“Ain’t it a bitch, sorting out our sordid lives?”
Well, it most certainly is. The Bay Street Theatre's latest offering of Del Shores' Sordid Lives manages to make the best of a difficult situation and show forth a production of this "black comedy about white trash" with charm and care.
This selection is by far one of Mr. Shores' weaker offerings. Following on the heels of the far stronger (yet less critically acclaimed) Daddy's Dyin' (Who's Got the Will?), Sordid Lives gives us a series of scenes poorly sutured together with monologues from Ty Williamson (Chris Stanley) and songs from Bitsy Mae Harling (Kimmi Sampieri). Mr. Stanley offers us a moving story of a homosexual actor trying to come to terms with his identity and Texas upbringing from within the monologues, and Ms. Sampieri sings ably... but the whole thing really does not hang together well.
The problem is essentially one of dramatic efficiency and construction. Mr. Shores' script (which won awards in LA for the playwriting, somehow) relies far too heavily on an episodic vignette format where angry women burst into bars (with guns, of course) for no discernible reason. Though each bit is funny in and of itself, the overall arch is akin to a badly directed mashup between Rowan & Martin's Laugh In and The Redneck Rampage. One can sense a real disdain for his characters, and at the end of the day... (particularly if one has even glanced at Jim Gode's Redneck Manifesto) even white trash characters deserve to be treated kindly.
Despite all of this, The Bay Street Theatre's production shines with tongue-in-cheek jokes and careful understanding. The cast, under the direction of Kimmi Sampieri (making her directorial debut), manages problematic material well. Sissy Hickey (Kathy Alderman) is a delightfully focused bundle of neuroses trying to quit smoking in the aftermath of her sister's death and ensuing family drama. Ms. Alderman plays with heart and excellent comic timing. Also reliably delightful is the drunken barfly Juanita (Genie Brazzeal), who manages to portray inveterate drunkenness without becoming simply obnoxious (a more difficult task than one would actually imagine). Also of note are Odell Owens (Logan Padilla), a Baby Hueyesque redneck with a penchant for cat's cradle and boundless enthusiasm; Earl "Brother Boy" Ingram (Neal Scott), a transvestite homosexual who has resisted almost 23 years and 68 "dehomosexualization" treatments at the hands of a vampish and oversexed Dr. Eve Bollinger (Khara-Beth Chandler); and Mr. Stanley as a touching and heartfelt Ty Williamson.
The cast is rounded out by Bay Street stalwarts Valerie Macaluso and Travis Harold Coles with Gwyn Yarbrough and Peter Grffin also making appearances.
Showing posts with label Bay Street Theatre. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Bay Street Theatre. Show all posts
Sunday, April 18, 2010
Sunday, November 22, 2009
Mr. Marmalade: Bay Street Theatre
Oh, the joys of youth! Playing house, doctor, or cops n' robbers, and all without a care in the world. Or so one would think. However, given modern society's anesthetizing of our youth on television of questionable taste, with stories that often outstrip full comprehension of the young, it is actually no surprise the the Bay Street Theatre's latest trip through youthful imagination leaves us twisted, wasted, and cowering in the corner, afraid to laugh too hard.
Presented this past weekend, Noah Haidle's comedy Mr. Marmalade tells the story of a little girl named Lucy and her imaginary friend. However, this is no ordinary four-year-old. Instead of the happy-go-lucky we expect from this age group, Lucy is disturbingly aware. When one has to schedule times with one's imaginary friend, only to have him rush off to a meeting, one is not dealing with regular imagination here. And as Mr. Marmalade becomes more stressed, eventually becoming fully abusive (of both drugs and Lucy herself), the audience watches in fascination as child's play very quickly loses all charm. However, a testament to Mr. Haidle's optimism, Lucy is very much able to bounce back and, one hopes, achieve a level of normalcy in a dodge ball game.
Director Valerie Macaluso has truly accomplished something enjoyable here, managing to render the script afresh to a Savannah audience, despite the fact that a successful production of this same piece was mounted by Armstrong Atlantic State University about three years ago. Ms. Macaluso has led her cast in putting together a piece that is both fresh and coherent, an exciting and delightful accomplishment.
Al Gonzalez does well for himself in the title role, running the gamut from charming (almost but not-quite Fred Astaire) and urbane to a cocaine-snorting, abusive lunatic with an ease that tells of long practice. Also of note are John Macaluso's performance of Larry, where deadpan and matter-of-fact delivery render even beatings at the hands of and older brother humorous, and Travis Coles performance as Bradley, Mr. Marmalade's personal assistant, who breathes such a sigh of relief when all is said and done that one cannot help but believe that, despite the disturbing spectacle of the last ninety-five minutes, everything will indeed be ok. Chris Stanley and Kt Blackmon also take entertaining turns as anything from one-night-stands to waiters to cacti.
Perhaps most delightfully, kudos must be given to Brema Ebbing for costume design and Al Gonzalez for properties. To truly transport Mr. Marmalade, Bradley, and other imaginary friends form that other realm, a schema of roughly-drawn crayon is utilized to great effect, making things very clear in terms of what is "real" and what is "just pretend."
