Pike Road: "Irving Berlin's White Christmas: the Musical"

Yet again, the Pike Road Theatre Company, under James Keith Posey's astute direction, has delivered a dazzling production that entertains and inspires: Irving Berlin's White Christmas: the Musical. 

In its two-year history, the PRTC's five show main season, as well as many successful ventures into Theatre for Youth, the largely sold-out runs have involved and entertained countless Pike Road residents and citizens from across the River Region. What an accomplishment! -- But this could be the last production at the Pike Road Intermediate School. Check the PRTC website for updates.

This time, the Christmas Spirit thoroughly engages audiences who leave the theatre with smiles on their faces, and ready to spread the joy that Mr. Posey's talented company brought them from the stage.

Based on the film of the same name, and showcasing many of Irving Berlin's most popular songs ["The Best Things Happen When You're Dancing", "Count Your Blessings", "I've Got My Love to Keep Me Warm", and "White Christmas" among them], the story is a familiar one in which two couples are thrown together, make mistakes, fall in and out of love, and come to the aid of a retired Army General with a company of show business folks, and all in the idyllic setting of a snowless Vermont country inn.

Former Army buddies and show-biz hooffers Bob Wallace [Jason Isbell] and Phil Davis [Jonathan Wilson] meet and fall in love with the Haynes Sisters, Betty [Stephanie Coppock] and Judy [Micki Head], a struggling singing duo; a few scheduling errors get them to an Inn run by retired General Henry Waverly [Eric Arvidson], whose business venture is falling apart, but kept alive by the hotel's feisty concierge, Martha Watson [Jan Roeton] and the innocent support of the General's granddaughter Susan [Kate Bradley].

With a large supporting cast in the Ensemble, minimal but effective set pieces, colorful costumes, production numbers' impressively managed choreography by Kim Isbell, and uniformly excellent singing in both the principal roles and the entire troupe, Mr. Posey sets a lively pace that never falters in the play's two-and-a-half-hours.

High quality acting accompanies the musical accomplishments, so we care about the individuals, their confusions, their connections with one another, and the final outcome.

It might be getting cold outside, but a trip to Pike Road to see this version of White Christmas will leave you feeling the warmth of the Season.

Wetumpka Depot: "Once Upon a Christmas"

The Wetumpka Depot is currently showcasing a new play for children by Jean Webb, inspired by the Kenneth Grahame novel The Wind in the Willows. 

Ms. Webb's Once Upon a Christmas has all the familiar characters -- Rat, Badger, Mole, Toad, Otters, Weasels -- who join forces at Christmas to help some of them in distress. It seems that Mrs. Otter is missing, Mr. Otter is injured, the three Little Otters are thrust upon four bachelors to help them through the holidays, and the suspicious Weasels are on the loose.

Director Kristy Meanor has two separate casts of actors at her disposal [I saw Cast A] in an ensemble hour-long production with plenty off music and delightful costumes and sets. -- Plus, the script contains several lessons for children and adults alike, both at the holidays or any time of the year.

Individual and ensemble acting is spot on, and presented at a level to engage the youngsters with brightly exaggerated movement and heightened vocal dexterity.

Numerous new and traditional songs [some with new lyrics] advance the plot and encourage us to sing along at times.

The lessons mentioned above are introduced gently, reminding us not to judge a book by its cover [the Weasels are the unexpected heroes of the story], that discipline for children can be done effectively by accentuating the positive, that everyone can afford to be generous to friends and strangers who need our help, that collaborating by utilizing the strengths of each individual gets results, and that Christmas is about more than just the presents.

Ms. Webb's script is well-focused, tells a clear story, and could benefit from a few minor edits [the scene in which the Little Otters play pranks goes on a bit too long]. 

All in all, Once Upon a Christmas adds another welcome dimension to River Region Holiday fare.

Millbrook: "A Good Old-Fashioned Big Family Christmas"

Michael Snead's directing debut of Pat Cook's A Good Old-Fashioned Big Family Christmas got off to a good start at the Millbrook Community Theatre on Thursday night, entertaining its audience with a good-hearted, family-friendly Holiday-themed comedy.

Played on a charming "living room" set enhanced by a new L.E.D. lighting system, the 1-hour and 40-minutes production is told in a series of short scenes that could flow better with fewer blackouts and the addition of music between them; and, as Mr. Snead develops his directing skills, he'll get a stronger sense of pace and staging dynamics.

A 14-member ensemble of veteran and neophyte actors show us a multi-generational family [three sisters, their spouses and children, both sets of grandparents/inlaws, and a well-intentioned neighbor] -- all good people at heart, but with assorted quirks that get on each others' nerves -- as they gather for Christmas and try with varying degrees of success to be on their good behavior: familiar territory, and ample room for comic possibilities. -- And, they deliver.

It's silly and predictable, full of character types and stereotypical takes on gender roles, and with sufficient plot twists and surprises that sustain audience interest and engagement -- we recognize ourselves in the characters on-stage who show concern for one another, who bicker and cajole and blame and forgive, and ultimately demonstrate the love and understanding that keep a family together at Christmas, or at any time of the year.

ASF: "A Christmas Carol"

In Charles Dickens's classic A Christmas Carol at the Alabama Shakespeare Festival, director Rick Dildine delivers his intentionally family-friendly, humorous, music-filled, ensemble production to inaugurate the Holiday Season in the River Region.

It is a delight to the eyes and ears of audiences through evocative sets and masterful projections by Edward T. Morris, enhanced by Jeff Behm's sophisticated lighting, and Kathleen Geldard's lovely period costumes. -- An on-stage instrumental quintet invites audience participation as they play and sing numerous countryfied holiday tunes as arranged by Michael Costagliola, who also provides a powerful sound design that punctuates the action.

With countless versions and adaptations created for stage, film, and television, A Christmas Carol has long been a staple for audiences around the world, so there are bound to be expectations and comparisons from audiences each time a new one appears.

But the essentials may not be tampered with. -- It's a cold Christmas Eve, seven years to the day of the death of Ebenezer Scrooge's [Paul Slade Smith] business partner Jacob Marley; Scrooge's underpaid clerk Bob Cratchit [Benjamin Bonenfant] suffers the ire of his employer; his nephew Fred [Alex Ross] won't be deterred from his happy seasonal demeanor regardless of Scrooge's "Bah, humbug!" dismissal of anything that even hints at being pleasant; Scrooge's refusal to contribute to a fund for the poor depicts his miserly disposition. -- And Scrooge changes overnight from a "squeezing, wrenching, grasping, scraping, clutching, covetous old sinner" to a benevolent man who "keeps Christmas in his heart throughout the year" through the intercession of the ghost of Jacob Marley [Garfield Hammonds] and visitations of the Spirits of Christmas Past [Adrian Denise Kiser], Present [Chauncy Thomas], and Yet-to-Come [uncredited], who take Scrooge on a journey that exposes him to an assortment of encounters from his past-present-and-future that cause him to re-evaluate his life choices and become a better man. 

Mr. Dildine's adaptation runs a little more than 90-[hurried]-minutes, including intermission, and while it retains the essential moments, some of the scenes are mere snippets that could benefit from allowing them more time to develop both major and minor characters and their impact on Scrooge's character change...and for audiences to engage more fully and invest in Scrooge's "reclamation".

The above notwithstanding, the production emphasizes the story's positive messages, infuses music frequently, stresses the ensemble nature of the acting company, and regularly finds humor to contrast serious themes.

There are two "Young Company" casts comprised of local young people, so whichever performance you attend, you'll see a different group playing the Cratchit family, various urchins, and, of course the crippled Tiny Tim Cratchit [an endearing Carson Campbell on opening night], whose "God bless us, everyone!" sends us off in the best of spirits for the holidays.

Pike Road: "Jekyll & Hyde: The Musical"

Impressive singing highlights the Pike Road Theatre Company's production of Jekyll & Hyde: The Musical. As directed by James Keith Posey, the 1990 Frank Wildhorn-Leslie Bricusse musical demands stamina from its acting company during the two-and-a-half-hour playing time, and has the audience cheering throughout.

Part One: The Source and Legacy -- Robert Louis Stevenson wrote a Gothic "penny dreadful" novella titled Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde in 1886, in which an intelligent and well-liked Dr. Jekyll, curious about the duality of human nature, combined with his desire to destroy his untapped darker side, unleashes an evil alter-ego named Mr. Hyde by taking experimental drugs, the gruesome consequences of which are narrated by his trusted friend John Utterson. With many iterations of the tale over the years, it became the source of the "Jekyll/Hyde syndrome" describing several types of split-personality schizophrenia.

Part Two: The Musical -- Loosely based on Stevenson's source, it retains the essence of the duality of the character(s) Jekyll and Hyde, and the chief narration by Utterson.  But Jekyll starts his inquiry here as a reaction to his father's comatose condition that he believes is caused by the evil trapped within him, and will go to any extreme to find a remedy. The musical also adds many new characters for Hyde to take revenge on: a hospital's Board of Directors who refuse to give financial support to Jekyll's experiments on human subjects. Additionally, there are two romances, one for Jekyll and one for Hyde. -- As many contemporary musicals have an almost operatic framework, there is little dialogue, relying instead on lyrics and musical motifs, solos/arias, duets, trios, quartets, and chorus numbers to tell the story and sustain audience interest.

