Confessions of a Mormon Boy
Diversionary Theater

He's white, good-looking, dressed in a suit and tie. He carries The Book of Mormon. Most of us have seen his counterparts at our door or have heard of the ministry they are required to do. They travel the world wide preaching the Mormon brand of religion. Steven Fales, who wrote and performs Confessions of a Mormon Boy, lived the Mormon ideal. He went to Brigham Young University and married a beautiful young Mormon woman. They settled down to raise a good Mormon family and soon had a boy and a girl.

Robert Hitchcox
Date Reviewed:
July 2005
Desdemona: A Play About a Handkerchief
Main Street Playhouse

Here, through the imagination of playwright Paula Vogel, is what Shakespeare didn't show us in Othello: Desdemona, the doomed wife of the Moor general; Emilia, the equally doomed wife of the lethally conniving Iago; and Bianca, the courtesan with a thing for the pawn Cassio, dishing and dissing the men in their lives. In this telling, they've had way more men than Shakespeare ever let on. Here, though, the deceit and treachery the women visit on each other are center stage.

Julie Calsi
Date Reviewed:
July 2005
Eat Your Heart Out
Lamplighters Community Theater

There is a New York cliche that all the waitpersons are aspiring actors, which is probably 60 percent true. Nick Hall's Eat Your Hear Out follows Charlie (Christopher Buess) works in five different restaurants from Fall `78 through Spring '79. Charlie also narrates this simple story of desperation as he traipses from agent to agent and audition to audition. Also, though, it is the story of some of the folks he serves.

Robert Hitchcox
Date Reviewed:
July 2005
Evening of Christopher Durang II, An
Park Vaudeville

Christopher Durang consistently provides us with an oblique look at life and relationships. Through his eyes we see and hear a different reality. North Park Vaudeville offers up six examples of Durang's strange look at life.

Robert Hitchcox
Date Reviewed:
July 2005
Evita
Civic Theater

Che Guevara never could give up his revolutionary ways and, at 39, was executed in Bolivia, after a career fomenting guerrilla warfare in Cuba and throughout South America. An Argentinian by birth and education, he took part in riots against Juan Peron. In Webber-Rice's Evita he is the commentator/storyteller. We see Eva Duarte rise from an illegitimate birth, to struggling actress, to the most powerful woman in Argentina as Eva Peron. She was 33 when she died.

Robert Hitchcox
Date Reviewed:
July 2005
Fatal Attraction: A Greek Tragedy
East 13th Street Theater

One supposes we are now in the era where dramatic films from twenty years ago are fair game for broad spoofing, and I guess with its overheated tale of an adulterous affair gone mental, Adrian Lyne's 1987 hit, "Fatal Attraction," is as good a choice as any. In their re-examination of the movie as a sexist manifesto, writers Alana McNair and Kate Wilkinson (who also star in the two lead female roles) employ a Greek chorus as a means to explore the potboiler.

Jason Clark
Date Reviewed:
July 2005
After the Night and the Music
Biltmore

Elaine May's three one acts under the heading After the Night and the Music provides an evening of light entertainment with a strong, sparkling cast, headed by the incomparable Jeannie Berlin whose behavior nuances, quirks and comic timing are fascinating, funny and unique. The rest of the cast includes some of the best in town, including J.

Richmond Shepard
Date Reviewed:
June 2005
Actors Alliance Festival 2005 - Program 5
Lyceum Space

American Cheese is produced, written and directed by Sandra Ruiz with Monique Fleming and Jay Jones in the cast. The questions posed are: "Can a high-school quarterback be an actor?" Can a freaky costumer actually have a non-violent relationship with such a person?

Robert Hitchcox
Date Reviewed:
June 2005
Actors Alliance Festival 2005 - Program 2
Lyceum Space

Oh Dear! is written and produced by George Soete, directed by Terry Scheidt and stars Peg Humphrey and George Soete. Soete plays a bitter, angry old man who has alienated everyone, even his wife at times, with his antagonistic attitude. She puts up with him, almost. Thus, they are never invited out and nobody ever calls or stops by. At least that is what we are led to believe. Humphrey and Soete bring us a convincing performance.

