Philadelphiatheaterarts

Review by Neal Newman

October 6, 2024

The Quintessence Theatre Group has reached its 15th season, which is amazing for a classical theater in this society. Improvements are on the way to the old Sedgwick Theatre, which opened in 1928 and is now owned by the Quintessence Theatre Group. Bravo to all.

Classical theatre lovers have their favorites, and it is fitting that this season should open with CYRANO DE BERGERAC, one of the most beloved plays and one that is extremely difficult to produce.  As my Carnegie Mellon costume teacher warned us: “Directors must resist the desire to produce CYRANO.  The costumes are opulent, expensive, and can never be used for another play.  CYRANO stands alone.”

As expected, the Quintessence group cannot rival the spectacle of various Broadway and British outings, but this one holds its own due to fine performances, design, and direction.

First, it must be noted that this is not the play by Edmund Rostand, as indicated in the program.  It is a new play by Martin Crimp.  It is billed as “Freely adapted by Martin Crimp,” and boy, are they not kidding.  The basic plot and themes are there, but much has been “freely adapted.”  This is a rewrite for today’s audiences.  It is too often noted that theater audiences are getting older and older. But young people flock to HAMILTON.  Something must be done to bring today’s audiences out of the TV room and into the classical theatre.  This production may do just that.

Sydney Dufka’s costume designs suggest some of the elaborateness of 1640 France but remain modern. They retain the wonderful knee-high boots and smaller versions of the hats and plumes so beloved of 17th-century soldiers. We expect Cyrano will end the play by declaring his pride for “ma Panache” or “my white plume.”  But no, he will not. Roxane enters to disco music in an appropriate outfit, while the act four soldiers wear modern camouflage shirts.  It works well because the upper-class characters are performed by actors who can suggest elegance.

The setting, designed by Alex Burns, the director and sound designer, retains the red show curtain beloved by all old Cyrano lovers, while the simple set pieces allow rapid scene changes. The backdrop is a metal reflecting sheet that, when appropriately lit, elegantly mirrors the downstage scene. John Burkland’s lighting gives us moonlight when called for and disco flashes when needed.

The themes of any CYRANO are two: “Beauty is only skin deep” and “Language is everything.”  Cyrano is the world-famous possessor of the mightiest rapier, the keenest wit, elegant poesy, and a big nose. But he suffers from unrequited love for his beautiful cousin Roxane, who is, in turn, infatuated with the handsome soldier Christian, whom she has not met but loves at first sight; Cyrano’s noble attempt to assist this romance as a go-between only increases his misery. He believes she will never notice him because he is ugly.

Director Burns has assembled a cast of 10, which makes this the smallest CYRANO I have ever seen. Those hundred extras are not missed.  The leading performers are outstanding.  Any CYRANO will rise and fall with the leading character, and J Hernandez has everything.  He is noble, witty, firm when needed, gentle when required, and most importantly, he suffers nobly.  The audience’s heart goes out to him from his first entrance.  Hernandes dominates the stage as any great classical actor must. He is spectacular.

Roxane (Erica Lynn Bridge) and Christian (Daniel Chase Miller) are generally considered pale characters next to Cyrano.  Not so here.  This Roxane is a disco-party/gossip girl who creates an unexpected turn of humor with her spoiled Nepo-Baby upper East Side gestures and speeches.  Christian lacks the elegance of the leading players and comes off as the high school football hero, complete with toxic masculine gestures and frequent exclamations of “I am a man!”  Both are memorable.  Also turning in sterling support are Kelechi Udenkwo, the loyal Le Bret, and Tim Dugan, the conniving De Guiche.  Janis Dardaris scores as the baker/poet Rageneau.  Gone is the flour-covered would-be poet.  This Rageneau gives versification lessons to her staff and adds a highlight with a fourth-act poem of lost love.

Director Burns guides this skillfully and adds a touch of spectacle to the usually unseen battle of the one hundred men and the final war scene.

Now for the “adaptation”: it is filled with terms beloved by today’s youth: “Elephant in the room,” “My shopping cart,” and “Whateverrrrr.”  The cast handles some rhyming verse admirably, and the opening duel scene is more of a rap battle.  Here are a couple of whoppers:

“They say when he came through his mother’s vagina,

The nose poked out first as a painful reminder.”

“This must be the man with the nose/ And the acres of highbrow wet-dream prose.”

