautiful. It is the type of pain, and the type of human frailties that bring it, that makes this play timely.

The play is indeed, an amazing piece of writing, but this was not what I left the theatre thinking. I left simply overwhelmed.

At first, I was skeptical about seeing a show on the first night. Asheville theatre does not usually accommodate for the type of rehearsal which provides for the best opening night. My fears were completely unfounded. This production is award worthy on opening night. Never before in my time of seeing shows have I ever wanted to leap out of my seat with emotion the way I did last night. I wanted to scream, just to make sure I still could. I wanted the hug the characters, just because they needed it. What was being depicted on stage was real. I overheard one woman tell the actor playing the hostage that she wanted to "hug him and show him sunlight", because he needed it. I was completely amazed at how much the actors were able to make us care for them.

The play is carried by four amazing actors of the Asheville stage. Erik Moellering touches our hearts as the hostage husband, brilliantly pulling off monologues full of the ideas of a man who has nothing to do but think. Kelley Hinman excellently pulls off the pent up frustration of a reporter who wants to do SOMETHING, anything to help through his tool of the media. Lucia Del Vecchio portrays an agent of the State Department assigned to the case. Ms. Del Vecchio deftly handles the passionless speech of the government, adding in just enough humanity to serve the double purpose of making both the character and her unique choices at the end real. Last, but certainly not least, is Vivian Smith. Her character of Lainie practically carries the entire play on her back. If we do not believe her sorrow, her inability to cope, or rage, the play would fall apart. Ms. Smith beautifully pulls off this character, proving an excellent foil for injustices of the world, her largest scene partner.

Another word must be said for the director and producer, Callan White. In addition to applauding her hutzpah to produce such a play, or any play for that matter, we must applaud her work as a director. She is invisible as the show progresses, always the mark of a good director. It feels as if these characters just stormed on stage and told us their story with out ever knowing we were there. And thank god. That's the way it should be. But we know Ms. White has been there, by the sheer brilliance of the overall production. A show this good could not have come together without a brilliant director presiding over brilliant actors in a beautiful collaboration.

I know I'm using a lot of awfully big adjectives, but this production warrants it. It is a beautiful emotional experience. It is a real experience. You will be making a huge mistake if you don't go to NC Stage and see this show. See it, live it, and then go out and do something about it.

(In the interests of full disclosure, it should be stated that the reviewer is going to be a student under Ms. White in the coming semester.)

Yours,
Nathan H. Adams

Triple Play

Two hours in a folding chair is a challenge for these old bones. I'm happy to report that, with the help of a well-placed intermission, ClapAtUs Productions' /Triple Play/ was engaging enough that the spartan seating never really bothered me. In fact I went away charmed by the little proscenium space at the Asheville Arts Center on Merrimon Avenue. But the real charming was done by the actors, each of whom took on roles in at least two of the three plays presented, and by the playwrights.

The show begins with Rob Taylor's shortie "Honeymoon," a funny trifle about a man who wakes up the morning after his bachelor party with an unexpected party leftover -- a woman he doesn't remember meeting. Darren Marshall aptly renders the bachelor's confusion and dismay. Sonia D'Andrea's sexily cheeky Ella is perfect, and when DiAnna Ritola arrives -- that's right, she's the fiancee -- she heats things right on up, and the clever playwriting does not disappoint.

The meat of the evening is David Hopes' longer piece, /The Beautiful Johanna, /a drama set in a war-ravaged city in Ireland. Marshall, as the painter Reiner, Ritola, in the title role as Reiner's model and sometimes lover, and D'Andrea as a war orphan hiding out with friends in fear of the strife in the streets, have a chance to display their very considerable acting skills. Chris Brunton, as a street savvy survivor named Terence, very competently rounds out the cast along with playwright Nathan H. Adams who takes the role of Terence's rather hysterical lover.

Adams' short presentational piece, "The Fall of Four Men," is a contemplation on death and greatness. It gives four of the ensemble the chance to act in the presentational style, and I was glad to hear Darren Marshall give his full, booming voice some rein. I was reminded of how important the voice is to the actor, and Marshall is gifted with a good one.

I have already begun to forget that these plays were performed on-book. The plays were well rehearsed and smartly directed as staged readings. There was not too much blocking, not too little; all the production values were just about right. I'll remember seeing the plays, not readings thereof. The price of admission is a pittance. If you can catch the final performance (Sunday afternoon) and you are interested in Asheville's treasure of real live local theatre, this one will satisfy.
-- Jerry Stubblefield

Doubt

Review: ‘Doubt’ is a dynamite drama at N.C. Stage

Jim Cavener • TAKE 5 CORRESPONDENT • published October 24, 2008 12:15 am

As N.C. Stage Company has established a six-year record of producing high quality theater in a variety of genres, director Hans Meyer has a track record of locating intellectually stimulating and morally challenging scripts. Now he’s come up with John Patrick Shanley’s script of “Doubt — A Parable.”

Meyer has brought in four actors virtually unknown to Asheville audiences, though two of them have appeared at nearby Flat Rock Playhouse. That relatively unknown quality will not be for long. These are splendid talents and we’ll see more of them, we hope.

The setting of “Doubt” is a Roman Catholic parish in The Bronx, New York. The year is 1964, when many Roman parishes still had their own parochial schools. The small cast is make up of the parish priest, the nun who is principal of the school, another nun who teaches in the school and the mother of one of the students — who we never see, but nevertheless figures mightily in the story line.

Father Flynn is played by Brian Robinson, a Charlotte actor who gives us intensity and credibility, just as the script calls for. Charlotte actress Rebecca Koon gives us Sister Aloysius, the school principal. She is a cold and calculating number, one stern nun in the tradition of the wrist- slapping Mother Superiors of legend. Julia VanderVeen is Sister James, the younger and more flexible nun, in a touching performance. Mrs. Muller, mother of the controversial student, is portrayed by Brandie Moore. This is a masterpiece of interpretation.

The dramatic vehicle is the conflict between doubt and certainty. Not just in the spiritual realm, but in the nitty-gritty of daily life and struggles. There are sexual issues, alcohol issues, racial issues and spiritual issues, for starters. One line helps us focus on the drama: “Doubt can be a bond as powerful as certainty.”

And a drama it is. There are no simple solutions and we leave the theater asking many questions.

The dual set: the principal’s office and a parish courtyard, is richly textured as designed by Andrew Mannion. Director Meyer is credited with sound design, which probably covers the appropriately somber and ominous music used in transitions between scenes. There is no intermission, and the show runs barely 90 minutes. But, there is enough drama in that 90 minutes to register the evening as a memorable one.

“Doubt” is surely a philosophical exercise, as well as a psychological excursion into the mental bowels of highly-charged individuals. Listen for the parable in one of Father Flynn’s homilies. It’s a zinger and a clue to the meat of the story. Clear your mind before the curtain-speech. It’s gonna be a rocky ride across the NCSC stage.

out there out here

I just wanted to drop a quick line here to say that once again, John Crutchfield has created or collaborated on something that reignites my passion for the creativity and wonder of live theatre. Don't be turned off by the description of the show as "performance art." See if for yourself. You might love it, you might hate it, but it is a rare opportunity to see something like this locally, and I recommend not passing it up.

Willie Repoley

Floyd Collins

Theater review: HART's “Floyd Collins” is deep and dark

Jim Cavener • published October 9, 2008 1:15 pm

- Each October the highly-successful Haywood County theatrical troupe, Haywood Arts Regional Theatre, gives us something unusual. Sometimes it's daring in concept and content and it's almost always dark and brooding. It was never more so than in the current musical enterprise “Floyd Collins.”

“Floyd Collins” is based on a real-life event from the 1920s when a young Kentucky man was trapped in a deep, dark, damp cavern and the journalism of the day made a veritable circus of his plight. The discovery and commercialization of Mammoth Cave in central Kentucky inspired many an ambitious land owner to want to capitalize on the appeal of mysterious caverns. The county fair/carnival atmosphere of the region was only exacerbated by this media attraction. The production is as deep and dark as the cavern. Not a feel-good show, for sure,

Composer Adam Guettel, is the grandson of Richard Rodgers, one of the 20th century's most prolific and successful musical theater composers. But his current work much more resembles that of Stephen Sondheim than it does those famed Rodgers and Hammerstein melodies.

From the opening tones of the pit orchestra, ably conducted by Chuck Taft, it's clear this is not typical theater music.The musical ensemble has no brass or woodwinds. It's all strings, and percussion. It is a lovely experience to hear this capable ensemble melding period Kentucky folk music with modern theater sounds. The music is demanding and the vocal demands exceed that of the instrumentalists.

Fortunately, HART was able to cast several highly trained singers in key roles. The title role of Floyd is a challenge for any singer. Much of Floyd's best singing is done while he is trapped on his back, and actor Rod Leigh sings quite effectively with limited diaphragm control. He's a treasure, for sure. His brother, Homer, is done compellingly by Mark Jones, last seen as the Emcee in last October's quite dark version of the musical “Cabaret.”

