On Saturday night a friend and I drove to the new Studio Theater to see the Actors Theatre of Indiana production of “Chicago the Musical.” 

The Studio Theater is part of the Center for the Performing Arts in Carmel, Indiana.  Carmel is just north of Indianapolis.  Actors Theatre of Indiana (ATI) is the Center’s resident professional theatre company.

The book for “Chicago the Musical” was written by Fred Ebb and Bob Fosse.  The music is by John Kander, with lyrics by Fred Ebb.  Judy Fitzgerald directed ATI’s production.

I loved the intimacy of this production!  I recognized many of the performers from other professional shows in larger venues around town over the years.  It was a treat to be able to see and hear these beloved performers doing their thing up close in a cozy space and in a show that highlights their singing and dancing talents.

What the Show is About

“Chicago the Musical” is about a couple of female murderers – Roxie Hart and Velma Kelly – in the 1920s that used an unscrupulous lawyer – Billy Flynn – to help them milk the media’s fascination with them in order to be acquitted.

It is also about the fickleness of glamour and fame in general, the slipperiness of Chicago itself at that time, and the fact that almost nothing anywhere, any time, is completely what it seems at first glance.

Artistic Considerations

Because this is a musical, most of the storytelling happens through song and dance rather than spoken dialogue, although there is some of that, too.

As I mentioned earlier, it is a treat to be able to hear good professional singers and watch good professional dancers up close.  My seat was only one row down from the back of the theatre, but the house is so small and the rows of chairs so steeply raked that I could easily see everyone’s faces.  The show is polished in terms of set, sound, lights, costumes (especially costumes!), etc. but the theatrical magic – the “razzle dazzle” as Billy Flynn would say – comes from the performers themselves more than anything else.   They are the ones doing those impressive flips and lifts.  They are the ones belting those long notes. 

And if something unexpected happens – say, one dancer’s microphone cord catches on another’s button or something – we are right there with them as they gracefully untangle and dance on with a smile.  There is something uniquely appealing about being able to experience the humanity and aliveness of a professional quality show up close.

In a production this intimate, which is even more intimate than the Broadway Across America touring production of “Chicago the Musical” that I saw in 2009, there can be a lot of fun interplay between the cast and the piano player, too, especially since the 5-piece orchestra is right on stage with the cast and the piano serves as a set piece for people to sit and even dance on sometimes while they sing.  Music director Brent Marty plays the piano, sings back-up, interacts with the cast, conducts the instrumentalists behind him while facing forward to the audience, and serves as a separate character in the story at one point.  Whew!  And he does it all smoothly and admirably.

The live orchestra itself sounds steamy-jazzy and wonderful.  In addition to Brent on piano, the orchestra includes Jay Emrich on bass, Steve Stickler on woodwinds, Scott Whitford on brass, and Greg Wolff on percussion. 

Now about the story and characters:

Don’t go to this show expecting the characters to be like in the movie… 

Well, actually, Bradley Reynolds, the man that plays the lawyer, Billy Flynn, did remind me a little of Richard Gere, who played him in the movie.  They both have that panther-like quality to their handsomeness.  However, Bradley gives his portrayal a layer of trustworthy Mr. Rodgers (from the children’s TV show), too, which makes Billy Flynn’s essentially UNtrustworthy nature all the more creepy.

So for the most part, don’t go to this show expecting the characters to be exactly like in the movie.  They are all drawn with more subtlety here, which takes some getting used to but which is ultimately refreshing and satisfying, and better suited to the intimate venue.

Cynthia Collins and Holly Stults each bring a relatable poignancy to their portrayals of Roxie Hart and Velma Kelly, respectively.  You can imagine each of the characters asking herself, “How in the world did I get here?”  The differences in personality and life experience between the two women seem not all that large after all, which means that maybe they are not all that different from us, either.  Which is deliciously unsettling.

Paul Hansen is freshly heartbreaking as Roxie’s “invisible” husband, Amos. 

Kenny Shepard is hilarious as ALL of the members of the jury.

I did not recognize John Vessels at all as the refined and ladylike reporter, Mary Sunshine, until I got home and looked at my program.  I have seen and enjoyed his comedic portrayals several times at the Beef and Boards Dinner Theatre.  He is a funny surprise in this show, too.

Nor did I recognize Dwandra Nickole, whose dramatic work I had loved in the Phoenix Theatre’s production of “In the Next Room or The Vibrator Play” until I read my program, but I loved getting to hear her sing in this show as prison Matron “Mama” Morton.

The ensemble of dancer-singers is consistently strong and sexy.  It is captained by Carol Worcel (Murderess Liz) and also includes:  Vickie Klosky (Murderess Mona), Kristen Noonan (Murderess Hunyak), Jennifer R. Shoup (Murderess June), Sally Scharbrough (Murderess Annie), Tim Hunt (Fred Casley and other roles), Sean Seager (various roles), and Kenny Shepard (various roles.)

The choreography was adapted by Michael Worcel after Bob Fosse and Ann Reinking, with assistance from Carol Worcel.

In addition to the people I have already mentioned, the production staff includes James W. Carringer as stage manager/production manager; Duane McDevitt as scenic designer, Marti Meeker as lighting designer, Don Drennen as sound designer, and Brian Horton as costume designer.  For the most part, the design components are deceptively simple in order to let the performers’ talents shine.  However, the brick-walled set, the prison door lighting, and other subtle elements help to make this an artistically rich piece of theatre art.  The sexy costumes, created mostly from a black-grey-white palette but with lots of sparkle, are gorgeous.

I also have to say that the feather fan dance in this production of “Chicago the Musical” is adorable.  I may carve time to see this show again next weekend just because of that.

Audience and Appeal Factors

This is a show for adults that like intimate, live theatre with lots of experienced, professional singing and dancing.

I wouldn’t bring children to this show because even though it is beautiful and funny, it is also about murder, adultery, the death penalty, and other mature themes.  The sounds of the gun shots are produced by the percussionist, and the appearance of blood is produced by red scarves, but the costumes are very sexy and there are spoken references to sex.  It doesn’t matter if your kids can “take it” or not.  Get a babysitter so that the other adults in the theatre can relax and enjoy the show.

This is a different but, I think, satisfying new perspective on the show for adults that loved the movie or loved seeing a big Broadway production of it first.

If you have never seen any version of “Chicago” I bet you will recognize and enjoy the “All That Jazz” song.

This is also a fun show to start with if you have not yet seen a show in the new Studio Theater.  I was lucky enough to be in the audience for the very first show there – a concert by country music singer-songwriter Joanna Smith in March – but I did not have time to write much about it then.  The Studio Theater is a “black box” whose comfy seats and sturdy risers can be reconfigured into any one of four arrangements:  theatre in the round (seats on all sides of the stage), traverse (seats on two opposing sides of the stage), thrust (seats curved around the front and a little of the sides of the stage), and proscenium (seats only in front of the stage.)  For “Chicago,” the seats are arranged in the thrust configuration, so you may ask for a seat assignment either directly in front or a little off to either side of the stage area.

I have enjoyed two “tuning concerts” in the Palladium and I look forward to the opening of the large Booth Tarkington Theatre later this year, but I think the Studio Theater will be my favorite of all of the performance spaces in the Center for the Performing Arts.  I love being close to the artistic action.

One other FYI:  This show includes a lot of atmospheric “haze” produced from either a smoke machine or a fog machine as a special effect.  This always gives me a headache but I also think it looks cool.

Box Office, etc.

ATI’s production of “Chicago the Musical” continues Wednesdays-Sundays through May 22, 2011 at the Studio Theater in the Center for the Performing Arts in Carmel, Indiana, just north of Indianapolis.  For more information and to buy tickets, please call 317-843-3800 or visit www.thecenterfortheperformingarts.org.  For more information about Actors Theatre of Indiana, please visit www.actorstheatreofindiana.org.

There is free parking at the back of the Studio Theater’s building.  Turn in and park in the garage as if you were going to the Palladium, but instead of walking back outside across the yard to the Palladium, just step off the parking garage elevator on the first floor and walk inside to your right.

I forgot to check, but I think you can buy beer, wine, and soft drinks at a bar in the lobby during intermission.

