Asya Danilova

• OnStage New York Critic

During the first act of In The Event of My Death, I had a feeling that I am reading somebody else’s Facebook feed and I am increasingly losing interest in it. Now the grown up high school friends and acquaintances are assembling for an informal mourning of their friend Freddy, who committed suicide. We newer see Freddy and never get a chance to sympathies with him - the situation is as awkward as being at the funeral of somebody you didn’t know.

Unfortunately none of the former schoolmates, written by Lindsay Joy, are particularly interesting. Peter (John Racioppo) lives in his parents’ house, works for his dad, and is considered a loser by his friends. Amber (Lisa Jill Anderson) is a chubby misfit seeking confidence in drugs. Becky (Samantha Strelitz) is a prom queen, who used to treat everybody badly and now is hated by the group, except for Peter because they are dating now. Trevor is a gay guy. Conner works in advertising in New York. 

Photo credit: Katy Atwell

Direction of Padraic Lillis often gets trapped in stereotypes as well. Scenic design, by Doss Freel, featured a boring living room with highly organized, and therefore artificial, looking mess in the beginning. The set had a nice addition, a porch, where the action took place sometimes. Movement in the living room was frozen for the duration of the porch scenes, which was an interesting director’s choice but didn’t quite land. With flat jokes, clichéd sentiments and endless gossip about two-dimensional people who you don’t care about, I barely made it through the first act. 

The intermission was presented like a TV commercial with act one ending on a sudden appearance of two sisters and the girlfriend (Breanna Foister) of Freddy, interrupting the gang’s wild dancing. Act two picked up from the same moment and finally the show got some fresh air. As we learn more about Freddy’s older sister Meg (Lillith Fallon) and his twin sister Kate (Kara Young), the complicated family dynamics makes the show much more interesting.     

In The Event of My Death runs through August 21st at IRT Theater (154 Christopher Street, third floor) with performances Wednesday through Friday at 7pm, Saturday at 3pm & 7pm, Sunday at 3pm, and Monday at 7pm. Tickets ($18; $20 at the door) are available online at www.stablecablelabco.org or by calling Brown Paper Tickets 1-800-838-3006. 

Nancy Sasso Janis

OnStage Connecticut Critic

"I am not a stranger to the rain, Let it rain..."

Wallingford, CT - It was the first time that I had the experience of driving to a new venue and realizing that I had already reviewed one of their productions in a different space. Square Foot Theatre has moved around a lot. They have performed past shows in middle school auditoriums, pool clubs, retail storefronts and synagogue social halls (which is where I enjoyed their production of ‘Rent.’) Over 950 different actors have graced their various stages and over 25,000 people have sat in their audiences. The production of ‘Children of Eden’ that opened on August 11 on the stage of the space in Wallingford that will be theirs for at least the next five years marks their 50th production.

One thing about Square Foot has remained permanent -”our endless love and devotion to our everyone that walks through our doors.” The company is made up of all ages and walks of life, craft, and a passion and drive to create an atmosphere that nurtures as well as inspires so that all of these “square feet” make them who they are: “a true community theatre in every sense of the word - community.” The focus is on nurturing the talents of local children and adults in a cooperative setting, much like a teaching hospital operates. The headlining sponsor is The Jamie A. Hulley Arts Foundation. 

The new venue is located in two unit of an easy to find strip mall on Yale Avenue in Wallingford. There is a small lobby that was used as a backstage area and the stage is a semi-circular area of the floor surrounded by cabaret seating. The ‘Children of Eden’ set contained elevated platforms on both sides and the actors moved freely throughout the audience, often sitting on the floor between the tables to be part of the action on the stage. It was exciting to hear the various vocal parts of the musical numbers in a kind of personal surround sound. This staging by director Patrick Laffin effectively brought the audience into the biblical stories being told, whether the young actors playing the animals being named by Adam and Eve or loaded onto Noah’s Ark passed by the tables or a dancer performed a foot away. This space gives new meaning to an intimate venue and forces the actors to work even harder to stay in character.

The talented performers in the large ensemble made it all look easy. Featured storyteller soloists included the vocal talents of Emma Lampropoulos, Francis Michael, Tony Palluzzi, Gabriella Riccio, Amanda Starr and Nicole Bregman, a local singing actress I have watched grow in grace since first grade and who will enter high school at Waterbury Arts Magnet School in a few weeks.

Young Abel was played by Ethan Bazinet and Young Cain was played by Joey Rebeschi; both young actors did well. Seventeen year old Jane Kos brought beautiful sincerity to the role of the servant Yohan. Caroline Thompson and Maria Teresa Lonetti played wives Aysha and Aphra in the second act with grace.

All the rest of the actors played their dual roles with ease. Francis Michael played Seth/Shem. Kyle Riedinger took on the roles of Adam’s son Abel and Noah’s son Ham. Moses Beckett (Roger in ‘Rent’) sang perfectly in the featured roles of his brothers, Cain and Japeth. 

Tina Valente (Mimi in ‘Rent’) displayed her wonderful voice once again as the first woman Eve and Mama, the wife of Noah. Tenor Christopher Sumrell sang his way through the roles of both Adam and the builder of the ark Noah. Alex Forte brought the sound of a cantor to the role of Father God and plenty of paternal love for his children as well.
The look of the costumes worn for both acts was noticeably dirty and distressed/frayed and more modern than biblical. It gave the show a unique look that went well with the set and it was nicely lit by Mr. Laffin and choreographer Jennifer Kaye. 

The choreographer designed motions that seemed like sign language using the entire body. It worked with the musical numbers and was beautiful to behold. The graffiti on the set designed by Mr. Laffin gave it an urban feel and the props were made of reused materials. The four-piece orchestra under the direction of Music Director Alan Dougherty sat in far corner and sounded great while not overpowering the space. Many of the actors wore microphones on their heads and I heard no sound issues. The one sound that was constant at this performance was the raging thunderstorm outside during the second act that did not cease after the forty days and forty nights had ended.  

‘Children of Eden’ features a book by John Caird with music and lyrics by Stephen Schwartz and was based on a concept by Charles Lisanby with orchestrations by Bruce Coughlin and Martin Erskine. The Square Foot Theatre Company production did well with including the youngest members of the cast and allowing them to learn from the more seasoned performers and the production team. Auditions for the 2016-2017 season begin on Aug. 28 with auditions for all ages for ‘Ragtime.’ 

The Jamie A. Hulley Arts Foundation will present their 14th annual ‘Evening for the Arts’ on Saturday, Sept. 10, 2016 at The Quick Center, Fairfield University, The auction preview and reception begins at 6pm, followed by the performance of ‘Four by Four,’ a tribute from the creators of ‘Oh What a Night’ to the music of The Beach Boys, The Beatles, The Bee-Gees and Motown, at 7pm. Tickets are available at the Quick Center Box Office. 

Photo courtesy of Square Foot Theatre

Nancy Sasso Janis

• OnStage Connecticut Columnist 

Bethel, CT - The seventh show produced by the NewArts wing of the 1214 Foundation in Newtown was the classic ‘The Wizard of Oz.’ There were two complete casts (including two separate Oz and Munchkin choruses) for this production that featured mostly younger performers, the aptly named Tornado cast and Twister cast. Unfortunately, this was a tough technical season for NewArts and two days of performances needed to be cancelled completely, moving opening night to the Saturday matinee at the massive Walnut Hill Community Church in nearby Bethel. This gave each cast two chances to display all of the hard work they had put into the musical during their summer rehearsals with their dedicated director and producer, Michael Unger.

In his curtain speech only twenty minutes after the scheduled curtain time, Mr. Unger spoke of how proud he was of his young performers. He thanked all of the professionals and volunteers who worked as a team around him and said how honored he felt to serve once again as the director of both summer shows. He has watched some of the students grow up on his stages through the four years of summer productions. I was able to use my ticket for the Saturday matinee that featured the Twister cast; the smaller number of performances made it impossible for me to return to the church to experience a performance by the Tornado cast. I am sorry that I cannot write about both casts as I have usually done in the past.

Those dedicated professionals involved in ‘The Wizard of Oz’ included Brian Prather as scenic designer, Kristina Sneshkoff as costume designer, Mitchell Girgasky (in his fourth NewArts season) for lighting design and Sean Sonntag from Sandy Hook on sound design. Production manager was Jared Beaulieu, production stage manager was Samantha Flint and stage manager was Michael R. Smith. Eric Greto, who was brought in to make puppets for last year’s ‘The Lion King, Jr.,’ was in charge of the adorable props and served as fly master and Steven Dean Moore was in charge of special effects and was the associate choreographer. Make-up design was by Joe Dulude II (‘Wicked,’ ‘Beautiful,’ and ‘Anastasia’) and the associate director for her third summer with NewArts was Sarah Jane Schostack. Jeffrey Saver, with 20 Broadway shows to his credit, was the music director and Abbey O’Brien (the current associate choreographer for Broadway’s ‘Waitress’) did the fine choreography.

Western CT State University senior Michelle Spanedda was Mr. Unger’s assistant and social media coordinator, and WCSU graduate Victoria Rojas, who designed the costumes for the production of ‘Cat in the Hat’ that I recently reviewed, was costume shop assistant. Naugatuck Teen Theatre alum Miette Deschenes was the production assistant and Miles Dievert has been assistant stage manager since year two. David Mercier joined NewArts this year as another assistant stage manager. Sarah Desrosiers of Newtown was production assistant.

Brianna Bauch, an actress in a NewArts show for each of the first three summers, returned this year to assist with teaching the young dancers in Oz their dance moves as choreography assistant. High school sophomore Nathaniel Unger was a production assistant and dog wrangler for the adorable Cosmo Unger (Toto.) Sandy Hook music teacher with 32 years experience, Maryrose Kristopik, returned this summer as music and casting consultant. Broadway Record’s Van Dean served another year as production consultant and was in the lobby with copies of many of his famous CDs. Katina Wall is the NewArts operations manager and many volunteers served as stage crew, followspot operators, costume shop crew and Oz flight crew.

