Agnes of God - Westport Community Theatre

The psychologically intense, Agnes of God, is receiving a superb production at the Westport Community Theatre.  Under Director Tom Holehan’s assured guidance, the three-character play is a penetrating examination of faith, spirituality, and their intersection with science.  In some sense, the production can also be viewed as a cryptic murder mystery.

The plot appears simple and straightforward – Agnes, a novice nun has given birth in her room and possibly killed and hidden the child.  However, she has no memory of the event.  Before going to trial, a court-appointed psychologist is retained to examine the young girl, much to the disapproval of the Mother Superior.  What transpires are multiple therapeutic sessions to possibly determine the real series of events behind the incident.  In between, Dr. Livingston and the head of the convent butt heads until some finality comes to the proceedings.

Priscilla Squiers in Agnes of God at the Westport Community Theatre.

Playwright John Pielmeier has crafted a show that is packed with thoughtful arguments, moral debates, and plenty of twists.  His characters are confident in their motivations, yet still exhibit flawed behaviors, which also humanizes them. 

 

Priscilla Squiers imbues Dr. Martha Livingston with a convincing, naturalistic approach to her work.  She is appropriately soft-spoken, even motherly, and direct with Agnes.  However, when necessary, the actress has no problem demonstrating combativeness with the Mother Superior.  Lucy Babbitt displays a practiced versatility as the domineering Mother Superior.  She demonstrates a roller-coaster of emotions and attitudes in her ideological battles and philosophical debates.  The actress adeptly invokes sympathy as well as anger as the layers of her professional and personal life are slowly, sometimes abruptly peeled apart.  Céline Montaudy’s performance as Agnes is almost childlike.  While not as nuanced as her other cast members, she convincingly conveys a young woman who is confused and in torment.

 

The cast of Agnes of God at the Westport Community Theatre.

Holehan makes good use of Al Kulcsar’s minimalist set and Jeff Klein’s unassuming, ambient lighting design.  The Director adroitly paces the show, starting slowly and patiently building up its intensity.

 

Agnes of God, playing at the Westport Community Theatre through April 12.  Click here for dates, times and ticket information.

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.

Native Gardens - Westport Country Playhouse

There are a lot of “isms” in Karen Zacarías’ funny and pointed play Native Gardens.  The work nimbly incorporates issues of ageism, classism, a touch of racism, environmentalism, regionalism, and sexism into the plot, which focuses on a land dispute by neighbors in an upscale section of Washington, D.C.  Doctoral candidate Tania Del Valle (Linedy Genao) and her lawyer husband Pablo Del Valle (Anthony Michael Martinez), a young couple with a baby due soon, have recently moved into a fixer-upper in the upmarket neighborhood.  Next door is longtime residents Virginia Butley (Paula Leggett Chase), a high-ranking engineer at a defense contractor and her husband Frank Butley (Adam Heller), a GSA employee and gardening enthusiast.  Their initial backyard get-together is unassuming and cordial until unchangeable events, long-held attitudes, and an incorrect property line sends the twosomes into a tizzy.  Encounters escalate, harsh words are exchanged on either side until an early blessing occurs and…brief blackout.  When the lights go up, it’s weeks later and let’s just say there is a “kumbaya” moment.  Everyone lives happily ever after.

The cast of Native Gardens.  Photo by Carol Rosegg.

With Native Gardens, Zacarías presents a simple problem that many audience members can relate to and then deftly, in a step-by-step manner, ratchets up the noise level and tension.  The play reminded me of God of Carnage.  Native Gardens is not as wildly funny as that Tony Award winning show, but the premise is similar.  The focus here is on the yards of each household.  Scenic Designer Anna Louizos has crafted an exquisitely landscaped set for the Butley’s backyard and a plot needing a lot of love for the Del Valle’s space.  For such an everyday setting, the playwright manages to layer in a great deal of contemporary issues that come across as natural and spontaneous.  My only complaint is the ending.  While comforting, coming after a huge, raucous-filled set-up, it is disappointing to have the play conclude so gingerly.

Pablo Del Valle and Linedy Genao of Native Gardens.  Photo by Carol Rosegg.

The show is impeccably directed by JoAnn M. Hunter.  She judiciously utilizes the 90-minute time frame to create two convincing households that are trying to delicately persuade the other of their misguided position.  Like a closely fought fencing match, Ms. Hunter has the terrific ensemble cast consistently lunge and parry, attack and feint.  The Director has added small touches to bring out the realism in the production such as a functioning watering hose and hanging bug zapper.

