'Burgh Vivant

By Michael “Buzz” Buzzelli, ‘Burgh Vivant

Poet, playwright and spy Aphra Behn (Georgia Mendes) welcomes King Charles II (Dylan T. Jackson) into her life and into her bed in “Or,” a play about England’s first female playwright by Liz Duffy Adams.

Once the king resumes his throne, after the death of Cromwell, he frees Aphra from Debtor’s prison. She becomes the king’s paramour, but also earns the affection of the foul-mouthed sex symbol, actress Nell Gwynne (Katie Sacks).

The playwright is astonished when Lady Mary Davenant (Sacks, again) comes to her home and offers her a chance to mount her play (Davenant was the first British woman to manage a theater company). Just then, her former lover and fellow spy William Scot (Jackson, again) comes to town with information about a plot to kill the king (the one in her bedroom), and all hell breaks loose.

While all the people in the story are real, there’s no evidence that anything in the play really happened, but it’s a wild romp.

Mendes delivers long passages of dialogue with pluck and verve. She is a captivating lead. It’s a darn good thing, because her character, Aphra, is on stage nearly the entire show.

Half the fun of “Or,” is watching the actors switch to one character to another. Sacks is hilarious delightfully nattering away as Lady Davenant. Minutes later, she transforms herself into the gruff, flatulent maid, Maria. Her Nell is also sexy and provocative.

Jackson, too, zips around behind the scenes, exiting as one character and entering as another, in a completely different wardrobe. It’s an impressive feat with an excellent cast.

Kim Wield does a fantastic job directing all the madness. While it sounds like an Elizabethan comedy, it looks like a French farce, with characters hiding in bedrooms and wardrobes. All of the actors have to be on top of their game to pull off the comings and goings as well as recite poetry as if it were day-to-day speech.

Excellent scenic design by Dana Weintraub turns the stage into a well-appointed lover’s nest in the 17^th century, with lovely cursive musings scrawled on the walls.

The costumes are stunning. Claire Mildred does a particularly splendid job adorning Jackson’s King Charles in royal vestments. She swaths him in layers of red and pink and caps it off with enormous red footwear tied up in pink bows.

In between the comedy, Adams makes some salient points about love, sex and gender identity. They sort of sneak up on you. There’s also a tremendous optimism in “Or,” and you will bounce out of the theater feeling renewed. Let’s hope for a thousand years of peace.

– MB

“Or,” runs until November 23 at the Purnell Center for the Arts, Carnegie Mellon University,
5000 Forbes Avenue, Pittsburgh, PA 15213. For more information, click here.

By Claire DeMarco, ‘Burgh Vivant

In the 1950’s in upper state New York the Pazinski’s, a Polish Catholic family, live above Chet’s Bar and Grill, the eponymous establishment run by Chet Pazinski (Steven F. Gallagher).

Chet and his wife Ellen (Megan May) have four teenage children, Rudy (Dylan Lawton), Georgie (Ben Meyer), Annie (Delilah Hartlage) and Eddie (Aidan Cheek).

As a Roman Catholic approaching confirmation, Rudy challenges Sister Clarissa (Lynne Franks) as he decides to “shop around” for another religion. Vocalizing his frustration, Rudy decides that “God put us on Earth to have fun” and Catholicism doesn’t quite cut it anymore. He’s so adamant about seeking a new religion that he cuts off the ears of a Mickey Mouse hat, creating a Yarmulke. Rudy now declares that he is Jewish.

Constantly exasperated and frustrated, Sister Clarissa is determined that Rudy will make his confirmation. She uses her walking cane to get Rudy’s attention but is most successful by using a clicker against his ear when he doesn’t listen.

Ellen runs the household, takes care of her children, all of whom have their own issues and problems. Teenager Eddie thinks he is street wise while Annie is insecure and sensitive. Georgie is mentally challenged with unique issues. And Rudy is Rudy. Ellen oversees all her children while at the same time attempts to keep Chet as content as possible. Chet is remote, usually angry at his children and generally miserable.

Note: The Pazinski household is not like the sitcom households of the 50’s where everyone is happy most of the time and any problems that do arise are quickly and satisfactorily resolved.

Undercurrents of unfulfilled dreams and frustrations flow through this story.

