Cynthia Gilliam reflects on her upcoming production of "Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?" at Workshop Theatre

Veteran Midlands director Cynthia Gilliam, one of the founders of Workshop Theatre, recently took time to chat with Jasper Theatre Editor August Krickel about her upcoming production of an Edward Albee classic. Jasper: Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf is currently being produced on Broadway in a very high-profile revival - why do you think it still resonates with audiences?

Cynthia Gilliam:  For me, Albee's script is as timeless as Macbeth. Delicately balanced between comedy and tragedy, I believe this play will be staged again and again, right on into the foreseeable future. While George and Martha are bickering, disappointed, aging, alcoholics, they are deeply in love with each other. Their marriage, like the play, is a tightly wound tragicomedic concoction bound to endure. While (the) script is incredibly heavy lifting for actors, it is a different experience for the audience, when it is well played.  First-timers are as amazed and delighted at the rich comedy in the script as they are raked by the anger and vitriol there.

Jasper:  Albee has said that he wants audiences still to be completely entranced by and caught up in his shows even as they leave the theatre.  What sort of ideas/themes/messages do you hope audiences will take from this show?

CG:  However they are wounded, most people manage to make their way through life as best they can. Those with scars seek others similarly wounded, and they accommodate each other, often with made up games, hearty laughter, and a good sex. The cards we are what they are. We must deal with what we are dealt.

Jasper:  This is the 50th anniversary of the original Broadway premiere of Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf.  However, you've done this show previously in Columbia?

Cynthia Gilliam:  This marks my third, and most likely final, encounter with (this) play. I produced and directed it the first time with Milton Dixon as George, and Bette Herring as Martha at the Playbox Theater, housed in an old Postal Office in Eau Claire. Years passed, and Russell Green, former head of the Theater Department at USC and an incredible director, cast me as Martha opposite Bob Hungerford’s George in a production staged at Charlton Hall Antiques Gallery on Gervais Street.   Acting with Hungerford was a stellar experience, and Russell was a whiz, with a very firm hand. We were gypsies back in those days, but we managed to stage credible productions, get decent reviews, draw good crowds, pay our bills, share what was left over, and do exactly as we pleased. Adding up the days and nights spent on these first endeavors would likely equal five months of living inside this script. Martha was my very last appearance as an actress.

Jasper:  Stann Gwynn and Elena Martinez-Vidal (profiled in Jasper 004 as one of Columbia's "leading ladies") play George and Martha in this production.  Just like with the Richard Burton and Elizabeth Taylor film version, it may be hard for local audiences to realize that Stann and Elena are old enough for these roles.  Have you worked with them before?

CG:  This production is my first opportunity to work with Stann, although I have admired his talent on many occasions.  He and Elena cast me as their director, and I responded to their call!  Elena and I go way, way back. We have been talking for several years about working together again.

Jasper:  We've followed the career of Giulia Dalbec-Matthews for a number of years, and are so impressed with the increasingly complex and challenging roles she has taken on in the last year.  Still, the vulnerable character of Honey is very different from anything she has done on stage previously - how did you come to cast her?

CG:  I have made a point of trying to see everything (on stage) I can this year, as I want to do more, and need to know what everyone is doing, and how well. Lucky for me, I saw Legally Blonde at Workshop, primarily because my daughter, Liz, is involved in producing the show at Dreher High School, and she wanted to see it.  I was struck with the incredible energy and focus coming from Giulia, (and so) I cast Giulia based on her performance in Blonde.  I believe Giulia is very serious about growing herself as an actress.  Wise beyond her years, her intuition tells her that the more roles she tucks into her resume, the more she can widen her range of opportunities. To become the best actress you can possibly be, you have to practice the craft regularly, stay on the lookout for roles that will give you growing pains and lengthen your reach. I admire her for taking on this part, and she is making it all her own. She is very “directable.”

Jasper:  We profiled veteran Workshop Theatre set designer Randy Strange this summer in Jasper 006. How is he to work with?

CG:  To borrow from Mr. Albee, Randy is “a beanbag”. He is the perfect collaborator. Because of Randy, this cast will have more than ten days to rehearse on a complete, furnished, and finished set. He has made a very challenging prop called for in the show, and I tested it three days ago. I irritate the snot out of him, but he endures and produces just what I need. Who could ask for more?

Jasper:  Big-budget musicals are always a hit locally, and sometimes so are new, name-brand dramas, but this show is 50-yrs. old, and touches on issues not everyone might relate to (academia, middle-age, upper-middle-class malaise, etc.)  Why should a Columbian theatre-goer come see this show?

CG:  Theatre-goers should come to this show for the same reason they would attend a fine production of Hamlet. Virginia Woolf is an American classic, and, as you said, it is over 50 years old. Yet, people are still putting it up on the stage all over the country. It is worth hearing and seeing every decade or so.  Were I in Chicago next week and a production was running there, I would book tickets as soon as I got to my hotel.   I do not believe it will wilt with time or fall from favor. There is so much in this script that is yet to be mined and put on display.

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Ticket information can be found at http://www.workshoptheatre.com/ or by calling the box office at 803-799-6551 from noon to 5:30 p.m., Monday through Friday.  Show dates are Nov. 9-11, 14-18, and 23-24.  All performances are at 8:00 PM, except for matinees on Sunday Nov. 11 and 18.


 

"Next Fall" at Trustus Theatre

Geoffrey NaufftsNext Fall, now running at Trustus Theatre, was Tony-nominated for Best Play, and won the Outer Critics Award.  As detailed in press material, "this contemporary play explores relationships, faith, family, and the very current topic of same-sex rights in hospitals. The show chronicles the five-year relationship between Luke and Adam. With Luke being devoutly religious and Adam being an atheist – their love and their principles are often tested. However, when an accident changes everything, Adam is forced to examine what it means to 'believe' and what it will cost if he doesn’t." Visiting Director Sharon Graci previously directed the show at Charleston’s PURE Theatre.  Trustus Artistic Director Dewey Scott-Wiley notes that “Next Fall asks a lot of important questions about love, family, religion, and civil rights, and how the questions get answered within the context of a same-sex relationship. What is most wonderful about Next Fall, however, is that many of the questions are left for the audience to answer.  There is nothing predictable or didactic about the show."

That said, every audience member brings a different perspective to any show. Jasper Literary Editor Ed Madden, Theatre Editor August Krickel, and guest critic Stephen Kish all had drastically differing takes on the production. One felt the show delivered an important message, one was looking for much more of a message, and one felt the message was less important than the love story. All enjoyed the performances by G. Scott Wild, Jason Stokes, and Kim Harne, and all to some extent felt the supporting cast were under-used, especially in the first act.  One liked the use of miming in place of props but didn't think it was always accomplished that well by the cast, while another admired the actors' mastery of the technique, but didn't like its use to begin with. Two weren't wild about the creative scene changes, while one loved them.  So go figure.  Jasper encourages and indeed embraces diversity of opinion, and urges everyone to go see the show, and decide for yourself.

Ed Madden's take on the show - with some editorial thoughts on the larger societal context of some of the issues raised, can be found here. August Krickel's review can be found  here and  here. And guest blogger Stephen Kish's review is below:

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A familiar feeling crept over me while sitting in the audience of Geoffrey Nauffts's Next Fall - I’ve seen this before.  A simple setup starts us off.  Friends and family gather after Luke (Jason Stokes) is critically injured in a car accident.  We have every type of stock character: the chatty, overbearing mother (Kim Harne), the female co-worker (Brandi Smith) who loves hanging out with gay men, the father (Stanford Gardner) who can't accept the truth about his son, and Adam (G. Scott Wild), the cynical, religion-hating lover of comatose Luke.  There is hope, briefly, that this may all play out like a Flannery O'Connor story, wherein characters from different backgrounds clash over fundamental ideals, ultimately leading to some great epiphany - but that would be reaching to hope for such greatness.  Sadly, Next Fall, plays out like a Lifetime Movie, but without any of the fun.

To be fair, it isn't the fault of the actors or even the director; the material never rises to the occasion, and never is the feeling of grief or loss truly seen or felt by anyone. There are, nevertheless, very good parts within this production.  Kim Harne as Luke's very Southern, very chatty mother is altogether fun in her performance.  The rest of the cast didn't fare as well.  Jason Stokes as Luke is likeable and charming, as is G. Scott Wild as Adam.  They do not, however, possess any chemistry as lovers.  This presents a large problem during the staging of the play, as their relationship is the main drama.  The remainder of the cast was under-utilized, and didn't make much of a lasting impression.

The direction, by Sharon Graci, presents problems early on due to some strange choreography choices that alert the audience to scene changes.  There was a moment when the cast is moving chairs, an enjoyable pop song is playing, and I truly thought they were going to burst out into a full-on musical number, but of course they were just setting up the next scene.  Things like this jar the audience out of the experience, and take away much of the dramatic tension.

With this feeling of familiarity persistent throughout the performance, I wasn't sure how to feel. In many ways, this is just another story of a closeted gay man who can't face his fundamentalist father; there was nothing new explored, just more of the same.  There could have been so much more that could have been said here, but the script happily meanders the entire time, never becoming edgy, or delivering anything more than a heavy-handed message.  I wanted more from this play, but sadly didn't get it. Then again, not everything has to be life-changing or challenging.

~ Stephen Kish

 

Next Fall runs through Saturday, November  10th, on the Thigpen Main Stage at Trustus.  Tickets are $22.00 for adults, $20.00 for military and seniors, and $15.00 for students. Half-price Student Rush-Tickets are available 15 minutes prior to curtain if seating is available.

Trustus Theatre is located at 520 Lady Street, behind the Gervais St. Publix. Parking is available on Lady St. and on Pulaski St. The Main Stage entrance is located on the Publix side of the building.

For more information or reservations call the box office Tuesdays through Saturdays 1-6 pm at 803-254-9732. Visit www.trustus.org for all show information and season information.

Complete History of America (abridged) at Town, Little Mermaid at Lexington

Some of Jasper's favorite performers are opening in shows tonight.  Bill DeWitt, who played a dozen different residents of Tuna, TX a few years back in A Tuna Christmas, is joined by Frank Thompson, who along with DeWitt portrayed several dozen separate characters in The 39 Steps this past spring; teaming up with Charlie Goodrich, who has been acting nonstop this year (Andre in Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, Gooper in Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, Sonny in Grease, Judah in Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, and many other roles) the trio set out to recreate the complete history of America... just slightly abridged.  Yes, it's another production originally created by the Reduced Shakespeare Conpany, with three performers doing madcap, semi-improv comic versions of the story of our nation.  Jamie Carr Harrington directs, and her assistant director is Shelby Sessler, one of the three finalists for Jasper's Theatre Artist of the Year, and the female lead(s) in 39 Steps with Thompson and DeWitt. From press material:

From Washington to Watergate, yea verily from the Bering Straits to Baghdad, from New World to New World Order – The Complete History of America (abridged) is a ninety minute rollercoaster ride through the glorious quagmire that is American History, reminding us that it’s not the length of your history that matters – it’s what you’ve done with it!

