Gentle readers, Aisle Say issues a warning to all those faint of heart, who feast on lobster dinners and, most expressly, who are life members of PETA. Quickly and resolutely I say, please turn the page from this otherwise trenchant. Provocative and informative column.
The LiveArts-Fringe Festival inhabits Philadelphia and its environs from September 3 – 18. Audience members should be prepared for some of the East Coast's edgiest and creative dance, theatre and multi-media presentations.
I asked co-founder and Artistic Director Nick Stuccio to recollect one of the more outrageous pieces of art from the past 15 years. It seems one Roderico Garcia, a Spaniard, created an interesting take on the world's food chain. In front of a nightly audience, he would bring out a humongous lobster. Garcia would then go into a long dissertation about the crustacean in an attempt to humanize he/she/it to the audience. He even went so far as to put the microphone up to his/her/its armored heart to hear the beat. With that he would pirouette and an assistant would appear from back stage wheeling in a boiling tank of water. Garcia would plunk said crustacean into the steaming bubbles. He would simmer him/her for a time, yank him out and then cut him up. A few minutes Garcia would sit down for din din in front of the stunned audience.
That is what you call Performance Art with an exclamation! (The organizing body was in fact sued by PETA but they held their ground).
LiveArts-Fringe is two different festivals running concurrently over sixteen days. Livearts is a collection of the world’s best contemporary performing artists that are curated and selected by Stuccio. He literally travels the world throughout the year to see groups up close. The mission of the Philadelphia Live Arts Festival is to commission,
develop, and present a wide range of the latest cutting-edge, high-quality performance. Many countries, most notably The Netherlands, the UK and Spain, support their artists with plane fare.
The Philly Fringe - 180 degrees away - is an unfiltered festival where new and established artists present their work free of a selection process. For some, participating in the Festival is a once-a-year or once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to create a show; for the many professional companies participating, it can be an opportunity to work through new concepts and ideas and join the fray.
The statistics for this year are impressive. In the LiveArts category there are thirty-nine different artists comprising thirteen in dance, nine in theatre and seventeen in Multi-media. There are fourteen World Premieres and six US Premieres. In Philly Fringe there are a minimum of 199 performances scheduled.
Organizers expect 40,000 guests. LiveArts averages a $25.00 ticket; Fringe $10.00. Splitting the difference, that's $680,000 over two weeks in Philadelphia, not including restaurants, overnight stays and side trips.
Three artists from Delaware are part of the Fringe. Andree Jones of Wilmington wrote Verbalized Ink, a poetic journey of five people who reveal their truth about sadness, joy, pain, fear, and struggle as they experience life.
Two plays by British playwright Sarah Kane will be playing in rotating repertory by Newark's Parallax Players. Kane's works, “Phaedra's Love” and “Psychosis” explore the theater of extremes.
Newark playwright Joseph P. Blake has written “A Separate Sun”, a story of a woman's struggle to overcome abuse, drugs, and depression through music and song. It stars Barrymore Award winner Joilet Harris. Music is by Emmy Award winner Bill Jolly.
To understate, this entire festival is out of the box thinking. Bring your lobster bibs for this very fulfilling banquet. LiveArts-Fringe.org 215.413.1318
Thursday, August 19, 2010
WHYY, DE Division of Arts grants, DE Theatre Co
Aisle Say has the August Dog Day blues...the doublewide blues. No theatre to report on the one hand and on the other some wins and losses for Delawareans. But, as Lady Macbeth urged, I will 'screw my courage to the sticking place' and have at it.
WHYY
At least three dozen Delawareans woke up and took notice several months ago when their televised nightly sleeping pill, Channel 12's “Delaware Tonight” ceased operation. Scintillating reportage it was not. But it was OUR bland reporting! Yes, they were the quintessential talking heads. But they were OUR talking heads. But, in June of 2009, after obtaining millions in grants from the state for the refurbishing of their Wilmington studio and construction of their Dover studio, HYY slinked off in the night as stealthily as Mr. Irsay's Baltimore Colts to Indiana many moons ago.
After protestations from Senator Kaufman and Mayor Baker, Delaware's “coverage” was replaced by an alleged news magazine “First” for an hour each Friday night. “WHYY is not adequately serving the community needs of its city of license, which is Wilmington”, bellowed Mr. Mayor.
Your intrepid Aisle Say investigative reporter tuned in last Friday to determine how “First” was serving tax payers. (Even with this indecent behavior they still received $100,000.00 from the Joint Finance Committee this fiscal year). Last Friday's “news” story featured Balinese dancing. “The sport carries you where you want”, chanted the Balinese dance guru. The aged man covered the dance floor slowly, very slowly. “We would dance if nobody showed up to see us”, he exclaimed. Yup, that says it all.
The second segment was even more compelling: 15 minutes on dehydrating vegetables. “But wait,” exclaimed the dehydrator, “we also do macaroons. Wednesday is macaroon day!”
