Stage West's THE LONESOME WEST

Originally published in John Garcia's The Column

Martin McDonagh’s THE LONESOME WEST at Stage West

*REVIEWED 04/24/10 PERFORMANCE


Stage West’s THE LONESOME WEST on Saturday April 24 was a charming, witty and funny Irish comedy that left me torn between the dramatic and the jokes, probably as the playwright Martin McDonagh intended.

The play centers on two brothers, their priest and a teenage girl. ‘There's been a recent, possibly accidental shooting, in which Coleman Connor has killed his father. Now Coleman and his brother Valene are sharing their father’s house, locked in a years-old hostility which constantly threatens to escalate. Father Welsh is determined to broker some kind of peace between them, but it’s an uphill battle for a priest who is generally regarded by them with a kind of amused and tolerant contempt. Plus, Father Welsh is a tad too attached to the wicked Irish home-brew, poteen, which he gets from the flirtatious and tough local teenager, Girleen.’ (taken from Stage West’s website and promotional materials.) Add to this mix a stove, tabloids, shotgun and a collection of religious figurines and it’s a fine recipe straight from Leenane, Galway county, Ireland.

THE LONESOME WEST is full of Irish humor- both dark and satirical. The drama sneaks up on the audience- a few jabs between brothers leads to cruel acts of destruction that, for me, left me hanging between laughter and anger at the end of the night. For example, while I willingly laughed at the jokes made about murders and suicides, I just couldn’t bring myself to laugh about the poor dog whose ears were cut off. Also worthy of note is the political incorrectness - referring to blacks as darkies and a rather free wielding use of the f- word (including by the priest.) Some theatre goers might find this, along with the type of humor on sensitive subjects, offensive, but for those willing to lay that aside, it’s a play that gives a glimpse into another culture and possibly sheds some light onto our own. Plus, an Irishman can make common swear words sound like poetry to my ears with the right accent and lilt. Irish music and spirits are provided to help with this ‘laying down of inhibitions’ before the show and during intermission in the Ol’ Vic Café.

Director Jim Covault has assembled an excellent cast and guided them through a very dialogue heavy production without being stagnant in the blocking nor the energy. Each scene, though, was followed by stage hands cleaning up, moving things, or returning props to their proper places. For me, it is very jarring to have a scene followed by stagehands doing their job on the lighted stage. I’m not familiar with the play nor the space of Stage West, so I don’t know why the director chose to transition between scenes as such. All I can say, though, is for those brief moments I was reminded I was watching a play and not living a real experience. However, once they finished their business, in less than a minute, we picked up the story and continued along.

Covault also served as the set designer and co-costume designer, and in this manner was able to unify all the elements into one cohesive story. The set was the living room of the Coleman home (and for one brief scene a bench at the park), and it was clear to me Covault had done his research into typical Irish homes. It was very European in a lot of ways, and this added to its authenticity for me. It was simple but detailed enough to feel like a real home, complete with a large stone hearth, the dinning room table and an old comfy chair. The park setting was the far stage right apron and made out of a single bench and lighting in the shape of trees. No great expense or effort, and yet the mood of the lonely priest sitting there was captured instantly. The action in the home also flowed naturally between the front door and the two bedrooms. The two brothers are very violent prone and Covault enlisted the help of stunt choreographer and cast member Jakie Cabe. The choreography was very good, but on this night, the actors seemed to hesitate between each movement and the precise counts of the choreography were visible -as were the wide swings that never connected but were reacted to as if they had. A little bit faster on the execution and punches, kicks, and body slams closer to the target would help a lot. The costumes were contemporary and simple- the priest in his “uniform”, the teenage girl in her school uniform, and the two brothers alternating between funeral suits and casual cardigans. There were two minor special effects- both related to the bright orange stove moved in half way through Act I, and they worked well without overpowering the storyline.

Trey Walpole as Coleman and Jakie Cabe as Valene fulfill their roles with no hint of “acting.” Walpole is a force to be reckoned with as the big, burley older brother which stands in stark contrast (physically, vocally and emotionally) to Cabe’s appropriately whiney and petty younger brother. The emotional pain as each brother lashed out at the other was palpable, though, and it left no doubt in my mind that these actors were reaching deep within and grappling with some very true emotions. By the end of the play, though, I disliked both brothers very much because of their ultimate decisions and the revelation of their true selves. Perhaps the playwright intended it this way, or this was due to choices the actors made, I’m not sure. I just know I laughed at their on stage antics and left knowing I had seen a play with fictional characters that wanted me to think. In the end, hopefully without giving anything away, the intensity of the performance seemed to fizzle, though, as each brother made one final confession to the other, and I found myself not believing either one’s sincerity. Again, maybe I’m not suppose to, but I really wanted to, for the Priest’s sake.

Father Welsh-Walsh?-no Welsh (an ongoing joke within the play) was subtly played by Justin Flowers. He might drink a bit too much, but he has good reasons to, and Flowers never lets the amount of alcohol supposedly in his system carry his performance. Instead, he chose to let his alcoholic tendencies be a minor consideration and instead focused on the onslaught of doubt that plagued his soul. In the park bench, his hands are wrapped in bandages, but I never saw him move them stiffly or as if he were in pain, which given what had just happened seems highly unlikely. The show stopping moment, though, was Cabe’s rather lengthy monologue (roughly ten minutes) in which he made not a single gesture or movement and yet the audience was enraptured by the complexities of his voice and the feelings conveyed on his face. Add to it the absolute shock of the following scene, and it’s no surprise the audience was left a little breathless.

