Wetumpka Depot: "Big Fish"

 Big Fish -- just say the title around these parts and get ready for a chorus of glowing sentiments about Daniel Wallace's novel, the popular film with an adapted script by John August, the recent HGTV program that transformed Wetumpka and featured the "Big Fish House", the Wetumpka High School production not long ago of the John August and Andrew Lippa musical version which is now being staged at the Wetumpka Depot to almost sold-out audiences.

Opening night's limited and [mostly] masked audience gave director Kristy Meanor's production an enthusiastic reception as the Depot returned to in-person shows. -- Her fluid minimalist set design had actors shifting its many moveable parts in full view. Daniel Harms' efficient choreography, along with Carol Heier's character-driven costumes and Thomas Rodman's evocative lighting, combined with energetic performances by the 17-member cast made for an enjoyable evening's entertainment.

Randy Foster's music direction was in full force, with the actors steadfastly singing along to a recorded soundtrack; they met the challenge, though the soundtrack itself occasionally overpowered some solo singing voices.

Though there are few surprises in this retelling of Big Fish, our enjoyment relies on the freshness of the production, and we fill in the missing pieces of the narrative [some of the set decorations help with this].

Essentially focused on a contentious father/son relationship, Big Fish centers on Edward Bloom [Chris Kelly] and his grown son Will [Gage Leifried] as the son tries to decipher the decades-long autobiographical stories his father weaves, with added romanticized embellishments that confuse the younger man who doesn't understand his father, something he needs to do before it's too late, and in order to pass on the heritage to his pregnant wife Josephine [Xandria Hataway] and his yet unborn son. 

And these stories include a Witch [Desirae Lewis] who has told Edward the truth about his death, a circus ringmaster named Amos [Cushing Phillips] who is also a werewolf, and a misunderstood giant named Karl [Jordan Berry]. Add Jenny [Kyndall Stoker] a lovestruck schoolmate, and a high school rival Don [Johntavious Osborne], and even a Mermaid [Kaitlyn Lawless] who shows up every once in a while, and Will's confusion is understandable.

While the Young Will [Shepherd Grier] bridges the past and the present, Edward's wife Sandra [Angela Dickson] is the rock of the family. The love of Edward's life from the time they first met, her steadfastness, and Dr. Bennet's [Michael Hall] diagnosis that Edward hasn't long to live, gently brings about the connection that both father and son have wanted for so long.

The actors in the featured roles do yeomen's work in telling the Big Fish story, and deliver some fine individual moments in song. -- While the "Ensemble" troupe play numerous other roles and develop some recognizable portraits, they often let loose with energy and volume that could be pulled back a bit to support rather than dominate the action.

All in all a solid production, Big Fish ought to complete its run on a high note that keeps its audiences entertained by its fresh approach.

ASF: "Shoebox Picnic Road Side: Route One"

 There are only a few days left to see the Alabama Shakespeare Festival's "World Premier" production of Shoebox Picnic Road Side: Route One held outdoors [weather permitting] under a peaceful grove near the theatre building.

Deneen Reynolds-Knott' 40-minute play hearkens back to the 1950s. Ramona Ward's finely rendered period costumes, and a soundtrack of popular songs blaring from classic cars complete the picture as a small caravan of an African-American family stops en route between New York City and North Carolina  for a roadside picnic; and after the actors/characters "bless the food", a shoebox picnic awaits each audience member.

While this scenario could depict almost any American family in the 1950s, it is clear that, though white people might choose a picnic as an alternative to a restaurant, the characters in this play do so out of necessity to avoid being turned away from a "whites-only" establishment, or worse, to have risked their lives had they tried.

There is no mention of the well-known Greenbook listing safe places for African-Americans to stop, and for the most part, the atmosphere of Ms. Reynolds-Knott's script is comfortably light-hearted, with colloquial dialogue that is disarmingly ordinary; the women share recipes for fried chicken and potato salad and talk about fashion and music icons like Dinah Washington; the men talk about the Brooklyn Dodgers and take friendly digs at the one of them who always arrives late; the children talk about their dreams of the future and don't quite understand why they can't stop at a Howard Johnson's for a clam roll.

The ensemble acting company create recognizably naturalistic characters who appear to be living relatively happy lives -- they banter, gently discipline their children, make plans for a better future -- but underneath all this seeming comfort is a continual and almost undetectable watchfulness. Their parked cars shield them from the public road, there is a real concern for the people in the car that lags behind, their words are guarded when it turns to the subject of race. 

There is one moment when car horns are heard from nearby -- a signal probably from white people that they ought to move on -- that causes a well-practiced ritual that positions the men as sentries, and the women distracting the children by bringing them near the cars and protecting them from danger.

