Category Archives: Play

Primary Trust

Off-Broadway, Play May 30, 2023 Leave a comment

I usually don’t make my reviews personal, but my experience while watching Primary Trust and the themes within this gorgeously crafted play are inexorably intertwined.  With gentle brushstrokes, Eboni Booth introduces us to 38 year old Kenneth, one of the few Black people living in Cranberry, a suburb of Rochester, New York.  His ethnicity is only a minor contributor to Kenneth’s isolation.  Having lived an extremely restricted life since the death of his mother when he was only ten, Kenneth’s coping mechanisms are intricate and ritualized.  But somehow his idiosyncrasy has left him uniquely suited to meeting people at their own level.

There is a deliberate “let’s pretend” quality to the entire production.  From the opening moments, Kenneth speaks directly to us in his halting and self-reflecting style.  Long thoughtful pauses rest between effervescent bursts of storytelling.  All the activity comes with musical accompaniment composed by Luke Wygodny, punctuated by the ding of an “order up” bell.  Marsha Ginsberg’s whimsical scenic design takes the phrase “small town” and makes it literal, including a miniature church, bank, and big box store alongside Wally’s, the tiki bar that serves as Kenneth’s sanctuary.  Lighting by designer Isabella Byrd leaves long shadows on the ground well before winter sets in.  Costume designer Qween Jean employs a more muted color palate than her signature style until an essential jacket makes its appearance at a pivotal moment. Two actors play multiple roles, sometimes barely turning around before switching.  Yet the play is never anything less than genuine and heartfelt.  The entire audience was sufficiently swept up to respond emotionally to every turn.

William Jackson Harper is utterly perfect as Kenneth, balancing warmth, vulnerability, fear and heart.  It’s Harper’s first stage appearance since 2017 and it was my first live theater attendance since March of 2020.  Previously, theater played a major role in my life.  Many of my friends come from that world and it was often the way I entertained others.  Vacations have been planned around seeing a specific work or actor. The temporary loss of that pursuit was profound.  But Primary Trust is all about bringing people in.  At its core is the celebration of coming out of seclusion.  To have Kenneth welcome me as a member of the audience into his life could not have been more impactful. And though I don’t have much more in common with the character, I do share his deep belief in the power of one good friend.

Jay O. Sanders, William Jackson Harper, and Eric Berryman; photo by Joan Marcus

Director Knud Adams, who often works with new material, delicately mines Booth’s script, uncovering the layers of joy, sorrow and hope. Providing support and stability for Kenneth is his best friend Bert, played with sweet good nature by Eric Berryman.  Jay O. Sanders seems to be having the time of his life portraying (among other characters) Kenneth’s two very different bosses.  The first — the owner of a bookstore— has the difficult task of laying Kenneth off after twenty years of a comfortable relationship.  The loss of his job shatters the comfortable if confining structure of Kenneth’s life, and the chink of light shining through the holes is both frightening and filled with possibility.  Helping Kenneth step through the gap is April Matthis’s Corinna, the only one of a multitude of Wally Waiters who wants to see Kenneth as more than an eccentric customer.  Completing the ensemble is a Musician played by understudy Paul Lincoln in the performance I attended.  So essential is he in setting the beat and tone, that Mr. Lincoln received his own loud round of applause.

Roundabout has obviously worked to make this production inclusive.  The company offers clear and sensible guidelines to audience members and the staff makes themselves very available to help.  To get you in the mood for what is to come, the lobby has been decorated to resemble a tiki bar, complete with projected fish tank and artificial grass.  The ticket confirmation warns audience members not to arrive late.  I can only reemphasize their strong recommendation.  Missing any of the first few minutes of the show will leave you with quite the wrong impression of what is transpiring.

Primary Trust is a work of true beauty.  It was nurtured at the 2021 Ojai Playwrights Conference and is a recipient of an Edgerton Foundation New Play Award.  Running time is an absorbing 95 minutes with a realistic denouement.  It is playing at the Laura Pels Theater in the Harold and Miriam Steinberg Center for Theatre (111 West 46th Street) through Sunday, July 2.  (Note that Harper is out the weekend of June 9.)  Tickets start at $56.  $4.95 COVID cancelation insurance is available.  Visit www.roundabouttheatre.org for additional information including special performances.

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Chicken & Biscuits

Comedy, Off Off Broadway, Play, streaming May 8, 2023 Leave a comment

Theatre Squared continues to make their season available to a nationwide audience with a lively recording of their opening night of Douglas Lyons’ family dramedy Chicken & Biscuits.   It’s another cohesive and enjoyable ensemble production from the Fayetteville, AK based non-profit and winner of a special 2022 Obie Award. 

