REVIEW: Playhouse On Park, The Scottsboro Boys

Playhouse On Park, West Hartford, CT

www.PlayHouseOnPark.org

through August 4, 2019

by Josephine Sarnelli

Playhouse On Park proudly describes itself as “nestled … in West Hartford, where the parking is free, the actors are right off Broadway and the back row is just four seats from the stage.” The intimacy of the small theatre was felt immediately as the cast of “The Scottsboro Boys” came rushing in to shake hands with members of the audience and board a train.  

The term that comes to mind to describe the performers is “triple threat” because they were all excellent actors, singers and dancers. The eight-piece band added to the richness and quality of this musical.

Photo by Meredith Longo

As with “Les Misérables” and “Hamilton,” it was difficult to imagine the dramatic subject matter of “The Scottsboro Boys” as a musical. It is based on the 1931 unjust arrest in Scottsboro, Alabama of nine young African American men for the rape of two white women on a train. By masterfully setting the story within a minstrel show, the playwright created a natural venue for revealing one of America’s ugliest injustices.

Troy Valjean Rucker, as Haywood Patterson, sings several outstanding solos. He portrays a man of great depth, who is both admired and disdained by his peers and people in authority. But he clearly wins the hearts of the American people, and the audience, during his numerous trials.          

The continuing theme of “truth” weaves throughout the play. It is the untrue statements made by Victoria Price and Ruby Bates that lead to the arrest of the nine men. Jaylan Evans, as Ruby Bates, does a wonderful job of recanting the original lie….only to find that the truth is not believed by the jury. The question of truth once more arises at the end of the performance, as Haywood Patterson refuses to lie to having committed the crime. His lawyer explains that he must confess to having done it, so as to be pardoned. In contradiction to the biblical passage, the lawyer tells Patterson that  “the truth will not set him free.”  

The trio of Trishawn Paul, Alex Robinson and Jerry Hamilton executed a superb traditional tap routine. Likewise, the production numbers exhibit high energy, good dance technique, and skillful choreography.

Of note is the one character on stage who is mute throughout the performance and identified simply as “The Lady.” She speaks the last words of the play….while sitting aboard a bus.

REVIEW: Jacob’s Pillow, Compagnie CNDC-Angers

Jacob’s Pillow, Becket, MA

www.jacobspillow.org

through August 25, 2019

by Karoun Charkoudian

Photo by Grace Kathryn Landefeld

In celebration of the centennial of the birth of Merce Cunningham (d. 2009), the dancer’s works will be performed around the world this summer, and Compagnie CNDC-Angers achieved their Jacob’s Pillow debut. Artistic director, Robert Swinton, was a student at the Pillow in 1971 and a dancer with the Merc Cunningham Company at its final performance at the Pillow in 2009.

The matinee opened with “Suite for Five.” Dancers clad in muted pastel unitards were accompanied by a pianist who played the piano keys and plucked the strings of the piano. The dancers held a similar rhythm to the pianist; a slow deliberate dance. However, there was no synchronization between the dancers themselves, nor was there synchronization between dancers and pianist. This is the Merce Cunningham way, intending for the music and the dance to be entirely independent, simply to share space and time together.

In “Inlets 2,” the live music was itself as much a part of the spectacle as the dance. While the dancing occurred in random fashion on stage, three musicians gently shook conch shells filled with water. The water-drip-ocean sounds accompanied the dancers in no straight rhythm or beat. The dance became almost dream-like, as the eight dancers moved on stage in unison, and independently. But even in the way that the water sounds and the performers offset each other, in the way that nothing matched, the water sounds were so healing, and the lithe dancers’ bodies so hypnotizing, that the whole experience became a desensitized, mellow, ethereal, dream.

In the third and final dance, “How to Pass, Kick, Fall and Run” (which seemed like more of a nod to yoga and aerobics rather than to soccer or football), was jarring and surprising. In Cunningham’s effort to show that everyday sound is just as valid or even more appealing than organized music, two people sat and told stories (slowly, quickly, at the same time, and separately), as the dancers jumped, kicked, and wandered around the stage. The result: both the spoken word and the dance competed for attention and the eyes and the ears battled for which part of the performance to pay more attention to.