The FCC denied Wilmington's challenge to WHYY for license renewal. They win. We lose.
DELAWARE DIVISION OF ARTS 2011 GRANTS
Eighty-six organizations throughout the state received 104 grants from $1000.00 to $110,000.00 totaling $1.4 million. (Last year it was $1.47 million to 84 groups). The funding comes from both the Delaware General Assembly and the National Endowment For The Arts.
Last year Aisle Say took to task some of the perceived imbalance of the grants. It appears more reasonable in FY 2011. The way I define this imbalance is 1) number of people employed in the organization 2) number of guests they serve and 3) the positive economic ripple effect it has on the community ( eg. overnight stays, busy restaurants and visits to other venues).
New Candlelight Theatre justifiably was awarded $25K. Their quality and their integrity is high and they are the ONLY surviving dinner theatre in the state...and they are the best theatrical value. On the down side their profit margin has all the profile of a flounder snoozing on the bottom of the bay.
The Grand received $101K; DE Art Museum, $110K; Opera Delaware, $62K; DE Symphony, $101K; - that's all good. The DE Center for the Contemporary Arts – arguably a pioneer on the Riverfront – attracts nowhere near the traffic of The Grand or even New Candlelight, and they received $93K! DE Theatre Company received $101K. (more on that below)
In relation to guests served and economic ripple, it is, however, very difficult to swallow the $43K given to the Yorklyn Center for The Creative Arts. At least that is down from an outrageous $68K in last year's grants!
For the second year running, the Aisle Say Golden Fleece Award goes to DE Dance Company on Elkton Rd. These pre-teens are impossibly cute in their tutus I'll say, but $32K (down from $40K) for a group that is only witnessed by their doting parents and grandparents? We've got to get their lobbyist and send him to DC. That dude has the suave to bring millions in earmarks to Delaware!
DELAWARE THEATRE COMPANY
Still no news about their schedule. Aisle Say was told by their Marketing Manager that the revised schedule was to be out in 1 week. That was 6 weeks ago. Email and a call to Mary Ann Ehlshager, the Managing Director, was not returned.
POSTSCRIPT
Aisle Say commented a few months back that Tim Geithner, US Secretary of the Treasury reminded him of Robert Stack when he played Eliot Ness on “The Untouchables”. Well, dear reader, we have another one. I was watching the evening news with my dear sister Liz. Thad Allen, the Coast Guard Commandant in charge of the oil spill was before the podium. Tell me he is not Oliver Hardy reincarnated!
WHYY
At least three dozen Delawareans woke up and took notice several months ago when their televised nightly sleeping pill, Channel 12's “Delaware Tonight” ceased operation. Scintillating reportage it was not. But it was OUR bland reporting! Yes, they were the quintessential talking heads. But they were OUR talking heads. But, in June of 2009, after obtaining millions in grants from the state for the refurbishing of their Wilmington studio and construction of their Dover studio, HYY slinked off in the night as stealthily as Mr. Irsay's Baltimore Colts to Indiana many moons ago.
After protestations from Senator Kaufman and Mayor Baker, Delaware's “coverage” was replaced by an alleged news magazine “First” for an hour each Friday night. “WHYY is not adequately serving the community needs of its city of license, which is Wilmington”, bellowed Mr. Mayor.
Your intrepid Aisle Say investigative reporter tuned in last Friday to determine how “First” was serving tax payers. (Even with this indecent behavior they still received $100,000.00 from the Joint Finance Committee this fiscal year). Last Friday's “news” story featured Balinese dancing. “The sport carries you where you want”, chanted the Balinese dance guru. The aged man covered the dance floor slowly, very slowly. “We would dance if nobody showed up to see us”, he exclaimed. Yup, that says it all.
The second segment was even more compelling: 15 minutes on dehydrating vegetables. “But wait,” exclaimed the dehydrator, “we also do macaroons. Wednesday is macaroon day!”
The FCC denied Wilmington's challenge to WHYY for license renewal. They win. We lose.
DELAWARE DIVISION OF ARTS 2011 GRANTS
Eighty-six organizations throughout the state received 104 grants from $1000.00 to $110,000.00 totaling $1.4 million. (Last year it was $1.47 million to 84 groups). The funding comes from both the Delaware General Assembly and the National Endowment For The Arts.
Last year Aisle Say took to task some of the perceived imbalance of the grants. It appears more reasonable in FY 2011. The way I define this imbalance is 1) number of people employed in the organization 2) number of guests they serve and 3) the positive economic ripple effect it has on the community ( eg. overnight stays, busy restaurants and visits to other venues).
New Candlelight Theatre justifiably was awarded $25K. Their quality and their integrity is high and they are the ONLY surviving dinner theatre in the state...and they are the best theatrical value. On the down side their profit margin has all the profile of a flounder snoozing on the bottom of the bay.