Frances Davis and Adrienne Mollette deliver the female tunes with great effectiveness. While Rick Sibley, Preston Tinsley, Roger Williams, Joanthan Milner and Cord Scott don't have to tackle the most difficult melodies, they are credible actors, as are Ricky Sanford, Strother Stingley, Andrew Greene and Roger Magendie. It's not a huge cast but director Charles Mills found some significant talent for this show.

Much of the plot line is delivered as recitative, and often the words just don't make it past the pit. It is hard to capture all the libretto, which is a pity given the nature of a complex script. Yet, much of the emotion and meaning is transparent and not dependent on spoken word. Despite the dark theme, there are moments of occasional lightness to carry us beyond the depressing dialogue between tragedy and hope.

The operatic quality of the vocal work is impressive, and the more surprising being set in such a non-traditional locale. Central Kentucky, much of it underground, dark, deep and damp. A good pre-Halloween show is this one.

Misery

Theater review: ‘Misery' hits the mark at ACT's 35below

Tony Kiss • TKiss@CITIZEN-TIMES.com • published October 9, 2008 1:15 pm

Many of Stephen King's amazing stories have just not translated well to the stage or screen. But “Misery” is an exception in a production on stage at Asheville Community Theatre's tiny 35below performance space, in the lower back level of the downtown playhouse.

The tale of a romance novelist, injured in an auto accident and stranded with an increasingly psychotic fan, is made even more intense by the small confines of 35below. First-rate acting and sharp direction by Susan Dillard make this a show worth seeing.

But speaking of seeing, the only flaw is the seating arrangement for “Misery.” When the house is full (as it was last Saturday night), it was very difficult to see the stage from the back rows. Some theater-goers were constantly craning their necks or moving around trying to watch. One person even jumped up from a seat to see the dramatic finish, which was otherwise blocked from view by folks up front. This could be fixed by putting some more elevation on those last two rows – or bringing a phone book or two to sit on. The layout also puts one scene in the rear of the room, completely out of view.

The movie version of “Misery,” starring James Caan and Kathy Bates, has made the “Misery” a classic. Weary romance novelist Paul (Jonathan Ray) is badly injured in a car crash in the frozen wilderness, and then saved (by fate) by a loving fan and former nurse Annie (Cary Nichols).

What first seems to be a miracle then turns to nightmare, as Annie becomes increasingly odd and obsessed with Paul, and his decision to end his “Misery” series of novels and try something new. The writer becomes trapped and hooked on pain pills, with no choice but to go along with Annie's freaky command.

Dillard gets some good chemistry going here between Ray and Nichols in their odd on-stage relationship. Ray first plays the character as laid-back, but the performance evolves as he realizes the situation. His pain is so intense, it seems very real. Nichols gives a powerhouse turn as Annie, a troubled soul turned into something much more dangerous. At some moments, it's easy to feel sorry for her, at other times, she's absolutely frightening.

Tuesdays with Morrie

Flat Rock's ‘Tuesdays with Morrie' a funny tearjerker

Tim Reid • Take 5 Correspondent • published October 3, 2008 12:15

Flat Rock Playhouse's “Tuesdays with Morrie” will make you laugh and cry through the last days of Morrie Schwartz, a beloved Brandeis University professor dying of ALS (Lou Gehrig's Disease).

Based on the best-selling book by Detroit sports columnist Mitch Albom, “Tuesdays” chronicles Albom's once-a-week trips to Boston to visit his former teacher and mentor.

Michael Edwards is marvelous as Morrie, the teacher who struggles to impart his love of life while disease slowly but relentlessly takes it away. Bill Munoz gives a moving performance as Mitch, who is caught up with the cares of the world while Morrie teaches him the important things such as love and forgiveness.

Morrie keeps his wit and wisdom even as disease takes its inevitable toll. Edwards gives a magnificent performance depicting the deterioration of Morrie's body while his spirit only gets stronger. Mitch prattles on about his petty concerns of everyday life while Morrie hones in on what really matters.

Flat Rock audiences know well Edwards' comic genius through his many performances at Flat Rock, but many will be surprised at the depth and nuance he brings to the role of Morrie.Director Betsy Bisson, Edwards and Munoz deliver a show that Flat Rock audiences will be talking about for a long time.

700 Stories of Love and One Really Big Reason to Quit

From the C-T, http://www.citizen-times.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=200881002083
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Theater review: “700 Stories of Love” is moving experience

Jim Cavener • Take5 Correspondent • published October 3, 2008 12:15 am

Theater freaks don't go to downtown Asheville's funky little North Carolina Stage Company for mindless entertainment. Often, an audience has to work for its rewards. And the current Redundant Theatre Company Theatre production of “700 Stories of Love and One Really Big Reason to Quit” perfectly fits that genre.

This small troupe (essentially four core players and a small number of hangers-on) has a great track record of finding or creating material like you've not seen or heard before. “700 Stories” is home-grown, all the way. Each actor has written her/his own parts in each of these mini-skits or episodes. But, all are based on a common source, the website or Wikipedia postings on one Dr. Robert Sternberg and his “Triangle Theory of Love” – should you want to get a leg-up on these goings-on.

A word of warning: there is no fixed-seating for this show. The usual bank of chairs on risers are gone. There are a few folding chairs scattered about, but even they must be schlepped away as the audience migrates or is herded toward the ever moving action. Some mobility is necessary to accommodate the action, with only occasional, limited seating available..

The 700 stories are carefully tabulated on a large chalk board that serves as the backdrop. While there emerge some similarities in each of these short scenes, there are various permutations in the cast and its make-up. Some scenes are with two women lovers, some with two men and others are even with (yawn) a woman and a man, in a short lapse of conventionality for this unconventional company..

And, speaking of that cast, the stalwarts of the troupe, Rain Newcomb, Willie Repoley, Rebecca Morris and Todd Weakley are their usual competent selves, and Kirsten Daniel does well in a lesser role. But, the knock-out fling is flung by Graham Hackett, who gives us a spoken word piece that will be long remembered. It is masterful in both writing and delivery, in content.and in style. Show stopping....

Scintillating choreography by Heather Maloy of Terpsicorps, and puppets by Rick Spears are among the few attributions toward the technical aspects of this production. Jason Holland is named as doing sound and light control. Someone with very good timing manages to keep all the cues on target.

The program for the show is as unconventional as is the structure and execution. Expect no cast identification or bios, not even their names in print. Nor are the curtain calls and bows what you might expect, When the silly smoke alarm goes off the final time, and stage smoke envelopes the room, you are in for a trip – of some sort, to be disclosed by attendance at the show, only Enjoy.

The Best Man

From the C-T
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Theater review: Cast your ballot for ACT’s ‘The Best Man’
TIM REID | TAKE 5 CORRESPONDENT • PUBLISHED SEPTEMBER 19, 2008 12:15 AM

ASHEVILLE — Political contests in America are not pitched battles between absolute good and evil but more nuanced struggles between somewhat flawed candidates who lie somewhere in between. That is the premise of Gore Vidal’s “The Best Man,” which, on the Asheville Community Theatre stage, seems as powerful and perceptive today as when it was written more than 40 years ago.

Jim Weyhenmeyer gives a delightfully convoluted performance as William Russell, an Adlai Stevenson-like character seeking the presidential nomination at the party convention in Philadelphia. Russell is an intellectual whose exemplary public service is belied by his private life — he chronically cheats on his long-suffering wife, Alice (Susan Fronsoe).

Russell’s hard-charging opponent Joseph Cantwell in contrast is ruthless as a politician but has a very close relationship with his opportunistic wife, Mabel (Lora Kole). Dan Clancy’s nitty-gritty portrayal of the Richard Nixon-like Cantwell conjures up every resentment of the “dirty politics” so prevalent in recent history.

The two politicians’ respective “handlers” Dick Jensen (Cory Boughton) and Don Blades (Zack Blew) urge their candidates to win at all costs. Injecting a delightful dose of humanity is former President Arthur Hockstader, whose endorsement of either man would carry critical weight as this contest goes down to the wire. Bob Baldridge gives a marvelous performance as the Harry Truman-like former president who measures a candidate on character and judgment more than rhetoric.

The candidates both have secrets – which would sink their campaigns. And each seems intent on stooping as low as needed in order to win, a cynical but perhaps telling commentary on today’s fractured body politic. Vidal’s resolution to this dilemma offers a little glimmer of hope that sometimes indeed the “best man” can emerge from such a sordid melee.

Director Jamie Nicholson and a strong cast have breathed life into an American classic that is still timely and still needed today.

Tim Reid reviews theater for the Citizen-Times. He can be contacted at timreid4@charter.net.

Songs of Robert

From Nathan Adams' blog,
http://nathanhadams.blogspot.com/2008/09/songs-of-robert.html
(link above also takes you there)
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Corpus Theatre Collective presents "The Songs of Robert", as a part of North Carolina Stage Company's Catalyst Series. The "verse play with live music" was written by and stars John Crutchfield as a whole host of characters, including the vulnerable titular character.