Part Three: The Production -- Mr. Posey's direction sustains the intensity of the action of an unlikely subject for a musical. There are a lot of good qualities in the production, yet it would be a top notch experience if audiences could see and hear better. [Though challenged by inadequate lighting, sound, and scenic capabilities -- please, Pike Road "powers-that-be", find the financial resources to enhance the theatrical experience for both actors and audience for this most deserving Company who will soon be in its third Season of otherwise high quality productions.] -- Utterson [Sam Wallace] shares the narration with Sir Danvers Carew [Jack Horner], whose daughter Emma [Rachel Pickering Seeley] is engaged to Dr. Jekyll; and when Jekyll transforms to Mr. Hyde, another love interest emerges in Lucy Harris [Mara Woodall], an "entertainer" at the seedy "Red Rat Club". They are accompanied by a range of supporting characters and a Chorus headed by Mike [David Rowland]. 

Once you know the premise and watch the consequences of the  frequent changes from Jekyll to Hyde, our attention is centered on the music. -- The gift of strong voices in these principal roles carries the plot and subplots: powerful baritones [Mr. Wallace and Mr. Horner] exquisite sopranos [Ms. Seeley and Ms. Woodall are at their best in their Act II duet], and Mr. Rowland's effervescent chorus leader showcase the musical strengths in the show.

The title role(s) are played by Brandtley McDonald. Without a doubt, Mr. McDonald is the star of Jekyll & Hyde: The Musical. His impressive vocal range and clear delivery, his solid acting chops and generosity to the actors who share the stage, keeps the audience attention where it belongs. With limited time off-stage, it takes a lot of stamina to take command and keep it for two challenging acts. Bravo!

Jekyll & Hyde: The Musical is yet another triumph for PRTC, and with Mr. Posey at the helm, the next season promises more of the same.

Cloverdale Playhouse: "The Laramie Project"

"If you write a play of this, do it right, say it correct" is the charge given to Moises Kaufman and the Tectonic Theater Project on their departure from Laramie, Wyoming after one-and-a-half-years of conducting interviews with the town's residents following the brutal murder of Matthew Shepard. -- The end result is The Laramie Project [2000] now on stage at the Cloverdale Playhouse. And the Playhouse  "did it right"; they "said it correct".

Matthew Shepard was a 21-year-old University of Wyoming student, slight of build, seemingly well-liked; and he was targeted, severely beaten, pistol-whipped, tortured, tied to a fence, and left to die only because he was gay. His death challenges the denial expressed by many of the local citizens who insist that Laramie is a good and ordinary place, that "Hate is not a Laramie value", and their motto is "Live and let live"; anti-gay activist Fred Phelps from the Westboro Baptist Church led a demonstration at Shepard's funeral, but the impact of his death gave attention to hate-crime legislation, and continues to be felt around the world.

Marking the 25th Anniversary of Matthew Shepard's death on October 12, 1998, the Playhouse production, staggeringly co-directed by Clyde Hancock and Christopher Roquemore, and with another flexible set design by J. Scott Grinstead, features a brilliant 12-member acting ensemble who portray 60+ characters fluidly integrated into the story in a series of short scenes spread over three acts; the play's two-and-a-half-hour running time kept the opening night audience engrossed and stunned into silence so the time was hardly noticed.

Sean Golson, Layne Holley, Jacob Holmberg, John(na) Jackson, Scott Page, Evan Price, Tiara Staples, Hillary Taylor, Sam Thomas, Katherine Webster, Ada Withers, and Emily Wootten comprise the impressive ensemble of veteran and neophyte actors. -- Though the play is a documentary-styled "verbatim" script taken from interviews, court records, and newspaper accounts, these actors are not merely a set of "talking heads"; rather, they embody flesh-and-blood individuals, and change character with simple costume enhancements, and subtle vocal and physical changes. And they are excellent story-tellers.

The actors portray both sympathetic and un-sympathetic characters; parents and friends and strangers, as well as the perpetrators of the crime [Aaron McKinney and Russell Henderson] and other antagonistic sorts are played with equal commitment; and much like Greek tragedy that doesn't show brutality and blood on stage, this script's vividly graphic descriptions of the details of Shepard's lacerations leave the audiences' imaginations to create the repulsive images.

There are too many important individual moments in this production to enumerate here, but two significant ones warrant notice and pave the way to healing. In the aftermath of her son's death, Shepard's mother Judy's words as reported by the hospital spokesperson [Evan Price] encourage everyone to "Go home, give your kids a hug, and don't let a day go by without telling them you love them"; and his father Dennis [Scott Page], in the play's single most devastatingly heart-rending section tells his son's murderer and the court, that instead of the death-penalty: "I give you life". 

By doing it "right" and saying it "correct", let us all H.O.P.E that Matthew Shepard's death was not in vain, and that the world we live in, with so many legislative attempts to disenfranchise the LGBTQ+ community, will finally afford everyone the opportunity to be accepted as equals.

Theatre AUM: "Red Bike"

Award-winning playwright Caridad Svich is known for her quirky and sometimes experimental plays that frequently encourage productions to explore their own ways to interpret and stage her scripts.

Red Bike was written for one actor [or several, as the individual production determines]; the current Theatre AUM's production directed by Val Winkelman engages a tight ensemble of three actors to delve into Svich's investigation of children and their responses to the adult world.

As actors Tara Laurel, Yahzane Palmer, and Michael James Pritchard portray the child/children at its center, we are invited into their world of play and imagination as they come to terms with the authority of adults who seem to ignore them while they pursue earning a living, providing for their families, engaging in business and politics while remaining oblivious to the effects their behavior has on the younger generation.

And, the adults are shown to be inconsistent [at least from a child's point of view], or too focused on material things to the detriment of connecting better with the children.

Childhood can be scary, growing up can be frightening, and parenthood wields a lot of power. -- So the child/children here escape on a red bicycle from the confines of home and adults to a magical world where they can assess their place in a society that disregards them. It is through a child's imagination that solutions might be found. -- Reminiscent of the song "Children Will Listen" from Into the Woods, we are offered a teaching moment advising adults to pay more attention to their children, and to listen to them as well. -- It is abundantly clear that "No one wants to be nothing".

Played on Michael Krek's framework scenic design, with plenty of open space for the actors to depict various locations, and "ride" their bikes [I wish there was more of that bike-riding to sustain the energetic commitment of the company], the actors are a top-notch ensemble who feed off one another and manage to insert narrative moments throughout the one-hour running time.

Theatre AUM's season of new or new-ish works gives their students and audiences rare opportunities to listen to new theatrical voices; well done.

Millbrook: "She Loves Me"

With the world in turmoil, it's a pleasure to see a delightfully nostalgic love-story production of She Loves Me that is currently playing in Millbrook under the adept direction of Brady Walker.

Based on Miklos Laszlo's story Parfumerie, and probably better known from the 1940 film The Shop Around the Corner, this Bock-Harnick-Masteroff musical from 1963 recounts a familiar story centered on Amelia [Kaylee Baker] and Georg [Kaden Blackburn] who exchange love-letters to "Dear Friend" through a lonely-hearts club.

Set in Mr. Maraczek's [Matthew Givens] parfumerie in 1934 Budapest, Amelia gets a job there and instantly gets under store manager Georg's skin; their mutual sparring disguises what audiences immediately recognize as a sign they are fated to fall in love, and the rest of the two-and-a-half-hours playing time serves up a mixture of songs, comedy, confusions, and pathos that ultimately lead to a satisfying conclusion.

A secondary love affair between shop assistants Illona [Maggie Kervin] and Kodaly [Travis Clark] counters the main plot, while an older employee Sipos [Scott Rouse] adds some solid reason to the emotional younger folks; and an earnest delivery boy Arpad [Jack Posey] dreams of becoming a salesman in the shop. -- A large ensemble play shoppers and other roles.

Along the way, audiences can't but be impressed by the vocal and acting talents of the cast. Mr. Clark is sufficiently sleazy as Kodaly, a character we love to hate as he oozes his way around the others and takes advantage of his position; Ms. Kervin's Ilona is at her best when she decides to drop Kodaly, as audiences applaud her decision. Mr. Posey is an endearing Arpad, and Mr. Rouse reveals subtle dimensions of the character Sipos. -- Mr. Givens has several of the play's most sincere conflicts handled with professional precision.

But it is the music that carries everything along, and the cast display their various strengths throughout. There is an excellent chemistry between Ms. Baker and Mr.Blackburn that makes every moment between them stand out, and when each of them holds forth in singing, it's impressive, especially in her "Vanilla Ice cream" and his title-song "She Loves Me", in which they each let loose with their recognition of mutual love, leaving the audience enraptured.

WOBT: "Present Laughter"

From the late 17th Century on, comedy in Britain often is marked by its glittering wit spoken by sophisticated  characters whose many faults are willingly forgiven because additionally, they are attractive; like today, we frequently overlook the flaws and questionable morality of those people we admire because of some appealing trait, so long as they look good and speak well.

Playwright Noel Coward was a prolific master of the comic form, and often wrote characters into his plays that he would perform. One of these is Present Laughter [1939], in which the central character is Garry Essendine, an approaching middle-aged narcissistic actor famous for roles in drawing room comedies, who is set to embark on an overseas tour to resuscitate his career despite his angst about getting old.

Director Melissa Strickland's Way Off Broadway Theatre production of Present Laughter features Josh Williams as Garry Essendine, accompanied by a coterie of local theatre veterans and neophytes. It's two-and-a-half-hour running time could be significantly shorter through more efficient scene-changes and a faster more energetic pace, but the production does have its rewards.

