Ellemosynary: Love Isn’t Easy Ellemosynary, now playing downstage at 2nd Story Theatre, is a one-act play about the relationships between the Westbrook women. Echo (Valerie Westgate) is a champion speller who adores her grandmother Dorothea (Isabel O’Donnell). Artemis (Sharon Carpentier) is Echo’s mother and Dorothea’s daughter. Ellemosynary, which means charitable, is about women who try to be loving toward each other but sometimes come up short. The story is told in flashbacks, as Echo relates how she grew up under Dorothea’s influence. Dorothea was a “notable eccentric” who was interested in communicating with the dead and astral projection. When Echo was 12, she wanted to be “the greatest speller in history.” Meanwhile, Artemis tells of how she chafed under Dorothea’s control, which was so unbearable she fled the country after suffering a tragedy. Artemis is neurotic but highly intelligent. She loves Echo but doesn’t know how to be a real mother to her. The interactions between the women are alternately sad and humorous. Playwright Lee Blessing knows how to write sharp, witty dialogue as well as how to create deeply textured characters. Echo experiences a lot of confusion and pain after being abandoned by Artemis. This is expressed in an overwhelming desire to win the National Spelling Bee. Echo berates a fellow contestant and spells out a series of words in a fury. The performances are uniformly excellent. Westgate, who previously starred as Joan of Arc in Saint Joan, brings the right amount of charm and vulnerability to Echo. Carpentier makes the audience understand Artemis’ character flaws and gains our sympathy. O’Donnell gets a lot of laughs as Dorothea imagines seeing historical figures and quips about her views of life. The set design is spare. The word ‘ellemosynary’ is spelled out in block letters on a wall. There is no furniture on the stage. The characters are on a multi-level platform where they share their memories. Relationships are a lot like life, the play says: sometimes awkward, sometimes joyful, and sometimes unforgiving. Love isn’t easy, but it’s worth reaching for. Ellemosynary runs through November 23. 2nd Story Theatre, 28 Market Street, Warren. 401-247-4200 Dial M for Murder Provides Gripping Good Fun On Halloween, while goblins and ghouls and a wide variety of superheroes were out roaming the streets, Ocean State Theatre Company was doling out some tricks and treats of their own with the gripping thriller Dial M for Murder. Originally written for the stage by Frederick Knott, this murder mystery was later made famous on the big screen by master of suspense Alfred Hitchcock. And, as the show’s program rightly notes, the key to any thriller is believability, a feat much easier achieved in film. Whereas on stage, believability resides in the performers’ ability to make what the audience is seeing look plausible. The cast of six in OSTC’s production, directed by Aimee Turner, succeed admirably in this regard. The entire play takes place in the living room of a London apartment. And, once again, OSTC set designers have outdone themselves. With the help of “Partner and Design” Ethan Allen, this posh pad features some beautiful furnishings: a large wooden desk off to one side with a very luxurious looking couch center stage, French doors opening to a courtyard, a fireplace, lamps and light fixtures complete the décor. During her opening remarks, Turner turns and admires, asking, ”Wouldn’t you kill for this apartment?” The play’s plot revolves around the familiar theme of greed and murder. Tony Wendice plans to have his wealthy wife, Margot, murdered for her money. To do so, he blackmails an old college acquaintance, with a very shady past, into committing the “perfect” murder. But things go terribly awry when the murderer becomes the murdered! All these details give very little away as they all occur early in the play. From that point forward, the suspense resides in one’s wondering if the police will figure out the truth in this twisted tale of murder and deceit. Under Turner’s direction, this two act play, with each act running close to an hour in length, breezes right along. Though a few of the lines were fumbled, that did not detract from the overall production, which was highlighted by some wonderful performances. And, in a bit of a theatrical twist, during intermission the police inspect the crime scene and remove the dead body. So, audience members may want to remain seated between acts. Brandon Whitehead, as Inspector Hubbard, delivers the evening’s best performance. From the moment he enters, with Mr. Wendice opening the door to observe