Archikulture Digest • December 7, 2002January 3, 2023

Number 31: December, 2002

by Carl F. Gauze

The city has decided to replace the water and sewer lines in my neighborhood. Large yellow equipment labors during the day, always careful to fill in the large holes before they go home. Local SUV drivers are ecstatic – they can now fantasize 4-wheeling over rough mountain terrain as they navigate the occasional orange cone and traverse 5, 10 sometimes even 15 feet of unpaved road. YES! They ARE fulfilled! The huge truck needed to haul one small child to ballet or T-ball is JUSTIFIED! All hail, Denali! Viva la Yukon! Long live the Expedition! Excitedly chattering about the adventure on their cell phones, they still succeed in nearly wiping me out in my little teeny red car. Well, here’s what I survived to report on:

Vanities

By Jack Heifner

Directed by David Buchman

Starring Julia Schwartz, Megan Brown, and Jennifer Jacobsen

Take A Chance Theater Inc. at Cherry Street Theater, Winter Park Fla

The problem with High School is it seems so important at the time. Of course, the same can be said of college, adult life, and even death itself. With that in mind, we meet three ditzy cheerleaders, ready to plaster the gym with chicken wire, colored tissue paper and pep. Together, they are a complete person, with lustful Mary (Jacobsen) playing the Id to organized Kathy’s (Brown’s) ego. Worrying them all into submission is the super ego of Joanne (Schwartz), concerned with the real risk of their NOT being the most popular girls on campus in college. Well, as the heart of the Tiger’s cheerleading squad, they do all those annoying things cheerleaders do – decorate, block you view of the game, and berate all those of us cynics who see pep as what it is – an unwanted telemarketing call right in the middle of biology. As the program proceeds, they mature into similarly annoying sorority babes, pledged with keeping the Kappa Kappa Gamma’s bloodlines pure. Of course, separate personalities emerge – Mary is now a professional slut, bolstered by The Pill and a burnt bra. Joanne is keeping herself pure along with her childhood sweetie Ted, who by now must be permanently blue. Only Kathy seems lost – no clear plans, mediocre job prospects, and about done with organizing the rest of the world. What can happen next? Well, only two things as far as I see – complete dissolution of the tribe, or unification on a much high level, with all three combining into a single person. Amazingly, Heifner makes both eventualities occur, nearly simultaneously. It’s pure Freudian bliss.

And it’s pure fun as theater. The writing is amazingly cleverly; the casting and direction well placed, and despite an occasional dropped line or pâté on Ritz, extremely well acted. Schwartz’s Joanne IS the ideal suburban mom with the ideal suburban family and the ideal philandering hubby. She’s crass and annoying and touchingly sincere in her struggle to hold on to girlish ideals at all costs. Jacobsen’s Mary is an exact opposite – free with here charms, completely comfortable with flouting convention, and the ideal Girl You Date But Never Show Mom. In the balance point is Brown’s Kathy, sometimes almost static on stage as her life slides to a halt – either precariously balanced on a hilltop, ready to roll in any direction, or perhaps sitting at the bottom a valley, unable to gain momentum in any direction. You might find your self in any of these positions, and even if you don’t, they are great fun to discuss in the ride home.

Tartuffe
By Jean Baptiste Molière

Directed by Jim Helsinger

Starring Eric Hissom, Kate Ingram, Phillip Nolan

Orlando UCF Shakespeare Festival, Orlando, Fla

Oh, those zany French Aristocrats! Even thought they live in mansions furnished with acres of sparkling breasts and the good stuff from Liberace’s estate sale, they still fall for any charlatan that tries to steal the chatelaine. Gullible Orgon (Nolan) swallows the Rasputin-like piety of greasy Tartuffe (Hissom) to the embarrasment of everyone around him. Certainment, Tartuffe prays like Jim Baker in the shower, but all for show. When not emitting piety rays, he steals the silverware and seduces Orgon’s wife Elmire (Ingram) and soils the good linen. Is he just a sponge, or does he harbor deeper animosity toward his host’s generosity? No matter, when Orgon decides to give his buxom daughter Mariane (Sara Hankins) to Tartuffe instead of the stable and good looking Valere (Richard Width), panic breaks out in the household. People tolerate deception, until their sex life is at stake. Mariane screams like a Corman lead, but it takes the skills of Lady’s Maid Dorine (Mindy Anders) to marshal the troops and project effective counterforce. Not until Elmire offers herself as bait do they entrap Tartuffe well enough to enlighten fuddled Orgon. But it’s too late, as Tartuffe now owns the manse, and only some abrupt script writing can save the family’s honor and get everyone back in the right bed by curtain.

