Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike

Panache Productions, Springfield, MA

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through May 17, 2015

by Mary Gibb

Panache Productions has brought the quartet of “Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike," a Tony award winning play, to Springfield.

Director John McKemmie begins Act I with Vanya and Sonia, squabbling siblings living in the family farmhouse. Neither is married; both are frustrated with life, yet their bantering stimulates the audience into howls of laughter.

Sister Masha, a flamboyant, out of work actress arrives unannounced and  more hilarity ensues. She brings along her very young boyfriend who is a vain wannabe actor played by Jeremy Thayer, who delivers a clever twist with his tushie shaking antics. Surprisingly, hilariously, and literally, the happenings onstage put the characters in fairy tale costumes.

Carol Palmer (Masha)  has boundless energy and enthusiasm in playing her roll. Linda McLaren (Sonia) does her part justice as a frustrated unhappy woman devoting her life to become her parents’ caretaker. Rock Palmer (Vanya) is the fiftyish brother who squandered his life as caretaker of his parents, and hasn’t worked in years. Marie McCutchen (Nina), an innocent youth thing, portrays her character a little too innocently.

The highlight performance is by Karen Bellavance-Grace (Cassandra) as the Russian accented, fortune telling cleaning lady, who sails across the stage with energetic dance moves all the while chanting and predicting what truths are about to be revealed. Her theatrical quotations and dialogue are interspersed with devilish grins. Her costumes sparkled and dazzled.

The pace, in Act II slows down particularly when Vanya’s monologue takes what seems like innumerable time. The play is comedic, heart-warming, and delightfully enjoyable.

Dearly Departed

Panache Productions, CityStage, Springfield, MA

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through March 8, 2015

by Mary Ann Dennis

"Dearly Departed" is a wacky play that manages to poke fun at families and relationships while also celebrating them. “Comedy” like “beauty” can be “in the eye of the beholder.” It is interesting to watch reactions in the audience; some guffawing while others stiff as a board with barely a cracked smile. This reviewer is in the middle.

The comedy's playing field is funeral preparation, doubling as an exhibition of a semi-functional family and its dynamics. With a lot of roles, it is difficult to keep all of the relationships straight at first; eventually, everything becomes clear regarding “who is who” in the cast.

Theresa Allie, a Paula Dean look-a-like, does a fine job, as the dearly departed’s deeply religious, bible thumper, God-fearing sister Marguerite. Joey Chiaravalle, as her son Royce plays well. In lead roles, Aimee Lamontagne and Jeremy Thayer have excellent timing in their first scene together. However, Lamontagne goes down hill from there as she becomes a bit spastic in her delivery and character-ish, while Thayer is believable and consistent. Steve Connor excels as Reverend Hooker who has the daunting task of putting a positive spin on what might normally be a sad occasion. Meaghan Carlton, who has but one word in the show, often upstages scenes as she portrays a gum-cracking, face-stuffing, surprise child of the dearly departed.

Many of the non-family characters introduced at the funeral home seem to be thrown in just for laughs. With tremendous differentiation, Bruce Torrey plays two roles beautifully. Along with Rae L. Banigan, as the character's wife, they create a believable elderly couple.

Despite the Southern setting and the accents, there are universal truths and situations particularly in Act II. However, slapstick is paramount. "Dearly Departed" might be a laugh-out-loud show if it’s your cup of tea.

Death and the Maiden

Panache Productions, Springfield, MA

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through November 23, 2014

by Phil O’Donoghue

Ariel Dorfman’s play “Death and the Maiden” is not an easy play to watch. Set in the aftermath of Chile's dictatorship rule in the 1990's, which included kidnappings and torture on a daily basis, Maiden is just one story about those abuses; but one story can be a harrowing experience.

Panache has gained a well-earned reputation for choosing plays that are challenging. Maiden is a complex play about Paulina, a victim of torture and interrogation. Her husband, Gerardo, works on a Human Rights Commission of the play’s unnamed country. The visitor, Roberto, is a seemingly innocuous man, eager to help, and is just as eager, if you believe him, to see his country’s past abuses made right.

