DC Theater Arts

Tag: Baltimore Shakespeare Factory

Review: ‘The Merry Wives of Windsor’ by Baltimore Shakespeare Factory

Baltimore Shakespeare Factory’s (BSF) production of The Merry Wives of Windsor, directed by Tom Delise, delivers the “merry” promised in the title. The wives – Alice Ford (Emily Classen) and Margaret Page (Bethany Mayo) – are beside themselves with delight over their schemes to bamboozle the oversized basket of male ego and appetite known as John Falstaff (David Forrer). Their delight is infectious.

Emily Classen as Alice Ford with Bethany Mayo as Margaret Page in Baltimore Shakespeare Factory’s production of ‘The Merry Wives of Windsor.’ Photo by Will Kirk.

Falstaff, of course, winds up as a literal basket case at one point. In a well-choreographed slow-motion chase, he is hounded off the stage at another. He gets snookered not only by the women but by a thinly-disguised husband he is trying to cuckold. By play’s end, he is fully aware that the jokes are on him. With a varied and supple vocal instrument, able to be clearly heard even in quiet passages, and a humorously swaggering physicality, Forrer commands the stage every moment he is on it. His Falstaff is every bit the fool, as he should be, but a fool it’s impossible to take one’s eyes off.

The production is full of funny, spot-on characterizations. Alice Ford’s jealous husband Frank (Jeff Miller) is at his best in a blond wig and glasses as Frank’s alter ego “Brook” engages Falstaff to seduce his wife, hoping to catch her in the act. Mistress Quickly (Kay-Megan Washington) in her winkingly knowing way, helps the wives put one trick after another over on Falstaff. Mistress Quickly is a bit shaky on language arts, however, as she demonstrates as part of the well-executed bawdy Latin lesson in the second act.

Merry Wives is very much an ensemble show, and Delise keeps the pace quick, the characters (several actors play multiple roles) clearly delineated, and the comedy sparkling, including a lovely set-piece in which “fairies” tickle Falstaff into submission.

The production plays on and in front of a nearly bare stage, without typical stage lighting, sound design, or special effects, and with relatively basic costuming. These features, as well as having actors speaking directly to, and in some cases, interacting with, audience members, are consistent with BSF’s “bard to the bone” style of attempting to present the plays of Shakespeare and his contemporaries as a 17th-century audience might have seen them. For Shakespeare, this approach works, and has the virtue of focusing on the words and characters, rather than stagecraft bells and whistles.

BSF’s home is a visually beautiful repurposed church, housing a two-level stage area suggestive of the Globe or, for that matter, the Folger. The space is challenging acoustically, however. In this production, some actors met that challenge better than others. Forrer’s and Washington’s words were always clear, for example, while those of the actors playing accent or character voice roles were less so. Classen and Mayo were a bit harder to follow when speaking rapidly in their higher registers than when speaking more slowly or in a lower voice.

David Forrer as Sir John Falstaff in Baltimore Shakespeare Factory’s production of ‘The Merry Wives of Windsor.’ Photo by Will Kirk.

These issues are most prominent on the main stage. Scenes played on the floor in front of the main stage are clearly heard, as are scenes played in the second level balcony, where a decorative overhead panel acts as a sounding board. To its credit, BSF recognizes the acoustic problems, posting a small placard in the hallway to the restrooms recommending sitting as near the front and center as possible to hear the unamplified performers and to avoid the drone of the air conditioning system, and even suggesting that audience members cup their ears to ask an actor to speak more loudly (in my experience, the issues are less with volume than with clarity). It is to be hoped that the group, whose productions have substantial merit, will find additional solutions or accommodations in the future to improve the aural experience of the audience.

Merry Wives is a thoroughly happy show, with little if any of the undertone of melancholy that characterizes some other Shakespeare comedies. BSF’s production brings that lightness to the fore, and it is a thoroughly enjoyable one.

Running Time: Two hours and 35 minutes, with one intermission. The play is preceded by 30 minutes of pre-show entertainment by the cast.

The Merry Wives of Windsor, produced by the Baltimore Shakespeare Factory, plays through August 18, 2019, in the Great Hall of the St. Mary’s Community Center, 3900 Roland Avenue, Baltimore MD. Purchase tickets at the door or online.

July 28, 2019
Review: ‘Romeo and Juliet’ by Baltimore Shakespeare Factory

Not to be confused with the Baltimore Shakespeare Festival (1993-2011), the current “BSF” – Baltimore Shakespeare Factory – has another hit on its hands with their new production of Romeo and Juliet directed by Anne Hammontree. Presented in the Great Hall at St. Mary’s Outreach Center (also the home of the original BSF), this show is a rollicking good time as well as a delight for Shakespeare purists.

Kate Oelkers (Romeo) and Ronnita Freeman (Juliet) in Baltimore Shakespeare Factory’s production of ‘Romeo and Juliet.’ Photo by Will Kirk.

Audience immersion is noticeably trendy nowadays, and with good reason: companies that do it well find their patrons energized, engaged, and likely to become subscribers. In BSF’s case, the effect is just as strong while the principle is not so new: we are told during introductory remarks that the presentation will be participatory, as in Shakespeare’s era. The company employs “universal lighting,” meaning that the stage lighting and house lighting are one and the same, and don’t change throughout the course of the evening. Nearly as much of Hammontree’s action takes place outside of the stage – in the aisles, and even in any of the front rows on all three sides of the thrust – as on the stage itself. And as we’ve also seen with other local productions of the Bard in recent years, the cast serenades the audience during pre-show and intermission with songs that are relevant in theme, yet current (kudos to Music Director Kristen Cooley). No recorded sound is used.

Designer Kendra Shapanus’ costume changes are limited to the addition or subtraction of a cape here; a shawl there. The set is fixed, with only the occasional on-and-off use of a demilune and stool serving as furniture. Overall these elements make for a highly enjoyable experience for the audience, and extra challenges for the director and cast: unable to “lean on” modern production design elements to augment the action, this group knows that all of the burden rests squarely upon them, and they deliver with gusto.

Cross-gender casting is employed here, as both of the titular characters are portrayed by women. Ronnita Freeman (Juliet) and Kate Oelkers (Romeo) are explosive in their performances. Each of them captures brilliantly the urgency and simultaneous innocence that these roles require. Autumn Koehnlein brings very strong effort as Paris, despite having next to no voice at her disposal during opening weekend. Audiences for the rest of the run will enjoy her full-throated work as Juliet’s wannabe bridegroom.

As with most good productions of this play, the Nurse (Holly Gibbs) steals many of her scenes. Gibbs’ comedic sense is natural, and her mastery of prop gags (watch what she does with a fan) on top of that add up to the best Nurse we’ve seen in Baltimore since AXIS Theatre’s Goodnight Desdemona, Good Morning, Juliet. As Benvolio, Joshua Street’s performance is both subtle and dynamic; it packs a wallop. Impressive, too, is Justin Johnson as Mercutio. Never before has JJ’s “go big or go home” acting style served a role or a production so delightfully well. His work here alone is worth the price of admission.

Dean Carlson, Chris Cotterman, Conrad Deitrick, Abigail Funk, Ayesha Gowie, Grayson Owen, Julie Press, and MJ Smith inhabit the rest of Romeo and Juliet’s characters, and together form a richly cohesive ensemble, assistant directed by Sian Edwards, with Alex L.S. Perry as stage manager.

Fight Director Lewis Shaw tackled an unenviable task, choreographing battles which most in the audience know are coming before they happen. His work doesn’t disappoint. The sword fights between Mercutio and Tybalt (Owen), then Tybalt and Romeo, serve as a dazzling climax to the first act. The work is believable, yet framed in a perfect version of theatricality that doesn’t try to hoodwink us, but instead brings us along for the ride. Intimacy Director Emily Sucher also achieves a wonderful realism with her work.

Running Time: 138 minutes, with one intermission.

Baltimore Shakespeare Factory’s production of Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare appears through July 21 at the St. Mary’s Outreach Center – 3900 Roland Avenue, Baltimore, Maryland. For tickets call (410) 662-9455 or purchase online.

June 30, 2019
Review: ‘Cymbeline’ at Baltimore Shakespeare Factory

You may never have heard of William Shakespeare’s Cymbeline, King of Britain, as it is not often produced. More’s the pity. It’s much maligned as derivative, though the author merely borrows from himself, which I consider economy. Once represented (perhaps satirically?) as “tragedy,” it is full of traditional romance elements, awash in melodrama, liberally peppered with song and dance, and chockablock with tangled plotlines, assumed names, mistaken identities and people in the wrong clothing. If farce had been invented in Shakespeare’s time, Cymbeline would have been it.

Michael Makar, Joe Lewis, and Marnie Kanarek with Sienna Goering. Photo by Will Kirk Photography.

Baltimore Shakespeare Factory resides at the St. Mary’s Outreach Center, which houses a secret jewel, the Great Hall, a beautiful chapel fitted with an equally lovely stage, ideal for Renaissance productions. The pew benches are embarrassingly squeaky, but comfortable and non-confining, accompanied by the delightful aroma of well-kept old wood.

Long ago, I’d planned to read all of “The Collected Works Of Shakespeare,” and was attracted to Cymbeline because of similarities in our names. Since then, I’ve wished to see it produced onstage. Fast-forward twenty-some years, about the right time to forget plot details but remember I loved reading the play. Fortunately, the show opens with exposition about the central character, a fellow called Posthumus Leonatus, who’s been orphaned and raised by the eponymous King.

The play progresses in a straightforward Romeo and Juliet fashion initially, makes a sharp twist, another twist, additional complications, then everything becomes truly muddled. It is, essentially, a play about lies and the people who believe them. The best opportunity for audiences to follow the convoluted tale is to hear the opening exposition of the show, a casual conversation between gentlepersons traversing the chapel’s aisle, here representing a street, as do the watchmen who speak of the ghost of Hamlet’s father as that show begins.

To encourage early arrival, Baltimore Shakespeare Factory presents pre-show entertainment starting half an hour before showtime, a tidbit mentioned in BSF’s press. I wrongly interpret “pre-show entertainment” as a euphemism for “themed cocktails, schmoozing with production staff” because there is actual merriment onstage before the play opens. No cocktails, but beer, wine, and other refreshments are sold in the chapel’s nave beforehand and at intermission.

Production values are consistent with the spirit of the script. In The Bard’s time, a show would perforce be low-tech, and BSF deliberately employs less sophisticated mechanics than those currently both available and affordable. It’s rather charming. Well-trained actors enunciate clearly and project sufficiently, even in quiet moments, eliminating body-mic-based distortions or feedback. Music and sound effects are live (Music Director, Jamie Horrell).

The title part of Cymbeline is played by company member Chris Cotterman, script in hand, substituting for the listed performer. His delivery is emotional and his holding a script doesn’t subvert the pace of the show; the costume is, happily, a good fit. Cymbeline’s daughter Imogen is personified by Sienna Goering, whose cool aristocratic features counterbalance her spirited performance.

Imogen’s love interest and catalyst for the action, Posthumus Leonatus, is played by Adam Henricksen, whose dynamic volume and energy are invigorating even when they irritate due to Leonatus’s idiocy. Appearing with early setup for the story is Marcy Xexelia, who provides clear exposition in each of her many roles, particularly Cornelius, who seems to be a pharmacist. As Pisanio, the one character of steadfast persona and stalwart integrity, Kaitlyn Fowler impresses with vocal nuance and facial expressiveness.

Sienna Goering as Imogen, with Marnie Kanarek, Michael Makar, and Joe Lewis. Photo by Will Kirk Photography.

Elijah Moreland, playing Iachimo, makes such a charming antagonist you sort of hate to hate him. Not so Melissa Robinson, who is every inch the evil Queen stepmother and all but twirls her mustache in her villainy. Playing her son, Warren Harris portrays petulant prince Cloten as so self-absorbed a ninny that Second Lord (again, Marcy Xexelia) says:

That such a crafty devil as is his mother

Should yield the world this ass! a woman that

Bears all down with her brain; and this her son

Cannot take two from twenty, for his heart,

And leave eighteen.

Set pieces are sparse, reflecting Shakespeare’s original staging. The play moves briskly, with few set-necessitated pauses. The dialogue tells us where we are, in an “Aha! I see we have arrived in Athens!” sort of way, accelerating a piece that could drag significantly under less capable direction than the deft hands of director Tom DeLise.

Costume Designer Kendra Shapanus’ costuming in Cymbeline is illustrative and obvious. The king and queen wear crowns. Cloten, the prince, wears a hat, but a fancy one. Soldiers look like soldiers, servants are less finely garbed than gentlepersons, so despite seeing the same faces in multiple parts, costuming makes evident who is in each scene, even when characters are disguised.

Cymbeline is absolutely worth seeing, even if you think you don’t like Shakespeare. This production showcases the melodrama and comedy of Shakespeare in ways not often attempted by other companies, and it’s refreshing to watch a show that doesn’t weave technological wizardry into its fabric, choosing to rely instead on the ingenuity of the performers, the integrity of the language, and the intelligence of the audience.

Running Time: One and a half hours, with one 15-minute intermission; 30-minute pre-show and optional post-show talkback with the cast.

Cymbeline, presented by Baltimore Shakespeare Factory, plays through March 10, 2019, Fridays and Saturdays at 8 pm and Sundays at 4 pm in the Great Hall of St Mary’s Outreach Center, 3900 Roland Avenue, Baltimore, MD. Purchase tickets online.

February 21, 2019
Review: ‘A Chaste Maid in Cheapside’ by The Baltimore Shakespeare Factory

Moved by an impulse analogous to the original instruments movement in early music, Baltimore Shakespeare Factory (BSF) is dedicated to mounting the Bard’s plays and those of his contemporaries in the style a late 16th or early 17th-century audience would have experienced. The style involves relatively declamatory, presentational acting, far removed from naturalism, featuring the frequent use of stylized, standardized gestures. House lights remain on throughout the production, lacking the targeted lighting design of modern-style productions. The actors sometimes speak directly to the audience and occasionally move from the stage onto floor level to interact with front-row patrons.

The all-female/non-binary cast of A Chaste Maid in Cheapside. Photo by Will Kirk.

For BSF’s A Chaste Maid in Cheapside, a comedy of sex, love, and greed by Shakespeare contemporary Thomas Middleton, director Marshall B. Garrett made the innovative choice to use an all-female cast. Shows of this era were written for single-gender (male) casts, and BSF’s switch to all women lends a fascinating, and quite successful, dynamic to the production. Garrett comments in his program note that “letting a room of adult women loose on a play that is loaded with sexual innuendo has been incredible, and absolutely hysterical.” The result is, indeed, often extremely funny.

For a play far less familiar than those of Shakespeare, dramaturg Dani Turner offers an invaluable background in her program notes. Cheapside was a major commercial neighborhood in London, famed for its collection of goldsmiths and its general level of depravity (the program makes an analogy to the pre-Disneyfied Times Square). A virtuous girl in that corrupt urban environment, the title implies, is rather a unicorn. Turner also places the play in the context of the era’s religious strife. The play lampoons religious hypocrisy of all sorts, particularly that of the Puritans who, 15 years after the playwright’s death in 1627, would ban theatrical performances in the country.

Garrett relates that his entry to the play was through the movie Love Actually. It brought to my mind the opening of A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum. Middleton, who wrote some bloody revenge tragedies, was clearly in the mode of tragedy tomorrow, comedy tonight. He brings on an ensemble cast of liars, lovers, and clowns, the story centering on the true love of the eponymous chaste maid Moll Yellowhamer (Allie Press) for the young swain Touchwood, Junior (Jane Jongeward). Moll’s goldsmith father (Holly Gibbs) prefers to marry her off to the mercenary, philandering Sir Walter Whorehound (Katharine Vary) who, true to his name, is canoodling with Mrs. Allwit (Emily Classen), subsidizing her husband (Sian Edwards) for his wife’s services.

There are yet more sexual shenanigans afoot. The relentlessly fecund Touchwood, Senior (Kerry Brady), performs his favorite task for Lady Kix (Valerie Dowdle), given that her elderly husband (Stephanie Jo Clark) isn’t up to it. When Moll’s Latin-spewing younger brother Tim (Nell Quinn-Gibney) comes home with his tutor (Abigail Funk), seductive sparks fly between the tutor and Tim’s mother Maudlin (Elizabeth Young). In one of the show’s funniest scenes, the insecure Tim has a fraught encounter with the far more sexually aggressive Welsh Woman (Aly Whitmore).

L-R Katharine Vary (Sir Walter Whorehound), Aly Whitmore (Mrs. Allwit), and Nell Quinn-Gibney (Tim). Photo by Will Kirk.

To this tossed salad of people and situations add a sword fight, estate planning complexities, and an apparent death or two, and you have a show with which the audience must be fully engaged to avoid losing track of the goings-on. Fortunately, the cast’s energy and commitment to the production’s style keep matters on track. Gibbs, Brady, Jongeward, and Vary do notable work in conveying the masculine energies of their characters.

Costume designer Kendra Shapanus distinguishes the male from the female characters by using jeans and other pants for the former and puts a clutch of hypocritical Puritans in red hats. Given that many actors play multiple roles, she has devised a variety of coats and other items to identify each of them.

