Number 35: Dog Days of Summer, 2003

by Carl F. Gauze

My friends have recently accused me of having poor taste in wine. This hurts a bit, as I never claimed to be any sort of wine connoisseur. Still, they are on me about it, and last night I picked a Merlot called “Rex Goliath”. It had a label with a story about a 47-pound chicken in a Texas circus, and while the connection between Southern Poultry and North Coast growing conditions is nebulous, it WAS a cool looking bottle. It even had a cork, so right there you’ve got some measure of quality. But, I do have to admit, it wasn’t all that great, but it went well enough with the hamburgers and potato chips out by the grill. It’s not like Chen Kenichi was dropping by to cook eel sashimi or anything. <p>

Come Back To The Five and Dime, Jimmy Dean, Jimmy Dean</br>

By Ed Graczyk</br>

Directed by Fran Hilgenberg</br>

Starring Monica Travers, Joan Gay, Julianna Mooring, Peni Lotoza</br>

Theater Downtown, Orlando, Fla.</b><p>

When bustling Marfa is a 2-hour bus ride away, you’ve really landed in EBF, Texas. Sure, James Dean dropped in to make a movie during the Eisenhower administration, but that’s not enough to drive a town like McCarthy forward, at least not without water. A few locals were hired for the crowd scenes, like star struck Mona (Travers), but all that led to was an unwanted pregnancy and the cruel beating of the local feminine guy Joe (Wil Williamson). Mona’s boy grew up as the putative son of James Dean, and now has skeedaddled with Joanne’s (Lotoza) car in hope of a better life in town that at least has a Denny’s. Left to mind the store with Mona is religious Juanita (Gay) and optimistic Sissy (Moring). She married the guy who beat up Joe, but now hopes to try out for the Ice Capades. Yup, that’s about how everyone’s life unravels during the 20th reunion of the “Fans of James Dean Club.”<p>

Past and present intertwine in this story of dashed aspirations, flash backs, and self-deceit. Nearly everyone has a story to hide, and it’s not like anyone in a small town is NOT going to know the Town Drunk or who is sleeping with whom and in what position. We begin with a slow first act, kept alive mostly by the self righteous Juanita and the incredibly bouncy Young Sissy (Heather McClendon). Pertinent facts come to light, but without the punch they might have carried. After intermission the appearance of brash Stella May (Diane Wilde) and the astonishingly naive Edna Louise (Tonya Denmark) pick things up enormously. Edna’s a nice girl, but after 7 kids you’d think she some idea where they came from. They bring vibrance to the story, and even thought they have a few secrets as well, none of them can one-up Joanne and her method of abandoning a small town past that was leading nowhere fast.<p>

The set captures the ennui of a dying small town, right down to the flies that committed suicide on the flypaper hanging from the ceiling. One sense that this small town is fading, and even now ghosts rule more of the town than the living. Do we even remember James Dean, outside of the iconic posters in gift shops, and a rare late night showing on AMC? He faded faster than most but still left an imprint on those he passed by, and his ghost is now the mayor of this little burg.

For more information, please visit www.theatredowntown.net <p>

Boston Marriage

By David Mamet

Directed by Chris Jorie

Starring Anne Hering, Becky Fischer, Darby Ballard

Orlando Theater Project, UCF Shakespeare Center, Orlando Fla</b><p>

Men do dumb things for sex, and here we see a particularly bad example. In exchange for some extracurricular fun, Anne (Hering) has snatched a spectacular emerald, which really belongs to Mr. Extramarital’s wife. He’s been overseas in Victorian India, so somehow that makes everything OK. Anne’s best friend Claire (Fisher) drops by, and in a witty exchanged lifted from Oscar Wilde and Company she successfully insults Anne, and gets her to lend her the apartment for some personal monkey business. It seems, however, Claire’s friend has a maternal interest in the stone, and with that revelation, the whole façade of Anne’s life collapses around her ears. Even poor housekeeper Catherine’s (Ballard’s) job is at risk, and her flirtation with the gas oven repairman might be her only ticket out of this whole mess.<p>

With fine acting, a brilliant set, and a marquis name on the program, this play ought to be something special. Unfortunately, the story is a bit obtuse, and the sexual escapades of the three never seem to amount anything interesting despite their turning Victorian mores topsy turvey. Hering’s Anne is a suitably pompous but desperate Victorian woman on the backside of good looks, and Catherine’s formal approach to fulfilling her sexual needs is a fine match for Anne’s voyeurism. However, once you get the trick of the play, the dialog seems fast and forced and not enough to carry interest to the séance scene in the third act. Only Ballard’s lost soul is funny as she attempts to explain over and over again her name is Catherine, she’s a Scot, and when all else fails her siren whine brings tears to your eyes. <p>

“Boston Marriage” appears more a character study than a drama, but with the occasional laugh tacked on as an apology for the Victorian deviance. That these three have come together is easy enough to grasp, but the why of the story telling remains lost in the mist of Mamet’s fame. Here we find a stellar cast and crew dealing with a weak script, and doing the best they can. The high view is Catherine’s assignation while leaning against a tree, and not the cold hard ground of London. She, at least, has a good view during the action.