Well, there weren’t any slamming doors, but its’ a fine farce none the less. You’ve got all the important elements – sexy women, guys running around with in their underwear with swords, and everyone get a salacious joke and a prat fall. The axis of power lines up between acidic Dorine and alkali Tartuffe, and the axis of comedy points from rubbery Hissom to ballistic Nolan. As they fight a life and death battle to maintain control in the house, the calm center of the storm is Orgon’s brother Cleante (Tad Ingram). As the only sane person on stage, his good advice is ignored, possibly due to his extremely purple costume, a costume that assumes a GREAT deal of confidence on the part of the wearer. As we move farther into the fuzz of thought that Tartuffe generates, we find stepson Damis (Timothy Williams) desperately trying to get his swash unbuckled to fight injustice while the bluish Valere confuses the already lost Mariane with his professional shyness. On the outer orbit, we find the fearsome matron of the family, Madame Pernelle (Catherine Stork). While she isn’t onstage that much, she seem capable of taking on the King himself armed only with a fan and some sort mini-albatross launcher mounted in her hair.

As with all the recent productions that cross the stage of this awkwardly named company’s boards, Tartuffe is a triumph of comedy and lighting and costuming. I’ve still to figure out how they get the back wall to glow that electric blue, and how they get the women to sparkle. They’re THAT good. This show shimmers with energy, and even if you don’t think to much of the under taxed upper classes, you have to admit they ARE the most fun to tease. Even if this lot did lose the revolution.

For more information on UCF-Shakespeare, visit > http://www.shakespearefest.org/

Proof

By David Auburn

Directed by Chris Jorie

Starring Ginger Lee McDermott, Jim Howard

Orlando Theater Project at Seminole Community College

It takes a real mathematician to work a word like “leptokurtosis” into casual conversation. And just as that word leaves most people mystified, the actual work of a mathematician will leave most people wondering, “What exactly do they do? How do they know when they’re done? And who cares?” It’s esoteric stuff, but giants such as Robert (Howard) stand out, often only acknowledged by peers. He made major strides in three separate fields, only to succumb to a devastating delusional psychosis. Daughter Catherine (McDermott) stayed home to keep him alive, while her sister Claire (Beth Cunningham) went off to NYC to have a normal life. Now that dad is gone, uber-nudge Claire wants to take Kate away for safe keeping, and former student Hal (Arik Basso) is digging through the notebooks to see if anything useful remains of this great man’s mind. Only one notebook looks promising – a proof of a complex number theoretical problem long considered impossible to prove. Was it Robert’s swan song, or a late night project by Catherine? It’s not the easiest thing to decide, as Catherine herself seems about to follow her father into the darkness. Hal is torn between sex and intellect as Claire drives everyone in the audience nuts with her overbearing concern and Robert occasionally returns in flashbacks and hallucinations to counsel his daughter. What was the proof about? That’s not as important as who did it, with Kate striving for acceptance in a male dominated field where amateurs are NOT appreciated.

As the opening show of the New Year, Proof will be hard to best. Its tightly rehearsed and well-directed cast working with some of the best material available. While everything revolves around Catherine’s skating around the abyss of madness, Robert is the commanding presence, dead or alive. He simultaneously takes her life away, while giving her a reason to continue striving. Basso is a strong romantic lead, skillfully projecting both a flirtatious interest in Catherine as a woman, and Catherine as the possessor of a potential gold mine of important intellectual property that could make his place in the field. We all despised Claire (in a good way, of course) as she attempted to spirit Catherine to New York for her own good, while feebly attempting to make it look like Catherine’s own idea. Still, it’s Catherine who is the focal point here. The math is just a stage prop in her struggle with potential madness – it does run in families, and while she has acquired a small portion of her father’s intellectual prowess, the fear of the accompanying delusions frightens her to the point of madness by itself. McDermott fluctuate rapidly between a shrike and a vixen, alternately repelling and attracting Basso while her somewhat departed father and evilly present sister fight their own war over her. While her defense of the authorship of the Big Proof is spurious (“Trust Me” is NOT enough in this business) she ultimately makes her point and come to some peace with what she is, not what she might become. While the layman is always a bit lost in technical field, there’s no question as to what’s being proven her – an individual struggles and succeeds in keeping herself in one piece against strong forces driving her in the other direction. QED.