Meg Bauman, Girleen, was the classic Irish beauty with red hair and ivory skin, but a mouth that forced the men she dealt with almost daily to blush and stammer. She hid her school girl crush on the Priest well, but Bauman needed to strengthen her seductive ways in Act I to counteract her tenderness in Act II. For example, in the park scene, there was no difference between her kidding style and her very real, open and sharing moment. While each actor is from Texas, and therefore had to put in extensive work to master their Irish accent, Bauman seemed to struggle the most with it at times. She became a little sing songy with it, and when she broke this vocal pattern, she would momentarily loose the accent. But, it was in these moments that I really liked Girleen the most. She felt very real and raw, and the accent returned just in time to keep her Irish, too.

THE LONESOME WEST is not for everyone, but for those who enjoy a politically incorrect and darkly humorous view of an extreme version of reality, they will find exactly what they are looking for at Stage West.


Stage West presents Martin McDonagh’s THE LONESOME WEST through May 9th.

Performed at The Stage West Theatre located at 821 W. Vickery, Ft. Worth 76104. www.stagewest.org 817-784-9378


Reviewed by ASSOCIATE THEATER CRITIC, Laura L. Watson, THE COLUMN

Directed by Jim Covault
Stage Management by Peggy Kruger-O’Brien
Lighting Design by Michael O’Brien
Set Design by Jim Covault
Costume Design by Jim Covault and Peggy Kruger-O’Brien
Props/ Set Décor by Lynn Lovett
Stunt Choreography by Jakie Cabe

CAST:
COLEMAN CONNOR Trey Walpole
VALENE CONNOR Jakie Cabe
FATHER WELCH Justin Flowers
GIRLEEN KELLEHER Meg Bauman

__________________________THE LONESOME WEST_________________________
Reviewed by ASSOCIATE THEATER CRITIC, Laura L. Watson , THE COLUMN

Cinderella by Denton Community Theatre

Originally published in John Garcia's The Column.

Denton Community Theatre’s CINDERELLA on April 18 was a quaint attempt at a much beloved fairy tale that fell just short of magical. Elements of an over the top, cartoonish musical were mixed with realistic approaches which resulted in a lack luster performance and an almost magical experience.

Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein’s musical CINDERELLA, originally written for television in 1957, is the story we are all familiar with: a young girl is overworked by her stepmother and two stepsisters, but does so without complaint. Then, the handsome prince gives a ball- with the help of his mother and the sympathy of his father- in hopes of finding himself a bride. Cinderella’s magical godmother grants her wish and sends her to the ball in a carriage created from a pumpkin, driven by four (formally mice) horses, and wearing the most beautiful dress. The Prince is instantly drawn to her. She knows she must leave by midnight, but she and the Prince are so engrossed in each other, she forgets until the clock starts to chime. She runs away, leaving her glass slipper behind. The Prince begins to search for the young lady who fits the shoe, and when he finds her, they get married. Rodgers and Hammerstein added quit a bit of tongue and cheek humor and created some beautiful, classic, fairy tale numbers to help the story along. Their version of CINDERELLA has something to offer audiences of all ages when done with the same finesse and gusto with which they wrote it.

A child’s fairy tale will have a lot of children in the audience, and it seems this production was created with them in mind. However, even the children seemed to long for something more. The cast was low on energy and more focused on looking and sounding like versions of their characters rather than being real people. This, along with less than stellar special effects and unimaginative staging by director Sharon Veselic left the entire audience bored. Bored children get rather wiggly and rambunctious, which distracted the rest of us from enjoying the performance as well.

Playing the title character was high school senior Hannah Lane. Her beautiful hair and dainty features made a very picturesque Cinderella, but her stiff movements and pinched face seemed to trap her within her own body. I wanted to see her do this performance without all the huge, over the head arm swoops and with relaxed shoulders. She moved like a ballerina in a music box which came across as robotic rather than the regal she was going for. Though clearly she is classically trained and was able to hit all of the notes in the music, her voice lacked natural talent and sounded artificial. Her voice is nice, pleasant, but there was something missing. Perhaps it was passion or true emotions, I am not sure, but I do know that I wanted her to sing with a natural sweetness that embodied Cinderella. All of the actors, with the help of dialect coach Hazel Murphy, had British accents, and it was probably a collective decision to give Cinderella an upper class tone. Hannah Lane did well with this accent, but lost it at times while singing. (One must question, though, if Cinderella would have an upper class or a lower class accent, since she is, after all, a servant.) Her speaking voice, though, was very melodious and soothing. She was gentle with it, though I sensed she probably has a great range and a lot of power. Hannah Lane has a lovely future ahead of her, but I wanted to see a real person and instead got a caricature of a princess.

Keith J. Warren was Prince Christopher. He looked like a prince- tall and strong with dark hair and warm smile. He made a lovely picture alongside Cinderella- the handsome prince and the beautiful princess. However, he only had two facial expressions, mouth turned down and eyebrows up in surprised looking sadness, and smiling with eyebrows up in surprised looking happiness. There was no variance between the two. Also, when he spoke it came across as wimpy and whiney and a little high. I wanted him to be more masculine, with a deep booming voice when he gave orders but tender and comforting when with Cinderella. He also hesitated before each kiss with Cinderella, perhaps because of her young age or perhaps because of a director’s instruction to keep it very G-rated, but whatever the reason, it did not feel like love’s true kiss. Along with Hannah Lane, I wanted to see the two of them smile at each other and relax physically, especially at the ball and in the finale. Instead, they looked so serious, almost like a melodrama.

The stepmother was well played by Connie Lane (Hannah Lane’s real life mother). In this version, the stepmother is more comedic than evil, and she did an excellent job of trying to give some laughs to the older crowd in the audience. She has an impressive vocal range, going deep into her chest and then into a falsetto voice. She also has a menacing stare that leaves no doubt who is in charge in that house. I would love to see her take the stepmother a little darker, a little more sinister, either cartoon- like or realistically. I think it would add a nice contrasting element to the storyline and the physical acting on the stage.

