Pike Road: "Elf, the Musical"

Non-stop family entertainment is on display in the Pike Road Theatre Company's delightful production of Elf, the Musical. Running at about two-and-a-half-hours [the time flies by], director-choreographer James Keith Posey has again conscripted a 50+ ensemble of local talents to bring Buddy the Elf's story to effervescent life, closing the Company's Inaugural Season with a sold-out run.

Based on the 2003 film that has become a Holiday staple, we follow the orphaned Buddy's journey as he leaves the North Pole in search of his biological father who is on Santa's "naughty list"-- You see, Buddy [Travis Clark] has been brought up since infancy in Santa's realm believing he is an Elf, but when he finds out he is actually a human...well, the rest is fantasy come true.

Santa Claus [Sam Wallace is near perfection as the "jolly old Elf"] narrates Buddy's episodic escapades that take him to New York on his quest, and where his naïveté becomes the matter for comic misunderstandings that cause him to be accepted by some and mistrusted by others, and only rarely letting disappointments dampen his ever-gleeful demeanor. And we get caught up in all of this through Mr. Clark's ebullient personification.

Walter Hobbs [Jason Isbell] is Buddy's father, a children's book publisher so fixated on his need of a new hit story that he has been ignoring his wife Emily [Stephanie Coppock] and son Michael [Griffin Isbell]; so, when Buddy barges into his life and claims to be not only his long-lost firstborn son but one of Santa's Elves as well, that becomes a bit too much on his plate as Christmas approaches. -- It will take the concerted efforts of family and co-workers to settle matters amicably.

The cast are uniformly solid in depicting an array of characters: from Mrs. Claus [Jennifer Hollett] and a small army of Elves, to a group of Fake Department Store Santas, to a coterie of corporate executives [Matthew Givens is particularly Scrooge-like as Walter's boss, Mr. Greenway], and especially to Jovie [Kristen Vanderwal] Buddy's love-interest, and an outsider, like him who secretly yearns for acceptance and human connection.

But let's not forget that this is a musical [book by Thomas Meehan and Bob Martin, music by Matthew Sklar, and lyrics by Chad Beguelin] replete with solos, duets, small group, and huge neatly choreographed  production numbers, that keep the action moving with a cast of gifted singers. -- The sheer joy that opens the show with "Happy All the Time", sets the appropriate tone, and "Sparklejollytwinklejingley" just about brings the house down. A touching "I'll Believe in You" by Michael and Emily gives hope to Buddy's cause. Jovie's "Never Fall in Love" opens up her inner feelings for our hero. "Nobody Cares About Santa" is a clever twist on childlike beliefs. And "The Story of Buddy" brings the messages home.

The focus is rarely away from Buddy; it takes commitment to sustain such a gleeful role for two acts, and Mr. Clark's infectious enthusiasm carries the day, makes believers of us all, and leaves audiences with renewed commitment to family, love, and acceptance of the goodness in all of us.

Cloverdale Playhouse: "Dot"

Take your pick: Ebenezer Scrooge or George Bailey, Buddy the Elf or The Grinch, The Muppets or Charlie Brown, "Love Actually" or "Die Hard", or countless saccharined Hallmark movies -- the Christmas Season is well underway across the River Region; and families are preparing for their annual treks to gather for celebrations that often come with challenges.

One such family gathering is currently being depicted at The Cloverdale Playhouse in their solid production of Dot [2015] by award winning actor and playwright Colman Domingo. The place is a house in West Philadelphia owned by African-American matriarch Dotty Shealy [Chrystal Bates]. -- J. Scott Grinstead's remarkable set transforms from kitchen to living room between the play's two acts, and it's worth watching the smooth scene change during the intermission.  -- It's a few days before Christmas, and Dotty's three children try to figure out what to do about their Mother's growing dementia. Not your typical Christmas fare.

Shelly [Curtia Torbert] feels overburdened and overwhelmed as her Mother's primary caregiver; son Donnie [Gregory L. Blanche] is an unemployed "musical archivist" in denial about Dotty's condition as well as his own shaky marriage to his white husband Adam [John Selden]; flamboyant youngest sibling Averie [Perci Hale] seems completely fixated on herself. Shelly's white childhood friend Jackie [Annie Gunter], who was Donnie's sometime girlfriend in high school and who still has feelings for him despite his sexual identity, is pregnant by her married lover. And Fidel [Bo Jinright] is an illegal immigrant from Kazakhstan who provides Dotty with compassionate daily attention.

