By Mike Hoban

‘West Side Story’ – Music by Leonard Bernstein. Lyrics by Stephen Sondheim. Book by Arthur Laurents. Original Concept, Original Broadway Direction & Choreography by Jerome Robbins; Directed by Bob Richard; Choreography by Diane Laurenson; Music Direction by Milton Granger; Scenic Design by Kyle Dixon; Lighting Design by Jack Mehler; Sound Design by Don Hanna; Costume Coordinator and Additional Costume Design by Mark Nagle. Presented by the North Shore Music Theatre, 62 Dunham Rd. Beverly, through November 20.

“West Side Story” is truly an American masterpiece, not only for its stunning score and brilliant choreography, but for its unflinching and honest portrayal of cross-cultural hate – in a musical, no less. A production that features a graphic rape scene and three brutal killings was a complete deviation from standard musical fare  when it debuted in 1957 , so it’s no wonder that the more conventional (and brilliant in its own right) “Music Man” took home the lion’s share of Tony Awards, including Best Musical. But nearly 60 years later, ‘West Side Story’ still retains its raw power and ability to shock and educate, and the terrific production now being staged by the North Shore Music Theatre really does this classic justice.

For those unfamiliar with the story, the Jets are a gang of juvenile delinquents with a “social disease”, i.e., products of a low income/education neighborhood, which greatly diminishes their prospects of achieving anything approximating the American Dream. They are engaged in a turf war with the Sharks, a Puerto Rican gang with even dimmer prospects. To settle territorial matters once and for all, Riff, the Jet’s leader, sets up a meeting after the local dance to challenge Bernardo (the Sharks capo), to a rumble. Riff is counting on his best friend and former lieutenant, Tony, a Polish-American, to help out in the battle, but Tony says he’s through with gang life. Those plans change when he shows up at the dance and meets Maria, the girl of his dreams, and the wheels are set in motion for the story’s timeless love story (and, of course, it’s multiple tragic endings).

NSMT has assembled a stellar cast, led by its outstanding female leads. Evy Ortiz is the quintessential Maria, wide-eyed and innocent in the musical’s early scenes, and a rage-filled tiger following the senseless and violent deaths of her loved ones. Ortiz’ vocals are flawless throughout, and her duets with Tony (Bronson Norris Murphy) are mesmerizing. But it is the fiery performance by Michelle Alves as Anita (Bernardo’s girlfriend) that nearly steals the show. Alves has a dominating presence as the only adult in the room in most scenes, and you can’t help but focus on her during the dance sequences, even when the full company is on stage – she’s that compelling as a dancer. Her scene with Maria following the death of Bernardo is heart-wrenching, and her work on Anita’s signature tunes (“A Boy Like That” and “America”) is first rate. Jane Abbott is also a standout as Riff’s uber-sexy girlfriend, Velma.

Murphy, while a bit wholesome for the role of Tony, is a talented vocalist, and his scenes with Maria where they profess their undying love despite having met only hours before, feel genuine. Tyler John Logan is a force as Riff, and NSMT favorite David Coffee gives a terrific performance as Doc. But it is the ensemble work that really drives this exceptional work, from the opening “Jet Song” through the “Finale”. Choreographer Diane Laurenson’s work is nothing short of brilliant, with the wildly energetic “The Dance at the Gym” and the hauntingly beautiful “Somewhere” numbers among the most memorable of the 2016 theater season. If you’ve never seen “West Side Story”, this production is a profound testament to what musical theater can be, in that it goes way beyond simple entertainment to show us the toll that blind bigotry takes in human terms. And if you have seen it before, see this one. You won’t be disappointed. For more info, go to: http://www.nsmt.org/west-side-story.html

 

By Michele Markarian

 

‘Mala’ Written and performed by Melinda Lopez. Directed by David Dower. Presented by ArtsEmerson, Emerson/Paramount Center, Jackie Liebergott Black Box Theatre, for the Arts, 559 Washington Street, Boston, MA through November 20.

 

Melinda Lopez is one of the more honest and engaging actors of our community. She first caught my eye years ago when she performed at the BCA in Coyote Theater Company’s “Blue Window”.  An actress myself at the time, I shook my head in wonder and knew that whatever I thought I was doing right, this woman was doing it a million times better. She brings the same honesty and engagement to “Mala”, an intensely personal piece about the guilt and courage it takes to be a witness and ultimately, unwilling helper in the earthly demise of one’s parents.

