FIVE BY TENN

From: "will stackman" profwlll@yahoo.com

Subject: Quicktake-”Five By Tenn"

Date: Sun, Jan 29, 5:56 PM

Quicktake on FIVE BY TENN

    Speakeasy’s latest production, “Five By Tenn” is more than just a collection of some of the Pulitzer Prize winning playwright’s lesser writing. The order and structure of the piece suggests Tennessee Williams’ life and works. Beginning with a 1948 piece, “These Are the Stairs You Got to Watch”, a large cast one act which could have functioned as the first act of a longer play, there’s a focus on a dreamy young man, a poet lost in the rough and material world. Eric Rubbe, who was last seen here in “Jacques Brel...” fills this reoccurring role. The part is much expanded in an even earlier work, “Summer at the Lake,” which foreshadows themes central to Williams’ best known work, “The Glass Menagerie.” In this one act, the poet’s mother is played to perfection by Trinity stalwart, Anne Scurria, who just finished the rerun of “Ruby Sunrise” at the Public in NY. Another veteran actress. Mary Klug, is her put-upon maid, and the voice of doom. The second scene from “Vieux Carre”(1977) is next, based on an autobiographical short story. It chronicles the poet’s coming out enabled by an older jaded artist, played by Will McGarrahan as only he can.

     The center of the collection is a short two scene play “And Tell Sad Stories of the Death of Queens”. An intermission occurs between the scenes. Allyn Burrows plays Candy Darling, a transvestite trying to have a relationship with Karl, a straight rough sailor willing to put up with her “friendship”--and nothing else-- for cash. Christopher Brophy, seen as the villain last spring in “Take Me Out,” who plays an equally frustrated fellow in the first piece is the object of Candy’s attention. Burrows carries off his role with the same panache that made his King John brilliant for Shakespeare & Co. this summer, and his Kent unique in “King Lear” for ASP this fall. The rest of the second half is an Absurdist piece “I Can’t Imagine Tomorrow”--originally written for television-- followed by “Mr. Paradise,” a coda of sorts. In these two short plays, William Young, seen last fall at BPT in "Red Elm", who might by the author in his decline, is first confronted by a younger self, again played by Rubbe, and then by starry-eyed college student, played by Ellen Adair, who appears in the first playlet as a promiscuous teenager. The quality of the acting by all and sundry brings out the best in the material.

    Scott Edmiston has directed the show fluidly on a two-level unit set by Janie E. Howland, which suggests the Vieux Carre, Williams’ spiritual home. Gail Astrid Buckley costumed the ensemble with her usual sure touch and sense of place. Karen Perlow's lighting provides a range of atmospheres, with musical touches by Dewey Dellay completing the show. This sampler of Williams’ work from his earliest up through his later less successful years suggests that more producing companies should delve into the treasure trove of his writing.

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"Five by Tenn" by Tennessee Williams, Jan. 27 - Feb. 25

Speakeasy Stage Co. in Roberts Studio at Calderwood Pavilion

BCA, 527 Tremont / (617) 933 -8600

Speakeasy Stage

THEY NAMED US MARY

From: "will stackman" profwlll@yahoo.com

Subject: Quicktake - "They Named Us Mary" by Lyralen Kaye

Date: Fri, Jan 27, 11:39 PM e

Quicktake on THEY NAMED US MARY

     "They Named Us Mary", which ran in 2004 with its author, Lyralen Kaye, in the lead, is back again with Kaye again playing the oldest of five sisters named Mary, Mary Clare. The play still attempts to combine a bitter domestic drama with fantasy elements. Whether these moments should be described as expressionist or symbolist or even surreal is debatable. In any case, the script is still an uneasy mix of the main character's dream images and rather trite scenes with her dysfunctional siblings and their domineering mother shortly after the death of their father. The acting, which aspires to Meisner's interpretation of the Method made infamous by Actor's Studio, is uneven at best. The cast, Diane DeCoste (Maria, the mother), Emily Evans (Mary Grace, the good one), Steve Falcone (the father's ghost, etc), Angela Gunn (Mary Margaret, the party girl), Bertie Payne-Strange (Mary Anne, the kid), and Christina Wolfskehl (Mary Teresa, the rebel), never finds a common ground. Moreover, there's never really as sense of place--Pittsburgh--or the period--the 1980's??.

