Tag: Theatre

By Tiffany Raymond, ‘Burgh Vivant

In a city where people are oddly resistant to crossing bridges, it’s easy to wonder if a drive to Braddock for theater is worth your time. Barebones Productions unequivocally affirms the answer is a resounding “Yes!” with their newest production, Sam Shepard’s “True West.”

Their Black Box Theater is an intimate space that compactly heightens the familial tensions of Shepard’s drama, making it feel almost claustrophobic.

Shepard’s play focuses on two estranged brothers. Austin (Gabriel King) is a polished, successful Ivy League educated screenwriter. Lee (Patrick Jordan) is an alcoholic ne’er-do-well with a trendline of breaking and entering. They meet for the first time in five years at their mother’s house (Heidi Mueller Smith) in southern California where Austin is housesitting and working on a screenplay.

Patrick Jordan is both director and leading man as Lee. However, his dual roles don’t compromise the play’s quality. From the opening scene, the tension between the brothers is palpable. Lee crushes a Miller Lite can and pops another one as he rambles. King’s tight facial expressions, which play so well in the compact space, revealing his thin tolerance at the unwelcome distraction as he tries to write. Sound designer Dave Bjornson heightens sounds like the can-crushing, making it as intrusive as a wrecking ball. Costume designer Ali Roush visually reinforces the brothers as polar opposites. In the opening scene, Lee is clad in a faded trench coat with missing buttons and frayed cuffs, a foil to Austin’s fitted baby blue polo shirt and khakis.

The brothers may be opposites, but they romanticize each other lives. This is only possible because they don’t really know each other. To Austin, Lee represents a sort of unchecked freedom Austin has never allowed himself. As a chronic hustler, Lee envies the perceived ease of Austin’s college-educated life that pays him to imagine. At one point, Lee talks about a house he’s casing with “blonde people coming in and out of rooms,” and Jordan has an almost wistful expression. It’s his perception of Lee’s life, even if it’s inaccurate.

While the bulk of the play has the two brothers steeping in the maternal kitchen together, Austin’s producer, Saul (Randy Kovitz), also makes an appearance. Kovitz convincingly evokes the walking stereotype of an aging Hollywood producer, complete with faux orange tan and gold chain. With his casually smug smoothness, it’s easy to imagine a past rife with #metoo moments.

If there’s a weak link, it’s Heidi Mueller Smith as the mom, but luckily, she has the smallest role. In an otherwise strong cast, she comes across as uncertain, and Jordan could have used stronger direction to help her character find a path.

Kovitz isn’t just the smarmy Saul. Like Jordan, he also has a production role; Kovitz serves as the play’s fight director. As tensions build, the quick-tempered Lee takes a swing at Austin with one of Saul’s golf clubs. It’s a moment that takes you aback as an audience member because Kovitz makes it genuine and spontaneous. It’s both shocking and realistic, conjuring a mental reel of domestic violence stats. It’s not the play’s only hands-on fight scene, and Jordan bravely explores the precipices of familial violence without ever sanctioning it.

Set designer Tony Ferrieri does a masterful job with the small stage space. Ferrieri’s “mom” kitchen is an AARP magazine’s homage to a youthful elderly aesthetic complete with mauve paint, a braided rug, and wall-mounted plates and baskets. Ferrieri wisely includes a large bank of windows along the back of the set that opens up the small space. They’re curtained with sheers that permit a delicate range of subtle lighting. Lighting designer Andrew Ostrowski creates beautifully diffused light to convey the play’s wide-ranging early bird to night owl hours.

-TR

Barebones Productions’ presentation of “True West” plays through September 29^th at the Barebones Black Box Theater, 1211 Braddock Ave, Braddock, PA 15104. For more information and to purchase tickets, click here.

By Claire DeMarco, ‘Burgh Vivant

Add three tenors, one wife, two girlfriends, and a hotel bellhop who sings. Multiply misunderstandings, mistaken identities, assumed infidelities. Divide loyalties among friends and partners. Subtract any semblance of sanity. And you have a formula for disaster in Ken Ludwig’s zany “A Comedy of Tenors!!!”

