2008-11 Vital Source Mag – November 2008
The Daly News
World history and personal history collide in this charming musical about the lives of a Milwaukee family during World War II. During the war, Martin and “Schatzie” Daly had five children– four sons and a daughter. All four sons enlisted in the military, and the daughter married a military man. The family was scattered around the globe. To keep everyone in touch, Martin Daly wrote a weekly newsletter he called “The Daly News” that collated all the information from letters received from his children and then included news from the home front, as well. He did this for more than three years. Photo by Mark Frohna When Jonathan Gillard Daly, the youngest son of Martin’s oldest son, was presented with the complete Daly News as a Christmas present by his mother, he was immediately struck by the story. Several years later, we have the result: a delightful musical produced by the Milwaukee Chamber Theater, starring Jon Daly, Jack Forbes Wilson, and Jeff Schaetzke. The Daly News is a charming blend of personal anecdote and grand story. All parts in the show (including the women) are played by the three male actors. They move from one character with the addition or subtraction of a coat, a sweater, a hat. For the most part this works well, with the exception of the Daly wives. Because they make such brief appearances, it’s nearly impossible to keep them straight with no tip except a small hat. Wilson moves effortlessly between the youngest Daly son, who starts off the play as a pipsqueak teenager before enlisting in the Marines, and brother Gene, who is living in a foxhole in the South Pacific. Jon Daly anchors the show as both himself, recounting personal experiences with his uncles, and as patriarch Martin Daly. Jeff Schaetzke takes a hilarious turn as Schatzie, among many others. The underlying theme of The Daly News is not the war, despite the fact that the war is the catalyst for everything that happens, but rather is the relationship between fathers and sons. The Daly family is representative of many families in that the affection between men remains unspoken. Despite everything, the boys all strive to present witty banter to their father in their letters, not the reality of the what they are living. Martin writes his newsletters in the same tone. Despite everyone’s pain at separation and the uncertainty of war, no affection is explicitly expressed. Jon Daly makes a point of calling attention to this at the end of the show, reflecting on his own relationship with his father. The Daly News runs in the Broadway Theater Center Studio Theater until December 14. 414-291-7800 or www.chamber-theatre.com for tickets.
Nov 24th, 2008 by Ryan Findley
Madama Butterfly
Opera is the grandest spectacle on the stage, and the Florentine takes this to heart as it opens its 75th season with Madama Butterfly. The production is a work of sumptuous indulgence, from the set to the costumes to the layers of music. Puccini’s story is set in an idyllic estate near Nagasaki in Japan. An American naval officer, Lt. B. F. Pinkerton, has contracted with a marriage broker to take the young, beautiful Cio-Cio-San (Butterfly) as his bride. Perfect for his mercurial and self-indulgent temperament, the lease on the house and the marriage can be cancelled with 30 days notice. But while he sees the union as a dalliance while he bides his time until he finds a “real” American wife, Butterfly takes it seriously. She falls madly in love with Pinkerton and renounces her ancestral religion in favor of Christianity, causing her family to disown her. When Pinkerton abandons her, she is left alone, save for her faithful maid Suzuki and the child that Pinkerton sired, whom she names Sorrow. When Pinkerton returns to claim the child with his wife Kate in tow, Butterfly is heartbroken. After kissing Sorrow goodbye and telling him that she does this for his future, she takes her own life, using the same dagger that her father used to take his. “It is better to die with honor than to live without honor,” she sings. It is advice Pinkerton should take. All the performers have exceptional vocal talents. Robin Follman as Butterfly soars, capturing innocence and lost innocence. Jennifer Hines as Suzuki is her loyal companion, sometimes slipping into zealousness — there is an amusing scene between her and Goro, the marriage broker, in which she chases him around the yard with a rake in hand. Joel Sorenson as Goro is appropriately terrified of the diminutive servant. Guido LeBron acts as Pinkerton’s whispered conscience, admonishing him from the start to be careful in the role of the Consul Sharpless. You rather wish that Sharpless was sharper and able to do