Rosencrantz & Guildenstern...

Another CT review.
BG--

Review: ‘Rosencrantz' is complex but entertaining

TONY KISS • TKISS@CITIZEN-TIMES.COM • PUBLISHED FEBRUARY 22, 2009 12:15 AM

There are some shows that require total concentration while watching, and even then, it's difficult to grasp just what's going on. The absurdist comedy “Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead” is like that, but it's well worth seeing, because of the superb acting in this cast. And as puzzling as it can be, there is a payoff.

Playwright Tom Stoppard has taken Shakespeare's “Hamlet” and given it a very odd twist, pulling two minor characters from the classic, putting them in the spotlight and dropping them into a weird “Twilight Zone” like setting. And there is no Rod Serling to step out from behind the curtain to explain what's going on.

So unless you've seen this one before, or really understand “Hamlet” or Stoppard, don't feel bad sitting there, scratching your head. It's not supposed to be easy.

Director Angie Flynn-McIver has assembled an amazing cast, fronted by two familiar faces: Hans Meyer as Rosencrantz and Willie Repoley as Guildenstern, loyal but mostly unimportant friends of Prince Hamlet (Chris Allison).

The two have been cast into an odd world that they don't understand and have no way of escaping. They while away the hours tossing coins or playing back-and-forth word games, trying to remember who they are and how they came to be there. Rosencrantz is more of a simpleton and Guildenstern poses as the more knowledgeable of the pair, but it's a sort of Laurel and Hardy set-up.

Through the course of the story, they meet a traveling band of actors led by The Player (Michael MacCauley), who comes in and out of their world but offers little help in sorting it out. Our boys sometimes find themselves where they belong — as characters in “Hamlet” — as the King and Queen (Joe Sturgeon and Lauren Fortuna) seek their help in understanding the madness of the Prince.

And so it goes. But there is a point in the show — as in its title — where it become obvious, even to non-Shakespeare readers, and to Rosencrantz and Guildenstern themselves, what lies ahead. They are on a journey to which there is no good end and no escape.

There are two intermissions here, and while they are 10 minutes each, that lengthens this evening to just short of three hours. In the second intermission, the audience must leave the theater, so that a mighty set change can be made. We won't spoil the surprise, but it is worth it, although the second intermission found much of the sold-out crowd jammed into the lobby, hands in pockets, with others puffing their cigarettes outside the theater on Stage Lane, filling the air with an unpleasant smell.

As for the performances, Repoley gives a masterful turn as the smug Guildenstern, proving again why he is among the finest actors in Asheville. There's fine chemistry with Meyer, equally impressive as the more naïve Rosencrantz. It's a rare chance to see Meyer act, as he usually directs.

Coming close to stealing the show is MacCauley as The Player, who gets some great scenes. And it is good see Allison as Hamlet, sinking into madness, although he has less to do than the others.

Little Dog Laughed

Another from the C-T
BG--

Review: ‘Little Dog Laughed'' funny, powerful

Jim Cavener take5 Correspondent • published February 20, 2009 12:15 am

“The Little Dog Laughed,” now being presented at Asheville Community Theatre's 35below black-box house, is frequently funny, earnestly edgy and — often — comedic in content.

But wait, there's more: a climax that borders on Frederick Durrenmatt's classic chiller, “The Visit,” where the vicious and vindictive female lead issues a challenge that paralyzes a community and terrifies the audience.

This is high drama, not (at least entirely) to be taken lightly. Come prepared for fun and fantasy as you enter the world of “Hollywierd” — although most of the action takes place in New York. Then expect to fasten your seat belts before the show ends. This is going to be a bumpy ride, for sure.

A shrewd and aggressive talent agent has a chore trying to keep her handsome male protégé in the closet. As this conniving shrew is confronted with obstacles, she concocts a duplicitous dilly to achieve her goals. As the demanding and demeaning Diane, one of Asheville's best, Joan Atwood, turns in a chilling performance that ranks close to her pinnacle as Maria Callas in Terrence McNally's “The Master Class.” Atwood, a classically trained theater maven, is a treasure. It's hard to imagine a more effective rendering of the role.