Montfleury quotes HAMLET to a sock puppet, and the final moments include a “two men walk into a bar” joke. I am not the audience for this edition. After over sixty years of avid theatergoing and at least a dozen live CYRANOS, I cannot warm to this. But I must admit I enjoyed it as much as the audience did because of the depth of the characterizations and skillful direction and design. And J Hernandez was spectacular! It will be a hit.

RUNNING TIME:  Two hours and forty-five minutes with intermission.

CYRANO DE BERGERAC plays through October 20, at the Sedgwick Theatre, 7137 Germantown Ave. Mount Airy, PA  Tickets can be obtained at https://www.quintessencetheatre.org/cyrano.

Review by Neal Newman

September 25, 2024

The great news for today is that every Thursday at about 9:15 after the performance of THE PORCH ON WINDY HILL at People’s Light in Malvern, the talented musicians of the three-person cast will host a hootenanny of all kinds of country music. All are invited for free, and those who wish to play can bring their folk instruments. This event celebrates music and culture; everyone is welcomed with open arms. I’m a 60’s style folkie myself who wouldn’t miss it, but considering the skill of these performers, I’ll leave my guitar at home.

The story of WINDY HILL began during the pandemic when a group of theater-attuned musicians met and began to jam. They were David M. Lutken, a versatile musician on guitar, dulcimer, and banjo; Sherry Stregack Lutken, a director and all-round musician; Lisa Helmi Johanson, a skilled violinist/fiddle and dulcimer player of Korean descent, and Morgan Morse, a multi-instrumentalist playing guitar, banjo, and mandolin. This unique blend of talents not only created new orchestrations for many familiar and unfamiliar country classics but also a play entitled “a new play with old music.”

The play’s themes revolve around the evolution of folk music and the continual prejudice and harassment of Korean Americans, especially during and after the pandemic. Sherry Stregack Lutken would direct, and the others would make up the cast. David Lutken would play a lovable grandfather with great musical skills and hidden prejudice. Morse would portray a doctoral student studying the enthnology of Appalachian music, while Johanson, would play his Korean girlfriend returning to the South Carolina porch where she grew up and abandoned for New York eighteen years ago.

THE PORCH ON THE WINDY HILL has received an impressive reception, having played in Connecticut, near Chicago, and Vermont, and now landing as the opening production of People’s Light’s 50^th season. The original cast has been abetted by newcomers Rob Morrison as Beckett, the student, and EJ Zimmerman as his girlfriend, Mira. Lutken remains as Edgar, the grandfather, as does the director, and it is impressive that they all have such varied abilities. As actors, they are grounded in their characters and immensely likable. The audience’s affection transfers to their music, demonstrating that great artists make “that which is incredibly difficult look incredibly easy.” And they do it with such joy.

The play takes place in Western North Carolina and involves Mira’s long-delayed return to where she grew up. She is reunited with her estranged grandfather. The first act involves the three getting to know each other through their music, and their singing and playing evolve as they become more comfortable with the help of some old-time moonshine. The act’s themes involve Bekett’s belief that folk music must continuously grow through its culture, while Edgar does his best to keep it the same as he learned it. They are both right. 

The second act turns to a different theme: can the love of music conquer racism?  There is less music and more talk in this act, and I didn’t warm to it as I did in the first act, despite Zimmerman and Lutken’s performances. There is much discussion of characters who do not appear and the suffering they endured, while the play’s climax involves a telephone. Bring back the music.

The scenic design by Mara Ishihara Zinky creates that dilapidated porch right down to the broken rain barrel. Costumer Gregory Graham’s clothing reflects the truth that these visitors are from the North. Sound Designer Sun Hee Kil gets those crickets going along with the offstage automobile. Lighting designer Dawn Chiang skillfully moves us from afternoon to evening to morning, while music director Lutken, again, brings it all back home.

My quibbles did not matter to the overjoyed audience. I can’t wait for next Thursday’s “hoot”.

THE PORCH ON WINDY HILL plays through October 29^th at People’s Light, 39 Conestoga Road, Malvern, PA. Tickets can be obtained at peopleslight.org or by calling 610-644-3500.