The BSF space is a repurposed church, fitted with a two-level wooden stage reminiscent of a smaller version of the Folger Theater stage in DC. The stage itself is effectively the set, and the actors use all of it – the main platform, an upstage alcove, the second-level balcony, as well as the floor area in front of the stage – as part of Garrett’s lively design of the show’s movement.

One entertaining feature of the production is the use of cast members, situated on the stage balcony, to sing present-day songs in something like a period style as pre-show and intermission music. Some of the numbers seem to have been chosen for their resonance with the play, such as “Like a Virgin” and “Girls Just Want to Have Fun.” Well, the girls in this Chaste Maid do appear to have fun, and the audience likewise.

Running Time: Two hours and 20 minutes, including one intermission.

A Chaste Maid in Cheapside plays through November 18, 2018, at the St. Mary’s Great Hall, 3900 Roland Avenue, Baltimore, MD. For tickets, you may call 410-662-9455 or go online.

October 29, 2018
Review: ‘King John’ at Baltimore Shakespeare Factory

King John of England was not a popular ruler, and Shakespeare’s play about him is not, to put it mildly, among his most popular works; indeed, it hasn’t been performed in Baltimore since 1781. The Baltimore Shakespeare Factory has committed to mounting the Bard’s entire canon over the next decade, however, and this play’s hour upon the stage has come again at last. Recognizing this as a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, Director Tom Delise and his regal cast are giving it everything they’ve got, and the result will convince even the skeptics among us that King John, if not the monarch himself, has gotten a raw deal.

King John plays through August 19, 2018, at Baltimore Shakespeare Factory. Photo by Will Kirk.

As you may recall from The Lion in Winter, King Henry II and his crafty queen, Eleanor of Aquitaine, squabbled over which of their three surviving sons would succeed him: Richard the Lionheart, Geoffrey, or John, the youngest but Eleanor’s favorite. Skip ahead a decade or so. Richard has died without a legitimate heir, and Geoffrey is also gone, leaving behind a son, Arthur, who is still only a boy. By right, Arthur is next in line, but John, backed by Eleanor, grabs the crown for himself, sparking a war with France, which supports Arthur and his doting but determined mother, Constance.

This is an all-too-real game of thrones, where loyalties are short-lived and slippery at best. Shakespeare underscores this moral confusion by having the characters repeatedly alter the meaning of a word to refute a point previously made, sometimes even by the speaker himself. In one particularly head-spinning example, the papal legate, Cardinal Pandulph, engages in a definitional bait-and-switch that stretches over forty lines, by the end of which we’ve begun to doubt whether language itself holds any truth any more.

Stuck in such a quagmire, we long for an honest hero, unassailable in both right and might. We could also use the relief of a jester, able to mock the pretensions and peccadilloes of all around him with impunity. And ideally, we’d be blessed with a wise man of conscience, who can gaze into the abyss of human nature without falling in, and who can ultimately lift us out.

The Bard brilliantly provides all three in the unlikely person of Philip Faulconbridge, who happens to be the illegitimate son of Richard the Lionheart, and thus is frequently called The Bastard, even when most of the other men onstage are far more deserving of that title. As played by BSF mainstay Chris Cotterman, he appears to be the antithesis of a kingly figure: ill-groomed, often ill-mannered, and unapologetic. Nevertheless, we quickly realize he’d be better at the job than any of the contenders, if only the law – and his own natural modesty and sense of duty – would permit it.

We first meet him in the midst of an inheritance dispute with his legitimate half-brother, which serves as a parody of the play’s larger conflict. The way he mercilessly yet good-naturedly teases his sibling proves we’re in the company of an expert comedian, capable of coaxing a smile out of the most recalcitrant audience. But he is no less compelling as the voice of moral authority, bluntly yet eloquently persuading nearly everyone he encounters to be a better person – or to meet his terrible swift sword if they refuse. In short, whenever Cotterman is onstage, we’re confident that both England and this play have found an unbeatable champion.

Portraying the title sovereign, Dean Carlson touchingly tries to establish a similar rapport with the audience, but it comes off feeling forced, just as the real John probably did to his subjects. Even his smile gives him away, since it reveals a missing tooth that seems to stand for all the other qualities he sadly lacks.

His most effective moment is ironically his most ignoble, when he attempts to shift the blame for one of his direct orders to Hubert, the servant obliged to carry it out, by claiming the vassal should have realized he wasn’t serious. What in other hands might be an insincere display of self-pity here becomes a tragic reminder of how John is repeating the mistakes of his father, whose reckless words once led to the assassination of his dearest friend, Thomas Becket.

As Arthur, Jessica Behar seems miscast at first. She’s clearly a good deal older than the boy is supposed to be, thereby undercutting the alleged reason for denying him the crown, and her efforts to act younger only make him seem like a painfully inept child, rather than the admirable innocent of the text. But in the end, Behar transforms Arthur into a poignant and authentic prince, courageous in the face of suffering and genuinely sweet even when his rhetoric threatens to become syrupy.

King John plays through August 19, 2018, at Baltimore Shakespeare Factory. Photo by Will Kirk.

What’s more, with Anne Hammontree’s Constance in his corner, we wonder how he ever could have lost. This is one proud woman, and that pride is justified even when it verges on hubris. Shakespeare has her lament quite a bit, but even when Constance is at her most pitiful, Hammontree never allows her to be pathetic–instead defying the storms of fortune with a mighty typhoon of her own. At one point, even her closest ally accuses her of loving her grief more than her son. But Hammontree’s retort, though barely whispered this time, makes it plain that Constance is fittingly named: she is love incarnate, love that is spiritually if not physically stronger than an army of hypocrites–and that love will remain constant even beyond the grave.

The rest of the ensemble is scarcely less praiseworthy. Jean Miller brings such depth and shading to her brief turn as Eleanor that we wish we could see her tackle the role in The Lion in Winter. Grayson Owen is supremely smarmy as the Dauphin, Sian Edwards commands the stage as if by divine right as Pandulph, and as Hubert, Flynn Harne’s eyes, aptly enough, radiate a fine madness that can be hilarious or horrifying as required. Even Sarah Krempasky, arriving near the play’s end as John’s son, the future King Henry III, reassures us that if we can’t have The Bastard on the throne, young Henry will be the next best thing.

Don’t let this production pass into history without being a witness to it.

Running Time: Two hours and 20 minutes, with one intermission.

King John plays through August 19, 2018, at the Baltimore Shakespeare Factory, performing at The Great Hall at St. Mary’s – 3900 Roland Avenue, in Baltimore, MD. For tickets, purchase them at the door, or go online.

July 30, 2018
Review: ‘The Sea Voyage’ at Baltimore Shakespeare Factory

Ask most theater lovers if they have heard of Jacobean-era playwrights such as John Fletcher and Philip Massinger and you would probably receive a confused “no.” Fletcher and Massinger, who wrote The Sea Voyage, were overshadowed by the prodigious talent that was William Shakespeare. As directed by Ann Turiano, Baltimore Shakespeare Factory’s (BSF) The Sea Voyage is pure comedic gold, brimming with love, passion, and intrigue.

Liz Galuardi (Hippolyta), Zipporah Brown (Juletta), and Kerry Brady (Crocale). Photo by Will Kirk.

The play, which dates back to 1622, is similar to Shakespeare’s The Tempest, as it involves a shipwreck on a mysterious island. The Sea Voyage is a convergence of Amazon warriors, French pirates, and castaways on the shores of an unnamed land.

In this show, Turiano wrote in her Director’s Notes: “…we see wonderfully familiar comedic types: the swaggering hero, the bumbling idiot, the firebrand, to name a few.”

As far as swaggering heroes–with a comic touch–go, the French pirate Albert was made to order. Played with an intoxicating panache by Dean Carlson, Albert found himself shipwrecked on an island along with his captured love interest, Aminta, and his partners in crime, Lamure (the fabulous Jim Knost), Morillat (David Martin) and Tibalt (Sian Edwards). Allison Bloechl brought a mirth and a bit of vulnerability to the role of Aminta. Bloechl displayed an adept chemistry with Carlson.

Mark Scharf (Sebastian) and Fred Fletcher-Jackson (Nicusa). Photo by Will Kirk.

Mark Scharf was outstanding as the old castaway Sebastian. With his old-man mannerisms and tree-branch walking stick, Scharf, a playwright making his debut at BSF, dominated all his scenes. Fred Fletcher-Jackson did a fantastic job portraying Nicusa, Sebastian’s nephew and also Albert’s associate Franville.

The always-fun-to-watch Betse Lyons, seen last spring in Fells Point Corner Theatre’s 10x10x10 festival, brought a domineering lovesickness to her role as an Amazon, Clarinda. Kathryn Falcone, recently seen in the BSF productions Othello and Julius Caesar, was splendid as Rosella, Clarinda’s queen-mom.

Zipporah Brown, in her BSF debut, stole a few scenes in her role as the Amazon Juletta. I loved Jim Hart in his role as Master. There were fine performances put in by the balance of the cast, including Kerry Brady as Crocale/Surgeon, Gabe Fremuth as Raymond/Boatswain, Liz Galuardi as Hyppolita, and young actors Kas Schroeder and MJ Smith as Sailor 1 and 2 respectively.

Dean Carlson (Albert) and Allison Bloechl (Aminta). Photo by Will Kirk.

I heartily toe-tapped to the pre-show and intermission sea shanties, including “What do you do with a drunken sailor?” As he did in Trust at Fells Point Corner Theatre, Scharf provided accompaniment to the songs with his guitar. Music Director Kristen Cooley brought forth a series of songs that had the audience engaged and participating. Heather Johnston’s costume design, which had a somewhat Jacobean flavor, featured everything from rich greens, tans and floral prints. Falcone’s magnificent red cape was eye capturing.

Director Turiano made full use of the large three-quarter thrust stage. Her actors ran, slid, dragged one another, and even ate off the floor. Much of the uncredited set design was left to the imagination; to simulate a ship there were simply two long ropes tied diagonally from a balcony area to downstage right and left, and a piece of canvas hanging from a balcony. A minor drawback was the less than ideal acoustics in parts of the show, due to the high-ceilinged hall. The Sea Voyage is a raucous ride full of hilarity and hijinks.

Running Time: Two hours and 30 minutes, with one 15-minute intermission.

The Sea Voyage plays through November 19, 2017, at the Baltimore Shakespeare Factory performing at The Great Hall Theater at St. Mary’s Community Center – 3900 Roland Avenue, Baltimore, MD. For tickets, call (410) 662-9455 or purchase them online.

October 28, 2017
DCMetroTheaterArts’ Best of 2016 #14: Best Design in Professional and Community Theaters in DC/VA/MD

DCMetroTheaterArts’ Best of 2016 #14: Best Design in Professional and Community Theaters in DC/VA/MD Are:

John Alexander for his lighting for Blackberry Winter at Forum Theatre.

John Alexander for his lighting for Black Nativity at Theater Alliance.

Brian Allard for his lighting for Sleeping Beauty at Synetic Theater.

Clint Allen for his projections for Angels in America Part 1: Millennium Approaches: a joint Production of Round House Theatre and Olney Theatre Center.

Clint Allen for his projections for Angels in America Part 2: Perestroika: a joint Production of Round House Theatre and Olney Theatre Center.

Jeffery Scott Auerbach for his lighting for Nice Work if You Can Get It at The Arlington Players.

Christopher Baine for his sound for Girl in the Red Corner at The Welders.

Christopher Baine for his sound for Satchmo at the Waldorf at Mosaic Theater Company of DC.

Mike Baldassari for his lighting for The Secret Garden at Shakespeare Theatre Company.

Kat Beem for her costumes for Much Ado About Nothing at Silver Spring Stage.

Jesse Belsk for his lighting for Sense and Sensibility at Folger Theatre.

Colin K. Bills for his lighting for Collective Rage: A Play in Five Boops at Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company.

Colin Bills for his lighting for The Nether at Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company.

Jeane Binney for her costumes for Lost in Yonkers at Prince George’s Little Theatre.

Aaron Bliden for his score for Hugo Ball: a Dada puppet AdveNTuRe!!/?1!!?? at Pointless Theatre Company.

Mary Bova and A.T. Jones Costumers for their costumes for The Lion in Winter at Vagabond Players.

Chuck Bowden for his lighting for Mary Poppins at Phoenix Festival Theater at Harford Community College.

Alex Brady for his lighting for Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf at The Colonial Players of Annapolis.

Donna Breslin for her costumes for Goyescas at The In Series.

Michael Carnahan for his set for Les Liaisons Dangereuses at Center Stage.

Andrew R. Cissna for his lighting for Cat on a Hot Tin Roof at Round House Theatre.

Andrew R. Cissna for his set for Promised Land at Mosaic Theater Company of DC.

Madeline Clamp for her sound for What We’re Up Against at The Keegan Theatre.

Jeff Clausen for his sound for Cabaret at Kensington Arts Theatre.

Josh Clayton for his orchestrations for Titanic The Musical at Signature Theatre.

Alexandra Kelly Colburn for her projections for Kiss at Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company.

Franklin Coleman for his lighting design for West Side Story at The Little Theatre of Alexandria.

Joshua Coyne for his music direction for Titanic The Musical at The Theatre Lab School of the Dramatic Arts.

Robert Croghan for his costumes for Who’s The Boss? at The In Series.

Ken and Patti Crowley for their lighting for Gypsy at Reston Community Players.

Ken and Patti Crowley for their lighting for Master Class at Reston Community Players.

Ken and Patti Crowley for their lighting for The History Boys at The Little Theatre of Alexandria.

Ben Cunis and Vato Tsikurishvili for their fight and sword choreography for The Man in the Iron Mask at Synetic Theater.

Patrick David for his set design for Amadeus at Providence Players of Fairfax.

Jared Davis for his set for Man of La Mancha at The Arlington Players.

Dan Deiter for his sound for Black Nativity at Theater Alliance.

Paul Tate Depoo III for his set for Titanic The Musical at Signature Theatre.

Brittany Diliberto for her lighting for The Man in the Iron Mask at Synetic Theater.

Max Doolittle for his lighting for Kiss at Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company.

Brian Douglas, Mary Wakefield, and Sascha Nelson for Man of La Mancha at Laurel Mill Playhouse.

Kathy Dunlap for her costumes for Gypsy at Reston Community Players.

Cassandra Dutt for her set for Schoolgirl Figure at Cohesion Theatre Company.

Laura J. Eckelman for her lighting for Girl in the Red Corner at The Welders.

Parker Esse for his choreography for Carousel at Arena Stage.

Daniel Ettinger for his set design for Mary Poppins at Olney Theatre Center.

Richard Farella for his sound for Deathtrap at The Arlington Players.

William T. Fleming for his set for Humble Boy at Silver Spring Stage.

James Fouchard for his set for Dot at Everyman Theatre.

Rick Fox for his musical direction for The Secret Garden at Shakespeare Theatre Company.

Kristina Friedgen for her choreography for The Drowsy Chaperone at Damascus Theatre Company.

James Bigbee Garver for his musical direction for A Midsummer Night’s Dream at WSC Avant Bard.

James Bigbee Garver for his sound for Kiss at Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company.

Chip Gertzog for his lighting and projection design for Almost Maine at Providence Players of Fairfax.

Brian Gillick for his set for Black Nativity at Theater Alliance.

Hillary Glass for her costumes for Foxfire at Bowie Community Theatre.

Andrew Gordon for his choreography for Guys and Dolls.

A.J. Guban for his set for Equus at Constellation Theatre Company.

A.J. Guban for his set and lighting for Urinetown at Constellation Theatre Company.

Jason Hamrick for his sound for Amadeus at Providence Players of Fairfax.

Palmer Hefferan for her sound for Equus at Constellation Theatre Company.

Bart Healy for his set for Gypsy at Reston Community Players.

Andrea Heininge for her choreography for Gypsy at Reston Community Players.

Andrea Heininge for her choreography for Mary Poppins at Reston Community Players.

Joshua Horvath for his sound for Angels in America Part 1: Millennium Approaches: a joint Production of Round House Theatre and Olney Theatre Center.

Joshua Horvath for his sound for Angels in America Part 2: Perestroika: a joint Production of Round House Theatre and Olney Theatre Center.

Ann Hould-Ward for her costumes for The Secret Garden at Shakespeare Theatre Company.

Kelsey Hunt for her costumes for Collective Rage: A Play in Five Boops at Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company.

Kelsey Hunt for her costumes for The Nether at Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company.

Garrett Hyde for his sound for H.M.S. Pinafore at 2nd Star Productions.

Allison Samantha Johnson for her costumes for What We’re Up Against at The Keegan Theatre.

Lynn Joslin for her lighting for Monsters of the Villa Diodati at Creative Cauldron.

Misha Kachman for his set and costumes for Kiss at Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company.

Casey Kaleba for his fight choreography for The Lonesome West at The Keegan Theatre.

Casey Kaleba for his fight choreography for The Maid’s Tragedy at Brave Spirits Theatre.

Kathryn Kawecki for her set for Anne of the Thousand Days at Chesapeake Shakespeare Company.

Kathryn Kawecki for her set for Lobby Hero at 1st Stage.

Mary Keegan for her lighting for Lobby Hero at 1st Stage.