The Complete History of America (Abridged) is a delightfully zany evening and wildly inaccurate crash course in American history. In only an hour and a half you'll have a screwball evening of fun starting with who actually discovered America, all the way to the current  President! See Bill DeWitt (The 39 Steps), Frank Thompson (Harold Hill in The Music Man) and Charlie Goodrich (Judah in Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat) attempt to put history in its place. Proceeds will go to Town's Repair-the-Roof Campaign.

Town Theatre will present this two night only engagement on Nov. 2nd and 3rd at 7:30 PM.  Tickets are ONLY $12 in advance and $15 at the door. This will be the funniest history lesson you'll ever have.  Call 803-799-2510 for more information.

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On the other side of the river, the Lexington County Arts Association presents Disney's The Little Mermaid, Jr. at the Village Square Theatre; it runs tonight through Sun. Nov. 18th, with shows at 7:30 PM Fridays and Saturdays, plus Saturday and Sunday matinee performances at 3 PM. We're especially excited to see Haley Sprankle step into the lead role of Ariel - this young actress has stood out in the ensembles of everything from Legally Blonde to Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, and was a memorable and hilarious Frenchie, the beauty school dropout, in Grease (which coincidentally featured Goodrich and Thompson from above.)

From press material:

In a magical kingdom fathoms below, the beautiful young mermaid Ariel (Haley Sprankle) longs to leave her ocean home to live in the world above. But first, she'll have to defy her father King Triton (Tanner Connelly), make a deal with the evil sea witch Ursula (Bailey Gray) and convince Prince Eric (Rut Spence) that she’s the girl with the enchanting voice.  Based on the Hans Christian Andersen story and the Disney film, directed by Debra Leopard, Eliza Caughman Spence and Becky Croft, with musical direction by Jonathan Eason; lyrics by Howard Ashman and Glenn Slater, music by Alan Menken, and book by Doug Wright.

Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde - a Review by Jillian Owens

Is it possible to gain serenity by isolating and removing all that is evil and full of rage from our minds?  This is the question Dr. Henry Jekyll seeks to answer in Chapin Theatre Company’s production of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde.  After much experimentation and late hours in his laboratory, Jekyll creates a concoction that transforms him from his kind-natured bookish self into a raging violent monster who calls himself Mr. Hyde.  In Jeffrey Hatcher’s adaptation of the famous novella by Robert Louis Stevenson, the lines of good and evil fade to grey.  In the beginning of his experiments, Dr. Jekyll remembers his alter-ego’s activities, but gradually he begins to “black out” for days at a time; as Hyde terrorizes London with violence, depravity, and murder.  Jekyll, through the testimony of his friends and colleagues is acutely aware of the dangerous and deadly extent of Hyde’s actions, but continues with his experiments regardless.  Hyde, on the other hand, becomes a sympathetic anti-hero.   Born with a rage he can’t control, we see surprising moments of tenderness to Elizabeth, a young chambermaid who falls in love with him.  He laments being unable to lament his cruel nature, and does all he can to defend himself from Jekyll’s threats to destroy him. This production of what could be a deeply moving exploration into the darkest corners of man’s soul doesn’t entirely work.  I applaud a small community theatre for attempting such a difficult production, but several elements of the show came off as hokey and/or unpolished.  Some of this is due to the challenging nature of the script.  Relying heavily on an ensemble cast, most of the actors end up playing a different aspect of Mr. Hyde -- a device that isn’t very effective, as it doesn’t really contribute to the story.   The constant “filling in the gaps” of the story by aside narrations and journal readings wouldn’t be so annoying if they weren’t so plentiful, often halting and killing any suspense that might have otherwise built up.  George Dinsmore’s performance of Dr. Henry Jekyll becomes much more powerful in the second half of this production, as we begin to actually see his inner turmoil and guilt for what he has done.  Nathan Dawson pulls of multiple roles, including the “main” Hyde well, although his Hyde is teeters on the edge of becoming a caricature, with a voice that is distractingly Tom Waits-ish.  The lack of erotic tension in the scenes between Hyde and Elizabeth (played by Emily Meadows) made their intense relationship seem quite unlikely.

This isn’t to say this production is without merit -  far from it.  The ensemble cast pulls off their rapidly-changing characters well,  changing their voices, postures, and mannerisms seamlessly and impressively.  Somehow a scene where one of the characters (played by David Reed) oversees an autopsy of the character he played in the previous scene doesn’t seem at all strange or out of place.  While the individually ever-rotating Mr. Hydes aren’t very effective, the scenes where they converge together to torment Dr. Jekyll are downright chilling.  

The set is stark, raw, and adaptive – perfect for this production.  The music plays a major part in creating this show’s haunting mood.  A few costume changes would have been helpful in establishing character changes, but became unnecessary, due to the strength of the cast’s ability to change so effortlessly and distinctly from role to role.

Chapin Theatre Company is making bold strides in moving away from being just another community theatre.  While they haven’t reached the caliber of other theatre companies in the Columbia area yet, they are well on their wayDespite its flaws, Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde will make a great addition to your Halloween season.

~ Jillian Owens

Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, adapted by Jeffrey Hatcher from the Robert Louis Stevenson novella Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, runs Oct. 19-Nov. 3, 2012 at the Harbison Theatre at Midlands Technical College, 7300 College St., Irmo, SC 29063. Visit www.chapintheatre.org for information on specific performance dates and reservations.

Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Dinsmore - a guest blog, or two

Extract from the Journal of Dr. Henry Jekyll...  As 1882 draws to a close, I find myself returned to my home in London.  The two years I spent abroad studying alternative medicines in the Amazon Basin have proven quite fruitful.  Some of the tinctures and extracts that were introduced to me by the natives are rather potent.  They provide me with a previously unimagined freedom of thought and conscience.  I can’t help but believe that I am on the cusp of something monumental.  After numerous successes, I felt it was time to move my tests from the field, as it were, to the real world where I may see more accurate results of my work in real-life environs.

No longer shall I be tortured by the darkness that hides in the deepest recesses of my mind, hinting and prodding and begging for release. I am a civilized man of the modern era, who need not be burdened by such desires.  Today marks the first substantive step of my journey toward peace of mind.  I have successfully separated my more base ambitions from my intellectual designs, thus allowing me a sense of serenity that heretofore was simply not possible.  For now, while I am able to detach these two… “streams of consciousness,” for lack of better terminology, I still seek a method to strip away the unwanted “stream” and discard it.

Naturally, my labors must be kept confidential until they can be more fully evaluated, especially from Sir Danvers Carew.  As Chief Surgeon, he holds considerable sway with the Board of Governors, and he already seeks to undermine me at every turn.  But I am hesitant to share this work even with my closest friends and colleagues.  While Dr. Lanyon is a lifelong friend, he has a tendency to strictly adhere to accepted methodologies, and my experiments are outside those standard channels.

Aside from all of my achievements to date, one thing gives me pause.  I feel as if my work is being observed by someone else; as if I am being watched.  Almost as if there was someone in the room with me, but I have shared my research with no one.  Perhaps this is simply a side effect of the treatment, yet it gnaws at me....

Today I rid myself of my inner beast!

 

 Extract from the Journal of George Dinsmore...

When I learned that Chapin Theater Company was performing Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, I admit I was not initially excited. Drink a potion, become a monster. It seems like everyone has taken a stab at the idea, including Sylvester and Tweety’s Hyde and Go Tweet.  Only Dickens’ A Christmas Carol is more overdone. But I read the script, which is a new adaption by Jeffrey Hatcher.  And I’m glad I did.  This isn’t the story of a good man and the evil monster inside of him.  It is a story about people in general, and the journey of self-discovery we all go through, although most people’s deep dark secrets are expressed with fewer physical manifestations

Before I even started learning lines, I started taking my own emotional inventory, looking back on my own experiences for specific emotions that Jekyll goes through: terror, self-loathing, hubris, etc.  Some were easy to draw on. Some were harder. And some I thought I didn’t possess -- at first.  But they were all there. It’s surprising what you can find inside if you’re honest with yourself.

As everyone knows, Jekyll and the Hydes’ personalities overlap as the show progresses. So, preparing for that wasn’t a case of two actors deciding something arbitrary like, “Hey, let’s both have a limp.” There are four Hydes (played by Jeff Sigley, David Reed, Nathan Dawson, and Kathy Sykes) who have their own distinct traits.  Jekyll starts as an individual, and gradually takes on some part of each Hyde. And if we don’t see each Hyde somewhere in Jekyll’s demeanor, then we have no reason to believe they are the same person.

It has been an incredible challenge for me because let’s face it, most -- not all, but most -- of my stage work has been comedy.  I had to remind myself not to “find the funny” as director Glenn Farr puts it whether intentionally or not. But harder, was to show Jekyll’s human journey, not as a candlestick, rock star, or New Jersey con man, but as a real person with whom audiences could sympathize and relate.

So did I succeed?  Well, I admit I’ve always been a little nervous before every performance, but this one is different.  Dr. Jekyll is way outside my comfort zone, and there is more of “me” in this character than I’m accustomed to sharing.  But I am surrounded by fantastic talent onstage and off, and I feel like I have grown leaps and bounds as an actor, so from a personal standpoint it is already a success.  I guess I’ll find out if other people agree when we open this Friday and audiences get their first look at the finished product.

 

Sunday in the Park with Jane (& other Quirky Manners of the Landed Gentry) - Arik Bjorn reviews "Pride & Prejudice"

Though American society seems to have disposed itself entirely of formal introductions, carefully-constructed speech, and scripted courtships, we remain obsessed with British mannerisms.  As if popular shows like Downton Abbey and all of the other series tossed to us across the pond via Masterpiece Theatre were not evidence enough, there seems to be a revival of 19th-century British literature, as theatre.  Every week one sees a new Hollywood film, miniseries, television show, and even detective series inspired by the works of the Bronte Sisters, Jane Austen, George Eliot and the like. South Carolina Shakespeare Company Artistic Director Linda Khoury agrees:  “We are Anglophiles at heart.  And there’s this Jane Austen fever at the moment.  When we asked Company members about whether or not to do Pride & Prejudice this season, they said, ‘Oh my God, Mr. Darcy!  Yes!’”

