Reviewed by Tony Annicone

 

Newport Playhouse’s first show of their 34th season is “Romantic Comedy” by Bernard Slade. The show is centered on Jason Carmichael, an arrogant, self centered and sharp tongued successful co-author of romantic comedies. He is faced with two momentous events: he supposed to marry a society belle and his collaborator is retiring. Enter mousey Phoebe Craddock who quickly becomes his new collaborator. Fame and success flourish for ten years and then Jason goes into a tailspin when his world is changed. Phoebe gets married and moves to Paris with her new journalist husband. But will Phoebe return to New York to get back together with Jason? And if so will it be happily ever after. Director Anne Mulhall casts these six roles wonderfully and elicits strong performances from her hard working performers.

Read more ““ROMANTIC COMEDY” (Newport Playhouse)”

Reviewed by Tony Annicone

 

The latest show at 2nd Story Theatre is “Murder at the Howard Johnson’s” by Sam Bobrick and Ron Clark. The show is a light fast pace suspense comedy about a love-triangle between a husband, Paul Miller, his wife, Arlene and their dentist, Mitchell Lovell, at the Howard Johnson’s Motor Inn. It is a three scene play which takes place at Christmas, July 4th and New Year’s Eve. Its many twists and turns during this mixed up mayhem keeps the audience in stitches all night long. Director Ed Shea keeps the show moving at a rapid fire pace and gives his comic performers a lot of sight gags and shtick to do, giving it the necessary ingredients for the hilarious night of comedy that occurs. The authentic set and lighting is by Max Ponticelli and the gorgeous 1978 costumes are by Ron Cesario.

Michael McAdam plays Paul, the car salesman that Arlene wants to divorce one minute then loves the next. He can’t believe what is happening and allows himself to be tied up in a chair. Then in another scene, he runs around outside on the ledge. Michael is hilarious when he climbs back into the room as if he is still outside on the ledge. Another comic moment is when he realizes he has bird poo on his forehead. Michael also brings KFC chicken for Arlene in this scene while hiding in a closet, waving a gun in the air and spouting lessons he learned in self actualization class. There is a surprise heart attack scare that doesn’t end the way you expect which wins many laughs. He steals many a scene with his wacky antics.

Lara Hakeem plays Arlene, who has her car salesman husband and dentist boyfriend chasing after her throughout the show. Arlene is a dim bulb who can’t chose who she wants to be with which leads her to thoughts of murder. Some of her funniest moments include dressing in a blonde wig while pretending to be a bimbo, pretending to make love on the bed, crawling under the bed and starting to make love with one of her lovers and kissing her lover behind her husband’s back. Lara delivers the goods as this kooky off balance woman and obtains many laughs along the way.

Wayne Kneeland plays the skirt chasing dentist, Mitchell. He is very funny while seducing Arlene and plotting against Paul while saying love conquers everything. Another comic bit is when he spills champagne on Paul’s crotch. Mitchell ties up Paul with Paul’s tie and his tie, makes a noose for the gallows and runs around on the ledge in shorts. He also gets a dose of Novocain in the butt which makes him limp around the room and also is a hoot when he does some disco moves. Another comic gem is when he puts on lipstick to kiss a scarf. So for a funny farce to brighten up these cold winter days, be sure to catch “Murder at the Howard Johnson’s” at 2nd Story Theatre. I have fond memories of this show, having directed it in 1983 and 2014. It will help brighten up your mood with all the political shenanigans going on, too.

MURDER AT THE HOWARD JOHNSON’S (10 February to 12 March)

2nd Story Theatre, 28 Market St, Warren, RI

1(401)847-4200 or www.2ndstorytheatre.com

 

 

Larry recently received this request to share his thoughts on theater from an unlikely source, so we thought we’d share it with you – Editor.

 

 

Hello Mr. Stark!

 

Our names are Aylin and Julia. We are students of JJ Daniel Middle School and we need help with a project. We are studying “Entertainment Throughout The Years” and we have some questions for you. We would be delighted to have you answer them.

 

Thank you so much for your time,

Julia and Aylin

 

 

Wow.

 

First, I’d love to take such a course with you; I’d learn things I never thought of before, I’m sure!

