Wetumpka Depot: "A Very Second Samuel Christmas"

The townsfolk of tiny fictional "Second Samuel, GA" recently took up residence at the Wetumpka Depot in an encore production of last season's A Very Second Samuel Christmas; playwright Pamela Parker has revised the play to enhance a few characters with only minor dramatic impact since much of it is narrative, but she has provided the central character named B-flat a monologue Christmas sermon that gives Jonathan Conner another opportunity to display his ample gifts as B-flat transforms into an elderly Black preacher and back again before our eyes.

B-flat, a man with a decent heart and nary a moral flaw in his crippled body and simple mind, narrates the story of what happened in Second Samuel one Christmastime in post-Korean war Truman Era.

The town's annual Christmas pageant is going to be conducted for the first time at the "Rock of Ages Free African Church", but the beloved 100-year-old pastor -- a man named "Wonderful Counselor" -- dies suddenly, and a storm floods the town and almost destroys the church, leaving a distraught Jimmy Deanne [Kim Mason] focussed more on her own inconvenience than on the two unfortunate events. And old prejudices come to the fore as the locals lose track of the reason for the season, and have to be reminded what really matters, helped by a miraculous appearance of an angel of the Lord and B-flat's persistent optimism.

The ensemble actors return intact, looking completely comfortable in their roles as before. The men continue to meet and argue in Frisky's [Stephen Dubberley] "Bait and Brew", while across town, the women gather and gossip in his wife Omaha's [Kristy Meanor] "Change Your Life Hair and Beauty" parlor. -- Eccentric personalities abound in this affectionate tale of a Christmas miracle.

As we are often distracted by the commercial appeal of the Christmas Season, perhaps we too might realize that it sometimes "takes a flood to get our attention", and we might learn from each other and from the words of the Angel to "fear not" as B-flat concludes the telling of the first Christmas.

Theatre AUM: "No Exit"

Jean-Paul Sartre, a leading figure in Twentieth Century existentialism, wrote No Exit in 1944 reflecting war-torn Europe's sense of futility and universal concern with life and death, eternal reward or punishment, and the possibility of oblivion...and Theatre AUM recently mounted a solid production that had audiences discussing it some time after leaving the theatre.

Hearkening back to Dante's inscription on the gates of Hell: "Abandon all hope, ye who enter here" in the "Inferno" section of his Commedia, and signaling the absurdity of Beckett's tramps/clowns who wait for a Godot who never appears, Sartre's one act No Exit is set in an anteroom to Hell where three strangers are escorted by a Valet [Naiya Jasmine] and politely told they can't leave, won't ever sleep, and worst of all (once each has acknowledged their transgressions) their existence in this place will be unbearable. There is no torturer, no Hell-fire and brimstone. Indeed, as the play concludes: "Hell is other people."

Introspective Vincent [Mark Dasinger, Jr.] was executed for cowardice during the War, and had cheated on his wife, bringing other women into their home. -- Estelle [Allyson Lee], a vain socialite, killed her own child and caused her secret lover's suicide. -- Inez [Blaire Casey] had a lesbian affair with her cousin's wife and caused several deaths as a result.

As played in-the-round on Frank Thomas's minimalist set (a triangular platform with three sofas), director Val Winkelman emphasizes the intimacy, isolation, and entrapment of the room on its three inhabitants. She has also stripped the script of some of its subtleties to make a forceable argument.

The ensemble actors gradually reveal their characters' true selves while becoming more and more concerned with their fate and how to survive an eternity together. -- Sexual tension is achieved as Estelle rejects Inez's "romantic" advances and attempts to retaliate by seducing Vincent who in turn rejects her.

As they come to realize that each one controls the others' destinies and that they are so much alike in their depravities ( all delivered in polite language and demeanor, and graced with a good amount of ironic humor), all pretense has been stripped bare and they are "as naked as the day they were born".

Theatre AUM has again provided a minor gem to Montgomery audiences -- provocative and pertinent, No Exit resonates today much as it did almost 70 years ago.

Pure Artistry: "The Meeting"

When Jeff Stetson wrote his play The Meeting in 1983, the Reagan Administration was on its way to dismantling the Commission on Civil Rights, debates on affirmative action were underway, and the advances of the 1960s were in jeopardy. So, many of the questions raised in The Meeting regarding the disparate directions of the Civil Rights Movement endorsed by two of its leading figures had some urgency; the nation -- Blacks and Whites alike -- were divided in their allegiances.

