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Arts Collective @ HCC’s ‘It’s a Wonderful Life’ Interviews Part 3: ‘Leaps in Time With Noah Bird, Rachel Bailey, and Emma McDonnell’

If George and Mary Bailey, the main couple in It’s a Wonderful Life, time traveled from the 1940s to the 2010s, they might have trouble identifying with the young actors cast in three of the pivotal roles in the play (produced by Arts Collective @HCC [AC].

Noah Bird (as George Bailey). Photo by Emma K. McDonnell.

If they spoke to Noah Bird who plays George, they would find a young man who looks forward to working in the theater. Noah has worked in media animation (not even a possible dream in those days) and still not settled in his life’s path. It will probably be in the arts. George’s path was more clearly drawn by the time it came for him to settle down. Noah was probably younger than George when George’s father died and took over running the family Building and Loan Company. George was married younger than most compared to the generations that were born in the last 40 years. Noah is not even contemplating settling down with a partner at this time in his life.

Rachel Bailey (as Mary Hatch). Photo by Emma K. McDonnell.

Rachel Bailey (not to be confused with Mary Bailey nee Hatch who she plays) has already gotten her Associates degree from Howard Community College but looks forward to transferring to Towson University in the spring where she will major in Theater and Deaf Communications.

Mary was a stay at home mom – something Rachel is not contemplating at this point. She is not ready to give up her ambitions for, as we say today, a significant other. George and Mary would be surprised that Rachel saw, “That women’s rights and opportunities have opened up and there are so many things they can do.” The Baileys of the play would be bewildered by George’s statement, “Male and female roles have blurred.”

Emma K. McDonnell. Photo courtesy of Arts Collective @ HCC.

Emma McDonnell, who performs the role of Clara, has taken on the role that was mostly played by a male (the character’s name in the script is Clarence). Emma is working for Howard Community College’s Arts Collective and other theatrical groups as a freelance illustrator. She is very organized and handled her job well as liaison with DC Metro Arts for this three-part series. She also thought it was kind of odd that we even talked about the need for significant others. She saw her self-worth as being successful in her own career and not her marital status.

All three saw their soul mates as a family member or friend. Noah stated his longtime friend was like a brother, and they could sit an hour and a half in a car and say nothing. Emma said there were people in her life “whose very presence could lighten your heart.”

Of course, George and Mary might just think this acting group is just “show business” folks. Jimmy Stewart (George in the movie) did not marry until his 40’s, and Donna Reed, who made of career of playing all-American moms, had 3 husbands by the time she was 40. (Note: Stewart was connected with several actresses before he was ready to tie the knot.) However, Stewart, like Harry Bailey, faced World War II and, unlike his brother George, served and became a hero even though he was originally 4-F. Donna Reed’s first marriage was in her early 20’s, and she started her career before she turned 20. By the time Stewart went into the Air Force in his 30’s, he already had won an Academy Award (The Philadelphia Story). Both actors were products of the depression as well. The newer generations seem to wait longer to settle into a career, marriage and family. 30 is the new 20 in those areas at least.

Some ideals transcend time. All three actors talked about George’s selflessness. If George had a flaw, it was sometimes neglecting himself. Trying to think of a contemporary counterpart to George, Noah talked about working with someone on another production that was the type of person that was always positive and always on an even keel. Rachel thought also that Mary’s only flaw may have been her selflessness as well. With such a large family and George’s business and work ethic, she never thought of herself. They all felt sometime you have to put yourself first to protect your own physical and mental health. You cannot take care of others if you are not taking care of yourself. Rachel thought her mother was like Mary. Her mother was always giving. Until Rachel was 8 her family fostered troubled teens, and she had vivid memories of helping mom work to serve meals to the needy at their church.

Emma was the only one not to have seen the movie in its entirety. That was probably a good thing since her role is usually played by a male (Clarence) and in the movie the actor was already in his 7os. Emma is still in the early part of her adulthood. The directors cast her because of her energy and spark. Emma knew, however, this was not a feminine role. She did see the angel as fun and light hearted, even a little immature. Clara is a soul who has been around in heaven a long time and still has not been able to get her wings. They show that the angel has been unsuccessful getting her wings for so long through the costuming rather than by aging Clara to match her movie counterpart. She cleverly watched old movies to “study the physicality and timing of actors from that era to try to remain faithful to the aesthetic we are trying to create.” That helped with understanding how to give the play the feel of the era it was written. Emma, it is interesting to note, thinks there are guardian angels on earth that help you out when you need it, but isn’t convinced that the celestial variety with wings exists.

Noah Bird (George Bailey) and Rachel Bailey (Mary Hatch). Photo by Bruce F. Press Photography.

Rachel admitted playing a woman who puts her ambition aside for her husband’s desire to help his community was hard. She did give Mary a little more ambition than other actors might. They all felt that the play, primarily because of the role of Mary, was sexist and unfair. First of all, in those decades women often gave up their careers for their husbands. Most women had “glass ceilings.” Second, when discussing the scene of what Mary’s life would be without George, they felt it was much stronger dramatically if Mary’s life was crippled without George. Noah pointed out it was not just Mary who was negatively affected with a life without her husband, but almost everyone in the town. The three actors all felt that Mary and George completed each other. Noah pointed to the scene where it is Mary who suggests giving up their honeymoon money to save others. These two were a perfect whole.

In addition to studying movies from the era, Emma used information she learned in her classes. Noah said he started listening solely to the music of the time as it “reflects the times.” He thought it was very upbeat and wondered if this was to give false optimism to people then. Rachel used her grandmother as a source for her role. Her grandmother was 7 at end the Depression. Rachel told us a poignant story how her grandmother was able to get real meat, not the horsemeat sometimes sold at the markets, for the family through a connection with the cook at the Howard Johnson’s Restaurant and how people got lard with a yellow food coloring capsules instead of butter.