I saw a Zoom reading of the work in March of 2021.  As was typical of that time and medium, it was messy, but I enjoyed the interrelationships and the realistic tension between characters.  In its final form, the story unfolds almost entirely in one-on-one conversations, so it doesn’t flow so much as interconnect.  Many of the rough edges have been sanded down so that the understandable conflicts are aired and settled at an almost unnatural pace.   But the comedic exchanges and not-so-gentle ribbing remain in place.  Whether you will find this satisfying or frustrating depends on how much you value resolution over the journey to get there.

Baneatta and Beverly are two dramatically different sisters brought together by the death of their much-loved father.  It is clear from Baneatta’s opening prayer that the siblings are poles apart in style, attitude, and social position.  Quite simply, they drive each other crazy.  They even compete over who can feel more grief over the loss of a parent.  A gap between expectation and reality divide the other family members as well: mothers and children, sister and brother, partners and parents.  But the snipes stem more often from wanting the target to have the best life possible rather than deliberate viciousness.  As one character observes, “miscommunication ruins a lot of love.” 

Director Denise Chapman digs as deeply as she can to find the heart and humanity of each personality.  The vivacious cast brings a warm energy to the entire proceeding.  Robert Denzel Edwards is a stand out as Kenny, in part because his character is given the most vivid speech about his inner life.  With his sincere ability to listen, Edwards helps Justin Mackey as his white Jewish boyfriend Logan and Candace Jandel Thomas as Ken’s wounded sister Simone shine in their scenes togethers.  In another sequence, Maura Gale as Brianna covers 40 years of emotional history, providing a strong core to the plot and perhaps the toughest role.  She plays well against Kathy Tyree and Tameka Bob, respectively keeping Baneatta and Beverly in their defined lanes.  Michael A Jones lends solemnity as Baneatta’s husband Reggie, while Jordan Taylor sits on the other end of the spirit seesaw as Beverly’s Tik Tokking daughter La’Trice.

Photography at Theatre2 of Kathy Tyree and Tameka Bob in Chicken & Biscuits, Fayetteville, Arkansas on April 4, 2023.

As usual for T2, the artistic team supports the overall vision while keeping budget in mind.  Working almost entirely in black, costumer designer Devario D. Simmons gives us terrific textural queues about each character’s dominant qualities.  Marie Laster’s airy church set dominated by a rose window, illuminated cross and arched doorways creates a flexible space that is defined and refined by Athziri Morales’s soft lighting.  

According to American Theatre Magazine, Chicken & Biscuits was the 2nd most performed play across the USA in the 2022-23 season (right behind Clyde’s by Lynn Nottage).  The banter and relatability make for a pleasant viewing experience and sometimes that’s just what’s needed in these psychically exhausting times.  It runs though May 14 at TheatreSquared (477 W. Spring St., Fayetteville).  Live performances are at 7:30pm Tuesday through Saturday with 2pm matinees on Saturday and Sunday.  Digital streamers are available for 24 hours beginning at noon Central Time on the selected date.  Customer service is first rate.  Tickets run from $20-$54 and can be purchased by calling (479) 777-7477 or by visiting theatre2.org.

From The Mint Vault — Days To Come

Off-Broadway, On Demand, Play March 19, 2023 Leave a comment

“Lost Plays Found Here.”  So says The Mint Theater punningly about their mission.  Founded in 1992 by Artist Director Jonathan Bank, the company gives new life to neglected plays primarily from the 1930s.  Always polished, frequently charming, and often stunningly relevant, the line-up has included The Voysey Inheritance by Harley Granville-Barker, Rachel Crothers’ A Little Journey, and several works by the nearly forgotten Teresa Deevy.  They have made their home in several comfortable venues around Manhattan, most recently City Center and Theater Row.  

Financially slammed like every other small theater during COVID, The Mint occasionally opens their vault of recorded shows as a passive income stream.  Their current offering is the intense drama, Days to Come.  Written by Lillian Hellman between two better known plays — The Children’s Hour and Little Foxes — the plot unfolds over the course of a month in 1936 during a strike against a factory in a small Ohio town.  Hellman chose to focus on the social impact the strike has on the close community.   She conducted interviews with workers and management of the Wooster Brush Company to help her create characters of depth and conviction without the aim of solving their issues.  Andrew Rodman, the owner, and Thomas Firth,  the most vocal of the workers, are friends.  Their long-term relationship makes their conflict more complex, especially when outside forces intervene.  As events unfold it becomes clear that simply knowing a person over time doesn’t guarantee you can anticipate their actions. 