In 1936, Henry Saunders (Dewayne Curry), the producer of a lavish upcoming operatic event in Paris, is fraught with anxiety and wants this show to be a success. Max (Ryan Frank) is Saunders’ assistant (and son-in-law) and fixer – who tackles any and all of Saunders’ problems – real or imagined.

Tito Merelli/Beppo (Warren Ashburn) arrives at a plush hotel. The star of the concert is larger than life. He is an aging Italian tenor is sensitive about his advancing age and believes his wife Maria (Joyce Miller) is having an affair.

Maria, an emotional woman, is always there for her husband. Married for twenty-five years, Maria and Tito have a daughter, Mimi (Elizabeth Glyptis), an aspiring actress. Mimi has come to Paris for the concert.

When one of the headlining tenors bows out suddenly Saunders becomes even more agitated. He and Max need to find a replacement, or the show will be ruined.

Carlo (Colin Burns) saves the day. However, Tito refuses to work with him and refuses to perform. Coincidentally, a bellhop is in the hallway singing.

Enter Beppo, the bellhop. In addition to his lovely tenor voice, he looks like Tito and he’s also Italian.

To add to the mix Tatiana Racon (Candice Fisher), a famous Russian singer is also in town preparing a concert of her own.

Somehow everything is going to come together in this manic farce. But how?!

Farces are notoriously difficult to pull off. The physical maneuvers and mannerisms of all the actors must be in sync in order to produce a cohesive, hilarious show. This production succeeds on all counts.

Ashburn is excellent as Tito and Beppo and he brings such nuances to each character. The audience always knows which part he’s portraying. Both characters have an Italian accent but Beppo’s is gentler, more working class than Tito’s. Ashburn’s comedic portrayal of Beppo is spot on.

Miller delights with her facial expressions and physical comedy. Her Italian accent is authentic and never falters.

Curry’s stamina as the rattled event producer and manager is impressive.

Frank nails his portrayal of the long-suffering, gentle assistant and son-in-law.

Glyptis transforms her character as she seamlessly changes from an aspiring actress to a fiercely supportive partner.

Burns makes his physical gyrations look awkward but pulling that off is difficult and requires great control.

Fisher’s facial expressions and movement in her interlude with Tito are priceless. She has great comedic presence.

Bravo Joe Eberle for fantastic direction. Eberle manages to get some frenetic movement out of the actors in a tight space.

-CED

“The Comedy of Tenors” is a production of Little Lake Theatre Company, 500 Lakeside Drive, Canonsburg, PA 15317. It runs from September 5 to September 21, 2019. For more information, click here.

by Brian Edward, ‘Burgh Vivant. 

We are all of us living in a bubble.  That bubble may be our fears, our insecurities, or other such chains of our own making.  This is the theme that resounds from the fast-paced, hilarious misadventure that is Bubble Boy The Musical.

The book is by Cinco Paul and Ken Daurio, with Paul also having composed the music and lyrics.  When taking in the show’s break-neck, cartoonish pace, it’s not surprising to learn that this very team is responsible for the screenplays of the Despicable Me animated film trilogy.  After about 10 minutes in, you’re willing to forgive their invention of the yellow, goggle-faced Minions of the aforementioned film franchise and the base brand of comedy (term applied loosely) that they project, as Bubble Boy’s dialogue is razor sharp and the lyrics incredibly witty.

Bubble Boy’s story, as you may guess, focuses on a boy in a “bubble:”  Jimmy Livingston (Nathaniel Yost), who due to a hyper un-immune system, has been sealed within a sterile environment since birth, watching the world pass by from his window, vigorously shielded by his overprotective mother, Mrs. Livingston (Missy Moreno).  To pursue love interest Chloe (Alex Manalo), Jimmy sets out on a cross-country journey (in a mobile bubble unit) encountering a cast colorful characters along the way.

In the telling of the tale, Mr. Paul and Mr. Daurio send up numerous musical genres from rock to gospel, while presenting a fully realized musical, love story, and “road story,” all within a hour and a half, no intermission, block of stage time.  Not only are the results hilarious, but also a lesson in good, concise story telling.  I described it to a friend afterward as “Around the World in 80 Minutes.”  Even the most feeble of modern attention spans will be riveted the relentless action.