The Grand received $101K; DE Art Museum, $110K; Opera Delaware, $62K; DE Symphony, $101K; - that's all good. The DE Center for the Contemporary Arts – arguably a pioneer on the Riverfront – attracts nowhere near the traffic of The Grand or even New Candlelight, and they received $93K! DE Theatre Company received $101K. (more on that below)
In relation to guests served and economic ripple, it is, however, very difficult to swallow the $43K given to the Yorklyn Center for The Creative Arts. At least that is down from an outrageous $68K in last year's grants!
For the second year running, the Aisle Say Golden Fleece Award goes to DE Dance Company on Elkton Rd. These pre-teens are impossibly cute in their tutus I'll say, but $32K (down from $40K) for a group that is only witnessed by their doting parents and grandparents? We've got to get their lobbyist and send him to DC. That dude has the suave to bring millions in earmarks to Delaware!
DELAWARE THEATRE COMPANY
Still no news about their schedule. Aisle Say was told by their Marketing Manager that the revised schedule was to be out in 1 week. That was 6 weeks ago. Email and a call to Mary Ann Ehlshager, the Managing Director, was not returned.
POSTSCRIPT
Aisle Say commented a few months back that Tim Geithner, US Secretary of the Treasury reminded him of Robert Stack when he played Eliot Ness on “The Untouchables”. Well, dear reader, we have another one. I was watching the evening news with my dear sister Liz. Thad Allen, the Coast Guard Commandant in charge of the oil spill was before the podium. Tell me he is not Oliver Hardy reincarnated!
UD REP, Media Theatre, News Journal critic
There is no more visible proof of UD President Harker's “Path to Prominence” than by the REP Ensemble trodding the boards at The Roselle Center for the Arts. Having witnessed every production but one in the past two years, it is difficult to believe that every show is not completely sold. The acting is magnificent, the attention to detail in each technical area – costuming, lighting, set, sound is microscopic.
The season begins in late September with Pinter's “The Homecoming”, a sexually provocative and quite distorted view of family life. Yes, it's a comedy of the laugh out loud variety.
Next up is “The Importance of Being Earnest”. Aisle Say has seen this many times, but did not realize an underlying theme until recently. We know that Oscar Wilde was a flamboyant homosexual in a very repressed England. The character of Bunbury serves as Wilde's taunt at society's hypocrisy. This is certainly one of the cleverest plays ever scribed.
Following this is “Our Town”. (Big saving on the set budget with this show).
“Noel Coward” can be said in the same sentence as “Oscar Wilde” in regards to wordsmithing. Coward was a virtual umo universale of entertainment: actor, director, playwright and composer. “Private Lives” is witty and urbane. A divorced couple meets by chance in a resort hotel. They are both on honeymoons with their second spouses. Dying embers of sparks are re-ignited.
Shakespeare's greatest comedy “A Midsummer Night's Dream” opens in December. Knowing the REP actors as I do, I have put together the cast in my mind. However, Artistic Director Sandy Robbins will most probably surprise me.
Speaking of Robbins, I asked him why the REP was not part of the prestigious Barrymore Awards centered in Philadelphia. The Roselle Center lies 2 miles outside of the perimeter of the organization's footprint. Tickets on sale 23 August. Pttp.udel.edu 831.2204
Media Theatre
The Media Theatre landed a boffo comedienne for their fall production of “Annie”. Wanda Sykes, who ranks as one of Entertainment Weekly’s 25 Funniest People in America, will portray Miss Hannigan from November 23 through December 12. After a brief hiatus, she will return to the musical January 12-16.
Aisle Say was first introduced to her in “Curb Your Enthusiasm”. She was relentless in never giving Larry David a break.
Sykes is nominated for two 2010 Emmy Awards, both for her HBO comedy special “I’ma Be Me”. She portrayed the role of Barb in the hit CBS series “The New Adventures of Old Christine” for five seasons, receiving an Emmy nomination for that as well. She has won four Emmy Awards, in 1999 for Outstanding Writing for a Variety, Music, or Comedy Special for “The Chris Rock Show” and three more (in 2002, 2004, and 2005) for her work on “Inside the NFL”.
She recently wrapped the first season of her late night talk show, “The Wanda Sykes Show”, on FOX. At the annual White House Correspondents Dinner in 2009, Wanda Sykes delivered major laughs while roasting President Barack Obama.
“Annie” should be a hoot. Tickets are on sale now. MediaTheatre.org 610.891.0100
City Theatre
Kudos to City Theatre for the decision to stage the musical “9”. It will be most fun for the male lead; one guy surrounded by 9 gorgeous women! Opening in May.
News Journal Reviewer
Veteran critic Tom Butler has not had a byline in the Journal since May. He is not an employee but an independent contractor. Arts organizations need the exposure that reviewers create. Perhaps Butler is taking a break. If not, though, it is incumbent upon the Journal to hire a good writer with a diverse arts background. A call to the Features editor was not returned.
