NextStop Theatre is reaching the end of their July 2017 to June 2018 “Point and Counterpoint” season. Their third and final show pairing explores the contrasting effects that religious teachings can have on society.
The dark comedy, Bad Jews, will close out the season, highlighting the way religion can bring out the very worst in people. But first, NextStop Theatre presents Godspell, a musical originally conceived by John-Michael Tebelak, with music and new lyrics by Stephen Schwartz. The show follows the teachings of Jesus, through a series of parables, and focuses on Jesus’ efforts to find and nurture humanity’s capacity for love, generosity, forgiveness, and compassion.
Alan Naylor and Angeleaza Anderson in Godspell. Photo by Lock & Company.
The ensemble includes ten actors, who represent Jesus (Alan Naylor), John the Baptist and Judas (Bobby Libby), and Jesus’ disciples (Angeleaza Anderson, Philip da Costa, Javier del Pilar, Tess Higgins, Jennifer Lambert, Jolene Vettese, Chani Wereley, AJ Whittenberger). As the parables are told, the group acts out various roles in the stories of the Bible (Solomon, the Good Samaritan, Lazarus, the Pharisees, etc…).
NextStop’s creative team remodeled Godspell’s original 70s “hippie” style into a more modern background. The set, designed by Jack Golden, is a coffee shop called (wait for it) “Holy Grounds,” with small café tables, a sofa, and recliner. A service area runs the length of the upstage wall, with a long counter arranged with standard coffee equipment and miscellaneous items, like cups and lids.
As the show begins, the actors are scattered around the shop buried in their miscellaneous electronic devices. One at a time, an actor begins to read aloud as they type a message that is projected onto one of several screens on the upstage wall (Projection Design by Sean Cox). Messages begin to overlap and soon everyone is speaking at once in a cacophony of virtual conversations taking place in a crowded room where not a single person is interacting with another. But then a man, who has been quietly observing the display of elective isolation, pulls the wireless router from the wall, disconnecting everyone from the cyber world. This is John the Baptist (Libby).
Director and Choreographer Lorraine Magee made a brilliant choice with this interpretation of the opening sequence, which resonates with our current world of countless online connections that supersede human interaction. The addition of electronics as a blinding factor to society allows a deeper understanding of the show for those audience members who may not connect as closely to the religious material.
As the show proceeds, the characters willingly give up their devices and change into costumes (designed by Maria Bissex), which signify the varying personalities of people -from a baseball player to a cowboy to an explorer- but also their transformation into followers of Jesus. From there the lessons begin.
Alan Naylor and the cast of Godspell. Photo by Lock & Company.
You don’t have to be an avid believer in Jesus to appreciate the production’s overall positive message and musical score. Elisa Rosman plays in and conducts the live orchestra, and also serves as musical director. Under her guidance, the songs exude an energy that is only further enhanced by the ensemble’s contagious joy throughout the performance.
The show is mostly light-hearted and fun and is wholly dependent on the cast’s commitment to conveying the message of the show. In a cast so small, weak links can stand out like a sore thumb but this group is immune to that. With the help of Magee’s popping choreography, the ensemble possesses the energy and excitement of a group of kids after a Halloween candy raid.
A production with such a solid group of performers makes it hard to identify standouts, but that is the best kind of problem to have in a show.
Naylor’s Jesus radiates compassion and a desire to guide his followers to a better way of living. He is a pure soul: free of judgment, and embodying the perfect simplicity of a life led by love. Naylor has a stunningly rich voice and sings the aching and gorgeous “Beautiful City.”
Wereley has a compelling presence: my focus was constantly drawn toward her. Aside from her amazing vocals in the show-stopping number, “Bless the Lord,” Wereley can make just putting on a pair of boots a production in and of itself (it may be the most hilariously impressive thing I’ve ever seen).
And Jennifer Lambert is all sex and sass in “Turn Back, O Man.” Her dulcet voice teases the audience and underscores her ability to take complete command of the stage, when desired.
The second act of the show takes a more serious turn, acting out Judas’ betrayal of Jesus and the final days leading up to the crucifixion. For all the laughter and good times of the show, this part is brutal. But it is necessary for the journey of the show, displaying that even through such heartbreak, the overarching moral of love above all else is what the people return to their lives with.
The show was technically flawless, aside from an obvious delay in the text messaging projections towards the beginning of the show, but that seemed like a glitch that would be corrected.
NextStop’s production of Godspell is an uproarious success, and I laughed until I cried on several occasions. The cast is incredible and the music is uplifting, creating those amazing moments when you just to have to close your eyes and listen, absorbing the notes into your body.
Despite the show’s obvious religious theme, the takeaway of the musical is love. Love your neighbor. Love yourself. Love whenever possible. I don’t think it’s possible for a person’s life to have too much love. And this production is full of love in every aspect of its execution.
Running Time: One hour and 50 minutes, with one intermission.
Godspellplays through April 1, 2018, at NextStop Theatre Company – 269 Sunset Park Drive, in Herndon, VA. For tickets, call the box office at (866) 811-4111, or purchase them online.
Curated and hosted by co-founders Don Michael Mendoza and Regie Cabico, La-Ti-Do is DC’s premiere musical theatre cabaret and spoken word series. Cabaret and spoken word performances appear in New York City on a frequent basis, but this is not the case in DC. With that in mind, Mendoza and Cabico were inspired to create La-Ti-Do in 2012. La-Ti-Do is a place where performers – both amateur and professional – can come and be part of a high-caliber show and also feel supported. More importantly, it’s a place where the audience can expect a good time for a great price.
La-Ti-Do’s 2018 Featured Performers:
February Feature: Jennifer Bevan March Feature: Alan Naylor April Feature: Katherine Riddle May Feature: Katie McManus June Feature: Caroline Dubberly July Feature: Lawrence Grey, Jr. August Feature: Sylvern Groomes, Jr. September Feature: Russwin Francisco October Feature: Kari Ginsburg November Feature: Tom Flatt December: Holiday Shows
Join La-Ti-Do on January 22, 2018, for their 6th Anniversary Show– their first production following the holidays. More information about upcoming La-Ti-Do shows, as well as ticketing information, can be found online.
Tinman (Willie Garner), Scarecrow (Alan Naylor), and Dorothy (Tiara Whaley). Photo by Keith Waters, Kx Photography.
The musical — with music and lyrics by Harold Arlen and E.Y. Harburg, as adapted by John Kane for the Royal Shakespeare Company in 1987, based on the 1939 landmark film, seeded by L. Frank Baum’s wonderful 1900 children’s book — is undeniably part of our DNA.
Still, even if you know it by heart, this production will blow you away. Director Matt Conner and company fully transfuse hearts and souls into a gush-worthy marvel.
Though the venue is pint-sized — seating capacity just shy of 100 — this immersive experience feels epic, equally suited to the pint-sized patron and those “young in heart” (as the annual movie rite heralded to those of us old enough to remember). Creative Cauldron Producing Director Laura Connors Hull, who triples as Elmira Gulch/The Wicked Witch of the West, promises “it’s like seeing the show on your living room television as it explodes into the room!” That it does. The cast of eight top-notch actors and 20-some real-life munchkins – talented youth who have mastered CC’s inaugural, eight-week musical theater training program – regularly hurtle themselves into the house.
Scarecrow (Alan Naylor) and Dorothy (Tiara Whaley). Photo by Keith Waters, Kx Photography.
Speaking of hurtling houses, the “special effects” throughout are astonishingly creative. Scenic Designer Margie Jervis’ Kansas canvas – a farm in ghostly, grayscale relief – grounds the action, a static screen upon which magic bursts. Starkly muted costumes in the opening scenes smartly mirror young Dorothy’s doldrums. She also helps make the case that Toto is the lost girl’s moral thread – not only the impetus for her journey but the one constant, a part of her, his bark serving both as pain transference and beacon.
Ingenious Properties Master Chris Riherd foreshadows hints of theatrical magic upon Professor Marvel’s entrance, and soon enough Lynn Joslin’s dazzling lighting design and Projection Designer Riki Kim’s hallucinogenic motifs swirl and transport us into Dorothy’s dreamscape. Conner’s willowy choreography animates dancers in black who tantalize as whimsical set pieces and usher us through witty scene transitions.
Beyond the technical brilliance and glorious costumes, the unparalleled artistry in the performances raises this production so far above a children’s show you’ve seen a million times that it’s a must-must-must-see to the millionth power. Even in her petulant phase, Tiara Whaley’s Dorothy is infected with such boundless optimism and wondrous vocals, her famous lines trigger tears. And in what’s ironically the smallest role despite his titular rank, E. Augustus Knapp charms with sass and style as the bumbling Marvel/Oz. And Jim Lynch (Uncle Henry) unfurls with campy shtick as the Guard at the gate in Emerald City.
The clash of good and evil is embodied with superwoman strength by Connors Hull’s winkingly wicked witch (she defies gravity by adding great levity to the role) and Iyona Blake, who floats from an earthy Aunt Em to an elegant Glinda. Blake also serves as musical director; her skills shine in sculpting not only optimistic voices but perfectly blended harmonies from the ensemble. And who wouldn’t melt watching young performers beam their bliss into the audience? Every last one enchants, but Arianna Vargas’ radiance was inescapable, and James Durham’s squeaky Munchkinland Mayor prompted squeals.
It’s the chemistry among that iconic trio, though – Scarecrow (Alan Naylor), Tinman (Willie Garner) and Cowardly Lion (Harv Lester) – that’s everything to write home about. Garner is heart-chokingly tender as well as nimble in his robot-dancing. Lester triumphs as Lion, nodding to Bert Lahr’s characterizations but owning the role with roaring originality. One young girl, especially a-twitter over him, couldn’t stop laughing, creating her own cameo. But when the scene changed to the Haunted Forest, she announced: “I want to go home now” and curled up into her mother’s lap – proof that what resonates most with these outlandish characters is their pure humanity.
Twenty-some youth performers and Dorothy (Tiara Whaley). Photo by Keith Waters, Kx Photography.
Naylor, as Scarecrow, I think I’m endeared to most of all. He is not so much made of straw as rubber. His superb vocals anchor the show and worm into your fibers and memory banks. Outstanding would be an understatement.
Although most of the hit songs are in the first act, a darker Act Two showcases two show-stoppers: an extended “The Merry Old Land of Oz,” in which pantomime choreography takes it to a ticklish new level, and “The Jitterbug,” where costumes, lights, and choreography all meld into a spidery web of wonder. (The “poppies” scene from Act One is also an unforgettable artistic vignette.) And I take it back: This is nothing like watching the movie in your living room. The organics of live theater and the surprises hidden in the stage version will make you feel like a Wizard of Oz newbie.
