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

The Tempest Project

The Tempest Project
Theater UNCA at the Diana Worthan Theater.


It is possible for a brilliant and insightful director to face off against a great play and a great playwright, and, by opposing, find fresh nuance and unsuspected relevance in old and familiar words. This is not what happens in Theater UNCA’s The Tempest Project. Directors Laura Facciponti and Pamella O’Connor have, instead, devised a sort of bizarro-Tempest which, aside from being bad on its own account, violates the play at just about every point, apparently wilfully, blithe in its disregard for scholarship, reading skills, and even correct pronunciation. It was as if these two women had looked the Bard in the eye, without knowing precisely who he was, and snarled “I’ll show you how it really should be done.”

Actually, for the first few minutes, I thought The Tempest Project was going to be wonderful. Katie Fuller’s costumes were brilliant, the set beautiful and almost functional, and the opening dance magical and evocative. Then the actors opened their mouths. Poking up under a big cloth like bubbling oatmeal, they chanted “What kind of play is this? What kind of play is this?” The question was not rhetorical. They had no idea.

The big cloth was part of the “Object Theater” concept, in which certain objects are used repeatedly to unify action and to provide visual novelty. The cloth was great to watch, sometimes Prospero’s robe and sometimes a ship at sea. But how this differs from the innovative utilization of materials at hand that is the mark of much good theater is difficult to see, how it warrants re-naming as a whole type of theater. In the UNCA production it was employed to camouflage the lack of directorial insight. “We don’t know nuthin’ ‘bout no Shakespeare, but we can make sensational balloon animals.”

The production is billed as theater for young people, but one hardly sees how that can be. Having cut Shakespeare’s masterpiece to an hour, the production still manages to be boring. And, if I were an eight year old I would find it frightening and confusing. No shred of context or motivation remains after the script butchery. Prospero is an insane magician whose main occupation is the idle torture of those around him. He’s an evil wizard out of a video game, and his sidekick Ariel is a mincing fop, the kind that would sneak up behind you on a desert island and stab you with a golden quill from its unaccountable head. The island is ruled by two perverts and invaded by a bunch of grievance-gnawing stuffed shirts; Miranda and Ferdinand are so bland and diffuse that one forgets they were ever on stage. The only character with whom one can have the slightest sympathy is Caliban, and that is because Cody Magourik, the actor who portrays him, has gone of campus and learned how to act, and manages to infuse stubborn insight around the edges of very bad direction.

Plus–teachers beware-- one would learn very little of Shakespeare. The first quarter of the play has no Shakespeare at all, but rather excerpts from Auden’s “The Sea and the Mirror.” Why? I have no idea. My guess it was something that popped into one of the directors’ heads, and, once there, seemed as sacred as every other misstep and misinterpretation. Then Ms Facciponti and Ms O’Connor commit the cardinal sin of Shakespeare production. They change the words. And not for any good purpose. Their changes do not simplify or clarify; they are merely ignorant and wilful. For “We are such stuff as dreams are made on, and our little life is rounded by a sleep” we get, “We are the fabric dreams are made of, and our life ends with a dream far away.” When Miranda says her iconic line, “O brave new world that has such men in it,” she is meant to be answered by Prospero’s’ earth-shattering “‘Tis new to thee.” When she utters it on this stage, there is silence. Children can handle complication. Children know when you are lying to them, when you are patronizing them, when you are “serving their needs” without any more understanding of their needs than, say, of Shakespeare.

The Tempest Project is billed as “experimental.” I suppose it might be if it were 1970.

This was a production marked by arrogance, disrespect, and incompetence, and all those qualities must be laid directly at the door of the directors. Ms Facciponti [should]... learn how to ...understand a play, before she “experiments” with even so much as the intermission munchies[.]

--Crow
[The editor apologizes for, but stands behind, slight content deletions. --BG]

Underneath the Lintel

From the C-T,
BG--

by Jim Cavener, take5 correspondent

ASHEVILLE – The title is odd enough. But it’s all explained in “Under the Lintel: The Mystery of the Abandoned Trousers,” centered around a long-missing library book, and now playing at N.C. Stage Company.

Written by Glen Berger, it was very well received by the audience at Wednesday night’s opening. It’s not just the compelling script, but a true tour-de-force performance by one actor, Terry Weber, who teaches theater at the University of Tennessee in Knoxville. The rapidity, the intensity and the integrity of the role are riveting.

The concept and writing are exemplary. Teasing and tricky, the context is a one-night show in a shabby rented theater in the Netherlands, wherein a lonely local library clerk presents to a measly audience the results of his obsessive/compulsive global journey to find out who had returned to “his” library a book, 113 years overdue. It’s no big thing, except for the fussy, prissy clerk who turns it into a memorable ideological odyssey and extraordinary spiritual journey.