Matthew Keenan for his set design for American Idiot at The Keegan Theatre.

Matthew Keenan for his set for Next to Normal at The Keegan Theatre.

Matthew Keenan for his set for What We’re Up Against at The Keegan Theatre.

York Kennedy for his lighting for Angels in America Part 1: Millennium Approaches: a joint Production of Round House Theatre and Olney Theatre Center.

York Kennedy for lighting for Angels in America Part 2: Perestroika: a joint Production of Round House Theatre and Olney Theatre Center.

Illona Kessell for her choreography for Urinetown at Constellation Theatre Company.

Hana Sooyeon Kim for her set and projections for The Emperor’s Nightingale at Adventure Theatre.

Daniel Kluger for his score for Collective Rage: A Play in Five Boops at Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company.

Adam Koch for his set for My Fair Lady at Riverside Center for the Performing Arts.

James Kronzer for his set for Angels in America Part 1: Millennium Approaches: a joint Production of Round House Theatre and Olney Theatre Center.

James Kronzer for his set for Angels in America Part 2: Perestroika: a joint Production of Round House Theatre and Olney Theatre Center.

Frank Labovitz for his costumes for Titanic The Musical at Signature Theatre.

Gaye Law for her costumes for Oklahoma! at Riverside Center for the Performing Arts.

Dan Laffrey for his set for Collective Rage: A Play in Five Boops at Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company.

Grant Kevin Lane for his costumes for Nice Work if You Can Get It at The Arlington Players.

Gaye Law and Jim Halliday for their costumes for My Fair Lady at Riverside Center for the Performing Arts.

Dan Patrick Leano for his lighting for Cabaret at Kensington Arts Theatre.

Maria Littlefield for her props for The Drowsy Chaperone at Damascus Theatre Company.

Patrick Lord for his projections for American Idiot at The Keegan Theatre.

Anna Louizos for her set for The Secret Garden at Shakespeare Theatre Company.

Konstantine Lortkipanidze for his score for Sleeping Beauty at Synetic Theater.

Eric Lund and Alex Brady for their lighting for Venus in Fur at The Colonial Players of Annapolis.

Timothy R. Mackabee for his set for The Roommate at Everyman Theatre.

Andrew Malone for his costumes and wigs for Evita at Spotlighters Theatre.

Andrew Malone for his costumes for The Game’s Afoot at Spotlighters Theatre.

Charlotte Marson and Judy Whelihan for their costumes for Mary Poppins at Reston Community Players.

Brandee Mathies for her costumes for Black Nativity at Theater Alliance.

Walter “Bobby” McCoy for his musical direction for My Fair Lady at Riverside Center for the Performing Arts.

John McDermott for his set for Sense and Sensibility at Folger Theatre.

Elizabeth McFadden for her set for Fidelio at The In Series.

Neil McFadden for his sound for Lobby Hero at 1st Stage.

Paige Rammelkamp for her musical direction for Man of La Mancha at The Arlington Players.

Jared Mezzocchi for his projections for The Nether at Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company.

Kel Millionie for his set for Neverwhere at Cohesion Theatre Company.

Kel Millionie for his set and lighting for The Elephant Man at Fells Point Corner Theatre and Collaborative Theatre Company.

Matthew Mills for his sound for Shrek The Musical at Rockville Musical Theatre.

Mark Minnick for his choreography for Sister Act at Toby’s The Dinner Theatre of Columbia.

Mark Minnick for his choreography for Hairspray at Toby’s The Dinner Theatre of Columbia.

Drew Moberley for his sound for Nice Work if You Can Get It at The Arlington Players.

John K. Monnett for his choreography for Nice Work if You Can Get It at The Arlington Players.

Andrea Moore for her set and props for Heroes & Monsters at Flying V Theatre.

Andrea Moore for her puppets and properties for The Emperor’s Nightingale at Adventure Theatre.

David M. Moretti for his set for The Boys in the Band at Dominion Stage.

James Moore for his musical directing and conducting for Titanic The Musical at Signature Theatre.

David Moretti for his set for ‘night, Mother at Dominion Stage.

Conor Mulligan for his lighting for The Other Place at Rep Stage.

Stephanie Mumford for her set for The Lady With the Little Dog at Quotidian Theatre Company.

Lawrence Munsey and Mary Quinn for their costumes for Hairspray at Toby’s The Dinner Theatre of Columbia.

Lawrence Munsey and Mary Quinn for their costumes for Sister Act at Toby’s The Dinner Theatre of Columbia.

Sasha Nelson, Cynthia Anderson, Lisa Oberg, and Kat McKerrow for their costumes for Man of La Mancha at Laurel Mill Playhouse.

Stowe Nelson for his sound for The Roommate at Everyman Theatre.

Gordon Nimmo-Smith for his sound for Be Awesome: A Theatrical Mixtape of the 90s at Flying V.

Brad Norris for his sound for Neverwhere at Cohesion Theatre Company.

Jake Null for his musical direction for American Idiot at The Keegan Theatre.

Jake Null for his musical direction for Next to Normal at The Keegan Theatre.

Jake Null for Urinetown at Constellation Theatre Company.

Jake Null for The Who’s Tommy at Open Circle Theatre.

Daniel O’Brien for his set for Othello at Chesapeake Shakespeare Company.

Matthew Pauli for his puppet design for Mary Poppins at Olney Theatre Center.

Daniel Pinha for his set for The Man in the Iron Mask at Synetic Theater.

Meghan Raham for her set for Cat on a Hot Tin Roof at Round House Theatre.

Beth Ratrie and Rosalyn Kooser for their costumes for Ragtime at The Memorial Players.

Joshua Redford for his sound for Gypsy at Reston Community Players.

Andrew JM Regiec for his set for Deathtrap at The Arlington Players.

Matthew Richards for his lighting for Les Liaisons Dangereuses at Center Stage.

David Rohde for his musical direction for Oklahoma! at Riverside Center for the Performing Arts.

Ryan Ronan for his set for Foxfire at Bowie Community Theatre.

Jonathan Ezra Rubin for his fight choreography for Be Awesome: A Theatrical Mixtape of the 90s at Flying V.

Jonathan Ezra Rubin for his fight choreography for Neverwhere at Cohesion Theatre Company.

Diane Samuelson on the cello and Jon Jon Johnson on the violin for their playing in Be Awesome: A Theatrical Mixtape of the 90s at Flying V.

Joel Selzer for his set and lighting for Avenue Q at Vagabond Players.

Loren Shaw for her costumes for The Taming of The Shrew at Shakespeare Theatre Company.

Brittany Shemuga for her lighting and projections for Rameau’s Nephew at Spooky Action Theatre.

Jason Sherwood for his set for The Taming of The Shrew at Shakespeare Theatre Company.

Eric Shimelonis for The Nether at Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company.

Stefan Sittig for his choreography for West Side Story at The Little Theatre of Alexandria.

Deb Sivigny for her costumes for The Emperor’s Nightingale at Adventure Theatre.

Deb Sivigny for her set for Girl in the Red Corner at The Welders.

Don Slater for his lighting for The Lady With the Little Dog at Quotidian Theatre Company.

Terri Slivka for his props for The Boys in the Band at Dominion Stage.

Mark Smedley for his sound for Sister Act at Toby’s The Dinner Theatre of Columbia.

Robbie Snow for her costumes for Amadeus at Providence Players of Fairfax.

Thomas Sowers for his sound for Blackberry Winter at Forum Theatre.

Thomas Sowers for his sound for Collective Rage: A Play in Five Boops at Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company.

Thomas Sowers for his sound for The Man in the Iron Mask at Synetic Theater.

Paul Sportelli for his musical direction for Carousel at Arena Stage.

Timothy Splain for his musical direction for Mary Poppins at Olney Theatre Center.

Ivania Stack for her costumes for Angels in America Part 1: Millennium Approaches: a joint Production of Round House Theatre and Olney Theatre Center.

Ivania Stack for her costumes for Angels in America Part 2: Perestroika: a joint Production of Round House Theatre and Olney Theatre Center.

Ivania Stack for her costumes for King Ubu at Pointless Theatre Company.

Alice Stanley for her sound for Hamlet at Cohesion Theatre Company.

Scott Stark for his props for Nice Work if You Can Get It at The Arlington Players.

Luciana Stecconi for her set for When the Rain Stops Falling at 1st Stage.

Roy Steinman and Moe Conn for their set for The Lion in Winter at Vagabond Players.

Linda Swann for her costumes for Guys and Dolls at 2nd Star Productions.

Erik Teague for his costumes for Equus at Constellation Theatre Company.

Erik Teague for his costumes for Girl in the Red Corner at The Welders.

Eric Teague for his costumes for The Man in the Iron Mask at Synetic Theater.

Kristen Thompson for her lighting for Heroes & Monsters at Flying V Theatre.

Justin Thilman for his lighting for Les Liaisons Dangereuses at Audrey Herman’s Spotlighters Theatre.

Giorgos Tsappas for his set for Rameau’s Nephew at Spooky Action Theatre.

Irina Tsikurishvili for her choreography for Sleeping Beauty at Synetic Theater.

Ryan Tumulty for his choreography for Be Awesome: A Theatrical Mixtape of the 90s at Flying V.

Tara Jeanne Vallee for her choreography for Mary Poppins at Olney Theatre Center.

Septime Webre and David Palmer for their choreography for Bizet’s Carmen in Havana at The In Series.

Allan Sean Weeks for his lighting for American Idiot at The Keegan Theatre.

Allan Sean Weeks for his lighting for Next to Normal at The Keegan Theatre.

Allan Sean Weeks for his lighting for What We’re Up Against at The Keegan Theatre.

Sibyl Wickersheimer for her set for The Nether at Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company.

Tegan Williams and Brad Norris for their fight choreography for The Complete Deaths of William Shakespeare at Cohesion Theatre Company and Baltimore Shakespeare Factory.

Joanne Wilson for his props for H.M.S. Pinafore at 2nd Star Productions.

Michael Winch for his sound for Hugo Ball: a Dada puppet AdveNTuRe!!/?1!!?? at Pointless Theatre Company.

Jane Wingard for her set for Guys and Dolls at 2nd Star Productions.

Jane Wingard for her set for H.M.S. Pinafore at 2nd Star Productions.

Alan Wray for his sound design for To Kill a Mockingbird at The Little Theatre of Alexandria.

Alan Zemla for his set for The Game’s Afoot at Spotlighters Theatre.

Amanda Zieve for her lighting for Titanic The Musical at Signature Theatre.

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.

LINKS:
DCMetroTheaterArts’ Best of 2016 #1: Best Musicals in Professional Theaters in DC/MD/VA.

DCMetroTheaterArts’ Best of 2016 #2: Best Musicals In Community Theaters in DC/MD/VA.

DCMetroTheaterArts’ Best of 2016 #3: Best Musicals in Professional Theaters in Philadelphia, New York, Delaware, and New Jersey.

DCMetroTheaterArts’ Best of 2016 #4: Best Plays in Professional Theaters in DC/MD/VA.

DCMetroTheaterArts’ Best of 2016 #5: Best Plays In Community Theaters in DC/MD/VA.

DCMetroTheaterArts’ Best of 2016 #6: Best Plays in Professional Theaters in Philadelphia, New York, Delaware, and New Jersey.

DCMetroTheaterArts’ Best of 2016 #7: Best Performances and Ensembles in Musicals in Professional Theaters in DC/MD/VA.

DCMetroTheaterArts’ Best of 2016 #8: Best Performances in Musicals in Community Theaters in DC/MD/VA.

DCMetroTheaterArts’ Best of 2016 #9: Best Performances and Ensembles in Plays in Professional Theaters in DC/MD/VA.

DCMetroTheaterArts’ Best of 2016 #10: Best Direction in Musicals in Professional Theatres in DC/MD/VA.

DCMetroTheaterArts’ Best of 2016 #11: Best Performances and Ensembles in Plays and Musicals in Philadelphia, New York, Delaware, and New Jersey.

DCMetroTheaterArts’ Best of 2016 #12: Best Direction of Plays in Professional Theater in DC/MD/VA.

DCMetroTheaterArts’ Best of 2016 #13: Best Direction in Musicals and Plays in Community Theatres in DC/MD/VA.

DCMetroTheaterArts’ Best of 2016 #14: Best Design in Professional and Community Theaters in DC/VA/MD.

The Complete List of The ‘Best of 2015’ Honorees on DCMetroTheaterArts.

January 13, 2017
DCMetroTheaterArts’ Best of 2016 #9: Best Performances and Ensembles in Plays in Professional Theaters in DC/MD/VA

DCMetroTheaterArts’ Best of 2016 #9: Best Performances in Musicals in Professional Theaters in DC, MD, and VA Are:

Gassan Abbas in I Shall Not Hate at Mosaic Theater Company of DC.

Lizzi Albert as Anne Boleyn in Anne of the Thousand Days at Chesapeake Shakespeare Company.

Megan Anderson as Stella in A Streetcar Named Desire at Everyman Theatre.

Megan Anderson as Susan, Wait Until Dark at Everyman Theatre.

Mari Andrea as Mrai in Force Continuum at Cohesion Theatre.

Malcolm Anomnachi as Father in Force Continuum at Cohesion Theatre Company.

Laura Artesi as Dawn in Lobby Hero at 1st Stage.

Stori Ayers as Alma in Yellowman at Anacostia Playhouse.

Audrey Bertaux as Halo in Girl in the Red Corner at The Welders.

Audrey Bertaux and Chris Dinolfo in The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe at Adventure Theatre.

Jonathan Bock as Louis Ironson in Angels in America: Millennium Approaches and Perestroika Co-Produced by Round House Theatre and Olney Theatre Center.

Kathleen Butler as Marjorie in Marjorie Prime at Olney theatre Center.

Caitlin Carbone as Hamlet in Hamlet at Cohesion Theatre Company.

Nicolas Carra as Santiago Nasar in Chronicle of a Death Foretold at GALA Hispanic Theatre.

Evan Casey as Sam in The Flick at Signature Theatre.

Teresa Castracane as Kate Jerome in Broadway Bound at 1st Stage.

Staceyann Chin in MotherStruck at The Studio Theatre.

Avery Clark as Drew in Straight White Men at The Studio Theatre.

Caroline Stefanie Clay as Elizabeth in The Christians at Theater J.

Caroline Stefanie Clay as Mrs. Jennings in Sense & Sensibility at Folger Theatre.

Alina Collins Maldonado as China in El Paso Blue at GALA Hispanic Theatre.

Felicia Curry as Betty 5 in Collective Rage: A Play in Five Boops, at Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company.

Mike Daisey as Himself in The Trump Card at Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company.

Andy De as Lt. J.G. Daniel Kaffee in A Few Good Men at Off the Quill.

Ross Destiche as Alan Strang in Equus at Constellation Theatre Company.

Cori Dioquino as Lady Door in Neverwhere at Cohesion Theatre Company.

Michael J. Dombroski as Lt. Col. Nathan Jessup in A Few Good Men at Off the Quill.

Maggie Donnelly as Gina in Girl in the Red Corner at The Welders.

Shannon Dorsey and Erika Rose as Minnie and Dido in An Octoroon at Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company.

Shannon Dorsey as Betty in Cloud Nine at The Studio Theatre.

Shannon Dorsey as Hadeel in Kiss at Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company.

Suzzanne Douglas as Marquise de Merteuil in Les Liaisons Dangereuses at Center Stage

David Dubov as Anton Chekov in The Lady with the Little Dog at Quotidian Theatre Company.

Joe Duquette as Stalin in Collaborators at Spooky Action Theater.

Cassandra Dutt as Hunter in Neverwhere at Cohesion Theatre Company.

Liam Forde as Jason in Hand to God at The Studio Theatre.

Rick Foucheux as Big Daddy in Cat on a Hot Tin Roof at Round House Theatre.

Danny Gavigan as Stanley in A Streetcar Named Desire at Everyman Theatre.

Edward Gero as Sims in The Nether at Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company.

Edward Gero as Alonso the King of Naples in The Tempest at Shakespeare Theatre Company.

Kimberly Gilbert as Harper Pitt in Angels in America: Millennium Approaches and Perestroika Co-Produced by Round House Theatre and Olney Theatre Center.

Dominic Gladden as Othello in The Complete Deaths of William Shakespeare at Baltimore Shakespeare Factory and Cohesion Theatre Company.

Melanie Glickman as The Angel Islington/The Fop with No Name, Neverwhere at Cohesion Theatre.

Karen Grassle as Daisy Werthan in Driving Miss Daisy at Riverside Center for the Performing Arts.

Jonas David Grey as Marquis de Carabas in Neverwhere at Cohesion Theatre.

Jonas David Grey as Zombie Shakespeare in The Complete Deaths of William Shakespeare at Baltimore Shakespeare Factory/Cohesion Theatre Company.

Annie Grier as Jenny in The Christians at Theater J.

Bill Grimmette as Hoke Colburn in Driving Miss Daisy at Riverside Center for the Performing Arts.

Jose Guzman as Iago in Othello at Chesapeake Shakespeare Company.

Brent Harris as Vicomte de Valmont in Les Liaisons Dangereuses at Center Stage.

Christian Harris as Mother/Tamra Jane/Tina in Force Continuum at Cohesion Theatre Company.

