Jacob’s Pillow Dance Festival 2018
Nestled in the beautiful Berkshire Mountains in the town of Becket, Mass, is Jacob’s Pillow, a sprawling 220-acre site that hosts the oldest and one of the most prestigious dance festivals in the US. Every summer, thousands of people gather to watch prominent dancers, choreographers and rising talent display their talents on several stages.
Summer 2018 is no exception. If you haven’t ventured to Jacob’s Pillow, this is the summer to do so. The line-up of talent is nothing short of amazing. Jacobs Pillow is a family-friendly venue offering so many diverse programs that even the youngest family member will enjoy the experience.
“2018 Season highlights include US company debuts, world premieres, international artists, newly commissioned works and the formal presentation of work developed through the organization’s growing residency program at the Pillow Lab,” states Nicole Tomasofsky, Pillow’s public relations coordinator. ” International artists will travel to Becket, Massachusetts, from Denmark, Israel, Belgium, Australia, France, Spain, and Scotland. Notably, representation from across the United States includes New York City, Minneapolis, Houston, Philadelphia, San Francisco, and Chicago among others.”
June 20-24
The Season begins with the opportunity to see Royal Danish Ballet at The Ted Shawn Theatre. Principals and soloists return to the Pillow with excerpts from classical ballet’s enduring masters, including Marius Petipa, Jules Perrot and August Bournonville.
The Doris Duke Theatre will host Ragamala Dance Company, described as “soulful, imaginative and rhythmically contagious” (The New York Times), this Bharatanatyam company performs Written in Water. Original composition by jazz trumpeter Amir ElSaffe.
June 27 – July 1
Pilobolus. A must-see for all ages. This wildly creative troupe of daring dancers will present Branches, a stunning display of acrobatics, inventive wit and dazzling imagery.
Ephrat Asherie Dance presents the world premiere of Odeon, a mixture of hip-hop, house and vogue with an enticing score by Brazilian composer Ernesto Nazareth. Live music.
July 4 – July 8
Hailing from Israel, Batsheva; The Young Ensemble will perform Naharin’s Virus. This troupe is considered one of the most prominent contemporary dance companies in the world.
The Herald Sun describes Nicola Gunn as, “tantalizing, entertaining, ridiculous and often bewildering in the best most possible way.” Nicola Gunn tells the story of a man, a woman, and a duck.
July 11 – 15
Choreographer Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui will perform alongside his company EASTMAN. They are presenting Fractus V, “an epic work that spans contemporary genres from Flamenco to hip-hop, featuring live music from India, Japan and Korea.”
Phildanco! “Spiritually uplifting, and socially conscious (The Philadelphia Inquirer),” this celebrated Philadelphian Company delivers athletic, contemporary ballet.
July 18 – July 22
Dorrance Dance. Jacob’s Pillow Dance Award-winner Michelle Dorrance returns, bringing her latest piece, Myelination, along with a world premiere, set to live music.
The New York Times describes Cie Art Move Concept, as ” a French tour de force of movement and motion; a thrilling fusion of hip-hop and contemporary dance.”
July 25 – 29
Ronald K Brown/ Evidence, returns to the Pillow with a soulful and uplifting new work. A blend of African, Carribbean and contemporary choreography set to Grammy winner Arturo O’Farrell’s Latin jazz beats. Live music.
Compania Sharon Fridman makes its US debut at the Pillow. “The program highlights athletic, adventurous work rooted in improvisation.”
August 1 – 5
Chicago’s Hubbard Street Dance will return to the Pillow. This world-renowned dance force brings a diverse program lead by such amazing choreographers as Crystal Pite and Alejandro Cerrudo.
2018 Jacob’s Pillow Dance Award-winner Faye Driscoll returns with Thank You For Coming: Play. “A collage of gesture, image, voice, and persona where performers ventriloquize, shape-shift and speak through and for each other.”
August 8 – 12
Limon Dance Company, a staple in the American modern dance world, brings to life classics by Jose Limon, as well as new choreography.
Paramodernities By Netta Yerushalmy. This world premiere deconstructs modern choreographers including Alvin Ailey, George Balanchine and Bob Fosse.
August 15 – 19
Houston Ballet returns for the first time in nearly 40 years with a program celebrating classic and contemporary choreography alongside a piece by Trey McIntyre and a Pillow-commissioned world premiere by artistic director Stanton Welch.
“Obie and Lucille Lortel Award-winner Sonya Tayeh presents you’ll still call me by name, an emotionally charged dance symphony in collaboration with vocalist and indie-folk duo The Bengsons.”