The audience did not stand at the conclusion of this performance. Walking out of the Ted Shawn Theatre that afternoon, those who were well acquainted with Cunningham’s work seemed pleased, and those who were not seemed in a daze, unsure of what to think of the performance.

REVIEW: Ghost Light Theater, How I Learned To Drive

Ghost Light Theater, Holyoke, MA
https://www.facebook.com/ghostlightmass/
through July 13, 2019
by Konrad Rogowski

Ghost Light Theater’s production of Paula Vogel’s “How I Learned To Drive” takes on the topics of pedophilia and child abuse, as experienced by Lil Bit, (Carissa Dagenais), a child victimized from the age of eleven to eighteen by a predatory uncle (Gene Choquette). Under the pretext of “driving lessons,” the uncle plans to isolate and intimidate her.

Their story is told through a series of flashbacks, chronicling both family events and observations as played by a Greek style Chorus (Becky Rodia Schoenfeld, Hanna McCluskey, and Joshua Aaron Mason). Each portray  family members, school pals, or restaurant staff in various scenes. Additionally, these actors also create and disembodied voices who provide a subtext to Lil Bit’s unspoken struggle and ongoing victimization.

The various scenes are framed as aspects of a driving lesson, moving the victim through the stages/mechanics of driving, and paralleling those of the uncle’s ongoing grooming of his niece, drawing her deeper and deeper into his deception. Keeping the focus on the story and the acting, director Sue Dziura’s set consists of only four chairs, set on a blacktop colored floor with a double white line down the center. The chairs seamlessly become the front seat of the car, a dining room table, and a restaurant setting.

The cast performs this difficult play with a directness and focus, appropriate to the subject, and with a sensitivity to the journey that Lil Bit must experience. The show runs 90-minutes with no intermission. Those onstage and backstage bring a provocative script to light.

REVIEW: Tanglewood, Josh Groban

Tanglewood, Lee, MA
www.bso.org

One performance only
By Shera Cohen

Photo by Hilary Scott

I first “met” Josh Groban through Ally McBeal. That must have been approximately 15 years go. He portrayed the geeky teen at the prom; looking rather awkward, shy, and schlumpy. His acting chops would not win awards; only passable. Simultaneously with the legalese and courtroom jargon holding the scenes together, Ally and Josh’s somewhat oddball personalities developed a comradery. Are you waiting for the BUT? If you wait long enough, good things are bound to happen. At the end of the show, Groban’s adolescent character walks onto the stage, looks at the band, looks at Ally, moves close to the mic and sings. Sings with a capital “S.”

I searched the TV Guide listing for the actor’s name. Who is this young guy? The lyrics flowed sweetly, delicately, and gloriously. I want to hear him again. Alas, I was not taping the show, nor had YouTube, streaming, etc. been invented yet.

What else could I do to ensure that this TV performance was not a one-time shot of pure musical joy for me? I decided to became a “Grobanite.” I was too old to be in a fan club, so Grobanite seemed to work well. Radio, records, CDs, DVDs, helped assuage my habit. Yet, nothing bests a live performance. And no outdoor venue (at least in this part of the country) is as perfect for Josh Groban (or any musician, for that matter) as Tanglewood. In fact, he must have reiterated my words on the grandeur of the Berkshires, specifically Tanglewood at least five times in short chats with the audience throughout his 90-minute concert. It was obvious that he was in awe of this performance site as the audience was in his talent. Last night’s performance marked #4 for me. That doesn’t include his Broadway debut in the leading role in the Tony Award-nominated musical Natasha, Pierre & The Great Comet of 1812.

Backed by his own musicians as well as several from the BSO, Groban sang most of his hits. I was a bit disappointed that he omitted a few of his more famous pieces. However, he interjected and balanced his program with lovely and somewhat haunting Russian, Spanish, and French music.

Needless to say, the audience awaited “You Raise Me Up,” Groban’s signature song. No surprise that he saved the best for last, or near last. Yet, he added a new spin on the arrangement. In addition to his pitch perfect, whispering words, and meaningful message, Groban insisted that “Raise Me Up” become a sing-along. Forgoing the flawlessness of Groban’s voice for the uneven 8,000 (the shed full to capacity and the lawn about one-third full) audience members, seemed the perfect thing to do. It was an evening of community with Josh Groban bringing it together.

