DC Theater Arts

Tag: Britney Mongold

Review: ‘A Bid to Save the World’ at Rorschach Theatre

Imagine a world in which death no longer exists.

Rorschach Theatre’s current production of A Bid to Save the World – a new play by California based playwright Erin Bregman – asks audiences to do just that. The play, with bold and colorful direction by Lee Liebeskind, explores humanity’s relationship with death, drawing on ancient myths and futuristic imaginings.

Death (Dallas Tolentino). Photo by Ryan Maxwell Photography.

Rather than a linear story, A Bid to Save the World unfolds in three separate plotlines – each employing a different narrative style. The central figure connecting the three stories is a character known only as Sister (Tyasia Velines), a young woman grieving the death of her brother. As the play develops, we are introduced to the character of Death (Dallas Tolentino) who inhabits an ancient mythical underworld, greeting the newly arrived deceased with a fresh orange symbolizing their demise. In another corner of the stage we are propelled into the future, a world in which death no longer exists and young people have romantic notions as to what it must have been like.

Rorschach’s production of A Bid to Save the World is enigmatic and unusual, sometimes charmingly so, other times to the point of confusion. Liebeskind drew evocative and beautiful performances from the cast and I enjoyed the blend of poetry and humor, which kept the show from feeling too heavy or dry. For example, in the following exchange between Death and the recently deceased Brother (played nicely by Christian Sullivan):

Death: Leaves I winter, that’s what my fingers are. Pieces of something that should have blown into some pile to be raked away half a season ago. Look at them. No wonder nobody likes me.

Brother: I don’t think it’s your fingers that turn people off.

A chorus of singers, evocative of a classical Greek chorus, appears though the show to provide narration in the form of song and innovatively staged movement. (Chorus members include Natalie Cutcher, Nahm Darr, Louis E. Davis, Rashard Harrison, Paige O’Malley, Robert Pike, Daven Ralston, and Christian Sullivan) The chorus as a whole gave lovely musical performances, culminating in one final melody, played on guitar by Nahm Darr as Jacob.

The acting by this ensemble cast was uniformly strong. While I can’t mention every performer, the few who stick out in my mind are as follows: Dallas Tolentino was properly fickle and capricious as the personification of Death, hitting the right balance of sinister and otherworldly with just a touch of humor to lighten things up.

Other strong performances of note are Robert Pike as Adam, especially in a scene near the end of the show in which he gives an extended monologue on the importance of grieving. Daven Ralston stood out to me as Rachel, embracing the role with great energy and solid comedic timing, and Louis E. Davis was similarly strong and humorous in the role of James.

The cast of ‘A Bid to Save The World.’ Phot by Ryan Maxwell Photography.

The set, designed collaboratively by Props Designer Becky Mezzanotte and Scenic Change Artist Britney Mongold, was a thing of beauty. Mythical, symbolic overtones were evident in what appeared to be a decaying ruin suggestive of the Garden of Eden, grounded by a lovely trellis with abundant vines and oranges. The triangular set design accentuated the three-part nature of the story, allowing each storyline to unfold in its own area but providing ample space for the action to gravitate toward the beautifully manicured garden path at the center of the stage.

The costume design by Danielle Preston was thought-provoking in that most of the characters were in every-day street clothes. Only Death stood out as a mythical figure in punkish tight black pants and ruffled sleeveless shirt. I appreciated the hooded sweatshirts worn by the chorus. The muted splotchy colors gave them an antiquated feel and when the chorus members put the hoods up they instantly reminded me of Gregorian monks or some other ancient mystical group.

The lighting, sound design and music direction, by Katie McCreary, Veronica J. Lancaster, and Hilary Morrow, complimented the set with atmospheric music and lighting adding a welcome layer of intrigue and otherworldliness.

A Bid to Save the World features A+ performances and a gorgeous set design. I strongly urge you to put it on your ‘should see’ list.

Running Time: One hour and 50 minutes, with no intermission.

A Bid to Save the World plays through October 2, 2016, at Rorschach Theatre performing at Atlas Center for Performing Arts. For tickets, call (202) 399-7993 ext. 2, or purchase them online.

RATING:

September 13, 2016
Review: ‘Fear’ at Longacre Lea

Let’s say a wealthy patron approaches an ensemble theatre company with a proposition: “Shakespeare? Why so much Shakespeare? Why so revered? Surely, other playwrights deserve having theatre companies named after them as well?”

Ashley DeMain, Matthew Alan Ward, and Jennifer J. Hopkins. Photo courtesy of Longacre Lea.