August 22 – 26 Rounding out the summer, Daniel Ulbricht curates Stars of American Ballet in celebration of legend Jerome Robbins. San Francisco-based ODC/DANCE flaunts rigorous and partnering in their performance of Dead Reckoning.
These may be the season’s highlights but alongside this spectacular line-up is also Inside/Out Performance Series set on the Pillow’s outdoor stage. Popular with audiences of all ages, these performances happen Wednesday through Saturday, from 6:15 to 7pm, and they’re free.
PillowTalks
These are entertaining and informative discussions with writers, choreographers, filmmakers and cultural experts, moderated by Pillow scholars. Friday 5 – 6pm and Saturday 4 – 5pm. Free
Spend a day at The Pillow, picnic on the grounds or dine at one of two restaurants. The Old Inn on the Green, a full-service dining and full bar experience or The Southfield Store, an on-the go- menu of sandwiches, salads and sweets, with wine and beer.
Classes
For the advanced dancer, 16 and older, the Pillow offers master classes on Sundays. Learn from festival artists. Sundays, June 24 – August 26 from 10-11:30am.
Family classes are offered for all ages and levels.
There is so much happening you may find that one visit is not enough! Tickets can be purchased online at jacobspillow.org or by phone 413-243-0745. Jacob’s Pillow, 358 George Carter Rd, Becket, Mass.
A Furtive Movement: The Use of Farce
Providence has the honor of hosting RISCA Play and Screenwriting Merit Award winner Vatic Tayari Kuumba as a resident — possibly a permanent one, according to Kuumba, who is dedicated to our little state. Kuumba has a prolific writing record — from school newspapers to award-winning rap competitions that send him all over the US. He also is the performance coordinator for AS220 Youth, and is working on a large body of work, in literary installations, for the stage.
Furtive Movement: The Use of Farce, is the first in a series of what could be 10 productions from that large body that will portray the 21st century from 2000 until just before 2999. About this first movement, Kuumba explains, “A Furtive Movement: The Use of Farce is set in an alternate future that parallels our present, where over one thousand people are killed by the police every year, told from the perspective of one of the victims of the state, whose death inspired protest, riots and the formation of a black billionaire super PAC that funnels dark money.” Furtive Movement: The Use of Farce will run June 7 and 8 at 7pm as part of PVD Fest, and Jun 10 at 4pm and 7pm at the Pell Chafee Performance Center, 87 Empire St, PVD.
FUTUREWORLDS 4: The Goddess, the Cat and the Trap House is a multidimensional performance that begins to tell the intertwining stories of three creatures developed by the young artists at AS220 Youth. As the story goes, each creature of god has played an integral role in destroying what human beings have created: systems of oppression. The evening takes place on June 9 from 5 – 10pm with the main show starting at 8:30pm. The main character of the CAT was created with guidance and support from BIG NAZO LAB. Audiences Get a Different Point of View from Trans Views
What if you looked into the mirror, and did not see yourself there? This question is being posed by the URI Feinstein Providence Campus Arts and Culture Program (in conjunction with the Rhode Island State Council of Churches) with an original work by Frank V. Toti Jr. titled Trans View. It is an oral history project, with history that hits home as it is compiled from interviews by Rhode Islanders in the trans community. The piece has been on tour, and will close at URI’s Providence campus.
I was excited to see this show, as seeing original work is my favorite way to spend a night at the theater. Trans Views did not disappoint; it is the type of theater I love to see — stripped down and all about the words. And, of course, the stellar acting doesn’t hurt.
Six interviewees comprise the ensemble, with Steven Pennell, the man behind the show’s conception, guiding them as the interviewer. This is a perfect cast. Ted D’Artri’s Cameron stopped the show quite a few times with some truly raw moments that he has to work through. Sandra Lee’s Kara was captivating, Lilly Cataldi’s Josie had me on the edge of my seat, Carol Schlink’s Tiffani was stellar and Chris Laureano’s Eli melted my heart. Cody Suzuki opens the piece with some beautifully written spoken word, and at the helm is Steven Pennell who also serves as the navigator for the audience, and he does so in such a calming and loving way that I can’t imagine anyone walking out unchanged. (Yes, even that one person we all know that is so closed-minded that they pine away for the days when women lived in the kitchen, and closets were closed.) The pieces are powerful, moving and at times funny, with lines about The Dark Lady and “Rhode Island … I mean Midland Mall,” the audience is reminded that this is in our backyard, something that makes this night of theater all the more important.