 

Mala is a Spanish word for someone rotten to the core. Lopez’s mom uses it on her daughters when they try and get her to do things she doesn’t want to do, like go to the hospital after a fall.  Lopez has put herself in the brave and vulnerable position of housing her parents; they live in an apartment on her property. An older sister, who is a scientist preoccupied with her job and often cast as Bad Cop, comes in periodically to find herself the special target of her mother’s venom.  Other supporting roles – all played by Lopez – are her own daughter, her Jewish mother-in-law, and Gina, a neighbor who is also dealing with aging parents.

 

Two parents are easier to deal with than one, even as they’re yelling at each other and throwing dishes around. (“We’re Cuban” shrugs Lopez). Once her father dies – in one of the more moving moments of “Mala” – Lopez is forced to hire a companion for her mother. “She’s started dying, but haven’t we all?” asks the playwright/performer, and indeed, one’s own issues of mortality are always just beneath the surface when our parents, our protective layer between life and death, depart.

 

Lopez does a terrific job expressing the emotions and tasks associated with having an aging parent – the guilt for living, the desire to keep them happy against one’s better judgment, the denial over the extremity of their health. Lopez describes an incident where her mother falls and hits her head as something routine – the women in her family have low blood pressure, and tend to fall without consequences. Minutes later her mother is laughing, talking, so Lopez decides not to send her to the hospital for a checkup.  Two days later, when she can’t get out of bed, it’s discovered that she has bleeding on the brain due to the accident.

 

Things like this are commonplace when dealing with the elderly; if you’ve got aging parents at home or have just buried them, this is not a fun or even cathartic show to see. “I’m depressed”, said my husband when we left, who buried, after extensive caregiving, his own parents over the past two years. “I hear you”, I said – my dad’s been gone four years and I had to put my mother in a nursing home.  As a matter of fact, everyone I know seems to dealing with mortality, guilt and parents.  “But she is so good”, said my husband, brightening, referring to Lopez, and yeah, she is so good.  She is the reason to see this play. For more info, go to: https://artsemerson.org/Online/

By Mike Hoban

‘Tiger Style’ – written by Mike Lew; Directed by Moritz von Stuelpnagel; Scenic Design by Wilson Chin; Costume Design by Junghyun Georgia Lee; Lighting Design by Matthew Richards; Sound Design by Palmer Hefferan. Presented by the Huntington Theatre Company at Calderwood Pavilion at the BCA, 527 Tremont Street, Boston through November 20

Art is subjective.

And if you believe that comedy is an art form (as I do), then it stands to reason that comedy is a matter of taste which, of course, there’s no accounting for. While a pie in the face may leave one person doubled over in laughter, another may just shake their head at the silliness. ‘Tiger Style’, the new Mike Lew comedy playing at the Calderwood Pavilion at the BCA, is a prime example of how what works for one person may not necessarily for another.

Much like its Chinese-American millennial protagonists – ‘Tiger Style’ appears to be searching for its (comic) identity. It wants to be a “smart comedy” that makes a point about cultural stereotyping of Asians in America, but it plays too much like a zany sitcom, where outrageous lines that seem to have little to do with the characters are randomly tagged on to generate laughs. Playwright Lew appears to be trying have it both ways, and while there are some undeniably funny scenes and jokes in the play, the somewhat promising first act goes wildly off the rails into a series of bizarre Pee-Wee’s Playhouse outtakes in Act II that almost totally invalidate the play’s ending. But if laughs are what you’re looking for, you could certainly do a lot worse than ‘Tiger Style’.

Jennifer and Albert are an academically gifted but socially challenged brother and sister that live together in her condo along with her boyfriend. The pair were pushed along the high achievement path as kids by the “Tiger Mother” style of Chinese parenting, to the point that not only did they both graduate from Harvard, but also performed a concerto for piano and cello at a sold-out Carnegie Hall – when they were just kids.  Jennifer is traditionally successful in her career as an oncologist, Albert less so as a tech guy, but their ability to function as adults is woefully lacking.

Albert has just been passed over for a promotion at his tech job, for a lunk (a very funny Bryan T. Donovan, who plays a number of roles) named Russ the Bus, whose idea of teamwork is letting Albert do all the work while they share the credit. Jenny, an oncologist at a major hospital, would appear to be the epitome of success, but that still doesn’t prevent her from being in a live-in relationship with a dolt who installs car stereo systems for a living (although given the technology for cars today, it’s not like he’s pumping gas). When he dumps her because she doesn’t meet his expectations of “exotic” yet “submissive” (a nod to the supposed traits of all Asian women by westerners), she falls apart completely.