Season Announcement

I did remember to pick up a flyer with the new ATI season on it.  When director Judy Fitzgerald gave the curtain talk before the show, she said that Actors Theatre of Indiana was proud to announce their seventh season.  Here are the musicals they are doing for 2011-2012 at the Studio Theater:

• “Cole,” a revue based on the life of Cole Porter, devised by Benny Green and Alan Strachan – September 9-25, 2011.
• “Forbidden Broadway” – October 28-November 20, 2011.  I loved this parody show when ATI did it at the Oak Hill Mansion in 2009.  Judy said this 2011 version will include a significant amount of new material, including spoofs from “Wicked.”
• “Godspell,” based on the Gospel According to Matthew with a score by Stephen Schwartz – February 10-26, 2011.
• “I Love You, You’re Perfect, Now Change,” book and lyrics by Joe DiPietro, music by Jimmy Roberts – April 27-May 20, 2011

ATI is also doing “Frog and Toad” again at the Pike Performing Arts Center on December 16, 17, and 18, 2011.  I cheered when I read that.  I love ATI’s production of this family favorite that is based on the endearing stories of Arnold Lobel.  I first saw it in 2008.

‘See you at the theatres!

Hope Baugh

(photo above by Julie Curry)

Last Saturday night I drove to the southeast side of Indianapolis to the Buck Creek Playhouse to see the Buck Creek Players’ production of “Auntie Mame.”  It was written by Jerome Lawrence and Robert E. Lee, based on the 1955 bestselling novel by Patrick Dennis.  It was directed for Buck Creek by Andrew Ranck and produced by Cheryl Kern.

I love the 1974 movie version starring Lucille Ball and I would like to read the novel some day.  Now, after seeing this non-musical stage version, I am fonder than ever of the irrepressible title character and her story. 

What the Show Is About

The year is 1928.  Mame Dennis is a wealthy flapper throwing outrageous parties every night because “Life is a banquet and most poor sons of bitches are starving to death.”  Her much more conservative brother dies and names her as the guardian for his young son, Patrick.  Mame doesn’t know anything about taking care of a child, but she takes Patrick under her wing with love and good intentions.  She teaches him how to make a martini and what to do about words he doesn’t understand, and they happily figure out everything else as they go along until…

1)   Mame’s brother’s executor insists that Patrick go away to boarding school, and

2)   In 1929 the bottom drops out of the American economy.

Then we share Mame’s unfortunate attempts to succeed at a job long enough to get a paycheck.  We also share in Mame’s much more fortunate adventures in love, followed by her whirlwind world travels with her new husband.  She follows her own advice to “Live! Live! Live!” but continues a mutually loving correspondence with her nephew.  Ultimately, when he most needs her, she is there for him, whether he wants her to be or not.

Artistic Considerations

I love the director’s artistic vision for this piece.  In the press release that Scott Robinson, Buck Creek’s Director of Publicity and Marketing, sent me, there is this quote from the director, Andrew Ranck:

“When I first starting sharing I was directing Auntie Mame, almost every person said, ‘Oh, you will need a gigantic staircase and beautiful clothes.’  I was taken aback that people who knew the show remembered the set and costumes, but didn’t mention the heart and soul of the piece – relationships.  In a piece that spans 20 years and condenses a book to half its size, characters become more important than plot.  Their interpersonal relationships become universally devoid of time, place, and costumes.  Sure we have great clothes, and a beautiful home for Mame, but I hope that we explore the absurdist extremes of humanity through a hysterical portrayal of a woman with a huge heart, an undauntable spirit, a fluctuating bank account, and an undoubtedly forgiving liver.”

There is a huge, all-volunteer cast for this piece, and under Andrew’s direction everyone in it does a good job, but I was especially enchanted by Carrie Bennett Fedor, who brings Mame herself to life with endearing wit, warmth and sparkle.

Over the years, Mame surrounds herself with several quirky people that could have been played as mere stereotypes but again, under Andrew’s direction they are rounder than that, and therefore fun to watch.  It is easy to believe that Mame cares about them.  For example, Tommy Kruse plays her Japanese butler, Ito, as more odd than ethnic, making the portrayal funny rather than offensive, even with today’s sensibilities.     

I especially enjoyed Nan Macy’s vibrant portrayal of Mame’s best friend, the drama queen Vera Charles, and Tristan Ross’s swoon-worthy portrayal of Mame’s big-hearted husband, Beauregard Jackson Pickett Burnside.

I also especially admired Melissa DeVito’s consistently lyrical Irish accent in her portrayal of Mame’s no-nonsense housekeeper, Norah Muldoon; Ericka Barker’s consistent (and funnily bitchy) southern accent in her portrayal of Mame’s romantic rival, Sally Cato Macdougal; and Linda Heiden’s consistent (and excruciatingly funny) ivy league accent in her portrayal of the older Patrick’s fiancée, Gloria Upson. 

I also loved both the younger Patrick Dennis (Noah McCullough) and the older Patrick Dennis (Brandon Alstott.)  What well-spoken cuties!

But I appreciated everyone’s performances and I can’t help thinking that it must have been a lot of fun for such a large group to get to know each other during the rehearsal process.  Which is neither here nor there in terms of seeing the show, I know, but still…I bet good relationships off stage helped to inform the good relationships on stage.

Andrew said, and I agree, that the relationships between the characters should take precedent over the set and costumes.  However, I also have to say that the clever multi-level set for this production is used to very good effect and the costumes are lovely. 

Also:  The lighting design is satisfying, especially the sillouette effect at the very beginning and the sunset effect at the very end.  It is fun to see the painting on the easel change for almost every scene.  The various pieces of music for the scene changes are perfectly chosen. The scene changes themselves are fast and smooth, and the pacing of the almost-3-hours-long show (with one intermission) is good and brisk. 

(Please see below for the design team members’ names.)

Who Did What

I am very grateful to Scott Robinson for emailing me the cast and production staff as part of the press release so that I could cut-and-paste them into this review rather than type them all in.  I like to have everyone’s names here in my blog so that they will be easy to search for later if needed.

Here is the cast:

Mame Dennis……………………………………………..CARRIE BENNETT FEDOR

Vera Charles………………………………………………………………..NAN MACY

Norah Muldoon……………………………………………………..MELISSA DEVITO

Agnes Gooch…………………………………………………………ANNIE GORAJEC

Young Patrick Dennis………………………………………….NOAH McCULLOUGH

Patrick Dennis…………………………………………………..BRANDON ALSTOTT  

Ito……………………………………………………………………….TOMMY KRUSE

Sally Cato MacDougall……………………………………………..ERICKA BARKER

M. Lindsay Woolsey…………………………………………………….DON BECKER

Beauregard Jackson Pickett Burnside……………………………..TRISTAN ROSS

Mr. Babcock………………………………………………………….TOM KRUGHOFF

Pegeen Ryan……………………………………………………..LINDSEY PADDOCK                                                  

Rounding out the large cast with multiple roles are:

EVELYN BROWN

PAIGE CASSIDY

MATT CONWELL

MICHAEL HAMPTON

LINDA HEIDEN

DENNIS KARR

BRIAN KENNEDY

KEN KERN

BRENDA LOGSDON

MARISSA LOGSDON

LINDSEY PADDOCK

RALPH PASSMAN

MIMI PRUETT

ANDREW RANCK

GEORGANNA TEIPEN

DARA TURNER

CASEY VOTAW

Director Andrew Ranck makes his Buck Creek Players directorial debut with this production.  Joining Ranck on the production team are Cheryl Kern (Producer), Lea Viney (Set Designer/Technical Director), Linda Rowand (Costume Designer), Donna Jacobi (Costume Coordinator), Jeff Rowand (Lighting & Sound Designer), Lynne B. Robinson (Assistant Producer), Ruthie Weller-Passman (Assistant Director), and Melissa DeVito (Properties).

Audience and Appeal Factors

This is a family-friendly show but I think its length and the fact that it is more character-driven than plot-driven probably make it a more appropriate choice for teens, adults, and families with older children rather than families with young children.

It fits Buck Creek’s 2010-2011 season theme of “From Page to Stage” and because of its book and movie tie-in would make an enjoyable, out-of-the-ordinary outing for a book group.  (I bet BCP’s next show, “Frankenstein: A New Musical,” would, too.  It opens on June 3, 2011.)

It is a good choice for anyone looking for heartwarming stories with strong female characters.

Box Office

Buck Creek Players’ production of “Auntie Mame” runs for only one more weekend, through Sunday, April 10 at the Buck Creek Playhouse at 11150 Southeastern Avenue.  Tickets are $14 for adults and $12 for students and senior citizens (ages 62 & older) and can be reserved by calling (317) 862-2270.  Group discounts are also available for prepaid parties of ten or more.