I consider myself a pretty liberal person. And as an educator I have attended professional development sessions regarding the LGBT community, with a focus on transgender youth. I learned more in the course of one night of theater than I ever could in a PD. If you are in education, public service, work with the public, or have questions, catch this show. You’ll learn a lot, you’ll hear stories that will make you laugh and cry, and you’ll be witness to something truly special on stage.
See Trans Views on June 7 & 8 @ 7pm URI Providence Campus Paff Auditorium 80 Washington St, PVD. The Performance is FREE and open to the public. For Information call 401-277-5206 [email protected] or visit web.uri.edu/prov/arts
Norton Singers’ Scarlet Pimpernel Leaves Audiences Whistling
Photo courtesy of The Norton Singers. Photo by Mike Daniels
When it comes to musicals about French revolutions, Les Mis has the market cornered.
But there is another oft-forgotten musical about the same topic. The Scarlet Pimpernel came about a decade later, and like Les Mis, it was adapted from a novel. In addition to the glaring similarity in subject matter, there are some similar characters and musical motifs that may seem familiar.
And that’s where their similarities end.
The Scarlet Pimpernel never takes itself too seriously. Though it takes place during the infamous Reign of Terror, there isn’t much in the way of terror. In fact, it is unquestionably a comedy, driven by its central band of unlikely heroes. Though it may not be as popular as Les Mis, it’s a story that’s permeated our culture; it was the inspiration behind Batman, in addition to being adapted over and over again in sequels, on screen and on stage. Directed by Ted Mitchell, the Norton Singers take audiences on the swashbuckling adventure of the hero Paris deserved.
At the helm of the show are three spectacularly talented leads. First, we meet Marguerite St. Just (PattiLou Davis), a French actress who leaves France to marry her British sweetheart, Percy Blakeney (Ethan Butler). On their wedding night, Percy uncovers a terrible secret about his bride: She is in league with Citizen Chauvelin (Gregory Gillis), a fanatical agent of the French revolutionaries and is responsible for the execution of Marquis de St.-Cyr. Their marriage grows cold before it properly begins.
It is with the antagonist that Pimpernel looks suspiciously like Les Mis. Chauvelin is a very Javertian character in his undying but incompetent pursuit of our outlaw protagonist, and even in lyrics that evoke similar imagery. Unsurprisingly, Gillis has played Javert before. His vocals are mighty in the thrilling “Falcon in the Dive,” in which he swears to hunt down his foe, and the creepy “Where’s the Girl?” in which he alludes to a past affair with Marguerite and tries to seduce her once again. His delivery and presence have all the bite and intensity of idealist gone off the deep end into terror.
Davis is an absolute star from the start. Vocally, she is both expressive and powerful, particularly in her numbers “When I Look at You” and “I’ll Forget You,” as she laments the way her husband has changed. She also has a fantastic “my husband’s an idiot” facial expression, particularly in the ball scenes. As the titular hero, Butler is both scheming and charismatic as he leads his band of merry men. He concocts a scheme to pretend to be unbelievably foppish and shallow to avoid suspicion while secretly freeing people from the guillotine in Paris. He and his crew, played by Timothy Fleming, Greg Geer, Daniel Gravely, Michael Stanley, Craig O’Connor and Seamus Corbett, as well as Anthony Rinaldi as Armand St. Just, Marguerite’s younger brother, are hilarious in this charade, dressing up in absurd clothing and pretending to be complete airheads. This is highlighted in “The Creation of Man,” which involves intricate handkerchief waving and passing, with varying levels of success as some end up on the floor, but this kind of works for their characters. They set off on their quest in the boisterous and exciting number “Into the Fire,” which is a highlight of the show.
The costumes are brilliantly designed by Kathryn Ridder, assisted by Jan Connoly, to evoke the era, from peasant clothing to lavish ballgowns and the more ridiculous costumes of Percy and company in the ballroom scenes. The set, designed by Corbett Thursby, is similarly impressive, with a staircase, the all-important guillotine, and an actual working chandelier for the ballroom scene (which, incidentally is a masquerade, so if the parallels with Les Mis weren’t enough, Phantom of the Opera is thrown into the mix as well).
The cast is accompanied by a 12-piece orchestra, which is most impressive for a community theater, though regrettably, Wheaton College’s Weber Theater does not have a proper pit, so you might want to avoid the first few rows, as they may obstruct your view.
Though you wouldn’t think it considering the subject matter, The Scarlet Pimpernel is a fun show, with comedic moments and some great musical moments. Leaving the theater, I could hear people whistling or humming some of the music, which attests to how catchy it is. From romance to comedy to adventure and heroes in disguise, Pimpernel is a show that has something for everyone.