David Ely is electric as the would-be star, Mitchell. The character is not gay, he says, but has increasingly frequent dalliances with guys. Ely holds his own against the diva, Diane, and his struggle is both touching and troubling. The immediate source of the conflict is that Mitchell is more and more involved with a young hustler, and this increasingly significant relationship provides the threat to Diane's plan for getting Mitchell onto the top rung of stardom.

Mitchell's paramour, the “rent-boy” Alex, is given life by young Waynesville actor, Adam Kampouris, known for his impressive work at Haywood Arts Regional Theatre. Adam gives Alex a winsome and winning persona the playwright would have to love. There's enough in him of the opportunistic and ambitious to make us wary of this lad's intentions.

But, he's the whore-with-the-heart-of-gold when the chips are down. It's a lovely rendering of a dicey role.

The apparent lightweight in the cast is the part of Alex's girlfriend, Ellen, as portrayed by Jamie Shell. Shell takes this pivotal role, without flash or dazzle, and gives it life. It's possibly the hardest-to-interpret role in the script, due to its ambiguity and desperation. It may only appear that little is demanded for this realization. But all that is needed is forthcoming. Nice casting, all around.

The spirited and effective direction is by newcomer to our locally heavy theater scene, Francis Cullinan, former theater professor at University of Missouri in Kansas City. For a newbie at Asheville Community Theatre, Cullinan must have had lots of good advice to locate and score the fine talent, both on- and backstage. Let's hope to see more of his fine work in coming seasons.

Jim Cavener reviews theater for take5.

Letter from the editor

Hi All.

Thanks for keeping up with this blog. I’m hoping that we can have more of an impact in Asheville, and I need your help.

It is my suspicion that right now most of the people reading this blog are local actors and producers. That's wonderful, but I think this blog also has the potential to become a powerful tool for the average audience member, giving them not only a voice, but a way to think more deeply about their experience at the theatre.

Indeed, my hope for this blog was that it would be, first and foremost, a great public recourse: any potential audience member (or even someone who had already seen a particular show) would have a one-stop website where they would be able to see all the latest reviews of any show they might want to see around town. And each show would hopefully have multiple reviews with unique insights and points of view. This would allow people to get a sense of the theatrical lay of the land at a glance, and would encourage their patronage of multiple venues, while giving more thoughtful consideration to the value of their theatrical experience.

I think the “diversion” threads that have cropped up here and there are helpful to local producers, actors, etc, and I think they add depth and insight to the overall discussion, but I don’t think they serve the originally intended audience for the blog all that well. I don’t think we should discourage such spirited and frank conversation as part of this blog, but I’d like your help in also helping to increase awareness of the site among the theatre-going public.

So here is my request: don’t abandon this blog as a place for discussion, but please encourage your friends, patrons, parents, etc, to utilize the blog when they want more opinions about a particular show than any one news source can provide. Encourage them to contribute their own comments about shows they have seen. Continue to post those comments yourself, as well.

But most of all, please help spread the word. I think the potential of APAR is huge. Without losing the things that make it interesting now, I hope that together we can broaden the appeal of the blog to include the --arguably-- most powerful and important members of the theatrical community: the audience.

Thanks all. Keep writing. Keep reading.

Open for comments…

BG--

Oedipus For Kids

Sorry, this is quite late. My bad.
BG--

‘Oedipus for Kids’ a ribald sendup on classic literature

By Jim Cavener / take5 Correspondent



ASHEVILLE - Is “Oedipus for Kids!” really a comedic musical version of Sophocles’ “Oedipus”? For kids?

Comedic, yes. Slapstick, over-the-top melodrama even. Musical, yes. And with some rousing tunes.

But surely not for kids. This is a show about a fictional theater group that attempts to do “Oedipus” for young people. As the show informs us, Little Oeddy (Oedipus) is a “little boy, a lot like you, except you didn’t kill daddy and sleep with mommy.”

Although a lot of humor is adolescent and the treatment sometimes juvenile, this is adult material all the way. Staged by the Zealot theater group, the show is now running at N.C. Stage Company.

This “Oedipus” is yet another of the recently frequent ribald, raucous and riotous sendups of traditional literature, aimed at 20-somethings of all ages. If you like your theater loud, impulsive, unrestrained and undisciplined, you’ll love this show. Debauchery reigns in this totally twisted telling of a Greek myth of yore.

