Make Believe

Make Believe

Second Stage Theater

Tony Kiser Theater

July 30, 2019

Photo courtesy of Second Stage Theater

Bess Wohl’s Make Believe is a gem of brilliance.  She masterfully crafts damaged characters struggling to release the ghosts of their past.  Her writing is truthful and risky.  Each risk she takes is emotionally engaging and delivers a powerful impact.  The Second Stage Theater production is directed by Michael Greif.  His work is both bold and tender as he allows a phenomenal cast of actors to deliver deep and exposed performances.

Young Addie (played by Casey Hilton) is playing with her Cabbage Patch Doll in her attic playroom.  It is the 1980s.  She is joined by her big sister, Kate (played by Maren Heary).  The trouble starts when their older brother, Chris (played by Ryan Foust) returns from soccer practice.  He is irate because his snack is not waiting for him as expected.  Their mother is nowhere to be found.  As the evening progresses, their mother still not present, they play at having dinner as a family.  Young Kate is the stressed-out mother, Young Chris is the condescending father, Young Addie is the needy baby, and their youngest brother, Carl (played by Harrison Fox), is the pet dog.  Days go by in the attic playroom and the children remain unattended.  Their make believe “play” reveals the brutal truths of their family dynamic.

Fast forward about twenty-five years.  The children, now adults, return to the family home for a funeral.  They seek refuge in the attic playroom.  The pain they carried their whole lives is evident in their personalities.  Their strong bond is illustrated in their acceptance of one another.  That’s why it hits them hard when an unexpected and long buried secret is unearthed.

The Cast of Make Believe
Photo courtesy of Second Stage Theater

The actors playing the young characters are truly remarkable.  They create relationships that are realistic, communicating honest and rich levels of subtext.  The actors playing their adult counterparts beautifully embody the physical and emotional traits set up by the young actors in the early scenes.  Samantha Mathis portrays an apathetic and inflexible Kate.  Susannah Flood plays Addie as insecure and neurotic as expected from her earlier treatment by her older brother and sister.  Brad Heberlee’s portrayal of Carl is moving and heartwarming.  This cast delivers the unexpected in such a natural and comfortable manner that you can’t help being enveloped in the action. 

Director Michael Greif & Playwright Bess Wohl
Photo courtesy of Second Stage Theater

Make Believe is playing at Second Stage’s Tony Kiser Theater through September 15.  Playwright Bess Wohl delivers numerous thematic tidbits in a play built on a strong and effective armature.  It is a touching, honest, and brutal journey, masterfully written, directed, and performed.  Be sure to see it! 

Domenick Danza

In the Green

In the Green

Lincoln Center Theater

at the Claire Tow

July 27, 2019

Photo courtesy of Lincoln Center Theater

In the Green, a new musical by Grace McLean, is now playing at Lincoln Center.  It has a unique score that reflects the style and mood of its medieval setting.  It is based on historic characters and tells the story of their spiritual catharsis.  The cast of five women play various roles and sing for a full ninety-minutes.  Their voices blend and separate as tensions in the action build to reveal the depth of the story.

The year is 1106.  Eight-year-old Hildegard von Bingen is tithed to the Catholic Church.  She is to be a handmaid to Jutta von Sponheim, who lives in complete seclusion.  She voluntarily locked herself in a cell connected to an abbey church.  During their time together the women share their stories.  They seek freedom from the outside world and journey toward wholeness.  After thirty years of solitude and Jutta’s death, Hildegard emerges from her cloistered cell to share her wisdom with the community.

Photo courtesy of Lincoln Center Theater

This is a very dark and obscure story, structured and told in a way that is befitting its topic and time period.  There are outstanding and moving performances by Rachael Duddy, Ashley Perez Flanagan, Grace McLean, Mia Pak, and Hannah Whitney.

In the Green is playing at Lincoln Center’s Claire Tow Theater through August 4.

Domenick Danza

Death Cruise

Death Cruise

Thicket & Thistle

Access Theater

July 26, 2019

Photo courtesy of Thicket & Thistle

Thicket & Thistle is a vibrant ensemble driven theatre company that has a unique musical voice and a heart for storytelling.  Their skills are clearly displayed in their new show Death Cruise, now playing at Access Theater.  The company has worked for the past three years to develop this haunting, new musical, taking it from a short piece to a full-length entertainment.  The score is strong, written collaboratively by the company members.  Their trademark of tight harmonies, foot-stomping rhythms, hummable melodies, and character driven lyrics make this show something to see.

