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“Excessive” Production of “Lysistrata” Is “Riotously Funny Show”

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Lysistrata

By Aristophanes
Directed by Julane Havens

Reviewed by Craig Nolan Highley

Entire contents are copyright © 2012, Craig Nolan Highley.  All rights reserved.

The Savage Rose Classical Theatre Company has carved its own niche in the Louisville theater community by producing classic theatre in a format accessible to modern audiences. Like any company, they’ve had their hits and misses. But for the most part, they have earned a well-deserved respect for their contribution to the arts. Your appreciation for any given production by the company will largely depend on your taste in the material and your tolerance for the indulgences by each show’s director.

That is definitely the case with their latest offering, Aristophanes’ nearly 2,500-year-old sex comedy, Lysistrata. Buoyed by a strong cast and great production values, it is a riotously funny show if you can get past some truly excessive ideas by its director.

It’s a fairly straightforward plot. Fed up with the mess their husbands are making of their lives and lifestyles during the Peloponnesian War, the women of several ancient Greek city states, under the leadership of the title character, vow to deny sex to their husbands until all war is ended. This obviously doesn’t go over well with the men, and a new battle is waged – a war between the sexes.

The opening scene promises an evening of truly great theater as Lysistrata (Lauren Argo) confides her plans with her dear friend Calonice (Natalie Fields), and continues on with the arrival of the other women. This version of Aristophanes’ classic (by an unaccredited translator) cleverly combines modern slang and profanity with the original text, elevating the humor and keeping it comprehensible to an audience unused to the flowery speech of Greek theater.

Then the men arrive, and the show takes a sharp left turn into the absurd from which it never quite comes back.

Of the production’s many over-the-top sexual sight gags, the one that quickly becomes tiresome is the one that pervades the evening. Every male character sports a gigantic, misshapen, purple-headed papier-mâché penis. This is riotously funny the first time you see it, but after a few minutes it becomes distracting, and then just complete overkill as every male actor appears that way every time he walks onstage. I’m not sure what director Julane Havens was going for here, as the only comparable reference in Aristophanes’ original text comes late in the play, when two of the male characters sport a “burden” (a noticeable bulge in their pants – the playwright didn’t even use the term “erection”). It just seems to be the lowest type of humor you’d expect to see aimed at undiscriminating 13-year-old boys.

Similarly, late in the play the character of Women’s Chorus Leader (Nick Smith) appears as a drag queen. It’s a clever idea, but Havens again takes it a step too far: the drag performer is still sporting one of those gigantic prosthetic penises. Why? It’s a blatant grab for big laughs where it isn’t necessary, doesn’t make sense, and seems to be ripped off of the climax of every Hurricane Summers performance at Connections; only this time the climax is the whole performance.  Smith is a seasoned drag performer and plays the role well, and it’s a shame to see any of these performers upstaged by pointless (and by this point in the show, no longer funny) sight gags.

Excessive indulgences aside, however, the show still manages to entertain. While I do wish Havens would have trusted the text and the performances of her fantastic cast to bring out the inherent bawdiness of Aristophanes’ script without descending into John Waters territory, the small audience in attendance with me was quite obviously entertained. And with good reason:  the cast boasted some truly outstanding performances by everyone involved.

As Lysistrata, Argo totally immerses herself in the character and never takes this strong-willed woman over the top. Fields likewise imbues Calonice with a realism that is both funny and well timed; this is a character I want to be friends and dish with! While I wish Ryan Watson, as the Men’s Chorus Leader, would dial back the hysterics just a notch, he was completely believable as a blue-balled husband desperate for the conflict to end. And probably the most believable performance of the evening was by Zach Burrell as Cinesias, a young man pleading for his wife to end the conflict and make love to him. His plight was so funny and pitiable he almost pulled focus away from the giant phallus strapped to his groin (sorry to go there again, but those damned papier-mâché penises were that distracting).

The rest of the cast was also very strong, with some nice moments by the likes of Casandre Medel, Meg Caudill and Brian West, among others.

Props must also be given to the costume design by Shana Lincoln, the lighting and sound design by J. Barrett Cooper, and the set by Havens and Alec Volz. It all comes together to create beautiful visuals. And my earlier complaints aside, I would be doing director Havens a disservice not to mention that she has elicited a series of remarkable performances from her cast and keeps the proceedings moving at a brisk pace that keeps the comedy front and center.

Again, your appreciation for this production will really depend on your tolerance for cheap sex jokes and a few gross-out moments. But it’s still a fun show and deserves an audience. Check it out!

Lysistrata

Starring Polina Abramov, Lauren Argo, Melinda Beck, Zach Burrell, Meg Caudill, Hallie Kirk Dizdarevic, Natalie Fields, Kate Holland, Casandre Medel, Ben Park, Ainsley Peace, Emily Pike, Tony Pike, Monty Priddy, Tony Prince, Mike Slaton, Nick Smith, Sabrina Spalding, Ryan Watson and Brian West.

December 6 - 15

The Savage Rose Classical Theatre Company
The MeX Theatre, The Kentucky Center
501 West Main Street
Louisville, KY 40202
502-584-7777


Little Colonel Returns to The Nibroc Trilogy with A Solid Production of “Gulf View Drive”

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Gulf View Drive

By Arlene Hutton
Directed by Martha Frazier

Reviewed by Keith Waits

Entire contents are copyright © 2012, Keith Waits. All rights reserved.

Kelly Patton and Garret Patton appear in Gulf View Drive.
Photo courtesy of Little Colonel Playhouse.

Last season, Little Colonel Players mounted a thoughtful production of Last Train to Nibroc, the first in a trilogy of plays by Arlene Hutton charting the relationship of Raleigh and May, a young couple from Kentucky who meet during World War II. Now comes the final chapter, Gulf View Drive, with the same two actors who so successfully portrayed these characters the first time:  Garret and Kelly Patton.

A program note explains that it was decided not to mount the second play, See Rock City, because it was deemed to be too sad and unresolved, with the couple apparently separated, uncertain about whether they have a future together. Audiences are not always easy to come by, so it is difficult to fault companies for choosing as much for the marketplace as for artistic gratification. But I must confess disappointment at the missed opportunity of following the story through all three plays, especially since they have done a pretty good job once again.

We catch up to the couple in 1953, which positions the trilogy as neatly encapsulating the American post-war period on the cusp of Eisenhower-era prosperity. They are now married and living on the gulf coast of Florida with May’s mother, and Raleigh’s mother has come for an extended visit. After his sister Treva arrives to escape a troubled marriage, the stress and strain of Raleigh and May’s relationship begin to be explored in earnest, allowing the playwright to explore a moving family dynamic. What results is a scenario that finds satisfying dramatic resolution while forecasting societal changes that are still part of the social and political discourse today.

Garrett and Kelly Patton bring some of the same deep understanding of Raleigh and May that characterized their first attack on this couple, although the inclusion of other characters dilutes the impact slightly. Grace Poganski does well by Mrs. Brummett (Raleigh’s mother), but she is hampered somewhat by the writer’s insistence on grounding this character in tired mother-in-law clichés that are the one truly weak aspect of the writing. It provides for some laughs and Ms. Patton, in particular, plays off Ms. Polanski’s well-turned judgmental barbs with great subtlety; but it remains a weakness.

As May’s mother, Mrs. Gill – who lives with the couple – Janet Morris finds the (comparatively) free spirit and compassion of the character, illustrating a sharp contrast between the two mother hens. Finally, Kristina Ramsey attacks the role of Treva with great energy that threatens to overcome the character but still manages to illuminate the conflicts within a complex and self-absorbed woman grappling with her own domestic troubles.

Although the early scenes suffered a few stumbled line readings and dropped cues, the overall pace of Martha Frazier’s staging was brisk, moving at just the right speed to allow the audience to connect with the characters.

Gulf View Drive

December 6, 7, 8, 14 & 15 at 8 p.m.
December 9 & 16 at 2:30 p.m.

Little Colonel Playhouse
302 Mount Mercy Drive
Crestwood, KY 40014
(502) 241-9906
littlecolonel.org

If Silliness Is Important When Choosing a Play to See for Christmas, Try These “Kings of Christmas”

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The cast of The Kings of Christmas. Photo courtesy of The Bard's Town.



The Kings of Christmas

Written by Doug Schutte
Directed by Doug Schutte & Scot Atkinson

By Carlos-Manuel

Copyright © 2012 Carlos Manuel. All rights reserved.

It is the “Holiday Season” or “Christmas Time,” if you prefer. So, you say you want to go out and get in the spirit of the season by attending the theatre. You look online or in a magazine and you see there are several Christmas themed productions going on. Suddenly you find yourself having to make choices.

Forget about A Christmas Carol. It’s old and we all already know the story. Besides, it is cheesy and after all these years, it’s becoming a bore. Then you see A Christmas Story, another staple of the American Christmas popular culture. But hey, why pay money to go see something that you can actually see for free in the comfort of your own home? Besides, the staged show is exactly as the movie; really, there is nothing magical about it.

Suddenly you run your finger or your cursor over a title: The Kings of Christmas, an original show produced by The Bard’s Town Theatre and written by theatre founder, Doug Schutte.

You don’t know what the play is about. But there is a disclaimer: “This show contains language that may not be suitable for children.” That is a good sign because: (a)at least you know it won’t be cheesy; and (b) it has been done only once before. The show promises to be fresh, exciting and, according to the description, it is “brisk, irreverent, laugh-fill-fun,” turning the “Scrooge-iest types with holiday cheers.”

You decide to go see it, arrive at the theater, get yourself a couple of drinks, taking one with you into the performing space (one of the great advantages of going to see shows at The Bard’s Town), and settle into your reserved seat to be ready for craziness.

And crazy fun it is. From the beginning to the end, the show is packed with witty one-liners, over-the-top characters, and a plot that can only be conjured by someone who understands the meaning of theatricality.

These types of plays require a group of actors and a director who have a certain affinity with camp and melodrama mixed with a slight touch of sincerity. Luckily, the author, who also acts as a co-director, gathered a fine group of “leave-it-all-out-on-the-stage” actors who are not afraid to move beyond realism.