Read more “Larry Shares Thoughts On Theater With Middle Schoolers!”

 

Reviewed by Tony Annicone

 

Ocean State Theatre Company’s fifth season’s winter comedy is “Born Yesterday” by Garson Kanin. An uncouth, corrupt rich junk dealer, Harry Brock brings his showgirl mistress Billie Dawn with him to Washington, D.C. When Billie’s ignorance becomes a liability to Brock’s business dealings, he hires a journalist, Paul Verrall, to educate his mistress. In the process of learning, Billie Dawn realizes how corrupt Harry is and begins interfering with his plan to coerce a Senator into passing legislation that would allow Brock’s business to make more money. The original show ran for 1642 performances on Broadway. Director Amiee Turner casts marvelous performers in these role and elicits terrific performances from this timely show that could have been written about contemporary political times we live in.

Read more ““BORN YESTERDAY””

 

by Mike Hoban

 

‘The Mountaintop’ – Written by Katori Hall;  Directed by Kent Gash; Set Design by Jason Sherwood; Costume Design by Kara Harmon;  Lighting design by Dawn Chiang, Sound Design by Justin Ellington, Projection Design by Shawn Duan. Presented by Trinity Repertory, 201 Washington St, Providence, RI through February 12th.

 

When I was a young boy in 1968, I remember watching television one night when the CBS Evening News came on. “Good evening. Dr. Martin Luther King, the apostle of non-violence in the civil rights movement, has been shot to death in Memphis, Tennessee,” deadpanned Walter Cronkite, an actual newsman reading the news. I ran to wake my grandmother, who was napping, and asked, “Nana, who is Martin Luther King?”

Read more “Trinity Rep’s “Mountaintop” Humanizes MLK with Laughter, Grace”

URINETOWN

Reviewed by Tony Annicone

 

Footlights Repertory Theatre Company’s first junior show of this year is “Urinetown” which won three Tony Awards in 2002. “Urinetown” is set in the future where a drought of epic proportions has forced corrupt officials to come up with a unique way to conserve water: people may only use public restrooms and pay for the privilege to pee. Fed up citizens take to the streets but those caught breaking the law are carted off to the mysterious “Urinetown” never to be seen or heard from again. This satirical musical pokes fun at and sends up “The Threepenny Opera”, “Annie”, “Fiddler on the Roof”, “West Side Story” and Gershwin romances simultaneously. Directors Neil Jeronimo and Tricia Rodrigues, choreographer Barry Pereira, musical director Kasey Jeronimo and orchestra conductor Jameson Ward win their talented cast a well deserved standing ovation at the end of the show. “Urinetown” is dedicated to the loving memory of Steve Nichols.

Read more “URINETOWN (Footlights Repertory Theatre Jr Division, Morton Middle School)”

Reviewed by Tony Annicone

 

Walpole Footlighters second show of their 93rd season is the French farce, “Don’t Dress for Dinner.” This show is about Bernard planning an intimate evening with his mistress and packs his wife off to her mother’s house. Unfortunately his wife, Jacqueline, stays in town and his best friend is to be uses as an alibi. But there is a hidden secret there, too. Throw in two cooks, mistaken identities and some fantastic slapstick routines and you have the ingredients for the madcap romp that ensues. The alibis get confused and Bernard and Robert have to improvises excuses at break neck speed. Director Dan Delaporta infuses the show with high energy and shows adeptness at comic direction so each of the six performers has their moment to shine in this farce.

Dan tackles this contemporary farce with a talented cast and creates some hilarious shtick. The constant spilling drinks, naughty doings and wrestling on the sofa and slapping each other around are some of the laugh out loud moments. Leading the cast as Bernard, the husband is Dan Kirichok. He is a debonair actor who plays the part with nervousness and high anxiety. Dan has a flair for the role with facial expressions and slow burns. Another comic bit is his constantly changing costumes due to spilled drinks. He also wrestles on the sofa and wields the ice tongs around threateningly. Ann-Marie Weaver is Jacqueline, the long suffering wife who has a hidden secret of her own. She finds out about her husband’s infidelity and is furious about it. Ann-Marie gets to yell and browbeat the other characters with humorous results. She sprays Bernard several times with water and checks out her sexy dress. Jacqueline mixes up Suzanne for Suzette, creating chaos in the house which leads to the men to tell lie after lie to cover the truth up.