The two stepsisters, Joy and Portia were played by Paige Wells and Kris Walters, respectively. As intended, they were the over-the-top comedic relief of the performance. Wells is tall and thin with a whiney voice that alternates between nasal and chesty while Walters is, well, not so tall and not so thin but uses her body masterfully to create her character. I found myself drawn to them the most because they made a clear choice to go over-the-top and did not sit on the fence as many of their cast mates did. And, for them, it worked and added some much needed comedic relief throughout. At the end, during the song “A Lovely Night”, the two sisters along with the stepmother and Cinderella had a lovely harmony. This song, for me, stole the show in vocal quality and emotional interpretation. It felt the most real. Wells also worked as the choreographer. Her choreography was simplistic but very picturesque and worked nicely within the set and costume limitations.

Lana Hoover as the Fairy Godmother was quirky and delightful, like an energetic old lady with massive amounts of energy to burn. Her singing seemed forced, almost strained at times, but her grasp of the character’s purpose within the story and much needed comedic relief was spot on. Her wig, however, was not. It was a dark brown, curly pony tail attached to her bright red natural hair. I found it to be very distracting. The children in the audience liked her magic tricks and were very drawn to her. I wanted more, but also knew, by the time she arrived, she would have over powered the entire cast if she had done all I wanted.

Charles Beachley as the King and Sharon Barnhill as the Queen make a cute elderly couple, though some of their comedic bits fell a little flat. Barnhill was a little soft spoken and subdued when an over-the-top performance as the concerned, meddling mother would have helped the adults remain engaged in her performance and the storyline. However, her tenderness with the prince and very sweet demeanor allowed us to see something other than prim and proper royalty. I wanted to see more of Beachley’s good natured and jolly king, but other than his introduction in Act I (with an ongoing joke about his falling pants that fell just two too many times), he was sad or bored throughout the rest of the performance.

The herald and the minister were both portrayed by Christopher Adams. He has an impressive biography which lead me to expect an energetic and lively opening number, “The Prince is Giving a Ball.” Though he has a nice singing voice and physicalized his characters well, he never once smiled. He was either near tears or falling asleep. Perhaps a can of his favorite energy drink or caffeinated beverage was in order. I think an emotional charge will help him project his singing voice with more power, too, and that would help the opening number tremendously.

The ensemble was on stage for most of the show, and their energy was also low. When they were the background action to the main characters, they seemed to forget they were visible on stage and fell out of character. Musically they blended well together, though, and when they were singing and/or dancing, they each had unique characters that added to the overall story. Of special note was the tall man with the mustache (it is impossible to pick him out of the showbill without photos). He added a lot of ongoing physical comedy and even created a minor sub-story with the stepmother at the ball. He did his best to keep the background action interesting. Also, Cody Vann (ensemble who played the footman for the carriage ride) looked disinterested the entire performance. In contrast, the young grade school girls- Kendall Tubbs, Shelby DuPont, and Anna Sitzes were delighted to skip on and off stage and added a youthful joy to the production.

The staging was simplistic- a little too much so. The big numbers, such as “The Prince is Giving a Ball” and the finale “The Wedding” were underwhelming as the entire cast just stood singing. There was no fantastic lighting design, no solo dancers, and very little, if any choreography. During the ball, there was one solo dancer, a young girl, who did a lovely job but was very small and not very fancifully dressed, so I was confused as to who she was and why she was dancing alone at the ball. The full orchestra, conducted by Ray Staniszewski, sat upstage of all the action and partially hidden by the set at times, though they did peek out from time to time. Live music is always a wonderful addition to a musical, and this proved to be true here, too. The set, designed by Erin Ball, was like a child’s fantasy dream for the ball and the countryside while realistic inside Cinderella’s house. Despite this, the set worked for me. It was well constructed and functional, though very noisy for the multiple set changes all done by the ensemble. Tina Barrus’ costumes were the epitome of over-the-top fairy tale. Lots of bright colors, hoop skirts, and men in knickers created the world in a visually stunning way. The children and adults alike were constantly mesmerized by the parade of colors. There were far fewer special effects than one expects for Cinderella, and more would have added to the magical atmosphere. The Godmother magically starts a fire for Cinderella, a window refuses to stay shut, and small rosebuds bloom open with a little coaching. There were no special effects, only lighting, music and choreography, for the big transformation that sends Cinderella to the ball in a carriage, dress, and glass slippers. The carriage was exquisite and was pulled by four ensemble with stunning horse head masks. Cinderella’s costume change was less than impressive because we saw how it was done. (Magic tricks are always ruined when you see them in action. Some creative thinking or even seeking the help of a real magician would be a good idea for a trick such as that.)

The director’s note in the showbill invited the audience to “take a deep breath, sit back and transport yourselves to the enchanted land of Prince Charming’s castle and the timeless story of Cinderella.” The little girls in the audience, particularly those who came in costume, had a wonderful experience complete with getting their picture taken in a pumpkin carriage in the lobby. The rest of us, though, needed a little more spectacle, a little more magic, and whole lot more energy to make it worthy of attending. It was nice, pleasant, but I expect more out of the talent available in Denton- yes, even at the community theatre level.

Denton Community Theatre and the Fabulous 40 Present: Rodgers and Hammerstein’s CINDERELLA through April 25th.

Performed at The Campus Theatre located at 214 W. Hickory St, Denton, TX 76201. 940-382-1915.

Steel Magnolias

Originally published by John Garcia's THE COLUMN.