Franks shines as the nun, stern when necessary, patient when the situation arises and always in control. She is adept at delivering some of the best comedic lines in the play.

Lawton is delightful as the ever-curious, questioning Rudy who never stops asking why. He is able to portray a range of emotions, especially in his conversations with Jesus which are at times pleading, angry but never subtle.

Gallagher transitions easily between an irate, angry husband and father to an occasionally softer soul. Much emotion is expressed through facial expressions and general movement.

May is sympathetic, feisty, funny, argumentative as she deals with a challenging husband and four unique kids. She has perfect comedic timing.

Hartlage is believable as she battles with no confidence, is nervous about everything with her hormones on parade.

Cheek develops his character from a young teenager worried about incurring his father’s anger to finally standing up to him.

Meyer has little dialogue as the mentally-challenged younger sibling but he brilliantly expresses himself through his controlled facial expressions and movements.

The area of the stage dedicated to the Pazinski household is realistically staged with items specific to the 1950’s.

Director Lora Oxenreiter sums up “Over the Tavern” as “a comedy drama with a ray of hope”.

-Ced

“Over the Tavern” is a production of Little Lake Theatre Company, 500 Lakeside Drive South, Canonsburg, PA 15317 and runs from November 7 – November 23, 2019. For more information, click here.

By Michael “Buzz” Buzzelli, ‘Burgh Vivant

Mr. Arthur Kipps (Martin Giles) hires an Actor (James FitzGerald) to help him tell a frightening story from his past in Stephen Mallatratt’s adaptation of Susan Hill’s Gothic horror novel, “The Woman in Black.”

In the prior year, Kipps sequesters himself from his family on Christmas Eve because they are telling ghost stories around the hearth. Ashamed that he could not tell his tale, he hires the Actor to help him recount the story turning “The Woman in Black” into a play-within-a-play.

After a few stalled attempts, the Actor takes over. He becomes Kipps, and Kipps becomes all of the side characters in the story as they reenact it.

Kipps, a London solicitor, is called to collect documents and other important papers from the dilapidated home of a recently-deceased, long-widowed Alice Drablow in a remote village of Crythin Gifford. Kipps makes the journey to discover he is a pariah among the townsfolk. They whisper in secret behind his back. The villagers fear the remote home that, at high tide, is cut off from the mainland.

Once inside the Drablow home, mysteries are afoot, strange noises, flickering lights and the wandering spirit of the woman in black.

Giles does a marvelous job going from the meek Arthur Kipps to playing a variety of side characters. He’s particularly riveting as the gruff pony and trap driver.

FitzGerald transitions from the grand and pretentious actor to a younger version of Kipps – one who pretends to be strong and unafraid (until the tale becomes tragic).

Domenico LaGamba does a masterful job with an important set piece in the final act – a room that reveals all of the house’s mysterious secrets. Lighting Designer Keith A. Truax adds some additional eerie lighting with some chilling sounds by Sound Engineer Nick DePinto.

There are some unnerving special effects, but most of the fun comes from the actors, superbly directed by Alan Stanford.

There are some thrills and chills in the play, but it takes a while to get there. Mallatratt opens the play with a humorous gag, but it goes on a bit long. It’s sort of a metaphor of the rest of the show. If Mallatratt had an unscrupulous editor, “The Woman in Black” would be perfect. It scary without a gigantic body count, but the deaths have more meaning here. They matter, which makes it even more terrifying.

-MB

“The Woman in Black” runs until Saturday November 23 at the Fred Rogers Studio, WQED, 4802 Fifth Avenue, Pittsburgh, PA 15213. For more information, click here.

 

 

By Michael “Buzz” Buzzelli, ‘Burgh Vivant

On the night of his funeral, Anne Hathaway (Sheila McKenna) recounts her love, labors and her losses in Vern Thiessen’s “Shakespeare’s Will.” She tells the tale of meeting young William Shakespeare, her future husband, at the fair in Stratford-Upon-Avon, the town where the two grew up. She details their courtship and unusual marriage.

Thiessen admits to playing ‘fast and loose” with the material, since many of the details of Will Shakespeare and Anne Hathaway’s life are obscured from history. The playwright even chooses a definitive ending for a Hamnet, their son who died at a young age (even though there is no death record for the child).