The Scarlet Pimpernel runs through June 10 at the Weber Theatre, Wheaton College in Norton, Mass. For tickets, visit nortonsingers.com or call the box office at 508-285-4049
7 Questions with Mike Birbiglia
Mike Birbiglia is a New York comedian, actor and filmmaker who was born in Shrewsbury, Mass. His feature-length directorial debut, Sleepwalk With Me, based on his one-man show, won awards at the Sundance and Nantucket film festivals. He also wrote, directed and starred in the critically acclaimed comedy-drama Don’t Think Twice. He will be performing his new show, appropriately titled The New One, at Trinity Repertory Theatre in Providence, May 31 – June 3.
TJ Curran (Motif): How is The New One different from Thank God for Jokes or My Girlfriend’s Boyfriend? Is there an overarching theme to the show?
Mike Birbiglia: I try not to tell people what the show is about, because I realized recently that I don’t like knowing anything about what I’m about to see. My favorite movies last year were Lady Bird, The Big Sick, Get Out, and The Florida Project, and the greatest gift I can give to people is telling them to go see those movies, don’t watch a trailer, do not read a review, just go see them. I feel that way about theater, movies and this show. I will say that if you like Sleepwalk With Me, My Girlfriends Boyfriend, and Thank God for Jokes, then you’ll like the new one. If you don’t like those, then I don’t think it’s for you.
TJC: What made you decide to book Trinity Rep as a venue? How do you expect that will be different from a more traditional venue, or even a more “comic-centric” venue like the Cellar?
MB: I’ve done this show at the Berkeley Repertory Theatre in California and the La Jolla Playhouse outside of San Diego and I’m doing the show off-Broadway at the Cherry Lane Theater in mid-July for five weeks. Those are all similar venues to Trinity Rep, and that’s what I prefer. I prefer theatrical venues that are intimate. I’ve heard about Trinity Rep for years. I’m friendly with Oskar Eustis who use to be Trinity Rep’s artistic director. Our set designer, Beowulf Boritt, used to design for Trinity Rep. It has a spectacular reputation. Plus, my brother, Joe, who runs my production company and collaborates with me on writing, lives in Providence with his family, and my sister, Gina, lives in Providence with her family as well, so its a place I like to spend time.
TJC: Congratulations on Don’t Think Twice. It was a great film. Do you think within the current system of superhero movies and reboots of old ideas that there will be bigger and bigger audiences looking for films like yours or Ladybird or Get Out?
MB: It’s a good question. I think nobody knows the answer to that. I certainly hope so. I feel like in the ’70s there were film studios that were taking a shot on movies that were for grownups. That’s when Annie Hall, China Town and a lot of the Altman films got greenlit, and I don’t feel like studios are doing that currently, but then you have companies like A24, The Orchard and The Film Arcade who did Don’t Think Twice that are willing to take chances on small movies like those.
TJC: I was watching Chaplin again this weekend, and it struck me that he was the very definition of an auteur, even writing some of the music for his films. But he also owned the studio. How difficult is it to be an auteur? Are you able to exercise the creative control you’d like? Do you have any more movies in the works?
MB: I’m writing my third movie right now. I’ve been lucky enough to have creative control over Sleepwalk with Me and Don’t Think Twice. Part of that has to do with a willingness to do things for a lower budget. Based on what I’ve observed in Hollywood, the higher your budget goes the more cooks there are in the kitchen and the more the director needs to be on the hook for the movie to make more money. Which is why something like Lady Bird, Get Out, or Don’t Think Twice, I think, are smart business decisions as movies because they don’t have to make that much money to earn their money back. In some ways, it’s easier to be an auteur currently cause the cost of camera equipment and the cost of production and editing is exponentially less than when Chaplin was making films.
TJC: You’ve created quite an enviable career, being able to move from comedy tours to TV, to movies pretty adroitly. Who is the person you have not worked with, with whom you are dying to collaborate in some way?
MB: I feel like there are a few filmmakers that I’m fascinated by. Pete Doctor at Pixar, I think, is making some really groundbreaking movies like Up and Inside Out. I’m obviously a fan of filmmakers like the Coen Brothers, Nicole Holofcener and Noah Baumbach. Those are people whose movies I look forward to most. I always want to learn, so I always want to work with people I’ll learn from. TJC: Michelle Wolf caught a lot of heat at the White House correspondence dinner, exclusively from people with no sense of humor. Would you ever want to do that gig? Do you find it difficult to navigate being an artist in a climate where folks try to politicize everything?
