The American Repertory Theater’s spring festival, America: Boom, Bust and Baseball, presented it’s second offering at the Loeb Drama Center this week.  Falling under the label “Bust”, Clifford Odet’s Paradise Lost is a pithy tale of loss in the wake of the Great Depression which has some startling, and at times disturbing similarities to our current economic climate.

I’m used to the A.R.T. offering cutting edge, rapturous opuses, going just a little bit farther than other playhouses in Boston to give the audience something more, but this production of Paradise Lost, directed by Daniel Fish,  gave 3.5 long hours of dull dialog and confusing, shaky staging.  It was hard to really focus on any one character or story because it felt like the author just dumped a bucket of story lines on the floor and left the director to try to piece it together lyrically in a way that makes sense, and that keeps the audience engaged.

Fifteen minutes into an extremely dense and nonsensical opening act, both of the people sitting to my right were fast asleep.  They left after the first of two intermissions, along with about six other people around me.  I can’t really say that I blamed them- I could barely keep my eyes open myself.  I’m glad that I stuck it out though, because while the first act did drag considerably, the actors did help to liven up the story in the second and third acts, just barely keeping my attention.

There just wasn’t anything going on in the piece that I cared about.  The characters were underdeveloped and there were far too many to keep track of, though they all seemed to live in the same house even though that fact was unclear and didn’t ever get around to being explained.  As the story unraveled and we collected more tidbits about the characters and how they are related, I was less engaged and more annoyed that I had invested my mind into characters that I didn’t care about, respect, or understand.  On the heels of the spectacularly character driven Gatz, Paradise Lost was especially disappointing.

Despite my obvious criticism of the play choice, and the lack of what I consider to be a firm directorial standpoint, the actors and actresses worked their hardest to give their character’s life, some succeeding better than others.  I enjoyed the sharp tongue and good timing of Michael Rudko in his portrayal of Mr. Pike the furnace man, and T. Ryder Smith was very good as both the demonic Mr. May and younger son Julie (though it was sort of difficult for me to buy that he was the younger brother, he looks like he’s about twice the age of Hale Appleman who played his older brother, Ben).  Ryder had the great instincts of a veteran performer which made him extremely interesting to watch, even after the character’s personal tragedies limited his range of motion in the third act.  Sally Wingert also had some very nice moments as Clara, family matriarch.  In fact, she best embodied the physical and emotional characteristics of the time period.

Another thing that I found both puzzling and ultimately distracting, was the choice to include modern clothing and technology into the show.  While I understand that the audience was meant to see the parallel between the late 1930’s and today, I think we could have figured it out on our own without the Casio keyboard, the POD storage unit,  and the Enron t-shirt.

I wanted a lot more from Paradise Lost than I got.  The show did live up to its claim that it was a “bust”, though unfortunately I do not think it was in the way it was intended to.

Interesting projections made us see the cast in a different light- literally.

After Brian Tuttle and 11:11 Theatre Company’s holiday season offering, The Three (Un)Wise Men, I was apprehensive about my trip to The Factory Theatre for Tuttle’s newest tale, Foreverendia.  The Three (Un)Wise Men wasn’t a BAD show, in fact, I gave it a pretty good overall review, but it wasn’t a pithy thing, and it relied a lot more on one-liners and goofy stage business than it did on good solid writing.  I was terrified when I read the description of Foreverendia as I noted it was going to be told from a children’s perspective and had a bit of a coming-of-age feel to it.  Would it be too lascivious?  Would it lack sensitivity?  Would I end up feeling like I was watching a bunch of grown-ups running around pretending to be parodies of little kids?  No.  No, no, and no.  In fact.  Tuttle and his skeleton crew of a production team, paired with six refined actors, produced one of the most tender and thoughtful pieces I have seen in 2010.

