The great Cindy Lou Who (Lara Hayhurst) makes an appearance right here. By here, I mean the cabaret called Greer.
Cindy’s grown up but she’s kind of punk. With Christmas plans canceled, she’s in a bit of a funk. Cindy comes to the ‘Burgh to tell us a very long story. Her tale is funny, but it’s somewhat gory (You won’t want the facts about what happened to Max).
Cindy grew up, married the Grinch, and then hit the skids. By the way, this Seuss story is not for the kids.
Cindy Lou is a scamp. Maybe even a tramp.
There are references of other characters from the doctor named Seuss, even a shout out to Thidwick, the Big-Hearted Moose.
The story you may have guessed is told in rhyme, it’s hilarious mostly, but it wears thin after a time.
Lara Hayhurst is the iconic Cindy Lou Who.
“Who’s Holiday” is a tour de force for one Lara Hayhurst. She is blisteringly funny, in a quick, bright burst.
We last saw Hayhurst in that hilarious Fillinger play. She’s was fierce there and also in this one, “Who’s Holiday.”
There are costumes designed by Alexander Righetti. I liked the red sequin dress with straps like spaghetti.
Travis D. Klingler does Lara’s makeup and hair. He does it with panache, brilliance and care.
Bryce Cutler created the scenic and projection design. It’s genius, why it’s way more than fine. It’s quite exquisite. You simply must pop down to the cabaret for a visit.
If this rhyming cadence doesn’t annoy, “Who’s Holiday” will bring you much joy.
The director is a Compton named Trey. He does a marvelous job with this little play. But Hayhurst is the reason to celebrate with the Who’s this holiday season.
-MB
“Who’s Holiday” runs from December 1 to December 31 at the Greer Cabaret Theater, 719 Liberty Avenue, Pittsburgh, PA 15222. For more information, click here.
“MJ the Musical” centers on Michael Jackson’s 1992 “Dangerous” tour, a point in time thought to be Jackson’s high point creatively. The musical was nominated for ten Tony Awards and won four in 2022.
Note: Michael Jackson’s role in this production is carried by various actors as we are introduced to MJ (Jamaal Fields-Green) and travel back in time to meet the youthful Little Michael (Josiah Benson, Bane Griffith) and the Michael (Erik Hamilton) of “Thriller” fame.
Preparing for the upcoming tour, Rob (Devin Bowles) works with MJ on its details. We learn upfront that MJ is never satisfied but is constantly looking for perfection.
This perfection dates back to father Joseph Jackson (Devin Bowles). Once Joseph Jackson realizes the talents of his sons (The Jackson 5) and most especially Little Michael, he pushes him relentlessly. Songs from the early days like “ABC” are highlighted in flashbacks to the Jackson 5’s beginnings.
As little Michael matures to Michael (Erik Hamilton) he becomes the more prominent member of the group and eventually leaves to pursue a solo career. He is crowned the “King of Pop.”
Slight suggestions, hints and innuendoes crop up around this time to pill use.
As he prepares for the “Dangerous” tour, he is MJ – in his final physical transition and at the height of his creativity.
MJ – one of a kind. Unique, talented, child-like, an enigma.
The cast of MJ – the Musical. Photo courtesy of the Pittsburgh Cultural Trust.
Phenomenal performance by Fields-Green. His voice, tilt of his head, facial expressions, excellent dance movements totally capture the essence of MJ. He is convincing as the perfectionist in all his creative endeavors, never losing that early push for perfection by his father. Fields-Green’s delivers with “She’s Out of My Life.”
Hamilton as Michael moves us from Young Michael to a point in time when Michael’s confidence enables him to speak out and move on as an independent performer. His delivery of “Thriller” is riveting.
Anastasia Talley portrays Jackson’s mom, Katherine Jackson as supportive and nurturing. She is firm but gentle. “I’ll Be There” highlights Talley’s beautiful voice that she sings with her son. The lyrics confirm their special relationship.
As both MJ’s Tour Director and his father, Joseph Jackson, Bowles easily transitions from the sensible tour director to an overbearing, pushy father.