Review by Neal Newman

September 22, 2024

The New York Times for today, September 23, 2024, features a significant article calling Amanda Jones, a middle school librarian in Louisiana, a “superhero.”  She has written a best-selling book detailing her adamant refusal to ban books that local politicians claim do not properly reflect their communities. Times being what they are, Ms. Jones has been called a “pornographer,” among other evils.  Suddenly, a play by Kenneth Jones, written in 2014 and set in 1959, has become relevant in ways the author could not expect.  Nevertheless, he found the problem’s roots in 1959, as the ghosts of our repressive past still haunt us.  ALABAMA STORY is currently playing at Old Academy Players in East Falls.  There is even a moment when the racist senator mocks the Northern librarian for being unmarried and childless.

Based on a true story, the play depicts the saga of THE RABBIT’S WEDDING, a children’s book in which a black bunny falls in love with a white bunny, culminating in a joyful forest celebration.  The senator immediately views the book as harmful to the citizens of Montgomery, who will, of course, be incensed by the book’s clever propaganda against the long-held, sacred laws of segregation.  Jones’s play wants to be funny, dramatic, and sentimental, a mixture that, in this production, is not completely successful.

The brightest moments go to Mort Paterson, the senator. Tall, blessed with a glorious voice that caresses the southern accent, he is totally believable as an octogenarian multi-term politician who lives in another era and cannot recognize the changes on the way. As he says, “I’m never wrong and never apologize. Since I’m never wrong, I don’t need to apologize.”  He is a truly formidable antagonist and symbol of the old South.  He is also strangely touching in his love of books, especially TOM SAWYER.

Another bullseye comes from Douglas Tague, who plays Garth Williams, the author/illustrator of the book.  Jones has crafted a skilled comic monologue from Williams’ interviews, opening the second act.  Tague could be an excellent stand-up comic as he gleefully recounts that a white rabbit bears no relation to a white racist human and that since the illustrations were in black and white, it only made sense to have one of the bunnies be black to create charming pictures.

Lorraine Barrett, as the librarian, is a skilled actor.  However, she tends to over-embrace the author’s tendency toward sentimentality.  As a result, the performer spends much of Act One surprised over the senator’s accusations and then spends Acto Two complaining that she is very acquainted with Southern customs.  Certainly, the play is a valentine to the beloved value of libraries, but this production loses dramatic impact.

Renee Theis’ lighting design creates a terrific thunderstorm, while Helen Krauss’s costumes make a nice gesture to the late 50s in the women’s dresses, though the men wear modern suits.

The set design by Sarah Swearer and the direction of Carla Childs are problematic.  The stage is filled with a large, locked gate.  This gate is essential to the history of Montgomery, Alabama, because the city fathers famously padlocked this public park rather than bowing to integration. It Is not essential to the play. While this gate serves as an excellent reminder of the 50s South, it takes up so much space that there is little room for any other setting.  Admittedly, the stage is small, but different directors have managed to ground-plan their Old Academy plays with depth and imagination. Director Childs has directed what is essentially a radio play or an audiobook.  The actors stand still as if their feet are nailed to the floor and must only use their voices to communicate the characters and their relationships.  This is especially true in the dramatic scene of a picnic of twelve-year-olds, the girl a wealthy resident of the “big house,” and the boy a black hired hand.  Their inability to comprehend the current racism as written seems quite powerful.  But as staged, crammed into a tight corner, it unfortunately falls flat.

I visit my local public library weekly and greet the friendly staff by name. As such, I recommend the novel THE GIVER OF STARS by JoJo Moyes. It dramatized the PACKHORSE PROJECT of the 1930s when women delivered books on horseback to rural Kentucky cabins. It is inspirational.

RUNNING TIME:  2 hours with intermission

ALABAMA STORY plays through September 29 at Old Academy Players, 3544 Indian Queen Lane.  Tickets can be obtained at oldacademyplayers.org or by calling 215-843-1109’

Review by Neal Newman

September 15, 2024

Timeless and captivating, THE GIN GAME, presented by Bristol Riverside Theatre, is a brilliant play. Despite its debut in 1976, it remains fresh and vital, a testament to its enduring appeal. Its international success, with performances in India and Turkey, further underscores its unique perceptiveness. It’s a true pleasure to witness this classic once more.

D.L. Coburn’s play is a pure character study. The plot, for what it is, concerns who will win a hand of gin rummy. But oh, the people. The setting is a run-down “old age” home. It is the kind of place for people who don’t have enough money to afford something better. In this country, if you live long enough, you will end up here. So says Weller, the man dealing the infamous card game. He is anciently infirm, cranky, and can wield his cane as a weapon. Weller uses card games to stave off the continual boredom of each day being the same. When a new resident appears, he is eager to teach the game. One problem, though. He hates to lose. Fonsia has newly arrived and is keen for some activity. She likes to win. Very soon, it is revealed that they both have children who will never visit.