I thoroughly enjoyed myself at this show, and not only that, I found it to be of an excellent quality. Unfortunately, the two do not always find each other in the same theatre. But in this (dare I make bold praise) modern American masterwork of a play, John Crutchfield deftly combines both entertainment and comedy, and deep insights and beautiful poetry.

Crutchfield lithely leaps from character to character with the grace and style of ballet dancer. That doesn't mean you don't see him work though. One of the things I noticed during the opening scene was how big his "basketballs" had to be to do this. One man, his work, alone on a stage, telling a room full of southern people that they look nice, for white people.

I really appreciated the ability to see Crutchfield work at his change of characters. To just watch him as he turned his back to the audience, and to see his body build the energy necessary to leap into the next character, was an example of why so many love theatre.

The structure of this one-act play is not what one might call conventional. We are given glimpses into the world of Robert, a senior in high school, mostly through monologues and "scenes" with other characters in his life, but also through Robert himself. These scenes provide some of the most touching moments in the play. The structure of the play actually reminds me of the landmark musical, "Company" (whose protagonist is also named, coincidentally, Robert). Like the musical, we are given glimpses into the lead character's life, all culminating in one final song.

And don't think that this is a mere vanity project by an actor who isn't really a writer. The script is beautiful, and I would love to someday have a copy in my library. Crutchfield states in his notes, "Until I find someone to do it for me, I'll be performing it myself." And while I hope he continues to do so, as to watch his perform it is a gold medal treat, I also hope that the piece continues to have a life beyond him, and I will be the first in line to buy it if it is published.

Fly, don't run down to the North Carolina Stage Company to see this show. Realize how lucky we are to have so many talented local writers producing work, and support it. This show only has three performances left, so get thee to a ticket website!

http://www.ncstage.org/pages/on-stage/catalyst-series/songs-of-robert.php

http://www.johncrutchfield.com/

Yours gushing,
Nathan H. Adams

Dr Faustus

From the C-T. I'm posting the two comments from the C-Twebsite, too, because they are interesting...
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‘Dr. Faustus’ is stunning stuff from Montford Park Players

Jim Cavener • Take5 correspondent • published September 12, 2008 12:15 am

ASHEVILLE — Drawing near the close of its 36th and longest season of plays, now in the Hazel Robinson Amphitheatre behind the Montford Community Center, Montford Park Players is doing one of its occasional non-Shakespeare productions, “Doctor Faustus” by Christopher Marlowe.

It’s set in Wittenberg, Germany, and is the story of a worldly and successful scholar who sells his soul to the devil for 24 years of unlimited wealth and knowledge.

As is often the case with Elizabethan-era drama, the stilted but eloquent language creates obstacles for a full grasp of the significance of the story. Fortunately, the playbill includes a useful synopsis of scenes. It is wise to arrive early and spend some time sorting it out.

The term “cast of thousands” is overused, but in “Dr. Faustus,” there are more than half-a-hundred characters listed, and soldiers, tree demons, the Devil army, spirits and the seven deadly sins often arrive in multiples at a time. In addition, the delightful sins of sloth, lechery, pride and covetousness all are triply cast.

With so many players, it is impossible to mention most of the stellar roles. But in a very unusual bit of casting, the role of Mephistopheles is played by two quite differing local actors. One is the noted playwright, director and actor David Hopes. But on some nights, the role is portrayed by a 12-year-old girl, Amy Daugherty. Say what?

Saturday night of opening weekend Daugherty was Satan’s own agent, Mephistopheles, and the child is awesome. Hopes has some (actually very small) figuratively very large shoes to fill. A lucky viewer might see them both on successive nights. It is hard to imagine a more impressive performance than given by this sweet blond child in a white gown, ably holding forth in a role historically often cast with a tall, black-clothed man.

Faustus, himself is given by Warren Wilson College professor David Mycoff, while the Pope is Nathan Adams. Mike Vaniman is a good Emperor while Charles McKnight an impressive Wagner. The feisty Lucifer is interpreted by Nathaniel Deardoff, with Stephanie Hickling being the entire Chorus, a regular element in Elizabethan drama, part narrator, part troubadour.

Director Jason Williams has taken many risks with this production, but even the massive Cecil B. DeMille penultimate climax scene comes off with aplomb. Powerful metaphysical metaphors give this often playful romp both frivolity and sobriety. Good show.

A Midnight's Summer Dream...

Those not quite getting the humor of the following review are invited to follow the link above
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A Midsummer Night’s Dream

North Carolina Stage Company’s recent production of A Midsummer Night’s Dream was a real head-scratcher. First of all, the curtain time of midnight was an extremely questionable choice. Also, not a single actor was off-book; in fact, they shamelessly carried their scripts on stage with them! Costumes ranged from poor to poorest, with little thought or continuity apparent either in aesthetic, time period, or general condition and cleanliness. The set was nothing short of appalling: arbitrarily placed music stands in the foreground, and actors awaiting their cues on beanbag chairs ON STAGE. I am all for minimalism, but this seemed much too far.

Even with lines in hand, actors still managed to flub words, lose their place, mispronounce text, and obliterate proper scansion. Were they drunk?? It was as though they’d had no rehearsal time at all! Casting choices were bizarre as well, the oddest perhaps being the diminutive Jamie Shell in a cross-gender role as Lysander, made no less strange by a moment wherein she must insult the same-height actress Charlotte Lawrence by calling her a “dwarf.” Direction seemed haphazard at best; in fact, it often appeared that people were making up blocking on the spot. Disorganization the likes of which I’ve never seen. An enormous departure from NC Stage’s general standards.

~Shamie Jell

Chesapeake

CT (again), of course. Click on the title above for an unprecedented opportunity to compare the styles of two CT reporters reviewing (arguably) the same play.
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At first glance it would appear that "Chesapeake," is a one-man show featuring North Carolina company co-founder and artistic director Charlie Flynn-McIver in the demanding role of Kerr, the only character seen on stage.

But, a second thought reveals that this riveting production — in its third incarnation by NCSC — is a collaborative effort by more than half-dozen competent theater professionals.

The term “ensemble” usually refers to a group of actors. In the case of "Chesapeake," the term applies to the technical staff. Company co-founder and producing director Angie Flynn-McIver has assembled an ensemble of technical theater artists who are truly up to the challenge. And a challenge it is.

Charlie McIver is awesome in a complex and multi-layered role, an intense exploration of the life of a Southern, bisexual performance artist who starts this telling of his journey with a trip to a major art gallery with his distant father. And from there it is all up hill.

With the help of NCSC's team of theater technicians, we get a trip that is memorable and rewarding, with no small amount of effort demanded from the attentive audience.

The stage is a stark, uncluttered, basic black performing area adorned only with two large, light-colored blocks that accentuate the starkness and blackness of the story. On the back wall hangs a massive, gilt-framed expanse that later provides stunning projected visuals provided by the skilled technology of Craig Hobbs, a local video artist who was trained by the Disney-founded California Institute of the Arts.

These intermittent and provocative projections enhance the storyline and embellish a strange journey through art and politics and the improbable importance of a dog — a large, black Chesapeake Bay Lab called both Lucky and Rats. The dazzling images would, alone, be impressive, but combined with the sound design and original bass compositions of Mike Ponder, the technical feats equal that of the lone actor on stage.

Not only are the sounds impressive, but the cues for both sound and visuals are impeccable. Barbara Taggart is credited with the soundboard operation. Casey Morris cues the visuals, and both deserve kudos for their technical timing and virtuosity. Lighting by Leigh Spencer Brown is less noticeable, but hardly insignificant. Only Kerr/McIver's ratty rags were no-brainer decisions by Shelley Porter, whose chores as costumer were hardly demanding.

The play is a romp through the woods and into Chesapeake Bay, with senatorial elements of Strom Thurman and Jesse Helms mixed in. It's a portrait of a disturbed and unstable performance artist who does a stunning second-act reincarnation.

by Jim Cavener

And Then There Were None

From BlueRidgeNow.com (the Hendersonville Times-News)

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Agatha Christie mystery at Flat Rock Playhouse is a workout for the mind

By Kitty Turner
Special to the Times-News

Eight guests arrive at a lonely house on an island off the coast of Devon, England, only to be told that their host and hostess will not arrive until the following day.

The butler and housekeeper show the disparate group to their rooms and before dinner they gather for drinks in the lounge. Just as everyone is beginning to relax, a voice rings out and Agatha Christie’s “And Then There Was None” is off and running.

The Flat Rock Playhouse production features Damian Duke Domingue and Neela Munoz as the butler and housekeeper, Mr. and Mrs. Rogers. Lisa K. Bryant as the mysterious Mrs. Owen’s secretary Vera Claythorne, Willie V.R. Repoley as Philip Lombard, Ben Hope as Anthony Marston, Brian Robinson as William Blore, Stewart Gregory as General MacKenzie, Paige Posey as Emily Brent, Ralph Redpath as Sir Lawrence Wargrove and Peter Thomasson as Dr. Armstrong.