For more information or directions to the playhouse, please visit www.buckcreekplayers.com.

Buck Creek’s 2011-2012 Season

About a week ago, I was delighted to receive an announcement of Buck Creek’s 2011-2012 season.  Here is most of that email (bolding is from me):

INDIANAPOLIS, IN – Buck Creek Players, the all-volunteer community theater on Indianapolis’ southeast side, is proud to announce their 38th season of quality theater, It Takes Two, in 2011-12.  Three comedies and three upbeat musical comedies will take the playhouse stage to expose audiences to the importance of relationships experienced on a daily basis…and how our lives are changed because of them.

Opening the season with a two-weekend run in Fall 2011, is William Inge’s American classic, Bus Stop.  Set in the 1950′s, this warm, affectionate comedy brings together a variety of down-home characters passing one another in a street corner restaurant.  Their lives intertwined, these seemingly ordinary people reveal extraordinary qualities.  The poignant play serves up lots of laughs, a touch of romance, and maybe even a tear or two as the story unfolds over one hilariously turbulent night.  Mr. Inge’s Bus Stop shows that our lives weave together affecting each other in subtle yet profound ways each and every day.  John Carver makes his directorial debut at the playhouse with this production.

Ring in the holidays at the playhouse in December 2011 with Irving Berlin’s White Christmas.  Based on the beloved, timeless film, this heartwarming musical adaptation features seventeen Irving Berlin songs and a book by David Ives and Paul Blake. Veterans Bob Wallace and Phil Davis have a successful song-and-dance act after World War II. With romance in mind, the two follow a duo of beautiful singing sisters en route to their Christmas show at a Vermont lodge, which just happens to be owned by Bob and Phil’s former army commander. The dazzling score features well known standards including “Blue Skies,” “I Love A Piano,” “How Deep Is the Ocean,” and the perennial favorite, “White Christmas.”  Matthew Konrad Tippel returns to direct this holiday classic which will have the entire family leaving the theater humming.

For more than half a century the name Florence Foster Jenkins has been guaranteed to produce explosions of derisive laughter. Not unreasonably so, as this wealthy society eccentric suffered under the delusion that she was a great coloratura soprano when she was in fact incapable of producing two consecutive notes in tune. Nevertheless, her annual recitals in the ballroom of the Ritz Carlton hotel, where she resided, brought her extraordinary fame. As news of her terrible singing spread, so did her celebrity. Her growing mob of fans packed her recitals, stuffing handkerchiefs in their mouths to stifle their laughter — which Mrs. Jenkins blissfully mistook for cheers. The climax of her career was a single concert at Carnegie Hall in 1944. Famously, it sold out in two hours. Souvenir: A Fantasia on the Life of Florence Foster Jenkins by Stephen Temperley, tells her story through the eyes of her accompanist, Cosme McMoon. A talented musician, he regards her at first as little more than an easy way to pay the rent, but, as he gets to know her, his initial contempt gives way to reluctant admiration, then friendship and affection. Eyewitness accounts of their concerts vary so wildly it is almost impossible now to separate fact from gossip. Hence this fictional “biography,” in which we follow the story of their partnership from its earliest days to their concert in Carnegie Hall and its aftermath. With each new imagined triumph Florence’s confidence soars. Faced with her boundless certainty, Cosme comes to revise his attitude, not only towards her singing but to the very meaning of music itself.  This musical odd couple for the ages will take the Buck Creek Players stage for six performances in Winter 2012, under the direction of D. Scott Robinson.

Harold is a depressed, death-obsessed nineteen-year-old proverbial “rich kid” who spends his free time attending funerals and pretending to commit suicide in front of his mother. At a funeral, Harold befriends Maude, a delightfully wacky octogenarian, who has a real zest for life. She and Harold spend much time together during which she exposes him to the wonders and possibilities of life. What she teaches saves him and will captivate audiences.  Adapted from his 1971 cult film starring Bud Cort and Ruth Gordon, Colin Higgins’ comedy, Harold and Maude, will command the stage for two weekends, Spring 2012, under the direction of Ed Mobley.

If you’ve ever sat in a dark theatre and thought, “Dear Lord in Heaven, please let it be good,” then this is the musical comedy for you!  It all begins when a die-hard musical-theater fan plays his favorite cast album on his record player, and the musical literally bursts to life around him in his living room, telling the rambunctious and comedic tale of a brazen Broadway starlet trying to find, and keep, her true love.  The Drowsy Chaperone, with music and lyrics by Lisa Lambert and Greg Morrison and book by Bob Martin and Don McKellar, pays tribute to the Jazz-age shows of the 1920′s and the power those shows held to transport us into a dazzling fantasy…lifting our spirits in times of need.  D. Scott Robinson will direct this “musical within a comedy” for a three-weekend run Summer 2012.

Hold your breath because here comes thoroughly modern Millie in a magical mythical musical set in the roaring twenties when bobbing your hair and rolling your stockings was considered daring.  Millie even colors her lips!  Thoroughly Modern Millie Junior is a high-spirited musical romp that will have audiences dancing the Charleston.  Taking place in New York City in 1922, this Playhouse Players Youth Production tells the story of young Millie Dillmount, who has just moved to the city in search of a new life for herself.  It’s a New York full of intrigue and jazz – a time when women were entering the workforce and the rules of love and social behavior were changing forever.  Local talent ages eighteen and under will have your toes tappin’ as this production hits our stage for two weekends Summer 2012, under the direction of Ruthie Weller-Passman.

 ABOUT THE BUCK CREEK PLAYERS

Buck Creek Players (BCP) began in 1973 when the Franklin Township Civic League formed a committee to present performing arts under the name of “Four C’s Theatre.”  On November 13, 1974, the name was changed to Buck Creek Players, Inc., and was formalized under the Indiana Not for Profit Corporation Act of 1971 (501(c)3).

Initially, Buck Creek Players performed in elementary and high schools, and in October of 1978, moved to its first home, a historic church located at 7820 Acton Road.  The church was built in 1872 with an addition in 1952.  The main space of the building was the sanctuary which was 31 feet wide by 48 feet deep, with the stage using one-half of the space and the seating using the other half.  The space enabled BCP to offer performing arts in an intimate setting for a maximum of 90 people.  In 2002, the church was sold to United Faith Baptist Church.

In 2001, Buck Creek Players moved into its current home, the Buck Creek Playhouse, at 11150 Southeastern Avenue.  The current space was originally built as an indoor tennis facility that was later converted into a church.  Much of the space was rebuilt to accommodate the productions it would now house.  While increasing capacity, the space is still intimate, seating a maximum of 130 people.

********** 

“Harold and Maude” is one of my all-time favorite movies, so I am especially curious about Buck Creek’s production of the play, but really, the whole season sounds good to me.  I hope I can get to all of these shows!

‘See you the theatres…

Hope Baugh – www.IndyTheatreHabit.com

P.S. – Follow me (@IndyTheatre) and/or the topic #indystage on Twitter.com.  I never tweet during a show (and I beg you not to take your phone out during a show either, for any reason! light is as distracting as noise!) but I often tweet first impressions during intermission or immediately after a show.

P.P.S. – The photos above were taken by Aaron B. Bailey.  In the top photo, of course, is Carrie Bennett Fedor as Mame.  In the lower photo she is joined by Nan Macy as Vera Charles and Noah McCullough as Young Patrick Dennis.

Last Sunday afternoon I drove to the Marian College campus on the west side of Indianapolis to see the Booth Tarkington Civic Theatre’s production of “Cabaret.”   I had never seen this Tony award-winning musical before.

It is so poignant!  Also, both the quality of the performers (all volunteers) and the quality of the design team (all paid professionals) in this production are excellent across the board.  I just stood right up at the end to applaud.

What the Show Is About

In 1931, a penny-poor but confident American novelist, Cliff Bradshaw (Joshua Ramsey) goes to Berlin to have adventures and write about them.  One of the reasons he is attracted to Berlin is because of its tolerant, “anything goes” atmosphere.  He plans to support himself by giving English lessons.