The fabulous 19 member Oz Orchestra sounded just like the movie soundtrack as Mr. Borque conducted them onstage.

In the Twister Cast, Aubrey Hankin played the role of Dot, a young Wizard of Oz lover who sat on her bed stage right in a Wizard of Oz nightgown and served as a magical onstage prop mistress/dancer. Her little round face was pleasure to watch as she watched the proceedings onstage and took care of Toto. Annelise Raedy was a wonderful Dorothy and sang well. Payge Shaw was a natural in the roles of Aunt Em and Glinda the Good Witch, the latter always arrived in a metal bubble a la ‘Wicked.’

The trio of Dorothy’s friends were strong triple threats despite their costumes. Paige Farley made us laugh as the Cowardly Lion and Zeke the farmhand. Kyle Shelton was the tall Tinman and Hickory the farmhand and Tain Gregory took many pratfalls in the role of Scarecrow and also played Hunk.

Jane Shearin, who has appeared at Westchester Broadway Theater and Hartford Stage, was convincingly nasty as Miss Gulch and put on the green makeup to play the Wicked Witch of the West. This young performer has such stage presence and rocked the role of the evil witch with a fabulous broomstick. The tornado scene involved lights and shadows and a cow and was quite impressive, as was the smoke and mirrors/projections in the throne room. There were plenty of flying characters and not just the monkeys.

The Oz Chorus wore lots of emerald green and had lots of stage time. The Munchkin Chorus was dressed in a rainbow of colors and wild wigs and charmed everyone.

The musical version of ‘The Wizard of Oz’ by L. Frank Baum has music and lyrics of the MGM motion picture score by Harold Arlen and E.Y.Harburg. Background music was written by Herbert Stothart and the book adaptation from the beloved motion picture screenplay was written by John Kane.

Photo courtesy of NewArts

Stacy Davies

• OnStage Los Angeles Critic

In 2013, playwright Gina Gionfriddo’s weighty and courageous existential journey into the historic and real-time struggles of women against patriarchy (and acquiescence to it) and their constant redefinition of feminism, Rapture, Blister, Burn, was nominated for a Pulitzer Prize – as it should have been.

However, as a brutal and potent analysis of the female self, it’s mind-boggling, although perhaps not surprising, that when the play first staged in 2012, reviewers didn’t seem to know what to do with it. Some, like the Hollywood Reporter, called it a “bright, glib and sweet comedy of manners” – subtext: don’t be afraid, the feminism isn’t that bad! The New York Times offered a mink-gloved warning, calling it a “good old-fashioned consciousness-raising session,” which should have turned audiences away in droves (maybe it did). Other outlets focused on the messy relationships, the modernization of the argument between mothers and child-free women over what constitutes meaning and happiness, and the age-old -- and as yet undead -- lament that men don’t want women who are more successful than they are.

But that was over four years ago, and a lot has changed. Under the light of a turbulent society in which women are having discussions and debates about themselves with other women (and men) every day, particularly on social media, Gionfriddo’s play climbs to an even more enlightened height. The old arguments, while still on the table, are quickly cooling off. Today’s women are far less concerned with how to manage male expectations, instead questioning why there are any expectations at all, and often rejecting them outright. They are increasingly less interested in analyzing the wiring of male brains and voraciously dismantling all forms of patriarchy, both subtle and overt. This is especially true of millennial women, about whom this play turns out to be profoundly prophetic, and thus the power of Gionfriddo’s work now seems to come more from the feminist history lessons she offers, which earlier reviewers (and audiences) wanted to veer from, as opposed to the actual character perils in the narrative.

Photo: Mickey Elliott

It’s therefore quite timely that Little Fish chose to produce this play, and while its typical senior crowd might not get the most out of it (two couples left at intermission), make no mistake, this production, mounted by director Mark Piatelli, is nothing short of extraordinary. 

Weaving together the history of first, second, third (and the yet to be defined fourth) wave feminism through academic yet accessible dialogue and screen projections of everyone from Suffragettes to Dorothy Pittman Hughes, Betty Friedan and Phyllis Schlafly with four women characters who roughly represent those waves makes Rapture one brilliant piece of educational narrative writing. The fact that it’s all housed within a fairly standard love triangle – but with fresh details and perspectives not usually mined – makes it genius.

Suzanne Dean stars as successful, forty-something feminist novelist Cathy, who returns home to care for her recently ill mother Alice (Mary Margaret Lewis) and finds herself longing for the lover she rejected 15 years earlier. Don (Patrick Rafferty) married Cathy’s roommate Gwen (Christina Morrell) when Cathy dumped him, and now he and Gwen live a typically unfulfilling middle-class, status quo life raising two children and constantly worrying about money. As the triangle begins to form, with Cathy and Gwen embarking on a very untypical and non-status quo arrangement, Gwen’s millennial babysitter Avery (Kimmy Shields) watches the troubled adults from afar, completely bewildered at how bad they all are at cutting through their bullshit. 

While the love triangle of the play is the part that will resonate with most audiences, the truly spectacular piece of structure is the summer tutorial classes that Cathy conducts with her students, Gwen and Avery (with Alice routinely popping in with a tray of martinis) regarding the waves of feminism. It is here that theory is explained and debated – including fascinating bits on the feminist backlash of slasher films and the millennial view of porn consumption – and is set up to be acted out through Gwen and Cathy’s relationship with Don, Avery’s rocky partnership, and Alice’s recollections of her deceased husband. 

It’s not glib or sweet or old-fashioned by any stretch of the imagination, but it is incredibly smart, extremely funny, and, yes, empowering – and every member of the cast is superb. Piatelli’s direction is astute, expertly utilizing the small space to create multiple planes that flow seamlessly together, and his passion for and understanding of the piece is evidenced by his actors deftness.

One caveat: it’s a very white, heteronormative play, but then, the playwright is white and straight. Still, the truths exposed are translatable to relationships outside of that dynamic, including those without men involved, those in which two men are involved, and those that are rooted in a cultural history between men and women that is far more complex than that of a WASPian nature. Power struggles, sacrifices and self-actualization break through standard binaries, and while this play focuses exclusively on man vs. woman, in essence, it’s about each of us, alone, and what we are compelled to do in order to be content.  And this is why the play remains fresh, and even more effective than it probably was at its debut. While the Pulitzer committee must have recognized its tremendous merit, we might not have been ready for it back then. We certainly are now.

Eloise Baxter-Moss

OnStage North Carolina Critic

Dr. Ruth Westheimer became a cultural icon in 1980 with her radio show, “Sexually Speaking.”  Broadcast from NYC for fifteen minutes on Sundays at midnight, it was extremely risqué and risky, as its time slot indicated.  What mitigated the potentially off-putting notion of a 52-year-old woman   ̶  or any woman   ̶  discussing all things sexual was that the woman in question was an elfin, endlessly enthusiastic grandmotherly type with a disarming polyglot accent (she’s fluent in four languages).  Dr. Ruth was a non-threatening woman to whom both sexes could relate, without embarrassment at the mere mention of a penis.  Her buoyant, impish personality made her a ubiquitous presence on television talk shows.  She entered the national conversation.

Courtesy of Big Dawg Productions and Panache Theatrical Productions, Mark St. Germain’s indispensable one-woman play, “Becoming Dr. Ruth,” guides us through a life that is, by turns, surprising, horrifying, heartbreaking and transcendent.  Set in 1997 in the Washington Heights apartment she has shared with her recently deceased husband for 36 years, the good doctor, now on the brink of 70, is packing up her belongings and moving on.  (As an immigrant herself, one cannot help but draw stark comparisons to current events.)  She is also, of course, reminiscing and we are the richer for it.  The convincing scenario evolves as a family saga, a Holocaust drama and an exploration of 20th-century Jewish identity.

Karola Ruth Siegel was born in 1928 in Wiesenfeld, Germany.  After her father was captured by the Nazis, the 11-year-old girl was sent to Switzerland via the Kindertransport, an underground rail operation that carried thousands of Jewish children to safety in foreign lands on the eve of WWII.  Letters from her parents stopped arriving at the orphanage where she was ensconced two years later; they were most likely exterminated at the Auschwitz concentration camp.  At the age of 17, Karola emigrated to join the fighting Haganah in Jerusalem where, due to her height (4 foot 7 inches) she was trained as a scout and sniper.  Severely wounded in action during the Israeli War of Independence in 1948, it was several months before she was able to walk again.  Her subsequent education in both France and NYC, where she arrived as a single mother at the age of 28, resulted in many distinguished degrees and included formative training with pioneer sex therapist, Helen Singer Kaplan.

 Holli Saperstein as Dr. Ruth.  Photo by James Bowling

Mr. St. Germain has trod the historical fiction path before, with award-winning plays elucidating the likes of Sigmund Freud (“Freud’s Last Stand”), F. Scott Fitzgerald and Ernest Hemingway (“Scott and Hem in the Garden of Allah”), and Henry Ford, Thomas Edison and Warren Harding (“Camping with Henry and Tom”).  As it happens, Dr. Ruth’s life journey is eminently, if unexpectedly, deserving of the dramatic platform afforded those aforementioned pioneers.  

The playwright wisely eschews the chronological “…and then I…” format which has dogged so many similar enterprises.  As the titular character, Holli Saperstein expertly navigates the stream of consciousness jumps in time, and in tone, under Steve Vernon’s astute direction.  Whether Ms. Saperstein bears any physical resemblance to the character she is portraying matters not a whit.  She has found the truthful center through which this extraordinary woman tells her compelling, and entertaining, story.  

The nondescript set design by Jeff Loy and Mr. Vernon features over-sized furniture, straining to employ a forced perspective, perhaps hoping to make the leading lady look shorter?  This technique, however ill-advised, might work in a larger venue but when you’re sitting two feet from the actor and two yards from the scenery, such intimate confines render the unnecessary concept moot.  An unattractively bare wall upstage insinuates, “Projections to come!”  They do come, sporadically, landing without much emotional impact.  Nick Fener has lighted the production thoughtfully, with one especially nifty trick up his sleeve.  