REVIEW: Williamstown Theatre Festival, A Raisin in the Sun

Williamstown Theatre Festival, Williamstown, MA

www.wtfestival.org

through July 13, 2019

by Stuart W. Gamble

As playgoers exited the roundabout hallway at Williamstown’s production of A Raisin in the Sun, exclamations such as “Very powerful”, “Excellent”, and “Emotional” were heard after Sunday’s matinee performance. Lorraine Hansberry’s landmark play about an African-American family’s struggles, celebrates its 60th anniversary, since first premiering on Broadway in 1959. Many people (including this writer) fondly recall the 1961 film version featuring Sidney Poitier, Ruby Dee and most of the original cast from its New York debut. WTF current production offers top-notch production values and sublime performances.

Set in the cramped Younger Family apartment in South Chicago, weary but steadfast Ruth Younger does her best to care for her 10-year-old son Travis and her husband Walter Lee. Beneatha, Walter’s sister, is a college student aspiring to be a doctor. Lena Younger, the family matriarch, rules the family with an iron-fisted yet tender firmness. The family of 5 is steeped in conflict both with each other and with the outside world. The catalyst to this already potentially explosive situation is the arrival of a life-insurance check for $10,000.00 from Lena’s late husband. Lena hopes to buy a home for the family. Walter hopes to buy a liquor store with his ne’er do well buddy Willie Harris, against the wishes of his wife, mother, and sister. What ensues is a drama filled with welcome humor, lasting nearly three hours, every minute of which is totally engrossing.

Hansberry’s characters are wonderfully complex and played beautifully by a fine cast. Francois Battiste as Walter, as written, is downright cruel to both his wife and sister, but his frustration is understandable as he toils away at being a chauffer and drinks excessively to shield his pain. He delivers, however, two of the play’s finest monologues about his dreams, to near perfection. S. Epatha Merkerson (fondly recalled as Det. Van Buren on Law & Order) wisely underplays her part as Mama, finally breaking down in a memorable scene with Walter. Her calmness is like a simmering volcano, waiting to erupt. Mandi Masden as Ruth is extremely touching in her efforts to hold her family together. Nikiya Mathis’ Beneatha is utterly phenomenal as the idealistic dreamer whose intellectualism eventually is shattered by the play’s close. Joshua Echebiri, as Beneatha’s Nigerian classmate/boyfriend Asagai, delivers a monologue about life that earned him an ovation.

As star Battiste is quoted in the play’s program: “There is not one issue in this play that isn’t still relevant today.” This point is without argument. Sexism, Racism, Generational Differences, are still with us. It is worth noting Director Robert O’Hara’s theatrical choices to an otherwise realistic play: the “ghost” character of Walter Sr. and a stunning epilogue that left the audience unsettled.

REVIEW: Williamstown Theatre Festival, “A Human Being, of a Sort”

Williamstown Theatre Festival, Williamstown, MA

www.wtfestival.org

through July 7, 2019

By Barbara Stroup

Williamstown Theatre Festival presents a thoughtful play about captivity and racial injustice by spotlighting an intimate, one-to-one relationship. Thoughtful, yes. Stage-worthy drama? More on that below…..

Background: In 1906 an “explorer” (Vermer) brought an African “pygmy” (Ota Benga) to America as a specimen of racial “oddity,” an example to be studied and exploited with no thought to what would follow. After providing entertaining diversion for the zoo-going crowds, Mr. Benga, an adult with children left behind in Africa, died in an orphanage, probably at his own hand.

The playwright, Jonathan Payne, layers onto these heart-wrenching facts an intimate story that addresses power between individuals thrown together by a society that is trying its best to diminish them both. Assigned to Mr. Benga’s cage on an almost 24-hour basis, Smokey (played by André Braugher) is working off the last of his “debt to society” (he stole apples for his hungry family) through his employment at the zoo. He desperately wants to succeed at this job, and not to be returned by his employer, Mr. Hornaday, to the prison work farm.

