REVIEW: Jane Peterson Reviews Guys and Dolls at Workshop Theatre

Dames, Dice, and Plenty of Charm: Guys & Dolls at Workshop Theatre

Workshop Theatre raised the curtain Friday night on Guys & Dolls, the beloved musical comedy set against the colorful backdrop of 1950s New York, and the audience could not have been more receptive. The show traces its roots to the short stories of Damon Runyon, brought to the stage by Abe Burrows and Jo Swerling, with the irresistible score and lyrics of Frank Loesser. The production first dazzled Broadway on November 24, 1950, earning the Tony for Best Musical the following year, and later inspired a 1955 film featuring Frank Sinatra, Marlon Brando, Jean Simmons, and Vivian Blaine.

At its heart, the story follows two incorrigible gamblers who find themselves wagering on something far more unpredictable than dice — love. Sky Masterson (Evan Cook) accepts a bet from Nathan Detroit (Frank Thompson) that he can't convince straight-laced Salvation Army missionary Sarah Brown (Sara Slaughter) to join him on a spontaneous trip to Cuba. Meanwhile, Detroit is doing everything in his power to avoid walking down the aisle with his long-suffering girlfriend Adelaide (Maegen Hodges), a dancer at the Hot Spot nightclub. The two storylines weave together through a lively mix of gamblers, showgirls, Salvation Army meetings, and one memorable Cuban detour.

Workshop's production delivers a genuinely good time. The music is bright and infectious, though at times the music threatened to drown out the vocals — which is a pity, because the singing across the cast was commendably very strong.

Frank Thompson brings Nathan Detroit to life with wonderful energy, capturing the character's perpetually flustered, shifty charm as he scrambles to find a venue for his floating craps game while staying one step ahead of the law. His vocals were solid throughout, particularly in the duet Sue Me alongside Maegan Hodges, whose voice was simply outstanding. Hodges deserves real credit for holding her own in some of the more demanding passages, and her portrayal of the lovably scatterbrained nightclub performer was both sharp and thoroughly entertaining. Her turn with the Hot Box girls in A Bushel & A Peck was a genuine crowd-pleaser.

Sara Slaughter was a standout as the buttoned-up Sarah Brown, bringing a sharp comic sensibility and a wonderfully expressive face to the role. Her rendition of If I Were a Bell was a real highlight.

Evan Cook's take on Sky Masterson carried all the Brando-inflected cool the role demands — self-assured and magnetic, it's a performance well worth the price of admission on its own. His scenes opposite Slaughter were especially fun, and their duets ranked among the evening's best moments.

The gambling fraternity — George Dinsmore as Benny, Joshua Diveley as Nicely-Nicely, Davis Herndon as Harry the Horse, and Julian Deleon as Big Jule — gave the show much of its texture and flavor. Each brought something distinct to their role, and the ensemble felt cohesive and committed. The "confession" scene was another high point, and Deleon's turn as the menacing Chicago gangster was particularly fun to watch.

The ensemble featured Lisa Baker, Dylan Livingston, Sophie Legare, Caroline Leonard, Blythe Long, Abby Mathias, Ann McGaha, James Nolan, Absalom Oliver, Elizabeth Rawson, Katie Rooney, Joey Weaver, Dara Younce and Tyler Zangler, whose portrayal of the policeman added some great comedic moments.

The vocal performance of the night, for this reviewer, belonged to Rich Fisher as Arvide Abernathy, Sarah's grandfather. His solo More I Cannot Wish You was quietly moving and left a lasting impression — here is a performer worth watching. Also deserving of mention were Joshua Dively's spirited Sit Down, You're Rocking the Boat, and the entire ensemble’s rousing rendition of Luck Be a Lady Tonight.

