Drama and Dance
You will not have seen better acting this year than from the five person show at Theater J, "Something You Did" (To 10/3), that tells a "you-were-there" story of social-political terrorism in the 1950's and 1960's. It is a beautifully and dramatically drawn story of a female prisoner who was responsible for the murder of a policeman during one of the many riots that occurred during the war protests of students and outside terrorists during that stressful time. And now this middle-aged woman still refuses to play the "blame" game on a fellow terrorist to gain her early release. Deborah Hazlett gives an award-winning performance as the prisoner as she plays a sympathetic woman who goes from quiet to violent passion in her interaction with the other characters in the play. Her playing is the apex of her other memorable performances on local stages. Rick Foucheux is the antagonist who never relents from his denial of the fact that he put the nails in the explosive that killed the policeman. Rick also gets sympathy...although the villain...by poignantly and sometimes explosively denying such an action out of deep love for her. Granted most in the audience may want him punished for his behavior but he has made the changes in his life in denying his past terrorism and replacing it with great love for our country...whereas Alison refuses that route. No doubt, Rick is the finest practicing actor in this area. Norman Aronovic does his best work as the verbally charming lawyer who has been working this case for many years and with such wonderful "street smart" and yet committed since Alison's father was his colleague and he feels a responsibility. Aakhu Freeman plays the policeman's daughter with a fine poignancy although she tended to use her upper vocal range in some instances where she should have been more muted. Lolita-Marie is the wonderful comic relief as the prison warden with her wonderful "street smart" as well with a superb empathy underneath her sometimes gross surface reactions. The play is exceptionally well written by Willy Holtzman although he should tighten up on the exposition which is sometimes confusing in regards to relationships between and among the characters. Director Eleanor Holdridge does a prized orchestration of the characters and their emotional shifts. And the scene between Ms. Hazlett and Rick Foucheux is total dynamite. Technicals are all first rate in a competent and realistic stage design by Luciana Stecconi. (Reviewed by Bob Anthony)
*****
Olney Theater has opened a light domestic comedy, "Dinner with Friends" (To 9/25), a theatrical format that they always do so well and being done in this "suburban" theater should do extremely well at the box office as it deals with a look-in at marital bliss and conflicts. Julie-Ann Elliott, Paul Morella, Jeffries Thaiss and Peggy Yates are all superb with this naturally-dialogued script by Donald Margulies although Jeffries Thaiss gets the edge with his typical over-the-top comedic skills. The play shows the two couples at dinner and in their separate bedrooms which is nicely handled on a rotating stage. No doubt, couples in the audience will relate quite well to the secrets and failures to communicate in the four settings. Yet, again as in all of his marvelous domestic plays, playwright Margulies fails in resolutions but it may be that he expects the audience to add such resolutions as they apply such to their own lives after the curtain falls. The play is casually and effectively directed by Jim Petosa but the Act II/Scene 3 in the bar has Mr. Thaiss' back to 1/3 of the audience...audiences like to see facial and body reactions of an actor. It should have been directed with the two actors both facing the audience behind a bar for this 3/4's in the round staging. For the first time in memory, James Kronzer fails with his set which looks like building blocks with vertical and horizontal indentations overall...one guesses that his intention was to show "conflicts" but the set cheapens all of the stage action. Christopher Baine provides some wonderful jazzy tunes and Eric Knauss provides excellent background bedroom talk by the four children involved. This is a highly recommended show for married as well as single couples...if you think that you've got it bad! (Reviewed by Bob Anthony)
*****
It's a new company (dog @ pony dc) taking a new approach to theater with its production of "Separated at Birth" at the Flashpoint. Six clown-dressed actors take the audience on a trip on a metro while they cavort around the audience which is signalled to change seats many times during the 75 minute show. No words are spoken...only sounds and pantomime...which makes these actors a part of the "Dada" movement which states that all words are lies and only non-verbals tends to communicate. Secondarily the players posit that the world is full of alienation as one character tries to encourage interaction as she proudly presents a cupcake. The audience loved this production and they really enjoyed the byplay with the actors on center stage. The whole show suggested the Russian style of progressively moving the audience from room to room during a performance. The clown actors are Rachel Grossman, Micael Bogar, Monique Holt, Brenden McDougal, Wendy Nogales, Jon Reynolds and Lenore Sack...all who add wonderful improvisations with the audience. It is a recommended show because of all of the creativity in this unique production. Hannah J. Crowell and Andrew Cissna presented a wonderful Metro car design with warning signs found in metro cars. (Review by Bob Anthony)
*****
Director Kathleen Akerley can always be depended upon to provide a great Summer break with her annual presentation of a bizarre and cryptic comedy with the Longacre Lea production at Catholic University. This year's "Cat's Cradle" is no exception to the rule although the humor is more delightful with sarcasm than in previous years. This play is based on a book by Kurt Vonnegut and it is an exploration of science, technology and religion with a strange language thrown in. Felix Hoenikker (possible cover for Martin Heidegger and question of "being"), co-inventor of the atomic bomb, is being investigated regarding his behaviors when the first atomic bomb was dropped. He was also involved in developing "ice nine" which turns water...including salty ocean water...into devastating ice. Most of the action takes place on the Carib Island of San Lorenzo where the chief religion is Bokononism with its mumbo jumbo twisted language. The cast is all top rate! Even Jay Hardee managed to perfect the role of a German nurse's aide although he needn't have made a second role as an artist so limp wristed. Michael Glenn was awesome as the lead character...he is so wonderfully natural on stage and his comic timing is perfect. Michael John Casey gets better and better on stage as in this play he perfects a rowdy old character and a pressuring salesman. Danny Gavigan is precious especially as plays the daughter of the scientist and he has the best gams ever seen on a male. Christopher Henley continues to prove himself to be a fine fellow player. Heather Haney is a wonderful commedienne...beautiful and very funny like a Lucille Ball. Susanne Richard always right on the "comedy ball". Joe Brack was the prize actor in the play with a well delineated playing of a frenetic political instigator. Marcie Kirkland and Abby Wood nicely add talent to this very exceptional cast. This comedy is a little too long at three hours but there are two intermissions for relief from laughter and the heat of a non-airconditioned theater...the latter may be corrected. Of the technicals, Neil McFadden gets the kudos for the superb sound plot. (Reviewed by Bob Anthony)
*****
Currently, Adventure Theater is presenting, in partnership with Lexington Children's Theatre, "If You Give a Pig a Pancake" (To 8/22). This has to be the most fun onstage anywhere in the Washington, DC area. Holly Twyford and Branda Lock are exceptional. Jerry Whiddon has directed this piece with such elegant restraint so nothing ever goes over the top. The superb comedic timing of the two actresses keeps things moving at such an interesting and engaging pace that even the youngest members of the audience doesn't get a chance to drift away. Anyone who has seen Ms. Twyford knows what a consummate performer she is and her performance as "Felicia" the pancake eating, spontaneous Pig is truly a Helen Hayes award-winning performance. Branda Lock is just perfect as eight-year old "Laura" who worries that she will be groundd for life if she continues to follow "Felicia's" suggestions. I see another HH award nomination here. What I love most about Michael Bobbitt's approach to children's theater at his Adventure Theater is the fact that every production I have seen is treated with the utmost care and respect by the entire production staff. This makes for a truly wonderful experience for both the child and the adult. Another clue to the care taken by Mr. Bobbitt and Adventure Theater is the caliber of the directors and actors who are drawn to this special place eager to participate in what becomes a love fest for all involved. If you have not seen"If You Give A Pig a Pancake"...why not?? Grab a kid or not...just get over to Glen Echo before this one closes. ( Reviewed by Beverly Cosham)
*****
Robert McNamara has directed a gender-bending take on Oscar Wilde's "The Importance of Being Earnest" (To 8/29) for Scena Theater at the H Street Playhouse. He perfectly directs this drawing room comedy with finesse although one tires easily as men portray women and women portray men. A number of disappointed audience members left at intermission for this performance. Only Brian Hemmingsen gives a relaxed performance as Lady Bracknell so that the wonderful verbal and physical humor of Wilde comes through. I never though anyone could top Richard Bauer's funny portrayal at Arena but Mr. Hemmingsen easily tops any male playing this classic role. Otherwise the actresses overstress male body language and speech, and the actors overstress female body language and speech...this is what gets tiring particularly in the second act until Lady Brackness again enters stage to stabilize things but even then Kim Curtis as Miss Prism overly feminizes to giddiness the role. Clue...she is called Miss Prism because of her prissy teaching nature. Kudos to Alisa Mandel for her wonderful costuming especially the two spangled dresses for Lady Brackness. Michael C. Stepowany also gives a sparkling and appropriate scenic design. Others in the cast are Sara Barker, Tyler Herman, John Robert Keena, Ellie Nicoll, Anne Nottage, Mary Suib and Stacy Whittle. Certainly everyone should see this prized performance by Brian Hemmingsen and to again enjoy the wonderful witticisms of Oscar Wilde. (Reviewed by Bob Anthony)
*****
Olney Theater has a winner with it sparkling comedy, "The Savannah Disputation" (To 8/22), which had the audience rolling with laughter...especially the Catholics as it points out to them that the rote prayers they have made automatic have really not been understood theologically by them. Two sisters,Mary and Melissa, who may have become old maids since they didn't want to stray from their Catholic faith are confronted by a rambunctious young female Pentacostal minister who is out to proselytize them with a new age religion. Brigid Cleary is at her finest comedic skills as she lambasts some of the changes and attitudes in the church as well as any "new age" lollygagging by this young lady. So she invites the pastor of her church for an evening so he can "flattened" this young whippersnapper. Michele Tauber is the other sister who is easily shaken by any attack on her belief system although she has been confused by some of the religious practices that have always been automatic for her. Beth Hylton plays the spritely young minister (?) with zest and verve as she can hit the weak spots of particularly the New Testament as well as the Old Testament and the Catholic church. In fact she may persuade some in the audience to never read the holy books again as she points out the teleological thinking in the Old Testament and the ridiculous variances found in the New Testament. She is most powerful towards the end of the play when she interprets the Apocalypse as a diatribe against the papal state based on St. John's metaphors. The only disappointment in the play is the casting of Jeff Allin as Father Murphy who is gawky on stage with "heavy" speech who does not have the disposition of a Catholic priest. He is not convincing as a religious who has written at least five books on religious interpretation. He also seems uncomfortable with the sisters even though the script points out that he regularly dines with them. Nevertheless, the three actresses are dramatic and comedic experts who manage a laugh-a-minute. James Wolk does a fantasic set with some skeletal sections that are perfect regarding the themes of the play. Steve Satta is a fine dialect coach and he should work with some of the Irish play venues to prove that strong dialects should still be understandable. (Reviewed by Bob Anthony)
*****
The Keegan Theater (New Island Project) is performing "STELLA MORGAN" at the Church Street Theater. Written by Rosemary Jenkinson, it is basically two monologues by a mother and her son in violent Northern Ireland even as the "troubles" continue. Kerry Waters-Lucas is Stella, the mother, who works as a fortune teller and clairvoyant and Chris Aldrich is the son, Thomas, who is a neer-do-well and involved in the violence between the Catholics and Protestants in the wall-divided city of Belfast. I remember once being at a party in London when there were guests from both Irish sides and I quizzed a Catholic guest as to how can they tell one another apart since they both sounded and looked the same in appearance...the response was "the non-verbals" (body gesturing). In regards to this one-act 60 minute play, Waters-Lucas had the non-verbals down pat so we could understand her monologues even though they were about 10 percent in too heavy accents but Mr. Aldrich was totally unintelligible almost a 100 percent of the time. So too much of the story line and interactions could not be followed and it is suprising that the small audience gave any applause at all at the end of the show. When will the actors in these Irish plays realized that it is shifting intonation patterns that suffice to establish an Irish accent! It is such a waste of time and talent if an audience does not understand the text. (Reviewed by Bob Anthony)
*****
The American Century Theater is presenting Lanford Wilson's "SERENADING LOUIE" (To 8/21) that looks at two marriages and the falsities and deceptions of both married couples. It takes place in Chicago in the 70's and it may well be adjudged to be the most wholesome script by this prominent playwright. And, no doubt, actors love to perform in these type of plays since the lines are totally beautiful and easily overlap, and the actors are given periods of stunning emotional builds. And the four actors including Vanessa Bradchulis, Hans Dettman, Theodore M. Snead and Robin Covington give top-rated performances. Lanford Wilson provides wonderful byplays and foreshadowings throughout the 150 minutes. Thus Alex provides vicious silences as Robin Covington (Gabby) putters around the house as she tries to offer some conversational relaxations but all he is waiting for is a call from his teen lover. Alex suggests that in his early ages he was well learned in the art of giving a "coal shoulder". Hans Dettman (Carl) is living a fruitless life as his wife (Vanessas Bradchulis) refuses to tell him who else she is bedding down with. Director Steven Scott Mazzola pins another feather in his cap for his delicious direction as his creative hand is seen everywhere. No doubt, he greatly helped these four actors' give natural movements on stage and he demanded intelligibility of every word of the script...so lacking in so many other productions around the area. Andrew Griffin did perfect lighting, especially as he has the lights down low when the actors want to show ennui or unconcern...but he also has to prove that his lighting plan will differentiates both living rooms as each couple occupies the same one set with closets. Deborah Wheatly provided a nice and comfortable set while Matt Otto gave many minutes of mostly recognizable sounds. Miss Bradchulis is listed as being a member of Equity which is why she is most relaxed on stage and I have no doubt that she helped the other three cast members in achieving sincerity in their playing. This is the play for you if you like good domestic drama as you will sympathize with one or all of these fine actors. There are pieces of all of us in one or all of these four portrayals. (Reviewed by Bob Anthony)
*****
Keegan Theatre's "NOISES OFF" (To 8/29) should be retitled "Belly Laughs On" as this comedy garners one laugh after another for the whole production. It is, without a doubt, the comic prize of the last century written by Michael Frayn. Director Mark A. Rhea wonderfully directs this production like a French farce with doors all over the place so the characters can tumble out of or jump into bedrooms and closets and bathrooms to avoid the major action at center stage. And the actors all give prized performances with lots of comic creativity and, of course, the comic timing was impeccable. Tops was Charlotte Akin in lower class Brit accent as she carried sardines on and off the stage in dipsy fashion. Jim Jorgensen played the frustrated director under time pressure to get a decent performance from a weird bunch of actors. Michael Innocenti was not "innocent" in this show as the real estate guy who sets up a tryst in what he thinks is an abandoned house. Brianna Letourneau does the "air haired" perfectly as she runs around the stage posturing in her underwear. Colin Smith does a fine "John Cleese" while Susan Marie Rhea is charmingly frustrated throughout as she tries to order the actors into their stage places and lines. Robert Leembruggen elicits laughs, as usual with just an entrance, which grow as he attempts robberies with a nylon hose over his face or is getting drunk. Elizabeth Jernigan and Jon Townson play double roles as real troopers. This play cleverly is in three acts during which time we see the final rehearsal of the play and then the stage is turned around to show the backstage frantic action... pinpointing the "dislikes" of the actors for one another... and the third act has the set turned around again to show the stage action. Kudos go to George Lucas for the fantastic set and to Dan Martin for the excellent lighting and Tony Angelini for the perfect sound...especially the mis-ringing of the stage telephone. So, if you want some hearty laughs, do buy those tickets for this marvelous production. Opening night was SRO and one expects that word-of-mouth will continually fill the theater. (Reviewed by Bob Anthony)