Plaza Theatre Company’s production of STEEL MAGNOLIAS on Saturday evening, April 17 was a funny yet poignant tear jerker- just as it should be.

STEEL MAGNOLIAS, by Robert Harling, is the story of six women in a beauty shop in Louisiana over the course of two years in the 1980s. The play begins with Truvy, owner of the shop, hiring Annelle, who is new to town, as her assistant when Shelby and her mother come to get their hair done the day of Shelby’s wedding. Clairee and Ouiser are two of the older ladies who also frequent the salon and partake in gossiping and supporting one another. Shelby is a severe Type 1 diabetic at a time when treatments were not all they are today, and she- along with her friends- struggle to deal with its heartbreaking effects. Clairee is a former politician’s wife turned sports fanatic turned radio station owner while Ouiser is the one known for being a loud mouthed practical joker with more money than tact. Annelle comes to town with her life falling apart and allows the women to guide her back to the straight and narrow. These six ladies are true Southern Women- dainty and beautiful with an inner strength that allows them to hold together and keep going no matter what they are forced to face. And they face it, of course, with heavily hair sprayed hair and manicured nails.

I must confess- I have never seen a production of STEEL MAGNOLIAS. No, not even the movie. And, I’ve never read it. I honestly went to this play only knowing it was a “classic chick flick.” I did have extremely high expectations, though, from this particular theatre given all the awards and nominations they received just this past year at The Column Awards, but I was leery of what a small theatre in a small town was capable of doing. For my first trip to Plaza Theatre, they did not disappoint! I have not laughed so hard at a live performance in many years, and then I was left with tears in my eyes as the play closed. It is clear that STEEL MAGNOLIAS should be required reading and all students should attend a production at the level of the Plaza’s. However, in several places, this production felt like key scenes with key storylines had been cut- perhaps for time or due to staging difficulties, but the choppy “catching up feeling” didn’t hurt the performance much. Perhaps it was written like this or perhaps there were circumstances necessitating these choices, I simply don’t know. All I know is that there was a lot of exposé at the beginning of each scene that, if unavoidable, could have been worked in and made to feel more natural.

Director Danielle Beacham pulled double duty as she also played Shelby. Normally, I loathe a production where a lead character is self directed, but Beacham caused me to forsake this preconceived bias within 10 minutes of the curtain going up. Though only her third show to direct-EVER- she expertly blocked the action in the round and guided a cast of actors, with varying levels of experience, to giving all out truthful performances. A director’s job is meant to be invisible. If you can see it, it probably means they didn’t do it well. I find I am struggling to describe her directing talent because while I KNOW it is ever present, I simply can’t see it. The play in its entirety flowed as one unified force- from set design to costumes to the blocking, it was all centered on the telling of this story. One questionable directing choice was to make Shelby’s diabetic episode (or attack as it is sometimes called) more like a grand mal seizure. Normally, I have seen diabetics become irritable and act intoxicated, but never to stiffen up as Beacham did. I am not a diabetic expert, but I overheard others in the audience discussing it, and the lady behind me said it didn’t look right to her either. Regardless, Beacham is one to watch- she has an incredible directing future ahead. Her bio states she will attend Bible school in California in the fall. Let us all pray we get her back to Texas theatres as fast as she can.

All six of these women came together to form a believable friendship and support system. I know these women, I just happen to know and love them by different names. Wherever a woman is in her life, there is a character in Plaza’s STEEL MAGNOLIAS that will speak to them.

Beacham as Shelby is charming and a classic beauty who warms your heart. There were two times, though, when it felt as if she was skimming the surface of Shelby’s true emotions. One was when she defiantly tells her mother she is pregnant despite the doctor’s advice, and two in her final scene as she says what is suppose to be a casual goodbye to the ladies. The big fight with her mother, though strong vocally and physically grounded, felt like she was imitating every “I’m going to beat this ” movie ever made rather than truthfully discovering and feeling the passion in Shelby’s argument. Her final scene was a little too sugary sweet, a little too picture perfect, a little too charming, a little too much heavier than it needed to be with the foreshadowing. I think this was partly fueled by the entire audience (minus one critic) knowing how close to the end we truly were. This was a good performance, but if Beacham went a little deeper within, it could have been truly amazing. Please note, I am nitpicking an otherwise great performance. Beacham’s intense eye contact with her cast mates and melodious voice draw you into the very heart of the character, and she never once stops using her entire being to convey what she feels inside.

M’Lynn was played exceptionally well by Barbara Richardson. Her character makes the biggest emotional journey from the beginning of the play to the end. Her physical comedy as she jokes with her husband’s gun in her hand stands in direct contrast to her blood-curdling scream “It’s not fair! I’m suppose to go first!” I imagine Richardson tires of reaching to these depths night after night, and on this night, I felt she held back just a little. The strength of the words and their universal appeal to all parents carried her through this performance though, and still drove even me, a non-parent, to empathetic tears. Not so much because I grieved for the loss of Shelby (as would be easy to do given how much we fell in love with her and willed her to triumph) but because of the eloquence and the power that this most raw, most horrible of pain- the death of a child- was expressed.

Trich Zaitoon as Truvy sets the 80’s atmosphere with her big hair and over the top personality. She is the mother hen of this group and takes her responsibilities seriously in between the jokes. She used her height and booming voice to her advantage, taking control of not only the audience but these very diverse and independent women as needed. She was also soft and caring, bringing the audience close to her heart the same way she drew in Annelle in her time of need. I can only hope a woman exactly like Zaitoon’s Truvy enters my life when I most need her.