Foreverendia opened with a bare stage that was quickly turned into a playful wonderland with umbrellas, blankets, pillows and paper stars.  Stuffed animals, gadgets, ladders and coat stands filled in for furniture and props.  The colorful landscape included mountains, forests, rivers and desert, exactly as a pre-teen would imagine it.  The audience is quickly introduced to Nim and Bailey, two girls who have escaped their homes through the chimney after an unexpected snow storm covers the land.  The girls bond on the rooftop and promise to be friends, in the sweet and innocent way that children do, by agreeing to it as if they were trading toys, not emotions.  The pair are joined by young Lawrence, and mysterious, ageless Babbles and spend many days and nights trading the reality of their home-lives for the comfort and adventure of Foreverendia.  Like all good fantasies, though, their bliss is only short lived, as their parent’s flaws and shortcomings creep into the make-believe until facing them is unavoidable.  The tragic result of this climax caught me completely off guard, and definitely brought a tear to my eye.

The excellent cast played their characters with wit and sensitivity.  From softly innocent Bailey, played with spot-on clarity by Louise Hamill, to adventurous and troubled Nim, who Robyn Linden embodied with an extraordinary sparkle of youth and creativity, to sensitive and shy Lawrence, the humble everyman played perfectly by Evan Quinlan and impish Babbles who Noah Tobin characterized fully, from playful voice to joyful, dance-like movement.  The quartet could not have been better suited for each other and had both good timing and good chemistry.  Each one of the audience members could identify themselves or their loved ones in the youthful intentions of the characters.  I was touched by each.  Lizette M. Morris and Renee Donlon had the incredibly difficult task of playing adults in this fantasy world, and each brought a wonderful and sophisticated treatment to their role.  I loved both women’s different manifestations of adulthood.

As a world premiere, Tuttle should be proud of how touching and lyrical Foreverendia was as a whole.  My faith has been completely affirmed by him as a playwright.  Of course, with any premiere, there are kinks to work out, the end of act one, scene, for example, was slow and could easily be cut down to a more exciting and dramatic conclusion of the act, and the length, in general, of a lot of the scenes, could use a trim.  And while I enjoyed the Pan-like whimsy of Babbles, I didn’t quite get who he was and how he was connected to the children- he seemed to be ageless (he never wore shoes) and never spoke of his parents.  I wanted to know more about him- or perhaps less.  It was so exciting to get to talk about this show with my companion after the performance.  We had a lot to say; the mark, I would argue, of a great show.  One last thing, a thousand compliments to Erin Murray for her absolutely beautiful sound design for the show.  The evocative, eerie melodies were a thing of beauty and made this production complete.  Bravo, 11:11.

True love’s first kiss?

The Zeitgeist Stage Company has yet again transformed the intimate BCA Black Box into a unique playing space for their winter production, Alan Ayckbourn’s Private Fears in Public Places.  Part apartment, part office, part hotel bar, the thrust-style space is fully explored by the actors, hiding and highlighting different interactions for different areas in the audience.  It only heightened the sense of mystery we felt as the character’s stories and relationships unfold around us.

Private Fears in Public Places is a brief slice of life that follows six lonely souls as they strive to make connections with the world around them- not realizing how interconnected they already are.  Running throughout their stories is a vein of darkness that may keep them from achieving their dreams. Not your typical love and loss story, the show isn’t always clear about who we should believe.  Does sullen Dan, on the verge of serious alcoholism, drink from fear of failure or to escape from a loveless relationship?  Does sweet and innocent Charlotte plot sexual games with her friends and coworkers to keep her entertained or is she reaching out in desperation for help from a crushing addiction?  Is soft-spoken, mild mannered Ambrose hiding a life of homosexuality from his ailing father or merely focusing his attention on his work to hide his fear of losing him?  No real answers are ever given in this one act play, set up in short vignettes, giving the audience bursts of story that take us right to the edge of comprehension before swinging us right back into the blurred confusion of their solitary and tragic lives.

Zeitgeist’s cast of six include company regulars, Michael Steven Costello, Christine Power, Bill Salem, Becca A. Lewis, and Robert Bonotto, and introduced newcomer Shelley Brown.  Bonotto’s pained and nervous depiction of Stewart was excellent, as was Brown’s heartbreaking portrayal of a lonely spinster looking for love in the personal ads. They were both at home on the stage and had an eerily comfortable family dynamic.  I enjoyed Power and Costello’s chemistry as Dan and Nicola, as well as the fun and funny bar scene that Brown and Costello shared.  Salem’s sensitive treatment of Ambrose was a fresh breath after the heavy and intense scenes surrounding him.  The knockout performance of the night came from Lewis in her interpretation of Charlotte.  Besides her spot-on British accent (the hands down best in the cast), her stage presence was spectacular.  You could not help but look at her even when she was not the focus of the scene.  While I credit the playwright with giving her the most provocative character, I credit Lewis for her nuance.  The performers were, overall, solid and committed, and I enjoyed them as a unit as well as individually.