Stetson depicts an imagined meeting in a Harlem hotel room between Malcolm X [Kalonji Gilchrist] and Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. [Carlos Russell] just days before a fateful rally in February 1965 at the nearby Audubon Ballroom where Malcolm was mowed down by some 21 bullets, and three years before King's assassination in Memphis. -- Now playing at the Pure Artistry Literary Cafe, the play balances these two giants' points of view as they argue hawkish-aggression and non-violent civil disobedience, with occasional editorializing by Malcolm's bodyguard Rashad [Rod Richardson]. Though we now know all too well that both men would soon die, the prophetic irony of their frequently stated willingness to give up their lives to the cause can't be ignored. And the recognition that the paths each has chosen have bound them together is summed up in the line: "If they kill one of us, they can't let the other live, since he will be turned into a martyr."

Written as a literal and figurative chess game as well as a test of physical strength, we see these two men at a human level out of the glare of media attention and at a distance from their iconic status; and it is to the credit of co-directors Ronald McCall and Janice Dennis that they have not encouraged the actors to impersonate these men, but rather to reflect their attitudes and positions.

Nonetheless, any depiction of such instantly recognizable figures must inject personal charisma, forceful speech, and complete confidence in their aims. -- Stetson's text frequently reminds us of specific events and accomplishments, reputations, and significant obstacles each one poses to the other in accomplishing similar goals, so whatever predispositions audience members might have regarding either of these icons, certain expectations must be addressed. -- And there must be some tension in their meeting beyond a concern for personal safety, and a greater purpose that merely to talk...perhaps a determination of a new direction for the movement through achieving a victory for one side rather than a detente.

There are a few moments in the production at Pure Artistry that get to the heart of the matter, but all too frequently, the tentative delivery of dialogue and deliberately slow pace lacked the passion that the script's words implied. And these are important issues that need to be brought to the attention of today's audiences, many of whom can only recite a litany of names and quotable quotes without much thoughtful consideration of their significance.

Perhaps the production will find its feet during the run of the show. With a greater confidence in flexing their muscular ideals and philosophies as well as in arm wrestling, Stetson's script would be better served, and we would be more attentive to their musing: "Just think if we had joined hands and pushed in the same direction, what we could have accomplished."

Faulkner: "Les Miserables"

At roughly 2.5 hours, the relentless pace of the Faulkner University Dinner Theatre's production of Les Miserables, the international record-breaking musical, only rarely slows down. -- Spurred, no doubt, by the play's success since its original 1984 opening in London, and the recent blockbuster film, Faulkner's co-directors Angela Dickson and Jason Clark South are filling the house in the four week run of this most ambitious undertaking: non-stop action for some 31 actors, a demanding orchestral and vocal musical score, numerous large scene changes, and hardly a break from heightened emotions.

It is fair to say that while Faulkner's theatre is no match for the huge scale of a major Broadway house or a big-screen film, there are moments here that capture its power with the Chorus in full voice in the signature "Peoples' Song" and "One Day More", as they fill Matt Dickson's simple evocative set with strong harmonies and emotional power.

Victor Hugo's novel on which the musical is based covers the vast sweep of the French Revolution and its clarion call for "Liberte, Egalite, Fraternite" that can still be felt today in clear social and economic distinctions between the haves and have-nots; but the Revolution recedes somewhat when it concentrates on the personal stories of the people of little consequence.

The plot revolves around Jean Valjean [Brandtley McDonald] in his attempt to change his life after being released from a 19-year prison sentence for a petty crime, and given a second chance by a benevolent Bishop [Patrick Hale]. Pursued by Inspector Javert [Matt Dickson] for breaking his parole, Valjean (under an assumed name) helps a destitute woman Fantine [Jesse Alston] and rescues her daughter Cosette from the con-artist innkeepers Thenardier [Chris Kelly] and Mme. Thenardier [Mara Woddail]. Ten years later when Cosette grows up [Brittney Johnston], she falls in love with Marius [Blake Williams], one of the revolutionaries under the leadership of the charismatic Enjolras [David Rowland].

Valjean's moral dilemma is often tested: "Who am I?" is a refrain frequently heard as he questions whether to save others or himself, keeping secrets or telling the truth, duty to the Revolution or to his promise to Fantine. And he has an impact on other characters, especially Javert, who face similar, if opposite conditions.

There is a paucity of spoken dialogue in Les Miz; more operatic in structure, the bulk of plot action, character development, and social commentary are carried in music and song lyrics.

