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
BG--

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
BG--

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
BG--

'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...
BG--

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.
BG--

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
BG--

‘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
BG--

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

Flat Rock's Tuna

from the C-T again...
--BG

by Tim Reid, take 5 correspondent
published November 30, 2007 12:15 am

FLAT ROCK — The Christmas Phantom threatens to ruin “A Tuna Christmas” in the hilarious sequel to “A Greater Tuna” by Jaston Williams, Joe Sears and Ed Howard.

Veteran Flat Rock comic actors Scott Treadway and Michael Edwards play all 22 characters as Texas’ “third-smallest” town prepares its annual Christmas decorating contest.

Vera Carp has won the contest 14 years in a row but faces strong competition from upstarts like Tasty-Crème waitresses Inita Goodwin and Helen Bedd. And no one is safe from the mysterious phantom, who wrecks somebody’s yard decorations each year.

Radio station personalities Thurston Wheelis and Arles Struvie provide a running dialogue on Tuna’s Christmas preparations, interspersed with commercials by Didi Snavely, owner of Didi’s Used Weapons.

A touching drama plays out as Bertha Bumiller struggles to have a traditional Christmas with her family. This is complicated by the fact that her trucker husband is absent as usual, her son Stanley is almost certain to go back to jail, and her daughter Charlene has a crush on gay theater director Joe Bob Lipsey.

Treadway and Edwards are awesome as they deftly switch characters, keeping up the frantic pace that gives the play its punch. The humor is wild, the satire on small-town life is revealing, and the laughs are nonstop.

It has been three years since Flat Rock last presented “A Greater Tuna.” Judging from the spontaneous standing ovation given Treadway and Edwards for this go-around, which is directed by Betsy Bisson, Texas’ third-smallest town has lost none of its appeal.

Tim Reid reviews theater for the Citizen-Times. Contact him at timreid4@charter.net.

Hospitality

C-T, of course...
--BG

Theater review: Enjoy some down-home ‘Southern Hospitality’
by Tim Reid, take 5 Correspondent
published November 23, 2007 12:15 am

ASHEVILLE — The Futrelle sisters swing into action to save their beloved Fayro, Texas, in “Southern Hospitality,” the third installment of the popular story by Asheville comedy writers Jessie Jones, Nicholas Hope and Jamie Wooten.

This time Fayro is suffering an economic decline with the loss of businesses and jobs. Even Geneva Musgrave (Thelma Cousins), owner of the Bookoo Bouquet florist shop, complains there hasn’t been “a good funeral” in months. Folks are going to have to leave their beloved town if a major new employer isn’t found soon. The Futrelle sisters aren’t about to let that happen.

Honey Raye (Joan Atwood) concocts a scheme to put on a giant “Fayro Days” festival to impress the president of a hot sauce factory who is considering moving his plant to Fayro.

Her sister Frankie (Kay Crews St. Clair) is pressed into hosting the visitor in her home, which they pretend is a bed and breakfast.

Meanwhile, just about everyone in town tries to make the hastily concocted “Fayro Days” a big success to impress the hot sauce king.

Frankie’s husband Dub (Roger Magendie) helps coordinate a Civil War battle re-enactment — never mind the fact there was no battle within hundreds of miles of Fayro.

Their daughter, Gina Jo (Julia Cunningham), puts on a petting zoo despite the fact that all she can muster are a dog, a cat and a stuffed emu. Her preacher husband, Justin (Cory Boughton), meanwhile gambles away their car at a nearby casino.

Twink Futrelle (Kerry Shannon) is determined to make her longtime boyfriend, John Curtis Butner (Steve Wilde), marry her as the highlight of Fayro Days.

Shirley Cohen nearly steals the show as Dub’s irascible Aunt Iney, who spits and fumes vitriol at Dub and Frankie’s every attempt to win her favor — and her sizable estate.

Frank Salvo does a wonderful job as Reynard Chisum, a simple but sweet town character who keeps gushing how great Fayro is while residents make absolute fools of themselves.

Jessie Jones directs this hilarious tale in which all the characters are over the top but somehow reminiscent of real people with all their faults and foibles.

A strong cast and an irresistible story line make this a sure crowd-pleaser.