Peter McElhinney is very comical as Bernard’s best friend, Robert. He is hilarious as he runs around the stage trying to keep the secrets from being revealed. Peter is a hoot when he cowers in fear when threatened to be beaten up or being castrated by a jealous husband. His facial expressions are excellent as is his rapid line delivery. His last explanation is hysterical.  Emily Murray is Suzette, the real cook who is mistaken for the mistress. She has the funniest one liners in this show. Emily’s facial expressions are fantastic during the show and a laugh out loud moment is when she hides the money in her bra. Also hilarious is when the two men transform her maid’s outfit into an evening dress in a split second as well as when she struts out in a mink coat at the close of the show.  Ashley Harmon plays Bernard’s sexy mistress, Suzanne who is a model. She is a beautiful brunette who makes this role come alive with her clever and sarcastic lines. Ashley struts around in evening wear while making or should I say ruining dinner. She displays the jealous streak in Suzanne as she slaps Bernard around and spills sauce all over him. Last but not least is Andrew Bradley as the physically threatening character of George. Although he doesn’t enter until later in the show, he gets to knock out the two men, gets sat on by the three women and helps to resolve the sticky situation at hand. One of his funniest moments occurs when Peter pays him off with hush money to pretend to be Suzette’s Uncle Robert. So for a laugh a minute farce, be sure to catch “Don’t Dress for Dinner” at Walpole Footlighters to lighten up this cold winter season.

DON’T DRESS FOR DINNER (3 to 19 February)

Walpole Footlighters, 5 Scout Road, East Walpole, MA

1(508)668-8446 or www.footlighters.com

Reviewed by Hen Zannini

Little Theatre of Fall River’s current production is A Streetcar Named Desire. Written in 1947 by American playwright Tennessee Williams, it received the Pulitzer Prize for Drama in 1948. The play opened on Broadway on December 3, 1947, and closed on December 17, 1949, in the Ethel Barrymore Theatre. The Broadway production was directed by Elia Kazan and starred Jessica Tandy, Marlon Brando, Karl Malden, and Kim Hunter. Streetcar is often regarded as one of the finest plays of the 20th century and is considered by many to be Williams’ greatest. He was ahead of his time, discussing homosexual relationships, domestic violence, and rape.

Read more “A STREETCAR NAMED DESIRE (Little Theatre of Fall River)”

 

By Richard Pacheco

 

Lillian Hellman was one of the most significant women playwrights in American History. This work, “The Children’s Hour,” proved to be quite scandalous in 1934 when it was first produced, but seems tame and somewhat dated in contemporary times. It is a drama set in an all-girls boarding school run by two women, Karen Wright and Martha Dobie. An angry student, Mary Tilford, runs away from the school, and to avoid being sent back she tells her grandmother that the two headmistresses are having a lesbian affair.

Read more ““The Children’s Hour” (Gamm Theatre)”

 

by Mike Hoban

 

‘A Doll’s House’ – Written by Henrik Ibsen, Adaptation by Bryony Lavery; Directed by Melia Bensussen; Scenic Design by James Noone; Costume Design by Michael Krass; Lighting Design by Dan Kotlowitz; Sound Design & Original Music, Rob Milburn and Michael Bodeen. Presented by the Huntington Theatre at 264 Huntington Ave., Boston through February 5th.

 

It is easy to see why “A Doll’s House” – now being given a powerful staging by the Huntington at the BU Theatre – is viewed as a feminist play, despite being written by a man. Henrik Ibsen’s classic has at least one of the key elements of second stage modern feminism – the concept that women could no longer be treated as possessions (or in “Doll’s House” – as something akin to pets) by their significant others. What was nearly inconceivable, however, is the fact that it had been written in 1879, and not 1979. This somewhat (2011) new adaptation by British playwright Bryony Lavery (a woman) is making its U.S. debut, and updates some of the language to make it more relatable to modern audiences. This was my first exposure to the play, and it appears that the new adaptation (which I was assured didn’t veer materially from the original) succeeds brilliantly.

 

Read more “Huntington Gives Ibsen Classic ‘A Doll’s House’ a Contemporary Look”