“Oedipus for Kids!” is a show within a show, with the fictional Fuzzy Ducks Theatre Company trying to produce the classics for children and perhaps having chosen the wrong classic this time. How do you make school kids familiar with this ancient myth of an adopted son doing in his daddy, then bedding down his mommy? Not easily. The onstage warring partners who are the Fuzzy Ducks principles didn’t get the message.

The actual audience becomes an audience of schoolchildren, called on to “quack” back and be interactive with the actors onstage. It worked with the opening night crowd.

Asheville’s Zealot actors company is a multitalented crew. Rae Cauthen as Catalina is a marvel of psychosexual energy, with a tour-de-force finale folks will not easily forget. Her ballads are quite effective as well.

Both she and Joseph Barcia (Evan, in the Fuzzy Ducks company, who portrays Oeddy/Oedipus) exhibit fine singing voices. Greg Gassler as Alistair rounds out the three-person cast. They give this material their all - and more.

The piece was created by New York and Florida writers Kimberly Patterson and Gil Varod with additional material by Robert J. Saferstein.

Producing director Meg Hale and artistic director Ryan Madden have assembled a fine offstage company, including Evan Hill as musical director, and Nancy Asch and Kathryn Allen on percussion and keyboard, respectively. Plus Jason Williams, who did the lighting design and controls the board during performances.

What can you do with lines like “Whatever Oedipus touches, Oedipus wrecks,” and “My husband is my lover is my son”?

Jim Cavener reviews theater for take5.

Review review

These comments are technically outside the scope of this blog, but the editor did -arguably- open the door to this post in responding to a comment on the "Leading Ladies" post. So, it stands.
BG--

I can’t resist responding to a posting by Actress34, ostensibly in response to a review of a show at ACT, though the focus of the thread had morphed by then. Consider this, then, a review of a review?
I’ll reprint Actres34’s comments here, for the benefit of those who may have missed them:

“The sad thing is that NC Stage could be turning a profit....the problem is that most of us get sick of seeing the same 5 people on stage all the time. Or is it really wise to put the staff in every production? Isn't it called Show Business? If your show isn't turning some kind of profit than I am afraid you are missing the business part of it. I bet the Catalyst shows turn profits because they are using local people on-stage. I mean wouldn't it be nice to see a show with different people in it every now and again?”

She seems to be trying to make two points. One: NC Stage could –and, by inference at least, should-- be making money by casting “local people” and by not casting the “same 5 people … all the time. Two: Catalyst shows probably do make money because they “use local people.”

Ok, I’m long-winded so here is the condensed retort: Seriously?

If you want the full version, here goes:

First let me just say that I agree that variety in casting is usually good. I too like to see fresh faces.

But, with all due respect, Actress34, are you seriously suggesting that NCSC could be making more money by refusing to hire the people they deem best to fill a role, just because they have worked for the company before or are on staff? Seriously?

(And for now, let’s just leave the idea of “making money”… NCSC is a not-for-profit organization, after all, not to mention a small theatre—which almost by definition means not a money maker.)

Of course no theatre can make perfect casting decisions all the time, and not every audience member will agree with every choice, but every theatre in town (or anywhere else for that matter) casts both from a wide net of sought-out talent and a reliable ensemble of trusted collaborators. Without this cadre, it can be prohibitively difficult to create an environment of trust and creativity in a short rehearsal time, and each theatre in town has developed their own reliable –and necessarily fluid—talent pool (with some crossover between companies). Of course, using all the same people all the time can be tiresome, but I personally think NCSC does a pretty good job of balancing that reliable group with exciting new talent from Asheville and beyond. Personally, I regret that you are “sick of seeing” a certain “5” people at NCSC and I hope I’m not one of them, but I still gotta pay the bills, and this is my job. And I love it. And because I keep getting hired by NCSC and other challenging regional theatres, I am able to keep getting better at it, I hope.

And the second point: Catalyst shows make money? And they do so because they “use local people”? Seriously?

As a sometime Catalyst producer myself, let me say that the NCSC Catalyst model allows producers –if they are careful— to not lose their shirts. But as for “making money,” I’ve never heard of a Catalyst show actually turning a profit. In my companies, at least, any earned income goes to subsidize a meager portion of the time my actors, crew, and creative staff have dedicated to the project. A small amount is reserved as a nest egg for the next production. That’s it.