There's a lot to keep track of here: at the outset, Garry is in a pickle when ingenue Daphnee Singleton [Antilea Hamilton], who has misplaced her latchkey [more of this later] stayed the night in Garry's spare room and believes Garry is attracted to her; the butler Fred [Nick Cutrell] is unflappable regarding his master's escapades; the cook, Miss Erickson [Blair Berry] reluctantly provides what food and drink she can muster; Garry's long-time secretary Monica [Ashlee Lassiter] efficiently runs Garry's calendar and easily bends to increasingly bizarre demands of the job; Garry's ex-wife Liz [Alex Rikerd], who knows and loves him better that anyone, is neither surprised or annoyed by any of the many challenges to getting Garry away on his trip and away from potential obstacles to it; producer-partners and friends Hugo Lypiatt [Russ Tipton] and Morris Dixon [Seth Maggard] try to assuage Garry's overcharged ego while maneuvering the business aspects of the tour; an avant grade playwright named Maule [Greydon Furstender (sp?)] stalks Garry after he has been mistakenlyinvited for an interview; and, oh yes, Morris is secretly in love with Hugo's wife Joanna [Danielle Newton], who makes a play for Garry when she first appears in Act II, claiming like Daphnee in Act I, that she had misplaced her latchkey and needed a place to stay.

Much to unravel, and there are rewards in this production: we can enjoy the plot's complexities and delight in the verily methods each character employs to get his or her way; we laugh at the numerous running gags about latchkeys, dressing gowns, over-acting, and the use of code words to get one out of scrapes; we can giggle at Mr. Williams's intentionally exaggerated "acting"; we can get delight from Coward's witty dialogue, especially when it is expertly delivered by the likes of Ms. Rikerd, Mr. Williams, and Ms. Newton.

Wetumpka Depot: "Doubt: a parable"

"There lives more faith in honest doubt, believe me, than in half the creeds..." Alfred, Lord Tennyson: In Memoriam, A.H.H.

John Patrick Shanley's prize-winning 2004 Doubt: a parable, in a tense intermission less 90-minutes on the Wetumpka Depot stage, starts a conversation with the audience that ought to continue for some time after its final moments.

In our world full of conspiracy theories, where a mere hint of scandal or impropriety quickly escalates [despite a lack of concrete evidence] into full-blown, heated arguments that do not concede any ground from either side, what happens in Doubt should come as no surprise; but Shanley and Depot director Beth Butler adroitly leave it up to the audience to determine which side they take.

Set in a Roman Catholic parish and school in New York in 1964, the play's four characters are faced with an unsubstantiated feeling by a naively earnest young nun that the local pastor might have had an improper relationship with a teenage boy, the first African American student at the school. Sister James [Sarah Smith] confides her feeling about a progressive-leaning Father Flynn [Jay Russell] to Sister Aloysius [Kristy Meanor], a rigidly conservative school principal, who assumes his guilt is certain, and then campaigns to expose him so he can suffer consequences she believes he deserves.

Father Flynn's homily on the value of uncertainty opens the play, only to suggest to Sister Aloysius that her staunch belief in resisting any change from the status quo is the only right path. After Sister Aloysius has told him of her suspicions, Father Flynn retaliates with a sermon on gossip, setting up what is to come.

In several sequences, we witness Sister Aloysius's attempts to get Father Flynn to admit to deviant behavior, and his insistence on his innocence; and Sister James's uncertainty about her feelings furthers the flames of doubt. -- Even an interview between Sister Aloysius and the boys Mother, Mrs. Muller [Michelle Summers], whose reluctance to accuse the priest frustrates Sister Aloysius even more. 

Ms. Butler's fully committed ensemble actors are so convincingly credible in their roles, and deliver Shanley's dialogue with such conviction, that audience sympathies might shift several times during the action; there's always something else to consider, as evidence or lack thereof mounts up. -- In the end, each audience member must weigh the various sides of the argument and perhaps be swayed to an uncomfortable conclusion.

Doubt: a parable is a provocative drama that challenges actors and audiences in a live theatre performance to not only make a determination about Father Flynn's guilt or innocence, but on their own ability to question their own certainty about a wide variety of subjects. -- Food for thought.

ASF: "A Midsummer Night's Dream"

Director Rick Dildine's "music infused" interpretation of Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream emphasizes the play's entertainment value by targeting its humor, adding an expert on-stage bluegrass/country musical ensemble [who also play character roles], and introducing a new character identified only as "Boy" [played on opening night by Griffin Isbell], who at the start of the show enters a large clock-tower attic room, and whose imagination triggers the action of the 400+ year old comedy.

A Midsummer Night's Dream is notable for its lyrical poetry and its intermingling of several plots [youthful romantic couples who challenge patriarchal authority, a Fairy King and Queen whose behavior mimics their earthly counterparts, a mischievous and loyal servant sprite called Robin Goodfellow/Puck, and a naively rambunctious group of coarse actors] that depict and analyze the human need to find love.

But perhaps the ASF Company's finest achievement in this production is their uniform vocal clarity and precision in delivering The Bard's words and verse so that everything [plot, character relationships, themes, humor, et al.] engages audiences' intellect and emotions, and carries them through the complications of The Dream's magic. -- Harkening back to Elizabethan audiences who went to the theatre "to hear a play" as contrasted to modern day audiences who go "to see a play", and productions that hijack words and content in favor of spectacle, loudness, and displays of emotion, it is refreshing to experience a local production that respects the audience's ability and willingness to fully participate through listening and thereby getting the rewards of a satisfying production. -- Notice needs to be paid to Santiago Sosa as the "Voice/Text Coach" for the production, and Melanie Chen Cole's Sound Design that enhances the balance between voice, music, and stage action so we hear every word.

Plot #1: As Athenian King Theseus [Harry Thornton] and his Amazon Queen Hippolyta [Katelyn Call] prepare for their upcoming marriage, Egeus [Greg Thornton] asks the King to intervene in his daughter Hermia's [Sigrid Wise] arranged marriage to Demetrius [Pete Winfrey]; though she prefers Lysander [Louis Reyes McWilliams], while her friend Helena [Jayne McLendon] pursues Demetrius, Egeus asserts his patriarchal right to determine his daughter's husband...or else. -- As Hermia and Lysander plan an elopement to thwart Egeus's demands, Lysander astutely comments: "The course of true love never did run smooth," setting up the many complications to follow.

Plot #2: A group of working-class craftsmen meet to rehearse a play they hope to perform at the wedding feast for Theseus and Hippolyta. The play is called The Most Lamentable Comedy and Most Cruel Death of Pyramus and Thisbe, and as Peter Quince [Ben Cherry] explains and distributes the roles to Snug [Jo Brook], Starveling [Zack Powell], Flute [Woodrow Proctor], Snout [Oriana Lada], and Bottom [Matt Lytle], it is clear that the audience can anticipate a raucous display in their production.

Plot #3: In the woods outside Athens, the Boy and Puck [Benjamin Bonenfant] introduce the feuding Fairy King Oberon [Chauncy Thomas] and Fairy Queen Titania [Mia Ellis], and Oberon's plot to bewitch Titania with Puck's help. -- It is here where the young lovers have escaped the authority of parent and King, and it is here where the "rude Mechanicals" come to rehearse their play...and so, inevitably, the three stories intertwine with many expected and surprising results.

Lots to unravel, what with magical tricks at the expense of others, deceptions, mistakes, cross-purposes, and all in the pursuit of love. 

The four principal women [Hippolyta, Titania, Hermia, Helena] share a sense of feminist independence, making their relationships with their men a bit more of a challenge than in many previous productions, and highlight the comic possibilities of the battle between the sexes; while the men [Theseus, Oberon, Lysander, Demetrius] strut their masculinity, they learn to compromise.

Though Titania is tricked into falling in love with Bottom [who has had an ass-head placed on him by Puck], she and Oberon eventually come to terms in their dispute, and Bottom is restored to his normal human condition in time to perform Pyramus and Thisbe after the wedding ceremony. -- And it is this performance that brings the play to its penultimate moment. The outrageous impersonations on the play-within-a-play allow us all to reflect on Puck's pronouncement: "Lord, what fools these mortals be."

All along, with Puck as his guide, the Boy comes to realize that love takes many forms, and that friendship and trust are high on the list, so he can return to the world below the attic, and we can leave the theatre with a new appreciation of the importance of love in our lives.

ASF: "Cabaret"

"Willkommen" -- There are only a few days left to answer the Emcee's call to "come to the Cabaret" at the Alabama Shakespeare Festival, director Rick Dildine's vibrantly topical rendition of the Joe Masteroff [book], John Kander [music], and Fred Ebb [lyrics] 1996 musical set in the seedy Kit Kat Klub in pre-War Berlin, as Hitler's Nazi Party was coming into power.

Don't expect a replication of previous incarnations of the multi-award-winning show; Dildine's Emcee [Pierre Marais] narrates the story with a combination of glitz, glamor, and grit, his enigmatic persona, powerful singing, and energetic dancing bringing the character to energetic life, as he assures the audience that "everything is beautiful" within the confines of the Klub, conscripting us to leave the discomfort of the outside world behind. And we are beguiled to do so for the 2+ hours of the production, even with his frequent reminders that serious threats to our well-being await us when we leave.

