Top Girls – Written by Caryl Churchill. Directed by Liesl Tommy. Presented by Huntington Theatre Company, Avenue of the Arts Huntington Avenue Theatre through May 20.
“Top Girls” is a challenging piece of theater. Clocking in at just under three hours, the play takes place in the life of one central character, Marlene (Carmen Zilles). To celebrate her promotion to top brass in the executive search firm she works for, Marlene throws a dinner party, inviting five disparate historical women. Isabella Bird (a radiant Paula Plum) is a 19th century female explorer. Vanessa Kai’s moving and dramatic Lady Nijo comes from 13th century Japan where she was a concubine to the Emperor before becoming a Buddhist nun. Dell Gret (the adept Carmen M. Herhily) is a folkloric, primitive warrior woman from a 16th century painting. Pope Joan (a superb Sophia Ramos) was a woman who pretended to be man during the 9th century and allegedly rose to the rank of Pope. Last is Patient Griselda (Ella Monte-Brown) another folkloric figure whose faithfulness to a nobleman was sorely tested during the 14th century.
The closing musical at the University of Rhode Island is Stephen
Sondheim’s “A Little Night Music.” The music and lyrics are by
Sondheim while the book is by Hugh Wheeler. The musical was inspired by Ingmar
Bergman’s “Smiles of a Summer Night” and is set in Sweden at the turn
of the twentieth century. It concerns lives, affairs and entanglements of
several couples. The original Broadway show opened on February 25, 1973 and ran
for 601 performances. It won The Tony Award and The Critic’s Circle Award for Best
Musical and was revived in 2009 with Catherine Zeta Jones as Desiree and Angela
Lansbury as Mme. Armfeldt. The main character Fredrik Egerman, a lawyer is
married to 18 year old virgin, Anne who is enamored of his son, Henrik.
When spurned while to trying to consummate their marriage after 11 months,
Fredrik seeks solace in the arms of a former love interest, Desiree who
secretly had his child, Fredrika many years before. Add a pompous Count Magnus
who is having an affair with her, his jealous wife, Charlotte who seeks
revenge, Desiree’s elderly mother who courted royalty to gain her wealth, the
young innocent, Fredrika and Petra, the promiscuous maid of the household to
the mix. Also a Quintet sings many numbers, entering as a Greek chorus in and
out of the scenes and you have the makings of this show. Director
Paula McGlasson hones her college students into these complicated characters
and elicits splendid performances from them. Musical director Lila Kane and
her 4 piece orchestra bring out the lushness of the score while
multitalented choreographers Dante Sciarra and Valerie Ferris create
inventive dances with “A Weekend in the Country” as the standout
number. Their combined efforts not only wins the cast a standing ovation,
it also helps the audience to learn how the summer night smiles three
times, once for the young, next for the fools and finally for the old.
McGlasson blocks the show expertly and also blends the dramatic
and comic elements of the script together to garner them praise. The show
begins with the cast waltzing together with the wrong partners but eventually
by show’s end they are with who they really belong. Lila not only plays the
piano for the show, conducts the orchestra but also taught the cast the
difficult and intricate Sondheim score to them. Dante who is now a full time
nurse, starred in many professional musicals in the past and definitely knows
how to choreograph a show. Valerie is also a chorographer for the show.
The whole cast appears and dances in “Weekend in the Country” as
they arrive at the Armfeldt estate to have their secret desires and longings
revealed to the audience as well as the Quintet does in numbers. The
harmonies of the Quintet soar during the scene as they enter scenes and comment
on the proceedings in music and dance. The members are Their numbers include
the overture, “Perpetual Anticipation”, “Remember” and
“The Sun Won’t Set.” The gorgeous period costumes are by Alison
Walker Carrier especially impressive are the ladies gowns. The turn table
set is by Renee Surprenant Fitzgerald which gives the scene changes a smooth
transition from one scene to the next..