Theatre people will probably have their answers. I have mine: after all, Shakespeare is America’s number one playwright (mistake intentional). When Peter Sellers opened his American National Theatre at the Kennedy Center in 1986 he did so with Henry IV, Part 1, saying: “I want to reclaim Shakespeare for Americans.”

The only thing more absurd than Sellers’ comment about “reclaiming” Shakespeare is the fact that many Americans probably think that Shakespeare is already American.

In Longacre Lea’s world premiere production of Kathleen Akerley’s Fear, the question of “why Shakespeare?” is tackled head-on: a wealthy patron, a company, a proposition, etc.

You won’t find any answers in Fear, even as the workshop explorations of Hamlet and Macbeth make for some entertaining theatrical fun.

Seven actors and a patron gather in a theatre to explore different directorial concepts of the Bard’s plays. There is Dune meets Macbeth, Graphic Novel meets Macbeth, Grotowski meets Macbeth (or is it Hamlet [Silent, Nude, or as Solo Show]). Either way, you get the drift: Shakespeare as anything but.

Supposedly, the company is exploring the depths of what makes the American “public” (more so than the theatre professional) so obsessed with a dead, 400-year-old white guy from England.

Akerley’s concept is a good one. With the wealthy patron acting as the on-stage theatre-goer’s representative, the play works as an entertaining didactic drama about the theatre’s role (versus playwright’s role) in production: for many, it might not be pretty watching the making of theatrical sausage, but then neither is childbirth.

Séamus Miller, Ashley DeMain, Michael Glenn, Matthew Alan Ward, Jennifer J. Hopkins, Vince Eisenson, and Tom Carman play the company’s actors, with Amal Saade as Penelope, the wealthy patron.

The ensemble work is particularly strong as they tackle each style with a combination of earnestness and comic parody.

To be sure, the situations between and among the actors outside of the “experiments” in performing Shakespeare are less developed, even though they occasionally flare up to make for dramatic tension. On occasion, they even lead audience members to believe that the plot of Fear has a traditional throughline of action.

Perhaps ironically, the script remains exactly what it is: an exploration of Shakespeare using various theatrical styles and techniques. Attempts to make it more than that bloom into being only to disappear like a tulip in early summer.

Akerley directs her own play, which has its advantages and disadvantages: the production would have been strengthened, i.e., tightened, by cutting some of the redundancies.

The production team consisted of Gail Stewart Beach (Costumes), John Burkland (Lighting), Elizabeth Jenkins McFadden (Scenic Design), Britney Mongold (Scenic Artist), and Neil McFadden (Sound). The scenography, though simple, was effectively workmanlike.

Fun fact: eight of Shakespeare’s plays mention “fear” 20 or more times. Of those eight plays, seven mention “love” five times more often.

Macbeth is the only Shakepearean play where the word “fear” dominates “love.”

That might be why this theatrical exploration is named Fear. Then, again, maybe not.

Fear is for anyone not afraid of a little theatrical experimentation.

Running Time: 2 hours and 45 minutes, with a 15-minute intermission.

large old paper or parchment background texture

Fear plays through September 4, 2016 at Longacre Lea performing at The Callan Theatre at The Catholic University’s Drama Complex – 3801 Harewood Road NE, in Washington, DC. Tickets are available online.

RATING:

August 8, 2016
Review: Source Festival 2016: ‘Entanglement’: Artistic Blind Dates

Tangled Up in Time

Cultural DC’s Source Festival 2016 kicked off with Entanglement, an immersive piece of theatre written and performed by Claire Alrich, Maryam Foye, and Britney Mongold — three women who were perfect strangers just four months ago. Entanglement is one of Source Festival’s three Artistic Blind Dates, wherein three artists combine their diverse talents to craft a 20-minute original performance.

The cast of ‘Entanglement: Claire Alrich, Maryam Foye and Britney Mongold. Photo by Teresa Wood Photography.

The creators set a stage for themselves to remember the people who molded them from childhood, then invited the audience to do the same. Alrich’s ethereal movements transport us back in time; Mongold’s infectious energy bestows the hope of remembrance; Foye’s emotive sincerity reminds us that the future is now. Rich with multimedia, Entanglement is certainly experimental theatre. This uniqueness is well-balanced by the show’s exploration of familiar topics.

Not only do we as an audience delve into our own memories, but we also leave room for others to do the same. Strangers instantly become friends. The same people who honked at one another en route to the theatre are suddenly overl- courteous and patient with each other as they’re entangled in the safe space of this play.

The intimate upstairs space at Source is perfect for this show — the sun dances on the walls, window panes casting shadows that evoke the intangible ghosts that we’re addressing in this piece. The whimsical, cozy set design invites the kind of soft, warm memories that garner an appreciation for the past. The labyrinth shows us that whether we follow in our heroes’ footsteps or want something entirely different, the ties that bind us to them go on forever.