The works of Jane Austen seem to be everyone’s current favorite landed-gentry flavor; the stage adaptation of Pride & Prejudice by playwright and former Actors Theatre of Louisville Artistic Director Jon Jory has been staged by a number of classical theatre companies across the country in recent years.  At first, this fact might seem incongruous:  why would classical theatres be attracted to a story seemingly imprisoned within a 19th-century manor and its well-groomed grounds?  Yet when one rolls an Austen novel onto the stage, what one finds is something closely resembling Shakespeare’s romantic comedies—only refreshingly absent multiple pairs of separated twins wandering about Asia Minor looking for one another.

In fact, halfway through the SC Shakespeare Company’s production of Pride & Prejudice, the thought occurred to me that the pompous clergyman Mr. Collins—played with impeccable comedic timing by veteran Columbia actor George Spelvin—was just one pair of yellow stockings and crossed garters short of a Malvolio.  This is the kind of character determination one gets from “seeing” an Austen novel rather than reading it.  The same is true with a number of other characters; for instance, Elizabeth Bennet, the axis upon which the tale’s many love stories turn, and with whom theatre patrons are likely to fall for thanks to a wonderful performance by the lovely Katie Mixon, is really just a slightly less histrionic, though equally stubborn, version of Shakespeare’s Beatrice.

Of course, one gets a bit more black box production value with a show in the park.  There are no panorama shots of the Hertfordshire countryside, nor horse-drawn carriages—although I will admit that watching local thespian hoot Clark Wallace as Mr. Gardiner pretend to guide an imaginary carriage horse is, at times, far more entertaining than anything BBC could deliver.  And one never knows what surprises lay in store for a live show at Finlay Park—from remote-control airplanes making cameo appearances to gospel choirs suddenly breaking into jubilant song across the way, to a pair of hobo wayfarers wandering across the stage.  Then again, one might also behold the serendipitous timing of a local church bell ringing just as Mr. Bingley steals a kiss from Elizabeth’s sister, Jane.

Sometimes in set design, simplicity says everything, and one must applaud set designer Lee Shepherd for presenting the Britain of two centuries ago with two principal pieces:  a pair of monumental lattice windows through which we metaphorically peak into the lives of the Bennet family, and a pair of matching staircases to represent their leisurely, gentlemanly and gentlewomanly lives.  Yet nothing is simple about the period costume work of Alexis Doctor (profiled in the Jasper 006 cover story) ; she provides sumptuous costumes which help the actors and patrons alike fall backward naturally in time.

The story of Pride & Prejudice is well-known; however, if there is a gap in your knowledge of world literature, simply know that Mr. & Mrs. Bennet of Meryton, Hertfordshire, near London, have five daughters of marrying age, whom must wend their way through the labyrinth of British customs and breeding to find satisfactory mates—and do whatever it takes to avoid marrying Clergyman Collins.

There are many fine performances in the production in addition to the work of Spelvin and Mixon.  Every Austen story needs its somewhat feather-headed parents:  Alfred Kern delivers a delightful performance as Mr. Bennet, played perfectly like Jim Broadbent on Prozac; and Ruth Glowacki as Mrs. Bennet keeps the audience tittering with her “a’ plenty palpitations.”  All of the Bennet daughters are well cast to their respective personalities, but one especially delights in the ‘poo-poo’ naughtiness of the scandalous youngest daughter, Lydia, played by Sirena Dib.  Sting lookalike Tracy Steele provides a complex portrayal of the strong-yet-meek Mr. Bingley, and Sara Blanks plays his strident, gossiping sister, Caroline Bingley, with equal solidity.  And Mrs. Gardiner is played by local attorney Raia Hirsch, who returns to the stage after many years, having not skipped a theatrical beat.

Last but not least, one must present a standing ovation to Company Stage Manager, Paula Peterson, whose work and dedication to the Shakespeare Company, as well as to many other Columbia community and professional theatre productions over the years, deserves accolades and recognition.  One simply cannot understand the mind-bending machinations required to stage a live production out-of-doors—let alone a show where the backstage is actually an island with a watery moat.

The SC Shakespeare Company recently participated in Cheer from Chawton, a one-woman show about the life of Jane Austen that was performed at USC’s Drayton Hall in September.  In the show, one learns that Austen’s own childhood was spent entertaining her family with “little theatricals,” so perhaps the great author herself would delight in seeing her two-century-old popular tale brought to life on stage.

As director Khoury explains, it makes sense for the Shakespeare Company to do just so for a fellow British storyteller:  “Austen is a complement to the Bard.  They both distill everything through characterization.  And, of course, Austen has that certain sense and sensibility.”

~ Arik Bjorn

Pride & Prejudice runs throughout October in the Finlay Park Amphitheatre with performances on October 17-20 and October 24-27 at 7:30 p.m.  Performances are free!  If you would like to reserve group seating, plus call:  803.787.BARD.  Finlay Park is located in downtown Columbia, on the block bounded by Assembly Street, Laurel Street, Gadsden Street, and Taylor Street, behind the main post office.  (The amphitheater is on the Laurel Street side.)  To learn more about the South Carolina Shakespeare Company, visit www.shakespearesc.org or visit the Company’s Facebook page.

 

 

Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde: The “Musical” I Swore I’d Never Direct - a guest blog by Glenn Farr

When I began directing local live theatre five years ago, I intuitively knew where my strengths lay: helming casts of four to 12 players in boxed set productions, no matter whether they be comedies or dramas. After all, those were the types of shows I most enjoyed being in – plays that allowed even a supporting actor to actually have time to develop a character and present it without being interrupted by a sudden song or choreographed routine involving almost everyone else in the cast. Don’t get me wrong. I enjoy musicals when they are well done, and in Columbia, now that we’ve reached a point when many who populate them have had the luxury of singing and dancing lessons, many such productions are actually quite good. For my part, in my 20s, when I lived in Newberry, SC, I so much wanted to be a part of musicals that I secretly studied with a retired voice professor who had been something of a legend during his days on the faculty of Newberry College. After a year, he had whipped me into good enough shape to score the lead in a production of Man of La Mancha. In the years since, I’ve had the opportunity to play and sing roles ranging from Cinderella’s Prince in Into the Woods and Scrooge to Professor Bhaer in Little Women: the Musical and perhaps the role for which I was best suited, Captain Hook in Peter Pan.

Nevertheless, that quarter century of performing in musicals taught me some things I knew I would not want to deal with as a director. First of all, you don’t really control the complete vision of the story you’re telling. You share it with a musical director and a choreographer. And the older I get, the more I find I want to tell the entire story myself, thank you very much. You also share casting decisions. I knew I’d never want to be in the position of casting an inadequate actress because she happened to be a superb singer, or not being able to cast a superior actress who happened to have two left feet.

Musicals are also logistically complex. No lights up and lights down on two acts with perhaps a maximum of two scenes per act. Instead, many lighting and set changes that must be coordinated with music and large numbers of bodies entering and exiting the stage. I feel a brain cramp coming on just thinking about it.

And finally, after having been in a fair number of musicals, I knew the kinds of egos they often attract, often some of the most “special” among those of us who enjoy stagecraft, many of whom have set up housekeeping at the very center of the Universe. Did I really want to deal with nursing egos to ensure the actors attached to them would give the performance they should? Could I ever develop the diplomacy such action might require?

I really didn’t know.

Nevertheless, my first directing job was Chapin Theatre Company’s A Murder Is Announced, an Agatha Christie mystery. They took a chance on me as a new director and I did everything I knew how to make sure my efforts – and the show itself – would succeed. I broke the script into French scenes, organized a rehearsal schedule that prevented actors from waiting in the wings for their scenes to begin, assembled a strong cast (with a few people playing against type), and staged a show that was well received by the theatre’s patron base. I did find myself massaging an ego or two, but nothing that compared to what I had experienced by being in musicals.

I directed a second show for Chapin, and in short order, one for Workshop, ultimately also being offered a directing opportunity at Village Square in Lexington. In a few short years, I had directed eight productions with varying degrees of success, but among all of them, there was nary a musical.

Until Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde.

Let me be clear, the production of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde Chapin Theatre Company is staging at the Harbison Theatre at Midlands Technical College is not a musical. When it was announced as part of the current season, many in the community confused it with Jekyll & Hyde, the actual musical by Frank Wildhorn, Leslie Bricusse and Steve Cudin. It’s not that show.

This Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde is a non-musical play adapted by Jeffrey Hatcher from the novella Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson. It was commissioned by the Arizona State Theatre in 2008 and has since become fairly popular among local theatres throughout the country.

It’s easy to see why. The show retains the essential elements of the Stevenson story, but introduces a modern sensibility in that there are four incarnations of Mr. Hyde (one of whom is a very sexy woman) and treats Dr. Jekyll’s metamorphosis into the various Hydes as something of a personality disorder triggered by experimentation with drugs. It is also economical to produce, in that there is no fixed set and uses one rolling door and a few pieces of furniture to define spaces. And, it employs only eight actors, some of whom play up to five or six distinct characters, each, with no significant costume changes.

On paper, the show looks simple. It’s just a black box staging and reinterpretation of a classic horror tale, right?

Ah, but just as Dr. Jekyll morphs into Mr. Hyde, this production began showing signs of trying to transform itself into a sort of musical in its own right.

First, it is structured so that the rolling door moves from scene to scene to define space as the characters move from London streets to Jekyll’s home to a London medical college to a slum room where Hyde lives to a police morgue to a local park and back again. Quick scene changes that must be executed flawlessly so that music and lighting match and actors don’t stumble over themselves getting to where they need to be, with the correct props in hand at the right moments – that sounds an awfully lot like a musical to me. I found as I pre-blocked the show (it is my habit to work out blocking in my head, writing it down in the script, before the first rehearsal with actors) that I had to view this show as if it were a musical. The play has a shifting foundation and its own fuzzy logic as one scene melts into another and an actor who was one character in the first scene becomes someone entirely different in the next. I know I’ve seen musicals that operated on a similar premise.

Enthusiasm about this project began to build as soon as it was announced and I subsequently learned that J.S. Lee, who was already on board as the sound designer, is also a composer. He expressed interest in creating an original ambient score for the production. He let me hear a sample of his work and I immediately saw an opportunity to make this production even more special by enhancing its scenes with original music.

In addition, the lighting designer was eager to develop an atmospheric lighting plot that would give the story the dark moods it requires while still enhancing the actors’ work on stage. Lighting is one area of stagecraft in which my knowledge is limited, and during discussions with lighting designer Matt Pound, I found my contributions to be limited to utterances such as, “Make the cyc glow red here,” or, “Make this look really dark and creepy.”