The play is a rich tapestry of fascinating themes. After a few hands of cards, strangers slowly but surely start to reveal themselves. Weller and Fonsia have a much to hide, and their lives are littered with disappointments and bad decisions. The first act is a delightful comedy as these unique people reveal themselves. However, the second act takes a dramatic turn, delving into the darker aspects of their lives, perhaps even tragedy. This transition from light-hearted comedy to profound drama adds a layer of depth and complexity to the play.

Longtime Bristol star Keith Baker’s portrayal of Weller is a masterclass in intensity and comic timing. While frequently unlikable, his performance always evokes sympathy for the challenges of old age, loneliness, and hidden memories and fears. He is perfectly complemented by Zuhairah’s Fonsia, whose chirpy rendition adds a layer of complexity to their interaction. She cleverly learns to manipulate her desperate opponent. The intimate black box theater setting enhances their comic and dramatic interplay, especially from the middle of the space. Director Jon Marans skillfully unveils each character’s depth, offering varied staging in a confined playing area.

The scenic designer, Jason Simms, ably suggests the lower-class old age home complete with a garden of dead plants. Costumer Linda B. Stockton added to the characterizations with well-chosen clothes. Lighting designer Coner Mulligan has been handed an impossible deal in this game. The staging is football, meaning the audience is on two sides of the action. Lighting this staging means placing most of your instruments above the playing area. But the new location has a ten-foot drop/cork ceiling. The lights can only be placed at eye level or off in the box’s corners. The chaise area where the actors sit when not at the table is covered in illogical shadows. The upstage player is brightly lit at the card table, but not so is the opponent. The seating is problematic as well. The 150 seats are crammed into four rows on each side. An airline economy seat is more comfortable. You cannot see the face of the downstage player if one is seated on the far downstage side. Ditto for the far-left side. Senior citizens with back problems should sit in the middle of the front row.

There is one problem with this production. This Fonsia is much younger and not infirm at all, which lessens the dramatic tension. If both characters are ancient and weak, it continually emphasizes that they have no escape from this home.

These difficulties did not matter to the audience of seniors who adored every minute. The little room was packed. Get tickets right away.

RUNNING TIME:  Two hours plus intermission.

THE GIN GAME by D.L. Coburn runs through September 29 at Bristol Riverside Theatre, temporarily located at 190 Mifflin Street, the Bristol Firehouse. Tickets can be obtained at brtstage.org or by calling 215-785-0100.

Review by Neal Newman

August 11, 2024

AN ACT OF GOD is a one-act play starring God. The set is a cloud-capped sky, and the costumes are all white. The angels have wings. God is a combination of standup comic and game show host. He has several things to tell us. Some are trivial: he doesn’t want to be called upon whenever someone sneezes. Worse, he is frequently called upon by people enjoying sex. Stop that. He also has some more excellent themes to consider. Have you ever noticed that people recite the Bible as holy scripture and then use these quotes to pursue their nefarious plans? And what about those Ten Commandments? Aren’t they being misinterpreted and probably out of date? God has brought us a new set and will introduce them like a game show, complete with a Vanna angel.

The play is hilarious, which is not surprising. It was written by David Javerbaum, who has a shelf full of Emmys from his days as writer/producer of THE DAILY SHOW in the Jon Stewart era. It started with random tweets, a blog, a book, and finally, a play that starred Jim Parsons and Sean Hayes on Broadway. The running time is seventy minutes, which is perfect for a Netflix special, but that probably won’t happen since so much of our divided country would find this kind of humor deeply offensive.

It didn’t deter Ambler’s ACT II playhouse audience, who greeted the production with prolonged laughter and applause. The event is directed by and starring Tony Braithwaite, the theatre’s artistic director. The first-class sets, costumes, and lights are by Meghan Jones, Seana Benz, and James Leitner. The youthful angels are portrayed by Renee McFillin (a beautiful game show sidekick who also proclaims Bible verses) and Paddy May, who risks losing his wings by asking too many questions that God doesn’t want to answer, such as “Why do bad things happen to good people?” Answer: ‘Because good things happen to bad people.”