more for the heartbroken Butterfly than shake his head sadly. The set designed by Paul Shortt is both grand and intimate. He creates the idyllic setting for Butterfly and Pinkerton’s love with infinite care, creating a place that is both home to them in the brief happiness of their love and later the scene of Butterfly’s heartbreak. The costumes are gorgeous, from Kate’s 19th-century jacket and bustle to the kimono robes of Prince Yamadori, a later suitor of Butterfly’s. In none of Puccini’s works is the male lead likable, but there is not greater cad in all of opera than Lt. B. F. Pinkerton. His callous treatment of Butterfly, even after joyous times and sweet words, reminds all of us to beware of the insincerity of shallow people. VS The Florentine Opera presents Madama Butterfly at the Marcus Center for the Performing Arts until this Sunday. If you miss this production, they will be mounting Semele at the Pabst Theater from February 27 […]
Nov 22nd, 2008 by Ryan Findley
Murderers
Riddle Key, FL is home to a retirement community that offers only exorbitant five year leases to its willing and unwilling residents. In a populace that expects and on occasion even hurries to usher in death, two residents and one administrative office worker each unravel their stories independently of each other. Each unmasks their status as a murderer and yet all three retain their repartee, levity and humanity. In its nineteenth season, Next Act Theatre continues its tradition of producing socially provoking yet personally comforting plays with its opening of Murderers, by Jeffrey Hatcher. The play is made up of three monologues all approximately half an hour long. The success of this play relies on the performances of the actors. Without another actor on stage to authenticate relationships and emotions, each actor has to story tell and re-live the events contributing to a murder or several. Norman Moses is charming as Gerald Halvorsen, a middle-aged man who marries his girlfriend/common law wife’s mother to avoid taxes on her ample estate. A doctor assures that her death is only weeks away. When Gerald learns her condition is treatable he hesitates telling her, setting into motion the events that lead to the murder he commits and the murder everyone thinks he commits. Moses is able to confess Gerald’s story with wit that revels in the irony of the situation. He is especially deft with his sharp impersonations of the people involved with his crime. Gliding in and out of several different background characters within just a few seconds, Moses showcases Gerald’s mockery of his own near perfect caper. Playing Lucy Stickler, Ruth Schudson is coolly vindictive. A woman her husband had an affair with several decades earlier moves to Riddle Key and resumes the long-ended fling. After accepting it and continuing her marriage the first time, Lucy calmly calculates a murder that implicates her husband and the other woman. Schudson is pithy with Lucy’s sarcasm about her own life. Even though Lucy’s body is failing, she needs to avenge the events that have shaped her adult life. Schudson’s rhythm and frankness is exactly what makes Hatcher’s Lucy compelling. While Gerald and Lucy both commit single homicides, Minka Lupino is entirely a different creature. Linda Stephens innocently explains why Minka is not a serial killer, but more of a do-gooder, avenging the helpless elderly. Stephens’ connection with the audience lies in her virtuous manner while playing Minka. She lends a righteous air to a woman obsessed with weeding out rotten apples. While Moses, Schudson and Stephens are all incredibly capable actors in any role, the level of achievement Next Act Theatre reaches with Murderers must be partly credited to director David Cecsarini. In a work that is strictly monologue vignettes, apt and reflective guidance is needed for actors to accurately tell the story. Cecsarini, also NAT’s Producing Artistic Director, exceeds the standards expected by those familiar with Next Act. With the country’s current economic state, people are limiting their entertainment outings. Many people […]
Nov 17th, 2008 by Vital Archives
Fall back into derby