Director J.R. Sullivan builds the tension between various pairs of characters, each with a distinct style and agenda.  Larry Bull is the heart of the show, imbuing Andrew with surprising sensitivity and self-awareness.  In contrast, Chris Henry Coffey’s Tom is all gut reaction.  Coming between them is Ted Deasy’s Henry Elliot, a lawyer who’s wealth and style mask a grimy interior.  In arguably the most difficult role, Mary Bacon successfully balances the symptoms of Andrew’s sister, Cora’s, mental illness with genuine if misguided concern.  The rest of the cast includes Janie Brookshire, Dan Daily, Roderick Hill, Betsy Hogg, Geoffrey Allen, Kim Martin-Cotten, Wendy Rich Stetson and Evan Zes.

Larry Bull, Chris Henry Coffey, Ted Deasy, Roderick Hill, and Janie Brookshire in Days to Come; Photo by Todd Cerveris

Recorded in August of 2018, the stream is very stable and there’s no log in process, though a valid email address is required.  Audio quality is excellent and subtitles easy to read. It is shot from the audience viewpoint with straightforward camera work which never distracts.  Costume designer Andrea Varga sets the tone with wonderful fabrics, which can be seen with increased clarity.   And even on a small screen, the Rodman’s living room designed by Harry Feiner is lush with decorative detail. 

The original Broadway production of Days to Come was a disaster.  The influential William Randolph Hearst stormed out and the run lasted a mere seven days.  While the work isn’t the most relatable or smooth of The Mint’s productions, it is well worth the two hour investment.  It’s available On Demand at https://minttheater.org/ free of charge though April 2.  A request for support will appear in the upper right hand corner at the end, by which time I hope you, too, are a fan.

Pipeline – Streaming on Demand

On Demand, Play February 4, 2023 Leave a comment

Pipeline is one of those thrilling intimate dramas that pulls you into its core with genuine emotion and basic human truths.  Written by Dominique Morisseau and presented at Lincoln Center Theater one year after the completion of her famed trilogy, The Detroit Project, it won the Edgerton Foundation New Play Award.  Every one of the well-drawn characters has an arguable viewpoint, proving that the most provocative and intelligent questions rarely have straight answers.

The entire cast of six is perfectly calibrated to provide an affecting high-energy 90 minute ride.  Each character is under pressure, but despite their shared sense of oppression they simply can’t manage to give each other a break.  The story opens on an earnest Karen Pittman as Nya, a teacher in a typically underfunded public school.  Although she is fiercely dedicated to creating relatable materials for her inner-city students, she has agreed to send her only child Omari —  an appropriately grave Namir Smallwood — to a private boarding school.  He is clearly bright enough to compete academically, but privilege isn’t contagious and Omari has been undone by the environment.  His long-brewing rage has boiled over during a lesson on Richard Wright’s Native Son, a controversial book often criticized for bolstering a destructive stereotype of young black men.

As mother and son work along their distinct paths in search of conflict resolution, we also meet two of Nya’s co-workers: Tasha Lawrence as a frustrated and mouthy white fellow teacher, Laurie, and Jaime Lincoln Smith’s Dun, a caring security guard who has history with Nya.  Providing some lightness to the mood is a delightfully sincere Heather Velazquez as Omari’s girlfriend, Jasmine.  Perhaps most critical to setting all the events in motion is Morocco Omari’s Xavier, Nya’s ex-husband who is out of step with both her and their son.

Namir Smallwood as Omari and Karen Pittman as Nya in Lincoln Center Theater’s Pipeline.

Thanks to a partnership between LCT and BroadwayHD, the work is currently available to viewers nationwide with rewarding results.  Blending recordings from August 22 and 24 of 2017, Habib Azar’s direction for the screen(from stage direction by Lileana Blain-Cruz) draws the audience even deeper into the profound rage and passing joys of the characters.  Significant details from a bandaid to a tremor are more visible in closeup.  The short scenes are keep flowing by using film clips as bridges.   Presented in three-quarter round with the audience as a classroom, this production also serves as an introduction to the jewel box of a house that is the Mitzie Newhouse.

The creative team has supported the required fast pace.  Scenic designer Matt Saunders defines the space with a wall of white washed concrete masonry and simple set pieces.  Location is further established using projections by Hannah Wasileski.  Yi Zhao’s variations of light and shadow along with Justin Ellington’s sound work together to increase emphasis of key moments.  

