The Andrews Brothers

Exit 7 Players, Ludlow MA
www.exit7players.com
through Oct. 31, 2009
by Eric Johnson

What is so funny about guys in dresses? In this case, it seems to be these particular guys.

Robert Clark III, Joe Alvernaz, and Steven Sands are hysterical as Lawrence, Max and Patrick Andrews, three USO stage hands who find themselves caught without a headline act (you guessed it, the Andrews Sisters) and have to perform in their stead. There are plenty of belly laughs to be had in Act II as the boys cavort about the stage; Sands in particular has some hilarious scene-stealing moments.

Diane Lamoreaux is the perfect choice for pin-up girl/chanteuse Peggy Jones; her curvaceous physique and sultry voice fit the time period perfectly. It would be nice to see more depth to her character; perhaps it was just opening night jitters but against the bar set by the rest of the cast, her performance seemed somewhat flat.

Creator/author Roger Bean doesn't present anything truly original or fresh, as all of the music is culled from existing songs of the '40s and the story is fairly predictable, but that doesn't make it any less entertaining. The show is also refreshingly short for a musical -- about two hours.

The standout performance comes from the orchestra. Eight musicians (including music director/keyboardist Karla Newmark) create a big band sound that fills the room and gets toes tapping. The vocal performances by the cast are deftly executed with a generous amount of three-part harmony.

Pam Abair's direction creates a wonderful pace that keeps this show rolling along nicely. Kudos to choreographer Jenn Marshall for not going over the top; the movements never seem awkward or beyond the abilities of the actors. Likewise, the set design by Paul Hamel and Abair is just enough to complement the production without going too far.

The cast and crew are to be commended for a balanced and highly enjoyable performance. "The Andrews Brothers" delivers a night of great music, plenty of laughs and, oh yes, guys in dresses.

George M!

Exit 7 Players, Ludlow MA
through May 17, 2009
By Donna Bailey-Thompson

Some may speculate that George M. Cohan's obsessive determination to make it big on Broadway began while he was still in the womb. He was born into a vaudevillian family - father, mother, sister; while just a kid, he wrote routines for the family act. There were setbacks during his climb to the Great White Way, but his goal never wavered, nor did his ego.

Fast forward to 1984 when the love of theatre and no fear of hard work gave birth to a new community theater: today the Exit 7 Players celebrate 25 years of presenting productions of higher and higher calibre. This is where George M! and Exit 7 Players are the rubber that meets the road.

If it's possible for the departed to tune into a theatrical interpretation of his life, then George M. Cohan's ethereal self can extract pleasure from visiting this energetic production. For sure, his notorious ego is getting stroked. As performed by Del Caraway, Cohan's obsession with show business is evident throughout this musical that exacts demanding performances by everyone, from the leads through the chorus. The forgotten songs and the ones still appreciated today (all written by Cohan)- "Yankee Doodle Dandy," "Give My Regards to Broadway" - and the hypnotic tap dancing of a few or the full company, are reminders of Cohan's talent that drove him to greatness and inspires the dedicated cast and crew to put on a winning show. Bravo to Director Bob Sullivan-Neer.

Choreographer David Michael Bovat's innovative combinations have turned neophytes into authentic dancers; thanks to Musical Director Karla Newmark, every sung word is understood; Costume Coordinator and Seamstress Carolyn Samonds has created a calendar of fashion spanning 60 years; Stage Manager Sue Crowther keeps the backstage from becoming a logistical nightmare.

Cohan's friend William Collier said, "George is not the best actor or author or composer or dancer or playwright. But he can dance better than any author, compose better than any manager, and manage better than any playwright. And that makes him a very great man."

Similarly, Exit 7 Players is a fine community theatre that honors professional standards.

"Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf"

Exit 7 Players, Ludlow MA
through February 28, 2009
By Donna Bailey-Thompson

This outstanding production of "Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf" is a triumph worthy of an Off Broadway venue. Under the sensitive, vigorous direction of Marck Morrison, playwright Edward Albee’s masterpiece is as fresh and cogent today as when its debut rocked Broadway in 1962. Four accomplished actors give stellar performances – Claire Bertrand (Martha), Bob Laviolette (George), Jami Byrne Wilson (Honey), and Brian Dickey (Nick). There is not one false note during the play’s three hours. From the blaring opening scene through the final heart-wrenching moments, Ludlow’s Exit 7 Players present riveting first-rate theater.

