26. April 2010 by admin.

KEEPING SECRETS:  SPEECH & DEBATE

F. J. Hartland

Three high school misfits are drawn together by two unrelated events.  One, the mayor of their town is embroiled in an on-line sex scandal involving underage boys.  Two, their high school is forming a speech and debate team.

This is the basis for Speech & Debate, the current offering at Bricolage Theatre.Each of the students is harboring dark secrets that draw them together into an uneasy bond.

There’s Diwata (Laura Melchiorre),the star-struck girl who can’t get cast in any role larger than walk-on; Howie (Paul Victor), an out-and-proud senior who is new to the school; and Solomon (Matt Henderson), the ultimate high school geek who dreams of becoming a journalist.  The one adult in the cast is Gayle Pazerski, who is saddled with playing two characters (a teacher and a journalist) whose only function is to make the plot happen.  But Pazerski does an admirable job creating two distinct characters.

Director Jeffrey Carpenter has assembled a wonderful cast of young performers.

Melchiorre is delightfully funny as Diwata.  She is loud, brash and really endears herself to the audience.  Victor plays Howie with loads of sass and attitude.  But it will be Henderson who breaks your heart as a teen caught up in a situation that overwhelms him.  Together the three create an ensemble that is sometimes humorous…sometimes charming…sometimes painfully honest. 

(From what I can tell, the emotions and problems of high school students haven’t changed much in the thirty—er, I mean, twenty—years since I was that age.  Only the technology has changed!)

Carpenter has kept the production moving at an excellent pace and has gotten top-notch performances from his youthful actors.

The script by Stephen Karam has an interesting and timely premise as well as fascinating framework, but it is about ten minutes too long.Jesse Connor’s set captures the feel of a school room—but quickly changes into over locales.  It seems that sometimes it’s the costumes changes—and not the set—that results in some extended black-outs between scenes.

But overall, it is an excellent production in keeping with Bricolage’s high standards.  Kudos to Carpenter and his bright, young cast!

For anyone who ever felt outcast in high school (and quite frankly, who didn’t?) see Speech & Debate.

Speech & Debate runs through May 8. 

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24. April 2010 by admin.

PAST, PRESENT AND FUTURE: TIME OF MY LIFE

F. J. Hartland

The Public Theatre’s newest production Time of My Life plays fast and loose with that very subject—time.

And while  British playwright Alan Ayckbourn’s play is a comedy, a better word for it would be “bittersweet.”

Set in an Italian restaurant, the play begins at a party.  The Stratton family has gathered to celebrate the birthday of it’s matriarch, the shrewish Laura (Ann McDonough).  There is her long-suffering husband Gerry (Paxton Whitehead), her son Glyn (Tim McGeever), his wife Stephanie (Leah Curney), another son Adam (Jeffrey Withers) and his fiancée Maureen (Sarah Manton).

As the play progresses, we move forward in time to see the future of Glyn and Stephanie and also go back to see the past of Adam and Maureen.

It’s a fascinating device…I’m just not sure why it’s there.

McDonough is delightfully bitchy as the mother who adores one son—all while despising the other.  She has opinions about everything—and everyone.  And she’s not shy about expressing any of them.

Whitehead is wonderful as the long-suffering patriarch.  He plays his voice like a musical instrument, creating sonorous tones—all while capturing a dry sense of wit.  I would l listen to him read the Pittsburgh telephone directory!

The sons—and their respective mates—do an excellent job of creating seamless transformations, becoming the people they were—or will be.  McGeever has captured a veritable “Prince Charles” persona…and Curney offers up some real surprises in completing the arc of her character.

Stealing the show is the engaging Tom Beckett, who plays ALL the restaurant personnel.  From owner Ernesto Calvinu to the entire wait staff, Beckett’s changes are so complete that you will be constantly checking your program to make sure it is indeed the same actor!

Director John Tillinger, renowned for his work on Ayckbourn plays, does what he can to keep the plays moving…but it is a play about people who sit in a restaurant and talk.  Act Two moves at a much better pace than Act One—which has a great deal of exposition.

The set by James Noone is detailed and attractive.  The incidental music by Scott Killian sounds more apropos for a restaurant featuring cuisine from New Delhi and not Florence.

The play offers some good laughs as well as a disturbing look into the soul of a dysfunctional family.  It also makes us question of we know when we are truly having “the of our lives.”

Time of My Life continues at the O’Reilly Theatre through May 16.

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7. April 2010 by admin.

THE TIES THAT BIND…AND STRANGLE

F. J. Hartland

Meet the Westons…the warmest, fuzziest family since the Walton clan took twenty minutes to tell each other “good night.”

NOT!

In August: Osage County playwright Tracy Letts gives us a family so full of vitriol that you’ll find yourself saying, “Hey, my family doesn’t seem so bad…”

Alcoholic patriarch Beverly Weston (John DeVries) has gone missing.  His pill-popping wife Violet (Oscar-winner Estelle Parsons) along with their three daughters (and other family members) have gathered at the family home.  Before it’s all over, toxic secrets are revealed, relationships are shattered and lives crumble.

And did I mention it’s a comedy?

It’s NOT a comedy in the witty, urbane Noel Coward genre.  But it’s a dark comedy with blistering dialogue that makes you laugh out loud…and then wonder “why am I laughing at this?”  You laugh—even though you think you shouldn’t.  It’s like trying to avert your eyes from an automobile accident.

August: Osage County is not for the faint of heart.  There’s vulgarity, sexual situations, drug use and a slew of colloquialisms for female genitalia.  But be brave–it’s worth it.

The cast is nothing short of brilliant.  Each performance is nuance and memorable.

Estelle Parson is a national treasure.  She spews her lines, lashing out hatred and truth…that is, when her character isn’t so hopped up on a cornucopia of pharmaceuticals that her words are garbled and unintelligible.  She commands the stage and navigates the three-story set with ease.  It is an amazing performance that makes you laugh and cry.

In a production full of showy roles, Paul Vincent O’Connor stands out as Uncle Charlie.  His quiet, understated portrayal shows what power and strength there is in gentleness.

As daughter Barbara, Shannon Cochran captures both the wit and the physical comedy of her role as a woman tortured by her failing relationship with her mother, her failing relationship with her husband and her failing relationship with her daughter.  In a cast of powerful characterizations, Cochran is a stand-out.

The Benedum was experiencing sound problems with its amplification system on opening night.  Hopefully, that problem will soon be solved.

August; Osage County is a huge show (3 ½ hours) with a huge cast (13) on a huge set (three stories high)…and it would be a HUGE shame if you miss this very powerful, very funny show!

August: Osage County continues through April 11.

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