For more information on Orlando Theatre Project. , please visit > http://www.otp.cc/ <p>

God’s Man In Texas

By David Rambo

Directed by Robin Olson

Starring Rus Blackwell, Eddie Levy Lee, Eric Hissom

The Vines Theater, Orlando, Fla</b><p>

The taller the hair, the closer to God, or so they say. Under the firm and energetic hand of Rev. Philip Gottschall (Lee), Rock Baptist Church has grown from a few folding chairs in the VFW hall to a major conglomerate serving the movers and shakers of Texas Oil, all the way up to the president. Heck, they’re about this close to listing on the Amex, and while Gottschall is hale, hearty, and a pain about his good health, it’s time to anoint a successor. Reluctantly, the sincere Dr. Jerry Mears (Blackwell) joins the team, only to be put in charge of ceremonial duties, like blessing new bowling alley and preaching the salvation of low calorie diets to those too fat to pass thorough the pearly gates. Demographics and focus groups rule the doctrine of this temple, and moneychangers are more than welcome. As a power shift appears immanent, lowly sound man Hugo Taney (Hissom) offers homey advice when ever and wherever possible, welcome or not. When the elephants are mating, it’s best to stay out of the jungle, but Taney is trod upon, forcing the brewing break between a man dedicated to God, and a man dedicated too appearing dedicated to God. <p>

Slyly viscous, God’s Man in Texas slides us well into the inner working of church that ought to be on the Fortune 500, not that this can’t happen in storefronts as well. Rock Baptist has better amenities than most high-end spas, and that’s a feature that brings in the customers, and keeps the sale closed. The parallels between sales and salvation clearly drive this form of religion, and the sincerity of Mears is no match for the acting ability of Gottschall. The main difference is Mears acknowledges how he proselytizes, while Gottschall does it automatically and perhaps a bit naively. While al this frippery plays out, the acting and preaching are top notch. Both Blackwell and Levy have that perfect rolling iambic pentameter – you can just about count of the syllables as they relate the Word of God and interpret in a manner suitable for both Madison Avenue and the Mount of Olives. As the comic relief, Hissom capture the physical motion and lost puppy do emotion that only the truly lost provide. Church is for the lost, not the found, although on any given Sunday the opposite seating arrangement prevails in this theater of the absolved.<p>

The Vines theater is located in the Plaza Threatre compex on Bumby. For more information, please visit www.theplazatheatre.com<p>

It’s Only A Play

By Terrance McNally

Directed by Michael Colavolpe

Theater Downtown, Orlando, Fla</b><P>

Sure, it’s $15 of highbrow entertainment to YOU, but to the people on stage and behind it, it’s a life or death. Actor turned TV star James Wicker (Kevin Bee) has come all the way from LA to witness this triumph or disaster written by his best friend and enemy Peter Austin (Drew Storie). The producer, ever-so-slightly pretentious Julia Budder (Andie Karvelis) has rolled the dice on “The Golden Egg”, a title which has some truly scary implications were it to fail. Just think of the headlines … How do we know if it passes or fails? Why, we read the reviews – no sense in popping for a ticket if the critics think its bad. That’s the job of vicious Ira Drew (Kevin DuFour), a man so nasty he can’t get comped anywhere in town, and wants in so bad he’s written 33 unproduced plays, which seem mostly to consist of very… long …pauses. In other words, it’s a typical first night party.<p>

This is a superb farce; one of the funniest things TDT has done this season. The casting is brilliant, with a tousle-haired John Connon portraying a Steve Schneider look alike and throwing truly memorable tantrums as he seeks his first failure. Nearly washed up actress Virginia Noyes is competently overplayed by the very tanned Colleen Ella-DeFeo, and everyone’s favorite charter was the naïve temp Gus P Head (Ashland Thomas), spouting Broadway-isms and greeting everyone with meaningless endearments. Gosh, it’s JUST like being in New York, except for parking.<p>

While there are a ton of in-jokes, you don’t need to know all the names to get the jokes. You’ll laugh at the right time, or be shamed into it by the rest of the audience, so there’s no fear of having to debate existentialism on the ride home. This isn’t just good, solid theatre; it’s more on the order of brilliant.<p>