Since the play deals with the utter despair that George confronts when it seems all is lost, Noah was asked to give some insight into how he dealt with this. He admitted that like many of us he had times he felt depressed at times. However, he never felt the utter despair depicted in the show “with so many things crashing down at once.” He used his bad times to help portray this time for George Bailey. All three saw Mary and George as the iconic couple who love and support each other. George is selfless and Mary, as Noah stated, “Is on the same page.”

All agreed that George is seen as everyman, and agreed the average person can affect change. This is what Capra, the movie’s creative director tried to show in many of his films. Noah pointed out that in the script George Bailey is called “Everyman of Bedford Falls” in the character description. They felt that today’s world is different, and we can change things through the Internet and other technologies. However, Emma said she was not sure today’s youth were as knowledgeable about the world even with all the technology. The other two agreed that there was something to be said about the lack of basic education, especially government issues, young people had today.

The three never gave much thought to what the world would be if they did not exist except for Emma who said only in “those dark times.” However, Rachel told about a close family friend who died recently. This friend was a huge influence her life and Rachel had given thought to what her own life would have been if the friend had not existed. Also Rachel and her family were able to show this woman “pure love” perhaps for the first time which had made a difference in her friend’s life. Noah said he did give this some thought only after starting the show. He thinks about people he has been there for when they needed help. “It’s a really weird thought,” he went on, “and super surreal.”

Rachel believed, Mary’s most revealing scene is the one early on when she and George finally become a couple. We see how long she has loved George and how she waited for him to notice her. She is very vulnerable and even at times silly. Her favorite line Mary delivers is from that scene, “Too young, or too old.”

Emma K. McDonnell (Clara), Rachel Bailey (Mary Bailey), and Noah Bird (George Bailey). Photo by Bruce F.. Press Photography.

Noah felt the scene that we got the most insight into what makes George tick is the scene when there is a run on the bank and George is trying to be a good family member by placating his uncle. George is also attempting to rally the people of the town and giving out his own money to save the bank and the town’s financial stability. It shows how much George is altruistic, and then, later with his wife, how much he loves Mary in a “sweet gooey moment.” He even displays his sense of humor as the scene ends. The line Noah will always remember is the one that has some grammatical twists and was difficult for him to remember. That often happens in developing a play. Those problems stick in your mind.

Emma felt the most important scene for Clara was when “time catches up to itself” at the end of Act II in Bedford Falls without George. Although she was always a sympathetic character, she “wears her heart on her sleeve,” and we see an angel who is not just bright and humorous but a really caring being. She had no favorite line for her character but felt the audience would find one if the line was already famous or the because of the actor’s delivery.

The final impression might be best scene through the eyes of the actors who first did these roles in 1946 for Capra. Despite their ages, this cast would be seen as experienced thespians. Noah Bird has been involved in the Chesapeake Shakespeare Company in Our Town and Romeo and Juliet. Rachel Bailey has appeared in AC’s production of Ragtime: The Musical and A Christmas Carol. Emma McDonnell has been a regular member of AC’s improvisation group (W.I.G.) and has performed in their productions of Dracula among others there. Possibly, Henry Travers who played Clarence would have enjoyed seeing the role he made famous done by a much younger, vivacious female. All the three movie counterparts were performers almost all their lives, working until they were no longer able. They would have been enthusiastic about these young performers and would be supportive in their pursuit of careers in the arts.

Arts Collective’s production of It’s A Wonderful Life plays though this weekend at Howard Community College performing at the Horowitz Center’s Smith Theatre – 10901 Little Patuxent Parkway, in Columbia, MD. For tickets call (443) 518-1500, or purchase them online.

Running Time: Approximately 2 hours, including one 15-minute intermission.

Recommended for audiences 12 years of age and up.

Here are directions to the Smith Theatre and parking information.

LINKS
Arts Collective at Howard Community College Presents ‘It’s a Wonderful Life’ December 4 – 14th by Susan G. Kramer.

Arts Collective @ HCC’s ‘It’s a Wonderful Life’ Interviews Part 1: ‘Paths Intersect Again After 20 Years’: Co-Directors Gareth Kelly and Anthony Scimonelli by Susan Brall.

Arts Collective @ HCC’s ‘It’s a Wonderful Life’ Interviews Part 2: A Peek at the Multi-Generational Cast of ‘It’s a Wonderful Life’ by Susan Brall.

Arts Collective @ HCC’s ‘It’s a Wonderful Life’ Interviews Part 3: ‘Leaps in Time With Noah Bird, Rachel Bailey, and Emma McDonnell.’

December 10, 2014
‘It’s A Wonderful Life’ at Arts Collective @HCC

The legendary classic story of nice guy George Bailey in It’s a Wonderful Life, comes to life on stage at Arts Collective at Howard Community College (AC) this holiday season. Very much like his father, George Bailey (Noah Bird), never seems to get a break. Kind and giving, he constantly sacrifices his own dreams for the sake of others. On Christmas Eve, where the show opens, George has hit rock bottom and essentially has given up. Teetering on the edge of a bridge and life, anger, despair, and thoughts of suicide brings about the intervention of his guardian angel.

(left to right) Noah Bird (George Bailey) and Rachel Bailey (Mary Hatch). Photo by Bruce Press Photography.

It’s a Wonderful Life the stage play is by James W. Rodgers, based on the film by Frank Capra, and the short story The Greatest Gift was written by Philip Van Doren Stern. The Arts Collective’s Executive Producer is Valerie Lash with Susan G. Kramer as the Producing Artist Director. This production is directed by Gareth Kelly and Anthony Scimonelli.

Bird is outstanding as George Bailey, as he display a wide range of emotions – from happy-go-lucky with Mary Hatch (Rachel Bailey), down on his luck with Uncle Billy (William Stanley III), and truly skeptical with Clara (Emma K. McDonnell). His lanky stature and body language fits right in with his 3-piece suit, coat, and hat – which perfectly reflect the time period.