Mr. Vernon’s staging is rather pedestrian, the engaging Ms. Saperstein left to just wander around.  With the many packing boxes strewn about the room, I would like to have seen Ruth wrapping a treasured family photo as she spoke of her parents, packing it away with other meaningful possessions for another time and place.  While the production lacks activity, Mr. Vernon and Ms. Saperstein admirably steer away from unearned pathos during the more destressing stretches of a life that has had more than its fair share of anguish.  

But Dr. Ruth is not one to wallow, having maintained her innate strength and unique joie de vivre through the decades.  Today, at the age of 88, she still resides in the old neighborhood in Washington Heights.  

“Becoming Dr. Ruth” runs through August 29th at Cape Fear Playhouse in Wilmington, NC.

Michael L. Quintos

• OnStage Los Angeles Critic

While watching the classic musical CABARET, the 1966 Tony Award winner that features incredible songs from composer John Kander and lyricist Fred Ebb and a book by Joe Masteroff, one can't help but still see an eerie relevance of its themes 50 years after its debut. 

And although the events depicted in the show—well, at least the ones that are hovering like an ominous storm cloud above the characters—now feel so far away in the somewhat distant past, it's certainly hard to ignore that some of the struggles (and foreboding dangers) presented in this searing, intense show do involve, shockingly enough, issues that are still very much in our peripheral reality today… particularly in such a topsy-turvy geopolitical environment of 2016. 

These contemporary parallels are perhaps the main reason why this profoundly significant musical still connects and resonates with today's audiences—well, of course, aside from being just a supremely entertaining show overall, filled with memorable songs, intriguing personalities, and an engaging, thought-provoking storyline that packs more of a wallop on repeat viewings. Though many of us likely come for its sexy, unabashed bawdiness and fun, cheeky musical numbers, CABARET, at its deepest core, is a brilliantly-executed musicalized commentary on the shamefulness of prejudice and the dangers of being complacent to the oncoming march of seemingly unstoppable terror. 

Yes, CABARET is indeed still winningly impressive and powerfully poignant to experience on stage after all these years—particularly the show's Tony Award-winning, Donmar Warehouse-inspired 1998 revival co-directed by Sam Mendes and Rob Marshall, which still stands, arguably, as the show's definitive stage iteration (so much so that it went on to become the third longest-running musical revival in Broadway history). 

That same vibrant Roundabout Theatre Company production rightly serves as the basis for the newer 2014 revival that was reignited and revitalized for a pre-set (then extended) return engagement on Broadway, which is now in the midst of a brand new North American national tour. After several weeks at the Pantages Theatre in Hollywood, the latest revival of the hit musical has now traveled its way south to Orange County's Segerstrom Center for the Arts in Costa Mesa where it performs through August 21.

And, gosh, this top-notch production—helmed by BT McNicholl and featuring Marshall's recreated choreography by Cynthia Onrubia—is just truly exceptional, mostly by sticking to what worked so well with the Mendes/Marshall blueprint. Whether you're a fan of that amazing '98 revival or, better still, the iconic 1972 film adaptation that awarded its star Liza Minnelli a much-deserved Best Actress Oscar, this brazenly confident new CABARET—a rousing combo-platter of the best elements of the show through its entire history—will surely entertain and, yes, even move you. 

For the uninitiated, CABARET is based on Christopher Isherwood's true-life experiences that eventually became his semi-autobiographical 1939 novel Goodbye to Berlin, which was then later adapted into the play I Am A Camera in 1951 by John Van Druten. 

Just like the source material and Van Druten's play, the riveting musical version follows a rather volatile year in the life of visiting American author Clifford Bradshaw (the excellent Benjamin Eakeley), who arrives in Berlin, Germany in 1929—just at the dawn of the Third Reich's ascent to ultimate power. Excited yet fearful of this adventure, the handsome, highly-educated Cliff hopes his new environment would help inspire his next novel. 

And, boy, does it ever.

Serving as the story's central hub of activity is the Kit Kat Klub, a nefarious local cabaret joint known for its wild debauchery, fluid sexuality, and carefree attitude, which is a much livelier, less serious contrast to the tragedies that lay ahead for Germany and the onslaught of Nazi rule outside its doors. The face of the club—and our story's unofficial narrator and chief instigator—is the libidinous Emcee (a splendidly sassy Randy Harrison) who entertains patrons with innuendo-laden witticisms and rambunctious songs... all laced with overt sexual overtones, spellbinding choreography, and not-so-subtle political and social commentary.

"In here, life is beautiful!" he bellows proudly while surrounded by the club's unbelievably sexy staff of dancers, waiters, and on-stage musicians. "Leave your troubles outside!" 

Well, of course, we all know quite well that such a task is easier said than done. The looming danger is all around and is slowly chipping away even at the joyous sanctuary provided by the Kit Kat Klub. Troubles—particularly powerful unstoppable ones—are hard to keep out.

Witnessing all this first-hand with keenly observant eyes is Berlin newbie Cliff. Right away, he meets a super-friendly German citizen named Ernst Ludwig (Patrick Vaill) who offers the Yank not only suggestions for earning a sustainable income while in the city, but also a solid lead on possible lodging accommodations at a boarding house run by the kind yet stern Fräulein Schneider (the stirring Shannon Cochran), an independent, unmarried woman contentedly settling into her advanced age and social position. Cliff eventually convinces her to give him a discounted rental.
 
As Cliff begins exploring his new city, the rather straight-laced young man discovers the very raunchy Kit Kat Klub, where he is first introduced to (and is immediately infatuated with) British-bred Sally Bowles (Andrea Goss), the club's intriguing resident chanteuse. When the club's owner Max (Tommy McDowell) becomes jealous of this mutual flirtation, Sally is fired and is left homeless. To Cliff's surprise, Sally shows up the following day at the boarding house—and eventually talks Cliff into taking her in temporarily.

Months pass and the two continue to co-habitate... and have actually even fallen in love with each other, even though Cliff possesses certain proclivities he'd rather suppress. But with now two mouths to feed (and possibly a third on the way) under his roof, Cliff resorts to accepting additional odd "easy money" jobs from his "pal" Ernst—a man who now proudly wears a Nazi arm band to show his allegiance to Germany's ruling body wherever he goes. Cliff would stop at nothing to try to keep Sally safe.

Meanwhile, across the hall of the boarding house, another unlikely pairing is also ever-so-slowly blossoming, this time between landlady Fräulein Schneider and one of her tenants, the adorably sweet Herr Schultz (Mark Nelson), a much older man who owns and operates a local fruit shop. Herr Schultz tries his best to win over Fräulein Schneider, and she eventually succumbs to his romantic overtures after he defends her reputation against accusations of impropriety from revenge-seeking tenant Fräulein Kost (Alison Ewing). But alas, their courtship, of course, is increasingly threatened by the fact that Herr Schultz is Jewish—a population that is not exactly looked upon too kindly by the Nazis.

And as Germany becomes more and more engulfed in the ways of the Third Reich (culminating in a shudder-inducing reprise of the Nazi-like anthem "Tomorrow Belongs to Me") many of our characters are slowly becoming directly affected by the troubled, scary times ahead. There's no use hiding behind the Kit Kat Klub anymore.

Bold, brash, and, sometimes even beautifully poetic, Roundabout Theatre Company's superb revival of CABARET is that rare accomplished hybrid of impressive entertainment and socially conscious, politically charged art piece, that at times can be both blissfully unapologetic and tragically melancholy. And in this updated, refreshed iteration, the show is even more confident, exposed, and suggestive than it has ever been—and also feels much more at home with the progressive shift in social attitudes within today's audiences.

Well, damn... No wonder. The production is slick, sexy and absolutely sensational. From its giddily bawdy opening to its haunting, gut-punch ending that really doesn't sugar-coat things, RTC's definitive version of CABARET remains the must-see iteration that erases all others.

Don't let the show's seemingly upbeat, tongue-in-cheek Kander and Ebb musical numbers fool you—this show isn't afraid to explore darker themes underneath its sexy, titillating surfaces. Beauty, artifice and ugliness co-mingle with engaging ease. 

Not surprisingly, this newer stage iteration is also the sum of all the properties' best parts, including the continued inclusion of songs written specifically for the popular film adaptation ("Maybe This Time" and "Money" are integrated so well here, you'll forget they were never part of the original Broadway production). Robert Brill's minimalist sets and the atmospheric lighting schemes devised by Peggy Eisenhauer and Mike Baldassari suggest a Germany in eerie transitional flux, while William Ivey Long's period-perfect costumes sartorially convey each character's mood, economic status, and, even, level of sanity.

And let's not forget how incredible the on-stage band looks and sounds playing up on a raised platform high above the action below—made up of the show's very own spectacular acting ensemble, under the direction of musical director/accompanist Robert Cookman! The concept of having a show's actors do double duty playing musical instruments as the accompaniment to a musical theater piece is, of course, nothing new nowadays. But here, the trick is remarkably seamless and natural to the ebb and flow of the staging. Not once does it ever feel like a gimmick. 

The assembled cast for the tour, without question, definitely helps sell the production. 

The well-cast Harrison—all grown up from his days playing teen hottie Justin in Showtime's "Queer As Folk"—slinks into his impressive CABARET performance armed with saucy confidence and witty charm as the rousing Emcee. And, woah, the guy's got some great singing pipes, too! I especially loved his seemingly improvised crack at the start of Act II directed towards audience members seated in the upper echelons of the massively huge Segerstrom Hall during the show's well-attended opening night performance in Costa Mesa. 

"Hello poor people!" he jokingly shouted up to audience members seated far up in the top balcony sections. "I am actually one of you! If you come see us again, get [a seat] down here [in orchestra] because you're really missing a lot of details!" Ha!

As the smart yet vulnerable Cliff, Eakeley provides a first-rate job being, in a sense, the audience's proxy into this ever-changing German landscape. Through his eyes and ears, we experience vicariously through him the wonders of lust and the agony of impending danger. His voice is also quite exquisite. Vaill as Ernst accomplishes a sterling job making you shudder as the show's direct character connection to the looming German threat.

