Almost Famous - A.C.T. of Connecticut

The Broadway musical of Almost Famous, based on the 2000 movie of the same name, flopped on Broadway, running only 77 performances.  Fast forward a few years, and the creative team of Cameron Crowe (who wrote and directed the film and, for the musical, the book and lyrics), and Tom Kitt (the score) came to A.C.T. in Connecticut to help them revise the show.  The result, under the skillful direction of Daniel C. Levine, is a leaner, more structured first act, but a second act, which is still in need of some work.

The cast of Almost Famous at A.C.T. of Connecticut.  Photo by Jeff Butchen.

 

The story, loosely based on Cameron Crowe’s life, is a coming-of-age story, a tale of an outsider trying to fit in.  The character William Miller, played with charm, naïveté, and a dash of spunk by Michael Fabisch, is a fifteen-year-old would-be rock journalist.   His big break is an assignment by Rolling Stone magazine to write a piece on the up-and-coming band Stillwater as they tour the United States.  Before the tour, he befriends the legendary Penny Lane, a laid-back groupie who has seen it all and done it all.  Once on the road, the young writer attempts to get his story, but is continually put off by, primarily, lead guitarist Russell Hammond.  During the multi-city travels, Miller’s mother harps on him from afar, as the high school student learns valuable life lessons, matters of loyalty, friendship, and romance.

Michael Fabisch in Almost Famous at A.C.T. of Connecticut.  Photo by Jeff Butchen.

In Act I, all the components of the musical come together in a frenetic whirlwind of harmonious action.  Levine utilizes members of the cast as a type of Greek chorus surrounding the skirmishes and conflicts on stage.  They bring an urgency and commentary to the rock milieu.  The streamlined plot and quick pacing, embellished by Charlie Morrison’s pulsating Lighting Design and Camilla Tassi’s vivid Projection Design, generate a well-balanced completeness to the first part of the show.  There is also an emotional viability to the Act.

Chris Marth, Chris Cherin, and Jack Rasmussen in Almost Famous at A.C.T. of Connecticut.  Photo by Jeff Butchen.

The problem in Act II is a sense of focus.  The character of Penny Lane becomes more prominent.  The power struggle within the band, their squabbling, and reconciliation, while essential to the story, minimizes the plight of William Miller.  The young lad’s mother, Elaine, played with a toughness and protective mindset, by Anika Larsen also receives more stage time.  The effective layering of the musical’s various components, demonstrated in Act I, are less clear in the latter half of the show.   Also, the moment when William is seduced by the three young female groupies is somewhat overt.  The kid is only fifteen.  Maybe a more suggestive, rather than explicit scene would have been more appropriate.

Michael Fabisch and Tess Marshall in  Almost Famous at A.C.T. of Connecticut.  Photo by Jeff Butchen.

Tom Kitt’s score, augmented by songs from Joni Mitchell, Elton John, Led Zeppelin, and Deep Purple, is a mixture of energetic power numbers (the opening “1973”), folk and country rock (“Everybody’s Coming Together,” “Ramble On”), and wistful ballads (“Morocco”).  Taken as a whole, the songs represent a rich tapestry and backdrop to the story of a teenager’s entry into the world of rock ‘n roll.  The songs are augmented by a cohesive, high-energy, larger-than-normal-sized band under Nicholas Connors’ first-rate Musical Direction.

The cast of Almost Famous at A.C.T. of Connecticut.  Photo by Jeff Butchen.