Get off your duff to see this wizardry. It’s an outing that reminds you we each share an inner journey to peace and happiness that, no matter how weak or strong the support system, we must make alone. That it does get better. That we each carry a compass to find the rainbow after the storm. Strong messages at any time, but all the more meaningful during Pride month.
Wicked it’s not. Conner laces this production with so much love, it quite possibly could bring someone back from the brink. Because there’s no place like home when your home happens to be the theater.
Running Time: Two hours and 20 minutes, with one 15-minute intermission.
The Wizard of Oz plays through June 25, 2017, at Creative Cauldron at ArtSpace — 410 South Maple Avenue in the Pearson Square Building, in Falls Church, VA. For tickets, call (571) 239-5288, or purchase them online.
Oh, what fine comic talent and an attuned director can do to bring pleasure. Under the sure hands of NextStop’s Evan Hoffmann and a talented six-member ensemble, there is enjoyable life to an old war-horse of a farce from the mid-1960s – Boeing Boeing.
Emily Levey (Gretchen). Photo by Traci J. Brooks Studios.
Working with paper-thin characters created by French playwright Marc Camoletti then translated into English by Beverley Cross and Francis Evans, Hoffmann and cast accomplished way more than opening and closing doors with impeccable timing or going over the top with pratfalls and big-eyed gestures. Together, the cast artfully coaxed remarkably appealing, unexpected substance and nuance for a script build around an at-first, unmitigated misogynist. May I add, NextStop’s Boeing Boeing thankfully is no satiric sendups of one of those antiseptic Doris Day and Rock Hudson movies such as Pillow Talk from the same mid-1960’s period.
OK, so what is Boeing Boeing about? It’s set in the 1960’s. A young bachelor and architect named Bernard (a delightful Andrew Baugham as an at-first confident, charming, man without many scruples) is quite happy. And, why shouldn’t he be. Bernard has an apartment in Paris and has three fiancées, none of whom know about the others. Each of Bernard’s fiancées is an airline stewardess in a time when world travel by airline was for high rollers.
L-R: Matthew Baughman, Alan Naylor, and Jenny Girardi. Photo by Traci J. Brooks Studios.
Each of the three women flies with a different airline. They each have different flight schedules with stopovers in Paris lasting only a day or two.
There is a food-challenged American working with TWA named Gloria (a breezy Suzy Alden who finds her woman-centered powers and get-up-and-go as the play progresses.) There is the Italian Gabriella (Jenny Girardi with a sincere sweetness to her almost innocent portrayal of a passionate woman with fluttering hands who lengthens her final vowels when she speaks so that I happily thought of Rita Moreno saying the name Bernardo in West Side Story). And there is Gretchen, a German who flies with Lufthansa. (Emily Levey who owns the Gretchen character with not only a no-nonsense approach, but adds pop and zing to her words and gestures, as well as real shadings to the feelings she displays).
Ah, but this is a farce and Bernard’s life begins to turn upside down. First, Bernard’s housekeeper Berthe cops an attitude. Karen Novack is a delightful hoot as Berthe. Novack is just chock-full of verbal aggression, and almost silent facial put-downs that speak volumes; all with confident “don’t mess with me air.”
Then an American friend from his past named Robert unexpectedly arrives for a visit. Robert, from a small town in Wisconsin, is a bit unworldly. As Robert, Helen Hayes Award recipient Alan Naylor, has a clearly accomplished arc to his character. Naylor starts off as an androgynous Pee Wee Herman-like asexual being. Then with an unexpected kiss, Roberts turns into one of those wing-man types trying to help out his best friend Bernard by becoming a sexual being.
Things turn into a fervor as Boeing has built a jet that flies faster; much faster. The result fuels Boeing Boeing’s second act. Flight schedules change; and all three of Bernard’s finances are in town at the same time. Everything becomes a whoosh of frenetic energy, panic, bumps, and bruises. And chaos and hilarity ensues.
What happens? Will the three woman discover each other? Will cad Bernard get some well-earned comeuppance? Well, since Boeing Boeing is a farce through and through, I am not going to ruin it for you by telling you. Suffice to say, all is a big, fast romp with smiles all around because kooky characters are winningly portrayed by actors up for a lark.
Alan Naylor (Robert) and Suzy Alden (Gloria). Photo by Traci J. Brooks Studios.
Costume Designer Kristina Martin has hit a homer with her brightly colorful pencil outfits for Gloria (fire engine red), Gabriella (rich purple) and Gretchen (dazzling yellow). Properties Coordinators Donna Reinhold and Jessica Dubish hit their marks locating old-time airline travel bags full of unanticipated paraphernalia..
Elizabeth Jenkins McFadden’s set is simple and effective. It provides the cast with room to run and frolic about and around a long couch with about 20 colorful pillows. There are a number of doors to open and close, other places for entrances and exit and one hidden-spot that adds a sense of time to the proceedings. The walls are painted a seafoam green I recall from the early 1960s before the likes of Peter Max and psychedelic colors became the norm.
Boeing Boeing is endearing in its own way. It is meant to bring laughter and it does because a merry band of able actors are clearly up to the task.
With such a plentitude of serious, intense, and treacherous things going on in the world at this moment, NextStop’s Boeing Boeing is great respite. Let a show meant to be innocent fun take you away. And if you do you will be treated to a bucketful of laughs delivered by a dream cast. Happy landing!
Running Time: Two hours, including an intermission.
Boeing Boeingplays through May 7, 2017, at NextStop Theatre Company – 269 Sunset Park Drive, in Herndon, VA. For tickets, call the box office at (866) 811-4111, or purchase them online.
A Few Good Men at Off The Quill: Peter Orvetti, Andy De, Adrian Vigil, Leanne Dinverno, James Heyworth, Donald R. Cook, Roderick Bradford, and Michael J. Dombroski.
Angels in America: Millennium Approaches and PerestroikaCo-Produced by Round House Theatre and Olney Theatre Center: Jonathan Bock, Kimberly Gilbert, Mitchell Hébert, Thomas Keegan, Sarah Marshall, Jon Hudson Odom, Tom Story, Dawn Ursula.
Equusat Constellation Theatre Company: Michael Kramer, Karina Hilleard, Kathleen Akerley, Ross Destiche, Michael Tolaydo, Laureen E. Smith, Ryan Tumulty, Colin Smith, Emily Kester, Tori Bertocci, Gwen Grastorf, Ashley Ivey, Ryan Alan Jones, and Emily Whitworth.
Promised Land at Mosaic Theater Company of DC: Audrey Bertaux, Aaron Bliden, Gary-Kayi Fletcher, Awa Sal Secka, Brayden Simpson, and Kathryn Tel.
The Critic and TheReal Inspector Houndat Shakespeare Theatre Company: John Ahlin, John Catron, Robert Dorfman, Naomi Jacobson, Charity Jones, Hugh Nees, Robert Stanton, Sandra Struthers, and the voice of Brit Herring.
The Sisters Rosensweigat Theater J: Josh Adam, Edward Christian, Susan Lynskey, Susan Rome, Michael Russotto, Kimberly Schraf, James Whalen, and Caroline Wolfson.
The Flick at Signature Theatre: Laura C. Harris, Thaddeus McCants, Evan Casey , and William Vaughan.
When the Rain Stops Fallingat1st Stage: Scott Ward Abernethy, Kari Ginsburg, Sara Dabney Tisdale, Amy McWilliams, Dylan Morrison Myers, Frank Britton, Teresa Castracane.
____
HOW WE SELECTED OUR HONOREES
DCMetroTheaterArts writers were permitted to honor productions and concerts, dance, and operas that they saw and reviewed and productions and concerts and dance performances that they saw but did not review. Every honoree was seen. These are not nominations. There is no voting.
The staff is honoring productions, performances, direction, and design in professional, community, university, high school, and children’s theatres, and are also honoring the same in musical venues. We are honoring work in Washington, DC, Maryland, Virginia, Philadelphia, PA, New Jersey, and Delaware.
Here is the staff of DCMetroTheaterArts’ first series of ‘Take A Bow!’ Fall 2016 honorees:
____
Edwin Aparicio, as Choreographer, Flamenco Dancer, and Co-Director of Salvador, at GALA Hispanic Theatre.
Edwin Aparicio. Photo courtesy of GALA Hispanic Theatre.
The great Flamenco choreographer and dancer Edwin Aparicio delivered an astonishing performance in Salvador, the full-length autobiographical dance that celebrated its world premiere at the opening of the 12th annual Fuego Flamenco Festival at GALA Hispanic theatre.
Aparicio, who wrote and directed Salvador with longtime partner Aleksey Kulikov, takes the stage toward the end of the production—which begins with his childhood El Salvador and concludes with his mastery of Flamenco in Madrid—in a tour de force of dance as powerful as it is glorious. It is an earth-shaking demonstration of the beauty of Flamenco and its ability to speak to its audience.-Ravelle Brickman.
____
Christine Nolan Essig as Penny Pennywise, in Urinetownat Constellation Theatre Company.
Emily Madden, Jenna Berk, Amy McWilliams, Vaughn Ryan Midder, and Christine Nolan Essig (Far right). Photo by Daniel Schwartz.
A dynamo, Christine Nolan Essig’s Penelope Pennywise sets a high bar for vocals early in Urinetown. She delivers “It’s a Privilege to Pee” with a booming voice and commanding stage presence and she shows off another side of her impressive vocal skills in “I’m Not Sorry.”-Nicole Hertvik.
Annie Grier and Michael Russotto. Photo by C. Stanley Photography.
As Jenny, a single mother who can hardly make ends meet, Annie Grier delivers a heart-rending plea that cuts through the rhetoric of this play about changing religious beliefs. It’s a cameo role, yet Grier makes it a showstopper. She is passionate in her faith—which is all she has—that there is no room in heaven for those who are not God-fearing Christians. In her simplicity, she communicates both the congregation’s shock at the very idea of change, and its power to undo the minister whose change of heart sets the play into action.-Ravelle Brickman.
____
Staceyann Chin as herself, in MotherStruck at The Studio Theatre.
Staceyann Chin in ‘MotherStruck.’ Photo by Daniel Corey.