After missing much of the off season, the old Krulos is back to report on the Bruisers. I’ve teamed up with our fine friends and roller derby fans at Vital Source magazine to bring you the good Derby word every month, so check back for post-bout recaps, commentary and maybe even some video action. You didn’t hear it from me. I watched the bout with Carny Power, one of the league founders (along with Butch Cassidy, who has moved on, and Jesse Jameson, who still laces up the skates with the Rollettes), and she was able to lend helpful insights throughout the bout. Thanks Carny! RETURN OF THE COLD WAR? RUSHIN ROLLETTES, 92 win over MAIDEN MILWAUKEE , 51 Jammer Rejected Seoul (far left) of Maiden Milwaukee edges past Rushin Rollettes jammer Fly Girl (Photos by Joe Kirschling) After suffering losses at the end of last season, the Rollettes were eager for a comeback, and they got it with a 41 point win over the Maidens. The Rollettes returned with most of their key players from last season as well as a few new skaters. Jammer High D. Voltage helped erase an early 14 point lead by the Maidens and later scored a “Grand Slam,” which is when a jammer skating solo cruises by all the other team’s players. Other new Rollettes include Sevo, Voodoo Grrrl, and HackSAW, who used to skate for the Reservoir Dolls in Madison league the Mad Rollin Dolls. “I had a lot of encouragement joining BCB from both Madison and Milwaukee on transferring,” HackSAW told me. “I developed my love for skating and derby in Madison and the Reservoir Dolls helped shape that. I LOVED every second of the bout and sharing it with not only my team but a league of kick ass women role models. I can’t wait for the next bout and the chance to kick butt with my fellow comrades!” I also spoke to the notoriously lippy Smirk Savage, one of the Rollettes’ star jammers. I asked her if the Rollettes were back for another championship winning season. “The Rollettes were never gone! We were simply down for a hot minute at the end of the season there, but we’ve got some amazing new additions this season who’ve significantly contributed to this first win,” Smirk said before explaining the Rollettes’ win formula. “We’re gunning for the championship again this year! Getting back to the roots of Rollettes derby … hit them hard, hit them fast, kill kill kill, and win win win!” The Maidens tried to hold their own, with stellar skating from jammers like Rejected Seoul, co-Captain Madd Mallett, the crazed Romaniac and new recruit Super Hera, who formerly played with the Dominion Derby Girls straight outta Virginia Beach. The energetic skating, however, wasn’t enough to turn the tide pink. HALFTIME REPORT The Beerleaders in zombie gear Back again for the Bruisers fans are the rah rah rahing, pom poming, beer running Beerleaders, led this year by Robin Ya’Blind and […]
Nov 17th, 2008 by Tea Krulos
Show People
What would you give to your art? Would you mortgage your house? Max out your credit cards? Make promises you couldn’t keep? Show People shows what one actor will do to produce his ultimate production, performed solely for his own benefit. Tom (Brian Richards) hires married acting duo Jerry and Marnie (played by Randall T. Anderson and Sharon Nieman-Koebert, respectively) to pretend to be his parents for the weekend. Jerry and Marnie are once-up-and-coming actors that have fallen on leaner times, and so when Tom approaches Jerry and offers $10,000 to spend a weekend at a house in Montauk, Long Island playing his parents for the benefit of his girlfriend, Jerry agrees. Jerry and Marnie turn up at the appointed time and meet Natalie (played by Gloria Loeding), and while there are a few awkward moments, everything appears to be going smoothly. That is, until Natalie decides that she can’t keep up the pretense any more and admits to Jerry and Marnie that she’s not actually Tom’s girlfriend and that he hired her to play his girlfriend for the weekend for the benefit of his parents, who don’t know that Tom is actually gay. What ensues is a hilarious weekend as Jerry, Marnie and Natalie try to figure out what exactly is going on while maintaining their roles and attempting to discern if Tom is dangerously psychotic or merely eccentric. Show People was written by Paul Weitz, who is best known for his work as a screenwriter, director and producer in Hollywood. He’s the comic hand behind such hits as About A Boy and Meet the Fockers, and his play is full of the same kind of absurd humor that is film work is known for. Show People has it’s tender moments, as well, though, including a touching scene between Marnie and Natalie in which Natalie asks for acting advice. Sharon Nieman-Koebert as Marnie steals every scene she’s involved in. Almost as good is Randall T. Anderson as her husband, and the two of them are eminently believable as a pair of good artists frustrated by their ability to capitalize on their talents, even after long years. Brian Richards and Gloria Loeding are both a bit stiff, but given time and exposure both of them can grow into wonderful actors. The Astor Theatre is small and intimate, but director Raymond Bradford uses the entire space quite effectively. VS RSVP Productions presents Show People at the Astor Theater until November 22. 414-272-2694 for tickets.