Director Bakari Lebby kept things brisk and lively, moving the show along at a confident clip. That said, a couple of production details gave pause. A push-button pay phone appearing as a set piece was a noticeable anachronism — period-appropriate props shouldn't be difficult to source for a show so firmly rooted in its era. Similarly, one particular wig felt like an afterthought, lacking the period styling that the rest of the costumes — which were largely on point — carried off so well. On the technical side, Patrick Faulds' set and lighting design served the show admirably, Kathy Seppamaki's music direction was crisp and capable, and Katherine Brown's choreography kept the stage energized. Additional crew included Hayle Barry (assistant director), Jeni McCaughan (producer), Andie Nicks (costumes), and Adeline Huggins (stage manager).

Guys & Dolls runs through March 28th at Workshop Theatre. Tickets can be purchased online at workshoptheatreofsc.org or by calling the box office at 803-799-6551. Workshop Theatre is located on the Columbia College campus in the Cottingham Theatre, at 1301 Columbia College Drive, Columbia, SC.

Jane Turner Peterson

PREVIEW: DEATH OF A SALESMAN AT WORKSHOP THEATRE BY JON TUTTLE

The grinding wheel of American capitalism has become a Catherine Wheel: if you’re not helping to turn it, you’ll get lashed to it. This is what Miller called, in his eponymous essay, the tragedy of the common man: “the disaster inherent in being torn away from our chosen image of what and who we are in this world. Among us today this fear is strong, and perhaps stronger, than it ever was.”

The watershed moment for American drama occurred at about 10:30pm on January 22, 1949, at the Locust Street Theatre in downtown Philadelphia. It consisted of a stunned silence.  

Arthur Miller’s Death of a Salesman had been in rehearsals for several weeks but came to Philadelphia for a tryout before opening at the Morosco on Broadway. It would go on to win the Pulitzer Prize and Tony Award for Best play, as well as a raft of other awards, and would be remounted on Broadway five times—including right now at the Hudson Theatre, with an all- African-American cast. There is no official count of such things, but it is surely one of the most-produced plays in history. At any rate, it ranks at or near the top of lists—such as a recent one by the Denver Post—of the most important American plays.  

But when the when the curtain came down on the first public performance of The Great American Play, there was no applause, no response at all. In his autobiography, Timebends, Miller recalls the strange moment: “Strange things began to go on in the audience. With the curtain down, some people stood to put their coats on and then sat down again; some, especially men, were bent forward, covering their faces, and others were openly weeping. People crossed the theatre to stand quietly, talking with one another. It seemed forever before someone remembered to applaud, and then there was no end to it. I was standing at the back and saw a distinguished-looking elderly man being led up the aisle; he was talking excitedly into the ear of what seemed to be his male secretary or assistant. This, I learned, was Bernard Gimbel, head of the department store chain, who that night gave an order that no one in his stores was to be fired for being overage.”

Salesman tells the story, of course, of Willy Loman, the disposable American Everyman who measures his worth only in dollars, and of his wife, Linda, whose every encouragement hastens his suicide. His sons, Biff and Hap, represent the competing halves of his personality and of the American psyche—one a rugged outdoorsman still invested in pre-Depression ideals of hard work and camaraderie, the other a wannabe cut-throat executive who equates price with value. Reunited for twenty-four hours, the Lomans can no longer live together under the same roof. By the end of the play, the family home—the artifact upon which the American mythos is based--is paid for—but empty.

We are living in the fallout from unchecked capitalism and patriarchy - burnout, classism, exploitation, income and wealth inequality, housing shortages, climate crises. We are poorer now than our parents were at our age, and without significant and sustained changes to our system, the future looks more uncertain than ever. Social media has turned many of us into salespeople, selling the version of our lives that we want others to see, angling for as many likes as we can get to increase our self-worth, believing as Willy does that it's important to be well-liked.” - Patrick Michael Kelly

“Attention, attention must be paid,” says Linda of her hapless husband, and by extension of every well-meaning, faceless citizen failing to fulfill their obligations to the economy, and that’s truer now than it was in 1949. The grinding wheel of American capitalism has become a Catherine Wheel: if you’re not helping to turn it, you’ll get lashed to it. This is what Miller called, in his eponymous essay, the tragedy of the common man: “the disaster inherent in being torn away from our chosen image of what and who we are in this world. Among us today this fear is strong, and perhaps stronger, than it ever was.” 