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

Harm for the Holidays at NCSC

I’ve reliably missed Tom Chalmers perform David Sedaris’ “The Santaland Diaries” every year so far, and will miss it again this year. So I made a special effort to see his autobiographical one-man show “Harm for the Holidays,” running as part of the Catalyst Series at NCSC.

I don’t think this is the funniest work ever I’ve seen from Chalmers, but the evening’s mix of personal stories is a good one, and the tone is set as something less than a “laff riot” from the very beginning. Which is not to say it is not funny — it is. But many of the biggest laughs come packaged in groans of discomfort that such horrible things could happen to poor Tom, and some of the most effective material is a gently comic slant on these otherwise horrible situations, most of which involve uncomfortable family situations, and all of which are undercut by the slightly melancholy sense of relying on comedy to survive tragedy.

The play starts with the Christmas Eve death of a beloved grandfather, and this sweet but somber beginning firmly establishes the layout of the evening. It is surprisingly funny, but it is tinged through with a hint of sadness that grounds the show in a nicely real way. As an added bonus, this allows the moments where Chalmers seemingly riffs off script to be true asides that break the mood and inject the purest, least compromised laughs of the evening.

I don’t want to say too much about the material, and risk giving away any surprises. I’ll just end with this: if you are only interested in seeing “Tom Chalmers: Funnyman,” you may be slightly under-whelmed. But if you are looking for a very sweet, very heartfelt, and, yes, very funny performance that makes you appreciate both the flaws and wonders of your own family, consider coming “Harm for the Holidays.”

And now I turn the joke writing back to Mr. Tom Chalmers, ladies and gentlemen, who’s actually good at it.

--Willie Repoley

The Pleasure Principle

Ok, I’ll admit it: I’m a sucker for the drama department at Hendersonville High School. I can always count on their fall play to be one of the most exciting, surprising, and genuinely theatrical shows of the season, and this year’s offering is no exception.
This unexpected phenomenon started a few years back, when HHS produced Edward Gorey’s bizarre collection of random sentences passed off as a play called “Helpless Doorknobs”. Only Heather Malloy’s recent “The Many Deaths of Edward Gorey” has threatened to overtake that production as the most wonderfully inventive re-imaging of the spirit of Mr Gorey ever seen. I loved it.
I loved even more 2005’s ingenious re-thinking of an antiquated French play, “La Dispute,” a sort of allegory about two couples in a years-long pseudo-scientific experiment to study love and fidelity, as well as the nobles who commissioned and are watching the experiment. It was delightful and enchanting and earnest and moving, and I still hold it up with NCSC’s “The Syringa Tree” as one of the very the best shows of the season.
I regret to say that I had to miss last year’s reportedly post-noir Nancy Drew-meets-the-Hardy Boys concoction.
This year, I caught the possibly ill-conceived revival of a play they competed with earlier this season, an original piece called “The Pleasure Principle”. For the record, I only say “ill-conceived” because the performance had a slight air of a play who’s life had peaked during it’s first run, and this was a sort of post-show performance that couldn’t quite muster the oomph of the original run, especially not with a largely listless and rather small audience, comprised mostly, it seemed, of people who had probably already seen the show, and were now, a bit like the actors, returning dutifully, but not wholly enthusiastically.
But be that as it may. The show itself was beautiful and flawed and engaging and bizarre, and great, even on a slightly off night. Described as a “surrealistic fantasy,” it was based partially on the writing of Sophocles (Oedipus Rex), the theories of Sigmund Freud (especially the Oedipal Complex), and the political activism of the Zapatistas. The mix is odd, and does not always make literal or immediate sense, but they don’t call it surrealism for nothing.
Our hero, Edmund, played by Turner Rouse with his reliable mix of sincerity and wonder, is a 16 or 17 year-old student whose parents are going through a divorce, and whose sister Tista (Arie Romstadt, a convincingly child-like narrator, without being cloying) talks in the third person and sometimes shares his visions of Mexican revolutionary Emiliano Zapata, played with a thuggishly Johnny Depp scowl and giant blue sombrero and black moustache by Katie Bailey. He also sees visions of Sigmund Freud and of is led of course to the inescapable destiny of killing his father and marrying his mother (who happens to share wardrobe choices and names with his girlfriend.)
The overarching theme of Destiny (and the idea that if one is destined to do something, it ceases to matter if it has already happened, or will happen at some point in the future) ties the disparate ideas together visually as well as thematically; the very cool set consists of a few key furniture pieces, all askew on the stage and painted white, with bits of the face of a black clock showing up on each piece. Behind the action are two painted flats, also blanked white, and if the two pieces were ever put together, a single giant clock with sharply black Roman numerals would be formed.
Like the other HHS shows I have seen, one of the highlights of the play is a bold visual beauty. The design elements were meticulously thought out and executed, both by the designers and builders and by the cast’s interactions with them. I loved that the brother/sister pair had an artfully correlated blue/red color scheme, for example. Possibly the most striking image was the use of a giant red flag, first as a long banner proclaiming some absurdist version of a universal/revolutionary truth, and then as an impromptu full-body wrap—part swaddling cloth, part shroud—for Edmund, who of course, also joins his sister in some sort of optical degradation, as prophets and other seekers of the truth must do (just ask Sophocles or Tony Kushner, or even Shakespeare).
Perhaps most importantly, throughout all the absurdist double talk, the visions of ballet dancing revolutionaries, a marriage that is also a divorce, death that is also life, blindness that is also clarity, and other potentially confusing contradictions, the cast maintains an essential sense of ensemble, with each member not just pulling his or her weight, but actively pushing the play forward with bold, sweeping leaps of imagination and trust in each other. It is truly inspiring to see young people so dedicate themselves to making the play a powerfully actor-driven event, one that finds beauty in the everyday, in the extraordinary, and of course in the absurd.
This is complex, confusing, and engaging story telling, presented by a fearless cast. If every high school in the country had a drama program as creative and daring as the one under Todd Weakley’s care at Hendersonville High School, the state of the American Theatre would be in spectacularly exciting hands.
--Willie Repoley