Greg Thornton directs with a sure hand in this two-and-a-half-hour production, creating a tight ensemble of actors by affording each of them appropriate attention and gleaning subtly wrought characterizations. Though the script often devolves into shouting matches, and there are a number of comic one-liners and a lot of adult language in the dialogue, Mr. Thornton's guidance keeps the focus on Dotty's dementia and its effect both on her and her dysfunctional family and extended family.

Ms. Bates is most effective in her portrayal of Dotty's ever-changing demeanor and the devastating effects of old-age: forgetfulness, distraction, and frustration are counterbalanced by Dotty's recognition that she is unwell and her determination to keep her independence as long as possible while ensuring that her children comprehend it by experiencing what she is going through.

We feel for all of them. Anyone who has experienced dementia in their family can understand its effect on its younger members: denial, reluctance to find professional help, long-held sibling rivalries, as well as happier memories that surface when the situation seems unbearable. So, audiences are conscripted into this world.

Though it takes a while to unravel, and for the participants to put aside their grievances in order to agree on a course of action that is best for everyone, the evening at the Playhouse with Dot and her family should give audiences a sense of family unity for the holiday season.

Millbrook: "A Doublewide, Texas Christmas"

In case you didn't know, "Doublewide" is a fictitious unincorporated town in Texas, population 10, and named for the proliferation of doublewide trailers of the citizenry.

In this iteration of the franchise by Jessie Jones, Jamie Wooten, and Nicholas Hope -- A Doublewide, Texas Christmas --the town's eccentric inhabitants try against the odds to raise funds, increase the population, and submit legal paperwork for incorporation before a Christmas deadline to avoid being subsumed by a larger rival community.

The improbability of the plot points and antics of the assorted residents hardly matter; audiences are simply along for a silly and mostly predictable ride over the play's two acts. -- The production could benefit from quicker scene changes and more clarity in spoken dialogue.

Director Susan Chain has assembled an ensemble of Millbrook and other River Region actors who valiantly bring the familiarity of small-town Texas to unconventional and all-too-familiar life. Ginger Collum, Kisti Taylor, Ashlee Lassiter, John Chain, Pat McClelland, Bill Rauch, Marcella Willis, Margaret White, and [in the night I saw it] Michael Snead play the script's broadly comic scenes to the hilt, and deliver some sensitive moments as well.

Despite their characters' inflated egos, family strife, political haranguing, attempts at oneupmanship, deliberate sabotage, faux celebrity, and chaotic resolutions, the ending stresses the theme of the inherent good will of Doublewide's populace, their ability to respectfully settle their differences, and their camaraderie in working together for a worthy cause that will leave a warm spot in the hearts of Millbrook's theatregoers this Christmas Season.

ASF: "It's a Wonderful Life: A Live Radio Play"

Unless you've been living under a rock for the past 70+ years, you'll know Frank Capra's 1946 film It's a Wonderful Life [some afficionados can quote extensively from it verbatim], so there will be few revelations in re-telling the narrative of George Bailey's Christmas Eve journey from despair and potential suicide to his reclamation through the efforts of Angel Second-class Clarence, who shows him that life in Bedford Falls would have been very different if George had never been born.

The film has been a holiday staple for decades, and staged versions have graced River Region stages twice since 2014. And now, once again here comes Joe Landry's heartwarming adaptation: It's a Wonderful Life: A Live Radio Play on the Alabama Shakespeare Festival's Octagon Stage. -- This iteration re-imagines the story as a 1946 radio transmission, with five actors each playing numerous characters while also working as Foley-artists who supply all the sound effects from strategically placed props -- a lot of work. [Close your eyes for a while to get the feeling that you're listening to an actual radio broadcast -- nostalgia for some, and a new experience for others].

In a fast-paced hour and forty minutes, director Kate Bergstrom locates the script's "Playhouse on the Air"  in "ASF Studio", incorporates familiar local references as well as "commercials" for Chris' Hot Dogs and Liger's Bakery into the mix, and has us conscripted as the radio station's audience with lighted signs for "Applause" at signal moments of the plot.