Leading the cast as Desiree is Emily Carter who is splendid. She
captures the spirit of this much older woman who has lived her life in the
theatre and enjoyed many men in her past. Carter’s singing voice sells her
description of her life in the theatre in the joyous “The
Glamorous Life” and later on tugs on your heartstrings in the poignant
“Send in the Clowns” when she realizes how foolish she’s been in letting
Fredrik slip out of her life all these years. The scene when she’s caught
between her two lovers of the past and present is hilarious as Desiree holds
Fredrik’s wet shirt and pants as the jealous dragoon Count who considers
her his property, looks on. I last reviewed her as Ilse in
“Spring Awakening” back in 2016. The role of Fredrik
is played by J. Edward Clarke whom I last reviewed in “Unnecessary
Farce” last summer. He does a great job in this more substantial role.
The opening Trio of “Now”, “Soon” and
“Later” with Anne and Henrik is terrific. Clarke’s other two
numbers include the comic “You Must Meet My Wife” with Carter and
“It Would Have Been Wonderful” with the Count in the second
act.
The beautiful Emily Turtle plays the virginal Anne who is afraid
to consummate her marriage to the older Fredrik. She has a glorious soprano
voice which soars in her numbers. Turtle captures the naivete of the character
perfectly. I last reviewed her as Mary Poppins last year. Brooks Shatraw
plays the pensive seminary student Henrik who is the grown up son of Fredrik.
He has a mad crush on Anne who is closer to his age than his father’s age.
Shatraw’s strong tenor voice blends superbly with Clarke’s baritone and
Turtle’s soprano to create beautiful harmonies together. I last reviewed him at
URI as Bert in “Mary Poppins” last year.
Daniel Greene plays the chauvinistic pig, Count Magnus who
mistreats every woman he’s been with. His song “In Praise of Women”
is a tribute to himself and how he lords it over all of them. He is tall,
blond and handsome and is excellently cast as this cad. I last reviewed
him as Fred in “Noises Off” in December where he played a
farcical role. Emily MacLean shines as Charlotte, the long
suffering wife of the Count who must put up with his horrible bullying
and mistreatment of her. Her song “Every Day, a Little Death”
reflects how she deals with the situation of her life and why she puts up with
her boorish husband. Maclean has many clever and witty one liners that she
makes hit pay dirt. Lauren Janetti plays the oversexed maid, Petra
who wants to take Henrik’s virginity away from him but ends up settling
for the butler, Frid. Her song “The Miller’s Son” is the 11th hour
number of the show that leaves the audience laughing merrily at her naughty and
bawdy antics.
The sage of this show is Maria Day as Mme. Armfeldt who
explains all the proceedings to her granddaughter and the audience. She imparts
many words of wisdom along the way and stops the show with her enigmatic number
“Liaisons” where she recounts her affairs of the heart splendidly. 10
year old Kate Rocchio does remarkable work as Fredrika. She gives the
role the energetic portrayal of a young girl yearning to know about the ways of
life that lie before her and hopefully learn from the mistakes of her mother
and grandmother along the way. So for a marvelous rendering of one of
Sondheim’s earlier musicals, be sure to catch “A Little Night Music”
at URI before the cast waltzes its way out of town. I have pleasant memories of
seeing the original cast in this show back on Broadway in 1974.
A LITTLE NIGHT MUSIC (18 to 28 April)
URI, Studio J, Fine Arts Center, 105 Upper College Road, Kingston,
RI
Boston, MA, April 24th – The Huntington Theatre Company’s production of “Merrily We Roll Along” took home seven awards, including Best Musical in the Large Stage category, and SpeakEasy Stage’s “Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night” earned five Small Stage (including Best Play) honors at the 22nd Annual IRNE Awards held last night. Speakeasy’s “Bridges of Madison County” copped four wins in the Small Stage – Musical category, and Merrimack Rep’s “The Royale” also won three awards for Large Stage, including Best Play.
