The Fab Marquee

The Fab Marquee review by Antonio Miniño.

I remember how I fought my way out of reading Cervantes’ Don Quixote back in the school days, a long long time ago. But then curiosity and the love for adventure and books made me creep into the pages of Don Quixote, and I soon found myself wanting to fight a windmill and be dubbed Don Antonio.

Robert Anthony Jones as Sancho & Jan-Peter Pedros as Don Quixote
photo credit: Jennifer Maufrais

The Gallery Players, an institution that has been pumping out work since 1967, earning their reputation as “New York’s best Kept Secret” brings us their production of Man of La Mancha, a musical with a book by Dale Wasserman, lyrics by Joe Darion and music by Mitch Leigh. It is adapted from Wasserman’s non-musical 1959 teleplay I, Don Quixote, which was inspired by Miguel de Cervantes’s seventeenth century masterpiece Don Quixote. It tells the story of the knight, Don Quixote, as a play within a play, performed by Cervantes and his fellow prisoners as he awaits a hearing with the Spanish Inquisition. The original 1965 Broadway production was a total hit! It ran for 2,329 performances and won five Tony Awards.

Gallery Players production of Man of La Mancha is one of the most spot on Off-Off Broadway revivals I have encountered. I’m sure to be contradicted by musical theatre fans that indulge on crisp voices, but I’ll exchange vocals for good acting any day. A magnificent ensemble of 22 performers grace the Spanish prison, as Cervantes (Jan Peter Pedross) performs his play that serves as his defense before a mock trial that the prisoners have started in order for him to keep his possessions. Once Cervantes takes out his make up kit and armor and transforms himself as Alonso Quijana, he is soon in need of the prisoners to join him as actors in the piece. Quijana seems to be under the impression that he is Don Quixote and fears that longtime enemy The Enchanter wants a piece of him, and his Manservant, or should I say “squire” Sancho Panza (Robert Anthony Jones). He fights a windmill thinking it’s a giant monster, and thinks he was defeated because he’s not an actual Knight. So he walks into an Inn that in his illustrious fantastical mind resembles a Castle, and needs the Innkeeper (Justin Herfel) to dub him as a Knight. Every Knight needs a lady, right? His eyes grow weary as he meets Aldonza (Jennifer McCabe), who for him is Dulcinea the Lady of his heart, when Aldonza is in fact the bedfellow of many. As the story unfolds, prisoners are being taken away, and the rest are in thirst of hearing how the story of Don Quixote concludes.

All is a bitter operatic end, as the fantasy of Don Quixote is killed and Quijana slowly wimples away, but Aldonza soon reminds him of “The Impossible Dream” and how he has transformed her into his Dulcinea.

Jan-Peter Pedross portrays a tender and dreamy-eyed Cervantes, his conviction and boldness towards the role embarks the audience on a powerful journey. The humorous Robert Anthony Jones enraptures the audience with great wit as Sancho Panza.

Jennifer McCabe as Aldonza & Cast
photo credit: Jennifer Maufrais

We are used to being swept away when Don Quixote sings “The Impossible Dream”, the song has been recorded over and over and over again. Well, in Gallery Players’ Man of La Mancha, when McCabe sings “Aldonza” the audience shivers, cries, kicks and screams with her all through the journey of the song. I’d like to say I saw some audience members teary eyed, but it might have just been me. The beautiful Jennifer McCabe enraptures the audience with her no nonsense take on Aldonza, she embodied the complexity of the character with subtlety and sad anger.

There is not a weak link in this cast; the entire ensemble brings a fresh take to the show. Director Tom Wotjunick keeps almost the entire ensemble on stage at all times. I appreciated how everyone knew how to listen, and created tasks for themselves without drawing attention away from what was going on.

Wotjunick clearly knows how to highlight the emotional arc of the characters, and the parallels that exist between them. He didn’t create a world of fantasy with big costumes and set changes, but trusted the actors and the audiences hunger to use their imagination, using things from Cervantes trunk, or around the prison. The staging was clean and balanced at all times. Kudos go to fight choreographer Ryan Kasprzak who deals with the fights in a beautiful way, without making them seem like modern dance or safety poses.

The set design by Martin Andrew utilizes the space in a smart way, creating levels and entryways, easily transformed into Quixote’s different landscapes with the use of furnishings and first rate lighting design by Tony Galaska, and sound design by Kristyn R. Smith. Costume Designer David Withrow never seizes to amaze me; the detailing that characterizes his work was of course present in all the garments.