And Catalyst companies are as guilty, if not more so, as any one else in town of relying on the same people for each show. And really I don’t think there is anything wrong with that (see above).

(Also, as a side note here, I can’t help but notice your use of the word “use”, as in “use local people.” Please keep in mind that NCSC “hires” people, local and out-of-town. Which is a huge difference. Again, no use saying more here—that is a separate discussion.)

Actress34, have you by any chance seen any of NCSC’s season this year? Take their first Mainstage show, Doubt: not one familiar face in the cast of four, and not many on the creative crew, either. Take this year’s incarnation of It’s a Wonderful Life: A Live Radio Play: one returning cast member from the year before, one actor who had been in a Mainstage show in 2006, and three actors brand new to NCSC. I could expand my thesis to include the rest of the season and beyond, but it’s not hard to come by season brochures or old playbills, so I’ll let you work out the rest on your own.

Sure, I recognize that I’m hardly in a position to suggest that NCSC stop hiring the same actors year after year: my career would be over. But I think your assumptions about how theatre works –certainly at NCSC— are wrong. I’m not suggesting you should agree with every casting decision, or that you aren’t allowed to not like seeing people return to the theatre year after year, but I do think that tossing around uninformed statements like your original post can be damaging to all parties involved. I’d rather be a part of fostering a real discussion that can ultimately help producers and audience members alike get more out of their experiences at the theatre. Maybe this is part of that. Maybe not. But that dialogue won’t be well served by bitter, absurd accusations on this blog or elsewhere.

Here’s to varied opinions, and informed critique.
Willie Repoley

Perfect Ganesh

Apologies for the delay in getting this out.
BG--

‘A Perfect Ganesh' lives up to its name
JIM CAVENER TAKE5 CORRESPONDENT • PUBLISHED FEBRUARY 6, 2009 12:15 AM

New theater companies pop up in Asheville with almost alarming frequency. Somehow, the best of these gravitate to downtown's North Carolina Stage Company where they become part of NCSC's much-lauded Catalyst Series of productions by troupes without a venue of their own. The Carolina Actor's Collective surely ranks among the best of this good crop. Their first production, “A Perfect Ganesh,” is extraordinary theater, by any standard.

It isn't surprising that quality theater ensues when you have a piece by Terrence McNally — who wrote “Kiss of the Spider Woman,” “The Ritz,” “Love! Valour! Compassion!,” “Ragtime,” “Corpus Christi,” “The Lisbon Traviata” and “The Master Class.” Once add two of Asheville's most respected actors — Kay Galvin and CJ Breland, two newer talents of high competence, with all this under the splendid direction of Leslie Muchmore, it's good stuff, indeed.

McNally's work is always complex, challenging, and most always features a heavy quotient of gay substance in the script, with one or more dramatic twists that pack an emotional wallop. “A Perfect Ganesh” is no exception. This script starts with a journey into one of the most complex and challenging cultures on our globe: India. A contradiction of opposites, based in assumptions totally foreign to Western thinking, there are so many layers of meaning in this journey of two wealthy Connecticut dowagers, beyond even their secret reasons for undertaking the trip.

Symbolism abounds with multi-level metaphysical meaning, and this is theater that has as many meanings as there are viewers. Although the basic structure of the story is linear, the side-tracks of Ganesh's making continue to keep the audience on its toes through two demanding acts. Ganesh is one of Hindu India's most loved and revered gods. His elephant snout is masterfully conceived by George Martinat and Sydney de Briel, who give all four actors the ideal costume design. The two travelers wear 1993 pants suits, before they segue into sari's and shawls and sub-continent elegance.

Ganesh, as portrayed by Zach Blew is riveting. His visage is exotic, his choreographed presence evokes the most graceful and forceful of Indian ritual dance. His body paint and costumed drama create a masterpiece of movement and meaning. This playful, threatening and nurturing diety is all things to all people and is a theatrical tour-de-force. Blew will be noticed in our theater community.

