If like me you remember songwriter Marvin Hamlisch but have no real recollection of lyricist Carole Bayer Sager, you’re not alone, and it’s further testament that lyricists don’t get the acclaim they deserve. They’re Playing Our Song is a playful look at how Hamlisch and Sager evolved from a successful songwriter partnership into a real-life romantic relationship for several years despite on and off again bumps, near-complete incompatibility, and an ex-boyfriend who stayed in the picture for months.
It all starts off innocently enough. Song lyricist Sonia blusters in to audition for Vernon, who sits in deep concentration at the piano plucking out just the right notes to fit his latest song. He ignores her until he’s ready, thus establishing their dynamics before they’ve uttered a word to each other. Sonia is perpetually late, loud, and verbose (she’s a lyricist so words are golden); he’s quiet, introspective, and organized. From the beginning, sparks fly, and not always the good kind. After a rocky start that almost stops the show before it starts, he plays the song he composed with lyrics she sent him. Their creation, “Falling,” is quiet and breathtaking, and they both pause in reflection. But then she jumps up in alarm and nearly storms out overcome with emotions and insecurity. Vernon is bewildered by her unexpected reaction, they nearly part ways — again — but then find a tenuous way back to try and try again. The show keeps the audience engaged with the on-and-off relationship of a successful New York City songwriting team. They ponder as they separately sing “If He/She Really Knew Me” and are thrilled when they hear their songs played on the radio, thus the musical’s title. The show captures their creative struggles and persevering respect and affection for each other through the turmoil as they create popular songs steeped in emotional awareness.
Alex Greenberg as Sonia and Rob Gorman as Vernon in ‘They’re Playing Our Song.’ Photo by Samantha Fogle.
Casting works well for this odd couple. Rob Gorman as Vernon has a sonorous tenor voice that reaches into a sweet falsetto that aches with tenderness. Gorman can also turn on a dime from bewildered to frustrated to smitten when dealing with his mercurial writing partner. He portrays the character’s glib veneer that can rattle off clever rejoinders with charm and poise. At the same time with poignant expressions and pauses, he hints at the depth and hidden layers of Vernon’s vulnerability that make him seem distant and aloof.
Alex Garcia Greenberg dashes about in a whirlwind as a disheveled Sonia, thoroughly commanding her physical space, totally comfortable making nonsensical demands, and then standing her ground to get what she wants, no matter what. From the beginning, Sonia’s co-dependent relationship with the never-seen Leon would have nipped any other relationship in the bud — he calls in distress in the middle of the night, he’s always in such near collapse that she hustles over to save and salvage. Greenberg’s Sonia carries it all with aplomb. What she lacks in comforting vocal delivery, she makes up with sheer power that belts out in even the upper register. The two actors complement each other beautifully and are a great match.
Direction by Bruce Hirsch keeps the levity flowing. Having additional actors serve as “voices” for the two characters bumps them all into a goofy stratosphere that fits the show’s tone perfectly. When the ensemble players enter wearing the same attire as the main characters, the chuckles can’t help but emerge. Adorable costume design by Stephenie Yee includes silk black and white striped pajamas for Vernon’s group and playfully designed blue patterned robes for Sonia’s. Their inner “voices” explain what the characters are really feeling, suggest options, and in one case shout emphatically “No!” to halt proceeding into treacherous emotional territory. All the players dance jubilantly to a fun night at the club to the song “Working It Out” and recline together as the couple contemplates their next steps. More than a Greek chorus, the ensemble serves as an emotional community under Hirsch’s effective direction.
TOP: Rachel Scheer, Alex Greenberg, and Stephanie Wesley; ABOVE: Rob Gorman, Mark Ludder, Paul Zacolla, and David Hoffman, in ‘They’re Playing Our Song.’ Photos by Samantha Fogle.
Vernon and Sonia couldn’t be more different in terms of temperament, timeliness, and organization, and the design elements reflect the contrasts. The multipurpose set design by Hirsch and Jennifer Georgia is versatile in its maneuverability and function with a change required each scene. The changes were rapid and well organized, but the need for a different setting for every scene unfortunately got wearying. The extensive props required a village of handlers with Kay Holcombe and assistance set dressing by Jennifer Walker. Vernon’s famous awards are displayed prominently — a Grammy, an Oscar (that Sonia fumbles with irreverently), and a national music award. Sonia’s place as expected is as cluttered and disheveled as she is and keeps the set handlers busy.
While the show was first performed in the 1980s, I’m convinced that like lyricists, it hasn’t gotten its due. It feels ageless in its quest to show the value of friendship and getting out of your comfort zone. This production of They’re Playing Our Song is well-designed and does justice to the stellar pedigree of the book by Neil Simon, music by Marvin Hamlisch, and lyrics by Carole Bayer Sager. It’s a great catch.
Running Time: Two hours and 30 minutes, including one 15-minute intermission.
They’re Playing Our Song plays through April 28, 2024 (Friday and Saturday at 8 PM; Sunday at 2 PM), presented by The Gaithersburg Arts Barn in partnership with the Kentlands Community Players performing at the Arts Barn, 311 Kent Square Road Gaithersburg, MD. For tickets ($24; $20, students 15–21; $15 your (14 and under), buy them at the door or purchase them online. Online ticket sales end two hours prior to the performance. Tickets may also be purchased in person at the Arts Barn box office or by contacting the Arts Barn (301-258-6394).
Recommended for ages 12 and up.
They’re Playing Our Song
Book by Neil Simon, Music by Marvin Hamlisch, Lyrics by Carole Bayer Sager
FEATURING
Bob Gorman as Vernon
Alex Garcia Greenberg as Soni
Ensemble
Sonia’s Voices—Rachel Scheer, Rachel Schlaff, Stephanie Wesley
Vernon’s Voices—David Hofmann, Mark Ludder, Paul Zoccola
In an already Tudor-esque venue, the Gaithersburg Arts Barn, the Sandy Spring Theatre Group has put on Reed Martin and Austin Tichenor’s William Shakespeare’s Long Lost First Play (abridged). The plot: William Shakespeare’s very first play, written when he was just 17, has been discovered in “a parking lot in Leicester, England (next to a pile of bones that didn’t look that important).” (That legitimately kills me.) The one problem is that the manuscript is 100 hours long, so its discoverers have decided to abridge it to only 90 minutes, and wacky hijinks ensue. The show is made up of Shakespeare’s “writings” as well as the discoverers’ squabbling about their creative choices in abridging it.
It’s an appealing premise with real promise, reminiscent of the musical about writing a musical [title of show], but Long Lost First Play encounters the same problems: the meta-joke is fun for maybe 15 minutes but doesn’t evolve beyond its premise and gets old quickly, despite energetic performances. The actors’ energy, genuinely hilarious physical comedy, and deeply impressive memorization of all those rapid-fire lines, as well as the delightful set design and vivid lighting, remain radiant despite a shallow, lagging script not worthy of their talents.
John Van Eck, Vanessa Markowitz, and Nadia Palacios in ‘Shakespeare’s Long Lost First Play.’ Photo by Stephenie Yee.
Actors Vanessa Markowitz, John Van Eck, and Nadia Palacios occupy three main roles as the Shakespeare enthusiasts who have decided to abridge and perform William Shakespeare’s early musings. The result: a purposefully jumbled play. Unfortunately, while it can be done, making a joke about something not being funny or entertaining doesn’t make it funny or entertaining. There are many of these in this show. When The New York Times called the Folger performance of this show “wickedly funny,” and Broadway World called it “an absolute resolute hoot,” I have to believe it’s possible to make this show funny. I then have to conclude that it comes down to ridiculously precise, thoughtful performance.
Long Lost First Play is a breeze of basic character references with little depth. However, I think that the Sandy Spring Theatre actors can wrestle through this to help their energetic performances contribute to the narrative success of the show as a whole. Where it makes sense in the script, what if Falstaff were played in such a way that alluded to his depth? Sir John Falstaff is one of the greatest characters in literary history, and deserves more meat to his reference than “Hey! Remember the fat guy who was friends with Prince Hal, or something? Pretty funny guy, huh?” The Sandy Spring Theatre actors are giving their work tremendous physical energy already but could try adjusting their performances to play with Shakespeare’s ideas. The reasons Shakespeare is regarded as such a genius, and why his beloved, deeply human characters have stood the test of time, are not alluded to in this script. They could give these Shakespeare characters — of course, Reed Martin and Austin Tichenor’s versions of Shakespeare characters — more than exaggerated SNL takes on the one-line summary of each character’s whole deal. The good news for these actors is that there is also a great deal more comic fodder when the character’s entire personality is available for lampooning, rather than just one or two traits. There’s so much there. It’s Shakespeare. Have at it.
With regard to the part of the show about the act of putting on a play, the show suffers from the standard problem in most meta-humor media, like [title of show]: repetition of the same couple jokes. On the whole, Long Lost First Play has numerous jokes that are truly funny, or are intentionally bad with a genuinely funny reaction from the actors to it. About half of the jokes, though, are milquetoast and/or dated and/or unintelligently non-PC for little payoff. For example, the “actor who is supposed to be playing Caliban misreads it as ‘Taliban’ and comes out in a headscarf doing a voice” part needs no comment. I feel genuinely bad for these excellent actors, who had to memorize 100+ minutes of material simply not worthy of their superb line memorization and delivery skills.
Clockwise from top left: John Van Eck and Nadia Palacios; Vanessa Markowitz and Nadia Palacios; Vanessa Markowitz and Nadia Palacios; John Van Eck, Nadia Palacios, and Vanessa Markowitz in ‘Shakespeare’s Long Lost First Play.’ Photos by Stephenie Yee.
Bruce Hirsch, director and sound designer, creates a seamless and immersive listening experience, with no microphone issues or sound effect errors anywhere to be found. Given the variety of sounds in the show, and their importance to the script and the storytelling within, his ability to pull them all off is deeply impressive. Lighting Designer Steve Deming’s work is vividly on display, with multicolored lighting selected pitch-perfectly to illuminate the wacky story on display. According to the show program, he has been collaborating with community theaters for over two decades, and it easily shows. Deming’s work, executed with Light Board manager Cor Estoll, is one of this production’s strongest points. Also, Set Designer Matt Ratz and Set Construction manager Chris Fogle have created beautiful, highly detailed illustrated panels. Their work is the best set painting I’ve seen in a community theater production.
The energy brought by these actors to a bad script is admirable and impressive, and their joy is infectious. I think the problems in the script could be mitigated with some more subtleties in their already sparkling, demanding performances. There are little things they can do to bring out Shakespeare’s genius, and I would be on the edge of my seat to see how this tremendously talented trio would do it.
Running Time: Approximately two hours, with one 15-minute intermission.
William Shakespeare’s Long Lost First Play (abridged) plays through April 30, 2023, presented in partnership with Sandy Spring Theatre Group at Gaithersburg Arts Barn, 311 Kent Square Road, Gaithersburg, MD. Tickets ($22, $20 for students 15–21, $15, for youth 14 and under) can be purchased online.
Recommended for ages 12 and up.
COVID Safety: Masks are encouraged but not required.
