Theatre AUM: "The Flick"

Annie Baker's 2014 Pulitzer Prize-winning play The Flick is playing at Theatre AUM, in keeping with that program's educational theatre charge to showcase new plays along with standard fare. Montgomery audiences and the AUM students have a chance to see plays that will be unlikely at other local venues.

At its debut, the critical responses to The Flick were mixed, largely because very little happened during its 3+ hours playing time [AUM's production comes in at less than 2-hours]; yet, the characters and their personal stories resonate truthfully, no matter how mundane the situations and the dialogue.

Set in a one-screen movie theatre in Worcester, MA called "The Flick", it is one of a few remaining movie houses still showing 35mm celluloid projections while others have embraced the new digital format; and AUM director Val Winkelman locates her audiences on what is usually their stage playing area facing the rows of seats they ordinarily sit in, and what would be the location of the "screen" for the characters in The Flick.

For most of the play's two acts, two of the play's three central characters go about their dreary jobs cleaning up the movie house of the debris left by patrons at the end of the working day. Sam [David Moore] has worked there a while in a dead-end job, and is instructing Avery [Tony George] on the routine job requirements while establishing his seniority over the newcomer who is only there in a stop-gap position taking a break from college. Both are movie nerds, and engage in countless games of "Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon".

Sam is also enamored of the projectionist Rose [Cathy Raneiri], a take-charge open-minded woman; but she does not return his interest and seems to be intrigued by Avery.

In a series of short episodic scenes stretching over the course of several days, these minimum wage earners reveal many layers of their personalities and individual histories that realistically replicate the ways in which we often hold conversations: half sentences, overlapping thoughts, filler words, and sounds. -- We learn of the sometimes funny, sometimes heartbreaking, sometimes frustrating things that each has experienced, along with some consuming obsessions about work, race, class, family, social privilege, and the need for solidarity among them in face of imminent closure of their workplace by the never seen manager and owner of "The Flick".

The major challenges of Ms. Baker's play -- delivering her ultra-naturalistic dialogue believably, and sustaining her deliberately slow pace with its numerous lengthy pauses -- make it imperative for the characters' complicated lives to resonate with audiences. And Ms. Winkelman's cast [also with Chris Mascia as an eager-to-please new hire named Skylar], render the words with conviction, though sometimes with such naturalistic understated delivery as to be hard to hear.

These are lonely people reaching out to one another in ways that they find difficult to express. -- And we feel for them without being able to help.

Faulkner: "You're A Good Man, Charlie Brown"

In 1967, Charles M. Schultz's Peanuts comic-strip characters came to life in a small Off-Broadway theatre in a sweetly innocent musical comedy, You're A Good Man, Charlie Brown. Small on dialogue, yet big on songs that re-create many of the Peanuts characters' familiar situations, it ran for over a thousand performances and was uniformly praised for its ability to capture the innocence of childhood through a simple low-key style. The music and lyrics by Clark Gesner evoked a nostalgia shared over the years by audiences all over the globe.

In 1999, a "revised" version with additional dialogue by Michael Mayer, and Andrew Lippa's insertion of some new songs and "enhancements" of the original score, became the version available for performances today; and this is the one currently showing at the Faulkner University Dinner Theatre. Though it retains much of the original's winsomeness [and Faulkner's ensemble actors are up to the task], some of the solo songs become small-scale production numbers, and the new songs work against the intentionally childlike qualities of the original source material.

Director Angela Dickson, along with Marilyn Swears [piano] and Mark Benson [percussion], keep the action going at a solid pace on Matt Dickson's cartoon-colorful set. And the cast -- Hunter Lee Smith (Charlie Brown), Catherine Allbritton (Sally Brown), Emily Woodring (Lucy Van Pelt), Morgan Baker (Linus Van Pelt), Colby Smith (Schroeder), John Pate (Snoopy) -- are instantly recognizable in their respective roles, and delight their audiences with strong singing Faulkner is noted for and with engaging performances.

While Charlie Brown's journey as a lovable failure who never succeeds at baseball or flying kites is the center of the story, each of the others has a moment in song that highlights a personality trait or renders a specific story line that are featured in Schultz's comic strip.