Goss, meanwhile, tasked with one of the most iconic roles in musical theater history, makes for an admirably posh drama queen Sally Bowles. While it was at times frustratingly difficult to hear and comprehend her over-affected line readings, she easily redeems herself with her energetic dancing and gorgeous singing prowess, particularly in her alluring takes on "Maybe This Time" and the 11 o'clock title song. She certainly has the look and temperament of what many of us picture Sally Bowles to be, but there are times when she accidentally disappears amongst her fellow Kit Kat Club ladies, too.

But, truly, the heart and endearing soul of the musical—at least for me in this iteration—remains the ultimately doomed pairing of Fräulein Schneider and Herr Schultz, played brilliantly and with palpable emotional resonance by Cochran and Nelson, respectively. At first glance, it's a cute-sy courtship between a couple of supporting characters. But when the bigger picture begins to penetrate the fray, we are left to witness utter, inescapable heartbreak that elevate the characters front and center. Both riveting actors convey this tug of war so magnificently, with the added bonus of hearing their journey play out musically (Cochran singing "What Would You Do?" really tugs at the heart). 

Whether this is your first or umpteenth time seeing the musical CABARET, this Roundabout Theatre Company revival certainly warrants your repeat visits. With its energetic musical numbers, brash confidence, and its absorbing storyline, it's a classic show deserving of multiple encores.

** Follow this reviewer on Twitter: @cre8iveMLQ **

Photos from the National Tour of Roundabout Theatre Company's production of CABARET by Joan Marcus, courtesy of Segerstrom Center for the Arts.

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Performances of the National Tour of Roundabout Theatre Company's new production of CABARET at Segerstrom Center for the Arts continue through Sunday, August 21, 2016. Tickets can be purchased online at www.SCFTA.org, by phone at 714-556-2787 or in person at the SCFTA box office (open daily at 10 am). Segerstrom Center for the Arts is located at 600 Town Center Drive in Costa Mesa. For tickets or more information, visit SCFTA.org.

Angelica Potter

• OnStage Massachusetts Critic

Lenox, MA - Director Jonathan Croy has once again delivered: with a wonderful production of William Shakespeare’s The Two Gentlemen of Verona. This comedy is about friendship, betrayal, fathers, their grown children, and the transfixing power of love. It is the story of a young couple in love: Proteus and Julia, Proteus’ best friend Valentine, who finds a love of his own in fair Sylvia, two concerned fathers, an undesired suitor, a few servants who always seem to be finding themselves having to talk sense into their masters, and three outlaws who make things even more exciting. This production mashes Shakespeare and Company veterans with newcomers in an entertaining and thrilling show. 

The set design by Kris Stone featured a royal blue painted stage with a white flourishing design on opposite ends and included a trap door which was used in creative ways throughout the play. Another prominent, scenic element was the beautiful LED lite clouds that surrounded the space. They changed color as the scenes changed and different characters appeared on stage. For example, when Julia or Sylvia were prominent on stage the colors were pink and purple whereas when Valentine and other male characters were on stage the colors were most often blue, green or white. 

Ryan Winkles and Thomas Brazzle. The Two Gentlemen of Verona, Rehearsal. Shakespeare & Company 2016. Photo by Ava G. Lindenmaier.

Luke Reed composed original music for this production including a very fun and funny, updated version of “Who is Sylvia?” set to his original music using Shakespeare’s lyrics. The number was fantastically performed by the cast who danced and sang back-up in the aisles, while Proteus (Thomas Brazzle) sang lead. This number and its hilarity were further exemplified by the funky lighting, designed by Matthew Miller, and ever-changing cloud colors. They turned the mood of the scene into a groovy, club-like atmosphere then immediately went back to the time period of the play when the song was over. This version re-engaged the audience in the 2nd half of the show and was delightfully enjoyed. 

Company veteran Ryan Winkles delivered a fantastic performance of Valentine. His glasses and many facial expressions showed his character to be young, at times naïve, but full of joy and excitement for life and love. Having last seen him in the title role of last season’s Henry V, it was wonderful to see him in an entirely different and comedic role.  His characterization of Valentine was so vastly different and superbly well done that it’s no wonder he has become an audience favorite over the years. His love interest Sylvia was portrayed by Cloteal L. Horne. As Sylvia, she was feminine and flirty, but also strong-willed and steadfast in her beliefs and choices. Sylvia was so fervently in love with Valentine that she would not be swayed by any other man or her father’s wishes. Her father, the Duke, was played by Erick Avari with energy and wit. 

Thomas Brazzle, as Proteus, showed a range of strength, humor, passion and agony in his portrayal. Where some may have played the role one sided, he fully embraced the character’s positive attributes as well as his flaws and faults to deliver a well-rounded and realistic young man. His first love, Julia, was beautifully, emotionally, and fiercely portrayed by Kate Abbruzzese. Julia is so in love with Proteus that she decides to disguise herself as a man to go and see him, but the man she finds was not the one whom she’d fallen for and she finds herself confused and brokenhearted. The final scene between them was genuinely moving and leaves us to wonder, “Is love enough?”
A highlight from act one was the incredibly fast and yet clearly spoken lines between Speed (Jason Asprey) and Proteus (Thomas Brazzle). They were excellently executed and highly amusing. Asprey continued to appeal to the audience in his humorous role throughout the play and was terrific in his use of and interaction with them. John Hadden as Launce and his beautiful white dog Ella, as Crab, were greatly enjoyed by all. Ella, of course, received applause after every successful scene on stage. 

Rounding out the cast were Peter Anderson (Panthino/Admiral Johan Stephensen), Michael Fuchs (Antonio/Host), Deaon Griffin-Pressley (Attendant/Outlaw Billy Bob Jr.), Tamara Hickey (Lucetta), Shahar Isaac (Sir Eglamour), Bella Merlin (Outlaw Lizzy “The Bodkin” Burnett), and Dylan Wittrock (Sir Thurio). 

An unexpected fight scene towards the end of the production really showed the emotional range of this play. One moment, the characters are friendly and laughing, the next, they are angry and attacking each other. The ending was very powerful and it allowed this comedy to end differently than some might expect. 
 
The comedic timing of this dynamic cast was fantastic throughout. They were actively listening to each other and reacting, not just saying their lines, thus showing the level of skill, talent, effort and time they put into this production. It was very entertaining and well deserved the standing ovation it received. 

It’s been said, the audience often wants of a play: comedy, love and a bit with a dog. And this play certainly delivers all three. The Two Gentlemen of Verona is playing in the Tina Packer Playhouse until September 4th and runs approximately 2 hours and 40 minutes including intermission. Tickets and more information can be found at www.shakespeare.org.

For more of my reviews and theatrical thoughts check out: http://intheatresome1isalwayswatching.blogspot.com/

Joseph Verlezza

• OnStage New York Critic

A woman is sitting on a bench. A man walks by and notices her sitting there alone. They silently flirt, coyly and innocently, until the man decides to sit on the bench next to her and attempt to have a conversation.  When the silence is broken, this dramatic presentation shatters and falls apart. This unfortunately is the dilemma the new one act play “Still Not” is facing. It is billed as a play about waiting for love, but the commonly used literary trope of beginning where it ends and ending where it began, just reinforces the futile situation.

What resonates in this two-hander is the desperate need to once again learn how to physically communicate in this new world of technical dialogue, where it is easy to hurt, disappoint, and make excuses without much consequence. In that respect the dialogue between these two strangers demonstrates how the art of physical communication is lost and how words can sabotage intentions and emotions when a conversation is awkward at best. After the first of five meetings on the park bench the chitchat becomes inane and repetitious, only serving as a vehicle for comedic overtones and situations. It is devoid of character development and dramatic arc leaving one scene indiscernible from another.

The two actors Harrison Bryan (Him), who also penned the piece, and Shelby Hightower (Her) come as close to creating interesting characters as the script allows but lack the chemistry to provide and support emotional content. Mr. Bryan relies too much on his clowning experience to win his audience over and at times undermines the creation of a viable character. That being said, perhaps this piece of theater would fare better as a sensitive, powerful pantomime, sans script, reminiscent of the great Sid Caesar and Imogene Coca.

At this incarnation “Still Not” still does not reach its full potential and leaves the audience still waiting for something more.

STILL NOT

“Still Not” is presented by The New York International Fringe Festival and at WOW Café, 59-61 East 4th Street (between Bowery and 2nd Avenue).

The cast of “Still Not” features Harrison Bryan and Shelby Hightower. Production photos by Jay Zawacki.

For more information about the show including performance dates, the cast, and creative team, please visit. For more information about the 20th Annual New York Fringe Festival visit www.FringeNYC.org.

Pictured: Shelby Hightower and Harrison Bryan. Photographer: Jay Zawacki.

Christian Jost

OnStage Washington DC Critic 

Some movie to musical adaptations are obvious, the film’s plot and characters lend themselves to the musical stage. School of Rock, Legally Blonde, Kinky Boots, and others all had fun characters and an overall happy vibe that then translated to the stage later on. Now if I had told you that the 1988 Daniel Water’s film about a young popular high school girl who goes on an “accidental” killing spree with her psychotic boyfriendwhich ends in an attempt to blow up the entire schoolwould become a hit musical, you’d probably say “that sounds horrible”. Well you’d be wrong. Somehow, Laurence O’Keefe and Kevin Murphy managed to create a masterpiece out of Water’s film that keeps the same “dark-comedy” vibe, while adding some much needed depth and observance to these characters.

Heathers follows the lives of the students at Westerburg High School as they go through the typical school events, kind of. The School is run by the “Heathers”, three girls named Heather who float on air above everyone else. One day the Heathers agree to allow Veronica Sawyer to join their group, where she quickly realizes this glamorous life isn’t easy to maintain. Conflict arises when Veronica meets JD, a damaged, young heartthrob with homicidal tendencies. Not before long several students have “committed suicide” but Veronica and the audience knows the truth. The show actually has a very deep outlook on pain, internal conflict, and society as a whole. I love Heathers, so I was hoping for a great show and The Red Branch Theatre Company delivered! I left the show feeling very satisfied and I would definitely see it again. The main things that made this show a success were the actors, the diversity, the fearless direction, and the lights.