Quality singing has become a hallmark of Faulkner's productions, and so it is here in most of the featured roles as well as the aforementioned Chorus. -- Musical Director Marilyn Swears and Conductor of the fine nine-member pit orchestra Andrew Cook support the actors without overwhelming them, though only the principal actors are "miked", rendering a lot of the lyrics assigned to supporting roles (lines which contain essential plot details) completely inaudible.

As the inkeepers, Mr.Kelly and Ms. Woddail invest in the disarming comic properties of "Master of the House", making their more greedy elements in Act II more pronounced.

Eponine [Alicia Ruth Jackson], caught between devotion to the Revolution and love for Marius, delivers an exquisite "On My Own", but is otherwise given little emphasis in this production through unfortunate staging and vocal amplification in the second act.

While the romantic chemistry between Cosette and Marius is lessened by Mr. Williams's rigid postures, Ms. Johnston makes the most of her lyrical soprano voice and her absolute emotional commitment to Marius as well as to her protector, Valjean. Long overdue a role of this stature, Ms. Johnston brings you to tears and admiration.

Ms. Alston as Fantine can break hearts with "I Dreamed a Dream", so much that when Fantine dies midway through Act I, her presence is felt long after.

Young Matthew Klinger plays Gavroche, the urchin who proclaims with conviction "I run this town" with impressive maturity.

Mr. Rowland brings to the stage the full-package that sets a high bar in playing Enjolras. He commands every scene he is in without stealing focus, urging the revolutionaries with a passionate swagger that charismatically engages the audience with the on-stage action. Every inch the leader physically and vocally, Mr. Rowland's credibility is never in doubt and is one of the most solid portrayals on Faulkner's stage.

Mr. Dickson's Javert is a powerful antgagonist whose obsession in tracking down Valjean is his sole raison d'etre.  Mr. Dickson's threatening demeanor becomes gradually more introspective as Javert wrestles with Valjean's compassion towards him, finally reducing him to self-doubt and a feeling of worthlessness. -- It is in their scenes together that we feel most strongly the inmpact of the Revolution on individual lives, as both men contend with doubts that take them in opposite directions -- suicide and salvation.

Valjean is Hugo's hero, and the protagonist whose journey is central to everything else as he influences all the other characters. Mr. McDonald takes on the task of carrying the show on his capable shoulders. He has a powerful voice that almost overwhelms in the opening of Act I, that one wonders if he has anything in reserve for later on; but he does, and in the quieter moments ("Valjean's Prayer", for example) exhibits vocal control and emotional credibility. -- This role is a test in a way, and demonstrates that Mr. McDonald is on his way to becoming as fine an actor as he is a singer.

There is a lot of bombast in Les Miserables -- military and patriotic grandstanding, for example, combined with melodramatic romanticism; and while many of the crowd scenes involving French citizens and prostitutes are self-consciously staged with only modest commitment to creating stories of believable characters, the overall impact is achieved. Les Miz aficionados ought to be pleased by the musical presentations, and everyone will feel the impact of the Faulkner production's efforts.

Wetumpka Depot: "Blithe Spirit"

With Noel Coward's Blithe Spirit to end their 33rd Season, the Wetumpka Depot Players have mounted their second-in-a-row "improbable farce in three acts" (Michael Frayn's Noises Off was a hit this Summer), much to the delight of local audiences who might need a bit of levity to counterbalance the government shutdown, much as British theatre-goers needed relief in 1941 at the brink of World War II.

With his career in full swing between the Wars (he penned some 140 plays, hundreds of songs, films, and numerous cabaret acts over several decades), Coward often directed and starred in his glittering comedies of manners, many of which have a decidedly dark side underneath the urbane wit and sharp-edged dialogue that were his trademarks.

At the Depot, a few technical glitches and tentative dialogue sometimes slowed down the rapid pace demanded by farce, but with their first weekend under their belts, Director William Harper's multi-talented seven-character ensemble should be settling in to what promises to be a full-out laugh riot.

Charles Condomine [Lee Bridges] and his second wife Ruth [Cheryl Kiser] are hosting a dinner party whose guest of honor is Madame Arcati [Fiona Macleod], a bungling eccentric bohemian mystic who has been asked to conduct a seance for them, not aware that the Condomines and their guests, Dr. and Mrs. Bradman [Michael Dilaura and Sherida Black] are thorough skeptics, and that Charles has invited her merely to learn "a few tricks of the trade" for a book he is writing about the occult. They have all agreed to pretend to be interested believers so as not to upset Madame Arcati.