Benson and Griffith both take on the role of Little Michael. What gifted young actors. Their singing and dancing are exceptional.
A round of applause to the entire cast of actors, dancers and singers.
What an exciting show!!!
Note: There are approximately 50 songs in “MJ the Musical”, many, of course, presented in abbreviated form. “Billie Jean,” “Black or White,” “I Want You Back,” “Man in the Mirror,” and “Stranger in Moscow” are just a few songs from that extensive list.
The set and lighting optics are overwhelming. Technical displays are sharp, colorful and seamless, often bursting on the stage like fireworks.
Hats off to Scenic Designer (Derek McLane) and Lighting Designer Natasha Katz, and a salute to the orchestra under the direction of Nathanael Wilkerson.
Excellent work by Christopher Wheeldon (Director and Choreographer).
-CED
“MJ the Musical” performances run from November 19th – December 1 at the Benedum Center, 7th & Penn, Pittsburgh PA 15222. For more information, click here.
Imagine you’re at a subterranean bar below Bleeker Street in NYC’s NoHo neighborhood, listening to hip, jazzy renditions of popular Broadway songs, sipping an aged, single-barrel bourbon, and you have an evening with Jason Robert Brown. His residency at SubCulture was precisely that.
Brown, whose bio reads like a “Who’s Who on Broadway,” is not just an award-winning composer and lyricist but a sonorous-voiced singer.
He started the late night cabaret (one of two shows, a 7:00 PM and 9:30 PM), with “Hope.” A song he wrote back in 2016, after the presidential election, as he tried to summon up the emotion after a disappointing loss. Sadly, history repeats itself. A reprise. The song evoked several emotions, moving my seat mate to tears.
Note: Brown is not overtly political but made his feelings about which side of the aisle he sits on.
Things liven up by the time he sings, “I love Betsy,” a jaunty tune from “Honeymoon in Vegas.” The song is packed with detail and it’s a joyous rendition.
Following the song’s conclusion, Brown addressed the audience, confessing in an academic tone that he entered the song too late. The self-effacing humor received raucous laughter and a thunder of applause.
He had us in the palm of his hand.
Jason Robert Brown Photo courtesy of the New York Times
The evening flowed from funny anecdote to gorgeous melody.
He treated the cabaret audience to two songs from his upcoming musical, “Less,” an adaptation of the scintillating satirical novel from Andrew Sean Greer (no relation to the venue).
At one point, he brought the house lights up and answered questions, delivering droll responses. A young woman asked, “I have to write a song for my college class. How do I do it?”
“Don’t. I don’t need the competition.”
It was a hilarious remark, that he immediately contradicted his posture and gave some solid advice, ending with, “Every college kid wants to write a sad, soulful song. Try to write something that brings you joy.”
Just as Brown brought joy to a packed house.
Additional note: The 7:00 PM show was sold-out, but there was a little room left in the 9:30 PM show, but less than you would expect for a Monday night.
Brown was accompanied by two terrific musicians. When Todd Reynolds plays the fiddle, it is exquisite. Reynolds gets a beautiful moment, a violin solo from “Parade.”
Randy Landau is a virtuoso with a martini-dry wit.
Reynolds and Landau could lead cabarets of their own. There was a tremendous amount of talent on the Greer Cabaret stage.
Toward the end of the show, Brown admitted that it had been some time since he had been in Pittsburgh. He was last here over 20 years ago for a production of “Parade.” He said, “I’ll have to come back.”
When he does, get tickets right away.
Next up for the Cabaret Series is Christopher Jackson on Monday, February 10, 2025.
-MB
The Trust Cabaret Series performers can be found at the Greer Cabaret Theater, 655 Penn Avenue, Pittsburgh, PA 15222. For more information, click here.
For many, theatre is largely well known musicals and an occasional straight play that people are aware of from its film version. However, there is a significant amount of theatre that subverts these conditions in favor of showcasing something unusual and raw. Something that provokes conversation and reflection in a way that conventional productions cannot. This is certainly the case with Vigilance Theater Group’s adaptation of 4:48 Psychosis, directed by Harper York and Brooke Echnat.