Christie, one of the most prolific mystery writers of the 20th century, wrote 66 detective stories in 56 years. Well known for her Hercule Poirot and Miss Marple detectives, she also wrote a number of books that didn’t feature one of her signature sleuths. “And Then There Were None,” also known as “10 Little Indians,” was one of the public’s favorites. It was reworked as a play and as a film, being produced at least three different times.

The set for the Flat Rock production is beautiful, like a room borrowed from the Victoria and Albert Museum in London. Head-high paneled walls line two sides of the room, while stained glass windows and doors make up the back wall. Stenciled at ceiling height are nursery rhymes, while in pride of place over the fireplace mantel is the poem “10 Little Indians:”

Ten little Indian boys went out to dine;
One choked himself and his little self and then there were nine.

Nine little Indian boys sat up very late;
One overslept himself and then there were eight.

Eight little Indian boys traveling in Devon;
One said he’d stay there and then there were seven.

Seven little Indian boys chopping up sticks;
One chopped himself in halves and then there were six.

Six little Indian boys playing with a hive;
A bumblebee stung one and then there were five.

Five little Indian boys going in for law;
One got in Chancery and then there were four.

Four little Indian boys going out to sea;
A red herring swallowed one and then there were three.

Three little Indian boys walking in the Zoo;
A big bear hugged one and then there were two.

Two little Indian boys sitting in the sun;
One got frizzled up and then there was one.

One little Indian boy left all alone;
He went and hanged himself and then there were none.

Back to that voice that suddenly was heard. It makes certain accusations against all those present, including the butler and housekeeper, Mr. and Mrs. Rogers. The participants discover that the voice is on a record that Rogers was instructed to play by the absent Mr. Owen.

Sir Lawrence Wargrave calls for calm and asks each person how they know their hosts. As the mystery deepens each character is exposed and explored, with the acting becoming more intense. All the actors did an outstanding job, but the slow disintegration of Thomasson’s Dr. Armstrong, and Redpath’s dominance as Judge Wargrave were outstanding.

Audiences should pay particular attention to all the clues, since during intermission a vote will be taken on who-dun-it and a winner drawn from the correct answer for two tickets to “Dear Santa,” the playhouse’s holiday show.

“And Then There Were None” is an enjoyable evening of theater and a workout for the mind.

On the Verge & Below the Belt

from the C-T...
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immediate theatre project shines twice

by Tony Kiss

On a pretty summer day, a passionate baseball fan might exclaim “Let’s play two!” Asheville’s immediate theatre project is now doing just that, performing a pair of shows, one after another, at the cozy N.C. Stage Company space downtown.

And these aren’t quick, connected one-acts. “On the Verge or the Geography of Yearning” and “Below the Belt” are not linked in any particular way, except sharing the same director (Hans Meyer) and some offstage crew. The cast, playwrights and stories are different. Audiences can watch one, or both, or come to see the plays on different nights.

It’s a lot of work for this little acting company, which has established itself as one of the city’s best. And it’s a lot of theater to absorb in one evening (or matinee, as the case may be). On opening night, “Verge” began at 7:30 p.m. and “Belt” ended around 12:30 a.m., which included intermissions in both programs, and a break between the two.

But again, it’s not necessary to catch them both in one sitting, though it makes for an interesting and entertaining experience.

“Verge” centers on three women explorers in the late 19th century, making a bizarre jungle journey. “Belt” follows three guys toiling in a prisonlike manufacturing plant, two of them constantly snapping at the third.

‘On the Verge’

“On the Verge or The Geography of Yearning” by Eric Overmyer has three Victorian-era women in some thick jungle to explore a land they call Terra Ingognita. Fanny (Katie Langwell) is the conservative housewife, Mary (Vivian Smith) the no-nonsense traveler who usually goes solo, and Alexandra (Trinity Smith) the youngest and the dreamer in this bunch.

Quickly, it’s obvious they’ve slipped into a time warp, and the further they go, the more they travel to the future, and the stranger the tale becomes. Erik Moellering plays a handful of supporting male characters. By the year 1955, they have come so far from their own time that some personal decisions need to be made.

‘Below the Belt’

“Below the Belt” is plenty quirky as well. In an industrial plant, eager new arrival Dobbitt (Chris Allison) finds himself in workplace hell, toiling alongside the fidgety, hair-triggered Hanrahan (Darren Marshall in the strongest performance in either show) and their nasty boss, Merkin (Strother Stingley). While Dobbitt only wants to please, the others torment and turn against him at every turn. Here, too, a choice must be made, with Merkin pulling Dobbitt into a plot that’s totally against his nature.

This one is a bit like The Three Stooges meet “Seinfeld” – and it’s a howler that leaves you buzzing at the end. With the shows running through Aug. 17, make a point to catch this engaging “experiment in theater.”

Ruthie

from the C-T
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Review: SART’s ‘Ruthie’ is rewarding theater

Jim Cavener • take5 Correspondent

A biblical tale gets a Western North Carolina twist in “Ruthie,” a world premiere production at Southern Appalachian Repertory Theatre in Mars Hill.

Written by David Anthony Wright, now managing director of the Paramount Theater in Burlington, “Ruthie,” is a worthy effort and a rewarding theater experience.

It takes place in the Asheville area, just after World War II. Local residents and those familiar with the region are going to find the show most appealing. But, anyone seeing this well-crafted work will enjoy a feel-good evening with moments of high drama. Mostly, this is a warm and fuzzy story with a crew of well-written, classic Southern characters.

Ruthie McInnes (Ashley Manning) and her mother-in-law, Naomi (Kay Galvin), return from Charleston to Naomi’s modest home in the mountains of WNC after the wartime death of Ruthie’s young husband (and Naomi’s son), Martin. They are welcomed by a range of regional denizens from Naomi’s past, all new and unfamiliar to Ruthie, who comes from a more urbane and sophisticated past. The plays on Baptist vs. Episcopal and Presbyterian values and practices afford a knowing and entertaining portrayal.

Among the classic characters entwined in Ruthie’s saga are two town matrons who open the show with a farcelike display of rapid entrances and exits through the six doors on the set, designed by Richard Seagle. These two, Thelma Whitesell (Dianne Chapman) and Alma Clayton (Elaine Blanton), provide ongoing comic foil and are well worth the trip. They keep the guffaws authentic and frequent.

Julius Kingsford (Michael Mattison) runs the town’s dry cleaners and laundry with his sleazy son, Junior (Anthony Giordano), with help from the wholesome boy-next-door, Beau Stroud (Bradshaw Call). Julius hires Ruthie, who is the object of attraction of both Junior and Beau. Therein lies the romantic, as well as dramatic, story line. Tony Medlin as Coot Cameron provides further light moments with a twist of Jubilation T. Cornpone. Robert McDaniel offers two lesser roles.

There are a few rough edges in this new script. The last scene needs to be more clearly identified as occurring a considerable time later. A lot has happened since the previous scene, and the audience is left guessing. Yet, the easy, linear story line lets us enjoy this unfolding tale of virtue winning out and everyone getting where they need to be with a totally sweet denouement. “Ruthie” is to theater what comfort food is to dinner. A nice time is virtually guaranteed.

Director John Moon gives us additional post-WWII touches in musical themes and period references, as well as the right balance between frenzied flourishes of comedy and subdued interpretations. Galvin, Mattison, Chapman, Blanton and Manning all shine. Giordano’s evil and Call’s virtue are both well wrought. Medlin is a hoot.

Elvis and Other Men

As I’ve said before, because I am a working producer and actor in town, I have given up writing reviews of local shows. However, no one else is contributing very much just now, and I feel I would be remiss if I did not at least mention the superb work being done by Terpsicorps Theatre of Dance.

I saw “Elvis and Other Men” earlier this summer, and was once again delighted that one of the (thankfully) few $30 tickets in town was absolutely, completely worth it.

Just the opening image got me all giddy about live performance all over again. The stage was dimly lit, and completely bare, save a gentle, vibrant, deep red scrim behind the vast expanse of the DW. Then, a single male dancer –in leggings and not much more—walked across, in a straight line, from one side to the other. And then another followed. And more and more, at different speeds, each just moving from one side of the stage to the other, back and forth, but always exiting completely before turning around and changing speeds. They were not lit from the front, so it was just these very masculine profiles darting about, and it seem eventually like there must be dozens of them. I was reminded, actually, of watching birds. I have said before that I don’t know much about dance, and tend to look for a literal story where there none, at least not a literal or maybe chronological one, but I didn’t mind in the slightest not knowing what the “story: of these dancers was. Like birds, each had their own random individual beauty, and all together they were clearly part of something larger that was not a story so much as the experience of being alive and experiencing something of great natural beauty, that I was somehow a part of as well. Like if you really notice birds engaged in a simple task, say eating, you start to notice how, yeah sure, they are all the same sort of creature, but simultaneously they are also individual animals, and something about that duality and simplicity fascinates and inspires, and you could just sit there watching them for a surprisingly long time.