Though Thiessen’s play is mostly speculation, it is a compelling story, despite being a tiny bit longer than it needs to be. To say too much would be to spoil the surprises.

McKenna does a spectacular job as Hathaway. She is a commanding presence. While it is a one-woman show, she interacts with two characters in non-speaking roles, Hamnet (Simon Nigam) and violinist Dawn Posey.

Nigam is very emotive, even though his character never speaks. He’s an odd addition for the writer to throw him in, but Nigam does it so splendidly, he’s a welcome addition.

Posey plays beautifully. The violinist even composed some of the music, “On a bed of rushes,” and “It scritches and scratches.”

There is some weird choreography. McKenna moves about waving her arms as if she was Endora performing a complicated time travel spell in the seventh season of “Bewitched.”

One person shows are notoriously difficult. It’s hard to keep the momentum going when the singular star has to provide all of the material, but director Melanie Dreyer keeps things moving fairly well.

Stephanie Mayer-Staley’s scenic design is a beautiful swirling vortex of paper, the Bard’s manuscripts twisted and crumpled, flying into a bright, aqua void. McKenna splashes about in a shallow puddle, representing a tidal pool on the shore.

There are beautiful and lyrical moments in “Shakespeare’s Will.” It has a fine ending. It may not be the truth, or the truth as we know it, but there is still beauty in it.

-MB

“Shakespeare’s Will” runs through December 1 at the West Homestead United Methodist Church, 515 W. 8^th Avenue, Homestead, PA 15120. For more information, click here.

http://www.quantumtheatre.com/will/

 

by Claire DeMarco, ‘Burgh Vivant

N (Elise Dorsey) lost her young, best friend MJ (Ivan Bracy Jr.) in a car accident. They grew up together, sharing dreams, confidences and aspirations. Devastated by his loss, she withdraws from med school and puts her life on hold.

N’s parents Papa (Pierre Mballa) and Nene (Mia Sterbini) emigrated from Nigeria and settled in Bucks County where N and her brother Bro (Tim Judah) were born and raised. The family is instrumental in their support of N as she deals with MJ’s death.

Old school friend JD (Alex Fetzko) offers support. MJ’s mom (Malle Winters) and N attempt mutual consolation.

But N’s way of dealing with this tragedy is by splicing pieces of her memories with MJ to fit what she needs in order to cope. Thoughts, flashbacks, remembrances are arranged in her mind non-sequentially as she envisions moments with MJ – their first meeting, his teaching her how to kiss. The kiss lesson centers on N’s interest in JD, a student she likes. Kiss training leads to what might have led to a personal relationship between N and MJ. At times her file of memories pulls folders from her past that have nothing to do with MJ’s death but bring her some solace (reliving when Papa taught her to drive).

As N struggles with her loss, she remembers something MJ told her a long time ago. “You won’t let me disappear.”

Dorsey is powerful as she tries to deal with her friend’s death. Sometimes using humor and often enlisting anger, we relate to her turmoil.

Bracy delights as we see him develop from a young, self-conscience youth to a man full of hope. He shows unique comedic skills but also a serious side in his evolving friendship with Dorsey.

Fetzko’s bed scene with Dorsey is hilarious. He has great movements and spot on timing.

Judah transitions from the brother who lovingly spars with his sister to a common sense sibling intent on providing guidance.

Mballa is serious and wise. He’s also adroit at injecting low key humor, all with a western African dialect.

Sterbini is the perfect mom. She is willing to console at any time but gives her daughter space to mourn alone.

In a brief encounter Winters transitions from a crazed, grieving mother to a gentle woman to being mad at God.

Credit to Fight Director Shannon Donovan for the choreographed fight scenes that are physical but well-controlled.

Another Note: In this black box theater, it is sometimes difficult to hear the dialogue when the actors’ backs are to the audience.

“Good Grief” was written by Ngozi Anyanwu and directed by Reginald L. Douglas.

“Good Grief” is a production of Point Park University’s Pittsburgh Playhouse, Rauh Theatre, 201 Wood Street, Pittsburgh, PA 15222 and runs from October 18 to October 27, 2019.

For more information, click here.