It’s difficult not to laugh through the deftly scripted scenarios and jokes.  However, the cast assembled by director Don DiGiulio takes the material to the very pinnacle of comedy, leaving no stone unturned in the pursuit of an inflection or sight gag that could, even potentially, elicit laughter.  Although the entirety of the cast fails to match each other in vocal prowess, they are firmly united in their comedic delivery.  Not a single member of the ensemble (Noah Welter, Jerome Fitzgerald, Laura I. Young, H. Davis Weaver, Ricardo Vila-Roger, Emily Welsh, Elise Brado, Rachel Pfenningwerth, and Maher S. Hoque – all of whom are worth mentioning) fades into the background, as each steals the show at some point or another, taking on the role of a vivid friend or foe that Jimmy interacts with on his journey.  When consolidated as an ensemble, they’re working overtime, interjecting enough micro subplots and visual jokes to make the show worth seeing a second time in order to catch it all.

Mr. Yost never tarries nor falters in his marathon performance as the show’s titular protagonist.  He carries the show exceptionally, providing Jimmy a sympathetic believability of a boy who’s never been out of doors.  His earnestness is well matched by Ms. Manalo’s Chole, whose performance remains grounded amid the chaos of on-and-off romance.  Ms. Moreno’s broad portrayal of Mrs. Livingston is compelling in its wacky and original humor, bringing together the attributes of “lovable” and “psychotic” in a manner rarely seen.  Her counterpart, Mr. Livingston (Brad Stephenson), is a man of few words, though when he summons them, their skillful and measured delivery brings a balance and welcome tenderness to the madcap proceedings.

Indeed, many of the acting choices are over the top and many of the scene transitions are improbable, but in the light of the absurd comedy, it’s immediately forgivable.  Mr. DiGiulio and company have established an environment where anything can, and does, happen – and it all works.

What is perhaps most remarkable about Arcade’s Bubble Boy is DiGiulio’s incredibly crisp and clean direction of a brisk, robust musical, consisting of a 13-person cast, plus set and choreography, on a stage that appears to be 20 feet wide at most.  It comes off very precisely, never feeling crowded, and can easily hold a candle to the lofty expectations of a blockbuster musical performing in a 1,000-seat-plus theater.  It’s like quantum mechanics: big energy, little space – and considering the current economic climate of the performing arts, I predict we’ll be seeing more and more shows like this one.

Bubble Boy The Musical continues at Arcade Comedy Theater in downtown Pittsburgh through September 21, 2019.  For tickets and more information, visit www.arcadecomedytheater.com

By Mike “Buzz” Buzzelli, ‘Burgh Vivant

Dusk (Anna Failla) and Dawn (Saige Smith) have come with dire warnings for the Earth and beyond in Sean Collier’s “Welcome to Moonside,” an immersive theater piece staged inside the former Lava Lounge in the Southside.

The aforementioned ghosts, Dusk and Dawn, whisk a select group of humans (i.e. theater patrons) to their realm. Some bad juju is going on and these ephemeral beings need help. The humans arrive in a dark, mystical realm, and a bevy of beautiful beings introduce themselves. There’s Still (Karen Forney), Never (Ashley McKinney), Chrono (Jennifer Dallas), Eve (Vanessa St. Clair) and Midnight (Tamara Siegert). They are ruled by their queen, the enigmatic Tempo (Hazel Leroy). Wandering on the periphery, Person (Bevin Baker), who is somewhere in between human and spirit, acts as our ghost host.

Moonside is an ethereal place – somewhere between broadcast stations on a radio dial – where spirits have corporeal weight.

It’s hard to say what “Welcome to Moonside” is. It is not an escape room, but it has some familiar escape room elements. It’s not a murder mystery either, but a mystery is afoot – and bodies are disappearing. It’s more of a jigsaw with pretty puzzle pieces. Are the spirits, muses, guardian angels or ghosts? It doesn’t matter.

While patrons will garner different bits of information by interacting with the individual spirits, there is a cohesive story. The interaction, however, opens the story up to some spontaneous and surprising moments.

There’s a slow chunk in the middle where it pays to ask questions and seek answers. The experience improves if you get involved. It will slow down for those who just wish to spectate the specters.