The cast is led by Michael Fabisch as William Miller.  Even though he is a 2024 graduate of The University of Michigan’s musical theater program, the actor easily passes for a teen of fifteen.  He effectively displays a demeanor of innocence and resilience, successfully anchoring the show.  Jack Rasmussen exudes charisma and a somewhat rocker’s mystic in his performance as Stillwater’s lead guitarist Russell Hammond.   The actor smoothly moves from introspection to rowdy partier.  Chris Cherin suitably imbues Stillwater lead singer Jeff Bebe with throaty baying and swaggering deportment.  Tess Marshall appealingly embodies Penny Lane with a coquettish presence, but also an undercurrent of disillusionment and world-weariness.  In the role of Elaine Miller, Anika Larsen initially comes across as a one-dimensional, overbearing motherly figure.  However, by the beginning of Act II, with her melancholy “Elaine’s Lecture,” the actress’s performance becomes more rounded and sympathetic.

 

 Almost Famous, playing at A.C.T. of Connecticut through November 23.  Click here for dates, times, and ticket information.

The Great Emu War - Norma Terris Theatre

Musicals are based on movies, cartoons, fictional stories, and true-life events.  Point in fact, The Great Emu War, playing at the Norma Terris Theatre in Chester through October 26.  Yes, I said true-life!  In 1932, the Australian army was called to the Western part of the country to cull the emu herds, which were laying waste to the crops.  This historical footnote intrigued the team of Cal Silberstein (book) and Paul Hodge (music, lyrics and book) to conjure up a cute, fun, and tuneful 90-minute musical.  The story stalls in the middle, and some of the topical jokes fall flat, but, in all, The Great Emu War is a diverting, cheery time at the theater.

The cast of Goodspeed's The Great Emu War. Photo by Diane Sobolewski.

The show is told from the standpoint of…the emus.  Many of the musicals at the Norma Terris, while receiving a full production, are still in the development phase.  Accoutrements like sets and costumes are at a minimum.  In The Great Emu War, the acting troupe is garbed in Costume Designer Herin Kaputkin’s, let’s call them, shiny emu headdresses and glittering tails.  The main set piece are two small bushels of wheat.

 

The opening number, “The Ballad of the Great Emu War,” is reminiscent of the start to the musical Shucked, with their two narrators laying out the plot of the show backed up by the other cast members.  Here, there is only one narrator, known as The Bush Bard (LaRaisha Dievelyn Dionne), a happy-go-lucky bloke who pops up throughout the production to add plot exposition, translate Australian vocabulary, or make bad puns.  While Ms. Dionne performs her function with buoyancy and aplomb, as the musical progresses her entry into the action seems sometimes forced.

Ethan Peterson, Claire Saunders and Jeremy Davis in Goodspeed's The Great Emu War. Photo by Diane Sobolewski.

 

We learn from The Bard and, primarily, Edith (Claire Saunders), an independent, strong-willed female emu, about emu migration patterns, child-raising practices, and mating rituals.  Her father, Enoch (Jeremy Davis), wants her to stay with the herd, but Edith, hungry and thirsty because of a drought, wants to explore beyond her comfortable surroundings.  Let me interject that all emus are known by just their first name which always begins with the letter E.  Back to the battle – while foraging, Edith comes upon wheat.  Acres and acres of the sweet-tasting plant.  Soon, the fields are overrun by emus (historical footnote:  approximately 20,000 emus overran the harvest in 1932).  To combat the threat, the central government calls upon one Major Meredith (Taylor Matthew) to lead troops to the region to eliminate the threat.  Unfortunately, between the commander’s ineptitude and the pluck of Edith’s leadership, along with her boyfriend Ethan (Ethan Peterson), the emus continually out maneuver the armed forces until they withdraw in defeat and embarrassment. 

 

Paul Hodge’s score is refreshingly upbeat and frequently humorous.  References to other works abound - “Jam It, Damn It” from Emu sourcing “Dammit Janet” from The Rocky Horror Show.   

Taylor Matthew in Goodspeed's The Great Emu War. Photo by Diane Sobolewsk.

 

 Director/choreographer Amy Anders Corcoran brings levity and mischievousness to the musical, which is layered with a few tender moments.  Yes, emus can be introspective and romantic.  The momentum of the show slackens a trifle in the middle of the production before concluding on an upswing.  Ms. Corcoran adds a number or crowd-pleasing tap routines and the erotically tinged mating dance in “Boom” is downright steamy.