Themes that are broached are free will vs. Hobson’s choice, the true plight of human existence, meaning and meaninglessness, myth, legend and the existence of a deity. The technique has been likened to “The DaVinci Code,” while Agatha Christie and Sherlock Holmes are not far afield.

The whole show is essentially an import from the theater program of University of Tennessee, with which N.C. Stage Company has long had a relationship. Weber and director Casey Sams are from UT, as are other members of the crew.

There are in-the-script projections and audio recordings, a sparsely decorated set with five large objects across the back of the stage, plus three pods of other random furnishings, each accented by books.

Images from London, China, the U.S. and Australia with references to “Les Miserables” (in three languages!), the Book of Job, Wales and Kilroy enrich the mix and are further ‘lovely evidences’ in this enigma hiding in a conundrum.

Cavener writes on theater for the Citizen-Times. E-mail JimCavener@aya.Yale.edu.

Kimberly Akimbo

From wnctheatre, http://wnctheatre.livejournal.com/
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Kimberly Akimbo, written by David Lindsay-Abaire and directed by Jason Williams, is currently running at ACT’s 35 Below. The script is a bit like a MadTV sketch run amok, with a little Lifetime Original Movie thrown in for good measure, but the production manages to elevate it at least to entertaining, if not to some of the emotional depth perhaps the playwright hoped for.

Briefly, Kimberly is a 16-year-old girl with a rare condition where she ages four times faster than normal. Add some dysfunctional parents, her ex-con vagrant aunt, and her Dungeon Master anagram-loving uberdork of a potential boyfriend, and you have Kimberly Akimbo. Joyce Wood convincingly plays the title character, aptly embodying the physical and emotional life of a teenage girl without falling into a lot of easy clichés one might expect from an older person trying to behave as an adolescent. The rest of the cast is equally adept at handling and often making better their material, with a particularly stand-out funny first scene from Rebecca Morris as the aforementioned aunt.

Direction from Jason Williams is sharp and attentive, and music choices throughout the play are spot-on. The set is simple and charming, suited perfectly to the space, and is about what I’d expect to see if, say, Napoleon Dynamite were adapted into a stage show. The only small production element that I think could have been a little better was Kimberly’s wardrobe; they got close, but I think a little more time could have been spent observing outside of Hot Topic to get the look just right, which I feel is important given the unusual nature of the character.

I don’t know that this is a must-see, but I’m glad I gave it a chance.

JC Superstar

from Meg Hale
BG--

The Gospel According to Rock

Last week, BioFlyer Productions put on Andrew Lloyd Webber's immortal classic "Jesus Christ Superstar" at Diana Wortham Theater. I'm told that I saw the best of the performances, the one on Good Friday, it's closing night. This means that I did not witness (but did hear about) the performance where Jesus freed his hand from the cross it was nailed to, to adjust the crown of thorns atop his head, before reattaching it to the cross. Of course, it only made matters worse when the crown fell around his neck like Prince John's crown in Disney's "Robin Hood." Okay, so I didn't see it happen, but you have to pass a story like that along.

BioFlyer is the production company owned and operated by Paul 'Rock' Eblen. For "Jesus Christ Superstar," Eblen served as the show's producer, director, and... yes, you guessed it - Jesus.

It takes a certain amount of ego to think yourself qualified to direct an Andrew Lloyd Webber piece; it is flat out disillusioned to think that you can keep up with Jesus' character's vocal range for this show, when you can barely hit anything above Middle C.

Every singer knows the fun role in "Jesus Christ Superstar" is Judas. He gets all the big numbers that open and close the show, all the pieces with the good beats and opportunities to wail. And let's face it, we're all looking for an excuse to wear leather or tassles. Steven Brooks kicks serious biblical butt in this role. He has a great belt-voice, a range that goes on for days and has a lot of fun with the part.

Mary Kathryn Lyerly also rocked supremely in the role of Mary Magdalene. She has this very sweet, demure voice and then, really blasts it out during her solo, “I Don’t Know How to Love Him.”

This makes it all the more frustrating to see Eblen, stepping down an octave, mid-song, because he simply cannot hit the high notes. The high-notes, incidentally, are the only fun things about the Jesus role. Whenever he has a solo, the generally rocking nature of the play stops and takes on an introspective, more ballad-type tone. If you’re not (as an audience) being impressed by the range of the actor playing Jesus, there isn’t a whole lot else to pay attention to.

Honestly, this is the first production of “Jesus Christ Superstar” I’ve seen where I found Jesus to be whiny. It was like watching Eeyore get crucified. That would make Tigger Judas, Rabbit would be Pontius Pilate… but I digress.