At any rate the entire, long first piece was amazing—even once all the lights were turned on.

There were several shorter pieces, also for men, mostly choreographed by Heather Malloy, which for me ranged from satisfyingly amusing to very cool, if not quite as perspective-changing as that first piece. I especially liked the solo piece for dancer and train.

The finale was another great Malloy dance featuring Holiday Childress and Ménage upon a hastily constructed platform up right, from which they switched on their electric guitars and played music by the Violent Femmes, while the dancers turned the DW into a giant club, stormed the stage, and danced the night away in a series of solo and group dances that effectively told multiple stories, established multiple distinct characters, and used a very traditional art form to tap into very modern struggles, triumphs, and rhythms. It’s hard to know if the performers of the audience were having a better time, and that is a great thing.

Staging an entire evening of all male ballet must surly have sounded like an unusual and possibly even absurd idea, but Terpsicorps pulled it off with that same sense of play, of wonder, of absolute joy that they bring to everything they do. It was hugely refreshing to experience as a human being, and as an artist. I don’t think I’ve been that excited to be a part of Asheville’s performing arts community since maybe NCSC’s “Chesapeake.”

Now that’s what I call a reason to go see theatre.

--Willie Repoley

Noises Off

Anothe C-T review
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‘Noises Off’ funny stuff at Parkway Playhouse

Jim Cavener • take5 Correspondent • published July 25, 2008 12:15 am

BURNSVILLE – The field of farce is loaded with land mines, a dangerous one for any theater company. Yet with Michael Frayn’s “Noises Off,” Parkway Playhouse has a 2 3/4-hour, three-act hit on its hands. This midseason silliness is top-notch material, supported by able talent and directed to near-perfection.

Using the classic “play-within-a-play” context, “Noises Off” is exposure to an English troupe mounting a contrived bedroom or sex farce called “Nothing On.” All the requisite elements of farce are present in spades. There are naughty ladies in skimpy undergarments, randy men whose trousers are often down about their ankles and lots of slamming doors.

An awesome stage set is impressive even in the first act. Between acts this behemoth of backdrops is turned on a Lazy-Susan-like platform, so that in the second act of “Noises Off” the audience is backstage during a performance of “Nothing On.” Designers/builders of this masterpiece of stage structure are John David Stallings and Bruce Chuvala, assisted by William Ritter.

The Brit-speak is ever so well-done. Director Peter Carver is likely to be praised for the convincing speech, as well as the fully fascinating cast gleaned from old-timers at Parkway, with several new players.

Remember the play-within-a-play- everyone is an English actor playing a role in “Nothing On.”

Jennifer Short does the dumb-blonde “Brooke Ashton,” playing Vicki (on a secret mission), in the best of air-head Judy Holliday form. This is a stellar turn for a talented young woman. Her foil in this bit of whimsey is the suave and seductive Jordan Danz being “Gary Lejune” doing Roger Tramplemain. Danz’s charm radiates throughout the house.

Veteran area actor/director Jeff Messer is Phillip Brent, the owner of the country estate where all the lunacy is transpiring. One part slapstick, one part stuffy landed gentry, this is a juicy role, and Messer has it under control. His stately wife, Flavia, is being interpreted by “Belinda Blair,” really Kelly Leah Christianson who is regularly seen at ACT, SART and other regional theaters.

Andrew Gall, for five years at the helm of Parkway Playhouse, gets his chance on stage as Lloyd Dallas, the erstwhile director of this batty troupe of thespians.

Costuming by Asheville’s Deborah Austin is great fun: Note the double-breasted blazers, fancy frocks and dark gray dress shirts with gray neckties, for a veddy, veddy British sense of style.

Jim Cavener reviews theater for take5.

I Hate Hamlet

C-T...
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Asheville Community Theatre serves up a lighthearted spoof of artistic temperament excesses in Paul Rudnick’s “I Hate Hamlet.”

Young television actor Andrew (Cody Magouirk) has just finished a hit series “L.A. Medical” and agrees to a dramatic change of pace — the title role in a Central Park production of William Shakespeare’s “Hamlet.”

In an ironic twist of fate, Andrew rents the Gothic-style apartment once occupied by John Barrymore, the legendary actor who also played Hamlet.

Andrew initially resists such antiquated quarters but is persuaded when his stage-struck girlfriend Deirdre (Anna Booraem) gushes on about its connection with the famed actor.

Leslie Clement Bonner is hilarious as real estate agent Felicia, who obviously doesn’t know anything about theater but shamelessly uses Barrymore as a marketing tool, even holding a séance to dredge up the dead actor’s ghost.

Felicia is more successful than she realizes as the long-deceased actor does appear, played delightfully by Waylon Wood, who artfully conveys Barrymore’s legendary self-indulgence with women and drink.

Andrew’s agent Lillian (RoseLynn Katz) urges him to do “Hamlet” to add to his stature as an actor, but cynical TV producer Gary (Jeff Corpening) tries to lure him away with a lucrative deal in California, dismissing Shakespeare as “algebra on stage.”

Andrew has just one problem in taking on what is for many the most hallowed role in theater — he hates “Hamlet” and is terrified at the prospect of failing in such a high-profile venture.

Andrew sorely needs the late great Barrymore’s reckless courage and talent, but in the end he must turn to himself to find out what kind of actor — and person — he really is.

Director Michael Lilly and a talented cast have taken a silly, one-dimensional story and nevertheless made it interesting. They are having a good time on stage, and it shows.

E-mail Reid at timreid4@charter.net.

plays from the li'l nashville

‘plays from the li’l nashville’ shines

Jim Cavener

Local playwright Waylon Wood has a splendid script in his “plays from the li’l nashville,” now in performance by Run Amok Productions at N.C. Stage Company. It’s an incisive and well-crafted bit of writing, and the production excels in most every way.

This is not theater for wimps. But folks who want their theater challenging should see it.

But leave the children at home. And only very worldly grandmas will likely appreciate the earthy and often sexual nature in this trip to Florida’s underbelly.

Dope, drinking, drugs, debauchery and dirty-talk are the nature of the beast.

“plays from the li’l nashville” was written as a set of five short one-acts, all taking place in a backwoods roadhouse bar (the Li’l Nashville), patronized by the rural culture of far northwest Florida.

Playwright Wood later created a patchwork, full-length script by merging these various tales of pathos and poignancy to the tunes of Patsy Cline.

This is truly a motley crew, with a couple of singles and random clusters of pairs and threesomes from the local scene, all hooking up in strange configurations.

There’s lots of carnality, cussin’ and drinkin’ and searching for “good times.” Wood knows the language and the issues that permeate this culture. And a sad lot of circumstances they are.

Director Betsy Puckett creates an ensemble tribe of 13 able actors.

To name and describe all the colorful characters is impossible.

But there are stellar roles by Carla Pridgen, Zach Blew, Delina Hensley, Peter Brezny, Sarah Carpenter and David Ely. Anthony Abraira and Cory Boughton have lesser, but effective roles.

Scott Bunn has compiled a fine musical score of country classics, which belt from the jukebox in this honky-tonk setting.

Jim Cavener reviews theater for take5.

Should criticism include an assessment of whether a piece of theatre is actually any good?

If you have a chance, please check out this pieces from our friends at the Guardian. It's pretty fascinating stuff, if one is interested in the role of a reviewer in a community.
I'll post the article by Andrew Haydon below, but follow the link above for the complete dialog.
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In Britain, we all know that a theatre review will tell you if something is worth seeing. There will usually be a star rating - marks out of five for at-a-glance dismissal or praise. In mainland Europe, however, the situation can be very different. Last week, I attended a series of seminars on criticism in Helsinki alongside the Baltic Circle festival. In our group there quickly emerged a real schism between critics who felt that an actual judgment of a play's success or failure was not the aim of theatre criticism, and those - including myself - who couldn't quite sign up for such a radical departure.

It seemed perverse to me for a critic to have an opinion on whether something was good or not and to withhold that information. Furthermore, I couldn't quite see what could replace such information. Then I had one of those moments where you suddenly completely understand the other side's point of view. The seminar group was discussing a piece we had seen at the festival with which none of us had been especially impressed. Once we had moved past registering our myriad grumbles, we started discussing what it might have meant.

Our tutor, the Slovenian critic, editor and all-round great guy Rok Vevar launched into a startlingly intelligent, eloquent explanation of the piece, interpreting the meanings of various movements and sequences, deftly invoking Lacan and Zizek, the history of dance notation, and ideas of the self-narrating subject whose present and future are defined by their past. In short, Rok made the piece fascinating. Even though he hadn't liked it at all, he offered an analysis of the piece that was far more interesting than watching it had been.

This raised a question: if we had read Rok's analysis before we had watched the piece, would we have enjoyed it more? I would still argue not. Certainly there would have been more to think about, but Rok hadn't particularly liked the piece as he watched it either. My concern remained that if one simply presents a beautiful interpretation of the piece without any mention of the fact that it isn't much fun to watch, one isn't doing one's readership any favours.