I have never seen a solo performer who blew me away the way Staceyann Chin did with her autobiographical detonation, MotherStruck. Chin—an acclaimed author and spoken-word artist—enters down an aisle, connecting to the audience with all emotion guns firing from the get-go. She starts to tell her heart-racing story: Born in Jamaica. Realizes she’s attracted to girls. Gets assaulted by homophobic teen boys. Moves at 19 to Lower East Side New York to escape the thuggery. Falls in with poets and dreamers and finds her LGBTQ tribe. After multiple lesbian affairs that don’t last, falls deeply in love with and marries a gay man. Then she decides to have a baby. And she is determined. Really determined. With a desire that drives this funny, furious, fast-paced show and Chin’s supercharged performance in it like a combusting propellant.-John Stoltenberg.
____
A.J. Guban for His Set and Lighting Design, and Robert Croghan For His Costume Design, For Urinetownat Constellation Theatre Company.
AJ Guban. Photo courtesy of Constellation Theatre Company.
A.J. Guban’s masterful set and lighting – a grungy collection of corrugated metal, brick and chainlink highlighted by green spotlights emanating from sewers were of one piece in truly enhancing this production.
Robert Croghan. Photo courtesy of TheatreWashington.
Set and lighting created an ambiance of squalor while Robert Croghan’s costume design did a great job of separating the “haves” from the “have-nots” and his cartoonish costumes for the despicable Urine Good Company officials accentuated the show’s satirical nature.-Nicole Hertvik.
When an actor with a special charisma makes a connection with the audience at the top of a show, it’s as if we have been personally invited into the world of the play even before we have a clue what’s going on. Such was Saleh Karaman’s remarkable performance in a supporting role as Salvi. Karaman engaged the audience from his very first scene, talking on the phone with his best friend the main character (who fears he is the suspect in a terrorist bombing). Each time Salvi appeared thereafter, whatever he was saying or doing, it was as if we were subliminally brought back to that bond in a way that transcended the character as written. Whatever that elusive quality is called, Karaman brought it, and I Call My Brothers was all the better for it—more relatable, more recognizable, even as the story got more and more troubling and stark special effects intensified.-John Stoltenberg.
Carolyn Faye Kramer, as Anne Frank. Photo by Stan Barouh.
Carolyn Faye Kramer plays Anne Frank with the frenetic energy of a young girl brimming with life and enthusiasm and makes us feel the high drama of adolescence forced to play out in a claustrophobic attic. At the same time, her nuanced performance captured the qualities that set Anne apart. Kramer’s Anne was a thinker, a feeler, an observer; someone destined for great things if only given the chance to live.-Nicole Hertvik.
____
Deidra LaWan Starnes as Myrna, in Milk Like Sugar at Mosaic Theater Company of DC.
Diedra LaWan Starnes (Myrna) and Kashayna Johnson (Annie). Photo by Ryan Maxwell.
Although the plot centers around a group of inner-city high school girls who decide to get pregnant—they think it’s a cool way to gain status in a world that doesn’t value them at all—one of the most startling roles is that of Myrna, the mother of the girl whose ambivalence is at the heart of the play.
Helen Hayes Award winner Deidra LaWan Starnes is breathtaking in her portrayal of the worn-out parent who is too tired to pay attention to the daughter who needs her.
Starnes does a stunning role reversal—from caring but negligent “good”mother to the vindictive furor of every child’s worst nightmare—and bears testimony to the sorrow of a woman forced to bear children too soon. It’s a memorable role, brilliantly performed. –Ravelle Brickman.
Lolita Marie and Avery Collins. Photo by C. Stanley Photography.
Lolita Marie plays Lena, the grief-stricken grandmother of Tray. Lena begins the play just after Trey has been shot and died. She has a monologue, a direct address to the audience. She wants us to understand that her grandson was a good kid. Not a gang member. Nothing to do with drugs. He had a promising future. “He was not the same old story,” she says. And from Marie’s very first words, we are in the presence of an astounding actor, one who is playing the part as if from the depths of Lena’s soul. For the next 90 minutes there will not be a nanosecond when Marie is onstage that we are not enthralled by her.-John Stoltenberg.
Sophia Manicone (Tina Denmark) and Alan Naylor (Sylvia St. Croix). Photo by Photo by Keith Waters, Kx Photography.
Alan Naylor waltzed onstage drenched in fur and jewels as Sylvia St. Croix and the energy never stopped. A scene-stealer from the moment the show started, he energized the show with constant humor, great stage presence, and strong and fierce vocals on “Talent” and “I Want The Girl.” And he looked damned good in heels.-Nicole Hertvik.
Andrus Nichols as Beatrice, inA View From the Bridge at The Kennedy Center’s Eisenhower Theater.
Andrus Nichols and Frederick Weller. Photo by Jan Versweyveld.
Andrus Nichols delivered a pensive and absorbing performance as the “world-weary” wife Beatrice in Arthur Miller’s tragic A View From the Bridge. Nichols moved with a physical grace and authority on the minimalist spare stage of Scenic Designer Jan Versweyveld. Her Nichols’ defiant and emotion-filled cries of pain at her husband’s obtuseness when confronted with the truth are both stirring and psychologically soul-shattering.-David Friscic.
____
Nick Olcott for His Direction and Michael Bobbitt for His Choreography, for Knuffle Bunny at Adventure Theater MTC.
Director Nick Olcott. Photo courtesy of 1st Stage.Michael J. Bobbitt. Photo by DJ Corey Photography.
Nick Olcott and Michael Bobbitt are masters of making grand use of small spaces. In Knuffle Bunny, they cleverly transform the stage into a bustling New York cityscape with the use of a few clever props and smart staging.
Bobbitt’s choreography brings an extra dose of razzmatazz to Knuffle Bunny. Cleverly conceived dance moves somehow turn this cast of five into a dazzling spectacle, especially in the show’s big number “Washy, Washy.”-Nicole Hertvik.
____
Lisette Oropesa as Marie, in The Daughter of the Regiment at the Washington National Opera.
Marie (Lisette Oropesa) and all her ‘fathers’ in ‘The Daughter of the Regiment.’ Photo by Scott Suchman.
Lisette Oropesa’s thrilling and sensitive Soprano gave life to all the soaring arias she sang in The Daughter of the Regiment presented by the Washington National Opera at The Kennedy Center’s Opera House. Ms. Oropesa was charming, engaging and charismatic throughout this finely-produced Opera. Her opening aria: “Chacun le sait. Chacun le dit”/”Everyone knows it , everyone says it” was a particular delight as Lisette Oropesa exuded such unabashed joy in her singing.-David Friscic.
JC Payne delivered a powerful performance as Con, the lovesick would-be writer in Aaron Posner’s Stupid Fucking Bird. He was the perfect tortured soul in his love scenes and delivered a vigorous final monologue.-Nicole Hertvik.
____
Jonathan M. Rizzardi As The Emcee, inCabaret at Kensington Arts Theatre.
Jonathan M. Rizzardi (The Emcee). Photo by McLaughlin Photography.
Jonathan M. Rizzardi lead Kensington Arts Theatre’s production of Cabaret as an energizing Emcee. His performance showcased strong vocal skills, inspired dance moves and infectious energy in the show’s famous numbers “Wilkomen” and “Two Ladies.” As the Emcee who oversees Berlin’s raucous Kit Kat Club on the eve of the Nazi takeover of Germany, his performance imbued the show with the perfect balance of bawdiness and foreboding.-Nicole Hertvik.
John Sygar as the Puppeteer in Knuffle Bunny, at Adventure Theatre MTC.
John Sygar, Suzanne Lane, and Emily Zickler. Photo by Michael Horan.
In this supporting role, John Sygar proved to be a total scene-stealer. Without distracting from the main action onstage, Sygar’s supporting roles, whether as mailman, dog walker, ensemble dancer or, my favorite, giant pink dancing bra, added immense interest and humor to the show. I was a big fan of Sygar’s performance in last year’s Floyd Collins at 1st Stage, so I was excited to see him back onstage in Knuffle Bunny and I hope to see him in many other productions in the future.-Nicole Hertvik.
Jill Tighe and Karen Lange. Photo by DJ Corey Photography.
Jill Tighe as Cat in Tame., at WSC Avant Bard, was like a wounded animal, lashing out at everyone around her. It was magnificent acting. Her character’s passion drives the play, and whether snarling “Mother-r-r-r” or tussling physically with local youth pastor Patrick (Brendan Edward Kennedy), or hissing at sister Bea (Madeline Burrows), she will rock you. For those who enjoy stage portrayals of rebellious women, this is how it’s done.-Sophia Howes.
LINK:
Meet the Cast of Avant Bard’s ‘TAME.’ Part 3: Jill Tighe by Joel Markowitz.
Michael Tisdale, Avery Clark, and Bruch Reed in Straight White Men. Photo by Teresa Wood.
Michael Tisdale as Matt, in The Studio Theatre’s production of Young Jean Lee’s Straight White Men, gives a great portrayal of a middle-age man who can’t find a meaningful grown-up perch in the world. A Harvard Ph.D. of unlimited promise, Matt now lives with his Dad and does temp work for a social justice organization. Tisdale’s interpretation of Matt’s unraveling at a family Christmas celebration combines excruciating physical tension with a convincing dose of psychological paralysis. The net result is an exquisite portrait of a privileged straight white man in an acute mid-life crisis. Tisdale skillfully elicits his audience’s empathy along with a measure of tough love.-Amy Kotkin.
____
Vato Tsikurishvili as Dante, in Dante’s Inferno at Synetic Theater.
Tori Bertocci and Vato Tsikurishvili. Photo by Koko Lanham.
Vato Tsikurishvili gives Dante a large passion: his physical control and acrobatic movements bring that passion into Grotowski-like embodiment. We see on stage not so much the character of Dante, but the inner workings of his soul as he wrestles with despair, loss, desire, and yearning. Tsikurishvili’s performance could be remembered for its endurance alone if it were not so utterly shaped by precision and rapt commitment.
____
Matthew Vaky as Tommy in The Night Alive at Quotidian Theatre Company.
L To R: Matthew Vaky and Joe Palka . Photo by StJohnn Blondell.
Oh how I loved Matthew Vaky as Tommy in The Quotidian Theatre Company’s production of Conor McPherson’s The Night Alive! Disheveled and at times desperate, Vaky takes us deep into the heart and soul of an imperfect man. By any objective measure, Tommy has failed as both a businessman and a patriarch. Nonetheless, Vaky allows us to experience the essential humanity that shines through Tommy’s bluster, allowing him to re-create a true, and new, sense of family amid decidedly less-than-modest circumstances. Bravo for Vaky’s bluster and impulsive, restless movement throughout the play. They serve him, and us, very well.-Amy Kotkin.
L to R: Julia Hurley (Nadia) and Cheyanne Williams (Lupita). Photo by E-Hui Woo.