     While the situation is potentially interesting, the drawn out revelations are more like a soap opera than a drama. The material needs to be tightened into a forty or fifty minute--or shorter-- one-act played on a unit set without tedious scene changes. It will probably be made into a low budget independent film instead, which actually might bring the circumstances into better focus. The unfortunate situation of abused children has become a dramatic commonplace. When combined with substance abuse and religious hypocrisy the play quickly turns melodramatic. Director Courtney O'Connor has tried to integrate the elements of the show, but minimal funding and problems of pace make for a tedious time.

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"They Named Us Mary" by Lyralen Kaye, Jan.26 - Feb.12

Another Country Productions at Boston Playwrights' Theatre

949 Comm. Ave. Allston, (866) 411 - 8111
Another Country

TOM CREAN - Antartic Explorer

From: "will stackman" profwlll@yahoo.com

Subject: Quicktake - "Tom Crean - Antartic Explorer" by Aidan Doyle

Date: Thursday, Jan 26, 12:04 AM
Quicktake on TOM CREAN - ANTARTIC EXPLORER

     Aidan Doyle's rousing performance of his one-man docudrama, "Tom Crean - Antartic Explorer" will remind anyone complaining about the cold of a New England winter how easy we have here. Crean, an Irishman bosun in the Royal Navy, accompanied both Scott and Shackleton on their attempts to reach the South Pole. The two act tale of his experiences draws his audience in as only a first-class storyteller can. The facts of Crean's adventures are astounding enough, but Galwayman Doyle's genial Irish style, in the grand tradition of the sennachie, makes these almost unbelievable journeys real once again.

     The voyages of Scott's "Discovery" and "Terra Nova", as well as Shackleton's "Endurance" have been the subject of PBS documentaries as well as several touring museum exhibitions, but a closeup view based on the experiences of one of the crew provides a truer window into that time only a hundred years ago when Antartica was truly Terra Incognita. Doyle employs his considerable skill as a raconteur, clown, and writer to make "Tom Crean", who ends his days keeping the "South Pole", the pub he built in his hometown of Annascaul in Kerry, an admirable everyman, forging ahead into adversity, deserving of the four Royal medals the seaman won. Performed on a square of canvas with a few homey props to make the period more real, A long wooden sled of the type which the intrepid explorers of the Antartic towed across the ice, in some places four miles thick, at other times perilously thin over the polar seas hangs behind him against the black backdrop. "Tom Crean - Antartic Explorer", which won Best Solo Performance at the New York International Fringe Festival in NYC in 2003, is a mesmerizing tribute to indomitable human spirit and the survival value of a sense of humor.

     Doyle's show, which had its second successful run at Burlington's Northern Stage this past fall, is only part of a busy career centering around his company, "Play on Words" which tours schools and small theatres throughout the U.K. from a home base in Rochester, England. A return visit to Boston would be welcomed sooner rather than later.

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"Tom Crean - Antartic Explorer" by Aidan Doyle, Jan 25 - Feb. 11

Sugan Theatre Co. in Plaza Theatre, BCA

529 Tremont, Boston /(617) 933 - 8600
Sugan

FLOWERS OF RED

From: "will stackman" profwlll@yahoo.com

Subject: Quicktake - "Flowers of Red" by Eliza Wyatt

Date: Sun, Jan 15, 5:58 PM

Quicktake on FLOWERS OF RED

     There's one more weekend to see Eliza Wyatt's latest play, which had its first run this summer at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe, and is getting further development at BTW this month. Wyatt, who makes her home in Brighton England as well as here, is no stranger to crosscultural conflict. Her take on the meeting between a Palestinean woman and a young American peace activist the same age has real resonance. Krista D'Agostino as Samia and Caryn Andrea Lindsey as Roberta embody these two, and throughout the play almost seem to be living in two separate worlds, even though they're both in Raffa in the Gaza strip waiting for Isreali bulldozers to wreck the place. Director Marco Zarattini has set the two on separate tracks which can be disconcerting, but which is ultimately successful. Jonathon Myers plays a shady young man pretending to be another activist, a Buddhist even, but who is apparently working for the CIA--a fact known to the audience from the first.

     The production is a bit rough and ready, but both the set, props and costumes are sufficient to the task. The play, which is now being presented with a brief intermission might benefit from several internal breaks, but has an interesting line of development, and nice toches. There is indeed room for expansion on several points and Wyatt should be encouraged to continue working on this piece. The play was inspired by the death of Rachel Corrie, who was run down by a bulldozer at Raffa trying to prevent the punitive destruction of Palestinean homes several years ago. Despite recent developments, neither side has really advanced much closer to a peaceful resolution to the dilemma in which both populations are trapped.


