The Tempest

Colorado Shakespeare Festival: 6/7 -  8/10

Geoffrey Kent’s direction of  “The Tempest” is by far the best of any Shakespearean play at CSF in recent memory. One has to go back a decade or so to Joel Fink’s direction of “Twelfth Night” to find anything that compares!

     Kent Homchick's scenic design is a dazzling piece of artistry that evokes a ship’s graveyard.

     The lighting by Shannon McKinney is better than one could ever expect in any outdoor venue.

     The costumes by Clare Henkel are a constant delight.

                           
                                                             Simon Hilton as Prospero

     
     Although Peter Simon Hilton may appear to be a bit young for the role of Prospero, his portrayal is magnificent. Hilton’s stage presence and lucid reading of Shakespeare’s words illuminate this great character with brio.

     Vanessa Morosco is adorably spirited as Ariel. Her feats of ‘ariel’ gymnastics twirling on bolts of pure white fabric while suspended above the stage and all the while reciting Shakespeare’s words are stunning.

     Kyra Lindsey is vivaciously girlish as Prospero’s daughter, Miranda.

                                                  Benjamin Bonenfant and Kyra Lindsey

     Benjamin Bonenfant portrays Miranda’s love, Ferdinand with vigor and dynamism.

     In some productions the scenes involving the supporting characters in Shakespeare’s play are glossed over with actors who are only passable. As a result the scenes in which they appear become tedious.

     Not so in this production. The magic is everywhere present and each and all will have to forgive this reviewer for not mentioning them all. The run is half way through now and one hopes that this review will reach anyone and everyone who may be able to still get a ticket.

     With hummingbirds sailing over the audience and a full moon rising over the Mary Rippon Theatre, nothing could upstage the magic that was played out in Geoffrey Kent’s production of “The Tempest.”

In case you missed something… I LOVED IT!Marlowe's Musings

For tickets go online at coloradoshakes.org or call  303-492-8008

Tarzan, the Stage Musical

The Arvada Center for the Arts and Humanities: 7/11 – 8/3

                                    Brian Ogilvie as Tarzan

     If you’re looking for great theatre for the family this summer you can’t go wrong with The Arvada Center for the Arts and Humanities’ production of "Tarzan, The Stage Musical." Based upon the Disney movie, this show is perfect viewing for all ages.

      Adapted from the story “Tarzan of the Apes” by Edgar Rice Burroughs, the show has music and lyrics by Phil Collins and a book by David Henry Hwang.

     Director Gavin Mayer has done a great job of continuing The Arvada Center’s reputation for excellence in musical theatre with his superb casting as well as his enlistment of the great technical artists one finds in abundance at this venue.

     Brian Ogilvie is the perfect casting for Tarzan.  Besides having an eye-popping physique, this artist acts, sings and swings (well, it’s true!) with the best of em.

                                      Brian Ogilvie as Tarzan and Jennifer Lorae as Jane

     Jennifer Lorae is a great Jane. She exudes the ebullient joie de vivre and cheery goodness required of any Disney heroine.  Her beautiful voice and stunning stage presence make one hope to see her name in many more programs in the future.

    Colin Alexander is brilliant in the role of Porter, Jane’s father.

     Local favorite Shannan Steele is most memorable in the role of Kala, the female gorilla that mothers the young Tarzan after he and his family are shipwrecked off the coast of Africa.

     Burke Walton does some great work as Clayton, the great white hunter 'heavy' of the piece.

     Kaden Hinkle’s performance as the young Tarzan is notable as well.

     The lighting design by Shannon McKinney is magnificent.   

So is the choreography by Kitty Skillman-Hilsabeck. The physically demanding role of Leopard is also given vibrant life by Skillman-Hilsabeck.

     There’s lots of fantastic acrobatic swinging on the vines that are everywhere present in scenic designer Brian Mallgrave’s primeval jungle.

     Musical Director David Nehls outdoes himself in bringing out all the best in Phil Collins’ musical composition.

     The story telling is primal and makes one feel as if he were turning the pages of one of those great classic comic books of yesteryear!

For tickets call 720-898-7200 or go online at arvadacenter.orgMarlowe's Musings 

Dead Man Walking

Central City Opera: 7/5 -7/25

                     Left to Right: Michael Mayes and Jennifer Rivera 

      Central City Opera’s “Dead Man Walking” is the most profoundly spiritual production to have graced any Colorado stage in memory.

      Michael Mayes who portrays Joseph de Rocher is a force of nature who was born to play this role. By turns Mayes imbues the role with disgust, self-loathing, animal fear and finally … love.

     Jennifer Rivera plays Sister Helen Prejean.  The coquettish Rosina in last season’s excellent production of  “The Barber of Seville,” Rivera inhabits the character of this compassionate and courageous nun with a humble and unassuming dignity. Her emotionally charged soprano soars.