A bare-bones, no-meat synopsis of the play: Martha and George are serious swillers of booze who have honed verbal abuse to an outrageous art form. After they arrive home from a faculty gathering, Martha informs George that she has invited a young teacher, Nick, and his wife, Honey, to stop by for a drink. Throughout the night into the dawn, emotional mayhem prevails. Scabrous exchanges substitute for polite conversation. Terrible psychological scars are semi-exposed that beg the question: truth or illusion? Regardless, there is "blood under the bridge."

Each actor skillfully balances the character’s facade with its underlying reality. George and Martha’s symbiotic relationship hovers at a parasitic level; both Laviolette and Bertrand through subtle body language convey within their mutual contempt a complicated, revengeful respect. Nick, the supposedly fair-haired young man is exposed as being as unscrupulous as his hosts. His fragile wife Honey’s slow motion progression from tipsy into alcoholic stupor is pantomimed virtuosity. Throughout all three acts, Morrison’s directorial skills have become the actors’ own. His respect for the audience’s need to absorb their insight into Martha and George’s convoluted natures is the gift of decompression – a protracted final scene of George putting the house to bed before he cradles Martha, his spent other.

Productions of this caliber demonstrate that the bottom line difference between a quality community theater and a regional or NYC venue is money: the pros are salaried, whereas the "amateurs" are dedicated volunteers. Those who lump all community theater into a slapdash hobby category will have their parochial opinions torpedoed by Exit 7's "...Virginia Woolf."

Be advised: for mature audiences only.

The Goodbye Girl

Exit 7 Players, Ludlow
through October 4, 2008
By Donna Bailey-Thompson

Say a huge hello to "The Goodbye Girl" a musical, that hits all the right notes – story, director, choreographer, cast – another outstanding Exit 7 Players production.

From the rousing opening number filled with expectations about moving from Manhattan to Los Angeles, the mood plummets when single mother Paula (Lea Oppedisano) discovers that Tony, her actor boyfriend, has dumped her in favor of a role in Spain. Her daughter Lucy, a precocious 10 (Emma Henderson), stoically accepts this latest downer. Paula vows, "No more!" and is determined to resume her career as a dancer. At a rehearsal studio with dancers who know the routine, she demonstrates she’s not only out of shape but rusty. The intricate number, "A Beat Behind," is cleverly choreographed by Todd Santa Maria.

In the middle of the night, a deadbolted door prevents a stranger, with a key, from entering the apartment. Elliot (Nate Luscombe) has bought out Tony’s lease. Paula dictates the house rules. Elliot, armed with the lease, pulls rank and imposes new rules. Wide-eyed Lucy misses nothing. Elliot is an actor who has been lured from Chicago to star in "Richard III" at a theater so far off Broadway, it’s off the sanity map. Its director, Mark (Jim Coulter) wants Elliot to play the king like a queen who wants to be king. That sequence brings down the house. Still to come is Act II.

Originally a movie written by Neil Simon, based upon the life of his then-wife Marsha Mason who played the title role, the musical version opened on Broadway in 1993. Simon’s craftsmanship endures but, thankfully, the wisecracks are minimized. The voices of Paula, Elliot, Lucy, and the landlady Mrs. Crosby (Christine Kasparian) have the Broadway-like zing of professional training.

This "Goodbye Girl" is edgy, at times hysterically outrageous, yet tender and sweet, especially the individual scenes Paula and Elliot have with Lucy: Emma Henderson is a little girl with big talent and the poise of an adult pro. She listens. This is a polished production – nine musicians, a stylish set design, and a crew with no wasted motions. Director Dan Derby, take a bow.

Les Miserables -Youth

Exit 7 Players, Ludlow
through August 17, 2008
August 8, 2009
By Donna Bailey-Thompson

The tension of social unrest – generations of injustice that led to France proclaiming a Second Republic – and the individuals caught up in its life-changing drama, are knocking the socks off audiences as performed at a professional level by dedicated amateur actors ranging in age from five to eighteen. In this abridged version of the blockbuster musical, "Les Miserables," the integrity of Victor Hugo’s classic novel is honored and in many respects intensified by the awe-inspiring performances of 47 young people.

