Saturday, March 31, 2012
CHESS, THE MUSICAL (THE ARVADA CENTER) A SMASH HIT! REVIEW TO FOLLOW...
Thursday, March 29, 2012
The Busy World is Hushed
Keith Bunin’s “The Busy World is Hushed” is a thoughtful and deceptively simple play that deals with family, faith and romantic love. In this case that romantic love is homosexual. The play is about many things. Among them is the importance of accepting love in all its manifestations. Among them is the need for extracting what one’s soul knows needs to be tossed in the way of dead misconceptions of the past and moving forward in our lives. Among them is the importance of grieving and letting go and not getting stuck obsessively digging up past hurts, past pains and hollow, empty beliefs. Among them is the need to place a fiery passion for Life in their stead allowing one to forge more of and become more of who he truly is. Among them is understanding that deep in the recesses of one’s soul one knows that the poetry and mythology and the social guidelines of a distant culture’s holy writ are just the very interesting packaging for the concept that love is all that matters. “The Busy World is Hushed” is directed by Bernie Cardell and features very fine performances by Mari Geassair, Tim McGrath and Chris Silberman. There is a superbly appointed playing space featuring clerical furnishings designed by Jen Orf and masterfully built by Mike Uhlenkamp. Luke A. Terry has done some fine work in enhancing the work with a crystal clear sound design. Kudos to Bernie Cardell in his success in maintaining neutrality in his direction. As a result those in attendance will have the privilege of discovering the essence of this very provocative play through whichever facet of the diadem they wish to look. The final line of the play is: “Let’s go and bury our dead.” More than a statement, this is an exhortation to one and all in attendance to let go of the past and move on. Not flimsy, flip or flashy, this play has plumbable depths for the serious theatergoer. In this reviewer’s not so humble opinion this is what theatre ought to be.
Not to be missed.
Ignite Theatre presents the Regional Premiere of Keith Bunin’s The Busy World is Hushed (directed by Bernie Cardell) from March 23 through April 15, 2012 in the Aurora Fox Studio Theatre (9900 East Colfax, Aurora, CO 80010). Fridays and Saturdays at 7:30pm; Sundays at 6:00pm. Tickets: $25 – adults/$16 – students/$12 – groups of 6+. http://lucentperformingarts.org/busyworld.php.
Wednesday, March 28, 2012
Tommy Lee Jones Goes To Opera Alone
Tommy Lee Jones Goes to Opera Alone is a mind-altering evening that is mesmerizing in the true sense of the word. It’s truly remarkable that we have in this town a theatre troupe whose intimacy with the creative fire of the imagination has manifest an evening of theatre that could be called a lucid dream. To have a pop icon discussing Grand Opera is in itself astounding. A whimsical evening of the mondo bizarro variety, one would have to be Kuh-Ray-Zee to miss this one. The Buntport ensemble that animates this nearly life-sized puppet created in the image of the actor Tommy Lee Jones is as usual the very fire of passionate artistic innovation. This puppet’s s’ real it’s surreal. All in Bunraku black except for the inimitable Hannah Duggan as a lip-synching warbling and wafting waitress at a Texas roadhouse greasy spoon, this ensemble dazzles us. Erik Edborg is the unflappable voice of Mr. Jones.
Puppets, pie and Puccini. What could be better?
Not to be missed.
Through April 14. 8 p.m. Thursday-Saturday, 3 p.m. Sunday April 1. Tickets: $16 ($13 for students and seniors). 717 Lipan St. More: buntport.com or 720-946-1388
Hanna Duggan and Tommy Lee Jones
Wednesday, March 21, 2012
A Small Fire
Playwright Adam Bock’s “A Small Fire” is a worthy play that deserves your attention and your attendance. It's on view now at The Edge Theatre on West Colfax. In Bock's play a woman who heads up a construction company suddenly begins to lose her senses one by one. Kirsten Brant does well expressing the anguish of Emily Bridges, a person caught up in this disorienting experience. As she descends further and further into this void Brant makes us feel how important it is to see, hear, taste, smell and feel everything. Ms. Brant is new to Denver and a welcome addition to this theatre community.
Paul Page leads the cast as the husband who must hold the family together as his wife’s experiencing of life ebbs. Page's character reminds us that even with the loss of these first four senses-sight,hearing, taste and smell - it's the sense of touch and profound passionate love that make all the difference. Without these all the world is nothing more than mannequins and window dressing. More than friend, lover and confidante, this husband has his hands full trying to keep morale up on the home front. Page, who is brilliant throughout, turns in some especially fine work in the scene in which he describes the various activities and guests at their daughter’s wedding to a visually impaired wife.
Christian Mast is superb in a role, which allows him a balance between his outrageous comic side and the serious dramatic side we seldom get to see. His scenes as Emily’s foreman and close friend contrast nicely with one in which he plays a kind of cheerleader for some homing pigeons on the wing.
