OTHER VOICES - REVIEWS: The Full Monty at Mason Street Warehouse

Read SUE MERRELL's review in The Grand Rapids Press (June 30, 2009)

Life, death and love: TLC at the PRTC

By Donald V. Calamia

Theaters risk low ticket sales and iffy reviews any time they produce a brand new play written by a first time or an up-and-coming playwright – especially in a decaying economy that seems to demand mostly safe and familiar comedies. So when one of Michigan's major theaters defies the odds and produces a world premiere – especially one with such an unusual setting and subject matter – theatergoers should, at the very least, take notice. And if those same theatergoers are looking for a smart script, a heartfelt story and some fine performances, then they should head to Chelsea this summer for Wake by Carey Crim at The Purple Rose Theatre Company.

Directed by Guy Sanville, Wake is the story of Molly Harrison (played by Michelle Mountain), a second generation mortician with a knack for death, but not for living. Suffering with agoraphobia since the strange, accidental death of her husband, Peter (Alex Leydenfrost), three years earlier, Molly is unable to leave the house (or prepare an edible meal from scratch). She’s faced with a crisis on her 45th birthday when her mother, Ivy (Sandy Ryder), gives her two plane tickets to Russia for her and her daughter, Samantha (Stacie Hadgikosti). Complicating matters are the arrival of Joe (Bill Simmons), the handsome son of a recently departed customer at Harrison's Funeral Home to whom she’s instantly and strangely attracted; Sam's decision to attend public school rather than continue home schooling; and the ghost of Peter, who pops in every now and then. "You're my everything," Molly tells her ethereal mate. But when life hits a sudden series of road bumps, will Molly finally be able to shed her fears – and her dead husband?

Wake is playwright Crim's second script to have its world premiere at The Purple Rose, which puts her in a very small, exclusive group that includes Jeff Daniels, Lanford Wilson, Mitch Albom and Kim Carney. And it's easy to see why, given her impressive growth as a playwright since last year's Growing Pretty.

Crim excels in crafting well-defined characters who, despite their quirks, can be found in households all across America. Plus, her dialogue sparkles with truth and insight. "He thinks we're normal," a stunned Sam says about Joe after he experiences a "typical" encounter with her family. And, for the most part, they are – which is why the opening night audience sat mesmerized by their dilemma.

The script isn't without flaws, however. One otherwise splendid scene early in the second act takes a sudden, somewhat illogical turn and leaves the audience hanging – and is never referred to again. (It does nothing to forward the story, but instead serves as a red-herring that confuses the audience.) Another is an otherwise tender moment between Peter and Sam – which, based on earlier dialogue, couldn't possibly happen. (Only Molly is supposedly able to see and interact with her dead husband.) And finally, why Sam steals – and then wears – one item from each of the dead bodies at the funeral home isn't clear (unless I missed it – which, quite frankly, is possible, since the actors occasionally failed to let audience reactions crest before continuing with their dialogue).

Staging by Sanville, now a veteran of 23 PRTC world premieres, is crisp and clean. Most notable, though, is his reverential treatment of the dead in the play. (Remember, the story unfolds primarily in a funeral home!)

Performances are all first-rate. But most impressive are Hadgikosti and Mountain.

Hadgikosti's physical reactions and responses are often priceless, and she's quite believable as a moody 15-year-old.

Mountain, however, plumbs the deep, emotional depths of her character, the result of which is a finely nuanced performance that offers the audience great insight into her character's every thought and feeling.

All of the show's technical elements are up to the PRTC's usually high standards, especially Vincent Mountain's deceptively simple set that serves the multiple requirements of the show quite well. (The design requires a minimal need to move things in, out and around the stage, despite their change in use.) He is aided and abetted by Reid G. Johnson's smooth, mood-setting lights.

And one can't help but notice that Christianne Myers dressed Juan in the most interesting costumes of anyone in the cast. Who is Juan? For the answer, you'll have to go and find out for yourself!