Taking the helm of this production was Vivian Cook, playing Veronica. Cook had an extremely believable performance, I believed her as the high school nerd and I believed her as the “queen bee”. Cook showed off great tenderness and vulnerability throughout this production, she showed fear, confliction, doubt, love, and acceptance throughout this show and her vocals were spot-on while doing it. The Heathers were all also standouts in this production, played by Tiara Whaley (Chandler), Megan Bunn (Duke), and Geocel Batista (McNamara). They all played their parts well and the audience loved to hate them, which is the goal of the Heathers. Early in the production, Bunn seemed a little uncomfortable with the choreography and the staging but as the show went on and she took on a more leading role in the story, she got much better, becoming the most memorable of the three. Tendo Nsubuga andTaylor Witt also gave great performances as Ram and Kurt, the school’s stereotypical, dumb Jocks. They provided excellent comedic relief throughout the night, and got the biggest laughs of the production, hands down. I respect anyone who can take on a role like Martha Dunnstock and Amy Williamson surly delivered. Being in a role where your appearance is the brunt of the other character’s jokes and cruelty is not easy, believe me, and she did great throughout the show. The true star of the show, in this case wasHasani Allen as JD.Allen left it all on the stage, focusing more on the damaged side of the character rather than the psychotic side. He the audience in tears multiple times throughout and made us really question the ethics of his character. How wrong or right is JD? 

As I’ve stated in reviews prior, I love seeing diversity on stage more than anything. This production definitely gave it to me, it had diversity in every aspect. It had racial diversity, it had body diversity and it had age diversity. It’s always a refreshing thing to see the more adult characters being played by actual adults. The most impressive bit of diversity to me was the leading couple of the show was an interracial couple. Now, I’m sure the people reading this may think “There have always been interracial couples, why is that a big deal?” and they’d be right, interracial couples are a normal, everyday thing. However, as someone who has been in over 20 productions and seen countless others, I’ve never been in/seen a production with an interracial couple where the script didn’t specifically call for it. Many casting directors don’t put different races together in romantic roles, they typically match race with race and call it diversity. It was unbelievably refreshing to see it all play out on stage, knowing that love isn’t race exclusive and that more shows need to have couples like this.

If you know anything about Heathers, movie or musical, then you know it’s inappropriate for younger audiences. It covers many adult themes and has wild acts of violence. All that being said, it is an important piece of art that shouldn’t be censored and Director Amelia Acosta Powell did not censor a thing. All the inappropriate jokes were played to affect and all the themes were shown in full light and the sensual scenes were realistic. It’s a refreshing change to see a show that didn’t tone down its content, trying not to upset anyone. So often jokes or scenes are taken out of productions because the director doesn’t want to be offensive, Powell, thankfully was not one of those directors. Everything was in that should be in and if it made you uncomfortable then so be it. It was absolutely fearless direction and it resulted in a great show. I hope she is setting the tone for productions to come, not being an exception. She also directed a truly great ensemble, with standouts Allie O’Donnell, Lindsay Hopkins, and James Tarrant.

Tech was great for this show but the lights specifically were the hero. They set the tone of the scenes, they helped give us that rocking 80’s vibe and they gave us a sense of setting in such a small performance space. The Lighting Designer, Lynn Joslin really did great work. The sound didn’t have any hiccups per say but the music track was over powering the actors throughout the majority of the show, making it a bit distracting. Costumes were excellent, due to Cierra Coan. The Choreography was used in moderation and very affective when used, kudos to Brandon Glass for that. The Vocals were flawless as far as I could tell, thanks to Music Director John Henderson.

This show was, without a doubt, a huge success. It’s fun, heartbreaking, inquisitive and just plain entertaining. It was absolutely worth the overnight trip! I highly recommend it to all theatre lovers but specifically the young adults who love rock musicals. This show is up at the Red Branch Theatre Company’s performance space in Columbia MD for two more weekends. Tickets can be found here: https://app.arts-people.com/index.php?show=61063. There are also discounted “Rush Tickets” available on the app “TodayTix”. Do yourself a favor and see Heathers! I guarantee Big Fun!

David Roberts

OnStage Chief New York Theatre Critic

“Their relative ineffectiveness, however, is reflective of larger forces that combined over many decades to make blacks in the city all but invisible. And by now, the truth is that the black community has few genuinely influential advocates in San Francisco’s centers of power, the business community, and at City Hall.” – Amy Alexander, “The Atlantic”

Following fifteen minutes of a smooth jazz jam session by Noel Freidline (piano and keyboards) and Tim Singh (bass) and a transcendent tap routine by Khalid Hill, the real business of Cherry Jackson’s “In the Master’s House There Are Many Mansions” begins. And it is not a business for the weak of spirit or the faint of heart. It is a business that requires action, decision, commitment to change, and “discerns the thoughts and intentions of the heart” (Hebrews 4:12).

Mr. Hill settles onto a stool in front of the two-man jazz band as he assumes a new role yet to be determined. The lights dim and in lighting designer Matt Fergen’s chilling shadows, the mortician (played with a vacuous complacency by Jay Morong) finishes his “good work” on his latest Medicaid client Tyrone (played with a disarming but charming virulence by Kineh N’gaojia) and lays him out ready for viewing. Tyrone is one of many young black men who are victims of police violence who end up at the mortician’s door and the payments from Medicaid are enough to keep his arms open wide.

Tyrone’s childhood friend Larry James Fletcher (played with an exuberant and charmed naiveté by Codara Bracy) has taken off work in the fields and taken the bus up from Gainsboro, Texas to see his slain friend. After completing the Medicaid required grilling (are you married, Mr. Fletcher?) and thumb-printing, Larry approaches Tyrone’s covered body; the mortician uncovers his “work” and leaves the room.

What follows is one of the most challenging pieces of theatre in FringeNYC 2016. Tyrone – like Lazarus – comes back from death and he and Larry rehearse their childhood, their adolescence, and their young adulthood as young men of color in what continues to be a world molded by the “Master’s” hand. Without having to provide a spoiler alert and diminish the cathartic power of Ms. Jackson’s play, it is possible to reveal that “In the Master’s House There Are Many Mansions” raises many rich and enduring questions. Why are young black men still being killed as a result of police violence? Do members of black communities across America have any true advocates? Where are these advocates and why are they not more vocal and more proactive?

Under James Vesce’s electrifying direction, the cast is uniformly brilliant and engaging. They each bring authenticity and a level of honesty to their characters that challenges the status quo and reverberates through the performance space with disquieting truthfulness.

The title of Cherry Jackson’s engaging and disarming 1978 play is a mind-bending distortion of the well-known phrase in John 14:2-3, “In my Father's house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also.” “My Father” has become “the Master” and the verses now are unsettling tropes for systemic racism, white privilege and supremacy. 

The play ends with his signature “rapid-fire” up on his toes tap routine by Khalid Hill. Mr. Hill moves in and out of the shadows during the play, sometimes just observing, sometimes assisting the mortician, sometimes weaving in and out of the lives of “the quick and the dead.” Death is a funny guy sometimes and – as Tyrone points out – will find his way into your house no matter how hard you try to keep him out. In the case of Tyrone and the three new clients (one riddled by the bullets from a police officer’s gun) called in at the end of the play, Death far too often appears in the guise of armed men in uniform called to protect and serve. Who is better off? Tyrone or Larry? The one dead or the one still quickened and believing in the goodness of his master?

This is a play that needs to be seen. Please see it before it closes on August 18, 2016.

IN THE MASTERS HOUSE THERE ARE MANY MANSIONS

“In the Master’s House There Are Many Mansions” is presented by The New York International Fringe Festival and Twilight Repertory Company at Teatro LATEA at the Clemente, 107 Suffolk Street, 2nd Floor (between Rivington and Delancey).

The cast of “In the Master’s House There Are Many Mansions” features Codara Bracy, Khalid Hill, Jay Morong, and Kineh N’goajia. Production photos by Daniel Coston.

For more information about the show including performance dates, the cast, and creative team, please visit http://www.jamesvesce.com/twilight-repertory-company.html. For more information about the 20th Annual New York Fringe Festival visit www.FringeNYC.org.

Pictured: Khalid Hill. Photographer: Daniel Coston.

Nancy Sasso Janis

• OnStage Connecticut Columnist
• Connecticut Critics Circle

By the end of the play Petruchio and Kate have established their own unique road map to find their way--one that is equal in love and humor, equal in strength and equal in respect.” - Ellen Lieberman, the director of Connecticut Free Shakespeare’s ‘The Taming of the Shrew’

Stratford, CT - I was excited to return to the grounds of the American Shakespeare Festival Theater in my hometown of Stratford CT. It didn't matter that I had to bring my lawn chair and bug spray or even that no one was allowed into the once beautiful theater that I remembered from my visits when I was just a teenaged Shakespeare lover. I could not miss a chance to see a production of a play by William Shakespeare on the historic grounds with a lovely view of Long Island Sound and I claimed a spot on the lawn with a large crowd for opening night of 'The Taming of the Shrew' performed by Connecticut Free Shakespeare. The free performances that run through August 21 are part of Festival! Stratford and the public is encouraged to come early and bring a picnic to enjoy before the comedy begins at 8pm.

‘The Taming of the Shrew’ is one of the Bard's comedies that is played very broadly by this troupe of actors and crew, most of whom are Equity members or candidates. This production is labeled a “retelling” of Shakespeare’s play and it was adapted and directed by Stamford CT native Ellen Lieberman. In her notes, she writes that she has resisted producing this piece for the past 16 years because it is “problematic, to say the least.” Over a year ago and with much preliminary study, Ms. Lieberman approached the script as a contemporary feminist and wanted Petruchio and Kate to “negotiate their relationship-still within the broad confines of the familiar battle.” 

