Spring Awakening

The Bushnell, Hartford, CT
www.bushnell.org
through February 28, 2010
by Bob Smith

Ah, youth! The enjoyment of "Spring Awakening" will depend in large part on how well the audience has recovered from its own adolescent angst. Based on a scandalous play written in 1891, this Tony Award winning show illustrates that teenagers have always felt oppressed by the adult world and even more terrified by the world in their own heads.

Bringing the story into the present age is the music by composer Duncan Sheik and lyricist Steven Sater. The numbers are at turns rebellious, whimsical and heart wrenching. Reflecting youthful passions, some of the song titles are not even repeatable in print. "The Dark I Know Well" details a horrific subject in a calm but devastating manner. Sarah Hunt and Steffi D delivered a powerful and poignant duet, lending each other the strength of their voices.

This is not theatre for the faint of heart, as these are hormonal teens after all. Even in their attempts to forge meaningful connections with one another, there is brutality and coarseness. The lighting and staging plays an integral role, illustrating the conflicting emotional states between desires and actions. Characters literally are climbing up the walls. The band that propels the emotional score sits on stage, lending a rock-concert quality to many of the numbers.

It is an ensemble piece, but it is well anchored by Jake Epstein and Christy Altomare as the "romantic" leads. From the opening number, one can very quickly start to feel like a voyeur, and it is their earnest portrayals that facilitate your investment in the drama. Parents may nod in recognition of their own experiences while simultaneously dreading the years to come.

"Spring Awakening" is a unique experience. Startling subject matter, atypical songs for a Broadway show, and engaging young performers make it worthwhile theatre for those who are not put off by the excessive emotional tendencies of youth.

Contains mature themes, sexual situations, nudity and strong language.

Communicating Doors

Suffield Players, Suffield, CT
www.suffieldplayers.org
through March 6, 2010
by Shera Cohen

You don’t have to be a “Lost” fan to fully appreciate “Communicating Doors,” but it might help. Britain’s “Neil Simon,” Alan Ayckbourn penned this comic, science fiction, mystery before the cult TV show began. Perhaps “Lost’s” writers saw the play, said “great concept,” and the rest is history? Toss sex and murder into the plot mix and there’s a lot to like in “Doors.”

Set over the course of one day, yet in a 40-year time span (sounds odd, but true) are six characters whose lives intertwine in 1984, 2004, and 2040. The lead role is that of a twenty-something, which makes the literal timing all the more purposely confusing. Time moves back and forth at the drop of a hat – actually at the opening of a door.

The set is a hotel suite, beautifully crafted with three rooms, a balcony, and a surprise. The latter is a key element, as important as any of the characters. Well-executed lighting and sound design help create the mystery.

A novice (yet fully equipped) dominatrix is our heroine. Relative newcomer Becky Rodia Schoenfeld portrays Phoebe with sweetness and naivete. She is ever-present onstage, the lynchpin who keeps the steady swift pace from scene to scene. Schoenfeld is a top-notch young comedian who doesn’t mind throwing her whole body into the action. Much of her time is spent in dialogue and antics with Ruella, played by veteran actress Mary Fernandez-Sierra. The two characters’ immediate connection and rapport is honest. These total strangers care about each other and the audience cares about them.

Dale Facey’s direction nicely transitions from one decade to another and back again, yet on the same set in different time-warps. Albeit, the play is a bit long and small cuts would have been helpful. A section in Act I requires an elderly man to collapse, perhaps with a heart attack. This is done in humor, yet the audience cannot see the actor since the couch blocks the audience’s view. Had we seen it, there would have been more laughs.

The writer has strewn his play with clever dialogue, the director with physical humor, and the actors with the best English accents heard on a community theatre stage.

Rent

Opera House Players, Broad Brook, CT
www.operahouseplayers.org
through March 7, 2010
by Eric Sutter

Love conquers all, even in the worst case scenarios of life. This message is the theme that ties the plots of "Rent" together. "Rent" has a lot going for it... a stellar cast of young actors playing energetic characters that truly deliver. It is fast paced and funny and, at times, soars. This is cutting edge theatre with a radical welcome that deals with modern issues.