Robert Hitchcox
Date Reviewed:
June 2005
Actors Alliance Festival 2005 - Program 4
Lyceum Space

Kids Fest - what a fun time! Is your child interested in theater? This is a fine opportunity to see kids in action for on five bucks.

Robert Hitchcox
Date Reviewed:
June 2005
Actors Alliance Festival 2005 - Program 7
Lyceum Space

Seven days, seven wonderful days of plays -- and now it is almost over. There will be the best of the best on Sunday, so try not to miss it. Program Seven went international, an interesting mix and take on happiness and tragedy in our times.

Nigerian Bookends is written and produced by Cuauhtemoc Q. Kish. It is directed by Antonio "TJ" Johnson with, Monique Gaffney and Jason Mallory starring. With the varied beat of Rhys Green's drum upstage, Hijara (Gaffney) and Hijaro (Mallory) stand before a Nigerian court pleading their case. The charges: sexual misconduct.

Robert Hitchcox
Date Reviewed:
June 2005
Beauty And The Beast
Fireside, The

As the show begins, young audience members squeal in recognition as their favorite cartoon film characters come to life. Leah Berry as "Belle" gives us an attractive character with spunk and spice. Her beastly suitor looks sufficiently hideous (but not too hideous to scare the youngsters). As the Beast, Stephen Mitchell Brown displays a wide range of emotions from beneath that furry exterior. Brown has a fine singing voice, too. He soars in the first act finale, "If I Can't Love Her." The supporting cast delivers uniformly polished performances as well.

Anne Siegel
Date Reviewed:
June 2005
Cat On A Hot Tin Roof
Cygnet Theater

Is the term "perfect" presumptuous? Not for Cygnet's production of Cat on a Hot Tin Roof. Every element is exactly right. Sean Murray's casting and direction absolutely nailed Tennessee Williams' bitter, rarely sweet, tale. The designers complement every aspect of the production. Finally, the actors define each of their roles exactingly.

Robert Hitchcox
Date Reviewed:
June 2005
Dirty Rotten Scoundrels
Imperial Theater

The musical Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, book by Jeffrey Lane, music and lyrics by David Yazbek, is not the movie of the same name, so don't expect to root for the older, more suave con man, played by John Lithgow, as we did for Michael Caine. This show tilts the other way - we root for the intruder Freddy, performed brilliantly by Norbert Leo Butz. Lithgow's Jameson is a smarmy wise-ass of a roue; Butz is the comic everyman, and his absurd portrayal of Lithgow's demented brother is so hilarious, it will probably win him the Tony.

Richmond Shepard
Date Reviewed:
June 2005
All Shook Up
Palace Theater

All Shook Up, the Broadway show constructed around the songs that Elvis Presley sang, is a feel-good musical from start to finish. It's a first-class entertainment with great singers and dancers, brilliant arrangements by Stephen Oremus, an active, spectacular, imaginative set (that should win awards) by David Rockwell, amazing costumes by David C.

Richmond Shepard
Date Reviewed:
May 2005
Bungler, The
North Coast Repertory Theater

We're sitting in a public square in Messina, Sicily in 1655. To our left is the home of Trufaldin (Dimiter D. Marinov) and his charge, Gypsy beauty Celie (Janel DeGuzman). To the right is an empty residence owned by Pandolfe (Wayne Jordan) and under the care of valet Mascarille (David Ari). Between the two are three arches and beyond, the sea. In the center of the square bubbles a fountain.

Robert Hitchcox
Date Reviewed:
May 2005
Chitty Chitty Bang Bang
Hilton Theater

Marc Kudisch and Jan Maxwell are the real stars of Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, but you won't know it until Act Two, when they are featured and bring the show to vivid life. The whole thing is like two different shows: Ian Fleming started it for his grandchildren, Roald Dahl adapted and finished it (they don't get any credit), and Jeremy Sams adapted it for the stage using songs by Richard M and Robert B. Sherman. Act One is a cute, simplistic children's show, amusing on an outer lever but with no real intimacy or enchantment for children or adults.