At a time when public schools are increasingly lacking in financial and community support, Pipeline draws sharp lines from a personal story to the bigger picture.  The questions it raises are sure to linger in your heart and mind long after the last curtain call.  In honor of Black History Month, Pipeline is featured with a stellar line-up that also includes 2010 Tony Award-winner for Best Musical, Memphis; American masterpiece, Porgy and Bess recorded in San Francisco’s splendid War Memorial Opera House; and the incomparable Audra McDonald in Lady Day at Emerson’s Bar & Grill.  Learn more by visiting https://www.broadwayhd.com/categories/celebrating-black-artists.

The Tempest – Bethesda and Streaming

On Demand, Play, streaming January 23, 2023 Leave a comment

The Tempest, thought to be one of the last plays written by William Shakespeare, is one of his most often reinterpreted.  A new adaptation by wordsmith Aaron Posner and slight-of-hand master Teller (of Penn and Teller), who also co-direct, brings the themes of perception, manipulation, and illusion to the forefront.  It is the magic of theater fully visualized.

The story swirls around Prospero whose evil brother, Antonio, has usurped his position as Duke of Milan.  Now living on an enchanted island with his teenage daughter, Miranda, Prospero has become a powerful magician served by an able spirit, Ariel.  The only other inhabitant of the island is Caliban, the vengeful misshapen son of a witch who feels the island is rightfully his.  Fate has brought Antonio’s ship close by, and Prospero whips up a storm.  With Ariel’s help, Prospero grounds the vessel and scatters those aboard onto the shore.  This proves to be the first step in his plan to regain his position and give his child the life she deserves.  If Ariel performs his tasks well, Prospero promises to free him and bury the book of spells forever.

Playwright Posner has done a skillful job of trimming the sprawling plot and making visible some aspects of the text that are more often just implied.  In the beginning, he illustrates long narrative passages by bringing the relevant people on stage to act out the descriptions.  This technique not only makes the play even more engaging, it helps newcomers keep straight the myriad characters and their interconnections.  

The circus-like atmosphere of the island — complete with grotesques of all sorts— is also made bolder by the first-rate cast.  Prospero (Eric Hissom in tumbling waves of anger, love, and self-awareness) is presented as a cross between a magician and a carnival ringmaster, with a wand rather than his customary staff.  Several traditional magic tricks are woven into the production, with the most gasp-inducing being a transformation of Prospero’s own costume.  Teller’s influence is most notable in the rendering of Ariel (a uniquely suited Nate Dendy) as soft of tone and palette, with quick hands and a mischievous nature.  Caliban’s twisted essence is portrayed by two intertwined muscular actors (the awesome pair of Hassiem Muhammad and Ryan Sellers) whose menacing limbs and animistic movement were choreographed by Matt Kent and Renée Jaworsk of the revolutionary dance company Pilobolus.  Two roles — the compassionate counselor Gonzalo (a stately Naomi Jacobson) and the delusional drunkard Stephano (a winking Kate Eastwood Norris) — have been gender flipped which deepens certain aspects of their characters.

Eric Hissom (Prospero) and Nate Dendy (Ariel) in The Tempest at Round House Theatre. Photo by Scott Suchman.

Posner and Teller have surrounded themselves with a creative team that brilliantly supports their special take on this classic.  The scenic design by Daniel Conway inventively blends painted backdrops framed in old-fashioned footlights with elements of a ship’s rigging.  The bluesy music of Tom Waits has been substituted for the songs from Shakespeare’s time, supplying a moody soundtrack that is vibrantly interpreted by Kanysha Williams and Lizzie Hagstedt as “goddesses” Juno and Iris.  (A third god, Saturn, usually played by Ian Riggs, was absent from the performance I saw.)  Andre Pluess’s sound design also incorporates critical musical effects that emphasize the action.  In addition to the men’s dapper suits, costume designer Sarah Cubbage has given Miranda (an exuberant Megan Graves) practical loose fitting overalls and outfitted the crooning Iris with an eye popping red bustier.

It’s thrilling to see the dreamy and poetic aspects of The Tempest translated into spellbinding visual imagery.  The live production at Bethesda’s Round House Theatre (4545 East-West Highway) is sold out, but streaming tickets are still available making the play accessible to a wider audience.  The simple three camera production can only be streamed from the Round House site, but the Vimeo platform is stable on most browsers and the sound quality is high even on a laptop.  (Nice size captions are also available.)  Runtime of the recording is 2 hours and 10 minutes, which makes for clean storytelling.  Tickets must be purchased no later than January 29 by calling 240.644.1100, ordering online at RoundHouseTheatre.org, or visiting the Round House box office.  On Demand access will be available until February 12.