Running Time: 20 minutes.

Entanglement played on June 8, 2016 at The Source Festival performing at Source – 1835 14th Street, NW, in Washington, DC. For tickets, call (866) 811-4111, or purchase them online. Performances continue on June 18 and June 26, 2016 at 3:30 PM and 7 PM.

Audience members are invited to stay after each performance for a talkback with the artists.

June 9, 2016
Review: ‘You, Or Whatever I Can Get’ at Flying V and National Conservatory of Dramatic Arts

You don’t have to work very hard to find your way from the box office to the theater in Flying V Theatre and the National Conservatory of Dramatic Arts’ new co-production of You, or Whatever I Can Get, a spectacularly hilarious original musical about all my hashtag millennial problems; why is navigation so easy? Because all you have to do is follow a helpful trail of condoms affixed to inspirational Post-Its that say things like “You Can Do It!” and “On The Right Track!” And this outrageous entree to the show – an expanded and polished re-mount of what was the smash musical hit of the 2014 Capital Fringe Festival – pretty well summarizes the delicious disregard for political correctness and sexual decorum that makes You, or Whatever I Can Get such a gut wrenching pleasure to watch.

Behind the obvious humor, musical genius and all around theatrical awesomeness, there is an iron core of painful truth to You, or Whatever I Can Get: it’s always been hard to find someone, and despite 24 hour on demand dating apps, it seems like it’s getting harder. The #MillenialAngst is not so ironic after all.

Suzanne Edgar, Farrell Parker, Vaughn Irving, and Doug Wilder. Photo by Ryan Maxwell Photography.

The hero in these love adventures is Phil (Vaughn Irving, a gangly True Romantic who is in love with Lisa (the vocally excellent Autumn Seavey Hicks). When things fall apart on his thirtieth birthday, Phil relies on his clownish best friend Dennis (Doug Wilder), his party girl sister Jen (Farrell Parker), and his Type A roommate Victoria (Suzanne Edgar) to carry him through his quarter life crisis.

These four friends, who live right here in the Nation’s Capital (denoted by a few textual allusions, but mainly by the giant expressionist WMATA map that serves as the set’s backdrop), serenade us with tremendously exciting and hummable music. Music Director and co-creator Steve Przybylski leads the ensemble through a fresh, polished, and hilarious soundtrack that includes gems like “Skype Sex”, “The Last Sober Guy at the Party”, and “Tindr”.

Beyond the instantly likable music, it is the oh-so recognizable characters in You, or Whatever I Can Get that make it such theatrical click-bait, and the ensemble in the current production gives them a pitch perfect embodiment.

Vaughn Irving is excellent at capturing the infinitely likable if somewhat hyperbolic Phil. His belief in a shared millennial fear that 30 is basically the year of one’s death, encapsulated so brilliantly in the opening song “I’m 30!” set the exciting, rock-and-roll pace that lasted for the rest of the show.

Farrell Parker is great as the prickly party girl Jen, whose aggressive assertions that she is in her mid 20s, not yet 30, belies a fear that she may be incapable of love. Her duet with Phil where they wonder together “how could [our parents] not have fucked us up?” is both hilarious and heartbreaking.

Suzanne Edgar brought a special and compelling charisma to her role as Victoria, a classic DC career woman who revels in the fact that she has it all together – until we find out she definitely does not. Her awkward attempts at making love with her pervy boyfriend over Skype are told through the song “The Good Stuff,” in which I laughed so hard my abs hurt.

However, it is undoubtedly Doug Wilder, as the Seth Rogan-esque Dennis, who stands out the most in this unlikely mosaic. His Doritos munching, gaming obsessed persona veils a deep loneliness and insecurity. Wilder skillfully allows his character’s true vulnerability to shine through during carefully chosen moments, most notably during the ballad “Alone in the Apartment.”

Aided by a strong set design by Jos. A Musumeci and an engaging and emotive lighting design by Kristin A. Thompson, the characters moved through the world of the play with an ease and fluidity that defies the show’s serial scene structure. At the risk of sounding too vague, the whole show seemed to “gel,” a credit to Director Jason Schlafstein.

There is no doubt that aside from its overall greatness, the most notable thing about You, or Whatever I: Can Get is its on-the-nose satire of young urban adulthood. But it would be a mistake to assume that capturing the zeitgeist is the only thing this show achieves. In fact, what it is really doing is burrowing to the bottom of a question that has haunted far many more generations than this one: What does it mean to be alone with myself? And: What does it mean to be truly in love? I know – it’s all the feelings. But it’s also a strong dose of #awesome.

https://vimeo.com/154327329#at=1

https://vimeo.com/154225868

Running Time: About two hours, with one 15-minute intermission.

