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.
Thursday, July 22, 2010
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.
Wednesday, June 16, 2010
URINETOWN with DE All State Theatre
Live theatre is all about risk. It's in the moment. If a line is missed or a flub occurs in motion picture filming, no big deal; a re-do. In live theatre, however, actors lay it all out there. That's what makes it so exhilarating...and important.
Producer / director Jeff Santoro of the Delaware All State Theatre has led such a life over decades of performing. Three years ago he left the comfortable and nurturing nest of Delaware Children's Theatre and its iconic director Marie Swajeski to strike out on his own and create his own signature.
Jeff and co-producer Deb Johnson 'parented' the organization to give elementary, middle, and high school theatre "geeks" the unique opportunity work on a large-scale musical production in partnership with the world famous DuPont Theatre. Full-time students (up to age 19) from across Delaware and the immediate surrounding area are eligible to participate either as a performer or behind the scenes in a technical capacity.
The first show, “Les Mis” was a slam dunk and huge hit; every child with a voice and Broadway aspirations yearned to be in that cast. The audience could not believe that caliber of performance came from school aged kids. Last year's “West Side Story”, an American classic, drew critical raves. One performer closed that show and his next gig was in the chorus of the Broadway revival of “Bye Bye Birdie”.
So, gentle readers, Aisle Say urges you to support this year's production of the multiple Tony award winner with the unsettling, wince-inducing title, “Urinetown”.
Dismiss the title from your mind. It is irrelevant to the hysterical comedy and melodic tunes that will unfold in front of you.
And now we return to risk management. Santoro knew what he was getting into with the choice of the show. Why, you ask? Why not the safe “Sound of Music” or “Annie'?
Santoro knows that live theatre is about challenge. There is oppressive financial risk as well. In magnum opus understatement, the director says “It's very different from our previous productions” he says. “No serious music or themes. It's a comedy. Something we haven't tried ever, which is definitely a challenge for the student performers. Doing comedy well is an art form, and I am excited to say that the kids and teens are doing a brilliant job and will deliver lots of laughs!”
“Urinetown” was conceived by writer Greg Kotis, when as a poor student traveling in Europe, he encountered a pay-per-use toilet; funny in itself. It's a satirical musical comedy, taking on the legal system, capitalism, social responsibility, politics and bureaucracy...all issues Americans rail about today.
Aisle Say attended a rehearsal last week. I have a bit of knowledge and experience in this arena and can state he has the most accomplished band of talented kids I've ever witnessed.
They come from all over. The numbers from Cab Calloway lead the list but Brandywine High, Mt. Pleasant, McKean, Sallies, Padua, Tatnall, Sanford and a half dozen other schools are represented.
Kudos to DuPont Co for partnering in Jeff Santoro's vision.
Only 4 performances. June 18-26. For tickets DuPontTheatre.com 302.656.4401
Producer / director Jeff Santoro of the Delaware All State Theatre has led such a life over decades of performing. Three years ago he left the comfortable and nurturing nest of Delaware Children's Theatre and its iconic director Marie Swajeski to strike out on his own and create his own signature.
Jeff and co-producer Deb Johnson 'parented' the organization to give elementary, middle, and high school theatre "geeks" the unique opportunity work on a large-scale musical production in partnership with the world famous DuPont Theatre. Full-time students (up to age 19) from across Delaware and the immediate surrounding area are eligible to participate either as a performer or behind the scenes in a technical capacity.
The first show, “Les Mis” was a slam dunk and huge hit; every child with a voice and Broadway aspirations yearned to be in that cast. The audience could not believe that caliber of performance came from school aged kids. Last year's “West Side Story”, an American classic, drew critical raves. One performer closed that show and his next gig was in the chorus of the Broadway revival of “Bye Bye Birdie”.
So, gentle readers, Aisle Say urges you to support this year's production of the multiple Tony award winner with the unsettling, wince-inducing title, “Urinetown”.