Laura Harris as Rose in The Flick at Signature Theatre.

Deborah Hazlett as Sharon in The Roommate at Everyman Theatre.

Mitchell Hébert in Angels in America: Millennium Approaches and Perestroika Co-Produced by Round House Theatre and Olney Theatre Center.

Mitchell Hébert as Lou in Under the Skin at Everyman Theatre.

Ron Henegan as King Henry VIII in Anne of the Thousand Days at Chesapeake Shakespeare Company.

Bobby Hennenberg as Flip in Force Continuum at Cohesion Theatre.

Bobby Hennenberg as Mr. Vandemar in Neverwhere at Cohesion Theatre Company.

Alan Hoffman as Boolie Werthan in Driving Miss Daisy at Riverside Center for the Performing Arts.

Sharon Hope as Dot in Dot at Everyman Theatre.

Beth Hylton as Blanche in A Streetcar Named Desire at Everyman Theatre.

Beth Hylton as Robyn in The Roommate at Everyman Theatre.

Elliott Kashner as Roderigo in Othello at Chesapeake Shakespeare Company.

Saleh Karaman as Shavi in I Call My Brothers at Forum Theatre.

Alyssa Wilmoth Keegan as Maggie in Cat on a Hot Tin Roof at Round House Theatre.

Thomas Keegan as Joe Pitt in in Angels in America: Millennium Approaches and Perestroika Co-Produced by Round House Theatre and Olney Theatre Center.

Alyssa Wilmoth Keegan as Maggie in Cat on a Hot Tin Roof at Round House Theatre.

Thomas Keegan as Dan O’Brien and Eric Hissom as Paul Watson in The Body of an America at Theater J.

Emily Kester as Kia in The Last Schwartz at Theater J.

Carolyn Faye Kramer as Anne Frank in The Diary of Anne Frank at Olney Theatre Center.

Deidra LaWan Starnes as Myrna in Milk Like Sugar at Mosaic Theater Company of DC.

Brianna LaTourneau as Eliza in What We’re Up Against at The Keegan Theatre.

Briana Manente as Emilia in Othello at Chesapeake Shakespeare Company.

Lolita Marie as Dr. Judith B. Kaufman in An American Daughter at The Keegan Theatre.

Lolita Marie as Lena in brownsville song (b-side for tray) at Theater Alliance.

Sarah Marshall as Hannah Pitt and Ethel Rosenberg in Angels in America: Millennium Approaches and Perestroika Co-Produced by Round House Theatre and Olney Theatre Center.

Jason B. McIntosh as Othello in Othello at Chesapeake Shakespeare Company.

Eric M. Messner as Mike in Wait Until Dark at Everyman Theatre.

Vaughn Ryan Midder as Malik in Milk Like Sugar at Mosaic Theater Company of DC.

Dylan Morrison Meyers as Henry in When the Rain Stops Falling at 1st Stage.

Paul Morella as Otto Frank in The Diary of Anne Frank at Olney Theatre Center.

Alan Naylor as The Angel in Going to a Place Where You Already Are at Theater Alliance.

Bruce Randolph Nelson as Roat in Wait Until Dark at Everyman Theatre.

Luz Nicolas as Catalina in Cervantes: The Last Quixote at GALA Hispanic Theatre.

Luz Nicolas as Elizabeth Arden in Senorita y Madame at GALA Hispanic Theatre.

Jon Hudson Odom as Belize in Angels in America: Millennium Approaches and Perestroika Co-Produced by Round House Theatre and Olney Theatre Center.

John Hudson Odom as BJJ, George, and M’Closky in An Ocotoroon at Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company.

Sasha Olinick as Herb in The Last Schwartz at Theater J.

Patrick Page as Prospero in The Tempest at the Shakespeare Theatre Company.

Tom Patterson as Roland and Lily Balatincz as Marianne in Constellations at The Studio Theatre.

Matthew Payne as Mr. Croup in Neverwhere at Cohesion Theatre Company.

Madeleine Potter as Amanda Wingfield in The Glass Menagerie at Ford’s Theatre.

Paul Reisman as Bullgakov in Collaborators at Spooky Action Theater.

Maria Rizzo as Betty and Rachel Zampelli as Kendra in The Gulf at Signature Theatre.

Jonno Roberts as Iago in Othello at Shakespeare Theatre Company.

Susan Rome as Marjorie in Hand to God at Studio Theatre.

Susan Rome as Gorgeous in The Sisters Rosensweig at Theater J.

Michael Russotto as Pastor Paul in The Christians at Theater J.

Michael Russotto as Mervyn in The Sisters Rosensweig at Theater J.

Noah Schaefer as Eugene Jerome in Broadway Bound at 1st Stage.

Jeymee Semiti as The Stagehand-in-Charge in Straight White Men at The Studio Theatre.

Tia Shearer as Matt and Katie Jeffries as Ben in Matt & Ben at Flying V.

Stan Shulman as “Gramps” Ben Epstein in Broadway Bound at 1st Stage.

Ashley Smith as Tony Wendice in Dial ‘M’ for Murder at Olney Theatre Center.

Robert Bowen Smith as ‘Him’ and Ian Le Valley as ‘Me’ in Rameau’s Nephew at Spooky Action Theater.

Matthew Sparacino as Bill in Lobby Hero at 1st Stage.

Tom Story in Angels in America: Millennium Approaches and Perestroika Co-Produced by Round House Theatre and Olney Theatre Center.

Tom Story in Fully Committed at MetroStage.

Nisi Sturgis as Margot for Dial ‘M’ for Murder at Olney Theatre Center.

Ryan Swain as Paul in Six Degrees of Separation at The Keegan Theatre.

Sara Dabney Tisdale as Gabrielle York in When the Rain Stops Falling at 1st Stage.

Sara Topham as Ariel in The Tempest at Shakespeare Theatre Company.

Tony Tsendeas as The Master, Mrs. Grose, and Miles in The Turn of the Screw at Annapolis Shakespeare Company.

Dawn Ursula as The Angel in Angels in America: Millennium Approaches and Perestroika Co-Produced by Round House Theatre and Olney Theatre Center.

Dawn Ursula as Shelly in Dot at Everyman Theatre.

William Vaughan as Dreaming Man and Skylar in The Flick at Signature Theatre.

Tyasia Velines as Keera in Milk Like Sugar at Mosaic Theater Company of DC.

Alan Wade as Inspector Hubbard in Dial ‘M’ for Murder at Olney Theatre Center.

Justin Weaks as Associate Pastor Joshua in The Christians at Theater J.

Gillian Williams as Presidente de Tourvel in Les Liaisons Dangereuses at Center Stage.

Craig Wallace in District Merchants at Folger Theatre.

Craig Wallace as Louis Armstrong in Satchmo at Mosaic Theatre Company of DC.

Michael Willis as Elder Jay in The Christians at Theater J.

Michael Willis as Jon in Marjorie Prime at Olney Theatre Center.

Wendy Wilmer as the Mother in The Pelican at Arcturus theater Company.

Renee Elizabeth Wilson as Talisha in Milk Like Sugar at Mosaic Theater Company of DC.

Gregory Wooddell as Brick in Cat on a Hot Tin Roof at Round House Theatre.

BEST OF 2016 ENSEMBLES OF A PLAY IN DC/MD/VA

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 Perestroika Co-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.

Equus at 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 The Real Inspector Hound at 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 Rosensweig at 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 Falling at 1st 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.

LINKS:
DCMetroTheaterArts’ Best of 2016 #1: Best Musicals in Professional Theaters in DC/MD/VA.

DCMetroTheaterArts’ Best of 2016 #2: Best Musicals In Community Theaters in DC/MD/VA.

DCMetroTheaterArts’ Best of 2016 #3: Best Musicals in Professional Theaters in Philadelphia, New York, Delaware, and New Jersey.

DCMetroTheaterArts’ Best of 2016 #4: Best Plays in Professional Theaters in DC/MD/VA.

DCMetroTheaterArts’ Best of 2016 #5: Best Plays In Community Theaters in DC/MD/VA.

DCMetroTheaterArts’ Best of 2016 #6: Best Plays in Professional Theaters in Philadelphia, New York, Delaware, and New Jersey.

DCMetroTheaterArts’ Best of 2016 #7: Best Performances and Ensembles in Musicals in Professional Theaters in DC/MD/VA.

DCMetroTheaterArts’ Best of 2016 #8: Best Performances in Musicals in Community Theaters in DC/MD/VA.

DCMetroTheaterArts’ Best of 2016 #9: Best Performances and Ensembles in Plays in Professional Theaters in DC/MD/VA.

January 2, 2017
Charm City Fringe Review: ‘The Shoemaker’s Holiday’ at Baltimore Shakespeare Factory

The Shoemaker’s Holiday: A Firking Funny Production at BSF

This weekend, I had the good fortune to be at Baltimore Shakespeare Factory (“BSF”), as part of the first audience ever to see The Shoemaker’s Holiday in Baltimore. I attend regional premieres all the time, so what’s so special about this one? It wasn’t a new play by a new playwright. BSF’s current production was first produced 417 years ago and hasn’t been performed very much since.

The Shoemaker’s Holiday Playwright Thomas Dekker. Image courtesy of Baltimore Shakespeare Factory.

The Shoemaker’s Holiday, or The Gentle Craft, was written by Thomas Dekker, a contemporary of William Shakespeare. The play was first performed by The Lord Admiral’s Men, The Bard’s rival theater company, in 1599. It later played for Queen Elizabeth I, but was then banned during The Restoration… for being too dirty. Nowadays, I doubt it would get a PG-13 rating, but in Elizabethan England, the lewd jokes, double entendres, and sexy wordplay got it put on the shelf for years. But now it’s back, it’s in Baltimore, and it’s bawdy, naughty fun.

The Shoemaker’s Holiday is loosely based on the story of a real-life craftsman named Simon Eyre. In class-obsessed 16th Century England, he is a commoner who manages to rise to the position of Lord Mayor of London. Alongside this proud shoemaker’s movin’-on-up tale, are two love stories – Roland/Rose and Ralph/Jane. Roland Lacy, the chronically overspending nephew of the Earl of Lincoln, is of aristocratic birth. Rose is the daughter of Roger Oatley, who is the Lord Mayor of London prior to Eyre’s fortuitous ascension. It sounds pretty fancy, but as we learn with Eyre, you don’t have to be noble-born to become Mayor. It’s a job that a commoner can achieve with effort and good fortune. Predictably, the lovers’ families totally oppose their union. On Roland’s side, it’s because of the class mismatch; on Rose’s side, it’s because Roland’s snooty uncle has convinced Rose’s dad that Roland is a squandering spendthrift unsuited for marriage.

Ralph is one of Eyre’s journeymen; he makes shoes for a living. He’s recently married Jane, his very emotional wife. When Ralph gets notice he’s been drafted and is being sent off to war in France, Jane is bereft. The couple, assisted by Eyre, beg Roland, who is a minor muckety-muck in the military, to give Ralph a pass. Roland is unable to keep the young couple together and Ralph ships out to France. Roland, himself under orders to go to France, decides instead to desert the military and find Rose.

Dekker’s play employs many of the same devices as fellow playwright of the time, William Shakespeare. There’s impersonation, conspiracy, misdirection, social climbing, and seemingly-doomed romance. Convoluted hijinks abound and the King even shows up with some sage words. Pleasantly unlike Shakespeare, though, everyone lives!

Attending a production at BSF is always a refreshing change of pace. As they explain, “It is the objective of Baltimore Shakespeare Factory to recreate, as closely as is possible, the staging conditions, spirit, and atmosphere created by Shakespeare’s theatre company during the Elizabethan and Jacobean periods.” This means, among other things, that the house lights stay up; there’s a minimal (if any) set; the actors’ genders don’t have to correlate to their characters’; and the costumes are gorgeous (thanks to outstanding Costume Designer and BSF Managing Director, April Forrer).

There’s also pre-show, in-show, and intermission music – all performed by the energetic, multi-talented cast. Music Director Jamie Horrell has picked the perfect music to complement The Shoemaker’s Holiday. My favorites were Emily Su’s lovely rendition of Lorde’s “Royals” and the full-cast mashup of “These Boots Are Made for Walking” by Nancy Sinatra, “Blue Suede Shoes” by Elvis Presley, and “Boogie Shoes” by the disco-riffic KC and The Sunshine Band. If you want more info on the performance experience BSF creates, you can read about it here.

The cast of The Shoemaker’s Holiday. Photo by Will Kirk.

The large ensemble that Tom Delise – both Director of the play and Artistic Director of BSF – gathered for this show is excellent. Each actor performed well, bringing tremendous energy and exuberance to the rowdy, raucous show.

Of particular note is Conrad Deitrick as Simon Eyre. Deitrick presents Eyre’s garrulous grandiosity in a way that fills the entire stage. He doesn’t come off as an irritating blowhard, though. Deitrick captures his character’s genuinely good heart and his undeniable zest for life, whether it be as a crafter of lovely shoes or as Lord Mayor of one of the most important cities in the world. Deitrick’s performance makes Eyre a particularly endearing character; the kind of person who may talk way too loudly at parties, but whose good fortune you truly enjoy celebrating.

Chris Cotterman, an accomplished Member of the BSF Company, plays Roland Lacy. Cotterman ably shows Lacy’s determined single-mindedness in his quest to reunite with his love, Rose. However, it’s in his turns as Lacy’s alter-ego, Hans the Dutch shoemaker, that Cotterman really shines. His portrayal of Hans is as goofy and funny as the absurd situation Dekker devised for him. Loose-limbed, Cotterman’s physical movements and easy manner match Hans’ amusing Dutchglish form of communication beautifully.

As Simon Eyre’s wife, Margery, Bethany Mayo does an excellent job showing how her character evolves throughout the play. Starting as a sassy craftsman’s wife, Margery grows incrementally more mannerly as her husband climbs rung after rung of the social ladder. In each of her scenes, Mayo adeptly demonstrates her character’s increasingly genteel manner. Also becoming more refined as the play unfolds are Margery’s lovely garments, courtesy of skilled Costume Designer April Forrer.

The female halves of the couples torn asunder, Allie Press as Rose and BSF Company Member Tegan Williams as Jane, adeptly serve in numerous parts in The Shoemaker’s Holiday. They each perform their multiple roles well, but are at their best as the lovelorn ladies. Williams, in particular, impressed me as she transformed from being over-the-top forlorn at the thought of her husband’s departure to being resigned and detached as the long wait for his return makes her fear the worst.

In a production full of sterling performances, BSF Company Member Ian Blackwell Rogers wins the day as shoemaking journeyman, Firk – a character who never misses an opportunity to crack a lewd joke or down a pint of ale. Rogers’ embodiment of his character goes from the top of his head to tips of his toes. He is exceptionally animated, confidently crass, and makes patently juvenile sight gags actually funny. Rogers nails it.

I’m not much of a potty humor kind of gal. I wouldn’t expect a show replete with prickly puns, fart jokes and references to names like Cicely Bumtrinket to tickle me as much as it did. Part of it is probably the Old English, but mostly I think it’s BSF’s commitment. You’ve got to go all-in to sell this level of bawdy humor. BSF pulls off all the bits that got the play banned in Britain back in the day. Well done.

The Shoemaker’s Holiday has all the ingredients for a first-rate night of lighthearted theater merriment: a festive story, great acting, spirited singing, perfectly-timed sight gags, and straight-up silly comedy. While opening weekend was part of the Charm City Fringe Festival – which you should absolutely check out – the remaining performances make up the end of Baltimore Shakespeare Factory’s 2016 season. Be sure to catch a performance of The Shoemaker’s Holiday before it closes on November 20th. It’ll give you a naughty, 417-year-old treat to be thankful for when you’re counting your blessings on the 24th.

Running Time: Approximately two hours, with one intermission.

The Shoemaker’s Holiday plays through November 20, 2016, at Baltimore Shakespeare Factory, performing at The Great Hall at St. Mary’s Community Center – 900 Roland Avenue, in Baltimore, MD. Tickets can be purchased at the box office or online.

Note: Pre-Show entertainment begins approximately 30 minutes prior to curtain and an entertaining, optional Talk Back with the actors follows each performance. Additionally, free, pre-show lectures on The Shoemaker’s Holiday will be presented at 7 PM each Saturday. On Saturday, November 12th, the speaker will be Cass Morris, Academic Resources Manager at the American Shakespeare Center. On Saturday, November 19th, the speaker will be Tom Delise, Baltimore Shakespeare Factory’s Artistic Director.

LINK:
Get Your Fringe On: Fifth Annual Charm City Fringe Festival Preview by Patricia Mitchell.

November 7, 2016
Meet the Cast of Avant Bard’s ‘TAME.’ Part 2: Brendan Edward Kennedy

In Part 2 of a series of interviews with the cast of Avant Bard’s production of TAME., meet Brendan Edward Kennedy.

Joel: Where have local audiences seen you perform recently on stage?

Brendan Edward Kennedy. Photo courtesy of Avant Bard.

Brendan: This past year, I’ve played d’Artagnan in Chesapeake Shakespeare Company’s Three Musketeers, Florizel in Baltimore Shakespeare Factory’s The Winter’s Tale, and Kulygin in Annapolis Shakespeare Company’s Three Sisters. Regular Avant Bard theatergoers might also recognize me as Gerardo from last season’s production of Friendship Betrayed.