I’m not quite sure, though, if I enjoyed the production as a whole.  Ayckbourn’s script leaves a lot of questions unanswered and doesn’t lay the foundation for the audience to fill in the answers on their own.  Director David J. Miller chose to include the use of British accents for the whole cast (the show was originally produced in the UK) but the cast could only pull this off with varying degrees of expertise, which continuously pulled me out of the story.  Though it was technically sound and the actors and actresses gave clean and thoughtful performances, it lacked the wow factor that I have come to expect from Zeitgeist productions. Overall a solid, but not spectacular, production.

Bill Salem and Michael Steven Costello Photo by Richard Hall/Silverline Images

I like to believe that I was well suited to review The Company Theater’s production of The 25^th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee.  I have a particular love for words.  One might describe me as sesquipedalian.  One of my favorite words is even a song title from the show (Weltanschauung).  Some may say I go too far in my quest to proliferate a plethora of vocabulary.  So a musical about a group of children who, too, have an affinity, or at least tenacity, for words sounds right up my alley.

The music of William Finn, a personal favorite of mine, resonated with the dissonance, desire, and despondency of children under pressure.  This is a story of a bunch of quirky kids with spelling skills and their quirky parents with neuroses.  Adolescence is a difficult time, particularly when one is brilliant.  This show evoked the poetic patheticalness of promise in the pediatric.   Each character was defined as brilliant, love-able, a little vulnerable, and severely over looked.

Each cast member shone in their role and contributed to a cohesive ensemble unit.  I hardly know where or who with to begin.  Darren Bunch, as Chip Tolentino/Jesus really demonstrated talent and commitment beyond his years.  A baby face indeed, but I certainly would not have pegged him as a high school senior judging by his performance.  Though he sang well the entire show, Bunch was most impressive singing the big notes of the big finish of “Chip’s Lament”.  Sarah Belliveau’s performance snuck up on me.  The taciturn nature of Marcy Park did not impede on Belliveau’s presence or impact.  With a contained but energized intensity Belliveau’s portrayal of Park exploded in her performance of “I Speak Six Languages”.  Singing pristinely Colleen McDonough tiptoed her way into the audience’s heart as the juvenile heroine.  McDonough’s performance was captivating and touching.  She really owned the role, earning the sympathy of the audience without playing the victim, as I imagine could be easy to do with the part. McDounough certainly displayed strength of character in characterization of a dejected little girl.

The stand out performer of the evening was positively Paula Markowicz.  As Rona Lisa Perreti and Olive’s Mom, Markowicz lit up the entire space with her presence. Markowicz played her roles with fervor and frivolity.  While watching her in and of itself was a joy, it was her vocal performance that captured me most.  Never a note strained, never a note missed, her vocal production was a crystal clear warm bath.  When she opened her mouth the audience was enraptured in her ethereal sound; an effect that Markowicz consistently had through out this performance as well as in performances of past productions that I’ve had the joy of seeing.  Over the years she has certainly engendered in me somewhat of a groupie.

The expectation was high for this show.  I am a fan of the piece itself, and have come to expect the utmost from The Company Theatre. The cast of nine, lead by Director Nathan Fogg and Music Director Michael Joseph electrified this pithy and priceless piece. I don’t think I have ever laughed so hard, or heard an audience laugh so hard as last night in the stadium seats on Accord Park Drive in Norwell.  The Company Theatre’s production of The 25^th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee was absolutely hilarious.  They have set the bar high for themselves as well as the region in production and performance quality over the past 30 years.  As per usual, The Company Theatre has demonstrated their stamina for producing artistic, tasteful, and just plain good work.

McDounough and Markowicz share a mother/daughter moment.