Claire Saunders and Ethan Peterson in Goodspeed's The Great Emu War. Photo by Diane Sobolewski.

 

Ms. Saunder provides spunk and an animalistic amorousness to the role of Edith.  She anchors the show with her dynamism and a powerful singing voice.  Ethan Peterson delivers charm and honesty to his portrayal of Ethan.  Taylor Matthew imbues the character of Major Meredith with a thundering, over-the-top persona.  His hatred of birds and overblown self-importance provides a consistent comic spark to the show.   As Enoch, Jeremy Davis infuses his father bird with an expressiveness and pragmatic nature that is the perfect counterweight to his high-spirited daughter Edith.  The actress Morgan Cowling, playing the second banana in most scenes, contributes ample support to her other cast members.

 

The Great Emu War, playing at the Norma Terris Theatre in Chester, CT through October 26.  Click here for ticket information.

Spunk - Yale Repertory Theatre

Zora Neale Hurston’s play Spunk languished in the Library of Congress until being rediscovered in 1997.  The creative team at the Yale Repertory Theatre, where the play is receiving a joyful, rousing production through October 25, spent the last four years working to bring the show to life.  For example, there is no music included within the script so Nehemiah Luckett, the composer and music supervisor for Spunk, needed to write compositions to emulate the spirituals and folk songs of the time.   

J. Quinton Johnson and Kimber Elayne Sprawl (foreground) with Isaiah Reynolds, Alaman Diadhiou, and Mikey Corey Hassel in a scene from Zora Neale Hurston’s Spunk. Photo by Joan Marcus.

 

The result is a stirring production, a play, with dozens of songs, pulsating choreography, and a love story set in the deep, rural south where segregation is in full swing.

 

The story takes place in the mid-1920’s in a small, fictional town in central Florida.  The plot revolves around Spunk, a handsome, charismatic, guitar-playing young man who comes upon the small town.  At a gathering of townsfolk, amongst the merriment, dancing, and drinking, Spunk eyes a woman, Evalina, and is smitten.  It doesn’t matter to him that she is married.  They take up together in total bliss, until her husband, Jim Bishop, steps in to put an end to their public affair.  Matters take an ominous turn, which threatens Spunk and Evalina’s relationship, but, in the end, through various trials and tribulations, they come together for a somewhat inconclusive ending.

 

Jeannette Bayardelle, Correy West, Janiah-Camile François, Tyler Clarke, and Matthew Elijah Webb. Photo by Joan Marcus in a scene from Zora Neale Hurston’s Spunk. Photo by Joan Marcus.

Hurston, an author, playwright, and ethnomusicologist, used her fieldwork to, as stated in the program notes, “document the music and oral traditions of Black communities…”. She has taken this research to craft a work “of elders and young folks, fun-loving and bitter, superstitious, ornery, gossipy, brave and scared, none of them angels and no cartoon villains.”  Community is key in Spunk.

 

The superlative cast, under the skillful direction of Tamilla Woodard and choreographer nicHi Douglas’ vibrant, naturalistic dance numbers, work as a highly satisfying ensemble.  Ms. Woodward deftly weaves the action, dance, and song into a seamless whole.  The result is a down-to-earth milieu full of humor, drama, and passion.

J. Quinton Johnson, Shawn Bowers, Correy West, Alaman Diadhiou, and Matthew Elijah Webb in a scene from Zora Neale Hurston’s Spunk.  Photo by Joan Marcus.