You, or Whatever I Can Get plays through February 27, 2016 at Flying V Theatre and National Conservatory of Dramatic Arts, performing at the Silver Spring Black Box – 8641 Colesville Road, in Silver Spring, MD. Fir tickets, purchase them online.

LINK:
Flying V and National Conservatory of Dramatic Arts Bring Back Cap Fringe 2014’s Best Musical ‘You, or Whatever I Can Get’ to the Silver Spring Black Box Theatre From 2/11-2/27 by Heather Whitpan.

RATING:

February 16, 2016
Flying V and National Conservatory of Dramatic Arts Bring Back Cap Fringe 2014’s Best Musical ‘You, or Whatever I Can Get’ to the Silver Spring Black Box Theatre From 2/11-2/27

Coming off the successful, sold out, workshop production at the 2014 Capital Fringe Festival, Flying V brings back its award winning original musical (Best Musical, 2014 CapFringe), YOU, OR WHATEVER I CAN GET in an more fully fleshed-out and even more Awesome elaboration on the original script!

The walk of shame, that guy who’s always on the couch, friends with benefits, J-Date, drinking zelco, sexy Star Wars jammies, Tinder, more drinking, Screaming “I am an attractive man!” alone to your computer screen at 2am. And then that moment of sheer terror – “I’m 30. I’m going die alone”. This original musical looks at the anxieties, insecurities, desperation, and joys of dating and friendship in your late twenties and early thirties, with live music by the team that brought you the hit Disco Jesus and the Apostles of Funk. We’re all looking for someone – I want You. Or whatever I can get.

PERFORMANCES AT:

The Silver Spring Black Box, 8641 Colesville Road, in Silver Spring, MD 20910

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PERFORMANCE TIMES AND DATES:
Thursday, 2/11/16 @ 8pm (Preview)
Friday, 2/12/16 @ 8pm (Preview)
Saturday, 2/13/16 @ 3pm (Preview) & @ 8pm (Opening Night, includes reception)
Sunday, 2/14/16 @ 3pm
Monday, 2/15/16 @ 8pm (Industry Night)
Thursday, 2/18/16 @ 8pm
Friday, 2/19/16 @ 8pm
Saturday, 2/20/16 @ 3pm & 8pm
Sunday, 2/21/16 @ 3pm
Monday, 2/22/16 @ 8pm (Industry Night)
Thursday, 2/25/16 @ 8pm
Friday, 2/26/16 @ 8pm
Saturday, 2/27/16 @ 3pm & 8pm (Closing)

Created & Written by Suzanne Edgar, Farrell Parker, Vaughn Irving*, Steve Przybylski*, Jason Schlafstein*, and Doug Wilder*

Directed by Jason Schlafstein* with Musical Direction by Steve Przybylski*
Co-Produced with National Conservatory of Dramatic Arts

Photo by Paul Gillis Photography.

Starring: Suzanne Edgar, Farrell Parker, Vaughn Irving*+, and Doug Wilder*

*denotes company member
+courtesy of Actors Equity Association

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“*****“You, or Whatever I Can Get is poignant, hilariously funny, and moving all at the same time.”
–Rick Westerkamp, DC Metro Theatre Arts

Read the review here.

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CREATIVE TEAM:
Philip da Costa*: Stage Manager
Sarah Frances Williams: Assistant Stage Manager & Choreographer
Kristin A. Thompson*: Lighting Designer
Jos. B. Musumeci, Jr.*: Set Designer
Kathryn Kawecki: Costume Designer
Gordon Nimmo-Smith: Sound Engineer
Andrew Berry*: Technical Director
Lauren Evans: Master Carpenter
Tia Shearer*: Audience Designer
Britney Mongold*: Props Designer & Scenic Charge
Devon Ross: Front of House Associate

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PURCHASE YOUR TICKETS HERE. ONLY $20!
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Check out photos from the 2014 Capital Fringe Award-winning Production by Paul Gillis Photography.

Press Release by Heather Whitpan.

January 25, 2016
Review: ‘A Midsummer Night’s Dream’ at WSC Avant Bard

Each year, Shakespeare is the most frequently produced playwright in America, and his A Midsummer Night’s Dream is one of the Bard’s most frequently produced plays.

So if you’re going to produce it, you’d better have a fresh hook.

WSC Avant Bard’s production, directed by Randy Baker, does: Midsummer‘s fairy-filled forest now has shadow puppets: Oberon and Titania, Cobweb and Peaseblossom, and Puck.