"Flowers of Red" by Eliza Wyatt, Thurs.-Sun. thru Jan. 22

Boston Theatrics at BTW

949 Comm. Ave. Allston, (866) 411-8111 (TM)
Eliza Wyatt

A PRAYER FOR OWEN MEANY

From: "will stackman" profwlll@yahoo.com

Subject: Quicktake - "A Prayer for Owen Meany" by Simon Bent, based on John Irving's novel

Date: Sat, Jan 14, 9 AM

Quicktake on A PRAYER FOR OWEN MEANY

     The Stoneham Theatre has developed a reputation for strong full-scale presentations of provocative recent plays. Their New England premiere of Simon Bent's adaptation of John Irving's semi-autobiographical 1988 novel, "A Prayer for Owen Meany" is another such success. Irving's complex novel, which deals with religious and moral issues against the background of a hidebound New England town in the late '50s and '60s , comes to a climax during the Vietnam era. The issues this work raises have a prescience today, making "...Owen Meany" one of the most significant productions this company has offered.

     Multitalented New Yorker Ken Schatz is riveting in the title role of the boy with the wrecked voice, described by his friend John as the smallest person he ever knew. John Wheelwright, the narrator of the piece and the author's stand-in, is played with conviction by Timothy Smith, a faculty member at the College of the Holy Cross and Artistic director of Worcester's Redfeather Theatre. John's grandmother, from old and rich New England stock, is played by Ann Marie Shea, seen recently at BPT in Dan Hunter's "Red Elm". Bobbie Steinbach, fresh from Maria in ASP's "Twelfth Night" gets a few more laughs as Mrs. Wheelwright's wheelchair-bound cook. Owen's Irish parents are played by Owen Doyle, seen last fall as Dr. Seward in "Dracula" at Stoneham, and Sharon Mason who like Doyle has acted for a number of local companies. John's singer mother, Tabitha, is played by Caitlin Lowans, Stoneham's Education director, who just directed their "A Christmas Story". His stepfather, Dan, is peripetatic local character lead Richard Arum.

     The rest of the talented ensemble includes Jon L. Eggerling as a traditional Episcopal priest and Stephen Russell doubling as Rector Wiggins, a breezy modern minister, and as Dr. Dolder, the school psychiatrist. Lisa Tucker from Beau Jest is Wiggin's Sunday school teacher wife. Floyd Richardson, last seen in TheatreZone's "Firebugs," plays an eccentric local, Mr. Fish, as well as the police chief, and Owen's superior officer. Cory Scott plays several generally menacing younger characters crucial to Owen's fate. The rest of the ensemble doubles as Owen's schoolmates and later as adults, particularly Gerald Slattery, who goes from a fat bully to the headmaster of the school. Christine Hamel, a local teacher and actress, and Cristi Miles, last seen at the New Rep in their "Christmas Carol", play little girls, various wives and mothers, and nuns. Director Weylin Symes has pulled this diverse cast together to create a fast paced condensation of Irving's sprawling epic. He's helped by Audra Avery's plain and efficient abstract unit set, realized with the help of scenic artist Jenna McFarland. Seth Bodie comes up with an array of costumes that help define a broad range of characters. David Wilson's soundscape and Gianni Downs' lighting complete the show. The first three shows in Stoneham's season were interesting, if somewhat uneven, but this engaging drama is simply a must-see, for Schatz' and Smith's performances, and the ensemble which supports them, as well as Bent's reduction of Irving's moving tale.

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"A Prayer for Owen Meany" by Simon Bent, Jan. 12 - 29

Stoneham Theatre

395 Main St. Stoneham MA, (781) 279-2200
Stoneham Theatre

Les Liasions Dangereuses

From: "will stackman" profwlll@yahoo.com

Subject: Quicktake - "Les Liaisons Dangereuse" by Christopher Hampton
                adapted from a novel by Choderlos de Laclos (1782)