An-Lin Dauber's grand, detailed, and multi-leveled set is dressed for the holidays and becomes another "character" in the staging; Val Winkelman's period-perfect costumes compliment the assorted roles each of the five actors must play, with simple adjustments or additions of hats, coats, or collars to specify a character.

The versatility of the acting company is on full display throughout. William DeMeritt [George Bailey +], Evan Andrew Horwitz [Clarence +], Jimmy Kieffer [Mr. Potter +], Madeline Lambert [Mary +], and Cassandra Lopez [Violet +] are a fine-tuned ensemble who tell the story with heartfelt aplomb. They are abetted by Brooke Morgan as the Station's Production Assistant, Belinda.

As George's predicament is told in flashback sequences from his childhood on to the present, we see his unfulfilled dreams, and the sacrifices he made that bring him to the brink of bankruptcy and despair, believing he is worth more dead than alive. But there are lessons to be learned through laughter and tears that his kindness to others and being a man of principle compel the community to rally around him in his need and show him that he is "the richest man in town".

Cloverdale Playhouse: "The Shape of Things"

On stage, as in real life, "things aren't always what they seem". So it is at The Cloverdale Playhouse's provocative production of Neil LaBute's 2001 The Shape of Things, in Sarah Kay's crafty debut as a director. 

Performed on J. Scott Grinstead's inventive set with its many moveable parts [a now signature component of his designs], it is an efficient intermissionless 90-minute production. 

LaBute's tersely colloquial language and episodic structure afford glimpses into the public and private lives of the play's four characters, while also contesting the nature of art, the moral responsibilities of the artist, and an analysis of what some people are willing to do for those they love. And the opening night audience was conscripted into these themes so that conversations and debates continued after the performance ended...a measure of this production's success.

In it, Evelyn [Dominique Taylor] is a self-assured graduate student Art major working on her thesis project and caught in an attempt to deface a piece of sculpture by Adam [Graham Butler], a nerdy undergraduate English major and a part-time museum guard. There seems to be some sort of mutual attraction between them that grows more intimate over time as she encourages subtle and not-so-subtle changes in Adam's behavior and appearance that result in his willing participation and gradually developing self-confidence.

Adam introduces Evelyn to his outgoing best friend Philip [Hunter Stewart] and his more demure fiancé Jenny [Dawson McLean], whose eccentric wedding plans provoke some disagreements between the couples.

The gifted ensemble creates nuanced characterizations with subtle changes over the breadth of the play's numerous scenes, as their discussions about what comprises "art" intertwine with each one's perceptions of their own accountability to themselves and others, and whether or not they are obligated to say and do what is right.

Mr. Stewart starts as a good old boy, but has deeper feelings and ideas. Ms. McLean's sensitive portrayal of Jenny veils a more assertive nature. Mr. Butler's persona as Adam undergoes so many changes in convincing and heartbreaking measures. And all their relationships with Evelyn hinge on her ability to distance herself from them while simultaneously controlling every moment. -- In short, we feel for them and the circumstances they are compelled to face.

As much as Ms. Taylor's Evelyn has the capacity to get the others to reveal their most intimate beliefs and behaviors and manipulates their actions and various relationships, she herself remains a cipher, and even says "It's hard to read me" when she regularly fends off any attempt to get her to divulge specific information about her background or purposes until the end. 

While the script provides many hints as to its devastating ending, most in the Playhouse audience were caught off-guard by its revelations, leaving them to address the themes of The Shape of Things in their own lives.

Pike Road: "Nunsense"

A perennial favorite, Dan Goggin's musical comedy Nunsense has been staged frequently in the River Region since its 1985 Off-Broadway debut, the latest spirited iteration being staged by the Pike Road Theatre Co., directed and choreographed by James Keith Posey.

In it, five of the Little Sisters of Hoboken are planning a fund-raising talent show. It seems that some 56 of their convent were accidentally poisoned, having consumed tainted vichyssoise prepared by one of the nuns. They had buried 52 of them when Mother Superior [Jan Roeton] purchased a state-of-the-art television and they ran out of money. The four remaining corpses have been literally "on ice" till now. -- Imagine what happens next.