The Boston Opera Collaborative was at its most spectacular this past weekend with their production of A Little Night Music, Stephen Sondheim’s charming and funny tale of love across generations.  The show is a favorite of opera companies for its musical intricacies and a favorite of audience members for its clever dialog, witty puns and fun music.  One need not know me that well to know that I am not a fan of Sondheim in general, regardless of his status as the grandfather of musical theatre, but I have a soft spot in my heart for A Little Night Music.  To me, the show represents a time when Sondheim wasn’t trying too hard to be discordant and complicated- and was focused on good storytelling and interesting music instead.  I was really looking forward to BOC’s production, having had my interest piqued during their production of The Crucible this past fall.  This production though, blew The Crucible out of the water and across the seas.  It was a delight from light’s up to curtain call.

The simple stage dressings and carefully thought-out lighting (by Julia Noulin-Mérat and Chris Brusberg respectively) were the perfect compliment to the simple yet elegant costumes by Rebecca Landau.  I love the unfussy way the stage was set, and the thoughtful way that director, David Gram used the space to compliment its assets and downplay its flaws.  Even the running up and down the aisles wasn’t as annoying as I usually find that sort of thing to be (though I could have done without the slamming doors- a piece of gaff tape would have done the trick).  There was a little bit of a volume problem with the bulk of the “chorus”, but I found the principles to be confident and present throughout the production.

Stephanie Piraino as Anne Egerman was captivating, with a light and crystal tone that instantly endeared the audience to her.  The trio she shares with Fredrick and Henrick, “Soon”, was the best I have ever heard it (and I was far more looking forward to it than to the more famous “Send in the Clowns” in the second act.)  Kristina Riegle was a statuesque beauty with a delicate and sophisticated voice and beautiful presence.  Her portrayal of Desiree Armfeldt was exactly as I would have envisioned her.  Ellen PutneyMoore was a wonderful Mme Armfeldt, causing bubbles of infectious laughter to burst across the audience with her every line.  She was extremely believable as an older woman; in fact, seeing her treatment of the character up against Meena Malik’s depiction of young Frederika Armfeldt was particularly impressive- the two really did seem to be several generations apart.  Katrina Holden and Brandon Cordeiro were a dramatic pair as the Count and Countess Malcom.  They both had strong voices with excellent characterization.  I loved seeing their interactions.  The knock-out, inspired performance of the night, though, goes to the incomparable Keith Potts as Henrik Egerman.  I almost fell out of my chair when I read that he is only in his sophomore year of studies because he was fantastic.  Besides his spirited cello work in the first act (extremely sexy, I might add) his voice was wonderful, and his acting was nuanced and full to the brim with emotion.  His angry outburst at the beginning of the second act was the highlight of the show.  There is not a question in my mind that Potts has a great career on the stage ahead of him.  I would have paid to see him perform alone, but luckily I didn’t have to, because the whole cast complimented each other, making the show feel even more polished and professional.

I must commend directors David Gram (stage) and Emily Hindrichs (music) for this production.  Rather than trying to wow the audience with flashy mechanics or modern marvels, the pair focused on clear and controlled character choices, and thoughtful comic timing to deliver the story.   There was never a moment where I thought, “why is this happening this way,” (a problem I had with The Crucible) because at every moment the directors thought about giving the best presentation of the story that they could, even when that meant a simpler or more traditional choice in staging or music.  I was so impressed and delighted.

My colleague, who did the review of BOC’s The Crucible, warned OperaBoston and BLO to “watch out” for Boston Opera Collaborative, and I have to echo his sentiments.  If this is the future of Opera in Boston, sign me up.

The excellent Samuel Bowen and Kristina Riegle share an intimate moment.

If you are looking for a family-friendly theatrical experience to help combat those winter blues, Wheelock Family Theatre’s production of Honk!, a plucky little retelling of the Ugly Duckling by Drewe and Stiles is an absolute winner. Packed full to the brim with theatrics that would appeal to the 5-10 year-old crowd, this production is not shy on the sparkle, or on the spectacle.