MB: I don’t think that interests me. They asked me a few years ago to do the congressional dinner and I passed because I feel like all of the talk shows do a really good job of writing political humor. Kimmel’s show, Seth Meyers, John Oliver and the others have staffs of, like, 10-plus writers and they’re great. I don’t think I can compete with that, and I don’t really want to. I also feel like what I’m doing, which is telling personal stories about my life, is rarer than you’d think in comedy. So I like sort of being in my own space.
TJC: You play a very unusual character on the Showtime show “Billions.” How much input did you have into that character’s story line? Of the viral hits you’ve been a part of (“Girls,” “Inside Amy Schumer,” “Orange is the New Black,” “Broad City” or “Billions”), which was the most fun for you? Which was the most rewarding as an actor?
MB: Those were all special, cool experiences. I think “Girls” was the first time someone put me on a TV show, so that was thrilling. Lena was directing the episode herself, and so she let me and her riff, since were friends, so that was pretty cool.
For “Broad City,” it was an example of being on a set of a show that I’m a huge fan of, so as a director it was fascinating to see how Abby and Ilana create that show, which is so fast and with so much energy and vigor.
Billions is probably the most highly functioning set I’ve ever been on because the show has two major plot lines that are shot concurrently, the Giamatti plot line and the Damian Lewis plot line, so it’s just this huge machine that I’ve never seen anything like. The directors that Brian and David hire are excellent. And then Asia Kate Dillon is an excellent performer, so it’s been pretty thrilling to share the screen with someone like that.
Mike Birbiglia performs at Trinity Rep from May 31 – June 3. For tickets, go to birbigs.com/tourdates
This Is Not Your Mother’s Pirates When Gilbert and Sullivan first put pen to paper on Pirates of Penzance over 100 years ago, they probably were not picturing a troupe of actors in Hawaiian shirts and colorful stockings, hitting beach balls around and jamming out to Taylor Swift, or an audience perched upon set pieces wearing leis and waving pirate flags. But considering that in their time Gilbert and Sullivan were the kings of flipping conventions on their heads, they probably would be delighted with this new imagining of their beloved work, adapted by Sean Graney and Kevin O’Donnell, which has seen runs in Chicago, Pasadena and now at the Wilbury Theatre Group in Providence.
Forget everything you know about going to the theater, because in this production, all of the rules are different. Other than a few rows of seats for those with mobility impairments, there is no traditional seating. Rather, audience members sit promenade-style on different parts of the set. When a performer needs an occupied spot, the audience member in question must get up and find a different seat. Audience members are also encouraged to keep their phones out and take pictures during the show.
Before the show, as the audience gets accustomed to this weird, nontraditional space they’ve just stepped into, the cast is having a jam session with a variety of music from “Twist and Shout” to “Shake It Off,” while hitting around beach balls and encouraging audience members to sing along.
This is not your mother’s Pirates of Penzance.
In only 80 minutes, the 12-person cast relays the story of Frederik (Brian Kozak), an apprentice to a ragtag team of pirates (Richie Whitehead, Aaron Blanck, Brien Lang and Jeff Hodge) through a clerical error made by his nursery maid Ruth (Shannon Hartman). As of his 21st birthday, his is free of his indentures and aims to reassimilate into society, find a fair young maiden to marry and punish the pirates for their misdeeds – such is his sense of duty (every time this phrase is used, the pirates must strike a dramatic pose and repeat it, even in the middle of a song). Conveniently for the second of these, a bevy of young maidens, who happen to be the major general’s daughters (Jennifer Mischley, Sherry Romanzi, Emma Sachetti, Sarah Leach and Maggie Papa), enters the scene – singing Kelis’ “Milkshake,” no less. While the first four daughters remain unmoved by his tale of woe, Mabel (also Shannon Hartman) falls for him.
When the pirates arrive on the scene, they decide to marry the daughters, until the major general (Jennifer Mischley) appears to spoil the plan. He squares off against the equally incompetent pirate king (Jason Quinn) and ultimately wins by claiming to be an orphan, thus pulling on the heartstrings of the pirates who are orphans themselves. Later, his grief over telling such a lie is appeased by the pirate- fighting police force (double cast with the pirates and the daughters in different scenes) Frederik has formed, until Ruth and the pirate king deliver some bad news to Frederik: He was born on Leap Day, and therefore, has not yet reached his 21st birthday and is still indentured to the pirates.
