Arcadia

New Century Theatre, Northampton, MA
www.newcenturytheatre.org
through August 8, 2009

by Donna Bailey-Thompson

Tom Stoppard's "Arcadia" is an example of masterful playwrighting, "...perhaps the greatest play of its time," according to Johann Hari's recent review in London's The Independent. Its construction - back and forth between 1809 and 1989, in the same stunning room, handling the same artifacts, carrying forward the brilliant hypotheses that tripped off the tongue of a 13-year-old girl almost a century before -- challenged the dexterity and layered nimbleness of Stoppard's talent. Stoppard won.

Director Sam Rush imbues the baker's dozen cast with a sense of purpose: they know their stuff and how to flaunt it. In a major role as the precocious Thomasina, young Shelby Leshine beguiles. As her tutor, Septimus Hodge, David Mason's shaded performance reveals the dedicated teacher, the opportunistic seducer, and a deft bamboozler. Cate Damon as the starchy historian, Hannah, deftly deflects the pompous Bernard Nightingale (Keith Langsdale, a scene-stealer whose enthusiasm amazes). Paul Melendy (Valentine Coverly) is a likeable smartypants, modulated in 1809, nerdy in 1989.

The timeless beauty of the setting soothes. Jacquelyn Marolt's design borrows its graceful curved walls from the Greek; the open circle mimics the play's circumlocution. Grounding the free-flowing action is a parquet floor of mellow woods, a large ten-sided mahogany table where yesteryear's tutor and pupil pursue learning, and where modern academic sleuths explore what really happened within this English country home.

What a labyrinth of theorems dominate conversations, sometimes fleetingly - chaos, algorithms, physics - as well as philosophical discussions; i.e., English literature, landscaping, love, death. No wonder that of all the perplexed remarks overheard at intermission, this one captured the essence: "I can't keep up: my head is spinning!" The easiest remedy is to stop trying to understand every line. Instead, let the flavors of the play - its moments of lightheartedness, perplexity, glee, repudiation, tolerance, intellectual stimulation, and so much more - lumber not like stone weights but dance like sugar plums in your head. Another solution is to neutralize any confusion by seeing "Arcadia" again.

The Clean House

New Century Theatre, Northampton, MA
www.newcenturytheatre.org
through July 25, 2009
by Donna Bailey-Thompson

Five years and 60 miles away, "The Clean House" was premiered at Yale Repertory Theatre. As staged by New Century Theatre and directed by Ed Golden, this Pulitzer Prize finalist has been worth the wait.

Between the beginning monologue (an obviously sexy joke told in Portuguese augmented with gyrating pelvic body language) and the ending which is another beginning (the circle of life being what it is), a polished cast grabbed Friday night's audience's attention and took its funny bones on a ride studded with sensitive surprises.

Matilde (played con mucho gusto by Alyssa Polascek) is an updated Carmen Miranda whose wiggles, smiles, and transparent honesty sustains the quest for the perfect joke. She is hired as a live-in housekeeper for Lane, a medical doctor, whose exterior self-assurance masks her interior self-doubts. As the regal Lane, Lisa Abend gets it. By Lane's standard, her younger sister, Virginia (the incomparable Cate Damon) is an underachiever: Virginia is a clean freak who measures her worth by how efficiently she misplaces dust and brings order out of household clutter. As Virginia, Damon's Pollyanna reveries that slide into violent musings, her mincing, subservient little girl steps, her explosive release, all contribute to fleshing out a multi-dimensional character. And, her deadpans are side-splitting.

The heart of Lane's surgeon husband, Charles (Sam Rush) is pierced by Cupid's bashert-dipped arrow when meeting the exotic Ana (Donna Sorbello whose cancer patient portrayal is to die for). Rush's Charles pantomimes with pitch-perfect sang-froid - when slogging through deep snow; and when operating to save his beloved Ana, his hands with scalpel, needle and thread, perform an aerial ballet.

Jacquelyn Marolt's all white set design reflects the play's hospital connection. Similarly, Emily Justice Dunn's costume design mirrors the actors' characters. Daniel D. Rist's lighting design literally heightens the action.

According to the playwright, the play takes place in "A metaphysical Connecticut. Or, a house that is not far from the city and not far from the sea." This endearing contemporary play also takes place within the heart.

Other People's Money

New Century Theatre, Northampton, MA

www.newcenturytheatre.org

through July 11, 2009

by K.J. Rogowski

In an age of hostile take-overs, rampant bankruptcies, and a cornucopia of corporate bail-outs, New Century Theatre's production of "Other People's Money" is timely, relevant, and a good evening's entertainment investment. It's an all too common tale of a sleepy, yet money rich, little company, New England Wire & Cable, that suddenly finds itself 'in play,' and the target of Larry the Liquidator, whose credo echoes that of another Wall Street high roller: "Greed is Good!"