Those who aspire to great heights of theatrical art tend to look down on comedy. They don’t take it seriously, which is understandable, since it is, by definition, not serious. Famed comic actors yearn to dig their teeth into tragic roles. Contemporary theaters mount plays plumbing the depths of human despair or depravity, or, if they do comedy, it is edgy black comedy, which presents situations so ghastly that they veer into farce, and invite the audience to chuckle uneasily at the characters’ misery. The mission of contemporary theater is apparently to challenge the audience, rather than to amuse. So comedies, which take seriously their mandate to entertain, are dismissed as frivolous fluff, unworthy of “the Theatre.”
Amy Black, Jack Mayo, Mark Steimer in Plaza Suite. Photo by Bill Spitz.
What these artistes overlook is that comedy can delve into subjects as serious and poignant as drama, but is much harder to do well. Just about any actor with guts can bare his or her soul, but to do it while making an audience laugh requires nerve, range, timing and skill.
Neil Simon, the Tony and Pulitzer-winning playwright who passed away last year at the age of 91, is the master of such comedy. Serious theatre folk on play selection committees tend to roll their eyes and say, “not another Neil Simon show — oh, well, if we must — the oldies will roll in and laugh and I guess we can make some money so we can do ‘night, Mother next season.” But comedies like Simon’s deserve more serious respect.
An excellent case in point is Sandy Spring Theatre Group and Arts on the Green’s production of Plaza Suite at the Arts Barn. Plaza Suite, which opened on Broadway in 1968, is one of Simon’s best-known shows. In essence, it is three one-act plays, all taking place in Suite 719 of the Plaza Hotel in New York. Director Bruce Hirsch guides the production with a deft hand, drawing nuance out of the characters’ relationships, while keeping the comedy flowing. He avoids the pitfall some directors have fallen into of casting the same actors as all three principal couples; he only doubles the minor roles, and chooses actors most suitable for the major ones.
The most poignant of the three stories is the first, in which a couple who are (or aren’t) celebrating their 23rd (or 24th) wedding anniversary in the suite in which they spent (or didn’t spend) their wedding night grapple with the revelation that the husband is having an affair with his secretary. The pace of this act could be faster, and the comedy slightly more pointed, perhaps, without losing the pathos. Dash Samari and Jack Mayo make the most of small supporting roles, with Mayo’s annoying humming being a nice touch. Rachel Harding is suitably brittle and condescending as the secretary. Mark Steimer deftly manages to evoke some sympathy for the philandering husband, Sam Nash, as he expresses desperate vanity, guilt, anger, and confusion. And Amy Black, as Karen Nash, is by turns bitterly sarcastic, desperately loving, strong and self-possessed, and ultimately devastated at the disintegration of her marriage. It is a fine performance that shows the emotional complexity that comedy can express.
The second story is equally nuanced, but more unusual – and funnier. A big Hollywood producer invites his old high school sweetheart up to his suite “just to say hello.” It is fairly clear he is a lothario bent on seducing her, and the big question is, will she or won’t she? But as smooth operator Jesse Kiplinger, Kirk Patton Jr. manages to bring genuine pathos to a role usually portrayed as smarmy. He has had his fill of the grasping, artificial women of Hollywood, and is hoping that his old flame will turn out to be “the one decent woman left in the world” — a rather ironic wish, given his intention to lure her into adultery. She, meanwhile, turns out to be unhappily married, heavily drinking, and interested only in the very Tinseltown glamor that he is hoping she will help him leave behind. Kryss Lacovaro is terrific as the seemingly innocent Muriel, getting increasingly drunk and letting her true feelings slip with impeccable comic timing.
Susan Paisner, Rachael Harding, Jim Kitterman in ‘Plaza Suite.’ Photo by Bill Spitz.
The third story is the most purely comic of the three. Norma and Roy Hubley are hosting their daughter’s wedding — if they can get her to come out of the bathroom, where she has locked herself in a fit of cold feet. Rachel Harding reappears here as the beautiful bride, and Dash Samari as the amusingly matter-of-fact groom. Jim Kitterman is good as the father of the bride, getting increasingly frustrated, bruised and disheveled as he attempts to extract his daughter. He could have brought even more apoplectic energy to the role to match the exquisite kvetching of Susan Paisner as his wife. Paisner turns in a tour-de-force comic performance, delivering many of her lines with a deadpan calm that makes the chaos even funnier. But even here in the midst of the slapstick humor, there is a poignant emotional core when the parents realize the source of their daughter’s distress. Nevertheless, because this is comedy, an evening that began painting a dark picture of marriage ends with a hopeful wedding.
Bill Brown’s set, constructed by Steve Leshin, makes excellent use of the Arts Barn’s limited stage space, with the bedroom of the suite upstage behind an invisible “wall,” leaving all of the downstage area available for the living room. It would be nice to have something beyond the windows to evoke the view, and if the bathroom door had opened the other way, the audience wouldn’t see the dark backstage area. But overall, it is a good set, especially since it must be packed away in a small space between performances. Joe Conner’s lighting design, operated by Jack Mayo when not onstage, gets the job done, although it seems to take a strangely long time for the bellhop to turn the lights on at the beginning, which slows the pace of the first scene even more.
The costumes, by the talented Stephenie Yee, are period-appropriate and perfect for the characters, from the spurned wife’s dowdy ensemble at the beginning to the gorgeous wedding dress at the end.
True, these plays are about wealthy white people and their funny first-world problems. We definitely need more diverse stories in theatre. But they do not inevitably have to be devastating, dreary or depressing. We are no longer in a position in our society where complacent audiences need to be forced to contemplate the evils of the world every time they enter a theater. The ills are all too present to us every day. Comedy gives credit to the audience both in their intelligent awareness and their legitimate need to be entertained. The kind of plays Simon wrote can create a bond between the people in the audience and the people on stage, as they explore together the human emotion and pain that lie at the core of comedy.
Running Time: Two hours, with one 15-minute intermission.
Plaza Suite, presented by Sandy Spring Theatre Group, plays through February 24, 2019, Fridays and Saturdays at 8 pm, Sunday Matinees at 2 pm, at The Arts Barn, 311 Kent Square Road, Gaithersburg, MD. Purchase tickets at the door, at 301-258-6394, or online.
Barely two months ago, the call went out for auditions to this cast. This is worth mentioning because in that short time, considering all the holiday distractions and scheduling challenges, the Montgomery Playhouse production that I saw last night at Gaithersburg Arts Barn was flawless, energetic, funny, poignant, and colorful! The Reluctant Dragon is what live family theater is all about!
The dynamic duo of producer David Jones and director Loretto McNally have once again created a thoroughly delightful community theatre experience. Brilliantly whimsical costumes, created by Stephanie Yee and Erica Arnold, color every scene. Even the rubber chicken has an outfit! These vibrant coverings stand out against a perfectly minimalist set – consisting of a rock, a bench, and some trees designed by David Jones. Along with the underlying soundtrack – reminiscent of Pee Wee’s Big Adventure, every element of the production kept the action and storyline zipping along at a dizzying pace!
Uniquely – I believe – in a prologue to The Montgomery Playhouse production, we meet the story’s understaffed “due to budget restrictions” local militia troop played by leader Nikolas Henle and his subordinates played by Anastasia and Zachery Rittenhousesmith who recruit the help of additional militia members from the audience. Our audience yielded three adorable young ladies whose candid reactions throughout the evening bespoke the true joy and honesty of the entire cast’s performance.
That bit of housekeeping accomplished, our tale begins as a pair of flimflam sales folks, Joe & Sam, played by Trish Pisarra and Rachael Harding, grab our attention as they conspire to wrench a fortune from the good people in the zany village of Veesaldorf.
Local ‘Veesal’ youngster Charity, played by Jade Fraction, longs to have her passion for poetry appreciated by anyone – especially her wildly distracted parents played by Bruce Hirsch and Joy Cecilly Gerst. Charity’s kvetching mom has a to-do list of ridiculous chores which Charity and her clinically self-deprecating dad endeavor diligently to avoid. Charity’s dad encounters a real live dragon during one of his chore-dodging outings and rushes home to incite all manner of harm against the beast. He seeks action from a politically incompetent mayor played masterfully by Marc Rehr who’s only redeeming quality is the overriding proficiency of his omnipresent subordinate Jenkins played by Alexandra Burris. She fills the role like TV’s Corporal “Radar” O’Reilly did for whoever was running the 4077th MASH unit.
Once the Dragon, played by Cassandra Redding, appears, we begin to see the true mastery of the Yee/Arnold design team. Complete with claws, an enormous tail and wings – the dragon highlights your visual experience. Redding’s silly, bouncy, incredulous portrayal is childlike magic! In collusion with Charity, this pair of prolific poetic progenies rhymes its way through fantasy, politics, and conformity with ease and grace.
To deal with the threat which a dragon supposedly presents, the mayor hires a knight played by Mollybeth Rushfield. If you are familiar with Ms. Rushfield’s talents, you are aware that every element is over the top. Her gloriously festooned knight’s armor is as zany as her antics, complete with a knit helmet, bedazzled tunic, sparkly jeggings and silver high-top “Chucks.” I must, at this point, highlight the professionalism of her ever-present squire played by Samantha Fraction. She is the perfect straight man to this comedic duo. How she was able to maintain composure – even during those “Monty Python-esque” galloping scenes – is the ultimate thespianism.
Please – feed the kids early and take them to see The Reluctant Dragon. These days – a little silliness isn’t the worst thing you could do for your family!
Running Time: 80 minutes with no intermission
The Reluctant Dragon performs weekends January 5 through 21, 2018, at The Montgomery Playhouse, performing at The Gaithersburg Arts Barn – 311 Kent Square Road, in Gaithersburg, MD. For tickets, call (301) 258-6394 or go online.
Just when you thought that scandalous political agendas were restricted to CNN’s 24-hour news cycle, along comes An American Daughter, Wendy Wasserstein’s 1997 play about a woman’s nomination as surgeon general and the threats her past play on her potential political appointment. In our current culture of alternative facts, fake news, and spin doctors, this Tony Award-winning play is back in fashion 20 years after its debut. Fortunately for us, Wendy Wasserstein’s witty repartee, unlike leg warmers and jumpsuits, never go out of style.
The show opens with Lyssa Dent Hughes (played with tight-wadded aplomb by Kiersten Harris) watching her own televised speech on TV. Immediately, I was impressed with Director Bruce Hirsch’s creative use of space. The stage at the Arts Barn is not suited for a bulky, 90s era television downstage; it would block sight lines in the first 2 rows. Hirsch made a simple adjustment, which had Harris holding a remote control while watching herself. This allows the audience to know exactly what Harris is doing without compromising his audience’s viewing pleasure. Sometimes, the simplest fix can solve a complexity of problems.
This production is like a fine wine: it gets better with age and has a sophisticated palate. The energy level is a bit low at the start of the show, as if the actors are feeling each other out. It’s when Lyssa and her oldest friend, Dr. Judith (not Judy, don’t even try it) B. Kaufman, an African American Jew who casts her sins out into the Potomac, start singing together on the couch that the familiarity and history come alive.