My point is that I know that the Jesus part in this play is hard as hell to sing. Most singers can’t do it. Though Eblen has a passable voice, he could not pull it off.

The rest of the cast is a group of very talented actors and singers. Tristan Tagar as Pilot and Ricky Webb as Simon also were able to show off their voices. Paul Trani as King Herod got a great response from the audience, though his costume was Dr. Frankenfurter from “The Rocky Horror Picture Show.” I like seeing random men in thigh-highs too, but let’s call it what it is - unoriginal

A lot of the vocal abilities of the cast were played down by microphone difficulties. Only a few times did the soloists mic come on for the first word of their solo, instead of 2 lines into it. Some singers in the chorus had microphones and some didn’t, which is never wise.

The multimedia was just a bad idea all around. Shots of gargoyles and demons, with a claw coming across the screen during Judas’ songs, paintings of Jesus next to photos of Martin Luther King during the crucifixion… the whole thing was one big head-tilt for me.

In short, I felt that the show was good, but that all decisions made were ultimately wrong.

Lonesome West

from wnctheatre,
http://wnctheatre.livejournal.com/
BG--

The Lonesome West is the final play in the Connemara Trilogy by Martin McDonagh, and was directed by Lloyd Kay at the Studio Theater at HART. Kay has directed the other two plays of the trilogy as well over the past several years.

Overall I found the play to be quite entertaining and engaging, but there is something a little off. I am inclined to think the problem is scriptural in nature, but I am not sure if these problems could have been fixed, or at least ameliorated, by different direction. (One thing that most definitely could have helped pacing would have been to tighten the unbearably long [and often silent] scene changes. There were mercifully few of them, but each lasted close to a full minute.) The two main characters, brothers Valene (Rick Sibley) and Coleman Connor (Steve Crider), have a quarrelsome relationship to say the very least. Constantly bickering, with the bickering often escalating into physical fights, a good 50-60% of the play is sort of like an Irish episode of Jerry Springer with significantly better written dialogue and many more teeth. They definitely have some hilarious zingers, but after a while, I was wanting and waiting for a point or a purpose, and couldn’t quite find one. They have a slight redemption arc towards the end of the play, but, all told, they end up right where they started for all I can tell. In something like No Country for Old Men, for example, the character’s lack of redemption was a vehicle for social commentary, so it had a larger purpose. It is possible that the same sort of thing was the goal here; I’m not certain. Perhaps the whole play is meant as a Great Gatsby-esque setting snapshot more than as a strict narrative. Perhaps it fits better if you've seen the other two plays of the trilogy, which I've not.

Performances were all solid, stand-outs probably being Crider as Coleman and Trinity Smith as Girleen. I thought the male roles were cast a bit too old, mainly because Coleman brags about an imaginary tryst with Girleen, who is supposed to be seventeen years old. Maybe I'm being stodgy but I found it a little odd, and it took me out of the moment. Maybe it would have helped if they hadn't also put Girleen in pigtails, thereby making her look even more childlike. Michael Boulos as Father Welsh definitely would have been a little more believable as a younger man, as - among other reasons - Girleen comes to have romantic feelings for him. I'm not saying it's out of the realm of possibility for it to have happened, but the tone of their relationship suggested that the role was meant to be played by someone closer to her age. Father Welsh and Girleen do have a rather sweet, poignant scene together at the top of Act 2, though, which was much needed in the midst of all the fighting and “feck”ing. In fact, generally speaking, I found their secondary storyline and characters quite a bit more intriguing than the primary thrust of the play.

From the editor...

Hi all-- Just a quick "thank you" to our recent/new contributers, as well as a friendly reminder to everyone to please continue to sign your posts. Anonymous postings are less helpful in establishing a community of different-minded individuals: without a "handle" we won't be able to get to know individual reviewers' tastes and styles. It is our hope that "APAR: Online and Ontarget" will keep growing, and these small steps to help make and keep it a valuable resource are much appreciated.
Thank you!
-keep reading; keep posting-
Bernhard Grier--

Moonlight and Magnolias

From the C-T
BG--

Theater Review: "Moonlight and Magnolias" fast and frantic fun
by Tony Kiss
published February 21, 2008 10:00 am

By Tony Kiss

ASHEVILLE - What if the Three Stooges tried to write the screenplay for “Gone with the Wind,” in just five days – locked in a room with nothing to eat but bananas and peanuts?

But these Stooges aren’t Moe, Larry and Curly – they’re producer David O. Selznick, screenwriter Ben Hecht and director Victor Fleming.