SHOW DETAILS:

The Purple Rose Theatre Company, 137 Park St., Chelsea. Wednesday - Sunday through Aug. 29. Tickets: $25-$38. For information: 734-433-7673 or www.purplerosetheatre.org.

Click here to comment on this review

THERE'S MORE!! Click here to read an interview with playwright Carey Crim.

OTHER VOICES - REVIEWS: Wake at The Purple Rose Theatre

Read TERRY POW's review in the Jackson Citizen Patriot (July 2, 2009)

Read CRYSTAL HAYDUK's review in The Chelsea Standard (July 2, 2009)

Read JOHN MONAGHAN's review in the Detroit Free Press (July 2, 2009)

Read ROBERT DELANEY's review from the New Monitor (July 2, 2009)

Read JENN MCKEE's review in The Ann Arbor News (June 29, 2009)

OTHER VOICES - REVIEWS: Room Service by Hope Summer Repertory Theatre

Read SUE MERRELL's review in The Grand Rapids Press (June 22, 2009)

Performance Network's A Picasso is a work of art

By Martin F. Kohn

A Picasso is about the Picasso living in Paris under Nazi occupation in 1941. So it seems odd that in advertising its production Performance Network would promote suspense as the play's selling point: "At stake - much more than his art and nothing less than his life."

Spoiler alert: Pablo Picasso and his art survived. Picasso died in 1973 (he was 91) and his art lives on.

Knowledge of the facts shouldn't dampen any desire to see the play. Prolific dramatist Jeffrey Hatcher has written a gripping, intellectually challenging psychological drama, laced with humor, about what happens when the brilliant, conceited artist squares off in a prison-like cellar against a female German interrogator who just wants to ask him a few questions.

I'm not guilty of anything, Picasso says. "We're all guilty of something," his questioner responds.

She has a sinister purpose, of course, but she also has a secret whose revelation would necessitate a real spoiler alert.

Women are Picasso's weakness. They are also his strength. He has a way with women and the play's tension isn't political but sexual. In a play whose silences are nearly as significant as its words John Michael Manfredi as Picasso and Emily Sutton-Smith as Miss Fischer, the interrogator, play their characters up to, but not over, the top.

Manfredi's Picasso is as multifaceted as Picasso's art. He flirts, he defies, he jokes, he disparages, he seduces, he blusters, he pouts. Sutton-Smith's Miss Fischer's threatens quietly, she conceals, she reveals. The balance of power is ever shifting and director Tony Caselli stations and positions his actors accordingly.

This provides a dynamic pulse that isn't always in the script. Indeed, at one point Picasso delivers what amounts to a profanity-laden autobiography that could pass for an assembly program at a really progressive school.

The ostensible conflict in A Picasso has to do with Miss Fischer's asking Picasso to authenticate what look like three of his drawings as genuine. Each drawing reflects a different and significant point in the artist's life and it is quickly evident that the Germans who occupy France are not interested in preserving his work.

There is considerable conversation about art, particularly Picasso's massive painting Guernica, which depicts the devastation by the Germans of a beautiful town in Picasso's native Spain.

Neatly solving the question of whether to employ accents, the playwright has the Spanish artist and the German official agree to speak in French; the play, of course, is in English, and Picasso speaks with a Spanish accent, Miss Fischer with a German accent. Manfredi and Sutton-Smith do so with conviction and consistency.

Everything takes place on Daniel C. Walker's set, a quasi dungeon whose slate floor and brick archways suggest a higher purpose in a previous life, perhaps as a wine cellar (it is Paris). Monika Essen's costumes, a gray suit and white blouse for Miss Fishers, subdued earth tones for Picasso's slacks, coat and scarf, bespeak wartime austerity.

The colors, the sparks are left to the actors.

SHOW DETAILS:

Performance Network Theatre, 120 E. Huron St., Ann Arbor. Thursday-Sunday through July 12. Tickets: $25-$41. For information: 734-663-0681 or www.performancenetwork.org.

Click here to comment on this review

WE'VE GOT FEEDBACK! Click here to read what our readers are saying about this story!

