31. October 2009 by admin.

BRICOLAGE SCORES WITH NEIGHBORHOOD 3

F. J. Hartland

Pampered suburban teens become addicted to a video game and soon the line between reality and the game is erased.  What is real?  What is the game?  Who knows?

This is the premise behind Neighborhood 3: Requisition of Doom by Jennifer Haley presented by the Bricolage Production Company.Neighborhood 3 creates the ultimate kind of fear…something horrifying in what is supposed to be a safe, quiet environment.  Most chilling is the fact that the monsters here look just like us.  Maybe we are the monsters.

Best of all, you do not need to be a “gaming” expert to understand it—and I’m proof of that!

Directed by Matt M. Morrow, Neighborhood 3 has to be one of the finest productions in Pittsburgh this year.  The pacing is swift and deliberate.

He is aided by a brilliant cast consisting of Jacqui Farkas (who plays all the daughters in this suburban enclave), Bjorn Ahlstedt (who plays all the sons), Tony Bingham (as all the fathers), and Tami Dixon (all the mothers). 

Not only does this amazingly talented ensemble has the task of playing a variety of characters, they also must delineate between when the character is really the character and when the character is an “avatar” (the matching character in the game),

While each new character has a different costume, these changes are minimal; it is up to each actor to use vocal and physical alterations to achieve the effect.  And these four performers meet the demands handily.

Ahlstedt and Farkas capture the naiveté of some the teen-agers and the belligerence of others.  Dixon and Bingham paints parents who are confused, angry, frustrated and sometimes compassionate.

Haley has also peppered her script with a great deal of humor.  Both Dixon and Bingham score big laughs when playing uptight parents.

There is a fifth character who is heard but never seen.  Randy Kovitz provides the voice of the “Walkthrough”—the disembodied narrator who walks the players of Neighborhood 3 through the game.

The set by Stephanie Mayer-Staley is a textbook example of what a set should do.  Not only does it create the feel of a suburban cul-de-sac with its cookie-cutter houses, but this set also manages to capture the essence of the video game.  We see the parallel worlds, the wormholes, the mirror images.  Its stark palate also makes a powerful statement about the world of Neighborhood 3.

Lighting by Niki Ellis is effective, but I did notice some dark spots during early scenes which left actors faces difficult to see.

And let’s not forget the new seating at Bricolage—which is much more comfortable and can accommodate the widest of behinds (i.e. mine!)

With superb direction, powerful performances and a stunning set, you do not want miss to Neighborhood 3: Requisition of Doom!

Neighborhood 3: Requisition of Doom runs through November 28.  Learn more at wwwwebbricolage.org.

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25. October 2009 by admin.

CITY TACKLES CLASSIC

By F. J. Hartland

     There used to be an old radio show called The Shadow.  (I am far too young to remember this.  Someone older—and wiser—must have told me about it.  Was it Ted Hoover?)  Anyway, at the beginning of The Shadow, the announcer would ask the question…”What evil lurks in the hearts of men?”

     In his novella The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, Robert Louis Stevenson ponders the same question….long before the invention of radio.  Goodly physician Dr. Henry Jekyll concocts a potion that releases his dark underside—the evil Mr. Hyde.  Of course, he can’t keep this split-personality act for long; especially when Mr. Hyde begins to wreck horror all over London.

     City Theatre brings a new version of this classic.  Written by Jeffrey Hatcher and directed by Tracy Brigden, this new Jekyll and Hyde features a ponderous first act.  Things do pick up in Act Two—but by then it’s a little late.Much of the story is told in narrative with the actors addressing the audience through letters, diaries, and newspaper accounts.  Sometimes they are accompanied by a “dumb show” where we see—but do not hear—the tale.  These are certainly the most effective.  After all, we’d rather see something than just be told about it. Also, there are numerous set changes.  While the crew moves quickly, it breaks the show up into too many tiny pieces.

      The actual scenes in Jekyll and Hyde are not helped by Brigden’s static direction.  Her stage pictures consist of actors in a row, talking.  It is not until Act Two when she begins to apply diagonals in her blocking, and it is a welcomed change.

      The cast of the show does an admirable job.  David Whalen is the only actor who plays just one role—Dr. Henry Hyde.  The rest of the cast—Melinda Helfrich, Dan Krell, Kelly Boulware, Martin Giles and Sheila McKenna play a variety of roles.  With the exception of Helfrich, they also all take turns playing Hyde (but the job primarily goes to Boulware—who creates a menacing villain).  Having so many Hydes is an interesting concept; at times, a confusing one.  Additionally, the whole cast is not equally sharp in drawing the distinct characters.

     The physical look of the show is wildly reminiscent of the original production of the musical Sweeney Todd (another bit of history that I might have learned from Mr. Hoover).  Tony Ferrari has the duty of designing a set that requires numerous locations, and he does have some interesting tricks in his bad.  (For example a variety of unusual lights are lowered from the fly space to establish Dr. Jekyll’s laboratory).  Much of the set is rarely used (like the stunning spiral staircase on stage left)—and that’s a shame.  Christian DeAngelis’ lighting design incorporates long shadows, giving the production a film noir look.  Costumes by Susan Tsu look Victorian enough—but could use more color (especially the for the men), and some don’t fit correctly.  (Could someone please hem the pants Sheila McKenna wears when she plays Jekyll’s butler Poole?)

