OTHER VOICES - REVIEWS: Ain't Misbehavin' at Mason Street Warehouse

Read SUE MERRELL's review in The Grand Rapids Press (Aug. 23, 2008)

OTHER VOICES - REVIEWS: Palmer Park at Stratford Shakespeare Festival

Read JOHN MONAGHAN's review in the Detroit Free Press (Aug. 21, 2008)

Read LAWRENCE B. JOHNSON's review in The Detroit News (Aug. 19, 2008)

Performance Network makes Wrong right

By D. A. Blackburn

It may have been The Day Everything Went Wrong, but to the credit of Malcolm Tulip, Frank Pahl and Ann Arbor's Performance Network Theatre, opening night felt exceptionally right. A unique blend of clown-based theater, original music and dark humor, Wrong makes even the most apocalyptic of visions riotously funny.

Tulip, who is a fixture of the University of Michigan's department of theater and an accomplished actor, director and playwright, counts among his many accomplishments graduation from France's L'Ecole Jacques Lecoq, where he mastered the art of physical acting. For Wrong, he has partnered with Little Bang Theory musician Pahl, a team of gifted designers and two like-minded thespians to bring one of the season's most innovative and unique productions to the stage.

A one-act comedic romp, Wrong is the story of the Fermstatten family, Dieter (Tulip), Pieter (Brendan McMahon) and Greta (Laurel Hufano), who wake to find their home and town destroyed, and their neighbors gone - less one, Franck, an eccentric composer whose house has been miraculously placed next to the Fermstatten's by the wind. In 90 minutes, the work charts the family's exploration of their new world, which feels like a descent into madness, or more accurately, a blissful insanity. Though it touches on some weighty issues - occupational misery, domestic servitude, pharmaceutical addiction and classroom bullying, among them - Wrong's humor is absurd and irreverent, drawing fits of guttural laughter from the opening night crowd.

Tulip, McMahon and Hufano all have a knack for expressive clowning, and though dialogue is scarce, they're able to convey tactile emotion with ease. Backed by Pahl's inventive music and soundscape, the cast performs with the timing and chemistry of kindred spirits.

All unfolds on a stage reminiscent of Vonnegut's depiction of a fire-bombed Dresden, designed by Vincent Mountain. Likewise, properties designer Michelle Bisbee and costume designer Christianne Myers make excellent showings, finding perfect accessories to Tulip's madcap physical style. Viewing the sets and properties alone would be worth the price of admission, but populated by Wrong's four players, they come to life, as much a part of the comedy as the Fermstattens.

Pahl's musical gifts are showcased delightfully, and incorporate a range of stringed and percussive instruments. His songs are witty and well handled by the cast, all while engaging in complicated choreographed humor. Tulip's solo musical interlude, in which he "plays" a multitude of liquor bottles, is a side-splitting show stopper. And in the work's final number, Three Pieces of the Pie, McMahon nearly upstages the playwright.

The Day Everything Went Wrong is, without doubt, one of the most unique and funny productions to find the stage this season. Tulip's genre-bending script defies classification, at once absurd and abstract, but meaningful and genuinely poignant. The attention to detail exercised by all involved, performers and designers alike, is second to none and a joy to behold. Tulip and his team should be proud of their work, and with the show scheduled to run through Sept. 7, this new work should brighten many bad days.

SHOW DETAILS:

At Performance Network Theatre, 120 E. Huron St., Ann Arbor. Thursday through Sunday through Sep. 7. Tickets: $25-$37. For information: 734-663-0681 or www.performancenetwork.org.

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OTHER VOICES - REVIEWS: The Day Everything Went Wrong at Performance Network Theatre

Read JENN MCKEE's review in The Ann Arbor News (Aug. 18, 2008)

OTHER VOICES - REVIEWS: Boston Marriage at Dog Story Theater

Read SUE MERRELL's review in The Grand Rapids Press (Aug. 15, 2008)

Jewsical! The Musical lacks chutzpah

By D. A. Blackburn

The Second City opened a revival production of Jewsical! The Musical on July 9 to a packed house, but few guests offered toasts of Mazel Tov at the curtain call. While the show succeeded as a lighthearted commentary of Jewish culture, and garnered some laughs, it simply lacked the irreverence we've come to expect from Second City productions.

Jewsical! is staged as a 90-minute, five-player review, with several injections of loosely structured improvisational comedy. The effect of this design is a somewhat disjointed show, which seems to lose thematic focus with its forays into improv. In fact, it's the improv that proves the least entertaining, and ultimately detracts from some solid comedic writing.

Sketches about the Jewish dating service J-Date and a visit to a Thai/Kosher fusion restaurant are genuinely funny, as are a number of short punch line skits staged between longer bits. Other highlights include a marriage therapy session with Joseph and the Virgin Mary, and a humorous exchange between a rabbi and a teen at his bar mitzvah. Though a bit dated - the show is now a well-worn work for the company - a sketch about electing Joe Lieberman to the presidency works because of its slight modernization.

Jewsical! is certainly not lacking for material, but it falls down in how it approaches its theme. It panders to stereotypes rather than attacks them. In its 50-year history, The Second City has developed a reputation for biting, no-holds-barred comedy. Jewsical! is anything but. It lacks the gusto and fire that have made The Second City a household name. Good comedy requires some level of risk, and this work plays it too safe, barely touching the envelope, let alone pushing it.