The entire cast is a riot, from the goofy pirates to the sassy and sultry daughters. As Mabel, Hartman is sweet but determined, leading the police force in her Frederik’s absence, with a lovely soprano vocal. As Ruth, she is pretty much the opposite. Her required quick changes between the two are formidable – until the last scene where she appears as a Ruth-Mabel hybrid (“So are you Ruth or Mabel?” asks Frederik. “I honestly don’t know,” she replies). Jason Quinn as the pirate king and Jennifer Mischley as the major general are both goofily inept in their positions of authority, putting up a front of power while respectively doing a little jig and singing about being a pirate king or rocking a dixie cup-patterned romper.
This Pirates is as much an experience as it is a show. While not for the stuffy, traditionalist theater- going crowd, it is truly one of a kind. Put aside your trepidations, keep an open mind and you will leave with a smile on your face.
Pirates of Penzance runs through June 3 at the Wilbury Theatre Group, 40 Sonoma Court in Providence. For tickets, visit thewilburygroup.org
The Last Days of Rockin Rob’s
Writer/director Nick Albanese’s latest show, The Last Days of Rockin Rob’s, opens June 15 at Artist’s Exchange.
In his hit autobiographical one man show, The Last Sicilian, Albanese explored his Italian upbringing in Providence. Now he is exploring how the changing musical landscape is affecting small businesses in The Last Days of Rockin Rob’s.
The cast includes Kathleen Russell (13 Rue de l’amour), Stephen Hug, John Cillino, David Adams Murphy and Ericka Atwell (Everybody Needs Therapy Sometimes).
The comedy drama about a failing record shop was inspired by real-life, Albanese explained. “I read an article about a record shop that’s closing in (New York’s) Greenwich Village,” Albanese said. “This (store) was there for years and years. No one’s buying (vinyl) albums anymore.”
When writing the play, Albanese added some twists of his own to the story and believes it reflects the ups and downs of life. Sales of record albums have actually increased over the last few years. They are now outselling digital downloads, which Albanese finds interesting. “It’s kind of funny how everything comes around again,” Albanese said. The Last Days of Rockin Rob’s opens June 15 and runs through June 23. Artist’s Exchange. 50 Rolfe Square, Cranston. Tickets available at tickets.vendini.com.
Barker’s Season Finishes Strong with the Mystery of Edwin Drood
There’s a mystery afoot at The Players at Barker Playhouse and what’s keeping people buzzing around their latest musical, The Mystery of Edwin Drood, isn’t necessarily “Who Dun’ It?”, but “How Do I Get In?” According to general manager Bill Applegate, since they formally announced the Tony-Award winning musical as the closing show in their 109th Season, people have been on the phone to purchase tickets – and as is the case with Barker Playhouse, that means increased memberships as well as ticket sales. Having opened last week to full houses, tickets have indeed disappeared completely for Drood, which is closing the Players’ season with a sold-out run.
The award-winning musical The Mystery of Edwin Drood by Rupert Holmes is getting a high-spirited and entertaining production by the Players under the sure-handed gaze of director Joan Dillenbeck and meticulous musical direction of pianist Joe A. Carvalho. Holmes is no stranger to crafting a nifty pop song, having penned the very popular “Escape (The Pina Colada Song)” in the mid-70s. While Drood was his first crack at writing book and lyrics as well as music for a show, the resulting work was so well-received that it garnered Holmes three Tony Awards, winning for Best Book, Best Original Score and Best Musical.
The Players’ intimate Benefit Street theater (currently seating just over 90 people per performance) makes for the perfect setting of the show-within-a-show set in a lively 1890s English music hall. Holmes sets up the campy and fun premise early-on, inviting audiences to celebrate each music hall actor as they are introduced as their main characters and to react to the “bad guy” characters with typical pantomime boos and hisses. Of course, the play is most well-known for the audience’s second act job of voting on the murderer’s identity at each performance.
Our host and guide for the evening is The Chairman (a winning Dennis L. Bouchard) who introduces the love triangle of the story, the virtuous Rosa Budd (Rebecca Kilcline), her fiancé Edwin Drood (Erin Malcolm) and the villain of the piece, the grandly insane John Jasper (well played with more than a bit of melodrama by Jeff C. Davis) who wants young Rosa all to himself.
In the tradition of the Victorian Music Hall, the male role of Drood is a “breech role,” meant to be played with appropriate swagger by an actress. Taking full advantage of the convention, Holmes has written some of his most beautiful melodies for the women and Malcolm shines in her duet “Perfect Strangers” with the luminous Kilcline as songbird Rosa. Kilcline proves herself to be a delightful vocalist early on in the show, beautifully handling the smoldering “Moonfall” with precision and depth.