Before their guests arrive, the Condomines do their best to instruct their new maid Edith [Meghan Ducote] on the polite ways to serve, and their conversation over several martinis turns to Charles's first wife Elvira -- a beautiful young free-spirited woman (and the polar opposite of Ruth) -- who died seven years ago, but who is often on both their minds.

So, it should come as no surprise when Madame Arcati unexpectedly conjures the spirit of Elvira [Leanna Wallace] who only Charles can see or hear, and whose presence creates some of the most outlandishly comical misunderstandings. -- And a major problem: whether or not (and then how) to get rid of Elvira who shows no signs of leaving. -- The scenes with Charles and his two wives are skillfully managed, with Elvira outwitting Ruth and Ruth bewildered by Charles's apparent acceptance of Elvira's ghost into their lives. The women heap verbal abuse on one another, and Charles contributes his own barbs. It seems that neither marriage is complete bliss.

Mr. Harper has some fine veteran actors at his disposal, and some relative newcomers as well. Mr. Dilaura makes a solid acting debut as Dr. Bradman; as he is paired with Ms. Black's flighty Mrs. Bradman, they make a good pair of foils for the more sophisticated Condomines. -- Ms. Ducote's overly eager to please Edith, scurries about and makes more messes than are obvious from the start. Her part in  resolving the play's conflict is cleverly done.

Ms. Wallace makes a return to the Depot after "a 10 year hiatus", appearing here in the ghostly mode of a silver dress and wearing a "reverb" lavaliere microphone to make her voice seem other-worldly. And, for a long-departed wanderer, Elvira has some very worldly desires as she tries to win Charles back by devious means that backfire. (You'll have to see the play to understand.)

Mr. Bridges and Ms. Kiser thoroughly assume their roles; they appear so comfortable with one another, that we believe instantly that they are a married couple; and their completely natural speaking and movement complete the picture.

But it is Ms. Macleod's portrayal of Madame Arcati that is both Coward's focus and the production's most hilarious characterization. -- As she leaps about in preparation of going into a trance for the seance, or intensely intuits that "someone else is psychic in this house", or girlishly celebrates her "success" in conjuring Elvira (the seance scenes are outrageously funny), or refuses to be downhearted when numerous attempts to remove ghosts from the house are unsuccessful, Ms. Macleod uses her long experience in the theatre to communicate with a sly wink or a pause or a giggle or a posture what lesser actors only wish they could do.

The finely detailed set and period appropriate costumes and music complete the picture as we are transported back to the 1940s in the Depot's joyful production of Blithe Spirit.

Cloverdale Playhouse: "Wait Until Dark"

Full disclosure: The reviewer is a member of the Board of Directors of the Cloverdale Playhouse.

Frederick Knott's 1966 thriller Wait Until Dark -- best known for the film version starring Audrey Hepburn -- is a follow-up hit to his Dial M for Murder. . . and the genre is being given a tensely enjoyable showing at the Cloverdale Playhouse under the astute direction of Eleanor K. Davis.

Ms. Davis has gathered an ensemble of experienced actors (and a star-in-the-making in the person of young Miette Crim) who, with the collaborative support of the design team's detailed creation of period and character driven set-lights-sound-costumes, deliver a suspenseful evening in the theatre.

There are several twists and turns in the complicated plot revolving around young recently-blind Susy Hendrix [Rhonda Crim] in her attempts to both maneuver through her Greenwich Village basement apartment and thwart the designs of a trio of con-men/thugs who will stop at nothing to retrieve some heroin smuggled into the country inside a doll that Susy's husband Sam [Stephen Dubberly], unaware of its contents, had carried as a favor to a woman at the airport.

The trio, believing that the doll is in Susy's apartment, assume a number of disguises as they insinuate themselves into her life while Sam is kept away from home on a ruse invented by the sinister Harry Roat [Mark Hunter] and his accomplices pretending to be a policeman, Sgt. Carlino [Greg Babb] and a "friend" of Sam's named Mike Talman [Scott Page]. -- While Carlino assumes the role of a detective searching for the murderer of a woman in Susy's neighborhood (the same woman who gave Sam the doll), he is also obsessed with erasing any possible fingerprints. Talman meanwhile ingratiates himself with Susy and appears to be her protector. And Roat assumes two roles -- both father and son -- who claim to be related to the murdered woman, and who variously accuse Sam of having had an affair with her.

Susy's 10-year-old neighbor Gloria [Miette Crim] runs errands for her, often reluctantly, and she has a bit of a temperamental streak; but when Susy conscripts her to help in a serious "adventure" to catch the thugs, she relishes the opportunity and is essential for Susy's success. Well done.

