Tag: Theatre

By Michael “Buzz” Buzzelli, ‘Burgh Vivant

Monty Price (Jason Shavers) welcomes contestants to the anniversary episode to everyone’s favorite game show in “Game on.” It’s okay if you’ve never heard of “Game On” before, it’s an imaginary anniversary for a fictional TV show.

It’s not easy to describe the show in 25 words or less. It’s sort of “Let’s Make a Deal/or No Deal,” with a little bit of “Family Feud” thrown in just for the hell of it.

Like the Howie Mandel hosted show, there are a variety of numbered mystery boxes, each containing a prize from a penny to a million dollars. Monty’s beautiful assistant, Gillian Van Ness (Marissa Buchheit) opens the boxes on command. The player must decide to keep his/her box or trade it in for some bigger prize negotiated by the Banker…er…um…Executive (a silhouette of a beautiful woman in a smart pantsuit).

The prize is usually one million, but, on this special anniversary episode, the Executive decides to up the ante to TEN MILLION DOLLARS! Gasp!

While there is some interactivity to the evening, it’s a scripted show with a book by Marcus Stevens and music by David Dabbon. These contestants have to carry the tune, not name it. Luckily, three of the four contestants are actors.

The contestants are schlubby, worrywart Felix (Connor McCanlus), decisive and forthright Natalie (Josey Miller) and newly retired Grace (Christine Laitta). As for the fourth contestant; it could be you!

While Natalie and Felix are chosen from opposite ends of the room, we learn that the duo share a past. The two have baggage. During the show, their past unfolds. The couch potatoes were once lovers who bonded over their love of “Game On.”

Grace also has a secret.

As the show goes on, the Executive raises the stakes and things get weird. Things go from typical game show shenanigans to a million dollar mind game.

Who will win? Will Natalie and Felix reignite the fire between them? Will they make a love connection, or does Felix just have a candy crush?

There will be only one survivor.

The actors are magnificent. Shavers plays Monty as the quintessential game show host, with a nod to Chuck Woolery and a wink to Wink Martindale. As the show goes on, Monty gets grouchier than Groucho, but Shavers remains charming.

Buchheit is buoyant and adorable as Gillian Van Ness, earlier in the evening Buchheit shows up as a contestant from the previous episode, Deborah, and she’s and even bubblier and bouncier.

McCanlus does a superb job as Felix. He gets most of the evening’s laughs with his indecisive character, wringing his hands as he tries to decipher the clues Natalie is dropping as he tries to win the game. You can almost see the flop sweat from the back of the room.

Miller’s Natalie is a lot of fun. Of the three scripted contestants, she seems like the one you’d most want to grab a beer with.

Laitta’s Grace is reminiscent of a Rachel Dratch SNL character. Laitta gives the performance oodles of depth.

Director Jen Wineman perks the show up with some really skillful choreography, especially in the number “I Want It.” The cast executes said choreography wonderfully.

Tim Mackabee’s set is dazzling, enhanced with lighting from Alan C. Edwards. It looks like an actual set from a million dollar game show.

Christian Fleming’s costume design is artful and fun, from every button on Natalie’s jean jacket down to the Monty Price’s fabulous footwear. If the Wicked Witch of the East had workout clothes, Shavers’ sparkly kicks would be in her gym bag.

To tell the truth, “Game On” isn’t as funny as it could be. The actors are great, but the writing is… the weakest link. While it is funny, I was hoping “Game On” would try harder to make me laugh, but no dice.

Dabbon’s idea, a musical about a game show, is brilliant. It’s just not executed as well as it could have been. One or two more catchy songs and a bit more wit would have made this show a blockbuster. Luckily a talented cast, a smart director and a gorgeous set keep “Game On” from being a wipeout.

-MB

You can get your “Game On” at the Greer Cabaret Theater, 655 Penn Avenue, Pittsburgh, PA 15222. For more information, click here.

By Michael “Buzz” Buzzelli, ‘Burgh Vivant

A gambling grandfather (Patrick Conner) loses everything except the love of his granddaughter, Little Nell (Caroline Lucas), in Charles Dickens’s “The Old Curiosity Shop.”

Mrs. Jarley (Kendra McLaughlin) and her carnival barkers (Jonathan Visser and Ken Bolden) describe the tragic circumstances of Nell’s life, briefly narrating her tale.