Detroit 67 – Fayetteville, AR and Streaming

Play, streaming October 31, 2022 Leave a comment

Playwright and MacArthur “Genius” Dominique Morisseau can weave a richer story with a handful of characters than most people can tell with a cast of dozens.  This makes her a great match for TheatreSquared in Fayetteville, Arkansas: a small space with a worldly audience.  Set against the backdrop of the historic bloody clash between the Detroit police and Black residents, their current production of Morisseau ’s Detroit 67 is all too current in its themes.  To bring in some extra cash, Lank and his sister Chelle are running an off-licensed after-hours bar in their basement.  It is similar to the one that was violently raided by police, sparking five days of rioting that ended in over 40 deaths and thousands of arrests.  As in the play, then-governor Romney had to call in the National Guard and President Johnson provided two army divisions to restore peace.  

Though Morisseau keeps the action confined to the siblings’ basement, she uses exposition sparingly and instead explores the social and emotional impact of the turmoil outside through well-drawn relationships.  We learn that though they are close, Chelle (a simmering Devereau Chumrau) and Lank (Tenisi Davis moving fluidly between tenderness and fury) have conflicting opinions about how to use their small inheritance.  Lank is encouraged in his riskier plan by his close friend Sly (smooth Christopher Alexander Chukwueke).  But his downgrading of the safety net provided by family and friends is challenged by Caroline (pixyish Jenna Krasowski), a young white woman who literally stumbles into his life.  The quintet is rounded out by Bunny (crowd favorite Na’Tosha De’Von), who relishes all  that life brings her way.  Through this battle between dreaming big and playing it safe, Morisseau tells a story that covers race, class, and the lies of the American Dream in a deeply personal and genuine way.  

Christopher Alexander Chukwueke, Devereau Chumrau, Na’Tosha De’Von and Tenisi Davis; photo by Wesley Hitt

Well-timed comebacks and the use of uplifting Motown tunes provide light around the shadows.  The songs of the Temptations, the Four Tops, the Vandellas, Smokey Robinson, Marvin Gaye and others form a bridge between the characters and the audience and momentarily erase all barriers.  It is the soundtrack of a particular time and place, but also a connector to our world.

The staging by director Dexter J. Singleton is somewhat constrained by Baron Pugh’s detail-oriented set.  Look closely at the walls, and Chelle’s and Lank’s childhoods envelop them.  The essential bar, worn furniture, and decor lend an appropriate hemmed-in vibe to the action.  Costume designer Azalea Fairley visually differentiates the characters, giving Bunny bold prints and highest heels, dressing Chelle in muted tones and flats, and displaying Caroline’s petite curves in Chelle’s cast-offs.  Sound design by Bill Toles expands on the wondrous playlist.

I deeply appreciate the considerate and inclusive opportunity TheatreSquare provides to participate in their varied season.  Their modest four-camera set-up always provides an engaging home experience complete with a warm welcome from their staff and volunteers.  Each streaming pass is good for 24 hours.  The instructions are easy to execute and the recording is of above-average quality. 

As the first piece in Morisseau’s Detroit Project, Detroit ’67 is a thrilling introduction to her potent work.  It is available on-stage and via streaming through Sunday, November 6.  Runtime is approximately 2 ½ hours including intermission.  Tickets are available at https://tix.theatre2.org/events and range from $37-$57 for the live show at TheatreSquared in Fayetteville and $25-$35 for individual and household streaming passes.

A Nagging Feeling Best Not Ignored – Live Stream

Live Online, Live Stream, Play September 1, 2022 Comments: 2

January 6th will never again be just a date, but rather an historic occurrence.  Some consider what happened in 2021 to be the most serious attack against democracy.  Others saw brave patriots who took action when they felt those same institutions had betrayed them and their leader.  A third group finds the entire episode to be just so much more political blah-blah-blah that has nothing to do with them.  All of these viewpoints are presented by the unreliable narrator and sole character in Roland Tec’s A Nagging Feeling Best Not Ignored, a live Zoom-based theatrical event.

A ticket to this happening comes with precise instructions.  We have volunteered for a citizen panel.  Check-in is at 7:45 PM and while the piece will conclude by 9:00PM we are requested to stay for “processing”.  In order to participate fully, we will keep our cameras and microphones on and wear headphones to eliminate extraneous noise.  (I further recommend using the Full Screen mode and Do Not Disturb to block out any notifications.)  After hearing his story, our judgement of “the subject” will be legally binding.