Patrick Michael Kelly, who is directing the Workshop Theatre production opening November 4, concurs. “Salesman speaks to many of the issues we grapple with today,” he says. “Miller sought to deflate the idea of the American Dream - that anyone could achieve anything with hard work and determination. My generation and younger generations believe less and less in that idea, and this play underscores our disillusionment. We are living in the fallout from unchecked capitalism and patriarchy - burnout, classism, exploitation, income and wealth inequality, housing shortages, climate crises. We are poorer now than our parents were at our age, and without significant and sustained changes to our system, the future looks more uncertain than ever. Social media has turned many of us into salespeople, selling the version of our lives that we want others to see, angling for as many likes as we can get to increase our self-worth, believing as Willy does that it's important to be well-liked.”  

Kelly’s production will emphasize, he says, the concept that originally informed the play—the stream of consciousness running through the mind of its protagonist. Miller composed the first act of the play in a single night in his backyard shed in Connecticut—emerging the next morning, he said, aching and exhausted. His working title was The Inside of His Head, and he imagined the setting of the play as an enormous face which would open, like French doors, to reveal the interior of the Loman household. Designer Jo Mielziner prevailed upon Miller to do away with the cranium, but the operative principle that drives the play—that Willy cannot separate his illusions and memories from his realities—remained part of its DNA. It’s that element that Kelly’s production will emphasize. 

“We are highlighting that much of the play takes place in Willy’s mind,” says Kelly, “in his memories, with moveable settings to illustrate the fleeting nature and impermanence of memory and time. Beyond a few period accents, our set largely eschews reality and instead looks to illustrate Willy’s true passion for building things and his desire to get ahead. A skeletal staircase to nowhere is the only permanent fixture - a visual metaphor for his thwarted dreams, which Biff declares in the requiem as being ‘all, all wrong.’” 

What’s different about this production, however, is that Kelly is seeking to “decolonize and deconstruct” it as much as possible. The cast is racially diverse because “we want audience members of all backgrounds to see themselves in this story,” and his set is “somewhat Brechtian” in its minimalism and desire to keep the audience asking the right questions. “Salesman is almost entirely devoid of references to race,” Kelly says, and is primarily “focused more on classism. Racism was very much alive in the ‘40s however, so it cannot be ignored, and casting this play with a diverse group of people presents new dynamics and problems that were not originally intended. At the end of the day, I wanted to work with the best actors I could find, and I believe I found them. We’ve got a stellar team.” 

Veteran Columbia professionals Paul Kaufmann and Libby Campbell as Willy and Linda head that team. “I always love working with my longtime friend and colleague Paul Kaufmann,” says Kelly. “Paul is a wonderful artist and will bring his expertise in creating a more sensitive version of Willy Loman, balancing the ferocity of his fears with his sweetness and sentimentality. This play is the third time I’ve had the pleasure of directing him. [And] Libby is Columbia theatre royalty. This is my first time working with her.” 

Kelly notes that Deon Turner (Biff) and Jon Whit McClinton (Happy) are fresh from Trustus Theatre’s True Crime Rep--Jason Stokes Composure and Charlie Finesilver’s House Calls, and that “Jonathan Yi (Bernard) was one of my students last year at the University of South Carolina, and actually played Biff in scene study in that class, so it’s a treat to work with him on this play. Ripley Thames (Charley) is an actor I’ve admired for some time, but never gotten to work with. Same goes for Emily Meadows (Woman/Letta). Caroline McGee is a 2022 UofSC theatre graduate, and Roderick Haynes, Jr. stepped in late in the process and has been a joy. Mostly, it’s just an honor to get to tell this story - it’s one of the greatest American plays for a reason, and it’s a privilege to get to work on it intensely. It’s intimidating, but I love a challenge, and I hope audiences love what we’re creating for them.” 