Braithwaite, whose 50^th ACT II production this is, is a skilled comedian who has excelled in standup comedy, improvisational sketches, and one-man shows. His timing is impeccable, and he relates to the audience with warmth and wrath as the occasion calls for it. In the end, he is also quite touching as he wonders why the universe remains so terrible if God is so all-knowing and omnipotent

This production, unlike Broadway, avoids political content in an election year. You can concentrate on all your contradictions about God.

RUNNING TIME:  70 minutes without intermission.

AN ACT OF GOD runs through September 8 at 56 Butler Avenue, Amble, PA. Tickets can be obtained at Act2.org or by calling 215-654-0200

Review by Neal Newman

July 21, 2004

SOMEWHERE OVER THE BOARDER, with book, music, and lyrics by Brian Quijada, is a captivating Hispanic musical that intertwines THE WIZARD OF OZ with THE CAUCASIAN CHALK CIRCLE to narrate a poignant story of a young girl’s illegal journey from El Salvador to the USA. This story, inspired by Quijada’s mother’s life, resonates with the current socio-political climate, making it a compelling and relevant production. The performance at People’s Light in Malvern, co-produced with Pittsburgh CLO and City Theatre Company, brings this powerful narrative to life with a talented, nearly all-Hispanic cast and crew making their local debuts.

The music, led by musical director Michael Meketa Sanchez on keyboards, is a diverse and vibrant blend of Latin sounds, rap, hip-hop, musical theater, and folk music. This inventive mixture, not a clumsily through-composed work as with Lloyd Webber, adds a unique and exciting dimension to the production, reminiscent of the dynamic storytelling in DREAMGIRLS. This musical diversity alone is a remarkable achievement.

Isabella Campos leads the solid cast as Reina, the Dorothy character who begins a road trip at 17. This actress is a wonder with a great career ahead of her. Singing, acting, and movement are infused with the power of Reina’s dream. She binds the cast together and presents a beautiful performance. Right up there is Arusi Santi, who narrates the story, plays acoustic guitar and inventively inhabits several minor characters, including the Wizard, who has been reimagined as a border coyote. The actor’s warmth and accessible communication with the audience is unforgettable. The rest of the cast memorably appears in many roles, with Jerreme Rodriguez as a banana farmer who longs for a college education (a brain) and Bobby Plasencia as a drunken innkeeper who misses his family (a heart) who has relocated to some faraway place called Malvern, PA. This trio of travelers on the not-so-yellow path to a new future is abetted with a showstopping turn by Gloria Vivica Benavides, a nun with nonreligious visions of America. Ariana Valdes holds down the drama with emotional songs as the mother who is abandoned by her daughter and forced to raise the infant son.

The production, directed by Laura Alcala Baker, is fantastic. Chelsea M. Warren has designed a cleverly effective pop-up unit set for many locations, ably complemented by Joe Spinogatti’s projections and films, which transports out of El Salvador to an exciting road trip vibe. Damian E. Dominguez’s costumes add depth and excitement to the event. Stefanie Senior’s sound design and the lighting by Cat Wilson enhance the fear and terror the characters experience as the dream turns violent in the final sequences.

A few caveats. The lyrics are frequently difficult to understand, coming in at about 60% intelligibility. This could mean the words look better on paper than in the theater, or the cast could be urged to enunciate a bit more when singing.

The pure joy of the first 90 minutes is let down in the final half hour. This is a real dramaturgical challenge for the writer because much of the point of the play’s theme is that there is no Wizard in America, only a life of disappointment and struggle, all in the distant hope of a better future. The author banishes most of the cast from this sequence and throws all the pathos to Reina, which is more than the outstanding actress and audience can expect. I wish she had, at this point, a real anthem that would combine the experience’s joy and pain and the vision of the rainbow of America. That would genuinely complete the narrative. Still, the audience at the curtain call applauded powerfully for an unqualified success.

The People’s Light program describes the Malvern area as “purplish.” If the question of immigration on the Southern Border is that locally contentious, the playwright, director, and cast are performing a genuine service to our divided country as we enter the new 1938.,

RUNNING TIME: 2 hours with an intermission.

SOMEWHERE OVER THE BORDER is presented through August 11, by People’s Light Theatre at 39 Conestoga Road, Malvern, PA. Tickets can be obtained at peopleslight.org or by calling 610-644-3500.