Mr. Schutte plays Uncle Frank; he opens the play with a monologue very much a la Christopher Duran: the writing, the delivery, the exaggeration all fit in within such realm.  He sets the pace and the mood for the rest of the cast, who easily follow his timing and energy.

The show is about The King Family, who are gathering together for yet another infamous Christmas celebration. They’ve done this for the last 10 years and have never missed it – no matter what. All would be okay if it wasn’t for Carter, the oldest of the children, played by Scot Atkinson who also has the double duty of co-directing. Carter is bitter, angry and disillusioned and has created a hard shell around him to protect himself from everyone. But on this particular Christmas visit, things are going to be different, of course. His life becomes a topsy-turvy series of events, each of them more outrageous than the next. And as audience members, we accept each of those events, mainly because the playwright has introduced a group of strange characters who have assuredly established their ‘weirdness’ from the very beginning.

Jake Beamer plays Kennedy, a wannabe magician (like his father) who is bad at everything magical yet believes he is better than Harry Potter. Harry Potter (as we all know) isn’t real but, apparently, to Kennedy, he is. Ben Gierhart portrays Clinton, the nerdy scientist son who isn’t very bright. Then we have Beth Tantanella as Wendy, the neighbor’s daughter. She is beautiful, sultry and very much infatuated (actually borderline obsessed) with Carter. And, finally, there is Jennifer Levine, playing the role of Carol King, the head of the family who has developed a double personality in order to deal with certain realities and issues. Of the lot, the weakest of them all is Ms. Levine, who doesn’t quite seem to find the character of Mrs. King. Having two personalities might be fun, but the duality isn’t explored as much as it could have been. I do understand she’s aware, as is everyone else in her family, that she’s pretending to be someone else. But, still, I didn’t believe her character at all, except in one of the flashback scenes where she wears a sparkling red dress and she seems to be “younger, prettier and happier.”

The first act seems very random and heading nowhere fast. In fact, there were times where I personally lost interest, either because “it was too silly” to care for the moment, or because I sort of knew what was coming. This could be dangerous, because if as an audience member you become bored, you might end up leaving at intermission, which is exactly what happened with the two couples seated next to me. The second act is more concrete; it explains how things happen and why they happened the way they did. In short, it brings logic to what seems to be missing in act one.

To make sense of the Kings’ family life, the playwright borrows the premise from A Christmas Carol, where a ghost comes to warn Carter about other ghosts coming to visit him. Things do not happen exactly as in the Dickens classic, but the main idea of going to the past, to the present and the future do follow suite. Then, at the end, with just enough sincerity to make us believe in Christmas once again, Carter’s protective wall breaks down, making him into someone who loves, feels and cares for everyone in his family, including Wendy.

Like the two couples who left, I personally did not like, or enjoy, everything about the show. But the audience (full house) who wasthere was in an uproar throughout the performance. This is mainly because the actors embraced their characters to the fullest and did not shy away from the silliness of it all.

So, if you want to go see a Christmas show this holiday season, pick The Kings of Christmas because it is silly, outrageous and well-acted. You won’t learn anything from it, but you won’t be disappointed either because the show is very entertaining. And if you have a couple of drinks beforehand, the show is even better.

The Kings of Christmas

December 13-16, 20-23 (all shows at 7:30). These shows typically sell out prior to the day of show. Tickets are $15, with $10 tickets for students and seniors.

The Bard’s Town
1801 Bardstown Road
Louisville, KY 40205

Faith, Life, Schnapps and the Apocalypse Embraced in "The Last Hanukkah Christmas"

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Matt Orme and Jamissa Spalding in The Last Hanakkuh Christmas.
Photo courtesy of Bunbury Theatre.

The Last Hanukkah Christmas

By Juergen K. Tossman
Directed by Juergen K. Tossman

Review by Rachel White

Entire contents are copyright 2012, Rachel White.  All rights reserved.

An aging holocaust survivor confined to a wheel chair, Klaus Klurman (Matt Orme) finds himself trapped in his basement with no knowledge of how he got there on Hanukkah Christmas.  Also with him is his former student and friend, Hyman Goldstein (Juergen K. Tossman), who is dead. When Klaus tries to escape the basement, Goldstein dryly points out that Klaus cannot go up the basement steps in his wheel chair. It’s a nifty little trap the author has created for Klaus. He is now a captive audience to the ghosts of his past, limburger cheese and apparently anyone who wants to escape the apocalypse that happens to be going on outside.

I came into The Last Hanukkah Christmas completely unaware that it was a series, but from hearing the audience’s reactions and their seeming familiarity with the story I soon picked up on it. I won’t say it didn’t take a lot of work and listening to understand who was who, but I got it.

The first act of the play is pretty engaging, and it’s always exciting to bear witness to a new play on opening night. The basement set is spare, but it is detailed with the odds and ends of Klaus’s life, which makes it feel like it belongs to someone specific. Klaus and Hyman are strong characters, and they joke around and share stories together. It is clear that they are old sparring partners, and their relationship as mentor and student is rich and compelling. There is a sense that they need something from one another. The plot is then further complicated by Klaus’s fear of death, the question of whether or not this is all Klaus’s hallucination, and of course the impending 2012 apocalypse.    

This is where things got a little messy in terms of story structure.  As the second act unfolds, the apocalypse comes into full swing and friends of Klaus begin showing up in the basement seeking shelter from the events transpiring outside. These characters include Greeda (Alyssa Tyne), a pregnant ex-prostitute; a cheerful albeit slow southern bumpkin, Fred (Mike Burmester); and an old family friend, Twilight (Jamisa Spalding).  They come in cheerfully bearing gifts of bread, schnapps and Limburger cheese. Klaus gives them advice, shares stories with them, and enjoys their company. But the plot – the reason why these characters are here, why they need each other – seemed to get lost. 

Part of the problem is that the question of how these characters found their way to Klaus’s basement and why they seem unsurprised by the doom spreading outside is never addressed. Characters seem unfazed by the fact that the world might end tonight. Had the reality of the apocalypse been embraced, the questions of faith, religion and how we treat ourselves, our unborn and each other would have come to the surface in a natural way as they often do in times of crisis and high emotion. 

As it is, characters seem to come and go as needed without a lot of difficulty or motivation, and this make potentially powerful moments seem overly trite or out of place.

There are some rich possibilities within the play, and what the author does well is introduce new and interesting conflicts into the mix. However, a lot of these didn’t get developed or were passed over, so their significance was lost.   

In one moment, Klaus advises Greeda, almost pleads with her, not to drink while pregnant to give her baby a chance. There was something there that the writer was really feeling, but the girl takes Klaus’s advice so quickly and without question that the scene felt unbelievable.

It seemed that Klaus had many things to teach these people. And my question became, What could he learn from them? The holocaust survivor is symbolic as the one who has witnessed ultimate horror. But what about the pregnant ex-prostitute?  What about the others?  The cheerfully dull country boy?  Is there more to them?  It made me wonder if they too had something to teach as well as to learn during what is (hopefully) not our last Hanukkah Christmas season.


The Last Hanukkah Christmas

December 13-23
Bunbury Theatre
at The Henry Clay Theatre
604 South Third Street
Louisville, KY 40202
(502) 585-5306
www.bunburytheatre.org
bunburytheatre@gmail.com



12 Questions for an Actor: Keith McGill

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Actor and Stand-up Comic Keith McGill

Keith McGill is an actor and stand-up comedian active for several years in Louisville and the surrounding area. Locally he has worked with The Louisville Improvisors, Walden Theatre, and the Actors’ Theatre New Voices Playwriting Program for Young People. As well as being popular internationally on Royal Caribbean Cruises, Keith has appeared on BET and CMT, and is a Bob and Tom Show favorite, as well as a much sought-after entertainer for corporate events. This month, he will be available to audiences in the Actor’s Choice production of Topdog/Underdog opening January 10. http://keithmcgill.com/
Entire contents are copyright © 2013 Arts-Louisville. All rights reserved

1.    You work as a stand-up comic and as an actor. Which came first?

I was an actor first because I wanted to be on stage and acting seemed most accessible at the time.  But I’d always been the “class clown” type and I was really drawn to comedy, so I went to an open mike and gave it a try.  Now I’m lucky enough to do both.

2.    What inspires you?

Really good actors and stand up comics.  I feel so lucky to be in the same profession as Louis CK or Helen Mirren or Jim Gaffigan or Robert DeNiro.  Because I teach, I get inspired every day by kids who find their potential on stage or just in front of a classroom.

3.    What was your first professional job as a comic?

When I first started out, I did twenty minutes during a band break at a bar mitzvah.

4.    As an actor, what has been your favorite role?

That’s a hard one because I love every role, especially when I’m doing it.  Right now I’m working on TOPDOG/UNDERDOG as Lincoln and having a great time.

5.    What has been your least favorite role?

My first acting role was a period piece where I played scenery. Literally.  There was a bunch of us rolling around on the floor in Lycra bags playing rocks and trees.

6.    What is your dream role?

The next one I get hired for.  It’s just so great to be chosen and get to do this all the time.  I just want to keep doing it whatever the role.

7.    What is the best direction you have ever been given?

A director once said to me simply, “I don’t believe you.”  In other words, stop “acting.”  I use that same direction all the time when I direct.

8.    What is the worst? 

I was in a play where I was given almost no direction so I thought I was doing ok.  After final dress, the director says, “Keith I feel like your doing a completely different play than everyone else.”  What was I supposed to do—fix it overnight?  Where were you for the rest of rehearsal?  But that let me know that you can overcome even the harshest critics.  By the way, that was the same director that gave me my best direction.

9.    Who is your favorite playwright?

Toss up.  Tennessee Williams and August Wilson.

10.What makes the local theatre scene so strong?

We support each other so well here.  You always see actors and directors from other companies going to see each other’s shows.  And now with events like the Slant Culture Festival at Walden, we’re coming together even more.

11.What are its weaknesses? 

We need more spaces to do shows.  The Bard’s Town has been a great addition. And I saw Savage Rose’s Macbeth at a modified Iroquois (Parkside Studio at Iroquois Amphitheatre).  So we seem to be working that out.

12.If you couldn’t be an actor, what would be your choice as a profession?