Date: Wed, Jan 11, 11:23 PM

Quicktake on LES LIAISONS DANGEREUSE

     The Huntington's latest effort is a lavish but unsatisfying attempt to reenergize Christopher Hampton's 1985 retelling of a scandalous proto-novel from pre-Revolutionary France. It fails largely because the two actors cast in the leading roles are don't catch fire with either the audience or each other. La Marquise de Tourvel, the schemer behind the various plots, has been played on screen by luminaries such as Jeanne Moreau (1959), Glenn Close (1988), and Catherine Deneuve(2003 TV). N.Y. actress Tasha Lawrence has neither the presence or the vocal range to carry off the role, and is betrayed by her costumes more than once. Mr. Blackwell would have a field day. Her partner in intrigue, Le Vicomte de Valmont, done by Gerard Phillipe(1959), John Malkovich (1988), Rupert Everett(2003), and in the original RSC stage version by Alan Rickman (1985-89 London & NY) falls to film & TV personality Michael T. Weiss who is generally unconvincing. The third important role, Marianne, La Presidente de Tourvel, a young very religious married woman, whom Valmont inexplicably sets out to seduce, was done by Annette Vadim in 1959 (her father directed), Michelle Pfieffer (1988), and Natasia Kinski in 2003. At the Huntington, young Yvonne Woods has the look and bearing, is a convincing actress, but is too limited vocally. The director, Daniel Goldstein seems to have intended make the piece more contemporary by avoiding any sense of upperclass speech. It's only when Valmont's aunt, IRNE winner Alice Duffy, is dominating a scene that the vocal drama matches the pseudo-aristocratic costumery. Much of the cast simply babbles.

     James Noone's set is impressive from the orchestra, if a little too tall, but has the usual sightline problems from the balcony--and it twinkles. Mark Stanley's light plot has holes so that actors are sometimes out-of-focus at key moments. The original music by Loren Toolajian, period-like with intrusive modern beats, doesn't accomplish very much. It's the concept driven costuming by Erin Chainani--modern touches and references-- that proves the least effective, except when most in period. Why is Valmont wearing pinstripes?

    If you want to experience this expose of decadence with the inevitable titillation, rent the Academy Award nominated 1988 movie to get the story--and don't laugh to hard at Keanu Reeves as a young dandy-- then find Vadim's 1959 version to get the picture. If you're a movie buff, search out Milos Forman's 1989 "Valmont" with Annette Being and Colin Firth. The original epistolatory two volume text is a bit of a slog in either French or English.

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""Les Liaisons Dangereuse" by Christopher Hampton, Jan. 6 - Feb. 5

Huntington Theatre Co. at B.U. Theatre

264 Huntington Ave, (617) 266 - 0800

THE UNDERPANTS

From: "will stackman" profwlll@yahoo.com

Subject: Quicktake - "The Underpants" by Carl Sternheim, adapted by Steve Martin

Date: Sun, Jan 8, 2006 11:07 PM

Quicktake on THE UNDERPANTS

     One could argue that this script should more fairly be labeled as "based" on rather than "adapted" from German Expressionist author Carl Sternheim's most remembered work. Steve Martin has reduced the cast, eliminated most of the philosophical implications, but fortunately improved the farce. This style of comedy is one of the Lyric's strong points, and under Daniel Gidron's sophisticated direction and with a cast of seasoned local professionals, the result is thoroughly entertaining if somewhat intellectually bland. Gail Astrid Buckley's costume are ideal as ever and Cristina Todesco's set has simple elegance.

     Caroline Lawton is the young wife, Louise, whose bloomers accidentally fall as she's watching a royal parade. IRNE winner Steven Barkhimer is overbearingly Germanic as her government clerk husband, Theo, an older man. Lewis D. Wheeler, a rich poet, and Neil A. Casey, a Jewish barber, are the couple's two new lodgers, who each witnessed Louise's mishap and find her suddenly attractive. She's encouraged to accept the poet's advances by her nosey neighbor, Gertrude, played wryly by Stephanie Clayman. Casey, in his inimitable fashion, keeps getting in the way. For variety, Robert Bonotto shows up in the second act as Klinglehoff, a sober scientist, who's also seeking a room and gets an eyeful. Martin's take on this classic is fast and funny if rather inconclusive, aimed at crowd-pleasing more than examining the ramifications of a rigid society and bourgeois complacency. It's played across the country in both red and blue states incidentally.

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"The Underpants" by Carl Sternheim, Jan. 6 - Feb. 4, 2006

Lyric Stage at Copley YWCA

140 Clarendon, Boston, (617) 585 - 5678 new number
Lyric Stage Co.