On the train on the way to Berlin, an apparently wholesome adventurer named Ernst Ludwig (Paul Hansen) befriends him.  Ernst gives Cliff the name of an affordable boarding house in Berlin.  Cliff negotiates for a room there, sets up his portable typewriter, and begins to frequent and write about a nearby hot spot called the Kit Kat Klub.  At this nightclub, all kinds of sex are okay, there is a telephone on every table for calling people at other tables to flirt with them, and, as the Emcee (Jeremy Allen Brimm) says, “Everything is beautiful!”  It is a good place to forget your troubles for a while.

Soon the star of the club’s live show, or cabaret, a lovely English rose named Sally Bowles (Betsy A. Norton), moves herself into Cliff’s room after she is fired by the owner of the club.  Cliff tries to resist at first, because how will he be able to concentrate on his writing if someone else is living in his room?  But Sally proves irresistible.

In the meantime, the owner of the boarding house, self-sufficient Fraulein Schneider (Vickie Cornelius Phipps) and the sweetly bumbling neighborhood fruit seller, Herr Schultz (Mark Fishback), are falling in love in their own way.  When Fraulein forbids one of her tenants, the saucy-grouchy Fraulein Kost (Niki Hurrle Warner), to bring any more of her numerous sailor “nephews” to her room, Fraulein Kost fires back that she will tell everyone that Fraulein Schneider has had Herr Schultz to her room.  Herr Schultz gallantly declares that they are engaged to be married!  But after Fraulein Kost leaves in a huff, he proposes for real.  And Fraulein Schneider accepts.

For most of the first act, everything truly is charming and fun, or at least as Cliff says, “It is terrible and tacky and everyone is having such a wonderful time!”  Nobody really gets who Hitler is or why they should be worried about him. 

That begins to change for some of the characters in Act Two.

Artistic Considerations

According to the “Entr-acte Facts” essay by Brent E. Marty in my program, “Cabaret” the musical is based on a play called “I Am a Camera,” by John Van Druten, which was based on a 1939 story called “Goodbye to Berlin,” by Christopher Isherwood.

(I always have to remind myself not to confuse English-American novelist Christopher Isherwood – who died in 1986 – with Charles Isherwood – who is currently a theatre reviewer for the New York Times.)

I hope to read Christopher’s work some day to see if all of the complex characters in this musical originated in his story.  They each resonated with me very strongly in their own ways. 

For example, the chemistry between the middle-aged Fraulein Schneider and Herr Schulz as they fall in love is so tender and believable at first that I found myself saying, “Aww! You cuties! This is what I want, too!” 

But equally believable is Fraulein Schneider’s fear of losing her home and everything else that makes her feel safe if she goes ahead and marries Herr Schulz after she learns how much the Nazis hate him for being Jewish.  Equally believable is her hope that following the rules, if she can figure them out, will protect her.  It is easy enough for Cliff to say that it won’t matter what happens to her and Herr Schulz because they will have each other.  She has always survived best on her own.

And although Cliff comes to understand that he and his roommate (his lover? the delicate ambiguity of their relationship is perfectly portrayed by the two actors) have been “asleep,” I could also relate to Sally’s not wanting to leave a potentially doomed Berlin.  She feels alive there!  “When I left Chelsea…,” she sings, “…I swore I would die like Elsie…the happiest corpse I’d ever seen.”   Also, it is what she knows now.

All of the singing and dancing are as satisfying as the acting.   The dancers are all sexy; the singers all know what they’re doing.

Framing it all and popping in and out with humorous visual and musical commentary is the enigmatic Emcee.  Jeremy Allen Brimm is FASCINATING in this role:  an androgynous shape-shifter that is both “awake” and not.  Or maybe it is more accurate to say that the Emcee is himself completely awake but uninterested in raising anyone else’s consciousness because then he would be out of business.  Yet he can’t help teasing at people’s defenses in oblique ways. 

I overheard someone at intermission say to her companion, “He IS funny, isn’t he!”  I agree, but he is so much more than that.   We are watching Cliff’s story as he writes it, but we are in the Emcee’s audience as well, and we can’t hide anything from him.

The design elements are, as usual at Civic, all gorgeous.  I was especially intrigued and delighted by Ryan Koharchik’s lighting design:  it is glittery-dark in the Kit Kat Klub, soft and drab in the boarding house, and stark, bright white at the end. 

I also want to give a special shout to the all-woman Kit Kat Orchestra.  They are so feisty and fabulous on their little platform!  Dorothy McDonald plays saxophone.  Lisa Halcomb plays the trombone.  Susan DiMicco and Faith Harlan play the piano.  Sephanie Carter and Cheryl Guise play the drums.  (I’m sorry, I don’t know if the two pianists and two drummers take turns within each show or alternate shows.)

Here is the rest of the “Who Did What”:

The book for “Cabaret” is by Joe Masteroff.  Music by John Kander.  Lyrics by Fred Ebb.

The production was directed by Robert J. Sorbera, artistic director for the Booth Tarkington Civic Theatre.  It was choreographed by Michael Worcel and music directed by Brent E. Marty.  The set was designed and lit by Ryan Koharchik.  Jean Engstrom designed the costumes.  Michael J. Lasley designed the sound.  Debbie Williams designed the hair and makeup.  Allison Ackmann is the stage manager, assisted by Deena Fogle.

The Kit Kat Klub Girls include Kristine (Shannon Branic), Fritzy (Nathalie Cruz), Frenchie (Vickie Klosky), Rosie (Jordan Lugar), Texas (Lauren Madden), Helga (Jenna McGregor), Lulu (Ashley Saunders), and Heidi (Tiffany Whisner.)

The Ensemble includes Vince Accetturo, April Armstrong, Quinn R. Barney, Andrew Elliott, Rob Manges, John O’Brien, Benjamin Phillippe, Rory D. Shivers, and Mark Whetstone.

The orchestra in the pit is conducted by Gus Sterneman and managed by Al French.  On woodwinds:  Mary Bowman, Shawn Goodman, and Dave Paulson.  On trumpets:  Jeff Anderson and Steve Pfoser.  On trombones: Jim Hicks.  On bass: Al French.  On keyboards:  Kevin Kiser.  On guitar and banjo: Mark Gray.  On drums: Frank Niemiec.  On piano: Scott Kane.

The production crew includes Troy Trinkle as technical director, Vickie Klosky as dance captain, and Janice Hannon as costume assistant. 

Costume volunteers include Jenny Hilcz, Stephanie Kern, Karen Martin, Ren Seidel, Barbara Riordan, Robin Uhrig, and Gretchen VanWinkle.

The deck crew includes Tim Cummings, Chris Feltman, Joanne Johnson, Matt Keller, Larry Northcutt, Kristin Purcell, and Abby Scharbrough.  The light board operator is Aaron Huey.  The spot operators include John Ackman, Jessica Hopkins, Hank Klosky, Kevin Lee, Danna Sheridan, and Mike Wadleton.  The rehearsal accompanist was Scott Kane.

Audience and Appeal Factors

This show is ultimately not “just” about prejudice against Jews but about many, many kinds of blindness and fear.  Unfortunately, it is just as relevant today politically as it was in the 1960s when “Cabaret” was first produced or back in the 1920s and 1930s during the rise of the Nazi party.  However, I think it will always be relevant in a timeless, universal, apolitical way because everyone struggles internally at some point with a desire for safety and their fears related to the “other” or the unknown.  It is human nature.

I also think this piece will always be appealing because even though it is about serious topics, it is also purely entertaining.  Have I mentioned the lively singing and dancing?

I don’t think this show would offend anyone, but the sexual references, historical context, and other content make this definitely a show for adults and teens rather than for families with young children. 

Box Office

“Cabaret” runs Thursdays-Sundays through Saturday, March 26, 2011.  Tickets cost $32 each (just $25 each on Thursdays.)  For reservations and more information, please call the Civic Box Office at 317-923-4597 or visit their website at www.civictheatre.org.

Two Interesting Tidbits and the New Season Announced

When I went to pick up my ticket at the Civic box office last Sunday, someone (I’m sorry I forgot to ask her name!) handed me a nice, thick folder of interesting information related to the show and to the theatre, aka a press kit.  I don’t know if I should thank Margaret Henney, the PR person that emails me Civic news and photos on a regular basis, or Megan McKinney, Civic’s new Development Director.  Her card is tucked in a slot in the folder.  I appreciate whoever took the time to put the folder together for me.  

I read everything in the folder.  I am not going to share all of it with you, but the following two little items jumped out at me:

One of the pieces in the folder was a fundraising campaign brochure that gave a brief summary of Civic’s long history.  It has been around since 1914 but operated in a variety of locations. 