(In shadow:) Zach Brewster-Geisz (Bottom). Photo by Teresa Castracane Photography.

Of course, Puck, played by the wonderfully animated Daven Ralston, leads the way in this comedy about love’s madness in Athens, or rather in the forest outside of Athens. And she, like the little Mermaid, crosses over, from shadow to human, and hence the mischief begins.

Theseus, played nobly by Christian R. Gibbs, is set to marry Hippolyta, played with confident grace by Melissa Marie Hmelnicky. Their nuptials will take place in a few days to much fanfare.

Egeus, played by a distraught Toni Rae Salmi as Mother Egeus, has a problem.

Her daughter, Hermia, a more than fiesty Jenna Berk, will not marry her mother’s chosen beloved, Demetrius, played with sleepy-eyed determination by Robert Pike.

She’d rather marry romantic Lysander, played romantically by Danny Cackley.

Meanwhile, Hermia’s childhood friend, Helena, played aristocratically by Rachel Viele, can’t keep her hands off Demetrius.

Egeus is angry: if her daughter won’t marry her choice, she wants death or the nunnery.

(From left:) Jon Jon Johnson (Starveling), Zach Brewster-Geisz (Bottom), Annalisa Dias (Flute), Erika Jones (Snout), and Daven Ralston (Puck). Photo by Teresa Castracane Photography.

Meanwhile, puppet designer Alex Vernon and a host of puppeteers give us Oberon (Mr. Gibbs) and Titania (Ms. Hmelnicky). Oberon and Titania are having a tiff over the fate of a young Indian prince. Hippolyta will not obey him.

So Oberon calls Puck to punish his wife: the magic juice of a special flower will make her fall in love with the next “beast” she sees, and Puck is just the fairy woman for the job.

That’s where Quince (Ms. Salmi) and Bottom, played with delightful bravado by Zach Brewster-Geisz, enter the scene. They and their working class crew of Starveling (Jon Jon Johnson), Flute (Annalisa Dias), Snug (Linda Bard), and Snout (Erika Jones) will put on a tragedy for the King’s wedding.

As tragedies are meant for the learned class, you can bet this one’s a farce.

The whole ensemble does a fine job, with the four young lovers getting a particularly deep bow.

(From left:) Robert Pike (Demetrius), Jenna Berk (Hermia), Rachel Viele
(Helena), and Danny Cackley (Lysander). Photo by Teresa Castracane Photography.

Berk’s fiesty Hermia goes after Viele’s not so demure Helena, a bout which nevertheless leaves the long legged Helena running like a frightened chicken through the forest.

Additionally, the raging fight scenes between Cackley’s Lysander and Pike’s Demetrius are a hoot that keeps on hooting, with the choreography unattributed.

Meanwhile, a funny Bottom saves his best for last when he is almost upstaged by three dogs. He ends up taking one of them home.

Director Randy Baker blends the script’s various worlds well, but he really finds the right mixture of mischief and style in this Midsummer’s Act 2, where the convergence of situational antics, physical buffoonery, puppet Punch and Judy, and witty word play leave the audience guffawing.

Daven Ralston (Puck). Photo by Teresa Castracane Photography.

Sets and costumes by Debra Kim Sivigny, with lighting by Katie McCreary, choreography by Elena Velasco, and props by Britney Mongold, lend the production a simple rustic feel, even as they colorfully delineate the play’s characters and plots. There is just enough touch of Indonesia and its Wayang puppet theatre to give context to the production’s musical score.

Music Director James Bigbee Garver has assembled an assortment of percussive instruments, which members of the ensemble play, to underscore and bring pep to Shakespeare’s scenes and dialogue. The results are truly energizing.

As Washington continues its decades’ long love affair with Shakespeare, WSC Avant Bard’s unique contribution to the vision of what Shakespeare means to the 21st century remains vital.

Sure, he’s British. Sure, he uses that funny language. And sure, his world’s full of kings and fairies and lower-class buffoons.

More than any other playwright, however, Shakespeare inspires theatre artists to think in new and exciting ways, outside the box (as some like to say), not really to change the box but to give that box a different look and guise.

Running Time: 2 hours and 5 minutes with an intermission.

A Midsummer Night’s Dream plays through 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.

RATING:

January 18, 2016
‘Glassheart’ at Rorschach Theatre by John Stoltenberg

The evening began enchantingly. The audience was seated on four sides of a square playing area lit by stage lighting, so we could look across and see one another’s faces in that wonderful expectant caesura between life and art. As the lights lowered, a dancerly figure emerged—a petite woman who moved with transfixing grace and soundlessly transformed the space. As if through mimetic magnetic force, she summoned forth the several set pieces being wheeled onstage by two figures in dark overalls: a sofa, a wall unit with books, a door frame, a window. No words had yet been spoken, no special sound or lighting effects had been deployed, yet a marvelous new world had come into being before our eyes.