Roland Tec is The Subject in A Nagging Feeling Best Not Ignored

These directions set the expectation for a serious and intense engagement with the solitary character, Benj.  Eery music and distant voices that we hear upon entry only heighten the mood.  As portrayed by writer Tec, Benj is an attempt to create an Everyman in what is becoming the everyday experience of many.  Shot at a slight diagonal, this man clearly needs to clean house in all the meanings of that phrase.   His headphones are askew and there’s a ladder and a towel behind him hinting at a mess beyond.  COVID has kept him home alone more than at any time in his life.  Most of his news is delivered through social media.  New connections are only made online, where it is often hard to tell who is genuine and who is a bot.  The valley has never been more uncanny than in Benj’s landscape.

As directed by Leigh Strimbeck, Benj speaks in a manner that alternates between rushed and halting.  He shares his circumstances just before and shortly after the actions that took place on January 6th, with asides that give insight into his personal life. How deeply you are touched will depend on how well you are managing your own feelings.  

The distractions are many.  Chat has been left open, which allows for some important intervention but also unnecessary prattle.  One of the disadvantages of conversations over Zoom is that the highlighted speaker is the loudest instead of the most important.  With over 30 microphones open, those featured including a man with a persistent cough, a woman making clattering noises, and several very personal laughs.  Perhaps this is meant as a metaphor for how easily our attention is diverted from discomfort.  How deeply can we ever react to something on a screen?  But there is no question that the technical set-up made it difficult to remain fully absorbed in what we had been told was a civic duty.  

The section that leaves a lasting impression is the post show discussion, which on the night I attended was led by retired psychologist Henry “Hank” Greenspan, a playwright/historian whose work focuses on survivors of genocide.  Our audience was less invested in whether Benj should suffer any consequence than in finding productive outlets for their own grief and discouragement.  Reactions were only partially to the play and the rest to very real life.  One woman pointed out that her feelings are not nagging at all, but in her face screaming 24/7.  

That a short work like A Nagging Feeling Best Not Ignored could bring forth that level of emotion at this time of perpetual overwhelm is noteworthy.  And while there are problems with Zoom, it does allow for sharing of the work across the country.  There is one more scheduled opportunity to be a witness on Wednesday, September 7, at 8PM.  Tickets are $22.50 and can be purchases on Eventbrite at  https://www.eventbrite.com/e/302460416247.

Lavender Men – Los Angeles and Streaming

On Demand, Play August 23, 2022 Leave a comment

Taffeta, one of three characters in Lavender Men, describes what we are about to see as a “fantasia”.  The piece explores a personal chapter in the life of Abraham Lincoln as filtered through the mind — indeed the entire body — of playwright Roger Q. Mason.  In 1860, Lincoln mentored a young law clerk, Elmer Ellsworth.  Ellsworth went on to help Lincoln campaign for president.  He eventually made history of his own when he became the first Union casualty of the American Civil War, killed while removing a large Confederate flag from the rooftop of a Virginia inn.  That the men admired each other and became good friends is well documented.  In Lavender Men, Mason speculates that the two meant much more to one another.

The fast moving script, developed in Skylight Theater Company’s resident playwrights lab, covers many themes and styles.  Taffeta proposes that she take Abe and Elmer back in time to reexamine their relationship.  She will take on the role of “everyone else” including a young soldier, a cleaning woman, Mary Todd Lincoln and even a tree near a swimming hole.  Black, large, boisterous, and proudly queer, she is everything the two men are not, opening up plenty of space for conversation about oppressed voices throughout our history.  Themes of body image issues and social biases are explored, though the main plot always returns to a heartfelt love story.  

The play works best when it is self-aware such as when a character questions what is currently being taught in classrooms.  Mason seems to be using personal experience to deepen the emotions of the storytelling, which also makes the viewpoint very specific.  Their haunting voices literally make themselves heard in Taffeta’s ears.  The work does an admirable job of showing the imperfections of Lincoln’s legacy, but there are missed opportunities to connect those events more tightly to today’s political and social climate, particularly as that relates to Lincoln’s own party.  

Director Lovell Holder, who has been attached to the production since a reading at New York’s Circle in the Square, has brought out an intensity in all three actors.  His staging makes great use of a relatively small space and every speck of furniture.  The company has wisely hired Seth Dorcey to direct and edit the streaming version so that the flow translates for home viewers and harnesses the power of the enthusiastic live audience.  The set designed by Stephen Gifford uses a wardrobe as the main doorway so that Abe and Elmer literally go into and out of the closet throughout.  The backdrop includes some wonderful detail — a photo of Frederick Douglas, a paste-up of Lincoln — but nothing that distracts from the terrific performances.  Like a proper fantasia, there is original music by David Gonzalez which smooths the transitions ranging from burlesque to gravitas with cello played by John Swihart.  The shifts in mood are further supported by Dan Weingarten’s atmospheric lighting. Erin Bednarz’s sound design also incorporates some well-timed gun shots.  