I knew that, but I did not know that “(I)n the 1920s, Civic constructed its own 240-seat theatre known as The Hedback Theatre at the corner of 19^th and Alabama Streets, where it operated until the 1970s.”  I have been to several shows by the Epilogue Players and Footlite Musicals at the Hedback Theatre in the past three or four years but I did not know the building had once housed Civic.  Did you?

Another pamphlet in my folder tells about the multitude of classes that Civic offers for all ages.  Again, I knew that a big part of Civic’s mission is education, but I did not know that Civic offers Girl Scout badge workshops.  How fun is that!

Also in my folder was a sheet announcing the 2011-2012 season.  Margaret Henney also emailed it to me in a press release.  (Thank you, Margaret!)  Michael J. Lasley announced the new season before the show last Sunday and everyone went “Ooh!” or “Yay!” or “Huh” depending on how they felt about each title.  I have not seen any of the shows so I am looking forward to all of them, but I am probably most looking forward to “Amadeus” because I loved the movie and “Guys and Dolls” because I loved the songs when the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra introduced me to them in 2008 and I would like to see a full production. 

Here the full info:

INDIANAPOLIS (March 16, 2011) – Dubbed “Brand New Stage, Brilliant New Season,” Booth Tarkington Civic Theatre’s inaugural season at the Center for the Performing Arts in Carmel promises to feature big stagings, colorful characters and fabulous show tunes.

This September, at the state-of-the-art Tarkington Theater, Civic will make its debut as the facility’s principal resident with its highly anticipated 97th season. The theatre’s 2011-12 season is scheduled to include:

The Drowsy Chaperone (Sept. 9-24), book by Bob Martin and Don McKellar, music and lyrics by Lisa Lambert and Greg Morrison. 

The Drowsy Chaperone, an homage to the American Jazz Age musical and its restorative effects, begins when the narrator, a die-hard musical fan, seeks to cure his melancholy by listening to a recording of his favorite 1920s musical, which bursts to life in his living room. This whimsical and captivating romp won five Tony® Awards, including Best Book and Score.  

Amadeus (Oct. 28-Nov. 12), by Peter Shaffer.

Peter Shaffer’s award-winning Amadeus combines fiction and history to explore the dramatic rivalry between Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and Antonio Salieri, the late eighteenth century court composer for the Emperor of Austria, who escorts the audience through his recollection of the events leading to Mozart’s death. A Tony® Award winner for Best Play, the story is a dramatic and sometimes humorous look at the struggle between mediocrity and genius.

Roald Dahl’s Willy Wonka (Dec. 16-Jan. 7), music and lyrics by Leslie Bricusse and Anthony Newley, adapted for the stage by Leslie Bricusse and Tim McDonald.

Willy Wonka and his band of singing Oompa Loompas lead Charlie Bucket and his quirky cohorts on a tantalizing tour of the mysterious candy-maker’s fantastical factory. This holiday treat features many memorable songs including “The Candy Man,” “I Want It Now!” and “Pure Imagination.” 

Lend Me A Tenor (Feb. 10-25), by Ken Ludwig.

In Ken Ludwig’s zany comedy, the Cleveland Grand Opera Company has secured the world-famous tenor “Il Stupendo” Tito Morelli, in his greatest role, Otello, for their 1934 gala season-opener. Unfortunately, due to well-intended but misguided meddling, “Il Stupendo” is given an overdose of tranquilizers, rendering him unable to perform. This zany farce is full of mistaken identities, romantic entanglements, and fast-paced hilarity.

Guys and Dolls (Apr. 27-May 12), book by Jo Swerling and Abe Burrows, music and lyrics by Frank Loesser.

In a desperate attempt to garner support for his floating craps game, Nathan Detroit challenges Sky Masterson to lure a local Salvation Army girl, Sarah Brown, to Cuba for an award of one thousand dollars. Sky ends up falling in love with Sarah and tries to reform his risky ways, but must make one last wager to prove his love. Full of hilarious characters, thrilling dance numbers and timeless tunes including “Luck Be a Lady.”

Subscriptions for Booth Tarkington Civic Theatre’s 2011-12 season at the Center for the Performing Arts are on sale now and can be purchased by calling Civic’s Box Office at 317.923.4597 or visiting CivicTheatre.org.

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‘See you at the theatres!

Hope Baugh – www.IndyTheatreHabit.com

P.S. – Follow me (@IndyTheatre) and/or the topic #indystage on Twitter.com.  I never tweet during a show (and I beg you not to take your phone out during a show either, for any reason!) but I often tweet first impressions during intermission or immediately after a show.

P.P.S. – I don’t have a photographer’s credit for the photos above, but I am using them with permission from the Booth Tarkington Civic Theatre. (Update 3-21-11 – Zach Rosing took the photos.)

Enough about me, though.  Guess what was in my home email box when I got off work from my day job just now…the following exciting press release from Kelley R. Young, my contact for news about the Indiana Repertory Theatre!  It is the announcement of their 2010-2011 season.

It looks like a good one, don’t you think?

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The IRT Unveils the Drama of its 2010-11 Season 

(April 27 – Indianapolis) – With two world premieres, an award-winning book and hit movie, a Tony Award-winning play, a traditional holiday favorite and the return of the critically acclaimed Going Solo Festival, the Indiana Repertory Theatre (IRT) unveils its 39^th Season – a season filled with drama, comedy, mystery and history.  

Highlights of the IRT’s 2010-11 OneAmerica Season include: 

• The award-winning book and hit movie, Holes (season opener)
• The literary landmark of one young woman’s personal journal, The Diary of Anne Frank
• The return of the IRT’s holiday tradition, A Christmas Carol
• The return of the Going Solo Festival, three different works in repertory,featuring a sequel and a world premiere.
• A Tony Award-winning play that is a take on a Hitchcock classic, The 39 Steps

About the Season
Holes, by Louis Sachar

Sept. 25 – Nov. 6

A lost treasure. A multi-generational curse. Racial injustice. And a bizarre correctional facility where kids serve time digging holes in the desert. Found guilty of a crime he didn’t commit, Stanley discovers more than dirt as he digs – in this quirky comedy, he also finds new friends, the power of perseverance and the truth about his family’s past. What will he find at the bottom of the next hole? 

Mary’s Wedding, by Stephen Massicotte

Nov. 3 – Dec. 4

The night before her wedding, Mary wakes from a recurring dream about a childhood love – and takes the audience through a dreamscape of love, heartache, passion and heroism. Set against the backdrop of World War I, Mary’s Wedding presents lives and hearts caught in a time of stunning change. Dreams and life collide in an intimate and powerful work that asks, do we see the truth in our sleep, or after we awake? 

The Diary of Anne Frank, by Frances Goodrich and Albert Hackett, newly adapted by Wendy Kesserlman

Jan. 18 – Feb. 24

The Diary of Anne Frank is such a literary landmark that it’s easy to forget how it started out: as the personal journal of a young girl striving to become a woman. Written while she and her family hid from Nazis in Amsterdam, Anne Frank’s diary stands as a tribute to the human spirit. 

A Christmas Carol, by Charles Dickens, adapted by Tom Haas

Nov. 26 – Dec. 26

The classic story of greed and redemption comes to life when Scrooge is taught the true meaning of Christmas by a trio of ghosts who show him his past, present and future.  
 

Going Solo

A festival of intimate stories brought to life by three actors, three scripts, three shows in repertory.

• Neat, by Charlayne Woodard: the story of Charlayne’s brain damaged aunt, Neat, and the profound change she brought to Charlayne with her enormous love, energy, simplicity and magnificent clarity. (a sequel to last year’s Pretty Fire)
  • Feb. 10 – Mar. 6
• Fire in the Garden, by Ken Weitzman: a father ponders the changes he undergoes during his wife’s pregnancy while gaining understanding about what it means to be a father for the first time.
  • Feb. 12 – 27
• In Acting Shakespeare, by James DeVita: a Shakespearean actor takes a humorous look at his life with the Bard.
  • Feb. 19 – Mar. 13

The Gospel According to James, by Charles Smith

Mar. 22 – Apr. 10

In 1930, James Cameron and Mary Ball emerged as the sole survivors of racial crimes in Marion, Indiana. Teenagers when the crimes occurred, they look back on those events and their lives in this World Premiere work commissioned by the IRT with support from the Joyce Foundation. As their past and present lives intermingle, Cameron and Ball discover that their remembrances of that day differ even if their experiences were the same.  