*****
Quotidian Theatre Company presents a sterling production of Tennessee Williams' "A LOVELY SUNDAY FOR CREVE COEUR". (To 8/8) It is a must-see production since the four actresses give performances of a lifetime and there should be an award winner here. Tops is Stephanie Mumford as the prissy but elegant school teacher who is a total delight with her sarcastic remarks. Michelle Osherow is a second school teacher who is an exercise freak and is totally depressed about her future and unrequited in "love". It seems that Williams gave each of these teachers certain qualities that he bound together for Blanche in "Streetcare Named Desire". Erika Imhoof was perfect as a busybody roommate who tries to control everybody within 15 feet of her. Malinda Lee Ellerman is the German speaking friend of Bodey (Ms. Imhoof) who spends over 50% of her time in tears since the loss of her mother. Jack Sbarbori is masterful as he moves these characters around the stage and through emotional upheavals. But there is much humor in this play and it is a wonderful family play with a clean script and great messages about communications within groups. Jack Sbarbori also delivers another one of his homey sets and Amy Reynolds provides perfect character dress. (Reviewed by Bob Anthony)
*****
DC Fringe Festival
(Reviews are in chronological order and not categorized)
"OBLIVION" is a one act opera in English that follows the pattern of a Menotti recitative/aria opera and tells the story of a business man who contracts a deadly disease and spends his hospital time dreaming delivered by three "sage" figures that allows him to run the gamut of the five stages of dying from denial to acceptance. Like most Menotti recitative operas, this short opera is somewhat maudlin and lacking in action which director Sasha Bratt fails to avoid...otherwise it might have been a more interesting production. The father (patient) was sung by James Rogers who tended to use Gregorian chant and his voice therefore was too harsh and was full of tremolo...he also had poor stage presence so he didn't really present a figure to empathize with. On the other hand Rachel Evangeline Barham (wife) and Alexander Wolniak (son) had very smooth legato with sincere acting so they commanded the stage artistically. Mr. Wolniak also played the part of one of the "Sages" along with Melissa Kornacki (Sage/Doctor) and Christine Gahagan (Sage/Nurse) and this trio provided some wonderful musical blends. One would hope that the composer Kyle Gullings would provide more vocal conflicts like the one that ended the opera. His libretto was lyrically most adept. Jessica Bateman (flute), Jesse Crites (guitar) and Dan Shomper (cello) played well but one wanted a harpsichord or piano for better musical blending. (Reviewed by Bob Anthony)
"THE SLEEPING BEAUTY: A PUPPET BALLET" grows in creativity as the story goes by...and the highlight is the three or four manipulators who work the puppets of Sleeping Beauty and her Prince as they dance the ballet while Tchaikovsky's music plays in the background. It is a superb family show put on by the Pointless Theatre Co based in College Park by a bunch of most creative students to provide inexpensive and accessible theater and it get a solid "A" for reaching its mandate with this production. The small audience clapped wildly at the finish and the applause was definitely deserved. (Reviewed by Bob Anthony)\
The Comedy Academy is presenting "FRESH FROM THE FUNNY FARM" which needs more rehearsal but it should improve with the playing. These young comedians skipped lines and had too many pregnant pauses at this initial performance so some of the humor fell flat. Fortunately some older members, Diego Aguilar and Jeffrey Rosen, picked up the comic pace whenever they appeared in the skits...particularly Diego Aguilar who showed vast comedic skills as well as playing background guitar. Harry M. Bagdasion scripted a number of the skits and it shows he still has the fine talent he had with the musical comedies that he produced at the New Playwright's Theater back in 1972 which started the boom of theater in the DC area. Also, he should be proud of the comic development of young James Syverson who has a wonderful "tongue-in-cheek" approach that should serve him well in standup comedy routines. The house was packed and one suspects that a lot of family members of the comedians were there and it really is family comedy stuff that should please even non-family members. (Reviewed by Bob Anthony)
They are a two woman comedy team with totally adult comedy who took the stage as two Irish nuns presenting a laugh riot which never ended but grew to hurricane comic strength by the end of the program. Leah Rudick and Katie Hartman IN "SKINNY BITCH JESUS MEETING" were not only hilarious with presenting the written script but they were tops in improvising additional business as they went along...noting even a fly buzzing around the stage and a fire truck siren outside. Granted the majority of their fine humor involved male and female sex organs, they also managed to present some very funny bits about about the mores of our society. They were equally funny even though Katie seemed the second banana most of the evening to the outrageous "schtick" of Leah. It is a funny, funny, funny show...again for just an adult audience. (Reviewed by Bob Anthony)
Four excellent singers (Terri Allen, Emily Leatha Everson, Justin Richie and Lonny Smith) presented "RUN AWAY WITH ME" and they remained in control even with the sweltering heat under the Fringe tent and a raging thunderstorm during their one hour on stage. The quartet singing was less accomplished...some bad notes and shifting individual pitches...but the solos were all totally superb. Since there were no standards, it is fascinating that such rarely known songs could be rendered so dramatically and effectively. The tops for each singer was: Terri presenting "May I Suggest" with smooth velvety intonation; Emily's comic rendering of "If I Had A Boat"; Lonny's delightfully challenging "I Wanna Talk About Me"; and Justin's superb jazz-like "Walking Through Memphis". They are all local singers so we hope that we will hear more of their singing on future shows on stages around town. Most are regulars around local cabarets. There is definitely a recommend for this well rehearsed and expertly presented show. (Reviewed by Bob Anthony)
The Adequate Players is presenting "THE NINA VARIATIONS" written by well-known playwright Steven Dietz which is surprising since it uses "The Sea Gull" as a take off but it really doesn't seem to add any additional insights to the characters of Nina and Konstantin in that famous Russian play by Chekhov. So it was befuddling to see short snippets about different aspects of their relationship played out. Also, why were the performers playing it so light-heartedly when there was total frustration, passion and depression depicted in the stage play. Even their reported "success" of Konstantin's play denies their frustrations that the actress mother, Irina, and her playwright boyfriend, Trigorin, deemed "awful". There were just too many liberties taken with this classic. Melissa Marie Hmelnicky was excellent as the petulant and demanding Nina but Kevin O'Reilly needs work on intonation as he is monotonic and tries to emphasize with vocal intensity which is tiring to the ears of the listeners. (Reviewed by Bob Anthony)
DEFINITELY put "MEDEA" on your list of "must see". At most Fringe show, we excuse lacks in production and acting, but "Medea" is superior in all of its stagecraft!!! Fanastically directed by Michael Burke of the paperStrangersperformancegroup, the technicals wow the audience from the violent scenes on the scrim upstage to the powerful music and sensitive lighting also by the director. He is a wunderkind. And the acting is totally emotionally fulfilling in this tale of a mother who kills her two children to avenge her wayward husband. Melissa Fenton, dressed in a white bridal dress...no doubt to add to her anger that her ex-husband is marrying another woman...runs the gamut of every emotion powerfully on stage. Kellen York plays Jason and the director wonderfully has him in modern clothes in this classic Greek drama to suggest that the same murderous practices still are reported in the news every day of rejected parents killing their offsprings. The chorus (Scarlett Redmond, Chris Ziegler, Amanda Meyer and Ryan Mullins) is superbly costumed in weirdness as they contort themselves in circular movements around Medea and play other characters as needed. The ending which will not be disclosed here is totally magnificent to end the highly dramatic presentation of this Greek play. (Reviewed by Bob Anthony)
"LETTERS TO CLIO-PART II, MARGARITA" is a one woman show by Jennifer S. Jones that presents the story of the military takeover of Argentina which originally offered hope to the downtrodden citizens but ended up with many young adults being arrested...for no apparent reason sometimes...and ending up as filler as the base of superhighways or thrown into the ocean. Even today after more than 30 years, their mothers continue a crusade to find out what crimes their children were charged with and where their bodies lie. There are many poignant moments in this story-telling as the actress truly lives the role of one of the mothers who lost a daughter. Ms. Jones has an elegance about her acting suggesting that it was not the usual underclass that suffers under such horrible political suppression. Director Jessica Lefkow's hands-on was obvious throughout with her perfect direction. (Reviewed by Bob Anthony)
Fringe Festival reaches its nadir in current productions with "MOTHER-IN-LAW-THE MUSICAL" which isn't really a musical but a play with five musical numbers sung by two of the characters screaming...mostly off-key and not understood...over a too-loud keyboard. The script is hollow about a lesbian couple who have to put up over the weekend with a domineering mother-in-law (?). Director Kelli Boyd has the actresses running on and off the stage cooking a turkey dinner and they seem happy to thus avoid the story line. Martha Karl, Stephanie Svec and Virginia Frank show fine stage bios but they will have to be seen in other productions to prove they have even an iota of talent. Miss this one like the plague! (Reviewed by Bob Anthony)
The G & S Youth Company do an amazingly effective production of "HMS PINAFORE" at a high school level of acting although the patter songs are extemely well articulated...understood better than heard in some professional productions. The acting is rather wooden from the chorus but the leads do extremely well as seen with Alissa Roca as Buttercup who could step onto a professional stage immediately; Matt Sartucci as Sir Joseph Porter who shows wonderful comic consistency in his role playing; Kelsey McDonell as Josephine who has a great range in singing and a smooth legato even as she moved into her high c's; and James Beans as Dick Deadeye who gave a dastardly menace as a villain. Alfred Lawson presented a luscious tenor but lacked in emotional urgency and Alexander Nicholas Bourzutschky...again of fine voice...but he only came to life towards the end of the second act. Kudos for Pamela Leighton-Bilik, director, who managed such a fine production with generally untrained voices and limited acting prowess in the cast. It is certainly highly recommended for all teenagers to see what great success can be attained if they stay on the straight and narrow path of life. Danielle Drobny did well accompaning on a keyboard that needed a little fine tuning. (Reviewed by Bob Anthony)
"'TIS PITY...SHE'S A WHORE" by John Ford was a disappointment for the Georgetown Theatre Company whose forte is really comedy. This play is a revenge play written in 1633 and is a dark tragedy resulting from an incestial coupling by a brother and sister with a "Hamlet"-like ending in which the majority of the characters lie dead on the floor. The archaic language of the play is poorly handled by the cast and Evan Crump screams his way through emotional scenes so that articulation fades for the audience. Plus performances are given by Prairie Griffin as Putana (translates as whore) who encourages the incest and sex with any relative! The audience loved her lascivious but lovely performance. And Scott McCormick as the monk seems the most sincere player with nice emotional interactions. Most of the rest of the cast just recite lines. (Reviewed by Bob Anthony)
The playwright, John Morogiello, goes astray with "A THING FOR REDHEADS" as audience members thought this would be a wonderful comedy not unlike his superb "Irish Authors Held Hostage" of the last Fringe season. Instead we are given a story of a fratricide in a book publishing house inherited by two brothers...one a sex fiend (Ian Blackwell Rogers) and the other an asocial workaholic (Jim Gagne). Lori Boyd plays a hanger-on author who can't finish the last chapter of her book. But Charlene V. Smith plays a delightful "air head" Jessie Morgan, a music cult figure who wants her biography written when she is yet 21 year old! There are lots of questionable (for plot) sexual encounters in this office in a high rise office building. The script is tired and tiresome most of the time and the denouemont is not believable. This play will definitely not "move on up" like previous Morogiello scripts. (Reviewed by Bob Anthony)
The Victorian Lyric Opera is presenting W.S. Gilbert's "ENGAGED" which is described as a farcical comedy in three acts. And it would meet that description if it were played with more skilled farce comedians. As it is, most of the nine actors think they are "cute" and the interaction is dulled throughout...I never thought I and other audience members could momentarily doze during a farce. Perhaps Mr. Sullivan should have added music to this script to put it on the laugh level of the excellent "HMS Pinafore" which was previously on this same stage...and that was performed by mostly high school students. This play opened and, for the first five minutes of deep Scottish accents, this critic thought the show would "bomb" but fortunately some Brits entered the scene and we, at least, could understand the script. Only Erika White Abrams as Belinda seemed comfortable in this presentation. (Reviewed by Bob Anthony)_
Marjory Collado truly stars as Joann in "WAR ZONES" as she brilliantly describes how her character handles men in her life that have Alzheimer's, bi-polar disorder and bulimia (yes, Virginia, there are many men who suffer from this disorder especially sports figures). So the war she fights is the war within the bodies of the men she loves. The script is superb by Laura Brienza who adds comments about the symptomotologies during the expositions. Robert Klein, Matthew McNear and Joshua Rocchi play a chorus and individual characters in the presentation and they all do fine jobs. But it is Marjory who dominates the stage with her vivacious personality and who goes through perfect emotional reactions to signs of illnesses in her loved one. This one is recommended highly for its acting as well as the didactics. (Reviewed by Bob Anthony)
One expected more from this play...at least some comedy..."TWISTED:A COLLECTION OF URBAN FAIRYTALES" that totally lacks cohesion among the stories being told. It seems to be centered on a group of office workers who see "cupcakes" as a means of forming relationships. A second story line is of a census taker who sexually hopes to devour the intimate details of an interviewee who totally resist him. Always on stage is a character dressed as a street person who scribbles the ongoing story line. It all makes no sense and adds nothing in understanding the title of this show. This one should go back under the pen so that some clarity is added. A few in the audience gave laughs to parts of this show but one wonders if they were not reacting to friends or relatives on stage. (Reviewed by Bob Anthony)
Marc Spiegel's one-man presentation of "GRUBRAG BALLAD" is stunning. Just memorizing the script has to be a lifetime ambition for any actor, and the fact that the characters are all fairy tale creatures with odd names makes the chore most difficult. This show is similar to a "Dr. Seuss" poetic extravaganza and Mr. Spiegel manages to keep the many characters separate with superb body work throughout. All actors should see this production to see what skills are necessary to do a very successful one-person show. Perhaps the only thing missing are sketches of all of the characters posted on a blackboard or in the program which would make it easier for children to follow the story line. (Reviewed by Bob Anthony)
"THE HUNCHBACK VARIATIONS" is about Ludwig van Beethoven (Aaron Bliden) and Quasimodo of Notre Dame (Michael Saltzman) trying to figure out the sound that is referred to in the script of Chekhov's "The Sea Gull" in which the playwright states after one emotional scene that "a sound is heard in the distance". (Most directors, of course, use the sound of seagulls). So with body noises, musical instruments, drums, et cetera, these two "deaf" characters proceed to find the supposed particular sound. Ludwig occasionally runs through the audience eliciting responses from the audience and Quasimodo does minute-long clearing of his throat as he postulates about different sounds as well as presenting philosophical discourse. It is a unique presentation and the audience totally warms itself to these two characters by the end of the program. Beethoven music is played in the background during the presentation which is an additional plus. (Reviewed by Bob Anthony)