You have one week left to “run where the brave dare not go”, and that is a great Off-Off Broadway production of Man of La Mancha, presented by Gallery Players.
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Gallery Players presents
Man of La Mancha
April 26-May 18, 2008 (Thu-Fri @8pm; Sat @2pm & 8pm; Sun @3pm)
Gallery Players

Tickets: $18.00 for adults, $14 for Senior Citizens and children 12 and under. Tickets can be purchased online at www.galleryplayers.com or by calling Theatermania at (212) 352-3101.

Gallery Players | 199 14th St (btwn 4th and 5th Aves) | Brooklyn.

The Fab Marquee review by David Stallings.

Classic comedies often lend themselves to musical adaptations. Kiss Me Kate is Taming of the Shrew, West Side Story is Romeo and Juliet, and there have been numerous interpretations of The Importance of Being Earnest. In 1997, Jeffrey Stock, Susan Birkenhead, and James Magruder undertook the classic Maurivaux farce, Triumph of Love, to lukewarm response at best. Now, more than ten years later, the Astoria Performing Arts Center has brought the musical back to New York for the first time since that short-lived production. Unfortunately, this production proves that even the best talent cannot save a misguided text and unmelodic score.

Abby Baum as Princess Leonide &
Tripp Pettigrew as Agis

Maurivaux’s play follows the young Princess Leonide (Abby Baum), who has fallen in love with a young man, Agis (Tripp Pettigrew). Agis is sequestered in a garden by his Aunt Hesione (Erika Amato) and Uncle Hermocrates (Richard Rice Alan) and forced to live without love. The two philosophers believe that a studious life led by the mind outweighs a life led by emotion. Thus, the weaker sex is banned from the garden so that Agis cannot fall prey to temptation. Princess Leonide disguises herself as a man and enters the garden to much mishap—seducing not only Agis but his aunt and uncle as well. The play is reminiscent of As You Like It and Leonide reminds audiences of Rosalind as she fights for love. In fact, this piece seems at times to be even more progressive as Leonide’s arguments overpower the aged Hermocrates.

The musical takes this clever and well-written classic and bares it down to a weak whimper. A musical at its best is a series of songs linked together by scenes. The scenes should be as well developed as any normal play. The only difference is that when the characters are filled with emotion, they can express themselves in no other way but song. Triumph of Love does not have scenes, but links tunes together with five to ten rushed lines that quickly further the plot. The tunes are not even real songs, but are recitatives. Recitatives are used in opera and are unmelodic sung phrases used to further plot rather than using spoken phrase. After over an hour of this odd music, the audience is finally granted one song, “Serenity”. The song comes too late and as beautiful as it is, cannot save the useless score. Equally as disconcerting is the thin book, which is filled with obnoxious quips and double entendres that have nothing to do with the wit of the original.

That being said, the ensemble collected by the Astoria Performing Arts Center is extremely talented. As Princess Leonide and her many disguises, Abby Baum is quite charming. Ms. Baum’s voice is impressive and well suited for contemporary musical theater. As the philosophical Hesione, Erika Amato steals the show. Originally a vehicle for Betty Buckley, Hesione is the most developed character in the adaptation. Amato steps up to the challenge well and sings “Serenity” so powerfully that you forget what show you are in for a moment. As the stoic Agis, Tripp Pettigrew, is endearing.

Erika Amato as Hesione.

Brian Swasey’s direction does little to salvage the wrecked text. Swasey has staged his actors to make the same crosses across the stage in almost every musical number. The same pattern was used so often that it seemed monotonous after a while. The set design by Michael P. Kramer was inventive and successfully took us to different parts of the sterile garden. Adam Coffia’s period costumes are delightfully colorful. Erik J. Michael’s light design was inconsistent. It was obvious that there was only one spot available. During duets, one actor was chosen to be highlighted while the other had to sing without light. The general wash was filled with so many gobos resembling foliage, that without the spot no one was truly lit.

It is rare that one sees a play and cannot find a weak link in the cast. The Astoria Arts Center should be commended for bringing such talent together. Certainly a good group, and hopefully the future will hold better material for them.
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Astoria Performing Arts Center presents
Triumph of Love
April 25-May 11, 2008 (Thu-Sat @8pm; Sun @6pm)
The Broccoli Theatre

Tickets $15 advance purchase, and $18 at the door. For ticket purchase visit www.apacny.org. TDF Vouchers accepted.

The Broccoli Theatre | Variety Boys & Girls Club of Queens, 21-12 30th Road, Astoria | Queens.

The Fab Marquee review by David Stallings.