Keith Langsdale's staging at the beginning of this tale of cold economics vs personal pride and commitment is inventive, impactful, and sets the stage for this funny and very human clash of cultures and ethics. On the "personal pride and commitment" side of the scales are solid performances from Manfred Melcher, Jean Devereau Koester, and Dick Volker as the hands-on managers and stakeholders in their 73 year old company. On the "greed is good" side are Marianna Bassham and Ed Jewett (Larry), who both ultimately use the world as their personal oyster bed with a guaranteed pearl in every one. Speaking of pearls…of special note is Jewett's performance as Lawrence Garfinkle. One moment he's striding the stage, bellowing the blessings of all that money can buy, and the next he's mischievous and mugging -- a genuine Machiavellian teddy bear who keeps the audience laughing and cringing all at once.

Andrew Stuart's set design is to the point (note whose desk is cluttered and whose is clean, even sterile). Langsdale's direction on this set is tight and keeps the action moving from Rhode Island to New York in a second, and not a beat missed. So invest wisely, spend an evening with the folks chasing other people's money.

Last of the Red Hot Lovers

New Century Theatre, Northampton, MA

www.newcenturytheatre.org

through June 27, 2009

by Meghan Lynn Allen

New Century Theatre's opening is red hot! "Last of the Red Hot Lovers" follows the bumbling antics of fish restaurant owner Barney Cashman, a married middle-aged man whose clumsy, comical, and pathetic attempts at having an affair entertains audiences in three acts.

Buzz Roddy depicts Barney with a combined anxiousness, hopelessness, and ridiculousness to fall in love with him...even though that's not wise. Just as he reaches a full-blown mid-life crisis, Barney realizes that he somehow missed the sexual revolution of the 1960's. He frantically tries to catch up by seducing three different women. Although his hands smell like fish, his seduction lair is his mother's apartment, and he is married with children, these three different women take him up on his lackluster adulterous offer.

Denise Cormier plays Elaine Navazio, a pessimistic, tough-talking, nicotine-obsessed, married woman who has plenty of experience with extra-marital pleasures. Elaine's biting sarcasm is deftly executed by Cormier. Cormier and Roddy make a deliciously awkward pair. Sandra Blaney portrays the emotionally-unstable, flower child and drama queen Bobbi Michele. Blaney expertly parades Bobbi's feverish range of emotions out for all to see. Her wacky, maniacal ways are believable and frightening, though hilarious. Blaney and Roddy provide the most comical moments in the play. Finally, Jeanette Fisher role by Sara Whitcomb brings to the audience depression, neuroticism, and melancholy wrapped up in a sweet and sad little package.

Playwright Neil Simon supplies his classic exploration of the darker and funnier side of human nature - in this case heightened by mid-life angst, impossible relationships, and hilarity through tragedy. Under the fast-paced and light-hearted direction of Jack Neary, the play succeeds as a comedy and a fun night out.

Arsenic and Old Lace

New Century Theater, Northampton
through August 9, 2008
By Donna Bailey-Thompson

When a play has a convoluted plot propelled by laugh-out-loud dialog delivered by actors who know how to phrase for the desired effects and whose body language is in sync with whatever is transpiring, the audience is treated to a winner. New Century Theatre’s final production of this season, is the indefatigable "Arsenic and Old Lace." May it be revived forever!

What a combination of sounds signaled the audience’s enjoyment: giggles, titters, guffaws, belly laughs, and roars. Director Jack Neary has made sure nothing but first-class entertainment emanates from playwright Joseph Kesselring’s good-natured mayhem.

In 1939 Brooklyn, there lived in a charming Victorian house two maiden sisters of a certain age, whose sweetness was genuine. Their only defect was a misconception about the preferences of unmarried older men who had no family ties. These dear old girls’ lineage includes a flawed DNA belief such men are happier if their lives end – with the help of stoutly poisoned homemade elderberry wine. Their brother’s inheritance of the family affliction is the belief he is President Theodore Roosevelt. Their long-absent nephew, Jonathan, inherited the scariest version of the family’s mental aberrations: psychopathic killer. Their other nephew, Mortimer, a theater critic, who adores his aunts and they him, suffers the slings and arrows of any who are suspicious of theater people. During the space of only a few hours, he is exposed to startling truths: "Insanity runs in my family. In fact, it practically gallops!"

The casting is perfect. The spinsters, Margery Shaw’s Abby Brewster and Carol Lambert as Martha Brewster, are superb at fluttering or standing firm. Van Farrier is Teddy who frequently charges up the staircase (a stand-in for San Juan Hill) and disturbs neighbors with his bugle blasts. Phil Kilbourne’s Jonathan is mean as a snake and his sidekick, Dr. Einstein, played by Steve Brady, flashes a look of surprised comprehension that delights. Mortimer (David Mason) is urbane, befuddled, and in love with spunky Elaine (Sandra Blaney) who bears a strong resemblance to Priscilla Lane who played Elaine in the 1944 film version.

Arsenic and Old Lace is the antidote, at least for a few hours, to whatever may be driving you nuts.