Lynette Rathnam and Andrew Keller. Photo by C. Stanley Photography.

The performer who so silently had thus awakened and whetted my imagination was Lynette Rathnam. And in the brief promising moments of that prelude—which lent a hallucinatory aura to otherwise ordinary scene-setting—I witnessed Rathnam singlehandedly embody and evoke the illusory dimension known as magical realism, the theatrical esthetic for which Rorschach Theatre is rightly renowned. The company’s most recent such production, a stage adaptation of Neil Gaiman’s Neverwhere (which I did not see), was hugely popular. A year ago its The Minotaur (which I fortunately did see) retold the ancient myth through magic realism inventively and entertainingly. So I was eager to see Rorschach Theatre’s newest such production, Reina Hardy’s Glassheart, a modern phantasmagorical retooling of the ancient fable of a beast in quest of a beauty to marry.

Unfortunately, once the play as written began, my heightened expectations began a slump that continued for the next two hours.

Before I explain that disappointed assessment, I quote—in fairness—from the squib about Hardy’s play on the Dramatists Guild website, because it provides a much more cogent story synopsis than I could come up with:

“Beauty never showed up. After centuries under the curse, the Beast [played here by Andrew Keller] and his one remaining magical servant [Megan Reichelt] have moved into a shabby apartment near a 7-11, hoping for a lower cost of living and better luck with girls. Their building manager [the aforementioned Lynette Rathnam], a fellow immigrant with a taste for gingerbread and children, offers help in navigating this threatening, impossible, completely mundane world, but all her gifts come with a price. When an eligible maiden [Natalie Cutcher] moves into the second floor apartment, the servant (a relentlessly cheery lamp) colludes with the landlady to kidnap the girl. The servant finds herself assimilating the girl’s identity, her name, and bookstore job [becoming] increasingly human [while] the Beast becomes increasingly lost….”

Co-Artistic Director Jenny McConnell Frederick (who co-produced the show with Randy Baker) told the audience at the opening night reception that she discovered Glassheart while reading through a pile of scripts for the Source Festival. So again, in fairness, I quote from the advance press release Frederick’s enthusiastic praise for the work:

“Rorschach has always been driven to works that are both timeless and contemporary. Reina Hardy’s sharp, smart new play embodies that exciting duality. Starting with this ancient tale of a beast searching for his beauty, she explodes the archetypes as she places them in a contemporary urban landscape of grungy apartments, bookstore jobs and questionable landlords. It’s there, in the space between now and always, that the play confronts universal human questions of love, fate and free-will.”

Lee Liebeskind has ably directed the cast of four and elicited fine results from each of the designers—Robbie Hayes (those tellingly low-rent set pieces, which get wheeled about from scene to scene, as if the space itself is whirling), Veronica J. Lancaster (often eery sound), Lauren Cucarola (misleadingly ordinary costumes), Katie McCreary (ever shifting lighting), and Britney Mongold (appropriate props). Composers Aaron Bliden and Mark Halpern have contributed some striking incidental music and lovely songs that also fit the show’s real-yet-unreal circumstances well. The whole creative team did good work, and I commend them; it was solely the writing that I found problematic. As a result, both of the passages quoted above describe a much better play, and a far more illuminating and fulfilling theatergoing experience, than I got the other evening.

The character of the Beast as written (and this is not a reflection on Keller’s earnest and yeomanlike performance) is World’s Worst Boyfriend. We quickly get that he’s a failure as a pickup artist, but geez, it’s no wonder why: When not in his default mode as depressive and needy, he’s controlling and emotionally and physically abusive. I think I was supposed to notice smidgens of redemptive charm in the character now and then, but I’m afraid I would have had to be a desperate heterosexual female with Stockholm Syndrome to do so.

The character of the magical servant is a lamp (played as the script prescribes with incessant chirpiness by Reichelt, wearing a hat that lights up). But don’t think Lumière, the candelabra character in Disney’s musical Beauty and the Beast. Think desperate heterosexual female with a bulb so dim she has devoted herself to a domineering Beast she calls “Boss” in order to help him find an eligible beauty to wed. Not unless I were a rabidly misogynist men’s-rights extremist could I imagine any magical realism realm in which this character’s pathetic and abject subordination would hold appeal.