Richmond Shepard
Date Reviewed:
May 2005
Chosen
Producers Club

What happens when good intentions, self-righteousness, egotism and cluelessness collide? This workshop production offers ample demonstration.

David Steinhardt
Date Reviewed:
May 2005
Chicago
Tennessee Performing Arts Center

Why did Chicago become a cultural phenomenon? It's highly entertaining and so timeless it's timely.  Don't believe me? Go to TPAC this week and see for yourself.

In this age of instant celebrity through TV shows like "The Apprentice" and "Survivor," nothing could be timelier than a song-and-dance satire of fame come and gone quickly, even if it's set in 1920s Chicago and first hit the Broadway stage in 1975.

Evans Donnell
Date Reviewed:
May 2005
Exonerated, The
Gompertz Theater - Stage III

From interviews with over 40 people who'd been exonerated from death row, the authors interweave the words of a presumably representative six. In a front row of chairs, those words in their hands, sit five who'll tell and act the stories. One representative of the accused, intellectual Delbert, effects transitions moving from a stool on one side of the row to another on the other side. (LeRoy Mitchell, Jr.

Marie J. Kilker
Date Reviewed:
May 2005
Fiddler On The Roof
Minskoff Theater

In the current production of Fiddler on the Roof (book by Joseph Stein, music by Jerry bock, lyrics by Sheldon Harnick, choreography by Jerome Robbins), well directed by David Leveaux, the great, classic musical is brought to wonderful fruition. Harvey Fierstein is the most entertaining Tevye since Zero Mostel. His powerful presence fills the theater -- his comic timing and nuance go beyond the vehicle itself. He's moving, with great heart, and so funny that it lifts the show beyond the writing.

Richmond Shepard
Date Reviewed:
May 2005
Hairspray
Marcus Center For The Performing Arts

More than two-and-a-half years after it took Broadway by storm, Hairspray finally makes its Milwaukee debut. Reality-takes-a-holiday in this goofy musical, which by now should be familiar to theater fans everywhere. As a longtime fan of the John Waters' low-budget 1988 film (by the same name), this reviewer was somewhat skeptical whether this campy charmer could be translated successfully to the stage. However, one should never underestimate the limitless talents of director Jack O'Brien.

Anne Siegel
Date Reviewed:
May 2005
La Cage aux Folles
Marquis Theater

I caught the current edition of La Cage aux Folles, and it's easy to see why the revival won awards for the sparkling costumes (William Ivey Long) and choreography (Jerry Mitchell) - - it's spectacular: marvelous gymnastic flipping, flying, twirling, legs flying, bodies twirling, with a magnificent set by Scott Pask and brilliant direction by Jerry Zaks.

Richmond Shepard
Date Reviewed:
May 2005
Streetcar Named Desire, A
Studio 54

Only a few American plays can compare to A Streetcar Named Desire. And of our best plays, Streetcar is arguably the most distinctly American. When Blanche arrives in her sister's apartment, Stella tells her, "New Orleans isn't like other cities." This particular New Orleans certainly isn't. This is Tennessee Williams' city, where people do whatever they want with a distinctly American freedom from tradition.

Steve Capra
Date Reviewed:
May 2005
Sweet Charity
Al Hirschfeld Theater

Director Walter Bobbie has transformed Sweet Charity into a charming contemporary tale, and since old versions are not playing across the street, why compare? Christina Applegate is an adorable, absolutely delightful gamine, with both a grace and gracelessness that are totally captivating. The production (dazzling set by Scott Pask, fine lighting by Brian MacDevitt) around her is a slick contrast to her ingenuousness, with eccentric, stylized choreography by Wayne Cilento, who in some parts creates his own exciting new vocabulary.

Richmond Shepard
Date Reviewed:
May 2005
Altar Boyz
Dodger Stages

Altar Boyz is a hot show, fun from start to finish. It's a five-man singing/dancing/jumpin' troupe with a twist: mock Christian religious content, but the irreverence is actually reverent, and the boyz are the cutest, the jokes are funny (and that's good in a comedy), and they are all fine singers.