Finally, we decided to take advantage of some of the unique technical capabilities of the Harbison Theatre, which is only two years old. It can actually be used as a movie theatre due to its retractable screen mounted near the proscenium. We decided to create a video opening credits sequence that will be accompanied by an “overture” composed by J.S. Lee.

As I look at the elements we’ve added to what arguably could have been a very simple show, I see that about the only thing keeping it from being a true musical is song lyrics and choreography for the actors. Otherwise, compared to other shows I’ve directed, it’s evolved into a technical beast requiring a degree of conceptual thinking from me that, at times, has threatened to wrap my brain around a fence post.

Still, I would not trade the experience. As I write this, we are a few days from our first technical rehearsal and a few more days further from our opening night. We have yet to add the music and lighting, along with the video opening sequence, that we’ve spent the past six months developing and I have no idea how well the parts will assemble into a whole. Yet, I have faith it will be impressive.

What I do know is that the actors are ready. This project attracted some of the Midlands’ most talented, if sometimes underrated, performers. David Reed and Nathan Dawson are masters of accent and character shifts; George Dinsmore moves far beyond the physical comedy for which he is known as he offers a portrait of a good, but haunted man who fears he is losing his grip on reality. Kathy Sykes makes her female version of Mr. Hyde a true vamp and Emily Meadows brings a gentle, realistic energy to her role of the chambermaid who falls for the ultimate bad boy, Edward Hyde. Jeff Sigley has grown significantly as he brings to life the paternal attorney who tries to help Jekyll as his world falls apart and Teresa McWilliams and Dennis Kacsur support the main cast as they engender a number of small supporting roles. And nowhere among them is an out-of-control ego residing at the center of the universe.

No, Chapin Theatre Company’s production of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde is not a musical, but in several key ways, it does feel like one. Nevertheless, it has shown me that I might have to “unswear” that I’ll never direct a genuine musical.

~ Glenn Farr

Glenn Farr has acted, sung and even danced on Midlands stages for nearly 40 years. In the past five years he has directed for Chapin Theatre Company, Workshop Theatre and Village Square Theatre in Lexington.

Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, adapted by Jeffrey Hatcher from the Robert Louis Stevenson novella Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, runs Oct. 19-Nov. 3, 2012 at the Harbison Theatre at Midlands Technical College, 7300 College St., Irmo, SC 29063. Visit www.chapintheatre.org for information on specific performance dates and reservations.

 

 

"I Am My Own Wife" at the Trustus Side Door Theatre - a review

I Am My Own Wife, currently running in the Trustus Side Door Theatre, is simultaneously a candid, personal portrait of one unusual individual, and an almost epic overview, told in some 35 voices, of a half-century of societal changes in East Germany. Along the way, the play comments on the importance of preserving the artifacts of our shared cultural experiences,  and uses theatre as both a tool and a metaphor for the nature of history and memory as we perceive them.  Amazingly, one actor, Paul Kaufmann, accomplishes all of this by himself, alone on stage for nearly two hours, in an intimate 50-seat venue.

The title character calls herself Charlotte von Mahlsdorf, but Mahlsdorf is actually the suburb of East Berlin where she was born Lothar Berfelde, a man who lived and dressed as a woman through the Nazi and Communist regimes; for clarity, let's refer to Charlotte uniformly as "she."  Decades before gender-reassignment existed, Charlotte is no flamboyant cabaret performer, just a rather dowdy, soft-spoken, crazy-cat-lady sort of woman, working as an antiques dealer, then as curator and proprietor of her house-museum of vintage furniture and other domestic furnishings.  Post-reunification of Germany, playwright Doug Wright (inserting himself as a character into his own play) records Charlotte's oral history, seeing her tale of struggle and survival as inspirational and redemptive. But as Charlotte becomes a national cult celebrity, questions arise as to how much of her amazing story may have been exaggerated, how much may have been glossed over, and how much is self-serving.  Wright struggles both as character and author to reconcile his personal, emotional need to believe Charlotte, and his desire to reflect the actual truth.  Yet in a brilliant (and for me, entirely unexpected, although I should have seen it coming a mile away) resolution, Charlotte's own beliefs on the value of historic conservation transfer to the stage and provide an answer: history, written or spoken, is invariably told by someone, while an artifact speaks for itself, allowing each of us our own interpretation. As Wright realizes early on, Charlotte is her own most valuable cultural artifact.  Esoteric, philosophical questions like this alternate with vivid, first-person accounts of the war and its aftermath, and the extraordinary dangers faced by the gay community in a repressive society; not surprisingly, Wright's script won both the Pulitzer Prize and the Tony Award for Best Drama.

The play was not at all what I had expected. While kicking off the Side Door Theatre's "Sexploration" series (of shows exploring issues of sexuality) there really isn't much sex. In many ways it more closely resembles a live recreation of a detailed PBS documentary on Nazi-era Germany and its Cold War aftermath, incorporating narratives from survivors.  Charlotte's cross-dressing and gay lifestyle seem not all that different from experiences of Jews or devout Catholics, likewise determined to live life on their own terms, whatever the risk.  For me the most poignant moment was Charlotte's account of her own sort of rebel underground: risking her freedom and indeed life by providing a gathering spot for the gay community, once their club is closed down by the state.  In a truth-is-stranger-than fiction moment, Charlotte the obsessive collector and antiquarian salvages most of the original fixtures and furniture from the bar, recreating it in her basement.

Heather Abraham's set design is naturally limited by the tiny space, but the basics of what we need are there, i.e. the suggestion of a house/museum full of dusty, domestic relics. Lighting by Barry Sparks and sound by James A. Watts help establish particular moods and tones at just the right moment.   With a one-actor play, it's impossible to know where to give praise, to the performer or the director, so I'll credit both Kaufmann and director Ellen Douglas Schlaefer (who first collaborated on this show at Workshop five years ago) equally.  The majority of the dialogue is Charlotte telling her own story to the audience, but occasionally slipping into other characters from her life.  Most of these only have a few lines, but Kaufmann has a separate, unique voice for each.  The subtleties are impressive - Charlotte has the heaviest accent, so that we always remember where and when the action is taking place.  Occasionally this means Kaufmann is having a conversation with himself, but he does it almost all vocally, i.e. he retains the body language of Charlotte, simply altering his tone, pitch, and perhaps expression, rather than attempting to make a more definitive movement, or don some different costume or wig.  His voice as Charlotte is gentle and fairly high, although no different from many soft-spoken men. Only once does he convincingly affect the voice of a young woman, in a brief and amusing bit as the German equivalent of a valley girl. My favorite character, however, was Alfred Kirschner (the only character for which Kaufmann changes costume) who maintains a defiant, bitchy sort of battered dignity while incarcerated by the secret police.  I haven't seen Kaufmann play many sympathetic characters - even in the recent Next to Normal  (in which, astoundingly, he was performing nightly while presumably rehearsing this show!) I felt sorry for him, but didn't entirely like the character; here there are enough for anyone to find one to whom they can relate.

Admittedly, not everyone may want to see man in a dress playing different characters, or care about events that happened thousands of miles away and before many of us were born, or want to reflect on the conflicting natures of truth, memory and history.  I recently wrote that Columbia needed something like the late-night Last Call Series production of Plan 9 From Outer Space every weekend of the year. We also need dozens of one-performer plays like I Am My Own Wife, that showcase the talent of local theatre artists. Seeing a "serious" show like this in such an intimate space really makes you think you're in the middle of New York City, where plentiful audiences ensure lengthy runs for the edgiest or most controversial fare, in the tiniest of venues.  Sadly, there are only 5 chances left to see this one: tonight (Friday) Sat. the 13th, and then Thurs. 10/18 through Sat. 10/20.  All performances are at 8 PM; contact the box office at 254-9732 for more information, or visit www.trustus.org.

~ August Krickel

"Hansel & Gretel" at Columbia Marionette Theatre: A Sweet Artistic Triumph - a Review by Arik Bjorn

Dorothy Parker once reviewed a play that was so incompetent in all aspects, that she decided to leave most of her newspaper column space newspaper blank, stating that the production did not even deserve typeset words.  Nothing could be more opposite with respect to deserved accolades than Columbia Marionette Theatre’s latest production, Hansel & Gretel.  Artistic Director Lyon Hill has created something so phenomenal and unique that I was tempted to write the entire review in 100-point font.  However, recognizing that giant block letters might not be a preference for the average online reader, I will offer a single, megalithic, lexical frieze to frame my review:

 HANSEL & GRETEL IS A MONUMENTAL MARIONETTE CREATION!

TAKE EVERYONE YOU KNOW TO GO SEE IT!

As I have written in previous reviews, what I appreciate most about the CMT mission — and executive direction John Scollon should be applauded for this — is that it eschews the glamourized, Walt Disney fairytale and clings to the tried-and-true philosophy of edge-of-your-seat, Grimm storytelling.  And what better tale to present (especially in the month of hobgoblins and pumpkins) than one which seems to have been universally ignored by the animated children’s fantasy industry:  Hansel & Gretel.

My four-year-old daughter Kat plied me with questions about the story on the way to the theatre; she had never even heard the title.  The only factoid I would let slip is that there was likely to be a house made out of candy.  As one can imagine, that was enough to set her imagination’s hook.  But not even I was prepared for the sumptuousness of what CMT had prepared for patrons of all ages.

Upon crossing the dragon’s head threshold, even theatregoers who have attended multiple CMT productions will immediately realize there is something unique about this production.  A large, curved film screen covers center stage, and there is something oddly cartoon-esque about the set.  This was intentional; director Hill drew expertly on the classic black-and-white animation of the Fleischer Brothers (Betty Boop, Popeye, Koko the Clown) as inspiration for his set and marionette characters.  This is especially telling in the rounded qualities of the puppet faces, and in their oblong eyes; in fact, I’m not sure I’ve ever seen marionettes which seemed so eerily alive.

Hansel and Gretel deep in the forest

The show begins with an immediate departure from the traditional Hansel & Gretel tale.  Both the poor woodcutter and his wife absolutely adore their children.  The reason for this welcome twist may be that Hill wrote the story as a special dedication to his young son, Oliver.  A dreaded wood filled with ghosts and boy-eating witches is one thing, but no child should have to endure the added torture of an abusive stepmother.  Yet despite being the candied apples of their parent’s eyes, there’s only so much roasted boot a la tongue any child can endure.  Following Hansel’s retelling of ‘The Tale of the Three Thieves’ — in which the stage is expanded with computer animation, and puppeteers Cooper Hill, Payton Frawley and Lyon Hill enthrall the audience with precisely-timed shadow puppetry — audience members soon find themselves in familiar territory:  at play in the field of the pastry-bread home with strawberry shortcake shutters.