Rabbit Hole

New Century Theatre, Northampton
through July 26, 2008
By Donna Bailey-Thompson

Clues to the type of play that will be performed are evident from Emily Dunn’s set design. A front door opens into an open layout of a sprawling family room that links with a kitchen table that fronts a roomy kitchen area. The overall effect is antiseptic; the furnishings could be metal and glass. There is nothing to suggest warmth. Even a child’s bedroom visible on an upper level is hospital-neat, in spite of stuffed animals and a poster. In the opening scene, Becca (Cate Damon) sits at the table folding a small child’s clothes. Her younger sister Izzy (Sandra Blaney) chatters, disclosing information, piecemeal, about herself which culminates with the announcement that she’s pregnant. Does that shock Becca? Only somewhat. Becca is mired in grief for the death of her son several months before, accidentally killed when he chased his dog into the street.

Keep tissues handy.

Oh, there is topical humor but not much. Becca and her husband, Howie (Keith Langsdale) are coping with a loss too profound for them to bear.They can’t derive comfort from one another. They’re living by rote. There is no clue to how they were before the accident. But now, they are barely functional. Izzy tries to divert with inanities, fulfilling a role textbooks classify as the "mascot" Becca’s mother, Nat (Ellen Barry) rattles on. Attempts at normalcy fail. One person who has addressed his grief and guilt is the high school boy, driving with a new license, who while trying to avert hitting the dog instead hit the child. As Jason, Daniel Plimpton "reads" the letter he has written to the parents, a recitation sensitively rendered that exudes authenticity.

Playwright David Lindsay-Abaire’s "Rabbit Hole" won a Pulitzer Prize for the best drama of 2007. This production is well-executed; the performances are strong with one exception: too often dialog is missed because voices are lowered, particularly when Becca speaks of a rabbit hole.

Well

New Century Theatre, Northampton
through July 13, 2008
By Donna Bailey-Thompson

"Well" surprises – often. The performance begins before the audience realizes that the woman introduced by Sam Rush (co-founder of NCT with Jack Neary) is actually speaking the opening lines of "Well." Adrianne Krstansky, portraying Lisa Kron the playwright responsible for this madcap play, at times is so far out of the box that it defies categorizing. The premise: what keeps some people, i.e., Lisa’s mother, Ann Kron (played to a fare-thee-well by Ellen Colton) continuously ill whereas Lisa recovers from whatever besets her, most notably a panoply of allergies. But there’s more, e.g., racial relations, religious prejudices. Because "Well" is not concerned, per se, with exploring the dynamics intrinsic to a mother-daughter relationship, it is not fraught with Freudian slips or petticoats. Nor is it exactly linear. It’s all over the place but disciplined. Pithy points are encased in humor.

In fact, the first act rollicks with one funny bit after another. When the line itself isn’t funny, the body English is. The surprised looks shot back and forth between mother and daughter engender laughter. The second act is a tad less frenetic.

Krstansky owns the stage. She talks a blue streak, jumping from fragments to an almost-complete thought, then second-guesses herself, all at the speed of light. In many respects, "Well" is a solo show that includes other people.

Periodically, Colton stirs from her lounger in the corner of a livingroom to shuffle in her slippers and layered sleep attire to the front of the stage where she expounds, smiling. When she stops talking and smiling with her mouth, her body continues smiling and communicating. She is one very funny lady.

Portraying 12 roles are four multi-talented actors –Troy David Mercier, Joan Valentina, Susan Dziura, and Jose Docen. The speed-wheeling of white privacy screens and hospital beds seems patterned after Rome’s wild and crazy vehicular maneuvers.

Kudos to Heather Crocker Aulenback’s costuming, Daniel D. Rist’s lighting, Andrew Stuart’s set design (Ann’s oasis is a hypochondriac’s dream), and especially to Director Keith Langsdale for a "Well" that charms and challenges.

"The House of Blue Leaves"

New Century Theatre, Northampton
through June 28
By K.J. Rogowski

New Century Theatre's production of John Guare's "The House of Blue Leaves" is not an easy show to watch. It makes audience members feel uncomfortable and uneasy, even while laughing. That is a good thing, because that is its purpose. The laughter in this black comedy comes as much from the audience's nervousness as the show's humor.

While on the surface, even the characters’ names may make one wonder about the seriousness of the plot (with an unknown zoo keeper/songwriter, whose insane wife is named Bananas, and his girlfriend named Bunny), yet the volatility of these people's lives is anything but laughable. They hitch their most precious and fragile dreams and hopes on even fainter and most illusory prospects with a naive trust and sincerity that almost makes the viewer cringe. For these people, there is always hope, because they read it in Reader's Digest, and there is always despair, because they must depend on their fellow man.

Driving this story are Sam Rush, Lisa Abend, Lisa Rowe-Beddoe, and Justin Fuller. While each of them adds another layer to the morass of these characters' lives, Fuller's solo scene, and the final moments between Rush and Rowe-Beddoe are especially powerful. Add to this mix of characters and their strange lives, a deaf actress, a big shot Hollywood director, three nuns, an MP, the man in white, and the Pope, and here’s a tale that pulls in three directions at once, as all their lives careen and collide. Rand Foerster's direction gives a balance to the pathos and humor, just as Daniel D. Rist's set design reflects the imbalance of lives lived on the edge of hope.