Author: VivantAdmin

By Michael “Buzz” Buzzelli, ‘Burgh Vivant

Before Lin-Manuel Miranda rapped about Alexander Hamilton, Michael Friedman and Alex Timbers brought “Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson” to Broadway, an irreverent punked-out version of seventh president of the United States. Imagine getting a history lesson in New York’s CBGB & OMFUG on a Saturday night at four in the morning.

A Storyteller (Caroline Roach) narrates the tale of Andrew Jackson (Michael Tarasovich). While “Bloody Bloody” contains some history, there are a lot of alternative facts. It would be unwise to turn in a history paper citing some of the examples from the play. It’s purposefully riddled with anachronisms; replete with electric guitars and telephones. There’s a “wink, wink, nudge, nudge” feeling throughout. Before the Storyteller can dish too much dirt (and/or oodles of exposition), she is quickly dispatched, by a gun, in the throat, by our hero, Old Hickory.

Basically “Bloody Bloody” the story of a foul-mouthed racist who becomes president. When Jackson talks of freedom, he means only white Anglo-Saxon Americans and no one else. Red Masquers timing is impeccable, almost prescient. Don’t worry, if you don’t get it. Dramaturg Eva Diodati spells it out very clearly in her notes, in a witty and clever section of the program.

At the onset of “Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson,” the chorus sings, “And we’re gonna take this country back…from people like us who don’t just think about things. People who make things happen. Sometimes with guns. Sometimes with speeches, too.”

Jackson’s story is a complicated one. He founded the Democratic Party. He was a national hero. He was also responsible for the deaths of thousands of Native Americans when he initiated the Indian Removal Act of 1830. The most memorable song is a child-like rhyme about the Trail of Tears titled, “Ten Little Indians,” marvelously rendered by Lauren Gardonis. The song is catchy and haunting.

Tarasovich is a charimatic lead. While their are many actors playing multiple roles, the show rests on the portrayal of Andrew Jackson. He does a fine job.

John E. Lane, Jr.’s set design is flawless. It’s a flashback to punk rock clubs in the 80s, like Pittsburgh’s Decade and the aforementioned CBGB. Costume and make-up were equally on par with the set. The cast rocked the look. They were one Mohawk away from perfection (the hair-style not the Native American).

Don’t be fooled by the saintly name of the Genesius Theater. This musical is not for nuns, unless you know a sister that swears like a sailor. There is also strobe lights and smoke.

Musicals are difficult. Everyone has to look right, sound right and the choreography must be flawless for it to work.  There are a few weak links in the chain (not the one separating the band from the action), but it shouldn’t stop you from seeing this show. “Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson” isn’t a perfect musical, but it’s an important one, especially now.

“Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson” runs till March 19 at the Genesius Theater on Duquesne campus in downtown Pittsburgh. For more information, click here.

Red Masquers Presents Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson

The historical rock musical redefines Andrew Jackson, America’s seventh President, as a punk-era rock star who uses his power to found the Democratic Party. As President, Jackson learns that running a country is not as easy as he wants it to be, from dealing with “those pesky Indians” to “those wealthy New England Congress [Censored].”

Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson, music and lyrics by Michael Friedman, book by Alex Timbers, and directed by Jill Jeffrey, runs March 15, 16, at 8:00pm,March 17, 18, at 8:00pm and 12:00am midnight and March 19 at 2:00pm. The show will be held at Duquesne University’s new Genesius Theater located at the corner of Seitz and Locust Streets on the Duquesne University Campus, uptown.

$16.50 General Admission, $6.50 for Students and $11.50 for Seniors

Purchase tickets at the door or in advance by visiting here.

By Michael “Buzz” Buzzelli, ‘Burgh Vivant

From funeral to flashback: Arlene Weiner’s “Findings” starts at the end and works its way backwards.

In New Jersey, Life Coach Jennifer Cortland (Amy Marsalis) helps total strangers repair their difficult relationships, but cannot connect with her own daughter, Lainie (Julia de Avilez Rocha). Meanwhile, devil-may-care Gloria Bazon (Lissa Brennan) falls for a puppy, and, then, a man, Ray Jerome (Sam Lothard), in New Orleans. The disparate threads converge.  Jennifer is Gloria’s slightly older sibling.  The older sister thinks she’s in control. She has a rock solid relationship with her husband, Dr. Roger Cortland (John Michnya).  She seems to have it all together, except for the deteriorating relationship with her only child.

Lainie is trying to find herself.  Jennifer doesn’t know how to find a way back in to her daughter’s life. Gloria is having trouble being herself. Ultimately, “Findings” has some trouble finding itself.

For a long time, there doesn’t seem to be any real point, until Lainie runs away and Gloria has a car accident. It quickly goes from melodrama to mysterious malady of the week.

Remember those very special episodes of “Designing Women” and “Golden Girls?” Wherein, one of the stars would have a new friend with an illness? It’s a lot like that, but without the laughs. At one point, they read about the illness from the pamphlet. It’s a little bit better than having Dixie Carter stare into the camera and rattle of facts off the top of her head, but not by very much.