Dismiss the title from your mind. It is irrelevant to the hysterical comedy and melodic tunes that will unfold in front of you.
And now we return to risk management. Santoro knew what he was getting into with the choice of the show. Why, you ask? Why not the safe “Sound of Music” or “Annie'?
Santoro knows that live theatre is about challenge. There is oppressive financial risk as well. In magnum opus understatement, the director says “It's very different from our previous productions” he says. “No serious music or themes. It's a comedy. Something we haven't tried ever, which is definitely a challenge for the student performers. Doing comedy well is an art form, and I am excited to say that the kids and teens are doing a brilliant job and will deliver lots of laughs!”
“Urinetown” was conceived by writer Greg Kotis, when as a poor student traveling in Europe, he encountered a pay-per-use toilet; funny in itself. It's a satirical musical comedy, taking on the legal system, capitalism, social responsibility, politics and bureaucracy...all issues Americans rail about today.
Aisle Say attended a rehearsal last week. I have a bit of knowledge and experience in this arena and can state he has the most accomplished band of talented kids I've ever witnessed.
They come from all over. The numbers from Cab Calloway lead the list but Brandywine High, Mt. Pleasant, McKean, Sallies, Padua, Tatnall, Sanford and a half dozen other schools are represented.
Kudos to DuPont Co for partnering in Jeff Santoro's vision.
Only 4 performances. June 18-26. For tickets DuPontTheatre.com 302.656.4401
DE Theatre Co needs to Entertain
It has been eternally hurtful to me that I have never been referred to by either friends or critics as a second coming of Rex Harrison. He of the supremely patrician and proper clipped British high baritone.
Sir Noel Coward stated that Harrison was the 'best light comedy actor in the world, except for me.” Come on.... I did comedy...at Brecks Mill, at Wilmington Drama League, at Candlelight Theatre. Alright, it's not London's East End, but I was aspiring.
My other cross to bear while I was performing was the review after opening weekend. For those baby boomers who remember, actors in the '70's and '80's had to suffer the vitriol of Otto Dekom, the Journal theatre/food/fine art columnist who loved women and took Mephistophelian delight in the literary evisceration of leading men. When I sang my melodic heart out, Dekom would call it recitative, that talk-singie thing that Harrison always did.
Okay, now back to the reason Sir Rex is part of this story. I insist I have many qualities reminiscent of this Academy Award and Tony Award winner. Consider the song from “My Fair Lady” entitled 'I'm An Ordinary Man'. (Many individuals, especially women, have called me ordinary. This again has proved hurtful to me, but I digress.)
With theatre though, I admit to being ordinary. When I attend theatre, I like to laugh. I like to be surprised. I like to be entertained.
Delaware Theater Company parted ways with their Artistic Director Anne Marie Cammarato after six years because not enough people were being entertained.
“I'm An Ordinary Theatre Go-er” (with apologies to Sir Rex)
Well after all, Ms. Cammarato, I'm an ordinary man,
Who desires nothing more than an ordinary laugh,
to burst out loud in great surprise, and be not considered as strangely daft...
An average man am I, of no eccentric whim,
Who works hard by day, seemingly on the brink,
When I go out, please DON'T make me think
Well... just an ordinary man...
Aisle Say, in different incarnations, has followed Delaware Theatre Company since its opening night over 3 decades ago at a converted firehouse on French Street in Wilmington. With all due respect to the talent and the passion over these many years, I always thought the programming was over the top on social consciousness. I felt that if I did not acquiesce to the theatrical pounding and preaching served up with the vast majority of their productions that maybe I was not a good person. Not knowing where to turn, I stayed away...as did many in the past years.
It's June. The theatre season opens in September. Cammarato chose all the shows for the next season and was to direct three of them. Aisle Say hopes her choices are reconsidered. We need DTC. It was the Lewis & Clark of the Riverfront. It has been an integral part of our cultural environment. It has changed peoples lives for the better. It has also put patrons, too many patrons, to sleep. Please, please.... ENTERTAIN US.