There is a huge amount of exposition in the play that the ensemble make dramatically interesting as they invest thoroughly in their characters and with one another. -- The sinister plotting and the deviousness of the antagonists could in lesser hands be reduced to melodramatic grandstanding, but as Susy begins to put the pieces together and determines to outwit the thugs at their own game, their credibility is never in doubt.

Mr. Babb's "Carlino" is as gruff as they come in his role of detective: a familiar type that he makes his own with confidence and a touch of humor. -- Mr. Page is utterly convincing as "Mike Talman", the kindly friend; we have to be reminded now and then that he is a con-man. No wonder that Susy believes him without a shred of evidence: only his gently supportive manner. -- Mr. Hunter's depictions of "Roat, Senior" and "Roat, Junior" are masterful ruses; but beneath these roles is the ruthless fanatic seething underneath, whose smooth unblinking calm oozes with criminal intent.

Our sympathies lie with Susy from the outset. Her blindness, first seen as a disability that needs to be overcome with gentle prodding by Sam, later becomes her ace-in-the-hole as she turns the tables on the crooks. Ms. Crim takes us on her character's journey as we watch her stumble or grope her way around the apartment in domestic chores. As she discovers her independence through a heightened sense of hearing, she realizes what the con-men have been doing: Carlino wiping fingerprints, sending signals to each other outside the apartment by opening and closing window blinds, the sound of Roat's shoes and identical style of walking of Roat Senior & Junior.

Tension mounts in Ms. Davis's production as the inevitability of the doll's being found in the apartment makes for a life and death show-down, leading to a final scene played in the dark when Susy and Gloria extinguish all the lights while the bad guys descend on them. (Even for those who remember the impact of the film's final moments, audible gasps demonstrate that this scene retains its shock value.)

Wisely, Ms. Davis has kept the 1960s ambiance intact by respecting Knott's script. The coincidences inherent in the thriller genre, Susy's trusting nature, airport security, and such might make us today question the credibility of the script; but as Ms. Davis and her entire company on and off stage approach it with absolute confidence, audiences can't help but accept and get involved with them...and have a good time in the theatre.

Millbrook: "Bell, Book, and Candle"

The Millbrook Community Players, Inc. are currently showing John Van Druten's romantic comedy Bell, Book, and Candle (known to many from the 1958 film starring Kim Novak and James Stewart), and have invited comparisons to the film by borrowing parts of its sound score in their production.

Co-directed by Ginger Collum and Susan Chain, the five actors and one cat tell the story of Gillian Holroyd [Karla McGhee], the leader of a coven of New York City witches, and her bewitching of her book publisher neighbor Shepherd Henderson [Roger Humber] -- partly because she is attracted to him, and partly to take revenge on a long ago college rival who she discovers happens to be engaged to Shep. Using her cat Pyewacket as a "familiar" with which to cast the spell, Shep instantly falls in love with Gillian; but she can't return his ardor in kind because tradition has it that witches can not fall in love.

Abetted by her wacky Aunt Queenie [Tracy Allgrove, reminiscent of Marion Lorne's Aunt Clara in television's Bewitched] and her immature prankster brother Nicky [Michael Hartman in his stage debut] who complicate matters while trying to help, the plot gets further tangled by the entrance of Sidney Redlitch [Charlie Mulcahy's over-the-top drunkard calls out for more variety] who is writing a book about New York's witches.

Shep doesn't believe in witches, but will consider Redlitch's manuscript; Gillian questions Redlitch's credibility, especially when he consults Madame de Passe who Gillian knows to be a second-rate practitioner; but Nicky offers to help Redlitch with his research.

No spoiler alerts here -- it is a romantic comedy, after all -- so the ending is fairly predictable; and Van Druten's 1950s landscape with its naive innocence comes across as a bit dated, no matter how charming. And there is such a lot of exposition in Van Druten's first act, that little else happens to entertain till Act Two.

Mr. Humber plays Shep's very compliant demeanor with ease, and Ms. McGhee occasionally demonstrates Gillian as a real force to contend with; but their sexual chemistry is all too tentative, and her transition from a sexy witch to an ordinary human being needs more distinction. We need to believe in the magic. -- Ms. Allgrove ranges from haughty New York matron to a peculiar bohemian; and Mr. Hartman's behavior is too much in check for one described as a merry prankster.

The production is pleasant enough, and a diverting entertainment for the end of Summer.  With quicker pacing and focus on the larger than life characters Van Druten penned, this Bell, Book, and Candle could attain its magic.