2007-01 Vital Source Mag – January 2007
Third and Oak
By Peggy Sue Dunigan Third and Oak is the third installment of Dramatists Theatre’s 2006-2007 season that is revisiting the work of Marsha Norman. Norman, who was most recently nominated for a 2006 Tony Award after comprising the libretto for The Color Purple, once again observes, as she puts it, “people you wouldn’t even notice in life.” In this two-act play, one set in a laundromat, another in a pool hall, both locations are placed at the corner of Third and Oak. At 3 in the morning, Alberta Johnson, an older woman seeking silence, and DeeDee Johnson, a young newly married woman seeking company, clash as they “suds their duds,” both literally and metaphorically as they wash and talk about the complexities in their marriages. Marilyn White as Alberta is quietly stilted as a grieving wife, while Libby Amato gives DeeDee a hurried, uncontrolled appeal. Although sometimes Amato’s speech is rushed, which gives the audience little time to understand what she is trying to tell Alberta. Norman gives the second act, which revolves around a pool table, weightier dialogue, with more emotion shot with lines of humor. Tony Mozli-Warren, as the father like figure of Willie, and Muhammad Mahdi, as Shooter, relate as if they truly are family. Here Shooter, a late night DJ, tries to settle his score in life as he and Willie discuss his relationships to the hard drinking trio his late father, Willie, and another friend, George, created. The relationship is complicated by the fact Shooter has married Sondra, George’s daughter, and there is no child to carry on the family name. Shooter, who dropped off his laundry before visiting Willie, has also invited DeeDee to join him in the pool hall, as these two characters overlap the two acts. The black box theatre on the fourth floor of the Marion Center, appropriately sparse for both settings, is long and narrow. However, occasionally the dialogue is difficult to hear when the actor’s backs are turned, or above the breaking of the cue balls. But as Shooter says every late evening as he signs off the radio and heads to Willie’s for pool, “it’s 3 in the morning when it’s time to rock your daddy to dreams of delight.” And unknown, this may be exactly the right time to discover the surprises in your dreams, your life and someone to share them with, whether searching for them or not. This play is an interesting addition to this season of Norman’s work, which, as she explains, continues to explore “people having the nerve to go on.” Fortunately small theater companies take these opportunities. VS Third and Oak runs through January 27at Dramtists Theatre on the fourth floor of the Marion Center, 3211 South Lake Drive, St. Francis. Ticket information at: www.dramtiststheatre.com.
Jan 23rd, 2007 by Peggy Sue Dunigan
Jake’s Women
Everyone who has ever known anyone has talked to people while they weren’t there. The little fractions of imagination required to talk to people without them knowing about it keeps most people psychologically well adjusted. Everyone knows that. Not everyone writes a play about it, though. With Jake’s Women, Neil Simon explores imaginary conversations as they relate to writers and other people who suffer. The Sunset Playhouse in Elm Grove continues its season with a thoughtful, tender production of Simon’s comic drama. Michael Chobanoff stars as Jake, a frazzled writer trying to confront his wife Maggie (Coleen Tutton) about the growing emotional distance between the two of them. Jake’s imagination is frequently visited by women he’s known over the course of his life. When he needs advice, for instance, he imagines conversations with his sister Karen (a brashly witty Jamieson Hawkins). When he feels the need to be comforted in a variety of different ways, he has conversations with his daughter Molly (played as a precocious girl by seasoned child actress Molly Langhenry and as a young adult by Shannon Ishizaki). Stand out performances by actresses playing women in Jake’s head include Bonnie Krah as Jake’s therapist and Lindsay Nylen as his late first wife Julie. The fact that Jake is having imaginary sessions with his therapist is one of the more inspired bits in the script and Krah delivers on it with a very precise comic presence. Nylen holds the right amount of charm and beauty to convincingly play that perfect woman in Jake’s past. Her character gains a dimension when she asks for Jake to have imaginary conversations with the whole her – imperfections and all. Nylen matches the