For more information on Orlando Theater Project, please vist www.otp.cc

The Pot Show

By James Newport

Temenos Theater, Orlando Fla

There’s an old joke about pot never getting legalized because no one could remember to sign the petitions. That’s sort of the effect of this scatter shot show about the benefits of getting high once in a while, whether for medical, social or psychological reasons. The Pot Show locates itself in the black box side of Joe’s NYC, in an environment perfectly decorated for the material at hand. Mr. Newport is joined by a few friends (Christian Kelty, Adam Leadbeater, Charles Frierman) who sit around eating Funyons, reminiscing about altered experiences, and popping off a little improv comedy. The script seems to be in a state of flux, as people consult the iMac sitting on the table in the back for prompts and make live suggestions to the tech booth for lighting cues. While there are some genuinely funny moments (the Beach Boys Dance number, a story about buying dope in Jamaica) there also were some long sequences that left you wondering if being stoned would even help. In particular, the “Improv” sequence started with some audience suggestions, promptly abandoned them, and then wandered off into several poorly related scenes of silliness. I’ve seen most of these people do improv in other situations, and there is some real talent present that never makes it out of the gate.

As a talking forum for the anti-DARE set, the show has some potential to be a PSA for NORML, but as it stands the show needs a tighter flow, better focus, and some editing. After all, things that seem silly in one state of mind often make no sense when you sober up. And, sad to say, that was where the audience found themselves.

The Zoo Story

By Edward Albee

Directed by Scott Borish

Starring Sam Little and Michael Boutwell

No Name Productions at Temenos Theater, Orlando, Fla.

Some times you have to go a long distance out of your way just to come back correctly. And sometimes you go a long distance, get lost, and not want to admit it. Jerry (Boutwell) has strolled all the way from the Washington Park zoo to the north end of Central Park, looking for a likely person to talk to. That lucky stiff is Peter (Little), out on his favorite bench to do a little light reading on a nice Sunday afternoon. Peter is literate, stable, and has 2 cats and a wife. Jerry finds himself alone, ambiguous, and in need of an unwitting assistant. He also talks a jag, prattling on about his life and relations, his landlady’s shaggy dog, and maybe even what happened at the zoo today. He engages Jerry, guilts him into listening, then prods him over the edge into violence and mayhem. Thus, Peter returns correctly to the place he started – oblivion. All this on two cheap park benches in a black box.

The story is a bit mysterious, but the presentation is highly engaging, with the story dominated by Jerry’s long yet rambling monologues. Is he crazy, a mugger, or even worse? Peter accepts everything thrown at him with a tolerant politeness that is completely uncharacteristic of a hardened New Yorker, yet completely engaging. He even puts up a decent stage fight, much more believable than you would expect from a textbook publisher defending his favorite park bench. This is the sort of closely acted internal drama that gives you something to chew on all the way home. Question loom without clear resolution on stage, but eventually fit themselves into answers that make both characters real and tragic. It’s a definite tonic from the forced merriment of the season.

Dickens By Candlelight

Adapted and Directed by Robin Proett Olson

Starring Stacy Barton, Diane Brune, Mark Mannette

RS&C Productions at the Doctor Phillips House, Orlando, Fla

Oh, for a Muse of Hot Chocolate, ascending to the rain soaked skies over Orlando! Well, there’s no hot chocolate, but you get tea and cookies in this most literary adaptation of the Holiday’s most told tale. The setting is elegant, if a bit Queen Anne, and the emphasis is on the original text over any modernization or deconstruction of a man’s transformation from crusty curmudgeon to floating feather of happiness. While the audience sits with randomly selected others, three actors rush back and forth, giving everyone in every little nook and cranny a flash of waistcoats and petticoats along with a nearly flawless reading of the story. All the regulars are here, from the regal Ghost of Christmas present down to the most pathetic sounding Tiny Tim of the year. Even characters that almost never make the modern editors cuts pop in, including the guy who stole Scrooge’s cufflinks and gets nearly nothing for them. Only the spectral Ghost of Christmas Future seems a bit thin, not that Dickens gave him any decent lines to begin with.