Ced

 

 

 

By Claire DeMarco, ‘Burgh Vivant

In the town of Agrabah, Aladdin (Joseph Stater) and his group of pals Babkak (Ben Heavner), Omar (Max Peluso), and Kassim (Joshua Price) verge on the edge of “badness.” Aladdin steals loaf of bread at the local market. Even though he’s hungry and has no money, he gives the loaf of bread to someone really in need. Aladdin and his friends attempt to make money in a more honorable way by singing and dancing. They are not successful.

Nearby at the palace – but miles away socially, Jasmine (Miralhi Taylor-Martin) the daughter of the Sultaness* (Emily Chambers) is frustrated. Her mother wants to select her daughter’s future spouse.

*Note: The leader of Agrabah in this production is a female! Nice touch!

Jafar (Jordan Coury), the Sultaness’ evil advisor wants to marry Jasmine. Then, he would become the next Sultan. Along with his loyal assistant Iago (Joshua Clark), they conspire to make that happen.

Jasmine is frustrated by her mother’s demands to choose a husband in 24 hours. If she doesn’t her mother will do it for her. Encouraged by her attendants to see how the other half lives, Jasmine disguises herself in everyday clothing and wonders into the market place. She in entranced with a life she’s never experienced.

The marketplace brings two worlds together – Aladdin and Jasmine meet.

Aladdin’s adventures continue as he finds himself in a cave. He unknowingly frees Genie (Adam Stater) from a small, not very impressive lamp after gently rubbing it. Genie indicates that Aladdin has three wishes but there are three wishes that he can’t fulfill: he can’t kill anyone; he can’t bring anyone back from the dead and he can’t help in finding love.

But Aladdin is looking for love, or, at least, looking for Jasmine.

Joseph Stater is delightful as Aladdin as he grows from a penniless, unstructured individual to one more disciplined and morally mature.

Taylor-Martin plays Jasmine as both an insulated captive in an unreal world and a sensitive human as she experiences the real world.

Joseph Stater and Taylor-Martin’s beautiful rendition of “A Whole New World” was magical, along with the simplistic setting that suggests their airborne adventure.

Adam Stater has great comedy timing moves, sings well and does a great tap dance.

Coury as the bad guy is especially realistic as he throws his head back and bellows out a blood curdling laugh.

A well-done production by a multi-talented cast of young thespians.

“This production was put together in four weeks” according to Music Director, Lynne Spatafore. She also relayed that the actors are all in school (from many school districts in the area). The youngest students are in 5^th grade and the oldest are seniors.

CeD

“Aladdin Jr” is a production of Comtra Theatre, 20540 Route 19, Cranberry Township, PA. 16066 and runs from October 4 to October 19, 2019.For more information, click here.

 

Tiffany Raymond, ‘Burgh Vivant

When you think of musicals, one tends to think of lighter fare. There’s nothing light about the musical “Next to Normal” (book and lyrics by Brian Yorkey). This modern-day “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest” unflinchingly delves into the world of mental illness. The most compelling thing about this musical is its refusal to over-simplify. The show doesn’t shy away from intricacy, demonstrating how mental illness is bigger than the individual. It’s also a harsh reminder that solving for mental illness isn’t just swallowing a pill. That’s easy to forget when drug company commercials portray and cure depression in the span of 30 seconds.

“Next to Normal” centers on Diana Goodman (Meg Pryor), a wife and mother who’s battled mental illness for nearly two decades. Her family has both borne witness to and been collateral damage in her struggles. The play makes you feel the weight of their constant renegotiation. In the opening song, “Just Another Day,” her husband, Dan (Ricardo Vila-Roger) sings about how he has to “hold the house together.” He seems clueless that his wife has just humored him with sex, so there’s an almost laughable quality to this utterance. In that moment, he’s easily dismissible as a dude with an overinflated perception of his centrality in the household mechanics. In fact, it’s foreshadowing how the caretaker shoulders the household burdens. Vila-Roger appropriately exudes both fatigue and hope as well as an always-on vigilance that comes with constantly gauging a mentally ill partner. Director Niffer Clarke has Vila-Roger poignantly straddle the desire to protect his wife while also helping her get the care she needs without always knowing the right path.

Treatment often seems like a spinning roulette wheel. The treatment cycle ironically mirrors Diana’s own bipolar manic-depressive episodes. There’s a renewed hope with each new treatment plan that cascades into despair as it fails. This is most tellingly captured in “Who’s Crazy”/”My Psychopharmacologist and I” as Dr. Fine (Pedar Garred) sings about various pill combinations and their attending requirements and restrictions. The ensemble chimes in with “just a few of my favorite pills,” a takeoff on the song “My Favorite Things” from “The Sound of Music.” One musical borrows from another.