Richmond Shepard
Date Reviewed:
April 2005
Antigone
Sixth at Penn Theater

I turned to the lady next to me, Greek scholar and co-host of KPBS' "A Way With Words," Martha Barnette, asking for her take on UCSD Professor Dr. Marianna McDonald's very contemporary translation of Sophocles' Antigone. The script is as current as tomorrow, spiced with current slang. Ms. Barnette's comment: extremely good. 

Antigone is a social commentary about government dictatorial policies and has had current application every time it's been performed throughout 2,443 years since it was written.

Robert Hitchcox
Date Reviewed:
April 2005
Closer
Mark Taper Forum

Patrick Marber's caustic portrait of love in our time focuses on two intertwined London couples and their struggles to stay together in the face of their own failings: infidelity, obsessive behavior and self destructiveness.  Marber, considered the heir to Pinter and Stoppard, writes in distinctive, post-modern fashion: staccato dialogue, wise-ass humor, minimal exposition, extreme sexual frankness, sketchy character development.  He is also fixated on addiction; his first play, Dealer's Choice, dealt with gambling and booze; Closer gnaws endlessly on the bone

Robert Hitchcox
Date Reviewed:
April 2005
Comedy of Errors, The
Hollywood Playhouse

The Hollywood Shakespeare Festival has had more success in rethinking other Shakespeare plays than it has this spring with the vaguely noirish The Comedy of Errors. The decision to costume the players in 1940s garb to a background of blues and jazz doesn't particularly add to or hurt the production, but the stark lighting too often only hides faces under broad-rimmed hats without adding atmosphere. This is bad because too many players seem incapable of projecting a voice or a physical presence.

Julie Calsi
Date Reviewed:
April 2005
Drunkard's Revenge, The
North Park Vaudeville

Melodrama: 1. a dramatic form that does not observe the laws of cause and effect and that exaggerates emotion and emphasizes plot or action at the expense of characterization. 2. (in the 17th, 18th, and early 19th centuries) a romantic dramatic composition with music interspersed.

Raymond Hull's The Drunkard's Revenge is a classic audience participatory melodrama as performed on the North Park Vaudeville's stage. Up front you are requested (or is that required) to boo the villain, rally for the hero, swoon over the lovely lady...well, you get the idea.

Robert Hitchcox
Date Reviewed:
April 2005
Dessa Rose
Lincoln Center - Mitzi Newhouse Theater

Dessa Rose, by Lynn Ahrens (book and lyrics) and Stephen Flaherty (music), is a well-meaning musical about love and slavery. It starts in 1847 when a sixteen-year-old, pregnant slave takes part in a minor slave uprising. The story feels trite and quite melodramatic, as bad Massa kills a slave and sells young Dessa. The singing is terrific - LaChanze as Dessa, Norm Lewis, Kecia Lewis, and all the rest of the ensemble - but there is little joy in the show, which often feels like a Greek drama, with most of the action talked or sung about.

Richmond Shepard
Date Reviewed:
April 2005
Island of Slaves, The
Florida State University Center for the Performing Arts - Cook Theater

On a sandy beach (surrounded on all sides by the audience, giving Conservatory student actors a rare chance to play in the round) after a storm, aristocratic Iphicrates (Brit Whittle) in tux and long silk scarf has washed up with his Harlequin (John Long), a manservant happy that he's saved a flask of liquor. He's also not worried, as is his master, to see the sandbar sign "Island of Slaves." And he's right!

Marie J. Kilker
Date Reviewed:
April 2005
Glass Menagerie, The
Ethel Barrymore Theater

The Glass Menagerie by Tennessee Williams is a good show. Really. Quite good. Despite a total misconception in the production by director David Leveaux, and some of the worst lighting I've ever seen on Broadway (by Natasha Katz - who is usually one of the best). The play itself and most of the cast provide us with a satisfying, moving evening of theater.