At the same time I was aware that perhaps British criticism had been way too co-opted into the PR industry. Have British theatre critics, along with pretty much every other branch of journalism, been tricked into moving away from serious analysis into giving things the thumbs up (where possible) in order to sell tickets? As far as theatre PRs go, aren't the occasional raft of poor reviews worth taking on the chin so that the raves can be harnessed? While some shows might take a pasting, there are plenty of others that can be bolstered by quotations plastered over every available bit of space in front of house. This would be harder if the reviews in question were lengthy interpretations invoking Zizek and Lacan.

Similarly, when compared with a rigorous, extensive and articulate interpretation of a play, the way that some British critics simply shut down and refuse to engage with writing or direction starts to look like the height of ignorance; they don't understand, moreover they don't care that they don't understand - parading their ignorance as if it were a gold standard in taste and judgment.

On the other hand, this interpretative school of criticism can fall prey to finding meaning where there is none - dignifying work of little or no intellectual merit with critiques so intelligent and eloquent that the work seems praised when it would benefit more from someone pointing out that it wasn't any good.

I am interested to see if there is a synthesis possible. Is it possible to involve more intelligent, creative interpretation in reviews while at the same time still letting readers know whether the damn thing is actually worth seeing or not?

Smoke...

Nice that the C-T was able to review three shows all opening at once (this one's from Tony Kiss). May this trend continue.
But where have all of our "citizen reviewers" gone...?
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MARS HILL — The Sanders family of Siler City is back for more good old gospel music in the warm musical comedy “Smoke on the Mountain Homecoming,” now playing at Southern Appalachian Repertory Theatre at Owen Theatre.

This third chapter in the Sanders series closely follows the path of the first two shows. The clan heads to the Mount Pleasant Baptist Church to perform, but of course, things don’t go exactly right. Still, there’s plenty of good singing, some heart-touching moments and lots of laughs. It’s a perfect fit for historic Owen Theatre, once a church itself.

This production, directed by Paul Schierhorn, benefits greatly from the strong musical contributions of Brad Curtioff, and local music legends Bucky Hanks and Bruce Lang (who also portrays ne’er-do-well brother Stanley Sanders). Give them major props for making this homecoming a joyous occasion.

It’s just after World War II, and the Sanderses are reunited in Mountain Pleasant to bid farewell to bubbly Rev. Oglethorpe (Bradshaw Call). The pastor has married June Sanders (Katie Keiley), who is now expecting, and they’re all headed to a new ministry in Texas.

The play’s premise is that each member of the Sanders clan “witnesses” their love of the Lord, often with daffy but heartfelt results.

Company veteran Tony Medlin settles nicely into the role of daddy Burl, with Mandy Sayles as his Bible verse-spouting wife, Vera. Ashley Manning is daughter Denise (forever trying to settle down her unseen youngsters outside the church) and Daniel Hensley as her brother Dennis, just back from the war, and ready to take over the Mount Pleasant church. June stands to the side, “signing” each song with crazy movements. Halfway through, there’s a crisis, but things always work out with the Sanders family.

It seems that in every production of “Smoke on the Mountain” or its sequels, one member of the ensemble breaks out to shine, and in this cast, it’s Hensley as the forever-smiling Dennis. He’s got a fine singing voice, some sharp acting skills, and with other members of this crew, makes this an entertaining evening.

Sound of Music

C-T again..
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BURNSVILLE — While not among the greatest shows of American musical theater, Rodgers and Hammerstein’s “The Sound of Music” ranks among the most popular, and Parkway Playhouse’s current mounting of this workhorse will please the aficionados of the venerable property. And they are many.

OK, “The Sound of Music” is hokey, saccharine, cloying and based on a whitewashed, self-aggrandizing rewriting of history by a stepmother of seven children of a widowed Austrian sea captain. Guilty as charged. But, its adaptation to the stage by Howard Lindsay and Russel Crouse, with all the wonderful, if formulaic, music/lyrics by Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II, makes for terrific theater.

Those who’ve known Parkway Playhouse for many of its 62 seasons will rejoice at the comfort of updated theater seating, effective air conditioning and more adequate technical equipment, none of which compromises the charm of the old barn with bead-board walls and rustic demeanor. Further, the quality of theater performance has vastly improved over earlier years, as well.

Producing artistic director Andrew Gall has tightened up the company, raised the standards of both show selection and production quality, while building a loyal audience core that supports the new-and-improved components of one of the oldest theater companies in North Carolina.

“The Sound of Music” is a large show, with somewhat more than 30 roles in the cast. Coordinating that many actors, with most of the children double-cast, is a daunting task, alone. The show’s director, Christopher Dwyer, has melded this crowd into a cohesive whole, with minimal opening night faux pas.

There was one “costume malfunction,” a missing mirror in a valise, and a hard-to-tame Act II overture, which reminded the opening night audience that theater is hard work, and the perfection of edited work is hard to achieve in live theater. It’s nothing a few more performances won’t cure.

The cast is competent, with several fine voices.

The role of the renegade postulant in a religious order, Maria Rainer, is appealingly played by Lindsay Day Henry, with a strong, sweet voice and winsome charm. Her romantic lead, Herr Captain Georg von Trapp is strongly played by Rob Storrs. Her competition for his hand is Elsa Shrader, interpreted by Jennifer Short.

A dozen talented children take the roles of the seven motherless kids, and the young telegraph delivery boy, who is smitten by the eldest von Trapp daughter. There are too many names to list.

Nine nuns range from compassionate and human to rigid and authoritarian. Jordan Danz gives us the comic foil of Franz the butler. Austrian aristocracy, nasty Nazis and charming children fill the stage, and the cute, competent kids carry a lot of the load. A seven-person pit orchestra conducted by musical director Michael Kiedrowski is spunky. The use of a tuba gives much of the music an oom-pah feel that is highly appropriate to the locale of the story.

The versatile set-design of mottled granite serves to host scenes in the abbey, the von Trapp living room and garden, a mountain top and a concert hall in Salzburg. It was designed by Christopher Dwyer and Bruce Chuvala. Deborah Austin’s costumes are effectively evocative and atmospheric.

Jim Cavener reviews theater for take5. E-mail him at JimCavener@aya.Yale.edu.

Alone Together Again

Courtesy the Avle C-T, of course...
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FLAT ROCK — Flat Rock Playhouse’s “Alone Together Again” features several of the theater’s most popular older actors in a sweet story that has the ring of truth.

The comedy starts off almost like a Viagra commercial with Helena (Kate Konigisor) and her husband, George (Stewart Gregory), relishing their newfound status as “empty nesters.” The couple’s grown sons have finally left home, so Helena and George are intent on enjoying their time together free from constant attention to child rearing.

This burgeoning midlife bliss is punctured suddenly by the unexpected arrival of Helena’s curmudgeonly father, “Pop” (Ralph Redpath), who announces he is taking a “trial separation” from his wife of more than 50 years. Then comes Helena’s mother, Ruth (Barbara Bradshaw), with a big bag of his medications and instructions on how to administer them.

Finally, George’s mother, Grace (Jane Bushway), announces she’s going to stay a few days while her house is being fumigated.

George and Helena suddenly feel they are indeed the “sandwich generation” squeezed between the needs of their children and their parents.

Lawrence Roman’s script starts off slowly, but the second half resolves everything in a way that is quite satisfying and strikes a chord with almost anyone who has dealt with family responsibilities.

Any production that has veteran actors like Redpath, Bradshaw and Bushway is bound to be a crowd-pleaser, and Konigisor and Gregory are charming as the middle-age couple wanting to cut loose and enjoy life at last.

“Alone Together” is a change of pace from the big musicals that preceded and follow it at Flat Rock, but this little gem is worth a look.

Tim Reid review theater for the Citizen-Times. He can be contacted at timreid4@charter.net.

Ivory

Ivory, written by local playwright John Crutchfield and produced by Corpus Theatre Collective, recently debuted at the BeBe Theatre. In his director’s notes, Crutchfield states, “Though the characters are not based on real people, they are meant to seem realistic. In other words, it is important to believe that such people and situations could exist, and somewhere in some permutation they certainly do.” I believe Crutchfield achieves this goal in the creation of his characters, but I question the uniqueness of this goal. Isn’t virtually all realistic fiction intended to seem... realistic? That aside, there are a lot of very good things happening in this work, and a few things that didn’t quite hit for me.