Cheyanne Williams’ no-nonsense, nothing’s-going-to-stop-me Dominican exotic dancer anchors the cast with an excellently focused performance with plenty of nuance. From motivational monologues to self in front of her mirror to serious negotiations with Bob about the price of a couch, her Lupita shines brightest.-Robert Michael Oliver.
___
SPRING/SUMMER 2016 IN WASHINGTON, DC, MARYLAND, AND VIRGINIA HONOREES:
‘Take A Bow’ Part 1: The Staff of DCMetroTheaterArts’ Favorite Spring/Summer 2016 Performances.
‘Take A Bow’ Part 2: The Staff of DCMetroTheaterArts’ Favorite Spring/Summer 2016 Performances.
‘Take A Bow’ Part 3: The Staff of DCMetroTheaterArts’ Favorite Spring/Summer 2016 Performances.
‘Take A Bow’ Part 4:The Staff of DCMetroTheaterArts’ Favorite Spring/Summer 2016 Performances.
‘Take A Bow’ Part 5:The Staff of DCMetroTheaterArts’ Favorite Spring/Summer 2016 Performances.
‘Take A Bow’ Part 6:The Staff of DCMetroTheaterArts’ Favorite Spring/Summer 2016 Performances.
‘Take A Bow’ Part 7:The Staff of DCMetroTheaterArts’ Favorite Spring/Summer 2016 Performances.
SPRING/SUMMER 2016 IN PHILADELPHIA, NEW JERSEY AND DELAWARE ‘TAKE A BOW!’ 2016 HONOREES:
Ruthless! The Musical, Creative Cauldron’s season opener, offers a night of supersized camp and comedy.
Alan Naylor, Sophia Manicone, and Katie McManus. Photo by Keith Waters, Kx Photography.
Ruthless! debuted Off-Broadway in 1992 with music by Marvin Laird and book and lyrics by Joel Paley. The show spoofs musicals such as Gypsy and Mame and movies like the Bad Seed as it tells the story of the Denmarks, a dysfunctional mother/daughter duo comprised of 1950’s housewife Judy (in a belting performance by Katie McManus) and her starved-for-Broadway moppet Tina (Sophia Manicone making her professional debut in a performance that features a gamut of entertaining facial expressions and strong vocals on tunes like “Born to Entertain”).
Starting the show off right was Miss Sylvia St. Croix (Alan Naylor) who waltzes into the Denmark house determined to make Tina a star, even if it means a few dead bodies along the way. A vision in fur and a delight as a gender-bending narrator, Naylor is a total scene-stealer who lets audiences know that they are in for one silly ride.
L to R: Kathy Halenda and Katie McManus. Photo by Keith Waters, Kx Photography.
Kathy Halenda is another scene-stealer as musical-hating theater critic Lita Encore. There is something very Mermanesque about Halenda’s voice. Indeed, she has played Mama Rose many times (including on a national tour) so her voice is perfectly suited to a show which makes frequent sarcastic nods to Gypsy. Her rendition of “I Hate Musicals” left the audience howling.
Director Matt Conner assembled an all-around strong cast with many entertaining numbers like “Teaching Third Grade,” sung by Shaina Virginia Kuhn as frustrated thespian Miss Thorn. Kara-Tameika Watkins provided simple but appropriate choreography for the entire cast in numbers like “Ruthless!”
Margie Jervis took on the dual role of scenic and costume designer, providing a set that features a quick change from the pink florals preferred by 1950’s housewives (with matching scarf and apron on housewife-in-chief Judy Denmark) to decor befitting a Broadway diva later in the show. Jervis drenched Sylvia St. Croix in an impressive panoply of hats, baubles and jewels and Miss Thorn’s oversized suit and multi-layered glasses were a hoot. A coffee table in the middle of the set provided the perfect stage-on-a-stage for these dueling divas to belt on.
Sophia Manicone and Alan Naylor. Photo by Photo by Keith Waters, Kx Photography.
The thunder and lightning provided by Lighting Designer Joseph Lovins added to the camp whenever a character got a devilish idea as did the creepy, atmospheric music played by Music Director Walter “Bobby” McCoy on piano. A doorbell that plays a melody from Cats when rung shows that this show spares no attention to detail in mocking the lengths that divas will go to become stars.
Creative Cauldron’s Ruthless! The Musical is a hilarious night of frivolity. It’s musical theatre heaven.
Running Time: One hour and 50 minutes, with no intermission.
Ruthless! The Musicalplays through October 30, 2016, at Creative Cauldron – 410 South Maple Avenue, in Falls Church, VA. For tickets, call the box office at (703) 436-9948, or purchase them online.
Here’s Part 2 of the staff of DCMetroTheaterArts’ favorite Spring/Summer 2016 performances. To our honorees: TAKE A BOW!
____
Stori Ayers as Alma (and others), in Yellowman at Anacostia Playhouse.
Stori Ayers (Alma) and Justus Hammond (Eugene). Photo by Michael DuBois.
Stori Ayers’ performance as Alma is magnificent. The hurt inside the character—which Playwright Dael Orlandersmith’s script makes explicit—coexists in Ayers’s incandescent embodiment with a warmth, humor, and largesse of spirit that is a wonder to behold. And when in an instant she transforms into Alma’s mother, the bile and self-loathing she brings to the role is shocking. Solely the evidence of Ayers’s performance in this production, she is clearly an actor with a depth and breadth of range and indelible presence that great roles are written for.-John Stoltenberg.
____
Iyona Blake as Gran Mimi in Jelly’s Last Jamat Signature Theatre.
Iyona Blake (Gran Mimi) and Elijah Mayo (Young Jelly). Photo by Margot Schulman.
Iyona Blake who plays Gran Mimi, Jelly Roll Morton’s Creole grandmother is a powerhouse vocalist with a stage presence that can be described as imposingly magnificent. Her mesmerizing performance as the high “yalla”, highbrow mulatto matriarch who banishes young Jelly Roll from the family for not preserving “The Creole Way” sheds artistic light on the psychology of racial identity and the emotional scars which underlie the dramatic conflict in Jelly’s Last Jam.-Ramona Harper.
_____
Leila Buck in Hkeeleeat Mosaic Theater Company of DC.
Leila Buck. Photo courtesy of Mosaic Theater Company.
Leila Buck‘s performance in Hkeelee, her powerful one-woman show about the process of “becoming,” combines those two most precious aspects of theatrical dynamism: intimacy and pizzazz. As Ms. Buck brought her Mosaic audience into the intimate details of her relationship with her Teta (her Lebanese Grandmother), she filled Arena’s Kogod Cradle with life’s tiny titillations, the kind that electrify the air not with mega-stars, but with every day wishes and desires.-Robert Michael Oliver.
____
Alan Held as Wotan in The Ring Cycle: The Rhinegoldat Washington National Opera at The Kennedy Center’s Opera House.
Alan Held as Wotan in ‘The Rhinegold.’ Photo by Scott Suchman
As Wotan, Bass-Baritone Alan Held sang with authority yet concurrent sensitivity to each new scenario. Mr. Held beautifully elucidated the proper balance between his internal struggles with lust for greedy power and devout love for his family-David Friscic.
From left: Shravan Amin (Indira) and Jeremy Keith Hunter (Devaun) in ‘When January Feels Like Summer.’ Photograph by Stan Barouh.
At the beginning of this play by Cori Thomas, Jeremy Keith Hunter plays the Harlem homeboy Devaun with delightfully antic swagger, loudly bantering about “getting with” women and boasting cocksurely of his experience. Hunter’s is a larger-than-life comic performance that keeps getting more impressive as the play goes on. By the end, Devaun has begun an unlikely bicultural romance with 28-year-old who is transitioning to live as a woman. There arises a sexual chemistry between them that is beautifully believable and amazingly moving, in large measure because Hunter brings to each libidinous instant of it such unstinting emotional conviction that we see the woman he has fallen for through his adoring eyes.-John Stoltenberg.
Alan Naylor in ‘Going to a Place where you Already Are.’ Photo by Daniel Corey.
Beautiful sound and lighting effects can create a sense on stage that we are in heaven, but in Theater Alliance’s production of Bekah Brunstetter’s Going to a Place Where You Already Are, it is Alan Naylor’s winning and nimble performance that is truly our entrée to the play’s magical realism. His appearance is inexplicable at first. He hovers solicitously and mysteriously on the sidelines wearing a sleek blue suit and white sneakers without socks. He hands a hymnal to two parishioners when it comes time for them to sing along with a churchful of mourners. Later we learn he is an angel, a son who died in his youth and grew up gay in heaven. Naylor’s sensitive and transporting performance literally lifts the show to a hereafter that we get to experience through him right now.-John Stoltenberg.
Bobby Smith (Albin). Photo by Christopher Mueller.
Bobby Smith is nothing short of transcendent in the challenging role of an aging drag queen. He turns in a multi-layered, nuanced depiction of Albin’s private life as well as his onstage persona Zaza, with equal parts of sensitivity and hilarity. Smith’s comedy timing is perfect; his acting and dancing are top-notch; his vocal range and voice dynamics are superb. When he performed the iconic anthem, “I Am What I Am,” he stopped the show. A tour de force performance!-Barbara Braswell and Paul M. Bessel.
_____
Chris Stezin as Father Welsh in The Lonesome West at The Keegan Theatre.
Chris Stezin and Bradley Foster Smith. Photo by Cameron Whitman Photography.
The marvelous actor Chris Stezin portrays this priest as a person trying fervently to hold on to any sliver of hope and redemption. Stezin’s complex yet amazingly direct and self-possessed portrayal of this Irish priest is the emotional center of this play-David Friscic.
Chaz Pofahl (Jim Bakker) and Kirsten Wyatt (Tammy Faye Bakker). Photo by Greg Mooney.
Kirsten Wyatt gave a knockout performance as the feisty firecracker, Tammy Faye Bakker. Kirsten’s Tammy Faye is over-the-top. Irreverently funny, her terrific comic timing and shrill-voiced histrionics are a blast, all in the name of the Lord. Big as a minute, the diminutive Kirsten Wyatt as Tammy Faye commands the stage with Napoleonic chutzpah.-Ramona Harper.
LINKS: ‘Take A Bow’ Part 1: The Staff of DCMetroTheaterArts’ Favorite Spring/Summer 2016 Performances.
‘Take A Bow’ Part 2: The Staff of DCMetroTheaterArts’ Favorite Spring/Summer 2016 Performances.
‘Take A Bow’ Part 3: The Staff of DCMetroTheaterArts’ Favorite Spring/Summer 2016 Performances.