Richmond Shepard
Date Reviewed:
April 2005
Glengarry Glen Ross
Bernard B. Jacobs

Oh Boy! Want to see a demonstration of how good, how vivid real acting can be? Check out Glengarry Glen Ross, David Mamet's dazzling drama now revived on Broadway. It's the most exciting acting ensemble in town. Alan Alda will give you a lesson on how to do a nuanced monologue - his encounters as a nervous, failing, older salesman with the very controlled Frederick Weller as his supervisor are like a mongoose darting at a cobra. The nervous energy Gordon Clapp exudes as he tries to con the stolid Jeffrey Tambor into a crime is full pf prickly tingles.

Richmond Shepard
Date Reviewed:
April 2005
God Hates the Irish
Rattlestick Theater

God Hates The Irish: The Ballad of Armless Johnny, by Sean Cunningham, with music by Michael Frears, is a very black, absurdist musical comedy about the tribulations of an armless Irish man, played by the very engaging Bill Thompson, a good singer, comedian and actor with very elastic legs. The cast are all strong personas, including the bright, shiny Broadway-level Ann Bobby, Remy Auberjonois, the lovely Anna Camp, Lisa Altomare and James A. Stephens. It's all non-PC jokes, full of sexual outrageousness.

Richmond Shepard
Date Reviewed:
April 2005
Light in the Piazza, The
Lincoln Center - Vivian Beaumont Theater

I did not find The Light in the Piazza, based on a novella by Elizabeth Spencer, with book by Craig Lucas, music and lyrics by Adam Guettel, to be very engaging, except for the visuals and the voices of the performers. Director Bartlett Sher is very good at staging: keeping the principals and extras moving around the stage in interesting patterns. The set by Michael Yeargan gives us views of Italy that are a fascinating travelogue and a profound comment on the action in his wonderful visuals of space and light on Italian ruins, piazzas and buildings.

Richmond Shepard
Date Reviewed:
April 2005
Spamalot
Minskoff Theater

Monty Python's Spamalot is the most entertaining excuse for entertainment since Hairspray. Director Mike Nichols has taken Eric Idle and John Du Prez's medieval spoof about Arthur and his boys, and, with the aid of the funniest, most ridiculous choreography in town by Casey Nicholaw, a brilliant set, absurd (and glamorous) costumes by Tim Hatley, and has put together a musical extravaganza as foolish and funny as The Producers.

Richmond Shepard
Date Reviewed:
April 2005
Hurlyburly
37 Arts Theater

I don't know if the original production of Hurlyburly was a comedy. The film - over an hour shorter than the play - has bitterly funny scenes but plays as tragedy. As such, it's very effective. All the more curious, then, that this production is an extremely funny black comedy. The irony is that the three main leads - Ethan Hawke as Eddie, Josh Hamilton as Mickey and Bobby Cannavale as Phil - all seem to be doing impressions of their counterparts from the movie (Sean Penn, Kevin Spacey and Chaz Palminteri).

David Steinhardt
Date Reviewed:
April 2005
On Golden Pond
Cort Theater

On Golden Pond, by Ernest Thompson is a sentimental and ultimately very moving play about diminishment in old age, as an elderly couple spend their last summer in Maine. Thompson's words are bright and insightful in the very realistic conversations between James Earl Jones and the beautiful Leslie Uggams as Jones' character, a man who is "losing it," expresses his anger and frustrations. In the beginning, it's homey dialogue but seems to be directed, by Leonard Foglia, at a snail's pace (which picks up later).

Richmond Shepard
Date Reviewed:
April 2005
Pillowman, The
Booth Theater

Kafka Lives! Martin McDonagh's The Pillowman is a gothic horror story of repression and cruel interrogation in a totalitarian state, and about child abuse creating Art. McDonough is a very good short story writer, and several of his graphic tales involving cruelty to, and butchery of, children are hung on the framework of a man's grilling about involvement in murders that replicate killings in his stories.

Richmond Shepard
Date Reviewed:
April 2005

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