When Malcom’s Drood turns up missing and presumed dead before the end of the first act, we are left with a whole roster of colorful characters to suspect, each bearing a mysterious reason for wanting to make him disappear. Leading the group is The Rev. Mr. Crisparkle (played with trademark timing by the funny Roger Lemelin), who has more then a few secrets up his clerical sleeve, and the exotic brother and sister comic duo of Helena and Neville Landless (Leslie Nevola and David Schillinger.) Nevola not only nails her character’s “geographically untraceable accent,” but also brings a strong, colorful singing voice to the duets and group numbers.
One of the audience favorites the evening I attended was Elizabeth R. Messier, putting in a star-turn as Princess Puffer, the saucy, secretive (and surprise!) sensitive purveyor of opium. Her second act ballads, “The Garden Path to Hell” and “Puffer’s Revelation,” were heartfelt and well-delivered. A welcome sight on local stages again is the inimitable JP Cottam, whose comic turn as the hard drinking Durdles is effortlessly funny.
Barker is truly fortunate to have triple-threat Michael Maio in their ranks, both onstage and off. Maio’s polished choreography for the show, while economical and precise, truly elevated the group numbers. With spot-on comic timing, his performance of Bazzard’s first act ballad, “Never the Luck,” was a joyful (albeit bittersweet) treat.
Set designer Dan Clement has crafted a neatly functional multi-purpose Victorian music hall stage setting, with movable panels that open and close to reveal enough detail to portray the many locations of Cloisterham. Well-lit by designer Ron Allen and costumed with savvy color-theory for better character insight by designer Jillian Eddy, the production’s 20-some actor-singer-dancers move effortlessly throughout the various streets, sitting rooms, opium dens and crypts of Charles Dickens’ unfinished novel. This is a show where the ensemble contributes greatly to the production, and hats off to the solid performances turned in by the Citizens of Cloisterham, Holly B. Applegate, Calista D’Elia, Lisa M. Babbitt, Karen Gail Kessler, Emma Locke, Court Stafford, Erich Dethlefsen, Sam O’Donnell and Andrea Hellman.
The full run of The Mystery of Edwin Drood produced by The Players at Barker Playhouse, 400 Benefit St, PVD is sold out. For more information on how you can become a member and receive advance notices of productions and events, please call 401-273-0590 or visit playersri.org
Trinity’s Powerful Ragtime Evokes a Sense of Community
Rebecca Gibel as Evelyn Nesbit and cast of Ragtime. Photo by Mark Turek.
Going to the theater is always a communal experience. Even in a movie theater — who’s never experienced a time when fellow audience members applauded at the end, or cheered for a good line? And how much more communal is the experience when you and the people you’re packed into the seats with are sharing the room with the artists? Trinity Rep’s new production of Ragtime, directed by Curt Columbus, takes full advantage of theater’s communal dimension. From the opening number, where immigrant and labor activist Emma Goldman’s (Janice Duclos) “Let me at those sons of bitches!” was met with a laugh and a cheer from the audience, to a passionate speech late in the play, calling out callous respectability that received as much applause as any musical number, Trinity’s production invites viewers to feel the characters’ struggles as their own, and viewers are responding.
Goldman, like the “sons of bitches” Fred Sullivan’s J.P. Morgan and Brian McEleney’s Henry Ford, is one of the real-life historical characters who act as a chorus to the fictional story of three families: a black couple, Coalhouse Walker Jr. (Wilkie Ferguson III) and Sarah (Mia Ellis), and their son; a white upper-class suburban family, headed by Mother (Rachael Warren, perfectly cast); and two Jewish immigrants, Tateh (Charlie Thurston, in as wonderful and sincere a performance as ever) and his daughter. These stories provide not only the maybe-expected narratives of the oppressions imposed on various groups by the America in which so many dream of playing an equal part, but also, importantly, a model of standing up. Mother, for instance, finds her liberation from the limited role prescribed for (wealthy) women not in shedding her corset – although she does, more on that in a moment – but in protecting Sarah and her infant son when her husband (Mauro Hantman) and social propriety would have it otherwise.