 

Spunk is led by J. Quinton Johnson as the title character.  He has a magnetism and allure that captivates.  He brings an intensity layered with a breezy persona to the role.  The actor is also an accomplished musician.  Kimber Elayne Sprawl’s imbues Evalina, a lithe woman, with an assortment of moods and emotions as she moves from her troubled marriage to Jim Bishop to a harmonious connection with Spunk.  Each of the featured performers are noteworthy, but three that stood out were Jeannette Bayardell as the no-nonsense Mrs. Watson.  The actress also boasts a powerful singing voice.  Correy West brings comic chops to the role of Oral, and Alaman Diadhiou displays slick dance moves as Blue Trout.

Kimber Elayne Sprawl and J. Quinton Johnson in a scene from Zora Neale Hurston's Spunk.  Photo by Joan Marcus.

 

The sets by Scenic Designer Karen Loewy Movilla are minimally conceived, but along with Lighting Designer Gib Gibney’s sometimes luminous color palette, provide a striking backdrop to the production.  The outfits created by Costume Designer Kristen Taylor are practical, durable, and appropriate for the time-period.  Special mention goes to Nehemiah Luckett, whose varied musical work on the production is invaluable in making the show come to life.

 

Spunk, playing at the Yale Repertory Theatre through October 25.  Click here for dates, times, and ticket information.

Rope - Hartford Stage

In the classic TV detective series, Columbo, the crime, usually a murder, takes place within the first few minutes of the episode.  The fun was watching Peter Falk as Lieutenant Columbo of the Los Angeles Police Department then solve the crime.

 

In the world-premiere of Rope, receiving a tantalizing production at Hartford Stage, the same principle applies.  Here, there is no detective hot on the trail of the culprits, but the set-up is the same – right from the start there is a murder, we know the perpetrators, and we know the method.  The audience just settles back to witness how justice will prevail.

The cast of Rope.  Photo by T. Charles Erickson.

 

Playwright Jeffrey Hatcher has slimmed down Patrick Hamilton’s 1929 play Rope’s End, into a taut, 90-minute, intermission-less cat and mouse game.  Hatcher has spiced up the show with witty repartee and humorous moments, which are coupled with the unease and tension within the production.  All the action takes place in Scenic Designer Riw Rakkulchon’s sumptuously adorned London apartment, with its floor to ceiling bookshelves and sizeable picture window, dead center.

 

The premise for Rope, which audience members may remember as an Alfred Hitchcock film, is based on the 1924 Leopold and Loeb “crime-of-the-century,” where two University of Chicago students sought to commit the perfect crime.  As stated in the program notes, the pair were “inspired by [the philosopher] Nietzsche’s concept of the ubermensch (superman), believing themselves to be above the law…[and they] viewed their crime as an intellectual exercise in implementing Nietzsche’s philosophy.”

The cast of Rope.  Photo by T. Charles Erickson.

 

At the start of Rope, we observe Brandon (Daniel Neale), a narcissistic, intellectual, uber male, and his weaker-willed, live-in partner, Lewis (Ephraim Birney), gazing into an open chest, which holds the body of their murdered friend Ronald.  Brandon, especially, relishes the cold-hearted act in what he describes as the perfect crime.  Lewis is not as demonstrative over their deed.  As part of their plan, a small party with people close to Ronald, has been planned and one-by-one they arrive.  There is the victim’s father, Mr. Kentley (James Riordan); his son’s fiancée, Meriel (Fiona Robberson); and best friend, Kenneth (Nick Saxton).  Also joining the soiree is Rupert Cadell (Mark Benningofen), a retired instructor from the boarding school attended by Brandon, Lewis, and Ronald.  A logical, intelligent, but dour individual, he is also a successful mystery novelist.

Mark Benninghofen and Daniel Neale in Rope. Photo by T. Charles Erickson.

As the evening progresses, parlor talk of murder makes the rounds.  Clues about the evil deed begin to surface as the play slowly, but steadily, proceeds to its theatrical conclusion.

