The Fab Marquee

Chris Widney (book and lyrics) and David Christian Azarow (music)
No More Waiting
Directed by Samantha Saltzman
May 30 - June 29th, 2008
Thirteenth Street Repertory Theatre

No More Waiting, a new musical comedy, follows five actors at their day jobs–waiting tables at a sleazy cabaret. Tired of waiting for someone else to discover their talent, they throw down their aprons and take over the stage, creating a world of romance, laughter, and dreams fulfilled!

The No More Waiting cast features Brian C. Curl, Dustin J. Harder, Jeni Incontro, Benj Mirman and Jenny Paul. Additional production staff includes: Charles Czarnecki (Musical Supervisor); Michael James Roy (Musical Director); Lynn Spector (Choreographer); Brittany Erlich (Costume Designer); and Shannon O’Neil (Stage Manager).

The show runs Friday & Saturday @ 7pm; Sunday @ 3:30pm
Tickets are Adults $18; Seniors $15; Students $15. Tickets may be purchased at www.TheaterMania.com or call 212 352-3101. Tickets may also be purchased in person one hour prior to the show at the theatre.

Thirteenth Street Repertory Theatre | 50 West 13th Street, NYC (between 5th & 6th Avenue)

The Fab Marquee Review by Preston Wise.

Something extraordinary is happening on 13th Street; Target Margin’s Old Comedy transcends what we think a play can do. Inspired by Aristophanes’ satire The Frogs, this adaptation doesn’t feel like the play is from old times, but a young art form. It has the unrefined rage of a brilliant teenager. This production takes so many risks, breaks so many taboos, challenges and inspires the audience so often that it seems absurd to compare it to a typical theater experience.

Pedro Pascal as Dionysus & Derek Lucci as Xanthias.
Photo Credit: Joe Dore

The play loosely follows the structure of The Frogs. Dionysus (Pedro Pascal), the god of Wine and Drama, and his slave Xanthias (Derek Lucci) travel to the underworld in search of a poet and preside over a verbal duel between Euripides (Purva Bedi) and Aeschylus (Anthony Mark Stockard). Xanthias begins with a razor-beautiful speech comparing the decline of ancient Athens and the end of the ‘American century.’ The play teems with images from throughout human history. A forest out of The Inferno is haunted by a Wendy bird. Heracles thinks he’s special because they changed his name and made him a cartoon. Charon makes a brutal prophesy that no checks and balances can save a government whose people have become corrupt.

As you may guess, the play is smart as it is fearless. As it is funny. While each actor has a standout moment, the comedy team of Pascal and Lucci ignite the show. Sometimes with a flamethrower. As they drop in and out of character, commenting on the action they drive, many of the laughs are of “I can’t believe they just said that” humor. Followed quickly by humor of recognition. The ensemble, working seamlessly as one, finds and discards caricatures by the second.

Somewhere between political commentary too angry to be called satire and a paean to writers who shaped the human soul, the play starts to be something more than play. It’s entertaining and thought-provoking and then it becomes something else. Maybe it’s a reminder that theatre can be a life-changing, not just a night out. Maybe it’s just an experience.

Early in the play, it’s pointed out that Xanthias is a literary first: the clever slave. He will be followed by any number of servants, slaves, and fools who are wiser than their masters and say to them what no one else would. That’s a good analogy for the play. Its production values, while clever, are not ornate. The musical numbers, whether through acoustics or conscious choice, often seem dampened. Sometimes one can see the outline of what a moment could be with stronger musical support. It doesn’t have the smooth polish of Broadway or the Off-Broadway subscription season.

(Front L-R) Purva Bedi, Davina Cohen,
(Rear L –R) Charles Hudson III, Michael Levinton & Anthony Mark Stockard
photo credit: Joe Dore

Like Xanthias, the production uses its humility to say what we don’t like to think, much less hear out loud. There are riveting indictments of our leaders, our art, and the populace that follows them. Rather than anger or defensiveness, they make us laugh or ruefully shake our heads. After the play, something has changed.

And that is a stunning achievement.

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Target Margin presents
David Greenspan’s
Old Comedy from Aristophane’s Frogs
directed by David Herskovit
Closing May 31st @ 8pm

The performance schedule for Old Comedy from Aristophanes’ Frogs is Tuesdays – Saturdays at 8:00 p.m. and Saturdays and Sundays at 3:00 p.m. Single tickets are $45 for weekday performances and $50 for weekend performances and may be purchased online at www.classicstage.org, by calling 866-811-4111, or in person at Classic Stage Company, 136 East 13 Street, between 3rd & 4th Avenue, Monday – Friday 12-6pm, or by visiting www.targetmargin.org.

Classic Stage Company | 136 East 13 Street, between 3rd & 4th Avenue | Manhattan.

The Fab Marquee Review by A.K. Gobble.