Through our whimsical narrators, we quickly learn that the grandfather is on the verge of losing his shop to the sinister Mr. Quilp (Martin Giles) playing poker after dark (way before Jennifer Harman, Phil Laak and Daniel Negreanu made it cool).

Quilp wants the shop, the money and the granddaughter. It’s a sick package deal. Quilp is dark and twisted (physically and emotionally) and pines lustfully for the fourteen-year-old Nell. Let’s face it, this dude is creepy.

Quilp is often seen in the company of his lawyer, Brass (James FitzGerald) and a ragamuffin he simply calls Boy (Matt Henderson).

The grandfather has very few allies. His grandson, Nell’s brother Fred (Sean Lenhart), is after his nonexistent money. The grandfather and Nell only have the extremely loyal shop boy, Kit (Jacob Epstein), to count on.

When Fred is convinced his grandfather can’t help him, he confides in his best friend, Dick Swiveller (Jordan Ross Weinhold), that he has to leave town to escape his creditors.

The grandfather and Nell also flee in the middle of the night to escape Quilp’s clutches, but the villain does not give up easily. He begins his manhunt…er…um…girl-hunt. The vile man moves people around like chess pieces. He gets Dick Swiveller to a job working for Brass and his sister Sally (Karen Baum) in case Nell contacts him.

Meanwhile, Kit gets a job working for the law firm of Garland (Visser) and Witherden (Bolden), but Quilp finds a way to manipulate Kit with his treacherous underlings, Brass and his sister.

Out on the road, the old man and his granddaughter face all sorts of calamity. Luckily, a landlady (Kaitlin Kerr) takes them in. They are befriended by a schoolmaster (Sean Lenhart) who employs them as caretakers to the property surrounding his school.

All the while, Quilp gets one step closer to his prey.

“The Old Curiosity Shop” is filled with plot and character. There’s a lot going on. While it’s a lengthy show, it’s never tedious. It’s chock full of Dickensian wit and charm.

The cast is magnificent under Alan Stanford’s guiding hand.

Giles romps around as the villainous Quilp. There’s a glint in his eye as he beats back the Boy with a cane and slobbers over young Nell, relishing in his dastardly deeds. It’s a grand performance.

FitzGerald and Baum are incredible as the Brass siblings. FitzGerald’s Brass strongly correlates to our contemporary times. He’s Cohen to Quilp’s Trump, devilishly sycophantic until the worm turns and he is caught. Baum’s Sally is basically an Ebenezer Scrooge without the redemption.

Side note: There’s a prevailing theory that the nameless handmaiden, the Marchioness (Calema Graham), is the illegitimate offspring of a devious union between Sally Brass and Quilp. It’s icky enough to be true (as true as anything in this fantastical tale).

While the villains attempt to steal the show, there are some amazing turns among the heroes and those who live in the lines between good and evil.

Weinhold’s comic timing is impeccable. When Dick Swiveller has the unfortunate assignment of describing an apartment, he says, “They are very charming apartments, sir. They command an uninterrupted view of – of over the way, and they are within one minute’s walk of – of the corner of the street.”

Epstein’s Kip is marvelous. The young lad holds his own amongst a bevy of Equity actors. He is charming and charismatic.

Visser and Bolden do a remarkable job with their multiple roles, each, literally and figuratively, wearing many hats.

Joan Markert’s costumes are flawless. She captures 1850’s London raggedy and sooty style with an artistic flair.

The Christmas season is upon us, but, instead of seeing the same old Scrooge, mix up your Dickens a bit and go to “The Old Curiosity Shop.

-MB

“The Old Curiosity Shop” runs through December 15 at WQED’s Fred Rogers Studio, 4802 Fifth Avenue, Pittsburgh, PA 15213. For more information, click here.

By Michael “Buzz” Buzzelli, ‘Burgh Vivant

After a dispute with his father, a talented young composer and singer, Alexander Ashbrook (Sophie Aknin), runs away to pursue a musical career in Helen Edmundson’s adaptation of Jamila Gavin’s “Coram Boy.”