     I am usually a big fan of playwright Jeffrey Hatcher’s work.  But this (like Ella currently running at the Public) is certainly not his finest moment.  At least in Ella he is covering new ground.

    Jekyll and Hyde continues through November 8.  For information, visit www.citytheatrecompany.org.

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11. October 2009 by admin.

AGNES OF GOD—WORTH THE TRIP!

Once again, Off The Wall Theatre in Washington PA creates a performance that is worth the trip from Pittsburgh!

This time it’s John Pielmeier’s drama AGNES OF GOD.

A dead baby has been found in the wastebasket of young, pious Sister Agnes (Erica Cuenca).  A court appointed psychiatrist Dr. Martha Livingston (Virginia Wall Gruenert) has been assigned to judge her competency.  As the doctor tries to uncover what really happened during the night in question, she encounters a brick wall in the form of the Mother Superior (Ingrid Sonnichsen).

The beauty of AGNES OF GOD is that—not only does it offer three strong roles for women—it raises all sorts of questions about religion, faith and  psychiatry without ever taking sides.  And in the end, it is up to the audience to ponder the answers.  Like Doubt, another play about religion and faith, Agnes of God will keep you thinking (and talking) about the play long after the curtain has rung down.

Sonnichsen gives a delightful performance.  Her Mother Superior is feisty and tough-as-nails, but also has compassion and a sense of humor.

As Dr. Livingston, Gruenert, too, has a strong edge—yet shows her soft side when she deals with Sister Agnes.  There’s an old saying about “scratch a cynic and find a romantic,” and Gruenert manages to embody that old adage to perfection.

At the center of this play is, of course, Sister Agnes.  Cuenca gives a remarkable performance.  It is a complex role, and this young actress manages to find all the layers.  One never knows if she is an innocent child, a mad woman who hears voices and has visions, a murderer or a saint.  Cuenca embodies all of it—and gets the chance to display a beautiful singing voice as well!

Director Maggie Balsley has kept the pace of the play moving swiftly—eliminating the intermission and no blackouts for set changes.  It pays off as we are rewarded with a powerful ninety minutes of drama and three star-turn performances.

Paul A. Shaw’s set is beautiful and manages to make the tiny stage at Off The Wall look much, much bigger than it truly is.  With its beautiful hard wood floor to the rough hewn beams framing the stucco walls, is magnificently detailed and—best of all— assists in the flow of the performance.  Lighting by Brant Garda has a warm, candle-lit glow and (like the play itself) gives us a world of light and shadow.

The only disappointment in the evening was the poor attendance. 

Off The Wall has established a strong track record of strong professional productions with powerful performances.  AGNES OF GOD is no exception.  Their beautiful and intimate theatre space deserves to be filled. The productions there rival anything at any other professional theatre in Pittsburgh.

So take a drive to Washington, enjoy the beautiful fall foliage as well as a spectacular show.  You’ll be glad you did.

See AGNES OF GOD.

AGNES OF GOD runs through October 17.  Call PROArts for tickets

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9. October 2009 by admin.

ELLA—GREAT MUSIC, SO-SO THEATRE

F. J. Hartland

Currently, there’s a powerhouse appearing at the Pittsburgh Public Theatre.  The name of this human dynamo is Tina Fabrique, and her electric performance as singing legend Ella Fitzgerald blows the roof off the O’Reilly Theatre.

Backed by four extraordinary musicians (George Caldwell, Ron Haynes, Rodney Harper and Clifton Kellem), Fabrique mesmerizes audiences with 23 standards, ranging from Cole Porter to Irving Berlin to Hoagy Carmichael to the Gershwins.The music is the part of ELLA worth seeing.

As a revue, it is wonderful.  But with its contrived plot and insipid dialogue, it’s not theatre.

Shame on Jeffrey Hatcher for writing such a bad book.  He is one of my favorite playwrights, but this was a real disappointment.  All the plot is squeezed into Act One, and Act Two is like seeing a revue.  Fabrique does her best with the material—but with a performance like hers, she deserves much, much better.

While the musicians are great…actors they are not.  Although Haynes does do an exception impersonation of Louis Armstrong.  Harold Dixon plays Ella’s one-dimensional cardboard manager Harold Dixon.

Michael Schweikardt’s set is simple and yet breathtakingly beautiful.  From the curved archway to the circular arrangements of platforms, the set lends a real grace and beauty to the show.  Schweikardt gets a great deal of help making that magic from lighting designer John Lasiter.  Together, they have created a stunning world for ELLA to happen.

So my advice would be to skip the weak story and focus to this amazing group of musicians!

But see it for Fabrique.  Whether she is singing “Night and Day,” “The Nearness of You” or “That Old Black Magic,” she is nothing less than spectacular.  The Thursday night crowd agreed, giving her a well-deserved standing ovation.

I’m sure there will be one every night…

ELLA continues through November 1.  For tickets, call 412-316-1600

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