The best thing to be said for "LYSISTRATA" is the wonderful singing of the cast...clear articulation and thoroughly prepared and presented. Of course it is the classic Greek story about wives who withhold sex in order to get their husbands to stop a war. The music was by Jeremy King with lyrics by Ariana Hodes. It was beautifully directed by Patrick Magill at the Warehouse as he kept the goddesses in the balcony while the women started their sexual wiles on the stage front. It is a "for adults only" as there is much groin activity with songs like "Pussy on the Pedestal" and lyrics like "I want to keep this boner forever". It was amazing that Jeremy King didn't need the score to play the music...seemingly since he knows it by heart. Actors included Katie Nigsch Fairfax, Autumn Seavey, Ali Hoxie, Mia Branco, Katie Brobst, Chelsea Rae-Abbate, Timothy Adams, Arden Moscati, and Chip Hewitt. Timothy Adams stood out as the best actor of the bunch. (Reviewed by Bob Anthony)
The program indicated that the company would like to take this show "abroad"...forget it...they should be happy to successfully take "SALEM! THE MUSICAL" to Cucamonga! It borders on being horrible but may well become a cult classic considering the response of the audience. It is about witches in Salem...we all know that story about how they were hanged or burned at the stake. The biggest problem with the show is the gender bending of having Rasheeda Moore playing a male Reverend and Kayce Alltop playing a male Dr. Grimes. Neither were convincing as males. The singing was at the atrocious level...totally nasal and strident so one wished one had brought earplugs to the Warehouse. The music and lyrics by Dan Wessels made no sense and gave not an inkling of cohesiveness. Apparently all of the musical was based on improvisation which always tends to fail in final production. The only convincing acting was done by Elise Dubois as Abigail. The rest of the players (Allison Black and Ashley Thornton) tended to fall short on melodramatic style. (Reviewed by Bob Anthony)
The OperAlterna again comes up with an operatic "gem" with its production of "PADREVIA". It is highlighted by superb direction by Jay D. Brock with an ending that is gut-wrenching and full of blood. This unrequited love story also presents the growing talent of tenor Siddhartha Misra whose soft notes are "purely honeyed". He has a little problem with his legato but further coaching should correct that. Although he is assured in his stage presence, he again will profit from some dramatic coaching. Baritone/bass Tad Czyzewski as the father showed that he deserves his reputation as a most dependable singer and, even during his dramatic acting, his voice never quavered. Soprano Daniele Lorio proved to be a very fine actress throughout but she pushed her voice too much and had too much tremolo choppiness in her upper register even though her recitative was excellent. Chris Dwyer expertly played the narrator/guard with an eerie mien that perfectly foreshadowed the denouement in this short opera by Thomas Pasatieri. Nicolas Catravas provided excellent quality as a pianist and was always supportive of the singers. This is a highly recommended presentation as are all of OperAlterna productions. (Reviewed by Bob Anthony)
The Landless Theatre Company again successfully presents another zany production...this time based on the Harry Potter saga. "CARRIE POTTER AT THE NEW MOON PROM" foregoes magic for a semi-automatic as Ms. Potter "does in" her female rivals. The musical is presented by Jesus Christ himself (looks a little like Andrew Lloyd Baugman) as he forgives the players at the end and begs forgiveness from J.K.Rowling. Lots of cross dressing here and, even though amateurish acting is present, the strong leads by Nora Palka, Jedd Brakenridge and Jesus Christ keep up the fast tempo of this musical farce. Director Melissa Baughman is an old hand at successful farces but she should have demanded more vocal projection from a couple of the actors as they could hardly be heard past the third row. This one deserves cult status and should go on the road! This company presents regularly at DC/AC so D.C. is lucky to have such a creative group in its midst. (Reviewed by Bob Anthony)
"ANOTHER PICNIC AT THE ASYLUM" is a one woman show and she describes living as a child and an adult with a father who is both an alcoholic and bipolar. She clearly presents her parents and her family of six children very effectively with vocal changes and body positions but one never gets the emotional involvements within the group. Yes, we understand the father's changing behaviors which confuse because they are so irregular but we never get the shame that must naturally have been felt by the children particularly during out-of-house experiences with his bizarre behaviors. The direction is mostly to be blamed as the director has Ms. Angela Neff spurting all around the stage and pointing accusatorily at the audience so there was never intimacy established with the audience. Ms. Neff did have a question-and-answer after the production...which this critic could not attend...during which time she may have elicited some empathy. (Reviewed by Bob Anthony)
"LOGIC, LUCK AND LOVE" provides the logic of finding one's soulmate but it lacks the "luck" and "love" in the title. Acting hetero Jennifer Moore, gay Molly Kelly, gay Kevin Boggs and hetero Dustin Fisher do there monologues effectively but one develops a careless interest in their stories which is so predictable. There is no interaction in their story lines and they barely touched on the didactic regarding statistics presented by Dustin Fisher regarding one's success in finding one's true love. It is a sold out show and today's audience gave it a hearty applause at the end so the audience members must have found some sophomoric and vicarious thrills in the sexual intimacies described by each actor. (Reviewed by Bob Anthony)
"HOW THE MONEY GOES" has the plot going haywire too many times so we don't understand why the funerals, why the feuding among the characters...or is it a derivative of "five characters in search of an audience". So we basically have 90 minutes of forced nonsense. The actors then tended to be footloose although very funny in their individual shenanigans. Thony Bienvenudo Mena was tops in talent with wonderful "verbal asides" and invigorated playing as the doctor. Anna Lynch played the protagonist very well with lots of frenzy. Emery Hamami as the double agent did wonderful sexy vamping. Hectorlyne Wuor did fine over the top comedy as the friend but she spoke too fast throughout so we lost lots of words. Elizabeth R. Mann was rather wooden as the antagonist and unfortunately was "mushy mouthed" so we only understood only about half of her speeches. Overall, the play was quite funny but just "rattled on", and it needs more focus with a necessary rewrite. (Reviewed by Bob Anthony)
"THE IMAGINARY AUTOPSEE" is supposedly based on Italian comedia dell arte but the German mother blew the pretense. Instead it was more of a Marx Brothers comedy and very, very funny with wonderful over-the-top comedic skills by Ryan Sellers as Arlecchino and Jeff Hylden as Dottoro. The audience was truly in stitches enjoying their verbal and physical shenanigans. They were pushed to the comedic apex with instigations by Leigh Anna Fry as Isabella, Jill Nienhiser as Lavora and Zerbinetta, Aniko Olah as Colombina, Dane C. Petersen as Pantalone and Arturo Tolentino as Lelio and Bertoldo. Roger Payano did a masterful job in way-out comical direction. This production showed the greatest amount of audience laughter yet in Fringe comedy productions this season. This critic was only disappointed in the lack of Italian stock character mannerisms and the missing Arlecchino clown costuming. (Reviewed by Bob Anthony)
"SHIRLEY DREAMING" hit the nadir in musical comedies at the Fringe and one wonders why such a talented singer/actress like Joani Maher as Shirley got involved in this mess. The book is ridiculous and the staging by writer/director Tyler Budde again confirms that a writer should never direct his own show. By the end of the show which takes place in a high rise office (to allow one character to jump but still survive!) the stage is filled with paper after an office fight. Why new employee, Shirley, would be interested in working at this office is beyond comprehension. The songs droned on and made no plot sense. And Cassandra Hannan as the Boss Boss should be on the stage...the next one to leave town! Caroline Mahoney, Ezree Mualem and Adi Stein should join her! (Reviewed by Bob Anthony)
"SEX AND EDUCATION" by Lissa Levin is a wonderfully written script and perfectly acted by the three performers in this one act. It proves a wonderful example of troubled graduating classes. In this case, a basketball player (who is assured of a car and a contract with a Michigan university) passes a vulgar note to his girlfriend in his final class which is confiscated by the English teacher who makes him stay after the last class to correct his grammatical mistakes and structures while cajoling him about his sexual behavior...she thus manages to embarrass him into academic, social and sexual behavior. Sarah Holt as the teacher is absolutely perfect with her tongue-in-cheek criticisms although she does bumble a few lines here and there...but she has some complex ideas to present. Hunter Hoffman shows wonderful talent as the basketball player and should have a great acting future with his stage presence and great interpretation. Ditto Carly Bales with her exuberant presentation as a cheer leader who interrupts the show with wonderful energy. One really empathizes with this teacher who wisely intends to go into real estate as soon as this school year ends. And one has sympathy for all current teachers who are confronted by lack of respect and commercialism that affects current public education. (Reviewed by Bob Anthony)
The funniest production for the Fringe is the five 10 minute playlets,"THE PLAYWRIGHT ZONE" with wonderful scripts and great comedic timing by Matt Dewberry, Drew Kopas and Veronica del Cerro. It was wholesomely written by John Becker and assuredly directed by T.J. Keiter. The themes of the shows were an Israeli and Palestinian being stuck in a New York elevator; computer dating; two guys...a paranoid and a free spirtied one...at a bus stop; a school counselor contemplating suicide; and a meeting of Pythagorus, Nietsche and Emily Dickinson. Particularly impressive was Ms. del Cerro...a very attractive actress...who will go to no physical or emotional end to get belly laughs from an audience. Matt Dewberry was funniest when he showed frustration and anger and Drew Kopas was great with comedic understatement. (Reviewed by Bob Anthony)
The Liberated Muse productions presented "RUNNING:AMOK" which offered no reason for existing as four Black women wait in a doctor's office and discuss their pregnancies or lack of such and each then belting tunes in screeching style to decry their lifestyles. Nary once do they hit upon where the fathers of these children fit into the picture which might have made the musical socially significant. If such male-coverage words were in the songs, the "screeching" made them unintelligible. There also were a couple of duets, trios and quartets with poorly matched voices as the singers tried to over intensify one another. There was no program to let us know who the singing actresses were which added to the poor production and directing of this loser. ( Reviewed by Bob Anthony)
"THE MACCLOSKEY AND MYERS COMPLETE DO-IT-YOURSELF COMEDY HOUR" is a world premiere by two very talented performers who perform very clean comedy skits that hit about the everyday confusions in living in America. There are wonderful audio visuals to emphasize the messages in the skits, but the funniest bit was MacCloskey calling the Suicide Prevention to get help for his desire to commit suicide and has to go through the frantic "push 1, push 2, etc." that is a bugaboo for every living American every day! The "Waiting Room" also bordered on hysteria as two patients examine each other's dental work while panting for a kiss and a romantic follow-up. This is a great family show with humor going from gentle to frantic. (Reviewed by Bob Anthony)
"QUEER IN THE USA" is a 50/50 deal...half was interesting and half was boring which was confirmed as heads dropped in slumber in front of me and which I participated in. It is a story of a young man (who denies being gay) being sent for therapy to change the pitch of his voice since it is indicative of gay speech for many. He instead goes to New York where he meets a British rocker and a gypsy and her son and this part makes no sense whatsoever. He determines to recreate a success like Bruce Springsteen who is his iconic model. One trust this is not a true story since it doesn't ring true. Although Manuel Simons shows stage talent, this material does little to engender any empathy for a young man turning gay. Applause at the end was substantial for this show. (Reviewed by Bob Anthony)
*****
CONTEMPORARY AMERICAN THEATER FESTIVAL (all reviewed by Bob Anthony)
The 20th Anniversary of CATF appears to be the finest yet of the five play summer series (To 8/1) at Shepherdstown University in West Virginia. The university and producer, Ed Herenden, is to be highly congratulated for this always-special summer treat, and it was announced that funds have been forthcoming for a complete arts center to be established on the campus so greater things are yet to come. It is unfortunate that Catherine Irwin is retiring after ten years of tireless efforts to build up an audience for the festival...she was successful and she will be missed. Needless to say the stagecraft and technicals are professionally "top rate" for this festival especially the sound for "Lidless".
The overriding theme of this year's festival seems to be the lack of non-verbal and social communication in our society that the mass media has contorted just as the movies have eliminated acting for computer generated films...saving on costs of subtitles by loading shows with violence that needs no translation for foreign audiences.
So far the best production is Jennifer Haley's superbly written "BREADCRUMBS" which tells of an aging female writer who is moving into Alzheimer's. The breadcrumbs are the words that she is losing along the way...like in the fairy tale of the child who dropped crumbs on the ground to find her way back home. Director Laura Kepley was most creative in business throughout the show. Helen-Jean Arthur is magnificent in the playing of this senior citizen who is not only losing "words" but also moving into a paranoia, and a resistance to help from delightful Eva Kaminsky who is a loser in work positions and in love but is successful in helping this older woman. There is a magic element throughout particularly as the older woman tries to retell a fairy tale with wonderful distortions. This is the most highly recommended as it not only is very charming and poignant but it give real insight into a problem of language that more and more senior citizens are facing as they live longer and longer.
"WHITE PEOPLE" by J.T. Rogers gives us three monologues in which communication breakdown causes grief and suffering. Lee Sellars is a happily married man who is teaching a class in school and disturbed by a female Black student who he recognizes as extremely intelligent but who continues to use "street language" which will keep her in the lower classes if she doesn't wise up. He and his wife are confronted by three Black teenagers who beat them both up and his plea that she is pregnant goes on "deaf ears" as they are robbed. Margot White is a Southern housewife whose son is brain disordered and she can make no sense of the Indian doctor with his "high pitched" voice and poor English pronounciation. (Playwright Rogers presents good arguments but here the actress says "people have been talking the same for over 200 years in this country"...not true since the immigrants in the early 20th century stayed true to their native languages and were even allowed translators in the voting booth). Kurt Zischke starts his monologue listening to the end of "Dialogue of the Carmelites" and states it is not necessary to understand the language to enjoy opera...a very clever opening. He then proceeds to chastise workers in casual dress and we discover he has no communication with his teen age son who helps in the murder of a young Black couple. There is strong acting by all three actors and their epiphanies are heart wrentching.
Frances Ya-Chu Cowhig's "LIDLESS" is totally overdirected by Ed Herendeen and overacted by the five member cast. Certainly the actors must have loved "tearing up the floor" and they were all excellent, particularly Reema Zaman as the girl child who had wonderful stage presence. The story is close to factual as the mother (Eva Kaminsky) was an interrogator in Guantanamo and rapes a Moslem prisoner. After 15 years the prisoner (Barzin Akhavan) visits her floral shop to get revenge or maybe just an explanation. At this time she is happily married with a husband (Michael Goodfriend) and the girl child. All sorts of unnatural conflicts arise ending up with the Moslem lying on the floor bloodied by the girl child (???). The program stated that the show was two hours without an intermission and one got edgy after 90 minutes thinking what else can happen...but the show abruptly closed to weak applause. Lots of explicit language and adult situations for this one. The overall message is about the " verbal lies" in our lives that come to no good end. Also in the cast is Zabryna Guevara as the nurse.