Noah Bird shares good chemistry with his love interest, Mary, even when she is not of any interest to him. The love scene where George visits Mary upon her return from college is charming. As George bumbles his way onto the porch, Mary is awaiting a phone call from Sam Wainwright (Hudson Mohler). This is a cleverly staged scene, where Mary and George are stage right, Mary’s nosey mother (Kathryn Marshall) is positioned in one of the upper windows, and over-zealous businessman, Sam in a lower window. This is the tense moment where George, “does not want in on the ground floor.” As he expresses his anger in not wanting marriage, the mood shifts again and George and Mary’s first kiss is filled with great passion.

Bailey’s Mary is a burst of springtime when she steps onto the stage. She is the sweet optimist that sees the good in all their hard work. The bonus with this actress is her singing voice the gives a beautiful rendition of “Ava Maria.” On the opposite end of the spectrum is Violet Peterson (Meghan Abdo), the single, ambitious gal who always flirts with George. Donning some lovely lace dresses adds to her characters out-going behavior.

The cast of ‘It’s a Wonderful Life’: Foreground: Noah Bird (George Bailey), Adam Czarnecki Mr. Potter’s Body Guard), Gary Grabau (Mr. Potter), and Abigail Prevaiz (Mr. Potter’s Secretary). Background: Taylor Prunell (Miss Carter), Diego Esmolo (Mr. Martini), William Stanley III (Uncle Billy), T. Naomi Muwowo (Miss Andrews), Bruce Leipold (Mr. Gower), Megan Abdo (Violet Peterson), Brandon W. Love (Bert), Terri Laurino (Ma Bailey), Ilene Chalmers (Aunt Tilly), and Kathryn Marshall (Mrs. Hatch). Photo by Bruce Press Photography.

Another surprise is Emma K. McDonnell as Clara Odbody – yes, Clara. In this production George’s angel is a gal, that is very exuberant and a very likable. She is smart and not such a goof-ball like Clarence is in the movie. Her gestures are a bit exaggerated and that is what works with this character as she tries to get George to realize he does matter, and to embrace life again. Her costume is made up of layers that include a full length coat, fingerless gloves, and a bowler hat with red accents.

Gary Grabau’s Henry F. Potter is just as mean and grouchy as can be. A true villain, he is nemesis to George and his father, delivering his lines with grit and contempt in his voice. Wheelchair bound, he is pushed around by his body guard (Adam Czarnecki) and his secretary (Abigail Pervaiz), but he is the one that does the pushing that drives people away, making them feel worthless.

Bert (Brandon W. Love) and Ernie (Scott Lichtor) are the comic relief of the show. Like George, they are happy-go-lucky in Bedford Falls. However, in Pottersville, along with Mr. Martini (Diego Esmolo) they are drunkards, stagger around on the stage, as Clara shows George his life as if he had never been born.

Harry Bailey (Josh Huff-Edsall), George’s hero brother, was played in the same vain as Sam Wainwright. Go-getters from an early age, they liked George, even respected him but they also seemed to take advantage of him while they pursue and get what they wanted out of life. Mother Bailey (Terri Laurino) on the other hand was a bit on the sassy side and always cheering for her son George. She knew the kind of man she raised and manages to nudge him in the right direction in what matters – love.

Mr. Gower (Bruce Leipold) and Young George (Graham Rifkin) share the drug store scene where Mr. Gower inadvertently sends George to deliver a poisonous medication. Leipold’s character is fraught with anger but it is George’s compassionate nature that shifts the situation. Leipold and Rifkin really deliver in this scene the emotions not only related to what happened with the medication but the news that Mr. Gower’s son had died.

It’s A Wonderful Life would not be complete with the support of the following roles and cast members who portrayed Aunt Tilly (Ilene Chalmers), Miss Andrews (T. Naomi Muwowo), Mrs. Thompson (Catherine Milligan), Mrs. Martini (Ivonne Aparicio), Mr. Welch (Shawn Fournier) and Miss Carter (Taylor Purnell). Their talents support ensemble scenes such as George and Mary’s wedding, the run on the bank, Carolers, and George’s house at Christmas. George and Mary’s children, Peter (Bennett Horvath), Tommy (Nicholas Dimitriades), Zuzu (Madeleine McComb), and Janie (Madeleine Kelly) and are just adorable and are full of excitement when George returns home in the Christmas scene.

The set by designer Jeff Harrison and lighting by Lynn Joslin is ingenious. Comprised of three walls, it is indicative of an Advent calendar. Sponge painted black and white to give it a soft gray tone, the set is also a series of doors, windows, and retractable stairs. Adding to the technical side of the show is a combination of projections and gobos that cast images onto the set. Credit for digital scenography goes to Riki Kim while Kevin Hill is responsible for the sound design which includes songs of the era. The efforts of the design team are apparent as the set, lighting, and sound work together to set the upbeat, down-trodden, and then hopeful moods.

Costuming by Shannon Maddox is relatable to the late 1920s. The older woman wear chemise dresses with long hem-lines and plain bodices. Mary’s costuming matures throughout the show as she wears beaded dresses with fuller skirts and petticoats in the beginning; by the end of the show, she is wearing this stunning long black skirt, velvet top and a shiny Christmas corsage. The men wear trousers, long sleeve shirts and sweater vest. A few of the male characters also sport a suit jacket. The festive carolers are decorated in red and green holiday outfits.

It’s a Wonderful Life if full of quotable quote, including the familiar message that, “Each man’s life touches so many other lives, and when he isn’t around he leaves an awful hole.”

(left to right) Noah Bird (George Bailey), Adam Czarnecki (Mr. Potter’s Body Guard), and Gary Grabau (Mr. Potter). Photo by Bruce Press Photography.

Arts Collective @ HCC’s It’s a Wonderful Life is simply a stunningly wonderful production due to the cohesive efforts by the cast and crew at delivering top-notch performances, direction, and design while managing seamless set changes, that required some quick maneuvering.