What a treat it was for this weathered twenty-something to be amongst a crowd of audience members who were primarily born after I graduated from high school.  As I looked around me, I felt the primal joy that the mystery of live theatre holds over the young, and I must say it is infectious.  WFT prides itself on its inclusion, and there is no question that this is something they should be proud of.  The curtain speech welcomed a girl scout troupe, and celebrated two birthdays before giving way to a cast that varied in age from homeroom to nursing home, and contained every color of the genetic rainbow.  Not only was it a guarantee that you will see someone on the stage that looks like you, but also you’d recognize your teacher, your neighbor, and your grandmother!  On top of that, two Teleprompters flank the stage, furthering the sense of communion by including those with hearing impairments (unfortunately, though, this lead to a very close scrutiny of the lines being spoken on stage, and the disparities between the two texts).

The audience was absolutely astonished of the beautifully polished production.  Dustin Todd Rennells costumes were clever and colorful and Matthew T. Lazure’s set design was inspired (the fantastic “nest” was the pièce de résistance!) The performers had great timing and a natural stage presence that captured the audience entirely- not an easy feat given the age range.  Cheo Bourne absolutely stole the show as “Ugly”.  Though he played the character a little “young” for my taste, his voice and acting were impeccable.  I couldn’t imagine another person for the role.  Aimee Doherty’s mature voice sounded excellent in her matronly role of “Ida”.  Jamie Montesano was perfectly cast a “Queenie” and gave one of the most nuanced performances- bringing just a hint of naughty into the otherwise sexless production.  I also loved Monica Moran as Penny.  Though her part was small, her voice resonated like a fairytale princess and she had the looks of an ingénue to back it up.  What a beautiful swan!  Also, I want to give a special shout out to the wonderful Emily Pinto who played “Fluff” one of Ugly’s duckling sisters.  She had a gorgeous, strong, voice and a great little attitude to match.  She’s a natural to the stage and I look forward to seeing her star rise in the Boston area.  Great job, Emily.

What you won’t find in this Wheelock Family Theatre production is innovation from director Jane Staab.  It is fortunate for Staab that her target audience is in grade school, because I have yet to see an original or thought-provoking staging of anything she has ever directed.  Staab’s canned choreography was so predictable, that I was able to lean over to my companion and say, “Kick line coming up.  Soon will be the dance circle.  Just about now the cast is going to run into the aisles,” and I was correct every time.  Minus the flying, is was pretty much exactly the same staging I saw in WTF’s production of Peter Pan.  Of course, one might argue that the retention of a five year old would lead Staab to not have to work so hard with coming up with original direction, but that just leaves a sour taste in my mouth.  I think no matter the age, the audience deserves to see a show that has been carefully crafted from start to finish, and while many of the crew members for this production of Honk! gave it their all, Staab gave me pretty much the same thing I have seen half a dozen other times from her.

I cannot end my review on a down note though, because it is really important for me to reiterate how glad I am that there are companies like WFT tailoring their productions for a new generation.  The earlier we can hook our children into the importance of theatre, the more likely they will be able to stand up for themselves during the inevitable cuts made to arts education across our state and across the Nation.  Honk! is going to be around for the rest of the month- bring your kids!!

Bourne and Doherty share an adventure.

The story of The Rheingold Curse comes from a long tradition of Viking myths that deal with family values, greed and lust- subjects that still relate to so much in our lives today. The vikings had a nomadic aural tradition which has been almost completely absent for hundreds of years. Sequentia made the massive effort to revive these medieval myths in order to uncover the original context for the stories.  It was an ambitious task to take on and one that could be very fruitful if completed well. I applaud their efforts and am glad to have seen the fruits of their labor.

Benjamin Bagby, the director of Sequentia, was the true highlight of this piece. His persona, understanding of the text, and part he played gave him an uncanny ability to speak to the audience. There was not one person in attendance that could not watch and listen to him without understanding his purpose. He embodied a traveling bard of old that I could imagine being familiar to drunken men and women of the medieval era (imagine a drinking lodge in 800 CE). Agnethe Christensen personified Brynhild victoriously, and I loved her warrior-like wooden shoes! Lena Susanne Norin made my night complete as Gudrun who truly takes the story home in the end. The audience had an audible gasp when they realized her character’s actions in the final scene.