"THE EEWAX JESUS 3-POP MUSIC SHOW" is written by Max Baker and Lee Sellars who have written a number of tunes together and the show really is a showcase for the musical talents of Lee Sellars...we know what a great actor he is. It was directed by Max Baker and it seems to be a five ring circus. On left stage to right stage we have a woman ironing napkins who had a two minute conversation on the phone saying she is afraid to go out; a four piece rock band; a religious salesman; a dysfunctional family of three adults; and a homeless person with all of his belongings strapped to his back. It looks like the message is non-communication. Young people will love the rock music...the words of which were not understandable since the playing was too loud...but young people are used to that. There was also a young bride walking around the audience and a guy with a full oxygen mask walking around the stage...don't know their reason for being.
"INANA" is inane. The story line about a museum curator stealing a statuette and taking it to London begs credibility particularly during the turmoil that occurred in Iraq after the American invasion. Added to that in the storyline is that a sculptor was making a fake one to place in the museum in order to get his one-armed daughter a husband. (The statue of the female goddess also has one arm). And the daughter does not want to fulfill her wifely duties nor does the curator want a relationship since his first wife was whisked away by Saddam and never heard of again...but is presumed dead. It is unfortunate that this soap opera is played on the most beautiful stage set ever seen on theater stages by Robert Klingelhoefer. And the sound design by David Remedios transports one into exotic nirvana. Director Ed Herendeen manages fine stage movement in the tri-stage and builds up lots of suspense in the plotting but the time lines by the playwright and the main action of the play being in a London hotel still confuses. There were many heads dropping into snoozing and no applause at the end of Act I which was too long and complicated. Response of the audience was better at the end of Act II as time shifts became clearer and the dramatics became comfortable.
*****
Every one from every religious group or cult should be required to see "NEW JERUSALEM: THE INTERROGATION OF BARUCH DE SPINOZA" at Theater J (To 7/25). Not only does it show a tremendous shift in beliefs during the 17th century but it is an enlightment for present day fanatics about religion in any form. Spinoza was from a family of Portuguese Jews who had to convert to Catholicism or leave the country so they moved to Amsterdam which allowed an admixture of all religious groups at the time. (Historically it is interesting to note that when the converted Portuguese Jews finally left Portugal and Spain they had to be retaught ceremonies.) Spinoza is developing his philosophy even during this play by David Ives so there is much verbal humor particularly about the spiritual aspects of all religions. Spinoza was a foremost humanist who questioned the fantasies of religions ...particularly God who was substance or else he could not have created additional "subtances". At the time both the Jews and the Catholics wanted him to be labeled a heretic and for him to be "disavowed" by the synagogue that he frequented. Jeremy Skidmore did a superb job of having the actors involve the audience and they sometimes encouraged or chastised the audience as they broke the fourth wall. Members of the audience who are diehard religionists will refused to be flexible in religious beliefs with the intellectual discourse and will deny the fact that Spinoza should be the empathic character being protrayed brilliantly by Alexander Strain. They will, no doubt, be convinced by the dogged argumentation by oft fiery burgher, Lawrence Redman, or the powerful rabbi, Michael Tolaydo. Lauren Culpepper played a soft spoken lover of Spinoza who had to reject him because of her wont to accept the mysteries of the Virgin Birth, et cetera. Eliza Bell, as an audience plant, was wonderful with her vitriol about her brother Spinoza who she felt cheated her out of the family will. Ethan Bowen had some powerful acting going particularly when he physically ejected Spinoza from the synagogue. Brandon McCoy as the friend of Spinoza only showed true acting when challenging his uncle, the burger, but then was most effective. The technicals were all quite well done in placing the audience in the 17th century even though the costuming was modern dress. The playwright took dramatic liberty with Spinoza's life and the facts should be noted that Jews in Amsterdam could not own businesses, that he changed his name to Benedictus ("blessed") after his excommunication from the faith, and that he was not know to have any sex life and was reclusive most of his adult life. This is a highly recommended show...a thinking man's show...but with enough humor and insight into religions to get you satisfied when you leaves the theater. (Reviewed by Bob Anthony)
*****
he six actors are absolutely outstanding in the current drama with music at IMAGINATION STAGE, "HOW I BECAME A PIRATE" (To 8/15) from the exciting and refreshing boyishness of Josh Sticklin to the rugged pirate with the hook hand of Michael John Casey to the French stickler of David Frankenberger, Jr. to the work avoidance of Phillip Reid to the dominating pirate captain of Tim Getman to the perfect English underclass of Colleen Delany...yes women can also be conniving pirates. Together they sell something special as they try all of the physical and pirate linguistic thrills of dastardly seamen who must be taught manners and family longing by Jeremy, the soccer boy, who eventually wants to become de-pirated after he buried their treasure in his back yard. So all of the glamour of pirating is ameliorated from their "burping" after a meal to avoidance of "tucking into bed" to personality differences by this young innocent. The direction by Paul Bosco McEneaney is stunning as he garners a lots of direct audience actions as the group paddle their craft through the aisles and the children are encouraged to yell "yar"! He is assisted with wonderful choreography by Stephen Gregory Smith and sterling music direction by Christopher Youstra. The lyrics are by Alyn Cardarelli and the music is by Steve Goers. Brandon R. McWilliams also gets kudos for his excellent "pirate" costuming. This show is full of wonderment and wonderlust for both children and adults so make it a family outing. This one get an A plus! (Reviewed by Bob Anthony)
In rep, Imagination Stage is also presenting "PIRATES! A BOY AT SEA" (To 8/15) which continues the tale of the conflict between a pirate captain, Colleen Delany, and the Brit captain, Tim Getman, to catch, respectively, a trunk of treasure or this female pirate. Again Josh Sticklin plays the young boy who resents the progeny of his divorced mother's second family so he is swiftly slipped away to the deck of a pirate ship through an antique treasure chest. This sequel has much more sword fighting and action which delights the kids and it also carries the message of responsibility and obedience for the children in the audience...and that being a pirate is not necessarily a desireable occupation. The technicals again are superb from the shooting of the ship's cannons to the storm at sea. Michael John Casey again proves to be a vicious pirate and Phillip Reid plays the stooge with great humor. This play is a little more intricate in plotting so it is recommended for ages 7 and up...most appropriately. (Reviewed by Bob Anthony)
*****
Musical Program
"Chess"(To 9/26), at the Signature is the 1980's rock musical by the male side of the group of Abba, Bjorn Ulvaeus and Benny Andersson. The lyrics are by Tim Rice and the book is by Richard Nelson. Feet are tappping while the play reveals a love story in the midst of the cold war. The story about an American chess player and his rival Soviet player takes place in Bangkok and Budapest while President Reagan was in office. The love story captures the mistrust between the USA and the Soviets as well as the difficulties of the Soviet people. Eric Shaeffer directs the cast and once again brings it home with outstanding performances from all of the players and great work in the myriad of components that makes a smash hit. Jill Paice, Euan Morton and Jeremy Kushnier portray the love triange whose lives swirl around the chess game. These players who came to Signature from Broadway deliver this wonderful show to the Washington area for the first time. It is a great opportunity to get a taste of history and visit one of our area's most prominent theaters. Russell Sunday, Chris Sizemore and Eleasha Gamble are local actors that have been very successful in various venues and they heat up the stage with their performances. The chorus is not to be ignored either. It's voices raise the roof! And their stylized choreography has the joint jumping. Again, the dance work of Karma Camp never disappoints. The scenic design is by Daniel Conway. The costumes are by Kathleen Geldard and the lighting is by Chris Lee. Matt Rowe worked on the sound design. The music supervision and orchestrations are by David Holcenberg. This is a big show. You won't want to miss it! (Reviewed by Nancy McCord)
*****
"Nunsense" (To 9/19), the delightful musical comedy by Dan Goggin, is keeping audiences in stitches at Toby's Dinner Theatre in Columbia. Mark Minnick directs this rollicking romp through the convent with five actors who are blessed with heaps of talent and who remind us that not all nuns are mean and nasty! The five nuns we get to know are trying to raise funds to bury the last four of 52 nuns who were killed by food poisoning. There would have been enough money if Mother Superior Regina had not insisted on buying a blue-ray rcorder before all of the funerals were paid. Jane Boyle plays Mother Superior...she is hysterically funny as she clicks and clacks her way around the stage. Heather Beck is Sister Robert Anne; Jesaira Glover is Sister Mary Huber; Jessica Ball is Sister Mary Amnesia ; and Marylee Adams is Sister Mary Leo. All have outstanding voices, excellent comic timing, and they take the stage by storm! Even Carmen Miranda makes a brief appearance. Be prepared for anything...even a bit that is R rated fun. "Father" Ross Scott Rawlings is the musical director. Costumes are by Lawrence B Munsey; sound is by Drew Dedrick; and lighting is by Coleen M. Foley. David Hopkins designed the set. This is a wonderful show for the doldrums of summer. Take the family and hold on to your seats. This one will have you laughing in the aisles! (Reviewed be Nancy McCord)
*****
The Organization of Chinese American Women always surprises when it presents its annual operas. One remembers when they did "Dialogues of the Carmelites" and had everyone in tears at the end as the nuns walked off stage and were beheaded during the revolution. This time they had big hurdles to face. Originally scheduled the previous Sunday when unfortunately the lights went out at the Strathmore...the first time a cancellation ever happened at Strathmore...they had to quickly replace two of the leads who could not be held over for the performance. And they chose extremely well with getting full and lovely voiced tenor Michael Fabiano as the male lead whose voice soared above the audience to the upper balcony even though he had only a modest physique. Regularly cast Jessica Stecklein, lyric soprano, also was diminuative and always matched his volume to the pleasure of the audience. Her voice was purely golden and her vocal flourishes were supreme and she was a very fine actress throughout in the story of a dilettante who eventually dies from consumption...no doubt brought on by her having "loved but lost". Probably the Strathmore is not the best place to stage an opera but it certainly was fantastic for its acoustics. The producers wisely just presented a staged concert-opera which was well directed by Muriel Von Villas. The orchestra...beautifully directed by Edward Roberts...was upstage which occasionally subtracted from the story line but strengthened the singing. What also subtracted from the performance was the singing of Gary Simpson, baritone, who was another replacement and had vocal difficulty whenever he was on stage as the father Germont. He fought the orchestra in pitch and had a scraggly voice and had no acting ability whatsoever...too concerned about his failing voice. The rest of the smallish cast were all adequate but the opera was most successful due to the two superb leads. Overall, this proves again that the acoutics at Strathmore are superb and more opera should be encouraged in its scheduling. (Reviewed by Bob Anthony)
*****
"Super Claudio Bros." was such a hit at the Fringe Festival that it extended its run at the Warehouse Theatre until Aug. 1st. And it deserves the rip-roaring standing ovation given at its first extended performance. It is a totally "wacko" musical comedy with its fairylike tale of a princess stolen by a platypus and searched out by two brothers who handle the search like a computer game...which is pictured on a big screen upstage. It is Eggplant territory...or is that aubergine?...and the purple munchkins open the show to give the very funny exposition. Co-authors, Marshall Pailet and Drew Fornarola wondrously have the lyrics lead the action of the cockamamie plotting and there is a laugh around every rhymed lyrical corner. Top honors has to go to Matthew A. Anderson as the platypus who insists he is a "mammal" in strong terms throughout. His is a darling characterization. Steven Gregory Smith and Sam Ludwig are the charming brothers of the title who are determined to escape the hurdles and blocks to save the Princess Tangerine at all costs. Miss Gia Mora is the P.T. and she has fantastic gesticulations and a well trained lyric soprano as she warbles with very smooth high c's. Lauren Williams plays her sister, Princess Fish, in tomboyish fashion. She also has a fine soprano but her articulation while singing is mushy so one could only understand about 50% of her lyrics. Harry A. Winter, a very competent actor, showed again his talent for comedic acting. Others in this delightful cast are Shayna Blass, Gillian Shelly, Chris Sizemore, and Karissa Swanigan. This is a highly recommended night of laughter. It would be recommended for a younger audience until the platypus sings his suggestive song near the end of the play...but maybe it will go over the kids heads. Kudos also for the costumer Dina M. Perez and her assistant Laura Maier. (Reviewed by Bob Anthony)
*****
"PASSING STRANGE" (To 8/8) at Studio is a talented triple threat with superb music (Christopher Youstra), acting (director Keith Alan Baker) and choreography (Helanius J. Wilkins). And finally, even though the singing actors are miked, every word spoken or sung is perfectly understood. And that is so important as this musical is full of poetic passages which gives total charm to the lyrics throughout. Deidra LaWan Starnes again is tops in the cast in her acting although her singing sometimes ended with unnecessary trills. Jahi A. Kearse is a dynamo with his musical comedy style although one detects a possible vocal nodule in his voicing and singing. Aaron Reeder only blossomed as an actor in the second act...his first act was rather wooden with anticipated lines...particularly with his singing and dancing of "The Black One". The story line is a simple "Candide" one in which a young Black American musician, tired of disappointments in Los Angeles, tries for musical fame by going off to Amsterdam and Berlin only to find social dysfunctions there to be comparable to racism in the USA. The fascinating part of this musical by Stew and Heidi Rodewald is the erudite references in making their comparisons to history and psychology (from Coue to Karl Marx to Jung) not usually found in ghetto-type scripts...in addition to the fine and charming poetry. One doesn't even mind the mediocre Dutch and German accents allowed by dialect coach Kim James Bey. The chorus of 12 members does stunning work. The show opens with a bang with ferocious singing and dancing in "Church Blues Revelation" and the excitement never lets up until the final number of "It's Alright". Yet the high spot of the show was "The Black One" even though it comes close to a "Chicago" composition (I don't know how many chores are allowed before it becomes plagiarism). But this is a highly recommended musical and, as seen at this performance, it will be an SRO for every show. Certainly it is a great show for the younger set with excuses for a few "f" words. (Reviewed by Bob Anthony)