Nov 14th, 2008 by Ryan Findley
Greater Tuna
By Peggy Sue Dunigan It’s the small rural town of Tuna, Texas circa 1986– where inhabitants find that Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet demonstrates rampant disrespect for parental authority. Taking this trip to Texas, the Rep’s Stackner Cabaret opened the production Greater Tuna this weekend and presented one third of the Tuna Trilogy’s engaging satire written by Jaston Williams, Joe Sears, and Ed Howard. Having toured the American play circuit both nationally and on Broadway for over 21 years, the Stackner’s version of Greater Tuna is directed by J.R. Sullivan and features gifted actors Lee E. Ernst and Gerard Nugent (both members of the Resident Acting Company) in over-the-top portrayals of the rural South. The two DJs on OKKK Radio oversee events in Tuna when they actually report the news they haven’t lost. The radio station format helps narrate the action and delineates a thinly disguised plot while this two-man team portrays the over 20 eccentric personalities that drive the production. In one charming portion of the performance, Ernst plays Petey Fisk, a lisping proponent for the Greater Tuna Humane Society, with loving affection. After a quick change, Ernst (dressed in drag) is the 18-year-old Charlene Bumiller reciting her award winning poem “My Tuna.” Nugent shines as Bertha Bumiller, the mother of three of Tuna’s most difficult teenagers (including Charlene) and wife of womanizer Hank. She shakes her booty to howls from the audience. His Reverend Spikes delivers a eulogy in a rhinestone-studded suit with appropriate showmanship, stringing together every cliché representing the best, or worst, of television preachers. Both Ernst and Nugent hit every opening with nary a wardrobe slip throughout the numerous costume changes with kudos to technical stage support. They also manage to imbue each of these multiple characters with dead on credibility. Yet the two-hour running time (with one intermission) extends the visit to this Texan town and perhaps overstays the welcome, as the satire loses some of its bite through the last half hour. While the play claims “the world outside Tuna is bizarre” the Stackner’s Greater Tuna may be the necessary strategy to relieve those stock market blues. This retro rural Texas offers a humorous evening of quick change on the stage spent with the incredibly comical Ernst and Nugent, and provides a perfect bizarre present for the upcoming holiday season. VS The Rep’s Stackner Cabaret presents Greater Tuna through December 28: 414.224.9490 or www.milwaukeerep.com
Nov 10th, 2008 by Peggy Sue Dunigan
Six Characters in Search of an Author
By Jenna Raymond What happens to our thoughts and hopes, and our dreams and personas? They live only as intangible wisps until we act on them, give them flesh or write them down. More often they wither and gasp until we forget them. Italian playwright Luigi Pirandello wrote Six Characters in Search of an Author about the figments of our imaginations. Unlike the fancies we all fabricate and dismiss as asinine, Pirandello lets his characters fight for what they believe is rightfully theirs– completeness. Pirandello’s play begins with a company of actors rehearsing a play. They are melodramatic and unenthusiastic about the writing. A knock on the stage door brings the intrusion of six people and halts the mundane rehearsal. At first the company believes this group of people has shown up to either pitch a new play or audition. It quickly becomes clear that the six are in a unique situatiion: they can only and ever play exactly the parts that were envisioned for them. Even though it’s rife with pain, the six need their fate to be played out exactly the way their author intended. Six Characters premiered in 1921. Since then it has often been modified to fit the specific time and place in which it is performed. UWM student Ben Wilson adapted it to contemporary time by using modern phrases and references. Although the play deals with very distressing issues like prostitution, suicide and the death of a young child, Wilson is adept at supplementing Pirandello’s original work. He was able to add humor without mocking the seriousness of the characters. UWM’s Theatre 508 at 1925 E. Kenilworth Pl. is a wonderful place for young actors to work solely on their craft without bothering with massive sets, intricate lighting or sound. The actors cast in Six Characters in Search of an Author were wholly selfless in their portrayal. Almost all were on stage for the entire duration of the play. A few had no lines at all, or just a few lines, but all were completely immersed into the world created by Pirandello and modified by Wilson and director Jim Tasse. Despite limited dialog, they were all completely present on the stage. Director Jim Tasse let his large cast of actors