Likewise, he relishes the opportunity to work once again—in a new venue--with Workshop, for whom he’s performed in Some Girl(s) (2017) and The Little Foxes (2002). This production is the culmination of conversations he’d been having with Jeni McCaughan, Workshop’s executive director, about remounting American classics. “I don’t think we go back to the dramatic classics enough,” he says. “I am a champion of new work. I think fostering new voices and nurturing new plays is the most important work a theatre can undertake, but we can still learn a lot from producing the plays of Arthur Miller, Lorraine Hansberry, Tennessee Williams, and many others.”   

And he is “thrilled” about Workshop’s partnership with Columbia College. “I know it’s going to benefit both organizations in a big way - and I’m excited to direct a show in the historic Cottingham Theatre. It’s a beautiful space and an actor’s dream as far as acoustics are concerned. I’ve never directed in a true proscenium theatre that has wings and fly space before either, so it’s a real treat.” 

Workshop Theatre’s production of Death of a Salesman will run November 4 through 13 at Cottingham Theatre on the campus of Columbia College. Tickets are available here.

We Welcome You to Munchkinland—Elisabeth Gray Engle on Directing This Summer’s Children’s Musical The Wizard of Oz

 

Lions, and tigers, and bears! Oh My!

Sixty-five children of all different ages from the Columbia area came together this summer to bring you the youth edition of a beloved classic, The Wizard of Oz through Workshop Theatre.

“We are very excited to be doing The Wizard of Oz this summer! There are so many magical elements to this show already, so that is really fun to explore. But the real magical feeling comes from the cast members. We have a very large cast of kids of varying ages and schools who come together to create this show. They form bonds and friendships, and the excitement and energy that they bring to rehearsal is the real magic of the show,” director Elisabeth Gray Engle says.

The range of experience and ages might often lead to complications in the directing process, but Engle uses each child’s unique talents and personalities to create their own interpretation of such a well-known show.

“…Many of our roles are double cast, so there are two actors who alternate the role. This is really fun because you get to watch these two young actors create two very different characters from the same material,” Engle explains. “So much of the humor of our production has come from the actors, and I think that is what makes our production unique. We have a very talented group of kids who each bring something different to their characters.”

While the 4 to 18-year-olds bring a lot to the theatrical table, the production team has also put their own spin on things. With people like Alexis Doktor doing costumes and Baxter Engle doing set, the wonderful land of Oz is sure to excited audiences aesthetically.

“I cannot say enough good things about our Oz Team. Katie Hilliger (Choreographer), Jordan Harper (Musical Director), Jeni McCaughan (Producer), Braxton Crewell (Stage Manager), just to name a few, make this experience so positive and meaningful for our kids. We have high expectations for our cast, but we have a lot of fun along the way,” Engle affirms.

Engle, herself, is no stranger to the stage or directing. She is a company member at Trustus Theatre where she has taught, performed, and will be seen next in the world premiere of Big City. On top of all that, this is Engle’s 5^th summer production through Workshop, her 11^th year directing youth theatre, and she continues to teach theatre at Heathwood Hall Episcopal School.

“I love working with kids in the summer because it is such a joyous time of year in their lives. The summer musical is different than a school musical or a show during the year because the kids (and adults!) have that special energy that can only exist during the summer,” Engle elaborates. “…They come together during the summer to create this show, so that [in] itself sets the experience apart from school year productions. It’s really exciting to see so many kids from so many different schools who love musical theatre come together. They get along so well, and they love being with ‘their people.’”

The show runs June 25 through June 28, with both evening and matinee performances at the Heathwood Hall Episcopal School auditorium. Go to workshop.palmettoticketing.com for times and tickets!

“Theatre always has a unique way of bringing people together, and we have certainly seen that this summer with our cast,” Engle endearingly states. “Our cast is made up of kids from varying backgrounds, schools, locations, and experiences, and we have loved seeing them come together to create art.”

By Haley Sprankle