*****
Thoughtful critics and audiences sometimes wonder where is European music going? What is "modern" in a world where almost everything has alrady been tried? Is it possible to hyperventilate in the fourth dimension? The performance by radio.string.quartet.vienna at the Austrian Cultural Forum might offer suggestions. One tendency that is clear is the wish to extract new sounds from old instruments or to find new instruments that are even less predictable. Another tendency is for composers to become performers, or performers to become composers. A third tendency is to pull inspiration from diverse sources, almost as if Gypsy virtuosity and abandon has been revived. This group's concert often suggested the strong folk traditions that inspired the generation of 19th century nationalist composers. What emerged was intriguing music, at time slightly Celtic in flavor and, at other times, more reminiscent of John Taverner's moodily elegaic and provokingly transcendental musings. The two violinists in the group, Bernie Mallinger and Johannes Dickbauer are the group's composers...and they are quite impressive composers. This is not easy music to perform from memory as several of the players were doing. The audience had the constant sense that the group was ready to break into a sponaneous improvisational riff and this was part of the music's power. The second part of the evening offered portions of the group's transcription for string quartet of John McLaughlin's "Mahavishnu Orchestra". This definitely "edgy" music may have explained an audience much younger than usually seen at the Austrian Cultural Forum. (Reviewed by Stephen Neal Dennis)
*****
The only disappointment at the Austrian Embassy for the concert by the AMERICAN YOUTH HARP ENSEMBLE was the scant audience. Otherwise the concert was full of razzle dazzle of chord progressive playing and intensity variations by ten harpists who performed musical blends one would have thought impossible with this stringed instrument. Only the Bach and Handel gave that smooth angelic plucking usually heard from a single instrument but when the group moved into Mussorgsky's "Great Gate of Kiev" heavy and strong plucking boomed throughout the concert room which almost matched a full orchestra. Amazingly using the instruments as percussions, and with the addition of Matt Nichols on the drums, the "African Reflections" carried one away into the jungles. The second half had the Salzedo's "Steel" that, with all the discordancies, seemed to be a piece by Philip Glass. The highlight, of course, was the ferocious stumming on the strings by Ian McVoy in his composition of "Rondo Naningo". His hands moved so swiftly along the strings that they lost their identity. Also, during the "Pink Panther" and "No One Can Stop Me Now", white tape was plastered along the base of the strings so a wonderful eerie sound was generated and gave a great jazzy effect to the playing. This young group, with a surprising two males considering the usual female harp players, was totally amazing and progressively creative. Kudos to artistic director and conductor, Lynnelle Ediger-Kordzaia, who trains youngsters of all ages to take up the harp instrument. The group has played in lots of performance venues in the United States and Europe...and they will have a gig at the Kennedy Center in the future. So watch the programming at the KC and definitely rush to see this prized group. (Reviewed by Bob Anthony)
*****
The Signature Cabaret at Strathmore (Strathmore Music Hall) was filled with electrifying singing in a finely produced cabaret as the singers presented songs from over 20 years of shows having been presented at Tony-award winning Signature Theater. The six main singers and five backup singers were totally dynamite. Outstanding for the main singers was Will Gartshore with "Run, Freedom, Run" in total physical abandonment (backed by the Overture Singers; the comic presentation of "Wouldn't It Be Loverly" by Matt Pearson; Eleasha Gamble with "God Will Provide" (backed by the Overture Singers); Tracy Lynn Olivera with "I Dreamed a Dream" sung with emotional depth; Jake Odmark with sensitive undertones of "Walking Among My Yesterdays", and Bllgh Voth with "Words, Words, Words". The audience in the small music room at Strathmore gave overwhelming appreciation after every song. It seems the only thing missing was a number from "Sweeney Todd" which had a number of repeat productions at Signature over the years. This is a program that could stand many repeat performances at Strathmore...it was "delovely". (Reviewed by Bob Anthony)
*****
The closing concert of the 2010 Washington Early Music Festival presented three harpsichords and an organist ("FOUR EARLY KEYBOARDS") performing French music from the period between 1680 and 1780. Harpsichord music is often an acquired taste, and French harpsichord music is less immediately exciting than Scarlatti's incomparable 550 18th century keyboard sonatas or Bach's sublime polyphonic music in which a clean line of melody, sometimes several clean lines of fugal melody, is never far from the listener's ear. At times, this French music was less regal in character than simply busy like the buzzing of an active hive of bees. Certainly Panrace Royer's quite forgettable "La Marche des Scythes" seemed interminable as the Scythian hordes overran the stage first from the left, then from the righ, now from the back, and eventually from the front with the same obvious little tune. If Japnese harpsichordist, Atsuko Watanable, had wanted to impress on her audience how superior Prokofiev had been in composing emotionally satisfying battle music for "Alexander Nevsky"...she succeeded. Some of the evening's most impressive moments occurred during Keith Scott Reas' playing on the St. Mark's organ. The sheer "weight" of the pedal notes this organ could create underpinned the grand sort of choral lushness French composers for the organ have exulted in for centuries. Inevitably, the harpsichord seemed to tinkle in response afterward. The harpsichord star of the evening was Steven Silverman who gave his audience a sense of the architectural and intellectual magnificence of Cupperin's "Ordre VIII". Otherwise the concert was largely a bit of this and a bit of that always played deftly. It became clear that the French composers featured had a fear of leaving any moment not underlined by active bravura and preferred not to link hands through chordal cooperation. (Reviewed by Stephen Neal Dennis)
*****
The Strathmore presented "LUCK BE A LADY" starring Julia Murney, Emily Skinner and Jim Caruso. It was an entertaining 75 minute program presented by this very talented trio along with Ritt Henn on bass, Dan Gross on drums and John Fischer on piano. Let me state that I would walk on hot coals and /or broken glass for the opportunity to hear Mr. Fischer. His accompaniment was impeccable and his reworking of "If I Only Had a Brain" was nothing short of genius. Each performer had individual moments: Caruso's new lyrics for "Coffee in the Cardboard Cup"; Murney's "Back to Before", and Skinner's rendition of "More Than You kow" sans microphone. Just a couple of quibbles: (1) there didn't seem to be a focus that elucidated the title of the show. I truly expected to hear songs from "Guys and Dolls" or only the music of Frank Loesser. Since it seemed to be songs from shows that the ladies had appeared in, there needed to be another thread to connect the material. And (2) I thought there was ALWAYS an encore in a cabaret. These were fine performers who did a noble job but some of the songs just didn't stand on their own. Without costumes, props, storyline, some just didn't deliver. (Reviewed by Beverly Cosham)
*****
"ARMONIA NOVA" presented the next-to-last evening concert of this year's Washington Early Music Festival (To 6/26). Surprisingly there were over 200 in the audience at St. Mark's on the Hill for this performance of romantic French songs of the 12th to the 14th centuries. Four excellent singers and two instrumentalists placed the audience "smack dab" into the early centuries although their dress was modern. The audience was extremely pleased with the poetic songs of love and rejection but questioned the French pronunciation. Only, when the counter-tenor in the second part noted that they were singing in Middle French, did one understand the lack of nasal vowels then, and consonant omissions that is part of the French language today. So people stopped trying to follow the French script and just settled back to listen to the wholesome singing. No doubt, the most impressive voice was that of counter tenor, Jay White, with his smooth upper range that bordered on the angelic. The best presentation was special guest artist, Jacqueline Horner-Kwiatek who "lived" the romantic phrases with full voicing and intentions. Soprano Allison Mandel easily fulfilled the appropriate fluid piercing upper sounds and alto-mezzo Marjorie Bunday was faultless in her phrasing and swaying while handling the script. The best number, in fact, was Ms. Bunday and Mr. White with their captivating "Se la face ay pale" (translation: "If my face is pale...the cause is love"). In the second part of the program, Ms. Horner-Kwiatek opened the energy and the passion with her duet of "Dites seignor" (translation "Tell me my Lord") and it seemed to flow over to the other singers as they finally began vigorous and fully emotional singing. Craig Resta did wonders with his baroque violin as did the ever faithful Constance Whiteside with her harp. It was a truly wonderful program and garnered exceptional applause from the appreciative audience so an encore with all of the performers taking part was offered...the blending of the voices and intruments was electric. One would hope that one day Armonia Nova would repeat the program with an English text so the romantic poetry could really be fully appreciated. (Reviewed by Bob Anthony)
*****
Reviews Done Out of Town
Prescott, Arizona is a dream place if one wants to escape the summer heat of Phoenix to its south. Again I was treated to the Cowboy Poets Weekend in this city which is the "cowboy capital of the USA". The evening concert this year was a little "long in the tooth" with poetry recitation and a few of the presenters need some work with delivery. The musical group this year, at the old corral on the stage of Yavapai College, was The Desert Sons. Buck Rybert, Skelly Boyd, Benny Young and Slim Tighe had the audience in ranch wonderlust with their fine vocal blending with some older ditties but also some new material. There were free workshops all day Friday and Saturday with singing and reciting cowboys and a minor theme this year was the slow disappearance of cowboys where computers are now handling the livestock. And there was also very few of the younger crowd in the audiences or on stage...except for one boy fiddler ("Arizona Old Time Fiddlers") who proved his mettles. However, the top joy of the trip was entering the renovated Elks Opera House...it was totally elegant with its 1905 original look...the proscenium and boxes and balcony fronts were sculpted with Georgian "Wedgewood" design and the seats were certainly total plush. It is one of three such opera houses in the Western USA and it is worth a trip to Prescott even though one can also visit superb art galleries...mostly Western-themed...with lots of glorious glass works. Diana Fierin has some superb sculptures at the Mountain Artists Guild where Antonius and Ray will have a stunning glass exhibit (9/17-10/13). The shows seen at the Elks were "Tea with Zaza" featuring Gail Mangham who told the tale of an actress who couldn't find an onstage or offstage lover and overall told the story of an traveling actress at a time when women were not especially preferred on stage unless they were stripping. Ms. Mangham has a sharp nasality and the piece dragged too often so that she lost some audience members. The first part of the show had solos by Lecia Breen in "Broadway to Opera". Miss Breen had a lovely soprano with a wide range and was quite thrilling a singer but she needed some additional stage directions to carry off such a solo performance. The next performance was "Timeless Weddings" which showed wedding dresses from 1860 to 1990 with wonderful and didactic moderation by Maxine Dillahuty. The dozens of "red hats" in the audience loved the show as they remembered bygone days. The Phippen Museum of Western Art has, by far, the greatest collection of Western Art...past and present. Currently they are showing Ken Freeman who is considered the "Rembrandt of Cowboy Painting". He uses the techniques of his favorite idol and the lights and shadows are dreamy as he presents cowboys in different activities and in portraits. He also wonderfully captures young Indian children that reek of innocence. Probably his greatest pieces in the show are two rabbis at prayer (he is Jewish) and the misty paint covering of the rabbis gives a superb piety so one appreciates a glorious religiosity. This is a definite stop for anyone going through this area of the country. It provides a prized experience and it has a wonderful gift shop. Plus they are currrently expanding so they can present even larger shows in the near future. (Reviewed by Bob Anthony)
*****
This time around more time was spent with the arts in Fort Worth rather than Dallas. Actually, Fort Worth is a more comfortable city with more of a "town" attitude. The most exciting venue reviewed was the FORT WORTH MUSEUM OF SCIENCE AND HISTORY that is still expanding in covering both science and history of the Lone Star state and the city itself. Most outstanding is the children's section with everything from a children's grocery store to other social interactive programs...it is a children's paradise with lots of water pools and sprinklers. There is also a "dino" lab and an "energy blast" which takes one physically through exploding stars to early earth formations. There is a total production display from oil drilling to energy usage. The second story covers cattle ranching and driving to stampede films. Tops is the trolley ride through old Fort Worth. The MODERN ART MUSEUM has a wonderment of modern art from Andy Warhol (a huge self study of the artist done in purples) to "Helter Skelter" by Mark Bradford that covers a whole wall of one gallery that would take two hours to discover all of its details. It is a wonderfully constructed museum with fine gallery space that is extremely well lit with natural light. The current show is "The Collection and Then Some" with over a hundred sterling works by modern artists from Jackson Pollock's collages to Susan Rothenberg's pink horses. A return visit to the AMON CARTER MUSEUM confirms that it has the best collection of figurative art in the Southwest. Remington horses gallop right out of the picture frames giving the viewer a knee-jerk reaction to avoid being trampled. Currently there are photo shows...the highlight being the Ansel Adams grouping. Mr. Adams was a fine pianist and he felt his photos should reflect all of the "sights and sounds" variations found in classical musical forms. He managed to get fantastic textures in all of his photos so that three dimensional effects are noted. His "Moonrise" is outstanding as it shows a Western graveyard backed by a small town and a rising moon over the mountains...it provides ecstasy! A highspot in stage entertainment is found in the "CONCERTS IN THE GARDEN"...an open air presentation mostly by the Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra followed by a closing fireworks display. It is held on the lawn of the Fort Worth Botanical Gardens and one missed the unscheduled Fort Worth Symphony. Instead the crowd was treated to "Crazy...For Patsy" (a tribute to Patsy Cline) with wonderful songs delivered by Julie Johnson. Naturally people sang along with the familiar country and western lyrics and a number of couples danced on the roadway dividing the crowd to bring back their own romantic moments. The visit to the FORT WORTH BOTANICAL GARDENS was slightly disappointing as the central glass-enclosed unit was quite small and the Rose Garden showed mostly scanty blooms (past the season) but the Japanese Garden was a wonderful haven that suggested a religious retreat. It was perfectly appointed with superb trimmings and a wonderful inside lake with arching bridges. It was certainly the high spot for the whole of Fort Worth! A visit to the FORT WORTH ZOO was appreciated for its wonderful high wooden platforms and caves so that one could view the animals from different angles. It had a great collection of animals and they all looked well taken care of. Certainly the zoo should be numbered as one of the top ten in the nation. One section of the zoo is a replica of an old Texan town with storefronts and workshops found in old West.