Courtney Howell’s Annelle, the quirky new girl who becomes a religious fanatic, was subtly superb. Her timid voice and mannerisms changed into a strong woman with the support of her friends almost- one might think- without effort or thought. Anyone who has ever attempted acting knows the opposite is true. She only made it look easy. Her metamorphosis seemed as natural as breathing. I never once saw Howell ‘acting.’ In fact, there were times when the audience forgot she was onstage and some of her consistent yet small reactions to events on stage went unnoticed. There were also times when the audience was still laughing from a previous line and she didn’t wait for the laughter to quiet before speaking. Her voice simply didn’t carry over a sold out crowd slapping its knees and roaring. I have no doubt Howell could stand out if she wanted to with larger, more attention getting ways, but she instead made the smart choice of staying true to Annelle’s character and story.

Shauna Lewis as Ouiser had most of the laugh lines and jokes that had the audience in stitches all night, but she was not without her dramatic moments of contemplation too. Lewis made me want to put on a nun’s costume and go bar hoping with her! She also touched my heart as an older woman who had given love a try, and was afraid to do so again until nudged on by her friends. Her decision to ‘friend’ a man in the neighboring town could have been overplayed, but instead she smartly chose to let us see into the tender heart of this woman through the change in her physical demeanor and her softer voice. She made me think of my mom’s best friend, Aunt Judy, and about half a dozen other women with the freedom found in getting older to say whatever is on their minds. Ouiser is a character that could be played over the top and campy, as the comedic relief needed in some heavy scenes, but instead, Lewis made her a real person.

If Barbara Rose hadn’t written in her bio that her role as Clairee is her debut performance, I would have thought she was a veteran of the stage alongside her cast mates. Much like Lewis and Howell, Rose felt like a real person I had known all my life. Even when she wasn’t the center of the action, she remained engaged, attentive, energized, and reactive to the action going on around her. She has a good command of her voice, and her laughter and tears seemed equally genuine. Both Rose and Clairee burst out of their shell-in a believable yet extraordinary fashion- in the final scene when she offers up Ouiser as a punching bag. (A line we would have expected from Ouiser, not from the politically correct politician’s wife.) Rose has a stunning future ahead of her as a stage actress if she can pour herself into characters the way she did this one.

All of these fine actors were aided in their storytelling by magnificent costume and set designs. The play was set in the 1980s, and if this decade is known for anything, it is known for its fashion. Designed by Kara Barnes, the woman appropriately wore stretch pants, bright patterns, oversized shirts with belts, and chunky jewelry. Yet, the costumes were not “costumey”, these were still very real clothes that each character would have picked out during that decade. Each character had their own style and self expression that remained true to the time period. Any set designed and well executed in the round deserves a hats off, and the work put in by JaceSon Barrus, Milette Siler, and Parker Barrus deserves two hats off. It was functional yet artistic, minimalistic yet complete. From the ceiling fan hanging at center stage to the sinks with running water to each hair dresser’s work station, the entire theatre became this beauty shop. No detail was left out. Popular 80s music set the mood before the play, during intermission, and as needed via Shelby’s radio, all designed by G. Aaron Siler. No prop was mimed and all props were period appropriate thanks to the work of properties designer Milette Siler. Lighting design is another one of those fields that goes unnoticed when done well, and Cameron Barrus’ work was completely invisible to me. Even some simplistic special effects such as smoke during cannon fire were a nice touch, though the smoke was a little overpowering for most members of the audience.

Plaza Theatre Company’s 150 or so seat theatre in the round is charming and intimate. It has an older style class about it, yet there are plenty of blue jeans and popcorn that when combined make folks from New York to Cleburne feel right at home while expecting a fantastic, high quality show. After three years, 36 productions, and over 60,000 patrons, Plaza Theatre Company’s reputation of excellence is continued with their current production of STEEL MAGNOLIAS.
Reviewed by Laura L. Watson Associate Theatre Critic for John Garcia's THE COLUMN
_____________________________________________________________________
Plaza Theatre Company along with Cleburne Performing Arts Foundation present: Robert Harling's STEEL MAGNOLIAS through April 24th.

Performed at the Plaza Theatre at 111 S. Main St, Cleburne, TX 76033. www.plaza-theatre.com. 817-202-0600

Directed by Danielle Beacham
Stage Management by Becky Watson
Lighting Design by Cameron Barrus
Scenic Design by JaceSon Barrus, Milette Siler, Parker Barrus
Costumer Kara Barnes
Props by Milette Siler
Sound Design by G. Aaron Siler

NOTE: Two characters are double cast.

CAST:
TRUVY Trich Zaitoon
ANNELLE *Courtney Howell, Camille Shaw
CLAIREE Barbara Rose
SHELBY Danielle Beacham
M’LYNN Barbara Richardson
OUISER Mildred Austin, *Shauna Lewis

Dallas Premier Productions’ C.R.E.A.M.- Cash Rules Everything Around Me
at The African American Museum Theatre at Fair Park in Dallas, Texas
Reviewed Performance on 3/20/2010, evening
by Laura L. Watson

Dallas Premier Productions’ recent one day only showing of C.R.E.A.M.- Cash Rules Everything Around Me at the African American Museum Theatre was by far one of the worst performances I have ever sat through. It was one of those painful, embarrassingly bad performances where everything that could go wrong did. However, I do not regret attending because it is an intriguing story, and I see the future potential of C.R.E.A.M. given better casting and a media suitable to the script. I would be the first in line to see it again after it was reworked.

According to flyers and their online web campaign, C.R.E.A.M. was inspired by Al Pacino’s movie Scarface, though this one line marketing ploy is confusing and misleading. C.R.E.A.M. is the dramatic tale about two sisters from Louisiana who are in dire need of money in order to bury their mother. They turn to a life of crime and quickly become entangled in the glitz and glamour that the Dallas gangster life offers. They soon discover, though, that it feeds more than their wallets as they fall deeper and deeper into this lifestyle.