The telling is the thing of course, and despite your head turning back and forth constantly, the room is brought to life by the growling rumble of Mannette, the coquettish Barton, and the fluttery Brune. Voices range from the gravelly cockney Old Joe, pawnbroker to the low and listless to the trill yet outraged Mrs. Cratchit, the most believable person in the story. As an added plus, there’s even a bit of audience participation – Mannette seemed to detect my inner Scrooge, and an older gentleman served well as an occasional inkwell to the action. It’s funny and zippy and not a bit more maudlin than absolutely necessary, plus you get your annual requirement of Victorian drama. That’s a prescription that will last into the New Year.

Fences
By August Wilson

Directed by Chris Jorie

Starring Harry Burney, Jami Thomas, Jimmie Johnson, Dwayne Allen

Peoples Theater, Orlando, Fla

There’s nothing sadder than a man stuck in his glory days of a sports career that never went anywhere. Troy Maxon (Burney) could have played in the majors, if only the Jim Crow rules would have let him. He’s a bit bitter, but has found a place in hauling trash and fighting for the black man’s place in the drivers seat of the trash pick up business. He made mistakes, and is certain that he won’t let his son Cory (Jimmie Johnson) make the same ones, even blocking his shot at pro ball. He ought to learn a trade, like fixing cars, and reflect on his father mistakes, and how hard dad worked as a youth. Troy’s domineering sprit smothers everyone around him – best friend Bono (Lieutenant Patterson), wife Rose (Thomas), even his brain-damaged brother Gabrielle (Allen). Only his Jazzbo son Lyons (Oscar Wiley) seems to have avoided the Troy plan, and he grew up while daddy did his time for shooting someone. Rose put up with him for over 20 years; even raising the illegitimate daughter Raynell (Dana Thomas) he sprung on here after his girlfriend died in childbirth. He may have been an uneducated working stiff, but he certainly influenced everyone around him, from family to friends, union, and even the white superstructure he worked for.

Heck, Troy even scared me. I kept waiting for him to give the “snow was up to here” speech my father gave me; no matter he lived in the Deep South where snow is a concept on a calendar. I swear that man could make you jump. And the rest of the cast was just as good, with Rose giving a long impassioned speech as the Woman Scorned, a role only slightly less worthy than a good Shakespearian death. Cory and Lyons supplied the modern striving young black men, hoping to make it in either the world of sports or jazz. Cory missed, mostly due to Troy, but Lyons seemed ready to back up Charlie Parker, if for no skill beyond his snappy beret and two-toned shoes. However, the most intriguing character has Gabrielle. He spent most of the show bouncing around the stage as the harmless but annoying casualty of war, with no clearly defined place in the story. It wasn’t until the death of Troy and the family reunion around a funeral that he came to fore, attempting to blow his trumpet and failing to open the pearly gates for Troy’s soul. His greatest line was a wordless scream that froze time for a moment and an hour. More than anyone else, he was the id to Troy’s ego, and lost more than anyone else with his passing.

Like so many productions at People’s Theatre, the inner strength of the black soul shows through in Fences, with some of Orlando’s finest actors again wresting deeply personal and moving drama from the seemingly trivial aspects of living. Troy Maxon is both the sort of person you’d love and hate as a father or mentor. He brooked no nonsense, but left you with a purpose to follow whether you appreciated it at the time or not.

For more information, please vist www.peoplestheatre.org

Tape
By Steven Belber

Directed by Rocky Hopson

Rickshaw Boy at Cherry Street Theater

Winter Park, Fla

Is vengeance really best served cold? Vince (Don “Beer for Breakfast” Fowler) seems to think so. He’s kept his high school small time dope dealer job, while buddy Jon (John Valines III) has gone on to the exciting yet low paying career as an Indie film producer. They’ve met for the pivotal Lansing Film Fest, where Jon has donned his John Waters suit for a profession debut. Both are basically dicks, one a bit classier than the other, but neither is anything to write home about. Both had an interest in Amy (Meghan Drewett) years ago, with Vince dating here and Jon getting the goods, if only once. But, did she really agree to do the big nasty, or was it a bit coerced? With a bit of high tech Kmart magic evidence is gathered, and when Amy drops by to reminisce, her present job as assistant to the public defender challenges everyone’s view of the situation a decade past.