Sir Noel Coward stated that Harrison was the 'best light comedy actor in the world, except for me.” Come on.... I did comedy...at Brecks Mill, at Wilmington Drama League, at Candlelight Theatre. Alright, it's not London's East End, but I was aspiring.
My other cross to bear while I was performing was the review after opening weekend. For those baby boomers who remember, actors in the '70's and '80's had to suffer the vitriol of Otto Dekom, the Journal theatre/food/fine art columnist who loved women and took Mephistophelian delight in the literary evisceration of leading men. When I sang my melodic heart out, Dekom would call it recitative, that talk-singie thing that Harrison always did.
Okay, now back to the reason Sir Rex is part of this story. I insist I have many qualities reminiscent of this Academy Award and Tony Award winner. Consider the song from “My Fair Lady” entitled 'I'm An Ordinary Man'. (Many individuals, especially women, have called me ordinary. This again has proved hurtful to me, but I digress.)
With theatre though, I admit to being ordinary. When I attend theatre, I like to laugh. I like to be surprised. I like to be entertained.
Delaware Theater Company parted ways with their Artistic Director Anne Marie Cammarato after six years because not enough people were being entertained.
“I'm An Ordinary Theatre Go-er” (with apologies to Sir Rex)
Well after all, Ms. Cammarato, I'm an ordinary man,
Who desires nothing more than an ordinary laugh,
to burst out loud in great surprise, and be not considered as strangely daft...
An average man am I, of no eccentric whim,
Who works hard by day, seemingly on the brink,
When I go out, please DON'T make me think
Well... just an ordinary man...
Aisle Say, in different incarnations, has followed Delaware Theatre Company since its opening night over 3 decades ago at a converted firehouse on French Street in Wilmington. With all due respect to the talent and the passion over these many years, I always thought the programming was over the top on social consciousness. I felt that if I did not acquiesce to the theatrical pounding and preaching served up with the vast majority of their productions that maybe I was not a good person. Not knowing where to turn, I stayed away...as did many in the past years.
It's June. The theatre season opens in September. Cammarato chose all the shows for the next season and was to direct three of them. Aisle Say hopes her choices are reconsidered. We need DTC. It was the Lewis & Clark of the Riverfront. It has been an integral part of our cultural environment. It has changed peoples lives for the better. It has also put patrons, too many patrons, to sleep. Please, please.... ENTERTAIN US.
Tuesday, June 1, 2010
RENT is showcased at Media Theatre
Regional theatres, both community and professional, were as anxious as expectant fathers in a delivery room, or perhaps more to the point, all Flyers fans, when rights became available for “Rent.”
The show is a seminal event for musical theatre ages, on the Great White Way's Mt. Olympus alongside “Showboat” - whom some believe to be the greatest American musical; “Oklahoma”, the first production to have songs move plot along; “Gypsy,” to my mind the most fully integrated musical; “West Side Story,” brilliant choreographer by Jerome Robbins and music by Leonard Bernstein and a neophyte named Stephen Sondheim; “Sound of Music," the most popular movie musical by far and spoofed in hysterical 'sing a longs'; “Hair," one other topical event ripped from the life and times of American culture; “Les Mis,” the all time ALL time most popular show. (No need discussing this. We've all seen it)
But, dear and committed Aisle Say readers, you should see “Rent” as well, and you should see it at The Media Theatre. The theatre cognoscenti knows “Rent.” They've seen it several times. But it's really a populist show and should be devoured by the masses that watch “Sound of Music” and “My Fair Lady.” This production will move you; by song, by passion, by evoking the oppressive malaise we ALL endured during the AIDS scare of the '90's.
There are some special shows that bond the ensemble into one joyous and selfless entity. There is no doubt this cast loves one another and will remember this experience the rest of their lives. We saw it in their faces.