The fact that ASF is in company with many theaters at home and abroad in mounting this musical demonstrates how resonant its social commentary and themes are for 2023 audiences. When we ignore dangerous threats to our well-being, or intentionally avoid them or pretend they don't exist, or fail to recognize the political turmoil surrounding us, and distract ourselves with temporary pleasure, a rude awakening is bound to follow.

An ambiguous romantic relationship develops between writer/teacher Cliff Bradshaw [Max Wolkowitz] and Klub chanteuse Sally Bowles [Crystal Kellogg], and gets complicated by Sally's friend Ernst Ludwig's [Andrew Foote] persuading Cliff to be a go-between in nefarious Nazi activities. 

Cliff's landlady Fraulein Schneider [Stacia Fernandez] is being wooed by Jewish fruit-vendor Herr Schultz [Donald Corren], while she tolerates another of her boarders, Fraulein Kost's [Carlyn Connolly], nightly assignations with assorted sailors. Both are put to the test as a matter of survival for Fraulein Schneider: she exchanges the moral high ground against Kost because she needs the rent money, and she sacrifices a dangerous marriage with a Jewish man in order to sustain a modicum of security in a dangerous world.

Played on Jeff Behm's evocative flexible set, enhanced by Alexa Behm's brilliant costume designs, and dynamic choreography by Christopher Windom, the impressive ensemble performers are guided by the Emcee through their interweaving plot-lines and numerous songs and dances, with music provided by Musical Director Joel Jones and a fine on-stage band.

Ms. Fernandez and Mr. Corren give sensitive attention to an older couple's ill-fated romance, as we track them in song from "So What" to "It Couldn't Please Me More" to "Married" [with a potent counterpoint provided by Ms. Connolly as the Chanteuse] to the inevitable "What Would You Do?" -- perhaps the most truthful performances in this production.

Sally's and Cliff's conflicted relationship is handled with conviction by Ms. Kellogg and Mr. Wolkowitz, and we watch them deteriorate from "Perfectly Marvelous" to "Maybe This Time" to Sally's devastating recognition of the impact of her actions in the title song, "Cabaret" -- a powerful choice.

There are so many lessons to be learned at the Cabaret, which could be seen as a kind of "Safe Place" for society's outsiders. -- Yet, it is Mr. Marais' Emcee, a chameleon who holds it all together, who gives permission for the players and the audience to indulge and forget, and provides the most sardonic commentary on life outside the numbing comfort of the Klub with "Two Ladies", "Money", "If You Could See Her", and most especially "Tomorrow Belongs to Me' and "I Don't Care Much". A masterful performance.

Come to the Cabaret -- you won't regret it.

Cloverdale Playhouse: "A Little Princess"

Frances Hodgson Burnett's output of stories that feature children as their central characters has kept her in the popular domain for over a hundred years after she penned them. Several film and stage versions of Little Lord Fauntleroy, The Secret Garden, and A Little Princess sustain her popularity, so it is no wonder that The Cloverdale Playhouse's production of A Little Princess that ended its sold-out run last weekend, added to her reliability to both entertain and instruct.

Replete with imaginative puppets and scenic design by J. Scott Grinstead, and a stellar ensemble of local youth and adult actors, director Sarah Kay keeps her focus on both the entertaining and instructive elements of John Vreeke's adaptation.

With its mix of humor and pathos, A Little Princess recounts the story of young Sara Crewe [Tempe Grinstead], who is sent from India to stern Miss Minchin's [Caroline Adams] "Select Seminary for Young Ladies" in London, where her family's wealth and her clothes and manners set her apart from the other girls and she is treated like a princess. But when the money stops, Miss Minchin relegates her to a dank garret room and makes her work for her keep.

Narrated by Ram Das [Niranjan Gowda] and the Nurse [Asha Knight] -- both excellent storytellers -- we meet Miss Minchin's more compassionate sister Amelia [Jan Roeton], an array of schoolgirls, bashful servant girl Becky [Sawyer Carroll] who Sarah befriends, and Mr. Carrisford [J. Scott Grinstead], an invalid and business partner of Sarah's father.

While we might find humor in the petty jealousies and snobbish differences of opinion on many social matters, and bewail the maltreatment of society's lower classes, Sarah's ability to remain optimistic, despite her change of fortune, to keep egalitarian attitudes toward people of all classes and conditions, to forgive her detractors, and somehow earn the audience's respect through her example. Well done: Tempe Grinstead.

In today's "cancel culture", the singular lesson of A Little Princess is to treat one another with respect and understanding, something that could go a long way in easing the tensions all around us.

ASF: "Clyde's"

Loud cheers erupted on opening night in the Alabama Shakespeare Festival's Octagon Theatre at the conclusion of Lynn Nottage's Clyde's, this country's most performed play of 2022. The two-time Pulitzer Prize winning playwright is well-known for staging stories of some of America's forgotten people [people of color; working class], instilling her characters with qualities the rest of society takes for granted.

Five ensemble actors directed by Josiah Davis portray formerly incarcerated short order cooks in the kitchen of a truck stop diner, overseen by the devilishly foul-mouthed owner, Clyde [Phyllis Yvonne Stickney is mesmerizing] who often reminds them in no uncertain terms that they had better toe the line and that they work for her only because no-one else would take them. They have no other options.

Fiery Letitia [Alinca Hamilton], lovesick Rafael [Alfredo Antillon], and struggling Jason [Brendan D. Hickey] admire the sagacious zen-like Montrellous [Michael A. Shepperd], all the while being aware of Clyde's presence and power over them.

And they reluctantly make the ordinary sandwiches on Clyde's menu while following Montrellous's example of inventing new and more elaborate creations in the quest of making the perfect sandwich, keeping their recipes secret from Clyde's ever-watchful eyes. For them, it's a matter of survival; even though Clyde squelches their every attempt at independence or creativity, they persist.

Each one's backstory is revealed during the raunchy fast-paced intermssionless hour-and-forty minute running time. Everyone hurts, and each one's previous choices and actions that got them into trouble are revealed: some readily, and some requiring more prodding, with jokes galore that garner well-earned laughs to balance the seriousness of their conditions.

But in the kitchen and through the actors' remarkably credible performances, relationships among them develop, dreams are openly expressed, grief and repentance are poignantly displayed, mistrust segues into friendly bantering, and the ultimate recognition that they shouldn't be defined by their mistakes affords them some dignity that society [and Clyde] have refused them.  

Is there such a thing as a perfect sandwich? -- Montrellous claims that a sandwich is the most democratic of all meals; and the others realize that collaboration and respect for each one's individuality might create a perfect one.

And because they experience a kind of redemption, we sympathize, we see them differently, we understand their predicaments, and we invest in their lives, in short, we're on their side.

Pike Road: "The Wizard of Oz"

"Somewhere Over the Rainbow", "Follow the Yellow Brick Road", "We're Off to See the Wizard", "If I Only Had a Brain", "Ding Dong! The Witch is Dead" --- every one of these songs, and others, immediately conjure up the revered 1939 film, The Wizard of Oz.

The stage musical version of it is currently on the boards at the Pike Road Theatre Company, under the able direction and choreography of James Keith Posey. -- Filled with many replications from the film [costumes, sets, characterizations, et al.], the two acts satisfy all the nostalgic notes for those who have grown up watching the movie.

When Dorothy Gale [Margaret Lind] runs away from her Kansas home to escape the threats of Miss Gulch [Stepanie Higley] against her dog Toto [Carly], and feels ignored by Auntie Em [Kaylee Baker] and Uncle Henry [Chris Bowden], she meets kindly Professor Marvel [Jack Horner] who encourages her to  head home as a tornado threatens; and when the storm arrives, she is magically transported to the Land of Oz. 

Oz is a magical place peopled with Witches good and bad, a Scarecrow [Travis Clark], a Tin Man [Kevin Mohajerin], and a Lion [Jason Morgan], Munchkins, Winkies, Flying Monkeys, where characters from Dorothy's real life take on corresponding ones in the imaginary world. -- And Dorothy's goal is to return home as soon as possible.

Having inadvertently killed the Wicked Witch of the East when her house landed on her, Dorothy becomes a local hero, and the vengeful Wicked Witch of the West [a terrific Stephanie Higley] wants the magical powers of her sister's ruby slippers, and will go to extremes to get them back; Glinda the Good Witch of the North [Ms. Higley again] gives the slippers to Dorothy and warns her to never take them off. 

So her journey begins, guided by the Glinda's advice to "follow the yellow brick road" to get help from the Wizard of Oz at his home in the Emerald City. On the way, she meets Scarecrow, Tin Man, and Lion, and together they travel to Oz with specific requests they hope the Wizard will grant.

Lots of obstacles along the way propel Dorothy and her cohort to confront the Wizard and have him grant their wishes.

We all know how things resolve, so the delight in watching things transpire relies on the talents of the cast and production team to follow through. -- And they do: Ms. Lind is a pleasant Dorothy with a fine singing voice; Mr. Clark is a gangly awkward Scarecrow in need of a brain; Mr. Mohajerin's Tin Man is sympathetic in his quest for a heart; and Mr. Morgan entertains with aplomb as the cowardly Lion, threatening to steal the show with "If I Only Had The Nerve" and "King of the Forest".

Mr. Posey's ensemble of Munchkins, Ozians, et al. are testimony to his ability to connect with the local community for support and putting large numbers of talent on stage; and the energetic choreography and chorus singing achieve some rousing moments. -- Emily Blossom's exceptional costumes and Kaitlin Cooper's detailed make-up, along with Mr. Posey and Jordan Hollett's atmospheric sets complete the picture of both Kansas and Oz.