“Findings” has some decent moments. It passes the Bechdel Test; all the women have moments where they talk to one another and it’s not about men. That is always a breath of fresh air and should be applauded every time (until we finally live in a society where it’s not even necessary to give accolades for something that should be standard practice).

Weiner wrote “Findings” like a movie, with fast paced dialogue and quick cuts. For a play, however, there are just too many scene changes. The set is in a state of constant flux. They could have trimmed thirty minutes off the running time, if the walls and furniture would have stayed put. The movement kills some of the momentum.

There isn’t enough conflict in “Findings.” In real life, it would be awesome to have a husband as supportive as Michnya’s Roger, but it’s boring in theater.  At one point, Gloria, in the final stages of her mental illness, makes a play for her sister’s husband. Even though she doesn’t see it happen, Jennifer immediately believes him. She knows it’s a symptom of her illness. It would have been so much more compelling if, even for a few moments, she doubts her husband’s story, and he, in turn, grew furious that she doubted him.

Roger is steady and stalwart. It would have been nice to see a glimpse into his darker side.  Michnya, a fine local actor, has the chops to play a more nuanced character.

All the acting in “Findings” is fine, but this talented group is capable of so much more.  Charles “Stoney” Richards (an actor and radio personality with an arm’s length of credits, who has been in everything from “St. Elsewhere” to “The Outsiders”) is sidelined to playing a few bit characters. For the record, he excels at it.

“Findings” can be commended for shedding light on a real disease and raising awareness. It just needs a little more time in the workshop. Given time, Weiner and director Lisa Ann Goldsmith could bring a relevant, powerful piece to the theater. It just wasn’t there yet.

It should be mentioned that Pittsburgh Playwrights spotlights playwrights from Pittsburgh and that is a laudable endeavor as well.  If you buy locally-sourced fruits and veggies, you should try locally-sourced theater. The play is about helping each other. That’s what Pittsburgh does best. Giving Weiner a chance to hear her words spoken by real actors, will help her polish “Findings” into a diamond.

“Findings” runs till March 19^th at the Pittsburgh Playwrights Theatre Company, 937 Liberty Avenue, Pittsburgh, PA 15222. For more information, click here.

By Michael “Buzz” Buzzelli, ‘Burgh Vivant

A Christian widow, Trisha Lee (Amy Landis), must choose a side in her provincial Texan town when her teenage daughter proclaims she is genderqueer, and starts a GSA (Gay/Straight Alliance) at high school in Elise Forier Edie’s “The Pink Unicorn.”

Trisha believes that anyone born with a penis is a boy, and anyone born with a vagina is a girl. However, her overwhelming love for her daughter Jolene (who now wants to be called Jo), convinces her that the world isn’t just black or white, or, in this case, pink and blue.

After losing her husband, she refuses to lose her daughter. She encourages Jo to follow her own path, even if she doesn’t fully understand it. Trisha rails against her mother, the high school principal and her minister, Pastor Dick.

“The Pink Unicorn” is a treatise on love, religion and human sexuality, but it is also side-splittingly funny.

Trisha taps into our baser fears. She says, “I hate diversity. I know that sounds infantile and unevolved but I simply do not want to love them who are different from me. Them with different sexual preferences, them with different skin colors, them with different beliefs, it don’t matter. Because no matter what, when I’m with one of them I feel like I’m gonna do something wrong. Or they’re gonna do something wrong. And that’s a nasty feeling and I don’t like it.”

Trisha might not understand Jo, but she loves her daughter just the same. Trisha says, “Jesus said the most important thing is to love God, love your neighbor, and not judge one another. And yet there’s all kinds of judging and finger pointing going on in this town right now. St Paul himself says in Galatians, God don’t care about whether you’re a Jew or a Greek, slave or free, or a man or a woman. All of us are one in Christ. So if God don’t care if Jo is a man or a woman, why should I?”

Landis is fantastic as Trisha. Her strong performance exudes love and forgiveness. Trodding the boards in a solo show is a thankless task.  The actor has to garner the attention of the audience continually, from beginning to end. Landis excels at it. She is able to hold the audience in the palm of her hand. Landis gets to portray a variety of characters from the small Texan town, like the aforementioned Jo, a big, butch dyke, Enid Montgomery, a  petite-but-influential gay boy, Elijah Breckinridge, the hand-wringing (literally and figuratively) lavender-scented school principal Cyril Makepeace and a host of others.

It would be easy to make fun of this upstanding Christian woman thrown into circumstances she can’t understand, but neither Landis, nor director Ingrid Sonnichsen ridicule the character. They both treat Trisha Lee like a fully-realized, multi-dimensional human being, and it shows. It’s easy to laugh at Trisha Lee and love her at the same time.

All the action takes place on a very homey set designed by Adrienne Fischer. It’s like sitting down in your aunt’s living room and listening to her catch you up. It was one plastic sofa cover and candy spearmint leaf  or orange slice away from reminding me of my own childhood.

Ride the rainbow (or take the G2) to “The Pink Unicorn.”

“The Pink Unicorn” is in repertory at the Carnegie Stage, 25 W. Main Street, Carnegie, PA 15106. For more information, click here.

– MB