‘Take A Bow’ Part 4:The Staff of DCMetroTheaterArts’ Favorite Spring/Summer 2016 Performances.
‘Take A Bow’ Part 5:The Staff of DCMetroTheaterArts’ Favorite Spring/Summer 2016 Performances.
Afternote:
Tiziano D’Affuso as Birdlace in Dogfight at The Keegan Theatre.
Tiziano D’Affuso (foreground) with cast. Photo by Traci J. Brooks Studios.
As the lead character, Birdlace, Tiziano D’Affuso plays the hell out of his part. D’Affuso commands the stage with an authoritative yet unstudied and natural stage presence. What a future this leading man has in store for him!-David Friscic.
*This performance was one Mr. Friscic wanted to honor because he missed doing so in the Fall of last year. It’s never too late to honor a fantastic performance.
Urinetown is not what you would call a “feel good” musical. Monumental Theatre Company has mounted this funny and politically-punching show about a town which, due to a catastrophic water shortage, has instituted a hefty fee that everyone must pay anytime they need to use the bathroom, and the eventual revolution that ensues.
Sarah Anne Sillers, Sakile Lyles, Kamau D. Mitchell, Sarah Frances Hope Williams, Chris Rudy, and Kaitlin Raine. Photo by Josh Rudy Photography.
Monumental Theatre Co. is a relatively new theater group, started in 2015. They are a nonprofit business based in the DMV area and chose to produce Urinetown as a statement on the recent water crisis in Flint, Michigan, as well as a means to raise funds to donate to the Live United Flint Water Fund.
The production is showing in the Ainslie Arts Center of Episcopal High School and the space is perfectly suited for the show. The large room is dingy and dark with the black floor being the stage, the band situated in the front of the room, and the audience in tiered seating on either side.
The set consists of a large A-frame ladder on a small rolling platform which represents the office of Urine Good Company (say it out loud to get the joke), the private company that controls the public bathrooms, and another metal, construction-style raised platform on wheels. There are also many boxes which are used to represent trash, a barricade, or various stools or chairs.
Director Jenna Duncan and Choreographer Rachel Leigh Dolan do an incredible job with the minimal setting and creatively utilizing the platforms and boxes to create various levels throughout the show.
Alan Naylor and Sakile Lyles. Photo by Josh Rudy Photography.
Officer Lockstock, played by Helen Hayes Award winner Alan Naylor, narrates the story and starts off with a matter-of-fact description of what the show is about, with informed and detailed interjections from Little Sally, played by Sakile Lyles. Naylor is smooth and charming and sells the simple absurdity of the show’s premise and title with a sly smile, asserting to Lyle’s Little Sally that “nothing can kill a show like too much exposition.”
Naylor and Lyles have many moments together, as Lockstock and Sally are the only two characters who break the fourth wall and address the audience. There are countless comedic moments in the script but one of the highlights is at the height of a confrontation with the rebels against the officials and police who run the town. The action freezes and Little Sally runs to Lockstock, anxiously asking, ”What’s happening?” The juxtaposition in the frenzy of action and tension in the show to Lockstock’s calm and placating reassurances to Sally are perfectly timed and it is this duo’s interactions that balance the show and allow the audience to buy into the story.
The singing is incredibly strong, thanks to musical direction by Bobby McCoy, who also plays the keyboard in the live band, along with superb musicians Jack Cohen and Dough Elliott on trombone, Jared Creason and Josh Ballard on Bass, and Jim Hofmann on percussion.
Urinetown’s music is mutli-layered and quite beautiful. Rachel Barlaam plays Penelope Pennywise, the town’s fee collector and overseer of the public bathrooms. Barlaam’s powerful voice booms out at the people of Urinetown in “It’s A Privilege to Pee,” chastising them for trying to get away with peeing for free.
Mr Caldwell (Ian Anthony Coleman), who runs Urine Good Company, is ruthless and slimy. His song, “Don’t Be the Bunny” is fantastically disturbing and, with Dolan’s choreography, also simultaneously hilarious.
At the center of the story are Bobby (Chris Rudy) and Hope (Suzanne Lane), two pie-in-the-sky idealists from different sides of town. Hope is Cladwell’s daughter and comes to the town to one day take over for her father’s company. Bobby is one of the poor residents of the town, who dreams of a day when everyone can pee for free. But it is a musical and so, of course, the two fall madly in love. Rudy and Lane are lovable from the start and have great chemistry, singing the adorable “Follow Your Heart.” But it is the ballad, “I See a River,” where Lane gets to truly show over her exceptional voice.
Chris Rudy and Suzanne Lane. Photo by Josh Rudy Photography.
The number that was the ultimate showstopper, though, was “Snuff That Girl,” sung by Little Becky Two-Shoes (Sarah Anne Sillers), Hot Blades Harry (Kamau Mitchell), and the rest of the Poor. With sharp and explosive choreography from Dolan and the ensemble’s spot-on execution, the song is easily one of the most energetic and intense moments of the show.
Rounding out the cast were Sarah Frances Williams (Ms. McQueen and Soupy Sue), Kaitlin Kemp (Senator Fipp and Josephine Strong), and RJ Pavel (Officer Barrell and Tiny Tom), each tremendously funny with on-point comic timing.
Monumental Theatre Company’s production of Urinetown is a non-stop ride of dark comedy, high energy, and incredible music, with a side of political commentary. The entire ensemble works fluidly together and the show is a blast to experience. It’s a pisser!
Urinetown plays through Monday, August 1, 2016, at Monumental Theatre Company performing at the Ainslie Arts Center – 3900 West Braddock Road on the Episcopal High School Campus, in Alexandria, VA. For tickets, go online.
The main reason I adore live theatre, in comparison to other art forms like cinema, is that the fiber and ligaments that make up this thing we call life – truth, in other words – is best experienced live. The most dramatic, consequential moments of our lives are when we learn or tell a truth. The moment when an addict realizes she needs help; The moment when a husband asks his wife for a divorce; the moment when you realize someone you love will die. So much of our internal experience is invisible until it manifests itself as word and action. This is the ideal theatre – a theatre that extracts, with surgical precision, the deep truths that we hold inside us and that we desperately hope to keep inside. When the emotional dam bursts on stage, there is a certain transcendence that can only be described as holy, even if it is totally secular.
Annie Houston and Gregory Ford. Photo by Daniel Corey.
Why wax so poetic? Because Theatre Alliance’s stunning new production of Going to a Place where you Already Are epitomizes what live theatre is capable of when it is steered by visionary direction, populated with gorgeous scenic and lighting design, and animated by incredible actors.
Bekah Brunstetter’s script, which is now receiving its East Coast premiere, is both tight and poetic. The language is beautiful. going to a place is about cancer, death, bigotry… and it is hilarious. It is primarily to Brunstetter and Director Colin Hovde’s credit that this production is able to pull off the amazing hat trick of being an intense drama and a hilarious comedy at the same time.
Beyond the strong writing and direction, Going to a Place has an amazing cast. Annie Houston plays Roberta, an idealistic and deeply spiritual person who learns that she has cancer and decides not to pursue treatment. This is heartbreaking for her husband, Joe, played by Gregory Ford. Houston and Ford generate a special kind of chemistry on stage that is heartbreakingly authentic.
Tricia Homer and MacGregor Arney. Photo by Daniel Corey.
Meanwhile, Roberta and Joe’s granddaughter, Ellie, played by Tricia Homer, is a chain-smoking millennial who is also searching, in her own stumbling way, for some kind of bigger meaning in life. She is deeply affected by a romantic encounter with a paraplegic man named Jonas, played by MacGregor Arney. Finally, there is the Angel – played by Alan Naylor – who serves as a sort of emcee/spiritual guide for Roberta. There is also a big twist involving the Angel, which I could never reveal here, but which is absolutely breathtaking.
The scenic design of Going to a Place, by Brian Gillick,is unusual. It is not minimalist. The detail and customization provided for every scene change is astonishing for such a small theatre (where do they store this stuff?). But it isn’t Baroque, either… every scene leaves ample space for the actors to play in. It is almost as though they can traverse time and space with the same ease it takes to walk through a diner. An intriguingly painted stage floor also leaves ample potential for a hugely imaginative lighting design by Mary Keegan. Original music and sound design by Matthew M. Nielson provide a gentle ambient soundtrack to the production.
Going to a Place Where You Already Are is theatre at its best. It’s poetic, emotional, and it tells some big truths. Hilarious and tragic at the same time, and always with a heartbreaking authenticity, this is not a play to be missed. And Theatre Alliance has now firmly established itself as the East of the River theatre company. Go see this one, folks. And bring a lot of tissues.
Running Time: One hour and 40 minutes, with no intermission.
Going to a Place Where You Already Areplays through June 26, 2016 at Theater Alliance performing at The Anacostia Playhouse – 2020 Shannon Place SE, in Washington, DC. For tickets, purchase themonline.
Whatever your mental picture of heaven, the funny and beautifully moving production of Bekah Brunstetter’s Going to a Place Where You Already Are just opened at Theater Alliance may alter it. Alternately, if you’ve got no image of the hereafter whatsoever (because who knows if there even is one?), this play’s afterimage may leave you with a glimpse of what you’ve been dismissing.
As the audience files in to be seated around the stage space, a mighty pipe organ plays (the first of many wonderfully scene-setting soundscapes by Sound Designer Matthew M. Nielson). Two huge wood pews are wheeled in (the first of Scenic Designer Brian Gillick’s many wonderfully specific roll-on-and-off set pieces), and two older folks take a seat in one of them.
Annie Houston and Gregory Ford. Photo by Daniel Corey.
They are a married couple, Roberta and Joe, there to attend a funeral. As they chatter through the service not so sotto voce, we learn they both believe the idea of an afterlife to be bunk. Thus death and dying enter the show up top. But we also begin to see a marvelously lively and loving quality in the relationship between Roberta and Joe. As performed with great sensitivity by Annie Houston and Gregory Ford, they are characters we warm to instantly.
Meanwhile a younger male figure hovers solicitously and mysteriously on the sidelines wearing (in one of Costume Designer Kara Waala’s many nice touches) a sleek blue suit and white sneakers without socks. He hands Roberta and Joe a hymnal when it comes time for them to sing along with the churchful of mourners. Later we will learn he is an Angel (a winning and nimble Alan Naylor). For now, his inexplicable appearance is our entrée to the show’s delightful magical realism.