Spoiler: Fans of Vigilance Theater Group’s premier production, “Hollow Moon” will be rewarded with Easter eggs of continuity, but “Welcome to Moonside” is not a sequel. You don’t need to have seen one to see the other.

The characters are so well defined and drawn by Collier and the actor portraying each of them. The cast is terrific.

Each member of the ensemble gets a moment to shine. McKinney gets a beautiful moment when a trinket reminds her of a school dance.

Leroy’s Tempo struts around tenacity and verve.

Smith and Failla are effervescent as Dawn and Dusk. Their sheer joy is infectious.

Siegert has a stately and commanding presence. She is a regal and charismatic Midnight.

St. Clair’s Eve is darling, and she doesn’t have it easy. St. Clair has to recite Shakespeare and sing.

Ironically, Dallas, who has little to no dialogue (depending on the outcome of the show), hands in a seamless performance, communicating non-verbally with aplomb.

Maybe it’s the set. Maybe it’s the all-female cast. But there’s something about “Welcome to Moonside” that has a bit of “The Queen of Outer Space” vibe happening.

Kudos to director Renee Rabenold for staging another enjoyable immersive experience.

-MB

“Welcome to Moonside” runs until September 8 at the former Lava Lounge, 2204 East Carson Street, Pittsburgh, PA 15203. For tickets, click here.

Tiffany Raymond, ‘Burgh Vivant

We sometimes assume classic theatre, by virtue of its age, will be stodgy or dated. However, Cup-A-Jo’s skillfully executed production of Moliere’s 1664 French satire, “Tartuffe” (adapted by Richard Wilbur), reminds us that in the right hands, the classics are just as fresh as any contemporary play.

“Tartuffe” follows the wiles of its hypocritical titular character who has wormed his way into a wealthy family where patriarch Orgon (Joe Cannito) is blind to Tartuffe’s (Everett Lowe) grossly blatant manipulations.

Cup-A-Jo reinvents “Tartuffe” without making it feel forced. “Tartuffe” is ultimately a play about exposure. Thanks to stellar pacing from director Joanna Lowe, you practically drool for the conniving Tartuffe to be undone. Lowe purposefully takes the concept of exposure a step further by having the actors exposed at almost every moment. Instead of tucking the cast away backstage for their pre-show prep, you somewhat uncomfortably walk by them on the way to your seats.

The discomfort at walking by the cast pre-show is induced by the unusualness of it, like peeking at unwrapped Christmas presents. It feels wrong, but Lowe willingly invites our gaze. The actors are simply cordoned off behind pink lines on the floor that demarcate the onstage/offstage spaces. It’s a brilliant way to visually foreshadow the play’s themes of exposure and transformation.

The household’s bifurcation over Tartuffe and the wildly opposing views of him by Orgon and his mother, Madame Pernelle (Casey Cunningham), versus the rest of the household seem more appropriate than ever in the current political climate that has bred an increasingly divided America. “Tartuffe” uncomfortably reminds us that perception is reality. Two people can witness the same thing and arrive at opposing conclusions, and Orgon is a leading indicator of that truth. Like any steadfast believer, his views do not crumble easily, and Cannito makes him credible.

Joanna Lowe casts actor Casey Cunningham as both Madame Pernelle, the loyalist to Tartuffe, and Valere, the fiancé of Orgon’s daughter, Marianne (Amy Dick). It’s a lovely case of genderbending as the male Casey initially comes onstage looking like a clone of Tweety bird’s owner, Granny, complete with comically overstuffed boobs practically grazing his bellybutton. Later, he reappears as Valere, who gets backburnered by Orgon for who else but Tartuffe. The two characters are on opposing sides, but in playing both characters, Cunningham provides hope that two disparate souls can find commonality.

Marianne’s role is thankless at best as her character is clearly poorly equipped to deal with the world at large. She is a follower and a pleaser, not a thinker or a leader. Amy Dick is able to give the role some pizzazz thanks to her foil, Dorine (Marsha Mayhak), who easily steals the show as the uproarious housemaid. She’s a brandy-chugging mistress of ceremonies who works for the greater good of the household, despite her recognition that they’re not fully deserving. She speaks combatively with Orgon, standing up for Marianne when she can’t stand up for herself, and humorously purses her lips to be kissed by him at one point, which she already knows will elicit his dismissal.