The season begins in late September with Pinter's “The Homecoming”, a sexually provocative and quite distorted view of family life. Yes, it's a comedy of the laugh out loud variety.
Next up is “The Importance of Being Earnest”. Aisle Say has seen this many times, but did not realize an underlying theme until recently. We know that Oscar Wilde was a flamboyant homosexual in a very repressed England. The character of Bunbury serves as Wilde's taunt at society's hypocrisy. This is certainly one of the cleverest plays ever scribed.
Following this is “Our Town”. (Big saving on the set budget with this show).
“Noel Coward” can be said in the same sentence as “Oscar Wilde” in regards to wordsmithing. Coward was a virtual umo universale of entertainment: actor, director, playwright and composer. “Private Lives” is witty and urbane. A divorced couple meets by chance in a resort hotel. They are both on honeymoons with their second spouses. Dying embers of sparks are re-ignited.
Shakespeare's greatest comedy “A Midsummer Night's Dream” opens in December. Knowing the REP actors as I do, I have put together the cast in my mind. However, Artistic Director Sandy Robbins will most probably surprise me.
Speaking of Robbins, I asked him why the REP was not part of the prestigious Barrymore Awards centered in Philadelphia. The Roselle Center lies 2 miles outside of the perimeter of the organization's footprint. Tickets on sale 23 August. Pttp.udel.edu 831.2204
Media Theatre
The Media Theatre landed a boffo comedienne for their fall production of “Annie”. Wanda Sykes, who ranks as one of Entertainment Weekly’s 25 Funniest People in America, will portray Miss Hannigan from November 23 through December 12. After a brief hiatus, she will return to the musical January 12-16.
Aisle Say was first introduced to her in “Curb Your Enthusiasm”. She was relentless in never giving Larry David a break.
Sykes is nominated for two 2010 Emmy Awards, both for her HBO comedy special “I’ma Be Me”. She portrayed the role of Barb in the hit CBS series “The New Adventures of Old Christine” for five seasons, receiving an Emmy nomination for that as well. She has won four Emmy Awards, in 1999 for Outstanding Writing for a Variety, Music, or Comedy Special for “The Chris Rock Show” and three more (in 2002, 2004, and 2005) for her work on “Inside the NFL”.
She recently wrapped the first season of her late night talk show, “The Wanda Sykes Show”, on FOX. At the annual White House Correspondents Dinner in 2009, Wanda Sykes delivered major laughs while roasting President Barack Obama.
“Annie” should be a hoot. Tickets are on sale now. MediaTheatre.org 610.891.0100
City Theatre
Kudos to City Theatre for the decision to stage the musical “9”. It will be most fun for the male lead; one guy surrounded by 9 gorgeous women! Opening in May.
News Journal Reviewer
Veteran critic Tom Butler has not had a byline in the Journal since May. He is not an employee but an independent contractor. Arts organizations need the exposure that reviewers create. Perhaps Butler is taking a break. If not, though, it is incumbent upon the Journal to hire a good writer with a diverse arts background. A call to the Features editor was not returned.
Thursday, July 22, 2010
Toil, Trouble & Hurlyburly for Macbeth at Rockwood
Macbeth is one of William Shakespeare's great tragedies. There's murder, battles, psychosis and supernatural portents. Characters are malicious, avaricious and (in the case of the title character envisioning a dead Banquo), fictitious.
Founder of DE Shakespeare Festival and this production's director, Molly Cahill McGovern chose the straightforward path, trusting both the text and her actors to engage the audience in the allure of these wondrous words, the images they create in your mind and the drama of the conflict. This approach is successful.
Aisle Say had forgotten much of the luxuriant phrases from “Macbeth” which are part of our language today: “double, double, toil and trouble”, “nothing in his life became him like the leaving of it”,“screw your courage to the sticking place”,”what's done cannot be undone”, “tomorrow and tomorrow and tomorrow creeps in this petty pace, etc”.
It's an honor for an actor to be cast in a Shakespearean play. He learns far more from the experience than does the audience. It's not merely in the speaking of the words. That is not enough. Great Shakespearean actors are enraptured by the rhyme, the meter, the poetry and the basic human condition applying to all us that the words convey.
This was the issue Aisle Say had with the title character played by David Blatt. He never dropped a line. Yet rather than caressing the words he declaimed them. His portrayal of the character's devolution into madness was too abrupt; a progression into insanity would have been more believable.
Lady Macbeth (Allyson Sands Good) used the different octaves of her speaking voice to portray her wicked machinations. She projected a queenly, patrician demeanor. She was particularly effective in the scene where she attempts to wash Duncan's blood from her hands, “out damn spot”.
Banquo (Adam Altman) and Macduff (Erik Mathew) are fine actors. One could see in both the 'thinking' going on before they spoke. This aspect made the prose more believable. Mathew's reaction and soliloquy on the murder of his wife and children at the hands of the now psychopathic Macbeth was both sincere and dynamic.