Cut to a scene somewhere else, the bedroom of a young woman named Ellie (an impressively expressive Tricia Homer). Under the covers with her is a sweet-natured young man named Jonas (a genuinely likable MacGregor Arney), whom she picked up the day before and spent the night with. He wants to stay the day; she liked their lovemaking too but lets him know it’s time for him to go. She tells him it’s because she has work to do. But when he gets out of bed, gets dressed, and gets into the wheelchair he uses, we get that Ellie’s reluctance may be about Jonas’s disability. Thus begins a remarkable maybe-not-or-maybe love story.
Tricia Homer and MacGregor Arney. Photo by Daniel Corey.
Ellie is Joe’s granddaughter and Roberta’s step-granddaughter, so when Roberta learns she has a terminal tumor, the two story lines intersect.
During a diagnostic medical procedure, Roberta has an experience of dying and going to heaven. (Nielsen and Lighting Designer Mary Keegan create the lovely otherworldly effect.) And that puts Roberta’s and Joe’s loving each other at odds: Roberta elects to decline the excruciating treatments that come next because she’s all ready to go back to that wondrous place. Joe, on the other hand, desperately needs her to continue treatment because he cannot bear the thought of losing her, and he doesn’t believe in that place anyway. Thus Roberta’s and Joe’s deep decades-long love undergoes a crisis of crossed faith.
Going to a Place Where You Already Are is an extraordinary exploration of love in life and loss in death. It is funny. It is sad. It is joyful. It is painful. Theater Alliance Producing Artistic Director Colin Hovde directs from a wellspring of honesty and empathy. This is a from-the-heart-and-soul show that can truthfully be called heavenly. And at some point during it, anyone who has ever lost a loved one may find themselves (as I did) losing it.
Running Time: One hour and 40 minutes, with no intermission.
Going to a Place Where You Already Areplays through June 26, 2016 at Theater Alliance performing at The Anacostia Playhouse – 2020 Shannon Place SE, in Washington, DC. For tickets, purchase them online.
In the second installment of Creative Cauldron’s initiative, “Bold New Works for Intimate Stages”, the ingenious duo of Matt Conner and Stephen Gregory Smith has turned out a mesmerizing new musical, Monsters of the Villa Diodati.
Catherine Purcell, Alan Naylor, and Susan Derry. Photo by Keith Waters, Kx Photography.
Conner and Smith delve into the details of an intimate meeting with some of the most artistic minds of the 19th century. From this historic encounter, Conner (music and lyrics) and Smith (book and lyrics) created a world premiere musical that takes the audience through a remarkable tale of love, lust, frustration, and inspiration.
The story’s source is a documented account of the summer of 1816 when, due to unseasonable storms, a party of five was kept indoors for three days at Lord Byron’s Villa Diodati. Sam Ludwig plays the illustrious Lord Byron, who was joined by 4 guests: his physician John Polidori (David Landstrom), Percy Shelley (Alan Naylor), Mary Shelley (Susan Derry), and Mary’s step-sister Claire (Catherine Purcell).
The cast is outstanding and effortlessly sweeps you into their world at this famous instance in literary history. Ludwig’s Byron is commanding and self-serving, yet possesses the ability to charm and seduce at his whim. There is no question as to who is running the party and Ludwig manages to infuse Byron’s cold indifference with a sexual allure that is intoxicating to watch.
Landstrom‘s Palidori is perhaps the worst off for Byron’s manipulations. Byron treats his physician as a valued companion one moment and then with annoyed disdain the next. Landstrom illustrates Palidori’s torment and his song, “Directions for John,” is an incredibly charged number that he delivers with beautiful intensity.
With musical direction by Warren Freeman, the music and lyrics of Conner and Smith carry a strength and passion that constantly weaves the characters in and out of each other throughout the show, as repeatedly shown by the lovely Susan Derry. Derry’s Mary Shelley is clever and engaging, and sets the bar high right at the start of the show with a vocally luscious “Pieces of You.”
Alan Naylor plays Percy Shelley with an endearing naiveté, all the while maintaining his pride and masculinity. Naylor gorgeously sings “Julian and Maddolo” to Lord Byron and further expresses the overriding sensual energy of the show that seems to complicate each character’s identification of themselves and their own intentions.
Purcell, as Claire, is a woman on a mission. She is forward and forceful in her pursuit of Lord Byron and her desire for love colors her acting and her voice with passion. Purcell is at her best in the moving “Soul Meets Soul.”
Susan Derry, Catherine Purcell, David Landstrom, Alan Naylor, and Sam Ludwig. Photo by Keith Waters, Kx Photography.
There are a million different moments that are mentionable and the ensemble number “What Now What Next” is just one of the many moving and meaningful pieces that demonstrate what a solid production Monsters is.
The set was incredibly simple yet sophisticated. With scenic design by Margie Jervis, lighting design by Lynn Joslin, and costume design by Alison Johnson, the brilliant Design Team made a space that seamlessly moved from scene to scene with subtle changes and the cunning use of lighting and costumes.
Creative Cauldron’s “Bold New Works for Intimate Stages” world premiere musical, Monsters of the Villa Diodati, is an irrefutable success The material that the show’s creators, Matt Conner and Stephen Gregory Smith, have used is remarkably fascinating and offers a fantastic view into a momentous part of history where two of literature’s most famous monsters were born.
Monsters of the Villa Diodati delivers a powerful spark to all of the senses, leaving behind a subtle reminder of the potential monsters within us all. Do not miss it!
Running Time: Two hours, with one 15-minute intermission.
Monsters of the Villa Diodatiplays through February 21, 2016 at Creative Cauldron – 410 South Maple Avenue, Suite 116, in Falls Church, VA. For tickets, call (703) 436 – 9948, or purchase them online.
When I was in eighth grade, I wrote a ten-minute play based on Esphyr Siobodkina’s beloved picture book Caps for Sale. It was selected as one of a handful in our class to be performed and toured around to local elementary schools. My classmates and I had a blast jumping around as monkeys and figuring out how to wear 17 caps at a time. Our performances delighted kindergartners all over the county.
The townsfolk keep a level head in ‘Caps for Sale,’ The Musical. Photo by Bruce Douglas — with Danny Pushkin, Bibi Mama, Chelsea Baldree and Sean Elias. Photo by Bruce Douglas.
Fast forward ten or so years, and that school project has grown up, graduated from college, and gotten a full-time job at Adventure Theatre MTC. Caps for Sale The Musical, a thoroughly enjoyable new musical adapted by Ann Marie Mulhearn Sayer and Michael J Bobbitt, embarks on a national tour that includes Off-Broadway’s New Victory Theatre in New York.
Playwright Sayer is longtime friend of the late Siobodkina, and it’s clear that the entire production team worked very hard to remain true to the spirit of her work. Entering the theatre in Glen Echo Park is like stepping into the pages of the original book thanks to the bold and colorful set by Elizabeth Jenkins McFadden. The small stage acts almost as a jungle gym to the ensemble of six, who play over 15 roles, sing, dance, and steer a number of adorable puppets (made by Andrea “Dre” Moore).
In case you’ve been avoiding libraries for 75 years and are unfamiliar with the story, it revolves around a peddler who carries his wares in a high stack on his head: blue caps, red caps, grey caps and brown caps. On day, he decides to nap beneath a tree and wakes up to find his caps have been stolen by a band of mischievous monkeys.
Rebecca Tucker and Alan Naylor. Photo by Bruce Douglas.
The original story is so popular because of its simplicity, but the new details that are added to beef up the stage version are cute and logical. Sayer and Bobbitt have even added a new character based on the author and her cat. Strong performances abound, with some standouts. Alan Naylor strongly leads the cast as the frustrated Peddler with wonderful comedic timing. He often shares scenes with his best friend Essie, played mirthfully by Rebecca Tucker, whose physicalities are perfectly eccentric. The two are joined by a band of gossipy villagers/monkeys/futuristic dreamland citizens, played by Danny Pushkin, Sean Elias, Bibi Mama, and Chelsea Baldree), who each get their moment to shine.
Director Patrick Pearson does well in setting a highly energetic and kooky pace, without letting it turn over-the-top. The new score is by William Yanesh, and I applaud his impulse not to dumb it down for children. I do wish, however, that there were more hummable tunes for the kids to sing on the car ride home (every composer’s least favorite critique, I know).
The cast of ‘Caps for Sale: The Musical.’ Photo by Bruce Douglas.
Even watching in an opening weekend audience mainly comprised of adults, there were many laugh-out-loud moments. Audiences of all ages will enjoy Kelsey Hunt’s imaginative costumes, and Bobbit’s snappy choreography.
The entire family will enjoy this fun twist on a classic story, now celebrating its 75th anniversary. Adventure Theatre MTC has been serving up fabulous shows for kids for over 60 years, and Caps for SaleThe Musical is no exception!
Running Time: 60 minutes, with no intermission.
Caps for Sale The Musicalplays through Sunday, September 27, 2015 at Adventure Theatre MTC, in Glen Echo Park – 7300 MacArthur Boulevard, in Glen Echo, MD. For tickets, call the box office at (301) 634-2270, or purchase themonline.
Silence! The Musical is very easy to digest (pun intended), as presented in the tightly directed current production now playing at the creatively configured 2ndStage space of The Studio Theatre. A dark satire replete with savage wit and dancing, interactive lambs, the filmic source material (the 1991 Jody Foster-starring and Academy Award-winning film) has always been unsettling and disturbing as hell——how many people do you know who say they want to see the original film over and over?
Tally Sessions (Hannibal Lecter), Laura Jordan (Clarice), and the ensemble of Studio 2ndStage’s ‘Silence! The Musical.’ Photo by Igor Dmitry.
I certainly do not know many people who rush to view the film that often (cannibalism and creating clothes out of human skin could be considered as especially grisly subject matter) and, thus, it is all the more interesting that Director Alan Paul and Company have pulled this off so adroitly. Credit a very integrated approach with top-of –the-line actors and technical components all merging together to produce a work that moves like clockwork through seventeen musical numbers (almost “sung through” but the Book by Hunter Bell has a barrel of great one-liners and puns—-)in a mere ninety-minutes of time.
Having seen the Off-Broadway production, I can definitely attest that Studio and Director Paul’s version is far superior in timing, casting, and technical aspects. Director Paul has wisely kept the approach very “tongue in cheek”, with each line delivered with “dead-on” timing and a breezy, spoofy attitude that works exceptionally well. Straight faces are kept by each cast member in every micro-second of this production and the essence of how to present this material seems to be instinctively understood.