The cast of An American Daughter: Zack Walsh, Carole Preston, Alexis Amarante, Stuart Rick, Kiersten Harris, Michael Abendshein, Brandie Peterson, Bob Harbaum, and Tom Moore. Photo by Scott D’Vileskis.
With each passing scene, the comfort level and backstory become more rich and layered, resulting in many warm moments in which the audience gets caught up in memories as if they were appearing on a slide show behind the actors’ heads.
It’s harder than it looks to interestingly portray a character who’s deemed “boring” more than once in the show, but Harris does just that. Her inner tension is like a tightly wound ball of yarn that begins to unravel as characters come in and pull at her strings. Lyssa internalizes a lot of her feelings because she’s the good girl who stays contained and classy; she’s had a lot of practice with handshakes and smiles as a senator’s daughter. The audience can feel Harris trying to bury Lyssa’s inner voice, which is screaming at everyone to get their heads out of their keisters and leave her alone. She is classy, fierce, vulnerable, resigned, worried, caring, frigid and feisty.
The other characters bring their own schtick with them, encircling Lyssa in a ring of agendas. Notably, Michael Abendshein’s Morrow is everything that Lyssa isn’t: blunt, flamboyant, right wing, gay, and a “last word” kind of guy. His utter loneliness lies underneath the wit, barbs, and flippant attitude about hanging out with his best friend, and Abendshien does not try to evoke reactions. Kudos go to Hirsch for casting against type, because Abendshein makes it work and it enhances our interest.
Hirsch’s non-typecasting works well with Lyssa’s anti-establishment, agnostic Jewish husband, played with measured sincerity and repression by Bob Harbaum. His scene with Quincy Quince (portrayed by the fabulous Alexis Amarante) is ripe with sexual tension, confusion, and don’t forget, sexual tension. Amarante also crackles with Harris as she simultaneously shames and admires her.
Another standout is Stuart Rick as Senator Alan Hughes, a conservative lifer who never crosses the line in either direction. He supports and loves his daughter unconditionally yet does not share her liberal political views. Again, Rick succeeds at keeping his character supremely watchable without one outburst, moment of catharsis, or sudden revelation. His marriage to Charlotte “Chubby” Hughes, played by the hilarious and slight Carole Preston, lends some great tension breakers. When they sing a Dinah Shore song to punctuate a story, it is reminiscent of every head in the hands moment when your parents make you want to sink into the floor.
Brandie Peterson as Dr. Judith brings the audience an angry, brilliant, spiritual, and lonely woman who feels most at home with her oldest friend. Her characterization is grounded and likeable, and her tender relationship with Morrow has us wishing that the latter isn’t gay.
Zack Walsh arrives with prepubescent, sycophantic flair as PR whiz kid Billy Robbins, garnering laughs with his extra wink-winks and “I got ya covered” air gun. Billy walks in an exaggerated strut, as if he is trying to act like a spin doctor rather than be one, which nails this character and makes this virtual cameo most memorable.
Hirsch creates a wonderful climactic scene in which Timber Tucker (Tom Moore, who is most effective in his salacious, Bill O’Reilly interview scenes) interviews both Dr. Judith and Lyssa in the latter’s living room (beautifully constructed and accessorized by this talented production team). Members of the show’s crew come on stage as members of Tucker’s crew, with Walsh doubling as the young boom mic operator in a grungy wool hat. He joins lighting op Mark Shullenbarger and sound op Matthew Datcher as the two cameramen, with the three of them triangulating around the interview space.
Admittedly, this is not Wasserstein’s tightest script. She missed some connections and created some confusion in ways that, likely, could have been avoided.
Montgomery Playhouse, in partnership with the City of Gaithersburg’s Arts on the Green, brings An American Daughter successfully to the stage with a satisfying and dignified ending that would put CNN and other 24-hour news channels out of business. After all, as Timber Tucker would say, “Scandal is the nature of the business.”
Running Time: Two and a half hours, with a 15-minute intermission.
An American Daughter plays through May 28, 2017, at The Montgomery Playhouse and Arts on the Green performing at The Gaithersburg Arts Barn – 311 Kent Square Road, in Gaithersburg, MD. For tickets, call the box office at (301) 258-6394, buy them at the door, or purchase them online.
LINK: Review #1: ‘An American Daughter’ at Montgomery Playhouse and Arts on the Green by Mark Ludder.
Humanity can never quite manage to get out of its own way. And that’s a good thing for the entertainment industry. Since “there is nothing new under the sun,” there is constant material for every next production. Certainly playwright Wendy Wasserstein capitalizes on this reality with her offering of An American Daughter. Written in the late 1990’s following her critically acclaimed The Sisters Rosensweig, all those whispered or repressed imaginings of life’s challenges and confusions are brought to the surface like a rash which no ointment can ease.
The cast of An American Daughter: Zack Walsh, Carole Preston, Alexis Amarante, Stuart Rick, Kiersten Harris, Michael Abendshein, Brandie Peterson, Bob Harbaum, and Tom Moore. Photo by Scott D’Vileskis.
Regrettable hiccups in everyday life can create insurmountable stumbling blocks as Lyssa Dent Hughes played by Kiersten Harris discovers when she is nominated for US Surgeon General. Under the artificial scrutiny of press coverage Lyssa is demonized by political reporter Timber Tucker (Tom Moore) who highlights her failure to respond to a Jury Duty summons against her mid-western “ice box cakes” and perfect soccer-mom persona. The cast is packed with dubious sinner/saint personalities: Lyssa’s dad – long time US Senator Alan Hughes (Stuart Rick) supports his daughter’s passion and idealism in spite of his opposing political views while touting the blessings of his fourth wife Charlotte “Chubby” Hughes (Carole Preston).
Lyssa’s lecherous, foul-mouthed, self-aggrandizing husband and university professor Walter Abramson (Bob Harbaum) rests on the laurels of a 5-year-old book he wrote while ogling his prize student Quincy Quince (Alexis Amarante). Her life’s mission is to champion the struggle of every female with aspirations beyond domesticity even while undermining the sanctity of Lyssa’s marriage.
Walter’s best friend – Morrow McCarthy (Michael Abendshein) stands on his Gay Conservative imperialist soap box while throwing Lyssa under the bus by reminding reporter Tucker of her Jury Duty neglect. Lyssa’s best friend Judith B. Kaufman (Brandie Peterson) is so wrapped up as an infertile, divorced, Black Jewish female medical professional that she can hardly be supportive when it seems Lyssa’s appointment is in jeopardy. Lyssa at one point laments to her father: “You never told me there was a price.” Even the Senator’s spin doctor – Billy Robbins (Zach Walsh) is of no help with his exuberant wordsmithing on Lyssa’s behalf.
Scarce blanks left between the lines of the script are artfully filled on and off stage by Mark Shullenbarger, Andie Allison, Matthew Datcher, Elijah Fischer, Jack Husted, Susan Clic, and Roger Stone.
My take on all this is “Let any one of us who is without sin be the first to throw a stone.”
Beyond all the drama I must acknowledge the mastery of Director Bruce Hirsch who somehow managed to impart on his talented and energetic cast the ability to keep the pace moving forward, in spite of a storyline which hopped and skipped through life’s blemishes like a Labrador sighting a squirrel.
Stage Managers Evelyn Renshaw and Cathy Clark manipulated every element of the immaculate set designed by David Jones, and built with the help of Steve Deming, Mark Shullenbarger, and Joy Wyne. The image captured and presented, with intimate & detailed properties gathered by Nancy Davis, was truly that of a living room in a Georgetown townhome complete with the perceived view from an elevated window down to a street buzzing with media activity.
It seems life doesn’t come with instructions. But as Lyssa’s ancestor General Ulysses S. Grant wrote in a letter to his daughter “Our task is to rise & continue.”
Running Time: Two hours and 30 minutes, with a 15-minute intermission.
An American Daughter plays through May 28, 2017, at The Montgomery Playhouse and Arts on the Green performing at The Gaithersburg Arts Barn – 311 Kent Square Road, in Gaithersburg, MD. For tickets, call the box office at (301) 258-6394, buy them at the door, or purchase them online.
LINK: Review #2: ‘An American Daughter’ at Montgomery Playhouse and Arts on the Green by Mara Bayewitz.
This weekend two theater companies, Silver Spring Stage and The Montgomery County Playhouse, collaborated to present the 2016 One-Act Festival. This weekend, The Montgomery Playhouse performed their One Act Plays at Silver Spring Stage.
Cole Greenberg and Z. Jones in ‘Marriage Suite.’ Photo by David Jones
The first play, Marriage Suite, was comprised of a talented young cast. Playwright Daria Kerschenbaum is still a student at Thomas S. Wootton High School and was the winner of the Center Stage Young Playwrights Festival. This is the new play’s premiere.
The play deals with marriage and procreation after the apocalypse. A young couple is forced into marriage because they are deemed unaffected by radiation. If they can’t bond and produce offspring, there may be severe consequences.
It is obvious from the start that this is scarier than a blind date, and the play successfully displays the awkwardness of a first encounter with a stranger, something comparable to Internet Dating, but under the shadow of Orwell’s ‘Big Brother’ in 1984. The plot was, at times, too vague, and it was difficult trying to figure out what was happening. Having more of the backstory may have made me feel more for the characters. The metaphors, however, were very clear throughout.
Cole Greenberg, who is a Junior at Montgomery Blair High School, played the very conflicted young man, and captured his inner torment. Z. Jones played Brynne, the new “wife,” who is more comfortable studying her college physics than giving up her virginity to this stranger. Jones had a tremendous amount of stage presence. Their discomfort with each other really came through.
David Dossey directed and tapped well into the high-energy of his young performers.
Stephanie Pounds and John Van Eck in ‘Virtual Reality.’ Photo by David Jones.
The second play, an absurdist comedy called Virtual Reality, was written by actor Alan Arkin. It opened as part of a trilogy Off-Broadway in 1998, and reminded me of plays by Beckett and Ionesco.
In this two-character play, directed by Bruce Hirsch, DeRecha (John Van Eck) is in charge of a warehouse. Lefty (Stephanie D. Pounds) enters to take a job that she has no idea what it entails or what is coming in the crates that are being delivered. DeRecha suggests a dry-run rehearsal of opening the crates. Lefty mimes various imaginary items as she unpacks the crates. Sometimes, the action is very funny and then it turns very scary. We know this is all charades, but like some virtual reality games, we don’t always know what is real and what is imaginary.
We were told before the show that the role of DeRecha had to be recast after rehearsals were long underway. John Van Eck stepped in with one week to go, and at this performance – with script in hand – brilliantly captured the confused supervisor who tries to keep his authority – while being totally clueless about what is happening. With his convincing British accent Van Eck was reminiscent of Ricky Gervais, the English comedian.
Stephanie D. Pounds is a recent graduate of Howard University with a B.F.A. Her high-energy kept the action going with just the right amount of intensity.
Melanie Lawrence, Courtney James, Corrie Bolcik, and McKenna G. Kelly in ‘10,000 Cigarettes.’ Photo by David Jones.