 

The tension on the stage is palatable and Director Melia Bensussen slowly ramps up the anxiety level throughout the production.  She moves the characters around the set like a chess master plotting a surprising strike.  The Director infuses the show with Lighting Designer Mary Louise Geiger’s atmospheric lighting and Sound Designer Jane Shaw’s effectively timed thumping noises, thunderous claps, and the incessant ringing of a telephone.  Costume Designer Risa Ando’s adds a dash of realism with her refined period outfits.

Daniel Neale, Fiona Robberson, and James Riordan in Rope. Photo by T. Charles Erickson.

The cast is first-rate, led by Daniel Neale’s Brandon.  The actor exudes a smugness that is infuriating.  He is flamboyant and pretentious with an edgy, socio-pathic streak.  As Rupert, Mark Benningofen is the perfect intellectual rival for Daniel as the two engage in an entertaining battle of wits.  The performer imbues his character with a more muted showiness that moves from deferential empathy to horror.  Ephraim Birney, the most sympathetic character on-stage, infuses Lewis with a heightened level of doubt and uncertainty as the play propels to its climax.  James Riordan delivers an unruffled and suitably upper-class performance as the doomed boy’s father.  Fiona Robberson gives an effervescent air to the role of Meriel, while Nick Saxton comfortably suffuses Kenneth with surprise and bewilderment in the midst of murder.

 

Rope, playing at Hartford Stage through November 2.  Click here for dates, times, and ticket information.

ART - Broadway

The play ART involves a very expensive white painting.  Yet, is it truly white?  This is the question that propels the revival of Yasmina Reza’s often funny but, in the end, somewhat disappointing play.  The show explores issues of modern art and, most importantly, the very nature of friendship.

Serge (Neil Patrick Harris), a well-heeled dermatologist who fancies himself as an art collector, has just purchased a $300K “white painting” by an important modern artist.  His best friend, Marc (Bobby Cannavale), an opinionated and pompous aeronautical engineer, is horrified because he believes it is a huge waste of money.  But he also sees it as a direct attack on their relationship and his personal integrity.  Enter their mutual friend Yvan (James Corden), a simple man with his own baggage, who attempts to appease Serge and Marc, but just makes matters worse.

As the show progresses, all three protagonists slowly, and quite harshly, peel back the layers of their relationship, burrowing down to the very core of their friendship.  It isn’t pretty. 

The play is framed by the interactions on stage, but also asides to the audience.  This theatrical device, used judiciously, provides exposition and provokes a good share of laughs.  All three actors work as a well-tuned ensemble, their bold personalities punctuating their performances.

Reza’s script, like her other Tony Award-winning work, God of Carnage, can be convulsively funny.  The action takes place, primarily, in the almost antiseptic living room, crafted by Scenic Designer David Rockwell, of Serge’s apartment.  Director Scott Ellis astutely allows these three veteran stage performers to stretch their comedic muscles.  He utilizes pauses and facial expressions to tease out the humor in the show.  Bobby Cannavale’s evil laugh always had me in stitches.  Conversely, when the opportunity presents itself, Ellis wisely goes for a rapid-fire delivery of the dialogue as witnessed by James Corden’s breathless meltdown monologue.

My main issue with ART is as it hurdles to its conclusion, there seems to be no room for the three friends to maneuver around the quagmire they have created for themselves.  The banter devolves to such a level of ruthlessness and cruelty that there is no turning back.  However, in the end, Reza allows for each character to save face.  Good for them, but for me, it lacks credibility.  

ART, playing at the Music Box Theatre on Broadway through December 21, 2025.

Incident at Our Lady of Perpetual Help - Ivoryton Playhouse

The show, Incident at Our Lady of Perpetual Help, plays like a run-of-the-mill sitcom episode from the 1970s or 80s.  The slice-of-life work by playwright Katie Forgette focuses on the O’Shea family, an Irish-Catholic household with an irascible father, Mike (Rod Brogan); an overworked mother, Jo (Amber Quick); her sister Terri (Rebecka Jones); and daughters Linda (Autumn Eliza Sheffy) and Becky (Maggie Hamel).  There is also the voice of Mike’s irritating, semi-invalid mother; a dogmatic priest; and a busybody neighbor, both portrayed by Mr. Brogan. The show, as explained by the older daughter, Linda, is a memory play about family – the good, the bad, and the inane.  She is about to embark on a scholarship to graduate school at Stanford.  Or so she thinks as family drama takes hold of the domicile.  The driving force within the play is the womanly issues involving puberty. 