That, in a nutshell, is “Moonlight and Magnolias,” a wildly entertaining slapstick comedy running at Asheville’s N.C. Stage Co. This freewheeling romp showcases the superb talents of Scott Treadway as Selznick, theater co-founder Charles McIver as Fleming and the increasingly impressive Willie Repoley as Hecht – plus Lauren Fortuna as the dutiful secretary Miss Poppenghul, who manages some good moments up against this powerhouse trio.

Loud and frantic, there’s a strong similarity here to “The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (abridged),” previously performed by the same company which starred Treadway and McIver acting out the Bard’s works in one evening. There is great on-stage chemistry with these guys, and it’s only made better with the addition of Repoley to the mix.

It’s 1939, and stressed-out Selznick has shut down the movie for lack of a suitable script. He’s called weary fix-it man writer Hecht for help, and summoned strong-willed Fleming from the almost completed “The Wizard of Oz.”

Trouble is, Hecht knows nothing of “Gone with the Wind,” so Selznick and Fleming will act it out for him, line by line, as he pecks out the screenplay for a big paycheck. Hecht wrestles with the book’s racist undertones, while Selznick and Fleming wrestle with each other, and all three sink into an almost psychotic stupor from the stress.

Everyone here shines under the direction of Ron Bashford. Given little more to do than reply “Yes, Mr. Selznick,” Fortuna steals a few moments, especially pushing a squeaky cart around the stage.

This one will leave you exhausted from laughter and the experience of watching this bunch work.

Contact Tony Kiss at 828-232-5855, via e-mail at TKiss@CITIZEN-TIMES.com

Crown of Shadows

from wnctheatre, http://wnctheatre.livejournal.com
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Edward the King: A Wonderful Play, in Search of a Production
2/20/08 02:54 pm

Crown of Shadows, a joint production from Junction City Productions and Black Swan Theatre, is an offering of three plays by local playwright David Brendan Hopes, on three consecutive weekends, from February 15 through March 2, at the Asheville Arts Center.

The first of the three installments is Edward The King, which will enjoy a full production this coming May as part of New York City’s Gayfest. The play, beyond question, is worthy of a full production. It is unfortunate, then, that the play was not afforded the same luxury this past weekend at the Asheville Arts Center.

The script is simply delightful, filled with whimsy, wit, passion and poetry. It tells the story of young Edward Plantagenet before and during his ascension to the throne, and his deep abiding love for another young man that he meets on his secret journey to the underbelly of his eventual kingdom. The play is unique in that it takes place both then and now: in a world from hundreds of years gone by complete with laptop computers and automatic weapons. The dialogue is truly engaging, and some of the acting is good as well, but there is little to no production value whatsoever, which proves to be detrimental to the overall experience. There is no set designer listed in the program, which is painfully obvious when looking at the stage. The landscape is random, flat and does not help to facilitate any kind of flow to either the physical or the emotional life of the play. Since the stage dressing failed to make clear the production's conceptual merging of two time periods, perhaps this could have been achieved with costuming. However, apparel choices seemed to blend together in a hodge podge of non-specific time periods and styles.

The only other production elements present is provided by Brian Sneeden, designer of the sound and lights, both of which, thankfully, help to create and even at times enhance the world of Edward The King, so terribly lacking in any other aspect of the production.

Another saving grace of the evening is the acting from four of the five cast members, who were splendid. Unfortunately, Piers Gaveston, the one character who truly needed to dominate the world with his sexual energy, blow every girl's skirt up, and make every boy question his own manhood, does none of those things, coming across more as simply amusing and cute rather than dangerous and beautiful. To be fair, the actor seems only partially responsible for his performance. We have to look to the higher chain of command to find where truly the fault lies.

After seeing the performance, I expected to see the same credit in the program for director as there was for set designer: none. Alas, no, there were two! There were several choices made, or not made, on various levels, including acting, staging and design, but most of it seemed arbitrary at best. The actors provided some wonderful moments, but the bigger picture lacked any momentum, continuity or vision.

But once again, I must bow my head and curtsy to Mr. Hopes, who has written what I believe to be a wonderful play. I look forward to the next two plays in the next two weeks. It certainly is an ambitious effort, and hats off to Junction City and Black Swan for giving a voice to a well-written play. Despite the fact that the lack of production and direction detract from the enjoyment of the evening, there are some engaging acting moments. And even if you can’t see all the action all the time, (a distinct possibility, given the lay-out of the space), there is satisfaction to be had in just listening to the words.

I Love a Coney Island Roller Coaster

From the C-T
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Berlin musical familiar fun
by Tony Kiss, TKISS@CITIZEN-TIMES.com
updated February 21, 2008 8:35 am

ASHEVILLE — Irving Berlin’s “I Love a Piano” is like a Coney Island roller coaster ride. You know where it’s going, but it’s a fun and entertaining ride.