 

A reviewer really could wax on and on about this spectacular production.  Like the professional marionette stages in Prague, this is a show that adults without children would thoroughly enjoy.  And I truly hope that other marionette professionals around the region and nation take the opportunity to travel to Columbia to witness what is without a doubt the crowning work to date by Lyon Hill and CMT’s very talented crew.  The production also boasts an incredible original score in the vein of a Woody Allen soundtrack by David Drazin, as well as the aforementioned original animation by Wade Sellers and Jeffrey Shroyer, and the vocal talents of local actors Kevin Bush and Jenny Mae Hill.

Hansel, Gretel and Witch

My personal favorite puppet moment was the skeleton whose bones magically dislocate and reassemble during a Fred Astaire song-and-dance number.  I also loved the owl puppet set high aloft the stage as introductory narrator; I hope the owl becomes a mainstay character for future CMT productions.  (Perhaps call him Owlistair Cooke.)  Another ingenious creative choice was making the witch a haggy vulture, whose appetite for human flesh is a bit easier for children to swallow, given her carrion nature; that, and it’s a tad easier to stomach watching a bird get its just desserts by being cooked in an oven than a humanoid figure.

At one point, Hansel describes the treasure of the three thieves — upon which the brother and sister pin their hopes to save their family from poverty — as so valuable that it cannot be named.  Without a doubt, our city is home to such a valuable treasure for children’s storytelling, yet it has a name:  Columbia Marionette Theatre.  And I can only conclude in the way in which I began:  Hansel & Gretel is unlike any show CMT has ever staged; whether child or adult, you are in for an extraordinary storytelling treat.

 TAKE EVERYONE YOU KNOW TO GO SEE IT!

~ Arik Bjorn

Hansel & Gretel runs until December 29 with performances every Saturday at 11 a.m. and 3 p.m.  Tickets are $5 per person.  Children under 2 are free!  The Columbia Marionette Theatre is located at 401 Laurel Street (corner of Huger and Laurel).  Call 252.7366 for more information or to reserve party space for your little ones.  To learn more about Columbia Marionette Theatre, visit www.cmtpuppet.org .

NOTE: Tuesday Oct. 9th, from 6:00 to 8:00 PM, there will be a special event in the Hallway at 701 Whaley showcasing The Art of Hansel and Gretel by Lyon Forrest Hill. Get a glimpse inside Columbia Marionette Theatre's production of Hansel and Gretel. This exhibit features conceptual art including sketches, character designs and prototype marionettes by Lyon Forrest Hill. Deliciously evil treats provided by Jenny Mae Hill. Details can be found at http://www.facebook.com/events/188415467960730/

"The Importance of Being Earnest" at USC's Longstreet Theatre - a Review by Jillian Owens

Originally billed as “A Trivial Comedy for Serious People,” The Importance of Being Earnest gets a fun and funky 1960’s reboot in the new Theatre South Carolina production of Oscar Wilde’s last and best-known play. The plot of this rollicking farce is perhaps best expressed in the line, “The truth is rarely pure, and never simple.”  John and Algernon are close pals with double lives.  John (aka Jack) avoids his somber life of responsibilities in the country by inventing a brother by the name of Ernest, whom he constantly has to visit, to rescue him from some scrape or another.  Algernon (aka Algy), on the other hand, frequently escapes to the country to avoid unwelcome social obligations, claiming to visit his imaginary (and always sickly) buddy, "Bunbury."

This arrangement serves them both well, until John (who is living as "Ernest" in the city) falls in love with Algy’s cousin Gwendolen.  Gwendolen’s mother, Lady Bracknell, is appalled to discover Ernest/John is an orphan, found in a handbag at Victoria Station.  To escape her disapproval, Gwendolen and Ernest/John plan to elope in the country.  Little do they know, Algy overhears their plans, and decides to have a bit of his own fun.  After finding out John has a beautiful young ward by the name of Cecily at his country estate, he shows up posing as John’s rascally younger brother...."Ernest."

 

Traditional Wildean wit, hilarity and clever banter ensue.  Even those who have never seen this play performed live will remember many of Wilde’s signature one-liners.  Both Gwendolyn and Cecily are determined that they can only love a man by the name of Ernest, and certainly not John or Algy!  The play is a searing commentary on the frivolity and insincerity of Victorian culture.  Wilde believed “that we should take all the trivial things of life seriously, and all the serious things of life with sincere and studied triviality.”

This production was cleverly re-set from 1895 to some time in the 1960’s with go-go dancers, a terrific retro score, a set that would be any Anglophile’s dream, and wildly flamboyant costumes.  And it works.  Director Robert Richmond is obviously aware that with a show so dialogue-heavy, a modern audience could easily get bored.  There is absolutely no opportunity for boredom in this intensely high-energy production.  The actors are constantly in movement (a benefit of this production being done in the round), and the dance numbers between scenes are expertly choreographed by Emily Gonzalez (more on her later).

I always look forward to seeing a production at USC, as their shows easily have the most consistently high production values in Columbia.  This show was no exception.  The fun and adaptive set by Kimi Maeda transforms perfectly from a swinging 60’s bachelor pad to a happy hippie garden.  The costumes are simply brilliant.  Elizabeth Coffin displays an amazing amount of talent here, especially for an undergrad.  They are wild, colorful, clever, and beautifully executed with an intense attention to detail.

Pictured: From left, Danielle Peterson (as Gwendolen), Liam MacDougall (as Algernon) and William Vaughan (as Jack)

I was surprised to discover that the cast for this show was all undergraduates.  Usually Theatre South Carolina relies much more heavily on its graduate students.  Emily Gonzalez makes a delightfully naive Cecily Cardew, and her choreography gives this show the jolt of energy it needs to maintain the interest of a modern audience.  Rocco Thompson delivers a particularly hilarious standout performance as Lady Bracknell.  Liam Macdougall’s Algernon is funny and fey, though difficult to understand at times.  Danielle Peterson seemed a bit stiff and uncomfortable in her role as Gwendolen, almost as if she were playing the role 15 years older than it was intended.  But her spot-on sense of comedic timing more than compensates for this.  William Vaughan plays off his fellow actors well as an exuberant though put-upon John/Ernest.  All of the actors do a fine job, especially for being such a young group with varying levels of experience.

The Importance of Being Earnest makes for a delightfully witty way to spend an evening.  So go ahead…take a walk on the Wilde side.

~ Jillian Owens

The show runs through Sat. Oct. 13th at USC's Longstreet Theatre.  Show times are 8 pm Wednesdays-Fridays, 7 pm Saturdays and 3 pm on the first Sunday.  There is an additional half-price late night performance on Saturday, October 13 at 11 pm.   Tickets for the production are $12 for students, $16 for USC faculty/staff, military personnel and seniors 60+, and $18 for the general public.  Tickets can be purchased by calling 803-777-2551 or by visiting the Longstreet Theatre box office, which is open Monday-Friday, 12:30 pm-5:30 pm.

 

Sisters Are Doing It For Themselves – A Blonde Bombshell Falls on Workshop Theatre! A review by Stephen Ingle

Legally Blonde - The Musical opened at Workshop Theatre on Friday night, and it was a performance that Gloria Steinem, Helen Gurley Brown, and every other feminist would have proudly supported.  Even if you have not seen the movie which this musical is based on, or are not a fan, this production will have you seeing blonde on your way out the door.

The play tells the story of Elle (wonderfully portrayed by Giulia Marie Dalbec), a Malibu blonde whose obsession with pink, fashion, and everything trendy borders on the sickeningly stereotypical.  After graduating from UCLA, where she was a proud member of the Delta Nu sorority, she thinks her boyfriend, Warner (Daniel Gainey), is going to propose, sealing her fate as a rich lawyer’s wife.  However, he has different plans, and decides she’s not the right fit for his future as a prominent lawyer and senator. So, he goes off to Harvard Law, and Elle has to re-think her master plan.  Here is where the feminist mystique gets lost, due to the fact that Elle decides to study, study, and study to also get into Harvard, all for the sake of getting her man back.  When she arrives, Elle has to face up to the fact that law school isn’t the pink parade that she thought it would be, and she has to get to work. By sheer movie and musical magic, she runs into Warner, and discovers that he has a new girlfriend, Vivienne (Shelby Sessler) who is much more suited to the political power couple from Warner’s dreams.  Faced with the reality of losing her man, Elle decides to throw herself into her studies with the help of a law class teaching assistant, Emmett (Mark Ziegler).  Unlike Elle, Emmett comes from a humble background where his single mother worked and slaved to make sure he could attend law school.  Emmett even works three jobs while at school to make ends meet. Elle enrolls in a law class run by a ruthless law professor named Callahan, where Emmett is the assistant and both Warner and Vivienne are in class, too. Callahan announces that he will accept four students as interns at his very prestigious firm based on their performance.

Emmett decides to take Elle under his wing and make her work through holidays to get that internship. This pays off when she is asked to join Callahan’s legal team in a high profile case defending a gorgeous blonde workout guru accused of killing her much older husband.  Unfortunately, Elle comes face to face (literally) with Callahan’s true intentions when he tries to kiss her, and sexually harasses her. In the end, Elle saves the case and the day, she and Emmett get together, and she moves past Warner and Vivienne. Overall, it follows the rule of the well-written plot with all the stages in place – exposition, rising action, climax, denouement, and resolution. It’s a fun ride, especially with some of the musical numbers. The most notable numbers are “What You Want,” Blood in the Water,” “Bend and Snap,” and “Gay or European.” As I implied in the title, this show is carried by the female roles. The “chorus” comprised of Elle’s friends from UCLA help keep the story moving with their unyielding energy.  Besides Giulia Marie Dalbec, who truly does a phenomenal job, other standout performances are Kathy Milliron as Paulette and Sarah Farra as Brooke.

Unfortunately, the male actors in the show couldn’t quite hold up their end of the bargain. Although they had wonderful singing voices, for the most part there was simply no chemistry between them and Elle. In the role of Emmett, Mark Ziegler just didn’t have the edge as the blue-collar, working student struggling to get through school to provide the dichotomy to Elle’s more spoiled, rich girl persona. He came off more as the best friend or nice guy who finishes last, which was off-putting, since he wins Elle in the end. As Warner, Daniel Gainey played the part with a nice level of soft sincerity, but there was a certain schmarmy-ness missing from his opportunistic, ladder-climbing character. Finally, Hunter Boyle did bring a lot of life to the role of Callahan, which made the song “Blood in the Water” so enjoyable. However, the very important moment of sexual harassment when he makes a move on Elle seemed glossed over, just lying there on the stage. Also, one slight technical note – the sound designer should really look into putting microphones above or on the catwalk above the set for the chorus. They open the show, and I couldn’t hear or understand them at all.