In Dallas, a visit to the MEADOWS MUSEUM at SMU again proves it is one of the top museums in the country even though limited to mostly Spanish art. Currently it has "Contours of Empire: The World of Charles IV"...of course including works by Goya and Lopez who were court painters for Charles IV. It is outstanding with its art objects from this historical period with a number of carriages and superb parqued-wood furniture. There is a superb film of inside-the-castle in Madrid. Also very impressive is the newer "WOMEN'S MUSEUM" with a superb statue (Woman Rising Out of a Cactus) in front welcoming in the guests. It is housed in a former coliseum that was used for livestock auctions and opera and symphony performances by night... which was later turned into a factory...then a business center...then abandoned...then it was gutted for a current superb museum. It is, no doubt, the finest look at women in America into social to theatrical to business to political ventures. A huge wall depicts the lives of women through the ages and there is even a toy display which matches the transitions of women in our culture. A current show is "Freedom's Sisters"...showing the heroes of the Black's movement from slavery. There is a museum shop with so many items that "one could die for"...so be sure to carry those plastic cards when visiting. Every woman and girl child should be required to visit this museum...and men and boys should follow along to appreciate the place of women in our nation's history. Finally, for those looking for the finest in Art Glass, do drop in to see and buy the fabulous KITTRELL RIFFKIND glassware display in north Dallas. They change displays every month and the artists are the tops in the field. (Reviewed by Bob Anthony)
*****
It was certainly impressive in a town (Branson, Missouri) of six thousand residents that they can present such highly professional stage shows and they have over a hundred venues where shows are presented six times plus some matinees from Monday to Saturdays. There are a few that perform on Sundays but mostly the day is inundated with "gospel" sessions all around town and on mostly all of the tv stations. Each of the performances I caught were of high caliber but certainly "NOAH" at the Sight and Sound Theatre was overwhelming in production. It was like a Cecil B. DeMille extravaganza on one of the hugest stages ever. The script was rather tawdry but in what other theater can you see animals in pairs coming down the aisle to go into the six story ark on stage...pigs, chickens, llamas, horses, etc. And when the second act opened into three quarters of the audience...the scenery was filled with mostly all the animals of the world...yes they were mechanized but hugely effective in their movements. Light and sound effects were perfectly realized by the technicians. "PRESLEY'S COUNTRY JUBILEE" was a family-cast show that has covered three generations of the Presley family. It had country and gospel with fine buck-teethed Cecil and Herkim doing father and son comedy to please the audience between the songs. Most impressive was John Presley on the piano with "mile a minute" fingers as he went through the scales in violent fashion thrilling the listeners. "THE NEW SHANGHAI CIRCUS" had over 40 acrobats from China who tumbled, did bent-overs and twisters going from jumping through triple hoops to climbing poles while taking different daring positions to even a magic trick of one girl disappearing in a box followed by a half dozen girls coming out of the box when it was reopened. The top thriller was the girls balancing themselves with ten chairs balanced on top of one another. "THE TINOCOS' MAGNIFICENT VARIETY SHOW" reached that titled level as they sang and danced their way through the decades of the 20th century which brought back fine memories for all family members. The second half of the show started with wondrous scenes from Broadway musicals with an ending of gospel songs. Nicely, kids under 11 get free admission and the young daughter(Talya) of the producer/actors (Joe and Tamra Tinoco) is starting her stage career to impress that under 11 group. The most highly recommended by cab drivers is "PIERCE ARROW" with a wonderful male quartet with expertly blended voices. The high spot of this show, however, was the skilled comedian (Jarrett Dougherty) who tried every means to join the singing group but was rejected. He did a most delightful hackneyed interpretation of the Old Testament of the bible that left the audience with "split sides" from laughing so heartily. This group had the most beautiful showroom of all of the venues reviewed. "THE SPIRIT OF THE DANCE" gave skilled samples of can-can, Texas 2-Step, Tap, Jig, hip hop and even a Bob Fosse choreographed selection. Their top number was "You Raise Me Up" and a hand clapping routine seated on the apron of the stage. Fantastic coordination! "THE 12 IRISH TENORS" did quite a number of Irish tunes but also sang opera, Broadway and jazz tunes. Their top production was a "Blues Brothers" routine and their encore of "When You Walk Through a Storm". "THE JIM SAFFORD SHOW" had Mr. Stafford doing lots of standup jokes. He has a wonderful tongue-in-cheek approach to comedy and, like Victor Borge, teased the audience with playing short tunes with comic interludes. But to end the show he performed fireworks on his guitar even using it as a percussion instrument at times. Absolutely outstanding...one can see why he is considered the wizard on the instrument. His young daughter and teen aged son also performed on the piano with effective playing but they need some work on selling their performance to the audience...which will come with experience as shown by the father. The two museums reviewed were the "TOY MUSEUM" and "THE HAROLD BELL WRIGHT MUSEUM". The Toy Museum claims it is the largest in the world and it seems appropriate as one walks through to see cars and train sets, military toys, rocking horses, almost all of the Disney characters, Shirley Temple and Barbie complete sets, coke and gas pumps...just about every toy ever put on the market. In the back room is the "Harold Bell Wright" who wrote stories about this area of the country...his finest being "That Printer of Udells" which even Ronald Reagan stated that it inspired him throughout his film and political career. There were artifacts from his home and his writing table as well as his painting easel since he dabbed in both arts. So all of my reviews are very positive. The only negatives I found was that each venue honored the military as they had audience veterans stand when their service song was played. Also, the map suggest the venues are walkable...it is deceptive as they are far apart and one really needs to rent a car. Also, none of the venues gave a program or a sheet with names of the performers (you can see there is a lack of naming names in most of the reviews). Otherwise I found the residents were very helpful and charming and a really happy crowd. The final show reviewed was "DIXIE STAMPEDE" which is a dinner theater. One first is pleased with a comedy juggler in the bar room and then one enters a huge arena where the history of the rise of the West is performed with Indians and settlers. This is followed by an audience contest between the North and the South as horse competitions are held in the arena. The food served was plenty but typically dried out as hundreds in the audience had to be served. The show ended with a Dolly Parton film as she sang patriotic songs while the calvary did different formation holding American flags. (Reviewed by Bob Anthony)
*****
No one should question whether Santa Fe is the art capital of the world! Every downtown block has at least three galleries not unlike Homestead, Pa. that has three churches and three beer gardens on every block! And then there is Canyon Road...the road with hundreds of galleries and shops that so dazzle that visitors needs deep pockets to buy paintings, indian crafts and antiques. The favorite museum place is Museum Hill just outside of town. The Wheelwright Museum has the Charlotte Greenleaf Mittler Collection of Kachina paintings of Indians dancing and cavorting. It was noted that the Santa Domingo tribe never allowed human drawings (perhaps because picturing them pulled out their spirit...so only animals were allowed to be pictured). There were also Kivas...cave paintings...that had to be erased like the Bhuddists destroy their sand mandalas. Also there was a small gallery with the works of Frank Buffalo Hyde which contained some papooses with food items surrounding them...hamburgers with teeth and other odd assortments. The Museum of Indian Arts and Culture next door had wonderful 20 feet Indian sculptures outside and Indian arts and crafts inside. There was also the International Museum of World Culture that had shows of hispanic heritage with Ramon Jose Lopez's "Death Cart" which shows typical skeletal horses drawing a cart made out of bones and two human skeletons in the coach. The museum had a complete village of hand carved Christ and saints with exciting details of human expressions. In central downtown Santa Fe one can go to the Museum of Art which has an entrance painting by Ray Martin Abeya of two Indians...the one that Columbus found and an Asiatic one that Columbus claimed he had found in the new land. It was interesting that one found among the Indian and scenic works Judy Chicago, Francis Bacon, Oliphant and Georgia O'Keefe! The History Museum was the most fascinating and one that one need take in for a whole day. It is a relatively new museum which has a sublime interior and it covers the history of New Mexico including the revolt of the Indians and the Mexican and Civil Wars. It has wonderful artifacts and presentations about the military and civilian life styles. And, finally, there was the Georgia O'Keefe Museum. It is more of a gallery size and only has a few of the artists works on the wall...do go to our Phillips Gallery presently to see a much larger O'Keefe collection. The favorites here were the "Horse and Skull" and the "Mule and Skull". Currently there is the Susan Rothenberg show (To 5/16) with the favorites being "Cabin Fever", "Pink Horse" and "Folded Bhudda"...the nice thing about her paintings is that the titles truly relate to what is on the canvas adding meaning to the abstractions pictured. A walk down Canyon Road (that everyone should definitely take) gave the following high spots. Charles Azbell Gallery has the work of its owner. Mr. Azbell presents the most intriguing scenes of the landscapes around Santa Fe. His colorations of the clouds and mountains and sun are sublime...one is almost hypnotized by the beauty. J.D. Midwikis, owner of the Reflection Gallery is the most knowledgable about art of any gallery owner that I have conversed with. He recognizes both established and upcoming artists. Currently he is excited with the Chinese and shows a glorious Xie Quiwa titled "Twilight Shadow" of a Chinese woman which is the most delicately featured that I have ever seen. He also likes the Russian husband and wife Baranovs who take turns painting gloriously colored scenes. The most delightful galleries probably because the owners were Russian and Ukrainian and they concentrated on upcoming Eastern European artists were the Pushkin and the art of Russia Galleries. Mr. Pushkin, a direct-in-line relative of the great Russian poet, was a joyful conversationalist and gave a perfect update on Russian art...a country that he visits on a regular basis to update his collection. Currently he is enthralled by the portraiture works of Boris Chetkov. Chetkov's portraits have blazing colors and all of the works showed smeared distortions but, as one searches, one sees the souls of his subject coming full front. Whether it is the one blind eye of the "Folk Singer" or the black circle under one eye of a woman subject...one easily gets the message of the subject's life style and philosophies. In the Russia Gallery, owner Dianna Soboleva Lennon is ecstatic about the art of Yevgeni Shchukin who is totally ethereal in his depiction of biblical figures. Even better than Chagall, his work is more spiritual and one gets such a religiously oceanic feeling that one has to look away to recapture reality. His picture of Eve climbing the tree to get the apple moves one between the primitive to a human connivance. A final stop on Canyon Road was the Robert Nichols Gallery which has the finest all-around gallery of contemporary clay fine art. Liberties are taken by the artists...one young man puts dinosaurs on his work...he is a Santo Domingoan...remember about their refusal to put human figures on their pottery?
The most exciting museum in Albuquerque was the superior Turquoise Museum. One can go through the collection of turquoise from around the world and particularly look at the shining black and blue Iranian jewels. And the history of the stone, its mining and polishing is explained. The attached shop has every type of setting for this jewel. One gets the feeling that the owners really know the worth of their jewels...they are world experts... and one gets a very fair price when purchasing their favorite. The Albuquerque Museum of Art is probably the most beautiful on the continent. Outside there is a huge scupture of a wagon train and all of the pioneers and Indians posed around it. Inside there are wonderful gallery spaces which are all inviting for the visitor. Currently they are anticipating the May opening of the Davies Sister's "Turner to Cezanne"...we Washingtonians can still see it at the Corcoran Gallery of Art. They also have the "Albuquerque Now" exhibit with a mixture of paintings and sculpture by the Taos Society. The finest of this show was Joshua Franes "Tenth Year Anniversary" of a happy couple in a field of orchids. The New Mexico Museum of Natural History indicates that we are moving away from fossils and into the computer age. It is a fascinating look at the present sophistication of communications and the world to come in interplanetary travel. It is an exciting place for children. Finally the Holocaust Museum in center city takes a look at the holocaust but also the discrimination that exists from earlier times...like the Turkish ethnic cleansing of the Armenians to the current attacks on gays. Most are pictures of Eastern Europeans who were instrumental in hiding Jewish children during the removal of their parents to concentration camps. This is a traveling show which we trust will show up at our Holocaust Museum here in DC. And finally there is a most exciting artist showing at the Museum of Contemporary Arts in Santa Fe. His one painting "Pueblo Feast Day" compares favorably to a Renoir as it details an Indian clan participating in a meal. It is a little more primitive in style but communications between the subjects are clearly defined. (Reviewed by Bob Anthony)
*****
St. Croix is probably the quietest place to visit as they "roll up the sidewalks at 5pm so one must adjust dinner hour forward. The bay was filled with small craft so it is clearly the place for the "snowbirds on ships". There is minimal evening entertainment although one might go to the key (access by motorboat) off the boardwalk in Christiansted to hear the steel drums. On Thursdays in Christiansted there is an art walk and there was wine flowing for the large crowd participating. Probably the most interesting gallery was the "Watch Your Step" run by Diane Given Hayes. Her present artistic task is the "Nature's Watchful Eye" in which she captures portraits of animals who are in danger of extinction. The most interesting was the "White Polar Bear" and in the eyes is reflected the melting ice caps. Other animals express dangers to their species. Also the "Art @ Top Hat" has wonderful local artists...the most impressive were Mark Mulberrin (fish with human qualities are delightful), Ronald Burns (human heads with flowers and leaves bursting over the crowns), and Claudia De Ledeber (lots of local work scenes...washer women, etc.). In Frederiksted one finds the Whim Estate which has a greathouse around which there used to be a sugar plantation. It has only one large bedroom but the house is filled with wonderful mahogany furniture and lots of donations by Victor Borge (the island was originally owned by the Danes). It is almost a replica of our Mount Vernon with cooking sheds and slave quarters and outdoor showers. When the Danes owned the island they insisted on English being taught to the slave children who were required to learn reading but not spelling??? If an estate owner failed to send the young slaves to school (run by Moravians...a reason for teaching reading was to familiarize the children with the Bible) the estate owners were fined until they sent the kids to school. While in Frederiksted, this critic joined a house tour joined by 150 people driving cars around that part of the island to see three estates. The most interesting was the "Estate Whim" (Richard Harris/John Conner)...again like the George Washington home with an outside porch that extended from end to end and overlooked the bay waters. It was a most comfortable interior with souvenirs from around the world...the dragon candlesticks being the most interesting. The "Estate Jolly Hill" was hexagon shaped with three separate pods...two of which were bedrooms. It sat on a hill with a wonderful overlook of the town and bay waters (now priced to sell at 485 thousand). The "Estate Prosperity" (Hortensia Lanio/Matthew Snow) was like a Long Island great house with wonderful Danish interior styles. (Reviewed by Bob Anthony)
*****
It was a comfortable balmy time in Houston to review some arts while the Northeast was being covered with snow and ice. The best art show in town was at the Houston Museum of Natural Science with the "Faberge: Imperial Jeweler to the Tsars" (To 4/4) Having seen the many imperial collections in European capitals, one has never encountered the shattering glory of light being reflected out from the Empress Josephine Tiara! But also in this exhibit is the Nobel Ice Egg made in shimmering shades of white as requested by the Swedish industrialist. The usual inside "surprise" was a rock crystal and diamond pendant watch. And there were dozens of earrings and cigarette cases, etc. with small diamonds and rubies that seemed impossible to grind down to be so perfectly matched. The Menil Colllection had two fine shows. "Body in Fragments" (To 2/28) is a small but well curated show with the top piece being Magritte's "The Eternally Obvious" which had a divided body (head to foot) in typically surrealistic manner. Also there is early 20th century's Joaquin Torres-Garcia with wonderful "Abstractions with Wood" which also includes samples of manufactured wooden toys for children during the artist's lifetime. The Alley Theater again comes through with a most delightful "A Christmas Carol- A Ghost Story of Christmas" which is a lot more spookier than usual productions of this classic but well balanced by a wonderful comic portrayal of Scrooge by Jeffrey Bean. Through all of his haranguing about the holiday, there is always a "pussycat" undertone that is a sheer delight. This year is the "end of career" for Bettye Fitzpatrick whose "Christmas Past" can never be replaced as it has been a most unique portrayal for this retiring actress after 50 years with the Alley. "The Christmas Revels" this year did the medieval celebration with its delightful costumes and presentation that was full of time and place for the audience. The highlights of this year's production was the Anglian Minstrels with Abby Green (voice/percussion), Brady Lanier (viola de Gamba), Nikola Radan (recorders), and Slobodan Vujisic (lutes). Mr. Radan got most positive response to his solos with his fine fingering...at one point he played the small recorder through his nostril which delighted the crowd. Larry Pisoni again proves to be the best American fool (clown) performing on our stages...he had the audience "eating out of his hands" throughout. And, overall, the city of Houston is well lighted with holiday cheer abounding. (Reviewed by Bob Anthony)