This collection of 60-plus songs written by Berlin is a feel-good performance powered by a talented singing, dancing cast of six, plus three musicians. It follows the same format as the John Denver tribute “Almost Heaven,” and the Johnny Cash celebration “Ring of Fire,” with lots of familiar songs.

The touring production, running through Sunday at Diana Wortham Theatre at Pack Place, takes a musical trip through the first half of the 20th century, when Berlin was one of America’s top songwriters.

Show creators Ray Roderick and Michael Berkeley have divided the piece into various settings — among them, a music shop in the 1910s, a 1920s speakeasy, a 1930s New York street scene, the World War II years and after, and a 1950s summer stock theater.

Among the show’s best moments are “Blue Skies,” “Puttin’ on the Ritz,” “Pack up Your Sins and Go to The Devil,” “White Christmas” and “Anything You Can Do.” The show has its goofy moments — “Oh, How I Hate to Get Up in the Morning,” among them, but is equally touching with “White Christmas” and the stirring “God Bless America.” The choreography and vocal blending is often stunning.

The cast features Mark Baratelli, Sean Schwebke, Jason Weitkamp, Summer Broyhill, Darcie Bender and Karla Shook. Jillian Nyhan Zygo will take over Broyhill’s spot Friday-Sunday. All perform with skill, but the standout is Shook, with big brassy vocals and fine comedic skills. Also adding to the production is the live music by pianist/conductor Alex LeFevre, Jared Young and Chris Conte plus five local musicians not credited in the playbill.

Contact Tony Kiss at 828-232-5855, via e-mail at TKiss@CITIZEN-TIMES.com

35 below MATCH

From the C-T
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'Match' provides intense theatric experience
by Tony Kiss, TKISS@CITIZEN-TIMES.com
published February 9, 2008 12:15 am

ASHEVILLE – Lies. Broken responsibilities. Emotional wounds that won’t heal, even years later. Those themes run through the heavy drama "Match," on stage at Asheville’s tiny 35below theater space.

This tale of three lives colliding in a dingy little apartment in Manhattan is incredibly intense. There are some funny moments, but mostly this is very intense stuff, as a man and his wife pay an odd visit to an aging choreographer, supposedly for scholarly reasons. But they begin weirdly prying into his life. It’s obvious there are some secrets here, and soon, the whole mess spills out and it’s not pretty.

The play, by Stephen Belber and directed by Jamie Nicholson, is getting its North Carolina premiere. Alphie Hyorth is the fading dancer and choreographer Tobi Powell, whose colorful Bohemian life has passed him by. It’s the show’s juiciest character and Hyorth is masterful in his portrayal.

Jane Porterfield is the soft-spoken interviewer Lisa Davis, who comes calling with her husband, Mike (Clete Fugate). She begins asking bland questions about Tobi’s career, but after seeming to be completely disinterested, Mike abruptly starts interrogating him about his sex life.

By intermission, we know what’s happening and in act two learn why. But even at the conclusion, when it seems all is wrapped up, you wonder just what has happened. This is adult material, peppered with profanity, sexual situations and drug use.

With Hyorth in the center of this story, Fugate gives an explosive performance while Porterfield remains mostly subdued. At times, she speaks in almost a whisper that’s difficult to understand, though she has some powerful emotional moments.

photo Contact Tony Kiss at 828-232-5855, via e-mail at TKiss@CITIZEN-TIMES.com

Stomp

Sorry for the delay.... from the C-T
BG

Theater Review: "Stomp" a high-energy hit at Wolfe Auditorium
by Susan Strehler
updated January 30, 2008 9:11 am


It’s difficult to go anywhere without meeting someone who hasn't seen “Stomp.” And now I understand why.

I've never seen such good use of a floor. Or a plunger, kitchen sink, tin trashcan lid, water cooler jug, bucket, broom and other nondescript items that we see on any given day. The production finishes a two-night run this evening at Thomas Wolfe

What makes this show so unique is its cast's ability to individually hold a beat, creating a collective output which is eclectic, rhythmic and so well choreographed it seems effortless.

Over the years, I've heard various tales of how “people bang on things,” so I wasn't quite sure what to expect. I had earplugs in my pocket in case the “banging” became a little too obnoxious. On the contrary, it could have been a bit louder.

In some acts, subtle, gentle beats erupt into a full-blown circus of people doing round-house leg maneuvers, jumping, arms swinging, playful stick-fighting, all while purposefully maintaining their own particular beat on a can or jug. My toes were tapping most of the time.