Pete Ploszek, Alex Esola, and Roger Q. Mason; Photo credit Jenny Graham

Swirling in Wendell Carmichael’s glorious skirts and bonnets, playwright Mason portrays their unique creation, Taffeta, as bold yet self critical, wise, but with lessons to learn.  The chemistry between Pete Ploszek’s Abe and Alex Esola’s Elmer is electric.  The two maintain connection as they move through time — now, then and never — while manage Taffeta’s coaxing, interfering, and micromanagement.  This renders the tightly choreographed slo-mo love scene superfluous and, with Taffeta as a witness, cheapens what had felt genuine.  

Lavender Men is an engaging and emotionally charged look at pages from history you think you know.  It is currently playing at the Skylight Theater at 1816 1/2 North Vermont Ave in Los Angeles.  It is also available On Demand which is how I was able to enjoy it in New York City.  Run time is 95 minutes with no intermission.  Seats for the live show are $23 – $80.  Showtimes are Saturday 8:30pm, Sunday 3:00pm, and Monday 7:30pm.  The virtual experience is $28.75 for a secure link good for 72 hours.  Tickets through September 4 are available at https://skylighttheatre.org/program-lavender-men/.

Cymbeline – FREE in NYC

Outdoor Venue, Play June 30, 2022 Leave a comment

For its 23rd season, New York Classical Theatre has chosen Shakespeare’s Cymbeline.  This inventive, lively company is the perfect troupe to take on a work that even Will’s Mum likely thought a headache.  Equal parts comedy, tragedy, romance, and fairytale, the work has a cast of nearly 40 and spans multiple locations.  With a wink and a smile, NY Classical’s jovial band of seven actors skillfully tackles the Everest-high pile of coincidences and present an evening of pure enjoyment. 

The group’s signature style includes traditional staging from the 19th century and the use of New York City parks as a natural backdrop.  In years past, viewers would physically move with the actors as the scene changed.  This year, the city has requested that a single area be used in each location, but the action is staged so that the audience remains the focus of attention. Costumes are minimal with a simple hat or cloak often distinguishing between multiple characters.  (Thanks to designer Sabrinna Fabi, Queen looks as if she shaved the neighbor’s cat to trim her dress, which befits her character.)  Lighting is provided by stagehands holding common flashlights; all the better to focus on engagement and storytelling.

I will not recount the sprawling tale of Cymbeline, which isn’t even about that king so much as his feisty daughter, Imogen.  A read through the dramaturgical notes provided on the website and via email is highly recommended for your enhanced enjoyment of the production.   Even if you do not heed this advice, the cast will give you a helping hand in their concise introduction to the evening, which also sets proper expectations and tone.

Artistic Director/Director Stephen Burdman has wonderfully edited the dialogue and uses each space to full advantage.  Fight scenes are amusingly choreographed by Sean Michael Chin and punctuated with Batman-like sound effects.  Oft-tangled pun-filled lines are delivered with clarity and wit.  Moments that could have been groan-inducing are transformed into delightful farce, as if we and the actors are together chuckling behind Shakespeare’s back.  Evan Moore-Coll is a standout in his four roles including the juicy part of Cloten the clod.  Also pivotal to success is Terrell Wheeler, who undergoes several hot changes between a kindly servant (Pisanio) and a powerful warrior (Caius Lucius).  He makes an imposing contrast to the slight Nick Salamone as the easily manipulated Cymbeline.  Holding the heart of the story as Imogen is an elegant and fiery Aziza Gharib, who also appears as Jupiter in one of the plot’s more outrageous moments.  Brandon Burk, Christian Ryan, and Jenny Strassburg complete the strong company.

Attendance on the Circle Lawn in Carl Schurz (enter at 87th and East End Avenue) is limited to 200 people.  Reservations are recommended in large part so you will receive helpful information including notice of a rain cancelation.  If you do not regularly attend a yoga class, I recommend bringing a short beach chair.  (Taller chairs are permitted, but you will be seated to the side.)  The logistics are described well on the company’s website.  