I would teach maybe. I like being there when “the light comes on.” When some kid gets it for the first time, or something he or she already knew about himself or herself is honored.

Keith McGill in rehearsal for Topdog/Underdog.
Photo courtesy of Actors Choice Theatre.
Actor’s Choice, Presenting TOPDOG/UNDERDOG with Keith McGill and Brian Lee West 
January 10-20, 2013
https://www.facebook.com/events/349510168479715/

Savage Rose Announces Fifth Season Line-up: “The Season of Storms.”

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J. Barrett Cooper & Jenni Cochran in Savage Rose's
recent production of Macbeth. Photo by Harlan Taylor.
By Keith Waits

Entire contents copyright © 2013, Keith Waits, all rights reserved.

At a public event January 6 at The Bard’s Town Theatre, Savage Rose Classical Theatre Company announced the line-up for its fifth season. Even though there are slightly fewer productions than in past years, a focus on the works of William Shakespeare and a simple, elemental theme promise to make it a memorable season.

Entitled “The Season of Storms,” for the recurring motif of foul weather events that appear in the three Shakespeare plays, the season will open in November with Savage Rose’s inclusion in the 2nd Annual SLANT Culture Theatre Festival at Walden Theatre, where Anton Chekhov’s The Marriage Proposal will be directed by Tony Prince.

As for the Shakespeare, in December Charlie Sexton will helm Twelfth Night, followed by King Lear in March directed by company founder J. Barrett Cooper, and The Tempest in June directed by company member Kelly Moore. Although she has acted in several productions, and plays a key administrative role in Savage Rose, this will be Ms. Moore’s first time directing a main stage production for the company.

King Lear will also provide an opportunity to recognize veteran actor Monte Priddy with a lead role. After a lifetime playing numerous roles in nearly every one of Shakespeare’s plays, mostly for Kentucky Shakespeare but for the past two seasons with Savage Rose, the formidable title role in one of the Bard’s greatest plays should be a treat for Mr. Priddy’s many fans.

Exact dates and venues for each show will be announced at a later time. Founded in 2009, the Savage Rose Classical Theatre Company has gained a reputation for quality that has positioned it as THE home of the classics in Louisville. The mission statement spells it out:

“This company wishes to bring to the city of Louisville, and the region, vibrant classical theatre by showing its relevancy to the modern audience. Savage Rose Classical Theatre Company will strive to bring the words of playwrights to the forefront in clear yet provocative and dynamic productions with which we hope to enlighten and entertain.

With the plays of Shakespeare and the Elizabethan and Jacobean playwrights as the backbone of its repertoire, this company will explore classical works ranging from the Greeks, the French Neo-Classicist, the English Restoration, 19th Century Melodrama, Grand Guignol, up to and including our Modern Classics.”

Thoughtful Production of “Topdog/Underdog” Is a Worthwhile Beginning to the New Year in Louisville Theatre

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Topdog/Underdog

By Suzan-Lori Parks
Directed by Kathi E.B. Ellis

Reviewed by Keith Waits.

Entire contents copyright © 2013, Keith Waits, all rights reserved.

Brian Lee West and Keith McGill in rehearsal.
Photo courtesy of Actor's Choice.

As a new year begins and stages that have been dark begin filling with exciting new productions,Louisville audiences are now presented with another important American play. Topdog/Underdog follows the recent ATL production of Sam Shepard’s True West, which also charts a difficult and destructive fraternal relationship in a confining space. Suzan Lori-Parks’ play won the Pulitzer Prize in 2002; and while it may be imagined that it owes something to the earlier Shepard work, Ralph Ellison is perhaps the more important influence.

Essentially, Topdog/Underdogis a microcosmic exploration of the same theme of anonymity in the identity of the African-American male that Ellison so profoundly develops in his novel The Invisible Man. The brothers in Topdog were named “Lincoln” and “Booth” as a joke by their father, but the historical monikers symbolize the lack of a singular identity for these two men. Lincoln even works in an arcade attraction portraying Abraham Lincoln in a scene depicting his assassination. The fact that he worries he may be replaced by a mannequin underscores the disposable and interchangeable roles people of color have been forced to play in American culture.

This is my second encounter with the play, and the thoughtful reading it is given here allowed me to more fully appreciate the depth and complexity of the text. Keith McGill’s Lincoln at first takes great pride in his performance in the arcade but eventually is disgusted by its meaning. And in that shift we can find the arc of the black character in popular entertainment, as strong and independent artists emerged from the restraints of stereotype and caricature, tidily summarized with such subtlety and understanding as to fully explain that Pulitzer Prize.

McGill brings a range of emotion to the elder brother – alternately earnest and bitter, funny and wounded – that contrast effectively against Brian Lee West’s younger and less experienced Booth. There is a callow and angry self consciousness in West’s performance that works to his benefit. As the action proceeds and the two brothers alternate displaying their skills at “throwing the cards” in three-card monte, West’s obvious and arch manner gives way to McGill’s smooth and confident technique, the stylistically different acting approaches revealing the sharp distinctions between the characters. The smart, dedicated work from these two actors does much to mine the wealth of insight contained in the deceptively layered script.

The mission of Actor’s Choice is, in part, to afford directors the opportunity to mount productions of theatrical works they feel passionate about. Director Kathi E.B. Ellis suggests the relevance of the play to the current state of affairs in her program notes, a point she wisely avoids underscoring in the production in any obvious way. She lets the story work on its own terms so that the audience can make those connections for themselves. For any truly great play will always speak to the times without forcing the issue.

Topdog/Underdog

January 10-20
Actor’s Choice
At The Henry Clay Theatre
604 S. Third Street
Louisville, KY 40202
502-495-8358


CenterStage Proves (Again) It Is Up to the Challenge of Sondheim with "Company"

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Cast of Company. Photo courtesy of CenterStage.


Company

Book by George Furth
Music & lyrics by Stephen Sondheim
Directed by John R. Leffert

Reviewed by Carlos-Manuel

Copyright © 2013 Carlos-Manuel. All rights reserved.

Stephen Sondheim is, without a doubt, one of the finest composer/lyricists currently writing for the American musical theatre. Each of his works has become a staple of the American musical, praised by most theatre professionals as the highest artistry in musical theatre. There is a reason for this.

Not only does Sondheim write clever, witty, sophisticated lyrics, but he also places such lyrics on the musical scale with a purpose. Sondheim doesn’t just create music, but arranges the musical notes in a way that such notes have a meaning that directly affect the character’s state of mind, thus showing to the audience how the character feels at any given moment. The results are, for any musical theatre actor, that singing Sondheim’s songs aren’t a walk in the park.

This is the challenge every theatre company faces when producing any Sondheim musical. And such was the case for CenterStage at The Jewish Community Center who opened its fourth show of the season this past Thursday, January 10.

With a very slick and very modern white set design by John R. Leffert and a very beautiful and colorful lighting design by Theresa Bagan, an ensemble of 14 actors entered the stage to demand our attention and deliver the well-known yet very difficult score. And as the story develops and the songs are sung, we are presented the story of Bobby, a single man who is celebrating his 35th birthday with his “good and crazy married friends.”

Bobby (played with much charisma here by Mike Fryman) lives by himself and has not been able to connect in a long-term relationship. He isn’t alone, though, for he knows five married couples who are all friends, and he also has three different girlfriends. Through Bobby’s eyes, and a series of vignettes, we have the opportunity to see the dynamics of these characters. We not only see the “happy and perfect lives” of such couples and single people but also the challenges they face, thus giving Bobby the chance to figure out that while no relationship is perfect, having a relationship of any kind is necessary to be a happy person and as part of being alive.

CenterStage’s ensemble, under the direction of Mr. Leffert, for the most part do a wonderful job with the series of vignettes and the many single, duets and ensemble songs. And while there were a few sound glitches, lighting mistakes and line delivery mishaps, I will attribute these minor inconsistencies to the infamous “opening night jitters.”

I must say, though, that the one thing I did not enjoy about the production was the fact that the musical score was presented slower than originally intended. And whether this was intentional or not, it contributed to the lack of energy on stage, especially in the first act. I, personally, would not have been bothered by the slower tempo if it wasn’t for the fact that Sondheim’s music is written in a certain way for a certain reason, which to me meant that the insecurity, turbulence and confusion Bobby is experiencing while trying to figure out his single life is a little lost. After all, Company is Sondheim’s first non-linear “concept” musical, and the force that drives such concept is the music.

The biggest travesty in this production, however, is the song “Another Hundred People,” which is a song about the hustle and bustle of New York City. This song epitomizes the challenges of finding companionship in a big city like New York because one is always in a rush, always coming and going, living a fast life, and hardly stopping to take a moment to breathe. The song is written with a fast tempo, an almost overlapping staccato, and with a settled yet noticeable crescendo that symbolizes New York City’s fast life. Yet, as performed by Kate Nuss as Martha, the song loses its purpose and the entire sequence, unfortunately, loses its meaning.   

And yet, the show seemed to entertain many of those who attended the opening night performance, especially when Lauren McCombs as Amy – once again doing a wonderful job as a neurotic character – sings “Getting Married Today,” and when Jason Button as David and Margot Wooldridge as Jenny play the married couple who get stoned with Bobby.

The energy picks up in the second act, and to see Mera Kathryn Corlett as April playing opposite of Mike Fryman is a delight. She is sweet and innocence, yet funny and mature. Yet it isn’t until “The Ladies Who Lunch,” sung by Jill Higginbotham as Joanne, where we finally get to see some of what Sondheim intended. Ms. Higginbotham delivers the song with the bitterness and comfort that life has to offer. This is the “eleven o’clock” song of the musical, and Ms. Higginbotham does not disappoint.

Overall, CenterStage’s production of Company is a delight with moments of entertainment and charm, mainly because the fourteen-member ensemble commits itself to the task. The ensemble is mostly filled with talent, and the casting of the show is almost perfect, presenting us with actors who have perfect chemistry, especially as couples.

Besides being a musical theatre genius, Sondheim is also a music and lyricist sadist, taking pleasure in challenging singers, actors and audiences. It takes a theatre company willing to serve Sondheim’s sadism themselves to tackle the challenges of such a great composer. This is not easily accomplished, but it is always fun to see artists try.