Maria Zifchak plays de Rocher’s mother with an astounding mezzo that will crack your heart open. (Ms. Zifchak will play the Mother Abbess in CCO’s “The Sound of Music” later in the season.)

     Jeanine de Bique (Sister Rose) has a voice that is as smooth as a piece of lustrous silk.

     Although Heggie’s musical influences have been listed as Britten, Debussy and Copland this reviewer was also aware of the influence of Gershwin and Bernstein. This score is the kind that flies through your nervous system straight to the heart.

      Terrence McNally who wrote the Tony-award winning books for the musicals “Ragtime,” “The Full Monty” and “Kiss of the Spider Woman”, pens the libretto’s compelling lyrics.

     On opening night conductor John Baril wielded a masterful baton that drove the work forward and forged a fiery unity between the orchestra in the pit and the singers onstage.

  Ken Cazan’s stage direction is stunning for the most part. However… Cazan’s choice to present the crime in half-light and silhouette while lauded by some, may feel just a little bit restrained to others.

     David Martin Jacques’ lighting design is transcendent.

     There are moments in theater and opera that have a reverential feel of communion while sitting in the audience. At the completion of the opera the stillness of the audience was palpable. How much better would it be to let that awe surround than shake us immediately into the thunder of a curtain call. Though richly deserved our applause takes us out of the spell too quickly. 

For tickets call 303-292-6700 or go online at CentralCityOpera.org.Marlowe's Musings

The Marriage of Figaro

Central City Opera: June 28 – July 22

   L-R:  Edward Parks, Michael Sumuel, Anna Christy and Sinead Mulhern

Central City Opera’s production of Mozart’s “The Marriage of Figaro” is an embarrassment of riches.

     Sometimes one has to search for the one or two outstanding vocalists in an opera that’s as vocally daunting and demanding as this one. However…the production now on stage at Central City Opera is the exception to this rule. The artists portraying Susanna, Figaro, the Count and Countess, Cherubino and Don Bartolo are all exceptional both vocally and in the acting.

          Michael Sumuel’s CCO debut as Figaro gives assurance that he is truly a star on the rise.

                                     Anna Christy

     After hearing Anna Christy’s Emily in last season’s “Our Town” one knows how incredible this artist’s soprano will be. Christy is a magnificent Susanna. Likewise Sinead Mulhern’s vocals as the Governess in CCO’s “The Turn of the Screw” assured us that her  mezzo would stun in her portrayal of the Countess. And it does.

     Tamara Gura’s CCO debut in the trouser role of Cherubino did not disappoint either. This artist is blessed with a great set of pipes and her playful acting of the role is endearing.

     Edward Parks’ baritone makes his singing in the role of the Count truly memorable.

Michael Sumuel(Figaro) and Anna Christy(Susanna) 

     Thomas Hammons’ (Don Bartolo) rich bass-baritone stuns.

     Besides having an outstanding cast of singers there is also that scrumptious Central City Opera orchestra! The baton of conductor Adrian Kelly kept the musicians in the pit and the singers onstage in perfect sync all evening. Mozart’s score has never sounded better!

     The costumes(Susan Kulkarni) and scenic design(Madeleine Boyd) depicting Spain in the 1920s are spot on.

     My one criticism is that one has to wait longer than one might wish between some scene changes. Small criticism for an otherwise spectacular evening at the opera.

For tickets call 303-292-6700 or go online at CentralCityOpera.org

Marlowe's Musings 

I Hate Hamlet

Colorado Shakespeare Festival: 6/12 – 8/9

                L-R: Sam Gregory and Alex Esola

The Colorado Shakespeare Festival’s production of “I Hate Hamlet” is a well-mounted and entertaining bit of comic fluff. 

     The cast is endearing and there are enough surprises to keep just about anyone engaged and entertained throughout. 

     Alex Esola plays Andrew Rally, a rising television star, who gets cast in a production of Hamlet. His self doubts regarding playing the greatest role in theatre seem daunting at first but he’s given supportive advice by almost every one he knows.

     Andrew has rented a place in New York that’s got lots of Gothic character and turns out to be the one time home of actor John Barrymore.

      Andrew’s’s realtor, also something of an amateur medium, conjures the ghost of Barrymore in a séance she performs at her client’s new digs.

     Invisible to most of Andrew’s friends, Barrymore instructs the young actor on how to perform the famous role.

     Martha Harmon Pardee is especially delightful as Felicia Dantine,the goofy realtor/medium.

     Steven Cole Hughes is teriffic as Gary Peter Lefkowitz, a very funny nay-saying friend from L.A. 