Evidence of Things Unseen- a new play by Katie Forgette, tells the story of life and death. The curve-balls that we are sometimes served and the things we lose along the way. This is the story of one family being torn apart by loss. Both their collectives lose as a family as well as their own personal losses as individuals.

Eliza Ventura (Abigail Caldwell), Arthur Bartow (Jack Caldwell)
& Susan Cameron (Jane).

Abigail, a strong-minded rebellious writer, and Jane, her born again sister have a difficult and uneasy relationship. They struggle to stay unified and support their aging father while in the midst of a family crisis. Each character is extremely honest and raw, creating hilarious moments of interaction with one another, which is very much appreciated by the audience in light of the sad chain of events. The writer keeps things interesting by throwing in some curve-balls of her own. Her characters are all very smart intelligent people who like to quote famous individuals and give out moral lessons throughout the play. A thing that at times bothered me and made me think the writer doesn’t trust the audience to “get it” on their own.

In general the play was explained to us constantly by the characters and left not much room to discover our own sympathy. The actors were extremely professional and did their job wonderfully. It is a huge advantage to have such a skillful cast! I was moved mostly in their credit.

This piece is written in such a personal way that makes you want to love every character and root for them all no matter what the conflict is, but this raw honesty was sometimes a bit problematic and made it seem like a pity party, with each of the characters constantly describing how miserable they are while not afraid to repeat it numerous times throughout the play.

The Director, Frank Ventura made smart choices with the small space, staging the production in a “Theater in the round” style, which helps the audience exist in the situation. He was very creative with his set and even choreographed his stage hands and the set moves into the scenes, letting the shifts bleed into the play, and as a result giving it an eerie sensation of “ghosts of the past”. I liked that very much and thought it to be very unique.

All and all I enjoyed myself and think it is worth seeing especially for the talented cast of four.
——————-
Cap 21 presents
Katie Forgette’s
Evidence of Things Unseen
May 20-June 1st, 2008
Cap21- The Shop

Tickets: 18.00 and are available online at www.cap21.org or by calling 212-352-3101.

Cap21-The Shop | 18 West 18th Street, 6th Fl | Chelsea.

‘Actually, I think the average voice is like 70 percent tone and 30 percent noise. My voice is 95 percent noise. ‘

-Harvey Fierstein.

——————
You  can catch Harvey  Fierstein at the Walter Kerr Theatre ( 219 West 48th Street) in A Catered Affair | (212) 239-6200.

by Antonio Miniño.

The Trevor Project operates the only nationwide, around-the-clock suicide prevention helpline for gay and questioning youth. Every day, The Trevor Project saves lives through its free and confidential helpline, its website and its educational services. The Trevor Helpline has taken over 100,000 phone calls since its inception and provides various other services to youth.

All great organizations require funds, and performing artists depend on kind contributions to exist. That is why it is commendable that all proceeds from Julia Brownell’s Extraordinary Circumstances directed by Meg Sturiano, will benefit The Trevor Project.

Extraordinary Circumstances will play a 4-performance limited engagement at Studio 54 (Shetler Studio, 244 W 54th St, 12th Floor). Performances begin Wednesday, June 18th and continue through Saturday, June 21st at 8pm.

Garden gnomes, attempted murder, and two guys falling in love make this great new comedy starring Michael Baldwin, Steve Borowka, Joe Varca, Cal Shook & Misti Tindiglia.

Tickets are $15.00 (all proceeds go to The Trevor Project), for reservations email notonthemoonyet@gmail.com .

——————-
For more information on The Trevor Project, visit www.thetrevorproject.org

The Fab Marquee review by Antonio Miniño.

When deprived of someone we have built a life with, people tend to react in different ways: some self-destruct, others become stronger; then there are the few that just don’t open up to grief. When a community is robbed of several loved ones, this is personified on a larger scale. Sometimes there is an air of community and solidarity, but often there is hatred and contempt. Playwright Sally Nemeth aims to gather all these scenarios in Mill Fire, but seems to miss the bull’s-eye.

Mill Fire is set in the late 1970’s, in a small steel town that has lost a few of their hard working men to a disastrous fire in the Mill. Marlene (Lauren Kelston) is a young wife in her mid 20’s who loses her beloved husband Champ (Mike Mihm), and is reminded of his tragic demise by his brother Bo (Mark Armstrong) who survived the fire. Bo has his own set of problems, including his drunk wife Sunny (Kristen Vaughan) and the huge guilt of probably being held accountable for the accident—drinking painkillers on the job never leads to anything good.

Lauren Kelston as Maureen & Mike Mihm as Champ.

Marlene is the black sheep that just won’t do things the proper way. She won’t grieve in a proper fashion, and she won’t take blood money from the Mill Company like the rest of the bereaving housewives. Nemeth recounts the events with flashbacks to help us further understand that day of destruction. Three widows (Heather E. Cunningham, Elise Rovinsky, and Amiende Negbenebor) are added in a tone of Greek Chorus that only clutters an already crutched text.