The show began even before the curtain speech was over when a young man, perhaps inebriated, crashed the stage loudly singing "Happy," although he was wearing a microphone. The audience knew something was up when the stage managers were called onstage and invited him to put on a costume and sit stage left to watch the performance. Christopher Sly (Western CT State University grad Myles Tripp) did just that and often led the applause and broke into the action. The ensemble, that included WestConn alum James Goggin, sat on both sides of the stage as a kind of Greek Chorus until their entrances. Some provided a wide variety of sound effects that included a slide whistle, train whistle, tambourine, bird tweets and more.

For the most part, the sounds enhanced the slapstick comedy that was used throughout; for the purist, it might have been a little too Laurel and Hardy. It probably made the plot easier to follow for everyone in the audience, which is part of CFS’ mission statement, and did not overshadow the excellent performances of the diverse cast. While the costumes designed by Valarie Henry were Elizabethan, there were some hints of modern times, especially in the music sprinkled throughout. 

Craig Anthony Bannister returned to CFS to play the patriarch Baptista regally, and Karina Foy appeared for her sixth summer as the shrewish Katherina, the Kate who must be tamed by Petruchio, played well by Ian Eaton in his 14th summer with CFS. Marca Leigh played the lovely sister of Kate, Bianca, in pigtails. 

Joel Oramas made his CFS debut as the love struck Lucentio, Ryan Halsaver made his CFS debut as Hortensio, and Andrew Bryce made a very funny CFS debut as Old Gremio in green velvet. Mark Friedlander played the role of the fool Grumio, Uma Incrocci cross dressed to play Tranio well and Company Manager Alejandro Lopez was great in the role of Biondello. Every member of the ensemble served as understudies for a principal role, some pre- and some post-intermission. Speaking of intermission, it was deemed to be a “living intermission” that included singing, dancing with audience members, and the collection of free-will donations in buckets. There was also a list of high school students serving as technical interns. 

This season of Connecticut Free Shakespeare is dedicated to coworker Leroy Walton, who passed away in April at the age of 22. 
The sound for an outdoor venue was excellent and the lighting was good overall and at times spectacular, especially when the trees behind and above the stage were illuminated. If you go, bring picnics, blankets and/or lawn chairs. The shows are cancelled if it is raining; call 203 232-8455 for updates. 

David Roberts

• OnStage Chief New York Theatre Critic

“The play’s the thing wherein I’ll catch the conscience of the King.” – William Shakespeare, “Hamlet,” Act II, Scene 2.

If a play has no playwright, is it a play? If a playwright’s play is entitled “Anonymous, Anonymous,” is he or she really a playwright? When is any play finished? When it has a working title? When the playwright fulfills all the requirements in Aristotle’s “Poetics?” Perhaps only when it has been published and produced? Perhaps a play is a play only when it is being conceived? Playwright Jason Sofge explores these and many other questions about his craft in his new play “Anonymous, Anonymous” currently running at FringeNYC 2016. 

Mr. Sofge seduces his audience into his presumed play-within-a-play throughout its hour and ten-minute length hoping its members will stay with him and his talented cast of characters as they explore the convention time after time, trick after trick, twist after turn, ending where it begins and enjoy being pushed and pulled through time and space only to wonder where they have been and why they have been there. It is a risky business for any playwright to undertake.

William Shakespeare’s Hamlet’s ruse to trick his uncle (who is perhaps his real father – but that is yet another critical conundrum) works because his play-within-a-play has a purpose, serves its purpose, comes to an end, and the tragedy itself moves forward. In “Anonymous, Anonymous” the convention continues to collapse in upon itself too many tines to maintain a significant level of interest in the piece. Once the audience is in on the “trick” – which occurs early on in the play – they begin to grow weary and, despite Mr. Sofge’s apparent lack of interest in dramatic arcs, fourth walls, and cathartic resolutions, the audience begins to beg for a bit of a decent dénouement.

Pictured: Dustin Charles, Kristin Wetherington. Photographer: Marco Torre.

To his credit, Mr. Sofge has created interesting characters for his playwright Dan’s (Dustin Charles) magnum opus including his lost love Natalie (Kristin Wetherington) and the cast of his plays that move between years of writing, production, re-writing, and reflection. Under Mr. Sofge’s and Michael Melkovic’s direction, the ensemble cast does its best to pull the whole thing off and are convincing as the actors auditioning for and performing in the play not yet written. Nick Westemeyer, Dereks Thomas, Tony Del Bono, and Nathan Larkins (who is on stage the entire time!) round out the cast.

“Anonymous, Anonymous” continues at the Kraine Theatre in the East Village through August 25, 2016.

ANONYMOUS, ANONYMOUS

“Anonymous, Anonymous” is presented by The New York International Fringe Festival and Pogue Mahone Productions at the Kraine Theater, 84 East 4th Street (between Bowery and 2nd Avenue). Photo by Marco Torre.

Remaining performances of “Anonymous, Anonymous” take place at on the following schedule: Tuesday August 16th at 4:45 p.m.; Friday August 19th at 2:00 p.m.; Sunday August 21st at 7:00 p.m.; and Thursday August 25th at 9:15 p.m. Tickets are $18.00. The running time is 1 hour and 10 minutes. For more information about the show and the cast and creative team and the 20th Annual New York Fringe Festival visit www.FringeNYC.org.

Angelica Potter

• OnStage Massachusetts Critic

Beverly MA - Singin’ In The Rain is the classic MGM film brought to life on the stage with the screenplay by Betty Comden and Adolph Green and songs by Nacio Herb Brown and Arthur Freed. The story takes place during Hollywood’s golden age when silent films were all the rage. That is, until new technology allowed the big movie studios to start creating talkies for the first time. Learning how to capture sound while filming, adds plenty of comedy to this musical that focuses on a pair of silent film stars: Don Lockwood and Lina Lamont as they venture into the new and unfamiliar territory of the talkies. Don, by chance, meets Kathy Selden, a young actress working to break into show business, and while the tabloids believe him to be engaged to his co-star Lina, his heart is pulling him in Kathy’s direction. His longtime friend and vaudeville partner Cosmo Brown helps Kathy land a job in their new film and steer clear of leading lady Lina. Of course nothing goes quite as planned and bit of wacky chaos ensues much to the delight of the audience. 

Bill Hanney’s North Shore Music Theatre production was directed and choreographed by Richard Stafford. It is not the easiest musical to be performed in-the-round and while Stafford was creative with his staging and choreography, it was not as well executed by the cast as it could have been; especially some of the tap routines. The cast was, however, enthusiastic throughout the show. 

Mark Evans as Don Lockwood in North Shore Music Theatre's production of SINGIN' IN THE RAIN playing thru August 28. Photo © Paul Lyden.

I must commend the scenic and lighting designer Jack Mehler for his use of three projector screens that showed the silent and talkie motion pictures that went along with the storyline of the show. They were nicely utilized and the clips themselves were amusing to watch. The technical and creative team behind this production did a great job not only with the screens and other set pieces, but in creating a way for it to rain on stage without soaking the audience and the orchestra pit or flooding the stage to the point where the performers would slip and fall. They wonderfully and impressively brought the magic of this show to life. 

The show overall was enjoyable. Still, opening night jitters could be seen in a few of the early numbers in which the dance steps were not cleanly executed, the dancers were not unified and they lacked connection. Specifically, in the Argentine Tango bit, the couple lacked a strong frame, and the stylistic choreography could have been danced sharper and stronger. Strong performances by Sean McGibbon, as Cosmo, in “Make ‘Em Laugh”, and McGibbon and Mark Evans, as Don, in “Moses Supposes” quickly made up for earlier weaknesses. In “Make ‘Em Laugh” McGibbon was fantastic as he performed acts of physical comedy and juggling in addition to dancing and singing. In “Moses Supposes” McGibbon and Evans performed a hilarious and fast tap duet with clear sounds and clean rhythmic execution. Both gentlemen nailed the comedy, the lyrics and fast tapping throughout the number and received robust applause at the end. It was certainly a highlight of act one. 

Mark Evans was dashing as Don Lockwood and his performance got better and better as the show progressed. His vocals and dancing were wonderful in “You Were Meant for Me” and the act one closer “Singin’ In The Rain”. Tessa Grady was lovely as Kathy Selden with a beautiful voice and graceful dancing. Her performance of “Good Morning” with Don and Cosmo was energetic and the trio shined during this well-known number. Studio executive R.F. Simpson and film director Roscoe Dexter were amusingly played by Steve Brady and David Coffee. The duo was great together with strong comedic timing and sharp dialogue. 

Lina Lamont, played by Emily Stockdale, was a fierce force to be reckoned with; one who took charge and wouldn’t let anyone stand in the way of what she wanted. Stockdale’s characterization and vocal performance was fantastic. She played the role just right and perfectly performed the high and annoying vocal tones of Lina. A favorite scene for the audience was the one in which Lina learned to use the microphone for the first time while filming and it was very entertaining to watch. As Lina, Stockdale delivered a standout performance that brought the audience quickly to their feet during her bow.

Another standout performance was given by Sean McGibbon as Cosmo Brown. He is a true triple threat and was strong throughout as a dancer, singer and comedian. Taking on a role originated by the great Donald O’Connor in the film is no easy task, but McGibbon and his boundless talent took on the role and made it his own. He is an entertainer through and through and is sure to be an audience favorite. Not only did he meet my expectations by incredibly performing this charismatic character, but he surpassed them. His performance is not to be missed! 

A full cast encore performance of “Singin’ In The Rain” commenced after the bows and was complete with yellow raincoats, umbrellas and of course a little rain. This light-hearted and romantic musical comedy will certainly have you smiling and possibly singing and dancing your way out of the theatre. ©  Singin’ In The Rain plays Tuesdays-Sundays through September 4th. For tickets or more information visit www.nsmt.org , call 978-232-7200 or visit the box office in person at 62 Dunham Rd. Beverly, MA. 