character’s extra volume in very subtle but palpable shades. Ruth Arnell rounds out the cast as a young woman named Sheila. When Jake and his wife try some time away from each other, Jake dates Sheila to fill the void of intimacy in his life. She’s attractive. She’s affectionate. But she doesn’t know him, so there’s no real substantial intimacy. We see him speak with her while his mind is casually falling apart. It develops into a cleverly written dialogue between Jake, Sheila and Jake’s uncontrolled imaginary interruptions by Maggie. It’s an almost musical bit of three-part comedy. Arnell (who appeared as the female lead in Sunset’s production of The Seven Year Itch last season) is an excellent comic beauty, almost flawlessly performing her part in the three-person interaction. Happening early on after a 15-minute intermission, that dialogue is the last bit of truly inspired work on Simon’s end of things before the final curtain. Much of the last act is spent slowly wrapping things up in the most obvious way possible. The ending is far too tidy for the complexities Simon introduces in the hour or so before intermission. The cast glides through Simon’s occasional flashes of wit and brilliance with only a few moments of friction between stage and script. Chobanoff tackles the central role here remarkably […]
Jan 15th, 2007 by Russ Bickerstaff
Hamlet, Prince of Denmark
The simple staging Nevermore Theatre adheres to works perfectly for William Shakespeare’s Hamlet, Prince of Denmark that opened the weekend of January 5. The audience focuses on the play, the verse and prose, where multiple lines of the most quoted and remembered words in the English language are given context. Recognized as perhaps the greatest tragedy written by Shakespeare, the production rivets eyes and ears even at a running time of three hours, which Nevermore supposedly reduced by a third. Not presented on a Milwaukee professional stage since 1959, this performance is a prerequisite for theater lovers. Believed to have been written somewhere around 1600, Hamlet represents the mid-point in Shakespeare’s career, casting variety to his verse, pauses becoming part of the rhythm to his prose and increased strength in his richness of imagery, irony, and intricate plots where war, love, revenge, murder and madness rival each other. Prince Hamlet is resentful that his Uncle Claudius, the King of Denmark, has married his mother, Gertrude, after the death of his father. He suspects his father was murdered, suggested by an apparition appearing to him, and vows to seek the truth, along with the appropriate revenge. To discover if these suspicions are truth, Hamlet stages a play: “The play’s the thing where I’ll catch the conscience of the King.” When performed before the court with lines showcasing murderous actions similar to his own father’s death, Claudius and Gertrude become visibly shaken. Hamlet, tormented by grief and the uncertainty of delivering thisnow known rightful revenge, descends into his own madness, rejects the love of Ophelia and ultimately induces a course of actions and reactions that spiral into more madness and death, sealing his own destiny but restoring righteousness to the crown of Denmark. One of Shakespeare’s most intelligently written characters, Hamlet is a choice performance for Joe Foust who gives the Prince a dry wit and youthful exuberance, not overly undone by his madness. Angela Iannone as Gertrude retains a powerful presence on stage, although a limited role, while Kelley Ristow depicts Ophelia as tender as the flowers she holds after her father’s funeral. Spending three hours with Shakespeare through the eyes of Hamlet sends a message that classical theatre is indeed timeless. The questions Hamlet asks of himself are again asked to the audience with renewed insight and reflection. The complications created by the course of individual human nature are often unpredictable. To accept circumstances as they are, the remnants of grief and suffering, or the reasoning behind chosen reactions to those circumstances that may lead to complex and unforeseen consequences spiraling into unfortunate destruction, remain relevant. And as such, Nevermore Theatre’s production of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark, almost fifty years overdue, reminds us that Shakespeare’s words and plays are indeed the most important thing. VS Hamlet, Prince of Denmark runs at the Off-Broadway Theatre through January 21. Ticketsare $20.00, with reduced rates for students. Call 414.278.0765 for information.