Unfortunately, the Pike Road Theatre Company still has limited lighting and sound equipment at their disposal, long into their second Season of otherwise stunning productions. When audiences must strain to see and hear the acting company, a lot gets lost and we are left to our own devices.

The Wizard of Oz seems to be another hit at Pike Road, with enthusiastic full-house audiences engaging and applauding all the way.

Wetumpka Depot: "Something Rotten"

Talk about a rollicking good time...director Kristy Meanor's goofy, irreverent, anachronistically hysterical production of the 2015 musical Something Rotten opened on Thursday, and had the audience in stitches throughout!

Two acts of mile-a-minute repartee with ribald double-entendre and countless references to English literature and history, and tongue-in-cheek nods to innumerable contemporary musicals, demands we pay strict attention for fear of missing out on the jokes.

A Minstrel [Taylor Finch] sets the time as 1595 in "Welcome to the Renaissance", and we're off with the Depot's 21-member ensemble actors on a madcap romp led by the Bottom Brothers -- impatient and competitive Nick [Jonathan Wilson] and even-tempered Nigel [Jay Russell] -- whose funding for their new play will be cut off by their patroness Lady Clapham [Jan Roeton] unless it's finished overnight. Stuck without any ideas, and jealous of their chief rival the narcissistic William Shakespeare [Jeff Langham in top form as "the Bard"], "God I Hate Shakespeare" sets up the battles yet to come.

Desperate for ideas and without ready cash, Nick rejects his wife Bea's [Sarah Kay] feminist suggestion that women are men's equals and that she could help by getting a job. -- Money-lender Shylock [Eric Arvidson at his best] is eager to help, but it's illegal to employ a Jew; so Nick settles on advice from soothsayer Nostradamus [Cushing Phillips], who predicts that the future of theatre will be in the form of plays where actors sing their lines and burst into song and dance for no apparent reason: "A Musical" is the highlight of Act I.

Nigel meanwhile falls in love with Portia [Rachel Pickering Seeley], the daughter of a Puritan Brother Jeremiah [Bradley Podliska], who does his best to thwart both his daughter's romance and the "immoral" theatre which, after all, features actors in drag, and contains subject matter that corrupts the local populace. -- Their romantic scenes are infused with a lot of tomfoolery: delightful.

And that's just the set-up in Something Rotten [book by Karey Kirkpatrick and John O'Farrell; music and lyrics by Karey and Wayne Kirkpatrick]. -- Complications build with each successive moment, disguises and cross-dressing manipulate the antic action, and Nostradamus's bewildering confusion turns the plot of Shakespare's most famous play into an "Omelette". Never mind: just go along for the ride with this talented crew, and Mr. Phillips's Nostradamus chews up the scenery with such relish that alone is worth the price of admission.

Daniel Harms creates dynamic, razzle-dazzle, and energetic choreography for the ensemble and for himself to support the story and characters.

The production is a visual delight, from the faux-Renaissance and brightly comical musical theatre Chorus costumes by Suzanne Booth, to clever scenery [Charles "Eddie" Moncrief III] and Thomas Rodman's robust lighting.

Music Director Dr. Damian Womack is assisted by Sound and Music Tech from Jerry Parker; together, they guide the company and feature some excellent voices [Ms. Seeley, Ms. Kay and Ms. Finch are standouts, with Mr. Wilson demonstrating a musical theatre triple threat actor/singer/dancer to center the conflict and its resolution. 

For a fresh take on musical theatre with a welcome dose of schmalz for good measure, Something Rotten hits all the marks for a fine evening out. 

Cloverdale Playhouse: "Next to Normal"

A stunning and powerful opening night performance of the 2010 Pulitzer Prize and multiple Tony Award winning musical Next to Normal received a well-earned spontaneous ovation from its full house audience at the Cloverdale Playhouse.

Meticulous direction by Randy Foster and Eleanor K. Davis guided an exceptional six-member ensemble through the rigors of a demanding vocal score [most of the 2+ hours playing time is sung, with little spoken dialogue] that tells the story of a suburban family grappling with the wife/mother's bipolar depression and the medical treatments she undergoes long after a traumatic event many years ago.

Groundbreaking in its time for stretching the content of musical theatre to objectively and compassionately portray the causes and effects of depression on ordinary families through Tom Kitt's rock-influenced score and Brian Yorkey's insightful lyrics, the Cloverdale Playhouse production rivets audience attention and challenges us to invest our own experiences with what happens on stage.

Arguably one of the most provocative adult-themed of the River Region's productions in recent memory, Next to Normal's center is Diana [Sarah Housley] who attempts to identify the cause of her depression, the effects it has on her family, and the increasingly aggressive methods the medical experts use to alleviate her condition.

Ms. Housley's exceptional performance [she sings with power and clarity, and portrays Diana's mental confusion and changing family relationships with subtle nuances] compels audiences to weigh each ambivalent moment as she carries them on her disorientating journey of self-discovery.

As her always supportive husband Dan, Gage Leifried elicits the conflicting impulses of a strong duty-bound spouse and father who doubts his ability to keep it all together. -- Tenth-grader Bella Posey as their over-achieving teenaged daughter Natalie delivers a mature debut performance at the Playhouse that belies her years and promises a bright theatrical future. -- Natalie's boyfriend Henry is an ingratiating Graham Butler, who becomes a counterpoint to Dan through his persistence in helping Natalie through her own emotional rollercoaster. -- As their son Gabe, Reese Lemaster's enigmatic portrayal is by turns a measure of Diana's condition and its cause, a help and a hindrance to her depression. -- And John Selden's dual roles as Diana's doctors [a "rock-star" and a "psychopharmacologist"], add some levity to the proceedings while also highlighting the seriousness of the medical profession's achievements and limitations.

With some 39 songs listed in the program, what we can and cannot know about our own or others' conditions is investigated and strategically dramatized in "You Don't Know", "I Am the One", "Superboy and the Invisible Girl", "Make Up Your Mind/Catch Me I'm Falling", "Song of Forgetting", among others. Individually and collectively, the ensemble actors interpret the informative lyrics with spot-on dramatic intention as well as with musical confidence.

The character driven costumes [Ms. Davis], evocative lighting [Chris Roquemore] and minimally appropriate props [J. Scott Grinstead/Sam Wootten] -- and the performances of the acting troupe -- are enhanced by another masterfully inventive set designed by J. Scott Grinstead: a multi-leveled exterior of a blue house architecturally defined by white trimming that has several cleverly disguised moving parts to define spaces and seamlessly segue from scene to scene.

Next to Normal stages a profound analysis of grief, depression, suicide. drugs, and medical ethics through an all-too-familiar scenario. The Cloverdale Playhouse's production targets our emotions and our appraisal of mental disease while leaving us with a suggestion that hard decisions determined by love can open the doors to a satisfactory resolution.

Way Off Broadway, Prattville: "The Hound of the Baskervilles"

Jon Jory's version of Arthur Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holmes masterpiece, The Hound of the Baskervilles, is currently playing to full houses at Prattville's Way Off Broadway Theatre.

True to Conan Doyle's short story's conventions -- mysterious deaths, an isolated manor house, strange characters, many red-herrings and misdirections -- Jory's adaptation sustains the tension through a series of short scenes that require audiences to follow all the details as they try to identify the culprits before master sleuth Holmes [Kevin Morton] and his assistant Dr. Watson [Savannah Brown] resolve everything to our satisfaction.

There's a centuries-long history of mysterious deaths related to a curse on the Baskerville family that are attributed to a fearful phantom hound, the most recent one at Baskerville Hall that urges Dr. Mortimer [Russ Tipton] to engage Holmes and Watson to figure it out and protect the new owner Sir Henry Baskerville [Nate Greenawalt] from a similar fate.

Whether any of the characters are reliable witnesses is hard to tell, as details conflict with reports from the butler Barrymore [John Hill] and his wife [Sandra Hill], and from neighbor Stapleton [Luke Fenn] and his sister Beryl [Haley Falcione] -- not all is what it seems, and is complicated by the introduction of the mysterious Mrs. Lyons [Meagan Tuck]. -- Doubling as a Cabman and as Mr. Frankland, Jon Darby adds some freshness and details to the goings-on, and does so with confident appeal.

Much of the enjoyment for audiences comes from trying to stay one step ahead of the plot and character development, so no spoilers here. -- Suffice it to say that director Tara Fenn's troupe keep us in suspense from start to finish, and allowing us to change our collective minds as new evidence is divulged.

It isn't a long play [though long blackouts during scene changes added several minutes to the playing time], and could have sustained the atmosphere and dramatic tension by performing it without an intermission. That notwithstanding, The Hound of the Baskervilles remains one of Conan Doyle's best, and appeals to audiences today as it did when first penned in 1901.

Millbrook: "The Odd Couple: the Female Version"

A story about two unlikely roommates -- Felix Unger, a neurotic, neatnick newsman; Oscar Madison, a slovenly, devil-may-care sports writer -- are separated from their spouses, but when Felix moves in with Oscar, each one's habits quickly become the central comical conflict.

Neil Simon's 1965 The Odd Couple has been seen on Broadway and around the world, engendering a 1968 film and a popular 1970s television sitcom, and in 1985, The Odd Couple: the Female Version was born, and is currently playing in Millbrook.