The 39 Steps, Alfred Hitchcock

Apr. 20 – May 14

This Tony Award-winning play has been called “a Hitchcock masterpiece … with a dash of Monty Python.” Four actors play multiple characters, contend with outrageous special effects and, along the way, pay homage to some of Alfred Hitchcock’s most iconic movie moments … all while delivering a somewhat faithful, totally tongue-in-cheek rendering of a classic Hitchcock movie. The 39 Steps in IRT’s 39^th season! 

Performance and ticket information is available at www.irtlive.com or by calling the IRT Ticket Office at 317.635.5252.  
 

About the IRT

Since the Indiana Repertory Theatre was founded in 1972, it has grown into one of the leading regional theatres in the country, as well as one of the top-flight cultural institutions in the city and state. The IRT has made the historic Indiana Theatre, 140 W. Washington Street, its home for nearly 30 years. Led by Artistic Director, Janet Allen and Managing Director, Steven Stolen, the theatre serves a diverse audience in public performances and student matinee presentations of the plays, serving students, teachers and schools in 2/3 of Indiana’s counties. The IRT celebrates its 39^th season. 

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I actually have several other exciting items in my mailbox, but first I am going to work on the three or four reviews I have in the pipe. 

‘See you at the theatres…

Hope Baugh – www.IndyTheatreHabit.com

Follow @IndyTheatre on Twitter.com, too.

P.S. – I admit that professional journalists would probably never just post a press release as is.  They would add value in the form of their own commentary, which in turn would be based on their own previous experience of, and knowledge about, these shows.  That is one of the things I love and admire about them.

But still… my very first scoop!  I am claiming and embracing the moment anyway.   (Thanks, IRT.  Thank you, stars in alignment.)

Last Thursday night I attended the preview night of Dance Kaleidoscope’s “Love Is…” program at the Indiana Repertory Theatre in downtown Indianapolis.  It was a wonderfully cathartic evening, artistically admirable in and of itself, but also coincidentally a perfect fit for my euphoric, spring-time mood and my emotional and aesthetic needs at the time.  I left feeling washed and ready.

The next day I still felt physically and emotionally uplifted by the experience.  I think this was because the program had incorporated not only strong, graceful dancing and other visuals but also spoken words, sung words, and explicit, well-communicated storytelling in the movements of the dancers (as opposed to abstract emotions.)  Most of it was easy for me to relate to, and yet there was also content that stretched and inspired me. 

The program included four pieces, all of which were new to me.

“Love Letter”

The first piece, choreographed by Cynthia Pratt and first performed in 2001, was called “Love Letter.”  It was actually several short pieces tied together, a bundle of spoken and danced poems detailing various aspects of romantic love – things like jealousy and boundary-setting and self-esteem and desire and pleasure and stalking and yearning and more – through specific people’s experiences.  The dancers unexpectedly and humorously (!) enriched and interpreted the letter-poems that Sam Shepard had written and Diane Timmerman had skillfully read aloud for a recording.  There was also pre-recorded music by Thomas Newman, Christopher Young, Ennio Morricone, and Chas Smith. 

Some of the letters were performed by couples, or triads, or groups of couples…but not all.  One of my favorites, in fact, was performed by a tiny blond woman (Melanie Schreiber?  I’m sorry: I don’t know any of the dancers in person and of course I didn’t take time while the dancing was going on to try to match the people on the stage with the headshots in the paper program*)  who danced all by herself.  I don’t remember there being any words to the first part of her dance, but she was clearly dancing about being in love with life even though she was not partnered up. 

“Ah, good,” I thought.  “This is me now.”  I had been relating to the other letters based on past experiences, but just as I was beginning to feel wistful and left out, along came this delightful segment.

In the second part of her dance, the accompanying poem-letter was about how she had changed everything about herself to fit her partner…whom she had not met yet!  The poem was hilarious; the dancer made it even more so.

*Update: The dancer was actually Jillian Godwin.  Thanks, David Hochoy, for the info! 

All ten members of the Company – Brandon Comer, Jillian Godwin, Mariel Greenlee, Liberty Harris, Timothy June, Kenoth Shane Patton, George Salinas, Caitlin Swihart, Melanie Schreiber, and Noah Trulock – deftly and deliciously helped to bring this collection of love letters to life. 

The dancers all wore some combination of purple and lavender, velvety textured and filmy, fabric.  Their costumes taken all together reminded me of the ribbons that people (me!) used to use to tie paper love letters together.  (Costumes by Cheryl Sparks.)

The lighting design, by Laura Glover, included some crinkly texture and lots of candy box red – a perfect, affectionate accompaniment.

“For Jose’”

After a pause, the curtain came up again for a second piece, performed by just two athletic men, Timothy June and Noah Trulock.  “For Jose’” was choreographed by David Hochoy and first performed in 2001 but the performance I saw was the Indiana premiere.

No costumer was given for this piece in my program.  The two men wore simple white trousers.  Lighting designer Laura Glover dappled ruddy-orange light over their bare chests at first and later bathed them in Grecian blue and white while they sensuously danced first the ups and downs of their friendship and then their love for each other. 

Yes, their love.  They actually kissed only at the end, and even then it was a sweet farewell kiss rather than a passionate one, but throughout the dance they looked at each other and moved with each other and took turns lifting each other in ways that suggested volumes about their shared intimacy and trust.

I hadn’t been expecting this at all, and I confess that at first this piece made me feel lonely and left out, even a little betrayed.

But then I thought that maybe that is how a gay person feels every time he is expected to relate to mainstream, heterosexual love stories.

And then, as I kept watching the beautiful dancing and listening to the heart-wrenching voice of Barbara Cook singing “This Nearly Was Mine” (music and lyrics by Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II), I remembered that love is love and, as Rita Mae Brown says, love multiplies.   

At the end, when the two lovers were forced to separate, I felt that the loss of love through death has got to be one of the most universally painful experiences there is.  I realized I had stopped feeling jealous and “just” felt sympathy. 

“Love Key”

After another pause (and lots of whispering in the audience), the curtain rose a third time for the world premiere of a piece choreographed by Nicholas Owens, called “Love Key.”  Nick said later, during the intermission question-and-answer period, that this piece was inspired by Shakespeare’s “Romeo and Juliet.”

I understood the R&J inspiration from the dancers’ visual storytelling, but what I loved about this new piece was that its storytelling was (for me, anyway) more about (or at least also about) the right and left side of a person’s brain, and how important it is to appreciate and integrate both sides, i.e. - to  love one’s whole self.  In the dance, one side was not better than the other.  They were just different.  One group of dancers moved in very round, twirling, individualized ways.  The other group moved in very angular, matched formations.  At first, they did not get along at all, but when one from each group fell in love with each other, the others eventually  got over the fact that they were different, and started appreciating each other’s strengths. Eventually everyone (except the one guy who just would not give up his need to control and conform and therefore ended up banished and lonely) could dance together in harmony.

The right-brain-left-brain-integration theme was reflected in Cheryl Sparks’ costume design and Laura Glover’s lighting design as well.  Some of the dancers wore silky, flowing garb, while the others wore stiff, military-esque uniforms, but all of them shared the same cerebral blue palette and danced in the same airy-liquidy light.

The piece incorporates music by Stewart Copeland and James Newton Howard, and Music from the Vatican.  The dancers for this performance were Brandon Comer, Mariel Greenlee, Noah Trulock, Jillian Godwin, Liberty Harris, Timothy June, George Salinas, Caitlin Swihart, and Melanie Schreiber.

“Love Songs”

The fourth and final piece was a collection of “Love Songs” sung by tenor Steven Stolen, accompanied by Catherine Bringerud on the piano, and choreographed by David Hochoy. 

This piece was first in performed in 1995.  During the intermission, someone asked David how he and the dancers go about reviving a piece.  David said that they watch the videos that they have of their earlier performances but no video captures all of the details.  For those they rely on the dancers’ and choreographer’s memories, which is what everyone had to do for everything before there were videos.  Dancers and choreographers passed dances down in person (like stories in the oral tradition!  I love this!)  Sometimes even with videos, the dancers’ memories differ, in which case the dancers have spirited discussions in the studio.