AC’s It’s a Wonderful Life is definitely the show to see during this holiday season. It’s a brilliant production to be enjoyed by every member of the family!

Running Time: Approximately two hours, includes one 15-minute intermission.

Arts Collective’s production of It’s A Wonderful Life plays through December 14, 2014 at Howard Community College performing at the Horowitz Center’s Smith Theatre – 10901 Little Patuxent Parkway, in Columbia, MD. For tickets, call (443) 518-1500, or purchase them online.

Recommended for audiences 12 years of age and up.

Here are directions to the Smith Theatre and parking information.

LINKS
Arts Collective at Howard Community College Presents ‘It’s a Wonderful Life’ December 4 – 14th by Susan G. Kramer.

Arts Collective @ HCC’s ‘It’s a Wonderful Life’ Interviews Part 1: ‘Paths Intersect Again After 20 Years’: Co-Directors Gareth Kelly and Anthony Scimonelli.

Arts Collective @ HCC’s ‘It’s a Wonderful Life’ Interviews Part 2: A Peek at the Multi-Generational Cast of ‘It’s a Wonderful Life.’

Post by Arts Collective @HCC.
https://youtu.be/wAtE1cGb1BM

December 5, 2014
Arts Collective @ HCC’s ‘It’s a Wonderful Life’ Interviews Part 1: ‘Paths Intersect Again After 20 Years’: Co-Directors Gareth Kelly and Anthony Scimonelli

When the Arts Collective at HCC (“AC”) decided how to mark its 20th Anniversary with James W. Rogers’ play, It’s A Wonderful Life, Producing Artistic Director Susan G. Kramer reached out to two former HCC students Gareth Kelly and Anthony Scimonelli.

After graduation, the two had gone separate ways. Both had made their own marks in theater as directors in the Maryland area, Gareth playing Roy Cohn in Arts Collective @ HCC’s_Angels in America, and also producing and directing, including at the Baltimore Playwrights’ Festival. Anthony acted in Aladdin as the Genie at The Pumpkin Theatre and in the Improvisational Group at the Arts Collective @HCC’s Hallow-Scream W.I.G. Both agree that Sue Kramer was the glue that brought them together.

Knowing each other allowed them to jump right in and get things rolling. They felt very comfortable working with each other after all these years. Gareth admitted this is the first time he has co-directed a show.

L to R: Co-Directors: Anthony Scimonelli and Gareth Kelly. Photo by Emma K. McDonnell.

Asked what the message of the play was, Anthony responded, “Having faith is something greater than you. I believe in angels, love and family.” Gareth felt believing in “community” and learning to “cherish” things “other than money or career.”

Both had seen the movie, but never had seen a live production. While trying to stick by some of the aspects of the movie, giving it a black-and-white effect on stage, the play is different. It is shorter, it takes place at slightly different times and parts are dropped or changed. They thought about how to deal with this at the beginning, but decided that although certain parts of the movie were doomed to creep in they would treat the play as its own entity. They worked with the actors in developing their characters in their own way to make this play unique from the movie. Although they agreed not to cast the play to reflect the movie’s actors or their types, their George Bailey [Noah Bird] is “Jimmy Stewart with a touch of [Steve] Buscemi.” They also wanted to incorporate diversity into the production which is the mission of the Arts Collective.

Many plays have been updated but Anthony stated they always wanted to leave it in period. However, Set Designer Jeff Harrison created a set that looks like an Advent Calendar, which differentiates it from the movie or other productions.

The movie’s director – Frank Capra – was best-known for showing that the common or average person can make a difference. Asked if they agreed, Anthony said, “100% but I don’t think there is such a thing as an average person.” Gareth felt that, “Where differences happen is in your personal interactions. Actual change happens between people.” Agreeing with Capra’s own assessment that the story had a life of its own (the movie was not a big hit for its time) Anthony explained, “When you get it up on its feet things naturally fall into place. [The story] almost tells itself.”

Director Scimonelli stated that they made the decision to keep Potter despicable to keep “polar opposites” between Clarence/Clara, and Potter, not because he is a banker, but because, “his focus is on greed and evil.” Director Kelly felt, “Theatrically you need villain.” Anthony felt that Potter is in his own agony with his isolation from the town, who loves George, and who knows what drove Potter to be so greedy and even handicapped. Gareth thought this story could be told one day as they did with the Witch from The Wizard of Oz in Wicked. Potter’s story could be that interesting on its own.

When asked why they switched Clarence, the Guardian Angel to a woman, Clara, they agreed both were very open to a lot of possibilities in casting, including having a woman as Clarence. Emma McDonnell could radiate the energy they wanted to come from the character.

They also had a lot more to say about the technical aspects of the show and how they would deal with problems like the span of time the script covers and the limitations they may have encountered putting their vision on stage. “We are very lucky to have the design team that worked on AC’s Ragtime: The Musical last season. They told their design staff they wanted these worlds to be created but gave them a lot of free rein to do so.

Anthony gave some insight about how they would deal with the many time changes in the show. It will be pretty technically impressive. Gareth added because the play was so much quicker paced than the movie there was not the room to do these time changes “with costumes and make-up as there was with lighting and effects.” His co-director noted that after both had worked in smaller formats in the Baltimore area the technical resources at HCC has been a gift. Gareth felt that there was a lot of structure already in place for the technical parts of the show. Sue told them not to place any limitations on themselves from the start and if they wanted something to happen AC would try to make it happen. The technical staff is led by Jeff Harrison, Set Designer, Lynn Joslin, Lighting Designer, Kevin Hill, Sound Designer, Riki Kim, Digital Scenographer, and Shannon Maddox, Costume Designer.

L to R: Co-Directors: Anthony Scimonelli and Gareth Kelly. Photo by Emma K. McDonnell.