Other than that one discomforting moment, there are no incidents to speak of. Audiences have been offered a peek into the characters' lives and can relate to them. We like them; they are good people; their hopes and dreams are ours. We have invested in their lives. 

Before they leave, Ms. Reynolds-Knott provides a coda in which the assorted characters break the fourth wall to tell us what happens in their family "five years from now...ten years from now...twenty-five years from now...fifty years from now"; though a lot has been accomplished, and a lot has changed, their journey isn't yet over. So, when they pack up and get back on the road, we miss them and wish them well.

Cloverdale Playhouse: "The Guys"

"Where were you on 9/11?" "Are you ok?" "Why would someone do that?" "Is a return to normal even possible?" -- Questions relevant both then and now on the 20th anniversary of both the attacks that changed the world forever and the costly war in Afghanistan that followed.

For two nights only on its outdoor "Courtyard Stage", The Cloverdale Playhouse is presenting a staged reading of Anne Nelson's The Guys, in commemoration of the legions of men and women first responders at the World Trade Center on September 11, 2001, as well as those serving at the Pentagon and the brave citizens on United Flight 93 who diverted it from its targeted destination, the U.S. Capital, and crashed it in a field in Pennsylvania. -- It is also a fund-raiser for Montgomery Fire and Rescue.

Written in just nine days, The Guys premiered Off-Broadway at The Flea Theatre in New York in December 2001. Based on the playwright's experiences, it recounts the meeting of its two characters who piece together their experiences, their grief, their bewilderment, their anger, and their helplessness in coming to terms with events they could not control. -- Nick [Scott Page] is a NYFD Captain who lost eight members of his team, and is conscripted to deliver eulogies for his fallen friends -- "the guys" of the title; Joan [Sarah Walker Thornton] is a journalist who comes to Nick's aid to help shape his thoughts into meaningful words to deliver to the bereaved.

With all the media attention on this anniversary from networks and cable stations, we tend to get lost in the overload from talking heads touting the first responders as "heroes". -- But it is words that matter, and Ms. Nelson is so keenly aware of this that she avoids such heightened language by referring to the men as "the guys": ordinary people who have families, go to church, drink with their buddies, welcome newcomers into their midst, and work as a team. These are "the guys" we should commemorate. -- And audiences get to know them and respect them through the conversations between the two characters.

Mr. Page shows Nick as a good "guy" so broken and guilt-ridden by the catastrophe that he can't express what needs to be said, and is apologetic for dragging Joan in to his predicament. Ms. Thornton's presents Joan's anger and frustrated empathy unapologetically. Once she gets him to talk about his friends with her open-ended questions and then molds the details of their lives and experiences into ordinary words, they create a bond that enables them to continue, and they emerge as fully realized and empathetic characters.

Directed sensitively by Greg Thornton, who affords his actors room to explore the nuances of the script's themes and character relationships, and supported by J. Scott Grinstead's technical direction, the result is a touching and provocative evening that has audiences riveted throughout its 75-minute running time.

An America that seemed unified after 9/11 when politics, religion, and social status did not seem to matter, is now fraught on almost every quarter some 20-years later, where insurrectionist citizens threatened the fabric of our democracy, and where a global pandemic has become an excuse for divisiveness. The question remains: "Is a return to normal even possible?"

Millbrook: "Steel Magnolias"

 Though none of them ever appear on stage, there's a lot of talk about the men in the lives of the six women in Steel Magnolias, now playing at the Millbrook Community Theatre. Whether they are good-old-boys, successful young lawyers, deadbeat tv couch-potatoes, criminals, born-again Christians, former mayors, or unwanted exes, we can't help but sympathize with the women who escape to Truvy's hair salon every week to literally and figuratively let their hair down in a place where no man would dare to enter.

Director A. John Collier's take on this Community Theatre staple doesn't break any new ground; rather he presents the intertwining stories of the characters with a straightforwardness appropriate to the script, and the opening night audience responded approvingly, often anticipating several of the play's most quotable lines.

By now, most local audiences know the plot of Robert Harling's 1987 play, centered on the plight of young Shelby's journey from her wedding day, ill-advised pregnancy, and death, and her effect on the lives of the other characters. -- So it is up to the ensemble performances of the actors to develop their roles truthfully, combining humor and pathos. 

The Millbrook cast are up to the task, and show the mother-daughter dynamic between M'Lynn [Joannie Deneve] and Shelby [Hannah Moore] as a complex love-hate relationship; Truvy [Rae Ann Collier] and Annelle [Shea Jackson] grow closer as Annelle gradually becomes more assertive; and frenemies Ouiser [Margaret White] and Clairee [Vicki Moses] bicker constantly, but are always there for support.

And, while their physical and vocal energies lag at times, this two-and-a-half-hour production demonstrates the steely strength of women who rely on one another for the strength to overcome even the most challenging events...and without their men.