A three-piece combo artfully plays the serviceable score by Joan Kaplan and Al Kaplan. Under the Music Direction of Christopher Youstra, the musical numbers nimbly advance the action and give the actor’s their shining moments. Interspersed with the primary musical numbers is a chorus of singing lambs that have been given goofy, creative bits of business and highly imaginative asides that fuel the murderous merriment. Jessica Beth Redish definitely helps to integrate the actors, chorus and dialogue successfully with her masterful choreographic patterns and movements. At times the Chorus, will delight with pelvic thrusts and arms extended in an almost “Fosse-esque” manner.
In the demanding lead role of Clarice, the FBI aspirant with dreams of grandeur, Laura Jordan is a comic revelation. With her “Lily Tomlin-like” rubbery, elastic expressions and movements coupled with her slightly nasal twang and earnest zeal in the role (she never drops her sense of the ironic even once), Jordan commands the stage. Perhaps the highpoint of numerous highpoints was her superb mock-rendition of “It’s Agent Shtarling”; throughout this number, Jordon was topping lines and spoofing the entire canon of all the Grande Dames of musicals. In the hilarious and physically frenetic duet with Dr. Lecter (Tally Sessions) entitled “Quid Pro Quo”, Jordan’s physical energy and agility was electric (and the Lighting Design by Andrew Cissna was particularly striking).
In the non-singing department, Jordan was just as superb. Her soliloquy on the quietude of the lambs after slaughter and her phone call full of alternating permutations of the line “Fuck You “ would have even playwright David Mamet convulsing with laughter.
As Hannibal Lecter, Tally Sessions portrayed the character as somewhat deceivingly wholesome and, consequently, delivered a fresh interpretation of a character that can be all too obvious. Lecter’s best number was the deliberately offensive song “If I Could Smell Her Cunt.” Sessions never made the mistake of playing the Lecter we have come to know from Anthony Hopkins’ portrayal.
In the dual roles of Catherine and Senator Martin, Hayley Travers was especially arresting as the banal and overtly literal-minded Senator. Travers’ rendition of “My Daughter is Catherine” was sung in an amusingly overwrought “mock-operetta” style replete with theatrical flourishes.
Tom Story (Buffalo Bill), Hayley Travers (Catherine), and the ensemble. Photo by Igor Dmitry.
As Buffalo Bill, Tom Story was appropriately decadent especially when singing “I’d Fuck Me”—a hymn to masturbatory fantasies and all attendant psychoses.
As Dr. Chilton, the lithe Alan Naylor wins singing and acting honors as first runner-up —right after Ms. Jordan in theatrical prowess. Naylor moves like a dream and plays his character with just the right touch of pretension. His song “The Right Guide” (sung with Ms. Jordan) gave me a blissed-out feeling of pure euphoria. Naylor is totally at ease on the stage.
The actors Awa Sal Secka (Ardelia) and John Loughney (Jack Crawford) provided inspired support that was perfectly in tone with the mood of this very creative production.
Set Design by Jason Sherwood was a marvel and I do not want to give all the surprises away. I will only say that the entire theatre space has been turned into an intimate café with table seating. Elongated ramps extended from the proscenium very close to the audience. Instead of being over-utilized, the use of the ramps was all the more effective as they were only used when absolutely necessary to highlight a heightened moment of song or dialogue.
Sound Design by Lane Elms and Projection Design by Adrian Rooney was stellar. Special mention must be given to Costume Design by Frank Labovitz; it was alternately appropriate and outlandishly eye-catching.
Laura Jordan (Clarice) and the ensemble. Photo by Igor Dmitry.
Silence! The Musical has to be seen to be believed. Studio’s 2nd Stage’s production is another feather in Studio Theatre’s cap. Miss this one at your own peril!
Running Time: 90 minutes, with no intermission.
Silence! The Musicalplays through August 9, 2015 at Studio Theatre’s Studio 2nd Stage – 1501 14th Street, NW, in Washington, DC. For tickets call (202) 332-3300, or purchase themonline.
Here are our new DCMetroTheaterArts Scene Stealers. Congrats to all our honorees.
______
The Cast of University of Maryland’s The Me Nobody Knows‘Singing “Numbers,” “Take Hold the Crutch,” and “If I Had a Million Dollars” at The Clarice.
The cast of ‘The Me Nobody Knows.’ Photo courtesy of The Diamondback.
“There are some twenty tunes in The Me Nobody Knows to showcase the talent of this wonderful cast…The entire company (Rebecca Mount, Chloe Adler, Noelle Roy, Chioma Dunkley, Kristin El Yaouti, Tyasia Velines, Tiziano D’Affuso, Tendo Nsubuga, Noah Israel, Avery Collins, Christopher Lane, and Sam Elmore) sing to “Numbers,” “Take Hold the Crutch,” and “If I Had a Million Dollars.”-Ramona Harper.
______
Zoe Kanter as Amelia Earhart Singing ‘The Plot’ in Vanishing Pointat Stillpointe Theatre Initiative
Zoe Kanter in ‘Vanishing Point.’ Photo by Spencer Grundler (Spencergrundler.com).
“[Zoe] Kanter is quite elegant in this role and yet demonstrates the agony and pressures writers often experience at some point in their career. Her song, “The Plot,” a very robust number, that is delivered with precision, is full of wonderful rhymes and rhythmic qualities. Kanter is a class act.”-Danielle Angeline
______
Alani Kravitz as Delia the Dazzler, the Bearded Lady Singing “Nobody Else is Me” in Not My Monkey at InterAct Story Theatre at Gaithersburg Arts Barn
Alani Kravitz.The cast of ‘Not a Monkey’: Jack Novak, Anna Jackson, Alani Kravitz, and Sarah King. Photo courtesy of InterAct Story Theatre.
“[Alani] Kravitz outdoes herself as Delia the Dazzler, the Bearded Lady. In this case, the word “dazzler” is no misnomer, as she defiantly belts out the rhythmic hip hop number, “Nobody Else is Me.”
“I’ve got style; I’ve got grace Just a little extra flair on my face No one can make me feel out of place, ‘Cause nobody else is me!”-Paul Bessel and Barbara Braswell
“Shaina Virginia Kuhn has a stunningly pure voice with great emotional depth that reaches its climax in the poignant “Old Folks.” Kuhn takes Brel’s lyrics, “The old folks never die. They just put down their heads and go to sleep one day. They hold each other’s hand like children in the dark. But one will get lost anyway,” and conveys the story of a couple in their final days with a sensitivity that could have become overwrought in less capable hands.”-Kim Moeller
“John Loughney’s shining moment comes in the comedic “Funeral Tango.” As the deceased, he laments phony friends, crocodile tears, and a life without true love. John has an “everyman” kind of voice (if everyman could actually sing at a Broadway stage level).-Kim Moeller
______
Victoria Mayo as The Lady of the Lake Singing ““Diva’s Lament (What Ever Happened To My Part?)“ at Spamalot at Riverside Center Dinner Theater
Victoria Mayo (The Lady of the Lake). Victoria Mayo (The Lady of the Lake) and her Laker Girls.
“King Arthur finally assembles his Round Table with the help of the Lady of the Lake (the powerhouse Victoria Mayo, in one of the best casting decisions ever made)… After the Lady of the Lake has been offstage for quite some time, she interrupts the show to sing a song called “Diva’s Lament (What Ever Happened To My Part?)“ This is one diva who will not be ignored! This is silliness to the extreme, but it is delivered in such a smart way that the result is refreshing and welcome.”-Julia Exline
“One of the reasons for the show’s success is the cast’s amazing articulation skills that allow the audience to understand each song’s lyrics. Brel liked to give his stories and lyrics a twist at the end and without the good diction and enunciation, the audience would miss it. This can be especially challenging in the more up-tempo songs such as “Brussels” with Katie McManus as the central storyteller. Her confident and playful performance combined with engaging, clear vocals create a fun “”- a Kander and Ebbish kind of song, but watch out for the twist at the end.”-Kim Moeller.
“Alan Naylor is a standout. In “Fanette,” a ballad of love and betrayal, Alan hits an emotional high point. His vocals are rich and expressive; his connection with the audience is particularly strong….Alan is a joy to listen to and to watch.”-Kim Moeller
______
Jo Sullivan as Agnes as She Marches Toward Insanity at the end of Bugat Dominion Stage
Jo Sullivan.Mike Rudden and Jo Sullivan in ‘Bug’. Photo by Matt Liptak).
“Jo Sullivan particularly shines as Agnes in her most emotional scenes, especially in Agnes’ manic march toward insanity near the play’s end. The emotional build through the closing scenes of the production is gripping, however much your intellect may resist it. Sullivan, as Agnes, teeters between a strong-headed woman and a fragile loner, the former merely serving as a mask for the latter. This makes her relationship with the unbalanced Peter all the more believable, even when the script ventures into its darkest moments.”-Gina Jun
_____
LINKS‘
Jacques Brel is Alive and Well’ at Creative Cauldron:Meet Alan Naylor.
In Part 5 of a series of interviews with the Co-Directors and the cast of Creative Cauldron’s Jacques Brel is Alive and Well and Living in Paris, we meet cast member Alan Naylor.
Alan Naylor
Joel: Where have local theatregoers seen you before on the stage?
Alan: I have been seen at First Stage as Dr. Parker in Batboy, at The Kennedy Center with the National Broadway Chorus, The Washington Savoyards, and other local theater and choral groups.
Who is Jacques Brel and what do you admire most about his work? How would you describe a Jacques Brel song?
Jacques Brel was a pillar of french popular music in the 60s and 70s. He was dubbed by some as the “master of the modern chanson”- a title he completely deserves. His music is both catchy and familiar, having been covered by musical greats such as: Neil Diamond, David Bowie, Scott Walker, and Edith Piaf. My admiration for his music, and especially his performances, centers on his ability to balance the stylistic elements of various cultures, the combination of beautiful melody and speech-singing, and a vary graphic and vivid poetic social commentary. His songs vary from quite melancholic to the frenetic, yet they always have a bite and hint of “snark” to them. You can be tapping your foot to a spanish tango and then dropped into a realization of personal, social, or political inequity with the turn of a single phrase.
What have you learned about Jacques Brel that you didn’t know before you started working on this production?
To be honest I was completely unaware of Brel before this project. Now however, I would happily program his music next to the greats of Goethe, Schumann, Schubert, Poulenc, Vaughn Williams, and other noted Lieder/melodie composers/poets.
There are 26 songs in the show. Which songs are the most meaningful to you and why?
“The Middle Class” stands out to me because it is a wonderful drinking and rabble-rousing tune that abruptly turns with the lyric to expose the hypocrisy that we are ALL prone to. It condemns neither side of the hypocrisy, but is simply an energetic song that can make an audience vulnerable and then open their eyes to human nature. A fantastic use of art to communicate.