The music itself was very intriguing. My companion says he’s never seen or heard anything like it before, though he wasn’t sure if that was a good thing. The words were in Icelandic, which when sung, startled us as it sounded exactly like the Swedish Chef of Muppet Show fame. After getting over a fit of muffled laughter, I was able to enjoy the rest of the performance. I thought the instrumental orchestration was repetitive at times, but for the most part, paired with the singing, the piece was very intelligently put together. I agree with my companion, there is not much like it to be heard in the world, but I enjoyed it, if not for that reason alone.

My major problem with the evening came from the audience itself. When thinking that these stories when first performed were by traveling bards for entertainment along the roads they traveled, this venue seemed quite a bit different. I cannot imagine anyone going to see a piece like this if it cost less than $50 a ticket. (A) No one would take it seriously and (B) it would not show up on anyone’s radar as a worthwhile production. So, for $100 a ticket, the wealthy and older crowd would presume the performance to be very high brow and intellectual and therefore worthwhile of their time and money. I don’t think that was the case when a piece like this was first performed in medieval times. I believe it was for the low brow as well as high brow crowds. It was to speak to the masses, not the few. Therefore, I was not surprised to find the audience full of an older generation and also full of people who had no idea what there were about to see. They laughed when it was not appropriate, could not pay attention as I heard snoring, coughing and even talking (and about subjects other than the performance!) I was floored at their behavior! If I had been any other patron, I would’ve walked out completely.

All in all, I thank Sequentia for bringing this piece alive. It was a glimpse into the past of our musical world and with a myth that is still alive today. I leave with the simple question of why they went to all the trouble to recreate the music, but ask with whole-hearted interest and with a smile.

Bagby as Bard

I had my first taste of Bread and Puppet Theatre as a graduate student under the incomparable tutelage of Emerson College’s John Bell- a world-renowned expert in the puppetry field.  Bell infused each lecture with biting political commentary- and completely expanded my understanding of what puppetry could be and how it could be used to reach its audience.  Gone were my innocent days of seeing puppets only for their comic and educational children’s values.  Muppets and marionettes were pushed aside to make room for a wider range of puppetry experiences.  As a class assignment, I had the opportunity to volunteer for Bread and Puppet’s 2005 visit to Boston.  I was blown away by their dedication and passion.  When I heard they were returning this year to perform Tear Open The Door of Heaven, a “a pink and blue puppet show about Heaven and its effects on the Underneath,” at the Boston Center for the Arts, I was enthusiastic about attending and sharing a very unique experience with my fellow audience members.

Upon entering the Cyclorama at the B.C.A., my companion and I were greeted by the resplendent musical stylings of the Second Line Social Aid Pleasure Society Brass Band (with none of than John Bell himself on the trombone).  The audience was alive with laughter and some of them joined the Company in jubilant dancing in the playing space.  Bread and Puppet Theatre always includes a faction of volunteers from the city they are visiting, which provides two things: a guaranteed audience of friends and family, and an enthusiastic group of performers bringing good energy to the space.  Boston’s volunteers were both enthusiastic and energetic, and also had a comforting sense of familiarity about them- these are people you know, your neighbors, friends, coworkers- I even saw my old next-door neighbor in the crew!  After the music and dance, attention shifted quickly to Peter Schumann, the company’s founder, offering a thought-provoking introduction complete with scenery and props.

Tear Open The Door of Heaven is performed in six separate scenes with six dance interludes in between.  The six vignettes show a hypothetical heaven ruled by a God, his daughter, and his stepdaughter and their interaction with the earth.  The scenes range from Heaven, to a Presidential office, to a mountaintop.  The puppetry work is nothing short of masterful.  Each step is nuanced from the tilt of the head to the rotation of a heel, to create the most impact for the audience, and despite such a dedication intimate detail, the show still maintains a very organic and free-form feeling. In one touching scene, a banner of names is unfurled.  We are told that each name written represents one of the child victims of the previous year’s fighting in the Gaza strip as a group of larger-than-life puppet dancers performed an absolutely heartbreaking and beautiful tribute.