come to the truth of their characters on their own. It is obvious that each actor developed through trial and experimentation. Tasse doesn’t force line readings or limits his actors in any way. His direction is all about the actors. Their exploration of character and language is simple, direct and powerful. A less capable director would force certain elements that may or may not end up cohesive. Tasse is adaptable and allows the story to expand and contract as needed in order to be truthful. Actor Tommy Stevens, playing Father, showed a comprehension and depth of understanding of not only his character but the others as well. His desperate need to get their story out through charm, cajolery and demand was innately human. Callie Eberdt […]
Nov 10th, 2008 by Vital Archives
So many Activities
By A.L. Herzog “…A record can be made anywhere and by anyone,” says Riles Walsh. “I could hit five recording studios with an old mop from my porch.” Best known as the vocals, guitars, and keys at the forefront of grandiose folk act The Candliers, Riles Walsh – who’s maybe cheeky, or maybe just far-out – recently established a DIY label and collective called Activities as a means to sustain his industrious self, friends, and bandmates and their “generally excessive back catalogs.” Naturally, Walsh rejects the classification of both label and collective, preferring to describe Activities as “a group of people making lots of music” without “hard-line rules or preexisting notions of how music is made or how it must be.” Comprised of members of The Candliers, the Trusty Knife, Farms in Trouble and more, Activities boasts a long list of versatile individuals working behind the scenes. Like-minded yet unaffiliated bands such as Elusive Parallelograms, Freight, John the Savage and Pigs on Ice helped officially launch Activities on September 19, 2008 in a two-night showcase at Linneman’s Riverwest Inn. These bands, who don’t “rely on rock music’s traditional expressions,” also contributed to Activities’ Compilation Volume One: Milwaukee (ACT002) (read VITAL’s review here), as did Crappy Dracula and Dear Astronaut, among others. The comp is available for purchase only via mail order. “Wasting time, maybe?” Walsh says when asked to justify relying on the Post Office. “I don’t know. I’m usually too busy watching paint dry.” He sells himself short; he still manages to keep a hand in everything, including the avant-garde Farms in Trouble, who used the kick-off event as platform to release a full-length called The Gas Station Soundtrack (ACT003). The appropriately titled compact disc — 27 tracks inside a collaged cardstock sleeve adorned by Activities’ signature classic typeface — plays like an impulsive pit-stop receipt. There are sound experiments (“Field Sweep”), short/sweet ditties (“Hot Lunch/Cold Lunch”), sunshiny pop (“Like a Needle in Heaven”) and even a stab at hip-hop (“Many Boss Levels”). A follow-up disc, One Word, is under way, but in the meantime, Activities plans to release The Gas Station Soundtrack on the thriving cassette tape medium. “There will always be something for everyone that wants some at Activities. That is our 200% guarantee,” says Walsh. “And if not we will give the people a commemorative Brett Favre 24 gold karat layered MVP coin.” Either he is legitimately confident, or he has quite the tacky collection to unload. “The only thing we can hope for is that people will like the music,” says Walsh. As for all the rest, he instead focuses on why small imprints like Activities are founded in the first place: “a necessity to create without worrying about how.” VS Check out the record release show for the Trusty Knife on December 6 at Mad Planet, and/or see the Candliers play the Cactus Club in Bayview on November 29, 2008. If you like what you hear, you may direct all inquires about sales and […]
Nov 10th, 2008 by Vital Archives
The tour’s the thing
By Dan Agacki With gas prices hovering around $4 per gallon, my band, Bored Straight, decided it was high time to throw some money away. None of us had ever toured before, so contacts were sparse. Half of the shows we booked came to us within a week of leaving. No one knew our band, and our record was out as of that week, so no one had even heard it. It was a patchwork, fly by the seat of your pants sort of deal. Perfect. Our first night was a house show on the south side of Chicago. Attendance was sparse and payment was adequate. Our set was strong, opening up the tour on a good note. We stayed with the FNA’s – cool band and even cooler dudes. The next show was in Clarksville, Tennessee. Traversing Illinois in 90+ degree weather was no picnic. Once in Clarksville, we met up with our friend, Nico. He lead us to the smallest basement I’ve ever seen. But in the face of potential disaster, the kids went nuts. We sold records to kids who didn’t