Stung by their inability to accept themselves as failures on any level, they prove that they are deeply American – by looking for someone to blame. They come to the (possibly false) realization that their parents are the culprits, for pushing them so hard academically and leaving them without life skills – or something like that. Albert declares, “I’m going to yell at our Mom like a white girl”, and the two set off to unload on their parents. But when mom and dad refuse to co-sign their B.S., they decide to go “Full Western” and behave like insufferable (white) millennials. Albert adopts an in-your-face persona that causes him to lose his job, while Jenny hopes to turn her life into a “rom-com” by getting therapy (the scene between her and the therapist, as she tries to schedule her road to wellness, is spot on and hilarious).

When going Western fails, they decide to go East on an “Asian Freedom Tour” – returning to China where they expect to be embraced by people that are “just like them,” – despite the fact that they’re entitled Americans who don’t even speak Chinese. This is where the play sinks to a level of plausibility you would expect from a “Saved by the Bell” episode, with each successive scene weirder than the next. Again, like much of this play, there are enough laughs to hold your interest, including a heroin reference that is actually explosively funny. On the night I attended, there were times when the audience erupted in laughter, and it seemed to work for a good portion of the crowd. ‘Tiger Style’s’ comedy may not be my cup of tea, but that doesn’t mean it can’t be yours. For more info, go to: www.huntingtontheatre.org/

 

 

 

 

By Mike Hoban

 

Written by Kenneth Lin; Directed by Dawn M. Simmons; Scenic Design by Jenna McFarland Lord; Costume Design by Chelsea Kerl; Lighting Design by Daniel H. Jentzen; Sound Design by Elizabeth Cahill. Presented by Lyric Stage Company of Boston, 140 Clarendon Street, Boston through November 13

As we suffer through the final week-plus of what may be the most bizarre election cycle in American history, Warrior Class – a riveting politically-themed drama now being presented by the Lyric Stage Company – almost makes us long for the simple, cold-blooded world of old-fashioned backroom hardball politics.

Written by Netflix’ House of Cards writer Kenneth Lin, the work was first staged in 2011, when the very idea of Donald Trump as a viable candidate for the office of President of the United States would have been considered ludicrous. But Warrior Class serves as a reminder that behind every baby-kissing, God-loving, man (or woman) of the people, there is a well-oiled, soulless money machine pushing them from behind.

Warrior Class follows the vetting process for of Julius Lee, a Republican member of the New York State Assembly, who, following an inspirational speech that goes viral on Youtube, becomes the hot choice for a run at the U.S. Congress. Lee is a church-going, Silver Star-decorated Iraq war veteran with Harvard Law degree whose speech resonated with voters across party lines, and he’s caught the eye of the party bosses who see him as a rising star. Nathan Berkshire (the terrific Steven Barkhimer) is the charming and personable but ruthlessly pragmatic career political operative assigned to the check the closet for any particularly disturbing skeletons. He meets with Lee’s former college sweetheart Holly Eames (Jessica Webb), who delivers mostly short, clipped answers during most of the probe, except to infer that the breakup was a little messy.

While wrapping up the investigation, Nathan asks her to sign a paper certifying that all of her remarks were true, and he casually remarks that their breakup sounded like “a relationship typical of the relationships that many young people have.” To which Holly chillingly responds, “He scared the hell out of us. My family. My dorm. We didn’t know what he was going to do. It was the worst time of my entire life.” The red flags come out, and politics as a warped chess game begins, as Nathan, Holly and Julius try to negotiate the best deals for themselves with little regard for democracy, let alone the quaint notions of character, virtue or integrity.

What makes Warrior Class so compelling is that the characters are not painted in black-and-white, but in multiple shades of grey. Julius really does want to do the right thing by his constituents, and doesn’t want to be manipulated by the big money – until he learns it’s the only way the game can be played, and that principles in politics have price tags. And Holly may have been the victim of a harrowing stalker experience, but she’s less interested in healing her soul and psyche than monetizing her trauma. There is almost no moral ambiguity on the part of the characters – they all know what they’re doing to achieve their ends is ethically and spiritually wrong – but it’s a compromise they’re willing to make.