Garred lacks the vocal punch of the other actors and is often drowned out by the music. This is particularly noticeable with he’s paired with Pryor who is a vocal powerhouse, but sometimes sings too loudly, even when she’s not manic. Her near-shouting at times can cause her words to lose emotional resonance. Achieving consistency around vocal projection levels ends up being a miss from Clarke. Clarke does do a stellar job of utilizing the stage. During this number, Dr. Fine’s pill catalog becomes dizzyingly overwhelming, as intended. Clarke visually reinforces that by having Pryor spin in circles across the stage on a wheeled stool.

The Goodman’s children, Natalie (Isabel Descutner) and Gabe (John A. Habib), are both adequate in their roles without being noteworthy. Descutner doesn’t feel totally authentic as Natalie, but her concerns about her mother’s behavior negatively influencing her burgeoning high school romance are genuine. It’s a reminder we’re all products of nature and nurture. Mental illness lacks contained boundaries and spills out, staining those beyond it in ways we can’t easily see.

Laura Valenti’s scenic design paired with TJ Hays’ lighting design creates a memorably remarkable stage. The set is clearly a house. However, Valenti thoughtfully chooses a color palette of sterile white and unfeeling gray that Hays outlines with harsh fluorescents to heighten the institutional feel. The uncompromising lighting makes the specter of mental illness visual and omnipresent. The house is a home, but the institutional lighting beautifully highlights the ways in which mental illness is not confined to a hospital or doctor’s office.

“Next to Normal” is an emotional journey and sometimes hard to watch as it brings light to those who suffer from mental illness. The production’s program includes a list of national and local resources for mental health, connecting the artistic to the real world. “Next to Normal” is a heart wrenching reminder that people are fighting all kinds of battles we can’t always see. It inspires empathy for our fellow humans. We can all be kinder.

The University of Pittsburgh’s production of “Next to Normal” plays through October 13^th at the Richard E. Rauh Studio Theatre, 4200 Fifth Avenue, Pittsburgh, PA 15260. For more information and to purchase tickets, click here.

By Michael “Buzz” Buzzelli, ‘Burgh

In 431 B.C., Euripides shocked theater-goers in Athens with a sympathetic portrayal of one of Greece’s great mythological characters, Medea, a woman who decides to enact vengeance after her husband spurns her for another woman. But playwright Allison Gregory revisits this story in a unique and unusual way in “Not Medea.” Though, Gregory’s story also shocks its audience.

The story is hard to explain without giving away huge swaths of the plot, but a Woman (Drew Leigh), who is definitely not Medea, enters the theater and settles into her seat, excited to see the play,  until she realizes what she’s about to see.

Hail the conquering hero!

Jason (Allan Snyder), returns to his hometown of Corinth with his “barbarian” wife after capturing the Golden Fleece. We get the “Behind the Music” version of the Homeric tale, and it isn’t pretty. The leader of the Argonauts isn’t the courageous captain of those Ray Harryhausen movies (in Dynamation).

Medea tells her tale. While the Woman in the audience intrudes with her own tragic tale. The Greek Chorus (Elizabeth Boyke) wails and shrieks. Is she merely the chorus? Does she know she’s in a play? It gets weird, if fun and fantastic ways.

When the Woman starts texting her ex (also named Jason), the texts get metatextual, and the events of 431 B.C. and events in the present get very, very blurry.

“Not Medea” is a theatrical Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride, it starts riotously funny and ends in Hell thanks to Gregory’s meta manuscript.

Side Note: Seriously, the Disney ride starts as a whimsical drive through a magical land and ends up in frightening hellish landscape. It’s pretty twisted.

The actors excel under Allison Weakland’s direction. Apparently, it takes two talented Allison’s put on a terrific play.

Leigh is marvelous in her (still a secret) role. She commands the stage. She is bright and beautiful, harried and horrifying. Sliding up and down a scale of varying emotions.

Snyder’s character is comical and cartoonish, but some additional layers are peeled back by the end. He does a great job.