10,000 Cigarettes, by Australian playwright Alex Broun, ended the program. In this 10-minute drama, four women tell us why they like smoking- the pleasures, the social part, the glamour, and more…
The four actresses in the tight ensemble were Corrie Bolcik, McKenna G. Kelly, Melanie A. Lawrence, and Courtney James who all play Gloria as they puff their cancer sticks (and in this case – e-cigarettes). The four worked very well together and kept the audience focused without much physical action. Jen Katz (and her Assistant Jennifer Dorsey) does a stellar job in her directorial debut.
Lighting was capably designed by Jim Robertson. David Jones produced and stage-managed this weekend’s performances.
Everyone in The One Act Festival should be applauded. Whether you came this weekend or not, try to go to one of next weekend’s performances.
Running Time: Two hours, with an intermission.
The 2016 One Act Festivalcontinuesnext weekend on August 26-28, 2016, at Silver Spring Stage – 10145 Colesville Road, in The Woodmoor Shopping Center, in Silver Spring, MD 20901. For tickets, call the box office at (301) 593-6036, buy them at the door, or purchase them online.
Thank God for actors. They make us feel emotions, make us think, make us identify with their characters, and make us laugh.
Dave Scheele and John Van Eck. Photo by Joey Rushfield.
There was plenty of laughter, much of it in the second act, of Sandy Spring Theatre Group’s production of The Foreigner, directed by Bruce Hirsch at the Arts Barn in Gaithersburg, MD. Written by Larry Shue in the mid-80s, The Foreigner follows the misadventures of a British duo, one talky, one dour at a fishing lodge in rural Georgia in 1982.
“Off-beat” is the word that comes to mind when we meet the quiet, reserved Charlie (John Van Eck, who displayed superb comic timing) and the energetic, British Army Officer, Staff Sergeant Froggy LeSueur (Paul Noga). They are like the British literary characters Jeeves and Wooster—if one of that duo were a near-mute. Charlie is dragged to the fishing lodge by Froggy for a vacation so Charlie can forget his troubles, namely his philandering, dying wife back in Britain.
From there we meet the owner of the lodge, Betty Meeks (Becky Batt), Catherine Simms (the excellent Becca Sears), who is pregnant and engaged to be married soon to the Reverend David Marshall Lee (Rob Milanich, who played Reverend Lee, with and underhanded menace), and then the town building inspector Owen Musser (the extremely fun to watch Marc Rehr), who wants to be Sheriff of Tilghman, County, Georgia, and dim-witted Ellard Simms (Dave Scheele), Catherine’s brother, who stands to inherit $112,000, his half of the family fortune—if he can prove he’s got all his mental marbles—it’s a farce, folks.
Becky Batt, Rebecca Sears, and Rob Milanich. Photo by Joey Rushfield.
Since Charlie says he wants to be left alone during this three-day mini-vacation, Froggy (in Georgia for a military exercise involving explosives) concocts the fiction that Charlie is a foreigner who can’t speak a word of English. From there, as Charlie sits dumbly in his rocking chair, we see Betty provide her Southern hospitality in the way of lovingly prepared meals, Catherine become Charlie’s confidant when Reverend Lee is away (and up to no good), and Ellard try to teach Charlie English. Later we see Charlie try to teach his new found friends his ridiculous, made-up, foreign language.
While everyone else is away, Charlie tells Froggy that he has a new sense of pride playing the titular “foreigner.” He has finally become the raconteur and confidant he always wanted to be. Charlie is delighted to come out of his shell.
As Reverend Lee and the sinister-but-funny Owen plot to take ownership of the fishing lodge, it is Charlie who overhears secrets and becomes embroiled in Reverend Lee and Owen’s cartoonish, Scooby Doo scheme (involving ghosts of the racist variety) to take over the lodge, leading to Charlie having to make full use of his wits, and his foreigner persona to try and stop them.
Marc Rehr and John Van Eck. Photo by Joey Rushfield.
I have to reserve space to call out Rehr for owning his performance as the no-goodnick, out-sized Owen. He dominated his scenes with a mix of understated evil and an Archie Bunker-esque humor, with a little of late Hollywood actor Strother Martin thrown in. Van Eck elevated his performance to a “Mork from Ork” frenzy in his best scenes. Sears conveyed the long-suffering of Catherine well, throughout. You could see the subtext of Milanich’s evil machinations on his Stepford-husband, stone-face.
I wish Bill Brown could set design my house, so realistic his set appeared, with its polished, wooden walls. Director Bruce Hirsch not only got the most out of his actors, but did a memorable job as Sound Designer, invoking everything from a rain storm to an explosion.
The Foreigner is a funny-bone-breaking good time. Be ready to be transported to a ‘Foreign Land of Funny’ when you go.
Running Time: Two hours, with a 15-minute intermission.
The Foreignerplays through May 29, 2016 at Sandy Spring Theatre Groupat The Arts Barn – 311 Kent Square Road, in Gaithersburg, MD. For tickets, call the box office at (301) 258-6394, or purchase them online.
LINKS:
Meet The Cast of Sandy Spring Theatre Group’s ‘The Foreigner’ Part 1: Rob Milanich.
Meet the Cast of ‘Sandy Spring Theatre Group’s ‘The Foreigner’Part 2: Paul Noga.
Meet the Cast of Sandy Spring Theatre Group’s ‘The Foreigner’ Part 3: Marc Rehr.
Meet the Cast of Sandy Spring Theatre Group’s ‘The Foreigner’: Part 4: Becca Sears.
Meet The Cast of Sandy Spring Theatre Group’s ‘The Foreigner’: Part 5: Dave Scheele.
Meet The Cast of Sandy Spring Theater Group’s ‘The Foreigner’: Part 6: John Van Eck.
Meet the Cast of Sandy Spring Theatre Group’s ‘The Foreigner’ Part 7: Becky Batt.
In Part Seven of a series of interviews with the cast of TheForeigner at the Sandy Spring Theatre Group, performing at The Gaithersburg Arts Barn, meet Becky Batt.
Joel: Please introduce yourself and tell our readers where they may have seen you perform before on our local stages.
Sheila Batt.
Becky: Hi! I’m Becky Batt. I have enjoyed performing in local theatres for about the past 10 years. This past January I was in Rockville Little Theatre’s production of Lend Me a Tenor dressed to look like the Chrysler building.
Why did you want to become a member of the cast of The Foreigner?
I saw this play several years ago and I loved the play.
Who do you play in the show and how do you relate to this character?
I play Betty Meeks who is a tough, kind older woman who has worked hard her whole life. She is fairly naive and has never been able to travel. I relate to her because she is feisty and is excited about meeting people who come from different countries.
What were some of the challenges you faced while learning your role and how did Director Bruce Hirsch help you with these challenges?
I had difficulty making the accent sound real. Bruce helped me to concentrate on the emotions and then work on the accent. Now, I find myself using Betty’s accent all the time which is a little embarrassing.
What does The Foreigner have to say to today’s audiences?
I think this is funny play that does have messages about the joy of getting to know people who are different from you and about how people can live up to the expectations others have of them.
Which character is most like you and why and how?
I hope that I am most like Betty because I have become quite fond of her.
What are your favorite lines that you recite and your favorite lines that other characters recite in The Foreigner?
I love saying the name “Ezzard Purkeypile” and have a hard time not laughing when I say it. I enjoy listening to the story that is related during this play but I can’t say any more about that.
Where are you appearing next on the stage after The Foreigner ends its run?
After this play, I plan to take a break from acting and watch more plays. There are so many amazing opportunities to see live theatre in this area.
What do you want audiences members to take away with them after seeing you perform in The Foreigner?
I hope that the audience enjoys the play and has fun.
The Foreignerplays from May 13-29, 2016 at Sandy Spring Theatre Group performing 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.
LINKS:
Meet The Cast of Sandy Spring Theatre Group’s ‘The Foreigner’ Part 1: Rob Milanich.
Meet the Cast of ‘Sandy Spring Theatre Group’s ‘The Foreigner’Part 2: Paul Noga.
Meet the Cast of Sandy Spring Theatre Group’s ‘The Foreigner’Part 3: Marc Rehr.
Meet the Cast of Sandy Spring Theatre Group’s ‘The Foreigner’:Part 4: Becca Sears.
Meet The Cast of Sandy Spring Theatre Group’s ‘The Foreigner’: Part 5: Dave Scheele.
Meet The Cast of Sandy Spring Theater Group’s ‘The Foreigner’: Part 6: John Van Eck.
In Part Six of a series of interviews with the cast of TheForeigner at Sandy Spring Theatre Group, performing at The Gaithersburg Arts Barn, meet John Van Eck.
Joel: Please introduce yourself and tell our readers where they may have seen you perform before on our local stages.
John Van Eck.
John: Hi, Joel! Thanks for taking the time to talk with me. I have been performing in community and local theater for over 40 years, the last 15 in the Washington metro area. Most recently I played Richard Hannay in the SSTG production of The 39 Steps. I have also been in Montgomery Playhouse’s Miracle on 34th Street (Fred Gailey), RLT’s California Suite (Sidney), Full Circle Theater’s Turn of the Screw (Two person show), Pieces of Eight’s “Don’t Dress for Dinner” (Bernard), and Aurora Studio Theatre’s Mousetrap (Sgt. Trotter). My favorite roles of these shows were Sidney and Trotter, but I liked them all.
Why did you want to become a member of the cast of The Foreigner?
I didn’t know much about the show when I auditioned, but I have great trust in Bruce and the SSTG board. Separately each seem to consistently pick good shows, and with both Bruce and SSTG I expected a great selection. I have not been disappointed J.
Who do you play in the show and how do you relate to this character?
In this play I am cast as Charlie, the “Foreigner.” Charlie is an embodiment of some basic insecurities we all share to varying degrees. This makes him easy to relate to, albeit in a farcical fashion much of the time. I try to find the humanity in roles, especially in farces, because I feel the contrast of poignancy and farce helps to highlight an enhance both.
What were some of the challenges you faced while learning your role and how did Director Bruce Hirsch help you with these challenges?
I am always challenged by comedic roles, and farce especially. My easiest role, and natural tendencies, are towards the darker/tragic sides of human nature. Bruce, on the other hand, has an excellent grasp of farce and comedy, and has helped me immensely in getting the nuances of this role nailed down. I love working with Bruce.
What does The Foreigner have to say to today’s audiences?
It is interesting that this show was selected months ago, because I feel it is becoming more relevant to our current political climate as we proceed towards November. Without offering any spoilers, I think this show helps illustrate the point that there is no “They” there – that people who are different, be they foreigners or from a different section of the country or background or what have you – everyone is just someone trying to get along and live their life. We are not all that different, once we get past the surface front we all have.
Which character is most like you and why and how?
Charlie of course. His playfulness harkens back to my childhood, and has an almost wistful innocence at times. For other characters — I think it would have been easy to cast me as David. No spoilers as to why, but in a broad sense David can be an iron fist in a velvet glove. I play those types of characters well.
What are your favorite lines that you recite and your favorite lines that other characters recite in The Foreigner?
A lot of my lines are in Foreign speak, and I love them all. I got my all-time favorite direction in this show: ”Use lots of accents” Bruce said. Not sure he is entirely pleased with the results right now, and it may change by opening, but I have taken that note to heart. My favorite English line, without giving away anything (do I sound like a broken record?) is “And we have a stupid plan.” My favorite line that someone else says is when Betty, the owner of the house, says “Charlie don’t understand English much, not hardly even when it’s REAL LOUD!”