Barkhimer gives a layered performance as Nathan, as he effortlessly switches from a regular guy telling stories about his kids to hard-nosed negotiator, but shows that he’s capable of real human compassion in a scene where he frantically tries to get word on what is happening with his troubled daughter, who just left a drug rehab. Webb conveys real grit as the steely Holly trying to claw back her stolen dreams, and while Michael Tow does not convey the initial charisma one would think that a rising political star such as Julius would possess, he becomes much more convincing on a human level as his world begins to unravel.

This is an extremely well-written, seamlessly directed and fast-paced drama that reminds us that even without the insanity of the current election, politics is still a very dirty game. At least this version delivers some intellectually stimulating entertainment, instead of dread. For more info, go to: www.lyricstage.com

 

by Mike Hoban

‘When January Feels Like Summer’ – Written by Cori Thomas; Directed by Benny Sato Ambush; Scenic Design by Janie E. Howland; Lighting Design by Jeff Adelberg; Costume Design by Leslie Held; Sound Design by Dewey Dellay. Presented by the Underground Railway Theater at the Central Square Theater, 450 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge through November 13

 

When January Feels Like Summer, the charming slice of life comedy now being mounted by the Underground Railway Theater Company in Central Square, is a testament to the idea that ordinary (appearing) lives can be quite extraordinary if you take the time to look closely enough. Set in and around a New York bodega, January begins as a rather routine dramedy, but slowly sucks us in to the point where we care deeply about the characters by play’s end – despite their cringe-worthy (and all-too-human) foibles.

Nirmala (Sanaa Kazi), a thirty-something Indian woman, runs the bodega and lives with her transgendered accountant brother Ishan, who announces at the beginning of the play that he is quitting his job and will begin living fully as a trans woman named Indira (Mesma Belsare) from now on. Nirmala has her own challenges, as her husband (a porn “enthusiast” who never once touched her during the marriage) has been on life support for three years and is showing no signs of improving. Indira has been trying to convince Nirmala to pull the plug so that she can begin to really live her life – and also pay for Indira’s sexual re-assignment surgery when she collects the insurance money upon his death. If it sounds like the setup for a morality play, fear not, this a romantic comedy through and through – just not a very conventional one. Unbeknownst to Nirmala, she is the apple of the eye of one of her customers, Joe (David J. Curtis), a somewhat shy African-American sanitation worker for the city (who is trying to overcome his own unfortunate foray into marriage) who is trying to work up the courage to ask her for a date during his shopping excursions.

A secondary plot involves buddies Jeron (Marc Pierre) and DeVaun (Seth Hill), a pair of post high school Burger King workers who provide most of the belly laughs for this very funny work. Jeron is the brains of the duo, but is clueless when it comes to women. DeVaun is clueless about nearly everything else except “getting with women”, and also delivers hysterical malapropisms with the effortlessness of the late Borscht Belt comic Norm Crosby. Inadvertently, they end up embarking on a search for meaning to their existence when a textbook case of how homophobic misinformation can go horribly wrong ends up with serendipitously comic results.

The transformation of the characters begins when DeVaun becomes unnerved after a “flamboyant” man from his mother’s church touches his shoulder and asks him to come with him, and he interprets the act as a sexual overture. His sense of morality outraged and his masculinity challenged, he and Jeron decide to “protect the neighborhood children” from the predator by putting up posters in local bodegas, warning the neighborhood about the man. As horrifying as this sounds, the well-intentioned bad idea turns out remarkably well, and paves the way for a series of healing interactions between the play’s five characters.

January does not impress early on, but gathers momentum as the actors move from fairly stock portrayals to become three dimensional. Playwright Thomas has a terrific ear for dialogue, especially the comic variety, and while the plot points stretch credulity, they never feel overly contrived. It’s also a beautifully integrated depiction of what real diversity looks like when it’s not theatrically forced, with Indira being the most fully realized character (thanks in part to an outstanding performance by Belsare). So when she takes an extraordinarily risky chance on love, we hold our collective breath that she will come out unscathed.

Director Sato elicits strong performances from the entire cast, and newcomer Seth Hill (junior at BU) makes an especially noteworthy debut as DeVaun. The scene where he attempts to educate his smarter friend Jeron (Marc Pierre) in the art of seducing a woman is alone worth the price of admission. The set design is simple but fairly brilliant in its utility (there are a half-dozen locations on the tight stage), and sound designer Dewey Dellay paints a believable city soundscape. “When January Feels Like Summer” is a fresh take on the traditional romantic comedy, and a welcome break from the madness of this insane election season. Go. For more info, go to: https://www.centralsquaretheater.org/

 

 

 

by Michele Markarian

 

‘Company’ – Music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim; Book by George Furth. Directed by Spiro Veloudos. Presented by Lyric Stage Company of Boston, 140 Clarendon Street, Boston, MA, through October 9.