As stated, the performers are marvelous, each providing their own obsession and idiosyncrasy to forge a dynamic whole.  Adam Heller (Frank Butley), a long-time New York and Connecticut performer, oozes anxiety and a passive/aggressive forcefulness.  Paula Leggert Chase (Virginia Butley) exudes a confidence and vulnerability as a woman protecting her turf, but also scarred by years of proving herself in a hostile working environment.  Anthony Michael Martinez (Pablo Del Valle) effectively imbues his character with bravado tinged with fretfulness as he works to be a success at work and home.  Linedy Genao’s role of Tania Del Valle is the calm amidst the storm.  The actress superbly portrays a very pregnant woman who is, mostly, level-headed, at times mediator and antagonist.  Her practicality and inner fortitude play well as she jousts or cajoles the other characters.

The cast of Native Gardens.  Photo by Carol Rosegg.

Native Gardens, playing at the Westport Country Playhouse through March 8.  Click here for dates, times, and ticket information.

Fiddler on the Roof - A.C.T. (A Contemporary Theatre) of Connecticut

The musical Fiddler on the Roof is receiving an enthralling production at Ridgefield’s A.C.T. (A Contemporary Theatre) of Connecticut.  Director Daniel C. Levine has taken a staple of the musical theater canon for over 60 years and reconceptualized its core while, at the same time, infusing it with a stirring vibrancy.

 

Members of the cast of Fiddler on the Roof at  A.C.T. (A Contemporary Theatre) of Connecticut.

The libretto by Joseph Stein is based on the short story, "Tevye the Dairyman," by Sholem Aleichem.  The book writer brings out the joy, humor, and tears in the author’s work.  His emphasis on such universal themes as family, community, and persecution are relevant for all audiences.

 

The story centers on Tevye, a humble milkman in the meager village of Anatevka, and his family, which includes his wife Golde, and five daughters.  Times are changing in late 18^th century Russia.  New cultural and religious attitudes are overtaking the country.  These outlooks resonate deeply with Teyve as he and his wife struggle to accept their three older daughters’ break with tradition.  Change also comes from the governing authority of the Russian Constable, which brings continued heartache and eventual upheaval.

 

Members of the cast of Fiddler on the Roof at  A.C.T. (A Contemporary Theatre) of Connecticut.

Musical Director Bryan Perri flawlessly leads the superb pit band through the iconic score.  The songs, with music by Jerry Bock and lyrics by Sheldon Harnick, are timeless, sung by a large cast with glorious voices.  Every musical number is a gem, from the spirited "Tradition" and "If I Were a Rich Man,” to the joyous declaration of  "Miracle of Miracles," to the tender moments of "Sabbath Prayer, “Sunrise, Sunset,” “Do You Love Me?," and “Anatevka.”

Lori Ada Jaroslow (center) and the cast from Fiddler on the Roof at A.C.T. (A Contemporary Theatre) of Connecticut.

Director Levine states in the program notes that his staging of Fiddler “reflect[s] the communal struggles and triumphs of Anatevka” and that by “keeping the cast visible, we emphasize that each individual’s story is part of the larger narrative.”  He succeeds by having performers rarely leave the stage.  They sit atop Scenic Designer David Goldstein’s austere, tiered wooden benches that face either side of the performance space.  There, the cast intently gazes upon the action in silent reflection. The Director incorporates Projection Designer Camilla Tassi’s beautifully rendered, ever-changing backdrops.  Josh Assor contributes rousing choreographic flourishes in addition to restaging dance numbers originated by the legendary Jerome Robbins in such numbers as “To Life” and “The Wedding Dance.” 

The magical dream sequence from Fiddler on the Roof at A.C.T. (A Contemporary Theatre) of Connecticut.

There are so many marvelous performances in the talented cast.  A few of the more noteworthy include Danny Rothman as Teyve.  Often, the role of family patriarch has been played as a larger-than-life character (Zero Mostel, Harvey Fierstein, Topol), but Rothman’s portrayal is more a man-of-the-people, which is exactly what is needed for this production.  Rothman deftly brings a host of emotions to his performance – anger, fear, sadness, joy, love, contentment – to create a character that solidly anchors the production.

 

Jennifer Babiak, who played Golde in the acclaimed Off-Broadway production of Fiddler in Yiddish, gives the wife and mother a muted forcefulness and inner strength.  Both Ruthy Froch (Hodel) and Skye Gillespie (Chava) are terrific as the two eldest daughters taking charge of their lives.  Lori Ada Jaroslow provides steady comic relief as Golde the Matchmaker.

Ruthy Froch and Skye Gillespie (center) and members of the cast of Fiddler on the Roof at A.C.T. (A Contemporary Theatre) of Connecticut.

Fiddler on the Roof, a show not to be missed, playing at A.C.T. (A Contemporary Theatre) of Connecticut through March 9.  Click here for dates, times, and ticket information.