Review by Neal Newman

May 22, 2024

Is life based on logic, probability, and scientific truth, or is it just a shower of pachinko balls? (Says the author.)  Are we the cue balls in a billiard game played by monkeys? (Says me.)  These are some of the many questions and ideas that streak through this play, OFF BY ONE, now showing at People’s Light. There are so many themes running through Joseph Dougherty’s play that one is tempted to run out and buy a copy to peruse them all lovingly. But it’s a world premiere, so I’ll have to wait.

The title could mean many things, but the plot device OFF BY ONE describes this: A woman hears that a not-very-famous poet has died and tries to text his son to tell him how memorable his father was. But the phone number is off by one number, so the text goes to a stranger who is curious enough to travel to a used bookstore to find an out-of-print copy of the poet’s book. Then, she calls the woman back and suggests a meeting. The stranger’s new boyfriend is appalled at this conduct since this contradicts his view of life, which is that random strange events should be ignored for more important things.

The poet, Douglas Roote, is played by David Strathairn, the renowned film star (LINCOLN, NIGHTMARE ALLEY, and many John Sayles movies.)

His performance, under the direction of longtime friend and colleague Abigail Adams, is truly astounding. The character is, as described by dramaturg Len Berkman, a man of “humble grandeur.” and as written by Dougherty, is also disarmingly funny. He lives in what is almost a shack on the shore of Long Island Sound. “My son wants me to live with him in New Jersey, but I know I’ll die on the Long Island Expressway. Anyone who dies there goes immediately to hell.” Douglas is truly a poet, but he isn’t writing much now. He once won the Pulitzer Prize and accepted it even though “I “hate the work of everyone else who won it.” 

But most of his musings are from his humble workroom (most of the play has him speaking to either himself or us) and offer challenging profundities. Through many musings about old age, he remarks that he doesn’t know if he is asleep or awake (I’ll vouch for the truth of that one). He sees dragons and turtles that turn out to be other things. He marvels poetically about building a bonfire by the ocean and imagines death as a passenger in a plane making a landing. 

Strathairn’s performance is a wonder of variety, resulting from a lifetime of outstanding performances. His voice caresses Daughtery’s poetry even as he is complaining and curmudgeonly. He skillfully and masterfully dominates the entire evening. Director Adams has also surrounded herself with old friends on the design team. Daniel Zimmerman’s set admirably contrasts the rundown beach house with suburban Los Angeles, where the other characters live. The lighting of Dennis Parichy creates an unreal world that pinpoints the three locations, while Carsen Joenk’s sound illuminates the ocean and shore where Douglas lives.

The number and complexity of thematic ideas are overwhelming. If I had a suggestion, it would be that Douglas is so interesting and unique that the other characters seem reduced to voicing the author’s various arguments. Their conflicts and personalities are not yet believable or exciting. I found the friendship between the texter and the stranger hard to accept. The current attempts to give them personal attributes are not as vital as they might be.

There was one powerful speech about the reality resulting from our current political corruption. The politicians say, “The world we know as the round is flat, and the moon is paper mâché and only three miles away.” It’s fascinating, but I have no idea why this belongs in the play. But I can’t blame the actors or the author—only myself. I’ll wait for that long evening that I’ll spend reading the play. Strathairn and Adams have created quite an event.

RUNNING TIME: 100 minutes with no intermission.

OFF BY ONE runs through July 7 at People’s Light at 39 Conestoga Road, Malvern, PA. Tickets can be obtained at peopleslight.org or by calling 610-644-3500.

Review by Neal Newman

May 31, 2024

MOON OVER BUFFALO is being given a nearly flawless farce production. The design, direction, and cast achieve the madcap mania farce demands, which is not easy to do and sustain for two hours. The Candlelight Dinner Theatre’s production is so well done that one hardly notices the faults in Ken Ludwig’s play. You are too busy laughing.

George and Charlotte are two married has-been actors. They are a sort of Buffalo, New York version of Lunt/Fontanne, who fondly remember their minor careers starring in second-rate monster movies. The couple has never had the opportunity to prove themselves and are now, in 1953, trapped in this upstate tank town, performing PRIVATE LIVES and a 6-character version of CYRANO. The farce action ignites when they are contacted by famed director Frank Capra as possible film replacements for Ronald Coleman and Greer Garson. 