This was a challenging assignment for artistic director of the theater and director Jesse Cline. Broadway shows of the '50's are so much easier to direct. The protagonist sings the tune either solo on stage or with very little background distraction. The show demands (and Cline complied) with a very naturalistic approach. Normally actors 'cheat' toward the audience to declaim their lines and sing their tunes. The ensemble spoke directly to one another, no 'cheating' allowed. Much movement, much energy, much dynamism.
Aisle Say feels remiss without acclaiming the entire cast; they were all that talented, dedicated and in love with what they were creating on stage. The vast majority of them are N.Y. actors who journeyed to Media. Okay, perhaps they had nothing going on at the moment, but young talented types are dedicated to be in “Rent,” that's what the concept, the power and the music means to them.
The two main lovers, Roger (Patrick Ludt) and Mimi (Eileen Shibley) were superb. Shibley especially had that Greenwich Village edge to her that rocked the audience. That's good, this being a rock opera.
Maureen (Chloe Patellis) was the best “Maureen” I have seen – and how many liver pills has Carter? Her “Over The Moon” was worth the price of admission. Maybe Aisle Say is too shallow, for I have never understood how the song itself fit into the show, but...whatever...it's a show stopper.
Media Theatre is only twenty minutes away on the Blue Route. The main street is fun and full of ethnic dining. Would this were the way in Wilmington.
The show is a seminal event for musical theatre ages, on the Great White Way's Mt. Olympus alongside “Showboat” - whom some believe to be the greatest American musical; “Oklahoma”, the first production to have songs move plot along; “Gypsy,” to my mind the most fully integrated musical; “West Side Story,” brilliant choreographer by Jerome Robbins and music by Leonard Bernstein and a neophyte named Stephen Sondheim; “Sound of Music," the most popular movie musical by far and spoofed in hysterical 'sing a longs'; “Hair," one other topical event ripped from the life and times of American culture; “Les Mis,” the all time ALL time most popular show. (No need discussing this. We've all seen it)
But, dear and committed Aisle Say readers, you should see “Rent” as well, and you should see it at The Media Theatre. The theatre cognoscenti knows “Rent.” They've seen it several times. But it's really a populist show and should be devoured by the masses that watch “Sound of Music” and “My Fair Lady.” This production will move you; by song, by passion, by evoking the oppressive malaise we ALL endured during the AIDS scare of the '90's.
There are some special shows that bond the ensemble into one joyous and selfless entity. There is no doubt this cast loves one another and will remember this experience the rest of their lives. We saw it in their faces.
This was a challenging assignment for artistic director of the theater and director Jesse Cline. Broadway shows of the '50's are so much easier to direct. The protagonist sings the tune either solo on stage or with very little background distraction. The show demands (and Cline complied) with a very naturalistic approach. Normally actors 'cheat' toward the audience to declaim their lines and sing their tunes. The ensemble spoke directly to one another, no 'cheating' allowed. Much movement, much energy, much dynamism.
Aisle Say feels remiss without acclaiming the entire cast; they were all that talented, dedicated and in love with what they were creating on stage. The vast majority of them are N.Y. actors who journeyed to Media. Okay, perhaps they had nothing going on at the moment, but young talented types are dedicated to be in “Rent,” that's what the concept, the power and the music means to them.
The two main lovers, Roger (Patrick Ludt) and Mimi (Eileen Shibley) were superb. Shibley especially had that Greenwich Village edge to her that rocked the audience. That's good, this being a rock opera.
Maureen (Chloe Patellis) was the best “Maureen” I have seen – and how many liver pills has Carter? Her “Over The Moon” was worth the price of admission. Maybe Aisle Say is too shallow, for I have never understood how the song itself fit into the show, but...whatever...it's a show stopper.
Media Theatre is only twenty minutes away on the Blue Route. The main street is fun and full of ethnic dining. Would this were the way in Wilmington.
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