Theatre People - Westport Country Playhouse

Thank goodness for Olga! In Paul Slade Smith’s agreeable comedy Theatre People, the actress Erin Noel Grennan embodies the character of Olga, a no-nonsense, slightly irritable maid working in a Newport Mansion, circa 1948.  She delivers the show's funniest lines, with well-timed bon mots and snarky retorts.  

The cast of Theatre People at Westport Country Playhouse.  Photo by T. Charles Erickson

Theatre People, adapted from Ferenc Molnár’s work, Play at the Castle, is part farce, part straightaway comedy.  Two down-on-their-luck playwrights, Arthur Sanders (played by the always enjoyable Michael McCormick), and his wife Charlotte (portrayed with mirthful glee by Isabel Keating), have escorted Oliver (Rodolfo Soto), a lovesick author, to a coastal manor for a secret rendezvous with his lady love.  His soon-to-be-published book, based on his affection for actress Margot Bell (Mia Pinero), has been transformed by the Sanders into a stage show.  All that needs to be done is for Oliver to sign his book contract.   Unfortunately, the best-laid plans come to a screeching halt when Margot’s hanky-panky with rakish baritone Victor Pratt (Michael McCorry Rose) is overheard from the thin hotel room walls.  Chaos ensues as Oliver, his love life now in ruins, wants to shred his novel and the Sanders’ would-be success suddenly evaporates.  Olga’s intrusions and snappy comebacks don’t help matters.  What can be done to save the day?  A little bit of mayhem, chaos, and general frivolity on the way to a happy ending for all.

 

Isabel Keating and Michael McCormick of Theatre People at Westport Country Playhouse.  Photo by T. Charles Erickson

Paul Slade Smith has devised an amusing scenario, with doors slamming, characters running about, and a bit of misdirection to fuel the plot.  Being an actor himself, the playwright knowingly injects the busyness and backstage patter within the making of a play into Theatre People’s storyline, which propels the show forward. 

Erin Noel Grennan and Isabel Keating of Theatre People at Westport Country Playhouse.  Photo by T. Charles Erickson

 

With flawless timing, Director Mark Shanahan keeps the tempo swift and the hijinks nonstop.  Whether cast members are individually on stage or in a cluster, he nimbly guides the show with a solid rhythmic pace.  Shanahan also knows when to highlight Olga’s unique brand of humor to liven up the show. 

 

The cast is game for the physicality and shenanigans Shanahan can throw at them.  Isabel Keating brings a screwball-ish comedy sensibility to her role.  She gesticulates madly through her portrayal, arms flailing as she prowls the stage.  Michael McCormick, grandly grumpish, is the perfect yin to her yang.  Rodolfo Soto, Mia Pinero, and Michael McCorry Rose provide ample support in their featured roles.

 

Mia Pinero and Michael McCorry Rose of Theatre People at Westport Country Playhouse.  Photo by T. Charles Erickson

James J. Fenton’s set design of a Newport mansion bedroom is sumptuously furnished.  Its multiple doorways are strategically placed for the on-stage mischievousness.  The stage is suitably aglow with Alyssandra Docherty’s well-appointed Lighting Design.  Annie J. Le’s Costume Designs are both stylish and luxuriant for the late 1940’s.

 

Theatre People, playing at the Westport Country Playhouse through April 12.  Click here for dates, times, and ticket information.

Laughs in Spanish - Hartford Stage

The latest offering at Hartford Stage, Laughs in Spanish, is an agreeable, breezy story with enough amusing plot twists to keep audiences satiated during its 90-minute, intermission-less run.  The high spirits, though, by Playwright Alexis Scheer, is primarily window-dressing for her exploration of the mother-daughter relationship and cultural ruminations.

María Victoria Martínez and Luis Vega in Laughs in Spanish.  Photo by T. Charles Erickson.

Mariana (Stephanie Machado), a young woman runs an art gallery in Miami and is readying for the Art Basel art show.  Upon arriving at work, she discovers all the paintings have been stolen.  Her intern, Carolina (María Victoria Martínez), an artist in her own right, is clueless about what could have happened.  Her boyfriend, Juan (Luis Vega), a police officer, is equally ignorant of how the perpetrators could have absconded with the artworks.  To complicate matters, Mariana’s mother Estrella (Maggie Bofill), a famous actress, has suddenly arrived in town, looking to pursue her own agenda.  Her new assistant, Jenny (Olivia Hebert), also just happens to be a college acquaintance of Mariana.  Or is it more than that?

 

Olivia Hebert and Stephanie Machado in Laughs in Spanish.  Photo by T. Charles Erickson.

The hijinks Ms. Scheer infuses into Laughs in Spanish are used to great effect as commentary on harmonizing life within two cultures and how language is varied when communicating in each world.  Marina, a latine, seeks to balance her heritage within a realm where she is not an insider.  For example, she, and other characters, to great comic effect, modulate their voice – being more Anglo - when answering the phone.  The playwright nimbly layers the aforementioned with the tenuous relationships mothers can have with their daughters.  Ms. Scheer adeptly augments the conflicts by having Marina’s mother be a hugely successful celebrity who wants nothing more than to have her child be equally well-off.  While the machinations of the play work well, there are moments that seem forced, such as the intimate exchange between Marina and Jenny.  Estrella’s monologue near the show’s conclusion comes across as overly long.

The Director Lisa Portes paces the show at a brisk tempo, only coming up short during Estrella’s performance art piece.  She succeeds in creating a troupe of actor/actresses that mesh well together.  She effectively integrates Scenic Designer Brian Sidney Bembridge’s three distinct sets into the flow of the play.