Playwright Sarah Kane’s final work before she passed, 4:48 Psychosis is a hauntingly lyrical meditation on suicide and similar subjects. Absent of the traditional elements of a play, this piece of theatre simultaneously unsettles and enlightens through content and form. All-too relatable for some and equally alien to others, this show paints an unflinching portrait of an artist’s afflicted mind and soul.
The cast of “4.48 Psychosis.”
The entire cast (Bradleigh Bell, Allie Lampman Sims, Ivy Mackinson, Marisa Postava, Anne Rematt, and Abbie Siecinski) deliver riveting performances. Their ability to commit to the demands of their respective roles is astounding. From the required physicality to the audience interaction to the actual lines they have to deliver—a difficult feat due to the substance of the text as well as the lack of narrative context to remember when and what to say—their skill is undeniable.
Technical elements are a huge part of this production, hence the immersive aspect. Director Harper York utilizes light, sound, costumes, props, and set in a way that really brings audiences into the world. The space itself is brilliantly utilized. This adaptation sets itself apart from others with the immersive choices it makes, allowing anyone to leave with not just a better understanding of Sarah Kane’s struggles, but of mental health issues overall. Vigilance’s entire creative team crafts an engaging and entertaining production that is still sincere and respectful of the source material.
Vigilance continues to push the envelope with their unique immersive experiences. Whether they’re presenting an original work or interpreting someone else’s, their influence is impossible to ignore. Doing what most other companies can’t or won’t do puts them in an incredible position to bring unparalleled productions to the Pittsburgh area.
-JS
“4:48 Psychosis” continues its run through November 24th in the Point Breeze Neighborhood. For more information, click here.
A charming beekeeper, Roland (Ethan Davis Butler), and a brilliant cosmologist, Marianne (Rebekah Hukill), grapple with love and death in a multitude of iterations in Nick Payne’s “Constellations.”
If you’ve been to a Marvel movie, you know that the term “multiverse” has been thrown around in media way too much lately, but the concept began with the ancient Greek Atomists, such as Leucippus, Democritus, Epicurus (father of hedonism), Lucretius and Chrysippus.
The Atomists believed that there is a new path for every decision we didn’t make. Simply stated, that in another universe, Robert Frost took the other road that they diverged in that yellow wood, and it presumably made a difference. It’s the reason why Tobey Maguire, Andrew Garfield and Tom Holland can all be different versions of the same Spider-Man.
Instead of Fate vs. Free Will, it’s more Free Will is Fate, because we are on the path where we made the decisions that put us on this path.
Confused?
Picture the improv game, “New Choice.” In that game an actor or improviser will say a line, “Can I pet your dog?” They will then bend over and pet the imaginary dog. The Gamemaster will yell out, “New Choice!” The actor must then say something else, such as “Can I pet your giraffe?” Instead of bending over to pet the imaginary dog, they will stretch up as high as they can reach, pantomiming petting a giraffe.
While “Constellations” creates a tapestry of choices, Roland and Marianne’s decisions are explored from many angles. It’s a fascinating idea, but the thesaurus cites that a synonym for repetition is monotony. Payne’s play lies in some alleyway between fascinating and monotonous.
A meet-cute goes sideways in several versions, but, in many, they end up together – for a while – forever? Who’s to say.
Rebekah Hukill and Ethan Davis Butler under a starry night in “Constellations.” Photos: Alexis Hawk from Hawk Photography.
The play is likely to start a debate on the ride home. A debate that, theoretically, will go every which way, depending on which universe you live in. I hope you live in the universe where no one has to sleep on the couch.
Butler and Hukill are amazing. They have to open scenes with the same or similar lines over and over again. The task of getting it right each time seems to be astronomically difficult.
There is a palpable chemistry between them.
Intimacy coordinator Olivia Hartle navigates the duo through some very close, very romantic moments.
There is one additional character in the show, the Grim Keeper (Reed Callan), the world’s most ominous stage hand. He has no lines of dialogue but he is both hilarious and terrifying in a full beekeeper costume.