Based upon the high quality of Exit 7 Players’ productions, the professionalism of their "Les Mis" should not be surprising, but, it is. To inspire such outstanding performances is a testament to Director/Choreographer Jenn Bauduccio’s skill and the cast’s trust in her guidance..

Exit 7's "Les Miserables" Special School Edition is an outstanding theatrical experience. As the dying Fantine, Monica Giordano’s solo is heartbreaking. Other emotional peaks are attained by Michelle Waslick, age 9 (Gavroche); Tray K. Sanders, age 13 (Enjalras); Sarah Banning, age 15 (Eponine) whose "On My Own" breaks more hearts. The amoral Thenardiers – Lisa Rizza, about to become a college freshman and Colby Herchel with three years acting experience – offer lively, humorous nastiness. Star-crossed lovers Cosette (Katie Stiefel) and Sam Plotkin (Marius, age 16) pour out their longing for one another.

The determination of Jean Valjean (Gavin Mackie, high school senior) to become an honest man and the doggedness of the sadistic law enforcer Javert (Michael Piels who enrolls in NYU this coming semester) to destroy Valjean, infuse their scenes, singly and together, with raw energy. Their duets stir and alarm. Musical Director Devon Louise Bakum has infected the young cast with a desire to excel. The songs are not easy to sing, yet the chorus and soloists deliver with ease and conviction. The costumers – Bauduccio, Mary Hernandez, Sherri Montagna, Lori Rodriguez, Cheryl Chant – incorporated authenticity into their creations. The imaginative minimal sets are the handiwork of master carpenters Paul Hamel and Tom Marshall Jr.

Unsung are the parents and families of the cast who juggled their other responsibilities to support their cast member’s ambitions. Before the auditions, Exit 7 spent years planning and negotiating. And now, Bravo!

A Little Night Music

Exit 7 Players, Ludlow, MA
Now through May 17, 2008
May 9, 2008
By Donna Bailey-Thompson

If the meanings within the song, "Send In The Clowns" have eluded you, the answers await within the musical now glowing at Exit 7 Players theater. At the core of this engrossing marriage of lyrics which along with the spoken word propel the plot forward, is love that reveals its link with the four basic emotions: mad, glad, sad, and afraid.

"A Little Night Music" bursts open with a Greek-like chorus of five superb singers: Harrison King III, Mary Annarella, Michelle Liaszenik, Katie Clark (who knows how to sell a song) and at the performance I saw, Director Robert Laviolette filled in for laryngitis-silenced Ken Hebert. They deliver Stephen Sondheim’s intricate lyrics and music at a steady clip – the Sondheim signature: do not to fret if there’s not time to catch every word.

A plot synopsis can only hint at the rampant hanky-panky, the desperate longings, the pain of betrayals. An aging attorney, Fredrik (winningly portrayed by Phil Prather) has wed Anne, a mere girl (the delightful Stephanie Devine). His former lover, Desiree (Roxanne Labato, a polished pro), is a worldly courtesan, and her current amour Count Carl-Magnus (forceful Andy Banas) is jealous and his wife Countess Charlotte (Mary Fernandez-Sierra who almost steals the show) grows a spine, sort of. When she describes her pain as a betrayed wife in, "Every Day A Little Death," the destructive power of adultery is laid bare. Featured in the large cast is the young love-starved seminarian Henrik (an endearing Michael Holt), perky Petra (Jami Wilson), winsome Fredrika (Sara Banning) and her weary grandmother Madame Armfeldt (Esta Busi). Zack Parizo, Aileen Terzi, Sarah Dion and Marc Parsons perform their supporting roles with imbedded characterization.

Act One ends with all liaisons poised to implode during Act Two – a weekend in the country at Madame Armfeldt’s palatial mansion (designed and painted by Ken Samonds). Costumer Maryann Scognamiglio has created a symphony of beautiful, lush costumes. that reflect early 1900 styles.

Kudos to Director Robert Laviolette and Musical Director Bill Martin for bringing in an intricate, tricky, first-rate show in keeping with the Exit 7 Players commitment to present quality performances. Their "A Little Night Music" is a community theater triumph.

All My Sons

Exit 7 Players, Ludlow
Weekends through February 16, 2008
By Donna Bailey-Thompson

This play is worth seeing.