Farce is filled with misunderstanding, mistaken identity, and robust physical action, usually involving carefully timed entrances through the many doors of the setting. The actors succeed admirably under the powerful direction of Jessica Bostock. Charlotte (Heather Plank) doesn’t imitate Carol Burnett, who famously created the role, but finds her own daffiness, especially when berating her husband George (Steve Connor} for his affair with a young actress (Molly Hofstaedter). Plank admirably executes the double take caused by her mistaking a TV weatherman (William McHattie) for the famed director. As the husband, Steve Connor is given much of the physical action, which he handles easily. He is also convincing as a ham classical actor though not as a possible replacement for Ronald Coleman. He spends most of the second act amusingly drunk, which must have been much funnier when the play premiered in 1994 than it is today. Neena Boyle, as their daughter Roz, who hated the theater life, has a smashing moment when she is forced to perform the opening scene of PRIVATE LIVES by herself when the indisposed father fails to appear. Jared Calhoun and Paul Weagraff are fine farceurs as suitors to Roz and Charlotte. 

The curtain call elicited the loudest cheers for Susan Giddings as Ethel, the nearly deaf mother of Charlotte. She has a thrilling baritone voice, which she quietly uses to rain scorn upon the others. Her quiet brilliance balances the craziness beautifully. The entire company performs as a well-timed machine, as it should.

The evening is completed by the colorful set by Matthew J. Kator (all those posters and doors), the multi-era costumes of Donyl, the clear farce lighting by Max Redman, and the period wigs by Clayton Stacey.

Ken Ludwig is a skilled builder of the farce machine, and is an enormously successful playwright with amateur groups. His farces frequently feature gentle satires of theater, opera, and film. But remember, this is a “boulevard comedie”, not a genuine classic like THE ROYAL FAMILY or SLINGS AND ARROWS, which admittedly are not farces but character comedies. However, if you hunger for a professional evening of theater with a fine dinner, you will be amply rewarded.

RUNNING TIME: Two hours, including intermission.

MOON OVER BUFFALO runs through June 16 at The Candlelight Dinner Theatre, 2208 Millers Rd, Wilmington, DE. Tickets can be obtained at boxofficecandlelightde.org or by calling 302 475 2313.

Review by Neal Newman

May 26, 2024

The Sunday afternoon performance of THE PROM at Steel River Playhouse was a smash. The audience howled with laughter and joy as the production, directed by David Williams, scored success after success with design, music, choreography, and performances. And it’s terrifically written musically as well.

THE PROM is based on the true story of a Mississippi teenager who informed her high school authorities that her prom date would be another girl and she would dress in a tuxedo. The horrified officials then canceled the prom rather than face any legal compilations. The bookwriters for the musical (Bob Martin and Chad Beguelin) took this idea and added a little showbiz pizzaz.

This plot now brings the New Yorkers in collision with the local natives, whom they refer to as “rednecks” and “hicks.” Then, they meet the two teenage lesbians, Emma and Alyssa, who are outcasts by the townspeople, except for the kindly high school principal,

THE PROM opens at Sardi’s with the opening of a flop musical. Dee Dee is a two-time Tony Award winner on the Downward Skids. Like a typical diva., she believes the world revolves around her and lacks empathy for anyone else. Her costar, Barry, is the typical outré theater gay with the same misconceptions. They are joined by Trent, a waiter who believes his Julliard credentials prove he is a great actor though he has a tendency always to act. Also, there is Angie, a newly unemployed chorus girl. These enormously self-involved narcissists decide to revive their careers by doing a good deed for society (and themselves.)  So off they go to Indiana, where the local prom has been canceled.

Bob Martin and Chad Beguelin’s book is one of the drollest ever. Like FORUM or MORMAN, every line seems to elicit honest laughter. Amazingly, this gives the characters unexpected depth and adds a profound poignancy. This is difficult to achieve, but remember that Bob Martin co-created and co-wrote the most outstanding theatrical narcissism/pain work, the beloved mini-series SLINGS AND ARROWS.

Matthew Sklar’s varied composing is up to the comic genius of the book, with upbeat anthems praising the theater and tender ballads for the “hicks.” In this short excerpt, Dee Dee explains that her visit to a red state is purely selfless:

                                                                   I wanna tell the people of

                                                                   Whatever this town’s now called

I know what’s going on

                                                          And frankly, I’m appalled.

Stealing the rights of a girl

       I                                                         Who is an LGBQ-Teen

                                                I’ve been far too angry to google what those letters mean.

Yes, it’s that funny!