Felix is now Florence, and Oscar becomes Olive; the weekly poker nights become a gathering of women friends playing "Trivial Pursuit"; and the upstairs British Pigeon sisters are now the Spanish Costazuela brothers. -- And pretty much everything else remains the same, continuing to pack a comical punch even though many of the popular culture references are now a bit stale.

Luckily, director Stephanie McGuire has conscripted a number of Millbrook's veterans in the featured roles [as well as in the supporting ones]. Karla McGhee shines as the messy and careless Olive, whose frustrations with Vicki Moses's fastidious Florence, afford audiences plenty of opportunities to identify with the conflict, laughing both at and with the two lead actors/roles.

The participants in the weekly board game, parallel the characters in the original male version, and each one -- Tracey Quotes, Tammy Arvidson, Donna Young, and Millbrook newcomer Ginger Connor -- creates a clear character believably.

When the brothers show up in Act II as "dates" for Florence and Olive, Manolo [Mark McGuire] and Jesus [Steve Phillips] add another dimension of cultural and language confusions, that are played with appropriate verve...what happens after the "date" is destined to repeat what we've just seen.

The Odd Couple: the Female Version is a lighthearted and pleasant evening out in Millbrook.

ASF: "Million Dollar Quartet"

If non-stop entertainment is what you're after -- a nostalgic compilation of some 22 songs performed without an intermission by a multi-talented ensemble -- you would be hard pressed to find a better example than the Alabama Shakespeare Festival's rollicking production of the award winning Million Dollar Quartet.

Based on an actual 1956 once-in-a-lifetime impromptu jam session at Sun Studios in Memphis, TN that brought together legendary music veterans Carl Perkins [Billy Finn], Johnny Cash [Chris Marsh Clark], Elvis Presley [Luke Monday] and then up and coming upstart Jerry Lee Lewis [Michael Kurowski], Million Dollar Quartet is a celebration of the early days of Rock'n'Roll spearheaded by Sun Records' founder, Sam Phillips [Josh Canfield], a man with a keen ear for raw talent that would have been passed over by establishment recording studios.

Narrated by Phillips, and joined by drummer Fluke [Tucker Cruz Marshall], Perkins' Brother Jay [Roy James Brown] on bass, and by Elvis's singer-girlfriend Dyanne [Fatima El-Bashir], the ensemble's infectious good will and impressive musical talents took ASF's opening night's audience on a fabulous ride.

They were treated to a variety of well and lesser known songs from each artist's repertoire: "Blue Suede Shoes", "Folsom Prison Blues", "Great Balls of Fire", and "Hound Dog" among them had the audience enthusiastically responding, sometimes singing along, and anticipating the next number throughout the hour and forty minute performance.

But there's a story here, too: Sun Studios (and Sam Phillips' pivotal role in giving unknown artists their starts in the early days of Rock'n'Roll), gave rise to the popularity of rock, blues, R&B, and rockabilly styles, and became renowned as the "birthplace of Rock'n'Roll". -- With each man at various stages in their careers, with a few personality clashes, and none of them content with the status quo, there are some hard decisions to make while acknowledging Phillips's role in their successes. History isn't always comfortable.

But this show is mostly about the music. And Million Dollar Quartet delivers a knock-out punch for a most satisfying evening out.

Theatre AUM: "Uncle Vanya"

Mike Winkelman is retiring from AUM, and his final directing project there -- a solid production of Anton Chekhov's 1898 comedy: Uncle Vanya -- brings students, alumni, staff and faculty as participants in a challenging piece of World Theatre.

And, in case anyone might wonder -- amidst the characters' restlessness, weariness, boredom, unrequited love, family disruptions, and wallowing in individual and group exhaustion from doing very little --  yes...it is a comedy that Winkelman taps for all its nonsensical glory, garnering well-earned laughs along the way, while allowing the serious matters equal attention.

In rural 19th Century Russia, Vanya [Neil David Seibel] and his niece Sonya [Yahzane Palmer] have been long-term caretakers of an estate controlled by Vanya's brother-in-law and Sonya's father Alexander Serebryakov [Sam Wallace], a "celebrated" Professor who has returned with his new young wife Elena [Amy May], setting the house in turmoil by changing the status quo of the daily routine. 

Dr. Astrov [Noah DePace] is on hand to treat members of the household, but seems more concerned with preserving the rapidly deteriorating forests nearby; Telegin [Worth Harris] and Yefim [Kelyn McIntyre] hang around with little to do; and Vanya's selectively hard of hearing mother Maria [Layne Holley], busies herself with socio-political pamphlets. 

There's not much of a plot in Uncle Vanya [subtitled: "Scenes from a provincial life"]; it's more about rich people complaining about their mundane existence, petty grievances against one another, and attempted love affairs doomed to failure. They bicker and chatter on without acting on their desires, and then cry and lament when things don't go their way. -- The best they can do by the end is endure. -- Only the family Nanny [Katie Pearson], has a reasonable voice in wanting the status quo to be restored, though when it is, and nothing much has changed, we are left with only a slightly optimistic future.

Production values are top-notch -- Chason Marvin [Lighting], Mike Mann [Sound], Mike Winkelman [Scenic], Val Winkelman [Costume] -- supporting the actors and director's vision throughout.

Too much rapid and vocally unsupported speech makes several characters [and some important information] hard to hear; though Ms. Holley, Ms. Pearson, Mr. Wallace, and Mr. Seibel are always clear and articulate, delineating their characters and relationships with confidence.

Mr. Wallace's depiction of Serebryakov ranks high in this experienced actor's repertoire. And Mr. Seibel's Vanya: the play's central and most complex character, is subtle and surprising in his fluctuating nature, commanding our attention from start to finish, and allowing audiences to connect with Vanya's self-assessment.

An excellent way for Mr. Winkelman to end his directing career at Theatre AUM.

Pike Road: "Gypsy"

"May we entertain you?" -- Indeed you do in a sparkling production of Gypsy at the Pike Road Theatre Company, directed and choreographed with an infectious flair by James Keith Posey.

Based on the memoirs of iconic striptease artist Gypsy Rose Lee, this 1959 Arthur Laurents-Jule Styne-Stephen Sondheim offering has been hailed by some as the "greatest American book-musical" for its powerful story, memorable songs, and extraordinarily forceful central character who has been played by such theatre icons as Ethel Merman, Bernadette Peters, Patti Lupone, Angela Lansbury, Rosalind Russell, Tyne Daly, and Imelda Staunton.

At Pike Road, Jennifer Hollett joins their ranks in taking on the role of Rose, a tunnel-visioned stage mother in a love-hate relationship with her daughters June [Bella Posey] and Louise [Kaylee Baker], who she drags around the vaudeville circuit in her quest for successful performing careers from their childhood to young adult women. They eke out a living while Rose conducts herself in ever more forceful ways for them to make it to the big time, while vicariously living out her own dreams of living in the spotlight. -- And it takes its toll on their relationships as well as on Rose's business and romantic relationship with Herbie [Eric Arvidson], a manager who wants to marry her and puts up with her demands and tirades until he can't take it any longer.

Over the course of almost a three-hour playing time [the time rarely lags as the Pike Road Company keep us entertained and engaged throughout], we see the un-glamorous side of show business, the ups and downs of several careers, the demands and sacrifices of theatre gypsies looking for their big break, the assortment of talents from these local actors, and the passion felt by those in thrall of greasepaint and lights.

From childhood versions of Baby June [Caroline Suggs] and Baby Louise [Maddie Otwell] prancing their way through repetitive updates to "May We Entertain You" to a cleverly staged segue to the grown up June and Louise, and the various chorus boys and girls invigorating the story line, audiences are treated to colorful production numbers -- and yes, there's a cow on-stage.

Key to both advancing the plot and demonstrating the talents of the cast are songs like "Some People", "You'll Never Get Away from Me", "If Momma Was Married", "All I Need Is the Girl", "Everything's Coming Up Roses", "You Gotta Get a Gimmick", and, of course "Rose's Turn", each of which has achieved permanency in the musical theatre repertoire.

No matter how much we feel for June [the talented headliner] and Louise [relegated to the background], and finding when June deserts them to marry tap-dancing Tulsa [Kevin Mohajerin], and understand Louise's reluctance to take to the burlesque stage on her mother's dictum to "strut and drop a shoulder strap...but always be a lady", the focus is always on Rose...and Ms. Hollett commands the stage and our attention and admiration. She never falters either vocally or in presenting a complex character.  It's quite a powerful performance from start to finish.

ASF: "The Tempest"

"Be not afeard. The isle is full of noises, Sounds and sweet airs that give delight and hurt not." -- Caliban, Act III, Scene ii The Tempest.

Director Rick Dildine's interpretation of Shakespeare's late-career The Tempest is playing at the Alabama Shakespeare Festival for an all-too-short run. Editing the play to a compact 110-minute intermissionless production, setting it in the late 18th Century on Christopher and Justin Swader's grand hulk of a skeletal wrecked ship, and adding a folksy musical score to span the centuries and signal its relevance to modern audiences, it details a story of revenge and forgiveness, of love and family, of control and slavery, of music and of magic.