There were a few times when the lead cast member elicited the crowd to follow his clap or finger snap, and that was all good and fun; not like one of those shows where the amount of audience participation gets annoying.

Though not indicated by drawn curtains or the end of a song, the acts are separated by dimmed lights. Each segment takes on a whole new “instrument,” which sparks laughter in the audience because of its ingenuity. Would you really think to crinkle a newspaper as a source of rhythm?

Another source of hilarity was the cast's resident “goofball.” He was the poor soul who couldn't quite keep up with his stagemates' acts, yet brought comedy and musical talent when least expected.

One of the best moments was the show's only off-the-floor act: five people dangling, rappel-style, beating on the wall of pots, pans, cans, cups and jugs.

Performed without spoken word, the whole production based upon ordinary "junk" creates a dialog on its own.

Contact Susan Strehler at 828-232-5964, via e-mail at sstrehle@gannett.com

Oedipal (For)Play

From the "wnctheatre" blogger...
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In the second production of NC Stage’s new (For)Play Series, director Ron Bashford took on the widely recognized but seldom actually seen Oedipus Rex, by Sophocles. Charles Flynn-McIver, no stranger to portraying royalty on this stage, brings us the titular role in the emotionally-charged, understated intensity that audiences will have come to expect after seeing Flynn-McIver in such roles as Hamlet and Macbeth. Other notable performances include Michael MacCauley as Creon, aptly handling the future king’s righteous indignation in the beginning of the play and his shift into almost paternal sympathy for Oedipus’ self-wrought plight at the end. Callan White-Hinman did a fine turn as Iocasta; her characterization seemed a little unfocused at first but gained solid momentum along with the events of the play.

Never having seen this (or any play of ancient Greece) actually staged, I’ve always been rather curious as to the logistics and dynamics of the chorus parts. Bashford chose to have the entire ensemble of the chorus speak many parts, but then to break up others into solo or duo voices, which aided in giving variety to a device which could have seemed monotonous. Varying his actors from a fairly young girl (Charlotte Lawrence) to adult males (with assorted ages of men and women in between) produced some really nice tonal shifts and combinations that wove themselves well into the tapestry of the production.

NC Stage really just keeps getting it right, bringing fresh performance ideas into Asheville’s theatre scene. I look forward to the remaining readers’ theatres in this series.

Asheville Community Theatre thriller

Theater review: ‘Wait Until Dark’ powerful
by Tim Reid, take 5 correspondent
published January 25, 2008 12:15 am
http://www.take5online.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=200880124074

ASHEVILLE — Asheville Community Theatre turns up the terror quotient in Frederick Knott’s classic thriller “Wait Until Dark.”

Susy Hendrix (Heather Johnson) is about as vulnerable as you can get — a blind woman at home alone in New York City who is besieged by three criminals determined to get a doll filled with heroin. Her husband Sam (Chris Martin) was given the doll on a business trip but has somehow misplaced it. The crooks figure his handicapped wife will be an easy prey to trick or coerce into surrendering it.

While Sam is away at work, Mike (Don Clancy) shows up pretending to be a friend of her husband.

Susy figures she needs a friend when police Sgt. Carlino (Alan Wohl) shows up asking questions about her husband and the now all-important doll. Her mounting alarm turns to terror when she is visited by the sinister-sounding Harry Roat (Charlie Passacantando).

Susy enlists an unlikely ally in her struggle to find out the truth — an exasperating but perceptive young girl from the upstairs apartment. Fourth-grader Lindsey Salvati nearly steals the show as Gloria, who darts in and out of Susy’s apartment at will, obviously enjoying the advantage that sight gives her over an adult.

Heather Johnson undergoes a marvelous transformation as Susy, who at first seems so vulnerable but then turns the tables on her attackers, using darkness as a weapon.

Many people will remember “Wait Until Dark” from the 1967 movie starring Audrey Hepburn and Alan Arkin. Thanks to director Ralph Redpath and a strong cast, the stage version has lost none of its power.

Tim Reid reviews theater for the take5. He can be contacted at timreid4@charter.net.

Wonderful Life

This show rehearsed locally and closes locally, but in between has toured all over the state. I thought this would be a great opportunity to compare reviewers (both professional and APAR-based) from around the region. I'll just post a sampling here, starting with this from The Charlotte Observer; I'm sure NCSC and itp will post the rest on their websites. Hope you enjoy.
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From The Charlotte Observer, Sunday 2nd December 2007

Classic tale, fresh approach
Radio-style staging, sound effects add charm to `Wonderful Life'
by JULIE YORK COPPENS

"You've been given a great gift, Charlotte: a chance to see what the world would be like if you'd never lost your professional regional theater."