OTHER VOICES - REVIEWS: A Picasso at Performance Network Theatre

Read RONELLE GRIER's review in The Oakland Press (July 1, 2009)

Read LAWRENCE B. JOHNSON's review in The Detroit News (July 2, 2009)

Read DANIEL SKORA's review from the New Monitor (June 25, 2009)

Read JOHN MONAGHAN's review in the Detroit Free Press (June 25, 2009)

Read JENN MCKEE's review in The Ann Arbor News (June 20, 2009)

Scathing, timely satire returns to The Second City - and you'll LOL and ROFL

By Donald V. Calamia

In years past, The Second City-Detroit was known for its biting satires. No subject was deemed too sacred, and no local personality went untouched. But over time, the topics became somewhat generic and the humor less scathing - and this once-great institution seemed to lose its edge, despite the laughter and a tremendous wealth of on-stage talent.

But along came the juicy, but sordid saga of Kwame Kilpatrick, and it proved too tempting for Second City alumnus Marc Warzecha to ignore. The result, Kwame a River: The Chronicles of Detroit's Hip-Hop Mayor, is one of the sharpest and most incisive satires to appear on The Second City stage in ages!

The scripted comedy opens with Kwame cleaning his office on his last day as mayor. In pops the Spirit of Detroit - yes, the statue that sits in front of the Coleman A. Young Municipal Center on Woodward Avenue - who tells him she's sickened by his actions. So in a Dickens-inspired romp through Kwame's past, present and future-yet-to-come, the two explore the REAL story behind the gangsta mayor's many (and sometimes illegal) activities.

And it seems the trouble began the moment Kwame first uttered his oath of office!

Writer/director Warzecha leaves no Kwame myth or urban legend unturned. He strips bare the rumored party at the Manoogian Mansion; unholsters the secret anger management class the mayor scheduled for his out-of-control Executive Protection Unit; peeks in on the seductive, last-minute plea before Governor Jennifer Granholm; and wraps his arms (and legs) around the answer to why (then) Detroit City Council President Pro Tem Monica Conyers voted against a resolution asking the mayor to resign.

Plus, we discover what REALLY blocked a plan to extend light rail service from Detroit to the northern suburbs - and it wasn't race!

Dozens of famous Detroiters past and present help put Kwame's actions into perspective. Warzecha is at his satirical best, however, with a visit from the always colorful (but often unquotable) Mayor Coleman A. Young, who sings "What good is power if you don't know how to abuse it?"

The show's most hysterical moment this past Friday night, however, was a brief appearance by Sam Bernstein and his family of famous attorneys. This totally politically incorrect moment brought down both the house and most of the actors - and after the performance, it generated the liveliest discussion among the exiting patrons. They LOVED it - although SOME, I’m sure, are STILL feeling guilty about it!

Although Warzecha's cast is fresh to The Second City's main stage, avid area theatergoers will recognize ensemble members Renell Michael White, Jenaya Jones Reynolds and improviser Jason Echols. Rounding out the cast are Connell Brown Jr. as Kwame, and ensemble members Amise (who also plays the Spirit of Detroit) and Sharon Brooks.

Two days into the run, Warzecha's script is tighter and stronger than the performances by his actors. But as the talented ensemble has more time to explore (and have fun with) their characters, that will change. However, the infamous Second City Curse has struck again: The actors are far better with comedy than they are with music.

SHOW DETAILS:

The Second City, 42705 Grand River Ave., Novi. Wednesday, Friday, Saturday & Sunday through July 31. Tickets: $15-$20. For information: 248-348-4448 or www.secondcity.com.

Click here to comment on this review

OTHER VOICES - REVIEWS: Kwame a River at The Second City

Read JOHN MONAGHAN's review in the Detroit Free Press (Jan. 1, 2009)

REVIEWS ARCHIVES - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Have you missed any of our recent reviews? Fear not!

Click HERE for a complete list of shows reviewed in 2009 by EncoreMichigan.com!

Click HERE for a complete list of shows reviewed in 2008 by EncoreMichigan.com!