Alexander is a happy child. He spends his days and nights in the choir at the Gloucester Cathedral, composing music in his off hours and hanging with his bestie, Thomas Ledbury (Mei Lu Barnum). His father, Sir William Ashbrook (Chris Knudsen), however, thinks it’s time to put away such childish things and become a man.

During a performance in front of his family and friends, his voice cracks and young Alexander becomes a man (Kyle Irish-Gorvin). He falls for the governess’s daughter, Melissa (Alysia Vastardis) and they do what young people in fresh out of puberty often do. Boom Chicka Wow Wow.

Unable to comply with his father’s wishes, Alex flees the family estate and runs away. His father scratches his name out of the family bible. Gasp!

However, he left Melissa with an unexpected consequence of their brief encounter (the unitended result of said puberty).

Meanwhile, the devious Coram Man, Otis Gardiner (Mike Mekus), takes unwanted children from hapless mothers and buries them (dead or alive) for a price. He tells them that the children will be cared for at the well-known Coram Hospital (for wayward children). Otis accomplishes his wicked deeds with the aid of his own indentured servant and son, Meshak (Daniel Murphy).

Melissa gives up her newborn to the housekeeper, Mrs. Lynch (Blake Doyle), who is in cahoots with the Coram Man. Otis commands Meshak to dispose of the baby. Meshak runs away with the child.

Several years later, an orphan, Aaron Dangerfield (Sophie Aknin in a dual role), ends up in a choir with the same desire to pursue a musical career.

A famous composer, George Frideric Handel (Michah Stanek) discovers the child’s talent and brings him to be tutored by Thomas Ledbury (now played by Tommy Bo).

Alexander Ashbrook, now living under a nom de guerre, reunites with Thomas and meets Aaron, unaware that the boy is his son. Dunt dunt da!

But wait! There’s more! Aaron’s best friend, Toby Gaddarn (Zetra Goodlow) is taken in by a dastardly slave trader (who may or may not be someone from Alex and Melissa’s past). And, for some reason, there are angels (Augustine Ubannwa and Tyquan White) flying about.

It’s difficult to pick a central character or theme to the show, because there isn’t one. There is no central POV (Point of View) and myriad plotlines go off of their own accord much like the aforementioned angels.

The play is very long. Toby’s storyline started midway through the second act. It was the “Look down at the watch moment.” There was, however, no kitchen sink in the play, but it felt like the only thing missing.

Frankly, it’s hard to imagine why Edmundson gathered numerous Tony nominations for this adaptation.

Director Tome Cousin does garner some fantastic performances out of his actors.

Murphy does a stellar job writhing around as the tortured Meshak. Think of him as a quasi-Quasimodo – – without the spinal malformation.

Aknin does a spectacular job as both young Alex and Aaron.

Mekus is reprehensible villain. He pulls it off, despite his boyish good looks. Doyle’s Mrs. Lynch is delightful as the unscrupulous maid.

There are some great but tiny performances from Blumethal, Barnum and Goodlow, and Stanek’s Handel is a hoot.

“Coram Boy” is not a musical but a play with music. It’s a fine distinction. No one bursts into song unexpectedly, but the number one reason to see the play would be for the choir. They are heavenly.

-MB

“Coram Boy” runs until December 2 at the new Pittsburgh Playhouse, 350 Forbes Avenue, Pittsburgh, PA 15222. For more information, click here.

By Michael “Buzz” Buzzelli, ‘Burgh Vivant

After eight years in prison, two ex-convicts return to their hometown of Reading, PA, and face the consequences of their actions while trying to pick up the pieces of their former lives in Lynn Nottage’s Pulitzer Prize-winning play, “Sweat.”

Two childhood friends, Jason (Patrick Cannon) and Chris (Ananias J. Dixon) have followed completely different paths in prison. Jason has covered himself in Nazi images, including a Swastika tattoo that blankets half his face, from his forehead to his chin. Chris found Jesus in lock up and carries a small, leather bible everywhere. Both men meet with their parole officer, Evan (Monteze Freeland) and discuss life outside the penitentiary.

Chris and Jason’s lives diverged, but they share a common past. “Sweat” flashes backward to let their mutual past unspool, slowly, methodically.