(Once again, Marvel made me afraid of beekeeper costumes (“WandaVision,” episode 2).
Director Caitlin Dobronz does an excellent job moving the characters around the stage in ways that keeps the action fresh – even after we’ve seen a few iterations of the same action and dialogue. She is also credited with set design, where she made equally beautiful and luminous choices.
There may have been a few too many costume changes, but the clothes probably helped the actors remember which version of the story they were on.
While the writing seems tedious at times, there is a strange emotional wallop by the end of the play (no spoilers). Overall, I’m glad I live in the universe where I saw this “Constellations.”
-MB
“Constellations” runs until November 23 at the Allegheny RiverTrail Park, 285 River Ave, Pittsburgh, PA 15215. For more information, click here.
1933 Atlantic City felt the Depression as did the rest of the country. The city’s Steel Pier offered some respite from the gloomy economy. Not only did its dance marathons provide participants some escape, but it also provided a means to earn much-needed cash.
Rita Racine (Bella Bilandzija), has been on the marathon circuit for some time and vows that this marathon will be her last.
Her husband Mick Hamilton (Will Chadek) thinks otherwise but cajoles her into believing that this will be her last marathon. But he’s said that many times before. He is a hustler and a conniver. Their marriage is a secret. Hamilton is in charge of the marathons and having Racine participate ups the chances that she’ll take home the coveted cash prize. It’s up to her to find a dance partner.
A stunt pilot (Bill Kelly) whose plane crashed near the steel pier approaches Racine, asking her to be his dance partner. She declines. He persists. She declines again. He persists again. When unable to find a partner, Racine finally agrees. Unfortunately, he can’t dance but he gradually improves.
Kelly is drawn to Racine from the start and it’s apparent that as time passes, Racine is falling for him, too!
Will this be Racine’s last dance marathon or will Hamilton con her again to continue this charade? What happens to Racine and Kelly? Is their dance over?
Ben Allen Carter as Buddy Becker, Will Chadek as Mick Hamilton and Belle Somma as Bette Becker. Photos: John Altdorfer
This production’s choreography is spectacular and the dancers superb, agile, gymnastic, graceful.
Bilandzija is fantastic as Rita. She has a beautiful voice and is a wonderful dancer and actor. We see Bilandzija take her character from a frustrated, marathon dancer anxious and unable to leave that world into someone garnering the strength to try. Her voice is especially highlighted in her rendition of “Running in Place”.
Chadek’s Hamilton is sleazy and particularly manipulative with his wife. He controls her plus all the participants in his never-ending quest for money and the next marathon.
The cast of “Steel Pier” Photos: John Altdorfer
As the stunt pilot, McFalls has an innocence about him that is endearing. His gentle mannerisms with the fact that he initially can’t dance draw us to him.
Julianna Ramos, a marathon participant, knocks it out of the park with “Everybody’s Girl”. Her comedic timing and physical mannerisms along with a powerful voice are impeccable.
Playing a ditz requires perfect timing and execution and Charlotte Jensen, marathon participant, comes through. Her physical gymnastics and facial expressions are highlighted in “Two Little Words”. Her character’s squeaky voice changes into opera-quality with that song.
The set fits the play as most of it occurs in the background to allow ample room for dancing. One clever scene involved the creation of plane wings made of wooden planks with a moving propeller suggesting that the bathing beauties riding the wings were actually airborne.
Praise to Conductor Camille Villalpando Rolla and the Pit Musicians.
Amazing work by Co-Choreographers Tomé Cousin (also Director) and Eileen Grace.
“Steel Pier” Book by David Thompson, music and Lyrics by John Kander and Fred Ebb.
-CED
“Steel Pier” is a production of Pittsburgh Playhouse (Conservatory Theatre Company), 350 Forbes Avenue. Performances run from November 13th – November 17th.
Rogers and Hammerstein’s Tony Award winning “Cinderella” modernizes the well known plot with a couple additions that allude to social justice, unexpected alliances and benevolent leadership. To say more would be a spoiler. I know, spoiler? Cinderella, really? Yes, really!