It is picturesque to sit on a blanket or lawn chair at Rockwood. The backdrop of the Mansion is powerful. Some guests bring picnic baskets. At sunset, the lighting (the castle was lit in blood red) provides drama and focus and makes the audience feel part of the action.
This production is short by Shakespearean standards. Length sometimes creates problems with those not completely enamored of the words of The Bard. However, Aisle Say suggests the entire audience was engaged through the proceedings.
Delaware Shakespeare Festival has come a very long way in their span. They use actor apprentices who will remember their lines for the rest of their lives. They've been averaging 300 people on weekends; a very good sign that Will is alive and will continue to prosper in Delaware.
Tickets are quite reasonable and this is a wonderful way to introduce your children or grandchildren to Shakespeare.
Till July 31. DelShakes.org Online only.
Founder of DE Shakespeare Festival and this production's director, Molly Cahill McGovern chose the straightforward path, trusting both the text and her actors to engage the audience in the allure of these wondrous words, the images they create in your mind and the drama of the conflict. This approach is successful.
Aisle Say had forgotten much of the luxuriant phrases from “Macbeth” which are part of our language today: “double, double, toil and trouble”, “nothing in his life became him like the leaving of it”,“screw your courage to the sticking place”,”what's done cannot be undone”, “tomorrow and tomorrow and tomorrow creeps in this petty pace, etc”.
It's an honor for an actor to be cast in a Shakespearean play. He learns far more from the experience than does the audience. It's not merely in the speaking of the words. That is not enough. Great Shakespearean actors are enraptured by the rhyme, the meter, the poetry and the basic human condition applying to all us that the words convey.
This was the issue Aisle Say had with the title character played by David Blatt. He never dropped a line. Yet rather than caressing the words he declaimed them. His portrayal of the character's devolution into madness was too abrupt; a progression into insanity would have been more believable.
Lady Macbeth (Allyson Sands Good) used the different octaves of her speaking voice to portray her wicked machinations. She projected a queenly, patrician demeanor. She was particularly effective in the scene where she attempts to wash Duncan's blood from her hands, “out damn spot”.
Banquo (Adam Altman) and Macduff (Erik Mathew) are fine actors. One could see in both the 'thinking' going on before they spoke. This aspect made the prose more believable. Mathew's reaction and soliloquy on the murder of his wife and children at the hands of the now psychopathic Macbeth was both sincere and dynamic.
It is picturesque to sit on a blanket or lawn chair at Rockwood. The backdrop of the Mansion is powerful. Some guests bring picnic baskets. At sunset, the lighting (the castle was lit in blood red) provides drama and focus and makes the audience feel part of the action.
This production is short by Shakespearean standards. Length sometimes creates problems with those not completely enamored of the words of The Bard. However, Aisle Say suggests the entire audience was engaged through the proceedings.
Delaware Shakespeare Festival has come a very long way in their span. They use actor apprentices who will remember their lines for the rest of their lives. They've been averaging 300 people on weekends; a very good sign that Will is alive and will continue to prosper in Delaware.
Tickets are quite reasonable and this is a wonderful way to introduce your children or grandchildren to Shakespeare.
Till July 31. DelShakes.org Online only.
Wednesday, July 14, 2010
New Candlelight enchants with OZ
When Dorothy Gale entered Oz, Judy Garland entered immortality. The movie has been seen by almost every child who has seen a movie. Judy will live forever in our hearts. ‘Rainbow’ is the most popular song ever; a mystical, lyrical and melodic story of a child’s spiritual passage from adolescence to adulthood.
“The Wizard of Oz” speaks to our feelings, not our intellect. It comforts and inspires. Children identify with Dorothy with their fears; adults identify with their dreams. She teaches all of us that we can confront our threats – real or imagined - and determine our own future.
And there were several moments during New Candlelight's staging of “Wizard” that rouse the very emotions that spring forth when we watch the iconic movie.
The first came with Dorothy's (Erica Scanlon Harr) “Rainbow”. She wisely did not attempt to mimic “Judy” (who can?) but sang with the sweet and delicate innocence of her character.
The second moment came with the entrance of the Munchkins. There was a collective and involuntary “Ahhhhh” pulsing through the audience owing not only to their overwhelming cuteness but also to the masterful costume design of Timothy Lamont Cannon. Some of the Munchkins were adult (petite ones at that) and some were kids. The wigs on the latter were hysterical.
A third moment was the appearance of Toto. Sadly, this very small actor was not credited in the program (How could they do that in his first stage show?) Aisle Say believes him to be a real dog and a Yorkie at that.
The server at the table I shared with my dear sister Liz and new found friends from Elkton was dance Captain Alexis DeDonato; an extremely versatile actor who has appeared in the last several shows. Another facet of her talent was revealed as The Mayor of Munchkinland. She obviously worked hard on the characterization and her voice sounded as if it was generated through a synthesizer.