Cloverdale Playhouse: "The Giver"

After a year-and-a-half away from indoor theatre performances, returning to the Cloverdale Playhouse's production of The Giver was exhilarating on many levels. -- With attention to COVID protocols, the theatre maintained a safe space atmosphere that allowed audiences to engage in the play's themes, and afforded many opportunities to get caught up in the performances of the talented ensemble actors.

Director La'Brandon Milbry-Tyre guided the cast through Eric Coble's adaptation of the Newberry Prize-winning novel by Lois Lowry: a dystopian fiction set in a not-too-distant future, where blandness, control, and safety pass for an ideal life in the "community", where everyone accepts their assigned roles; that is, until the "Ceremony of the Twelves", where twelve-year-old children are given their life assignments, and one boy named Jonas [Ashana Woodson] is tapped with the distinct honor to be the next "Receiver of Memory". He is taught in secret by the Giver of the title [Cushing Phillips] all the long historical memory of the "community" -- the knowledge of both joy and pain, good and evil, peace and war -- and comes to realize that his previous utopian world isn't all it is cracked up to be.

From the opening curtain speech [a disembodied voice welcomes us to the theatre and controls our responses], to the grey set that snakes its way into the auditorium [J. Scott Grinstead masterfully disguises its several moving parts that reveal new places and expanding knowledge given to the boy; and the "projections" along the theatre's side walls depicting war and travel are stunning], to the drab utilitarian costumes [Sarah Walker Thornton's olive/beige choices emphasize military discipline, and fluid drapery of outsiders is remarkable], to the eerie soundscape [Noah Henninger's choices keep us on the edge], and hard-focused lighting [Joseph Crawford softens many scenes to excellent effect], all the production elements conspire to insinuate that all is not well in this seemingly ideal place.

In this ideal "community", a lengthy exposition introduces us to a typical nuclear family [Father, Mother, Jonas, and Lily], their assorted neighbors and friends, and we feel comfortable with them as they try to fit in to the demands of their leaders. The introduction of an infant to the household -- one of a pair of twins that Father [Kevin Mohajerin] dotes on -- adds some tension to the family unit. Things liven up when Jonas interacts with Asher [Michael Pritchard] and Fiona [Bella Dennison] in recognizable pre-teen fashion, their quirky personalities at the forefront. 

But we also hear reports of people who, for whatever reason, are "released" to an unknown and purportedly good "elsewhere". And the children are curious, but not put off by not knowing.

While the focus of the plot is on the Giver/Jonas relationship, the gifted ensemble players imbue their characters with distinct personalities, and demonstrate a fine-tuned collaborative spirit in supporting one another while contributing individually to the plot and its tensions. Mr. Mohajerin, Mr. Pritchard, and Ms. Dennison are particularly convincing, as are Valerie Roberts as Mother, and Riley Carroll as Lily.

Mr. Phillips subtly shows the conflicted role of the Giver with admirable restraint -- one who must teach all the memory to Jonas no matter how hurtful it may be, and advise the danger ahead should the boy choose to go elsewhere and thereby release all the memory back to the "community", while maintaining some secrecy about his own past. Their relationship is based on trust, and both these actors/characters demonstrate it fully.

And, Ms. Woodson -- in a stunning debut stage performance -- carries the bulk of the production on her capable shoulders. Her confidence in the role as she interacts with family, friends, and authority figures in a variety of ways; her vocal clarity and power; her emotional and intellectual range as she investigates and decides on a course of action to pursue with her new-found knowledge; her ability to share the stage with her fellow actors,  all make for an impressive performance that ought to jump-start her theatrical future.

Though the ending does not draw to a neat conclusion, the audience is left to deliberate on the choices we make to know our own history and how we can contribute to our own life's course.

ASF: "Ruby: The Story of Ruby Bridges"

Teaching moment for today: "Racism is a grown-up disease, and we must stop using our children to spread it." --Ruby Bridges

In 1960, the then unwitting six-year-old Ruby Bridges was thrust into the international limelight when she was the first African American to integrate a public school in New Orleans -- an experience that prompted her to become a Civil Rights activist, a role she continues to today.

Her story is being staged at the Alabama Shakespeare Festival in playwright Christina Ham's Ruby: the Story of Ruby Bridges, a one-hour re-telling of those early days of the Cicil Rights Movement in which Ruby -- bewildered by the attention she received and the import of her celebrity  -- comes to grips with the significance of her actions.

Narrated and performed by Younger Ruby [Camryn Dillard] and Older Ruby [Faith Gatson], who offer differing perspectives on these events, they are complemented by Ruby's mother Lucille [Lasherekia Hampton], whose faith in God gives her the stamina to continue to support and guide her daughter through the labyrinth of racial onslaught, while holding her family together when they are impacted by Ruby's admittance into a white school.