The huge (too many to mention) cast and company is comprised of talented actors, strong vocalists, accomplished dancers and skillful musicians.
Cinderella (Maggie Brashear) is an engaging lead. Her heartfelt vocals ring rich and true in every number. Her eyes and facial expressions convey the sweet, kind nature of her character.
Marie (Joyce Hinnebusch), a stunning vocalist, shines in every one of her songs. Her comedic timing and body language are delightful.
Cinderella, portrayed by Maggie Brashear with ensemble members, Caitlin Cade (L) and Rachel Hampsey (R)
Prince Topher (Ryan Hadbavny) looks his role as he strikes princely poses with his proud upright stance. His tender, emotional rendition of “Bring Her Home to Me,” is a crowd pleaser.
Sebastian (Brook Stanley), is entertainingly droll, smarmy, diabolical and foppish in equal measure.
Lavish, elaborate colorful costumes effectively support the show’s wondrous magical tone. (Michelle Nowakowski and Ivy Ferris)
The many well performed, imaginative dance numbers delight and entertain. (Cara McClaine and Nathan Hart)
Director Michael Newkirk orchestrates an extravagant production of sound, color, and movement resulting in a gleeful show.
This upbeat gorgeous show satisfies and uplifts on a visceral level. Need an infusion of cheerfulness? Then, this show is for you.
-LtTL
“Cinderella” runs through November 17 at the Andrew Carnegie Free Library and Music Hall, 300 Beechwood Boulevard, Carnegie, PA 15106. For more information, click here.
Charles Dickens wrote “The Christmas Carol” and the “The Haunted Man and the Ghost’s Bargain.” Cup-A-Jo’s unique adaptation cleverly combines these works with Charles Dickens (Everett Lowe) as an active participant.
Dickens is morose and mostly silent as he mourns the loss of his Sister (Joanna Lowe). When he does speak, it is with utmost sorrow. Sister remains in the background initially.
“The Christmas Carol” is introduced in the plot line as we meet those well-known characters – Scrooge (Dave Ranallo), Bob Cratchit and Student (Matt Henderson), Fred and Christmas Present (Casey Cunningham), Mrs. Cratchit (Sarah Deasy), Marley and Milly (Dani Danylo), Tiny Tim and William (Andrew Lasswell), Christmas Past and Belle (Amy Dick), Samantha Smith (Ensemble).
As “The Christmas Carol” proceeds the action moves into the world of “The Haunted Man’s Christmas Carol,” its premise unfolds but with the addition of Dickens once again part of the play.
Dickens’ grief mounts as he cries out for relief from his misery. He wants no more memories of anything unpleasant or sad.
His wish is granted from a surprising source. Now void of any unhappy memories, how does he deal with it? Is he finally happy?
Was it worth the transition?
The Andrew Carnegie Free Library & Music Hall
Everett Lowe reaches the stratosphere as he takes Dickens from a melancholy, lethargic, bewildered character to an angry, volatile, emotional high.
Joanna Lowe’s performance is powerful. She is strong and supportive in her interaction with Dickens. Especially moving is her singing duet with Everett Lowe.
Never failing to impress, Henderson plays several different characters. As Bob Cratchit, he is submissive, cowed and mild. As Student he exudes confidence. His facial expressions are exceptional.
Ranallo has a range of emotion, carrying him from an old meany to a repentant human being.
Cunningham’s good will and kindness towards Scrooge (with a spot-on English accent), never wavers, in spite of Scrooge’s attitude.
Danylo is forceful as Marley’s ghost, urging Scrooge to seek redemption.
Deasy portrays Mrs. Cratchit as the supportive wife, but not a Scrooge fan (but who is?).
Nice job by Dick who plays both Christmas Past and Belle, William’s wife.
Marcus Muzopappa is believable as Philip, the frail but feisty 87-year-old.
As a devoted servant, Lasswell is obedient and quiet. He easily changes into a formidable, authoritative son in exchanges with his elderly father.