In addition to Best Musical, “Merrily” took home honors for Best Director (Maria Friedman), Actress (Eden Espinosa), Supporting Actress (Aimee Doherty), Ensemble, Lighting Design (David Lander) and Costume Design (Soutra Gilmour). Megan Sandberg-Zakian followed up last year’s win as Best Director in the Small Stage category with a win in Large Stage as the director of “Royale”, Paul Daigneault was named Best Director – Small Stage for “Curious Incident”, and David Miller of Zeitgeist Stage won for his direction of “Faceless”, which also won Best Play in the Fringe category.
There was also a pair of double winners at the awards ceremony, as Greater Boston Stage Company’s Ilyse Robbins took home the honors as Small Stage Director (“She Loves Me”) and chorographer (“Dames at Sea”), while Matthew Stern earned kudos as Best Musical Director for Large (“Merrily We Roll Along”) and Small Musical (The Bridges of Madison County).
THE WINNERS!!!!!!!
IRNE Winners – Small Stage
Best New Play
Paradise – Laura Maria Censabella – Underground Railway Theater
Best Set Design
Christopher and Justin Swader – Curious Incident – SpeakEasy Stage
Best Costume Design
Marian Bertone–Barnum – Moonbox Productions
Best Lighting Design
Jeff Adelberg–Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night–SpeakEasy Stage
Best Projection Design
Seaghan McKay–Golda’s Balcony–New Rep
Best Sound Design
David Remedios– Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night – SpeakEasy Stage
Choreography
Ilyse Robbins – Dames at Sea – Greater Boston Stage Company
Best Solo Performance
Bobbie Steinbach – Golda’s Balcony – New Rep
Ensemble
39 Steps – Moonbox Productions
Best Supporting Actress–Play–Fringe
Juliet Bowler–Silent Sky–Flat Earth Theatre
Best Supporting Actor–Play–Fringe
Matthew Zahnzinger and Bob Mussett – 39 Steps – Moonbox Productions
Best Actress–Play–Fringe
Lindsay Eagle–Fat Pig–Flat Earth Theatre
Best Actor–Play–Fringe
Cameron Gosselin–Coyote on a Fence–Hub Theatre Company of Boston
Supporting Actress–Play–Midsize
Nancy Carroll – Precious Little – The Nora Theatre Company
Best Supporting Actor–Play–Midsize
Dan Whelton – Who’s Afraid of Virginia Wolf? – Lyric
BOX INFO: Kristen Mendelkoch and an ensemble of Boston stars appear in Lila Rose Kaplan’s comic book, one-act comedy about motherhood and villainy, through May 20:Wednesday, Thursday,7:30 p.m.; Friday, 8 p.m.; Saturday, Saturday, 4,8 p.m.; May 20, 2 p.m. Merrimack Repertory Theatre, 52 E. Merrimack St., Lowell. $26-$73.Mrt.org, 978-654-4678, box_office@mrt.org.
Shazaam! Kapow! The last great super hero on Earth enters the telephone booth – no, not to change into her super hero costume and fight villainy for the day – but to pump her breast milk to feed her newborn infant son.
Thus begins playwright Lila Rose Kaplan’s feminist superhero farce, “The Villains’ Supper Club,” a satire on comic book super heroes, appearing at Merrimack Repertory Theatre (MRT) through May 20.
BOX INFO: Greater Boston Stage Company presents the Boston premiere of multi-award winning playwright Matthew Lopez’s 100-minute, one-act, musical comedy through May 20: Thursday, 7:30 p.m. Friday, Saturday, 8 p.m., Sunday, 2 p.m. 395 Main St., Stoneham. Includes adult language and content. $45-$55; seniors,$40-$50; students with valid ID, $20. 395 Main St., Stoneham. greaterbostonstage.org, 781-279-2200.
Directed and choreographed by Russell Garrett, Matthew Lopez’s one-act play, “The Legend of Georgia McBride,” currently at Greater Boston Stage Company, brought last Wednesday afternoon’s audience to its feet, applauding enthusiastically.
Although the play is classified as a musical comedy, the actors primarily lip-synch, excluding co-star Jared Reinfeldt’s strumming an acoustic guitar and singing his original love song to his fiancé Jo. For me, though, seeing the show was a little bittersweet, especially after learning Boston iconic actor-director Tommy Derrah originally was supposed to helm this show. Unfortunately, he died after a brief illness on Oct. 5, 2017, at Mt. Auburn Hospital, Cambridge.