Production numbers -- "The Book Report" on Peter Rabbit shows each character's mind-set with hilarious results, and the "Glee Club Rehearsal" of "Home on the Range" deteriorates into mayhem -- show a fine sense of collaborative ensemble work.

Ms. Woodring's Lucy is bossy and arrogant and wants to be a Queen, but is also hopelessly in love with Schroeder as he plays the "Moonlight Sonata", and softens her amateur psychiatrist's pronouncements towards Charlie Brown in "The Doctor is In".

Mr. Smith's Schroeder is continuously frustrated by others who don't share his taste for classical music, but celebrates a raucous "Beethoven Day" with the company.

Ms. Allbritton has a ball with Sally's uncooperative jump rope and shines [along with Mr. Smith's Schroeder] in "New Philosophy".

Mr. Baker's most sensitive moment comes in "My Blanket and Me" as Linus serenades, almost loses, and ultimately rescues what we all recognize as a childhood security blanket...one of the finer moments in this production.

Mr. Pate has several big moments as Snoopy: a dog's idyll that "They Like Me" is understated as "not bad at all"; his iconic aerial pursuit of "The Red Baron" as a "flying ace" from atop his doghouse; and an out-of-control delight in "Suppertime".

And Mr. Smith's disastrous "The Kite" that won't fly, his inevitable failure at "The Baseball Game", his constant distraction with the Little Red-haired Girl, culminate in "Happiness" with the whole company and Lucy in particular admitting at last: "You're a good man, Charlie Brown".

WOBT: "Brighton Beach Memoirs"

Director Blair Dyson's production of Brighton Beach Memoirs at Prattville's Way Off Broadway Theatre has one of that theatre's strongest acting ensembles gracing the stage in Neil Simon's 1983 semi-autobiographical coming-of-age comedy. Set in the title's Brooklyn neighborhood in 1937, it tracks a Jewish family's lives as World War II is about to erupt in Europe where many of their family and friends still live.

The War is occasionally referenced in the two acts, reminding us that even during the Depression, the hard times in America pale in comparison to the horrors of the holocaust to come.

But war is the last thing in the mind of Simon's alter-ego, the precocious 15-year-old Eugene Jerome [Sam Elsky] who is more interested in sports and a fixation on women's breasts. -- Eugene is also the narrator of the piece who regularly comments on his frustrations with other family members: his mother Kate's [Zyna Captain] constant nagging and unremarkable cooking; his Aunt Blanche's [Melissa Strickland] fragile health; his admiration of elder brother Stanley [Christian Chapman] who "instructs" him on "the ways of the world"; his older cousin Nora's [Grace Moore] breasts and dreams of becoming a Broadway star; his younger cousin Laurie's [Tori Sigler] retreat into bookishness because of a perceived illness; and the solidity of his father Jack [Gary Essary] whose wise advice is sought on every important issue or decision.

While several characters' choices need Jack's sage advice, and with two families living under one roof due to financial straits in hard times predictably cause some friction, the resulting anger and misunderstandings [some recent and some long-held resentments] are eventually forgiven because of the bond of love and family they share.

What holds this production together is the sincere portrayals of all the characters. The playwright's witty dialogue is delivered truthfully, demonstrating these actors' ability to humanize their sometimes outrageous pronouncements. And for all their complaints about others behaviors, the love that is rarely expressed in words is demonstrated by their actions.

They invite us into their home and their lives for a couple of hours, and we can't help but love them back.

ASF: "Dauphin Island"

First done in Montgomery as a reading in 2015's "Southern Writers Project", playwright Jeffry Chastang's Dauphin Island is being given its World Premier production on the Alabama Shakespeare Festival's Octagon stage. In an intermissionless 90-minutes, director Nancy Rominger and her two actors -- Cheri Lynne VandenHeuvel and Esau Pritchett [both veterans at ASF] -- involve audiences in the relationship that develops over a weekend between two unlikely souls.