Smith as part of the ensemble, participates effectively throughout the production.
Hats off to the entire cast, most playing multiple roles in this production.
Note: The title of this review is a line from a creation by Kirstin Tarquini.
Adapting two of Dickens’ stories is a clever way of including the author in his own works. It’s a unique and clever presentation of two of Dickens’ works.
The set is simplistic. Members of the cast interact either from the circumference of the stage or move into the center to indicate scene changes or action. Instead of moving tables or chairs onto the stage, actors physically bend into shapes that become tables and/or chairs that other actors gingerly sit on.
Cup-A-Jo has been away from theater productions for several years. Welcome back! We’ve missed you!
“The Haunted Man’s Christmas Carol” was adapted from the works of Charles Dickens and written for the stage and directed by Joanna Lowe.
-CED
“The Haunted Man’s Christmas Carol” is a production of Cup-A-Jo Productions. Performances run from November 8th – November 23rd at the Studio at the Carnegie Library of Carnegie, PA. Andrew Carnegie Free Library & Music Hall, 300 Beechwood Avenue, Carnegie, PA 15106. For more information, click here.
Reviewed by Dr. Tiffany Knight Raymond, PhD and Theron Raymond (6th grader)
Prime Stage Theatre Company brings Neil Bartlett’s adaptation of Charles Dickens’ famed 1861 Victorian novel, Great Expectations, to the stage.
The story of woe-begone Pip (Sam Lander), the orphan from Great Expectations, is the story of youth reaching success not by their own bootstraps, but by virtue of an unknown benefactor. The play opens with Pip recounting his parentless youth and 5 dead brothers, their tombstones “like lozenges.”
Costume designer Meg Kelly has Pip in a white puffy shirt, his pants held up by simple suspenders. He is a boy with few prospects, aside from his apprenticeship as a blacksmith to his kindly brother-in-law, Joe Gargery (compellingly played by Jeff Boles). As a poor blacksmith’s apprentice, Pip’s stark white shirt could use some smudges to reinforce his career and societal position.
Once Pip comes into money, Kelly visually transforms Pip into a gentleman with a top hat and coat. This earmarks Pip’s socioeconomic status change as well as his transition from country life to London.
Director Art DeConciliis proves clothes don’t make the man. The fact Pip’s costume change is only outerwear signifies the superficiality of this rapid shift. Pip’s friend, Herbert Pocket (Alex Brandel) tutors Pip in the mannerisms to match his new status, chiding Pip as he licks his knife. DeConciliis transforms Lander from a slack-jawed county bumpkin gazing agog at bustling city life to a gentlemanly dandy who spends profligately.
Scenic designer Alex Barnhart visually juxtaposes the high and low. Stage right is occupied by heiress Miss Havisham’s home while stage left is the down-trodden Gargery home. The set design mirrors Pip’s character transformation he crosses center stage, moving between worlds. Ultimately, it is the Gargery home that evolves into Pip’s London digs, reinforcing he may have been lifted from poverty, but his new station is built on low class foundations.
DeConciliis appropriately cultivates twinning ice queens in Miss Havisham (Jennifer Sinatra) and her adopted daughter, Estella (Michaela Isenberg). Sinatra sneers, and Isenberg is eternally unimpressed, delivering her lines flatly and factually. When Estella tells Pip she “has no sympathy or heart,” he refuses to believe her. Lander is so wide-open and vulnerable in his portrayal of Pip that he can’t fathom a truth so different from his own.
Miss Havisham (Jennifer Sinatra) watches as Estella (Michaela Isenberg) courts Pip (Sam Lander) in “Great Expectations.”
Opening night ended with a virtual post-show discussion with Mark Charles Dickens, the great-great-grandson of Charles Dickens. It was after 2 am in England, but despite the late hour, Mr. Dickens was charming and dapper, dressed in a blazer and button down.
He shared that Charles Dickens’ father was sent to debtor’s prison. Young Charles only had 3 years of education before going to work in a factory, making his humble origins a possible inspiration for Pip. Dickens became a champion of the underprivileged through his literature, resulting in legal reform for the poor.
