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.

Artist Linda Post

Major Exhibit, Northampton
through Nov. 14, 2008

How Linda Post, co-founder of the unbelievable successful biannual Paradise City Crafts Show, balances the work of that impressive job with her other full time career as a painter is a question only she can answer. However, a major first exhibition of her work, titled “Balancing Acts,” is on view at R. Michelson Galleries, Northampton. Pieces in oil, pastel, gesso, triptych, and monotype mount the walls through November 14. Why balancing acts? Post’s art explores the cusp of adolescence – the space between childhood and adulthood.

Balancing Act by Linda Post

Post says of her own work, “Many of my paintings take place at twilight or dawn – the most ambiguous times of day…it is figurative with a distinct psychological edge.” And yet another balancing act of time and nature.

Prior exhibits throughout New England and New York include the Rose Art Museum and the Newport Art Museum as well as painting covers of Gettysburg Review and Return of the Great Goddess. www.rmichelson.com