Each had their own pivotal scenes within the play. We were given an inside look as to how those scenes were developed to make them as important to the audience. For Anthony it was an early one between Young George and Mr. Gower. It always chokes him up. It’s a display of courage. It not only tells you about George’s character, but is pivotal in Mr. Gower’s life. They were able to bring in Fight Coach Jenny Male to help choreograph the beating of Young George [Graham Rifkin] by Mr. Gower [Bruce Leipold], which makes it visually more powerful and gut -wrenching. For Gareth it was after George Bailey [Noah Bird] asks even his arch enemy, Mr. Potter [Gary Grabau], for help and pleads to God, totally breaking down. Also, right after that when we are taken into the alternate world, and even though it takes place at break neck speed, it is has great impact. Gareth felt that Noah Bird brings so much to his role that his pick for the most pivotal scene will be very memorable to the audience by Noah’s performance.

Mike Nichols, the great film and stage director who died recently, said that all he wanted from his actors was to be ‘surprised.’ Commenting on this Gareth noted his actors surprised him, “By being so committed and so prepared in the first place. They were off book long before their off book date. They were pushing me and pushing us.” They as directors found they had to catch up with the cast. “We were in a good place really early. The question then became now where do we go? So we were able to challenge them a little bit more.”

Anthony was surprised at the first rehearsal where the lead actress and actor decided to put any awkwardness aside and began kissing. This was the first time he ever saw that in theater. Usually it takes a week or so for the actors to feel comfortable enough to do that. “It was mind-blowing for me.”

Kelly stated he is very grateful to direct this wonderful play and hope you will come see it. Scimonelli said it has been a joy and pleasure, one of the most enjoyable experiences of his life so far. Working with Gareth has been “Kismet.” Gareth ending by saying, “Both of us put It’s A Wonderful Life in the top 5 films of all time, so having a chance to do the theatrical version of it is just great.”

Arts Collective’s production of It’s A Wonderful Life plays from December 4-14, 2014 at Howard Community College performing at the Horowitz Center’s Smith Theatre – 10901 Little Patuxent Parkway, in Columbia, MD. For tickets call (443) 518-1500, or purchase them online.

Running Time: Approximately 2 Hours, including one 15-minute intermission.

Recommended for audiences 12 years of age and up.

Here are directions to the Smith Theatre and parking information.

LINK
Arts Collective at Howard Community College Presents ‘It’s a Wonderful Life’ December 4 – 14th by Susan G. Kramer.

December 1, 2014
‘It’s a Wonderful Life: A Live Radio Play’ at CENTERSTAGE

Following its successful runs of the epic play Amadeus and the rock musical Next to Normal, CENTERSTAGE lines up a fantastic family rendering of Frank Capra’s beloved holiday classic film, It’s a Wonderful Life, as the third main stage production of its 2014-15 Season.

Directed by Nelson T. Eusebio, III, It’s a Wonderful Life: A Live Radio Play creatively combines the beloved film with the golden age of radio. Set in a 1940s radio “WBAL” studio, designed by Michael Locher, the show features a live sound effects artist/percussionist/pianist (Anthony Stultz) and five actors (Pun Bandhu, Ken Krugman, Joseph McGranaghan, Chiara Motley, and Eileen Rivera) who play every character in the production.

“The movie lives in three places – in the film itself, it lives in our audience’s memory of the film and it also lives in the live event we’re creating here,” Eusebio explains. “The key is not to imitate the film, but to take the heart of it, so it triggers the audience’s memory, it invokes it, and finally it allows us to inspire from that.”

As in the post-World War II era, audience members experience the magic of It’s a Wonderful Life much like a 1947 studio audience did when Jimmy Stewart and Donna Reed performed the script live over the air shortly after its Academy Award nominations were announced. Under Eusebio’s artistic direction, the production closely follows the original film’s plotline, but in a more innovative, improvisational and imaginative presentation.

Film fans may recall, George Bailey (Joseph McGranaghan) has grown up in Bedford Falls, an idyllic small town, determined to get out. He plans to travel the world and build skyscrapers when he grows up. However, circumstances keep him at home. His father dies. The rich, evil Mr. Potter (Ken Krugman) tries to liquidate the Bailey family’s savings-and-loan business and take over the town. George’s brother, Harry (Pun Bandhu), marries a great woman whose father has offered him a promising career opportunity, far away from his hometown. When the accidental loss of $8,000 leaves George on the verge of disaster, he contemplates killing himself.
The heartwarming moment is lingering right around the corner, as Clarence (Pun Bandhu), George’s slightly bumbling 292-year-old guardian angel, comes to earth to help him. By showing George what Bedford Falls and numerous loved ones would have been like if George had never been born, Clarence manages to turn him around. Which is no surprise, since apparently without George, the town would have turned into pitiable Pottersville long ago. Lifted from a suicidal depression, George Bailey is a man with a reawakened appreciation of his life and the people he loves.

In this It’s a Wonderful Life, the actors, dressed in fashions and accessories suggesting that their characters live in the golden age of radio, almost certainly the 1940s, begin standing in front of microphones, scripts in hand, but they are soon moving about on and off the stage, gesturing and interacting in lively, realistic ways, with the help of only the radio-age equivalent of sound design. Seemingly true to life, the show appealed to rally its targeted Baltimore-area audience members by featuring an entertaining Old Bay commercial with a tuneful song that rouse applause and laughter.

Each of the five actors playing all of the roles in the adaption of Frank Capra’s script make their CENTERSTAGE debut with great panache and fervor. With the help of Director Nelson T. Eusebio, III, the cast create surprisingly vivid and fully believable characters — dozens of them. In addition to Mr. Potter, Ken Krugman also plays, among other characters, Uncle Billy; George’s son; the old man on the front porch telling George to kiss his future wife, Mary; and God. Pun Bandhu’s characters include Clarence the angel; George’s war-hero brother; Sam Wainwright; and the proud bar owner and homeowner Giuseppe Martini.