“Love Songs” includes music & lyrics by Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II, Frank Loesser, Paul McCartney and John Lennon, George and Ira Gershwin, and Harold Arlen, with arrangements by Rick Walters.  Here are the names of the songs with their dancers:

• “I Have Dreamed” – Liberty Harris, Kenoth Shane Patton
• “I’ve Never Been in Love Before” – Kenoth Shane Patton, Mariel Greenlee
• “If I Fell” – Mariel Greenlee, Jillian Godwin, Timothy June
• “Let’s Call the Whole Thing Off”  – Jillian Godwin, George Salinas
• “Over the Rainbow” – George Salinas, Melanie Schreiber

Steven and the pianist were in full view at the back of the stage.  I always feel rich any time I get to hear Steven Stolen sing live.  Hearing him interpret songs live while the DK dancers added still more layers of live interpretation in the same space was a chakra-tuning experience.  I cried in a cleansing way all the way through it, even when I was laughing at the funny parts.

The singing and piano playing were quiet enough that I could hear the squeak of the dancers’ bare feet as they twisted and leaped across the stage.  I could hear the dancers breathing, too.  At first this was distracting, but then it added yet another layer of meaning to the already powerful piece:  love is gorgeous, but it is also real and it takes effort.

The last song, “Somewhere Over the Rainbow,” has always struck me as a very lonely song, but part of it was danced here with infectious joy over the arrival at that “place that I heard of once in a lullaby.” 

At the end of the song, the female dancer danced alone, and the final look on her face – well, drat: I am crying again, remembering.  The look on her face at the end of the dance (and of her life?) was a powerful, and yes, healing blend of fear, hope, and strength.

I loved this show.

New Season

Dance Kaleidoscope announced its 2010/2011 season at “Love Is…”  This will be artistic director David Hochoy’s 20^th season with the company. He said at intermission that he never expected to be in Indiana this long.  I’m glad he stayed!

Here is the new season:

• Fall 2010: “The Body Electric”
• January 2011: “The Elvis Project”
• March 2011:  “Passionate Puccini”
• Spring 2011: “Mad for Musicals”

The 2010 Summer performance and venue are still to be announced, but before that is “Pictures at an Exhibition,” which will run May 20-23, 2010 at the Indiana Repertory Theatre.

For more information about the above shows and other Kaleidoscope events, please visit www.dancekal.org.

Conversations with David

Also of interest from my “Love Is…” program: a world premiere performance of Israel’s Kibbutz Contemporary Dance Company 2 will take place here in Indianapolis at the Arthur M. Glick JCC (6701 Hoover Road) from 7-8:30pm on Thursday, March 18, 2010.  This event is free and but to guarantee a seat, RSVP to 317-726-5450 or IsraelPartnership@JFGI.org.

Dance Kaleidoscope’s artistic director, David Hochoy, will interview members of the Israeli company on Wednesday, March 17 from 6-7:30 pm at the Indiana Repertory Theatre’s Cabaret (3^rd floor.)  There will be complimentary refreshments.  Please RSVP for this ”Conversations with David” event to lynnw@dancekal.org or 317-940-8459.

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‘See you at the theatres!

Hope Baugh – www.IndyTheatreHabit.com

Also follow @IndyTheatre on Twitter.com for brief, day-of-show observations.

Ulrike Steinert, Director of Marketing for the Indianapolis Civic Theatre, emailed me the following press release on August 10, 2009.  I am ashamed to say that I put it away in a folder and forgot about it.  I am posting it now (with the introductory message and media contact info removed), even though some of the shows are already over, for two reasons:

a)   The librarian in me wants it here on Indy Theatre Habit so that when someone looks in the “Seasons Previews” category it will be there, and when someone puts this theatre’s name or any of these show names in the Search box, they will come up.

b)   You might not have already heard about the Indy Civic’s 2009-2010 season.

As always, I recommend that when you get ready to actually go see one of these shows, you call the theatre or visit the theatre’s own website to confirm dates, times, and other details.

By the way, the photo above is from a group of photos that Ulrike sent me last year with her press release about Civic’s 2008 production of “The Wizard of Oz.”  (Thanks, Ulrike!)  Mark Fishbeck was the Lion, Rick Shinkle was the Tin Man, and Rory D. Shivers was the Scarecrow in that production.  I am sorry that I did not have time to see it.

At a party not too long ago, someone connected with this year’s production said, “It’s going to be gayer than ever.”

“Good!” I said.  I didn’t ask if by “gayer” he meant more stylish, more campy, or more light-hearted.  I just made a mental note to put this year’s production on my calendar as soon as I got home.  As you’ll see from the press release below, this year’s production of “The Wizard of Oz” opens at the Indianapolis Civic Theatre on Friday, December 11, 2009.

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INDIANAPOLIS CIVIC THEATRE – 2009-2010 SEASON (AT A GLANCE)

(please use for calendar listings & quick reference)

EVITA (musical)

Winner of 7 Tony Awards, including Best Musical, this Andrew Lloyd Webber/Tim Rice masterpiece tells the story of the legendary Eva Perón and her amazing rise from poverty to becoming the most powerful woman her country and, indeed, Latin America had ever seen. “Saint to the working-class, reviled by the aristocracy and mistrusted by the military” Argentina’s controversial First Lady, who died at the age of 33, was destined to leave a fascinating political legacy unique in the 20th century. Told through a compelling score that fuses haunting chorales with exuberant Latin, pop and jazz influences, the show creates an arresting theatrical portrait as complex as the woman herself. “A stunning, exhilarating theatrical experience.” – New York Post

SHOW DATES:             September 11 – September 27, 2009

SHOW TIMES:              Thu. 7pm, Fri. & Sat. 8pm, Sun. 2pm

TICKETS:                     $25 (Thu.) and $32 (Fri.-Sun.), group discounts available

BOX OFFICE:               (317) 923-4597 or online at: www.civictheatre.org

CAMELOT (musical concert)

This celebrated musical and Tony Award winner by Alan Jay Lerner and Frederic Loewe, following their smash-hit My Fair Lady, is based on the King Arthur legend and his Knights of the Round Table as adapted from the T.H. White tetralogy novel “The Once and the Future King”. Featuring a superb score, the story centers on the affair between Arthur’s wife, Guenevere, and his great friend, Sir Lancelot, beautifully captured in numbers as “If Ever I Would Leave You” and “I Loved You Once in Silence.” The title song subsequently joined Arthurian legend with American political mythology. “Musically rich, legend-based classic.” – New York Times

SHOW DATES:             October 2 – October 4, 2009

SHOW TIMES:              Fri. & Sat. 7pm, Sun. 2pm

TICKETS:                     $24, group discounts available

BOX OFFICE:               (317) 923-4597 or online at: www.civictheatre.org

THE ELEPHANT MAN (drama)

This award-winning drama by Bernard Pomerance chronicles the final years in the life of Joseph Carey Merrick (1862-1890), a remarkably sensitive and intelligent man, who was afflicted with an extremely rare hereditary disorder. Known only as “The Elephant Man” because of his monstrously deformed body, Merrick scrapes a living as a carnival attraction until an ambitions young doctor provides him with a home at the London Hospital in Whitechapel where his presence is shrewdly used by Victorian society to raise funds. Merrick befriends an actress who tries to ease his loneliness but her efforts are thwarted by hypocrisy. Even those who love him can’t help him. “Unforgettable, engrossing and moving.” – New York Daily News

SHOW DATES:             October 30 – November 15, 2009

SHOW TIMES:              Thu. 7pm, Fri. & Sat. 8pm, Sun. 2pm

TICKETS:                     $21 (Thu.) and $28 (Fri.-Sun.), group discounts available

BOX OFFICE:               (317) 923-4597 or online at: www.civictheatre.org

THE WIZARD OF OZ (holiday musical)

This Civic Theatre signature holiday extravaganza returns more spectacular than ever, bringing MGM’s popular movie to life on stage. Little Dorothy Gale of Kansas, like so many girls her age, dreams of what lies over the rainbow. One day a twister hits her farm and whisks her, and her little dog too, far away to the marvelous Land of Oz. She tries to get back home with the help of the Scarecrow, Tin Man and the Cowardly Lion. Follow the yellow brick road with Dorothy, Toto and their three faithful friends as they travel the universe of their imagination in search of the great and powerful Wizard. There are witches, good and wicked, and plenty of adventures along the way. Due to popular demand, there will be an Audience Sing-A-Long on January 1 at 7pm. “It’s over the rainbow time, kids.” – Newark Star Ledger