Writer, director, producer, and artistic director Latoya Guy will be the first to admit she has a natural talent for writing stories but no real training or experience with turning these stories into theatrical productions. This coupled with an extremely low budget and a cast and crew of even less experience made what little she was able to do well seem somewhat miraculous. First, the play flowed more like a screenplay than a stage play. Short, choppy scenes at multiple locations made the staging at the African American Museum Theatre (which was not built with theatre productions in mind) nearly impossible and the set changes took longer than many of the scenes. If Guy wants to keep it a stage production, she needs to carefully consider the venue that could house it, lengthening the scenes and eliminating some of the locations. She should have used the various parts of the stage for the different locations rather than everything taking place at center stage. In blatant honesty, as it is currently written (and I believe, it is written very well), this should be a screen play for a feature film.

With her budget, space and crew limitations, she would have done well to remember that less is more. Rather than using dollar store props and set dressing, borrow quality items or find a way to do without. The plastic table cloths wrapped around furniture in an attempt to hide it, a bed made of only a sheet over shaky folding chairs and a slanted podium utilized as a bar full of breakable bottles were more distracting to the story than helpful to it. The costuming also left a lot to be desired and obviously came from the closets of the cast. I thought Sarge was wearing large, noisy dog tags because she was a sergeant in the army, but this was never explained. Also, the lack of time prohibited the actors from fully changing, so we had evening gowns pulled on over blue jeans and worn with tennis shoes. We never saw the father out of his bathrobe and hair net, including when he was walking the streets of Dallas looking for his daughters. This needed to be addressed in the script or the father needed to be wearing his “outside” clothes. More care and consideration of the characters, their backgrounds and their current goals would be appropriate. The African American Museum Theatre only offered sparse lighting design options, most of which consisted of on or off at center stage. Again, another venue with a larger backstage area and the ability to hang, focus, and color lights would be better.

After the show at an informal reception for cast, crew and friends, Guy told us that there were many technical disasters that fueled the downfall of the performance. There was suppose to be projected images serving as a backdrop on a large screen upstage of all the action which failed to work along with a musical sound track and sound effects. The audience did not miss any of these, other than when actors backstage improved sounds such as a door knocking or a cell phone ringing. What the audience DID pick up on, though, was the nervous energy from actors who were holding on by their fingertips. At one point, it seemed they were debating stopping the show, taking a 30 minute break and starting all over. While the old adage “the show must go on” won out, I can’t help but wonder if the night would have been improved with allowing them a simple “do-over.”

Guy’s choice to cast her show color blind (meaning without thought to race, ethnicity, etc) should be applauded, including the two sisters- one was white, the other black. However, she was blind to their overall lack of experience and inability to bring to life the characters. In her situation, she should have chosen actors whose experience was far greater than her own.

Destiny Washington as Bennie and Crystal Sanders as Sarge, the sisters, both started out strong only to show they lacked the training required to give a truthful performance. Washington had a lot of energy and gave an enthusiastic performance, but at times it felt like she was faking the emotions. She also needs to work on her projection and diction. Sanders is striking on stage. She is tall and thin with gorgeously long, thick hair. However, she seems to have only one way of delivering lines- loud and forceful. Though this sometimes worked for the character of Sarge- the violence happy sister- it became tiresome and I quickly lost interest in her. She came across as goofy and her lack of technique/training truly showed throughout this performance. Her weakest moment is when she went for laughs as Jet’s tormenter rather than going for a true psychotic break.

Moritz Williams was Sam, the assistant to the gangster who takes a love interest in Bennie (but settles for her sister as needed.) Williams is handsome and well portrays a smooth talking player. However, he is very soft spoken and not at all believable as a gangster. Rey Torres appears briefly in the beginning as the doctor who tells the sisters their mother has passed and then reappears throughout the play as Bennie’s stuttering boyfriend from back home, Jet. Based on the performance, it was no surprise his bio in the program is the most professional with the most experience. However, it was equally clear he was left to self-direct and his inability to do this showed. He was loveable as Jet and had a good handle on Jet’s speech impediment-though he became too soft spoken at times- to the point it was heartbreaking when Bennie broke up with him. But Torres left Jet as very one dimensional. I didn’t understand what he saw in Bennie nor did I believe he was going to give all it took to win her back. I think with a little more direction and the writer adding in more opportunities to see Jet and Bennie together at the beginning of the play (including a back story on their childhood romance), Torres would be an excellent casting choice.

J.R. Bradford was someone else who could be cast in the reworked production of C.R.E.A.M., though he struggled alongside everyone else. He was the FEMA Man, the first victim the girls were assigned to kill, and he also played their father. As the FEMA man, he had few lines, but skillfully kept himself busy on stage while the sisters discussed him. His death was meant to be dramatic but came across as comedic- more from the staging than from his acting. I saw a true fear in his eyes, though, that made me angry at the sisters and the senselessness of killing a stranger. As the father, though, Bradford mumbled and shuffled across the stage. He was far too young to play the father, and the few lines he had were not enough to truly allow him the opportunity to reveal the character. Josh Drake played Gos, the gangster who hires the girls to kill who he needs killed, and he made a hilarious but brief appearance as the jeweler who tricks Jet into spending all his money on an engagement ring for Bennie. As the flamboyantly gay jeweler, Drake showed his comedic timing and impersonation skills that he listed in the bio. As a gangster, though, he was not menacing or cold blooded enough. Also, by the time he appeared in the second act (revealed as the big time crime boss issuing these orders), the audience had lost interest and was laughing inappropriately thinking they were watching a farce instead of a crime drama. Instead of taking command of the stage and shifting the audience’s mind back to drama, he milked more laughs every chance he got. Finally, Erikia Clayborne played multiple, unnamed characters throughout the performance. She shows the most potential as a serious actress if she gets some much needed training and experience. As Bennie’s boss at the restaurant, she was mean and bitchy, though I never understood why. Then, she was the over excited sales assistant who helps the girls spend their new wealth, and she exited as the police officer the gangsters tortured for information. During her final scene, the fear was evident not only in her face and voice but throughout her body. She needs to work on her diction and to be careful of not over-acting, but she has a good grasp of how to distinguish one character from another in big and small ways.