At the end of the day, it appears that the Bay Street Theatre has met the challenge registered by the reviewer of Hedwig and the Angry Inch, and that is finding a successful voice while doing something other than parading Chris Blair about in high heels.
Presented this past weekend, Noah Haidle's comedy Mr. Marmalade tells the story of a little girl named Lucy and her imaginary friend. However, this is no ordinary four-year-old. Instead of the happy-go-lucky we expect from this age group, Lucy is disturbingly aware. When one has to schedule times with one's imaginary friend, only to have him rush off to a meeting, one is not dealing with regular imagination here. And as Mr. Marmalade becomes more stressed, eventually becoming fully abusive (of both drugs and Lucy herself), the audience watches in fascination as child's play very quickly loses all charm. However, a testament to Mr. Haidle's optimism, Lucy is very much able to bounce back and, one hopes, achieve a level of normalcy in a dodge ball game.
Director Valerie Macaluso has truly accomplished something enjoyable here, managing to render the script afresh to a Savannah audience, despite the fact that a successful production of this same piece was mounted by Armstrong Atlantic State University about three years ago. Ms. Macaluso has led her cast in putting together a piece that is both fresh and coherent, an exciting and delightful accomplishment.
Al Gonzalez does well for himself in the title role, running the gamut from charming (almost but not-quite Fred Astaire) and urbane to a cocaine-snorting, abusive lunatic with an ease that tells of long practice. Also of note are John Macaluso's performance of Larry, where deadpan and matter-of-fact delivery render even beatings at the hands of and older brother humorous, and Travis Coles performance as Bradley, Mr. Marmalade's personal assistant, who breathes such a sigh of relief when all is said and done that one cannot help but believe that, despite the disturbing spectacle of the last ninety-five minutes, everything will indeed be ok. Chris Stanley and Kt Blackmon also take entertaining turns as anything from one-night-stands to waiters to cacti.
Perhaps most delightfully, kudos must be given to Brema Ebbing for costume design and Al Gonzalez for properties. To truly transport Mr. Marmalade, Bradley, and other imaginary friends form that other realm, a schema of roughly-drawn crayon is utilized to great effect, making things very clear in terms of what is "real" and what is "just pretend."
At the end of the day, it appears that the Bay Street Theatre has met the challenge registered by the reviewer of Hedwig and the Angry Inch, and that is finding a successful voice while doing something other than parading Chris Blair about in high heels.
Sunday, September 27, 2009
Hedwig and the Angry Inch- The Bay Street Theatre
EDITORIAL NOTE: The following review was penned at our request by a contributor. As much as I had hoped to cover Hedwig myself, my own production responsibilities precluded me from being able to do so. Though I did not see the production, it should be noted that the Editor does heartily endorse the content of the review's final paragraph.
===================================
Hedwig and the Angry Inch could easily be called a one man tour-de-force, but it actually takes quite a few people to pull it off. The stage musical, which most people initially encountered as the 2001 John Cameron Mitchell film, follows the rise and fall of Hedwig from “a slip of a girlyboy living in communist East Berlin” to a glamorous transsexual "a internationally ignored" rock sensation.
Chris Blair is truly phenomenal [as Hedwig]. From his lengthy monologues in which he cracks jokes that have been appropriately updated to fit the time and place to his soaring rock vocals, to his climactic meltdown, it is clear that he is one of the finest musical theatre performers Savannah has to offer. The skill at engaging and responding to his audience that made last year's Rocky Horror Show a success is at its finest here.
But as much as Hedwig really is (as one person put it) "The Chris Blair show, staring Chris Blair" he is backed by an incredibly talented team, most notably Valerie Lavelle as Hedwig's husband,Yitzhak. Ms. Lavelle has always been particularly exceptional at staying present in a scene no matter how often she speaks. She is the rare actor who is always interesting to watch while never actually stealing focus. Her vocals are impressive and the moment she shares with Mr. Blair during "The Long Grift" is truly touching (until she spits in his face).
The Angry Inch band is a delight to listen to and watch react. Ryan McCurdy in particular helps keep up the illusion of spontaneity with his genuine reactions to Mr. Blair's performance (including taking a moment after one joke to put his head down on the keyboard while Chris Stanley patted him uncertainly on the shoulder). His solo during "The Long Grift" lacked the clarity that one usually expects from Mr. McCurdy's wonderful voice but that may have been a fault of the song itself. The pre-show provided by The Angry Inch was great fun, allowing all of the band members a chance to sing and Mr. McCurdy and Mr. Stanley in particular a chance to shine. (A sight not unusual to Club One where Mr. Stanley DJs Karaoke on Tuesday and Wednesday nights).
Travis Coles fits the role of Tommy Gnosis well, though much of what he was actually saying during his reprise of "Wicked Town" was lost. And that is unfortunately the greatest weakness of the show as a whole. The songs sound great and have a great energy but even Mr. Blair occasionally falls victim to the lyrics being more sound than words. Fortunately the story (for the most part) holds up without them, but one has to wonder if we as the audience aren't missing out on something. Whether the fault for this lies in the writing of the music or the production of the sound can be hard to tell. The performers, however, all seem to be giving it their all.