When the play starts, Paulina seems to be a nervous, slightly scattered woman. Gerardo is solicitous to his wife, yet concerned that her frail condition will upset his career. When Paulina hears Roberto’s voice, her persona takes a sudden turn. She is stunned, shocked, and finally, determined. Paulina knocks Roberto out, ties him to a chair – and the play begins.

Believe it or not, there is a danger of the script being, what some critics of the original Broadway production referred to as, somewhat of a light play. There are lines where the audience nervously laughs, almost making the situation absurd. Thankfully, this community theatre's experienced director and cast walks that tightrope with ease. Marge Huba’s Paulina is overpowering in her rage and her need for vengeance. Hal Chernoff, as her husband, makes his character change into a weak, helpless onlooker – making his audience understand how a country can bend so easily under a forceful personality. Mark Ekenbarger, in the role of Roberto, shows a wide range of emotions. He is terrified at first, but ultimately almost contemptuous of Paulina. It is a fascinating standoff.

Kudos to Panache, its director, cast, and crew for undertaking this difficult production. It makes for an interesting and thought-provoking evening.

The Prisoner of Second Avenue

Panache Productions, Springfield, MA

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through March 23, 2014

by Eric Johnson

Like many Neil Simon plays, this one is set in NYC, and features a neurotic leading male character on the verge of a life crisis. And, it’s really funny.

Mel Edison is living in a time and place when “job security” is more or less an oxymoron, recession is wreaking havoc on the economy, and the radio is rife with would-be prophets spewing forth conspiracy theories and touting that they know who is to blame for the plight of the middle class. Sounds familiar, doesn’t it?

Director Mark Ekenbarger makes an interesting production choice in giving the audience no solid clues as to what era the action takes place. There is even one recorded sound snippet that suggests an alternate reality. 

Gene Choquette in the lead role carries a great deal of experience to the stage, and it shows. Mel Edison is a complex character and Choquette is a very entertaining and engaging actor. He handles the moods, madness, and humor of Edison’s life crisis quite ably. Mel’s wife Edna, played by Deb Libera, is a multifaceted character as well. The audience sees Edna transition from housewife to breadwinner, and empathize with her pain as Mel’s downward spiral accelerates. Supporting cast John Toms, Marge Huba, Stephanie Chertoff, and Linda McLaren (Mel’s sisters and brother) have a nice scene in which they discuss how (and how much) they can help their brother through this.

The criticisms one might have of this production are few and vary in impact, but, number one is pace. While not a farce, this comedy still demands a very strong, fast pace and comic timing which isn’t quite met throughout the piece, especially in the scene with the rest of the family. "Getting a word in edgewise” doesn’t appear to be that much of a challenge.

Overall, this production of "Prisoner of Second Avenue" is a very entertaining evening of theatre, and really funny.

The Mystery of Irma Vep

Panache Productions, Springfield, MA

By K. J. Rogowski

To truly enjoy the plot and purpose of Panche Productions’ current show, Charles Ludlams’  “The Mystery of Irma Vep,” the audience needs to make note of a key line in the play’s title, in the small print, which reads “a penny dreadful." Wikipedia defines the term as: “a variety of publications that featured cheap sensational fiction…” With that firmly in mind, all of the silliness, improbable plot twists and melodramatic carrying on makes nearly perfect sense, which is as close as it has to come to make for an evening of fun and laughs.

The setting for the action is, of course, the classic…"it was a dark and stormy night" at the old Hillcrest estate, complete with abundant thunder and lightening. The cast of eight outrageous characters is carried off by only two actors, Mark Ekenbarger and Robert Laviolette, who are, at one moment, a maid named Jane and a groundskeeper named Nicodemus. The actors then dash off stage and back on stage to become Lord and Lady Edgar Hillcrest. More dashing takes place as they become… well, the audience gets the idea.

These multiple changes are handled nicely, with the help of a three person backstage dressers' crew, who transform their actors back on stage in time to keep the action flowing. The set design by Robert Laviolette, who also directs the show, carries the penny dreadful theme through the comedy with portraits that come alive, secret panels, and an Egyptian tomb, complete with a golden sarcophagus. This fast paced and comically convoluted plot takes participants on a pulp fiction adventure from the moors at Hillcrest to the deserts of Egypt, in an effort to discover just what “The Mystery of Irma Vep” actually is.