For more of my reviews and theatrical thoughts check out: http://intheatresome1isalwayswatching.blogspot.com/

Joseph Verlezza

• OnStage New York Critic

One of the many solo shows being presented as part of the N.Y. International Fringe Festival is “Naked Brazilian,” written and performed by Gustavo Pace. The script follows his life from childhood in Rio de Janeiro to the streets of New York City and beyond elaborating on copious experiences that contribute to his engaging journey to the present day. The monologue is filled with rich and demonstrative characters that Mr. Pace has mastered physically and vocally. He deftly morphs from one to another in the blink of an eye, captivating his audience and keeping the life train chugging along at a comfortable pace. His inexhaustible energy, charming presence and impeccable timing all help to achieve his dream of “just entertaining others.”

Unfortunately, that is what the stories become, merely entertainment with almost no personal emotional investment to compliment the experience. It is easy to like Gustavo, enjoy the comedy and appreciate the drama but it is very difficult to connect with him and care about him. When you leave the theater you remember the stories but do not necessarily remember Mr. Pace. There is also a problem with the first ten minutes or so being spoken in Portuguese even though it does take place in Brazil.

Authentic but not too interesting to those who do not understand making it seem longer than it actually is. Just establish the language in the first dramatic scene and continue in English. Explaining what was said becomes repetitive. Establish the premise and move on. There is also room for refinement of the script eliminating some unnecessary scenes that do nothing to move the story forward and abandon the already scarce dramatic arc.

Take a chance and spend a bit more than an hour with a very good story teller who has a few interesting tales to share and does it with the skills afforded a proficient actor. 

NAKED BRAZILIAN

“Naked Brazilian” is presented by The New York International Fringe Festival at 64E4 Mainstage, 64 East 4th Street (between Bowery and 2nd Avenue). Photo by Jim R. Moore.

Remaining performances of “Naked Brazilian” take place at on the following schedule: Wednesday August 17th at 9:30 p.m.; Friday August 19th at 9:15 p.m.; and Sunday August 21st at 8:30 p.m. Tickets are $18.00. The running time is 1 hour and 10 minutes. For more information about the show and the cast and creative team, please visit http://www.nakedbrazilianshow.com/. For more information about the 20th Annual New York Fringe Festival visit www.FringeNYC.org.

Pictured: Gustavo Pace. Photographer: Jim R. Moore.

David Roberts

OnStage Chief New York Theatre Critic

“When Herod saw that he had been outwitted by the Magi, he was filled with rage. Sending orders, he put to death all the boys in Bethlehem and its vicinity who were two years old and under, according to the time he had learned from the Magi.” – Matthew 2:16

Don Chaffer’s “The Unusual Tale of Mary and Joseph’s Baby” is an interesting retelling of the Biblical story of the birth of Jesus from Gabriel’s “Annunciation” to the “Flight into Egypt” to escape Herod’s attempt to find and murder the child born a ruler who will be “the shepherd of God’s people Israel.” The new musical – still set in the time of Herod – sports a Joseph who builds for the Romans and has to decide what to do with his fiancé Mary who claims to be pregnant with God’s child. Mary here, as in the Biblical story, is a devout young woman who awaits God’s deliverance from the oppression of the Romans and their puppet king Herod.

Don Chaffer’s and Chris Cragin Day’s musical comes to the stage with great promise. His retelling is fresh and, in most cases, brimming with humor. If only the cast members had stronger voices and were able to develop their characters more deeply giving them a freshness and a new depth of spirit. Michael Castillejos (Joseph), Ava McCoy (Mary), Katherine George (Elizabeth and others), and Andrew Nielson (Benjamin (and others) often seen adrift in clearly articulating the themes of “The Unusual Tale.” Perhaps it would have been better to have a contemporary setting to correspond to the contemporary costumes. And why is Joseph in a contemporary builder’s costume and the Roman soldiers in period costumes? And the lengthy scenes with the large puppet informing Joseph and Mary of God’s will are unnecessary. Again, an announcement over the loudspeaker at work that only Joseph can hear might have worked better.

Director Amelia Peterson should be giving her actors a firmer hand and move the entire show at a much quicker pace. Was the show perhaps under rehearsed? This reviewer does know the company’s tech rehearsal was cancelled and rescheduled for 6:00 a.m. the day of their first performance. Still, stronger direction is needed and the Music Director should let the actors know that they need to deliver their songs with more strength and conviction. Perhaps the director and creators should be thinking more of an SNL skit or even – if they watched a few re-runs – something like a “Honeymooners.” Andrew Nielson’s portrayal of Benjamin and his other characters could not be more in the character of Art Carney. 

In its present writing, the musical seems not have found a clear purpose or a clear direction for its future. If the musical is a riff on the story of the birth of Jesus, hoping to reach out to a new generation of theatre audience members or is it intended to reach out to existing faith communities to embolden faith and commitment in an already believing audience? The character of Benjamin (played with an exuberant playfulness by Andrew Nielson) – and the other roles played by the same actor – would indicate the former. But the characters of Joseph and Mary and Elizabeth fall clearly into the latter category of appealing to the faithful. This is an important decision the musical’s creators have to make. If the show’s purpose is to proselytize, then it belongs in a religious context. Music, lyrics, and book all contribute to this current confusion.

All of that said, “The Unusual Tale” is a charming love story of a young couple faced with important decisions in a world of judgement and conditional love and worth a visit.

THE UNUSUAL TALE OF MARY AND JOSEPH’S BABY

“The Unusual Tale of Mary and Joseph's Baby” is presented by The New York International Fringe Festival and Firebone Theatre at The SoHo Playhouse, 15 Vandam Street (between 6th Avenue and Varick Street). 

Remaining performances of “The Unusual Tale of Mary and Joseph's Baby” take place at on the following schedule: Friday August 19th at 5:00 p.m.; Monday August 22nd at 7:30 p.m.; Friday August 26th at 7:00 p.m.; and Saturday August 27th at 12:15 p.m. Tickets are $18.00. The running time is 1 hours and 30 minutes. For more information about the show and the cast and creative team, please visit http://www.firebonetheatre.com/. For more information about the 20th Annual New York Fringe Festival visit www.FringeNYC.org.

Asya Danilova

• OnStage New York Critic

I hope one day people will say: “I can’t imagine there were times when somebody had to hide their homosexuality in fear that they won’t be accepted”. I was thinking about it while watching my second show produced by TOSOS, the first professional theater company established in 1974 in New York to deal “openly and honestly” with the LGBT experience. 

Kathleen Warnock’s The Further Adventures Of… shows some anachronisms, just like the company’s signature play, Doric Wilson’s Street Theater. Like the fact that the heroine, Maggie, had to go to Vermont to marry her girlfriend. These traces of a certain time period make The Further Adventures Of… a testimony of an epoch, yet at the same time it’s a timeless story of love, superheroes and a writer. Part of the Fringe Festival this year, The Further Adventures Of… began it’s journey in 2007. Kathleen Warnock first wrote it for Wings Theater’s 24-hour play festival, since then the play has been produced 12 times (by Kathleen’s count). What began as a 10-minute play became a 75-minute show, every minute of which is brisk and engaging.  

Meet Maggie Day (Jamie Heinlein, who originated the role), the writer investigating the behind-the-scenes of the 50s sci-fi serial, Atlantis, 1 Million Years B.C. The TV show about Commander Zoron (Mark Finley) and Prince Kal (Tim Burke) holds a special place in her heart. Watching it and reenacting scenes with her friend made her realize two important things about herself: she is a lesbian and she wants to be a writer. 

From her childhood memories brought to life by Tim Burke and Mark Finley, we fast-forward to Maggie’s meetings with the aged producer of Atlantis (Mark Finley), and equally aged Frank Gallagher, who played Prince Kal (Tim Burke). As Maggie is pulling other people’s secrets from the closet, she analyzes her own marriage, writer’s ethical boundaries, and her life principals.               

All three actors: Heinlein, Burke and Finley have played in this show during multiple runs, which might explain the great chemistry on stage. Direction by Eric Chase brings forward the smart, funny and touching writing of Warnock. The ascetic design is entirely just one chair on stage.

At times I wanted to close my eyes and enjoy The Further Adventures Of… as if it was an audio book. The text consisting of dialogue, followed by Maggie’s reflection on them delivered directly to the audience, sounded a lot like an investigating journalistic podcast. But I just couldn’t take my eyes of the stage where Burke and Finley. Both were dressed in crisp white shirts and portraying multiple people from Maggie’s memories and fantasies, sometimes in a hilarious campy manner and sometimes so touching and believable that it made me tear up.            

Tickets are $18.00 and are available at www.fringenyc.org. Performances take place at Venue #3, Teatro LATEA, 107 Suffolk Street (between Rivington & Delancey). Subway: F to Delancey, J/M/Z to Essex.

Remaining Show dates are:
Saturday, August 20 @ 7:15 pm
Wednesday, August 24 @ 5:00 pm
Saturday, August 27 @ 9:15 pm

For more information, visit www.tososnyc.org

Angelica Potter

• OnStage Massachusetts Columnist

Peterborough NH - Written and directed by Charles Morey this farce entitled: The Ladies Man, is based on the many plays written by French playwright Georges Feydeau in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. It combines the classic elements of mistaken identities, misinformation, and misunderstandings with many slamming doors; actively inviting the audience to laugh at the misfortunes of the characters while relating to some of the relationships portrayed. Although the audience laughed aloud and seemed to enjoy this production, reminiscent of the Marx Brothers, for me it did not meet the higher quality of other shows performed this season.

Photo Credit: Karron Graves and Anderson Matthews. Courtesy Peterborough Players. 

The story revolves around the mature Dr. Hercule Molineaux (Anderson Matthews), the small lie he tells his young wife Yvonne (Karron Graves), after staying out all night and the chaos that ensues when the lie erupts out of control. The cast also features David Breitbarth as Dr. Molineaux’s long time valet Etienne, Susan Riley Stevens as the new house maid Marie, Kraig Swartz as Bassinet, a patient with a severe lisp and Dale Hodges as Yvonne’s domineering mother, Madame Aigreville. Kate Hampton played another patient, Suzanne Aubin, who has in mind an affair with the good doctor, and Tom Frey played her Prussian Soldier husband Gustav Aubin. This energetic cast embraced the over the top comedy within their dialogue and actions. The doctor is a sympathetic character who somehow seemed to continually find himself in a compromising position either physically or verbally. His situation was not helped by his patient Bassinet who was always around to add to the confusion. Both Matthews and Swartz excelled in these roles to the delight of the audience.