Eight years earlier. Three women, Cynthia (Tracey Conyer Lee), Tracey (Amy Landis) and Jessie (Michelle Duffy), hang out at local bar after finishing their shifts at Olstead Steel Tubing, a steel mill. The ladies get together to gripe about the job, even though it’s the best paying gig in town. Between beers, Cynthia spends time arguing with her ex, Brucie (Kevin Mambo).

The bartender Stan (Tony Bingham) relentlessly flirts with Tracey, but she doesn’t take the bait. Jessie gets too drunk, and the bar back, Oscar (Jerreme Rodriguez), polishes the tables quietly in the background. It seems like a series of regular nights in small town America  – until the plant begins laying off its employees.

Meanwhile, Cynthia gets a management position, right before the lay-offs begin, and racial tensions balloon like subprime mortgages.

Hint: Racism, sadly, has never really gone away. It just festered underneath everything like cancer, destroying everything in its path.

“Sweat” examines the 2016 election through a tiny microcosm in an American bar – a tempest in a shot glass. The play is a treatise on how the USA began falling apart when corporations busted unions and moved jobs to Mexico.

Why did Jason and Chris go to jail? Sorry. The captain has raised the spoiler shield. The gory details will not be revealed in this review.

Nottage wrote a whip-smart script, but the plot is a slow burn with a fiery climax and a coal black ending. Each character gets a storyline, but the play never feels crowded or disjointed. It is, however, very confusing. Patient audience members will be rewarded.

Director Justin Emeka has an excellent cast sweating on stage. While the ensemble is terrific, there are several stand outs.

Landis is brilliant. Her character, Tracey, is a maniac. Seriously. She’s a Steeltown girl on a Saturday night looking for the fight of her life. And, boy, does she gets one!

Cannon is explosive as Jason. When he first wanders into the bar in the flashback, he’s infused with boyish charm. But as his circumstances change, he becomes more and more bitter and jaded. He smolders in his ex-convict scenes.

Conyer Lee is magnificent. She gets a lion’s share of the story as Cynthia goes from working class woman to management and elsewhere.

Bingham is amazing. He transforms himself in the final scene of the play (spoiler shields are still engaged).

Dixon is walking around with some kind of young Forest Whitaker energy, and, that, my friends, if a very good thing.

All the action takes place on an exquisite swiveling set by Michael Schweikardt. There’s very effective lighting and sound design by Sherrice Mojgani and Zach Moore respectively.

Milquetoast warning: “Sweat” is not for the faint of heart. It is violent and laced with profanity. If you have to cover your eyes for the squeamish scenes or cover your ears for the dirty words, it’s worth it.

P.S. Don’t be fooled by the play’s title. The theater is actually quite chilly. Bring an extra sweater.

“Sweat” runs until December 9 at the O’Reilly Theater, 621 Penn Avenue, Pittsburgh, PA 15222.

For more information, click here.

By Michael “Buzz” Buzzelli, ‘Burgh Vivant

Huzzah! The war is over and Beatrice (Sarah Kwiatek) and Hero (Emily Peifer) learn that a phalanx of soldiers are returning to Messina to celebrate their victory in William Shakespeare’s “Much Ado About Nothing.”

Hero has her eye on Claudio (Adam Nie), but Beatrice can’t be bothered with the affairs of the heart. She does not wish to marry, but she does enjoy sharpening her wit and verbally sparring with Claudio’s friend, Benedick (Brenden Peifer).

The wooing commences and Hero and Claudio are quickly engaged. Both of them want to rush into the wedding right away. They’re so enamored of one another that the happy couple wants to spread the joy by getting Beatrice and Benedick hooked up.

Meanwhile, Don John seeks to make malignant mischief with his accomplices, Borachio (Joe McHugh) and Conrad (Robert Pell). Don John plans to thwart Claudio and Hero’s wedding by pulling a horrible stunt. Barachio goes to Hero’s window and romances Margaret (Madalyn Lenahan), Hero’s chambermaid. Don John convinces Claudio and Don Pedro (Jahir Christian) that Hero is unfaithful and entertains a man…even the night before the wedding.

Claudio falls for Don John’s evil plot and breaks it off with Hero at the wedding!

Spoilers: Dogberry (Meg McGill), Verges (Diane Brunke) and the night watchmen (Nico Bernstein and Zev Woskoff) overhear Borachio brag about his nefarious deed.