The Full Cast in Rehearsal
Photo courtesy of Thicket & Thistle

Nate (played by Jonathan Eric Foster) boards a ship for a cruise of a lifetime.  Little does he know that a Seeker of Souls, Seth (played by Sam DeRoest), is looking to deflate his hopes and dreams in order to contract his soul to the devil.  Seth manipulates Nate’s first disappointment, which occurs when he finds out that the cruise is sparely attended and headed to the arctic, instead of someplace topical.  The next step in Seth’s plan is to have the crew members, Bailey (played by Lindsay Zaroogian), Judson (played by Kyle Acheson), Blaise (played by Joshua Stenseth), Juliette (played by Juliana Wheeler), and Quiet Craig (played by Titus Tompkins), reject and alienate Nate.  This is a relatively easy task since they are all absorbed in their own self-serving ideals.  Seth gets very close to achieving Nate’s soul, but something keeps rebounding the situation back in Nate’s favor.  Finally Seth turns up the heat and applies his roughest strategy.

Thicket & Thistle Company Memebers in Rehearsal
Photo courtesy of Thicket & Thistle

This company delivers high caliber performances.  They work as a solid unit, while each having an opportunity to showcase their individual strengths.  The show builds in excitement as the characters face their greatest fears.  One stand-out number that represents their skill as an ensemble is staged where they exchange instruments while playing and singing.  It is performed with ease and dexterity, without missing a beat.

Death Cruise has been extended due to a sold-out opening weekend.  Go to  thicketnthistle.com or email them at info@thicketnthistle.com for dates and times of the extension.  Get your tickets before they sell out again!     

Domenick Danza

The Rolling Stone

The Rolling Stone

Lincoln Center Theater

The Mitzi Newhouse

July 20, 2019

Photo courtesy of Lincoln Center Theater

Playwright Chris Urch has crafted a tour de force in The Rolling Stone, now running at Lincoln Center Theater.  The characters are all truthfully developed.  In the second act he takes the conflict to the highest degree.  The physical and emotional safety of each character is at serious risk.  Director Saheem Ali magnificently builds the audience’s engagement by layering honest and personal moments that endear them to the characters.  You cannot help becoming part of the action, hoping for the best, yet fearing the worst.

The year is 2010 in Kampala, Uganda (Africa).  Joe (played by James Udom) has just been appointed pastor of his church.  He and his brother, Dembe (played by Ato Blankson-Wood), and his sister, Wummie (played by Latoya Edwards), are feeling the loss after their father’s death, so this news brings them great joy.  The newspaper is publishing photos of men accused of being homosexual, causing devastating disruption in the community.  Dembe is aware of the danger his is putting his family in due to his relationship with Sam (played by Robert Gilbert).  When Mama (played by Myra Lucretia Taylor), a close friend and influential member of their congregation, brings them news that Dembe’s name is “on the list,” a decision must be made.  Does Dembe leave the country with Sam?  Does the family flee with disgrace?  Do they stay and risk Dembe’s life and the family’s place in the community?

The Cast of The Rolling Stone
Photo courtesy of Lincoln Center Theater

Ato Blankson-Wood, James Udon, and Latoya Edwards create an authentic caring trio of siblings.  Their closeness is evident in how they challenge one another to be their best, and sacrifice their own desires for the need of the family.  The tables turn on their relationship numerous times in the action of the play.  Each moment brings a myriad of emotion to the surface.  These three actors rise to each of these moments as the action builds beyond expectation.  They are a unit with individual beliefs and flaws that bring about a powerful turn of events that have a potent effect.

Ato Blanson-Wood & Robert Gilbert
Photo courtesy of Lincoln Center Theater

The relationship between the characters created by Robert Gilbert and Ato Blankson-Wood is touching, humorous, and deeply moving.  The audience is on the journey of their emotional discoveries.  Their hearts are shared.  Their intimacy is open and visceral.

Myra Lucretia Taylor plays a loving and giving matron to the congregation.  Her character hides her fears and vengeance beneath her faith.  Ms. Taylor depicts this duality perfectly.  Adenike Thomas beautifully portrays her daughter, Naomi.  As their truths gradually reveal, our understanding and compassion flourish.

The Rolling Stone is a brilliant play.  The Lincoln Center Theater production is superbly directed and performed.  It is playing at the Mitzi Newhouse Theater through August 25.  Go see it!

Domenick Danza

Romeo & Juliet

Romeo & Juliet

Shakespeare in the Parking Lot

The Drilling Company

July 13, 2019

Photo courtesy of The Drilling Company

The Shakespeare in the Parking Lot production of Romeo & Juliet is the perfect way for The Drilling Company to celebrate twenty-five years of bringing FREE Shakespeare to the Lower East Side.  Lukas Raphael brilliantly directs a superb cast of ten, led by Anwen Darcy as Juliet and Adam Huff as Romeo.  With a running time of one hour and fifty minutes, there is no better way to spend a warm summer evening in NYC.