Welcome to the madcap world of Ken Ludwig’s “Moon Over Buffalo”, the closing show of Providence College’s Blackfriar’s Theatre season. This farce is set in 1953 at the Erlanger Theatre in Buffalo, New York. George and Charlotte Hay are on tour doing “Cyrano” and “Private Lives” in repertory. Famous director Frank Capra wants them both to star in a movie version of The Scarlet Pimpernel and is headed to the theatre to catch the show. Only problem is that George is drunk and doesn’t know which of the two shows is being performed. So at times he delivers lines from both of them as well as swearing up a storm. There are hilarious misunderstandings and madcap adventures that occur during this comic romp. Director Brett Epstein keeps the pace of the show in constant motion. He is aided by the incredible sets by Josh Christofferson and the beautiful 1950’s and character costumes by Jessie Darrell Jarbadan. Their combined expertise gives the show the necessary ingredients to ensure the enjoyment of the audience all night long.
‘Anna Christie’ – Written by Eugene O’Neill. Adapted and directed by Scott Edmiston. Presented by Lyric Stage Company of Boston, 140 Clarendon Street, Boston, MA, through May 6.
Eugene O’Neill won his second Pulitzer Prize for Drama in 1922 for Anna Christie. Originally a four-act play with far more actors than Edmiston’s stripped down five, it must have been shocking and sordid in its day. Anna Christie is a story of a prostitute believing herself to be too far gone for redemption reuniting with her father, a frightened former boson convinced that the lure and lull of the sea is a curse for him and his family. “This is a very weird play,” I said to my husband as we left, but somehow, this excellent cast makes it all seem hazily credible. Weirder still – and I assure you this never happens – I dreamed I was conversing with some of the play’s characters the night I saw it. If that’s not a sign that a play hasn’t gotten under your skin, I don’t know what is. Scott Edmiston has an eye for mise en scene, which helps.
Salve Regina University Theatre’s closing show of their season is
the hit 1959 musical “Gypsy” with music by Jule Styne, lyrics by
Stephen Sondheim and book by Arthur Laurents. This musical is about the
true story of famous striptease artist, Gypsy Rose Lee. It’s the biography
of Gypsy whose real name was Louise and her mother, Momma Rose. It’s about
the Louise’s life from her early days in vaudeville with her younger sister,
June Havoc. It shows after the death of vaudeville it led to her
successful career in burlesque. However the star of this show is her tyrannical
mother, Rose and director Tom Gleadow picks the incredible triple threat
performer, Madisyn Mugavero, a multitalented actress to fill this role played
by Ethel Merman, Angela Lansbury, Tyne Daly, Bernadette Peters and Patti Lupone
on stage and Rosalind Russell and Bette Midler on film. Momma Rose pushes
her two children into to show business at any cost, to fulfill the dream of
stardom she never achieved herself. “Gypsy” is a story of ambition,
suppressed dreams and sacrifice. Tom fills the show with many comic moments
mixed with some poignant ones to flesh out this well known script. Madisyn,
fellow Senior, Vanessa Sciolto as Louise and Junior student, Bradley
Simpson as Herbie and their supporting cast fill this theatre with their
vocal, acting and dancing skills to please the enthusiastic and appreciative
audience on a brilliant masterpiece.
Gleadow directs and blocks this talented cast excellently. The
many scene changes are handled superbly, meshing one scene into the next,
keeping the show in constant motion with it spanning twenty five years. The
marvelous scenic and lighting design is by Pippin McGowan while the gorgeous
multitude of 1920’s costumes is by David Costa-Cabral especially terrific is
the closing number outfit worn by Patty Lupone on Broadway. Also Joe Rossi
changes the appearance of these college students with his make up and wigs,
making them appear older then they are. Choreographer Kim Calore-Sedlak handles
the transformation scene from younger children to older ones during a strobe
light dance as well as tap dancing, Charleston, soft shoe and the
hilarious strip numbers brilliantly. These dances give the show the energetic
boost to carry the musical numbers forward. Outstanding dance numbers include
the Tulsa dance, the Broadway section with hats and canes, Louise’s strip
numbers, soft shoe dance by Rose and Herbie and the Toreadorables number.