Where are you appearing next on the stage after The Foreigner ends its run?
I don’t know, ask my wife ;-).Seriously, community theater can be a strain on family life, and one needs to have a very patient and forgiving spouse to navigate through that stress. In my case the stress sis magnified because we have five children, ages 10-20. This makes for a complicated schedule when one parent is gone 3-4 nights a week for a month and a half. As a result I try to limit myself to one or two shows a year, which seems a good balance for us. If I am able to do another show this year, it will likely be a Fall Production with RLT – they have an interesting show coming up in that time slot.
What do you want audience members to take away with them after seeing you perform in The Foreigner?
I hope that they laugh more than once – and I hope they walk away with an understanding that the world has always had conflict between those who want to live and let live and those who want to attack the “other.” That what we see in today’s world is no different than what was seen in 1983 (setting of play), or even 1773. Just with a different set of players and lines determining who is “us” and who is “them.”
The Foreignerplays from May 13-29, 2016 at Sandy Spring Theatre Group performing 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.
LINKS:
Meet The Cast of Sandy Spring Theatre Group’s ‘The Foreigner’ Part 1: Rob Milanich.
Meet the Cast of ‘Sandy Spring Theatre Group’s ‘The Foreigner’ Part 2: Paul Noga.
Meet the Cast of Sandy Spring Theatre Group’s ‘The Foreigner’ Part 3: Marc Rehr.
Meet the Cast of Sandy Spring Theatre Group’s ‘The Foreigner’: Part 4: Becca Sears.
Meet The Cast of Sandy Spring Theatre Group’s ‘The Foreigner’: Part 5: Dave Scheele.
In Part Five of a series of interviews with the cast of TheForeigner at Sandy Spring Theatre Group, performing at The Gaithersburg Arts Barn meet Dave Scheele.
Dave Scheele.
Joel: Please introduce yourself and tell our readers where they may have seen you perform before on our local stages.
Dave: I’m Dave Scheele, and here in Maryland you might’ve seen me on the stage at Wootton High School before I graduated, in shows like Fools, Hairspray, and Romeo and Juliet. I’ve also recently performed at the American Shakespeare Center in Staunton, VA.
Why did you want to become a member of the cast of The Foreigner?
I had just moved back from a brief stint in Florida, and I was really looking for some acting opportunities. I really missed being in a show. I love comedy, so this seemed like the perfect match.
Who do you play in the show and how do you relate to this character?
I play Ellard Simms; he’s a younger brother; he’s not that smart, and just trying to help as best he can. I really do relate to Ellard in how he’s underestimated and at times brushed off from a first impression. He tends to fall into just accepting who people tell him he is, but throughout the play I think he really finds his own sense of confidence!
What were some of the challenges you faced while learning your role and how did Director Bruce Hirsch help you with these challenges?
Bruce has been really great to work with, he’s really helped me evoke Ellard’s thinking process on stage. I tend to move a little fast, so he reminds me of how slowly Ellard’s cogs are turning, which has really helped me with my delivery and presence.
What does The Foreigner have to say to today’s audiences?
I think it’s best described in a line from the play, “Nobody is like anybody.” I think a big takeaway from this show is that people can always suprise you, wether you’ve known them for years or only just met. We’re all individuals with different stories and lives that look completely different depending on who’s eyes are seeing it.
Which character is most like you and why and how?
I say this not just because I’m playing him, but definitely Ellard. We both struggle to define ourselves over what other people tell us we are, and we’re both the babies of the show; he’s the youngest of the characters and I of the cast!
What are your favorite lines that you recite and your favorite lines that other characters recite in The Foreigner?
My favorite line has got to be “Sellin’ vegetables. Sometimes people sell vegetables from the backs of those,” because it’s very random and absurd, but in that moment Ellard is confident in it as a possibility, which I find very endearing. My favorite line from another character is “Charlie’s nice! He wouldn’t say nothin’ about bees!” which I’ll give with no context, because it’s just too hilarious of a moment.
Where are you appearing next on the stage after The Foreigner ends its run?
Not sure yet! I’m already starting to line up auditions, so hopefully I’ll be back up soon!
What do you want audiences members to take away with them after seeing you perform in The Foreigner?
I hope they leave knowing that theres no “right” way to be smart. Everyones path to a conclusion is a different lenght and has different obstacles, and we should never tell someone they’re stupid because they learn and process differently from us.
The Foreignerplays from May 13-29, 2016 at Sandy Spring Theatre Group performing 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.
LINKS:
Meet The Cast of Sandy Spring Theatre Group’s ‘The Foreigner’ Part 1: Rob Milanich.
Meet the Cast of ‘Sandy Spring Theatre Group’s ‘The Foreigner’Part 2: Paul Noga.
Meet the Cast of Sandy Spring Theatre Group’s ‘The Foreigner’ Part 3: Marc Rehr.
Meet the Cast of Sandy Spring Theatre Group’s ‘The Foreigner’: Part 4: Becca Sears.
Meet The Cast of Sandy Spring Theatre Group’s ‘The Foreigner’: Part 5: Dave Scheele.
In Part 4 of a series of interviews with the cast of TheForeigner at Sandy Spring Theatre Group, performing at The Gaithersburg Arts Barn, meet Becca Sears.
Becca Sears.
Joel: Please introduce yourself and tell our readers where they may have seen you perform before on our local stages.
Becca: Hi, my name is Becca Sears and you might have seen me in Damascus Theatre Company’s production of Fiddler on the Roof last November.
Why did you want to become a member of the cast of The Foreigner?
I heard about auditions for a comedic play with an interesting cast of characters and was automatically intrigued. Comedy is one of my favorite things to do and I have not done a show with the Sandy Spring Stage before so I was interested to do that as well.
Who do you play in the show and how do you relate to this character?
I play the role of Catherine Simms. I relate to her in many ways. She’s very sarcastic and sassy and she is a force to be reckoned with. With that said, she tends to keep her emotions to herself, and can’t really talk to just anyone about them. This is something I don’t struggle with; my emotions are usually on my sleeve.
What were some of the challenges you faced while learning your role and how did Director Bruce Hirsch help you with these challenges?
A big challenge for me was finding the balance of Catherine’s character. Her disposition is dramatically different between the two acts and I needed to figure out how to make the audience understand where she’s coming from. Bruce was great in helping the entire cast in this challenge. We had discussions about character backgrounds and our “motivations,” if you will. Bruce is always open to suggestions and if it works, he keeps it. He always answers questions either directly, or he helps you discover the answer on your own which is a skill that strong directors have. They make sure you understand when you are unsure and they help to bring out the best in your performance.
What does The Foreigner have to say to today’s audiences?
The Foreigner is about humanity and relationships. It focuses on the bonds that people have and develop through mutual understanding and empathy. Even when there may be a language barrier or conflicting values, this play teaches us all to be aware of how others are feeling and what we can do to help out when others are at low points in their lives.
Which character is most like you and why and how?
I would say I’m a combination of characters in the show. I have the uncertainty of Charlie, the hospitality of Betty, the sarcasm of Catherine, and sometimes, the awe and wonder of Ellard.
What are your favorite lines that you recite and your favorite lines that other characters recite in The Foreigner?
Some of my favorite lines in the show belong to Betty Meeks.
Betty: “Charlie’s nice. He wouldn’t say nothin’ ‘bout bees!”
Betty: “Dooley, dooley?”
Betty: “Ezzard Purkypile’d come up, I know. Course, he’s missin’ both arms.” (This line makes me smile or laugh every time she says it, but I’ll keep a straight face during the performances).
Where are you appearing next on the stage after The Foreigner ends its run?
I’m not 100% percent sure. But I can guarantee you will see me onstage whether it be in plays or musicals nearby throughout the summer.
What do you want audience members to take away with them after seeing you perform in The Foreigner?
Anytime I have the opportunity to perform is a blessing. I am always thrilled to present a show that takes the audience away to another place where they don’t have to worry about anything but the present moment. The cast is wonderful and I know the audience is going to see all of the hard work and timing we have put into this show. I hope that audience members leave with smiles on their faces and I hope the show inspires them to attend more performances or join us onstage someday themselves for the experience.
The Foreignerplays from May 13-29, 2016 at Sandy Spring Theatre Group performing 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.
LINKS:
Meet The Cast of Sandy Spring Theatre Group’s ‘The Foreigner’ Part 1: Rob Milanich.
Meet the Cast of ‘Sandy Spring Theatre Group’s ‘The Foreigner’ Part 2: Paul Noga.
Meet the Cast of Sandy Spring Theatre Group’s ‘The Foreigner’ Part 3: Marc Rehr.
Meet the Cast of Sandy Spring Theatre Group’s ‘The Foreigner’: Part 4: Becca Sears.
In Part Two of a series the cast of TheForeigner at the Sandy Spring Theatre Group, performing at The Gaithersburg Arts Barn, meet Paul Noga.
Joel: Please introduce yourself and tell our readers where they may have seen you perform before on our local stages.
Paul Noga.
Paul: Hi all! My name is Paul Noga, and I’ve been performing with local community theatre for the last 30+ years. My last two performances were in Montgomery Playhouse’s One Act Festival in Musings, and I played Dr. Watson in their December 2014 production of Sherlock Holmes and the Christmas Goose. I’ve also been lucky enough to appear in two shows with the British Players, but this is my first time using a working class British accent.
Why did you want to become a member of the cast of The Foreigner?
I had almost gotten the part of Ellard in Silver Spring Stage’s production almost 30 years ago. It came down to me and another actor. He got the part, but had to leave the cast right before production. I was asked to step in, but had already gotten a role in another show. I’ve always loved the show, and had to wait 30 years to appear in it.
Who do you play in the show and how do you relate to this character?
I’m playing Froggy LeSueur, Charlie’s army buddy. Froggy always tries to keep an optimistic outlook on life, has a somewhat sarcastic edge to him, and is a good friend. I hope I hit all three.
What were some of the challenges you faced while learning your role and how did Director Bruce Hirsch help you with these challenges?
I find having long monologues with a lot of action to be more difficult than dialogue. I have one section in the show like this, and Bruce helped me to break it down and build up the frustration I have with Charley as we open the show.
What does The Foreigner have to say to today’s audiences?
Don’t vote for the Donald! (are you going to include that???) Seriously, we think we have come a long ways with racism and race relations. In some ways we have, but in many we have not. While the show’s story may seem a bit simplistic at times, it is quite an accurate reflection of how far we have to go.
Which character is most like you and why and how?
I am more of a Charlie; I can be very extroverted, but often like to be alone and not bothered with other people.
What are your favorite lines that you recite and your favorite lines that other characters recite in The Foreigner?
“I was given that by one of the aborigines of Canada.” You’ll just have to wait to see what that refers to!
Where are you appearing next on the stage after The Foreigner ends its run?
I don’t have any plans right now; I used to do a lot more theatre in my younger days. It’s difficult with job responsibilities, and the roles for more “mature” men are not as available. Plus, I get very greedy with my time, and so long travel is out. Fortunately, with the Arts Barn hosting multiple theatre groups, it’s an ideal place for me to perform.