Ms. Forgette employs narration by the characters and the continuous breaking of the 4^th wall to convey exposition and emotions.  Used selectively, these theatrical devices can enhance a production, but there is too much of a reliance on them in the production.  

Incident at Our Lady of Perpetual Help can be funny at times, and there are a few twists and turns to keep the audience diverted.  The playwright imbues the script with numerous references to the era, including Bob Dylan, Richard Nixon and Marlo Thomas of the TV show That Girl.

Director Jacqui Hubbard utilizes Scenic Designer Starlet Jacobs’ suitable frumpy, 1970’s kitchen/living room set to full advantage, as the cast bustles around the stage busying themselves.  She keeps the performers engaged with schtick and exploits heightened facial expressions and over-the-top portrayals to tease out comedic moments. 

The cast is pleasing, game for the carryings-on infused within the work, and the blithe direction by Ms. Hubbard.  Rod Brogan is fine as the petulant Mike, who bellows about the sink’s food disposal unit and the jiggling of the upstairs toilet handle.  As Father Lovett, he is suitably self-important.  His portrayal of Betty is somewhat overblown.  Amber Quick’s depiction of the harried Jo is the most nuanced of the characters.  Rebecka Jones provides Terri with worldliness and gumption.  Autumn Eliza Sheffy’s Linda is full of spirit and spunk, while Maggie Hamel’s Becky provides the best horror-struck moments of the play. 

Incident at Our Lady of Perpetual Help, playing at the Ivoryton Playhouse through October 26.  Click here for dates, times, and ticket information.

English - TheaterWorks Hartford

TheaterWorks Hartford celebrates its 40^th season with a superb production of English, the 2023 Pulitzer Prize-winning play by Sanaz Toossi.  The show takes place in an advanced TOEFL (Test of English as a Foreign Language) class.  Four students, of different ages and goals, seek to master the English language by passing the TOEFL test.  The play adeptly explores issues of language on cultural identity and self-worth.

 

Pantea Ommi, Anahita Monfared, Sahar Milani, and Afsheen Misaghi in English.  Photo by Curtis Brown.

The quartet of students, circa Iran in 2008, are under the tutelage of Marjan (Neagheen Homaifar), a demanding, yet sympathetic instructor.   They are Elham (Sahar Milani), a driven individual looking to score high on the TOEFL to fulfill her dream of becoming a doctor; Goli (Anahita Monfared), an enthusiastic 18-year-old student; Omid (Afsheen Misaghi), whose is already quite proficient in English and seeking his green card; and Roya (Pantea Ommi), a grandmother who wants to become competent in English to be able to communicate with her grandchild living in Canada.

 

Pantea Ommi and Sahar Milani in English.  Photo by Curtis Brown.

Through multiple blackout scenes, designating the passage of time, Ms. Toossi is able to reveal each of the characters’ difficulties as they progress through the course and, hopefully, achieve their objective – passing the TOEFL.  The playwright has cleverly created a system for communicating the character’s thoughts in both their native tongue and English.  When they speak in an unaccented tone, this connotes their native tongue of Farsi.  Accented English implies their communication in English.  In just a short time, and without any unnecessary exposition, the audience understands the playwright’s device.

 

As the 95-minute, intermission-less show progresses, conflicts, both personal and within the classroom, arise.  The end is a satisfying mix of success and sadness.  Additionally, audiences will leave TheaterWorks Hartford ruminating on the questions posed and situations presented – the mark of an inspired production.