Set in a remote rural landscape in Southern Alabama, a place where people could easily get lost or where they could escape the pressures of the outside world, the contrived meeting of Selwyn Tate [Mr. Pritchett]  and Kendra Evans [Ms. VandenHeuvel] when his car breaks down and he stumbles into her yard, then tracks the small and large events they share as the relationship changes from combative to a kind of detente to trust and a love that both understand will not be fulfilled.

Make no mistake, this is not a twenty-somethings romantic tale; these are adults who have life experiences that have molded them into the persons they are today. Coming from very different backgrounds [information about each one's past is distributed bit-by-bit throughout the play], their individual experiences with marriage, children, family, jobs, social expectations, and the need to break traditions, affords the playwright and the company the opportunity to delve into subjects that audiences share in common with the characters.

And when we are graced by the strong and truthful performances by these two gifted actors, there is hardly a moment when we are not engaged.

Yet things happen so quickly, stretching credibility that the aforementioned changes in their relationship as well as some elements of their physical appearance could have happened in a matter of hours.

Ms. VandenHeuvel and Mr. Pritchett are so committed to their roles,mspeaking the play's naturalistic dialogue with utter confidence and comfort, that audiences readily accept the gaps in the script that omit sufficient evidence that might have supplied clearer answers to the characters' motives.

Production values (set, lights, costumes, sound) are all top notch, making the Octagon's intimate space the ideal location for this intimate two-handler. -- And the quality of the acting involves audiences long after the performance ends.

ASF: "Sherlock Holmes"

It's not often that stage scenery gets applause these days, but James Wolk's stunning sets for the Alabama Shakepeare Festival's production of Sherlock Holmes did just that on opening night virtually every time the massive revolving Festival stage revealed yet another superbly detailed location. These, and Paula Scofield's gorgeous period costumes, transported the audience back to late-Victorian England for 2 3/4 hours that ended with an enthusiastic standing ovation.

Created by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, Sherlock Holmes -- an uber-sleuth whose powers of deduction set the standard for other fictional detectives -- put lesser humans to shame from his 1887 appearance in "A Study in Scarlet" through a series of novels and short stories till 1927. But, how does he do it? His mantra, "When you have eliminated the impossible, whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth", was first expressed in "The Sign of Four" (1890); and his mastery of deductive reasoning has been variously portrayed by stage and film actors from Basil Rathbone to Jeremy Brett to Benedict Cumberbatch.

And now at ASF, Brik Berkes takes on the role in director Geoffrey Sherman's adaptation of American actor-manager-playwright William Gillette's version of Conan Doyle's character. Gillette called his play Sherlock Holmes, or the Strange Case of Miss Faulkner (1899), and introduced theatre-goers to Holmes's deerstalker hat and calabash pipe; and he wanted to bring in a romantic element to a character hitherto a confirmed bachelor.

Gillette and Sherman keep Holmes off-stage for a long time, preparing the audience for his arrival with numerous references to his abilities; so from Mr. Berkes's first entrance on, we are treated to the familiar as well as some new facets of his character. Always assured to the point of arrogance, it is no surprise that Mr. Berkes's Holmes emerges victorious in thwarting arch-enemy Professor Moriarty [Rodney Clark plays the title character's nemesis to crusty perfection] and his underworld organization of criminals. But, his growing interest in Alice Faulkner [Alice Sherman], who is planning to avenge her sister's murder by withholding incriminating letters, adds another level to a man unused to romantic feelings.

Miss Faulkner is being held under duress by James and Madge Larrabee [John Manfredi and Jennifer Barnhart are both duplicitous to the core], who are also in cahoots with con-man safe-cracker Sidney Prince [Seth Andrew Bridges plays him with an irresistibly charming East End swagger that provides much of this production's comic relief].

As the plots intertwine, and with delightfully understated performances by Paul Hebron as Holmes's invaluable assistant, Dr. Watson, and James Bowen as a "sometime servant" John Forman, Holmes second-guesses everyone except Miss Faulkner who ultimately in Ms. Sherman's gentle yet firm depiction enables Holmes to admit his feelings towards her.