For their part, the five-member cast navigates the work with poise. Though not giving a terrific showing in the improv sections, they are funny and charismatic when bound by the script. Sara Fox and Knute Horwitz show tremendous vocal prowess with the show's musical numbers, well above the average comedic performer. Fox, particularly, shines when singing, and performs with great energy and enthusiasm.

Horwitz, while improvising, demonstrates the talents that have brought him considerable success in the field of voice-over recording, shifting gears with ease and creating, among other characters, a wholly believable Greek restaurant owner.

Vanessa Bayer creates a perfectly stereotypical talk show host - think Saturday Night Live's reoccurring Coffee Talk skit - and creates a Virgin Mary with a strikingly funny edge and a New York accent.

Andrew Ritter transitions from one character to another with ease, providing both a nervous bar mitzvah and a perfectly irate Joseph, who is trying to salvage his marriage to an abstinent and seemingly crazy Mary. Detroit native Mike Shreeman, likewise, shifts easily from scene to scene.

Jewsical! gets a good showing from its talented cast, and as they'd say in the skit Yiddish 101, this goy hates to be a kvetch, but it left me a little farklempt.

SHOW DETAILS:

Second City Theatricals, The Second City, 42705 Grand River Ave., Novi. Wed.-Sun., through Sep. 7. Tickets: $15-$20. For information: 248-348-4448 or www.secondcity.com.

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OTHER VOICES - REVIEWS: Jewsical! The Musical at The Second City

Read ROBERT DELANEY's review in the Detroit Monitor (July 24, 2008)

Read TRAVIS R. WRIGHT's review in Real Detroit Weekly (July 15, 2008)

Purple Rose rustles up a goodtime comedy

By Donald V. Calamia

Stop me if you've heard this story before: A notorious murderer and bank robber is gut shot, hogtied and left for dead under the blazing Oklahoma sun, when along comes a guitar-carrying singing cowboy to save the day. Or, at the very least, to irritate the dying man so thoroughly that he begs for a quick and painless mercy-killing.

While that might SOUND like a familiar plot from a 1940s movie serial, Jeff Daniels' latest play is anything but. Instead, Panhandle Slim and The Oklahoma Kid is an insightful journey through a dying man's final moments - when past sins are revisited and unrealized dreams are mourned. But while Destiny may have dealt Panhandle Slim a losing hand, Daniels delivers yet another smartly written comedy that will surely rustle up enthusiastic crowds this summer at The Purple Rose Theatre Company in Chelsea.

Slim, after finding himself on the receiving end of a deadly bullet, is dragged across a prairie and dumped miles from nowhere, with only hungry vultures as witnesses. Amidst hallucinations comes The Oklahoma Kid, a virtuous cowboy who discovers the blood-soaked villain while passing by. Rather than untie the scoundrel, however, the born chatterbox engages him in conversation and song. There's more to the visit than meets the eye, of course. But eventually, as the Kid proclaims, Slim learns the answers to all his questions - while the audience discovers there's a song for just about anything.

Well, not quite. In actuality, six original songs written by Daniels (and one traditional hymn) help move the plot along. But unlike a traditional musical in which the songs often feel shoehorned into the story, Daniels works his naturally into the production. After all, The Oklahoma Kid IS a singing cowboy, and "That reminds me of a song" fits the concept perfectly.

But even more snug are Tom Whalen and John Seibert as the play's title characters.

Seibert shines as the effervescent Kid who sees beauty in everything - even a cold-blooded killer. There's always a twinkle in his eye and a song in his heart, yet Seibert never loses sight of the Kid's humanity. Particularly skillful is the way he portrays the sight-unseen Buttermilk, his faithful companion; because HE sees the horse, the audience does too. (His guitar-pluckin' is pretty darn good, too.)

Whalen, tossed a challenge by the playwright when he created the character with the actor in mind, brings Slim to life with his hands tied behind his back and unable to stand. Such limitations serve the actor well, however, as his body becomes an important tool to help color the story. In addition, Whalen vocally and facially interprets to perfection every emotional beat within the text. That's particular true late in the show when he worriedly scans the sky for his beloved Annabelle - and finally finds her.

Secondary roles are nicely played by Jessica Garrett and Phil Powers. Powers is especially memorable as Horse Face Johnson - for obvious reasons.

Direction by Guy Sanville - as always - is slick and well-conceived.

So, too, is the amazingly realistic set by Dennis G. Crawley (which I suspect almost everyone in the audience was tempted to walk across to see if the sand and rock are real). Light design by Reid G. Johnson and Quintessa Gallinat's sound design are also well-executed.

SHOW DETAILS:

The Purple Rose Theatre Company, 137 Park St., Chelsea. Through Aug. 30. Tickets: $25-$38. For information: 734-433-7673 or www.purplerosetheatre.org.

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OTHER VOICES - REVIEWS: Panhandle Slim and The Oklahoma Kid at The Purple Rose Theatre

Read TERRY POW's review in The Jackson Citizen Patriot (July 5, 2008)

Read ROBERT DELANEY's review in the Detroit Monitor (July 3, 2008)

Read MIKE HUGHES' review in the Lansing State Journal (July 3, 2008)

Read TERRY JACOBY's review in The Chelsea Standard (July 3, 2008)

Read JOHN MONAGHAN's review in the Detroit Free Press (July 3, 2008)

Read TOM HELMA's review in The Ann Arbor News (July 1, 2008)

Read SUSAN ISAACS NISBETT's review in The Ann Arbor News (June 30, 2008)

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