Here are our 6 (We have a tie) Top Scene Stealers for the week ending June 13, 2014.
Congrats to all our honorees!
A Special Scene Stealer of The Week:
Frank Britton Returns as Pontius Pilate in The Last Days of Judas Iscariut.
The joy that filled Forum Theatre’s production of The Last Days of Judas Iscarot when Frank Britton appeared on the stage Wednesday night (after enduring a brutal attack only weeks earlier) was felt all over the DC Metro area by friends, admirers, and theatregoers alike. It was a moment that will never be forgotten. The word ‘resurrection’ had a deeper meaning that night. Bravo to this gentle, kind, and courageous man. It’s so nice Frank to see you back where you belong!
“Frank Britton’s memorable time on the stand as the militant and righteous Pontius Pilate is a second act highlight as the trial nears its end. Britton has the rare ability of elevating any character that he performs and making his mark without ever stealing focus from the other ensemble members.” Sydney Chanele-Dawkins, in her review.
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(1) Catherine Martin Retrieving Wine in the Cellar in Bastianello & Lucrezia at Urban Arias.
“After the wedding of Luciano (Bass-baritone Tom Corbeil) and Amadora (Mezzo-soprano Catherine Martin), Amadora is asked to go down to the cellar and retrieve some wine. The aria that follows is one that both tickles the funny bone and tugs at the heartstrings. Amadora begins, alone, center stage behind a barrel of wine, exclaiming that this is the “Happiest moment of my life.” The smile fades to comic despair, as she looks forward and sees the monotonous world she has now committed herself to, where one day she’ll “just wake up dead.” Martin delivers angelic vocals, perfect facial expressions, spot-on comic timing, and yet just enough real sadness to be relatable. Soon joined by Luciano’s mother and father, (Soprano Erin Sanzero and Baritone Keith Phares, respectively) this is one of the most funny and touching moments in the show, and heavenly sung by this group of exceptional singers.” Brennan Jones.
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(2) Jennifer Osborn Having Dinner With Sun King Davis in Killer Joe at SeeNoSunOnStage.
Jennifer Osborn in Killer Joe in the role of Dottie is a standout: nuanced and centered, gritty and guileless. With effortlessness and simplicity, she captures the center of attention every moment she’s on stage. And in the scene when she first meets Joe Cooper (Sun King Davis)—the contract killer to whom her father and brother have promised her—she is riveting. She has made a trailer park dinner of tuna casserole and salad. They sit at a kitchen table making small talk. And as Dottie scarfs down her own cooking—which Joe barely touches, having arrived to sate another appetite—Osborn’s nervous hospitality conveys a mix of fear and attraction that not only steals the scene but anchors the whole cockamamie plot. Alone among the miscreant misfits in Letts’ cast of characters, Dottie is a locus of innocence—and Osborn keeps her in focus throughout the fracas till her stunning comeuppance at the end. John Stoltenberg.
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(3) Tyron Requer as Robert Earl Hayes Reading His Letter send to The Judge in The Exonerated at Vagabond Players.
“Robert (Tyrone Requer) delivers a similar presence in his stories; calm and collected until he isn’t anymore. Requer’s letter to the judge over an incident of officer harassment is loaded with fury and frustration and delivered with equal parts of rage and flippancy.” Amanda Gunther.
(Note: Robert Earl Hayes was convicted for the rape and murder of a white woman in Florida . A lawyer late proved that the murder was committed by a white man whose hair was clutched in the murder victim’s hand.)
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(4) Diane Schuur singing, “I’ve Got You Under My Skin” at Bethesda Blues and Jazz Supper Club.
“Cole Porter’s “I’ve Got You Under My Skin” was unlike any rendition I have ever heard of this still remarkably potent song. Schuur’s delivery was very pointed and direct but, alternately, full of subtext and poignancy. As I told Ms. Schuur, not since Sarah Vaughan turned her voice into a veritable fog when drawing out the words: “a foggy, foggy day in London Town” (from the song “A Foggy Day in London Town”) had I ever felt words transformed beyond their outer verbal meaning into an actual living breathing entity; in Schuur’s acrid, fully-realized and drawn-out singing of the last repeating of the words “I’ve Got You Under My Skin,” she had convinced me that someone was “under her skin.” Schuur evoked such a rare moment of intensity and absorption in the lines that I felt an artistic epiphany of sorts and a moment of artistry that cannot be duplicated.” David Frisic.
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(5) Jamie Smithson as Robert Nervously Explaining the Contents of a Bag in Boeing Boeing at No Rules Theatre Company
“Jamie Smithson was truly, a comic tour-de-force who vaulted Boeing Boeing to comedy mastery. In a particularly brilliant scene in Act II, Robert must convince Gloria that Gretchen’s tell-tale Lufthansa flight bag is actually his. As the contents of the bag are revealed to include Tampax and a lacy bra, Robert is forced to spin a web of ever more complicated lies, and the audience was rolling in the aisles.” Michael Poandl.
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(5) Emily Townley Delivering Her “The Campaign is Like a First Date” speech in The Totalitarians at Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company.
“It is alarming how well Townley can energize the audience with the stupid things her character says. The laughter doesn’t stop when Townley delivers the “campaign is like a first date” speech; her ability to make this character a reality hits the audience with such relativity that it’s impossible not to laugh. Townley is an absolute hoot; a knockout when it comes to comic timing and delivery; as shiny in this role as the rhinestones all over her outfits.” Amanda Gunther.
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LINKS
5 Top Scene Stealers of the Week-Week Ending 6/02/14.
5 Top Scene Stealers of the Week-Week Ending 5/29/14.
5 Top Scene Stealers of the Week-Week Ending 5/22/14.
Meet the Cast of No Rules Theatre Company’s ‘Boeing Boeing’: Part 1: Helen Hedman.
Meet the Cast of No Rules Theatre Company’s ‘Boeing Boeing’: Part 2: Nick Kowalczyk.
Meet the Cast of No Rules Theatre Company’s ‘Boeing Boeing’: Part 3: Jamie Smithson.
Meet the Cast of No Rules Theatre Company’s ‘Boeing Boeing’:Part 4: Sherry Berg.
Robert O’Hara on Directing ‘The Totalitarians’ at Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company.