Taunted incessantly, and  famously escorted by U. S. Marshalls every day for a year, she doesn't understand the vicious slurs, and is emotionally shattered when she realizes that it is all because of the color of her skin. -- All she wanted was to learn, and to play jacks and jump rope with her white peers in a new school.

Mrs. Barbara Henry [Adrian Lee Borden] is the only white teacher who agreed to teach the child, at first in an isolated classroom with no opportunity to mix with white children, and it is she who provides compassionate care of her young charge and offers guidance when she tells Ruby that "it takes time to heal a lot of things" and that "differences make us unique but not better or worse than others."

Director Sarah Walker Thornton guides her principal actors and a large ensemble of Montgomery school students through Ms. Ham's episodic script that is infused with a lot of singing and dancing, exhibiting the strong singing voices of the principals [the Musical Director is Darrian Stovall] and the dexterity of their dancing choreographed by Lindsay Renea Benton. -- This is a talented group whose words are sometimes obscured by their energetic stage movement, screaming epithets, and loud musical accompaniment.

Regardless, the messages of Ruby come through loud and clear for today's youth and adults. Though laws initiated integrated schools, and the play ends on a hopeful note, it is still abundantly clear that too many among us hold on to their prejudices against "otherness" of any sort, and spew racial hatred that teaches young Americans that these beliefs and behaviors are acceptable.

Ms. Ham's main teaching moment is to pay attention, and teach our children that such behavior is intolerable.

ASF: "Alabama Story"

Seven years after it debuted as a staged reading in the "Southern Writers Project", Kenneth Jones's provocative Alabama Story has -- at last -- come home to the Octagon Theatre at the Alabama Shakespeare Festival in a smart-often humorous-insightful-serious-and ultimately hopeful production directed by ASF's Artistic Director, Rick Dildine. -- The play has had successful runs at regional theatres around the country, though judging by audience responses to the opening night's performance, it is back at home where it belongs.

Based on factual events in 1959 Montgomery, AL when the Civil Rights Movement was gaining strength, the plot revolves around a self-proclaimed nomadic librarian Emily Wheelock Reed [Greta Lambert], whose choice of ordering a children's book in which a Black and a White rabbit get married, provokes the thinly disguised bigotry of Senator Higgins [Christopher Gerson], and his insistence that the book's content does not conform to "our conservative Christian values" (sound familiar?), and does everything in his power to get Ms. Reed to comply with his wish to ban the book, or else. -- It was a very public national cause celebre in its time, but a reluctant Ms. Reed becomes more than a match for him; her adversarial strength supported by logic, facts, a passion for books and "the free flow of information", and a respect for other cultures and differences of opinion. She is aided by Montgomery native Thomas Franklin [Billy Hutto], a library employee who becomes her advisor and protector. [Would that today we all had such a man to speak the language of the local patriarchy in their own terms].

The events are narrated by Garth Williams [Alan Knoll, who also plays a number of other characters in the play]; he is the "author" of the book, who insinuates himself into the action and punctuates it with humor and sardonic remarks about the prejudices of the Old South mentality seen in the Senator and in the devastatingly intimate subplot involving an entitled white woman Lily Whitfield [Madeleine Lambert] and her childhood African-American friend Joshua Moore [Terrell Donnell Sledge], whose chance meeting in 1959 builds throughout the play as a demonstration of the selective memory of her class regarding prejudice in her family against the boy she dared to like at a time when her affection for him  resulted in violence and lasting harm to him and his family.

Under Mr. Dildine's sensitive direction, the six-member ensemble demonstrate what is best in theatre: full commitment to naturalistic storytelling and character development, and unflinching support for one another in scenes that test one's tolerance of hateful behavior. -- Mr. Knoll makes each of his characters distinct, and infuses each with humor and comfort. Mr. Hutto's unassuming demeanor disguises his character's fortitude in doing what is right and against the odds. Ms. Madeline Lambert and Mr. Sledge are a fine counterpoint to the main plot, and create some breathtakingly tragic tropes of misunderstanding that are quietly devastating. Mr. Gerson's Senator is a character we love to hate, and when matched with Ms. Greta Lambert, each one's in-the-moment discovery of the other's flaws surprises us with their clarity. -- Ms. Greta Lambert disappears into her character with apparent ease that makes her every gesture, every subtle tilt of the head, every bit of timing seem effortless and true...another master class in acting that transports us all.

The themes of Jones's script resonate all too strongly in 2020. Despite advancements in addressing racial prejudices and inequalities in America, the evidence blaring from both traditional and social media makes it abundantly clear that people with loud and persistent voices spewing hate, suspicion, and intolerance of anyone perceived as "other" are paving the way to regressive policies. -- We need such plays as Alabama Story to make us think again about the direction we are heading.