One of the challenges that director Sonny Leo and Three Bakers music director veteran Jim Weber faced was the strong association we all have with the Lion, Woodsman and Scarecrow. They are tough acts to follow down the Yellow Brick Road. Was there a more limber dancer than Ray Bolger? We laughed til we cried at his pratfalls. Well, Sonny may have found him in Scarecrow (David McConney). The actor has a very strong voice and was ever consistent in that gangly manner of walking and dancing.
The spinster we love to hate Miss Gulch/WW of West (Marie Howey) spate out her diatribes to the foursome along their golden path as if she were burning at the stake (which is kind of how she ended up). Her body movements accentuated the crankiness of her personality. Being mean is a blast. I can imagine five year old Munchkin Thomas Stinson steers a wide path around her backstage.
A fourth moment was the image of the wizard himself. I credit the leadership of NCT with the tough financial decision to commission Hob Hollow Studios to create this fanciful and wondrous puppet head with a mouth that moved. Huzzahs!
Sonny also choreographed. The main number was the “Jitterbug”. While the costumes were bee-utiful, Aisle Say has also questioned the relevance of the number to the progress of the plot.
Great theatrical value – dinner and theatre for $55.00 per!
Til August 29. Groups welcomed NewCandlelightTheatre.com 302.475.2313
The company also offers periodic Comedy Nights. See the web site.
Aisle Say has not seen the critic for the other statewide newspaper at various events lately and his byline is not appearing. The performing arts need exposure to survive.
“The Wizard of Oz” speaks to our feelings, not our intellect. It comforts and inspires. Children identify with Dorothy with their fears; adults identify with their dreams. She teaches all of us that we can confront our threats – real or imagined - and determine our own future.
And there were several moments during New Candlelight's staging of “Wizard” that rouse the very emotions that spring forth when we watch the iconic movie.
The first came with Dorothy's (Erica Scanlon Harr) “Rainbow”. She wisely did not attempt to mimic “Judy” (who can?) but sang with the sweet and delicate innocence of her character.
The second moment came with the entrance of the Munchkins. There was a collective and involuntary “Ahhhhh” pulsing through the audience owing not only to their overwhelming cuteness but also to the masterful costume design of Timothy Lamont Cannon. Some of the Munchkins were adult (petite ones at that) and some were kids. The wigs on the latter were hysterical.
A third moment was the appearance of Toto. Sadly, this very small actor was not credited in the program (How could they do that in his first stage show?) Aisle Say believes him to be a real dog and a Yorkie at that.
The server at the table I shared with my dear sister Liz and new found friends from Elkton was dance Captain Alexis DeDonato; an extremely versatile actor who has appeared in the last several shows. Another facet of her talent was revealed as The Mayor of Munchkinland. She obviously worked hard on the characterization and her voice sounded as if it was generated through a synthesizer.
One of the challenges that director Sonny Leo and Three Bakers music director veteran Jim Weber faced was the strong association we all have with the Lion, Woodsman and Scarecrow. They are tough acts to follow down the Yellow Brick Road. Was there a more limber dancer than Ray Bolger? We laughed til we cried at his pratfalls. Well, Sonny may have found him in Scarecrow (David McConney). The actor has a very strong voice and was ever consistent in that gangly manner of walking and dancing.
The spinster we love to hate Miss Gulch/WW of West (Marie Howey) spate out her diatribes to the foursome along their golden path as if she were burning at the stake (which is kind of how she ended up). Her body movements accentuated the crankiness of her personality. Being mean is a blast. I can imagine five year old Munchkin Thomas Stinson steers a wide path around her backstage.
A fourth moment was the image of the wizard himself. I credit the leadership of NCT with the tough financial decision to commission Hob Hollow Studios to create this fanciful and wondrous puppet head with a mouth that moved. Huzzahs!
Sonny also choreographed. The main number was the “Jitterbug”. While the costumes were bee-utiful, Aisle Say has also questioned the relevance of the number to the progress of the plot.
Great theatrical value – dinner and theatre for $55.00 per!
Til August 29. Groups welcomed NewCandlelightTheatre.com 302.475.2313
The company also offers periodic Comedy Nights. See the web site.
Aisle Say has not seen the critic for the other statewide newspaper at various events lately and his byline is not appearing. The performing arts need exposure to survive.
Thursday, July 8, 2010
The Brandywiners stage GUYS & DOLLS
Damon Runyon is my favorite writer of short stories. He received neither peer nor critical acclaim due him in his own time or postmortem. My theory is that it is because of the subjects of his tales: gangsters, hustlers and women of so so repute who went by the colorful monikers of “Nathan Detroit”, “Big Jule” or “Dave The Dude”, Runyon was shunned by polite society. Gambling was a common theme. It was easier for the hoi polloi to herald accounts of patricians fictionalized in “The Great Gatsby” and similar ephemera.
