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.