In real life, Ota had no English-speaking ability, but for the sake of his drama, the playwright gives him fluent English. And for the sake of the drama, the audience can accept this misrepresentation so that the relationship between Ota and Smokey can develop.

As Smokey, Braugher makes a full commitment to expressing the inner conflicts the situation places on him. This job merely extends his own captivity, and his future freedom depends on his success. The audience feels his torment of being inches away from freedom and at the same time, being a jailer himself. The intensity of his expression helps the audience cope with the pain of watching the injustice of both imprisonments. He models both “good prisoner” to his superior and “good guard” to Ota.

Other members of this cast include Antonio Michael Woodard, who plays Ota. His physicality is perfect, and the strange demands of the role are well-represented. Woodard evokes startles, chuckles, and empathy. As they struggle with the zoo owner over the imprisonment of a human being, the three members of the clergy are convincing. Frank Wood, as the zoo owner Hornaday, has power over Smokey and over Ota. Wood speaks far too quickly, and his speeches disappear into the ether. And that is one of this play’s problems – it is packed full of speeches. Structurally, the soliloquy seems awkward and the closing scene misplaced: far more empathy and understanding would be evoked by placing the African encounter between Vermer and Benga at the start.

The set fails the script badly and seems to represent an Adirondack hunting lodge rather than a zoo owner’s office. Why is Ota’s cage three-sided? Accomplished with lighting, perhaps an abstraction of bars rather than a display of trophy heads would have gone much further to remind viewers of how far-reaching injustice, confinement and imprisonment can go. This play’s two principals do their best to rescue the script from its ponderous content and they are well-supported by the rest of the cast, but “A Human Being, of a Sort” is a play trying hard to be true to historical fact, and perhaps that reach is just too obvious for the theatre.

REVIEW: Jacob’s Pillow, Compañia Irene Rodriguez

Jacob’s Pillow, Becket, MA

www.jacobspillow.org

through June 30, 2019

by Josephine Sarnelli

Two years ago, Compañia Irene Rodriguez’s performances were sold-out before opening night at Jacob’s Pillow. Her highly anticipated return this week did not disappoint. Based in Cuba, her dance company blends traditional flamenco and Spanish dance with Afro-Cuban music and contemporary inspiration.

The program opened with “El Mito,” the only repeat from her previous engagement. It playfully introduced the audience to the complexity of flamenco footwork (zapateado) by placing a screen in front of the dancers to expose only their feet and bare legs, unencumbered with either skirts or pants. It was a brilliant way to focus attention on the percussive techniques.

“Homenaje a José Greco,” sung by Andrés Correa while accompanied by four musicians, paid tribute to the centennial of the great flamenco dancer’s birth. Of note is that his daughter, Carmela Greco is on faculty for the Pillow’s Flamenco and Spanish Program this summer and spoke earlier in the day at a free PillowTalk discussion.

Two of the performance pieces, “La Pena Negra” and “Entre Espinas, Rosas,” involved dresses with long, ruffled trains called bata de cola. In the first, Ms. Rodriguez’s long black dress was used in both traditional and non-traditional forms. She worked it not as an accessory, but more as an additional body appendage. In the second half, four troupe members performed in bata de cola while using fans. They masterfully demonstrated their technique in using both simultaneously.    

“El Grito” was inspired by Edvard Munch’s composition "The Scream." True to the symbolism of the artwork depicting the anxiety of modern man, the dancers performed a frenetic choreography, first with shoes, then barefoot; initially with their hair neatly styled, then degenerating to wildly being tossed, as in certain forms of Middle Eastern dancing to cast out spirits. Exuberant castanet playing completed the feeling of chaos. 

Photo by Christopher Duggan

Inspired by Spanish bullfighting, “Encierro” had five female dancers assume the movements and personae of bulls in a confrontation with Yohan Garcia, as the toreador. Each landed blow by the sword was felt by the audience, yet Ms. Rodriguez did not succumb.

The finale was a solo piece highlighting Ms. Rodriguez’s many talents in dexterous mantón (shawl) techniques and lightning speed footwork. Trained in classical ballet, she even performed some flamenco en pointe. It was truly an amazing evening by an amazing dance troupe and choreographer!