Mr. Dickens got a chuckle when he shared his favorite adaptation of a Dickens work is The Muppet Christmas Carol (1992). In fact, that film is how children of the Dickens family are first introduced to their famous ancestor! Glide into holiday season with Dickens from Great Expectations with Prime Stage to a family viewing of The Muppet Christmas Carol.
-TKR, Ph.D.
“Great Expectations” runs until November 10 at the New Hazlett Theater, 6 Allegheny Square East, Pittsburgh, PA 15212. For more information, click here.
In 70s East Germany, long before Ronald Reagan asked Mikhail Gorbachev to tear down the wall, actress and unrepentant socialist, Helene Weigel (Catherine Gowl) graces her theatre with one final show, “The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari.”
In 2024, an audience watches a 1970s theater company perform an adaptation of a 1920s Silent Movie. Things start out meta and get even more meta. It’s a double mousetrap!
In the play-within-the play, a stranger in a strange land, Dr. Caligari (Daniel Krell), literally and figuratively, mesmerizes audiences with his devilish showmanship and his dreaded wooden box.
Franz (Nick Lehane), Hannah (Sara Lindsey) and Uli (Cameron Nickel) watch patiently as Caligari opens his pine cabinet to reveal Cesare (Jerreme Rodriguez), a Frankensteinian somnambulant who makes a terrifying prediction in his hypnotic state.
When Uli asks, “How long will I live?” The alleged-prognosticator responds, “Till Dawn!”
The next morning, Franz and Hannah can’t find Uli. They soon discover that Cesare’s unexpected pronouncement wasn’t a prediction but a threat and seek to solve the mystery of his disappearance. It leads them to a disturbing encounter with Caligari.
But before we get answers, we get a commercial break. Dr. Rauch (a hilariously droll Mark August) promotes the health benefits of Eckstein Number Five, the pride and joy of Abraham Eckstein, the German Jewish tobacco manufacturer. Yes, Rauch is promoting the health benefits of cigarettes!
After we return to our regularly scheduled featured performance, things have gotten even more dire for Franz and Hannah. But that’s okay, because Weigel doesn’t like the ending of the play and decides to change it!
Is “The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari” goth, German expressionism, horror or high art? It’s anyone’s guess.
Daniel Krell (Dr. Caligari) opening his cabinet.
There are some great performances in “The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari.”
Krell is magnificent as the terrifying titular doctor. He shuffles and begs before the magistrate (August again), but becomes showy and big on stage at the fair, introducing Cesare to the stunned crowd. Then, he becomes tyrannical. It’s a whirlwind of emotions and expressions and Krell handles them with ease.
Gowl is an imperious and stern martinet, but later plays a girl in a kissing booth.
Lindsey is dynamic on the stage, dancing footloose and fancy free…until she isn’t [no spoilers].
Nickel plays Uli as buoyant, lighthearted and bursting with energy, but his character hits a sharp turning point and becomes different. It’s a nice contrast for the actor and he does it superbly.
Yafei Hu’s scenic design is gothic horror with black, jagged blotches of paint on the walls. It’s giving “the patients have taken over the insane asylum” vibes.
Director Jed Allen Harris takes the actors through their paces with this unique play.
There is some excellent costume work from Angela Vesco, particularly Brecht’s lone, crumpled angel wing.
Though we crossed several eras inside the play, it’s still sadly relevant, especially days away from an election where another authoritarian autocrat may yet rise to power once more.
All art is political [sorry, not sorry] .
Quantum isn’t afraid to go out on a limb or into the darkest recesses of the human soul. “The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari” is strange, fascinating and different from every other theatrical production running in town, but like a dak, bitter German beer, it’s not to everyone’s liking.
Right now the Pittsburgh theater scene has comedy, tragedy, fantasy and horror, All of the elements can be found in “The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari.”
-MB
“The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari” runs until November 24 at the Union Trust Building, 501 Grant Street, Pittsburgh, PA 15219. For more information, click here.