Crutchfield has a tremendous ear and talent for crafting dialogue and giving life to three-dimensional characters. I also find that he can write extraordinary scenes, though I’m not sure the scenes are sewn together into a progression of events quite perfectly. I almost wanted this to be a television series rather than a play, as some occurrences felt a little rushed, and the passage of time wasn’t always terribly clear. I understand that this sort of thing can just be the nature of the beast of theatre in general; it wasn't really a staggering issue in this case, but it was something I noticed a few times. (One thing I did like very much about the pacing, though, was the seamless transition from scene to scene, as actors literally walk out of one scene immediately into the next with a brief lighting shift at most to indicate the new place and time.) The second act in particular was very short and felt truncated, and I desperately wanted to rework the structure of the last couple of scenes to give the ending the oomph I think it needed/wanted. I also didn’t quite get the feel for the high stakes that Crutchfield seems to be aiming for according to the Mountain Xpress article about the play by Aiyanna Sezak-Blatt (http://www.mountainx.com/ae/2008/060408the_high_cost_of_morality). I think the microcosm of graduate school maybe doesn’t have quite enough universality to translate to crises the general audience will be able to find as important as do the characters of this play. That could well be intentional in the effort to affect verisimilitude in the characters and their concerns, and on that level it does work.

The performances are excellent across the board. Vivian Smith stood out to me the most, in an exceptional, somewhat Bancroft-ian performance of the “predatory and unscrupulous” (to quote the aforementioned MX article) professor, Barbara. To this end, I started to have a little difficulty with some of the casting, not because of quality of acting, but purely because of appearance. The first small trouble I had was casting Jonathan Frappier as her protégé. Again, please don’t mistake me: I thought he, too, gave a great performance. However, with this sort of The Graduate dynamic present, it was a little odd for him to clearly be around the same age as her. I don’t mean to suggest that the same age difference as the film would be necessary here, but with lines such as, “I was just remembering how young you are,” (I am paraphrasing), the balance was thrown a little. The other strange casting, age-wise, was Anne-Marie Welty as nervous new grad student Ellen. The fact that she seemed a little too old in the role is, in large part, a testament to both Crutchfield’s writing and, perhaps ironically, her strong acting ability. Her character, to me, had a very clear voice based on her cadence of speech, emotional life, word choices, and general demeanor, and that voice hit me at around age 25. Of course anyone could be that nervous and insecure about school and somewhat awkward in relationships at any age, but then that to me becomes another issue that would need to be addressed as part of the story, and it seems to me more natural for her to be a little more freshly out of undergrad. To compound the (perceived) issue, there seemed to be a choice to dress her “younger” as well, as though the director (James Ostholthoff) perhaps agreed with a lot of what I’ve just said and cast against type anyway. Yet again, absolutely no complaints from me about the performances, and if I have to suspend my disbelief a hair to have this caliber of acting, I’ll take it.

--Jamie Shell

Driving Miss Daisy

more from the C-T
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"Driving Miss Daisy" a warm, sweet trip at North Carolina Stage Company

Tony Kiss • TKiss@CITIZEN-TIMES.com • published June 12, 2008 11:24 am

ASHEVILLE – “Driving Miss Daisy” is a tricky show to maneuver. Most everyone knows the 1989 Oscar-winning movie, with those memorable performances by Jessica Tandy, Morgan Freeman and Dan Aykroyd.

N.C. Stage Co. is closing its 2007-08 main stage season with the original theater masterpiece (which itself won a Pulitzer Prize). Because the show and movie performances are so familiar, any stage production really requires tremendous acting and directing to make its own mark.

But N.C. Stage delivers, with a touching, sweet, funny performance that connects on many levels.

Almost anyone with an aging relative can relate to this tale of feisty Daisy Worthan and her unusual, long friendship with faithful driver Hoke. Rounding out the trio is Daisy’s caring, concerned son, Boolie. The setting is Atlanta, from the late 1940s through the early 1970s.

Playwright Alfred Uhry crafted these multi-dimensional characters, and N.C. Stage director Angie Flynn-McIver brings them to life through a tremendous cast: Jane Bushway as Daisy, Paul Garrett as Hoke, and Joe Sturgeon as Boolie. All three evoke much humanity.

Bushway, well known for her many performances at Flat Rock Playhouse, shows major acting chops as Daisy, reluctant to give up an ounce of independence, but forced by the passing years to accept a driver. Bushway’s final scene is a tearjerker.

Garrett, making his N.C. Stage debut as Hoke, plays that role with true heart and skill. His best moment could be where he tells Daisy of a synagogue bombing – and his own long-ago tragedy.

Providing proper balance is Sturgeon, in the role of Daisy’s son, Boolie, nervous to rock the boat too much. It, too, is a nice bit of acting.

Uhry’s story conjures up an old, lost Atlanta, swept away by big-money development. It hits home in Asheville, where precious downtown landmarks are always endangered in the same manner.

Meet Me in St. Louis

From the C-T, another by Tim Reid
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FLAT ROCK - Fans of the old-fashioned musical are in for a treat with Flat Rock Playhouse’s sentimental extravaganza “Meet Me in St. Louis.”

Lavish costumes, exquisite sets and a large cast recreate the excitement of a St. Louis family leading up to the 1904 World’s Fair. Based on the 1944 movie that starred Judy Garland, the stage version by Hugh Wheeler includes some of the best-loved songs of the American theater.

The story centers on the exuberant Smith family as they joyfully anticipate the St. Louis World’s Fair while the two oldest daughters are caught up in their own drama of finding a beau.

Rose Smith (Lesley Marie Collins) has been corresponding with wealthy suitor Warren Sheffield (Christopher Staskel) for months but is frustrated that he has not asked her to marry him.

Rose’s sister Esther (Kelly Rypkema) is in love with next-door neighbor John Truitt (Mike Frankey), but he doesn’t seem to know she’s alive.

When Warren writes that he will call Rose that evening, housekeeper Katie (Barbara Bradshaw) tries to move up the dinner hour so Rose can be ready for his call – and hopefully a proposal.

But their father Alonso (Brendan Powers) comes home stressed out from work and determined that nothing shall change their routine.

The Smith household seems to stay in a state of happy upheaval with the antics of younger daughters Tootie (Casey Walz) and Agnes (Heather L. Pynne) and their brother Lon (Teddy Eck) preparing to go to college.

The family is thrown into turmoil when Mr. Smith announces they will move to New York after Christmas. Mrs. Smith (Marcy McGuigan) tries to reassure the children, who hate leaving their happy life in St. Louis.

Ralph Redpath is delightful as Grandpa Prophater, who understands the hearts of his grandchildren and strives to soften life’s disappointments.

The play is worth seeing just to enjoy warm-hearted songs like “The Boy Next Door,” “The Trolley Song” and “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas.”

Musicians Paul Babelay, Charles Holland and George Wilkins Jr. produce a big sound to recreate the excitement of this fabled era at the start of the 20th century.

Director Paige Posey and a talented cast sing and dance their way into your heart with this sentimental tribute to the innocence and wholesomeness of a bygone era – gone but thankfully not forgotten.

Tim Reid reviews theater for the Citizen-Times. He can be contacted at timreid4@charter.net.

The Philadelphia Story

ACT's "PHILADELPHIA STORY " is not to be missed! Bernie's direction is spot on, the set by Jack Lindsay and Adam Cohen is elegance itself and the performance is simply superb. Nothing is out of place in this late 1930's silly saga on the manners and mores of the inhabitants of the "Philadelphia Main Line". Kelly Christianson's "Tracy Lord" exemplifies the "golden goddess girl" to a "T". The trio of Wilde, Clancy and Wood as "C. K. Dexter Haven", "Mike Connor" and "George Kittridge" respectively, are as goofy a bunch of hormone driven rich guys as can be found anywhere. Their nutty machinations are aptly supported by a cast of lovely characters. Linda Underwood's costumes are a gorgeous revival of early 20th Century elegance. God, we really used to dress in a grand but casual manner..ahh, the flow of pleated, expensive fabrics on beautiful women... but I digress. Jason Williams' lights are right on the money. Really, as well as being a piece of great entertainment, this production is a nostalgic voyage through a long gone (with no little regret) era.

Thankyou ACT. By the way, some of the younger generation may have confused "THE PHILADELPHIA STORY" with "PHILADELPHIA", a somewhat dark and dismal cinema epic starring Tom Hanks as a lawyer dying of AIDs. Believe me, ACT's offering is nothing like it!!

With kindest regards,

Mike Vaniman

The Only Thing Worse You Could Have Told Me...

from the C-T...
http://www.take5online.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=200880501100
--BG

‘The Only Thing Worse’ is powerful look at gay life
by Jim Cavener, Take5 correspondent
published May 2, 2008 12:15 am

It’s rare that a show can mix comedy and serious drama with equal effectiveness. But the one-man piece “The Only Thing Worse You Could Have Told Me ...” by the Immediate Theatre Project does both with smashing success.

Dan Butler’s skits about being gay in an often-hostile society resonate with authenticity and reality. Some are simply wise and insightful. Others are painful and poignant. Some are filled with laughter, others provoke tears. There is much to learn from this well-crafted script, and almost anyone will be touched with this insider’s view of being gay in late 20th century America.

Director Hans Meyer found the right actor to star in this multi-faceted journey. The bouncy, boyish Francis Kelly is endearing and a moving actor. His ability to communicate varied emotions is impressive. Anyone with a strong aversion to profanity may wish to tune out on the first episode, or wear earplugs. Kelly calms down and delivers some heavy material in a few of the later skits. His dialect work is commendable.