CenterStage does its best, and for that I applaud them. Their production of Company is worth seeing because each actor truly delivers, even against the slow musical tempo. And to me, that is what it's all about, because despite the minor flaws, this company of actors works hard at making us part of “Being Alive.”

Company

January 10-20

CenterStage at The Jewish Community Center
3600 Dutchmans Lane
Louisville, KY 40205
502-499-0660

Late Nights at The Alley Continue to Be Different

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Serial to Stage: Chapter 1 – Flash Gordon/Commander Cody

by The Alley Theater Ensemble


Reviewed by Keith Waits

Copyright © 2013 Keith Waits. All rights reserved

If one spends much time thinking about it, the idea that an audience under the age of 50 finds relevance in material inspired by movie serials from more than seventy years ago is the height of incongruity. But the 1970s began the modern age of a particularly American form of self-referential popular culture that has proved surprisingly durable, if increasingly facetious.

The Alley Theater is inarguably the leading progenitor of this kind of enterprise, with their dizzyingly condensed Star Wars trilogy and other pastiches of this age’s cinematic phenomena, including riffs on The Matrix and Point Break. With this Flash Gordon/Commander Codydouble feature, the first of 13 monthly chapters, they have mixed equal parts kitsch and improv comedy, added appropriately cheesy makeshift costumes and cardboard props, mixed it up with a tossed-off attitude that wards off any pomposity and let it fly without apology.

Not that the creative team doesn’t take its silliness seriously…exactly. But the cabaret setting of the performance space (one of three available) establishes the proper atmosphere. In the curtain speech, Alley Artistic Director Scott Davis recommended that patrons avail themselves of the opportunity to drink a cold beer during the performance because “…this s**t is just funnier if you do.”

The acting troupe engages in a clownish but studied amateurism that seems predicated on the premise that if they are having fun, perhaps you will too. Martin French and Kimby Peterson are especially adept at treading the fine line that keeps such off-the-wall material grounded and entertaining: funny but not stupid. And there are some choice video trailers showing exactly the sort of thing that is being lampooned onstage, as well as some vintage concession stand commercials (although, curiously, the concessions were closed when these were shown, frustrating my own desire for a return trip encouraged by the animated ads).

The Alley mounts perfectly serious productions of relevant contemporary theatre as well, but if the curtain falls anytime after eight o’ clock, you are likely to find a very different animal in residence in their basement environs. Check it out if you dare.

Serial to Stage: Chapter 1 – Flash Gordon/Commander Cody


January 11, 18, 25 @ 10:00pm

The Alley Theater
1210 Franklin Street
Louisville, KY 40206
502-713-6178

The Whipping Man

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By Mathew Lopez
Directed by Meredith McDonough
 
Review by Rachel White

Copyright 2013 by Rachel White, all rights reserved.


Frankie Alvarez as Caleb, Michael Genet as Simon, Biko Eisen-Martin as John
 in The Whipping Man. Actors Theatre of Louisville. Photo by Alan Simons.
I was completely hooked by the opening scene of The Whipping Man, the blasted out old plantation home, an ex-slave alone caring for what’s left, and a young confederate soldier, Caleb (Frankie J. Alvarez), home and injured with a gangrenous leg, his family clearly gone. It’s up to Simon (Michael Genet), an only slightly educated ex-slave, to do a job that any of us would only ask of a trained surgeon in a sterilized hospital room after being powerfully anesthetized. As Simon pours liquor over the agonized Caleb’s leg to numb and “clean” the wound, I suddenly wondered how any of us are here at all.  Worst of all, Simon, newly freed, does not want to be told what to do. It’s a pretty stunning opening, beautifully set up, tense and emotional, rich with possibilities. 

Simon’s son, John (Biko Eisen-Martin), soon returns home fresh from looting the local houses that have been deserted during the war. Eisen-Martin plays him with snappy young buck energy tinged with anger. We learn something else – all of these characters are Jewish. John was taught to read some of the scripture as a child until he began asking too many apt questions and was cut off. 

From there, the play began to lose its grip on me. It might have been that the first danger was averted too quickly. Caleb comes out of his stupor with a stump leg, disabled completely. Yet he doesn’t seem in grief over this, and the loss of the leg is never really dealt with again in a significant way. The subtle and not-so subtle changes in the master/slave dynamic that must have caused such grief and confusion for both the ex-slave and ex-master alike are overshadowed by skeletons pouring out of every closet and relatively conventional plot twists.

I wondered if this production could have benefitted from a quieter, more realistic interpretation on the part of the director. If the director had allowed more silences into the play, I might have felt the anguish of the characters more deeply. There is nothing subtle about the McDonough’s style or the play itself, and so the characters begin to feel more like types rather than a group of people living in a truly critical situation.  Everything is delivered at such a fever pitch, that some of the more important moments of the play are overwhelmed. John’s painful account of his abuse at the hands of the whipping man was shouted at Caleb with such shrill force and accusation. But many moments are delivered with this kind of ferocity, and so some of the more tragic nuanced implications of John’s monologue got lost. Its connection to John’s impulse to steal, for instance, or his grief over never learning to read could have been more clearly connected to his experiences with the whipping man.

Yet, The Whipping Man is a play worth seeing. The themes and questions raised are important ones about family, responsibility and freedom. In one haunting scene, Simon leads a Passover Seder that the characters perform together with recitations from Exodus. The scene was extremely theatrical and resonated from a deep ancient place, a place of suffering, ritual and hope in the future. There is enough richness and tragedy in the story itself; the artists need not work so hard to show us it’s there.


The Whipping Man

January 8 – February 2, 2013

Actors Theatre of Louisville
Bingham Theatre
316 West Main Street
Louisville, KY 40202
(502) 584-1205

Theatre Review: Killjoy

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Tina Jo Wallace & David Myers in Killjoy.
Photo courtesy of Derby Dinner Playhouse.

Killjoy

Written by Jerry Mayer
Directed by Bekki Jo Schneider

Reviewed by Keith Waits.

Entire contents copyright © 2013, Keith Waits, all rights reserved.

Killjoy is a breezy, sitcom-level farce that delivers a domestic conflict scenario with just a dash of the macabre.

Carol (Tina Jo Wallace) is frustrated with her mean-spirited ex-husband Victor (David Myers) to the point where she imagines murdering him. He mistreats her and their two grown children Vicki (Carly Stotts) and Sonny (Jeffrey Todd Parrott) and has now remarried: a younger, more glamorous “trophy wife”, Claudia (Janet Essenpreis). At first her desires are indulged only in dream and fantasy sequences in which she receives very unorthodox counsel from a priest (J.R. Stuart). Since he is only a figment of Carol’s imagination, good Catholics need not take offense.

Carol’s plans start to become reality when Victor’s lawyer Rick (Cary Wiger) surprises her with some homicidal thoughts of his own. From there the story takes a few twists and turns that are just bold enough to keep the audience engaged without proving too challenging. To witness the doggedly middle-of-the-road Carol entertain notions of dispatching Victor moves from fantasy to reality is just incongruous enough to save the otherwise pedestrian script from mediocrity. That and enough one-liners delivered with crackerjack timing by a seasoned cast.

The main character is an addition to the catalog of “regular” middle-American women in Tina Jo Wallace’s arsenal: ordinary, decent, hard-working housewives lacking in the over-worked neurosis that dominate popular culture. It is confident work that allows Derby Dinner patrons to easily identify with the character, even if it somewhat undermines her credibility as a potential murderess. David Myers is also treading familiar ground here, bringing suitably arrogant bluster to Victor. Yet, if Victor is a first-class jerk, he hardly deserves to be murdered.

Janet Essenpreis’ flashy good looks serve the gold-digging Claudia very well, and Cary Wiger, Carly Stotts and Jeffrey Todd Parrott all do yeoman service filling out the cast. As the priest, J.R. Stuart would steal the show entirely with his sure-fire comic delivery and impish presence, if his choice moments onstage were not so brief.

The whole production is bright and professional, as is always the case in this house, but this seems like a minor effort for Derby Dinner Playhouse. Still, the laughs are sure and plentiful enough to make for an appealing escape from a cold and rainy January day, and the Hummingbird cake is to die for.

And, though I am not a restaurant critic, I would be remiss if I did not make mention of the superlative and efficient wait staff working my performance. Those are busy aisles before the genial Footlights take the stage for the pre-show entertainment, and the waiters and busmen must step lightly to keep up. My service never faltered.

Killjoy

January 8 – February 16

Derby Dinner Playhouse
525 Marriott Drive
Clarksville, IN 47129
812-288-8281
derbydinner.com



Talleri McRae – StageOne Family Theatre

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Talleri McRae leads third grade students in StageOne Family Theatre’s
EcoDrama program. Photo courtesy of New Albany News.


Interview by Scott Dowd.
Entire contents copyright 2013 by Fearless Designs, Inc.  All rights reserved.

Next month, StageOne Family Theatre presents two productions in celebration of Black History Month. The first, Jackie and Me by Steven Dietz, tells the story of Jackie Robinson and the breaking of baseball’s color barrier. The second, an adaptation of Mufaro’s Beautiful Daughters, is the result of a developing partnership with the University of Louisville conceived to broaden the University’s connections within our community and contribute nationally to the Theatre for Young Audiences (TYA) scene. Leading that effort for StageOne is Associate Education Director Talleri McRae, who developed her passion for TYA while an undergrad at Northwestern University. McRae arrived in Louisville two years ago with a freshly-minted M.F.A. from the University of Texas at Austin.