*****
Six rainy days did not stop this critic from reviewing seven museums and the Whirling Dervishes in ISTANBUL. The finest newer museums are the Museum of Modern Art and the Sakip Sabanci Museum. The MOMA is situated in an old warehouse near the wharf where one can see the large cruise ships. The interior is a perfect venue for abstract and minimalist art as it has steel frames abounding and a metal staircase. Currently it has a Sarkis:"Site" exhibit(To 1/10) which shows the artist's work over a 50 year period. The artist presents poster-like full wall scenes which the artist calls a "rendezvous exhibit" for his installations. The permanent collection is composed of mostly 20th century Turkish artists whose work is surprisingly derivative of art trends in Europe and the West. The SAKIP SABANCI MUSEUM is a strikingly beautiful modern museum attached to the Victorian home of Sakip Sabanci on a lovely terrace near the university. The museum currently has the work of Joseph Beuys and his students. There are photographics as well as paintings which are primarily minimalist...yes, some look like the artists may have still had a kindergarden innocence. Some of the permanent collection show color blocks like Modrian. The residence is also open for visitors and it has art objects from Sevre pieces to antique Japanese and Chinese pieces...it is totally breathtaking. And the photos suggest that it was always the place in Turkey for heads of state. The ARCHEOLOGICAL MUSEUM is not to be missed...particularly if one is interested in Roman and Greek antiquity...there is a wonderful collection of sarcophagi from early times...the most impressive is the Alexander and the Crying women sarcophagi. In one gallery there is the recreation of the Trojan horse which is outstanding. Also there is a separate museum of Oriental art as well as a fine collection of Turkish tiles in a separate home which is the oldest home to be found in the Old City. In the same area is the Topkapi museum which defies one's previous concept of extravagance...gold and jewels cover everything from swords to whole rooms. Also Mohammed's beard and one tooth are encased in gold cases. But the most spectacular is the Circumcision room that is awesome with some of the most beautiful tile work ever imagined. (This one is not to be missed). Around the corner is the St. Sophia huge cathedral. It still has remnants of the Ottomans' taste but the building has gone through Christian then Moslem design and now it is being renovated as a Christian museum piece. At the base of the hillside is the famous CISTERN that held the water for the city as it flowed from Bulgaria. It is an architectual wonder in a underground caves but Roman and Greek arches make it most fascinating. In the same area on No.4 and No. 28 along the hillside wall are father and daughter art galleries with fantastic Turkish paintings...the most impressive being of the dervishes. The WHIRLING DERVISH show is somewhat suspect as it takes place in a round cave like structure....so is it show biz? The dancing men don't really seem to be in a hypnotic state as expected but the audience gave no applause at the end of the show so almost all of the audience apparently accepted it as a religious Sufi rite. One last word...the Turkish people are the most pleasant people in the world who greet visitors with excitement and always have the tea pot ready to share their drinks...mostly apple tea which is very, very tasty. (Reviewed by Bob Anthony)
*****
The art scene in Miami gets better and better with each passing year. On this short holiday weekend trip, one stage show and two museums were reviewed and all three get top ratings. The Actors' Playhouse in Coral Gables has a totally delightful show to please the pre-baby boomers as four very talented actresses, "THE MARVELOUS WONDERETTES"(To 11/1) , donned appropriate dress and vocal power to present those old favorite songs of the 50's and 60's. The stage was set like a prom night with balloons with a "queen of the prom" to be elected by the audience. Amy Miller Brennan, Tiana Checchia, Julie Kleiner and Lisa Manuli cajoled with one another in high school fashion and all managed to belt out the oldies but goodies from the singing stars of the era from The Maguire Sisters to Patti Page and songs from "Mr Sandman" to "It's My Party". Oh, my, the memories that it brought back to the mostly senior audience!...a wonderful remembrance of budding lovers past! Director David Arisco gave plenty of playful business to keep the evening bouncing along. The musical has had a long run off Broadway and this Miracle Theater is the first regional theater to be given the rights to the show. So take your present lover (wife or husband) to see this supreme show as you both can dream of past lovers and confirm that maybe you made the "right choice" for life partner. The LOWE MUSEUM at the University of Miami has over 17,500 pieces of art of which 4,000 are prints...using the techniques of engraving, drypoint and mezzotint. Currently they had a group of art students at the university select a dozen plus of these works showing "Trends and Techniques". Some of the more famous ones are by Dali and Picasso but the most startling one is a portrait by Thomas Frye (18th century) who managed to give three dimensional effects using mezzotint. This museum is small but it has a wonderful varied collection from the old masters to current minimalist. It also has an outstanding contemporary glass collection in its Palley Pavilion. The FLORIDA INTERNATIONAL UNIVERSITY'S FROST ART MUSEUM is surrounded by dozens of lawn sculptures and is a gorgeous inside museum with large galleries with lots of natural light with so many wall windows. Currently they have a most impressive collection "The Missing Piece: Artists Consider Dalai Lama" from huge buddhas to audio visuals regarding yoga and other "contentment" monologues...one by the Dalai Lama. It is all so effective as it primes one when leaving the exhibit to appreciate "love and peace" that should exist in all of humanity. So it completes it message for the viewer. The museum's permanent collection is mostly abstract and minimalist with few figuratives. But this Dalai Lama is explosively effective in covering its theme. (Reviewed by Bob Anthony)
*****
Arrivaderci Roma! And a permanent goodbye to this graffiti capital of the world! I can't believe the city fathers cannot get the citizens to clean up their city...it is most disgusting tourist city in the world. And the transportation through the city is totally complicated regarding the metro and the bus system. And taxis...even though one insists on their turning on their meters...the drivers manage some excuse to double the fares. So it is recommended that one take organized tours since the private buses will make the rounds most effective and relaxing. However, there are still some great museums throughout the city expecially the Vatican and don't forget to see the art museum under the Sistine Chapel where artists from around the world have sent contributions to the Church of Rome. On this trip, I only managed to catch the Capitolini which is a fantastic archeological museum with art objects mostly contributed by Pope Innocent X...famous statues of Roman gods and goddesses in dress and undress. One gets the feeling that lots of hanky panky went on at the Papal residence which resulted in his being removed as pope...his reign started the word "nepotism" as he appointed so many members of his family to official positions. Currently there is a fantastic modern jewelry collection on display, "Oro di Roma" (To 10/11) , that is simply stunning. A second museum visited was the Galleria Doria Pamphilj ...a mansion of which half is still the home of the relatives of Pope Innocent X. The place is spectacular in design with every wall in every room filled with masterpiece paintings from Italian masters to Dutch masters. The most famous piece is the portrait of Innocent X by Velasquez. But there are also scenes by Guercino (means the squinter since he had eye problems) , Caracci, the Brueghels...and in the chapel one can find the mummified body of St. Theodora under glass ( a typical relic found in many major mansions). It was interesting to see children and dogs playing in the living quarters of this galleria. Of course, churches and cathedrals throughout Rome have wall paintings by famous old Italian masters. The one operatic evening attended was the I Solisti del Opera at the All Saints Episcopal Church in the area of the popolo. Soprano Marina Di Marco, tenor Marco Bianchi, baritone Clemente Frangiosi and mezzo Caterina Novak sang arias from most major Italian and French operas. Ms. Di Marco presented the finest La Traviata I have ever heard....her voice was liquid honey and her coloratura frills were divine. Mr. Frangiosi suggested the best future with his handsome looks and stunning baritone. Mr. Bianchi pushed his voice too hard so sometimes slid off key but he had a magnificent range. Miss Caterina Novak gave the best stage appearance but had ordinary voice with weakened end phrases. The string ensemble was superb throughout.
As negative as Rome was for this traveler, the Chieti region of Italy offers superb wines, excellent cuisine (too much at times) and delightful and helpful people who love tourists. The top sites visited were religious. The Holy Face Sanctuary in Manoppello had a cloth with Christ's face imprinted on it. It apparently wiped the face of Jesus after he was taken down from the cross and presented to his mother. The face shows a broken nose and bloody spots from cuts. It has been studied and it was determined that no paints were used on the cloth. In Loreto is the Nazareth home of the Blessed Virgin placed within a huge cathedral, "Our Lady of Loreto". The story is that the home was carried from Nazareth to Turkey to Croatia as Christians had to move out of the Holy Land. When Asiatic hordes invaded Turkey, angels carried the home to Loreto where a cathedral was built around it. And a magnificent cathedral it is...the ceiling is filled with iconic images and decorated with gold leaf throughout. Throngs of people are constantly in the church and the churchyard. I have never seen such a "piece of art" like this cathedral and I have seen legions in my travels. In Chieti ("la Civitella")and Pescara ("Museum of the People") there are many archeological museums that are simply fascinating as they show both Greek and Roman influences in the area. The one museum in Chieti also had some Egyptian art pieces. And the National Museum in Chieti had one of the finest coin collections pre and post the Christian era ever to be displayed. And, of course, the wine is the finest in the world. It was pointed out that the USA has only 15 varieties of grapes for wine...Italy has over 2500. Each town loves to compete with wine tastings. This Adriatic area has wonderful hilltop towns with the cathedral the central and highest point. And the mountains are filled with olive trees and grape vineyards that are finely manicured to present lovely scenic pictures. Do try this area for a quiet and relaxing vacation and to really enjoy the Italian experience. (Reviewed by Bob Anthony)
*****
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Movies
"The Extra Man" (E Street Cinema) should garner some awards for the warm comedy presented especially for the top rate performance by Kevin Kline as a social curmudgeon who is an escort for older society women in New York City. Enter Paul Dano (Lou Ives) who is still confused sexually as a Princton teacher and goes to the Big Apple to make a sexual decision believing the freedom in the city will allow him to make a sexual choice. He finds a strange acting roommate (Kevin Kline) who is confused about religion and who constantly puts down the opposite sex even though he profits socially and monetarily by escorting many older women. One is Marian Seides who gives an exceptional performance as a billionaire dowager already at death's door. Paul Dano shyly tries to connect romantically with co-worker Kate Holmes who cannot make a commitment since she is involved with another man. Mr. Dano even steals one of her apparels using it to cross-dress to prove his attraction to her. John C. Reilly plays the falsetto speaking downstairs neighbor who, however, drops into a fine baritone when singing. Yes, there is a smile and/or laugh every minute during this film. It is totally enjoyable and highly recommended. The two directors,Shari Springer Berman and Robert Pulcini , do absolutely stunning work with his excellent cast. There is a warning for youngsters but one wonders why since most sexual references are all in fun. (Reviewed by Bob Anthony)
*****
"PLEASE GIVE" (E Street Cinema) is definitely the movie to avoid unless you like vulgarity, extreme family dysfunction, cruelty to senior citizens and unfortunate street people, and ugly personalities under the guise of showing current socio-economic travails of the middle class. It is advertizes as being "devastatingly funny" and filmed by a female "Woody Allen" (Nicole Holofcner) but it is hardly either. The film opens with female bulbous breasts being laid down on examination tables to be examined for breast cancer and the movie goes downhill into disgusting episodes from that clinical setting on. All one can hear from the viewers is "ughs" and "terrible" from that point on. Unfortunate mother (Catherine Keener) gets some praise for trying to ameliorate the ugliness of the other characters and she almost accomplishes that. Other unfortunate players for this not-recommended film are Oliver Platt, Sarah Steele, Ann Guilbert, Rebecca Hall, Amanda Peet. Put your money down for "Joan Rivers" instead. (Reviewed by Bob Anthony)
*****
Fans and non-fans of Joan Rivers will find the movie ''JOAN RIVERS:A PIECE OF WORK" (E Street Cinema) both delightful, tragic and shocking. It is a bio-pic of a gal who has invested her whole life in making people laugh while she lives with depression and the many tragedies in her life. Also it shows how tough show business can be so why would anyone be interested in getting into the life of rejection and desperation. The shocker of the movie was that she has such a foul mouth when doing adult clubs and when involved in negative interpersonal relationships. Yet, she was honestly tearful when discussing the suicide of her one husband in a Philadelphia hotel. And she also was alienated with her only daughter until they both suffered that loss. Yet the movie is a laugh-a-minute as it starts with her first gig with Jack Parr who predicted a great future for her to her most recent reality show winning on television. At one point she shows her office in which she has a floor to ceiling cabinet with drawers in which she has stored every joke she ever uttered and the jokes are legion. Definitely every person in show business should see this film and those not in show business should see it to see how damaging...albeit somehow rewarding such a life can be. (Reviewed by Bob Anthony)
*****
Just like Asiatic opera singers now appear on our stages, there seems to be a number of orientals moving onto our ballet stages. It is most interesting as these young performers develop under static ethnic dances and must move into other muscled and flowing movements to dance on the ballet stages. Currently there is the movie "DANCING ACROSS BORDERS"(E Street Cinema) which tells the tale of Sukvannara Sar from Cambodia who was found by Anne Bass who loved his charm and grace as he performed Khmer dances and brought him to America to study ballet and he was eventually put under contract to the Pacific Northwest Ballet in Seattle. The film is a lovely look at this very handsome young man as he struggled to get those leaps and positions and turns into perfect dance lines. The film's didactic offers a three credit course in ballet dancing and so it is a delight for terpsichorean lovers. One might read the book "Mao's Last Dancer" which shows a young Chinese dancer, Li Cunxin, who came from dire poverty in earlier Chinese times to make it into the Houston Ballet Company. His story is more poignant as he was snatched up from his village and sent to Beijing so he suffered more pains of separation from his folks and he really had more stretching problems to overcome which gave him excrutiating pains. And his book gives greater insight into the social and political problems of a communistic state of the arts. Sukvannara Sar never lived during the severely punishing regime which caused so many deaths during Pol Pot's regime. "Dancing Across Borders" is a most pleasant 90 minutes to watch the fine development of Sar and his ballet sequences showed stunning talent. The finest was his solo dance with Philip Glass accompaning him on a piano. (Reviewed by Bob Anthony)
*****
"THE LAST STATION" (E Street and Bethesda Row) is surely the finest film currently playing in theaters in the Washignton area. Helen Mirren, herself firmly of Russian extractions, brings to her role as Countess Tolstoy and audacious grandeur that borders on madness as the ruthless battle over copyright to Tolstoy's writings is played out on the domestic front and among international literary and political organizations. Tolstoy's private secretary, Valentin Bulgakov, has been sent into the Tolstoy household as a spy by the diabolical Vladimir Grigoryevich Chertkov, ordered to record every movement in the war between spouses lest the countress interfere with the execution of a new will disposing of the copyrights. The virginal Bulgakov finds himself sharing Tolstoy's reminiscences about youthful sexual escapades which the elderly writer would clearly repeat were circumstances to permit. Experience for Bulgakov waits literally around the corner in the person of Masha, who boldly seduces him and turns him into a person of vivid emotions rather than a careful agent. Like a Henry James novel with a sensitive but confused narrator, the film often creates its impact with the vivid reactions shown by Bulgakov's responsive face as gigantic events unfold around him. Critics have complained that the film is not always truthful to the facts of either Tolstoy's life or the Countess's life. This is a quibble as the film's inner coherence is ultimately what matters unless one assumes the film has merely a didactic purpose. One can sympathize with the countess who believes her home has been invaded by alien spirits who wish to document in writing or by cameras and recordings every event that takes place there. Today a"public" personality may assume such a normal lifestyle but surely there was a time when it seemed abhorrent. This film may remind viewers of the magnificent 1968 film "The Lion in Winter" in which Katherine Hepburn and Peter O'Toole spar over the future of the English throne and the capabilities of their three sons. Sparks fly in every scene in which the two mighty protagonists unleash their tempers. Great acting thrusts aside irrelevant considerations and builds a performance that sears the memory. (Reviewed by Stephen Neal Dennis)