The very versatile Eileen Rivera’s characters include Violet, the town’s “bad girl”; George’s mother; Mary’s mother; and George’s daughter, Zuzu. Krugman, Bandu and Rivera’s respective portrayal of Mr. Potter, Clarence and Violet are particularly impressive and memorable. Likewise, Chiara Motley plays a convincing Mary, and Joseph McGranaghan does an outstanding job as George. Anthony Stultz, the onstage Foley artist, is literally instrumental in heightening the production quality with his sharp precision and inventive sound effects, effectively employing everything from a thunder sheet to a wind machine to a vintage siren – all on-the-fly.

Setting the dial high for a double dose of nostalgia, CENTERSTAGE’s It’s a Wonderful Life: A Live Radio Play strikingly brings to life, in a delightfully poignant stage adaptation, Frank Capra’s beloved holiday season drama of sacrifice and redemption in an endearing, evocative exhibition that hearkens back to the golden age of radio when families gathered together for inspirational broadcasts and wholesome entertainment, splendidly recreating the much-loved celebration of goodwill, community and cheer in the face of hardship.

Running Time: Approximately 1 hour and 50 minutes, including one 15-minute intermission.

It’s a Wonderful Life plays through December 21, 2014 at CENTERSTAGE—700 North Calvert Street in Baltimore, MD. For tickets, call the box office at (410) 332-0033, or purchase them online.

November 26, 2014
‘We Are Samurai’ at Venus Theatre

Experiencing Venus Theatre’s production of Daria Miyeko Marinelli’s We Are Samurai feels something like when your dad threw you into the deep end so you could learn to swim. At first, it is scary and a bit overwhelming; but when you begin to find your rhythm and get the hang of what’s going on in Deborah Randall’s hallucinatory production, it is pure floating bliss.

Elias (Cathryn Benson) is a kimono-clad psychic who can sniff out her one true love, Regan (Daven Ralston). Photo by Curtis Jordan.

It is difficult to distance yourself from this unusual, evocative piece of theatre, because you’re literally in the middle of the action. We Are Samurai is staged “promenade style” meaning that the audience itself moves through the space of Venus’ “Play Shack” in Laurel, Maryland. As you move through the different arenas (“The Worship”, “The Void”, “The Living Room”, “The Kitchen, “The Garden”), a narrative begins to emerge. You stitch together what is happening by absorbing a piece of dialogue here, a snatch of monologue there, a flash of music or a moment of physical action. The result is, by its nature, fragmented, and because there is no specified path for the audience to move through the space, it is inevitable that you will not get the whole story.

But truthfully, the “story” of We Are Samurai, such as it is, is not really the most important thing about the show. Sure, you’ll want to pay attention to the death of two beloved housecats, a young man’s unhealthy obsession with his iPhone, and the danger of a powerful love-inducing perfume – not to mention the silent samurai floating around the space.

But the most evocative moments of the show aren’t found in the arc of the story, but in the twists and turns that the characters’ relationships move through. Elias (Cathryn Benson) is a kimono-clad psychic who can sniff out her one true love, Regan (Daven Ralston), whom she assures has been her destined companion over hundreds of reincarnations throughout history. Meanwhile, Regan’s brother, Rocky (Patrick Gorirossi) insists that nothing is really real until it exists on the Internet, and when he is separated from his beloved smart phone, he demands to know if he still exists. Finally, Rocky’s girlfriend Josephine (Ann Fraistat) is a Donna Reed style domestic whose kitchen is plastered with pictures of her cats, and lays out cucumber sandwiches that the audience can actually eat (I must have indulged in a half dozen). It is the death of Josephine’s poor kitties that sets off a chain of events that, while ultimately tragic, includes moments of absurd comedy along the way.

Josephine. Photo by Curtis Jordan.

If it sounds like an Ionesco sushi roll stuffed with Kafka and sprinkled with patchouli oil, you’re in the ballpark. But despite the occasionally incomprehensible bits of narrative, the show is ultimately a pleasure to experience, because however crazy the world of the play becomes, the actors commit to it wholeheartedly.

The chaos of We Are Samurai is belied by the tight, well-rehearsed performances of the cast. Director Deborah Randall extracts sincere feelings of love, jealousy, rage, and grief from underneath the stylized staging. The absurdity of the characters transforming from squatting, singing samurai (yes, singing) into writhing cats is juxtaposed with an earnest, almost severe realism. When Josephine brews tea or Regan cooks rice, there is such a natural, matter-of-fact quality to the action that you almost feel like a voyeur. It is this tension between the everyday and the fantastical that makes We Are Samurai fascinating.

It is much more difficult, and expensive, to see theatre than it is to switch on the TV or plop down in front of some Netflix. The relative inaccessibility of live theatre makes me crave to see something new on stage. So when I come across a show like We Are Samurai, it makes me want to shout from the rooftops that everyone should go see it. Because no matter what you think of the Lynchian surrealism that is Daria Miyeko Marinelli’s play, you can rest assured that you’ve never experienced anything quite like it.

Running Time: Approximately 90 minutes, with no intermission.

We Are Samurai plays through September 28, 2014 at Venus Theatre— 21 C Street in Laurel, MD. For tickets call the box office at (202) 236-4078, or purchase them online.

September 8, 2014
‘Shout! The Mod Musical’ at Creative Cauldron

I attended Shout! The Mod Musical braless. TMI?

Well, Creative Cauldron invited us to dress like something out of the Sixties-Seventies, so there we were, women in our 50s and 60s, grooving to the hits of our youth and letting it all hang out. Those were the days, my friend, when young women burned their bras, young men burned their draft cards, and the only midnight oil burned was likely incense- or drug-infused.

The cast of “Shout! The Mod Musical,” from left: Yellow Girl (Aimee Barnes), Green Girl (Iyona Blake), Red Girl (Melissa Berkowitz), Blue Girl (Sarah Anne Sillers), and Orange Girl (Ashleigh King).