Supporting roles are handled by an assortment of returning and local actors: former ASF acting-intern Jason Martin returns to play three roles here; and Liam South, a fifth-grader veteran of A Christmas Carol and Peter Pan at ASF, plays errand boy Billy with confidence and maturity.

Making their ASF main stage debuts: Adrian Lee Borden gives French maid Therese a vigorous persona; Scott Bowman plays a tough hoodlum Jim Craigin and returns in an almost unrecognizable disguise as an officious Count Von Stalburg; and Sam Wootten appears first as Bassick, one of Moriarty's nasty henchmen, returning in a delightfully contrasting role as Parsons, a nebbishy butler.

There were a few technical problems on opening night, and the play itself creaks here and there with turn of the century plot devices, but the performances and the production values mentioned above engage us from beginning to end, resulting in a fine evening's entertainment.

Theatre AUM: "Coupler"

Put together a young emerging playwright's award-winning script, a design team who help bring her clever story to life, a tight seven-member acting ensemble, and a director whose vision brings inventive interpretations that engage a contemporary audience in a fast-paced intermissionless 75-minutes, and you have Theatre AUM's latest foray into exhilarating theatre. -- Meredith Dayna Levy's Coupler has ended its two-weekend run, but for those fortunate enough to have gone on her magical fantasy ride, the memory should last a while.

Mike Winkelman's forced perspective cartoon-like set is made to replicate a London Underground train carriage that confines the actors into a small area that is located close to the first row of the audience and thereby invites them into its intimate space. Familiar popular music selections regularly punctuate and comment on the action. Val Winkelman's character-specific costumes help define the actors' roles and, with a few concessions to idiosyncrasies of the script, look like they could have come from anyone's closet.

For the first few minutes of director Neil David Seibel's production, there is no dialogue...only music, announcements of the names of station stops on "the tube's" Northern Line with reminders to "Mind the Gap" or be careful of the "closing doors", and actors getting on and off the train where they take various positions sitting or standing, each one in his or her own isolated world, until...the fatal brief eye-contact followed by an amazing kiss that erupts into a fantastical saga of hyper-connected people dropping their electronic devices and trying to communicate on a personal level. -- Can't we all identify with that?

Then things get even more interesting and bizarre as the Northern Line Train [Amy May], intent on being a kind of fairy godmother, sprinkles pixie dust on several unsuspecting characters, especially two "lost boys" who have reached adulthood but have not yet grown up or found true love. The "Neverland" metaphor takes over.

Christopher [Kodi Robinson] is an aspiring writer [he calls himself a 'logophile'] in need of inspiration for his new book. After he kisses Sadie [Brittany Vallely] and she disappears as she leaves her copy of Peter Pan on the train, his obsession with finding her is sidetracked when he meets Samantha [Olivia Crutchfield]. -- And Glenn [Jay Russell] is grieving over his mother's suicide and can't sustain any lasting relationship, especially with Emily [Kelli Abernathy] who also happens to be Christopher's publisher. -- Emily's assistant Cole [Antonio George] helps navigate the worlds of business between Christopher and Emily while attempting to ease a relationship between Christopher and Samantha.

The accomplishment of mixing fantasy with reality is managed with sound effects and sudden changes of lighting, so audiences are always aware how closely the real world resembles "Neverland" and how effortlessly the script allows both to exist simultaneously. -- It is a credit to the acting ensemble that they communicate this dichotomy so well and invite us to share their experiences.

To be fair, there are times when lines are hard to hear because of overlapping dialogue with a lot of physical action going on that garners spontaneous audience reactions; and the British dialects need to be more consistent.

The text takes great care in having the Train announce the various station stops along the Northern Line in correct order so there is never a doubt that all the real world action is confined to one carriage on an Underground train; yet, the surreal coexistence of "Neverland" intrudes into their lives, giving them a childlike freedom to help realize their potentials.

The characters may not grow up entirely, but by the end they are well on their way, and audiences who have delighted in their fantasies and felt the attraction of giving in to their own imaginations for a while, leave Theatre AUM with smiles on their faces.