The musical drama begins with the soliloquy of the show's narrator Mark (Thomas Jon Creatore) spending a cold Christmas Eve in the Lower East Side industrial loft he shares with his roommate musician Roger (Tom Knightlee). Memorable music fills the story, including the title song. "You Okay Honey," is sung by Angel (Gionannie 'Desio' Mendez), an HIV+ transvestite street musician. The bohemian lifestyles of the characters' risque lives are woven together with a vagabond spirit of fantastic dialogue, song, and dance. In one scene, Angel is outlandishly dressed as a transvestite Santa Claus. Contemporary love songs include "Tango Maureen" and "I'll Cover You."

Act I I begins with the company posing the question "How do you measure a year in the life? ("Seasons of Love"). This is the beauty in the midst of chaos with the entire cast harmonizing. Of course, "Rent" has a lot to say about love and the good measure of things people will do for it in the face of adversity. At times, it was hard to follow the story with all its twists of confusion but "Voice Mail #5" reaffirmed the source of love. The company joined to reprise the affirmation that love is all and that there is no day but today in the finale, "Your Eyes."

Les Liaisons Dangereuses

Shakespeare & Company, Lenox, MA
www.shakespeare.org
through March, 21, 2010
by Shera Cohen

Most of the characters in "Les Liaisons Dangereuses" are evil personified. They are also smart, handsome, sophisticated, highbrow, cunning, vengeful, and, "evil" bears repeating.

Christopher Hampton's play, set in 1780s Paris, is created as a game, both visually and verbally. The squares on the floor and the sharp banter between the two lead roles add up to a championship chess competition. The stakes are high, even for the winner. At play's end, it is difficult to determine who loses more.

"Liaisons" is mounted at the intimate Bernstein Theatre. The 18 scenes fluently move from one to the next in the form of dance, accompanied by period music. From the play's opening note, the chess/dance begins. Clever at first, the characters' jumping from square to square becomes too obvious. It is safe to say that everyone in the audience "got it" - this is a deadly match, albeit with some humor.

It is hard to believe that, when last seen at Shakespeare, Elizabeth Aspenlieder and Josh Aaron McCabe each starred in comedies. They were uproarious, throwing themselves (even physically) into their roles. While reserved in demeanor that befits "Liaison's" characters, the actors portray villains with capital "Vs". Aspenlieder's Marquise is the brighter and worse of the two, excusing her motives because she is of the weaker sex. Ha! McCabe's Vicomte pads his evil ways with humor, making him a bit more palatable as a human being. Aspenlieder surpasses herself in each new role. McCabe has not appeared often to date, but one hopes he will.

Tina Packer directs her actors in supporting roles, some with more stage time than others, so that each embodies a character not to be forgotten. Tony Simotes is to be credited as choreographer of the lengthy frightening sword and dagger fight in Act II.

Normal human emotions of jealousy and revenge, betrayal and cruelty run rampant among "Liaison's" population. The play is far more than a battle of the sexes. Good vs. evil is too simplistic. The Marquise exclaims, "This is war!" And the audience relishes every evil moment. For mature audiences.

The Lady With All the Answers

Hartford TheaterWorks, Hartford, CT
www.theaterworkshartford.org
through March 7, 2010
by Jarice Hanson

Biographical plays are always a challenge to mount when members of the audience have an image of the subject in their minds. David Rambo's The Lady With All the Answers portrays the life of Eppie Lederer, known as Ann Landers, on July 1, 1975 -- the eve of writing a deeply personal column. In this one-woman show, the talented Charlotte Booker bears a striking resemblance to Ann, and charms the audience with rapport and charisma by taking polls of the audience, composing her columns at her Selectric typewriter, and talking on the phone with her daughter, her husband, and her twin sister, the other popular advice columnist, "Dear Abby." Booker's attempt to affect a Chicago accent and Landers' quirky speech pattern are inconsistent, and she relies on smiles and warmth to tell the story of this woman who was reputed to have a temper, sharp tongue, and extravagant lifestyle.

Director Steve Campo effectively uses Adrian W. Jones' set in Lederer's Chicago living room, and Kenneth Mooney's costumes contribute an elegance that reflects Landers' popularity. Much of the material comes from the real letters and responses Ann Landers wrote from 1955-2002, chronicling American values and popular topics, from the correct way to hand a toilet paper roll, to the anguish of a 15-year old boy who struggles with coming out, or ending his life.