Much of the magic on-stage comes in the person of Greta Lambert in the principal role of Prospero: a sorcerer/magician seeking revenge on the perpetrators of her exile some twelve years ago, when she and her then infant daughter Miranda [Sigrid Wise] were ousted by her brother Antonio [Nicholas Mongiardo-Cooper] from the Dukedom of Milan. With the assistance of Gonzalo [Greg Thornton], they escaped to a remote island, where her study of magic has given her power and authority over a savage Caliban [Chauncy Thomas] and an airy spirit Ariel [Thani Brant], both of whom want their freedom.

Ms. Lambert's ASF career spans the last 38 years, during which she has impressed and delighted audiences in portraying countless Shakespearean heroines, and a host of classical and contemporary protagonists, putting her indelible mark on each with skillfully measured physical and vocal exactness that embraces each character's humanity and affords audiences the ability to connect with them.

Here, she is a protective and compassionate mother, a determined taskmaster, a master of revenge and restraint, a skilled magician, and one who learns that love and forgiveness are the very things that can set one free.

When Prospero shipwrecks her antagonists by conjuring a storm at the start of the play, dispersing them in separate groups around the island, she gets her revenge in motion. But her purpose is more than that: she wants Miranda to meet and fall in love with Ferdinand [Billy Finn], the son of Alonzo [Michael A. Sheppard] the King of Naples, and to ultimately unite Naples with Milan. Mr. Finn and Ms. Wise are thoroughly credible in their depiction of "love at first sight". And Ariel is empowered to do her bidding to manipulate her plans and by the end, bring them all together to resolve the various conflicts.

As a counterpoint to Prospero, et al., Shakespeare introduces the King's jester Trinculo [Alex Brightwell] and drunken butler Stephano [Chris Mixon] -- the two of them are a rambunctious comical double-act --  whose meeting with Caliban show how both the aristocrats and the lower classes devise murder plots to have things for themselves. The King's brother Sebastian [Ben Cherry], along with Adrian [Danny Adams] and Francisco [Pete Winfrey] plot to overthrow him, and Caliban conscripts Trinculo and Stephano to overthrow Prospero.

It is a distinct pleasure to see and hear three of ASF's current and former actors reunite on the stage. While the assorted skills and craft of the entire acting company are on display throughout, and the musical elements are engaging and skillfully connected to Shakespeare's intentions, Ms. Lambert, Mr. Thornton, and Mr. Mixon give a master class in speaking Shakespeare's verse clearly and with character driven purpose.

Ms. Lambert is in charge from the first moment to the last, tracking Prospero's journey from revenge to forgiveness, and seeking her own freedom from revenge in promising to give up magic. As she breaks her magic staff and sets Ariel free, she begs the audience's indulgence/applause to set her free...and we comply with her request with a well-deserved ovation both for Prospero and for the ever gracious and resilient Greta Lambert.

Millbrook: "Mister Roberts"

Thomas Heggen and Joshua Logan wrote their 1948 play Mister Roberts based on Heggen's 1946 semi-autobiographical novel of the same name, earning a Tony Award for Henry Fonda in the title role, which he then went on to play in the 1955 film.

Before the performance begins at The Millbrook Community Players' theatre, a patriotic slide-show picturing many of the cast and their family members who had served in the military, delivers an excellent simple tribute.

Set towards the end of World War II, it recounts the story of Lt. (JG) Roberts [Roger Humber] as he attempts to transfer from a cargo ship in the Pacific to a destroyer where he is eager to participate in the war's action. Thwarted by a mean-spirited Captain [Steve Phillips], consoled and advised by Doc [Tim Griggs], and bothered by a work-avoiding self-professed "ladies man" Ensign Pulver [Nate Greenawalt], the two acts follow the various escapades of these men and the ship's crew in trying to get the transfer for Mister Roberts, to achieve a balance from the tedium of their jobs, to show the assorted dreams of the men, and recognize that friendships and camaraderie depend on trust.

Directors John Collier and Rae Ann Collier have a mixed-bag of talents at their disposal. [Side Bar: It must be said that most of the cast play characters much younger than themselves, whether by design or by circumstance. That being said, and once the audience buys into it, we take it as a "given" in this production and then take it on its merits.] And, it's a pretty solid show. We take them at their word.

Mr. Phillips is a gruff Captain whose word is law, and who is more concerned with his own reputation in reaching his advancement, a symbol of which is a prized palm tree award that he keeps on display and under guard. -- Mr. Griggs is a compassionate and settled Doc who is bound both by military and medical tradition while supporting Mister Roberts at every turn of events. -- Mr. Greenawalt is a likable and comical foil to the others, who yearns for approval, and ultimately gets the courage to stand up for the men on-board.

Mr. Humber's depiction of Mister Roberts shows the frustrations of a man who wants to "do his bit" in battle, but who is relegated to a support vessel that never sees action. The confrontations between him and Mr. Phillips is the center of the play's themes, pitting two men with opposing views against one another, showing how authority can force submission by the Captain granting shore leave to the men only if Mister Roberts acquiesces to towing the line. Misunderstandings abound at Mister Roberts' change of behavior towards the men. Nicely done.

As the only female character, Lt. Ann Girard [Sam Crevensten] has been ogled by the men from afar -- she's the only woman they've seen in a long time, and they fantasize about her and the other nurses they've been spying on -- and when Pulver brings her aboard, she soon realizes what's been going on, and leaves.

When the crew overhear what changed Mister Roberts, they take it on themselves to rectify his condition. He gets the transfer, but dies in action, and the men grieve, and Pulver gets his nerve to stand up to the Captain.

WOBT: "Of Mice and Men"

 "The best laid plans of mice and men/often go awry" -- Robert Burns: To a Mouse

Every character in John Steinbeck's Of Mice and Men is crippled in one way or another [whether physically, psychologically, or by circumstance], and each seeks a way out from a Depression Era California working ranch. -- Money is tight, emotions run high, and manual labor takes its toll; the only relief for the men seems to come from gambling, drinking, and whoring.

Friday night's sold-out audience at Prattville's Way Off Broadway Theatre were engaged in director Melissa Strickland's interpretation of Steinbeck's classic. -- Though the lengthy scene changes allowed audiences to disengage temporarily, and some rapid and soft-spoken informative dialogue was hard to hear, her acting company of nine men and one woman told a clear story and kept our interest.

From the outset, it is clear that something will definitely "go awry" as the two central characters meet by a riverbank to plan the next stage in achieving their version of the American Dream: to save enough money to buy a property where they can raise rabbits and "live off the fat of the land". -- George [Stefan McCain] warns Lennie [Josh Williams] that if anything goes wrong at their new job, they should meet back in this spot to avoid any repercussions. -- Lennie is a simple-minded giant who unintentionally has killed some small furry animals and was recently accused of molesting a woman, foreshadowing much of what is to come here. George has been Lennie's protective companion for many years, and is his guide. 

When they arrive at the ranch, they are met by an array of misfits and outsiders: Candy [Rodney Winter], an older man who is missing a hand and has an old dog in tow; Slim [Mike Blackburn], the most respected of the team; Carlson [Reid Brand], Whit [Kaden Blackburn], the Boss [Andrew Edwards] and his son Curley [Gage Parr] whose Napoleon complex makes him suspicious of anyone who so much as looks at his Wife [Stephanie Higley], and Crooks [Anfernee Ellis], an injured Negro who is kept separate from the others because of his race.

Tensions build as Curley instantly dislikes and later provokes Lennie; and his Wife's persistent and provocative intrusions into the men's lives bodes the tragedy to come. -- In a pivotal scene between Lennie and Crooks which develops into sensitive understandings between them, and is later interrupted by Candy and George, and then Curley's Wife, there follows a rather quick denouement.

While the cohort of men are away, Curley's Wife admits to Lennie that she doesn't like her husband and is leaving; but when she allows Lennie to stroke her soft hair and things get out of hand, his attempts to quiet her lead to her death, and Lennie says to himself "I done a bad thing" and runs to the riverbank to hide. 

Mr. Williams has sustained audience sympathy through his full commitment to the role, emerging as the signal talent on the WOBT stage. And, while we understand the difficult decision that Mr. McCain's George is compelled to take to save Lennie's dignity, the impact is enormous.

Cloverdale Playhouse: "A Doll's House, Part 2"

Award winning playwright Lucas Hnath's brisk, sophisticated, philosophical, and witty A Doll's House, Part 2 opened the Cloverdale Playhouse's 12th Season this Thursday in front of a first night's appreciative,  though small storm-related audience. 

If that title seems familiar, hold on: Hnath has imagined what might have happened some fifteen years after Nora Helmer infamously left her marriage and family in Henrik Ibsen's A Doll's House in 1859 Norway, slamming the door on her way out. -- In the opening moment of ...Part 2, there's a persistent knocking on that same door. -- Enter Nora.

During the next 90-minutes, we will find out her motives for leaving, what Nora [Sara Kay Worley] has accomplished in the intervening years, why she has returned, and what she wants and doesn't want from husband Torvald [Michael Buchanan], family nanny Anne Marie [Teri Sweeney], and now young adult daughter Emmy [Soukayna Sabro], all characters in Ibsen's drama. -- It isn't necessary for audiences to know Ibsen's play; Hnath seamlessly fills in all the necessary backstory in the exchanges of his dialogue, so there should be no confusion about what happened fifteen years ago, what has changed since then, and what remains intact.