Overall, I recommend Legally Blonde - The Musical to Columbia theatre-goers. It’s a high energy, fun, and appealing show that will have you humming the songs on the way home. Also, for all you animal lovers, there are two very cute and apparently well-trained dogs in the production.

Legally Blonde - The Musical runs through September 29th at Workshop Theatre,  1136 Bull St.  Showtimes are at 8:00 p.m. except a September 23rd matinee at 3:00 p.m. Call the box office at  (803) 799-6551 for reservations between noon and 5:30 p.m.  Tickets are $22 for adults, $20 for senior citizens and military, $16 for students, and $12 for children under 12.

...................

Jasper - The Word on Columbia Arts welcomes Stephen Ingle to our roster of theatre critics.  After living in Los Angeles for 15 years where he worked as an actor, writer, producer, and stand-up comic, Stephen returned to his roots in Columbia, SC. Having just received his Masters of Arts in Teaching in Theatre Education from USC, he is currently teaching Theatre in the Richland One School District.

 

"Next to Normal" at Trustus Theatre - a Review by Jillian Owens

When I was asked to review Trustus Theatre’s first show of the season, Next to Normal, I was hesitant.  I don’t usually like musicals.  It seems like the vast majority that are being launched on Broadway nowadays are pure fluff – adaptations of 80’s and 90’s movies hoping to bank on an easily entertained populace’s desire for nostalgia and escapism.  But then there was this little gem that won the Tony for Best Score, Best Orchestrations, and Best Book by Tom Kitt (Music) and Brian Yorkey (Book and Lyrics).  It also won the 2010 Pulitzer Prize for Best Drama - an uncommon honor for a musical.  “What am I in for?” I wondered. The story of a family being ripped apart by mental illness seems an unlikely subject for a musical, which is one of the reasons this one works so well.  The play opens on what appears to be a typical morning with Diana Goodman (played by Vicky Saye Henderson) preparing lunches for her husband, daughter, and son, and devolves into her throwing sandwiches on the floor.  Diana is not well.  She suffers from severe bipolar disorder, accompanied by hallucinations.   In the next few weeks, Diana visits her psychotherapist (played by Terrance Henderson) who adjusts and readjusts her meds until she is mentally numb, but deemed “stable”.   But she misses her highs and lows…making her something less than the most cooperative patient.

This show’s power comes from the twisted but strong ties between the characters.  Dan (Paul Kaufmann) loves Diana, but wonders who is crazier: her for her illness, or him for staying with her?   Natalie (Elisabeth Baker) is perhaps the most sympathetic character in the play.  She is struggling to be the perfect daughter, but gets lost in competition with her brother (the song “Super Boy and the Invisible Girl”), while living with the very real fear that her mother’s illness might be lurking somewhere in her DNA as well.  Fortunately, she has found a friend in her new love, Henry (played by Chase W. Nelson) whose struggle to keep her out of trouble is a haunting mirror image of the struggle between Dan and Diana.  I won’t give any spoilers here, but rest assured, the plot twists in surprising and heartbreaking ways that will leave you agog.

The entire cast is simply terrific.  Vicky Saye Henderson’s vocal chops are on perfect display here, and Paul Kaufmann’s numbers will make you tear up.  Terrance Henderson’s voice is powerful and lush, and he gives great dimension to what could easily have ended up being a throwaway role.  It’s exciting to see terrific young talent cropping up in Elisabeth Baker, Andy Bell, and Chase W. Nelson – all relative newcomers to the Trustus stage.  I look forward to seeing more from them.

Next to Normal, directed by Chad Henderson,  is the type of show Trustus does best.  They have taken an amazing script, combined it with a small but amazing cast, and put it on a simple but well-designed set.  Musical Director Tom Beard's orchestra is subtle and effective.  The music melds with the story seamlessly.  Spectacle and shows with huge casts have never been the ideal for such a small stage, and this one doesn’t need it.  This show is powerful…spine-tinglingly so.  This is a beautifully challenging piece of theatre that needed to be created, and demands to be seen.

You should see this show.  Yes…you.  Even if you don’t like musicals, and especially if you or anyone you love has been affected by mental illness.  You will leave the theatre profoundly affected.

This is the first show without Jim and Kay Thigpen at the helm (Happy Retirement!), and proof that you can still put your trust in Trustus.

~ Jillian Owens

Next to Normal runs at Trustus Theatre through Sat. Sept. 29th; contact the box office at 803-254-9732 for ticket information.

 

Jon Tuttle's "The Palace of the Moorish Kings" - A Review by Jillian Owens

Jon Tuttle’s new play, The Palace of the Moorish Kings (based on the short story by Evan S. Connell) makes for a powerful and thought-provoking night of theatre.  Tuttle is no stranger to  Trustus Theatre – he’s their Playwright-in-Residence.  You may remember him from such works as The Sweet Abyss, Holy Ghost, and The White Problem. It’s Thanksgiving Day, 1970.  Dave and Millicent, played by Gene Aimone and Christina Whitehouse-Suggs, are a seemingly happy upper middle class couple full of smiles with a lovely home (newly renovated!) and dear friends whom they’ve invited over for their traditional holiday feast.  But there’s more than a hint of worry behind their cheerful expressions:  there’s one guest that hasn’t RSVP’d.  Their son has gone missing in Vietnam, but traditions must continue.

As the guests arrive, we learn theirs is not the only family in concealed crisis.  Aileen and Art (played by Becky Hunter and Christopher Cockrell), have a marriage whose foundation is beginning to show its cracks.  Leroy and his daughter Junie (played by James Harley and Erin Huiett) seem to be a content pair, but why has Junie dropped out of college?  Barbara and Al (played by Kim Harne and Shane Walters) are still deeply in love after many years of marriage, but Barbara’s sporadically shaky right hand indicates trouble on the horizon.  This coming-of-middle-age story explores what this group of friends, who have known each other since high school, has given up in their quest for the American Dream.  They’ve all achieved their own levels of success, but still have become wistful and jealous when they hear from their friend J.D., a draft dodger who chose a life of travel and adventure over college, a job, and marriage.  They all live vicariously through his letters from around the world, which curiously never ask about their own, considerably more predictable lives.

All of the actors do an excellent job with their roles.  Huiett makes a wonderfully subtle Junie, which is perhaps the most important character in the play.  We see her asking all the questions the rest of the group wishes they had asked themselves at her age.  She’s not quite so easily sold on the idea of a marriage and a split level being the ingredients for happiness and fulfillment.  Hunter’s Aileen is spot-on and sassy, with unwavering energy and passion.  Aimone, Suggs, and Cockrell deliver powerful and dynamic performances. Other characters, however, seem to exist merely as sounding boards for their more fleshed-out counterparts.  James Harley does what he can with the role of Leroy, who doesn’t say or do very much, except get a little sad about his divorce, and worried about his daughter.  Harne and Walters also fall victim to being good actors with weak characters.  They make a convincingly loving couple, and Harne’s portrayal of a woman who is in the beginning stages of a serious illness is truly touching -- but it seems like Al only exists to provide exposition about the adventures of the well-traveled J.D.  Once again, Walters does what he can, but this script doesn’t give him anywhere to go.  As  director, Dewey  Scott-Wiley has gotten the most out of her cast with this demanding script.

A great deal of dialog is dedicated to how beautiful and amazing Dave and Millicent’s home is, and the set really needed to show the 1970's ideal of beautiful and amazing.  I wasn’t feeling it.  It seemed almost unfinished and quickly thrown together.  An implied set would have worked better for this production if budget or time constraints were the issue. 

The Palace of The Moorish Kings leaves you in a state of thoughtful contemplation.  I would like to see this show 20 years from now, to see if I still identify with the youthful idealism of Junie, or if I find myself agreeing with the older, more conservative Dave.  It’s a show I’d like to take my parents to see with me and discuss over dinner afterwards. Perhaps you’ll go see it with yours?

 

~ Jillian Owens

The Palace of the Moorish Kings  continues its run on Wednesday, August 15th, and runs through this Saturday, August 18th.   The Wednesday and Thursday night performances  start at 7:30 PM, while Friday and Saturday nights begin at 8:00 PM.  Note that half-price student tickets are available 15 minutes prior to every curtain.  Trustus Theatre is located at 520 Lady Street, behind the Gervais St. Publix. Parking is available on Lady St. and on Pulaski St.  The Main Stage entrance is located on the Publix side of the building.  For more information or reservations, call the box office at 803-254-9732, or visit http://www.trustus.org .

 

A Little Princess, Camp Rock, and Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat all running through this weekend

As I type this, the temperature has passed one hundred degrees yet again.  Wouldn't this be the perfect time to relax inside a nice, cool, dark theatre and see a live show?  If so, you have lots of chances through this weekend, as three local theatre companies present the final performances of their  summer productions. Chapin Theatre Company (aka Chapin Community Theatre) is currently  performing in the Harbison Theatre at Midlands Technical College, located at  7300 College St. in Irmo.  Currently running is A Little Princess., adapted from the classic novel by Frances Hodgson Burnett, with shows tonight (Thursday, 7/26) Friday and Saturday, and a final Sunday afternoon matinee.   This production, directed by Debra Leopard,  features Molly Corbett in the title role, with Jeff Sigley, MonaLisa Botts, and Eliza C. Spence among the adults in the cast.    From their press release:

A Little Princess is the classic story of Sara Crews, a little girl born in India who is sent to a London private school after her mother dies. After word arrives that her father has lost his fortune and disappeared, she is banished to the garret where she must use her creative imagination and spirited optimism to overcome her circumstances. Ultimately, she becomes an inspiration for girls and boys everywhere. An uplifting tale for children of all ages, NewsDay said there is "a lot of magic in it."  Visit www.chapintheatre.org for ticket information.

Workshop Theatre meanwhile is presenting three more performances of  Disney's Camp Rock - The Musical, this Thursday, Friday and Saturday evenings at 8 PM. Read What Jasper Said about the show at  http://jaspercolumbia.net/blog/?p=1841 .