Why did you want to be part of the cast of TAME.?

When I first read the script, TAME. struck me as a visceral, gripping text with such wonderfully flawed characters. I had a lot of fun getting my head around them and their lives. So, of course, I needed to be a part of getting the play up on its feet. As harrowing as it is in subject matter, I think it’s absolutely vital that this story gets told. I’m very grateful to take part in that telling.

Who do you play in the show? How do you relate to him?

I play Patrick Vacus, a genial, charismatic, firebrand preacher and minister-to-be whose dark past is buried in a shallow grave. He is brought in by a family to help bring their daughter Cathryn (played by Jill Tighe) back from her bouts with depression and wild self-destruction, only to get caught up in the fury himself. It’s hard to pinpoint how I would relate to a character who, in real life, I would not like very much at all. But one overlap lies in our experiences with the Christian faith, different though they are. While Patrick’s faith is one of born-again evangelism, full of passion, faith healing, brimstone, and blood-of-the-Lamb, I was raised Catholic—the sort that, while not particularly devout, was of the “I could be better” breed. My family would celebrate the major holidays, for sure, but maybe would go to the later Masses on Sundays (if at all) and be a couple years overdue for Confession.

I’d say I’m more Catholish these days, but if there’s one thing I’ve gleaned from this upbringing, it’s that the temptation to sin is everywhere. Hell, Catholics believe we come out the womb as sinners. However: I was taught that for every chance to indulge in mankind’s baser urges, there’s an equal chance to rise above that temptation and lead a better life (in God’s eyes, at least). Not to get too ecumenical about it, but I think Patrick and I both know that. The thing with Patrick is that he believes his own abusive temptations might be the key to Cat’s redemption. Things unravel from there.

What’s the show about from the point of view of your character?

To Patrick, it’s a story about control: Of himself, of Cat, of his place among the family, of his place in the community, of his vices, of his soul.

Playwright Jonelle Walker wrote TAME. in response to Shakespeare’s The Taming of the Shrew. For you as a performer, what do you especially like about her play and your role in it?

I like how complicated and nuanced Patrick’s motives are in healing Cat. Jonelle has crafted this gem of a character who is just as human as the boy next door—and, potentially, just as dangerous.

TAME. is set in the 1960s—a time before the sexual revolution, the Women’s Movement, Stonewall, and other dramatic social changes. What does the play have to say to audiences today?

Women will face insurmountable odds to prove their strength, their character, their resolve, and their grit, often to the point of utter oblivion. Things may have gotten better from the time of TAME. but with so many Patricks still in the world, that struggle remains. By turning to the past, Jonelle has shown a harsh light on the ills of the present so all may see them for how truly terrible they are.

What is your favorite line or lines that your character says, and what is your favorite line that someone else says in the show?

“I was not finished speaking,” spoken by Patrick to Cathryn during their first meeting. It’s a line that sets the tone for the rest of their relationship. The stage direction says he speaks “like a thunderclap.” There’s also “I am being myself—that’s the problem!” spoken by Cathryn to Patrick. I feel like that line sums up Cat’s entire ordeal during the play.

What are you doing next on the stage?

Up next, I’ll be playing Arbaces in A King and No King and Bergetto in ’Tis Pity She’s a Whore as part of Brave Spirits Theatre’s 20162017 “Incest Rep.” Y’know, since my theatrical career couldn’t make any weirder of an arc.

What do you want audiences to take with them after seeing TAME.?

I want them to go and find every Patrick Vacus they can. Then: Stamp them out.

TAME. plays through December 11, 2016, at Avant Bard performing at Gunston Arts Center, Theatre Two – 2700 South Lang Street, in Arlington, VA. For tickets, call the box office at (703) 418-4808, or purchase them online.

LINK:
Meet the Cast of Avant Bard’s ‘TAME.’ Part 1: John Strange.

November 3, 2016
Interviews from London Below: Inside Cohesion Theatre’s ‘Neverwhere’: Part 8 – Director Brad Norris

In Part Eight of a series of interviews with cast members of Cohesion Theatre Company’s Neverwhere, meet Director Brad Norris.

Patricia: Please introduce yourself and tell our readers about some of the many hats you’ve worn in the Baltimore theatre community.

Brad Norris.

Brad: Norris. Brad Norris. My name is Brad Norris. I’m bad at constructing thoughts into sentences. I’m the director of Neverwhere, as well as a Co-Founder and Artistic Producer with Cohesion Theatre Company. I hail from Indianapolis, and spent about 10 years doing theatre and dance in Chicago before moving to Baltimore back in 2009. In addition to directing, designing and building with Cohesion, I directed Edward II at Spotlighters, which birthed the idea for Cohesion. Prior and simultaneous to that, I worked as the Events Manager at Center Stage. I was a company member and Artistic Director with the Jewish Theatre Workshop for several years, where I directed and acted in several productions. Later this summer, I’ll also be teaching a week-long stage combat workshop for young adults with Baltimore Shakespeare Factory. I’m also actively working with several other members of the theatre community on reigniting an organization of area theatres similar to the old Baltimore Theatre Alliance. Hats. I wear hats.

What made you select Neverwhere as one of the shows Cohesion would tackle this year?

Lots of discussions and debates. It mostly came down to finding a show that I wanted to direct that would push us and be exciting for the company, while also appealing to new audiences. We broke a lot of new ground this season, and tackled a lot of big issues, and examined what theatre could be and do. We wanted something that would challenge us, but also be a fun ride for people who came along. Neverwhere has been one of my favorite novels for years, and this adaptation was done by Lifeline Theatre in Chicago, which is a group that I really respect and admire (big shout out to Chris and Mandy Walsh whom I love from so much distance). So when I reached out to get a copy of it, I was blown away with how it moved and the way it took this story and crammed it all into something we could actually accomplish on stage. From there it was mostly about convincing ourselves that we could do it. Whatever “it” was. Everyone who heard we were doing it was super excited, so that enthusiasm throughout the season really helped us to feel like we had made a good choice, but it also put a lot of pressure on us to deliver.

Cassandra Dutt (Hunter). Photo by Shealyn Jae Photography.

I mean this respectfully, particularly as you guys did a truly fantastic job on the show, but what on Earth were you thinking?! It’s only Cohesion’s second season in existence; you’re a small company and you undertook an enormous show.

Yeah, that’s totally fair. We asked ourselves that question so many times. From the beginning of this company though, we have tried to live in and foster a creative environment that doesn’t allow for anyone saying something can’t be done. Our official company motto is “setting unrealistic goals, and then meeting them.” That has been born out of our very first achievements, and we’ve seen it play out over and over again. We still don’t believe our hype or spend much time patting ourselves on the back. There’s always more work to do, and success just emboldens us to try more. With Neverwhere I have to give full credit to the commitment and dedication of the cast and creative team who jumped in for the one of the longest and most creative production process I’ve ever been a part of. We just took it one idea at a time. One piece at a time. We begged and borrowed and built and got a new theatre space. Then we built the world one bloody brick at a time. I still see it that way a bit, so it’s hard for me to view the whole, or to see what the audience sees when they come. I’ll be sad when it’s over, but I am so very proud of what we achieved. And now we’ll be able to look back at this show when we come up against future obstacles and say “remember when we did Neverwhere? This is nothing compared to that.”

In your Director’s Note for this production, you shared your great appreciation and admiration for Playwright Neil Gaiman. Do you feel like Cohesion has done Neverwhere justice? Do you think Gaiman would approve?

I thought about that a lot during the process. I wanted him to come see this and also was terrified of what he’d say if he did. I think there’s a huge challenge in taking something you’ve loved in your head for so long and trying to put it on stage. You have to be open to collaboration and new and different ideas from all sides, while still keeping your vision on track. In many ways, this show is not the Neverwhere I see in my mind when I read the book anymore. I’m sure it’s not the Neverwhere that each cast or crew member saw either. But I think everyone borrowed and adapted, and did their very best to stay true to the characters and locations and ideas so much that what happens on stage has become what Neverwhere is now to so many new audiences. And they’ve loved it. So in a way, I think what justice we’ve done is to pass the story along. To present it for the first time to people in just as gripping and exciting a way as Gaiman does. We are now a part of what Neverwhere is to others, and that (pardon my language) is really fucking cool. I think Neil would approve of that.

What were some of the challenges you faced in making Neverwhere a reality?

Oh, so many. I mean, this was the biggest and most expensive production we’ve ever put on. We had budgets we’ve never had. We did things we had no business doing. And we were testing the limits of a space that was basically brand new to us. We designed and constructed massive moving set pieces out of steel. We installed grid work for our lighting equipment. We had an electrician come and rewire the space for more power (and when they did it wrong the first time we had them come back to fix it). We installed a full floor in the space to play on. So much. And that’s all just some of the technical things. There were costumes for over 30 characters, props and set locations for dozens of spaces. We built a two-person wearable beast of London. And the cast lived with these characters for the better part of the last 6 months as we did book clubs and table work. Honestly if I sit down and think about all the things we accomplished and all the things we made happen that shouldn’t have worked, and that other people might have said we couldn’t do, then I’ll be writing a novel as long as Neverwhere before I’m done. It was a lot. I am proud of every person who helped for what they did and their boldness in tackling this.

Bobby Henneberg (Mr Vandema) and Cassandra Dutt (Hunter). Photo by Shealyn Jae Photography.

You seemed to use every inch of the theater in Neverwhere. How did the physical attributes of your new performance space contribute to (or hinder) your ability to stage the show how you envisioned it?

I don’t even remember how I thought about this show before this space. I think we always knew we wanted to have levels, but the moving set pieces were really made possible by this space and room we had to work in. It was always important to me to put the audience right in the middle of the action, so that fed into the layout of the space. Once we had that, we didn’t have an inch to waste. We were really fortunate that we found the space we did with the height it had and the ability to create a floor space of our own that spanned the room. And I have to say that the folks at United Evangelical Church really trusted us and gave us so much freedom to make the space what we wanted it to be. In order to visualize the massive moves and the many locations we had to go to, I actually took Kel’s set drawings and built them out of Lego so that we could have them in the rehearsal room with us and I could show the cast what we would be doing from the very beginning. The movement of the show became such an important element, so it helped so much to see all the moves in small scale for weeks before having to actually move the boxes.

Part of Cohesion’s mission is creative collaboration between companies. How does this principle influence your approach to directing? Were there ideas that cast members presented that you were able to integrate into the production?

The first thing I stress to the cast at the beginning of the rehearsal process is that the best idea in the room is the best idea in the room. I’m not god, I’m just the one trying to create a collaborative environment, so I very much encourage discussion and creativity. Especially on a project like this, there’s no way I can create the lives of all these characters on my own. This is an ensemble piece where the actors really have to take responsibility for their characters and the way they present them on stage. I’m there to guide them and let them know what is and isn’t working, and I have a big idea in my head, but I always think an actor works better when they feel connected to something they have created, and an idea they were responsible for. The Floating Markets are almost entirely the creation and improvisation of this cast shining through. I really love the energy they generate from the audience every night. That being said, there’s no moment on stage that doesn’t have something that the cast thought of. Probably the one I smile at the most though is when Bobby Henneberg as Mr. Vandemar finishes eating his rat, and then proceeds to take out his tools in an attempt to perform some “tutelary dentistry” on Richard Mayhew. It was a brilliant moment of comedy, and it was Bobby all the way.

What have you enjoyed most about this experience since beginning rehearsals?

The commitment of everyone involved. No one said “no.” Ever. Casey Dutt had never picked up a quarterstaff, or done any stage combat really before this show, and she just smiled, put on her determined face and got to work. Now she’s the baddest ass in Baltimore. Joseph Coracle injured his neck in the weeks leading up to opening, but he kept climbing ladders and getting kicked and hit and choked until he felt better and we kept going. People overcame their doubts and fears and just did, over and over again. And now this show is a beast that works. That made me so very amazed and made me want to work a 100% at every moment of every day.

Are there specific moments from this process that you know you’re going to cherish and remember for a long time? Can you share any of them?

Yes. There are so many I’ll treasure when I sit down to remember all the things we did. Working with Stage Manager Heather Lynn Peacock every day. Seeing my good friend Jon Rubin create so much wonderful violence for this show. Watching Haley Horton paint (seriously I could just watch that girl paint for hours, she makes such beautiful things). Visiting Lewis Shaw for weapons with Bobby Henneberg and having Lewis talk to us about Neverwhere, because he knows it all inside and out, then him letting us use that amazing crossbow of his. But mostly I spent so much time with our TD, Lana Riggins putting this show together. She kept me organized and kept me fed when I couldn’t do it myself. Lana and I went to the Canton Ace Hardware for something almost every day, and I loved those trips. If you haven’t been to the Canton Ace, I can’t recommend it enough. Seriously just go and marvel at their collection of sodas. One day though, Lana and I had to go visit DS Pipe and Supply to get our grid pipe re-cut and threaded, and it was glorious. We both just fell in love with that huge warehouse full of steel and pipe. I can’t really explain it. It sounds weird, but it was a moment you had to be there for, and only Lana and I were.

What has impressed you most about your cast?

Their dedication and drive to do amazing work. I think the thing that makes me smile the most after the show is when someone comes up to me to say they loved it and then they say “and this cast… wow.” That’s how I felt every day of rehearsals. We lost power in the building one night and we did at least another hour of a combat rehearsal by cell phone flashlight. These folks don’t quit, and they don’t settle for their second best. If you are a producer or director and you’re looking for a great actor to work with, you couldn’t go wrong with anyone in this cast. But I get first dibs.

In addition to performing one or more roles, the cast was responsible for moving those giant boxes – often with several people aboard – back and forth across the stage. How did they keep their energy level and precision so steady for 3 hours? Was backstage stocked with Power Bars and Gatorade?

You know I was surprised the first night I didn’t watch the show and stayed backstage at what a zen-like environment it was. With all the changes and things, you’d think it would be only slightly organized chaos from one moment to the next, but these folks just know exactly what they need to do and do it. It doesn’t matter if it’s the fifth costume or makeup change this act, or the seventh reorientation of a 1000+ pound rolling steel box, they do it all with precision, and then they go knock your socks off with the characters they’ve created. At the end of each night everyone is tired and drenched in sweat, but really this show generates its own sort of super human energy, to the point where you go home and are up for a few hours just still buzzing from it all. For Industry Night on Tuesday, we did introduce Klondike Bars into the back stage environment. Ice cream and pie win every time.

Jonas David Grey (Marquis de Carabas). Photo by Shealyn Jae Photography.

How does the work of your designers help to tell the story and bring your vision to the stage?

It goes without saying that the design team on this production was outstanding. If not for their foolhardy energy in tackling this massive production, we wouldn’t have been halfway to where we are now. I think that just like reading a book, everyone sees a character or location differently in their mind, but some things are constant and iconic. It was the work of the designers to bring that same sense of iconic images to the stage while also leaving space for the audience’s own imagination to help create some of the elements. In that sense, things like Costumes and Props had very specific tasks and in some cases very specific descriptions from the novel to draw from to make their work as fully-realized as possible.

On the other end of the spectrum, with sets and lights, we needed to suggest locations rather than fully create them. And I love how the combination of the real and suggested elements puts the focus on the characters and their realities, while still leaving the audience a sense of wonder and suspension of disbelief. I was also pretty pleased that a lot of the work I did as sound designer got to happen late in the process so I saw how so many elements were working together already and I could just come in with sounds to add a little final touch to a moment or environment. The whole process was really special, and each of these designers are so very imaginative and willing to go to places that are scary and dangerous.

In addition to directing Neverwhere, you were also the Sound Designer. Why did you decide to take on that role instead of bringing someone in to handle it?

Well, I didn’t want it at first. I tried to get two other people on board, but both fell through, one after the other. After that, I knew I could achieve what I wanted, and we were running low on time to bring a new designer on board, so I took it on. It was a welcome break, actually, when I finally got to sit down and craft a soundscape for the show. At that point, the actors were in such a good place and the rest of the elements had come together so wonderfully that I felt a little useless, so it was like getting to craft something again at the end of the process. I don’t recommend it, but I was happy with the way it turned out.

Why do you think audiences should come see the show?

I really don’t know. I could say something self-important about the piece and what a gargantuan feat we’ve accomplished, and what the piece says about being human. But really I think it’s just a fun ride for an audience member to take. It’s not going to solve the world’s problems or anything, but at least for one final weekend, I can’t think of a better way to spend three hours than this. I will miss it when it’s gone, and I don’t want anyone else to miss their chance to see it.

What’s next for you? Do you get a rest or are you right back to planning for Cohesion’s third season?

Season three planning took a break for a while, so yes, that’s the first priority. I’m looking forward to getting a little bit of sleep, then teaching for Baltimore Shakespeare Factory this summer. And then I’m taking a real break. I won’t be directing next season for Cohesion, mostly because I want to give other directors a chance to work with us. I could also stand the time off to do something new theatrically. So, I’m writing a new work that is actually going to be quite epic in scope. This is the first public forum I’ve explained this in, so EXCLUSIVE! I’m creating a five-part play series called The Iron Race Pentology. The first installment is called The Golden Race, and I’ve set myself a deadline of Fall 2017 for its public reveal. So I’ve got about a year and a half-ish. It’s an original work that’s not based on any existing story, but it does weave in a lot of real historical elements. I won’t say more than that about it right now though. So that’s what’s coming for me.