Jan 9th, 2007 by Peggy Sue Dunigan
Marion Bridge
By Russ Bickerstaff Three somewhat estranged sisters come together and end up substantially closer as their mother passes away in Daniel McIvor’s Marion Bridge. The play, set in the pastoral stillness of Nova Scotia, has met with some considerable success since it first appeared on stage several years ago. The Boulevard Ensemble Studio Theater presents an intimate look at the drama and comedy of the three sisters in its production running through the middle of the month. The play opens with a monologue by Carol Hirschi in the role of Agnes. Agnes is a struggling actress living in Toronto and has been away from her mother and her sisters for quite some time. For the most part, Hirschi’s wild and brazen stage presence serves the role remarkably well. The edge of authenticity slides off her performance very occasionally, but it doesn’t detract from her overall effect on the production. Hirschi’s wild, frenzied energy is counterbalanced by Cheryl Ann in the role of Theresa, Agnes’ sister who happens to be a nun. Theresa is the pseudo maternal glue that holds the sisters together. She’s been looking after her ailing mother with a degree of Christian self-righteousness. McIvor’s script slowly adds emotional depth to the character over the course of the story and such subtlety isn’t lost to Cheryl Ann, who graciously complies with the level of depth the character is being offered, but it isn’t enough. McIvor simply does NOT allow Theresa enough of an opportunity to expand outside the standard image of a prim and proper nun. As a result, the character works best when placed in situations that are interesting enough to make her appear to have greater depth. Theresa is also looking after her sister Louise, who lives at home with her and their mother. Beth Monhollen plays the shy, inexpressive Louise, who spends much of her time watching TV. Gradually, the character opens up to cast and audience alike, providing some of the McIvor’s most vivid, descriptive dialogue. Each of the sisters has a monologue at some point in the play and Louise’s is by far the most moving. The really impressive end of Monhollen’s performance, however, doesn’t even involve dialogue. Hirschi and Monhollen share a scene playing a game of cards. There’s a lot here that isn’t expressed verbally between the characters. Something is communicated in actions and mannerisms over the course of the brief card game that is almost certainly being misunderstood by both parties. It’s a clever moment that recalls a similar scene in The Rep’s production of Born Yesterday. The production is modest, consisting of a very cozy-looking domestic set complete with a few small details. Occasionally we hear the sound of Louise’s soap opera coming in from the next room. The audio for the soap opera that’s been pre-recorded for the production is a lot of fun. An uncredited Joe Fransee and a similarly uncredited female actress ooze over-the-top melodrama ever so briefly. Even though it doesn’t sound at all like the […]
Jan 5th, 2007 by Vital Archives
Guys on Ice
By Peggy Sue Dunigan This wishing hole, found in Marvin’s wooden ice shanty, brings magic once again as Guys on Ice replays in The Rep’s Stiemke Theater for a record sixth engagement. Originally produced by The Rep and American Folklore Theater from Door County in 1998 as part of Wisconsin’s Sesquicentennial Celebration, Marvin and Lloyd’s day on the ice in Northern Wisconsin continues to fish for laughter. Imaginative lyrics by Fred Alley and memorable music by James Kaplan populate the delightful songs, including “Ode to a Snowmobile Suit,” which entertains while Marvin and Lloyd attempt to solve life’s problems attaching flatheads to hooks on a pole. Waiting for a prominent local TV host to capture their ice fishing wisdom on the tube, they wish for Leinenkugel beer and Green Bay Packer games. After Ernie the Moocher delivers shattering news, the two return to the comforts of ice fishing with a revised view of life, including the fact that heaven must be made of ice, with 50-pound perch, no limit. Doug Mancheski as Marvin and Steven M. Koehler as Lloyd retain their on-stage camaraderie that feels fresh even after 500 performances. Mancheski’s comedic timing and facial expressions are priceless, he seems to embody Marvin completely, especially in “The Ice Fishing King: What Elvis was to rock & roll, I’m with the ice fishing pole.” Both voices compliment James Kaplans’s keyboard, visually surrounded with lighted fish, while Lee Becker’s “Ernie” makes quick ad-libs during the slightly too long “half time intermission.” Like so many zips in a snowmobile suit, this cast is hard to resist. Capturing a bit of Wisconsin tradition and wit, Guys on Ice will resonate with all generations. The theater opening night was at capacity, and all ages were represented. This production, complete with charming ice shanty, reminisces Fred Alley’s performances of Lloyd before his untimely death in 2002. Mancheski and Koehler embrace Alley’s vision of upper Wisconsin characters and idiosyncrasies with warmth and affection. Even the lines about Vanna White and Brett Favre remain current. The Rep tours this production through several Wisconsin cities, Cedarburg, Hartford, Baraboo, Eau Claire, to name a few, and Red Wing, Minnesota, after the limited run at the Stiemke. Guys on Ice is a well-spent evening of entertainment, as Lloyd and Marvin become friends worth revisiting a second or third time. Alley’s tribute to ice fishing is timeless fun: “Life is short…winter is long. We all need a wishing hole.” VS Guys on Ice plays at the Stiemke Theater in the Patty and Jay Theater Complex until January 7, then tours from January 18-February 25. Ticket prices, performance times, and tour schedule: milwaukeerep.com.
Jan 2nd, 2007 by Peggy Sue Dunigan
Why Do Fools Fall In Love?