own record players. The hippie mom at the house told me her son was having a bad acid trip. Ah, small town America. I love you so much. Going on no sleep and with me behind the wheel, our next destination was Richmond, Virginia. The drive was tedious on its own, but then we hit “The Accident” – a flaming blocking all three eastbound lanes. Three hours and six miles later, we were on our way. Luckily, our guitarist, Eric, likes driving fast. We got to the show just in time to unload and play immediately. Barely anyone watched, which was good because we stunk. We party-hopped after the show and fell asleep in the daylight. Every city was so new, we wanted to take in every last minute we could. We spent our first off-day of the tour in Richmond. It was a lazy day, ending with earlier bed times than normal. The next morning welcomed us with the site of an open parking space where our van had been parked the night before. Apparently the city of Richmond takes street cleaning seriously. After a two hour bus riding fiasco, we got our van out of impound. Starting our drive three hours later than planned, all spare time evaporated. We headed north to Allentown, Pennsylvania. An accident just outside of Richmond slowed us up even more. Upon reaching Allentown, we promptly got very lost. Fortunately, the show turned out to be amazing. It may have been the best show I’ve ever played in my life. Sweat was dripping from my nose by my third strum. Someone threw a folding chair. Kids were running everywhere. That show still brings a smile to my face. With another day off, Brooklyn was next on the list. We met up with an ex-Wisconsinite and headed out to Coney Island. I wasn’t impressed, but the night was more […]
Nov 10th, 2008 by Vital Archives
Have A Seat
By Peggy Sue Dunigan “Sitting on chairs upholstered with stars,’’ a quote from Milwaukee’s Poet Laureate Susan Firer used in one of the evening’s dance presentations, describes the Danceworks production Have a Seat featured this past weekend. Five numbers choreographed with chairs and overseen by Guest Artistic Director Janet Lilly cohesively define the performance. This included two world premieres incorporating international choreographers Isabelle Kralj from Slovenia and Navtej Johar from India. While the physical reality of sitting in a chair and the art of dancing might appear contradictory, the two blended seamlessly. A variety of benches, loveseats, and colored chairs enhanced the dance narratives, especially in the second selection. Kralj’s “I Still Don’t Know” displayed varying dimensions of a love relationship danced superbly by Slovenian performers Dejan Srhoj and Ursa Vidmar, often depicted by the distance between their two chairs. “To Sit or To Be,” an avant-garde piece with metaphysical meaning that was choreographed and performed by Navtej Johar, contemplated statuesque poses with witty overtones. And Janet Lilly’s “Glacial Milk” offered a humorous peek at dance to great effect, which included her own dialog. Costumes enhanced both selections, in the first Johar’s flowing gauze pants, and in Lilly’s a full skirted red dress that twirled to her dance. The last piece “Immediate Seating” appeared to imagine a child’s game of musical chairs intertwined with somber country themes of broken homes. Primary crayon colored chairs, eyelet dresses with red leggings, and Raggedy Ann dolls added to the world premiere’s tone and style, admirably danced by the company. If you missed Have A Seat this past weekend, their upcoming production The Bra Project will January 23 through February 1. Danceworks provides an innovative and intriguing evening opening the audience to the narrative expression of dance through body movements. They also demonstrate that age becomes irrelevant when viewing or performing their selections, and each evening encourages the audience’s appreciation for the skill of both dancer and choreographer. VS
Nov 10th, 2008 by Peggy Sue Dunigan
Eurydice
By Ryan Findley How much of the grief we suffer in life is because we can remember what came before? After all, a loss isn’t a loss unless you remember that you’ve lost something. The Milwaukee Repertory Theater stages a contemporary re-telling of the Orpheus myth by Pulitzer prize nominee and MacArthur Foundation grant-winner Sarah Ruhl that explores the connection between memory, loss and grief. The classic story centers around Orpheus, the musician who’s grief upon losing his new bride, Eurydice, is so great that he travels to the gates of the underworld and convinces the Lord of the Underworld to allow him to take her back with him to the land of the living. The Lord of the Underworld agrees on the condition that Orpheus is not to look at Eurydice until they are home. Orpheus cannot resist turning around to see if she is following him, though, and Eurydice is sent back, leaving