Haley Johnson (Mast’s wife in real life) plays Emily’s daughter, Jenny. The mother-daughter issues surrounding Jenny’s impending wedding that are hotly debated at the top of the play become less and less important as Emily continues her decline and Jenny becomes more empowered. Ms. Johnson, who has been brilliant as Blanche DuBois in “A Streetcar Named Desire” and Madame Merteuil in “Dangerous Liaisons” turns in some fine work in the supporting cast this time.
Robert Kramer directs the show with a clear eye and a poet’s touch. The dismantling of the fragmentary scenic design is choreographed with grace and precision by stagehands, who deserve high praise for their work.
Anyone in attendance will feel the heart of this play long after he leaves the theatre. For days afterward many of the simple things in life that one may have taken for granted take on a whole new flavor. The epiphanies engendered by “A Small Fire” will spark a new awareness of what's truly important in Life. Do yourself a favor and see it.
Paul Page leads the cast as the husband who must hold the family together as his wife’s experiencing of life ebbs. Page's character reminds us that even with the loss of these first four senses-sight,hearing, taste and smell - it's the sense of touch and profound passionate love that make all the difference. Without these all the world is nothing more than mannequins and window dressing. More than friend, lover and confidante, this husband has his hands full trying to keep morale up on the home front. Page, who is brilliant throughout, turns in some especially fine work in the scene in which he describes the various activities and guests at their daughter’s wedding to a visually impaired wife.
Christian Mast is superb in a role, which allows him a balance between his outrageous comic side and the serious dramatic side we seldom get to see. His scenes as Emily’s foreman and close friend contrast nicely with one in which he plays a kind of cheerleader for some homing pigeons on the wing.
Haley Johnson (Mast’s wife in real life) plays Emily’s daughter, Jenny. The mother-daughter issues surrounding Jenny’s impending wedding that are hotly debated at the top of the play become less and less important as Emily continues her decline and Jenny becomes more empowered. Ms. Johnson, who has been brilliant as Blanche DuBois in “A Streetcar Named Desire” and Madame Merteuil in “Dangerous Liaisons” turns in some fine work in the supporting cast this time.
Robert Kramer directs the show with a clear eye and a poet’s touch. The dismantling of the fragmentary scenic design is choreographed with grace and precision by stagehands, who deserve high praise for their work.
Anyone in attendance will feel the heart of this play long after he leaves the theatre. For days afterward many of the simple things in life that one may have taken for granted take on a whole new flavor. The epiphanies engendered by “A Small Fire” will spark a new awareness of what's truly important in Life. Do yourself a favor and see it.
L'chaim!
The Edge Theatre
“A Small Fire”
Unexpected loss leads to an unlikely love story.
Mar 16 – Apr 15
Fri./ Sat. and Monday, Apr. 9 at 8:00 p.m.; Sun. at 6 p.m. (No performance on April 8)
Tickets are $20.00 adult $19 online; $15.00 Students & Seniors; $10 on Mon., April 9
303-232-0363 or online at www.theedgetheatre.com
The Edge Theater, 9797 W Colfax Ave - Lakewood, CO 80215
Tuesday, March 20, 2012
BECKY SHAW
Becky Shaw
Curious Theatre: 3/10-4/14
By George! I think they did it! “Becky Shaw” is one Hell of a good time!
A blind date gone bad has never been this much fun. Bill Hahn’s portrayal of Max, the exasperated and intimacy-challenged macho shithead of the piece is worth the price of admission all on its own. Karen Slack’s portrayal of the deliciously inept titular character is brilliant. From her entrance “dressed like a birthday cake”-Max’s words, not mine! - to her slow mo step-by-step advance on the object of her desires, Slack's performance is nothing short of Cosmic! Dame Billie McBride’s delivery of the conniving and controlling matriarch of this dysfunctional pack of degenerates is an utter pleasure to watch. Brava! Rachel Fowler’s kvetching Suzanna Slater is eminently watchable. John Jurcheck’s intentionally ungrounded and overly sensitive Andrew Porter is spot on.
From the laid back jazz at the top of the show to the cookin’ jazz as the play heats up Jason Ducat’s sound design sounds divine. Kevin Brainerd’s “birthday cake” costume design is of the hilariously edible variety. Shannon McKinney’s lighting design is her usual fine work. Although the four vertical panels adorned with rectangular frames in Tina Anderson’s scenic design lent a contemporary abstract backdrop to the piece, the chroma key employed was flat. Perhaps it was meant to be that way so that the characters would pop out more. If so, it succeeded marvelously. Chip Walton is at the top of his form as the director of “Becky Shaw." Was it Herbert Hoover's platform that called for “a chicken in every pot?” This reviewer’s platform for this show is “a butt in every seat!”
Not to be missed.
Bill Hahn, John Jurcheck and Rachel Fowler in "Becky Shaw
P.S. Gina Gionfriddo, who wrote "Becky Shaw" is that great playwright who penned that awesome play “After Ashley.”
Hmmm. That hasn’t been done in a while.
Thursday - Saturday; 8 p.m.
, Sunday; 2 p.m.
1080 Acoma Street
curioustheatre.org
303-623-052480 Acoma Street, Denver
Monday, March 19, 2012
Southern Baptist Sissies
Southern Baptist Sissies
Theatre Out Denver: 2/24 – 3/24
I’m way late on this one, but don’t you be!