Believe me, both these guys ARE of the genus Megadickus Erectus. Jon may not have done anything, but he confesses anyway, if only for the “I got her and you didn’t” factor. Getting that confession takes Fowler’s Vince enough work to qualify for Assistant District Manger for any convenience store chain in the country. Drewett’s Amy seems philosophical about whatever actually did happen, and jerks both of their chains, as they well deserved to be jerked. All are fairly pathetic, but all maintain some sense of dignity in the face of digging up a past that ought to remain buried like your 6th grade hamster.

While a bit wordy at points, Tape does show a strong narrative thread that never breaks even if it does get a shade obscure from time to time. Motives move from clear to murky and back several times, all serving to create a tight, interior drama that doesn’t run much longer than needed. All told, there is a singular message to carry home – there really is NO good reason to attend a high school reunion. The risk is far too great.

A Christmas Carol

Adapted by David McElroy

Directed by Marylin McGinnis

Southern Winds Theater at Chapters Book Store

Orlando, Fla.

There are a lot of folks inhabiting this Dickens classic short story, and it’s no small feat for one man to cover them all, male and female, old and young, alive or dead. It’s even more of a challenge with dinner being served and adjacent rooms holding their own moments of holiday cheer, but that’s no problem for the multi-voiced, multi-talented David McElroy. As he bounces around the atmospheric and literary confines of Chapters Book Store (a place where reading at the dinner table is encouraged), harassing the patrons and checking under tables for spirits, he does succeed in fitting everyone in with no confusion. Long conversation between multiple charters never loses their place, and even the silent staring of the dread Ghost of Christmas Future don’t get lost in his capable hands. The set is minimal, a coat rack, a stool, and a frock coat, but there’s enough visual clutter in the space to make up for any lack of background veracity. Scrooge is foul enough, Tiny Tim depressing enough and Mrs. Cratchit cranky enough to satisfy any modern day none believer. It’s enough to make an old man dance with giddy joy.

Perhaps it’s unintended, but as I watch this sparse but intriguing production, a second interpretation of the Ebenezer Scrooge saga begins to suggest itself. Rather than a story about reform and recovery, perhaps what we are seeing is descent into madness. Not a potential suicide like that Danish kid, but never the less a loss of sanity and compass under the relentless stress of enforced holiday joy. As we open, Scrooge is a well-defined and stable character – not pleasant, certainly, but the people around him understand his moods and are able to predict them, even if they don’t agree. Then, late at night he loses his anchor in time with a series of increasingly surreal hallucinations. Did three days pass, or was it a mere hour? Bad digestion or bad circulation in the hippocampus? Did the dead violate all Christian precepts and come back to warn the living about their sins? There’s no denying the psychotic break, as Scrooge’s old personality disintegrates to giddy, child-like persona completely in tune with the desires of others, now ready to please everyone at every turn. Perhaps this is just my personal hallucination, but look to the text itself. Scrooge’s father under went a very similar transformation the day he sent sister Fan to rescue a young Ebenezer from his miserable boarding school. After all, mental illness has a strong genetic component, and even literary characters are subject to the reality of their own creators. It’s just a passing thought in my mind, perhaps just some spinach-artichoke dip gone astray, but it can give you something to discuss over desert as you relax in the familiar setting of this traditional holiday classic.

That’s Exploitation!

Book and Music by Dennis T Giacino

Starring Fiely Matias

Sak Comedy Lab, Orlando, Fla

Speaking from long experience, Bad Films are much more fun to ridicule than Good Ones. It’s like laughing at Tiny Tim, but without any real sense of guilt. Plus, they’re a huge field of source material for silly cabaret studies like this one. Center stage belongs to the slight but energetic Fiely Matias, a young man with both a great voice and a great sense of timing. We get a dozen songs, some brilliant, some a bit tarnished; all tied to the Disaster/ Blaxploitation/ Women in Prison genres we all grew up with. It’s all singing, all talking, and all dancing, with piano support from songmeister Dennis Giacino and the occasional sound effect from the well stock Sak sound booth. Outstanding numbers include the Native American drag sequence “Squaw Girl” where Fiely muses about the role of large silicone breasts and Fredrick’s The Deer Slayer Lingerie in setting a course for the new world settlers. Following close on is the heart-warming duet “Make it Last (Jason Voorhees)” with a ringing voice from petite Melanie Whipple. All around stunning song work filled the evening, with excellent marks going to rubbery Arbender Robinson (I’ll Just Cry), pert Merrie Nell Spence (Forever) and the morose looking Marshall Webb (Insipid Melody). Of course, you need a big number to have people hum on the way to the parking lot, and we got that with the rousing “I’m a Teenage Mutant Boy Scout from The Nuclear Fallout Zone”. The climatic moment came from Fiely, who blandly announced ‘Excuse me while I remove my penis’. It was the biggest event of the evening, and my inseams nearly burst with joy.