Shout! is light on story but heavy on atmosphere. The revue follows five nameless young “birds” (chicks) in England navigating the fast-changing times, as reflected and dictated by a fictitious magazine, “Shout!” — an amalgam of such trendy, advice-y, sex-quiz magazines as Cosmo and Redbook aimed at “the modern woman.” But “modern” is a moving target, as any glance back through the microfiches of vintage articles and ads would reveal.

The characters here are known only as “Red Girl,” “Blue Girl,” “Green Girl,” “Yellow Girl” and “Orange Girl,” archetypes on a spectrum from the domestic Donna Reed sort (orange) to a confused and complex That Girl (red) to liberated slut (green). And isn’t that so like the Spice Girls, or the Mighty Morphin’ Power Rangers, or even the Teletubbies? In searching for identity, we measure ourselves against an external, iconic, impossible yardstick.

The show’s power, ultimately, comes in overlaying what we know now — about free love and civil rights, products like asbestos, even issues like domestic violence — and realizing how far we’ve come since feminism took root. Back when the slogan was “You’ve come a long way, baby,” society had taken only its first baby steps.

Scenic and Costume Designer Margie Jervis sets the tone by transforming the Artspace black box into a riotous rainbow of color and pattern. Before even the first downbeat of his mix-master magic, one-man band Music Director/Keyboardist Mark Deffenbaugh sits like a deejay in a screened window framed by old vinyl discs, spinning oldies. The night I attended, he segued from Janis Joplin to one-hit wonders The Troggs (“Wild Thing”) and Scott McKenzie (“If You’re Going to San Francisco”). When Creative Cauldron Founder and Producing Director Laura Connors Hull greeted and surveyed the audience to find out who had traveled farthest, a gentleman in the front row echoed “San Francisco”! Perfect.

The set’s centerpiece is a large, moody-blue flower that says, unapologetically, “Flower Power.” Quite literally, it speaks, hiding a screen where Robert Aubry Davis, first in black-and-white and eventually color technology, narrates with witty, agony-aunt shtick. As Gwendolyn Holmes, he doles out mostly bad advice until the girls, after shoo-shoo-shimmying their way through hits like “I Only Want to Be With You,” “To Sir With Love” and “These Boots Were Made for Walking,” finally find their footing and rebel in an electrifying “Shout!”

Director Matt Conner achieves an orgasmic, high-energy mix of Laugh-In meets Midnight Special. Together with Jervis, he transforms what start out as monochromatic, patterned pawns, ingénues subscribing to boxy labels in stilted wigs (dippity-dos!), into multifaceted women who literally learn to let their hair down — to differentiate and love themselves, instead of looking for love in all the wrong places.

Conner’s Mod squad includes some precocious talent, especially Sarah Anne Sillers (Blue Girl), a new Princeton graduate and acting dynamo whose contralto is like silk and honeyed milk, and Ashleigh King (Orange Girl), a vocal pillar whose credits include Signature Theatre productions of Dreamgirls and Hairspray. Voice coaches in real life, Iyona Blake (Green Girl – who proves the least green on stage) and Aimee Barnes (Yellow Girl) impress by practicing what they preach (sing it, girl!). Blake’s pacing is spot-on; her “I’ll have what she’s having” moment is seat-squirmingly infective, but she elicits goosebumps with her vocals alone. Melissa Berkowitz (Red Girl) adds a strong physical presence, creating fits during a sequence in which she mimes the increasingly undesirable side effects of The Pill.

Choreography by Stephen Gregory Smith is both nostalgic and inventive — plenty of the Swim, Mashed Potato, Pony, Monkey and the Twist to go around, but with enough breathing space for cast members to add their own sparkle. Among staging highlights: the wild, jostling ride of “Don’t Sleep in the Subway”; “Son of a Preacher Man,” when Barnes emerges in a psychedelic dress like a soul-infused Twiggy and leads a spotlight-dance revival; and “Goldfinger,” a trippy scene in which the ladies on a missionary mission don prophylactic gloves and morph into Bond girls — rather, femme fatales.

There’s the requisite groovy lighting, designed by Joey Wallen, but it’s thankfully not over-the-top — just a hint of LSD-inspired LEDs. One of the most effective strategies is the spooky spot on the ever-circulating magazine covers, blithely marking the passage of time.

Also brilliantly marking time are Jervis’ costumes, a parade of LOUD museum pieces (how did she gain access to the back of our closets?). They transition from very short mini-skirts to less-revealing maxis and caftans, with accessories added as the characters bloom and gain confidence.

It all makes you wanna shout, and sing. So get your threads and juices flowing, head “downtown” (Falls Church), check your hate at the door and bask in the Haight vibe of this upbeat, far-out labor of love.

Running Time: About 75 minutes, with no intermission.

Shout! The Mod Musical plays through May 25, 2014, at Creative Cauldron’s Artspace -410 South Maple Avenue, in Falls Church, VA. For tickets, call the box office at (703) 436-9948, or purchase them online.

May 6, 2014
‘Damn Yankees’ at McLean Community Players by Terry Byrne

Damn Yankees is the ultimate date musical, mixing equal parts sports and romance. Men in tight pants, a loose woman hell-bent on seduction, showtune hit after hit … what’s not to like?

Applegate (Mike Baker Jr.) and Lola (Annie Ermlick) strategize in a deeply tropical bedroom lair. Photo by Traci J. Brooks Photography.

Blessed little in McLean Community Players’ production of the 1950s trophy piece by Richard Adler and Jerry Ross, book by George Abbott and Douglass Wallop. It’s a Faustian tale of baseball fanatic Joe Boyd, whose winsome and lose ’em all Washington Senators can do no right. Cursing at the TV and ignoring his long-suffering wife one night, Joe proclaims he’d “sell his soul for a long ball hitter.” On cue appears the devil, Mr. Applegate. (Aptly named: Think of the red apple, a symbol for original sin, plus a gate swinging like a moral pendulum — heaven’s gate or the gates of hell? The “Gate” suffix is also modern-day code for scandal and corruption, which goes to show how enduring is this show, as art reinterpreted).