At least I think that's what the angel said ...

Could the fine production of "It's a Wonderful Life" now at Spirit Square be a divine visitation meant to keep Charlotte's most depressed theater fans from jumping off a bridge? I know I felt better Saturday, after the first of four performances this weekend by N.C. Stage, a professional company on loan from Asheville. The traveling show, a co-production with Asheville-based immediate theatre project, must lift spirits wherever it plays -- but especially here.

In this 1940s-style, "live radio" stage adaptation by Joe Landry, five gifted and engaging actors in vintage costumes voice the many familiar characters from Frank Capra's Christmas classic: George Bailey, a small-town banker blind to his own worth. His devoted wife, Mary, and their four adorable kids. His uncle Billy, whose dottiness, combined with the greed of town boss Mr. Potter, nearly brings disaster down on the Bailey Building and Loan. Clarence, the apprentice angel assigned to save George from suicide. Ernie the cabbie, Bert the cop, Vi the blond bombshell and all the others in tiny Bedford Falls whose lives would have been poorer, in some cases tragically so, if George had never been born.

Do we really need to experience this story again? Of course.

There's a reason "It's a Wonderful Life" remains an immortal TV presence in December, and this pared-down stage version reminds us of everything we love about the movie, often in surprising ways. How is it possible that an adult actor pretending to be little Zuzu ("Not a smidgen of temperature!") could tug at our hearts even more than 6-year-old Karolyn Grimes does on screen? Or that watching another actor mimic the crack of ice with a branch of bamboo could help us feel the chill of the lake that almost claims George's kid brother, Harry?

That's theater.

Asheville director Hans Meyer -- he also plays Clarence and other parts in the show -- keeps his fellow actors busy scoring this "Playhouse of the Air," as the faux broadcast is billed, with low-tech sound effects. A hand slapping an eggplant: That's Mr. Welch, the teacher's husband, slugging a distraught George in Martini's bar. Sure, it's a gimmick, but Landry's radio-theater approach fits the period and, far from distracting us, refreshes dialogue most viewers already know by heart.

The production's staging might be cute, but the portrayals are clear, earnest and deeply felt. Actor Willie Repoley makes the leading role his own, neither imitating nor departing radically from James Stewart's iconic screen performance. Repoley gets strong support from Lauren Fortuna (Mary), Kathryn Temple (Vi, Zuzu and others) and especially Joe Sturgeon, a man of a thousand voices (from God on down) who would have had a lucrative radio-theater career in another era.

True, Charlotte should be producing more of its own high-quality theater, not importing it from Asheville. But as George learns on that fateful Christmas Eve, when in need, there's no shame in accepting gifts from well-meaning friends. Let's accept this sweet little show as George does his own miracle, with open hearts, and be thankful that the members of N.C. Stage will be using their newly earned wings to fly back to Charlotte soon: In April, they'll bring another play with cinematic roots, Ron Hutchinson's "Gone With the Wind"-inspired comedy, "Moonlight and Magnolias," and in June, Lee Blessing's smart satire of politics and dogs, "Chesapeake."

Godspeed.

Virginia Woolf at HART

I recently came across a blog called wnctheatre.livejournal.com and was delighted to find some reviews of local shows. I have no idea who the blogger is or how to get in touch, so for now I'm posting these without permission. If anyone knows the blogger, please check and see if they mind!
Bernhard Grier--

Who's Vaguely Perturbed by Virginia Woolf

Haywood Arts Repertory Theatre's recently-closed production of Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf left me to answer the titular question with, “Eh, not I.” I am left, perhaps, a little gassy by Virginia Woolf. To be fair, I seemed to be relatively alone in this feeling, as most of the audience exited the theatre in awe, utterly enchanted by this adequate interpretation of the iconic Albee classic. Additionally, several members of the crowd were absolutely guffawing at George and Martha’s acerbic repartee and Martha’s drunken swagger and frequent mugging. While I certainly find the play to be pithy and the dialogue as witty as it is scathing, I’m not sure if the full-out cackle is really the intended effect. If it is, I think the directors and actors certainly incorrectly ascertained the spirit of the show. Several people also commented at being completely riveted the entire three hours plus, while I found myself checking my watch with increasing frequency towards the end of the second act. So take that as you will.