Meyer not only cast and directed the show, he did the sound design. Stage manager Jamie Nicholson runs the board and doubles as the DJ who spins and mixes the tunes with a professional’s skill. The music selections and cues are masterful.

The varied roles portrayed by Kelly are aided by the use of minimal costume changes. Company co-founder Lauren Fortuna is the costume designer who gets much mileage out of a few rags.

Dames at Sea

From the C-T...
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‘Dames at Sea’ features super singing and dancing at Flat Rock
by Tim Reid, Take5 correspondent
published May 2, 2008 12:15 am

A small cast produces a large sound in Flat Rock Playhouse’s charming musical “Dames at Sea” about the proverbial small-town girl making it big in the Big Apple.

Director Amy Elizabeth Jones has assembled a powerhouse cast of talented actors who sing and dance their way through high-energy tunes that stir the emotions as well as adrenaline.

Lisa K. Bryant is marvelous as Ruby, a naive ingénue from a small town in Utah who arrives in New York in the 1930s with dreams of becoming a Broadway star.

When Ruby turns up at a rehearsal for a new musical, a tender-hearted cast member Joan (Wendy Hayes) wrangles her a spot in the chorus line while coaching her new friend on how hard life is in the big city.

Ruby gets a taste of that when the show’s star, temperamental diva Mona Kent (Marcy McGuigan), takes an instant dislike to her.

But Ruby also makes a new friend in a young sailor Dick (Freddie Kimmel), an aspiring songwriter who coincidentally is from the small town in Utah where Ruby grew up.

When the new musical’s opening is suddenly disrupted by news that the theater is to be torn down, Dick and his fellow sailor Lucky (Matthew Schneider) propose that the musical open on the deck of their nearby battleship.

The only obstacle is convincing the captain (Carl J. Danielsen) to let the ship be used for such a purpose.

It turns out that’s not a problem as the captain is a former boyfriend of Mona Kent. The diva only has to remind him of their past passions and he is willing and eager.

In true storybook fashion the temperamental diva gets her comeuppance and Ruby gets her chance at stardom. And, of course, love triumphs.

George Wilkins Jr., Paul Babelay and Charles Holland perform Jim Wise’s unforgettable music that propels this simple story into a perennial favorite.

“Dames” made Bernadette Peters a star when it debuted Off-Broadway in 1966 and has been delighting audiences ever since. Flat Rock’s production will please those who like a sweet story coupled with endearing tunes.

Tim Reid reviews theater for the Citizen-Times.

Equus

One of life's unexpected delicacies is that you drive up into the hills of Waynesville to see a play, and sit down and listen to the chit-chat around you--everybody seems to know everybody-- and then the play begins, and within five minutes you realize it will be one of the most remarkable evenings you've ever experienced.

HART's production of Peter Schafer's Equus is memorable for a couple of things, and one is the thrift of the set, which might come out of some larger theater's safety pin account. Another thing is the superb direction, which is superb partially by virtue of being invisible. Everything is right, simply, and THAT seems to be the interpretation, rather than those interpretations which are sometimes grafted on or imposed. Yet another thing is the breath-taking virtuosity of acting. I have seen Equus three of four times, including productions in London and New York. Steven Lloyd is by far the best Dysart in my experience, subtle and believable and never once reaching for an unearned dramatic moment. The horses are sexy and wide-eyed, horse-like and god-like in one moment. As for Adam Kampouris' Allen Strang, I'm having a hard time finding the words to praise enough. "Perfect" comes to mind, but the currency of even that absolute word is debased a little by misuse. There was not a wrong gesture, not a line that was not loaded with new and larger meaning than one had suspected. The character wept; the actor didn't. I want to say it is the best performance by anyone of anything I have seen locally-- at least I'd put it on the same shelf as Charlie Flynn-McIver's Hamlet-- but I am not sure it is not among the best performances I have seen anywhere in a lifetime given over, to some degree, to watching theater. Jesus, is this kid good!.

The whole evening was, in the old sense, sublime. A play I thought I didn't like so much is suddenly once again vital and luminous in my mind, and I want to thank HART with all of mine--


Crow

Bent

BETTERDAYS PRODUCTIONS Presentation of Martin Sherman’s “Bent” under the direction of Trevor Gouge was haunting, deeply moving and crisply directed with beautiful set graphics by Dan Pruitt. Bent is a tough play to mount for both the audience and the actors. The Be-Be theatre has neither wing space nor affective side space, but despite these handicaps Gouge used what he had to the fullest making disadvantages into advantages by cleverly staging this production to maximize and heighten the drama with a minimum of swift blackouts and stylized vignettes. Sherman’s “Bent” is not a play without flaws however. Set in Nazi Germany in the underground world of the gay culture. This lifestyle is sharply portrayed by Mr. Sherman, allowing the young men to be somewhat immune to the horror of the evil that is building around them letting them live in a world of alcohol, drugs, and sex in an almost “Cabaret” atmosphere, where the outside world rarely affects them, but it gradually begins to seep into the lives of the characters with sudden SS arrests, beatings, and murders. For the audience it is the realization that the Holocaust included not only the Jews, but Gypsies, Priests, the infirm, and homosexuals. It really is an Irony since many of Hitler’s closest associates were known homosexuals.

Bent originally had its debut on the West End in London, and later opened on Broadway with Richard Gere for a long run. The structure of the play is simple, the first half is devoted to the relationship of Max played by Adam Arthur, and his lover Rudy, played by Zack Rains, and takes place in Max’s apartment in Berlin following a heavy night of drinking. Max can’t seem to remember his behavior from the night before and is rudely reminded by a walk on by a very nude Wolf, played by Robbie Sherill on his way to the bathroom. This is followed by a heated argument between Max and Rudy, which is interrupted by the SS breaking down the door and murdering Wolf. Though they are threatened by the SS, they are left alone, but terrified to remain in the apartment and try to borrow enough money to escape into a neutral country. They first go too their employer Greta a female impersonator played by Michael Sheldon who is married with kids and denies being a homosexual, Greta runs a bar/cabaret and employs gay young as Bartenders and waiters. Greta gives the two money and a dire warning to try and get out of Germany. Then Max secretly meets his Uncle Freddie, played by Michael Pruitt, as an old homosexual, but still much in the closet, he begs Uncle Freddie to help him and Rudy escape from Germany, Freddie representing Max’s family, agrees to give him the money and forged documents but refuses to help Rudy in any way. Max takes the money and he and Rudy take refuge in shacks in the woods filled with other people trying to escape the SS. The camp is suddenly raided and Max and Rudy are arrested as homosexuals, Max denies he is a homosexual, but says he is a Jew, in order for him to prove it the SS force him to assist in beating Rudy to death.

The second Act takes place in a concentration camp yard consisting of a huge pile of stones. There is also an electric fence preventing them from escaping. There job is too move the stones to one side of the yard then start all over and move them back to the other. Max wears a Star of David on his prison shirt, and he meets Horst played by Ryan Travers who wears a pink triangle, signifying he is a homosexual. They are forbidden to speak to each other during this back breaking ritual, bit are allowed a five minute break every hour, its during this break that Horst and Max build a relationship the leads to love and finally sacrifice. Horst gradually becomes ill from pneumonia and they both know if the guards find out they will kill Horst. Ultimately Horst collapses and guards come to kill him, but before they can he throws himself onto the electric fence. Max is ordered to throw is body in the ditch dug for the dead. Max does and returns to moving the rocks realizing the thing the made his life bearable was the love of Horst, he runs gets Horst’s jacket puts it on and runs to the fence taking his own life.

Bernie Hauserman

There are many wonderful performances in this production but there are four outstanding portrayals, Ryan Travers is brilliant as Horst, bringing a gaunt believability to the role that simply shines.
Michael Pruitt as the closeted but visually very active, Uncle Freddie has all the fussy, nervousness his character needs, Michael Sheldon, who plays the part of Greta, is wonderfully cold but sympathetic in a very unforgiving part, Adam Arthur, is excellent as Max, but could have gone further to look a little more un-kept and well fed in the prison yard scene. Kudu’s also to Zack Rains as Rudy, a wonderfully honest performance.

Your Input Needed!

This post is not a review of a show (sorry), but a review of policy.
Professor Scott Walters wrote the following as part of a very compelling and considered comment to the review of "The Tempest Project" posted on APAR: "I question the ethics of anonymous reviews on this site, and I call for a change of policy."
While this isn't, perhaps, his primary concern in the review (all of which bears reading), Dr. Walters certainly has a point, and indeed the editors have struggled with the issue of anonymity from time to time. Since this is a public blog and a public resource, we would like to make this a public discussion.
What do you think? What are the advantages of allowing or encouraging or prohibiting anonymous postings? Where do we go from here? What will most benefit our theatrical community?
I suspect this may not be a "yes or no" kind of answer.
Thanks for your continuing input!
--Bernhard Grier