—
BIO: Brad Norris (Director, Sound Design) is a Co-Founding Artistic Producer of Cohesion and holds a B.A. in Theatre from Columbia College Chicago. He is a member and Advanced Actor Combatant of the Society of American Fight Directors. Brad’s most recent work includes performing and Fight Choreographing Ham-let with Cohesion, The Complete Deaths of William Shakespeare with Baltimore Shakespeare Factory and Cohesion, Directing Men on Boats and Feathers and Teeth as part of ParityFest Baltimore 2015, and Directing Cohesion’s production of 13 Dead Husbands. He is an avid fan of pie, board games, and you for supporting the arts. He loves his wife and two children very much, and is looking forward to seeing them again once Neverwhere is done. Brad currently has no projects lined up for 2016/17. Wanna hire him?

Neverwhere plays through June 19, 2016 at Cohesion Theatre, performing at United Evangelical Church – 3200 Dillon Street, in Baltimore, MD. Tickets can be purchased at the door or online.

LINKS:
Review of Neverwhere on DCMetroTheaterArts by Patricia Mitchell.

Interviews from London Below: Inside Cohesion Theatre’s ‘Neverwhere’: Part 1: Joseph Coracle.

Interviews from London Below: Inside Cohesion Theatre’s ‘Neverwhere’: Part 2: Cori Dioquino.

Interviews from London Below: Inside Cohesion Theatre’s ‘Neverwhere’: Part 3: Jonas David Grey.

Interviews from London Below: Inside Cohesion Theatre’s ‘Neverwhere’: Part 4: Matthew Lindsay Payne.

Interviews from London Below: Inside Cohesion Theatre’s ‘Neverwhere’: Part 5: Bobby Henneberg.

Interviews from London Below: Inside Cohesion Theatre’s ‘Neverwhere’: Part 6: Cassandra Dutt.

Interviews from London Below: Inside Cohesion Theatre’s ‘Neverwhere’: Part 7: Melanie Glickman.

Interviews from London Below: Inside Cohesion Theatre’s ‘Neverwhere’: Part 8 – Director Brad Norris.

June 17, 2016
Lizzi Albert and Sue Struve on Appearing in ‘Collected Stories’ at Peter’s Alley Theatre Productions

Lizzi Albert and Sue Struve takes us on their journey of preparing for their roles and appearing in Collected Stories at Peter’s Alley Theatre Productions.

Lizzi Albert (Lisa Morrison) and Sue Struve (Ruth Steiner). Photo by David Jung.

Joel: Please introduce yourselves and tell our readers where they may have seen you perform on local stages.

Lizzi Albert.

Lizzi: For the last several years I’ve worked mainly with Chesapeake Shakespeare Company in Baltimore, but I’ve also performed at Constellation Theater Company, the American Century Theater, and Barabbas Theater. My next role will be as the Chorus in Barabbas’s production of Henry V at Capital Fringe this summer.

Sue: I’ve been performing in the D.C.-Baltimore-Annapolis region for many years. I’ve worked at Spooky Action Theater, Baltimore Shakespeare Factory, Annapolis Shakespeare Company, Compass Rose Theater, and Bay Theatre Company, as well as the Capital Fringe Festival and other venues.

What is it about Donald Margulies’ Collected Stories that made you want to be in this production?

Lizzi: I get offered a lot of roles that are like Lisa in the first scene–insecure, ditzy, worshipfully deferential to the authority figure in the room. To have the playwright, via the character of Ruth, say, “Nuh-uh, that’s crap, what else do you have going on in there,” and to then get to explore what’s behind that facade and who this character really is in all her complexity and intelligence and contradictions, is something you almost never see. I jumped at the chance.

Sue Struve.

Sue: Ruth Steiner, the character I play, goes through some major changes during the course of the play, and I wanted to explore how she responds to them and how her relationship with Lisa changes–and to share these discoveries with the Peter’s Alley audiences.

What is the play about from the point of view of your character?

Lizzi: The play is about a lot of things, but I think the biggest question for Lisa is: how do you live as an artist? Do they operate by different rules than other people? What happens when you put your art above everything else? Throughout the play we see Ruth mentoring Lisa on these questions just as much if not more than the craft of composition and the practical questions of getting published.

Sue: My character might say the play is about a teacher who nurtures and befriends a gifted student, who inexplicably betrays her teacher.

How do you relate to your character?

Lizzi: “How to live as an artist” is probably the question I devote the most brain space to on a daily basis. But I also relate to Lisa’s journey in terms of how she presents herself. I certainly had experiences when I was younger of people saying to me, “Wow, you’re a lot smarter than I thought you were when I met you,” or “Your dumb blonde act had me fooled.” I was never consciously trying to project that, but I think young women are socialized to believe that adorable and nonthreatening is preferable to presenting yourself as a serious adult with ideas, and it takes some work to break that habit.

Sue: I connect with Ruth’s down-to-earth sensibility, her idealized memories, and her faith in the next generation.

What personal experiences did you bring to your performance? Did you base your performance on a family member, or friend, or someone else?

Lizzi: I’ve definitely been guilty of downplaying my intelligence and relying on charm to win people over, and I’ve seen it in my friends as well (though most of us have grown out of it by now, fortunately). I’ve also had experiences where I find have to put some distance between myself and someone who’s been a wonderful mentor to me for the sake of my own growth. Fortunately, it’s never been as dramatic as it is in the play, but it’s always a tricky dynamic to navigate.

Sue: This play is SO rich with human emotion and response! Playwright Donald Margulies made it easy to color my character with my own experiences and feelings. I have a wonderful, talented daughter who is Lisa’s age, and the thought of our close relationship going sour contributed to my grasp of what happens to Ruth. If I based my performance on anyone I knew, it was subconscious; we are all blends of people and experiences.

Now that the production has been playing for a few weeks, how has your performance changed or grown? Has your chemistry together changed?

Sue Struve (Ruth Steiner) and Lizzi Albert (Lisa Morrison). Photo by David Jung.

Lizzi: Sue and I got along well from the first rehearsal, but what I’m really conscious of now when I’m onstage is how differently she appears to me depending on where we are in the story. There are moments when we’re so comfortable with one another I almost forget there’s an audience and we’re not just sitting in her living room talking. And then there are moments when I look at her and think, I don’t recognize you, you look like someone I’ve never seen before. It’s a big journey to go through every night. Luckily we have a very warm relationship offstage!

Sue: I feel more grounded in my character and definitely more closely connected with and tuned into my co-actor, Lizzie Albert.

What kind of audience reaction are you receiving and what have been some of the comments that audience members have personally told you that surprised you and/or moved you?

Lizzi: The director, Aly Ettman, really encouraged me to keep an eye out for Lisa’s darker, more ambitious and manipulative side, but I’m so steeped in her justification for her actions that I’ve been surprised by how furious some audience members (including my own mother!) are about the plot development that happens in the second act. It’s definitely a testament to how invested they are in the relationship between Lisa and Ruth.

Sue: There is some wry humor in this play, and it’s great to hear the knowing laughs. But what has impressed me most is the silence–when I know the audience is hanging on our words and is 100% with us on this excruciating journey

What have you learned about yourself-the actor-during this experience?

Lizzi: That when you’re onstage for two hours nonstop, your focus can’t wander for even a second. It requires a different kind of stamina than I’m used to. And that after several years of doing classical theater, it is very liberating to wear pants!

Sue: Having a somewhat short-term-focus personality, I have learned to remain hyper-focused and present in each moment when the stakes are high, as they are in this play.

What do you want audiences to take with then after seeing you perform in Collected Stories?

Lizzi: For one thing, that you can have two hours of a play about two women that has nothing (okay, very little) to do with romantic love. Women have other things on their mind and in their identities and it’s nice to see that reflected onstage.

And also, that there’s always a price for your choices. Lisa pays a steep price for a decision she makes, but there would have been a different kind of cost if she had made the opposite decision. Navigating those questions is hard and something we ultimately do alone; but living with the consequences is what it means to be an adult.

Sue: That our characters are human, that they each have their positive and negative sides, that very little is black and white, that there isn’t always one person to blame when things go awry. They may even think about forgiveness in a new way.

Running Time: One hour and 50 minutes, with one intermission.

Collected Stories plays through May 29, 2016 at Peter’s Alley Theatre Productions performing at Theatre on the Run – 3700 South Four Miles Run Drive, in Arlington, VA. For tickets, buy them at the door, or purchase them online.

LINK:
Review: ‘Collected Stories’ at Peter’s Alley Theatre Productions by David Siegel.

May 19, 2016
Review: ‘The Winter’s Tale’ at Baltimore Shakespeare Factory

Shakespeare presents a language barrier for actors and audience alike. Typically, companies affect British accents (“received pronunciation” – not everyone is a fan), though many companies choose not to adopt any accent at all. Either of which can sound strange depending on what the audience is expecting and requires some getting used to. Oregon Shakespeare Festival has commissioned straight up translations into modern English to avoid the problem altogether.

Brendan Edward Kennedy, Kathryn Zoerb, and Marianne Gazzola. Photo by Jamie Horrell.

Baltimore Shakespeare Factory (BSF), a theatre company dedicated to replicating the form and spirit of the presentation of Shakespeare’s work has taken on The Winter’s Tale, directed wonderfully by James Keegan. with a relative new approach: Original Pronunciation (OP), which requires the actors to adopt an accent that is as close to historically accurate speech as we can be reasonably certain of (that sentence is an eyeful; you can take the boy out of academia …). Changing pronunciation requires a lot of dedicated effort by the cast and it reveals some very different rhythms in the text, which a few members of the company happily demonstrate some of these rhythms for you before the performance.

You still have to keep your ears open and many of the anachronisms still require helpful blocking, but your relationship to the text changes quite a bit. The company of The Winter’s Tale are in for a pound of OP and it is quite an experience, especially in the moody confines of the Great Hall at St. Mary’s on Roland near Johns Hopkins. The room reeks of history and the floors creak under the weight of the years. One thing old chapels and churches were designed to do was convey the human voice without artificial amplification (I mean, other than the architectural cheats), so you won’t have any trouble hearing familiar words in unfamiliar ways.

Before we dig into The Winter’s Tale proper, it’s important to calibrate your expectations of the performance. Baltimore Shakespeare Factory takes a holistic approach to re-creating the old theater experience (you can find it all laid out in detail here). For one thing, BSF actively engages their audience before and during the show. Autolicus (an incredibly game Jess Behar) gives you the hard sell on some raffle tickets while the company serenades you with covers of thematically relevant pop songs (Cat Stevens’ “Wild World” felt very appropriate).

Brendan Edward Kennedy (Florizel) and Kathryn Zoerb (Perdita). Photo by Jamie Horrell.

Autolicus is not shy about soliciting your applause during the show either (play along, it’s worth it). It’s no fun to call on the audience if you don’t leave the lights up on the house. In fact, there aren’t any lighting cues at all (that hurts – I’m a lighting guy. Aside: I sincerely wish some kind donor would gift the Great Hall some LEDs to replace those space heaters we called “lights” 40 years ago). Their approach to cross-gender casting is delightfully 21st century: boys used to be girls, so girls can be boys, NBD (but do keep up – gender is as fluid as the next quick change). BSF’s refreshment game is strong as well. There’s beer (if you sit in the front row, someone might steal a sip) In a church!

One design area that BSF does not abjure is costume design. Costume Designer, April Forrer, (also the Managing Director, a rather uncommon hyphen in my experience) has done great work here with some well-designed (the saintly Paulina and the pure Hermione in crisp white and the shepherds and pastorals in a delightful range of greens and browns) and well-executed costumes.

But the play’s the thing and we should talk turkey. The Winter’s Tale is a lumpy play. It is front loaded with high tragedy, as Leontes (Chris Cotterman) succumbs to the disease of jealousy with the speed of an Ebola victim, a spiritual sickness that quickly results in the death and banishment of nearly everyone of worth in his court, despite the assurance of the gods in Delphos (though we are in Sicilia – just don’t think about it) that sweet Hermione is as faithful as she is gentle.

Valerie Dowdle stands out as Hermione in the difficult first part, flashing some range, grace, and class as the wronged Hermione trying to prove her love to her suddenly suspicious husband. When she learns of her son’s death, she swoons, to death according to Paulina (Marianne Gazzola Angelella) and the play can move on to the shores of Bohemia (sigh, yeah, The Winter’s Tale, man). The first part of the production ends with a chorus of ghosts in white masks pantomiming Antigonus’ (David Forrer) description of his agonized dream about the ghost of Hermione and the storm that ran their ship aground before being torn apart by that infamous stage direction, I mean bear. A chorus of ghosts transform, Voltron-style (that’s a compliment), into that murderous bear.

To their great credit, BSF eases the pain of the first act with a fun pre-show and an intermission that shares the same lighthearted musical flavor (“Torn,” that late 90s hit from Aussie Natalie Imbruglia feels particularly cheeky after a character is literally torn apart).

A signed poster is handed out, songs are song and then Time, the gardener, sets the scene as 16 years later and we are suddenly in a pun-tastic pastoral comedy with only occasional dark clouds to trouble us. The production’s mood lightens considerably during Autolicus’ hijinks. The company moves into a higher gear, and they really shine when Shakespeare sets his characters dancing, singing, wooing, and getting their purses stolen. Kathryn Zoerb is fetching as the teenage Perdita and Brendan Edward Kennedy shines as Florizel, the lordly youth gone undercover, smitten by the noble shepherdess.

Shakespeare never could resist tying up any and all loose ends that happen to be around, so after we spend a good time singing with our young lovers and watching the Clown, played nimbly and lithely by Rena Marie, get thoroughly schooled out of his (their?) money by Autolicus, our play ships off back to Sicilia and a dour, chastened Leontes.

Conrad W. Deitrick, Jess Behar Rakowski, and Shira Withcool. Photo by Jamie Horrell.

In one of Shakespeare’s most perverse denouements, the climactic events that we have been primed for, the reconciliation of Leontes and Philoxenes, the rejoicing of the lovers, and Perdita’s true parentage, happen off-stage. We only learn of it from a troupe of fools, including a playful bit of double casting where the actor who played Antigonus (David Forrer, you lucky duck) gets to shudder over that sad man’s fate. And then we move from the court to Paulina’s cottage and the statue so real that it looks alive. Shakespeare’s time was still imbued with medieval magical thinking, so Paulina has to assure us that she is not a witch and her magic is pure, though we suspect she is just a shrewd woman who knew that Leontes would regret his action and lived her magic trick for 16 years until just the right moment (Paulina would fit right into the world of The Prestige). As Shakespeare fans know, the play ends with a joyful kiss between Leontes and Hermione and the cast breaking into a popular song made famous by “The Fab Four’ and takes a well-earned bow or two.

In all, it was a wonderful evening in a fun little theatre space (though I was mildly terrified by the visible deflection of the ancient wood floor during some enthusiastic full cast dance numbers). The only thing I am wondering now is if the house band takes cover requests. Would it be too much of a spoiler to finish intermission with a cover of “Mama, I’m Coming Home?” You’re right. It’s just fine as it is.

Running Time: Approximate Two hours and 30 minutes, plus an intermission.

The Winter’s Tale plays on weekends through April 24, 2016, at Baltimore Shakespeare Factory, performing at The Great Hall at St. Mary’s -3900 Roland Avenue, in Baltimore, MD. For tickets, purchase them online.

RATING:

April 3, 2016
Meet the Cast of Avant Bard’s ‘A Midsummer Night’s Dream’: Part 3: Zach Brewster-Geisz

In Part 3 of a series of interviews with the cast of Avant Bard’s production of A Midsummer Night’s Dream, meet Zach Brewster-Geisz.

Joel: Where have local audiences seen you perform recently on stage?

Zach Brewster-Geisz. Photo courtesy of WSC Avant Bard.

Zach: Among other places, I’ve recently been at Baltimore Shakespeare Factory (Merchant of Venice, Taming of the Shrew, Midsummer), Pallas Theatre Collective (Code Name: Cynthia, She Stoops to Conquer), and Source Festival (a love story), Perfect Arrangement). Also, if they’re into some late-night Maryland Public Television, they may have seen me in countless reruns of a documentary about the War of 1812.

Why did you want to be part of the cast of A Midsummer Night’s Dream at Avant Bard?

Well, Avant Bard (then called Washington Shakespeare Company) was actually one of the first places I auditioned in DC, way back in 1998; for those keeping score, yes, it took them almost two decades to hire me. But I also wanted to work with Randy Baker, whose work I’ve long admired. And, of course, Midsummer is one of my favorite plays of all time.

Who do you play in the show? How do you relate to him?

I play Bottom, one of the “rude mechanicals” who perform a play at Theseus and Hippolyta’s wedding. Bottom is a loud, stupid, and very bad actor who tries to upstage everyone else in the play. So, typecasting, basically. Actually, I find Bottom, as clueless as he is, to be completely charming. He’s so convinced that he, and his friends, are the greatest thing since sliced bread, I can’t help but be won over by his enormous, if misplaced, confidence. It’s something I wish I had more of, in truth.