Curling up with a Runyon anthology will make you laugh out loud. During his lifetime he was one of the most read authors and columnists in America. He developed his own vernacular. He always wrote in the present tense. He never used contractions. The slang he created has become part of our language: doll = woman; pineapple = hand grenade; roscoe = gun, noggin = head. Who can't like an author who writes about a doll, “the men around (the doll) are bachelors...or at least wishin' they were bachelors,” or describing a serial gold band chaser, “she was married twice by preachers, twice by justices of the peace and once by a captain of the sea.”
His short story “Little Miss Marker” was turned into a movie and was the break through for Shirley Temple. His “Idylls of Sarah Brown” became one of the greatest and most beloved musicals, “Guys & Dolls”; the lively screen version hampered only by the most egregious miscasting of talent in motion picture musical history with the non-singing Marlon Brando as the singing leading man, Sky.
For the first time in their eight decade history, The Brandywiners mount “Guys & Dolls”. Director Henry Porreca has gathered around him three experienced community theatre veterans for the leads, Jeff Santoro as Sky Masterson, Debbi Hollingsworth Arnold as Sarah.Brown and Joe Francisco as Nathan Detroit. Newcomer Nance Weber rounds out the leads playing the Detroit's long suffering girlfriend doll, the lamentable Adelaide.
Aisle Say had the opportunity to visit a rehearsal this week. Boxed in by the large cast required to fill the voluminous Longwood Gardens stage, this rehearsal coursed like most others in community theatre: music directors stopping the chorus in mid note to harangue them for not cutting off their consonants; stage directors pleading for the bit players to stay in character, and the overall unevenness of skill level particular to amateur actors.
Having been in a few Brandywiner productions, performing at Longwood is a very special experience. The dressing rooms are subterranean, beneath the high steps and expansive grass area used for impressive grand entrances. For the audience - on a serene and star studded summer night - it's a magical musical moment in time. Tickets come with free entrance to the gardens, so an entire afternoon or evening may be spent there.
Proceeds from ticket sales fund a variety of arts and cultural institutions in Delaware. Aisle Say's vote for next year's show is KISMET; a perfect environment for its lush music.
6 performances Brandywiners.org July 29-August 7 302.478.3355
Curling up with a Runyon anthology will make you laugh out loud. During his lifetime he was one of the most read authors and columnists in America. He developed his own vernacular. He always wrote in the present tense. He never used contractions. The slang he created has become part of our language: doll = woman; pineapple = hand grenade; roscoe = gun, noggin = head. Who can't like an author who writes about a doll, “the men around (the doll) are bachelors...or at least wishin' they were bachelors,” or describing a serial gold band chaser, “she was married twice by preachers, twice by justices of the peace and once by a captain of the sea.”
His short story “Little Miss Marker” was turned into a movie and was the break through for Shirley Temple. His “Idylls of Sarah Brown” became one of the greatest and most beloved musicals, “Guys & Dolls”; the lively screen version hampered only by the most egregious miscasting of talent in motion picture musical history with the non-singing Marlon Brando as the singing leading man, Sky.
For the first time in their eight decade history, The Brandywiners mount “Guys & Dolls”. Director Henry Porreca has gathered around him three experienced community theatre veterans for the leads, Jeff Santoro as Sky Masterson, Debbi Hollingsworth Arnold as Sarah.Brown and Joe Francisco as Nathan Detroit. Newcomer Nance Weber rounds out the leads playing the Detroit's long suffering girlfriend doll, the lamentable Adelaide.
Aisle Say had the opportunity to visit a rehearsal this week. Boxed in by the large cast required to fill the voluminous Longwood Gardens stage, this rehearsal coursed like most others in community theatre: music directors stopping the chorus in mid note to harangue them for not cutting off their consonants; stage directors pleading for the bit players to stay in character, and the overall unevenness of skill level particular to amateur actors.
Having been in a few Brandywiner productions, performing at Longwood is a very special experience. The dressing rooms are subterranean, beneath the high steps and expansive grass area used for impressive grand entrances. For the audience - on a serene and star studded summer night - it's a magical musical moment in time. Tickets come with free entrance to the gardens, so an entire afternoon or evening may be spent there.
Proceeds from ticket sales fund a variety of arts and cultural institutions in Delaware. Aisle Say's vote for next year's show is KISMET; a perfect environment for its lush music.
6 performances Brandywiners.org July 29-August 7 302.478.3355
Wednesday, June 23, 2010
The crowds like "As You Like It"
“As You Like It” is Arden's Shakespearean signature. Penned by The Bard in 1600, the pastoral comedy follows its heroine Rosalind as she flees persecution in her uncle's court, accompanied by her cousin Celia and Touchstone the court jester, to find safety and eventually love in the leafy green forest of ...drum roll if you please....Arden!
A mere three hundred years later, The Village of Arden was founded by Frank Stephens and architect Will Price, with financial help from Joseph Fels, the soap manufacturer. Legend has it that Stephens and Price began annual Shakespeare plays on The Green to educate the residents in diction.