Another humorous aspect of this show is that Rose keeps the same music over and
over again, but only changing the lyrics. The fabulous musical direction is by
Jennifer Christina who plays keyboards and conducts a eleven piece
orchestra and taught all the tongue twisting Stephen Sondheim lyrics and Jule
Styne music to the talented vocalists. What a terrific way to close
out Salve’s theatre season.
Madisyn delivers a tour-de-force performance as Momma Rose,
the stage mother of all mothers. She runs rough shod over her two daughters
because she was never given the opportunity they have. Rose explains that is
because her mother left her at an early age. Current day psychologists would
have a field day with this real life woman. Madisyn makes this role her
own, making it fit perfectly as well as making you forget anyone else you’ve
seen playing this part. Her acting prowess is superb because she can have you
laughing hysterically one minute and sobbing uncontrollably the next. Her
strong voice shines in her numbers. “Some People” where she decides
to leave Seattle with her girls and head to L.A. and the show stopping
“Everything’s Coming Up Roses” where she has a mini nervous breakdown
when June elopes with Tulsa. She also excels in “Together”, the trio
number where she realizes that she, Louise and Herbie must stick together and
her shining moment of glory in “Rose’s Turn”, a long soliloquy that
stops the show with power and punch, leaving the audience cheering in the
aisles. Madisyn also handles her romantic duets beautifully in
“Small World” when she first meets Herbie then gives it a poignant
rendition in Act 2 when he finally leaves Rose after she lets Louise become a
stripper as well as the soft shoe “You’ll Never Get Away From Me”
done in a Chinese restaurant. The tears flow profusely after Herbie
leaves her during the reprise of “Small World” so
poignantly One of her funniest numbers is “Mr. Goldstone” where
she sings and the children hurl props at the booking agent and march
around her, leaving the audience laughing merrily. Madisyn is marvelous in
this role, delivering the goods in a whirlwind of energy from her first
entrance coming down the aisle, to the final curtain where she and Vanessa
as Gypsy leave the stage arm in arm. Brava on a job very well done!
Playing the role of Louise who became Gypsy Rose Lee is Vanessa
Sciolto. She displays her strong acting prowess when she makes the transition
from shy teenager into a sophisticated young woman during the course of the
show. Vanessa’s lovely voice is heard in “If Momma Was Married”
with June where they wish their mother would marry Herbie and leave them alone,
“Together” trio with Rose and Herbie and solos in the most poignant
song in the show, “Little Lamb” where she sings that she doesn’t know
how old she is. She also displays the depth of the character as she grows more
confident as an ecdysiast during the “Let Me Entertain You” segment
in which became the real Gypsy Rose Lee’s signature number wherever she danced
including Minsky’s. Vanessa is dynamite in the final confrontation scene
with Rose when she finally tells her off at the end of the second act. Kudos on
a terrific job. Best of luck to both Madisyn and Vanessa in the real world
after their graduation this May.
Bradley does a marvelous job as Herbie, the sympathetic booking
agent who falls madly in love with Rose. He gives the role great depth with his
acting prowess. His voice is heard in the romantic duets with Madisyn and
in the trio “Together” where he displays his dancing
moves. Bradley has many comic moments but his best dramatic ones occur
when he threatens Pastey when she swears in front of Rose and Louise in the burlesque
theatre and when he finally develops a backbone to stand up to Rose’s bad
behavior and obsession of being a stage mother after all these years and
finally walks out on her. He delivers a gut punch to the audience and wins
their applause as he leaves the stage. Dakota Benson is splendid as Dainty
June. Her marvelous voice and dancing skills are observed as she dances up a
storm with the boys. Dakota sings and dances with them in “Caroline”
which also has a comical dancing cow and again in “Broadway” where
she realizes that she can’t abandon Caroline after all and does marvelous
splits in them. She also displays her powerful voice with Vanessa in
“If Momma Was Married” as well as her excellent acting prowess as
they wish Rose would marry him and leave them be. The younger June and Louise
are excellently played by Annie and Rosie Rossi who are both in middle school.