Booker represents Eppie as a feisty woman with strong morals, but perhaps because the subjects deal with issues from a simpler time, or because Booker has not yet been able to find the contradictions in Lederer's life that give the play the human tension it needs, the show falls flat.

While the audience awarded Booker with a standing ovation, the production still needs to find the appropriate balance between human anguish and humor, which Ann Landers affected so well.

The Lion King

The Bushnell, Hartford, CT
www.bushnell.org
through February 14, 2010
by Shera Cohen

While many theatre-lovers have taken sides on the Disneyfication of today's musical theatre - its effects on the medium, audiences, and future audiences - this review takes "The Lion King" strictly at face value. The fact that its Broadway opening earned just about every theatre award given is no surprise. Perhaps a bit surprising to some is that the national tour, in cities such as Hartford, is equal in presentation, skill, special effects, costuming, and choreography. "Lion King" in CT compares equally to NYC's "Lion King."

The story, straight from the movie version, offers some life lessons to lions and to humans, particularly the children in both species. There's drama and humor - the later on two levels for the appreciation of the kids and their adult chaperones. Elton John and Tim Rice's music ranges from contemporary rock ("The Morning Report") to ballads ("The Live in You") to calypso, and more. Of course, there is the expected beauty of "Circle of Life" and contagious beat of "Hakuna Matata." Singers shine, particularly in "Shadowland" and "Endless Night." All of this makes for the foundation of a good musical.

The "wow effect" of "Lion King," and far bigger than the songs, singers, and story combined, is the staging. The real stars are exquisitely talented director/costume designer Julie Taymor and choreographer Garth Fagan. Unfortunately, neither appears onstage to receive standing ovations.

"Lion King" is a visual delight with humans portraying life-size animals, birds, and vegetation. It is easy to only see the costumes and masks. Yet the faces of each actor "underneath" perfectly reflect his/her character. The backdrops of shimmering sun, dessert, sky, mountains, and elephant graveyard are massive. Color abounds in the come-to-life imaginations of the young lions. Technology is state-of-the-art in creating the art of live theatre, particularly in the stampede scene. Fagan, known for his choreography of his own famous dance troupe, as well as works performed by troupes across the globe, has created movements perhaps unseen onstage before "Lion King's" debut.

As for opening night's audience, chock full of children, it was a pleasure to hear their sounds of exclamation, lion "grrrrs," and questioning "Is that real?!"

Men Fake Foreplay

Men Fake Foreplay
City Stage, Springfield, MA
www.symphonyhall.com
through January 31, 2010
by R.E. Smith

"Men Fake Foreplay" is neither as simple nor as crude as the title might suggest. In fact, this witty, funny and insightful show is actually quite complex. Emmy award winning comedian Mike Dugan is an affable and candid performer who has set out to win our trust with humor and then teach us a few lessons. Since the lessons are about men and relationships and sex, we get the pleasure of laughing heartily while taking our medicine. Dugan has created a hybrid show designed to examine the seemingly irrational motivations of men.

"Foreplay" is part monologue because of the autobiographical nature of the material and Dugan's sometimes-surprising revelations. The thread that ties the insights and humor together is the story of his personal journey. He reports that in the past he didn't have relationships because "all of my training had been in casual sex". There's also a motivational aspect, as Dugan lays out the path he took to overcome his failings. This includes such insights as the fact that, like the sports men love, "Our feelings are on tape delay."

There's a bit of one-man play present in the structure, because Dugan touches on characters in his life with effortless mimicry, whether putting a dirty spin on "It's A Wonderful Life" or speaking in the vernacular of his childhood friends. But, like a stand-up show, there are bawdy, laugh out loud moments. Dugan reports that, "Women peak at age 40. Men peek at whatever they can."

The performer has some things he is truly upset about, especially the current culture of "playas" that profit from the degradation of women, and his keen observations of social norms and hypocrisies calls to mind George Carlin. Like Carlin, Dugan has a first class mind with an R-rated vocabulary.

"Men Fake Foreplay" is a unique and worthwhile evening's entertainment. Some men will "get it", some men will learn from it and both their female companions will laugh knowingly.