J. Scott Grinstead's stark minimal drawing room surrounded by a stellar Nordic landscape is the setting for a sequence of mostly two-character scenes -- arguments, negotiations, and often playful philosophical exercises -- in which director Sam Wootten leads his gifted ensemble of four actors through the predictable and occasionally surprising events that may not resolve all the issues, but which challenge them and us to the task of listening attentively and connecting them to 21st-Century matters. It certainly helps that Hnath's often peppery dialogue is so refreshingly modern that it imbues his characters with ideas and sensibilities similar to our own.

Ibsen's Nora notoriously broke all the conventions of traditional marriage, risking social censure, poverty, and criminal offenses by leaving; Hnath's Nora has had time to come to grips with her choices and create a comfortable independent life for herself by writing popular feminist books, but is trapped by the social and moral restrictions that impact her still and are intolerable to her.  Having discovered that Torvald had never signed the divorce papers, she understands that not only is she legally dependent on him, but additionally she could lose everything she earned on her own, including her liberty, and bring ruin to herself and to her family if her situation remains as it is.

Yes, her liberty came at a cost, but it is something she won't give up without a fight. Facing recriminations from Torvald, Anne Marie, and Emmy, and being resolute in claiming her own well-being, there are few alternatives, none of which is satisfactory: return to the marriage, admit to and recant her previous actions, or engage in additional fraud and suffer the consequences.

Nora is so resolute at the beginning, even though she tries to avoid meeting anyone but Anne Marie who she has conscripted to help; but it's not so easy, as the nanny challenges Nora's designs. This is the start of many more debates on the value of traditional marriage, the plight of women in a patriarchal society, the responsibilities we have towards ourselves and one another, how we often misinterpret other people's behavior and choices, and the cost of the choices we make. Very modern, indeed.

Dressed in Katie Pearson's fine period costumes, the acting company take us on their individual journeys through their commitment to naturalistically depicting the play's conflicts while revelling in Hnath's  insightful comic wit.  -- Mr. Buchanan, a bundle of repressed anger and frustration, doesn't even recognize his wife at first, refuses to do what she asks, and later demands that "we should talk", reminding us that even in Ibsen's play they had never had a serious conversation. Ms. Sabro's Emmy is a puzzle, a modern young woman who nonetheless seems to want a traditional marriage for herself, and who challenges her mother to break the law again and finally be out of her life. Ms. Sweeney [a veteran actor turning in one of her most nuanced performances here] demonstrates how much one can see both sides of an issue while steadfastly defending her own moral principles.

But it is Ms. Worley who must carry the weight of the production. As we watch her credible and balanced attempts to get what she wants for herself and for all women, and with the several obstacles put in her way by the other characters' challenges that cause Nora to re-evaluate her initial purpose, we too are drafted into her world, recognize the validity of more than one side of an argument, and apply her dilemma to our own lives.

Theatre AUM: "The Revolutionists"

Paris-1793-The Reign of Terror [or is it today?]. Four women: a playwright, an assassin, a political activist, and a former Queen walk into a bar --- no, wait...not into a bar, but on-stage at Theatre AUM in a staged reading of prolific playwright Lauren Gunderson's provocative 2017 comedy The Revolutionists.

Prior to its penultimate reading on Saturday night, Dr. Michael Burger contextualized essential information about the French Revolution that served to focus the audience's attention on the subjects of Gunderson's play: aspects of the Revolution's slogan "liberte-egalite-fraternite", the often neglected role of women in the cause, and the symbolism of the French "tricolore" flag, all of which bridge the centuries and continue to resonate today.

Director Val Winkelman chose the format of a staged reading to bring our attention to the script's themes and how we might assess our involvement in our own legacy, the significance of women's voices, justice, the social and political impacts of art, and the power of words. Words matter here, and Gunderson's dialogue contains so many anachronistic words and references [the women frequently refer to themselves as "badass women", for example] that we are compelled to pay attention to 21st Century matters.

Three of the characters are actual historic figures who ended up as victims of the guillotine: playwright Olympe de Gouges [Tiara Staples], Charlotte Corday [Kanchan Deopa] who assassinated Jean Paul Marat, former Queen Marie Antoinette [Courtney Cox]; the fourth, Marianne Angelle [Moriah Henry] is a fictional Haitian activist. -- And Ms. Winkelman  has cast the roles with a keen sense of current sensitivities to diversity, equity, and inclusion; her actors represent a mix of cultures and ethnicities, and one blind actor reads from a Braille script.

Bringing these four women together is an inventive device that, no matter how improbable, gives voice to the subject matter intelligently and with a mix of humor. -- Olympe denies that she has writer's block, but seems incapable of getting her proposed play off the ground until she is goaded into writing radical pamphlets in support of Marianne's cause; Charlotte is so committed to sacrificing herself by killing Marat that nothing else seems to matter; and Marie wants desperately to be the protagonist of Olympe's play, partly to become a more sympathetic person than history has shown her.

On the plus side of this staged reading, we are treated to complex ideas and characters, and can delight in some cerebral philosophizing, especially how relevant the issues are today. -- Mike Winkelman's stunning projections are shown on a giant screen behind the actors, and Yahzane Palmer's subtle costumes replicate the "tricolore"; but, with hardly any physical movement [they're all seated until the last few moments of the play's two acts], audiences are denied the visual stimuli and physical energy, as well as much of the humor, contained in Gunderson's  characterizations. 

Will The Revolutionists eventually be given a fully staged production at Theatre AUM? Wait and see.

Wetumpka Depot: "Hollywood, Nebraska"

Hollywood, Nebraska by Kenneth Jones [Alabama Story, et al.] is a work-in-progress currently on stage at the Wetumpka Depot as part of a "Rolling World Premiere"; this is the latest revision of a script that has been in development at various locations, and produced in Tennessee and Iowa before coming here.

It recounts the story of two women who escaped their stultifying middle-American small town in quest of successful acting careers -- one in Los Angeles, and one in New York -- and who have now returned to their Nebraska roots where their values and life choices are challenged.

Jane [Elizabeth Bowles] comes back from New York out of concern for Alma [Angie Mitchell], her Mother who she suspects has dementia; Andrea [Leslie Blackwell] returns from New York to settle her family's estate after a parent's death. -- But neither of them is in the best emotional state, and when each forms an attachment with a local man, things get complicated.

Robert [Douglas Mitchell], a contractor and neighbor of Alma's does a lot of odd jobs and house repairs for her without charging a fee, causing Jane to suspect his motives and her Mother's preferential treatment of him, no matter how attracted to him she appears; and Andrea's more casual hook-up with Robert's buddy Lance [Jay Russell] seems destined for failure. Robert's teenaged daughter Katie [Drewe-Victoria Rowell] is a starry-eyed "actress" who asks both of the returnees for coaching, and we see how the women diverge in both acting techniques and in life.

Director Cushing Phillips has a talented six-member acting ensemble at his disposal, whose naturalistic performances and speech enhance the production most of the time. We engage with them as they navigate relationships and predictable circumstances, even as they succumb to making rash judgements they might later regret. -- But, a number of scenes have an indulgently slow pace that cry out for variety.  -- And, while the playwright seems to favor Jane's predicament, a more equal balance of attention to Andrea's plight could benefit both the plot and the performances.

There are some important themes in Hollywood, Nebraska that are addressed: dreams and aspirations, self-awareness, family secrets and skeletons, long-held rivalries, social equality for women, trust, and home town values all get their due. -- And though not everything has been resolved by the end, Mr. Jones's non-judgmental attitude about his characters, allows audiences to engage with them and draw their own conclusions.

ASF: "Jubilee"

A mere five years after its founding, the Fisk Free Colored School [now Fisk University] had significant financial needs. The newly formed Jubilee Singers almost singlehandedly raised the equivalent of $3.5 million in today's money to pay off the debt, purchase land, and finance the construction of Jubilee Hall, the first permanent building on its new campus.

Author and director Tazewell Thompson's uplifting tribute production of Jubilee at the Alabama Shakespeare Festival weaves the story of the Jubilee Singers from their start at a fledgling HBCU, through their challenging and ultimately triumphant national and international tours, ending with a coda that recounts what happened to the individual singers after the tours ended, and enforces the humility of a group of people who never sought celebrity or riches.

The earnest narrative's foundation is a litany of some 40+ songs that both remind us of the power and influence of the Negro Spiritual, and encourage us to listen attentively to their meaningful lyrics testifying to faith, identity, and the indomitable spirit of a newly freed enslaved people and their contemporary descendants.

The production is a feast for the eye and the ear: a grand minimalist scenic design [Donald Eastman] is supported by stunning visual projections [Shawn Duan], impactful lighting [Robert Wierzel] and sound [Fabian Obispo], and sumptuously detailed period costumes [Merrily Murray-Walsh], all in the service of the story and the songs.

And it is the music, after all, that this show is all about. Joel Jones' musical direction of Dianne Adams  McDowell's arrangements are masterfully interpreted by a 13-member ensemble over Jubilee's two acts. The catalogue of songs include familiar ones ["Balm in Gilead", "Wade in the Water", "Steal Away"] and perhaps some lesser known [""My God is So High", "I Am a Poor Pilgrim of Sorrow"], both somber and rousing, featuring several solo voices, and always involving everyone on and off the stage.

Special credit to the a cappella singing without artificial amplification [Too often, musical performances are distorted by unnecessary microphones]. -- Not only can we hear the blending, balance, and close harmonies, but the clarity and purity of the ensemble's voices are subtly highlighted, so that audiences are carried along the Jubilee Singers' path of their purposeful endeavors, experiencing with them the joy and pain, the discipline of their training, and the ultimate satisfaction of survival.