Town Theatre has four more performances scheduled for Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, Thursday through Saturday evening st 7:30 PM, and a final Sunday matinee at 3 PM.  Scott Vaughan plays the lead role of Joseph, Shannon Willis Scruggs directs and choreographs, and Lou Warth is the music director.   From their press release:

Based on the book of Genesis, this exciting musical follows the story of a young man with a knack for having prophetic dreams. He incurs the jealousy of his eleven brothers who sell him into slavery in Egypt where his talents eventually save the country from famine and secure him a position as Pharaoh’s right-hand man. In due time, he is reunited with his now contrite and guilt-ridden brethren.  Its catchy music by Andrew Lloyd Webber utilizes a variety of musical styles and genres including rock ‘n’ roll, country-western, reggae, disco and even a French art song. Music is by Andrew Lloyd Webber, and lyrics are by Tim Rice. Joseph… is a winning show that is ideal family entertainment. Prepare to enter a world of dreams, for – as Joseph learns – “any dream will do.”     Visit http://towntheatre.com for ticket information.

 

 

Talented Young Cast Rocks the House at Workshop - A Review of Disney's Camp Rock - The Musical

Workshop Theatre's summer show, Disney's Camp Rock - The Musical, is enjoyable, family-friendly fun, set to an energetic rock beat, providing a nice chance for some talented teens and tweens to take center stage.  Based on two popular Disney tv movies that were vehicles for Demi Lovato and the Jonas Brothers, the show isn't exactly Sondheim, but aiming for the 8-18 age bracket means it's by no means a children's show either. Instead, we re-visit comfortably familiar themes of puppy love, teen rivalries, and summer camp hijinks, accompanied by a lively, contemporary pop-rock score. Sure, like any Disney product there is a little sense of some pre-packaging for a target demographic.  The book, by Robert L. Freedman and Faye Greenberg, is based on scripts and characters from five authors, while the score, "adapted, arranged, and orchestrated" by David Lawrence (a veteran Disney composer, who worked on all three High School Musical films, and is the son of Steve Lawrence and Eydie Gorme) incorporates numbers from 20 (!) songwriters, meaning that there was just a little assembly line work going on. Chief among those writers is Kara DioGuardi, the American Idol judge who has written hits for former Disney starlets like Brittany Spears, Christina Aguilera and Hilary Duff, while others have worked with everyone from Kelly Clarkson to Katy Perry.  What impressed me most was how admirably and professionally the cast of 33 local youngsters (only a few are past their teen years) acquitted themselves on stage, demonstrating yet again that there is an entire generation of new local performers waiting in the wings.

The titular Camp Rock is a summer performance/music camp for kids, run by Brown Cesario (George Dinsmore), an aging rocker from the early MTV era, who capitalizes on the popularity of his three nephews, members of a popular boy band, Connect 3. When rival Camp Star (more luxurious, more regimented, and founded by the drummer Cesario fired 15 years before) threatens Camp Rock's future, it's no plot spoiler to reveal that the protagonists will have to overcome personal issues and teen drama, to pitch in together for a battle of the bands.

Katie Foshee has done nice work in any number of ensemble and supporting roles in recent years; here she graduates to romantic lead, the rocker chick Mitchie, and doesn't disappoint. Resembling a prettier Danica McKellar (Kevin's dream girl on The Wonder Years) Foshee displays a strong, appealing voice, and a talent for quick bantering dialogue. Nominal male lead Alex Cowsert, as Shane, likewise distinguishes himself vocally, especially in a couple of sweet love songs with Foshee. I say "nominal," since middle brother Nate (Avery Herndon) gets a romantic sub-plot too, and he very nearly steals the show with the song "Introducing Me," also featuring Alex Webster as the winsome Dana.  I recall Herndon from the ensemble in Spring Awakening this winter at Trustus, but, like Foshee, here he gets a chance to showcase some serious vocal talent.   When he and Webster sing together, they are just adorable; if they were any cuter, they'd be puppies.  Of course, there has to be a teen diva in the show like this, and Kathryn Reddic plays "mean girl"  Tess with gusto, plus gets some of the best dance numbers. Also of note is Marc Smith as Tess's rival Luke; his R&B-themed song "Fire" is done in an ultra-deep, resonant baritone, quite rare in a world of Ushers and Chris Browns.  Catherine Davenport, Tara Wallace and Mellie Boozer make the most of supporting roles as Mitchie's fellow campers, while the tiny Quincy Sykes gets some good laughs as a precocious and mischievous drummer-girl-in-training.  As above, the entire cast does fine in the group numbers, and even the youngest performers (some seem about age 8) keep up move for move, step for step, with their older peers.

Musical Director Daniel Gainey (also a gifted actor, as we saw in In the Next Room at Trustus just a few months ago) achieves a full, rich sound from his young and largely female cast.  At no time do we ever hear "Hard Knock Life"-style, sing-song children's voices; instead we hear the same catchy harmonies featured in any top 40 song on the radio today.  Choreographer Katie Hilliger also ensures that everyone's movements on stage are fluid and similar to the moves in any popular rock or hip-hop video.  The cast sings to a recorded score; that combined with 33 wireless mikes guarantees that there will be some issues with volume and feedback, but I have to say that any minor glitches were resolved almost instantly, and by and large, Baxter Engle's sound design is effective. Most of the cast have long hair and/or hats, and so for a pleasant change, head mikes were inconspicuous.

Director E.G. Heard makes everything flow and sound quite naturally; most of these kids could do a quite credible job playing these same roles in some professional touring version of this show.  Randy Strange's set incorporates a lush, realistic, painted drop (credit also goes to scenic artists Ed Sexauer, Beth Burnside and Pam Johnson) that depicts a lake and adjoining dock. Combined with the stage floor painted to suggest the shadows of foliage overhead (Barry Sparks' lighting design contributes to this effect too) and a couple of basic log cabin facades, the location is instantly and clearly defined, while leaving most of the stage free and uncluttered for the dance numbers.  Sparks also includes some nifty and inventive lighting effects in the pieces performed by the Star Campers, including "Tear It Down," featuring Reddic and Smith.  While most of the costumes are ostensibly "street clothes" and typical casual wear, Alexis Doktor plays with a lot of fine nuances; one camper wears a sequined shirt, another prefers tie-dye, and a third wears a plaid mini-skirt with dark leggings, each embodying a particular "type" of high school fashion and preference.  The Star Campers, on the other hand, all wear uniform-like, general issue t-shirts, making a subtle statement about the difference between the two groups.  When we notice one Star Camper wearing a slightly different and more attractive design, it's no surprise that she will turn out to be important to the plot. Even Dinsmore sports an authentic CBGB shirt, immediately defining Cesario's era before he has to say a word. I do wish that Cowsert and Herndon were clothed in a bit more glam fashion, to signify that they are actual rock stars, but youngest brother Jason (Ethan Cash) sports a funky hat and short pants, capturing the look of a pre-teen idol.

Don't get me wrong - like most Disney fare, much of Camp Rock is light-weight, derivative, and enjoyable for the moment, yet disposable. The plot is resolved via a deus-ex-machina slipped in so quickly you almost miss it.  Few of the many supporting characters are really developed, even though the entire play runs under an hour and 45 minutes.  A central conflict (stemming from Mitchie alienating her friends, by driving them so hard to succeed) was echoed in at least two reruns of The Big Bang Theory this past week alone, as well as in the final season of Buffy, at least one episode of Saved By the Bell, and probably many others previously.  Herndon's inability to communicate with the girl he's crushing on goes all the way back to She Stoops to Conquer in the 1700's.  The rousing Act 2 opener "Heart and Soul" is very reminiscent of the late 80's hit "Wild Wild West" by The Escape Club, while Mitchie and Shane's power ballad "Wouldn't Change a Thing" reminded me a bit of the Ann Wilson-Mike Reno duet "Almost Paradise."  And just about every musical number has a parallel scene in High School Musical.   Still, these are excellent sources to borrow from, and most audience members won't recognize how familiar it all seems.  The joy of Camp Rock is in the accessible, upbeat music, and how proficiently the local cast brings it all to life.  An earlier generation followed Jem and the Holograms; for me, it was the Monkees, Scooby Doo and the Partridge Family, and those older still may recall Dobie Gillis or even Andy Hardy;  Camp Rock is simply the latest incarnation of this same youthful, escapist entertainment.  I cannot imagine any teen or tween not enjoying it.  As for adults?  Well, I had an excuse to go: reviewing the show.  And my first thought when the lights went up?  "Those kids rocked the house!"  So I'd advise you to take your children or grandchildren, or find some younger siblings, cousins, or neighbors' kids, and treat them to an evening of theatre, one tailor-made for their musical tastes.  They’ll have a blast, and you might just too. Disney's Camp Rock - The Musical runs through July 28th at Workshop Theatre; contact the box office at 803-799-6551 for ticket information.

~ August Krickel

Avenue Q at Trustus Theatre - A Review

Avenue Q, the new summer show now running at Trustus Theatre, is a lively, witty, naughty musical romp through the challenges of young adulthood in the big city, told via catchy, silly, bouncy songs, performed by puppets. Well, by live actors, four of whom give voice and life to a number of Muppet-style hand puppets.  For sheer escapism and entertainment, you absolutely will not be disappointed by this triple Tony winner that ran for over six years in New York, and still thrives and prospers off-Broadway today.

With music and lyrics by creators Robert Lopez and Jeff Marx, and book by Jeff Whitty, Avenue Q  follows the adventures of recent college grad Princeton, an archetypal naïf looking for his meaning in life... or perhaps just a job, and a cheap place to live, which he finds in the low-rent zone of Avenue Q.  Princeton is Everyman (or Everypuppet) at 22, and this theme has been explored countless times over the years, in films like How to Marry a Millionaire, musicals like How to Succeed in Business, and even the current HBO series Girls.  The show's brilliance lies in its reinvention of the coming-of-age genre, using multi-colored felt and cloth puppets, especially since the impression conveyed is that we are seeing the familiar Sesame Street characters all grown up, and having to confront the realities and responsibilities of maturity.  A disclaimer in the program makes it clear that there is no actual connection to any Jim Henson creations or properties; one imagines that at this stage, Elmo, Kermit and friends are such cultural icons that they classify as public figures, and therefore fair game for parody and satire.  Unlike the Muppets, however, the audience actually sees each performer skillfully manipulating his or her diminutive alter-ego, and so the relevant expressions and emotions are visible on the live actor's face as well.  All are attractive and talented, causing one to want to follow them on stage, but just as much attention needs to be paid to the puppets, who are the actual characters.