Mother Superior hogs the spotlight, though competitive Sister Hubert [Tara Fenn] and streetwise Brooklynite Sister Robert Anne [Michon R. Givens] both vie for attention and higher places in the talent show and in the convent's hierarchy. Novice Sister Leo [Tiffany Presley] always wanted to be a ballerina, and wacky Sister Amnesia [Savannah Bowden] -- her name tells you most of what you need to know -- also performs with a foul-mouthed puppet.

That's the set-up; there's very little else in the plot...but the evening is really about entertainment, a number of Dad-jokes, some audience participation that goes on a bit too long, all of which demonstrate the assorted talents of this able ensemble of actors.

Individually and as a group, they continually ramp up the energy and commitment with dynamic showcasing of their talents in some 18 songs [and quite lot of dance as well], engaging the audience at every turn.

Goggin affords each character some moments to shine, and each member of the company takes the spotlight confidently in character, and in good voice. -- Ms. Roeton amps up the energy in "Turn up the spotlight"; Ms. Presley's charming "Benedicte" endears us to her; Ms. Bowden's "So you want to be a nun" and "I could've gone to Nashville" are hilarious and heart-rending in turn; Ms. Givens steals the show with "Growing up Catholic" and "I just want to be a star"; and Ms. Fenn brings down the house with "Holier than thou".

Another enjoyable production of Nunsense puts the Pike Rod Theatre Co. firmly on the local map.

Way Off Broadway Theatre/Prattville: "The Outsider"

With mid-term elections on the doorstep, Prattville's "Way Off Broadway Theatre" is currently skewering the American electorate in Paul Slade Smith's 2015 satire The Outsider, a two act romp performed by an impressive acting ensemble under Melissa Strickland's confident direction.

Set in the present day in the governor's office of an unnamed  small state, and taking care to remain neutral regarding political parties, Smith's script centers on the figure of Ned Newley [Roy Goldfinger], a man who had just been sworn in as governor because the previous incumbent had been ousted for philandering. The problem is that Ned is painfully shy in front of the media, giving the impression that he's incompetent, and his staff attempt to save his administration by coaching him for an immediate media appearance.

Though second in command Dave Riley [Jason Bush] and pollster Paige Caldwell [Ashley Nicole Portis] try their best, with ditzy "temp" secretary Louise Peakes [Stephanie Higley] muddling things up, they are at their wits end, and conscript CNN spin-doctor Arthur Vance [Douglas Dean Mitchell] to take on the task of turning things around.

The challenge is not merely in getting Ned to be comfortable in front of a camera; it's far more contrived than that -- The philosophical issue is focused on what voters want and/or deserve from their elected officials. Do they want "an actual leader who looks like an idiot", or do they regularly vote for and get "an actual idiot who looks like a leader"? We often hear candidates claim that as "outsiders" from the political elite, they are the best candidates. Conversely, voters also say they want experienced candidates. -- Points to ponder these days; and it doesn't matter which side of the political divide you support: finger pointing can be made in both directions.

Into the mix come TV interviewer Rachel Parsons [Kristen VanderWal] and cameraman A. C. Peterson [Drey Nelson] as counterpoints to the main plot who also manage to shed some important light on its serious outcome and messages.

And there are a lot of serious messages amidst the comic mayhem: "People will vote for anyone if they think that person will get them what they want;" often, "people who know nothing about government actually run the government;" "no sane person wants to work in the government;" "government makes a lot of noise;" "most of us view government as something we'll never understand;" and perhaps most importantly, a democracy "government is what all of us collectively have made a decision to do together because we can't do it alone...in order to benefit all of us."

Appearance and reality are regularly at odds in The Outsider. Without giving away the various twists and turns of events -- and there are so many unexpected and outrageously comical elements on display -- audiences are invited to laugh at themselves throughout the fast moving two-and-a-half hours playing time. 

The satirical bite is handled masterfully by this slick ensemble of actors, each of whom defines a memorable persona, establishes convincing relationships that make us care about them, moves with purpose, and articulates the glittering dialogue with credible assurance. 

Provocatively funny, and skillful throughout, The Outsider is a welcome addition to this theatrical season.