The fourth actor, Bradshaw Call, portrays “the men,” several comic and farcical caricatures. Mostly he plays English speaking Indians who the women encounter on their pilgrimage. But his ferociously fey Air India gate agent starts off the hysteria with a bang. From there it is all uphill and his various native personages are each quite masterful. With this valuable versatility, Call creates a vast array of lepers and hotel managers, condescending baggage clerks and loony native hosts.

It almost goes without saying — but let it be said — Breland and Galvin are exceptional actors and they convey the despicable desperation and pathos of the pilgrims, Margaret and Katherine, with perfect panache.

Listed staff for technical and backstage support total a daunting score of known and less familiar local theater gurus. From venerable theater mavens and well-knowns such as Frank Avery and Rob Bowen to a slew of designers and techno-nerds, this large crew produces a totally satisfying intellectual, visual, dramatic and emotional experience. The loss of a child, the tragedy of AIDS, reconciliation, renewal and rebirth, legend and myth. It's all here in spades and will prove to rank among the best of the season.

Jim Cavener reviews theater for take5.

Leading Ladies

More from the C-T
BG--

Theater review: “Leading Ladies” steps up with laughs at ACT

Tim Reid • published January 23, 2009 12:15 am

Asheville Community Theatre has a real crowd pleaser with “Leading Ladies,” Ken Ludwig's irrepressible comedy about two struggling actors posing as a wealthy woman's long-lost heirs.

Second-rate thespians Jack (Brad Pearsall) and Leo (Steve Wilde) are down to their last dollar as they travel rural Pennsylvania presenting snippets of Shakespeare at Moose lodges.

Jack reads that a rich old lady in a nearby town yearns to see her long-lost relatives Max and Steve before she dies. He decides to impersonate them in order to share in her multi-million-dollar inheritance.

Leo is a bundle of nerves, but Jack pulls him into the scam anyway. Leo's reservations turn to panic when they find out that Max and Steve are short for Maxine and Stephanie – they must pretend to be women!

Residents of York seem only too trusting when Jack and Leo arrive dressed in drag proclaiming to the long-lost relatives. Shirley Cohen nearly steals the show as irascible old Florence, who takes an instant liking to them.

Florence's real niece Meg (Brooke Whitcomb) is thrilled to welcome “Max” and “Steve” although it means she will share her aunt's inheritance with them. Ditzy blonde Audrey (Zoe Renert) met the actors on the train before they concocted the scheme but believes the scam anyway.

Mike Vaniman is hilarious as Florence's inept physician Doc Myers, who is obsessed with getting his spaced-out son Butch (Drew Collins) to marry a woman with money. The only person who sees through the actors' ruse is Meg's manipulative fiancé Duncan (Chris Martin), who wants her to get all of Florence's inheritance so he can do with it as he will.

Pearsall and Wilde are masterful at keeping up the tension as nervy Jack must constantly prop up erstwhile partner Leo lest he dissolve in fright and spoil the deception.

Director Michael and a talented cast wrest every laugh out of Ken Ludwig's brilliant script. This is the perfect play to puncture the winter doldrums.

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

Bernstein Bros.

CT...
BG--

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

Jim Cavener

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Jim Cavener writes on theater for The Citizen-Times.

Wonderful Life

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

‘It’s a Wonderful Life,’ with a twist

November 18, 2008

By Lee Ann Sides Garrett
For the Kannapolis Citizen

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

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

Nuncrackers

From the C-T, of course
BG--

Theater review: 'Nuncrackers' is heavenly fun
TIM REID • PUBLISHED NOVEMBER 21, 2008 12:15 AM

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

No Shame Theatre

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

Lyman

Two Rooms

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Yours,
Nathan H. Adams

Triple Play

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

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

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

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

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

Doubt

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

out there out here

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

Willie Repoley

Floyd Collins

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Misery

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Tuesdays with Morrie

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

700 Stories of Love and One Really Big Reason to Quit

From the C-T, http://www.citizen-times.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=200881002083
BG--

Theater review: “700 Stories of Love” is moving experience

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

The Best Man

From the C-T
BG--

Theater review: Cast your ballot for ACT’s ‘The Best Man’
TIM REID | TAKE 5 CORRESPONDENT • PUBLISHED SEPTEMBER 19, 2008 12:15 AM

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

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

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

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

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

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

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