What do you want audience members to take away with them after seeing you perform in The Foreigner?
Than an old dog can learn new lines!!! (That assumes I don’t go up during a performance, we’ll just have to see about that too!)
The Foreignerplays from May 13-29, 2016 at Sandy Spring Theatre Group performing 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.
LINKS:
Meet The Cast of Sandy Spring Theatre Group’s ‘The Foreigner’ Part 1: Rob Milanich.
Meet the Cast of Sandy Spring Theatre Group’s ‘The Foreigner’ Part 2: Paul Noga.
In Part One of a series of interviews with the cast of TheForeigner at the Sandy Spring Theatre Group, performing at The Gaithersburg Arts Barn, meet Rob Milanich.
Rob Milanich.
Joel: Please introduce yourself and tell our readers where they may have seen you perform before on our local stages.
Rob: My name is Rob Milanic, and most recently a year ago you would have seen me as Gabe in Rockville Musical Theatre’s Next to Normal, and in Damascus Theatre Company’s Production of The Wedding Singer in the Ensemble and as Billy Idol. Both of these were also on the Arts Barn Stage.
Why did you want to become a member of the cast of The Foreigner?
I was pulled into the play after the initial auditions when a friend of mine told me they thought I would be perfect for a role they needed, and I knew a little about the play and thought it would be a nice fun challenge, since I have never played a role like this. Also, I have wanted to be in one of the Sandy Spring Theatre Group’s shows for a while.
Who do you play in the show and how do you relate to this character?
I play the wonderful and kind Reverend David Marshall Lee. David is a very passionate individual, and I can easily relate to that. Since he is a Reverend he also can take control of the situation, and recently I have been learning to do that at my job.
What were some of the challenges you faced while learning your role and how did Director Bruce Hirsch help you with these challenges?
One of the biggest challenges was keeping my voice in a low enough place while using the southern dialect to show I was in control, and Bruce gave careful guidance and ways I can use my voice to get across what David really wants.
What does The Foreigner have to say to today’s audiences?
Don’t judge a book by its cover.
Which character is most like you and why and how?
The character I’m most like is Charlie. He doesn’t reveal a lot about himself when you first get to know him, but as he becomes more comfortable his personality is revealed.
What are your favorite lines that you recite and your favorite lines that other characters recite in The Foreigner?
Ooooh that’s a tough one… I would have to say “God Helps those who help themselves” It’s a line that is said during a moment in the play when something fully gets revealed, and well…. You will just have to come and see the show to see what happens there. As for my favorite line that someone else says… “Blasny Blasny…” It’s a phrase said several times throughout the show. It has a variety of different meanings, and honestly, it’s just fun to say in general.
Where are you appearing next on the stage after The Foreigner ends its run?
Well I can’t say yet, but look for me on stage somewhere during July.
What do you want audience members to take away with them after seeing you perform in The Foreigner?
Hmm… I would honestly want them to take away that feeling of being immersed in the lives of people you didn’t know before you walked through the door. It is this feeling that keeps me wanting to keep performing in shows, because through the magic of theatre I get to portray the human experience of being a character I have never been before.
The Foreignerplays from May 13-29, 2016 at Sandy Spring Theatre Group performing 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.
It is that time of year again – yep you guessed it – Montgomery Playhouse’s 14thAnnual One Act Festival is here! This is a chance to show off lesser produced one-act plays, and a great venue for new writers to get their work seen. This year is a fun year filled with shows of all kinds, from heavy drama to light and fun farce! Actors and directors from all over the area converge to provide audiences with a night of first-rate entertainment.
David Jones is the Executive Producer at the Montgomery Playhouse and not only produces this festival- but you can catch him on stage here as well in Cory Atwood’s Outside the Box. A veteran of the stage both on and off, Jones has a unique perspective. Jones says that, “this year has one of the best slates of shows he has seen in his 13 years of producing the festival.” Jones goes on to say that, “all of these shows are strong.” That bodes well for Montgomery Playhouse, who will choose the show they will enter into the Maryland One Act Festival 2016 from this slate of 8 shows.
Of the shows featured this year there are 5 original works (unpublished) amongst them, all of which are from local playwrights. All 8 shows are separated into two groups 4 per night, Group A: Hotline, Asleep on the Wind, Outside the Box and Call Me When You Feel Badand Group B:Two Stairs at a Time, Relativity, Hopscotch and Musing. Group A only has one performance left, Saturday, July 25th at 8 pm while you have two more chances to see Group B, Friday, July 24th at 8 pm and Sunday, July 26that 2 pm.
Now let’s hear more about the shows!
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Asleep on the Wind byEllen Byron (Published Work)
Director: Vanessa Terzaghi.
Cast: Callie Etches and Cristian Linares.
Cristian Linares and Callie Etches by Ellen Byron in ‘Asleep in the Wind’ by Ellen Byron. Photo by Scott D’Vileskis.
In a small clearing in Bayou Teche, Louisiana, the shy, reclusive Rootie and her favorite brother Beau escape to their “special place” to talk. Beau has a double purpose in this meeting: to persuade Rootie to stick it out at home and to tell her that he has enlisted in the Army.
Anne: What inspired you to direct this show?
Vanessa: I discovered playwright Ellen Byron years ago. Her work still fascinates me, and I wanted to bring Asleep on the Wind to life. It’s grounded in realism: family dynamics, celebrity worship and America’s response to the Vietnam War. There are also supernatural elements. Mixing the ordinary and the mystical is a rewarding creative challenge.
What were some fun discoveries you learned along the way?
There are only two characters in the play. A friend of mine – an academic – read the script and asked me “whose story is this?” The cast and I have pondered that question in our rehearsals. The play is filled with Elvis references, so the cast and I rediscovered Elvis together.
Why should theatergoers check out your show?
Vanessa: I’m biased, but I’m proud of my actors and their performances. The themes are intriguing: family ties, escapism and being trapped by poverty or lack of education. The play is both humorous and bittersweet.
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Call Me When You Feel Bad by Rob Gorman (Original Work).
Director: Rob Gorman.
Cast: Joanna Chilcoat Fellows, Diana Hutter, and David Lloyd Savolaine.
David Lloyd Savolaine and Joanna Chilcoat Fellows in ‘Call Me When You Feel Bad’ by Rob Gorman. Photo by Scott D’Vileskis.
Jae and Jeff are moving into a new apartment and stumble across Jae’s high school yearbook. In it Jeff finds a note that says “Call me when you feel bad – Nancy Vargo.” On a whim Jae decides to contact Nancy — a conversation that has dramatic consequences.
Anne: How long have you been writing?
Rob (writer/ director): The first show I wrote was “20 Questions” in 2004. It was produced in Pittsburgh in 2005, and then twice recently, for the Silver Spring Stage in 2014 and the Watermelon One-Act Festival in southern Maryland earlier this year. I don’t consider myself primarily a writer – aside from 20 Questions and this show, my writing output consists of a couple of unproduced 10-minute plays, and an adaptation of “The Lorax” that I did for my son’s second grade class.
What inspired this show?
I’m glad to say it’s not autobiographical at all. I got the idea from a letter in the advice column called The Ethicist that runs in the New York Times. People write in with ethical dilemmas. The letter writer wanted to know if would be ethically OK to disclose, many years after the fact, that a certain former high school classmate had slandered her with a rumor. I was wondering about what might be an interesting approach for the rumor victim to take in that situation, and the script took off from there.
Are you excited to see it come to life?
Very much so! This is the first time the show has been produced, and the first time I have directed my own work.
Why should theatergoers check out your show?
Rob: Many of the shows this year are fairly dramatic, and mine is a lighter counterpoint. I find it interesting how audience members judge these characters more or less harshly depending on their own experiences. With my show, the audience gets to laugh and pass moral judgment, two universally enjoyable experiences!
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Hopscotch by Israel Horowitz (Published Work).
Director: Michael Abendshein.
Cast: Jen Katz and Raphael Tobias.
Jenn Katz and Raphael Tobias in ‘Hopscotch’ by Israel Horowitz. Photo by Scott D’Vileskis.
A young man and woman meet apparently by chance in a park. Their conversation, casual at first, unfolds to reveal that the two have indeed known each other before.
Anne: What inspired you to direct this show?
Michael: I wanted to direct a show that would provide a unique challenge to a director and actors. I had seen Hopscotch performed before and I thought that its subject matter would make people question themselves about what they would do in this situation. I liked that.
What were some fun discoveries you learned along the way?
There is some stage combat in this show which was choreographed by Todd Fleming. It was fun to learn all the techniques used to make a fight look real on stage.
Why should folks check out your show?
There are two extremely talented performers on stage telling a very dark but true to life story. Come see them blow you away.
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Hotline by Elaine May (Published Work).
Director: Bruce Hirsch.
Cast: Anna Snapp, James Morogiello, Matthew Datcher, Stacey Fearheiley, and Rebecca Korn.
Matthew Datcher and Anna Snapp in ‘Hotline’ by Elaine May. Photo by Scott D’Vileskis.
A neurotic young woman calls a suicide crisis hotline one night. The counselor who gets the call is overwhelmed. This is his first night on the job.
Anne: How long have you been directing?
Bruce: I’ve been directing for more than 40 years. Much of my early work was with one act plays so I’ve always had an affinity for them.
What inspired you to direct this show?
The immediacy of a one act appeals to me. Get in, set a premise, meet a few people, tell the story and get out. Hotline is the story of two desperate people. One is in his first day as a suicide hotline counselor and he finds himself out of his depth. The other is a neurotic, self-destructive woman’s whose last hope rides on this new counselor. Two desperate, intense people is very appealing to me.
What are some fun discoveries you learned along the way?
What was fun to discover in rehearsal was the humor in the play. We don’t make fun of the situation but even when they don’t intend to be funny, people can behave in funny ways.
Why should theatergoers come check out your show?
People should check out our show to discover the dark humor and for the performances. We have some very talented actors who give very intense performance that will carry you along.
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Musing by Jacy D’Aiutolo (Original Work).
Director: David Dossey.
Cast: McKenna Kelly and Paul Noga.
McKenna Kelly and Paul Noga in ‘Musing’ by Jacy D’Aiutolo. Photo by Scott D’Vileskis.
A customer enters an unusual shop and encounters a very polite and efficient Clerk. The shop doesn’t trade in your run of the mill items and soon the Customer finds more than she was expecting.
The Playwright:
Anne: How long have you been writing?
Jacy: I’ve been writing for the stage for about eight years or so. Musing was written four or five years ago, I think, but it didn’t find a home until now.
What inspired this show?
I’m not sure I know. The way I work is not particularly formal. If I get an idea, I usually write it down and come back later to play around with it. Sometimes it turns into something and sometimes it doesn’t. The ideas themselves are probably inspired by something I’ve read or seen or heard, but it’s usually not anything I’m conscious of at the time.
Are you excited to see it come to life?
Sure! It’s always exciting when something you’ve written is being performed. I don’t always get a chance to travel to see the finished product, which is one of the reasons I like local festivals like this one. (I haven’t seen Musing yet, but I’m planning on going this weekend)
Why should theatergoers check out your show?