While the show was meant to be a farce there were a few confusing points:  the show takes place in Paris and therefore, with the exception of the Prussian Gustav Aubin, it would be assumed that the rest of the characters would all have French accents. However, this was not the case as only Etienne consistently had a French accent while the others sounded British with a few French flourishes. Secondly, Frey, as the Prussian Officer, had a German accent that was so thick; most of what he said could not be clearly understood. It is unsure to the viewer if this was purposefully done to increase the comedy of the play or if it just happened to occur. 

The set, designed by Harry Feiner, featured five doors that were excessively used throughout the production as characters entered, exited and slammed them in each other’s faces. The first act and end of the second act takes place in the home office of Dr. Molineaux, while the start of the second act takes place in a dress shop. The set transition in act two going from the dress shop to the office was jumbled and lengthy. The actors themselves, in addition to the stage hands, converted the space in what appeared to be a confusing bridge of one scene to the next. Overall, the show does contain many amusing, farcical elements and double entendres which the mature audience seemed to enjoy. ©

The Ladies Man plays on the Peterborough Players stage, 55 Hadley Road, Peterborough, NH, until August 28th. For tickets call the box office at 603-924-7585 or check out www.PeterboroughPlayers.org

For more of my reviews and theatrical thoughts check out: http://intheatresome1isalwayswatching.blogspot.com/

Joseph Verlezza

• OnStage New York Critic

It is rare to find a solo show in the NY International Fringe Festival that includes original music and lyrics: that welcoming combination can be found in Paul Adams who happens to be “The Cleaning Guy.” A transplant from Kansas, he has been cleaning NYC apartments for the past twenty-five years and has an incredible roster of clients and their stories to verify it. If Mr. Adams attacks his cleaning missions with the same burst of energy shown when he enters the theater belting out the first musical number, there is no doubt he is good at his job. Most of his stories are interesting, ranging from comedy to heartfelt drama. Though some slightly miss the mark, it is of no concern, since he writes about what he knows and has experienced in this sometimes bizarre occupation. It is the first thirty or so minutes of the show that sometimes feel repetitious: the tales exhibit a sameness in content and dynamic.

But then the performance suddenly takes off and starts to fly. It just seems a bit long to climb that first hill on the roller coaster before you feel your heart pound as you speed down the first drop and continue to have your emotions erupt as he leads you around sharp unexpected turns. It is a well-constructed piece of theater that can only improve with time and tightening the script to an hour. His lyrics are an extension of his stories, usually taking on a comedic flair, and the music by Matt Casarino is a perfect complement that is sharp and clean. Melissa Attebery moves the piece along at a steady pace but should push Mr. Adams a bit further in the delineation of his client’s characters. If you have the chance, try to catch one of the remaining performances at the Soho Playhouse for a refreshing evening of entertainment.   

THE CLEANING GUY

“The Cleaning Guy” is presented by The New York International Fringe Festival and at the Huron Club at the SoHo Playhouse, 15 Vandam Street (between 6th Avenue and Varick Street). Photo by.

Remaining performances of “The Cleaning Guy” take place at on the following schedule: Monday August 15th at 7:15 p.m.; Thursday August 18th at 9:30 p.m.; Sunday August 21st at 4:30 p.m.; and Wednesday August 24th at 6:15 p.m. Tickets are $18.00. The running time is 1 hour. For more information about the show and the cast and creative team, please visit http://www.thecleaningguy.nyc/. For more information about the 20th Annual New York Fringe Festival visit www.FringeNYC.org.

Joseph Verlezza

• OnStage New York Critic

Among the shows opening the FringeNYC 2016 season is “Let The Devil Take the Hindmost,” a new play by Maya Contreras who – in a program note from the playwright – shares that she penned the play in response to the horrific crimes fueled by systemic and institutionalized racism. It deals with a family that, in resolution, blames its dysfunction and destruction on the racially provoked murder of matriarch Vera’s father when she was fifteen when he ventured outside his neighborhood to get her ice cream. Unfortunately, the few minutes allocated to this disclosure does not validate Vera’s alcoholic self- destruction or the need to merely touch upon a vast array of other equally important issues. Set in Washington D.C. in 1969, the script loses focus and sabotages itself when delving into topics such as the Viet Nam War, infidelity, dementia, unwed motherhood, protests, political unrest, civil rights, and alternative lifestyles, all of which have no bearing on the effect of the aforementioned past tragedy. 

At times the plot seems implausible given the situation and circumstances. Vera is African American and her husband is Latino. She is a high school mathematics teacher, he is a college professor and their daughter is a college graduate living on the lower east side of Manhattan. They are an affluent, mixed race couple. They are intelligent, aware, employed, married for twenty-four years and have obviously had to overcome many obstacles to achieve their present status. To suddenly have this revelation that she is scarred by racism and to have a deep seeded anger surface to destroy herself and her family seems unlikely. It is difficult to have much compassion for the under-developed characters without having some insight into their personal family history. The meaning of the proverbial title of the show indicates that those who lag behind will receive no aid, and can certainly be significant to this production on many different levels.

LET THE DEVIL TAKE THE HINDMOST

“Let the Devil Take the Hindmost” is presented by The New York International Fringe Festival and at The SoHo Playhouse, 15 Vandam Street (between 6th Avenue and Varick Street). 

The cast of “Let the Devil Take the Hindmost” includes Thursday Farrar, Felipe Gorostiza, Analisa Velez, Kaitlin Large, Nicole Thompson-Adams, and Bobby Crace. “Let the Devil Take the Hindmost” features video design by Christopher Marston, lighting design by Kirk Bookman, hair and wig design by John Dallas and fight choreography by Carlotta Summers. Lionel A. Christian is the stage manager. Production photos by Caz McKinnon.

Remaining performances of “Let the Devil Take the Hindmost” take place at on the following schedule: Sunday August 14th at 5:30 p.m.; Wednesday August 17th at 7:00 p.m.; Saturday August 20th at 3:45 p.m.; and Tuesday August 23rd at 7:15 p.m. Tickets are $18.00. The running time is 1 hour and 10 minutes. For more information about the show and the cast and creative team, please visit http://www.letthedeviltakethehindmost.com/. For more information about the 20th Annual New York Fringe Festival visit www.FringeNYC.org.

Photo: Analisa Velez and Bobby Crace. Credit: Caz McKinnon.

David Roberts

• OnStage Chief New York Theatre Critic

“I was not born for death and yet I have died a thousand times, he thought. And now I am born again for these hard times.” – Kathryn Lasky, “Frost Wolf”

In forty powerfully engaging minutes, the cast of “Black Magic” explores the lives of seven slain black men “in the era of Orlando, Ferguson, and Black Lives Matter.” There are not ordinary “dead” men. These slain men speak to the audience about their lives, their grieving families, their murderers, their lovers, their children, and their remarkable ability to have died and “yet still are still here.” They speak to their gay sons, to their mothers and to their grandmothers who raised them. They even speak directly about the systemic racism that killed them and directly to the guns that killed them and to those who pulled the triggers of those guns time after time after time.

The stories of the slain black men are told in spoken word, stunning movement, and song with just the touch of clowning around. Mr. Jenkins is an accomplished spoken word artist whose work relies heavily on the rhetorical devices of ethos and pathos and employs rich imagery and figurative language to persuade the audience to share not only in the responsibility for the ravages of systemic racism but how to be change agents embracing non-judgmental and unconditional love instead of the weaponry of hatred and mistrust. Under the co-direction of Tony Jenkins and Chessa Metz, the uniformly brilliant cast – together for just one week – bring the stories to redemptive catharsis that lingers long after the final scene. Although they number seven, they manage to speak with one clear voice jettisoning between the joys of their lives and the tragedies of their collective deaths. 

In that final scene, the cast engages the audience in deciding how to move forward after death and rebirth, how to rethink choices given humankind in the recurring gifts of new Gardens of Eden where the fruit (or the glove) of the knowledge of good and evil challenges each First Man and First Woman. How humankind moves forward is a choice not to be taken lightly. What is clear is that the resilience of slain black men will not diminish and that somehow, sometime death and crying will be no more.

In a talkback following the first performance of “Black Magic,” writer Tony Jenkins shared that the new play was not something he intended to write, not even something he wanted to write. The play chose him and he had to write it. After the recent string of gun violence and violence against men and women of color, there was nothing else to do “but write.” Mr. Jenkins, Ms. Metz and their cast have collaborated to create a moving piece of theatre that will endure beyond its time at FringeNYC 2016.

“Black Magic” is not always easy on the mind but it is undyingly kind to the spirit of forgiveness and reconciliation. The play’s message transcends race, color, sex, sexual status, and age: its rich and enduring questions connect with all who seek to move East of Eden with a renewed spirit of hopefulness rooted and grounded in love.

BLACK MAGIC

“Black Magic” is presented by The New York International Fringe Festival at The SoHo Playhouse, 15 Vandam Street (between 6th Avenue and Varick Street). 

The cast of “Black Magic” features Tony Jenkins, Justin Campbell, Malik Squire, Aaron Marshall-Bobb, Skyler James, Ibn Days and Evan Reiser. Chessa Metz is the choreographer and co-director. 

Remaining performances of “Black Magic” take place at on the following schedule: Monday August 15th at 2:00 p.m.; Wednesday August 17th at 2:45 p.m.; Friday August 18th at 7:15 p.m.; and Saturday August 20th at 5:45 p.m. Tickets are $18.00. The running time is 40 minutes. For more information about the show and the cast and creative team, please visit www.blackmagicplay.wordpress.com. For more information about the 20th Annual New York Fringe Festival visit www.FringeNYC.org.