What have been some of the challenges you have faced learning your songs and your roles?
Words, words, words… The hardest part of the music in Brel is staying on top of the VERY wordy songs that simply fly by. My fellow cast members and I have spent countless hours writing out the lyrics to songs over and over to try and make them flow without thought. Songs go by so quickly there is absolutely no breaks to think of the next lyric.
Katie McManus, John Loughney, Alan Naylor, and Shaina Kuhn. Photo by Gary Mester.
What do you admire most about your fellow cast members? Which one of his/her performances is your favorite and why?
This cast has been wonderfully supportive of each other. We have all had moments of dropped verses, made up rhymes, and downright ‘la-la-la-ing’ during our struggle to master the language. But someone has always been backstage to reassure and prod the rest of us to that next number.
What do you want young audiences to take with them after seeing you perform in Jacques Brel is Alive and Well… at Creative Cauldron?
I would most like young audiences to take away a knowledge of the depth and complexity to even the most seemingly simple tune or verse. Art does not have to be unnecessarily technical, complex, or virtuosic. But it does need a point of view and an unapologetic display of that perspective. It is not about production value, but about communication. Don’t be afraid to look at past works of the “song” repertoire from the Renaissance up to the 21st century. You never know when a particular artist’s perspective will engage or challenge your own.
In Part 4 of a series of interviews with the Co-Directors and the cast of Creative Cauldron’s Jacques Brel is Alive and Well and Living in Paris, we meet cast member Shaina Kuhn.
Shaina Kuhn.
Joel: Where have local theatregoers seen you before on the stage?
Shaina: I moved to area just a few years ago and have been mostly working around DC – Richmond, Baltimore, Raleigh. It’s great to be in a production closer to the District.
Why did you want to be part of the cast of Jacques Brel at Creative Cauldron?
I didn’t know Brel’s music, but when I saw the audition notice, I did a little bit of research. How was it possible I hadn’t listened to this music before? It was so beautiful, so truthful.
Who is Jacques Brel and what do you admire most about his work? How would you describe a Jacques Brel song?
Brel was a do-everything sort of entertainer from Belgium. A singer, songwriter, actor. His music is familiar but unpredictable and always brutally honest.
What have you learned about Jacques Brel that you didn’t know before you started working on this production?
I’ve been listening to Brel non-stop since starting work on this production. The library has a couple of recordings. Please go out and listen to the Les Flamandes album right now. You can’t get it from the library because I keep renewing it, but eventually I’ll have to return it, and then other people can borrow it. He is now one of my favorite popular singers of all time. The way he uses the sounds in words to communicate meaning is something we always strive for as performers, but he exemplifies it.
There are 26 songs in the show. Which songs are the most meaningful to you?
I honestly couldn’t pick one. Every single one relates to some experience that I’ve had or been a part of or known about. A couple of the songs in the show have subject matter that is so serious – war, violence, and death – that I have to distance myself from them, or I just can’t go on with the day or the performance.
What have been some of the challenges you have faced learning your songs and your roles?
When Brel performs his own pieces, he makes the melody a sort of suggestion that he varies significantly from verse to verse. I really want to capture that. In most things I’ve sung in the past, all of the notes have to be right – the pitches, the values, the entrances – but in Brel, I have the freedom to move word stresses around if I want and change pitches to reflect more of a speaking type of line. It’s hard to break the habit of singing all the right notes.
What are your solos in the show? Describe what your solos are about and what they mean to you.
The numbers that I sing by myself are about life, death, and the passing of time. All of those things are very complicated, obviously. They’re sad, happy, bittersweet, but always very poignant. I have a couple of friends who have very sick spouses/partners right now. I’m drawing from their experiences as well as my own.
What is your favorite solo that you are not singing and why?
I love John’s song, “Mathilde,” because everytime I hear it I just laugh and shake my head and think don’t go back to her again! He performs it so earnestly. How many friends do we all have going back to the guy or gal who treated them so badly? Or maybe you are that friend. I want to listen to Katie’s “No Love You’re Not Alone” every day for the rest of my life. The music perfectly illustrates obsessive, strong, unhealthy love, but it’s so beautifully heartbreaking, and her performance of it is perfect. Alan’s “Jackie” makes me smile, too. His character has it all but still wants something different, and he’s so frustrated about it. What does that say about us as people and our ability to be grateful for what we have?
What do you admire most about your fellow cast members? Which one of his/her performances is your favorite and why?
My castmates are such an inspiration to me! I feel really lucky to work with them. John is one of the most expressive performers I’ve worked with; every time I look at him, he’s completely into the scene. Katie is a stunning singer, and Alan is like Brel – a jack of all trades. He’s a great singer, he’ll try anything on stage, and I actually walked in on him playing Rhapsody in Blue on the piano before rehearsal one day. I wouldn’t be surprised if he were a concert tambourinist.
Katie McManus, John Loughney, Alan Naylor, and Shaina Kuhn. Photo by Gary Mester.
What do you want young audiences to take with them after seeing you perform in Jacques Brel is Alive and Well… at Creative Cauldron?
“If we only have love, then tomorrow will dawn….” And be nice to your grandparents and elders. We’ll all be in their shoes someday if we’re lucky enough to live that long.
In a series of interviews with the Co-Directors and the cast of Creative Cauldron’s Jacques Brel is Alive and Well and Living in Paris, we meet Co-Directors Matt Conner and Laura Connors Hull.
Joel: Why did you want to bring Jacques Brel… to Creative Cauldron?
Co-Director Matt Conner. Photo courtesy of Creative Cauldron.
Laura and Matt: My answer to this question is both nostalgic and also artistic…. This piece is a perfect fit for our intimate venue in every way.
Now for the nostalgia… A fellow theater colleague of mine who had seen and fallen in love with the original Off Broadway production, first introduced me to this show when it was playing in Cleveland, Ohio at Playhouse Square. I fell head over heels with Brel’s passionate and profound lyrics and music. The production ran for two and a half years and became known as “the show that saved the theaters” because the historic Playhouse Square theaters were scheduled to be bulldozed and replaced with a parking lot. It is now the largest theater complex in the USA outside of New York City, with over 1,000,000 visitors and 1,000 shows a year. The power of art!
In 1977, as a young director fresh out of college in northeastern Ohio, Jacques Brel was the first production that I ever staged, so this has a very tender spot. The theater company, for which I served as the artistic director, mounted four productions over a 10 year period. The response to these productions was the same every time, audiences were universally moved and entertained in a way that is rare in the theater. In talking with Matt Conner about the show, I felt that he had experienced the same deep connection with the material, and I wanted to see what a new (much younger) pair of eyes might vision for this iconic gem.
Matt brings so much imagination and heart to everything he does and it is wonderful to be collaborating with him on this show. I bring the nostalgia, and an historical viewpoint from the show’s early beginnings, delighting in the idea that we will be introducing this enduring piece of art to new audiences, while also kindling the fires of memory for those who were caught under its spell long ago.
Who is Jacques Brel and what do you admire most about his work?
Jacques Brel was a Belgian singer-songwriter. What I admire most about his work is his ability to capture so many different elements in each and every song.
Brel is considered to be one of the greatest representatives of French chanson in the Post World War II period. I admire his courageous sense of truth…a truth that permeates every song. He cuts right to the core of our experience of living, loving and dying. He peppers his songs with humor and satire, and makes us see the world as it really is, in all of it ugliness and all of its beauty. More that just a songwriter/singer Brel is a poet beyond compare.
What have you learned about Jacques Brel that you didn’t know before you started working on this production?
I have a much deeper understanding for each and every song and a closer connection to Jacques’ intentions.
In my collaboration with Matt and this wonderful intelligent cast, I began to see that each one of his songs can be interpreted in so many different ways. Each song will reach each individual on a different plane, and yet we will all experience a deep sense of connection.
How would you describe a Jacques Brel song?
A Jacques Brel song is filled with very beautiful and complex lyrics. It is in those amazing lyrics the song reaches you in a very simple way, but as the song continues the simplicity becomes very complex and ultimately leaves the listener with a much deeper message about humanity.
There are 26 songs in the show. Which songs are your favorites, and which songs are the most relevant to what is happening in the world today?
The songs I have an instant emotional reaction to are “Sons Of”, “If We Only Have Love”, “Amsterdam” and “Marieke.” All of Jacque Brel’s songs are still current and relevant today.
What have been some of the challenges you have faced directing the production in the intimate space?
The challenges in directing the show have been to know when I should get out of the way of this beautiful fragile yet bold work. There are times, the show just reveals itself rather than I having to put my 2 cents in.
Who is your musical director and how many musicians will be performing at the performances?
Virginia Sircy is our musical director and she is an experienced pianist and Professor of Music who holds three degrees in piano performance. She is also a founder and pianist for “Words and Music” a local professional performance group that presents both traditional and newly commissioned compositions in the vocal chamber music repertoire. She will be joined in our production band by a guitarist, bass and violin player and percussionist/marimba player. It’s really a lovely sound that will fill our space nicely.
Introduce us to your cast and tell us what solos they will be singing and what you admire most about their performances?
Our lovely cast is Katie McManus (“Sons of”,”No Love, You’re Not Alone”, “Timid Frieda”), John Loughney (“Alone”, “Statue”, “Funeral Tango”), Shaina Kuhn (“Marieke”, “My Death”, “Old Folks”) and Alan Naylor (“Amsterdam”, “Jackie”, “Next”). What I admire about my amazing cast is their versatility in their undertaking of this show that has such diverse story telling.
Co-Director Laura Connors Hull. Courtesy of Creative Cauldron.
What do you want young audiences to take with them after seeing Jacques Brel is Alive and Well and Living in Paris at Creative Cauldron?
Each experience will be a definite individual experience. Not everyone will laugh or cry at the same thing, but the human connection in this piece is undeniable and it will give people much to talk about.
In some ways, this production is an engaging history lesson. There are so many historical and cultural references in these songs from the 20th century and so many songs that resonate from Brel’s experience living through the World Wars. I think at the very least, this show will make young people more inquisitive about our past, and how it has informed our present day reality. Beyond this, I would just want young people to have the experience that everyone has– to laugh, to cry, to experience the passion.
Why do you think Brel’s music is still so popular?
Brel’s music is completely universal. Everyone lives, loves and dies. Brel happens to capture all of these and sometimes in just a single word.
Jacques Brel is still “alive and well” because he has made his way into our hearts. He reaches us and knows us like an old friend or lover knows us, in the deepest most intimate part of our selves.