Performing Princeton, Kevin Bush finds just the right tone to seem sympathetic, yet still a bit of an immature tool.  A subplot revolving around an ambiguous pair of roommates (think Bert and Ernie) features Bush as Rod, an uptight and closeted yuppie banker whose nose and eye design are as phallic as his name.  Rod's denial of his sexuality and feelings for his best friend become increasingly ludicrous, culminating in a stream-of-consciousness musical fabrication about an imaginary girlfriend, from Canada, named Alberta, who lives in... ummm... Vancouver.  The ever-youthful Bush could really have played either of these roles quite believably in a "normal" play; I do wish there were a bit more distinction in their voices, especially since between the two characters, he has at least 50% of the dialogue in the show.  Still, he's a great singer and a delight to see.

Katie Leitner as Princeton's love interest, Kate Monster, is equally appealing.  Looking back over my notes, I see at least half a dozen times where she duets with Bush or joins in a group number, and I have jotted down "beautiful harmony" or "incredible voice."  Her solo "Fine Fine Line" (a melancholy reflection on the difference between lovers and friends) could easily have been part of a "serious" musical, whereas most of the other songs replicate the sing-song style of a children's show.  With no way to really change the facial expression of the hand puppets, emotions must be conveyed by adjusting their posture or position; somehow Leitner expertly manages to depict Kate Monster as a sloppy drunk, with her hair falling into her face, and the moment is one of many comic highlights.  She also gets to create Lucy the Slut, who oozes mint-julep sultriness and temptation, with a rich deep voice an octave or so lower than Kate's.  Brien Hollingsworth also displays amazing diversity in his voice characterizations as four different characters, including Trekkie Monster (addicted to porn in lieu of cookies) and Nicky, who accepts BFF Rod's sexuality long before Rod acknowledges it.  Hollingsworth and Elisabeth Smith Baker perform Nicky together, and also appear as the Bad Idea Bears, Care Bear-like apparitions who suggest things like chugging Long Island Teas the night before an important day at work, or using funds sent from the 'rents to buy some beer, and it might as well be a case, since those are better bargains.  Baker probably does the best at recreating the perky, cartoonish voices one expects, and also helps to manipulate most of the other puppet characters when their principal portrayers are busy, e.g. she performs Lucy's movements when Leitner is performing Kate. Through some skillful choreography and misdirection, rarely can one ever tell that the principal actor is doing both voices, and this also means that Baker has to know not only her own characters' lines, but most of the rest of the script too, in order to move the puppet's mouth at the right moment, in synch with the right dialogue. The other three performers accomplish this as well, but Baker is perhaps the best at turning invisible on stage, this being that rarest of times when that's a good thing.  And did I mention that Princeton and Kate engage in some graphic puppet sex?  Well, as graphic as hand puppets who only exist from the waist up can get, but that's incredibly, and hilariously, graphic.

Just like Sesame Street, there are human characters too, similarly disillusioned 20-somethings, played by G. Scott Wild, Annie Kim, and Devin Anderson.  While these characters are never fully developed, the performers are excellent, and their voices blend beautifully with the rest of the cast.  Director Chad Henderson brings the customary style that I have come to expect from his shows:  everyone is completely believable in their characters, everything moves at a lively pace, and there's never a dull moment on stage, even in transitional moments and bridging scenes.  Musical Director Randy Moore capably leads four other musicians and never once drowns out the singers.  Danny Harrington's set is ostensibly a simplistic, child-like facade of an apartment row, but utilizes striking colors and odd angles (much like his recent set for Grease at Town Theatre) to make an attractive visual statement.  Performers frequently have to make rapid exits in time to appear as another character in an upstairs window, and I'm guessing the true extent of Harrington's design can only be appreciated from backstage, as everything seems to flow quite smoothly.   There's also a multi-media component, incorporating a tv-like screen that projects video clips (created by Aaron Johnson) and little visual lessons, in that same Sesame Street style.  The excellent puppet creations are by Lyon Hill (profiled in the cover story of the current issue of Jasper - The Word on Columbia Arts) and Karri Scollon, the result of a collaboration between Trustus and the Columbia Marionette Theatre.

Trustus of course is at a crossroads, with new leadership coming in, and the ever-present challenge to stay true to their mission (edgy shows from NY that might not be done elsewhere locally) while giving the audiences what they want (which by and large is light, frothy, silly musical comedies.)  Through some happy harmonic convergence, Avenue Q  manages to do both simultaneously.  The only caveats might be:  a) however adorable the puppets may be, and however appealing the performers, the humor and language is decidedly R-rated, so consider yourself forewarned, or titillated in advance, as the case may be; and  b) the score is quite catchy and eminently hummable, but no moreso (and no less) than any good Muppet Show song.  As above, coming-of-age stories are nothing new, and have been depicted musically as recently as March's Passing Strange, which was wildly popular among most artists, musicians and theatre folks I know. For me, however, Avenue Q  is the most entertaining production I've seen at Trustus in years, and certainly the best show I've seen locally since Victor/Victoria  at Workshop some 15 months ago.  Retelling  fundamental and timeless themes using a new, unexpected, yet also familiar story-telling technique is simply a stroke of genius, and you owe it to yourself to take a trip down to Avenue Q.

Avenue Q runs through Sat. July 21st; contact the Trustus box office at 803-254-9732 for ticket information.

~ August Krickel

(Photo credit - Bonnie Boiter-Jolley)

Arik Bjorn Reviews Cinderella at Columbia Children’s Theatre: Bippity-Boppity Buffoonery with a Spaghetti Twist

Somewhere in Columbia this evening, the minds of sleeping children are processing the uproarious phenomenon that is Columbia Children’s Theatre’s current Commedia dell'Arte production of Cinderella.  Until tonight, these innocents had never heard Olivia Newton-John sing “Xanadu.”  Never once had it occurred to them that a princess could be bippity-boppity-beautiful in a hot pink and floral poodle skirt and piggy slippers.  And they have no idea why their parents’ bellies burst with laughter over references to some guy named Dick Cheney and tapeworms, and at the unbridled performance of a white trash, uni-browed wicked stepmother, who makes Norma Desmond look like Mother Teresa. These flowers of our future returned to the comfort of their domiciles on Cinderella’s opening night with a renewed, perhaps refined, appreciation of clowning and fairy tales.  And when their cerebellums finally finish stripping away all the layers of buffoonery and silliness sometime in August, what will remain is the essential truth that beauty on the inside matters most.  That, and never be the last one caught holding a rubber chicken at the end of a Keystone Cops-style chase scene.

If you have never attended Columbia Children’s Theatre, your family is in for a real treat, one which begins well before the house lights are dimmed.  First, you will be doing society a great service by patronizing the only retail mall space in the world that has managed to redeem the boxed blandness of space usually reserved for Aeropostale and Banana Republic outlets.

Artistic Director Jerry Stevenson and Managing Director Jim Litzinger have built a children’s thespian wonderland on the second level of Richland Fashion Mall.  Children enter a lobby space filled with suits of armor, masks, and costumes, then are swiftly separated from their parents like wheat from chaff, the adults condemned to “grown-up chairs” while the tots are invited to dance to “Y.M.C.A.” and “The Hokey Pokey” on a brightly-checkered, padded floor space in front of the stage area.  Children eat popcorn and Skittles, adults sip Coke, and everyone has a relaxed sense that this is the kind of theatre that was designed in Willy Wonka’s world of forms.

As to the show itself, the above tidbits have prepared you for the fact that this is not your average Cinderella production.  The curtain rises (or, rather, is tossed off stage left), and the (Jiminy) crickets begin.  Literal crickets, actually, prompting a series of knowing chuckles from adults, and bewildered looks by children.  Then a comedic troupe with mock-Italian accents, presenting itself as the Spaghetti & Meatball Players, demolish the fourth wall, and begin banging into each other with parasols and hat racks.  From there, it’s a jet-fueled, jolly joker jaunt into humor hyperspace.  Eighty minutes later, adults and children alike are ready for giggling triage.

One cannot applaud enough the work of director Sam LaFrage, who, thankfully, has also provided a functional explanation of Commedia dell'Arte in the show program, for parents who mayfeel compelled to explain to their children why this production did not resemble Walt Disney’s familiar version.  (Actually, as a parent of a four-year-old daughter, I do recommend that parents explain there will be some differences in advance to their children.  My daughter Katherine loved the show, and cherished her onstage dance with actor Edward Precht, who plays the Prince and Meatballer Pantalone, yet she wanted a little reassurance afterwards that Cinderella’s castle estate in Orlando hadn’t been sacked and overrun by Italian clowns.)

As to the other Meatballers, Elizabeth Stepp brings enough pure energy to the stage to keep the Olympic flame alive until 2020.  Paul Lindley II and LaFrage (who moonlights as director and Meatballer) play gender-bending stepsisters of such pure, perfidious evil that I expected Macbeth’s Hecate to rise from the depths in the guise of Snooki.  LaFrage also brings down the house at one point as a ding-a-ling Chip Potts, lampooning the classic song “Beauty and the Beast.”  And Beth DeHart’s dual roles as roller skating fairy godmother and wicked stepmother Viola Scruffanickle quite nearly put one adult sitting near me into comic cardiac arrest.

Don’t just go to this show.  Go in droves.  Bring your neighbors.  Bring your friends.  Bring your worst enemies, and let the goofiness settle your long-term differences.  (For all that, consider the excellent weekday group rate that Columbia Children’s Theatre offers.  See website below for more details.)  But most importantly, bring your children.  Bring everyone’s children!  Then immediately afterward, have them call their grandparents and enjoy the pure thrill of watching them try to explain every strange and wonderful hilarity they have just experienced.

 ~ Arik Bjorn

Cinderella runs June 15-24, with performances at the following dates and time:  Friday, June 15 at 7 p.m.; Saturday, June 16 at 10:30 a.m. & 2 p.m.; Sunday, June 17 at 3 p.m.; Wednesday, June 20 at 10:30 a.m.; Thursday, June 21 at 10:30 a.m.; Friday, June 22 at 10:30 a.m., 1 p.m. & 7 p.m.; Saturday, June 23 at 10:30 a.m. & 2 p.m.; Sunday, June 24 at 3 p.m.; and a special Thursday, July 19 performance at 10:30 a.m.  Tickets are $8 for adults and children ages 3 and up.  The Columbia Children’s Theatre is located at the Second Level of Richland Mall, 3400 Forest Drive (corner of Beltline and Forest Drive).  Enter the Second Level parking garage walkway and park in Level 2-L for easy access.  Call 691.4548 for more information or to reserve tickets for groups of 10 or more.  To learn more about Columbia Children’s Theatre, visit http://columbiachildrenstheatre.com/ .