Dracula

From: "will stackman" profwlll@yahoo.com

Subject: Quicktake - "Dracula" by Weylin Symes, after Bram Stoker's novel

Date: Sun, Oct 23, 2005 8:07 PM

Quicktake on DRACULA

     Those familiar with the 1920's Balderston version of this story, often done by community theatres, will find Weylin Symes approach an improvement. Stoneham's artistic director, along with director Greg Smucker, have fashioned a contemporary thriller from Stoker's Victorian Gothic novel, hewing close to the original story line, which is not always dramatically effective. Perhaps they'll be able to workshop this script over the next year or so and bring it back in a future season. Stoneham's kept the cast down to six without sacrificing any important plot elements, and Susan Zeeman Rogers, aided by Jenna McFarland's able stagecraft, has come up with a flexible expressionist set with hints of the silent film classic "Caligari" and touches of Edward Gorey. The complex scene changes are carried out by the cast, perhaps for budgetary reasons. This can be distracting. A couple of supernumeraries might be speed things up.

     The title role is played by Publick Theatre's Diego Arciniegas with a nod to Dryer's "Nosferatu" and no hint of Bela Lugosi. Nathaniel McIntyre plays Jonathan Harker, the unfortunate young realtor sent to Transylvania to deal with the Count. IRNE winner Richard McElvain is Dutch scientist Van Helsing. He should somehow appear earlier in the action. The two heroines, Jonathan's wife Mina and her cousin, Lucy Westenra are played by Joy Lamberton, seen this summer at the Publick in "Arcadia" and "Comedy of Errors", and Angie Jepson, seen last summer in "Troilus and Cressida" in a title role. Their parts are convincing Victorian but could be more substantial to take advantage of these fine young talents. Lucy's fiance, Dr. Seward, is played by Owen Doyle, also seen in "Arcadia" as well as ASP's "Julius Caesar." He also plays the Romanian innkeeper. These experienced actors form a tight ensemble which lifts the production over a few rough patches in the storytelling.

     This production combines Stoneham's committment to new work aimed at a mainstream audience. Period costumes by Rachel Padula Shufelt and expert lighting by IRNE winner Karen Perlow catch the melodrama of the piece while giving the evening a contemporary air. The show is certainly appropriate to the season.

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"Dracula" by Weylin Symes, Oct. 20 - Nov. 6

Stoneham Theatre

395 Main St. Stoneham MA, (781) 279 - 2000
Stoneham Theatre

THE KEENING

From: "will stackman" profwlll@yahoo.com

Subject: Quicktake - "The Keening" by Humberto Dorado

Date: Thur, Oct 20, 10:53 AM

Quicktake on THE KEENING

     The English-lanuage version of Columbian screenwriter Huberto Dorado's "Con el Corazon Abierto" (With an Open Heart), retitled "The Keening" now playing at the ART's Zero Arrow St. facility is one of the strongest pieces of theatre seen in these parts in a long time. This monodrama, acted with precision by Marissa Chibas, currently the Head of Acting at Cal Arts, is an epic narrative of the life of one anonymous Columbian woman, whose interesting life but not extraordinary life reflects more than a half century of bloody political turmoil in that South American country. Director Nicholas Montero, who developed the original production for a 2004 festival in Bogota, has carefully orchestrated Dorado's storyline as a solemn ritual, past tragedy, not offering catharsis in the traditional sense. "The Keening" leaves the audience with an understanding of outrage without relief, mirroring the circumstance in his homeland. The evening is acted out on a formal thrust setting, where realistic detail combines with modern sterility, by Mexican designer Alejandro Luna, reinforcing the starkness of the tale and its Brechtian style. Chibas' powerful contained performance shows a survivor, not a victim, living the best she can in a devastating reality.

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"The Keening" by Humberto Dorado, Oct. 14 - Nov. 12

A.R.T. at Zero Arrow

Arrow & Mass. Ave, Harvard Sq. (617) 547 - 8300
A.R.T.

THE BOY FRIEND

From: "will stackman" profwlll@yahoo.com

Subject: Quicktake - "The Boy Friend" by Sandy Wilson

Date: Weds, Oct 12, 11:04 PM

Quicktake on THE BOY FRIEND

     "The Boy Friend"'s back, some fifty years after this homage to the fun of frivolous musical theatre brought Julie Andrews across the pond to the States. Dame Julie's in charge this time, and her vision of Sandy Wilson's bijou isless a revival and more a fond memory of a time when musicals weren't supposed to be significant. The tunes are actually hummable, the lyrics recall the kind of romance Rodgers & Hart and Irving Berlin were putting out over here, and West End theatres were laying on with regularity in the '20s. The cast captures the bright young things of the period, with a few older folks thrown in for comic relief. The snappy patter is predictable, but the laughs ring true, and the coincidences of the plot go back to the roots of romantic comedy. Choreographer John DeLuca has obvious watched a lot of early movie musicals while paying close attention to current styles, with an emphasis on froth. This is the kind of show where the audience walks out with a grin.

     Almost the brightest part of the evening, however, is Tony Walton's production design, done as a kind of giant toy theatre in illustration style with Kelly Hanson's help. He was assisted on the costumes, which at times steal the show, by Rachel Navarro.When this Goodspeed production is done in New York, which could take a while, expect local musical theatre producers to take a second look at its charms. In the mean time, they might want to search out its sequel, a Noel Cowardish sea-going romp, "Divorce Me, Darling"

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"The Boy Friend" by Sandy Wilson, Oct. 12-23

Goodspeed Musicals at the Shubert

265 Tremont St. , (800) 477- 7400 (TC)