The costumes are pitch perfect and the slides for the most part are used very well. The space is well used, particularly for the "off stage" characters. The one moment of staging that felt contrived involved Ms. Lavelle's Yitzhak playing with a wig and a hand mirror on a table stage left. The symbolism of the wig did become apparent but I kept expecting the wig itself to be used since there really didn't seem to be any reason for it to be there. The director's work should rarely call attention to itself and here Bridget Tunstall has captured the illusion that she simply cast the right people and then stayed out of their way.
Since this was the inaugural event of a new venue and a new company, we here at the Savannah Dramaturgy would be remiss if we did not examine for a moment what this production means for the ever shifting Savannah Theatre scene. The Bay Street Theatre is a wonderful idea, but as good as this production was, as a choice of show it strays no further from the image of the Club One Cabaret than their second theatrical offering, The Rocky Horror Show, which opens at the end of next month. This is not necessarily a problem, but it will be interesting to see what happens when and if the Bay Street Theatre attempts to diversify their productions beyond shows that feature the fabulous Mr. Blair in heels. And it is important to note that these two shows are being produced by separate companies. But the venue itself will eventually have to define what audience it seeks and what it hopes to become.
===================================
Hedwig and the Angry Inch could easily be called a one man tour-de-force, but it actually takes quite a few people to pull it off. The stage musical, which most people initially encountered as the 2001 John Cameron Mitchell film, follows the rise and fall of Hedwig from “a slip of a girlyboy living in communist East Berlin” to a glamorous transsexual "a internationally ignored" rock sensation.
Chris Blair is truly phenomenal [as Hedwig]. From his lengthy monologues in which he cracks jokes that have been appropriately updated to fit the time and place to his soaring rock vocals, to his climactic meltdown, it is clear that he is one of the finest musical theatre performers Savannah has to offer. The skill at engaging and responding to his audience that made last year's Rocky Horror Show a success is at its finest here.
But as much as Hedwig really is (as one person put it) "The Chris Blair show, staring Chris Blair" he is backed by an incredibly talented team, most notably Valerie Lavelle as Hedwig's husband,Yitzhak. Ms. Lavelle has always been particularly exceptional at staying present in a scene no matter how often she speaks. She is the rare actor who is always interesting to watch while never actually stealing focus. Her vocals are impressive and the moment she shares with Mr. Blair during "The Long Grift" is truly touching (until she spits in his face).
The Angry Inch band is a delight to listen to and watch react. Ryan McCurdy in particular helps keep up the illusion of spontaneity with his genuine reactions to Mr. Blair's performance (including taking a moment after one joke to put his head down on the keyboard while Chris Stanley patted him uncertainly on the shoulder). His solo during "The Long Grift" lacked the clarity that one usually expects from Mr. McCurdy's wonderful voice but that may have been a fault of the song itself. The pre-show provided by The Angry Inch was great fun, allowing all of the band members a chance to sing and Mr. McCurdy and Mr. Stanley in particular a chance to shine. (A sight not unusual to Club One where Mr. Stanley DJs Karaoke on Tuesday and Wednesday nights).
Travis Coles fits the role of Tommy Gnosis well, though much of what he was actually saying during his reprise of "Wicked Town" was lost. And that is unfortunately the greatest weakness of the show as a whole. The songs sound great and have a great energy but even Mr. Blair occasionally falls victim to the lyrics being more sound than words. Fortunately the story (for the most part) holds up without them, but one has to wonder if we as the audience aren't missing out on something. Whether the fault for this lies in the writing of the music or the production of the sound can be hard to tell. The performers, however, all seem to be giving it their all.
The costumes are pitch perfect and the slides for the most part are used very well. The space is well used, particularly for the "off stage" characters. The one moment of staging that felt contrived involved Ms. Lavelle's Yitzhak playing with a wig and a hand mirror on a table stage left. The symbolism of the wig did become apparent but I kept expecting the wig itself to be used since there really didn't seem to be any reason for it to be there. The director's work should rarely call attention to itself and here Bridget Tunstall has captured the illusion that she simply cast the right people and then stayed out of their way.
Since this was the inaugural event of a new venue and a new company, we here at the Savannah Dramaturgy would be remiss if we did not examine for a moment what this production means for the ever shifting Savannah Theatre scene. The Bay Street Theatre is a wonderful idea, but as good as this production was, as a choice of show it strays no further from the image of the Club One Cabaret than their second theatrical offering, The Rocky Horror Show, which opens at the end of next month. This is not necessarily a problem, but it will be interesting to see what happens when and if the Bay Street Theatre attempts to diversify their productions beyond shows that feature the fabulous Mr. Blair in heels. And it is important to note that these two shows are being produced by separate companies. But the venue itself will eventually have to define what audience it seeks and what it hopes to become.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)