One of the outstanding achievements of David Williams’ direction is how the performers divide the red and blue states: the teen heroines (Edwina Vargas and Naysa Felix) and their principal (Adam Dienner). sing and act with quiet honesty, in contrast to the New Yorkers who will chew any stage anywhere. Donna Dougherty’s Dee Dee nails every comic bit and somehow wins the audience’s heart. Trent (Tyler Macready) and Angie (Alyssa Dienner) mine every nugget of gold in their roles, while Hunter Chandeayne is a first-rate Barry. But I have one suggestion for Barry: hold back on your marvelous energy in the first act. Then, when you have the eleven o’clock number “Barry Goes To Prom”, pull out all the stops and surprise the audience when they discover you have so much more to give. All community theaters should consider THE PROM. There’s an excellent script, great music, and many memorable smaller roles, all superbly cast here.

Barbara Newberry conducts the “hot” orchestra with excellent singing throughout, credited to musical director Jake Leonowitz. Scenic and lighting designer Dakota Adams gives the show all the needed theatrical energy, variety, and tenderness, even though the script demands more settings than a small theater can comfortably provide.

Special kudos to customer Teal Knight and Choreographer Amanda Morrell. Their work together approaches memorable with the worst possible “let your freak flag fly” rendition of GODSPELL” ever. That’s a compliment. The theatrical coup comes with the two proms. The first, at the end of the first act, reveals the town’s clunky bad taste, with the worst costumes and dance imaginable. It’s no spoiler to reveal they reverse it in Act Two. Morrell’s dances show the influence of Fosse (Zazz), GODSPELL, and pure musical theater (Love Thy Neighbor). Knight’s costumes include the Indiana Christian majority, the suburban teenagers, and the glitz expected of good old New York..

Steel River has powerfully contributed to the community with this production. We are a swing state and more polarized than ever before. Everyone is a little bit intolerant. The performance reminds me of Charles Ludlam, who asked why there were so many “straights” at his high-camp productions. His answer was, “We are all united by laughter.”

 THE PROM runs through June 9,” at Steel River Playhouse, 245 E. High Street, Pottstown, PA. Tickets can be obtained at www.steelriver.org or by calling 610-970-1199.

Review by Neal Newman

May 22, 2024

Bristol Riverside Theatre is offering something special by presenting the touring company of THE SECOND CITY. This edition, entitled COMEDIAN RHAPSODY, directed by Anne Libera, gives those unable to visit Chicago the opportunity to see this famed ensemble. The good news is that this edition has the expected quota of very talented performer/improvisers. The training program at Second City’s home base is rigorous, and this group covered all the basics of their unique improv into sketch concoction. The company asks for suggestions from the audience and then improvises a scene on the spot. If the scene has possibilities, it is rehearsed and placed into a later performance. The cast members are Rich Alfonso, Kennedy Baldwin, Anna Bortnick, Karl Bradley, Claire Favret, and Ross Taylor. Bristol Riverside has provided an attractive theatre/front set, designed by Andrew Deppen, that is worlds ahead of the Second City’s usual black curtain or the wall of doors.                                   

This version was light on the improv and heavy on the sketches. This was a good idea as the Bristol Theater is unsuitable for audience interaction. The stage seems far away and is designed for typical standard plays. Improv works best in a more intimate venue, preferably containing little tables with big drinks on them. Understandably, the group had to work overtime to obtain suggestions and were relieved to receive any assistance. I also made the error of visiting on Wednesday afternoon, which any improviser will tell you is never the liveliest performance.

The sketches were funny but light compared to what I was used to as a Second City visitor on my every trip to Chicago. The Chicago troupe produced extensive laughter with potentially offensive, off-color, pop-culture, and political subjects. Evidently, the tour plays it very safely, which makes sense. Our country is so polarized that what is funny to one tour stop might be brutally offensive to another. The scenes were well done, including a blind date where the lady is accompanied by her own Greek chorus (who don’t like the guy.)  There was also a memorable moment where a 10-year-old girl rants her parents for being so boring. They were.

This is the final presentation in the famed playhouse. The house is set for a complete renovation. In the meantime, BRP will present two-character plays like THE GIN GAME in a much smaller venue three miles away. Bon Voyage old home, welcome new.

COMEDIAN RHAPSODY plays through June 2 at Bristol Riverside Theatre, 120 Radcliffe Street, Bristol, PA. Tickets can be obtained at brtstage.org or by calling 215-785-0100.