Joe Hardy (Tim Adams) needs no practice — he can play right off the bat. Photo by Tracy J. Brooks Photography.

Applegate takes Joe up on his offer, trading old Joe for a sure ace, Joe Hardy. But Joe’s no dummy. As a real estate pro, he demands an escape clause, like Cinderella’s at the ball. The magic can be undone at midnight on the eve of the pennant game, but Joe’s penchant for home gives Applegate a devil of a time collecting on the deal. Devil’s advocate Lola, whom no red-blooded man can resist, is drafted to keep Joe on their side.

In Bill Glikbarg‘s set design, Joe’s home base is not well-delineated. An undressed set feels emergency-room sterile rather than homey, with what looks like a privacy drape and swinging industrial door. At my performance there was a lack of sound balance that had my ears straining during the ensemble’s opening lament, Six Months Out of Every Year. But have heart. Veterans Hans Bachmann (old Joe) and Mike Baker Jr. (Applegate) are just warming up. This show is damn well sung; the players’ lineup, a true fantasy team.

Acting adonis Bachmann counterbalances Baker’s devil with a voice from God. Old Joe’s signoff song, “Goodbye Old Girl,” makes the venue throb. Then young Joe Tim Adams steps up to the plate, keeping the vocal-nectar dreamboat afloat. Adams’ range seems as limitless as his character’s athletic prowess; he plays fidgety, feisty and forlorn with the finesse of both an Everyman and a suave showman.

Not your average Joes, and they aren’t the only diamonds on display. Utility player Russell Silber proves a pillar of the fit ensemble. His gum-cracking Rocky finds a throwback “Who’s On First?” vibe alongside Todd Paul’s doltish, crossword-loving Smokey. Silber later trades cleats for soft shoe as Lola’s sidekick dancer in “Who’s Got the Pain?” Both roles fit him like a signed, leather glove. He adds muscle to “Heart,” sung rousingly with Paul, Jerry Hoffman and Bob Ashby (coach Benny Van Buren). The venerable Ashby moves seamlessly from pep talk to upbeat singing, giving the show an earthy grounding and transporting us from auditorium to ballpark. Frankly, all we need are ushers selling beer and hotdogs in the aisles.

Above- and below-ground, Baker glows as the devil, with a chilling laugh and chill demeanor. He slithers in his dark rat-pack suit that is splotched with red accents at the start but reddens over the course of the evening, along with his icy, flaring temper.

Costumer Richard Battistelli’s bleeding motif runs in reverse with Lola’s siren look: She steadily loses the red as she grows more sympathetic toward her human prey. Interestingly, the role made famous by redhead Gwen Verdon is commandeered here by a brunette vixen, Annie Ermlick. The rest of the cast seems dominated by redheads, whether wigged-out or natural — Janette Moman champions a ballsy reporter, who unwittingly plays into the devil’s game by trying to dig up a backstory on “Shoeless Joe from Hannibal, MO.” But none is as ginger as Ermlick. Leggy and limber, she projects a timeless appeal, matching the savvy of her centuries-old character in limbo. She vibrates with electricity, whether as a vamp in spikes or palsy-walsy gidget in imagined stretch Capris.

Kim Thornley’s bitty old bat Doris, though, is a close runner-up in the sex-appeal department. The cartoonish duo of Thornley and Lauren Laird (Sister) supply a side-splitting, bawdville, Lucy-and-Ethel shtick. Shout-out to husband-wife directing team Kevin and Pamela McCormack, who seem to get whatever they want out of their mature cast. The cast shines so brightly, in fact, lighting cues can be damned.

“Sick with the heat” choreography by Kathleen McCormack, the directors’ daughter, is showcased in “Two Lost Souls” in Act Two, along with Adams’ and Ermlick’s tight harmonies. DiMaggio and Marilyn have nothing on this pair.

Outfitted in ballcaps and jerseys, the orchestra assembled by Music Coordinator Lori Roddy and coached by Music Director John Edward Niles looks as badass as they sound. Long set changes on opening night were pardonable because they afforded time for unexpected encores. Another audience treat are sing-along interludes of the national anthem and a seventh-inning stretch of “Take Me Out to the Ballgame.”

Battistelli knocks it out of the park with his vintage, vibrant and perky costumes, with few errors. Where are Applegate’s red socks? Why do the “W’s” on the baseball uniforms look chintzy? The biggest letdown is the opening get-up on Barbara Cobb-Jepperson, who plays doting, attention-starved wife Meg; her sassy frock screams Carmen Miranda, not Donna Reed. As the mambo-Latin-jazz score reminds us, it takes two to tango, but things feel tepid between Cobb-Jepperson and her Joes. Without those burning embers in the home fires – maybe a hint of recognition as she looks into the eyes of her rejuvenated love — much of the show’s therapeutic tension and tenderness get lost. We find ourselves rooting more for the Senators than a lovers’ reunion.

Meg (Barbara Cobb-Jepperson) and Joe Boyd (Hans Bachmann) rediscover each other. Photo by Traci J. Brooks Photography.

But thoughtful slide projections, such as a photo of endless rows of stadium seats extending from the orchestra seats, drive home the notion that even if one can’t have a love for all seasons, at least a happy marriage of sports and theater is achievable. Remember, D.C.-area sports widows and widowers: “Take me out to the ballgame” contains the phrase “Take me out!” And for date night, MCP’s Damn Yankees is a win-win.

Running Time: Two hours and thirty minutes, plus a 15-minute intermission.

Damn Yankees plays through July 28, 2013, at McLean Community Players, at The Alden Theatre – 1234 Ingleside Avenue, in McLean, VA. For tickets, call (703) 790-9223, or order them online.

July 15, 2013