Both of them appeared at Theatre by the Sea two years ago in “The Music
Man” and last year sang “God Bless America” together at Fenway
Park.
The biggest scene stealers in this show are the three strippers in
the second act played fabulously by Jillian Teresha as the trumpet playing
Mazeppa, Maggie Corbutt as the twinkling, Electra and Jillian Brooks-Duval as
Tessie Tura who was a former ballerina. They sing “You Gotta Get a
Gimmick” which says you don’t need any talent but these three ladies have
oodles of talent, dancing skills and singing
voices. Another senior, Julia Curtin does a comic bit as
the secretary in Act 1 and plays the mean spirited Pastey who yells at Rose and
the girls in the strip club. Julia is a hoot in both roles. Another comic
performer is Skyler Lasit who plays Cigar, L.A. and Mr. Weber and makes each of
them different with his vocal talents in changing the timbre of his voice.
A fabulous dancer in the show is Danny Landino as Tulsa. He uses
his strong tenor voice to sell “All I Need Now Is the Girl”
but it is Danny’s dancing skills that will leave you the most impressed.
Another scene stealer is Abbie Burchard as Agnes in the second act. She’s a
Toreadorable and delivers her comic one liners with glee. I have many
happy memories of this show, having played Pastey back in 1979 for Warwick
Players and also having seen Angela Lansbury as Rose in “Gypsy” in
Boston back in 1974 in the Broadway revival. Kudos to everyone who worked on
the magnificent musical. So be sure to catch “Gypsy” at Salve
Regina Theatre, before Momma Rose and her gang leave town for good. Tell
them Tony sent you to see this marvelous musical of this spring season.
GYPSY (10 to 14 April)
Salve Regina Theatre, Casino Theatre, 9 Freebody St, Newport, RI
Miss Holmes – Written by Christopher M. Walsh; Based on characters created by Arthur Conan Doyle. Directed by Weylin Symes. Presented by Greater Boston Stage Company, 395 Main Street, Stoneham, through April 22.
Dorothy Watson (Brittany Rolfs) is a doctor who has managed to survive the infamous Surgeon’s Hill Riot in Edinburgh, where women scheduled to take their medical exams were harassed and assaulted by a protesting mob. She now works in a female-run hospital in London. Covered in blood from a surgery, she considers the proposal of her suitor, Dr. Michael Stamford (Patrick Varner), who offers “…a chance to put all of this unpleasantness behind you”. A chance meeting with Wilhelmina “Sherlock” Holmes (Marge Dunn) alters the course of Dr. Watson’s life, even as she resists it. The somewhat Asperger-y Holmes has a penchant for solving crime, much to the agitation of her brother, Mycroft Holmes (Alexander Platt). When a woman, Lizzie Chapman (Monica Giordano) comes to Sherlock with anonymous letters warning her to beware of her husband, law-enforcer Thomas Chapman (Daniel Berger-Jones), Holmes’s curiosity is piqued and the adventure begins.
The latest National Tour musical at the historic Hanover Theatre is the Tony Award winning musical “Jersey Boys”, about the lives and career of the pre-boomer pop group, The Four Seasons. The show is set to a dozen of classic rock tunes by Bob Gaudio and Bob Crewe. Writers Marshall Brickman and Rick Elice have fashioned a touching bittersweet book from the real life stories of Frankie Valli (Castelluchio), Tommy DeVito, Nick Massi and Bob Gaudio, four guys from the ‘hood’ who became the original members of the Four Seasons. It takes place in the Garden State in the 1950’s and contains unsavory elements found in “The Godfather” films and “The Sopranos” TV series including jail, loan sharks, drugs, OD’s and causal sex.