     Jamie Ann Romero is a breath of fresh air as Andrew’s girl friend, Deirdre McDavy.

     The main reason to see this show is the hysterically funny performance given by Sam Gregory as the ghost of John Barrymore.

   Gregory’s send up of classical acting with intentionally over-stated posturing, gestures and facial expressions makes the play deliriously funny.

     The scenic design is thoroughly well done and a constant source of visual surprises.

      It’s all feather-weight fluff that’s just about perfect as escapist entertainment. 

     One might think of “I Hate Hamlet” as sort of a light, refreshing pallet cleanser between the meatier courses on CSF’s Shakespearean menu… or a zesty dessert thereafter.

For tickets call 303-492-8008 or go online at coloradoshakes.org Marlowe's Musings

VICTORIAN GARDEN
ROMANCE

GERMINAL STAGE DENVER: JUNE 27 through JULY 20




Left to right: Brad Glover,Caitlin Conklin, Ed Baierlein, Petra Ulrich and Patrick Mann in "Overruled"

     It seems that Ed Baierlein's theatre is the only one in town that can successfully produce the works of George Bernard Shaw. 

     “VICTORIAN GARDEN ROMANCE” is a charming evening of Shavian (and Jonesian) one-act comedies that play with the notions of ethics and propriety in 19^th century English relationships.

     In Shaw’s “Overruled” the young and handsome Mr. Lunn (Patrick Mann) has fallen for Mrs. Juno (Petra Ulrych) an attractive older lady while on a sea voyage. Neither he nor she is aware that they are both married. Upon discovering the truth Mann’s character becomes guilt-stricken for having committed adultery in his heart. They meet up with another couple, who wish to be unfaithful to their own spouses and have not been able to get to first base on account of their wish to do it in a proper and respectable fashion.

     Ed Baierlein is fabulously entertaining as pompous Mr. Juno who’s enamored of the unattainable Mrs. Lunn (a young and fetching Caitlin Conklin.)

     The love triangle in G.B. Shaw’s “How He Lied to Her Husband” resembles the one you will remember from Shaw’s “Candida.” In fact the poet and his ‘muse’ in this play are planning to see a production of “Candida.” It seems that  “Lohengrin” is sold out. 

     One might say that in this case the Reverend Morell is played by Eric Victor, Marchbanks by Patrick Mann and Candida by Petra Ulrych.

     With this play Shaw sends up some of the romantic plays of his day while keeping his tongue firmly implanted in cheek regarding his own.

     Uneasy after finding some love poems in which she is addressed by name, Aurora Bompas confronts Henry Apjohn who feels it a good idea to confront Aurora’s husband, Teddy about their ‘affair.’

     Eric Victor is hilarious as Aurora’s outraged husband. This actor should be treading the boards a lot more. Ever since this reviewer was so lucky as to see   Victor’s work in GSD’s “The Philanthropist” he has looked forward to seeing his name in every program. Victor's comic character work is always phenomenal!

     In “Her Tongue” by Henry Arthur Jones, Patty (Diane Wziontka) has a wickedly fun time manipulating a man named Scobell (Mark Moran) who she believes is pursuing her. As Scobell, Moran does an excellent job of being horrified by Patty’s advances and then recoiling from her as she’s recoiling from him once she’s discovered that he has little or no desire to be with her in his new home in Argentina. (It seems that there are no shops in Argentina anyway!)

     Stephen R. Kramer and Caitlin Conklin play friends of Patty who try to bring her and Scobell together while warning her not to sabotage the possibility of relationship by mismanaging “her tongue.”

     All three one-acts are minimally staged in a private hotel garden with costumes by Sallie Diamond.

     Tad Baierlein, Ed Baierlein and Stephen R. Kramer direct the plays.



Three delightful Victorian one-act comedies:
HOW HE LIED TO HER HUSBAND
and OVERRULED by George Bernard Shaw 
and a special bonus, HER TONGUE 
by Henry Arthur Jones.

Friday, Saturday and Sunday, 7:00
2:00 Matinees, June 28th & July 19th
All tickets $20.00

ALL TICKETS $20.00

CALL 303.455.7108
FOR RESERVATIONS

DIRECTIONS TO THE

73RD AVENUE PLAYHOUSE

7287 Lowell Boulevard

Take the Federal Boulevard exit from either the Boulder Turnpike,

I-76, or I-70.

Go north (from I-70 or I-76) or south (from the Boulder Turnpike) on

Federal to 72nd Avenue.

Go west three traffic lights to

Lowell Boulevard.

Make a right turn and go north on Lowell one block to 73rd Avenue.

The theatre is on the southwest

corner of the intersection. Entrance to the theatre is on the north side

of the building. Marlowe's Musings