Today, many people believe that musical theater began with Rodgers and Hammerstein, specifically with their Oklahoma. But before Oklahoma, there were plays filled with beautiful scores that simply did not move the plot forward. Before Hammerstein, Richard Rodgers worked with Lorenz Hart. The two wrote many beautiful scores and memorable songs. It was a pleasure this past weekend to see CAP21’s production of The Boys From Syracuse, to be reminded of one such score.

Caroline Dooner (Luciana), Jessica Wagner (Luce) &
Melanie Dusel (Adriana)

CAP21 presented the musical as part of their conservatory program—using students from their second year. Conservatory style programs build a wonderful acting company—similar to what other countries do with resident acting theaters. The groups practically live with each other for four years as they study and perform theater. This is surely an exciting time for young actors as they are allowed to focus on their craft and do not yet have to be concerned with selling themselves as entertainment property. In The Boys From Syracuse, the audience could see the excitement and enjoyment of theatre on the faces of each member of the young cast. The Faculty of CAP21 should be commended on choosing a piece well within the range of their students—all of whom had lovely voices.

The Boys From Syracuse is based on Shakespeare’s The Comedy of Errors and is set in Ancient Rome (think toga party). The plot follows not one, but two sets of twins separated at birth. A lively book by George Abbot takes Shakespeare’s tale and turns it into a sex comedy. The plot—filled with mistaken identities—has been maneuvered into the uniting theme of love. Antipholous of Ephesus (Kevin Wade) is married to Adriana (Melanie Dusel). Adriana gives up on her husband and love altogether when she suspects him of cheating on her. She sings the haunting ballad, Falling in Love with Love. The entrance of his twin brother unbeknownst of him only complicates matters—as of course Antipholous of Syracuse (Matt Dengler) falls for Adriana’s beautiful sister Luciana (Caroline Dooner). Each pair of Antipholous twins is matched with a pair of twin slaves—the Dromios (Craig Fogel and Matthew Steele). One of the Dromios is married to the kitchen maid, Luce (Jessica Wagner), whose unending sexual appetite exhausts both brothers. Filled out with a chorus of courtesans and citizens, The Boys from Syracuse is a delightful evening.

Matt Dengler (Antipholus of Syracuse) &
Craig Fogel (Dromio of Syracuse)

Overall, the cast faired well. The musicality of the group should be applauded as the harmonies were consistent and the blending was smooth. The one aspect lost is the crooning style of the thirties—which was very specific. The lovely ballads were sung well but missed that style—which adds to the romance of the piece. A big kudos should be given to Jessica Wagner as Luce. She truly embodied the period in every sense. Her timing and solid voice paired with a bright smile and sense of humor always brought new breath to the stage. Caroline Dooner as the ingénue Luciana proved to have a sweet likability. And the Boys from Syracuse themselves, Matt Dengler as Antipholous and Craig Fogel as his Dromio, had the most ease on stage.

Director Lawrence Arancio staged the production well in the tight space. He kept the pace light, bright, and brisk so the play ran under two hours. Choreographer James Bulleri adhered to the thirties’ style and students’ ability. The costumes (Melissa Daghini) were especially fun with the bold colors of comedy. All in all a fun night—and how often do you get to hear such a classic score?

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CAP21 presents
The Boys from Syracuse
directed by Lawrence Arancio
April 3-13, 2008
The Shop

*This show is now closed, for information on upcoming CAP21 productions, visit www.cap21.org

James Magruder’s
TRIUMPH OF LOVE
Friday, April 25th- Sunday, May 11, 2008
The Broccoli Theatre

ASTORIA PERFORMING ARTS CENTER is pleased to announce the production of TRIUMPH OF LOVE, a musical directed by Brian Swasey. TRIUMPH OF LOVE will play a 3-week limited engagement at the Broccoli Theatre (Variety Boys & Girls Club of Queens, 21-12 30th Road, Astoria). Performances begin Friday, April 25th and continue through Sunday, May 11th.

Love can make a woman do strange things–like lie about her past or give up her career for the man she loves. Or throw off her princess raiment and disguise herself as a young man in order to infiltrate the guarded “men-only” palace compound of an exiled prince she’s admired from afar. Such is the state of things in James Magruder, Jeffrey Stock and Susan Birkenhead’s hilarious, tongue-in-cheek, anachronistic adaptation of the classic Marivaux comedy TRIUMPH OF LOVE.

Tickets are $15 in advanced and $18 at the door. Available online at www.apacny.org or by calling 866-811-4111. Tickets may also be purchased in-person at the Theatre Box Office, 30 minutes prior to showtime. TDF vouchers accepted.

The Broccoli Theatre | Variety Boys & Girls Club of Queens, 21-12 30th Road | Astoria