There are zero weak links in the cast (it’s hard to choose who to mention, but Stephen Thorne as Harry Houdini escapes from straitjackets and things on stage and that’s pretty cool), but Ellis’ performance of the tragic “Your Daddy’s Son,” and the hopeful “Wheels of a Dream,” where Ellis’s Sarah and Ferguson’s Coalhouse dream of their son traveling through a free America, combine strong musical performances with a powerful emotional pull to make those numbers highlights of the show. Columbus and his actors do a lot with a little; in the true Trinity spirit, the set (by Eugene Lee) represents a rehearsal room, and costume designer Kara Harmon puts the cast in street clothes for the first act, then in traditional early 20th century costumes for the second. Warren’s costume change back to street clothes in the second act heralded, for me, less Mother’s personal liberation and more a pointed reminder that the issues the play touches on – the struggles of immigrants, the police murders of unarmed black Americans – are completely contemporary. (Columbus says, “All of the issues in 1905 that E.L. Doctorow is writing about are the issues of today … the Black Lives Matter text of the book, the women’s rights text of the book, and the immigration text of the book are literally everything we are dealing with now … What I hope is that maybe we can make changes as a community so that these issues are not still the burning issues of 50 years from now.”) The use of contemporary dress also allows for another moment of communal understanding toward the very end of the play; I don’t want to spoil it, because it’s incredibly effective not only to see the choice the production made in tying the play’s events to the present day, but to be in a room full of other people who also see and understand that visual, and to wonder how much that mass of people could do with that understanding and community.
Trinity evokes this feeling very intentionally, bringing up the house lights as Coalhouse urges his supporters to tell the story of their fight for justice and “make them hear you.” Nor do they want viewers to let their outrage at injustice or their zeal for change simply drain away after an evening at the theater – during the run of Ragtime, they are registering voters in the lobby. In this way, they’re trying to work toward the aspirational America of the play – maybe not the one it shows as a current reality, but the one its characters dream of.
Ragtime runs through May 27 at Trinity Repertory Company, 201 Washington St, PVD. For tickets and more information, go to trinityrep.com
Beauty and the Beast Showcases Stadium’s Incredible Work
In the wake of the last year’s live action remake of Disney’s Beauty and the Beast, the stage version, unsurprisingly, has become a popular choice for schools and community theater groups this spring. Movie aside, it’s a solid choice as one of the most well-received Disney musicals, with a classic Alan Menken score made up of both songs from the animated movie and new songs that fit right in, a blend of comedic and more tender moments and an opportunity for the creative team’s talents to shine. Amidst the crowd of beauties and beasts this season, be sure not to overlook Shining Light’s production at the Stadium Theater as another example of the incredible work consistently done there.
The tale, of course, is as old as time, and most audiences will be familiar with the 1991 animated film: a booklover from a provincial French town takes her father’s place as a beast’s prisoner in an enchanted castle. As the beloved Disney princess, Belle, Lisa Ziniti Palmer is both sharply intelligent and stubbornly strong-willed, standing up for herself against beasts and beast-like men alike. Her gorgeous soprano vocals captivate the audience in the songs “Belle,” in which she confesses her desire for adventure despite how odd her neighbors believe her to be, and “Home,” in which she contemplates her new life as the Beast’s captive and mourns the life she had previously longed to escape.
Opposite her is Brandon Michael as the Beast, a cursed prince with some anger issues. As the ruthless master of the house, his presence is formidable and frightening, but becomes more kind and sympathetic under the influence of Belle and his servants. The turning point comes in the Act 1 finale, “If I Can’t Love Her,” a personal favorite of the numbers added for the stage.
As the self-obsessed man’s man Gaston, the incomparable Jack Cappadona balances his hilarious egocentricity and terrifying sense of entitlement flawlessly. You may recall his last appearance at the Stadium as Quasimodo in The Hunchback of Notre Dame, a role that could not be more diametrically opposed to this one, which truly attests to his range as an actor.
The servants consist of Rebecca Donald as the kindly, maternal Mrs. Potts, who delivers a lovely rendition of the title song; her son, Chip, played by Rowan Esposito; Brian Sands as the worrywort head of household Cogsworth; Adam Landry as the stereotypically French Lumiere, who leads an ensemble of enchanted objects in “Be Our Guest;” Stephanie Witz as the seductive Babette with whom Lumiere has a fling and Ashley Lopes as the diva Wardrobe.
The other stars of the show include the set, particularly the gorgeous castle made cleverly versatile by the use of scrim, and Sue Vieira’s creative costuming. The ensemble shines in the show-stopping numbers of “Gaston,” which features an impressive dance that involves clinking beer mugs, and “Be Our Guest.”
The only downside were frequent sound issues that often rendered some lines inaudible, which is a common issue among community theaters, but proves particularly troublesome in the large and almost sold-out space at the Stadium.
Nonetheless, Beauty and the Beast is a spectacle guaranteed to be enjoyed by audiences of all ages.
Beauty and the Beast runs through May 13 at the Stadium Theatre in Woonsocket. For tickets, visit stadiumtheatre.com