Upon entering the theatre, many of us were struck by the beautiful and detailed set, which included a rather exquisite bar I intend to steal and cram into my tiny apartment (after strapping it to the top of my tiny car) as soon as the show closes. Don’t tell. Aesthetically speaking, the show was quite lovely, if the physical casting a bit odd. Mickey Hanley, portraying Martha with an abundance of sass and attitude, is striking in the role, but we are constantly reminded by Albee’s text that she is to be six years older than her husband, which she very clearly is not. To me, she generally lacked the subtle vulnerability that gives Martha her essential humanity, which leaves us with primarily a caricature of bravado and bluster, followed by an impressive complete emotional breakdown at the end of the show. I wouldn’t say she missed the mark of the character entirely, but there were some dimensions left unexplored. She captured the comedy of the role magnificently and, when the character did finally crack, the effect was fairly devastating. David Hopes was solid as George, unwavering in matching Martha in verbal spars, albeit a bit level and detached. Have these two ever had affection for each other? Do they now? It seems from the end of the show that they still share an emotional bond, but they come across more as a petulant child and her persevering guardian a great deal of the time. Some pacing difficulties here and there, perhaps in part due to the wordiness of the script. Trinity Smith was unassumingly charming as Honey, and Ben Marks a decent foil as her quick-tempered, upstart young husband.

This work is a challenging one to tackle, to be sure. It is rather easy to do an okay production of it, and very difficult to do an excellent one. I feel here we saw a lot of the surface of the relationships, while I wanted to see the subtext and intricacies that make human interaction so fascinating at large, and specifically intriguing in Albee’s opus.

--wnctheatre.livejournal.com

Jingle Taps

This is from the C-T
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‘Jingle Taps’ dances in the holidays
by Jim Cavener, take 5 Correspondent
published December 14, 2007 12:15 am

When N.C. Stage Company added a show called “Jingle Taps” to its Catalyst roster for this winter, it was a tad confusing, since the theater often hosts riotous comedy or stunning drama. But we attended “Jingle Taps” on the opening weekend, and it was a good decision.

The first act is a series of vignettes with a lame story line meant to hold together an interesting series of body movement loosely classified as dance. A rhythmic percussive element opens the show with Santa’s Irish elves becoming shoe- and boot-makers, using hammers and tools, hands, thighs and feet to create the bang.

Despite the silly theme and the striped stockings, the range of dance was impressive and exquisitely executed. Still, there is too much contrivance and too many conceits.

In the second act, all is forgiven when the troupe of six skilled dancers re-emerge in less contrived costumes, yet still managing to evoke the season. The fun begins with this intense and high-energy troupe blasting off in classic clog dancing form, with the bounce and flash one has come to expect of competent clogging.

The short set at the finish of this barely hourlong presentation is simply stunning. Six young dancers, with two “spares” rotating in performance give a world-class demonstration of the best of clog dancing.

This high-powered clutch of foot-stompers grew out of Mars Hill College’s award-winning Bailey Mountain Cloggers, with all but one of the crew either current students or recent alums. One is only a 17-year-old who will enroll at Mars Hill next year. The directors of the show, Heidi Kulas and Cheryl Renfro, are members of the All-American Clogging Team and have vast professional clogging experience.

The rest of the team includes Misty Searcy, Joseph Quattlebaum, Tyler Mercereau, Meghan McCartney, Matthew Kupstas and Leah Cunningham. Cunningham and Quattlebaum were the two who were missing at the performance reviewed but will perform this week.

Jim Cavener writes for the Citizen-Times.

Romance

From MX
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Theater Review: Romance
by Aiyanna Sezak-Blatt on 12/06/2007

This holiday season, Zealot Productions decided not to launch the typical Christmas play — indeed they decided to do just the opposite. Romance, a comedy by Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright David Mamet, is set in a courtroom and follows a trial that’s literally gone crazy. With a pollen-sensitive judge popping antihistamines, an anti-Semitic lawyer defending a Jewish chiropractor and a homosexual prosecutor caught in a relationship crisis with his flamboyant boyfriend, this play isn’t for the faint hearted.

If you’re not familiar with the most recent developments in derogatory name-calling, this unabashedly non-P.C. play will bring you up to date, and in doing so it will leave you bent over your seat in a fit of laughter. The small amount of order that the trial begins with quickly collapses, resulting is a disorderly and intensely funny debate between these broadly painted characters as they poses many worthy questions: What will resolve conflict in the Middle East? Was Shakespeare a Jew… was he gay? What do homosexuals really… do? What will happen if a man takes too many of his allergy pills?

Zealot’s cast of seven is strong, and the play’s director, Ryan Madden, seems to know that his cast shines on stage. In a theater made to hold 50 people, the BeBe enhances the feeling of being a part of the play’s dysfunctional trial. If you want to laugh this holiday season, don’t miss Zealot’s production of Romance. However, be sure to leave the kids at home.

Romance will at the BeBe Theatre till Dec. 8th and begins at 7:30 p.m.

— Aiyanna Sezak-Blatt, listings assistant