To be fair, there were many in the friend-filled audience who enjoyed Hardy’s script, as I inferred from their knowing laughs and chuckles. I however found the text laden with the the sort of non sequiturs that suggest a writer doesn’t really know where to go next or why but is going to fake it. The tone meandered and jumped about, never generating through sustained poetic language anything that might transport a listener into fresh headspace. Moreover the text was wisecracky to no apparent dramatic purpose other than to gloss over the fact that not much humor was arising from character; it was mostly tacked-on schtick.

Notwithstanding the script, the evening did have a satisfying up side: Two actors in the show survived the parts provided them and turned in performances that had me thoroughly riveted. One of them, Lynette Rathnam, not only cast that choreographic/mimetic spell in the prelude; she brought to the role of the Beast’s landlady (who is also a Witch) a sure and astute sense of moment-to-moment truth and invention and showed off a talent I’d go out of my way to see onstage again.

Natalie Cutcher and Megan Reichelt. Photo by C. Stanley Photography.

The other actor whose performance impressed me was Natalie Cutcher—in the weird role of Aiofe, the eligible-maiden neighbor from downstairs whom the lamp and the landlady ensnare for the Beast. (At one point, wondering aloud what the heck is going on, Aiofe conjectures that she’s being “sex trafficked”—which Hardy apparently intended as a joke.) Cutcher’s performance was a marvel of inner-emotional-reality ingenuity; from instant to instant she surprised me with inflections and insights into what she had me believing was a real character in surreal circumstances. Through the particularity and credibility of her performance, she created honest-to-gosh magical realism. Cutcher’s performance does this so brilliantly, you could not go wrong—if you go see Glassheart—if you never let her far out of your sight, for to the extent you focus on Cutcher, you might just glimpse the magical realm aspired to by both the playwright and this important company.

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

Glassheart plays through February 16, 2014 at Rorschach Theatre at Atlas Performing Arts Center — 1333 H Street NE in Washington, DC. For tickets, call the box office at (202) 399-7993, or purchase them online.

January 21, 2014
‘Scrooge! The Musical’ at Sandy Spring Theatre Group by Amanda Gunther

The message this time of year is that Christmas is a time for good tidings of great joy, for not only the youngsters but those young at heart and everyone in between. We never have enough time to say or do all that we wish to say and do, so we must do as much as we can with the time that we have. And this Christmas season that includes traveling up to the Gaithersburg Arts Barn to see the Sandy Spring Theatre Group’s production of Scrooge! The Musical. Directed by Ken Kemp with musical direction by Lauren-Nicole Gabel, this musical adaptation of the Dickens’ classic (with Music, Book, and Lyrics by Leslie Bricusse) will give you all the hilly-ho good nature you need at this festive time of year.

Bob Schwartz as Scrooge. Photo by Joey Rushfield.

How easy it is to forget that the classic A Christmas Carol story takes place in a time long before our own, London town in 1843. This charming period in history comes with certain expectations in the way it appears and Costume Designer Kristie Milewski lives up to those expectations with a tremendous effort to ensure that each filthy little street urchin and merchant looks as if they were swept straight up from the streets of Victorian London and transported for the audiences’ viewing pleasure onto the stage. The ill-fitting rags on the children and the subdued yet warm tones in the gowns for the women are a wonderful touch that make watching the cast of nearly 30 mill about during the crowded city-street scenes quite wonderful.

Set Designer Britney Mongold takes a slightly whimsical approach to her scenic paintings that decorate the street. Shop fronts, looking as if they’ve sprung from the pages of Dickens’ novel—if Dickens’ novel had been illustrated in full color—flank either side of the stage, including the butcher and the baker and of course the toy shop! It’s Mongold’s clever use of a fading screen at the back of the stage that makes for some rather intriguing ‘special effects’ throughout the production, perfectly suitable for the arrival of various apparitions. After all, this is a ghost story, and what better way to make a ghost appear spooky than to highlight him in the shadows of a screen, present one minute and gone the next?

Musical Director Lauren-Nicole Gabel works exceptionally well with the principle performers to ensure that they imbue their characters with rich emotions and crystal clear notes. The opening and closing numbers to the production were a bit of a struggle for the ensemble; difficult harmonies and notes off-key, but this might easily be chalked up to ‘opening night jitters.’ There were also times when the musical track unfortunately drowned some of these talented singers in smaller group numbers like “Father Christmas” and “The Milk of Human Kindness.” But for the most part the ensemble was engaging and very enthusiastic, smiles all around especially for “Thank You Very Much.”

Director Ken Kemp mounts a fine production with his balance of ensemble verses principles in the show. More often than not a musical of this caliber is overrun with additional children or adult ensemble members which crowd the stage, but Kemp chose the perfect number of small children to make the chorus numbers lively without feeling cramped and the right number of adults (including some brilliant double-casting) to make the street scenes feel crowded but not squashed. Having all of the right singing principles in the right role as well is a mark of excellence on Kemp’s production.