*****
The script of an alcoholic "has been" country western singer could be considered tacky but the very natural acting of Jeff Bridges and Maggie Gyllenbaal makes this movie, "CRAZY HEART" at the E Street Cinema one of the most riveting life stories not often seen in the cinema. Yes, the rise to the top can exhilarate but the drop downward until Bad Blake must compete with the noise of a bowling alley is very poignant indeed. The lifestyle of this ex-cowboy singing star takes on deeper meaningfulness about life's choices and disappointments. Plus one feels sorry for the rising star, played by Colin Farrell, who will face his own epiphany in the future. This film really is universal in theme for most people following any career. Robert Duvall, really looking very old physically, does an effective job as the owner of a country western bar who helps his entertainment-friend in dire need. Another big surprise in this film is the wonderfully themed music by T Bone Burnett and Stephen Bruton which adds immeasurably to the effectiveness of this lovely, romantic story. This film is the most recommended one on current cinema screens. (Reviewed by Bob Anthony)
*****
It's titled meaninglessly "44 INCH CHEST" and it truly is a script for a theater stage as five men huddle in a seedy waterfront-type hovel to seek revenge for their friend whose wife (Joanne Whalley) has fallen in love with a toy boy and intends to leave her husband played very emotionally by Ray Winstone. Think Sam Shepard! The friends in heavey Brit accent and all encompassing locker-room language encourage vengeance on a bloodied, blindfolded young man who transgressed...played effectively with no words by Mevil Poupaud. The friends Ian McShane, John Hurt, Tom Wilkenson and Stephen Dillane all have their sexual and social hangups yet they glory in detailed ways of punishing the young lad. John Hurt is the most effective particularly as he relates the similar story of "Samson and Delilah" as snippets of the movie with Victor Mature and Hedy Lamarr are shown. Again this is story that would best be played on the stage as, as a movie, it sometimes loses credibility. On the stage dramatic license would make it more suspenseful. Director Malcom Venville, however, got excellent acting from every one of these screen actors. (Reviewed by Bob Anthony)
*****
It's the movie of the year at the E Street Cinema that is basically the biography of Orson Welles and his famous stage production of "Julius Caesar" at the Mercury Theater in New York City. It is called "Me and Orson Welles" and theater lovers will go ga-ga over it as it brings back fond memories of treading the boards with a genius director. And casual movie lovers will delight in the wonderful direction which delivers some wonderful tidbits about the contrast between stage work and film work. Young star, Zac Efron, gives a magical performance and is definitely headed for the big time as he is arresting in all of his scenes with perfect acting style with great dramatic depth...his final song in the stage performance of the show with a ukelele is riveting. Christian McKay plays Orson Welles and his also is an award winning performance with his commanding temperament that produces the classic production of this Shakespearean play on Broadway. Claire Danes plays the go-getter for the company and the romantic and sexual interest and, although she acts well, she is somewhat miscast against Zac and Christian. This is my most highly recommended movie for 2009. (Reviwed by Bob Anthony)
*****
The E Street Cinema also has "Young Queen Victoria" and the script is full of faults...poor dialogue that confuses with unfinished action shots and a most contrived plot about the young queen trying to take on royal duties. Screen writer Julian Fellowes even tries some violent scenes between the Queen and Prince Albert to falsely give some action to the film. The movie's only saving graces were the elegant dances and coronation with fantastic costuming and superb sound effects. Emily Blunt as the queen is an elegant beauty but she lacks full dramatic range and Rupert Friend as Albert manages to get by with his handsomeness. Paul Betany as Lord Melbourne offer the only successful acting presence. The only thing we learn from this movie is that Victoria and Albert lived some great romantic moments in bed...which is obvious historically as they had nine children. (Reviewed by Bob Anthony)
*****
The National Gallery of Art does film retrospectives which are free to the public. Currently they are showing Alain Resnais films starting with his 1968 "Je t'aime, je t'aime". This is a film about a recovering suicide victim selected by a group of scientific experimenters to sit inside a large machine shaped like an oversized clove of garlic beside a little pierced globe containing a lively white mouse and , like the mouse, travel backward in time for a moment. The experiment is initially only partially successful. Though the patient does travel backward in time, his arrival"destination" is quite unstable and the screen shows the patient erupting into several moments of his past...out of sequence...and sometimes repeatedly. Then the experiment deviates into unexpected territory as the movements backward achieve longer arrival times and whole episodes of the patient's previous life can be relived. Eventually, the predictable outcome is achieved and the patient not only re-enters his previous life but begins to relive and reshape it. A successul suicide effort during one the the longer backward moments is a disappointing conclusion for the scientists and leaves a dying body on their neat lawn though the white mouse, perhaps a less complex creature appears to have survived unchanged. The Resnais' legendary "Last Year at Marienbad" (1961) followed which was a film that became for a generation of college students the ultimate enigmatic foreign film. The film is dominated by the presence, both interior and exterior, of an immense European luxury hotel surrounded by a vast formal garden in the 18th century French manner. If there is a plot it hardly matters as the visual splendor and tantalizing "social " relationships among the characters are only explored on the surface but the surfaces are of such splendor that human emotional truth is entirely secondary in this profound search for artistic stimulation. The conundrums of memory, imagination and perception reverberate through the space of the film and repeat themselves in the mirrors of a world that will be hermetic or claustrophobic according to the viewers' sensibilities. The "time" of the film is only hinted at by several references to 1929 but surely it is the late 1930's before the intricate inherited world of the haute bougeoisie exploded into the turmoils of World War II. Do go to the NGA site for announcements of their film showings. (Reviewed by Stephen Neal Dennis)
*****
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Visual Arts
The Katzen Art Center at American University always have provocative exhibits and currently they are moving away from political statements and presenting just art for art's sake. (To 10/17) The largest show currently presents works, "Re-Vision", by the American U. Alumni. There are 60 artists with 79 plus works shown. It is most interesting as nearly all works show trends in art from the figurative to the conceptual so one is not shocked to see a rabbit, a bat and a cat which have been "road killed". A favorite of this critic was Lana Stephens (2010 graduate) with "From Memory" done in graphite, charcoal and pastel. Fortunately there was no attempt to place awards among the works. Sharon Wolpoff (2009) also presents some fine collages. Another current show is Luciano Penay's "Time, News, Paintings and Natural Forms" and the highlight is his arranging magazine covers which he admitted was not themed by simply positioned for their color imagery. He also has some interesting odd pieces like "Billy's Beer" which had a central picture of Jimmy Carter's brother surrounded by Billy Beer cans. He also has some fine modern art pieces full of color like "Evidence" and "Forum III,2009". The most startling exhibit is by BG Muh, a Korean, who imagines the life of a Chinese Empress with unexpected breasts showing and her cavorting with a three tongued wolf. His works show a wild imagination at work yet very pertinent to every living person's similar imagination, emotions, and range of attitudes. ( An entrance notice cautions parents regarding children viewing this art). In the courtyard of the art center are works by Alan Binstock with most interesting huge glassworks including a huge mandala. A continuing show is the "Norse Soul: The Legacy of Edvard Munch, etc" which is a must for art lovers who have seen the Munch show at the National Gallery. This Katzen is a most exciting art venue so everyone is also encourage to see the current shows and the wonderful three-floor gallery space for showing the art. (Reviewed by Bob Anthony)
*****
The Gallery plan b on 14th Street does fine selections in presenting the work of new and dynamic artists. Currently they are showing the new works by Jason Wright and Mike Weber. Mr. Wright does intriguing white on black presentations...mostly white houses on black backgrounds. The fascinating thing is his work with the black paint which waves in different directions to give psychological intent to his work of both exultation and/or tragedy. Mr. Weber takes old photographs and adds eerie effects with overpainting that gives historical or biographical information about the subject. Some have that mysterious Kafkaesque bizarre quality that is stunning. Don't miss this gallery show. (Reviewed by Bob Anthony)
*****
The National Gallery of Art has a coup with its "EDVARD MUNCH'S MASTER PRINTS" (To 10/31). Although originally an impressionist painter, Edvard Munch didn't feel that enough inner feelings were being expressed so he changed his style to become a foremost expressionistic artist. During his creative years, most art critics thought that his work was too violent and brutal and he even had to remove sections (a fetus and running sperm framing) of the "Madonna" when he submitted it to a New York show. Generally one must consider his early life with an ultra-religious father who claimed the "dead mother cried" every time he or one of his sibs got into trouble. Munch also went through a mental breakdown as he earlier confirmed that he "inherited consumption and insanity". So his painting themes of life, love, fear, death, melancholy and anxiety were very personal for him. The only interesting thing about this NGA show is that he duplicated some master prints over time and added or subtracted colors from the originals. One wonders if he wasn't bi-polar which influenced such addition or subtractions. Overall, the museum goer will, no doubt, react to these master prints depending on their personal experiences with the emotions being shown. Of course, everyone should react to his most famous,"The Scream", since it is a wonderful presentation of "alienation" which occurs for most everyone in any society. (Reviewed by Bob Anthony)
*****
LOUIS COMFORT TIFFANY was a sculptor who worked with light, space and color. The exceptional works using glass as their primary medium now on view at the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts (To 8/15 ) comprise a spectacular exhibit that may puzzle Washingtonians. Those of us living in the city where political correctness seems the very air we breathe must readjust our sensibilities to encounter an exhibition in which the exotic, the ravishingly beautiful, or rarified levels of craftsmanship are the essence of what has been assemblerd. This was never art for the masses. Audiences which believe they "know" Tiffany's works will be startled by how many categories are on view and how many works are totally unknown from standard publications. Who knew, for instance, that Toulouse-Lautrec designed a stained glass window that was fabricatd by Tiffany's workmen? The stunning "Magnolia" window that was sent to Paris in 1900 is today in the State Hermitage Museum in St. Petersburg and now returns to this country for the first time in 110 years. Vast scholarship lies behind the exhibition and more scholarship surely lies ahead. Although Tiffany & Company has extensive corporate achives containing design drawings and photographs of finished works, the archival material for Tiffany Studios is much more limited. This exhibition was conceived when Montreal Museum of Fine Arts acquired a church building which contained a suite of Tiffany windows already moved once from their original Canadian church. While the building undergoes renovations there was an opportunity for the windows to travel, and it made sense to join hands with an American museum noted for its Lewis Collection of decorative arts covering the period 1880-1940. The third venue for the exhibiton will be in Paris at the Musee de Luxembourg. These are not objects which travel well as all are irreplaceable and extremely fragile. Visitors to the exhibition will also have the opportuntiy to explore the recent expansions of the VMFA. Familiar things are still there sometimes in rather remote locations far from the entrance lobby. The museum shop is stuffed with tempting merchandise at all conceivable price levels. (Reviewed by Stephen Neal Dennis)
*****
The Smithsonian American Art Museum has opened a stirring show of "TELLING STORIES: NORMAN ROCKWELL FROM THE COLLECTIONS OF GEORGE LUCAS AND STEVEN SPIELBERG" (To 1/2) Every picture is a joy for those who lived during the period of the artist's great magazine works...from an exhausted Santa and his elves finishing up Christmas gifts to returning to civic clothes by soldiers. The most exciting ones for this critic were "The Stuff Which Memories are Made of" which has as fascinating light and shadow as seen in a Georges de la Tour's "Penitent Magdalen", and for total fascination is the details on the "Happy Birthday Miss Jones" as youngters celebrate their teacher with apples on the desk and giggling though the episode. And a delight is the "Mermaid" as the fisherman carries his catch on his back and his prize is a mermaid! But Norman Rockwell managed to go through all the sentimentalities of his age from movie stars putting on make-up to a boy reading an adventure story with knights in the shadowed background. That is why every member of the family will enjoy this wonderful exhibit from the greatest iconist of the 20th century...and we are fortunate enough to have it on display until the new year so holiday guests can enjoy it. (Reviewed by Bob Anthony)
*****
The current show at the Strathmore Mansion is "Fine Artists in Residence" (To 7/10) with main works by Stephanie Potter, Jackie Hoysted and Alfredo Ratinoff...none of which were particularly impressive. What was impressive was the chalk-pastel canvas by W. James Taylor of "Morning Light" which showed birch trees with wonderful shading of light shafts coming through the trees. A couple of quilts by Gwendolyn Aqui-Brooks also impressed. (Reviewed by Bob Anthony)
*****
There is a fantastic museum show to hit the Washington, DC area that will excite whole families as it is flavored with achievements in gravity control, engineering, flight, anatomy, math, physics and even philosophy and fine arts. All of the hands-off and hands-on works are by the Italian genius, Leonardo DaVinci in the National Geographic's "DA VINCI-GENIUS" (To 9/12). Children of all ages (including adults) will love this show and the one hour film ("Man who wanted to know everythng") of this genius's life being shown in the N.G. auditorium. DON'T MISS THIS SHOW AND THIS MEANS THE WHOLE FAMILY! Particularly fascinating is the cubicle of mirrors so one can see themselves projected ad infinitum. And, of course, no one should miss the art work especially the gallery showing the Mona Lisa in all of its photographic forms (done with 240 mega pixels camera) which gives proof of the subject being male or female and other slightly blemished brush strokes. All will love the last galleries where one can operate the many pulleys and wheels to control motions. (Reviewed by Bob Anthony)
*****
The NATIONAL MUSEUM OF AFRICAN ART has opened its most fantastic show yet with its "Grass Roots: African Origins of an American Art" (To 11/26) if for no other reason than it shows the African influence in basket making and rice growing that was brought to American shores...which is one of the mandates for this museum. There are 200 weaved baskets of all ilk...even waterproofed ones to hold beer...that are gorgeous in handiwork and colors. And one section of the gallery reports on the rice growing regions in the south with most intriguing "slave-selling" placards specifying specialities of the slaves and their physical and emotional health...and their prices based on these features. The audio-visuals are totally perfect as it shows mostly women weaving baskets and especially the one a/v of a aged gentleman on St. Helena island off the coast of South Carolina who describes his lineage of basket weavers and how they were able to support island schools with their weaved products. He spoke slowly as he tried to avoid moving into "gullah". One weaver, Henrietta Snype of the "Low Country Sweetgrass Basketry" was demonstrating her skills especially her grass jewelry. Yes, this is a wonderful show that will be enjoyed by the whole family especially as it does show some current generation of boys and girls learning this traditional trade. (Reviewed by Bob Anthony)
*****
And do go down to the RIPLEY INTERNATIONAL MUSEUM where "Revealing Culture" (To 8/29) is being presented. The show has 146 works of art created for the International Organization on Arts and Disability...each item being completed by handicapped artists. The most impressive is the huge chicken coop by Sunaura Taylor completed using her mouth. There is also the work by Jamshid Agayev of Azerbaijan which has wonderful Indian style details. There a few completed by the war wounded that are most poignant. Every young person should see this show to see how motivation can move one to great success regardless of physical and/or mental handicaps. (Reviewed by Bob Anthony)
*****
The Spy Museum keeps the young and the old entertained and informed. The exhibits include information on artifacts used in tradecraft, interactive exhibits on audio surveillance, threat analysis, and how to maintain one's cover. There is a good mix of media and activities and plenty of opportunity to imagine working in the strange circumstances of the spy world while one appreciates activities that were done during various periods of time from the biblical era to the present. There is a current exhibit about "Hollywood and Spies" that displays various posters and even an Oscar won for a spy film that was awarded during the cold war. The complete tour takes approximately 2 hours. A great place for adults and children, and youngsters under the age of 5 are admitted free. (Permanent) (Reviewed by Nancy McCord)
*****
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