By Russ Bickerstaff Pop music master Roger Bean’s work returns to the Stackner Cabaret with another pleasant evening of 60s tunes in Why Do Fools Fall In Love? The man who put together such past favorites as The Marvelous Wonderettes, The Andrews Brothers and Lana Mae’s Honky Tonk Laundry manages his latest foray into the world of the cabaret musical with a bit less flair than he has in the past. Why Do Fools Fall In Love? is, nevertheless, a thoroughly enjoyable evening of cabaret music. Four women meet for a modest bachelorette party at the home of bride-to-be. Through a series of songs about love, the four women learn quite a bit about each other and themselves. Making her Rep debut, Jessica Rush stars as Millie – the young woman set to be married to a dreamy guy who we soon discover isn’t as dreamy as he looks. Her friends include the liberated individualist Sally (Susannah Hall), the overwhelmingly shy Florence (Robin Long) and the overzealous sweet-tooth-suffering Dee-Dee. The personalities are distinct enough and the four actresses do an excellent job in the roles, but Bean hasn’t managed his usual magic with giving the four of them a strong enough plot with which to interact. Rush is called on to play some of the more intricate emotions in the play and holds up quite well. Susannah Hall (who previously played Cindy Lou in Bean’s Winter Wonderettes at the Stackner in 04/05) is similarly charismatic in what proves to be a somewhat complicated role itself. While admittedly very little is going on in the actual story here, it is refreshing to see some of these old-fashioned 60s love songs fashioned into a plot that seems to lead toward the women becoming more liberated by the end of the story. Hall’s character Sally goads Millie in the direction of taking charge of her life, which makes for a reasonably satisfying plot resolution at the end. Scenic design by Vicki R. Davis is distinctively 60s enough to set the mood. Costuming by Alex Tecoma is completely over the top on this one. The costumes are a vivid technicolor vision with amazing blocks of simple, blinding color. As usual, Milwaukee dance guru Sarah Wilbur has mapped out some incredibly fun choreography to accompany the music. The choreography accompanying “I Will Follow Him” features a magic eight-ball and a box of Bugles snacks rather prominently in one of the most visually memorable moments in the entire production. As usual, song choices range from familiar classics to some of the more obscure pop hits of the 60s. The title song, “My Boy Lollipop,” “He’s a Rebel,” “Goin’ Out of My Head” and others join relatively less popular songs like the inexplicably catchy “Gee Whiz” and the surprisingly compelling “Watch Out Sally!” For the most part, the music is an entertaining trip to the 60s with good music performed well. The title song, however, falls a bit flat. The song as recorder by Frankie Lymon and […]
Jan 1st, 2007 by Vital Archives
Gwen Stefani
By Nikki Butgereit It’s hard to tell who’s copying who when everyone sounds the same, and Gwen Stefani has fallen into this trap with her second solo effort, The Sweet Escape. On the album’s first single, “Wind It Up,” you can sing the lyrics to the Black Eyed Peas’ “My Humps” to its bridge, and the beat sounds exactly like Nelly Furtado’s “Promiscuous.” Minor redemption comes by way of a sample from The Sound of Music and a driving chant reminiscent of 2004’s “Hollaback Girl.” The rest of the music is catchy and enjoyable on its own, but doesn’t work as well when coupled with Stefani’s intensely “personal” lyrics: yet another song about her first love, songs about domestic discord and claims about being “just an Orange County girl,” which come off as terribly contrived in her pouty whine, considering her years of No Doubt and solo fame. The album closes strong with a song co-written by pop hit-maker Linda Perry, who (strangely enough) makes Stefani sound more like herself and less like the other artists on the radio today. It’s this song, the songs produced by No Doubt band mate Tony Kanal and the ballad “Early Winter” that most clearly reflect the creative promise Stefani demonstrated on her first solo album, 2004’s Love. Angel. Music. Baby. Ideally, she’ll focus future efforts more on setting – or, better yet, ignoring – trends, rather than following them. VS
Jan 1st, 2007 by Vital Archives
The high cost of low maintenance
By Jon Anne Willow Dear Readers, I have the good fortune to be in a family situation that most now consider old-fashioned for all of its modern details. My sisters, my best friend and our respective partners have taken up the old standard of extended family and applied it to the structure of our daily lives. My youngest sister and her four year-old son share my house with me. My middle sister and her three children live in the upper of the duplex behind me, with her partner and two dogs in constant attendance. My best friend and her son live in the lower. My boyfriend and his four kids spend weekends with us. My roommate-sister’s boyfriend has custody of his young daughter and takes care of his toddler nephew; they are increasingly often in the mix. Between us, we have five dogs, three cats, four fish and a guinea pig. For those of you keeping score at home, seven adults and twelve children share three bathrooms and three total garage parking spaces, one of which belongs