Hilly-ho and cheer is widely spread when the Fezziwig family take to the stage during “December the 25th.” Master Fezziwig (Gary Carl Fackenthall) and the Missus (BJ Bergman Angstadt) give a robust and hearty rendition of that particular number, spreading jolly good tidings all across the stage. Fackenthall’s generously loud sound echoes that of Angstadt’s and the couple make merry adding a great deal of levity to the performance in just this one scene. They could truly be called ‘scene-stealers,’ especially Angstadt and her swaggering sway as she tries to get every man on stage to dance with her.

Jacob Marley (Tony Pisarra) who was dead to begin with, brings a new meaning to being “haunted by a Christmas spirit.” Pisarra takes a rough and dark interpretation to the character which makes him terribly frightening; eking out the true nature of Dickens’ ghostly visit in hopes of terrifying old Scrooge into changing. Pisarra’s rich and gravelly voice is perfect for this role and listening to him patter and roar his way through “Make the Most of this World” sends a little shiver up your spine.

It is the gentle Ghost of Christmas Past (Kaycie Goral) that sheds a more delicate light on the situation. With a pristine voice, her solo “Love While You Can” is a bittersweet reminder that time is short and life is precious. Goral’s voice adds a wonderful fourth to the four-part harmony of “Happiness,” by far the most beautiful and well executed song in the production. This number features Young Ebenezer (Gabriel T. Potter) and Isabel (Lauren-Nicole Gabel), as well Scrooge and the aforementioned apparition. Together their voices float daintily through the melody, blending angelic sounds that truly ring the bells of happiness for all to hear.

Potter and Gabel give a touching, if not heart-wrenching scene when she is forced to break the young fool’s heart, which leads into a stunning duet, “You-You,” sung by Potter and Scrooge (Bob Schwartz). Potter’s gently wounded emotions seep into his glistening tenor tones while the deeply regretful Schwartz carries the baritone lines of this number, making it the second best song in the production.

The Ghost of Christmas Present (Jim Eustice) is a jolly good soul with a slightly snarky sense of humor. From the moment he sweeps onto the stage in his enormously fabulous robes and holly crown there is a good sense of giddiness that follows in his wake. Eustice leads Scrooge and company in a rousing rendition if “I Like Life” inspiring bursts of love and true Christmas spirit as he does. Guiding Scrooge to the Cratchit family home, Eustice is the epitome of perfection in this role.

Bob Cratchit (Chris Penick) while not the strongest of singers, is a talented actor who uses his gestures and facial expressions to carry the joviality of his song, “Christmas Children.” His accent, excepting Scrooge’s, is the most clearly articulated in the production. Cratchit’s children Kathy (Rebecca Korn) and Tiny Tim (Clara Harney) have exceptionally gifted voices that are clear like bells and soft like angels. Harney is precious beyond compare and leads the Cratchit family in the delightfully dulcet carol “The Beautiful Day.” Late in Act II when the inevitable becomes Tiny Tim it is Penick’s moving performance in the churchyard that strikes the hearts of the audience, drawing forth tears for a future that may yet still come true.

The cast of ‘Scrooge! The Musical.’ Photo by Joey Rushfield.

But the man of the hour, Mr. Bob Schwartz, truly understands the finer and more subtle nuances of playing Ebenezer Scrooge. There is a pinched flare of anger, but not fury, which burbles in his earlier numbers like “M.O.N.E.Y.” and “I Hate People,” that is also infused with a hint of humor as he bemoans his existence among the dreary and impoverished people of London. Schwartz digs deep to find raw emotions and expose them for solos like the reprise of “Happiness.” And it is truly touching, albeit haunting and sorrowful, when he sings “A Better Life.” Schwartz has a stunning voice that isn’t truly revealed until his duet and quartet just before the end of Act I, making for a brilliant surprise when you finally hear him sing as a singer, rather than singing as a character singer in the beginning of the show. Balancing the transformation against all of his other textually defined characteristics; Schwartz has a handle on the miser, making him see life and love in a brand new light.

Don’t miss this heart-warming Scrooge! The Musical. It is recommended that you purchase tickets in advance for this festive merriment as several shows have already sold out.

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

Scrooge! The Musical plays through December 22, 2013 at the Sandy Spring Theatre Group at the Gaithersburg Arts Barn—311 Kent Square Road in Gaithersburg, MD. For tickets, call the box office at (301) 258-6394, or purchase them online.

LINK
Watch the entire film of the 1970 film Scrooge! The Musical with Albert Finney.
https://youtu.be/yg6_TNyGfPU

December 7, 2013