At the end of the first act, there was silence. No applause. No one moved. For two reasons: the audience had become riveted by a masterfully-written story performed by a fine cast and the house lights had not brightened enough to signal that intermission had arrived.

Exit 7 Players have bestowed upon Arthur Miller’s emotionally-stirring, "All My Sons" the highest honor: respect for the material and for the craft itself. Noted for their upbeat productions of such musicals as "Gypsy," "Sweet Charity" and "Cabaret," presenting this particular drama now is as timely as it was when it opened on Broadway in 1947. There’s not an old bone in its body because "All My Sons" is about timeless concerns – family and business, love and ethics, courage and cowardice – huge subjects that beset ordinary people.

Director Jennifer Curran has stated, "This is the story I needed to tell. What we can choose to ignore, what we can and cannot live with and what we cannot forgive." Her emotional connection with the script is reflected in the performances, especially those of Kate Keller (Jennifer Bauduccio), Joe Keller (Fred Piel), Chris Keller (Charles Holt) and George Deever (Dan Derby). The conflicted Kellers and the accusatory Deever are superb. Special kudos go to Bauduccio who stepped into a demanding role less than two weeks before the opening. As Anne Deever, Lea D. Oppedisano plays an establishment daughter, a far cry from her most recent Exit 7 Players role as Charity Hope Valentine in "Sweet Charity."

Once again, Paul Hamel (Set Designer/Technical Director/Set Construction) has fashioned a set that complements the play’s theme, especially as represented by family and business: the Keller’s house dominates the stage but visible across the road is the factory.

There are strong similarities between "All My Sons" and Miller’s play "A Death of a Salesman." But to paraphrase a line from "Salesman," more attention must be paid to "All My Sons" because, to paraphrase a cosmetic’s advertising pitch, it’s worth it.

"Christmastime is Here"

Exit 7 Players, Ludlow
Weekends through December 15
By Donna Bailey-Thompson

If you want to be entertained and charmed, check out the Exit 7 Players’ "Christmastime Is Here," an original musical production that rediscovers the enchantment and humor within this hectic season.

For a cast that ranges in age from seven to decades more, the premise is ideal: dress rehearsal of a Christmas musical review. Their director is harried but everyone else is relaxed, upbeat. The first non-catastrophe is the unfinished painting of a cut-out horse (for drawing the sleigh) which the sleigh’s passengers take turns pushing and pulling, all the while singing, of course, "Sleighride." The power of a well-paced performance is off to the races.

There are 22 acts, all done well and some are outstanding. Such as a condensed version of "The Nutcracker" performed to Tchaikovsky’s music by the children’s ensemble and a few key adults (the Nutcracker, the Sugar Plum Fairy). The choreography (Aileen Merino Terzi and Amy Szczepaniuk Meek) is pleasing and appropriate for the fledgling corps de ballet. Mice, the Nutcracker’s army, The Russian Dance, The Chinese Dance (super delightful), and a dazzling Christmas tree – and that was only the third act.

Mini bursts of levity included a running gag (sometimes literally) of a cast member’s determination to sandwich in her rendition of "The Twelve Days of Christmas" in spite of the director’s objection; pantomimes of Guy vs. Tangled Lights while Gal Wrestles with Wrapping; and of two last-minute, desperate shoppers squabbling over a piece of clothing which they render into pieces.

In this spirited, gentle, amusing, wholesome musical, the commercialization of Christmas is banished. Instead simplified pleasures prevail, including the readings and recitations of Christmas classics and a letter from Iraq, a living Nativity scene, even a Carol sing and a rafter-rockin’ "Rockin’ Around The Christmas Tree."

The Exit 7 Players’ Christmas show generates good cheer. Kudos to the writers and creators of "Christmastime Is Here" – Rebecca Sullivan, Robert Sullivan-Neer, Amanda Davis and Andy White; and to Director Amanda Davis; Musical Director Bonni Drumheller; Technical Director and Master Carpenter Paul Hamel; Calvin Anderson’s Lighting Design.

And bravo to the talented, enthusiastic cast, all 39 of them – the Adult Ensemble (16) and the Children’s Ensemble (23).

Next: Arthur Miller’s "All My Sons" in February 2008