Hopefully because they’ll find it funny. One of the great things about an evening of one-acts, from an audience perspective, is that even if a particular play isn’t your cup of tea, there will be something entirely different along in just a little while.
The Director:
Anne: Why did you chose to direct this play?
David: The reason I chose this play because of the twisted ending. I heard the twilight zone when the final curtain was called for.
What discoveries did you make while directing?
The fun discoveries I learned from this show is that something hidden is the best surprise.
Why should theatergoers check out your show?
The reason why people should check out my show are, it is a surprise, and there are unique sounds from a bucket, and place the twilight ending credits.
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Outside the Box by Cory Atwood (Original Work).
Director: Cory Atwood.
Cast: Corrie Bolcik, Eric Henry, Jimmy Santos, Ruth Orland, Kryss Lacovaro and David Jones.
Corrie Bolcik, Ruth Orland, and Jimmy Santos in ‘Outside the Box’ by Cory Atwood. Photo by Scott D’Vileskis.
Bill and Julie return to Bill’s home for his father’s retirement party. Bill and his father have had a contentious relationship over the years impacting most of Bill’s life. Can a reconciliation begin?
Anne: How long have you been writing?
Cory: I started writing about 20 years ago. This particular play has been incubating for more than 15 years.
What inspired this show?
An experience I had in a weekend workshop with lots of recall of memories. We were directed to recall someone who had wronged us, and afterwards someone whom we had wronged. For me they turned out to be the same person. I discovered that I could forgive the wrong he’d done to me only after I acknowledged the wrong I’d done to him. This was both an enormous surprise and a personal liberation.
Are you excited to see it come to life?
Excited and anxious. Like seeing my baby for the first time.
What did you discover as you directed your own play?
That lots of things needed to be trimmed down.
Why should theatergoers check out your show?
Cory: It’s an exploration of how a reconciliation, a healing, could begin. Isn’t that worth seeing?
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Relativity by Steven C. Silver (Original Work).
Director: Anne Vandercook.
Cast: Alexandra Bunger-Pool, Toni G. Carmine, Brett Cassidy, and Michael Sigler.
Alexandra Bunger-Pool, Brett Cassidy, Toni Carmine, and Michael Sigler in ‘Relativity’ by Steven C. Silver. Photo by Scott D’Vileskis.
Jack and Maggie (in their mid 20’s) and John and Margaret (in their mid 40’s) find themselves in a coffee shop simultaneously but at different times. As the play unfolds the parallels between their respective relationships and time frames get a bit jumbled.
Anne: How long have you been writing?
Steven: I have been writing for around 20 years, both professionally and personally. I feel very fortunate to have made a career as a speechwriter and playwriting is something I will likely do for the rest of my life in some capacity or another.
What inspired this show?
Steven: There is a wonderful book by Alan Lightman called Einstein’s Dreams that I read many years ago. It is a fictional look at different concepts of time imagined by a young Albert Einstein. That book inspired me to think about time in non-linear ways and to use it as a device to tell a story about the larger life cycle of a relationship.
Are you excited to see it come to life?
I was happy to see you first bring Relativity to life as a cast member almost 10 years ago.
Yep, many moons ago . . .
I am honored and grateful to you that you are bringing it to life again as a director and with a wonderful new cast.
Why should theatergoers check out your show?
Anyone who wants to think about time, choices, and relationships in different ways should come see it.
I agree. While I was pondering what show to select as my MP directing debut, I read through some scripts and nothing reached out to me. Then I remembered this script as being remarkable, so it clicked! It is far too good to keep on the shelf. Definitely the type of shows that will keep you thinking well after it is over.
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Two Stairs at a Time by Steven Bienstock (Original Work).
Directed by: Steven Bienstock.
Cast: Rob Gorman, Joanna Chilcoat Fellows, Ed Silverstein, Marc Rehr, Chris Hawkins.
Ed Silverstein and Rob Gorman in ‘Two Stairs at a Time’ by Steven Bienstock. Photo by Scott D’Vileskis.
Joe, an attorney who has difficulty saying no, is trying to take a couple of vacation days. Unfortunately the office, friends, neighbors, and clients keep interfering.
Anne: How long have you been writing?
Steven: I’ve been writing articles, reviews, short stories, books, plays, poems since the 1960’s
What inspired this show?
The show was written in 1980, and was inspired by events in my life, feelings/situations that I was experiencing.
Are you excited to see it come to life?
It’s been a hoot and a half so far.
What did you discover as you directed your own play?
I thought that I had done a pretty good job writing it, but as we rehearsed and I got input from the cast, I was able to step back and make changes that, hopefully, improved the quality of the show dramatically.
Why should folks check out your show?
Lots of frontal nudity (kidding), some laughs, and a lot of food for thought.
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So, there you have it! 8 fun and interesting shows. Come out and support your local artists. There is only one weekend left so, don’t miss it.
The Montgomery Playhouse 14th Annual One Act Festival is playing through July 26, 2015 at the Gaithersburg Arts Barn/ Arts on the Green – 311 Kent Square Road, in Gaithersburg, MD. For tickets call (301) 258-6394, or purchase them online.
When you have such a fun experience in the theatre you just want to email your friends right away and tell your facebook friends, and tweet it. And that’s what I did when I came home tonight from The Arts Barn in Gaithersburg, MD, after my better half and I laughed ourselves silly for almost two hours.
So I am telling all of you: go see Montgomery Playhouse and Arts on the Green’s hilarious production of Marc Camoletti’s Tony Award-winning Boeing, Boeing. What a sidesplitting and rollicking night in the theatre!
The Arts Barn Airlines’ Montgomery Playhouse Flight #1969 to Paris is a non-stop laughfest, performed by one of the best ensembles I have seen on any local stage. I am not going to give away all the jokes or the plot or all the craziness that happens on the intimate stage, but all I
\will tell you is this: Bernard (Jason Damaso) relies too much on his ‘precise’ timetables to make sure that his three (yes-count ’em-3!) stewardess fiancées don’t find out about this ‘triple-play.’
Director Lisa Lorraine Holland deserves major kudos for her excellent and steady direction. She keeps the jokes coming at a bullet-speed pace, and they all hit the bullseye tonight. But what I admired most about her direction was that she never forgot that the six characters delivering these barbs were six real people who have real emotions, needs, and feelings and lots of flaws-just like the rest of us. I could relate to each and every one of them-the good, the gorgeous, the great-kisser, the liar, the overly-honest and loyal, and the schmuck.
(L to R) Netta Morelli (Judith), Jim Breen (Robert), Jason Damaso (Bernard), and (Christina Fox (Jacqueline). Photo by Scott D’Vileskis
Scenic Designer David Jones has created a classy Parisian garçonnière (Bachelor Pad) filled with tasteful furnishings and art and sculpture, which is beautifully decorated by Stage Dressers B.J. Angstadt and Kay Coupe. It was perfection.
Costume Designer Maggie Skekel has designed three colorful outfits for our stewardesses: Bright yellow for our Lufthansa Airline German stewardess Judith (Netta Morelli), red for our TWA Southern Belle Janet (Cory Bolcik), and bleu et blanc for our Air France stewardess Jacqueline (Christina Fox). The costumes are as colorful as the characters who wear them. The guys are dressed in some classy sweaters and slacks.
Diction Coach Dave Dossey has worked wonders with the French, German, British, and American accents of this talented cast. They are so convincing! And Light Designer Steve Deming and Sound Designers Noah Anderson and Bruce Hirsch provide excellent work. Everyone is at the top of their game!
(L to R) TWA Stewardess Janet (Cory Bolcik), Air France Stewardess Jacqueline (Christina Fox), and Lufthansa Stewardess Judith (Netta Morelli). Photo by Scott D’Vileskis.
And now to this amazing cast that has so much chemistry and talent and comic timing. Thank you for your delightful performances.
Cory Bolcik is perfectly tough, stunning, flirty, and sultry as the ‘smart cookie’ and great kisser TWA’s Janet. Christina Fox is merveilleux as the romantic and loving Jacqueline. But when things become their craziest Fox is up to the challenge and shows a wide-range of emotions. Netta Morelli gives a volcanic performance as the aggressive and passionate and “I get what I want” Judith. She can flirt, and she can erupt at the drop of a hat, and she can love, and she can be really funny – all in the same scene.
Jim Breen is hilarious as the spastic, confused, romantic opportunist, and Bernard’s best friend, Robert. He has impeccable comic timing and endless energy and he grabs the audience from the moment he appears in Bernard’s apartment until the final curtain falls. His scenes where he tries to protect his best friend from being exposed are his finest.
Jim Breen (Robert) and Anne Vandercook (Bertha). Photo by Scott D’Vileskis.
The role of Bernard is not an easy one to play. It’s easy to portray him as a ‘putz’ (a a stupid or worthless person), or the villain, but Damaso shows so many sides of this man-arrogance, confusion, self-confidence, and then self-doubt, cleverness, and quick-thinking, and a man who is terribly flawed. But then you can’t help to wonder why these three women keep coming back to this man – there’s a romantic side to him – and his performance beautifully shows us all these sides of Bernard. You can’t help but see some of these ‘putzy’ flaws in ourselves. Damaso accomplished something I have never felt at any other production of Boeing, Boeing – I actually felt sorry for him.
Anne Vandercook is a hoot as Bernard’s loyal and sassy maid and confidante Bertha. Talk about perfect comic timing and delivery! Vandercook delivered so many laughs and (some moans) and lit up the stage every time she appeared. She is endearing, loveable, assertive, and hysterical. She’s Hazelwith attitude. It’s a tour de force performance, and worth the price of admission.
Love to laugh and have a great time in the theater? Montgomery Playhouse and Arts on the Green’s high-flying production of Boeing, Boeing is your show. This cast has earned its wings! Don’t miss it!
Running Time: Two hours, with one intermission.
Boeing Boeing plays through March 1, 2015 at The Montgomery Playhouse, in partnership with Arts on the Green, performing at The Gaithersburg Arts Barn-311 Kent Square Road, in Gaithersburg, MD. For tickets call (301) 258-6394, or purchase themonline.
Kryss Lacovaro (Kathleen) and Dan Guy (Kyle). Photo by David Jones.
Written in 1999, the play Touch by award-winning playwright Toni Press-Coffman, is sure to tug at the heartstrings of any who watch. The earnest drama about a young scientist and the death of his wife, a tragedy that consumed his life, is a moving experience, to say the least. This type of drama is very demanding of its cast, and requires an incredible ability to relive a horrific tragedy in a real and engaging way. The Montgomery Playhouse and Director Bruce Hirsch certainly succeed in their current production.
Director Hirsch stages the show beautifully, and realized that there is no need for over-the-top sets, or any set at all. Hirsch uses 4 chairs and simple and sleek lighting from Lighting Designer Peter Caress to set the stage. He employs his cast to tell the story with no props or elaborate costumes. This leaves the players to win over our imagination, each of us picturing our own tale in our heads. It was an excellent and very effective choice from the director.