TM:  As a teenager I worked at a children’s theatre in which I had been a participant. It was my first paid job, and I found that I really enjoyed working with the kids. When I started my college career at Northwestern, I wanted something that set me apart from the other theatre students. So instead of doing just theatre, I told people I worked with young people in theatre. It started off as a persona of sorts; and before I knew it, that point of view had become my passion.
SD:  Like automatic writing, some part of you knew what was really important to you.
TM:  Something like that. It ended up being the perfect fit. I like young people; I like art; I like talking to young people about art – all the elements merged.
SD:  One of the productions this season was a musical version of Suzan Zeder’s Wiley and the Hairy Man. It has been a while since StageOne Family Theatre regularly staged new pieces.
TM:  Yes, historically StageOne Family Theatre has been responsible for adding to the repertory of plays for young audiences. Moses Goldberg, the company’s former producing director, wrote hundreds of new works. The theatre has also commissioned works by playwrights such as Mark Medoff (Children of a Lesser God) and Katherine Paterson (Bridge to Terabithia). It feels like we are in a new breath of StageOne Family Theatre in asking not only, “What are the plays we can bring to Louisville?” but, “What plays can we make for Louisville?” Wiley feels like the first step in reinvigorating that part of the company.
SD:  I know it takes a lot to bring a new work to stage. What are you working on for next season?
TM:  We are in the early stages of a new collaboration with Le Petomane Theatre here in Louisville.
SD:  They are so talented.
TM:  It is a wildly creative company, and they are working on a piece around the Robin Hood legends. That should be really fun, and we are hoping it will be ready as part of our next season. We are also looking at a piece on young Cassius Clay that is slated for the 2014-15 season. I think that one in particular will have a lot of meaning for the Louisville community. Those are both in the early stages of development, but we feel good about them. We like to reserve at least one spot each season for something new and unique.
SD:  It sounds as though you are working hard at developing partnerships within the community. I understand the company is also working in a new way with the University of Louisville.
TM:  One of the things I love about StageOne Family Theatre is that the company is always open to new opportunities. Peter Holloway (our producing artistic director) mentioned that UofL was looking for ways to connect with the city of Louisville in different ways. One of the many projects in discussion was a college-level course on the professional production of theatre for young audiences. When Peter asked if anyone would be interested in teaching such a class, I raised both hands. When I discovered professional theatre for young people as a college student, it opened my mind to so many opportunities I had never considered. I began to realize that you don’t have to be in New York, Chicago or Los Angeles to perform professionally. Some of your most honest, helpful, intelligent audiences are going to be the young ones who tell you the truth. Adults can be really polite. If something is not working for a kid, they are going to let you know. I am really excited about spreading that to other college-age artists who want to work in this field. So I put together an outline for the course based on the conversations we have here in the education department.
SD:  What would be your main foci?
TM:  There are three key aspects to that discussion: arts experience, process and instruction. What is the arts experience we want for young people? How do we let them know about the arts process? How do we integrate the underlying concepts of the two into the classroom instruction? That got me thinking about some of the conversations I could have with college students. For instance, we can talk about the qualities and characteristics that make young people a unique audience. What are some ways children are sometimes overlooked by the adult community, and how can we speak to that through art? How can we tell a story so that they all feel like storytellers?
SD:  This course is designed for education and theatre students. How will this course benefit young educators?
TM:  I want to think about how the arts can change the way we educate young people. I hope to get them thinking about the potential impact on pedagogy regardless of subject. The arts can inform our class preparation whether we are teaching science, math, social studies or art. We need to unlock a student’s creativity and their own unique point of view so that it can be part of learning for them throughout their lives.
SD:  You mentioned the education department at StageOne Family Theatre. What is your mandate?
TM:  We work with educators in 20 to 50 schools throughout the Metro Louisville area during any given school year. We believe that bringing the arts into the classroom can improve teaching and learning techniques.
SD:  What exactly does that mean?
TM:  When you are considering art, learning isn’t always a matter of finding the right answer. We encourage teachers to discuss young people’s points of view and interpretation of a given subject matter. That can cross over into reading and writing, for example. I might ask a group of young writers: “How do you write exactly what you observed? How do you articulate your personal opinion in writing? How do you draw a conclusion about a group’s opinion that is separate from your own?”
SD:  Can you also expand on the advantages of shared experience?
TM:  I believe theatre can have a transformational effect on the teacher/student or adult/child relationship. Children are constantly in the role of being instructed by adults; theatre provides an opportunity for children and adults to share an experience. Rather than the teacher asking questions that require specific answers, it makes room for a discussion in which young people’s insights are validated. I particularly like it when theatre offers young people and adults an opportunity to laugh together. It is probably funny to them for different reasons, but it is still funny. One of the things I love about Louisville is that we raise patrons of the arts. Through the education programs here at StageOne Family Theatre and the other arts organizations, we have made attending the arts commonplace. At StageOne, we give the youngest audience members an opportunity to support the arts.
SD: What do you mean?
TM: With our Play-It-Forward program, any student can invest in the experience of another student. If a kindergartner gives a dollar, for instance, we will use that dollar to subsidize another kindergartner who might not otherwise be able to experience live theatre.
SD:  How would you define the benefits to the community – aside from having a thriving theatre for young audiences?
TM:  There is ample evidence to support the idea that we must engage young people in the arts before the age of eighteen. Most people who remain unexposed after that age will not seek out the arts on their own. It won’t automatically be part of their lives. I don’t think it’s an accident that great artistic cities also have outstanding programming for young audiences.
SD:  Speaking of that, are collaborations such as the one you are involved with at the University of Louisville very common?
TM:  If you look carefully, creative partnerships are out there. One example is Childsplay in Tempe, Arizona. Arizona State University provides several courses about theatre for young audiences on the undergraduate and graduate levels. They have a close relationship with Childsplay, and the students enrolled in the courses at ASU have the opportunity to watch this theory employed by professionals in the theatre.
SD:  What is your vision for the class work at UofL?
TM:  It’s important to me that the class has a strong connection to what really goes on at StageOne Family Theatre. Assignments imbedded in the class involve, of course, seeing a production at StageOne Family Theatre – preferably one with a student audience. They will also have the option to watch a StageOne Family Theatre educator work in the classroom with a teacher and students.
SD:  Do you think these will all be traditional college students?
TM:  I hope not. In fact, if we have a student who is a classroom teacher, I would like to be able to have them try a new arts-informed lesson and report the results of that experience. I want this class to have a strong practical component, because that is what will help build the relationship between us and UofL.
SD:  Do you foresee any collaboration on stage?
TM:  Yes! StageOne is presenting a UofL production, Mufaro’s Beautiful Daughters, in February. That production is currently in the schools, so we are talking not only about the production but also about the critical importance of the support materials and the logistics of meeting the teachers’ needs in terms of scheduling, etc. We are helping them with the things we do every day, and things that are commonplace at the University will be very helpful to us.
SD:  What kinds of materials are you offering teachers these days?
TM:  We take a holistic approach to our materials, so we have lessons for multiple disciplines within the classroom (math, science, language arts, social studies), for art teachers and also for use at home. The conversations that begin in the theatre may not necessarily be over by the end of the school day. The keys to a good lesson are “juicy” discussion questions about the play and how elements of the play might represent aspects of their life. For teachers, we put that into language that mirrors the state standard teaching requirements for a particular grade level. It took me several years, but I speak “teacher” pretty well now. I’m working to become fluent in “administrator” so I can understand how the materials will read for a principal or superintendent looking at the lesson plan. This season, we’ve also developed a new tabloid-style piece for students that we hope will be taken home and discussed with their families.
SD:  Do you find that you are still fighting the image of “children’s theatre” as cute and fun, as opposed to an important aspect of childhood development?
TM:  Adults are often nostalgic about their time as a young person. But I’m not interested in remembering what it was like for me to be young. I want to find out what young people today have to share about their experiences right now. They have a perspective on the world that I don’t. If I can offer an interesting, provocative, complex piece of theatre that addresses relevant questions, then I have been successful. I think there are a lot of enjoyable experiences for young people, and I hope StageOne Family Theatre takes the next step to say, “Have a great time! Enjoy yourself! And, at the same time, understand that you have a lot to offer to this community and to the world.”
SD:  So you are providing a way for them to begin the conversation.
TM:  Young people have a lot to say and are already saying it. I think we need to be smart enough to listen.

StageOne Family Theatre and University of Louisville present Priscilla Woods’ adaptation of John Steptoe’s traditional African tale Mufaro’s Beautiful Daughters on February 17 at 2 p.m. On February 23 at 2 and 5 p.m. StageOne offers two public performances of Steven Dietz’s Jackie and Me, the story of time-traveler Joey Stoshack’s 1947 encounter with Jackie Robinson, the man who, with the help of Louisville’s own Pee Wee Reese, broke Major League Baseball’s color barrier. Both productions will be in The Kentucky Center’s Bomhard Theater. Tickets are available at KentuckyCenter.org or through the box office at 502.584.7777. 

"Flashdance, The Musical": Fans of The Movie, Fans of Dance, Will Not Be Disappointed.

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Emily Padgett as Alex and Matthew Hydzik as Nick
in the national tour of Flashdance, The Musical.



Flashdance, The Musical

Directed & choreographed by Sergio Trujillo
Score by Robbie Roth & Robert Cary; book by Cary & Tom Hedley.

A review by Kathi E.B. Ellis.
Entire contents are copyright © 2012 Kathi E.B. Ellis. All rights reserved.

This week Louisville theatergoers become only the second American audiences to see the brand-new musical Flashdance; appropriately, the tour premiered in Pittsburgh earlier this month.  If opening night at The Kentucky Center provides any indication, this musical will be pleasing audiences nationwide on its way to a scheduled August 2013 Broadway engagement.

Flashdance was, of course, originally a 1983 movie set in steel town Pittsburgh, tracing the journey of Alex Owens (Emily Padgett on stage) from steel mill to dance academy. With the success of both movie and musical versions of Billy Elliott, we may wonder why it has taken so long for this movie, a far more obvious choice for a musical, to make its own transition from screen to stage. But here it is now. Previously, a 2010 stage version premiered in London. But what comes to Louisville this week is a re-tooled stage version – none of the songs that were created for London are part of this version, and director-choreographer Sergio Trujillo helms this production. The creative team of Tom Hedley (screenplay for the movie), Robbie Roth and Robert Cary carry over from London to the U.S.

The cast of the national tour includes two native Pittsburghers – Broadway performers Matthew Hydik and Rachelle Rak – who proudly claim their hometown connection in the program. Pittsburgh itself is an implicit character in the production, as with the movie which was filmed in the city, with projections of its iconic bridges (projection design Peter Nigrini) and tired brick alleys juxtaposed with interior images of the steel mill. These images are deftly interwoven onto a series of screens embedded in a complex system of panels that seamlessly create various Pittsburgh locations (scenic design by Klara Zieglerova). As the audience arrived in the Whitney, a screen filled the proscenium opening, on which were projected multiple, shifting images of the 80s fading as the performance began to the initials MTV, reminding us of how new and innovative that channel was in the early 80s.