The concept is brilliant, well executed, funny, but not as salacious as earlier Oops events. In a room full of friends, a number of technical mistakes seemed mostly overlooked, or ridiculed by the cast, but never damaged the flow of fun. While not an all ages show, the jokes and slight (very slight) nudity aren’t offensive by most local standards, and bringing a liberal minded mom to the show is a distinct possibility. There’s even a stunning and unexpected 3-d sequence, a scene brought to life by the distribution of cheap paper red/blue shades that most folks used prematurely. Best of all, there are no ghosts, no turkeys, and no crotchety old men turning nicey- nice. Honestly, it’s a gift.

For more information on Oops Guys, visit http:// www.kookyart.com/oopsguys/

A Christmas Carol

By Charles Dickens

Adapted by Christopher Rohner

Directed by Frank Hilgenberg

Starring Paul Wegman, Mark March, Joshua Siniscalco

Theatre Downtown, Orlando, Fla

Stop me if you’ve heard this one: Cranky, money grubbing Scrooge (Wegman) allows submissive Bob “Never say a bad word” Cratchit a day off for the Holidays, and gets a midnight visit by his ex-partner Jacob Marley (Jim Cassidy), along with a lecture about not being such a alte khazer. Following comes the ethereal Spirit of Christmas Past (Emily Nanette), the exuberant S of C Present (Cassidy), and the ominous S of C Future (C. Scott Lindauer), all hammering the message home – “Scrooge! Shape up! Such a nudge you are already!” And, bless us all, he does. He even gives Cratchit a raise AND a new coalscuttle.

Heartwarming, to be sure, but there’s a lot more going on here. First, this is one of the most complex and well-staged productions in TDT’s space, with over 2 dozen actors filling nearly 5 dozen roles. Next, for a heart warming play about being nice, there are a surprising number of scares as apparitions come and go. Marley in particular made me jump – you know it’s time for him, you sort of know where he’s going to appear from, and you STILL react. There’s plenty of dancing, singing, and general ho-ho-ing, all in support of the main Scrooge – Marley axis of the show. Wegman cleverly handles the transition from skinflint to benefactor, never making a move or sound that’s not perfectly in the character at the moment. One never thinks, “Oh, there it is – he just got nice.” It’s more like boot camp – the spirits beat him down to his component parts, and then reassemble him into the man he should have been. As his foil, Marchman’s Cratchit holds the course as an abused but loyal servant, always viewing life with a Disneyesque “Look on the Bright Side” attitude. As Scrooge changes course, he cleverly crosses Cratchit’s bow and ends up even more positive than Cratchit. Scrooge’s other counterweight, nephew Fred (Siniscalco), is a tall and elegant looking Victorian gentleman of more class than cash, a man who seems genuinely in tune with Scrooge’s inner state until that surprising moment when he shows up for dinner, and unlike so many in-laws, is actully pleasant to dine with. And Tiny Tim? He’s a bit well fed but, forced to carry a cane the size of a Yule log around stage, he still generates a bit of holiday sympathy from a perspective you may not have had before. We’re all blessed by his handicap, aren’t we?

For more information, please vist http://www.theatredowntown.net/

The Winter’s Tale

By William Shakespeare

Directed by Richard Width

Starting Eric Hissom, Susanne O’Donnell, Paul Bernardo

Orlando UCF Shakespeare Festival, Orlando, Fla.

