16. March 2011 by admin.

FLYING YOUR FREAK FLAG

F. J. Hartland

First, it was a book.  Then it was an animated film.  Now it’s a musical.

It’s Shrek, the Musical now playing through March 20 at the Benedum Center.

Technical glitches stopped the show on opening night even before the first number was over.  It was a long wait as the problem was solved.  Kudos to the three performers (Carrie Compere, Danielle Soibelman and Brian Gonzales) who returned to the stage and re-sang “Bright Beautiful World” and recaptured the audience’s interest and enthusiasm!

Shrek covers the same material as Beauty and the Beast and The Hunchback of Notre Dame.  All that “beauty is just skin deep” and “real beauty is on the inside” and “love conquers all” stuff.

Directed by Jason Moore and Rob Ashford, Shrek, the Musical will entertain youngsters—but has enough “hidden material” to keep adults amused as well.

Eric Peterson plays the green ogre Shrek with so much charm that you will love him even when he’s mean and grumpy.  He moves the audience with such songs as “When Words Fail” and “Build a Wall.”  Peterson is a performer who really knows how to engage an audience!

As the villainous Lord Farquaad David F. M. Vaughn is hysterically funny. Visually, he’ll make you laugh even before he opens his mouth!

Alan M. Mingo, Jr. has the daunting task of playing the Donkey (made famous in the movie by Eddie Murphy).  While he gives it his best, after a while he becomes very grating.

My favorite performance was Haven Burton as Princess Fiona. Bright and engaging, Burton sings beautifully and makes the most of all the humor.  She is far more layered than any of the fairy tale princesses Disney has given us in the past.  I was especially taken by her number “I Know It’s Today.”

The use of puppetry in the show is nothing short of amazing.  There’s a huge flying dragon, a mouthy gingerbread man and scampering rates just to name a few memorable moments.

One element of Shrek, the Musical that theatre aficionados will enjoy is the send-ups of other popular Broadway musicals as Dreamgirls, Les Miserables, Lion King and Wicked.

The set and costumes by Tony Award-winner Tim Hatley are colorful and amazing.  The show is filled with all kinds of special effects and, overall,  is a delight to the eye!

While the plot is too thin to justify the running time, Shrek, the Musical ends with a rousing curtain call.  It’s an energetic rendition of “I’m a Believer” that keeps the audience clapping and singing along

.CHILD ALERT:  Shrek, the Musical is popular family entertainment and there were a number of children in the opening night audience.  The vast majority of the children were well-behaved, and I salute their parents.  However, the little girl behind me spent all of Act One kicking the back of seat, wheezing bronchitis germs on my neck, putting her fingers in my hair and vomiting into a bag (I kid you not).  If your children are sick, keep them home please.  Exchange your tickets for another night, I beg you.  A sick child will not enjoy the experience…nor will those audiences members seated near you!

Shrek, the Musical runs through March 20. 

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14. March 2011 by admin.

BE TRANSFORMED

F. J. Hartland

Five individuals have their lives changed forever through a creative dramatics class in Annie Baker’s Circle Mirror Transformation, now playing at the Pittsburgh Public Theatre.

Set at a dance studio in the small town of Shirley, Vermont, the new class is taught by Marty (Bridget Connors).  Her pupils are her husband James (John Shepherd), an angst-ridden teen Lauren (Lauren Blumenfeld), a New York City transplant Theresa (Daina Michelle Griffith) and the recently divorced Schultz (Daniel Krell).

Playwright Baker brilliantly uses theatre “games” to reveal the complex internal lives of these five people.  The purpose of the games is to bring them together as a cohesive unit; and they do—to a point.

At first, it is difficult getting accustomed to the long silences and continuous blackouts in Circle Mirror Transformation, but once you do, the play is a most engaging 80 minutes (without intermission).  There is humor; there is pathos.  And a wonderful ending twist!

Director Jesse Berger has assembled a very strong cast, and each has the opportunity to shine.

Griffith is full of life (and sexuality) as the former actress.  Connors does an excellent job of capturing the persona an encouraging acting teacher. 

Beautifully capturing the vulnerability and desperateness of a lonely man, Krell will break your heart.  Shepherd excellently portrays the anguish of a father struggling to reconnect with his estranged daughter…all while suffering from his own mid-life crisis.

But it is Bluemnfeld who steals the show with her performance a teen struggling between her unhappy home life and her personal dreams of glory.  Of all the characters who are “transformed” through the course of the play, hers is the longest arc.

The set by David M. Barber is stunning with its hard-wood floor and dance mirrors.  But is somewhat over-designed.  Much of it is left unused and is nothing more than window dressing.  It also creates some lengthy blackouts when the actors have to walk all the way downstage to pick up their personal belongings, then all the way upstage to leave through the only exit.

That being said, Circle Mirror Transformation is a very interesting and entertaining play with a superb cast…and that makes it well-worth seeing!

Circle Mirror Transformation continues through April 3.

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6. March 2011 by admin.

And the world goes boom

F. J. Hartland

When a young marine biologist is convinced the world is ending, he does what he has to do to save the human race.  He stockpiles supplies in a bomb shelter.  Now all he needs is a woman to help him re-populate the earth.

So he does what any modern man does who’s in need of companionship—he places an ad on craigslist.

This is the basis for boom by Peter Sinn Nachtrieb, the currently production at Off The Wall Productions in Washington PA.The twist in boom is that unbeknownst to the young man and woman, they actions are being watched and controlled by Barbara, a kind of narrator. 

 It’s a wild and wacky script—full of laughs, but also leaves you thinking.

Off The Wall stays true to form by finding thought-provoking plays and giving them top-rate productions.

Rachel Downie gives one of her most memorable and perhaps best) performances as Barbara.  As a woman on the verge of a breakdown, Downie totally engages the audience on a roller coaster ride with her maniacal over-the-top portrayal…and she plays a mean timpani, too.

Matt Henderson, who has cornered the market on playing geeks, plays the penultimate science nerd Jules.  Having lost his own family in a variety of bizarre consequences, Jules is desperate to start his own family—despite the fact he’s gay.  Henderson is hysterically funny—especially when he imitates Jo

.As Jo, the woman who answers an ad for sex and ends up trapped in a bomb shelter, is the talented Lauren Michaels.  Michaels handles both the witty dialogue and the physical humor with finesse.  She and Henderson have excellent chemistry and play off each other very well.

Under the direction of Michael E. Moats, the production is fast-paced and packed with laughs.  He gets the most out of his highly talented trio of actors.

Paul A. Shaw has created a very realistic and gritty underground bomb shelter.  Boxes are piled floor to ceiling, the concrete walls are stained with water seepage and there’s a real fish tank (with real fish!).  Shaw always does an amazing job finding creative ways to transform the small Off The Wall stage into any location.Boom runs at less-than-ninety intermission-less minutes. 

And you’ll laugh for almost eighty of them!

The adult comedy runs through March 19.  Don’t miss it! 

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