As the forlorn husband Kyle, actor Dan Guy is exceptional in this challenging role. Most of the first act is Kyle speaking a monologue that any actor would find daunting. Guy takes it in stride. After the beginning scenes there were few moments where he did not have my eyes watering as I pictured the events he so aptly described. He portrays a real and poignant character, where the climactic moments could have been easily overdone.
Kyle is joined by his loyal friend Bennie Locasto (Tyler Everett Adams), sister-in-law Serena (Diana Hutter), and a prostitute named Kathleen (Kryss Lacovaro). All three actors give praiseworthy performances. My particular favorite and standout performance came from Lacovaro as the rigid, tough prostitute. Lacovaro was strong and harsh, but softened as the night grew on, thus providing some of the much needed comic relief of the evening, and delivering a heartfelt, multi-layered performance.
Dan Guy (Kyle) and Tyler Everett Adams (Bennie). Photo by David Jones
Director Bruce Hirsch and his cast make for an intriguing night of theater. If you are looking for a moving and powerful theatrical experience, The Montgomery Playhouse’s Touch is your show. And don’t forget to bring your tissues to this gripping drama. You’ll need them.
Running Time: Two and a half hours, with one 15-minute intermission.
Touch plays through November 23, 2014 at The Arts Barn – 311 Kent Square Road, in Gaithersburg, MD. For tickets, call the box office at (301) 258-6394, or purchase them online.
TOUCH written by award-winning playwright Toni Press-Coffman and presented by The Montgomery Playhouse at the Arts Barn in Gaithersburg, MD is about discovery, connections, and the healing power of touch in many forms.
Dan Guy. Photo by Bruce Hirsch.
Kyle falls in love with the flamboyant Zoe. After her violent death, Kyle barricades himself in work and loveless relationships. His oldest friend, sister-in-law, and a prostitute get involved with Kyle to bring him and themselves to an emotional new beginning.
Recently, the cast and director of TOUCH talked about their experiences in exploring this complex and riveting play.
Dan Guy (Kyle) didn’t know the play before auditioning, but found it full of “beautiful writing” and unexpected “humor.” He is intrigued by the idea that every person has an impact in their world. We all “touch lives, become friends.” When we separate and disconnect it’s the physical touch that can bring us back to each other. This need to reconnect and rediscover the people around us is vital. The loss of a loved one can be devastating, and while the play shows how life is fleeting, “every moment reinforces that we are not alone.” He looks forward to sharing this journey through the run of TOUCH.
Kryss Lacovaro (Kathleen) found it curious that her character’s name is listed in the script, but never said onstage. Kryss finds that intriguing as an actor. It is a “special” indication of her wish for a different relationship, not just “sex and attitude.” Kryss finds the physical stance of the character important, but when “physical attitude goes away that’s when her guard goes down.” She discovers feelings that are “disconcerting and fearful..Kyle and Kathleen journey to an emotional relationship as well. What starts out as a strictly physical touch evolves into an “intimate and touching role, full of energy, and layers of caring.”
Tyler Everett Adams (Bennie) approached the script with wonder, “because I didn’t have any pre-conceived notions” about the story of the play. He finds the theme of how we share grief fascinating. Tyler describes how to him the “ceremony of death becomes sterile” when people feel dictated to behave in a composed, unemotional way. “How do you handle grief?” Bennie is a childhood friend of Kyle and is torn and conflicted in trying to help his friend deal with his loss. Tyler finds this the great challenge in this role.
Diana Hutter (Serena) discovered parallels in her work as a teacher and the character of Serena, also a teacher. The expressions of power and control needed as a teacher are impotent when confronted with “random acts which cause grief and loss.” Diana found that some early improvisation work with other cast members helped establish their relations quickly. They explored the many definitions and uses of touch and what physical contact represents respect, love, comradeship, annoyance, and many others. It is the randomness of acts of love, violence, or kindness that teach us to “accept and move on.”
Diana Hutter and Tyler Everett Adams. Photo by Bruce Hirsch.
Director Bruce Hirsch found the appreciation of life in Toni Press-Coffman’s play the biggest draw in directing the play. Kyle touches Kathleen and Bennie and Serena find each other. The play tells us, “that it’s ok to feel something, and that emotions are good.” In this well-written play, “being moved is a gratifying theater experience.” Bruce invites everyone to share the experience. “Come, be moved, leave with hope, know that life always has more for us.”
TOUCHplays from November 7-23, 2014 at The Montgomery Playhouse performing at the Gaithersburg Arts Barn – 311 Kent Square Road, in Gaithersburg, MD. For tickets. call (301) 258-6394, or purchase them online.
TOUCH contains adult language with adult themes and is intended for mature audiences.
I am a huge Woody Allen fan and not just for his films. I’m a fan of his early plays and it was a treat to watch two talented casts having a blast yesterday performing two of his plays: Central Park West and Honeymoon Motel in The Montgomery Playhouse’s Woody Allen, Woody Allen, as they performed in the intimate Gaithersburg Arts Barn.
This is a tough review to write because I have to be careful not to give away the one liners, the jokes, the outrageous and, at times, jaw-dropping, in-your-face, snarky, back-stabbing and utterly hysterical verbal exchanges in this well-performed two hours of pleasure. It’s a feast for Woody fans like me. And it reminded me that this is a multi-talented guy!
Top: John Reece, Joe Mariano. Bottom: Lisa Holland, Gemma Davimes, and Meredith Fogle in ‘Central Park West.’ Photo by David Jones.
In Central Park West, a prickly shrink finds out that her husband is dumping her for another woman. She immediately believes it’s her best friend and as she gets tipsier and tipsier all hell breaks out and as we are introduced to their two meshuganah husbands-all hell breaks loose. And on the way all the dirty laundry is unveiled and everyone is put through the wringer. It’s an emotional roller coaster and there are some great performances by the talented cast, helmed by Director Bruce Hirsch and his Assistant Director Susan Click.
Joe Mariano is terrific as the slimy putz of a husband (Sam) who shtups anything that moves. Lisa Lorraine Holland is perfection as the accused friend/slut/whore Carol-the so-called best buddy. Gemma Davimes is adorable as the very spaced out and unsuspecting ‘new kid in town’, and Meredith Fogle is perfection as Phyllis the ‘analyst’ who is so filled with anger and despair that you’d like to send this shrink to a… shrink. But my favorite performance was delivered by John Reece as Howard, Carol’s ‘shocked’ husband. Reece could have made his character into a one-dimensional manic nutcase, but instead, his performance as the cuckold husband is multi-leveled and full of humor and pathos. I loved this guy and this actor! There was great chemistry among this family of actors and I loved every minute of their performances.
Left to Right: Susan R. Paisner, Scott D’Vileskis, Kryss Lacovaro, John Allnutt, Marsha Rehns, and Mark Shullenbarger in ‘Honeymoon Motel.’ Photo by David Jones.
In Honeymoon Motel, a recently married bride and groom arrive at a seedy hotel’s Honeymoon suite to consummate their love and are joined by members of both mishpachas and their wedding party. Oy vey! More lies, more craziness, more barbs, funny one-liners, and more skeletons to come out of the closet. Spending time with the Spector and Roth families will make you want to join a convent an order some pizza.
John Allnutt and (the charismatic Jerry Spector) and his alleged bride-the impulsive Nina Roth (Kryss Lacovaro) are a hoot as the play opens and before all hell breaks loose as the shocked visitors start filling up the room. Susan R. Paisner (The castrating Judy Spector) and Marsha Rehns (The ditzy Fay Roth) are perfectly kvetchy and domineering Jewish Mammas and mothers-in-laws and Mark Shullenberger (Sam Roth) is the perfect Jewish husband-a mensch-who doesn’t wear the pants in his family.
David Gross is hilarious as the confused and schnapps-filled Rabbi Baumel who tries to make sense of it all: “A man who loves the sound of his own voice,” and Scott D’Vileskas is the perfect ‘Mamma’s Boy’ groom who thinks he knows his bride well.. but… Ed Silverstein is funny and wise as the smart Eddie-Jerry’s best friend-the man who tries to calm everyone down and does a great job at throwing guilt Allnut’s way in the opening scene. Dan Silverman is outrageous as Jerry shrink (Dr. Brill), and Jena Stone (Sal Buonacotti) delivers with his Pizza guy perfomance.
Frankly, I liked Central Park West better. The laughs came easier and the audience, first shocked at some of the adult humor, [My favorites: (I am paraphrasing.. “You All-American whore…they should put your diaphragm in the Smithsonian,” and, “I cheated with Howard’s collaborator… He wanted to check the shock absorbers.”] finally relaxed and then laughed consistently though the piece. With Honeymoon Motel there were too many characters trying to outdo each other’s funny lines. It got a little ‘humor-crowded.’
David Jones’ (who took the above wonderful pictures) effective, yet simple, set design and Set Dressers and Properties by BJ Angstadt and Kay Coupe created the proper ambiance and venue for both plays utilizing furniture pieces, a bar, flowery wallpaper, pictures of NYC and chinese sayings, a bed in-the-round, and some Egyptian sculpture, among others. Paul Shoop provided the lighting and Director Hirsch provided the crisp sound design.
Woody Allen, Woody Allen is a fun fun time time in the theatre theatre.
These are two great casts playing off each other well and having a hell of a good time-and you will too! it will bring you nachas and maybe a good Jewish divorce lawyer to the rescue.
Running Time: Approximately 2 hours, including one 15-minute intermission.
Woody Allen, Woody Allen plays through May 18, 2014 at The Montgomery Playhouse performing 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.
The Montgomery Playhouse in partnership with The City of Gaithersburg presents:
Woody Allen, Woody Allen Two Woody Allen comedies directed by Bruce Hirsch
May 2 thru May 18, 2014 at the Gaithersburg Arts Barn 311 Kent Square Rd. Gaithersburg, MD Fridays & Saturdays at 8 PM, and Sundays at 2 PM $16 Nonresidents / $14 City of Gaithersburg Residents
In Central Park West, a psychiatrist has learned that her husband is leaving her for another woman. Believing it to be her best friend, she gets thoroughly soused and confronts the friend.
They are soon joined by their husbands and secrets and lies are revealed. Chaos reigns.
With: Gemma Davimes, Meredith Fogle, Lisa Holland, Joesph Mariano, and John Reece.
Woody Allen.
In Honeymoon Motel, a loving couple comes to the “Honeymoon” suite of a tacky motel to consummate their love but are interrupted by members of the wedding party. The room is soon overrun by the groom’s parents, the brides parents, a family friend, the Rabbi, a psychiatrist and the pizza delivery girl. Secrets and lies are revealed. Chaos reigns.
With: John Allnutt, Scott D’vileskis, David Gross, Kryss Lacovaro, Susan Paisner, Marsha Rehns, Mark Shullenbarger, Dan Silverman, Ed Silverstein, and Jena Stone.
NOTE: These plays contain adult themes and adult language.
Uniquely – I believe – in a prologue to The Montgomery Playhouse production, we meet the story’s understaffed “due to budget restrictions” local militia troop played by leader Nikolas Henle and his subordinates played by Anastasia and Zachery Rittenhousesmith who recruit the help of additional militia members from the audience. Our audience yielded three adorable young ladies whose candid reactions throughout the evening bespoke the true joy and honesty of the entire cast’s performance.