You just don’t see this play produced very often. Even experienced Shakespearian actors are often unfamiliar with it, but after experiencing the brilliant and piercing production we saw this evening, you’ll agree “Winter’s Tale” should cross the stage more often. Perhaps it’s underappreciated because it’s a bit schizophrenic – the first half appears a dark tragedy, only to dissolve after a glass of wine and a surreptitious cigarette into a delightful comedy – love is in the air and even a few bodies pop back to life. Polixenes (Bernardo), King of Bohemia, drops in on his childhood friend Leontes (Hissom), King of Sicilia, only to have Leontes’ wife Hermione (O’Donnell) become a little too friendly with Polixenes. Leontes gets the idea that an illicit affair has led to her recent pregnancy, even though they really weren’t THAT friendly. Of course there’s no real defense against the accusation of a king, as DNA testing is still a few years off and he IS king. As Leontes sinks into regicidal madness, he tries to poison Polixenes, who gets a tip from Leontes advisor, Camillo (Michael Walls), and both beat feet back to Bohemia. Soon Hermione dies of shame, her older son (Nathan West) struck down by Apollo when Leontes ignores an oracle, and the newborn daughter Perdita is taken to distant Bohemia to be exposed. Exit stage left, pursued by a bear. Sixteen years later, we find Perdita (Amanda Schlachter) all grown up and in love with Polixenes’ son Florizel (Kareem Bandealy). By this time Leontes has had some counseling and Camillo wants to go home so he can die in peace. He convinces the young lovers to flee to Sicilia (they were planning a honeymoon anyway) and everything turns out happy. There’s even a magical statute of Hermione, brought to life by the Wiccan spells of Paulina (Anne Hering), giving Leontes back a part of messed up life. Of course, little Mamillius is still dead, but then the Bard never paid any attention to the rules of Hollywood, such as “never kill the kid” or “never kill the dog.”

There’s a lot going for this production. Hissom spans the full range of emotions from doting father to regicidal maniac to repentent loser, passing through a larcenous balladeer leading a Shakespearian rap song. O’Donnell’s Hermione gets less room to maneuver, but provides a more than convincing defense of her innocence even though she was flirting with Polixenes mercilessly in the opening acts. Other strong performances came from the very physical Jason Flores and the officious and opportunistic Camillo.

Set in a minimalist set with Celtic knots and pre-Raphaelite trees, most of the mood changes are set by the technically perfect lighting. The intimate space along with the hallmark Extensive Use Of Aisles During Perfomance brings the action nearly into the laps of the audience. You may not see this play again for years, and its story of revival and second chances is a real departure from Shakespeare’s twin fascination with body count and mistaken identity. Squeeze it into your holiday schedule before spring reappears to melt the snows of icy Bohemia.

For more information on UCF-Shakespeare, visit > http://www.shakespearefest.org/

Alexander and The Terrible Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day

By Judith Viorst and Shelly Markham

Directed by April Dawn Gladu

Starring Davis Cross, Shelly Sours, Tim Williams

Orlando UCF Shakespeare Festival, Orlando, Fla

Adults forget how important everything seems when you’re growing up. Whether it’s lost chewing gum, a bad shoe day, or demotion to 3rd best friend, seemingly minor things can overwhelm a kid like Alexander (Cross). He’s having a regular entropy storm today, with all the above and more raining down on him as he struggles through a typical 3rd grade lifestyle. As Alex and buddies bounce of the walls like they’re dosed up on Lucky Charms and warm Pepsi, parents and teachers (Sours, Williams) try to keep a reasonable lid on the action and emotional cross currents that can ravage you when you have no real control over your station. Would fleeing to Australia help? Maybe, the kangaroo and koala seem friendly, and you do get to wear a cool hat. While that’s the extent of dramatic tension, there are plenty of silly but real situations played out on the brightly colored stage filled with hidden prop furniture. A half dozen songs roll through the production, starting with the wistful “If I Was In Charge” which leads into the sarcastic “I Love My Baby Sister” and climaxes with my favorite, “Hot Hot Shoes”, sung by the electrically wired shoe salesman (Williams).

While squarely aimed at the kids in the audience, Alexander equally amuses the taller folks; even those of us who prefer to see children on TV. There’s a regular request to get the audience to enthusiastically chant the tag of the title, and we all join Alexander in his desire to move to Australia, where things are surely more amenable to a frustrated child, on stage and off. A mild message sneaks in, the being that Tomorrow Will Surely Be Better Than Today. And looking back with my years of experience, I can assure you that improvement IS possible. And even though tomorrow still sucks, here’s a good way to get the kids out of the Gamecube fantasy world and into the equally fantastic world of live theater. It’s a clever show that allows kids to be kids, and still not annoy the really old guys like myself.

For more information on UCF-Shakespeare, visit > http://www.shakespearefest.org/