As for the business side, Dallas Premier Productions needs to utilize local resources to help them. By simply following the program or playbill produced by any established community or professional theatre, they could have produced a program that would give the audience the information they needed- who played what character, the time and place setting, and the series of events along with more professionally structured bios of the cast and crew. Also, when marketing a new play, it is best to give at least an idea of what the story is about rather than a vague one sentence that alludes to someone else’s work. If you want people to attend your shows, they are going to want to know what they are seeing before they buy their tickets.

Dallas Premier Productions hopes to produce two or three shows a year, and with this start here with C.R.E.A.M., only Guy's second production ever, they are well on their way and can only improve with time.

Bias-
I met Latoya after the performance, and we have become fast friends. I have committed to helping her with this script and others in the future.
Rey Torres is a friend, former classmate from UNT and former castmate from another show. I had high expectations from him, given his experience and training. He offered me a free ticket to the show. I decided to review it after the performance based on my discussions with him and Latoya.
I had never been to the African American Museum Theatre before, nor had I met or seen any of the cast in previous work.

Feast of Plays- bias

I forgot to divulge my bias in my review for Feast of Plays. I was in Fight Boy Theatre's Lysistrata in June 2009, and from that production I have remained friends with Artistic Director Joshua Scott Hancock and Half Empty director Caleb Creel and writer Melanie Welch. I have seen all of their shows since Lysistrata, and overall enjoy and look forward to their work. I did not know anyone else in the cast or crew and had no bias- positive or negative- toward them.

Feast of Plays, 3-26-2010

Fight Boy Theatre’s Feast of Plays at Art6 in Denton, Texas
Reviewed Performance on 03/26/10
by Laura L. Watson

Fight Boy Theatre’s Feast of Plays at Art6 in Denton is a collection of world premiere one act plays by Denton playwrights all of which left me wanting more, More MORE!!! I was AMAZED at what can be done by 3 local playwrights, an old house turned into a coffee shop turned into a theatre and about $100. Feast of Plays proves that good writing and truthful emotions are all anyone needs to tell a good story well.

The play that opened the evening, Walking Alone written and directed by Joshua Baker, was by far the weakest of the three, but even long after it ended, it left me mulling over the questions it raised. Tyler has refused to “dance with death” for 400 years. His new lover, Sarah, is faced with a terminal, slowly degenerative illness. Will she dance with death now, later or never? What would any of us choose?

The Frog Prince by Jordan Scott followed the 15 minute intermission and was directed by Fight Boy Theatre’s Artistic Director Joshua Scott Hancock. Though a fairytale we are all familiar with, it was really the play within a play about an acting company in the year 1905. It is a hilarious commentary on a troupe’s life on the road mixed in with the childlike glee and imagination of a much beloved fairy tale.

Brilliantly closing out the evening after a second intermission was Half Empty by Melanie Welch. Ann and Valerie were best friends, “soul mates,” when they were 13, and are reunited during the college years. The tale of their special bond and how it shaped the rest of their lives and relationships is both gut wrenching and poignant. Above all, it is a story that anyone who has had a ‘forever friend’ can relate to.

All three plays combined to give the audience a delightful taste of what can be done when the focus is on good writing and not big budgets or an extravagant venue.

The major problem with Walking Alone was Baker’s inexperience as both a writer and a director. With no bios provided in the program, I am assuming inexperience is the culprit and that the raw talent evident in the storyline simply needs to be developed into a fully well told story. Throughout the script, heavy emotions were blankly stated in the dialogue (“I feel scared,” “I’m in shock”) rather than shown in the blocking or even just on the actor’s faces. I also question what disease takes 50 years to rot the brain, doesn’t damage the body and has symptoms that begin in the early 20s. I needed a medical fact check, but also, if this disease does exist, I want to donate money to find a cure. Baker’s blocking created beautiful pictures, though the actors were obviously uncomfortable touching each other. The audience was on both sides of the Art6 living room/indoor theatre space. I sat on the house right and had a wonderful view in a very comfortable chair. I wondered, though, about the sightlines on the opposite side in the less than stellar seating. Art6 is a venue that challenges even the most experienced and creative director. For example, Death’s appearance 2/3 of the way into the story was as good as the venue, the talent and the budget allowed. I am sure the original vision was a production with trap doors, a mechanical lift and massive amounts of stage smoke. Instead, it came across as anti-climatic and cheap. The only solution I can offer would be to plant her in the audience and use some simple lighting to illuminate her as needed. Anything other than a huge black curtain in the corner that she steps through would be better. Baker and his audiences would greatly benefit from his obtaining a mentor or joining a playwright’s group to continue the development of this potential filled script.