History is About to Crack Wide Open (Millennium Approaches)

North Carolina Stage Company has launched a new series for the 2007-2008 season. Four plays have been selected to be read on stage. The first offering is Angles In America: Millennium Approaches by Tony Kushner, directed by Angie Flynn-McIver. This is part one of a two-part play.

I have seen the full production of Angles In America twice and have found it to be powerful and moving. Entering the theater, I wondered if a reading could capture my attention for the almost three hour long drama. Can a group of actors sitting around on stage, reading from a book be that compelling? Can they do justice to the script?

It didn’t take long to find out. The eight people assembled for this reading, some local and some out of towners, turned out to be actors, not readers. Without the usual trappings of costumes, lighting, lines to remember, and all the technical issues with a full production, they were able to focus on the script. Their acting ability cut to the heart of the play in a powerful and dramatic way, giving us Kushner’s words, thoughts, and emotions in a lively and compelling performance.

The actors did not just speak their lines. That would have been boring. Sitting in those chairs, they acted their lines. They made us laugh and cry. They made us glad to be alive and afraid that we were. They challenged old thought patterns; not by saying “you must agree with everything in this reading,” but by offering us an opportunity to pay attention to who we were.

Was this play really three hours long? Time flew by as the performers expertly drew us into the play. It seemed all to soon when the stage manager said “End of Part One.” For a long moment we were all stunned into silence, audience and actors alike. Together we were thinking, “Is it really over? I’m not ready to end it. Look at what happened here!” Now I am wondering if some day there will be an Angles In America, Part Two..

Robert Arthur

Smokey Joe's in Flat Rock

Theater review: Songs of ’50s, ’60s get grand treatment
by Tim Reid, take 5 correspondent
published October 19, 2007 8:30 am

FLAT ROCK — Flat Rock Playhouse really rocks the house with “Smokey Joe’s Café: The Songs of (Jerry) Leiber and (Mike) Stroller.”

This exuberant musical review features the legendary songwriters’ pop/rock standards of the 1950s and ‘60s that were performed by Peggy Lee, Elvis, The Coasters and many others.

The show includes some of the best-known songs from the duo that is credited with marrying rhythm and blues with pop music.

Older members of the audience will thrill to the tunes of their youth such as “Jailhouse Rock,” “Yakkety Yak” and “Charlie Brown,” and a whole new generation will learn to appreciate the music.