In this open air production – a perfect setting for the celebration of love – and before an opening night packed house, diction awards would go to Celia (Kerry Kristine McElrone). Of all the players, Aisle Say has seen her on other local stages, both dramatic and comedic and has always been struck by the depth of her characterizations. .
McElrone's stage presence and experience were of inestimable service to Rosalind (Melissa Kearney), our comely and passionate hero/heroine. Hero/heroine you say? It's one issue taking on your first leading role in Shakespearean prose. Kearney, though, had to don the demeanors of both sexes. When Rosalind escapes the death threat of her evil uncle Duke Frederick (James Kassees), she assumes the male persona of Ganymede. Kearney has a formidable role and is very impressive in her first lead in the area. She is undeniably the most beauteous cross dresser in Arden's theatrical history.
This comedy abounds in both love and high spirits. Orlando (James Kiesel) loves Rosalind. Kiesel assumes his athletically challenging role with jest. Rosalind, in love with Orlando, meets him as Ganymede and pretends to counsel him to cure him of being in love. Ganymede says "he" will take Rosalind's place and "he" and Orlando can act out their relationship. Hijinks ensue.
Kiesel is aggressive in his dialog with men but balances that with sentimentalized affectations in referring to his love for Rosalind.
One of the most famous monologues in mankind, “All the world's a stage, and all men and women are merely actors”, etc, contains arresting imagery and figures of speech to develop the central metaphor: a person's lifespan being a play in seven acts. This is spoken by Jacques (Carl Heyde). One would have wished more passion and theatricality in this so very poetic dissertation.
Shakespeare employed 'fools' to be that which they were not: purveyors of pith and profundity. Touchstone (Dan Tucker) delivered this wit deliciously and the audience was forever longing for his next intrusion of practical wisdom.
The production is long. In Shakespearean terms, all the troubadouring could have been lessened by half...if not two thirds. Director Mary Catherine Kelley has helmed the shows for many years and should be mindful of the audience on unforgiving wooden benches. That said, guitarist Rob Tietze is a genuine asset to the proceedings. He is joined (in costume) by Emily Loney (oboe and piccolo) and Melanie Riblett (flute). The trio imbues a Renaissance revelry on a beautiful summer night.
Until June 26. ArdenClub.org 320.475.3126 In case of rain, go to the Gild Hall across Harvey Rd.
A mere three hundred years later, The Village of Arden was founded by Frank Stephens and architect Will Price, with financial help from Joseph Fels, the soap manufacturer. Legend has it that Stephens and Price began annual Shakespeare plays on The Green to educate the residents in diction.
In this open air production – a perfect setting for the celebration of love – and before an opening night packed house, diction awards would go to Celia (Kerry Kristine McElrone). Of all the players, Aisle Say has seen her on other local stages, both dramatic and comedic and has always been struck by the depth of her characterizations. .
McElrone's stage presence and experience were of inestimable service to Rosalind (Melissa Kearney), our comely and passionate hero/heroine. Hero/heroine you say? It's one issue taking on your first leading role in Shakespearean prose. Kearney, though, had to don the demeanors of both sexes. When Rosalind escapes the death threat of her evil uncle Duke Frederick (James Kassees), she assumes the male persona of Ganymede. Kearney has a formidable role and is very impressive in her first lead in the area. She is undeniably the most beauteous cross dresser in Arden's theatrical history.
This comedy abounds in both love and high spirits. Orlando (James Kiesel) loves Rosalind. Kiesel assumes his athletically challenging role with jest. Rosalind, in love with Orlando, meets him as Ganymede and pretends to counsel him to cure him of being in love. Ganymede says "he" will take Rosalind's place and "he" and Orlando can act out their relationship. Hijinks ensue.
Kiesel is aggressive in his dialog with men but balances that with sentimentalized affectations in referring to his love for Rosalind.
One of the most famous monologues in mankind, “All the world's a stage, and all men and women are merely actors”, etc, contains arresting imagery and figures of speech to develop the central metaphor: a person's lifespan being a play in seven acts. This is spoken by Jacques (Carl Heyde). One would have wished more passion and theatricality in this so very poetic dissertation.
Shakespeare employed 'fools' to be that which they were not: purveyors of pith and profundity. Touchstone (Dan Tucker) delivered this wit deliciously and the audience was forever longing for his next intrusion of practical wisdom.
The production is long. In Shakespearean terms, all the troubadouring could have been lessened by half...if not two thirds. Director Mary Catherine Kelley has helmed the shows for many years and should be mindful of the audience on unforgiving wooden benches. That said, guitarist Rob Tietze is a genuine asset to the proceedings. He is joined (in costume) by Emily Loney (oboe and piccolo) and Melanie Riblett (flute). The trio imbues a Renaissance revelry on a beautiful summer night.
Until June 26. ArdenClub.org 320.475.3126 In case of rain, go to the Gild Hall across Harvey Rd.
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