What’s the show about from the point of view of your character?

A heroic group of laborers discover their inner artists, and in the process save the Duke and his retinue from the clutches of boredom. There’s something about a dream in there, too.

Director Randy Baker has reimagined the show with shadow puppets and a percussion orchestra. For you as a performer, what’s new and different about it, and what are you enjoying about it?

I’m lucky in that I’m playing one of the few characters who gets to exist in both the real and shadow worlds. It’s been quite a challenge to make sure both my body and my puppet are playing the same character. I’m absolutely loving the wonderful work Alex Vernon has done designing the puppets. They are a joy to work with! The coolest thing, though, is the way the concept has actually illuminated the text in new ways. Far too often, I find people will “bolt on” something they think is cool for Shakespeare and call it a day. That’s not the case here—the notion of shadows is actually really well supported and a beautiful way of thinking of the fairies.

What is your favorite line that your character says, and what is your favorite line that someone else says in the show?

My favorite Bottom line is “I can gleek upon occasion” because I love the word “gleek.” (For those not up on Early Modern English, it means “make a pointed joke.”)

As for other people’s lines—man, there are so many contenders—but I guess I’d have to go with Puck’s final couplet: “Give me your hands, if we be friends/And Robin shall restore amends.” Best curtain call line ever.

What are you doing next on the stage?

I’ll be a guest artist at Montgomery College’s production of The Firebugs by Max Frisch. I play Beidermann, a man who invites a couple of serial arsonists into his home, and then flatters and waits upon them in hopes that they won’t burn his house down. It opens in April.

What do you want audiences to take with them after seeing A Midsummer Night’s Dream?

Any trash, newspapers, or personal belongings they brought with them when entering the theatre.

A Midsummer Night’s Dream plays from January 14 to February 7, 2016, at Avant Bard performing at Guston Arts Center – Theatre Two – 2700 South Lang Street, in Arlington, VA. For tickets, call the box office at (703) 418-4808, or purchase them online.

LINKS:
Meet the Cast of Avant Bard’s ‘A Midsummer Night’s Dream’: Part 1: Annalisa Dias.

Meet the Cast of Avant Bard’s ‘A Midsummer Night’s Dream’: Part 2: Jon Jon Johnson.

Meet the Cast of Avant Bard’s ‘A Midsummer Night’s Dream’: Part 3: Zach Brewster-Geisz.

Meet the Cast of Avant Bard’s ‘A Midsummer Night’s Dream’: Part 4: Linda Bard.

Meet the Cast of Avant Bard’s ‘A Midsummer Night’s Dream’: Part 5: Daven Ralston.

Meet the Cast of Avant Bard’s ‘A Midsummer Night’s Dream’: Part 6: Christian R. Gibbs.

Meet the Cast of Avant Bard’s ‘A Midsumer Night’s Dream’: Part 7: Toni Rae Salmi.

Robert Michael Oliver reviews A Midsummer Night’s Dream on DCMetroTheaterArts.

January 13, 2016
DCMetroTheaterArts’ Best of 2015 #4: Best Plays in Professional Theaters

Here are the DCMetroTheaterArts Staff’s honorees for Best Plays in Professional Theaters in 2015:

A Christmas Carol: A Ghost Story of Christmas at Olney Theatre Center.

A Conversation With the Man Who Killed My Son at Dynamic Wellness.

A Man for All Seasons at NextStop Theatre Company.

A Very Pointless Holiday Spectacular at Pointless Theatre Company.

The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes at Aquila Theatre at Hylton Performing Arts Center.

After the Revolution at Centerstage

Akeelah and the Bee at Arena Stage.

Alice in Wonderland at Synetic Theater.

All My Sons at Peace Mountain Theatre Company.

Animal at The Studio Theatre.

The Apple Family Cycle: ‘Sorry’ at The Studio Theatre.

As You Like It at Annapolis Shakespeare Company.

As You Like It by Baltimore Shakespeare Factory.

As You Like It at Synetic Theater.

Bad Jews at The Studio Theatre.

The Baltimore Waltz at Rep Stage.

The Benefactor at StillPointe Theatre Initiative.

Bhavi the Avenger at Convergence Theatre.

Blithe Spirit at Everyman Theatre.

Blithe Spirit at The National Theatre.

Bootleg Shakespeare: The Two Gentlemen of Verona at Taffety Punk Theatre Company.

Bug at SeeNoSun OnStage.

Doctor Caligari at Pointless Theatre Company.

Capers at Forum Theatre.

Cat on a Hot Tin Roof at The Keegan Theatre.

Chimerica at The Studio Theatre.

Choir Boy at The Studio Theatre.

Closet Land at Factory 449.

ColorBlind: The Katrina Monologues at The Anacostia Playhouse.

The Comedy of Errors at Chesapeake Shakespeare Company.

The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (Abridged! Revised!) at Off the Quill.

The Cripple of Inishmaan at Scena Theatre.

The Dealer of Ballynafeigh at The Keegan Theatre.

Deathtrap At NextStop Theatre Company.

Destiny of Desire at Arena Stage.

Dontrell, Who Kissed the Sea at Theater Alliance.

Don’t Die in the Dark at Studio 1469.

Doubt at 1st Stage.

dry bones rising at Venus Theatre Company.

Dunsinane at Shakespeare Theatre Company.

Educating Rita at Peter’s Alley Theatre Productions.

Fences at Everyman Theatre.

Flying V Fights: Heroes & Monsters at Flying V Theatre.

Fools at Parlor Room Theater.

Foresaken Angels at Wolf Pack Theatre Company.

Fortune’s Child at Baltimore Theatre Project.

Friendship Betrayed at WSC Avant Bard.

George is Dead at The Klunch.

God Don’ Like Ugly at Venus Theatre Company.

The Good Counselor at 1st Stage.

The Gospel of Lovingkindness at Mosaic Theater Company of DC.

Harvey at 1st Stage.

Hay Fever at Olney Theatre Center.

Henri IV Parts 1 and 2: The Re-Gendered Henry IV Repertory at Brave Spirits Theatre.

Holiday Memories at WSC Avant Bard.

The Importance of Being Earnest at Scena Theatre.

Impossible! A Happenstance Circus at Happenstance Theater/Round House Theatre.

In Praise of Love at Washington Stage Guild.

Ironbound at Round House Theatre.

It’s a Wonderful Life: A Live Radio Play at Washington Stage Guild.

Julius Caesar at Folger Theatre.

Jumpers for Goalposts at The Studio Theatre.

Last of the Whyos at Spooky Action Theater.

Let Them Eat Chaos at Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company.

Leto Legend at Hub Theatre.

The Letters at MetroStage.

Life Sucks (Or the Present Ridiculous) at Theater J.

Lights Rise on Grace at Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company.

Love, Loss, and What I Wore at NextStop Theatre Company.

The Magic Tree at The Keegan Theatre.

The Margins at Molotov Theatre Group by John Stoltenberg.

Mariela in the Desert at GALA Hispanic Theatre.

Mary Stuart at The Folger Theatre.

Maytag Virgin at Quotidian Theatre Company.

Metromaniacs at Shakespeare Theatre Company

Much Ado About Nothing at Chesapeake Shakespeare Company.

The Night Alive at Round House Theatre.

Night Falls on the Blue Planet at Theater Alliance.

No Exit at Nu Sass.

Now Comes the Night at 1st Stage

Occupied Territories at Theater Alliance.

Old Wicked Songs at 1st Stage.

On Approval at Washington Stage Guild.

One in the Chamber at The Mead Theatre Lab.

One Man Two Guvnors at the Maryland Ensemble Theatre.

The Oregon Trail at Flying V Theatre.

The Originalist at Arena Stage.

Othello at WSC Avant Bard.

Other Desert Cities at The Highwood Theatre.

Our Town at Faction of Fools.

Outside Mullingar at Everyman Theatre.

Pericles at Folger Theatre.

The Pillowman at 4615 Theater Company.

The Pretties at Glass Mind Theatre.

The Price at Olney Theatre Center.

Pride and Prejudice at Centerstage.

Princess Margaret at The Thelma Theatre.

Queens Girl in the World at Theater J.

Rapture, Blister, Burn at Round House Theatre.

References to Salvador Dalí Make Me Hot at Single Carrot Theatre.

Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead at Folger Theatre.

Salomé at Shakespeare Theatre Company.

7 Layers Captive at DC Black Theatre Festival and The Kennedy Center.

SFW at Round House Theatre Company.

The Shipment at Forum Theatre.

Solomon and Marion at Anacostia Playhouse.

Smartphones–a pocket-size farce at Ambassador Theater.

Sons of the Prophet at Theater J.

Stage Kiss at Round House Theatre.

Sunset Baby at Rep Stage.

The T Party at Forum Theatre.

The Tale of the Allergist’s Wife at Theater J.

The Taming of the Shrew at Baltimore Shakespeare Factory.

Too Much Light Makes the Baby Go Blind by the Neo-Futurist at Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company.

The Trap at Ambassador Theater.

Trish Tinkler Gets Saved at Unexpected Stage Company.

Twelfth Night at 4615 Theater Company.

Twelve Angry Men at The American Century Theater.

Tyger at banished? Productions at Mead Theatre Lab.

The Typographer’s Dream at The Hub Theatre.

Unexplored Interior (This Is Rwanda: The Beginning and End of the Earth) at Mosaic Theater of DC.

Uprising at MetroStage.

The Whale at Rep Stage.

Winners and Losers at Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company.

The Word and the Wasteland at The Source Festival.

World Builders at Forum Theatre.

Year of the Rooster at Single Carrot Theatre.

Yerma at GALA Hispanic Theatre.

LINKS:
DCMetroTheaterArts’ Best of 2015 #1: Special Awards.

DCMetroTheaterArts’ Best of 2015 #2: Best Musicals in Professional Theatres.

DCMetroTheaterArts’ Best of 2015 #3: Best Musicals in Community Theatres.

DCMetroTheaterArts’ Best of 2015 #4: Best Plays in Professional Theaters.

DCMetroTheaterArts’ Best of 2015 #5: Best Plays in Community Theatres.

DCMetroTheaterArts’ Best of 2015 #6: Best Children’s/Family Productions.

DCMetroTheaterArts’ Best of 2015 #7: Best Performances in a Play in Community Theatres.

DCMetroTheaterArts’ Best of 2015 #8: Best Performances in a Play in Professional Theatres.

DCMetroTheaterArts’ Best of 2015 #9: Best Performances in a Musical in Community Theatres.

DCMetroTheaterArts: Best of 2015 #10: Best Performances in a Musical in Professional Theatres and Special Awards.

DCMetroTheaterArts’ Best of 2015 #11: New York’s Ten Best of 2015 by Richard Seff.

DCMetroTheaterArts’ Best of 2015 #12: ‘Memorable Dance in Baltimore and Beyond’ by Carolyn Kelemen.

DCMetroTheaterArts’ Best of 2015 #13 in Theater in The Philadelphia Area.

DCMetroTheaterArts’ Best of 2015 #14: Dance Performances.

DCMetroTheaterArts’ Best of 2015 Honors Begins Tomorrow-A Look Back at the 2014 Honorees.

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DCMetroTheaterArts writers were permitted to honor productions that they saw and we did not review.

December 21, 2015
‘The Taming of the Shrew’ at Baltimore Shakespeare Factory

Baltimore Shakespeare Factory’s production of The Taming of the Shrew is a delightful romp of quick-witted dialog and rollicking physical comedy. With their commitment to presenting Shakespeare’s work with “the staging conditions, spirit, and atmosphere created by Shakespeare’s theatre company during the Elizabethan and Jacobean periods,” BSF makes one of the great works of classical theatre as accessible to modern audiences as the players at The Globe made it to the groundlings in Ye Olde Days.

Seriously, if Baltimore Shakespeare Factory taught your high school literature class, chances are you’d be a much bigger fan of the Bard.

Ian Blackwell Rogers and Kathryn Zoerb. Photo by Mena Lapasset.

True to their mission of authenticity, BSF’s talented actors play multiple roles, often crossing genders borders in doing so, and use Shakespeare’s actual words, not language updated for easier consumption. The cast’s deep understanding of the text and expert presentation of the dialog make it easy to follow. There are no elaborate sets and very minimal props; the house lights are kept on for the entire show; and the players reach across that imaginary “fourth wall” and engage the audience directly.

In the 17th century, an afternoon at The Globe was more akin to a modern day at the ballpark than the highfalutin spectacle we think of as theatre today. There was the main event, but also plenty of festive extras like musicians playing during breaks in the program, vendors selling snacks, and direct interactions with the audience. BSF continues this tradition, encouraging the audience to arrive 30 minutes before curtain – not so tuxedoed ushers with flashlights can show you to your seat, but because there’s music and announcements to hear; raffle tickets to buy; and opportunities to get drinks and treats at the “Shakespeare Mall” just off stage right.

Oh! And tomatoes. How could I forget the tomatoes? For a few bucks, you can buy a basket of (foam) tomatoes to wing onstage if a character is being a despicable jerk or if (gasp!) an actor forgets what to say and calls “Line?” While for some companies, calling for a line would be the Actor’s Nightmare – a death sentence of unprofessionalism – here, it’s just part of the fun… and a completely understandable predicament since the entire cast had only five (5!) rehearsals before opening night. Yup, another bit of authenticity. Actors at The Globe were given scandalously short preparation time, so BSF put this whole show together in less time than you could binge-watch Kiss Me Kate, Deliver Us from Eva and 10 Things I Hate About You. Impressively, the cast only called for Lines three times during the performance I saw. The leftover tomatoes rained down on them during curtain call like squishy roses at an opera.

The story of The Taming of the Shrew is a familiar one. We have 2 sisters from a wealthy family, both beautiful and of marriageable age. Charming Bianca, played by Tegan Williams as appealingly demure, yet slyly sassy – is every suitor’s dream. The problem is that her dad, Baptista Minola – portrayed with amusing exasperation by Ben Fisler – insists that before sweet Bianca may be courted, his elder daughter, the much less agreeable Katherina (“Kate”), must first be wed. A group of clever husband-wannabes, each adeptly performed by the BSF cast, concoct a plan with their servants to secretly woo Bianca while their brave champion, Petruchio, sets to win the hand… and substantial dowry… of acid-tongued Kate.

The energetic interplay between Kate (dazzlingly embodied by Kathryn Zoerb) and Petruchio (the rakish Ian Blackwell Rogers) was a joy to watch. It’s hard to believe that in only 5 rehearsals, they were able to not only perfect the timing of their biting, back-and-forth verbal sparring but also to engender a subtle chemistry between these unlikely partners. The skill with which Zoerb showed Kate’s feelings and behavior evolve over the course of the show was both realistic and respectful. On its face, this evolution tends to raise my feminist hackles, but it is well-defended in Director Tom Delise’s witty and sensible Director’s Note in the program, which houses beautifully designed graphics by Designer/Publicist Lynne Menefee. In the end, Kate seems less beaten down or ‘tamed’ than determined to make a go of her marriage even if it means humoring her scheming hubby.

Alex Smith and Tegan Williams. Photo by Mena Lapasset.

Other performances of note include Shannon Ziegler, as the bold imposter Tranio, and the ensemble that set the frame of the play at its start. Jessica Lynne Byars’ drunken Christopher Sly was hilarious – and only the first of what seemed like 100 distinct characters she portrayed throughout the show. Also in this segment, earlier-mentioned Ian Blackwell Rogers played the reluctantly cross-dressed and manhandled “wife” of Christopher Sly so very convincingly that I actually had to contact BSF to confirm it was he in the fetching dress and not another actor.

Speaking of dresses, accolades are definitely due to Costume Designer April Forrer, who outfitted the cast in lush period-appropriate garb that fit perfectly with the needs of the show and with BSF’s dedication to authenticity. Rounding out the excellent Artistic and Production Staff were Rachel Tilley in the ever-under appreciated yet absolutely essential post of Stage Manager and Jamie Horrell, who as Music Director, selected a pitch perfect mix of popular music for the affair. Before and after the show and during intermission, the audience was treated to thematically-linked songs ranging from Bon Jovi’s “You Give Love a Bad Name” to The Rascals 1966 #1 hit “Good Lovin” to the Proclaimers’ anthemic “500 Miles,” which was just one of the songs that showcased actor Alex Smith’s fantastic voice.

With Zach Brewster-Geisz, Katharine Ariyan, Ben Fisler, Jamie Horrell and Tegan Williams. Photo by Mena Lapasset.

The recent boon of outstanding theatre companies in Baltimore coupled with the currently-running Charm City Fringe Festival presents theatre-goers with a wealth of deserving options for their time and money in the next few weeks.

Take the time to put Baltimore Shakespeare Factory’s The Taming of the Shrew on your ‘Must See’ list. It’s classical theatre that’s fun, fast-paced, bawdy and visually beautiful… and probably the only place in town where you won’t get arrested for throwing fake vegetables at performing artists. What more could you want?

Running Time: Approximately two hours and 20 minutes, including one intermission.