his hulking and disheveled appearance, Whitehead dominates the stage. With a Columbo-like clumsiness, he draws laughs just as easily with a gesture or facial expression as he does with his calculated and silly open-ended questions, which he delivers with a skillful, deadpan timing. Drew Anthony Allen, as the scheming Tony Wendice, has his hands full playing the loving husband while planning his wife’s murder. Yet he is quite convincing, projecting a chilling confidence and calmness. He matter-of-factly wipes away his accomplices fingerprints from some drinking glasses while getting him to leave his prints on a letter he will use later to frame his old college chum. As the would be murderer, Captain Lesgate, Rudy Sanda comes across as both likeable and pathetic, making him the perfect mark for Mr. Wendice. Sanda’s charm and smile easily convey how this lifelong scammer has made it this far. Yet, one does sort of feel bad for him upon his untimely demise. Aimee Doherty nicely portrays the naïve and unsuspecting wife, Margot. Believing so deeply in her husband’s love, she rejects the constant advances of her former lover Max Halliday. Doherty’s flippant and all-too-trusting demeanor makes her even more sympathetic. One wants to shout out, “Don’t answer the phone!” when her husband’s scheme begins to unfold. As murder mystery TV writer Max Halliday, Bill Mootos’ indifference proves to be prophetic. Nicely timed lines like, “In stories things turn out the way the author wants, in life they don’t,” have a chilling, foreshadowing effect. Yet, Mootos comes across as too gullible, willing to just tag along, whether it be with Margot or Tony. One can easily see why Margot chose Tony over Max. OSTC’s production of Dial M for Murder will enjoy a limited run until November 16 in the company’s new state-of-the-art theater in Warwick. For more details, visit oceanstatetheatre.org Alt-Nation: Music, Theatrics, and Musical Theatrics The Viennagram – Learn To Tame The Patterns It was 2009 and The Viennagram had just finished a set for the ages opening the Finals of the WBRU Rock Hunt. I talked to a couple of judges after they finished and nobody quite knew what to make of The Viennagram. One of the categories is “radio ready” and nobody (myself included at the time) could visualize The Viennagram on the radio. Their performance blurred the lines between theater and rock ‘n’ roll. In the aftermath, as the last of glitter was swept up, the question of what’s next for The Viennagram came up. The band continued to play shows and record. In 2010 they put out MADNESS IZ AND MORE/RELEASE THE BEAST-EYES, which they AV Vienna describes as a “Musically Mutated mix tape! “A buffet of Audio Oddities! “From failed experiments, outtakes, demos to dubs and things I forgot we even recorded.” It just always felt like The Viennagram were due for something better. Over the last six years the band have been recording constantly in different spaces amassing a catalog that eventually became their new release, Learn To Tame The Patterns. Over the years I’ve probably described The Viennagram as anything from carnival blues, haunted cabaret to murder mystery rock ‘n’ roll. Learn To Tame The Patterns is the perfect record to lose one’s mind to while listening. I mean that in a good way. It all feels like part of a sinister narrative with just enough left unsaid for the listeners’ imagination. “The Immaculate Fire” sounds like it’s describing some witches meeting out in the woods. “Doom Patrol” has the feel of a murder mystery with the intensity club banger that samples Bugs Bunny among other things and makes it work. The next song, “Vulture Star,” might as well be a coal mining folk song. That’s just taking 3 of the 21 songs that are sequenced together. That’s the way it goes in the frantic you never know what’s behind the next door world of The Viennagram. “Long Way Back to Paradise” skirts the line between show tune and catchy rock anthem. I could go on about Learn To Tame The Patterns, but what I’d say about one song isn’t going to be true of the tune after it. So instead I’ll ask singer/drummer AV Vienna a few questions. Marc Clarkin: The Viennagram has been together for a decade, yet other than a handful of random recordings Learn To Tame The Patterns is really your first “official” release. What was the hardest part in the 6 years of working on Learn To Tame The Patterns to bring it to fruition? AV Vienna: Fact: 80% of people who know of The Viennagram don’t know we’ve ever recorded anything and 5% think we broke up in 2007. All of this, of course, has led up to now, The Chapter of Learn to Tame the Patterns.