For more information, please visit www.theatredowntown.net <p>

A Person’s Proof

By Donald Patrick Cupor

Directed by David Buckman

Take A Chance Theater, Inc. at Cherry Street theater, Winter Park</b><p>

The Nazi’s had a knack for damage, even from beyond the grave. In pastoral, pacifist Holland, the Jews who fled the German states occasionally found refuge on country farms, where a low profile and a web of trust MIGHT get them thought the holocaust. Some times this worked, and sometimes it failed, leaving a web of uncertainty that dogs people to this day. Perhaps it even touched Senator Cornelius der Graff, who’s taking a shot at the White House this year. Investigative reporter Evan Benjamin (Jay Tiffany) heard some odd stories from his mother, and thinks the Senator’s father was a Nazi sympathizer. Well, even in America, the sins of the father haunt the child, and he’s off to dig up the truth. Hot on his heels is the Senator’s press secretary, Cheryl (Julia Schwartz), and they rendezvous at the old farm that hid Benjamin’s parents. There, the elderly Nelleka Jansen (Xanthia Campbell) lets the true story out bit by bit – she’s not exactly fault free in this 50 year old melodrama, and pounding her from the other side is her smart but mystified grandson Nicholas (Jason David Adams). He wants to know who his true grandfather was – Proud Dutchman, or craven collaborator? The truth lies buried in the old bunker under the barn, and everyone has a motive to keep at least part of it suppressed.

It’s tough call when the tanks roll in – resist or cooperate, particularly when the fight isn’t yours, but it just shows up in the cow pasture. As a young woman, Nelleka did what was needed, but was deceived by all those around her. That comes though as Campbell’s broken English presents a woman with a past worst than many, burying old pain. Opposite her is her earnest yet touching grandson. He need to know the truth before it dies with the old woman, and he provides a greater drive to the action than either of the meddling Americans, each with their own petty agendas. Would a Nazi ancestor keep a man from the White House? Lesser sins have stopped greater men, and it’s all about perceptions anyway. While Tiffany’s rude reporter asks thing more bluntly than I’ve been taught, he’s the perfect jerk one needs to be to dig up the really smelly dirt. There’s no sexual tension between him and the equally obnoxious Cheryl – you could put them on Fox on a Sunday morning and draw a respectable rating on vehemence alone. While the story is a bit complicated and I recommend taking notes on the status of Cornelius’s politics as thing progress, we have a nice exploration of resolving a fight someone never wanted to enter in the first place.<p>

This review first appeared www.orlandoweekly.com<p>

Cancer Tales</br>

By Nell Dunn</br>

Directed by Mia Perovetz</br>

Starring Christelsie Johnson, Faye Novick, Dorothy Field, Sharon Donohue</br>AfterGlo Theatre Company at Temenos Theater, Orlando Fla</b><p>

It’s a major challenge to go through cancer, either by yourself or for a loved one, and that challenge clearly reflects on tonight’s stage. We follow several women who either contract the disease or support ill loved ones. Feisty Claire (Johnson) tackles the problem directly, with her intimate professional knowledge of the medical system. While the pain and fear are real, her biggest loss is self-esteem as an impersonal medical system chews her up and spits her out. Mary (Novick) wrestles with the anger engendered by her daughter’s (Amanda Rispoli) lymphoma as Rebecca rejects nearly all human contact, including her mother’s. Penny (Donohue) and her lover Marlyn (Suzette Rising) hold onto love until the very last, as Penny eventually succumbs to the pain. Sharon (Beverly Perovetz) isn’t as concerned over the loss of both breasts as she is over her hair falling to chemotherapy. And Joan (Field) applies denial to her son-in-law’s distress. We’ll fight this, but by God we won’t mention it in polite company. Some live, some die, and all struggle as this terror rips apart their lives.<p>

Entering the theater, we see a bevy of hospital workers dressed in scrubs and carrying clipboards as they respond to mysterious pages over the intercom. The audience is led into the waiting room, where a TV blares out the banality of Oprah, making the feeling of hospitalization complete. Actors scurry to open and close curtains on two small rooms as the patients make their way across stage. Voices are low, and hearing the actors is often a struggle – projection is rare, and street noise often overwhelms the dialogue. We struggle along as the action unfolds, perched on tight chairs for the 2 hours and 20 minutes of uninterrupted curtain openings on stage. Some good acting fills the space – Novick’s anger is palpable, and you’d like to slap some sense into Field’s Joan. Johnson’s Claire grows on you – at first she seems strident, but ultimately you see that her standing up to the system that makes her feel ‘dirty’ for having a disease she has little control over.