Above all, this entrance into N Y Classical’s line-up reminds us that sometimes Shakespeare can be FUN!  The strangled twists of Cymbeline are in support of an all-is-well ending that is sorely needed at this time.  Performances continue in Carl Schurz Park in Manhattan through Sunday, July 3, and then move to Brooklyn Commons Park at MetroTech from July 5 through 10.  Tickets are FREE to encourage every theater goer with a pulse to come out and enjoy the show.  Donations to support the professional actors are highly encouraged.  Visit https://nyclassical.org/cymbeline for further information.

The Orchard – NYC and Live Stream

Live Stream, Off-Broadway, Play June 17, 2022 Leave a comment

Long before Joni Mitchell decried the paving of paradise to put up a parking lot, Anton Chekhov’s emotionally paralyzed Ranevskaya family auctioned off their cherished cherry orchard to make way for summer homes. His last play, The Cherry Orchard, centers on Madame Lyubov who is hopelessly in debt after years of living in Paris.  She and her daughters have returned to their estate for one last party and it is only then that they reflect on the once-prized fruit trees that will be chopped down to make way for modernization.  Like many of Chekhov’s works, there is a sense that happier alternatives have simply slipped out of reach.  

In Arlekin’s (zero-G) imaginative retelling, The Orchard, the work is simultaneously performed live and streamed to a global audience.  Typically, live streams have been made available because there was no audience permitted at the theater or it was presented in a way meant to simulate as closely as possible the live experience.  This is the first theatrical piece I’ve seen that deliberately gives those watching from home a different experience from those seated at the venue. 

While it is simply wonderful to make this production available worldwide and Ukrainian director Igor Golyak has unique experience using virtual reality to enhance traditional theater, it seems unnecessary to have augmented this particular work with an interactive component. The video-game-like curtain-raiser features various rooms of the house containing Mikhail Baryshnikov as Chekhov reading some the author’s more personal words in the original Russian.  Much of the interaction during the play involves being able to select something other than the main camera, though the few times I switched to another unit, it wasn’t revealing so much as disorienting.  And it was impossible to avoid FOMO when just before the auction of the property — during which the audience makes non-binding bids with proceeds going to support the company — the home audience was addressed directly by matriarch Lyubov Ranevskaya while a completely different scene was taking place on stage.

Furthermore, the production is straight-up terrific and needs no embellishment.  Golyak, whose homeland is currently undergoing life changing destruction and loss, has harnessed those feelings of disconnection and grief and made additions to the work that are engaging and meaningful.  The elegant script was translated by Carol Rocamora, who preserves the poetry while tightening the storyline and punching up the more farcical elements.  On scenic designer  Anna Fedorova’s all-blue stage, blossoms litter the floor and even the nursery room teddy bear and hobby horse appear melancholy.  The backdrop envelops the players in dramatic projections by Alex Basco Koch, including lines of dialogue, stars and planets, and the faces of the enraptured audience. The onstage robotics by Tom Sepe lend an eery futuristic and fatalistic feel to the tale.  

Denisova, Hecht, Brett and Nelson in The Orchard; photo by Maria Baranova

The cast is led by the sublime Jessica Hecht, who gives Ranevskaya’s delicacy meaning and tenderness.  Baryshnikov appears again as Firs, the faithful older servant.  His interpretation of an aging, submissive body practically collapses in on itself and he never stops being fully present, even providing a warm interaction with a mechanical dog.  The clowning of Arlekin Players regular Darya Denisova as Charlotta  the soon-to-be-displaced governess, adds appropriately discordant levity.  While Nael Nacer’s booming voice is just perfect for sounding the alarm as Lopakhin, the man best positioned to win the orchard his ancestors tended to as slaves.  John McGinty has been cast as Trofimov, though it’s unclear whether making the perpetual student deaf is a comment on communication between characters or Golyak just appreciates McGinty’s talent.  Juliet Brett, Elise Kibler, Mark Nelson, and Ilia Volok round out the company.

As a fresh take on a classic, The Orchard blossoms under Golyak’s knowing hand.  The themes of class division, misplaced materialism, and cultural loss are sadly timely and touching.  A quick read of The Cherry Orchard will only deepen your understanding of events.  Live performances run through Sunday, July 3, and take place at the Baryshnikov Arts Center at 450 West 37th Street (between 9th and 10th Avenues) .  Showtimes are Tuesday – Thursday at 7PM, Friday – Saturday at 8PM, with matinees on Saturday and Sunday at 2PM.  Proof of vaccination is required for entry and face masks must be worn throughout the two hour runtime.  Prices for the intimate live show run from $39 to $125.  The virtual experience — which requires a plugged-in laptop or desktop — is $29.  There are bundles to purchase both live and streaming together.  For tickets and additional information, visit www.TheOrchardOffBroadway.com.