WOBT: "To Kill a Mockingbird"

Several stage versions of Harper Lee's beloved Pulitzer Prize novel To Kill a Mockingbird [1960] have appeared over the years. One adaptation that is most often performed is by Christopher Sergel, and each one puts its individual stamp on Lee's masterpiece.

Director Sam Wallace is at the helm at Prattville's Way Off Broadway Theatre which is ending its sold-out run of Sergel's version this weekend. In a stripped-down production, he relies on actors and text to focus on Lee's messages, and though the plot is familiar to just about everyone, the presence of racism in America resonates forcefully in 2017, and reminds all of us that Thomas Jefferson's "all men are created equal" should be given more than lip-service.

Partly the "coming of age story" of tomboy Jean Louise "Scout" Finch [Rebecca Joy Schannep], her older brother Jeremy "Jem" [Braden Fine] and their sometime neighbor Charles Baker "Dill" Harris [Levi Bone], who are fascinated and afraid of the reclusive neighbor they have never seen -- Arthur "Boo" Radley [Patrick Tatum] -- the story is set in the fictitious town of Maycomb, Alabama in 1935, where Scout's and Jem's lawyer-father Atticus [Roy Goldfinger] agrees to defend Tom Robinson [Spencer Vaughn], a Black man accused of raping Mayella Ewell [Hannah Moore] the daughter of Bob Ewell [Eric Arvidson], a drunkenly aggressive and racist White man.

Facing the derision of many townspeople, Atticus believes Tom to be innocent; yet he realizes that he can't win the case because a White-only jury would never return a verdict of "not guilty" for a Black man so accused. The trial matches Atticus against defense attorney Mr. Gilmer [Douglas Mitchell], whose smooth twisting of evidence is a big challenge. Even though Atticus shows in court that Tom is innocent and humiliates the Ewells in public, the children believe Tom must be turned free; but the verdict comes down as expected, and Bob Ewell promises revenge.

When Ewell attacks the children one night, Atticus believes a wounded "Jem" had defended "Scout", killing Ewell in the fight. Sheriff Heck Tate [Michael B. Snead] knows that "Boo" Radley had protected the children, creating a dilemma for Atticus: a public trial of the simple recluse would do more damage (like killing a harmless mockingbird) than to accept the sheriff's pronouncement that "Bob Ewell fell on his own knife."

"Scout" has learned best that it is important to put yourself into another person's shoes in order to understand the complexities of the world; not always a happy realization, but certainly a big part in growing up, that both Atticus and the family's housemaid Calpurnia [Tunisia Thomas] reinforce daily by both word and example.

Some of the key moments in the play go by very quickly, lessening the impact as a result; specific moments need more stage time to allow audiences to absorb them -- the showdown between Atticus and the mob at the jail who want to hang Tom; the attack on the children and death of Ewell, for example. And the large group scenes and singing get a bit too raucous for important dialogue to be heard clearly.

But the focus is on the featured roles: each of the children give credible characterizations; both Mr. Arvidson and Ms. Moore are hateful Ewells in their deliberate lying under oath; Mr. Snead's sheriff is conflicted in his duty yet a representative of clear thinking; Mr. Vaughn is stoical and sympathetic as Tom; Ms. Thomas is a no-nonsense Calpurnia; Mr. Mitchell is a strong presence as Gilmer.

In smaller but important roles, Janie Allred shines as the fussy demanding neighbor Mrs. DuBose, and Lolly White is a clear and focused narrator, Miss Maudie.

Holding attention from start to finish is the nuanced performance given by Mr. Goldfinger as Atticus; he can be a commanding and persuasive lawyer, a sympathetic disciplinarian father, a compassionate neighbor, a cool-headed man when confronted by dangerous threats, and above all a moral arbiter whose integrity is intact throughout. His impassioned defense of Tom ought to be seen and heard by more people than the WOBT can hold. -- When Rev. Sykes [Calvin Johnson] intones the memorable line "stand up, your father is passing" to a disappointed "Scout" after the guilty verdict is read, we wholeheartedly agree that he deserves respect from everyone.