The cast of three, given what they had to work with, was visually appealing together, though this was their only strong suit. The mis-casting may have been inexperience rearing its ugly head again or the lack of a talent pool (though THAT is hard to believe), but regardless, it is ultimately up to the director to guide his actors on a journey that gives the audience the full revelation of the character. Jonathan Adams as Tyler, Dara Prati as Sarah and Lauren Shanks as Death seemed to be struggling with nerves and a lack of confidence in their ability to deliver. There was an emotional disconnect between the actors and the text to the point it felt more like a recitation or, at best, a staged reading that grated on the nerves of the audience who, despite the poor performance, were drawn to the characters and the storyline. Prati had to carry the bulk of the emotional burden and stopped just short of believable. Adam’s shifty eyes and locked body made him at first seem as one with an explosive secret, an energy barely contained, but when it came time for the character to be fully released, he locked down more and the performance became robotic. Shanks is striking on stage, tall and dark with a glint of mischief in her eyes. With one look, we all knew who she was and why no one- except Tyler- had ever resisted the urge to dance with her. Then, she opened her mouth and her passé, laze fare performance ruined Death’s purpose in the story. I won’t give away the ending- Sarah’s decision- but it was sloppy and uncertain. I needed clearer choices and organic blocking. A longer, more focused rehearsal time with an experienced director may have solved many of these problems.

Though it was a performance worthy of a refund and painful to sit through, I have thought the most about Walking Alone since that night. The concept of physically being able to dance with death or reject her seductive ways is philosophically intriguing, and the question of one’s own mortality is never tiresome. If I were Sarah, would I choose to be seduced by death now- on my terms, face death later but hope for a cure or would I be able to resist the temptation for all time? Each audience member had their own answer with their own reasons which speaks to the universal appeal of this script.

In all the areas Walking Alone faltered, The Frog Prince excelled. From the choreographed transition of the set between the first play to the second, done in character and to music, to the retelling of a beloved classic in a new way that prompted self reflection and more than a few belly laughs, Scott and Hancock proved they are a duo to keep an eye on for future masterpieces. Hancock made excellent use of the space, believably presenting it as the found space of a traveling acting troupe. The precise choreography of the entire cast throughout the performance was by far the most impressive I have seen in a long time at any theatre. I never once lost interest or let my mind wander away from how this troupe was going to tell this story with their blatant lack of resources (and focus)- though creativity was definitely not lacking. Each actor in the troupe had a distinct look, walk and voice which differed from the characters they assumed within the fairytale. Hannah Black as the fairytale’s narrator (and troupe’s self appointed leader) stole the show with her commanding voice, engaging eye contact and grounded stage presence. Ben Cloatier as the Frog- identified as such by the oversized plush stuffed frog tied to his head- and much sought after troupe bachelor was delightfully boyish yet creepy, evoking the same feelings most women get when they view a slimy frog. Prati as the two faced Princess redeemed herself with her excellent comedic timing and cheeky flirtations. Adams made a reappearance in the minor role of Faithful Henry and was again stiff, robotic and disconnected from the lines and story he was trying so hard to portray. Shanks appeared briefly as the Queen mother. Hancock’s detailed movement direction and flamboyant costuming failed to overcome her lack luster line delivery whereas a strong, powerful woman seemed to be called for. The simple, thrift store found costumes successfully identified both fairytale character and troupe personality dynamic for each actor. Other than the questionable casting of the minor roles, the only negative was that it was too short. I wanted More! I want to see this play again, but extended into a full two acts with more characters, more commentary/parody and a longer performance of the fairytale to tie it all together. The places this play could take an audience are truly only limited by the imagination of the writer and/or director.

I was left breathless and speechless when Half Empty ended. In shaking hands with the cast and crew, the only immediate feedback I was able to offer to Director Caleb J. Creel, Prati (as Ann), and Black (as Valerie) was “bloody brilliant!” The sole changes I would make would be to flush out the story into a full length play. When the play is done completely, I want the revelation of the sexual relationship to be delayed, and build up to it first with the friendship that started it all. I want more dialogue about these happy, innocent memories along with accompanying flashbacks. This will be juxtaposed to the heavy present process of their current relationship. I also want more background story, especially about why they last saw each other 6 years ago, but it MUST come to light slowly- NO BIG EXPOSÉ. Let the history and the current story be revealed simultaneously as the girls reconnect. It would be very easy, and tempting, to transfer the script entirely into a film, but I feel this would be a mistake. It is so much more powerful as a multi-media stage presentation. Even the living room of Art6 was the perfect setting for Ann’s apartment. The entrances and exits flowed as if the space was built with this story in mind. The use of a projector and pre-recorded video for the flashbacks to their childhood worked seamlessly with the present moment stage production. Even the placement of the projector over the couch between the two women gave the illusion of a shared memory that the audience was privy to. The videos were extremely short, no longer than ten seconds, like how a memory really flashes through your mind when in conversation or from a simple touch. Though of a low budget quality and amateur direction, the videos’ simplicity were effective and were overall well executed by cinematic director Bryan Patrick. The actresses excelled in both stage and screen performances. Prati struggled a bit again. I ached for her to have true emotions rather than showing the emotion she thought she should have. I also wanted her to take time with these emotions and really savor them. At the end, she makes a huge decision that the audience sees coming. I wanted to see the regret for this decision before she confessed what she did with regret. A longer script with more time to arch to this point would probably help. Black, having just 30 minutes before dazzled me with her comedy, turned around and delivered a stellar dramatic performance. It was complete with inner turmoil, anguish and denial of her past which leads to a heartbreaking end. Even if the relationship with your best friend wasn’t sexual- or if the situation with your first love was under different circumstances- we can all relate to the pain when “forever together” promises are broken.

On a lighthearted note, it would have been nice if Fight Boy Theatre included bios in the spell checked program for me to read while I savored every bite of my slice of Art6 cheesecake. It alone was worth every penny… and every calorie.

Feast of Plays continues at Art6 Coffee House and Theatre (424 Bryan StreetDenton, TX 76201) Friday-Sunday, April 2-4. The $10 tickets are available by calling 817.675.5674, emailing fightboytheatre@gmail.com or they can be purchased at the door.