Orpheus alone once more. Ruhl turns this formula on its head. The main character of Eurydice is not Orpheus; rather, it is Eurydice that takes center stage. Ruhl adds Eurydice’s father to the cast of characters, waiting for her in the Underworld. The father received a less-than-thorough dunking in the River of Forgetfulness upon his arrival in the Underworld years ago, and has retained most of his memories from his time among the living. When Eurydice appears inside the gates of the Underworld, he works to help her recover her own memories. This act sets up the dramatic tension of the play. Because Eurydice has recovered her memories of life before her death, when Orpheus comes to get her, she has a choice to make: remain with her father in the land of the dead, or return with Orpheus to resume their interrupted life. Lanise Antoine Shelley is excellent in the title role. She’s delightfully care-free, both when alive and in love with Orpheus and when dead and slowly reconnecting with her father. Davis Duffield plays the distracted artist Orpheus very well; anyone who has ever been involved with anyone who had artistic aspirations will appreciate his hasty scrambling to soothe Eurydice after having failed to say that he was thinking about her three times in a row when asked. Eurydice’s father, played by William Dick, is eminently believable in his love for his daughter, letting her go even though it nearly kills him a second time to do so. The Chorus of Stones is hilarious, providing comic relief. Wayne T. Carter turns in scene-stealing performances as the childish, lecherous Lord of the Underworld, although his turn as a nasty interesting man is much less interesting to watch. Tony-award winner Todd Rosenthal designed a wonderfully grungy, modern underworld that is part subway station and part neglected public pool. Eurydice is less emotionally affecting than you might expect a re-telling of the Orpheus myth to be, but it is also more intellectually stimulating than you’d expect a re-telling of the Orpheus myth to be. Ruhl trades […]
Nov 5th, 2008 by Ryan Findley
The God Committee
By Peggy Sue Dunigan What is a day of life worth? This question becomes the focus for Acacia Theatre Company’s opening production, The God Committee. The ninety-minute, no-intermission script by Mark St. Germain tackles complex ethical and moral questions regarding organ transplant– specifically heart transplants– together with a host of underlying health care issues critical in today’s society. The seven member cast consists of four doctors, a nurse, social worker, and a priest whose challenge becomes deciding who will receive the next heart, arriving by helicopter in one hour, and classifying patients for their priority status on the heart donor list. However, plans go awry, traffic impedes the heart’s arrival, and another decision must be made. During all the committee’s discussions, the politics, costs and criteria for determining these life and death events consumes center stage. The priest, Father Dunbar, states the case that if the committee “makes these decisions on anything that can’t be quantified you’re playing God.” With 91,000 people on the list for heart transplants and only 11,000 a year becoming available, qualifying for and topping the donor list requires patience, dedication, fortitude, and a little luck. Many patients die while waiting for a donated organ that can be implanted. The Acacia cast carries this subject material with appropriate intensity and without melodrama, a nod to director Glenna Gustin. Even Douglas Smedbron’s Father Dunbar delivered his quirky humor with skill. Brenda L. LaMalfa’s Dr. Ross added a fine touch to the difficult role of a mother who lost her only child to suicide. While the entire cast displayed competent acting, the loud Irish music played during the performance distracted from the play’s purpose. The script is strong enough to stand alone, and ought to have been allowed to do so. But the crucial issues of organ donation and health care resonate throughout the production, and will become even more vital in the future when the impact of dwindling medical personnel and monetary resources is fully felt. Additionally, the measures that surround end of life controversies are becoming increasingly debated. These fascinating questions dealt with in The God Committee provide an plenty of fodder for conversation afterwards. This includes one about placing the orange dot on a personal driver’s license, the symbol that an individual is willing to be an organ or tissue donor, giving the gift of life to another person should they lose theirs. What is a day of life truly worth? VS Acacia Theatre Company presents The God Committee at Concordia University in the Todd Wehr Auditorium through November 9. For tickets: 414.744.5995.
Nov 4th, 2008 by Peggy Sue Dunigan