There is no question that a casual observer might find this production to be ridiculous.  People twirling and leaping around in oversized masks and yards of fabric accompanied by a cow bell and fiddle isn’t the most coherent way to express an opinion or idea- but I can say without an ounce of acrimony that it works.  I have never had a more lively political discussion with my companion than we shared after this production.  Whether the argument is that the puppetry has nothing to do with politics, or the puppetry has everything to do with politics, the open channel for discourse on the topic is clear.  You absolutely feel the need to have a dialog at the end of the production.

For the puppetry connoisseur who finds political satire hard to swallow, Bread and Puppet Theatre also performs a family-friendly show during the afternoon in their “ports of call.”  These shows celebrate puppetry in the more classic sense with messages about friendship, the environment, and working together in ways that are more palatable for a younger crowd.

A pillow made from names.

It’s a difficult thing for a reviewer when they are tasked to write a review of something that is extremely dear to them.  [title of show] captured my heart back in 2006 when I stumbled upon its brilliance at the Vineyard Theatre.  An inventive, unique little piece that taps into the heart of any person who dreams about seeing their creative hopes and dreams succeed in a world where money is the only sure bet.  As a struggling artist myself, I immediately connected with the quirky characters who reminded me so much of my own friends, and delighted in the obscure references and clever quips that were meant to endear the veteran theatergoer.  When I heard that SpeakEasy Stage Company would be mounting one of the first regional productions, I was both delighted and fearful- how would a group of actors, no matter how talented, capture the essence of a cast that are essentially playing themselves?  How could I possibly be satisfied seeing strangers in a production that I felt so intimate with?

It was with great trepidation that I entered the Calderwood Pavilion on Sunday.  I was cautiously optimistic to begin with- Speakeasy consistently provides their audience with clever, well-acted shows starring some of the best talent the area has to offer.  I was further encouraged by the fact that this particular production did not include any “Speakeasy Super Stars” or other “Famous Bostonians” because it was easier for me to believe in the actor’s ability to embody Jeff, Hunter, Susan and Heidi without already recognizing them as Zanna, Jerry Springer, Shelly Parker, or Alfie Byrne.  When I sat down and saw the “four chairs and a keyboard” waiting for the show to begin, I took a deep breath, and was ready to let Speakeasy take me for a ride into one of my all time favorite shows.

[title of show] relies a lot on the quirky chemistry of its characters to bring the warmth and vitality to the music- and Speakeasy’s darling cast was full to the brim.  Jordan Ahnquist as Jeff and Joe Lanza as Hunter were a dazzling duo- capturing the charming relationship that Jeff and Hunter share.  Ahnquist is completely adorable- and his voice is perfectly suited for the role.  At times it was difficult to watch anyone else on stage because he just had that “stage presence” that you often hear about and yet somehow cannot define.  Lanza is wonderful as well- especially toward the second half of the show where Hunter’s stress and anger really allow Lanza the opportunity to flex his acting muscles.  Though not as strong vocally, his deep understanding of the character and great physicality make him a worthy partner for Ahnquist.  Amy Barker is phenomenal as Heidi- I would actually consider her to be as good as the original, if it is possible to be as good as someone who is playing herself. Her voice is lyrical and expressive and she is an excellent character study as well, capturing Heidi’s confidence and candor.  Val Sullivan plays Susan with apprehension.  She does give a solid performance; her voice is kooky, her gestures fun- but her delivery was slow and stiff- and at times, she really sucked the energy out of the scene.  She just seemed to lack the polish of her other cast-mates.  I do give her credit though, for smoothly covering her late entrance during “Development Medley” with a clever and unapologetic smile.  That’s not easy to do, especially so early in a run.  Props as well go to Will McGarrahan, music director, who is spot on as Larry, music director!

I am, without question, one of those “Nine People” who considers this show one of their favorite things, and I knew that I would be difficult to please, so I must commend Speakeasy for putting forth a tremendously entertaining production of [title of show].  It may not star the “real” Jeff and Hunter, but I think that it would make them proud (and I hear they are coming to see the show- break a leg and congratulations!).

Val Sullivan, Joe Lanza, Jordan Ahnquist and Amy Barker

Photo:  Mark L. Saperstein.