The Taming of the Shrew plays through November 22, 2015 at The Baltimore Shakespeare Factory, performing at The Great Hall at St. Mary’s Community Center – 900 Roland Avenue, in Baltimore, MD. For tickets, purchase them online.

Pre-Show entertainment begins approximately 30 minutes prior to curtain time and an entertaining, non-mandatory, Talk Back with the actors follows each performance.

On the weekend of November 13-15, BSF’s performances of The Taming of the Shrew will be part of the 4th Annual Charm City Fringe Festival. For that weekend’s performances only, get your tickets here.

RATING:

November 9, 2015
Meet the Cast of Avant Bard’s ‘Friendship Betrayed’: Part 7: Brendan Edward Kennedy

In Part 7 of a series of interviews with the cast of WSC Avant Bard’s production of Friendship Betrayed—a classic comedy by Spanish playwright María de Zayas y Sotomayor—meet Brendan Edward Kennedy.

Brendan Edward Kennedy. Photo by DJ Corey Photography.

Joel: Where have local audiences seen you perform recently on stage?

Brendan: Most recently, I played Thurio and Pantino in Annapolis Shakespeare Company’s production of The Two Gentlemen of Verona. Earlier this year, I also played Lorenzo in Baltimore Shakespeare Factory’s production of The Merchant of Venice, performed for the first time in Original Pronunciation.

Why did you want to be part of the cast of Friendship Betrayed at Avant Bard?

I knew Avant Bard put on excellent, thought provoking productions and I wanted (so badly) to be a part of that action. Finding out I was cast was an absolute thrill. Any show that has me smiling so much in rehearsal that my face hurts is bound to be a good one. I owe so much to our director Kari Ginsburg for believing in me and making me a part of this lovely cast..

Who do you play in the show? How do you relate to him?

I play Gerardo, Marcia’s (Megan Dominy) spurned, scorned, long-time-underdog of a suitor. With all his pining, his yearning, and his unshakable belief in Love… Gerardo is basically who I was back in high school.

What’s the show about from the point of view of your character?

This show is about how much anxiety and turmoil Gerardo will endure to be with the woman he really, truly loves. Spoiler: it’s an onslaught.

Kari Ginsburg, the director, has set Friendship Betrayed in the 1920s. How are you creating a classical character with Roaring Twenties appeal?

It’s been a challenge, because Gerardo is an old-school romantic in a world that’s unsure if it wants romance at all. He’s the stuff of earlier times, an old soul, but he’s out to prove that that kind of moral fiber can be just as strong in the modern era. Me, I’m just giving him a body and a voice to do that.

What is your favorite scene that you are not in and why?

Any scene with Fenisa (Melissa Marie Hmelnicky) and Lucia (Mary Myers) is good in my book. The clash of their wildly different philosophies cracks me up, especially later in the play.

What is your favorite line or lines that your character says, and what is your favorite line that someone else says in the show?

Gerardo promises to give Marcia “the entire world by transforming [her] into the dawn,” which I think is very Pablo Neruda of him. I also love how earnestly Laura (Daven Ralston) declares her woes: “Oh, I am unfortunate! I am so sad!” It’s adorably tragic.

What are you doing next on the stage?

Next spring I will be joining Annapolis Shakespeare’s resident acting company for the 2016 season, playing Kulygin in Chekov’s Three Sisters as well as Paris and Gregory in Romeo and Juliet. Personally, I’m excited to explore this career arc of “perpetually-rejected love interest.”

What do you want audiences to take with them after seeing Friendship Betrayed?

I’d like them to think about just how complicated matters of Love and Lust can be, and how easy it can be to mix the two up.

Also, if they could take their personal items with them, that’d be great. We don’t want anyone leaving their keys or cell phones in the theater by accident.

Friendship Betrayed plays through October 11, 2015 at WSC Avant Bard performing at Gunston Arts Center, Theatre Two – 2700 South Lang Street, in Arlington, VA. For tickets, call the box office at (703) 418-4808, or purchase them online.

LINKS
Meet the Cast of Avant Bard’s ‘Friendship Betrayed’: Part 1: Alani Kravitz.

Meet the Cast of Avant Bard’s ‘Friendship Betrayed’: Part 2: Daven Ralston.

Meet the Cast of Avant Bard’s ‘Friendship Betrayed’: Part 3: James Finley.

Meet the Cast of Avant Bard’s ‘Friendship Betrayed’: Part 4: Melissa Marie Hmelnicky.

Meet the Cast of Avant Bard’s ‘Friendship Betrayed’: Part 5: Zach Roberts.

Meet the Cast of Avant Bard’s ‘Friendship Betrayed’ Part 6: Connor J. Hogan.

Meet the Cast of Avant Bard’s ‘Friendship Betrayed’: Part 7: Brendan Edward Kennedy.

September 12, 2015
‘Henry IV Part I’ at the Baltimore Shakespeare Factory

“What is honor?”

It’s what King Henry IV is fighting to uphold. It’s what Harry Percy, the Hotspur, is fighting to defend. It’s what Prince Henry is trying to gain. But what is it? Falstaff, the old fool with the wise observations, asks the question in the midst of battle, reflecting on the worth of a thing that costs so much and reaps no tangible reward, and invites us to do the same.

For their summer series, Shakespeare in the Meadow, The Baltimore Shakespeare Factory has launched an all female production of William Shakespeare’s play, Henry IV, Part I directed by Tom Delise. As Henry IV opens, the king’s reign is not going smoothly. Rebels are amassing power against him. His son, the heir to his thrown, is drinking and thieving night after night. Former allies are becoming enemies. It’s a precarious position to be in, especially for a king who’s so recently won the throne from his predecessors.

Critics describe Henry IV, Part I as a very masculine show, making the choice of an all female cast one which inspires incredulity. It has only three female characters, after all, while the rest of the roles are male, and the action is set primarily in bars and battlefields. There’s no need for doubt, however. The female cast lacks none of the vitality or intensity their roles demand, and also manage to convey a wider and subtler range of emotions than pure machismo. And for anyone who thinks that women are too emotional to play these strong, male characters, consider that Henry IV Part I shows a kingdom thrust into warfare and turmoil because some of these strong men got their feelings hurt because of the king’s social snub.

Caitlin Carbone (Hotspur) and Ann Turiano (Prince Henry). Photo by Will Kirk.

Much of the play focuses on the parallel lives of Prince Henry and the Hotspur. Both men are the same age, with power at their finger tips and bright futures, but one is risking his honor to oppose a king who’s insulted his family, and the other has abandoned honor altogether while he steals and parties his nights away.

Ann Turiano plays the wayward Prince Henry and Caitlin Carbone plays the noble Hotspur. Both actors give strong performances, portraying two men who have so much in common and yet are diametrically opposed in attitude and allegiance. Though Turiano’s Henry just wants to have fun, there are eye-opening moments where the audience and his companions are reminded that this man will be king one day and he knows it. Carbone’s Hotspur is prepared to move the heavens to avenge the wrong King Henry has done to his family, and she makes you believe it can be done. But she lets Hotspur’s cracks and faults show, revealing a foolhardy man, a victim to the machinations of others and his own hot temper.

Valerie Dowdle is never anything less than regal as King Henry. She has her moments of being conflicted and frustrated, but they never dissuade her from her course of action. It’s a strong performance, and I’m disappointed there wasn’t more for her to do in that role.

Kay-Megan Washington as Falstaff in “Henry IV, Part One.” Photo by Will Kirk.

Falstaff, one of Shakespeare’s iconic comedic characters, is played by Kay-Megan Washington, and her portrayal is one of my favorites. Washington revels in Falstaff’s dual personality, convincingly moving between the persona of a harmless old fool and his true nature as a conman.

The rest of the cast is equally brilliant in their roles, most of them playing multiple characters, aided by a sometimes dizzying number of different costumes.

The costumes, designed by April Forrer, looked unique and cool. Different colors were used to denote which side of the building confrontation a character supported, the king’s or the Percy’s and rebels. They drew from Elizabethan designs, with tunics and breeches being replaced with hand-embellished tunic-cut shirts and leggings. I particularly liked the leather work on several of the shirts.

The fights, directed by Tegan Williams, were well-choreographed, albeit slow by necessity of preserving the props. The fight between Hotspur and Prince Henry was especially good, though, both in terms of choreography and execution.

Alicia Stanley, who plays the Earl of Worcester, was also music director. She led the music during the show, as well as led her castmates in song before the performance and during intermission.

The one consistent problem at my performance was the sound quality. There’s no amplification and the stage faces a wide, flat meadow. The actors projected exceedingly well, allowing me to hear a solid 95% of the dialogue, even when faced away from me. But every now and again, the lines were swallowed by the field, and with Shakespeare, every word is crucial.

Also, while the staging was overall well done, I found the final confrontation between Prince Henry and the Hotspur a slight letdown. Instead of seeing the conclusion of their fight, we’re distracted by the entrance of Falstaff and his fight with the Earl of Douglas. By the time that conflict is over, so is the one between Henry and Hotspur. This was especially unfortunate as Turiano and Carbone were the best and most interesting swordsmen on the stage. Falstaff’s fight is also well-choreographed and his dialogue funny, but it deprived me of the catharsis of seeing the full resolution of that rivalry.

The Baltimore Shakespeare Factory has put on a solid, highly enjoyable production of Henry IV, Part I. You can tell everyone involved is having fun, and that enthusiasm enlivens the performances and enriches the production.

The Baltimore Shakespeare Factory is also in the midst of a fundraising campaign. BSF is hoping to raise $60,000 by the end of the year, in order to make their summer productions free for everyone for the next two years. They’ve already half met their goal and will be accepting donations until Dec. 31, 2015. Donations can be made by visiting their website and clicking on the “Donate to the Factory” box on the homepage. The plays to be performed next summer are Twelfth Night and Julius Caesar.

Running Time: Approximately two and half hours, including a 15-minute intermission.

Henry IV Part I performs its final weekend, August 21-23, 2015, at St. Mary’s Community Center – 3900 Roland Avenue, in Baltimore, MD. Tickets are available online and at the door.

RATING:

August 18, 2015
‘As You Like It’ by Baltimore Shakespeare Factory

Shakespeare’s comedy As You Like It is fun for the family.

The Meadow, just below the historic Evergreen House, is a lovely place to spend a late afternoon or early summer evening. Spread a blanket on the hillside – you can see the performance from just about anywhere on the meadow – and lookup at the blue sky. Or, as was the case last Sunday evening, hope that the looming rain cloud would hold out until final curtain (which it did, thankfully).

‘As You Like It’ Performs on the Green. Photo courtesy of Baltimore Shakespeare Factory.

It was, indeed, a perfect setting for an “authentic” rendition of As You Like It, directed by Chris Cotterman and performed by the Baltimore Shakespeare Factory (BSF). The first duty of a Shakespeare comedy is to amuse its audience; the second, to engage. This production certainly meets the criteria with its mix of humor, bawdiness, and interaction with the folks spread out on blankets, some sipping wine, and many cajoling with the cast who appeared quite comfortable close up.

A core philosophy of BSF is to re-create the conditions that an audience in Elizabethan England would have experienced. Shakespeare’s theaters weren’t wired for lighting or sound, so the natural voices and illumination in this production add to its genuineness. And like actors in Shakespeare’s time, the 14 players perform multiple roles, women often dressed as men, and others in random gender-bending costumes.

White sheets were draped over a makeshift stage with an opening in the curtain for the many entrances and exits in this tricky Shakespeare classic. A clearing in the woods provided ample space for a wrestling match, stage by Fight Director Tegan Williams. Picture the romantic hero Orlando (Zach Bopst) ripping off his shirt as he tries to disentangle himself from his foe, perhaps the buffoon Touchstone (Phil Vannoorbeeck), in this finely choreographed muddle. One can easily imagine this is what it was like back in the day of the Bard.

Charles the Wrestler in ‘As You Like It.’ Photo courtesy of Baltimore Shakespeare Factory.

Shakespeare used live music in his plays, so naturally the pre-show and interludes carry on this tradition – a nice touch throughout. Costuming was also important to the theatre companies of Shakespeare’s day, and BSF brings to the stage a attire that audiences easily recognize from a different era, thanks to Designer Stephanie Parks, with assistance from Manager Kathy Vary.

Since most of the readers are familiar with the play – or at least know the famous line, “All The World’s A Stage,” – there’s little need for a plot recall. What should be noted are the exceptional actors/characters who wander about.

Rosalind (Lynn Favin, a SAG member and TV regular) romps about in both her feminine and masculine roles. She’s terrific as the vixen, especially when joined by cousin Celia (Shannon Ziegler) as her “second banana” in the comic skits. Soon the two set off to find Rosalind’s banished father, Senior (David Forrer, a newcomer to the group). One of the best moments takes place when the daughter disguises herself as a man and teaches her bungling suitor the art of wooing. Even the little ones in strollers giggled. Meanwhile, wearing a blue mask to cover his face, Tavon McLaughlin added to the festivities with his sinewy moves and old English parlance.

Running time: 2 hours and 20 minutes with one 15-minute Interlude.

The Baltimore Shakespeare Factory continues the Shakespeare in the Meadow Series with As You Like It at The Meadow near Johns Hopkins Evergreen Museum and Library – 4545 North Charles Street, in Baltimore, MD through this Sunday, Aug. 2, 2015. Pre-show entertainment begins 30 minutes before curtain; performances at the Meadow are open for picnics one hour before the show. You can bring a blanket, chairs, and a picnic. The show is free; donations are accepted.

This production continues at St. Mary’s Community Center – 3900 Roland Avenue, in Baltimore, MD (410) 366-3106) Aug. 7th-9th. For exact times and weather changes, visit The Shakespeare Factory.

The BSF All Female Production of Henry IV Part One is scheduled at both locations, the Evergreen Museum and Library, Friday and Saturdays, at 8 p.m. and Sundays, 4 p.m. July 31-August 16, 2015, and St. Mary’s Community Center, same schedule, August 21-23, 2015.

RATING:

July 28, 2015
Baltimore Shakespeare Factory’s ‘Original Pronunciation’ Production of ‘The Merchant of Venice’ Opens Tomorrow

Baltimore Shakespeare Factory (BSF) opens its production of Merchant of Venice tonight. Fitting BSF’s philosophy of recreating the staging conditions of Shakespeare’s day, this historic production of The Merchant of Venice will be performed in Original Pronunciation (OP). It is not only the first time this play will be staged in OP since the 1590s, but St. Mary’s Community Center in Hampden is hosting the first-ever OP production in the Baltimore-Washington area.

The Merchant of Venice features one of Shakespeare’s most tragic and controversial figures, the vengeance-seeking moneylender Shylock. The clever and well-spoken Portia, whose intelligence shines every bit as brightly as her beauty, is also among his most fully developed and complex heroines. This classic tale showcases the tenacity of young love and calls into question the prejudices and beliefs of Renaissance-era Venice, offering ethical and philosophical musings that resonate with audiences to this day.

Chris Cotterman (Bassanio) and Valerie Dowdle (Portia). Photo by Lynne Menefee.

The BSF also welcomes British actor/writer and OP expert, Ben Crystal, who has been working with the cast via Skype. He will also visit the company twice during the rehearsal process, including the final rehearsals during the week before opening night.

Zach Brewster-Geisz (Antonio), Tegan Williams (Jailor), and Ian Blackwell Rogers (Shylock). Photo by Lynne Menefee.

Ben Crystal will be giving a lecture at Loyola University on March 25, 2015 at 4 pm.

Maryland Theatre Guide will be broadcasting a live webcast this Saturday night beginning at 8 PM. You can watch it here.

Emily Sucher (Jessica) and Brendan Edward Kennedy (Lorenzo) Photo Lynne Menefee

Baltimore Shakespeare Factory (BSF) is dedicated to bringing the works of William Shakespeare to life for audiences of all ages and backgrounds. In Shakespeare’s time, the theater was accessible to everyone, and BSF prides itself on continuing that tradition by presenting professional quality work at affordable prices.

Ben Crystal. Photo by Scott Wishart.

BSF productions are designed to help audiences understand and enjoy Shakespeare’s mastery of language and wordplay. The language of Shakespeare’s works is the cornerstone of their artistic and literary merit, and BSF takes great pride in paying meticulous attention to that language in order to deliver it in such a way that makes it accessible to modern audiences. BSF productions are not notion or concept driven – we believe the language that Shakespeare gave us is all an audience needs to appreciate these works.

BSF also continues to expand its outreach into the community, offering programs in local schools and libraries, as well as extensive summer camp programs for local elementary, middle, and high school students. The Baltimore Shakespeare Factory is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization and a member of the Shakespeare Theatre Association and the Greater Baltimore CulturalAlliance. The Baltimore Shakespeare Factory is a member fund of The Community Foundation of Carroll County, and a 501(c)3 not-for-profit organization.

The Merchant of Venice plays from March 27-April 15, 2015 at The Baltimore Shakespeare Factory performing at The Great Hall at St. Mary’s Community Center – 900 Roland Avenue, in Baltimore, MD. For tickets, purchase them online. Pre-Show entertainment begins approximately 30 minutes prior to curtain time.

LINK
David Crystal’s Original Pronunciation website.

[The article is from Lynne Menefee, Public Relations Director at Baltimore Shakespeare Factory.]

March 26, 2015