 

Maggie Bofill in Laughs in Spanish.  Photo by T. Charles Erickson.

The cast is uniformly wonderful.  Some of the characters are underwritten - Carolina (María Victoria Martínez), Juan (Luis Vega), and Jenny (Olivia Hebert) – but the performers are able to imbue their roles with enough personality to gloss over character shortcomings.  The focus is on Stephanie Machado as Mariana and Maggie Bofill as Estrella.  Each enlivens the stage individually and together, giving their roles a combination of sparkle and gravitas.

Laughs in Spanish, playing at Hartford Stage through March 30.  Click here for dates, times, and ticket information.

The Irish… And How They Got That Way - Playhouse on Park

The Irish… And How They Got That Way is a musical revue that combines snippets of Irish history with an assortment of Irish-centered songs performed by a multi-talented cast of six.  The music includes folksongs, ballads, comedic numbers, and tunes written by Broadway legend George M. Cohan.  Interspersed between the musical interludes are recitations, stories, facts and figures about the Irish – the good, the bad, and the ugly.  The show, written by the Pulitzer Prize winning author, Frank McCourt, delves into the bitterness, joy, anger, and sadness of the Irish experience, both at home and abroad.

 

The cast of The Irish… And How They Got That Way.  Photo by Meredith Longo.

The show, at two and one-half hours (with intermission), would have been more satisfying at a shorter length.  Sometimes the pacing by Director Danielle Paccione drags when the material focuses heavily on such sorrowful topics as with Act I’s lengthy scenes on the 1840 potato famine.  While the stories and historical facts associated with this epoch of shortages and deprivations are eye-opening, as well as appalling, they bring a too somber tone to the production.

 

The material and song selections in Act II are more lively and, as with the first segment of the show, still tinged with sentimentality, humor, and a raucous merriment.

 

The cast of The Irish… And How They Got That Way.  Photo by Meredith Longo.

The production shines when the set, designed by Omid Akbari and reminiscent of a classic Irish pub, is turned over to the three actresses – Victoria Chaieb, Elleon Dobias, and Katrien van Riel – and three actors – Joe Boover, Josh Karam, and Jack Murphy.  They all play, beautifully, a variety of musical instruments that you would find at a local Irish pub, from guitar, to piano, fiddle, recorder and a number of traditional Irish instruments.  Ms. Paccione has molded an ensemble that works well together and clearly enjoys each other’s company as they recount, play music, and even perform a jig here and there. 

 

Members of the cast of The Irish… And How They Got That Way.  Photo by Meredith Longo.

The Irish… And How They Got That Way, playing at Playhouse on Park through March 30.  Click here for dates, times, and ticket information.

The Wedding Binder - Seven Angels Theatre

 Cherie (Brenna Peerbolt) has just gotten engaged, something she has dreamed about since was a 12-year-old girl.  Planning the wedding?  A snap since, over the years, she was created the ultimate wedding binder that includes everything a bride needs.  Unfortunately, for Cherie, life’s plans don’t always go the way one has planned.

 

This is the premise for Jacques Lamarre’s cute, fun, world-premiere comedy, The Wedding Binder.  The playwright has crafted a show that leans heavily on humor, with just a smidgen of social and family commentary.

Brenna Peerbolt and Fior Rodriguez in The Wedding Binder

The overriding issue for the proposed over-the-top wedding is money or, more precisely, the lack of the precious green backs. Cherie’s best friend, Michelle (Fior Rodriguez), when not swiping left or right on Tindr, tries to inject a notion of compromise into the discussion, much to her friend’s horror.  Complicating matters are Cherie’s mean-spirited twin sister, Kitty, (Sydney Yargeau) and mettlesome mom, (Susan Haefner).   

 

What makes The Wedding Binder different and more entertaining than the matter-of-fact plotline might imply, is Lamarre’s inclusion of the spirit of the wedding binder.   The actor Billy Winter, garbed in a multi-colored, metallic sportscoat, brings forth the lifeforce and feelings of the binder.  Unseen by others, he is a pixie-like character, delivering on-going patter and bon mots as he tries to preserve Cherie’s vision and his very existence. 

Billy Winter in The Wedding Binder.

In the end, which includes a few amusing twists, everything works out for the best for all parties.

 

The Wedding Binder is well-written and comes across as a very up-to-the-moment show.  Technological references abound as do jabs at the high-priced wedding industry.  A slightly strained mother-daughter relationship affords a degree of gravitas to the production.   Director Sasha Brätt has a good feel for the characters and introduces each new manic-inducing situation with well-timed aplomb within Set Designer Emily Nichols’ serviceable apartment environment.  The pacing is brisque and he skillfully incorporates Nathan Avakian’s Lighting Design to great effect.

 

The five-person cast provides a lighthearted romp through cupid’s garden.  Brenna Peerbolt is amusing as the harried bride.  She finely toes the line between elation and doom and gloom.  Fior Rodriguez imbues Michelle with a down-to-earth practicality, which meshes smoothly with her bestie’s plight.  Sydney Yargeau, in a more one-dimensional role, nonetheless, supplies a host of well-placed zingers.  Susan Haefner, a frequent presence on Connecticut stages, adds a warmhearted dollop of common sense and motherly love.  Director Bratt allows Billy Winter to let loose as the scheming, whining, and comical wedding binder.  His performance keeps the show diverting and entertaining.

 

The Wedding Binder, playing at Seven Angels theater through April 6.  Click here for dates, times, and ticket information.