There’s only one weekend left so you must run to get a ticket for this reprise of the 2006 Theatre on Broadway production of Del Shores’ hilarious and heartbreaking “Southern Baptist Sissies.” There are three vets in the cast and five newbies. Reprising their roles are: James O’Hagan-Murphy (Mark Lee Fuller), Preston Lee Britton (Benny) and David Ballew (Peanut.) This first production of Theatre Out Denver is outrageous, outstanding and outstripping (yes there are two alternating strippers: Cisco Yocisco and Bobby Lindsay) its predecessor in production values and heart. The story is about four gay boys from the Calvary Baptist Church in Dallas who are fixin’ to find love and acceptance in the Christian Charity of their conservative, myopic and homophobic Lone Star community. O’Hagan Murphy has a good grip on the narrative thread. This time his Mark Lee Fuller is less naïve and perhaps a bit more cynical than that first time he trod the boards at T.O. B. He’s been around the theatrical block a few times since that show including fine work in “Grey Gardens” at Vintage Theatre and “Some Girl(s)” at The Edge Theatre on West Colfax. As Fuller, O’Hagan Murphy gets to talk back to the preacher and then discuss the contradictions in Leviticus with the audience throughout. Preston Britton is even more outrageous than he was last time. As Benny he gets to do the drag numbers and his engagement of the audience keeps the laugh meter on overdrive. Brock Benson is brilliant in his portrayal of T.J. Brooks, Mark Lee Fuller’s guilt ridden heart-throb. It is to be hoped that we will see more of Mr. Brooks in future theatre productions at Theatre Out and elsewhere throughout the city. Todd Black gets to be the heavy in the role of the hardhearted preacher. Talk about the straight and the narrow. Lord have mercy! About the only humor given him by the playwright is in his initial scene with Linda Suttle who is reprising her role(s) as all the boys’ narrow minded and mostly sluttish moms. Stefin Woolever turns in a touching performance in the role of Andrew Thomas Ford. His delivery of the boyish anxiety required for this character is most memorable. Although the acting duet of David Ballew and Samara Bridwell as two sloshed bar flies is funny and ultimately touching, the material goes on for wayyyy too long. C.J. Hosier’s scenic design is as good as it was last time around. It’s a heartbreaker that such a fine artist, actor and friend should have passed away at such a young age. Steve Tangedal is once again in the director’s chair on this 2006 award-winning production.
Tangedal hopes that he will be able to produce the recent off Broadway hit “Next Fall” next fall. Did I stutter? Run to get tickets.
Southern Baptist Sissies plays at the Crossroads Theatre, 2590 Washington St.
For tickets call: 303-832-0929
Tuesday, March 13, 2012
MASTER CLASS (5 Stars)
Master Class
Miners Alley: 2/24 – 4/1
“Master Class,” Terrence McNally’s play about Maria Callas will stun and astonish you!
Opera star Marcia Ragonetti delivers an outrageously well thought out cage rattler of a performance as Maria Callas in Miners Alley Playhouse’s outstanding production of Terrence McNally’s “Master Class.” As brilliant as her acting is jaws drop when this opera star sings. Playwright McNally has set the piece in a classroom at Julliard in 1971.For years Callas lived and worked at peak performance and then was unceremoniously dumped by the inevitable ravaging of time on her vocal chords and the callous nature of her husband, Aristotle Onassis. Ms. Ragonetti engages the audience in an intimate conversation, one sided though it is, which draws us in with her tongue in cheek banter and the off the cuff insults aimed at her pupils. This is a revenge play. When one has lived The Good Life full tilt onstage and off for a number of years and is summarily dumped by Life and Love simultaneously would one not tend to be bitter? Callas is enraged at her loss and takes it out on her students. Boni McIntyre co-stars in the show as the only one of this trio of students who is able to rise to Callas’s demands by equaling and momentarily overpowering her rage. This artist’s performance is riveting in the acting and her vocals. Kelly Twedt , the first victim, I mean student is subject to an excoriating humiliation by the embittered diva regarding her dress, her manner and her general ignorance of how one presents oneself upon the opera stage. Alex Sierra, another student, gives us the perfect specimen for Callas to denigrate due to his inability to know Cavardossi’s subject matter in his aria from “Tosca.” He can’t tell Callas the location and back-story even so far as his character’s sexual exploits of the previous night. Sierra was in fine voice on the night this reviewer was in attendance and one hopes he will continue his career as an opera singer. As the accompanist, Travis Yamamoto endears as he suffers some of the artist’s more callous digs regarding what’s in a name, one’s race and one’s religion. Director Kramer makes intermittent appearances as a stagehand, who must bow to Ms. Callas by bringing her a footstool and water as well as adjusting the lights and temperature in the studio. The lighting design by Jonathan Scott-McKean is of the professional quality theatre lovers have come to expect of him. There is passion and fury in this production that make it unmissable. It’s one of the most absorbing dramas in recent memory.
Not to be missed.
Tickets are $19.00 - $26.50
senior, student and group rates available.
Call 303-935-3044
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