One aspect this stage version of Flashdanceemphasizes more than the movie does is the state of the steel business in the 80s. This serves to ground the overall story in a larger social context, and it also provides the role of Nick Hurley (Hydik) with a more compelling character arc, as he strives within the family-run business to make a difference. The relationship between Alex and Hannah (Joann Cunningham), her dance mentor, is also more strongly drawn in the stage adaptation. There are other changes as movie subplots are discarded and characters’ names and dreams are changed and amalgamated to provide a more streamlined story for the stage.

In an interview, Mr. Trujillo alludes to the need to tell the stage story through dance, and he has created some effective sequences in which we see the classical etudes to which Alex aspires in contrast to the street dancing from which she has learned so many moves. This juxtaposition allows us to see both the commonalities between dance forms and the different demands these forms make on the human body. Break-dancer Ryan Carlson has some impressive solo moments during the production as well as leading a tight-knit ensemble in break-dancing sequences. Repeated brief pas de deux by Ballet dancers Brandt Martinez and Andrea Spiridonakos serve to emphasize the distance between Alex’s dream and the dancing she does nightly at Harry’s (nightclub). Members of the ensemble also become additional dancers at the inaccessible Shipley Academy; and while the ballet world has changed much in recent decades, 30 years ago the look of the ballet dancers would have been much more uniform – in body type and in clothing – than in this production. The dancing most closely mirrors the movie in the sequences in Harry’s and C.C.’s establishments, and it is here that audiences will hear the majority of the songs they remember from the movie. For those wondering, the iconic image of the “water chair” is recreated for the stage. Ms. Rak (Tess) and Dequina Moore (Kiki) are Alex’s dancing buddies, and their performances are far superior to the level of talent that these seedy joints could ever have considered hiring!

The production boasts 16 new songs, which blend well with the original songs from the movie. Aurally this is an immersion into the early 80s, thanks to the orchestrations of Doug Besterman. The high-energy ensemble numbers set time and place evocatively. Nick and Alex’s duets ("Hereand Now," "Hang On") provide a more tender perspective on their tempestuous relationship, and Nick’s solo, "Enough," offers a glimpse into how Alex has overturned his life. Mr. Hydzik (whose Tony I would have preferred to have experienced in the recent Broadway revival of West Side Story) delivers this with an effective stillness and simplicity. But Flashdance is Alex’s story and here – far more than in the movie – it is a performer’s powerhouse. She sings and dances throughout the production, and Ms. Padgett delivers from the first welding flashes in the prologue through the final audition, "What a Feeling," in which Alex triumphs. She is in command of the stage during the high-octane dance numbers and in the duet scenes with Nick or her friend, Gloria (Kelly Felthous). Both Ms. Felthous and David R. Gordon, in the role of Jimmy, deliver well-calibrated performances, though the downfall of Gloria is indicated so episodically that one could wish for a deeper exploration of that character. Jimmy is the most prescient of the characters, having faith in a city that has indeed overcome its late twentieth century decline.

Louisville audiences have seen the work of costume designer Tazewell Thompson on the stage of Actors Theatre of Louisville, and in this production he recreates the vibe of the 1980s in almost painful detail. Kudos, as well, to wig and hair designer Charles LaPointe, whose stylings evoke those big-hair days with precision.

For those who love the movie, there will be gripes about changes made; but this story line and the streamlined characters make sense for a stage musical.  For those who don’t care for the movie or who have never seen it, the story and the characters of the stage Flashdance are coherent on their own. If you’re in the mood for a feisty Cinderella story, where the heroine is determined to help herself and not just rely on Prince Charming, this may be your musical. And if you’re a fan of dance – almost any genre – Flashdancewill not disappoint.

Flashdance, The Musical

January 15 –20, 2012

PNC Broadway in Louisville
The Kentucky Center
501 West Main Street
Louisville, KY, 40202
502-589-7777







Walden Theatre’s Great Expectations is a Lesson in Storytelling from a Master

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Aaron Roitman in Great Expectations.
Photo courtesy of Walden Theatre.

Great Expectations

Based on the classic novel by Charles Dickens
Adapted by Nick Ormerod & Declan Donnellan
Directed by Alec Volz

Reviewed by Keith Waits.

Entire contents copyright © 2013, Keith Waits, all rights reserved.

Everybody knows a little Dickens; A Christmas Carol certainly, maybe Oliver Twist. I would venture to guess that few of us have read the original novels outside of school assignments and many of the stories are known now primarily through adaptations as musicals: Oliver, or Scrooge! Worthwhile entertainments perhaps, but still the easy way out.

For Charles Dickens, as director Alec Volz reminds us in his program notes, is one of the master storytellers of the English language, creating complex and densely textured tales that build an entire world around a rich panoply of characters. So read Great Expectations, by all means, but in the meantime, treat yourself to this worthwhile production of the tale. It may just whet your appetite for the original.

The penultimate novel of the great writer’s career is considered by most scholars to be one of his most mature and concise works, but the wealth of characters and incident may still boggle the mind. Yet there is a clear enough through line from young Pip’s encounter with an escaped convict in a graveyard, through his fostering by the formidable Miss Havisham and the cold-hearted Estelle, and his strength of character being forged through fire and adversity. Dickens apparently wrote two endings, and his compromised resolution is still something less than the happy ending modern audiences might hope for, but there is nice melancholy that seems right and true for the story.

The young cast does admirable ensemble work here, sporting confident English accents and their movement through the complicated blocking is sure of foot. Aaron Roitman is a fine, engaging Pip, his eyes alive with discovery and disappointment in equal measure. Jordan Lee is a lovely and suitably remote Estella (Liam Lloydsmith and Ava Duvall hold up their end nicely as the Young Pip and Estella). Jake Nichols is very good as the tough but tender Magwitch, D.J. Nash is a stalwart and authoritative Jaggers, and Brooke Morrison lets Miss Haversham’s tragedy slowly emerge from the ghostly countenance she carries. A few others that stood out among the large ensemble are Hank Paradis, Chris Lockhart, Travis Ryan, and Caitlin Sullivan.

The first act moved well but showed some of the strain of the dense exposition that follows upon adapting Dickens to the stage. The second act felt more developed and featured several nicely played scenes as we delve deeper into the history surrounding Pip’s life. The whole thing works beautifully if you give yourself over to the rich language and layered storytelling that are why we can never leave Dickens behind.   


Great Expectations

Jan 17-26
@ Walden Theatre
Thu, Fri, Sat evenings @ 7:30pm
Sat matinees @ 2:00pm

Walden Theatre
1123 Payne Street
Louisville, KY 40204
502-584-0084
waldentheatre.org




Dumb Comedy with Brains: The Comedy Duo of Nick and Corey Tell Some Stories

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Nick and Corey Tell Some Stories: Short Plays, Tall Laughs

A Bottoms Up Theater Production.

Reviewed by Keith Waits.

Entire contents copyright © 2013, Keith Waits, all rights reserved.

If you are looking for laughs in the local theatre scene, the improvisational scene is alive and well: The Louisville Improvisors, Damaged Goods, and Derby City Dating Scene, are active, and late nights at The Alley Theater, while not strictly improve, relies heavily on that same spirit.

Nick Potter and Corey Music are doing something a little different. This show, under the banner of their company, Bottoms UpTheater, is scripted material that picks up a tradition seldom seen in today’s popular culture: the comedy team. Think Martin & Lewis or Abbott & Costello. Two performers portraying characters that are likely based to some degree upon themselves, using their actual names, but that are fictional alter egos allowed to indulge in behavior that would get normal people arrested. The comparison is more apt when one considers that most of their work consists of increasingly polished comedy videos that can be found on the Bottoms Up you tube channel and which have recently developed to a level of quality that would be welcome on the acclaimed Funny or Die website
(
The Overly Helpful Bathroom Attendantis a particular favorite of mine).

This live version, which has been in the works for more than a year, having been delayed from an earlier date in July 2012, is slightly uneven, but mostly successful at finding the laughs. The material seems somewhat less pointed and direct in its satire than the video work, although there was some nice commentary on ongoing cultural obsessions with chic vampires and zombie paranoia, and a zany and suitably overly complex meditation on time-travel paradox. It is a potent mix of sketches of varying lengths; some qualifying as short plays and some as brief and unexpected one-off jokes.

The best material is constructed around a provocative idea or notion, which is then used to not only build comedic effect but to also define the Nick and Corey personalities and how their unique dynamic would play out in a particular circumstance, such as Nick and Corey Are Homeless, or Nick and Corey At A Restaurant (yes, each bit is titled thusly). The latter piece is particularly sharp in its conflict, showing Nick being a total d**k when being waited on by his best friend, Corey. Nick is typically a near sociopath who thinks little of getting the more innocent Corey fired or roping him  into robbing a bank with no warning, yet whatever the consequences, the friendship always survives.

Perhaps the two characters might be better defined and contrasted against one another; as it is they often seem too much alike in their personalities and their finish-each-others-sentence patter reinforces the similarity. If that is the desired effect they have achieved it, but the most memorable material features that conflict and contrast and has resonance as a result. They also probably say “dude” way too often. Even for slacker characters such as these, it wore out its welcome.

The level of performance is high energy and fast-paced, with strong and reliable support from four members of the Bottoms Up company: David Miller, Patrick Bayne, Colby Ballowe (who wrote one very thoughtful piece entitled, of course, Nick and Corey Did Not Write This) and Kate Holland, who opened the evening with a charming theme song.


Nick and Corey Tell Some Stories: Short Plays, Tall Laughs

January 17-20, 24- 26

The Bard’s Town Theatre
1801 Bardstown Road
Louisville, KY 40205
502-749-5275



Funny and Heartfelt Crimes Comes To Clarksville

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Playwright Beth Henley


Crimes of the Heart

By Beth Henley
Directed by Russell Scott Spencer
A review by Kate Barry
Entire contents are copyright © 2013 Kate Barry. All rights reserved

If there’s one thing my Southern Drama class taught me in college, it’s that every play written within the genre is a tragedy. But what if it’s funny and heartfelt? And what if the characters are laughing at the end with icing on their faces? Is it still a tragedy? Clarksville Little Theater is producing Crimes of the Heart this month and they have willingly stepped up to the challenge of producing a play with dark dramatic moments and laugh-out-loud bits interspersed throughout.