That gray day, Marlene’s efforts to try and get Champ to stay home and not go to work, with sexual innuendos and lovely caresses, fall short from getting us to care for the couple. The same applies to Bo and Sunny in the presentation of a formulaic troubled household. What Nemeth creates in Mill Fire are beautiful moments of emotional discharge and earnest answers to a heavy situation without connecting the instances fluidly.

Mike Mihm as Champ & Mark Armstrong as Bo.

Director Angela Astle tries to tackle Nemeth’s creation with beautiful tableaus that seem to not correlate with the play. Astle has a keen eye for casting, as all the actors were refreshingly powerful and astute in their portrayals.

Lauren Kelston as Marlene attacks the play with strength and zest; Mark Armstrong delivered a still virtue to his character and graced all situations with momentum and honesty. High praises to Kristen Vaughan, who handled Sunny’s alcoholism with compassion, and showed us the many layers of loneliness while alongside others.

Jack and Rebecca Cunningham did an exquisite job at turning the Spoon Theatre into an appropriate 70’s setting. The costumes by Kathryn Squitieri also gave this world the finished effect of a “retro production.”

Mill Fire might have its problems, but the talented cast compensates.

—————–
Retro Productions presents
Sally Nemeth’s
Mill Fire
directed by Angela Astle
May 7th-May 24th, 2008
The Spoon Theatre

Schedule: Monday, Wednesday-Saturday at 8pm, Sunday at 3pm.
Tickets: $25.00, $18.00 for students and seniors; 212-352-3101 or 866-811-4111 or www.retroproductions.org.

The Spoon Theatre | 38 West 38th Street , 5th Floor | Manhattan.

The Fab Marquee review by Antonio Miniño.

“Coming Out” plays are beginning to seem a thing of the past. Even though the red states are still far behind the rest of the world, many countries have begun not only accepting gay life as a part of mainstream culture, but allowing gay marriage. Now that even Cuba –under the leadership of Raul Castro- announces that they are working against homophobia, we can see that things have changed since the early eighties when AIDS was known as the gay cancer. As a culture changes, so must its theater. Sadly the brave plays of the eighties and early nineties seem outdated. Even Angels in America must concede that the millennia no longer approaches. I was pleased to discover when I saw Running by Sharon E Cooper, that her piece–about a man forced into coming out to his mother–had listened to the changes in the air and attempted to write a contemporary take on the “coming out” play.

The play centers around what happens when Gregg’s boyfriend, Junior, shows up at his fathers funeral—only to find out that Gregg has still not come out to his mother at the age of thirty-two. The first thing Ms. Cooper did was to examine what is at the heart of her piece. Rather than simply being about a man tortured by the demons of homosexuality, Ms. Cooper wrote a protagonist who was simply afraid to do anything organically. Cooper also created a fun twist in writing a mother who is fine with homosexuality. The core problem in their relationship is that they do not know each other. Running became more about a mother and son struggling to trust each other than anything else. So, high praise must go to the writer for that.

Lance R. Marshall as Junior & Ryan Clardy as Gregg.

As Gregg, Ryan Clardy proved an adept actor. The role of a troubled young man is always difficult. The likeability of someone so tortured is always difficult to find, and Clardy was charming in the seat. Katherine Alt Keener was endearing as the Kentucky bred Maryann. Her sweet naiveté proved genuine. A marvelous standout was Willie Mullins as Sandy—Junior’s best friend who tags along for the drama. Mullins soared in the comic scenes where he teaches Maryanne how to be a cheerleader. He proved equally deep when he had to revel that even he has secrets.

The problem of the play comes in the form of the boyfriend, Junior. By no fault of actor Lance R. Marshall, the character seems so narcissistic and self-involved that any empathy one might have for the relationship is often replaced with contempt. Junior is constantly talking about himself and seems completely unaware when loved ones confess true feelings to him. I feel that Cooper was attempting to make each character flawed in the realities of life. And she succeeded in three of the four. The other characters had redeeming qualities while I could not find any in the fourth. It is hard to like a man when he discusses ending a relationship the day after his lover buries his father. The characters’ main reason is that he is ready to have children and is not sure Gregg will ever be able to be on the same page. The love scenes seemed also forced—but perhaps because one of the characters was so disingenuous.

Overall, the play was a delightful breath of fresh air. Pat Diamond’s direction seemed organic and the staging was fluid. The set, by Anne Bartek was light and peaceful—obviously reflecting the home Maryanne thinks she lives in. One can always see change in a country when you look at the growth in its art.

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The Milk Can Theatre Company presents
Sharon E. Coopers’
Running
May 2-17, 2008 (show has now closed)
For more information on the company, visit www.milkcantheatre.org

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