 

“What song is the biggest clunker in ‘Company’”? I asked my husband on the drive over to see the Lyric Stage’s opening production.  His answer was the same as mine – none!  There isn’t a single clunker in “Company’, which, in addition to boasting top-notch Sondheim songs, has a knowing, sophisticated book to match.   And as someone who claims not to have fallen in love until his sixties, Sondheim is surprisingly adept at representing both sides of the married/single conundrum.

 

The play opens with the 35^th birthday of Robert, a single man who mostly hangs out in the company of five married couples.  They are on hand to celebrate with him, as they always do.  The relationships are symbiotic: the couples offer safety, Robert offers vicarious thrills.  As a single man who’s unwilling to commit, Robert has an idealized vision of what it means to find the right woman, even as he continues to date the wrong ones.  By the end of the play, Robert’s friends wait in vain with a cake on yet another one of Robert’s birthdays; Robert has cut loose to maybe or maybe not grow up.

 

Part of the potential problem with doing a show like “Company” is that it’s performed so often, can a theater company bring novel, original interpretations to the table?  Between Spiro Veloudos’s crisp direction, a multi-talented cast, and remarkable set and lighting, yes.  John Ambrosino’s Robert is an interesting combination of world weary and newly hatched.  As an actor, he has the quality of active listening which lends gigantic credibility to his performance.  When he sings the show-stopping finale, “Being Alive”, you get the sense that Robert doesn’t really know what’s going to happen to him, but he’s open to whatever is.  It’s very real.  I rooted for him and worried about him and would have googled his character to see how he ended up if I didn’t know it was a play.

 

Erica Spyres brings a stubborn determination to Amy that’s very funny and a little intimidating – “Getting Married Today”, usually played frantically, almost manically, was all business, and it was marvelous.  And Jenny (Teresa Winner Blume) singing from the church altar, turns a tight operatic turn into fresh, hilarious commentary with her truly dazzling voice.  Adrianne Hick brings just the right amount of stupidity and depth to April.  Will McGarrahan is quietly effective as Larry, the man who caught a tiger by the tail when he married Joanne (Leigh Barrett).  Ms. Barrett has the hardest song of the night, “Ladies Who Lunch”, which one normally associates with the braying cynicism of Elaine Stritch.  Honestly, I was nervous for her, but shouldn’t have been – she sang it with all the hurt and vulnerability of her character, and it was superb, almost like hearing it for the first time.   The rest of the cast is excellent, but I would be remiss not to mention Maria LaRossa’s (Kathy) sensuous “Tick Tock” dance and Davron S. Monroe’s (Harry) mellifluous singing voice.

 

Janie Howland’s set is multi-layered and intimate and complements the piece well, along with Franklin Meissner Jr’s atmospheric lighting design.  Whether you’ve never seen “Company” or you’ve seen it a million times, go see this – you’ll see something that you’ve never seen before.

 

 

 

Reviewed by Tony Annicone

Welcome to the fractured fairy tales of Stephen Sondheim. The Swanhurst Chorus’ 24th Annual dinner show musical is “Into the Woods” with music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim and a book by James Lapine. It opened on Broadway on November 5, 1987 and ran for 764 performances, starring Bernadette Peter as the Witch and Joanna Gleason as the Baker’s Wife. It was made into a movie in 2014 starring Meryl Streep as the witch. The show was inspired by Bruno Bettelheim’s “The Power of Enchantment” written in 1976. The musical intertwines the plots of several Grimm Brother’s fairy tales with an original one about a baker and his wife who are living under curse of an evil witch when they learn they can’t have a child. The Baker and his wife set off into the woods to break the curse. The other main characters include Red Riding Hood, Jack in the Beanstalk, Cinderella and Rapunzel. Act 1 observes them pursuing “happily ever after” destinies. The second half explores what happens when they confront giants, mayhem, conflict and disappointment. In the end, they discover that perhaps happiness is found in living the tale and turning the pages to see what happens. Directors Roger Machado Fournier and Heather Gaffney-Hsu and musical directors Stefanie Bonalewicz, Shannan Davis and Mahria Trepes come up victorious with this Sondheim musical.