The play centers on the McGrath family, a trio of sisters who have seen more than their fair share of hardships. Whether it is attempted murder, suicide, infidelity or crushed dreams of stardom, the three sisters share a bond that is unbreakable despite trying times. Cathy Butler-Weathersby plays the oldest sister, Lenny. The caretaker for the ailing grandfather and coming to terms with her thirty’s, Butler-Weathersby shined in the play’s comedic moments. She was strongest in lighter scenes as when she playfully tries to stick a candle in a cookie or when she angrily throws chocolates at her sister Meg.

Lenny has two sisters, Meg and Babe, played by Heidi C Platt and Rachel Hatcher respectfully, each touched by their own bit of tragedy and scandal. With Platt, there was a full grasp on Meg’s brash and wild personality but I would have liked to have seen the performer focus on her fall from glory as a rising star in Hollywood. Although she is very entertaining to watch while she zips around the room in her colorful outfits fetching cokes and asking for bourbon, there was a want for depth as she struggles with the fact that her dreams and hopes of becoming a star might not ever be conquered. Hatcher’s portrayal of Babe, on the other hand, required maturity. Babe is a senator’s wife swept up in a controversy of both adultery and racism. Hatcher did her best to resemble a woman in the midst of such hardship even though her portrayal of such struggles carried less weight in heavier scenes. When paired with Brandon Saylor as Barnette Lloyd, a lawyer and admirer, scenes between this potentially flirtatious couple fell short of any kind of flattery. Saylor, on the other hand, provided a strong support for the production as a whole.

As this is a play about bonds between family members, the production is at its best during scenes in which all MaGraths are on stage, with the addition of Lauren Van Fossen as Chick. Van Fossen definitely deserves kudos as the busy body cousin. Though she is in fewer scenes than the other ladies on stage, she provides energy as high as the notes she sings offstage before her entrances. The chemistry between these women provides sweetness to a play where conflicts are definitely harsh and hard to swallow.

Crimes of the Heart

January 18-20; 24-26

Clarksville Little Theater
301 E. Montgomery Ave
Clarksville, IN 47129
812-283-6522


“Acridly Funny” Production of Witness Opens at The Alley Theater

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Christopher Folan, Jessica Vautard & Joey Arena in Witness.
Photo by Natalie Schoenbaechler.

WITNESS

By Terrence McNally
Directed by Joey Arena

Reviewed by Craig Nolan Highley

Entire contents are copyright © 2013, Craig Nolan Highley.  All rights reserved.


If you’re looking for a short evening of theater with enough intelligence to keep you scratching your head, you could do worse than check out The Alley Theater’s current production of Terrence McNally’s early play, Witness.

Having premiered off-Broadway in 1968, it is normally paired with another of McNally’s early plays but is presented alone here (hence the short, under-an-hour runtime). It does seem a little dated (its an obvious satire on the Kennedy assassination), but mostly succeeds thanks to a game cast and good direction by Joey Arena.

Right from the start we know something is off. A repairman (Scott Davis) is trussed up and gagged in a chair. His captor is a young man (Christopher Folan) who hopes to assassinate the President of the United States during a motorcade that will be passing by just under his apartment window, and he wants a witness to his own sanity in committing the act. We are led to believe that the young man has been driven mad by endless newspaper reading and television watching. He knows all about the cabinet crises in Lebanon, but he doesn't know right from wrong. He hopes to resolve his baffled impotence with a high-powered rifle shot.
Two other potential witnesses show up on the scene: first, a hilariously surly window washer (Joey Arena), who coolly surveys the tied-up man straining to free his bonds and seems oblivious to his gagged pleas and his plight; and second, an attractive telephone saleslady (Jessica Vautard) who lives upstairs and seems equally unfazed by the situation. An atmosphere of hysterical malediction gradually infests the room, leading to an unexpected and hilarious climax.
The show is almost undone by a flat and one-note performance by Christopher Folan as the central young man character; the script calls for him to be speaking almost constantly and yet his voice never varies. The opening monologue, for example, consisting of his side of a telephone conversation, drones on and on and tries the audience’s patience. He shows potential, but really needs to increase the emotional range in his performance.
The rest of the cast makes the show worth watching. Director Joey Arena is hysterically funny as the gruff window washer who has seen (and is ready with an opinion on) everything, and Scott Davis keeps your attention in what could have been a throwaway role as the bound and gagged repairman. He never says a single word, but his eyes and facial expressions speak volumes. Finally, Jessica Vautard makes the most of her eye-candy role as the invited guest who shows up late in the play and provides a possible love interest and potential way out for the would-be assassin.
The set by Jeffrey Harris and the lighting effects by Sterling Pratt, along with Arena’s direction, make excellent use of the small space of the Alley Theater, and certainly deserve to be seen by more than the tiny audience that attended opening night.
Despite the grisly theme, the play is acridly funny in the playwright's suggestion that society is teetering toward terror, anarchy and nihilism. And as Arena asks in his director’s notes, has the outlook changed in the last forty years? Come see this show and see what you think.

Starring Joey Arena, Scott Davis, Christopher Folan, and Jessica Vautard.
WITNESS

January 17-25, 2013

The Alley Theater
1205 E. Washington St.
Louisville, KY 40206
502-713-6178

Lift Every Voice and Sing

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A Place in Time:  Twenty Stories of Port William
by Wendell Berry
Berkeley, California:  Counterpoint
368 pp.; $28

Reviewed by Katherine Dalton

Entire contents are copyright © 2013 Katherine Dalton. All rights reserved

Some of these stories are so funny.  I thought I had better say that before I say anything else, because Wendell Berry, being a serious-minded man much occupied with justice, is often elegiac.  But if a lot of his fiction is occupied with loss, there is always gain in it, and lot of that gain comes in the form of both love and humor. 

I defy any of you to read the story “Down in the Valley Where the Green Grass Grows” and not laugh out loud, and I feel sure that in a notebook somewhere, or in the back of Mr. Berry's extensive memory, is every single funny turn of phrase he has heard in his long life.  He is man deeply in love both with his place and the language of his place, and where there is language, there is a joke with a kick in it.

The last previous collection of short stories (complete to that point) came out in 2004, and the last novel was Andy Catlett, published in 2007, and Mr. Berry is 78 now, so this new collection is not just a pleasure but an event.  When I read the collected stories several years back I was struck with their continuity; not just of character, but of theme and style. Wendell Berry has been a remarkably consistent writer.  Apparently, at some point when he was in his twenties, the imagined community of Port William jumped full grown out of his head. 

But then Port William has its roots in a real place, though it is not a real place.  It is the small towns of Henry County, Kentucky, distilled through the mind and memory of this native son, and through the mind and memory of his parents and grandparents and brother and neighbors, too.  Mr. Berry said once in an interview (and I am paraphrasing from what I hope is an accurate memory) that Port William was his own community as it would have been if it were able to know itself articulately, and speak of itself to itself.  That self-knowledge and self-descriptive speech is not realistic in the real-world sense, but it is truthful. 

Some of that truth is sorrowful, because living is always going to be significantly about loss, and if a writer's job is to witness to life as he sees it, Mr. Berry has never been one to duck a hard task.  But then again he can be so joyfully funny.  In the story about Big Ellis's courtship Berry writes:  “Big was late getting married.  Marriage was a precaution he didn't think of until his mother died and left him alone to cook and housekeep for himself.  And then he really began to hear the call of matrimony.”

The story of “Burley Coulter's Fortunate Fall” begins, “It has been a long, long time since old Uncle Bub Levers was called on to pray at the Bird's Branch church for the first and last time in his life, and he stood up and said, 'O Lord, bless me and my son Jasper.  Amen.'”

But humorous or poignant or both, all the Port William stories are about relationships knitting together a world that is constantly unraveling in our fingers.  They are often most optimistic in their sorrow, because few writers know better than sorrow is the Siamese twin of joy:  that whatever is dearest to us we fear most to lose, and will lose—and yet we had it.  No writer is more sensitive to the gratitude of having had.

A Place in Time is full of wonderful lines.  Among the passages I have marked is this one, said by Burley Coulter about his young nephews.  “At first they believed everything I said, and then they didn't believe anything I said, and then they believed some of the things I said.  That was the best of their education right there, and they got it from me.”  We are getting it, too.







Up Close and Personal: Louisville Ballet’s Choreographer’s Showcase Packs the House

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2013 Choreographers Showcase

Reviewed by Kathi E. B. Ellis.

Entire contents are copyright © 2013 Kathi E. B. Ellis. All rights reserved.

The annual Choreographers’ Showcase is fast becoming a hot ticket in town. The Louisville Ballet’s Facebook postings have announced all week that the Saturday performance is sold out, and at last night’s opening performance the bleachers in the Ballet’s Main Street headquarters were packed.

Artistic Director Bruce Simpson introduced the evening, putting it into context with the process through which the company goes to select and rehearse the ballets of the Choreographers’ Showcase. The most impressive piece of information he shared is that each choreographer is given an hour of rehearsal per five minutes of finished ballet; that’s a very short rehearsal period – especially for the pieces with large ensembles. He also spoke of the courage it takes for a choreographer to create a new work for public consumption. 

This year’s Showcase features eleven ballets by ten choreographers, two of whom are company trainees. Several choreographers have had works in previous showcases.