 

Neagheen Homaifar and Afsheen Misaghi in English.  Photo by Curtis Brown.

Director Arya Shahi has molded the cast into a first-rate ensemble.  He doesn’t clutter the play with a lot of unnecessary bustling about, but allows the words and simple acts to take center stage.  Working with Sadra Tehrani’s simple classroom Set Design and Mary Ellen Stebbins’ institutional Lighting Design, the director effectively brings out the humor, honesty, and solemnity in Sanaz Toossi’s well-crafted script.

 

Each character is well-defined, bestowed with multiple layers by the playwright.  The only misstep is with the character of Omid.  His motivations for taking the course are not satisfactorily presented, even though his character does add a romantic twist to the show.

 

English, playing at TheaterWorks Hartford through November 8.  Click here for dates, times, and ticket information.

Lucky Stiff - Seven Angels Theatre

Seven Angels theatre deserves plaudits for staging the little-known musical, Lucky Stiff, the first work by the composing team of Lynn Ahrens and Stephen Flaherty (Ragtime, Anastasia, Seussical).  This is the first show under the new leadership team of Constantine Pappas (Artistic Director) and Craig David Rosen (Managing Director) since the retirement of the theater’s founder and long-time Artistic Director, Semina DeLaurentis.

Hailey Aviva, Jonah King, Jonathan Zalaski, Abby McGough, Constantine Pappas in Lucky Stiff.

 

The musical, a non-stop comedic romp of fun and delight, is an unsteady production.  The story, based on the novel, The Man Who Broke the Bank at Monte Carlo, concerns Harry Witherspoon, an unhappy shoe salesman, who suddenly inherits $6 million from his uncle.  The catch - he must tour his uncle's embalmed body around Monte Carlo for his “last vacation” and pass him off as alive to claim the fortune. If he fails, the money goes to the Universal Dog Home of Brooklyn. Book writer Ahrens has taken the novel’s elaborate plot points and crafted a show that hardly takes time for a breath.  The musical, filled with mistaken identities, tangled affairs, and frantic efforts by characters to hide their secrets, humorously follows Witherspoon and his nemesis from the Dog Home, Annabel Glick, race around the French Riviera.  Complicating their undertaking is one Rita La Porta, who also has her sights on the $6 million.

 

Savannah Stevenson, Paul Rescigno, Constantine Pappas, Molly Mode in Lucky Stiff.

The lyrics and music by Ahrens and Flaherty are full of comedic gems and tuneful numbers.  Their work here provides insight into the scores for their latter and more successful shows.  Highlights include “Mr. Witherspoon’s Friday Night,” “Good to be Alive,” “Speaking French,” and “Times Like This.”

Zayaz Da Camara, Constantine Pappas in Lucky Stiff.

 

While Director/Choreographer Robert Mintz has helmed previous productions of Lucky Stiff, the show at Seven Angels, while, overall, entertaining is not as fast paced or frenetic as one would hope.  The primary set by Scenic Designer David Goldstein is rudimentary – stairs and a sheeted backdrop.  Other production values are simple – an actor holding a cut-out plane or train on a stick to simulate that mode of travel – and could have been more robust. 

Constantine Pappas in Lucky Stiff.

 

The two lead performers  - Constantine Pappas as Harry Witherspoon and Molly Model as Annabel Glick – are an enjoyable team to watch and have a very satisfactory rapport.  They tackle their respective roles with gusto and comedic chops.  Savannah Stevenson, who was marvelous as Grace Farrell in the Sharon Playhouse production of Annie this past summer, is not as sure-footed as the myopic Rita La Porta.  Paul Rescigno, Rita’s mild-mannered brother Vinnie DiRuzzio, is properly agitated and disconcerted with his sister’s hijinks, but is sometimes too over-the-top in the role.

 

Lucky Stiff, playing at Seven Angels Theatre in Waterbury through October 12.  Click here for dates, times, and ticket information.