The play opens with the typical Shakespearian actor speaking the prologue.  He/she is briskly pushed off the stage by the cast of characters boisterously setting up the tension between the feuding families, immediately creating an atmosphere of aggression and danger.  The party scene where Romeo first lays eyes on Juliet is glorious.  The attraction between Ms. Darcy’s Juliet and Mr. Huff’s Romeo is stunningly playful.  The balcony scene which follows is charming, filled with the eager and youthful yearnings of two teens discovering their feelings.  The final scene in the crypt is emotionally effective.  Ms. Darcy and Mr. Huff deliver genuine and tender performances.

Adam Huff & Anwen Darcy
Photoc courtesy of The Drilling Company

The cast works as a close-knit ensemble, smoothly transitioning from one scene to the next.  Jack Sochet is commanding as Capulet, Juliet’s father.  Serena Ebony Miller is outstanding as Friar (Sister) Lawrence.  Alessandro Colla delivers a robust Mercutio.  Una Clancy, Samantha Sutliff, Jake Lesh, Kendra Lee Oberhauser, and John Callendo all create strong characters that vibrantly fill the outdoor space.

Artistic Director Hamilton Clancy is dedicated to making Shakespeare accessible and free to the public.  After twenty-five years of producing Shakespeare in the Parking Lot, he is a true master.  Romeo & Juliet runs Thursdays, Fridays, and Saturdays at 7:00 PM through July 27.  Take the F train to the Delancey Street stop and walk two blocks to the Clement Soto Velez Cultural Center parking lot on 114 Norfolk Street.  Meet a friend a enjoy a fun, free night of well-done Shakespeare. 

Domenick Danza

Fairview

Fairview

Theatre for a New Audience

Polonsky Shakespeare Center

July 11, 2019

Photo courtesy of Theatre for a New Audience

Jackie Sibblies Drury’s Pulitzer Prize winning Fairview turns the table on the audience in order to give them a different perspective on race in this country.  Director Sarah Benson and Choreographer Raja Feather Kelly collaborate with skillful precision, layering this amazing production with meticulous detail that creates a profound effect.  In true Brechtian style, the audience is encouraged to questions their percepton and see the familiar through a different perspective.  Going a step further, the audience is drawn into becoming an active participant, gaining an understanding of the clear and profound message of the playwright.

Charles Browning, Heather Alicia Simms, & Roslyn Ruff
Photo courtesy of Theatre for a New Audience

At first we watch the story of a wealthy, suburban black family as they prepare for the birthday celebration of their matriarch.  Beverly (played by Heather Alicia Simms), is nervously preparing the dinner.  Her husband, Dayton (played by Charles Browning), teases and supports her, while pretending to have forgotten to pick up the root vegetables needed for the dinner.  In comes Beverly’s high maintenance and gossipy sister, Jasmine (played by Roslyn Ruff), pushing buttons and raising Beverly’s stress level.  Beverly and Dayton’s teenage daughter, Keisha (played by Mayaa Boateng), returns from her basketball practice and asks her Aunt Jasmine to help her convince her mother to allow her to take a year off before starting college.  Amid the hectic craze, the lights focus in on Keisha for a serious, pensive moment.  The stress of the evening is all too much for Beverly.  She faints from the overstimulation.

Mayaa Boateng as Keisha
Photo courtesy of Theatre for a New Audience

During the next section of the play we hear a discussion on race.  The question is asked, “If you could choose, which race would you be born into?”  While this voice-over dialogue is being heard, the previous scene reruns silently.  The precise timing allows for a different insight into the characters we thought we knew.  Our observations are filtered through the dialogue being heard.

The third section of the play is wildly absurd, yet the playwright remains in complete control of the voices and images that make her audience question their individual perception.  The full cast brilliantly leads an unsuspecting audience to a complete and brutal reversal of reality.  None of this would be possible if not for the total trust you place in the character of Keisha.  Ms. Boateng is truthful, warm, and endearing in this monumental role.

Playwright Jackie Sibblies Drury
Photo courtesy of Berkeley Rep

Soho Rep’s Fairview is playing downtown Brooklyn at Theatre for a New Audience through August 11.  There are no words that can explain the impact of this production.  It boldly takes the concept of Brecht’s “epic theatre” forward into the 21^st century.  You need to be there yourself to fully experience, understand, and be a part of its impact.

Domenick Danza