The evening’s highlight for me was Brandon Ragland’s Ruminationto Zoe Keating’s Exurgency. The compelling thrust of the music was beautifully complemented by Mr. Ragland’s multi-layered sequences for pairs of dancers (Albrechta, Corbitt Miller, Reinking O’Dell, Sellers, Forehand, Ichihashi, Krieger and Stokes) with intricate partnering and figures that tested the tension between forward energy and stasis. The deep red and black costuming contributed to the visual strength of this piece. Thursday night’s audience responded with a collective exhale as the ballet came to an end attesting to the power of this eight minute collaboration between choreographer and composer. Mr. Ragland also contributed Shostakovichto the evening with music, not surprisingly, by Dmitri Shostakovich. Working with a larger ensemble, Ragland’s choreography enters a more neoclassic style, demonstrating fluid transitions between the two principal pairs (Natalia Ashikhmina and Evgeni Dokoukine and Erica De La O and Kristopher Wotjera) and various combinations of the larger ensemble. This piece was placed at the end of the evening, but the resolution of the ballet did not feel ‘final’ – maybe it was the way this music selection ended, but the music did not resolve with a sense of finality – for the piece or for the evening – and this undercut the assured elegance of Mr. Ragland’s choreography. Nonetheless, both of his ballets this evening speak to his growth as a choreographer, and we can look forward to his Silent Conversation, which is part of the Ballet’s Breaking Ground program later this spring.

Also using Shostakovich’s music, the Andante movement of his Second Piano Concerto, is Ashley Thursby’s Andante with Amanda Diehl and Mark Krieger. Again, this was one of the more traditional choreographic contributions to the evening, and it was danced with elegiac lissomness. The final lift was breathtaking in its sculpted simplicity and delicacy.  Three other ballets focused on pairs.  Katarina Walker’s Cling was an interesting counterpoint to the implicit similarity of theme in these two ballets.  Set to Woman of Aran (British Sea Power) Ms. Walker’s program note suggests that we want what we have until we want something else. Chelsea Cambron and Justin Michael Hogan explore multiple ways of clinging to a relationship through Ms. Walker’s interesting lifts and partnering sequences, and throughout there is ambiguity about who is clinging to the other, until the last moment when one decidedly pushes the other away, leaving – presumably to cling to the next person.  Static Traits by Ryan Stokes explores yet another relationship. Mr. Stokes juxtaposes music by Bach (Sonata #2 in A Minor) with costuming that suggests a mid-20thcentury Middle America. Kateryna Sellers and Evgeni Dokoukine seem to be locked into a troubled relationship in which the dynamics appear to be anything but static – unless the static nature of this relationship is revealed in the ending that sets up that this dynamic will continue the next time, and the next. Rob Morrow’s Why Was I Born? answers its own question in the sweet relationship between Helen Daigle and Brandon Ragland to music by John Coltrane and Kenny Burrell.  It

The evening opened with the charming Fairy Tale Suite set to Heigh-Ho! Mozart: Favorite Disney tunes in the style of Great Classical Composers. Trainee Claire Horrocks (who is also one of the featured apprentices on WFPL’s Audio Diary series, www.wfpl.org/term/big-break) captures a youthful exuberance in her choreography, encapsulating the program note that we never should grow too old for our childhood stories.  The other trainee represented as a choreographer in this program is Sanjay Saverimuttu offering Saligia with music by Olafur Arnalds and Nils Frahm, a2 (Max Cooper Remix). This is one of two pieces (Ants in the Pants being the other) that essays an ensemble of seven. While this specific number is engrained within the theme of this piece, it is an ‘odd’ number, far more unwieldy than the more traditional trio, and I found myself always wondering why that particular combination was dancing and when (whether) the combination would change.  Thematically, some sins were graphically identified, while others were etched in a more abstract way. I suspect that the piece would be stronger if Mr. Saverimuttu committed to either interpretation throughout.

The largest ensemble piece of the evening was choreographed by Louisville Ballet newcomer Justin Michael Hogan.  A View, A Memory, A Choice is as its title suggests three vignettes, each set to music by different composers. The first two vignettes (Penguin Café Orchestra’s Perpetum Mobile and Trace Bundy’s Stone’s Serenade respectively) move with a vigor and ease, dancers entering and exiting constantly in different combinations repeating, with slight variations, floor patterns, footwork, and gestures that collectively create a world of motion.  The third vignette shifts in tone and style. Set to Satie’s Gymnopedie #1, Kristopher Wojtera and Amanda Diehl, encounter each other for a whimsical, tentative, almost-love story. Here Mr. Hogan demonstrates a completely different sensibility, choreographing an elegant pas de deux that finds space and stillness within it – a far cry from the busy-ness of the first two vignettes.  With an acknowledgment that Trois Gymnopedies is one of my favorite pieces of music, I have to confess that I found myself wishing that this vignette was separate from the first two so it might become part of a ballet Mr. Hogan would set to the complete Suite.

Shakin’and the aforementioned Ants in the Pantsbring a very different energy to this evening of short ballets.  Helen Daigle’s Shakin’ ended the first part of the program with a group of girls ogling the moves of boxer Douglas Ruiz. With their costumes taking a bow to the 80’s of the recently seen Flashdance, these girls clearly wanted to have fun! Creative partnering, non-traditional lifts, and a sense of the herd mentality when a group settles on who they want to go after, this short piece had the audience chuckling from its earliest moments. Especial mention must be made of the fun that Rob Morrow had in this piece…Ben Needham-Woods’ Ants in the Pants, dedicated to a younger (I assume) brother was another light-hearted piece. From the top of the ballet when the audience observed the onset of the ants – a clever digital trick – it’s amazing that sympathy itching did not ensue throughout the house.  The seven dancers conveyed a sense of fun throughout this piece, the all-over itching integrated into the dancing in a way that was both naturalistic and highly stylistic.  The first part of the ballet was set to Michael Banabila’s Voltage Voltage. The second part, another pas de deux with Leigh Anne Albrechta and Kazuki Ichihashiwas set to Sascha Funke’s Mango. Again I found myself wondering why these two dances were put together under one title. I enjoy juxtapositions, and yet (as with Mr. Hogan’s piece) I did not find an internal logic to the juxtaposition, neither a parallel nor a contradiction that for me justified the union. Certainly the first part of Ants stands alone very effectively. I enjoyed the work of Amanda Diehlin the latter part of the ballet, in isolation, despite my distraction about its fit with the first section.

Collectively these eleven ballets provide the audience with a dynamic and thought-provoking evening of dance.  The choreographers are exploring a wide-range of music and ideas with a strong company of dancers embodying those ideas.  That the Louisville Ballet carves out time in a busy season of productions and educational work to nurture company choreographic talent is impressive. That Louisville audiences have the opportunity to watch young choreographers grow in their craft is something for which we should be grateful. Here’s to the 2014 Showcase!

2013 Choreographer’s Showcase

January 24 - 26, 2013

Louisville Ballet
Louisville Ballet Studios
315 East Main Street
Louisville, KY 40202
502-583-2623

A Lively Mix of Film Music From Conductor Bernhardt and the Louisville Orchestra

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Featured solist, Michael Chertock.

 Nightlites: Classics Goes to the Movies

Bob Bernhardt, conductor
Featuring Michael Chertock, piano

Reviewed by Keith Waits

Entire contents are copyright © 2013 Keith Waits. All rights reserved.

As popular and accessible as film music often is, it is arguably taken for granted more frequently than other forms. Throughout the history of the medium, a good number of musical scores have proved to be truly memorable, rising to iconic status as cultural markers and helping to define the popular culture. Yet our relationship to such music is almost entirely through the digital sound of our local cinema or our home theatre systems. So it is a rare and welcome opportunity to hear some of this music performed live by a first-class orchestra, where the warmth and resonance of the concert hall can open our ears to layers of detail that are sometimes obscured by the onscreen action.

Conductor Bob Bernhardt’s program for this concert draws upon well known pieces from the classical repertoire that were famously pressed into service: Also Spracht Zarathustra by Richard Strauss(from 2001: A Space Odyssey), Mozart’s Piano Concerto No. 21 in C Major(Elvira Madigan); and several equally well-known original film scores: Gone with the Wind, Exodus.

The opportunity to hear such compositions removed from the context of the film narrative they were intended to support allows appreciation of the force and impact of the music that is only sometimes possible in the cinema itself. A particularly fine example was on display this evening when pianist Michael Chertock and the Louisville Orchestra delivered a performance of Exodus: Tone Picture that seemed even richer and more nuanced than the original. Mr. Chertock’s fluid and delicate playing lifted the piece beyond the sometimes over-emphatic nature of Ernest Gold’s composition, and allowed us to hear the familiar work with new appreciation. And this a highlight of an evening that included strong renditions of the aforementioned Mozart Piano Concerto, as well as the Rachmaninoff Piano Concerto No. 2 in C Minor. Both were beautifully executed, but it is a testament to Mr. Chertock’s formidable talent and Mr. Bernhardt’s care in selection that this film score stood up alongside such masterworks without shame.

Another high point was the inclusion of Pietro Mascagni’s Intermezzo from Cavalaria Rusticana. The piece figured prominently in The Godfather, Part III, and Mr. Bernhardt introduced it as, “The most beautiful 5 minutes of music in opera”; a statement that might strike some as a risky thing to proclaim just before performing the piece, but the conductor and his players proved the point with a reading that was graceful and stirring.

Mr. Chertock finished his evening with a lighthearted piece by American composer Michael Daugherty entitled, Le Tombeau de Liberace – 4, Candelabra Rhumba. There was no listing in the program, so what, if any film it appeared in is up for question (a search of IMDB provided no results) but the Liberace homage was another shift in tone in a program that was eclectic and unexpected. The Latin rhythms of the material showcased the percussion section as much as the piano keyboard, and were an effective interjection of liveliness and humor just before the finale.

Said finale, a suite from Pirates of the Caribbean: Curse of the Black Pearl, by Klaus Badelt, was a last minute substitution and therefore also not listed in the program. Here was the only disappointment of the evening. Routine and bombastic music that only barely rises above the average big-budget action film score, it was given an energetic reading here that brought out the sweep and pace that are its only distinguishing characteristics, but it failed to provide a proper finish. Whatever difficulties prevented the advertised Symphonic Suite from Lord of the Rings (conductor Bernhardt was not telling) from being included were a wet blanket on an otherwise well-chosen selection of material that nicely balanced the populist appeal of film scores with their better-regarded classical cousins.

Nightlites: Classics Goes to the Movies

Thursday, January 24, 2013 at The Brown Theatre
Friday, January 25, 2013 at The Ogle Center

The Louisville Orchestra at
The Ogle Center, Indiana University Southeast
Grant Line Road, New Albany, IN




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