What’s missing, perhaps lost in the long, long ending, is a deep emotional association with the characters. There’s enough pathos and lingering death to make every eye in the place weep, but mostly we just feel a disconnected sorrow for these people – we all must die, they have just had the misfortune to get the long miserable early death. We, as the audience, must wait it out with them.<p>

Noodling Inspiration

By Paul Kiernan

Directed by Rob Anderson

Invictus T.C. at Shakespeare Center, Orlando Fla.</b><p>

If you’ve ever wanted to see Bobby Bell in his skivvies, here’s a wonderful chance. Famed author A. B. Parker (Bell) has lost his mojo. Half a dozen bestseller hardbacks to his name, and when one of them is turned into a stink bomb of a movie, he loses the ability to write. In order to retrieve his Voice, he’s created an insular little fantasy world that might get him back to his writing roots. Presiding over this micro-Disney is the Thurberesque Mrs. March (Tara Anderson) who makes him sandwiches and flusters away whenever she’s asked about her late husband, not that he ever really existed. One day, a guy in a suit drops by with 6 million smackers, a post death bequest from the man who took Parker’s last book and turned it into Bonfire of the Vanities. Well, this isn’t about Money, but about Art (and what good fight isn’t?), and James Bowles (Michael Mayhall) makes a commitment to stay until Parker finds his muse. Maybe we can even rough up the film’s Assistant Director Arty McGowan (Nathan Hyatt), like it was his fault anyway.<p>

This is a brilliant comedy, complete with a touch of symbolism for the deconstructionists in the audience. The set is a Film Noir-era flophouse, and outside Parker’s window is a symbolic mountain cast as shadows on the window shade, representing the peak he must climb to achieve his new goal. Or maybe it’s just weird lighting they didn’t get quite right, but either ways it’s fun. The dialogue is snappy, there’s just a touch of mystery about the whole process, and the stories spun to explain the missing Mr. March are a hilarious sidebar to his Quest For Words. Bell is his usual 5-foot-4 looking to be 6-2, Anderson represents the perfect sexy landlady, and Mayhall’s physical comedy surrounds Bell without ever touching him, at least not emotionally. Even hapless Hyatt does an excellent job in remembering his 3 or so words of dialog. Heck, he’s just the AD on a film; he has nothing important to say. “Noodling” is a romp through the darkness of lost creativity, and you’re happily disengaged from the problem onstage – no one is checking to see if YOU’VE got another novel inside you. <p>

For more information on Invictus T.C. , please visit > http://www.invictustc.com/ <p>

1776
Book By Peter Stone

Music and Lyrics by Sherman Edwards

Directed by Bob Dutton

Starring Allan Barker, Ron Zarr

The New Mark Two Dinner Theatre, Orlando, Fla</b><p>

It’s time for a musical civics lesson as this perennially popular show comes back to the Orlando stage. The sexually frustrated John Adams (Barker) and his fellow congressman struggle to swat flies and decide whether it’s better to revolt, or just play nice with the English. There are good arguments for each, but Adams succeeds by brow beating his fellows worse than the British army ever did. Their military position is weak, the moral justification lacking, and worst of all – no one has ever pulled this off before. The delegates are largely split along geographic lines – the rum and slave trading New Englanders want to ditch the British tariff system, and the slave and rum producing southerners want to keep the aristocratic ties that bind. It’s a musical with a message – Freedom takes a lot of jawboning. <p>

Fortunately, most of the jawboners on stage are pretty good singers and pretty funny to watch. Besides the strident Adams and his comic relief buddy, Ben Franklin (Zarr), you have the excellent singing talents of Martha Jefferson (Karla Sue Schultz) and Edward Rutledge (Mark Taylor). Leading the snobby contingent we find the tragic John Dickson (Michael St. Pierre), a man who walks out of the Congress on the basis of his well-thought out personal convictions. Don’t you hate that? Other noteworthy performances come from a slightly foppish Thomas Jefferson (David Kelly) and the long-suffering clerk Charles Thompson (Paul Wegman.) <p>

The show is fun and bouncy, although there are some long expositions on parliamentary procedure that seem to drag. As we roll through the second act, Adams becomes more and more strident, which makes you wonder why they didn’t let him form his own country somewhere just to keep the peace in Philadelphia. Late in the second act, there’s a very touching but jarring song by the mysterious Courier (Kevin Thornton) “Mama, Look Sharp”, which reminds us a lot of innocent people get shot in revolutions, and not everyone gets their face on a coin. It’s always the fourth of July in this production, complete with sparklers on the birthday cakes at intermission.<p>

For more information on The New Mark Two Dinner Theater, please visit www.themarktwo.com/ <p>