Boyke takes on several roles as the Chorus, and she does it with aplomb.

All the action is carried out on a beautiful set by Adrienne Fischer who produces spectacular scenes on shoestring budgets.

Sapphire and cerulean scarves drape over the set, creating the warm blue feeling of the Grecian isles. A king-sized bed, layered with pillows, encompasses the stage. It’s the focal point for a reason. Off to the side, a bird tweets in a gilded cage. It’s later accidentally strangled by the hero because he doesn’t know his own power (METAPHOR).

Kim Brown recreates Athenian fashion with Allan and Elizabeth’s costumes. The Woman’s costume is a maroon unisex pullover scrub top and matching drawstring pants.

-MB

“Not Medea” runs until October 18th at the Carnegie Stage, 25 West Main Street, Carnegie, PA 15106. For more information, click here.

 

 

 

 

 

 

by Tiffany Raymond, ‘Burgh Vivant 

Pittsburgh Musical Theater brings “Evil Dead: The Musical” to life – or is that to death?

“Evil Dead: The Musical” (book and lyrics by George Reinblatt) was first performed in 2003. It’s an amalgamation of the four-film series written and directed by Sam Raimi, which spanned 1978 to 1992. Not everything holds up in the modern era. There’s a reference to the Columbia Records CD club, which is either a flashback or headscratcher moment, depending on one’s age. The more troublingly dated material is Scott’s (Adam Fladd) repeated shouting at his date: “What a stupid bitch!” While it’s supposed to be humorous, the audience’s laughter falters here. This sort of demeaning sexism and verbal abuse is no longer raucous in the #MeToo era, even within the context of a comedic horror musical.

Scott’s date, Shelly (Mandie Russak), is a walking stereotype of a blonde bimbo. We learn Scott picked her up at a truck stop. Russak embraces the limited confines of her role from the onset as she deep throats a can. Director Nick Mitchell intensifies the moment by having her seek Scott’s approval with sultry upturned eyes. Costume designer Terra Skirtich amps the camp factor with Shelly’s red stripper heels, skintight jeans, and cropped buttondown that ties between her breasts. Russak lifts her top in a “Girls Gone Wild” homage as the show’s five college kids head to an abandoned cabin in the woods for spring break. What could go wrong? Plenty, of course. The vacationing quintet accidentally unleash demons they subsequently spend the show battling.

The songs are full of one-liners and poke easy fun at the genre itself. Cabin late-comer Ed (Connor Bahr) gets to belt out “Bit-Part Demon” and sings that he’s “forgettable #39, the one killed by the hero.” It’s a reminder that everyone has their role in these shows. Even the taxidermy comes to life. A demonic, red-eyed Bullwinkle and Rocky bob their heads and sing, an unexpected twist. It’s the first time I’ve seen taxidermy with song credits.

Central character, Ash (B.A. Goodnack), and his girlfriend, Linda (Kait Descutner), sing a memorable ballad entitled “Housewares Employee.” It traces their love story, which commenced at S-Mart where she’s a checker, and he’s in housewares. Yet, as Ash sings, “I was the one checking you out.” Ash has a stack of one-liners, and Goodnack accentuates them without overdoing it.

As Pittsburgh Musical Theater, song and dance is their bread and butter. Not only are the acoustics poor, their sound system is in desperate need of an upgrade. The solo numbers work better, but the group numbers get a bit garbled. There is also some metallic grinding in the sound mix that doesn’t sound intended by sound designer Kevin Kocher. The vocalists, all capable, power through it, and the campy nature of the show is an asset. Stronger direction from choreographer Sarah Misko would have been useful. The actors’ movements during the songs often feel random and unguided.

The show is rife with laughable zingers, and the audience is forgivingly receptive to the kitsch factor. There’s an irresistible Rocky Horror-esque vibe to the whole production that sweeps you along, whether you want to be or not. At one point, a voice warns that the book of the dead is “inked in blood,” but that also applies to the seating. The front rows are a Sea World splash zone with fake blood spraying out over the audience. Get swept away, and wear a little bit of “Evil Dead” home!

Pittsburgh Musical Theater’s production of “Evil Dead: The Musical” plays through October 19^th at the Gargano Theater, 327 S. Main Street, Pittsburgh, PA 15220. For more information and to purchase tickets, click here.