entirely to bicycles and sleds. It’s not for everyone, but it’s perfect for us. With all this closeness, however, comes a sometimes complex and even sensitive communication network. It’s easy to figure out the morning carpool to school; at 8:00 someone makes the first call and by 8:20 the four elementary school kids and at least two moms are in one car and on the way. But it gets complicated in the area of personal sharing and conflict resolution. At work, there are generally structures in place to deal with these things. Business information is given on a “need to know” basis. Conflicts are dealt with through human resources in a best case scenario, or by the more popular means of drama. And no matter how bad a work day is, at the end of it you go away. But what happens to grownups when they have three or four best friends and live with them all? Do you have to share equally with everyone all the time? How do you confront the desire to not be watched, to not feel judged, in an environment where the people you love best are up in your business every waking moment? The late 20th century created the mobile, global society and successfully fractured the practical application of family as people’s social and emotional center. Today, the majority of “family life” outside our own walls is lived through email, phone calls and stressful, architected trips “home” for cornerstone events. Friends, jobs and even homes come and go, becoming memories that never had the chance to settle into our bones before they’re gone. Our parents live in Texas; our best friend is in New York. Our corporate headquarters is in Idaho. We’re spread out in ways perhaps not even suited to human nature. It’s okay to leave a job, spouse, a friend and even family members when we’re uncomfortable and don’t know how to deal with the […]
Jan 1st, 2007 by Vital Archives
He says…
By Terisa Folaron On January 27, 1945, Soviet troops liberated Auschwitz, the largest and most notorious of the Nazi concentration and extermination camps. On the same date in 2007, the United Nations will commemorate the first International Holocaust Remembrance Day, though the unanimous approval of the General Assembly’s resolution didn’t come without concerns regarding the remembrance of other genocides. The reservations of some Assembly members were most aptly summarized by Maged A. Abdelaziz, the Egyptian ambassador, who stated “No one has a monopoly on suffering.” It is a point well-made. Ongoing acts of genocide are still being reported in Darfur, Sudan, and the recent Review of the Holocaust Global Vision Conference in Iran set out specifically to debunk the substantive fact of the Nazi genocide during World War II. And with violent and hate crimes on the rise in Milwaukee and recent reports chronicling Milwaukee’s poor race relations, January seems the perfect month to reflect on the impact of past hate and violence as a cautionary tale for today. Albert Beder wore a yellow star on his chest. He survived the Holocaust, and his story reminds us of the strength of the human spirit. Albert was born in Kovno, Lithuania (now Kaunas) on June 13, 1928. Albert lived through death marches, diphtheria, overcrowded ghettos and forced labor camps. He was just 13 years old when he was placed into his first ghetto internment camp. He says, I had a family. I had two older brothers, two older sisters, one younger sister. I had a mother and a father. Albert was in a summer youth camp near the occupied East Prussia/Lithuanian border when his family, still in Kovno, attempted to flee from the advancing Nazis. “They managed to get maybe 30 kilometers before the Germans caught up with them. But they lost my little sister Reva on the road. She was 6 years old. There were many families running and trying to escape. Planes were shooting at them.” The Germans collected Albert, along with the other Jewish youth in the camp, and, like his family, he was returned to his Kovno family home, where Jewish citizens were preparing for their forced move into the Kovno Ghetto. “In Kovno, we received orders that all Jews had to move and had to live in that area that was fenced in with barbed wire. It was August, 1941. The consequence for not following these orders was the death penalty. You had to wear the star. If you did not, that was also the death penalty. Back then everything was the death penalty. They let us take everything into the ghetto. We didn’t know in the end it wouldn’t matter. Twice, as we were preparing to move, soldiers came looking for my father to send us to Ninth Fort. We knew there were lots of killings there. They came to the door and asked for my father. My mother would say, ‘He is sick and cannot come to the door.’ She offered them silk stockings […]
Jan 1st, 2007 by Vital Archives
Why the caged bird sings
If you had asked me a couple of years ago, I would have thought that “Extraordinary Rendition” was something that Barbra Streisand did at her shows; but the reality is decidedly more grim than a chorus line performance of Yentl. Extraordinary Rendition is, in fact, the name for our governments’ extrajudicial practice of kidnapping, detaining and utilizing third-party nations to torture individuals with “suspected terrorist links,” a practice that is destroying our nation’s moral credibility and eroding the foundations of our Constitution.
Jan 1st, 2007 by Vital Archives