Everett Lowe as title character Tartuffe can be exasperatingly present at times, but showmanship is the core of his character, so it’s not off base. To return to the theme of exposure, Joanna Lowe peels back one more layer by keeping Tartuffe on a separate elevated stage that’s somewhat behind the audience before he appears onstage. It’s fascinating because he responds nonverbally to what’s being said, as if he’s monitoring the whole household via some invisible camera feeds in a security room. He shows us the power in the pointed raise of an eyebrow, which he mostly raises in a hand mirror as he admires himself, an early indicator of Tartuffe’s narcissism and misguided resolve in his own character.

-TR

Cup-A-Jo’s production of “Tartuffe” plays through August 31^st at the Irma Freeman Center for Imagination, 5006 Penn Avenue, Pittsburgh, PA 15224. For more information, you can visit Cup-A-Jo’s Facebook page, and tickets can be purchased at the door for $20 each via cash or PayPal.

By Claire DeMarco, ‘Burgh Vivant

Dolly Gallagher Levi (Betty Buckley) is a middle-aged widow.  She supports herself in a myriad of ways but most importantly as a matchmaker in “Hello Dolly.” She likes to say she meddles in other peoples’ affairs but one might say she surpasses that adjective and progresses to “Budinski-level.”

Her current client is Horace Vandergelder (Lewis J. Stadlen), owner of Vandergelder’s Hay and Feed. Horace is humorless and ill-tempered but he is “half a millionaire” (and at the end of the 19^th century and beginning of the 20^th, that’s a very rich man).

Our matronly, meddling, multi-tasker inserts herself into the lives of Ermengarde (Morgan Kirner) and Ambrose (Colin LeMoine).  Ambrose, an artist wants to marry Ermengarde, Horace’s niece.  Horace is concerned that Ambrose’s vocation won’t properly support his niece.

Horace confides to the feed store employees Cornelius Hackl (Nic Rouleau) and Barnaby Tucker (Sean Burns) that he’s going to be married.  He’s off to New York with Dolly to seal the deal with widow Irene Molloy (Analisa Leaming), a millinery shop owner.

Dolly, however, has other ideas!  She’s decided to marry Horace so she casually insinuates that Irene’s husband might have died under suspicious circumstances. Once Irene is out of the picture, Dolly has another potential client for Horace, heiress Ernestina Money (Jessica Sheridan). Cha-Ching! Cha-Ching!

Meanwhile back at the feed store Cornelius and Barnaby decide that they, too, need to go to New York.  They concoct a plan to close the store and head off to the big city to spend their money on food and girls.  Dolly tells them about Irene Molloy and her store assistant, Minnie Fay (Kristen Hahn).

Once all the characters are in New York a cascade of events unwinds – just-missed, unplanned encounters at the millinery store and Harmonia Gardens Restaurant, food bills that aren’t paid, an intervening judge.

Do Dolly and Horace finally get together?   Ambrose and Ermengarde?  Cornelius and Irene?  Barnaby and Minnie?

And for heavens sake, whatever happened to Ernestina Money?

Tony award winner Buckley is one of many actresses who have played Dolly over the years.  Her interpretation of the role shines.  Her double takes, voice intonations, facial expressions and general movement are right on the mark.

Buckley’s renditions of “Before the Parade Passes by” and Hello Dolly” are powerful.

Stadlen is believable as the irascible Horace and he holds his own with Buckley at their dinner for two at Harmonia Gardens.  His delivery of “Penny in My Pocket” is engaging.

Hahn is delightful as the silly millinery store assistant, especially brilliant in her “Mrs. Mortimer and her hat” soliloquy.

Leaming combines a beautiful singing voice with an innate comedic touch.

Both Rouleau and Burns compliment each other with their skillful use of physical humor.

What a well-balanced cast and ensemble.

Praise to choreographer Warren Carlyle for the flawless execution of movement and dance.  “The Waiters’ Gallop” is a wonderful example.

Kudos to director Jerry Zaks.

This is the first national tour revival for this always enjoyable musical.  It’s still high-octane, charming and funny.

-CED

 “Hello Dolly” is presented by Pittsburgh CLO at the Benedum Center and runs from August 6 – August 11. For more information, click here.