Roger and Heather infuse this show with keen insight into these characters and does double duty by also playing the Baker and the Baker’s wife. The musical directors who also do double duty by appearing in the show. They taught the intricate and tongue twisting songs to their hard working cast and obtain topnotch vocals from them. The main character running in and out of all the fairy tales scenes is the witch played splendidly by Stefanie Bonalewicz Fontaine. She has marvelous stage presence as this malevolent woman and her transformation from old hag into stunning beauty is amazing. Her first number is the tongue twisting song about vegetables in her garden that the Baker’s father stole from her. The witch only shows affection to her adopted or rather stolen daughter, Rapunzel. Stefanie’s other songs include “Stay with Me” where she wants her daughter to remain trapped in a tower and in “Witch’s Lament” where she mourns her after the Giant kills Rapunzel. However it is her eleventh hour number, “The Last Midnight” that stops the show with its poignancy and power at her brilliant rendition. Stephanie enthralls the audience with her dynamic portrayal.

 

Roger Machado Fournier and Heather Gaffney-Hsu as the Baker and his wife perform many comic bits in the first act but it is in the second act that they tug on your heartstrings with their dramatic prowess. They must hunt down four things that will break the witch’s curse including a white cow. They have very many clever antics during their hunt for these items with their wild machinations. Roger’s most emotion packed songs are the duet with his father called “No More” and in the quartet “No One is Alone.” Heather’s voice is heard in several numbers but her most poignant one is “Moments in the Woods” after her tryst with Cinderella’s Prince. Roger and Heather’s duet of “It Takes Two” is also wonderful.

Playing the role of Cinderella is Shannan Davis who displays her yearning to attend the King’s Festival. She sings “On the Steps of the Palace” and her most impressive song is “No One is Alone” when she comforts Red Riding Hood about the death of her grandmother. Cinderella explains both the grandmother and Cinderella’s mother will be with them forever.

The two young performers who play Red and Jack are marvelous. Hadleigh Andrade is topnotch as Red Riding Hood who buys bread and sweets from the Baker only to devour them before she reaches there. Her encounter with the Wolf enlightens her in “I Know Now.” Red becomes a stronger person and more bloodthirsty after she and Granny skin the wolf. The lesson she learns is to be careful what you wish for. Trevor Lopes plays the dimwitted Jack excellently. His comic quips and sayings are laugh out loud moments including “I have a harp and a cow for a friend now.” Jack must sell his beloved cow, Milky White which sets up the encounter with the Lady Giant in Act 2. Trevor’s strong voice is heard in the group numbers and in his solo “Giants in the Sky” when he learns there are consequences for your actions when you steal from others. Trevor displays a lot of depth in this role.

Nishan Lawton is fabulous as the Narrator with his strong voice resonating in the theatre. He also plays the Mysterious Man who is secretly the Baker’s father. Nishan displays his powerful baritone voice in “No More.” Jason Shealy as the Wolf and Cinderella’s Prince and Brandon Clark as Rapunzel’s Prince are hilarious as these siblings. They stop the show with their comic number “Agony” which is my favorite song in the show. In the first act they are suffering because they can’t get the girls while in the second act they complain about their wives. Their acting of pomposity in these roles is stellar. Jason also displays his lower range as the Wolf when he sings “Hello, Little Girl” with Hadleigh. Mahria Lopes is a hoot as Jack’s cantankerous mother. She constantly yells at him and later yells at the Lady Giant with disastrous results. Melanie Kane clad in a blonde wig, displays her strong soprano voice as Rapunzel who is trapped in a tower by the witch. She has many funny moments including dropping her tears on her Prince’s eyes to restore his sight. So for a splendid rendition of this Sondheim musical with a delicious dinner before it, be sure to catch “Into the Woods” at Fenner Hall in Newport before time runs out.

INTO THE WOODS (2 to 11 March)

Swanhurst Chorus of Newport, 15 Fenner Hall, Newport, RI

1(401)324-9820 or www.swanhurst.org

Reviewed by Tony Annicone

 

Community Players first show of their 98th season is the hilarious comedy “Social Security” by Andrew Bergman. The domestic tranquility of David and Barbara Kahn, a couple of married art dealers is shattered by Barbara’s house wife sister, Trudy and her uptight CPA husband, Martin. They arrive on the scene to leave their cantankerous mother, Sophie with them so they can save their daughter from living a sexually deviant life style. The comic sparks really fly when the mother hits it off with an elderly French artist friend of the couple. Director James Sulannowski casts these roles splendidly and elicits strong performances from his six member cast.

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