Things get even crazier, but all’s well that ends well. Whoops! Wrong play.

The problem with “Much Ado About Nothing” is that it has two distinct plotlines that don’t seem to mesh well. Shakespeare tells the A story and then the B story – instead of weaving the two storylines together.

Also, there’s a lot of dancing and singing that fills up the time. The Bard also teases us with a sword fight between Claudio and Benedick that never happens. Where was Anton Chekov when you need him?

Brenden Peifer, however, gets some terrific moments riffing with the audience. Peifer is exceptional as Benedick. He plays the role with the right amount of brazen vanity and boyish charm.

He is evenly matched with Kwiatek’s Beatrice. Beatrice and Benedick get some of the best lines in the play.

McGill is hilarious as Dogberry. She is delightful, especially when hearing her lament, “Oh, if only the sexton had recorded that I’m an ass!”

McHugh’s Borachio gets the best of her character every time and it’s a joy to watch him verbally catapult over her head.

Honorable mentions to Bernstein and Woskoff. While they don’t have very many lines, they have oodles of comic chemistry.

Scenic Designer Gianni Downs does a marvelous job with the multi-tiered Messina; a stately Italian villa with sun dappled waters off in the distance. It looked gorgeous at sunset and dawn – thanks to Lighting Designer Steven Yates.

Despite some terrific talent on a beautiful stage, “Much Ado” seems overly long. Director Victoria Rhoades could have tightened up the running time by trimming out some of the singing and dancing.

If nothing else, “Much Ado About Nothing” will certainly provide much needed laughs. And we always need more laughter.

-MB

“Much Ado About Nothing” runs till November 18, 2018 at the Charity Randall Theatre, 4301 Forbes Avenue, Pittsburgh, PA 15213. For more information, click here.

By Michael “Buzz” Buzzelli, ‘Burgh Vivant.  

Strangers gather in a venerable and stately house on a hill (at an undisclosed location in hipster Lawrenceville). The enigmatic Jack Warrington (John Feightner) has called together this motley crew to play a deadly, little parlor game in Sean Collier’s immersive theater experience, “Hollow Moon”

Warrington’s guests include a Tarot card reader, Theodora Court (Lee Lytle); ghost hunter, Dr. Cedric Montague (Michael McBurney); gruff mystery man, Luke Hollywood (Tyler Ray Kendrick) and flustered flibbertigibbet, Eleanor Abbot (Ashley McKinney). If the names sound familiar, you might recognize them from Shirley Jackson’s gothic horror novel “The Haunting of Hill House.” “Hollow Moon” is an homage to Jackson’s spine-tingling story.

In “Hollow Moon,” Each of four strangers has a surreptitious connection to Warrington, but what happens next is a mystery. Whether this pot-boiler simmers or bubbles over, depends largely on the audience, because the audience are active participants in the show. Each audience member can contribute to the story as much or as little has he/she chooses.

It’s not your typical Choose Your Own Adventure/Murder Mystery/Ghost Story. Can such a genre-bender even be typical?

There’s a big reveal that can’t be spoiled, but – let’s just say – there’s also a disturbing reference Jackson’s short story, “The Lottery.”

Collier has written a tight script, but there are chances for the actors to go in several different directions. It’s tautly directed by Renee Rabenold.

The cast (including Karen Forney in a secret role) is terrific.

Kendrick is masterful as Luke Hollywood. He’s a dynamic actor. It’s easy to get swept up in the story as he tramples around the house, looking for some secret that can help him escape his fate.

McKinney is a joy. She is deeply immersed in the immersive experience. She effortlessly blurs the line between fact and fiction and you begin to believe her plight.

Feightner is maniacal as Warrington. He is larger-than-life in his cameo role.

There are very fine performances by McBurney and Lytle, and spooky special effects by Aaron Tarnow (he’s credited with technical direction, set design and artistic design).

Vigilance Theater Group is new to Pittsburgh’s burgeoning immersive theater scene, but they hit the ground running with their first show, “Hollow Moon.”

If you venture out to “Hollow Moon,” you will get one warning, that will sound a lot like a non-sequitur from Suzanne Collins’ “Hunger Games” YA novels, “May the odds be in your favor!”

– MB

For more information about “Hollow Moon,” head over to Vigilance Theater Group’s website here.