Director Ray Kennedy has assembled a talented cast of mostly new faces at Flat Rock for this high-energy production that keeps the tunes coming almost nonstop.

Alexander Elisa, Joelle Lewis, Keldon LeVar Price and Terrill Williams form a close-harmony foursome, their tightly choreographed movements giving the music an extra energy.

Nova Y. Payton belts out some of the show’s most unforgettable blues tunes, relishing the persona of a strong-willed woman versus her wishy-washy men.

And Flat Rock favorite Amanda Treadway sizzles as the sultry blonde in “Teach Me How to Shimmy.”

Daniel Bogart is paired with Treadway in some of the show’s most engaging boy-girl reveries, and Jackie Burns and Wendy Hayes also provide strong vocals.

The show is worth going just to catch the red-hot “I’m a Woman.”

Musicians Steve Alford, Paul Babelay, Jim Beaver, Kip Brock, Charles Holland, Amy Elizabeth Jones and George Wilkins Jr. deliver the big sound required for some of this era’s best-loved songs like “Kansas City” and “On Broadway.”

It’s a little surprising that Flat Rock has scheduled such a big show so late in its season. Judging by the almost sold-out house on opening night, you had better get your tickets early.

“Smokey Joe’s” is smokin’ hot!

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

Macbeth

THEATER REVIEW: N.C. Stage Company’s ‘Macbeth’ is a ghostly Halloween treat
by Jim Cavener, Citizen-Times Correspondent
published October 21, 2007 12:15 am on www.citizen-times.com


ASHEVILLE — Not only is N.C. Stage Company opening its sixth season with a major production of the epic tragedy “Macbeth,” it is also inaugurating the new NCSC Chase Gallery of art in its lobby.

The gallery will display thematic exhibitions relevant to each show in the upcoming 2007-08 season. The first exhibition, “Vice & Virtue,” grows out of themes in “Macbeth” and consists of photography, pen and ink, and mixed-media art by local artists.

NCSC has established itself as the pre-eminent professional theater in Asheville, in great part because of the production standards of several shows attributed to, or based on, Shakespeare.

Twice it has done “Shakespeare’s R&J,” a zany take on “Romeo and Juliet.” Last year, it was “A Midsummer Night’s Dream,” and early on in the company’s history, director Ron Bashford delivered a truly legendary production of “Hamlet,” which caused the regional theater world to sit up and take notice.

“Macbeth” as done by the NCSC, is not a costume drama that dazzles the audience with period drag from the royal court. The dazzle is in the script and the intensity of the acting.

The setting is limited to a timeless, ageless, glimmering Mylar scrim behind a sheet of clear plastic with paste-on, milky suggestions of trees.

Costumes are modern, grungy, grimy, monochromatic and reflecting the black-and-white world of Cecil Beaton. Costumer Shelley Porter inserts a couple of plaid, or tartan robes, about the only color on stage.

A clever conceit to emphasize the darkness of the material and bring grim reality to the house is the use of powerful hand-held LED flashlights for facial lighting, with virtually no other light source during the first 20 minutes or so. When well-aimed, this is an effective gimmick, but often the beams are misdirected and light more of the audience than the actors’ faces.

Other lighting use is skillful and earns kudos for designer Keith Kirkland.

Ten able actors take on the 27 roles in the dire drama, with more than a bit of gender-bending in this casting. Female Lords (Thanes, in Scots-speak), and male witches work well under Ron Bashford’s deft direction. John Crutchfield, Mike Coghlan, Bill Munoz, Hans Meyer, Michael MacCauley and Adam Vernon-Young do fine ensemble work.

Neela Munoz has a virtuoso vignette as the castle porter, while Lauren Fortuna is an apt Lady McDuff.

Jenn Miller Cribbs brings national credits that equip her with power in her Lady Macbeth. The mad scene is marvelous.

Company co-founder and artistic director Charlie Flynn-McIver approximates his excellence in the title role of NCSC’s 2003 “Hamlet,” and this Macbeth is everything a demanding director might wish.

The eerie, spooky opening and many successive scenes with ghosts, apparitions and other unnerving elements is appropriate for a production running through All Hallow’s Eve.

This is big people’s Halloween candy for the mind, with an inspired cast and adept technical values.

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