SHOW DATES:             December 11, 2009 – January 3, 2010

SHOW TIMES:              Thu. & Fri. 7pm, Sat. 2pm & 7pm, Sun. 2pm (no show 12/24 & 12/25, Sun. 12/27 at 2pm & 7pm)

TICKETS:                     $34 (Thu.-Sun.), group discounts available

BOX OFFICE:               (317) 923-4597 or online at: www.civictheatre.org

BUS STOP (comedy/drama)

A lot can happen in a single night. A tawdry nightclub singer can discover domesticity, a brash rancher can soften his touch, a drunken lecher can regain his dignity and even the most solitary and forlorn can find romance in a tiny, Midwestern roadside diner populated with weary travelers in the middle of a blizzard. While exuberant and comical on the surface, this enduring play by Pulitzer Price-winning American playwright William Inge is a tenderhearted tale of love and loneliness that examines the hunger for companionship and understanding which resides in us all. The 1956 movie version of the same name starred Marilyn Monroe as the young lounge singer. “An uproarious comedy that never strays from the truth.” – New York Times

SHOW DATES:             January 22 – February 7, 2010

SHOW TIMES:              Thu. 7pm, Fri. & Sat. 8pm, Sun. 2pm

TICKETS:                     $21 (Thu.) and $28 (Fri.-Sun.), group discounts available

BOX OFFICE:               (317) 923-4597 or online at: www.civictheatre.org

MY FAIR LADY (musical concert)

One of Broadway’s most beloved musicals by the talented duo of Loewe and Lerner based upon George Bernard Shaw’s “Pygmalion” tells the story of Eliza Doolittle, a coarse little flower girl in 1910 London and her transformation from a cockney ‘guttersnipe’ into an upper class lady. She falls under the wing of Henry Higgins, a phonetics professor who makes a bet that if he could get her to speak the English language properly, he could pass her off as a duchess in a matter of months. Hit tunes include “I Could Have Danced All Night,” “Wouldn’t It Be Lovely” and “I’ve Grown Accustomed to Her Face.” “Sterling songs that elevate the spirits.” – Variety

SHOW DATES:             February 12 – February 14, 2010

SHOW TIMES:              Fri. & Sat. 7pm, Sun. 2pm

TICKETS:                     $24, group discounts available

BOX OFFICE:               (317) 923-4597 or online at: www.civictheatre.org

CAROUSEL (musical)

Lauded by Time Magazine as “best musical of the 20th century”, this Rodgers and Hammerstein classic won 5 Tony Awards for its 1994 Broadway revival. Set in a Maine coastal village toward the end of the 19th century, carnival barker Billy captivates and marries naïve millworker Julie. Desperate for money when he learns he will soon be a father, Billy is coerced into being an accomplice to a robbery. Caught and facing the certainty of prison, he takes his own life and is sent “up there”. Billy is allowed to return to earth for one day fifteen years later to make amends to the daughter he left behind. The show is a dramatic testament to the power of love and redemption. “Beautiful, bountiful, beguiling.” – New York Daily Mirror

SHOW DATES:             March 12 – March 28, 2010

SHOW TIMES:              Thu. 7pm, Fri. & Sat. 8pm, Sun. 2pm

TICKETS:                     $25 (Thu.) and $32 (Fri.-Sun.), group discounts available

BOX OFFICE:               (317) 923-4597 or online at: www.civictheatre.org

A FLEA IN HER EAR (comedy)

When a wife becomes suspicious of her husband, she and her conniving best friend hatch a plan that upsets their world and everyone in their path. Raymonde suspects her husband, Victor Emmanuel, of infidelity and she turns to her best friend, Lucienne, to help her gain proof. They concoct a plot – based on a perfumed letter – to trap him at the Hotel Coq d’Or in Montretout. Of course, there are complications. In true French farce fashion, the scheme misfires when everyone shows up at the hotel, complicated by confused identities, revolving beds, a great many doors and unbridled passions in this George Feydeau classic, superbly translated by Sir John Mortimer. “A veritable thunderstorm of merriment.”  – New York Times

SHOW DATES:             May 7 – May 23, 2010

SHOW TIMES:              Thu. 7pm, Fri. & Sat. 8pm, Sun. 2pm

TICKETS:                     $21 (Thu.) and $28 (Fri.-Sun.), group discounts available

BOX OFFICE:               (317) 923-4597 or online at: www.civictheatre.org

ABOUT THE THEATRE:

Indianapolis Civic Theatre, founded in 1915, is the state’s largest professionally managed community theatre and one of the ten largest community theatres in the country, providing high quality live theatrical entertainment for a broad-based audience. The Theatre produces six shows during its mainstage season, featuring both large-scale musicals and popular plays, in addition to two concert musicals and annual youth productions. Civic represents a unique blend of avocational actors, technicians and professional staff, and offers a wide variety of educational and community outreach programs.

LOCATION:INDIANAPOLIS CIVIC THEATRE, 3200 Cold Spring Rd, Indianapolis IN 46222, located on the campus of Marian University.

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‘See you at the theatres!

Hope Baugh – www.IndyTheatreHabit.com and @IndyTheatre on Twitter.com.

Below is a press release that I received from Executive Artistic Director Ron Spencer on September 2, 2009 about Theatre on the Square’s upcoming season.  I am ashamed to say that I put it in a folder and forgot about it.  I am posting it now (with some bolding added by me and some of the media contact info removed), even though one of the shows is already over, for two reasons:

a)   The librarian in me wants it here on Indy Theatre Habit so that when someone looks in the “Season Previews” category it will be there, and when someone puts this theatre’s name or any of these show names in the Search box, they will come up.

b)   You might not have already heard about TOTS’ 2009-2010 season.

As always, I recommend that when you get ready to actually go see one of these shows, you call the theatre or visit the theatre’s own website to confirm dates, times, and other details.

By the way, the photo accompanying this post is from the show that is currently running at TOTS:  “In Bed With Chuck and Lois.” Ron sent me some photos from that show when he sent me the press release for that show.  (Thanks, Ron!)  I am looking forward to seeing this show tomorrow afternoon.

Anyway, here is what is going on at TOTS this season:

********** 

* Theatre on the Square

**627 Massachusetts Avenue**

**Indianapolis**, **IN** **46204-1606**

Tel: 317-685-(TOTS) 8687

* *

*EVENT:* *Theatre on the Square’s 21st Season*

* COMING OF AGE*

*WHEN: Beginning **Friday, September 18, 2009** through **June 26, 2010***

*LOCATION: **627 Massachusetts Avenue**, **Indianapolis**, **IN** **46204-1606***

* *

*Theatre on the Square opens its 2009/2010 season with a Midwestern premiere of* */Ug! The Caveman Musical /a tuneful, hilarious comedy of the origin of theatre. It will feature Dane Rogers, Erin Cohenour, Evan Wesselman, Sarah Hoffman, Thomas Turner, Doug Messinger, Ian Cruz and William Andrews. Staged by Artistic Director Ron Spencer, with vocal and musical direction by Roger Smith, set design by Jim Trofatter and costumes and properties by Therese Burns and Jeff Hamilton, the show’s upbeat score features musical styles ranging from Boogie Woogie to Elvis and beyond. THIS SHOW IS FAMILY FRIENDLY…WITH PG CONTENT. *

*Next up, Stage 2, beginning Friday, November 6th is*/ *In Bed with Chuck and Lois*/* by Joni Hilton author of last season’s most successful show /Does This Show Make My Butt Look Fat? /Coming home from a party, Chuck is hoping for some action; Lois, his wife, just wants to go to sleep. We hear both their conversation and have the added benefit of hearing their true thoughts as relayed by their alter egos who are present. But neither one of them get their way because chaos ensues when Lois’ dead beat brother, Gary, smashes his trailer into their house. Directed by Thomas Turner, the show features TOTS’ regulars Cindy Phillips, Darren Gowan, Juli Inskeep and talented newcomers Anthony Dalton and Paul Sullivan.*

*For Christmas, and through the first weekend of the New Year, we offer Bryan Fogel and Sam Wolfson’s /Jewtopia, /a smash hit both in **L.A.** where the show originated and Off-Broadway in **New York** where it ran for over four consecutive years. /Jewtopia/ tells the story of Chris, a gentile, wants to marry a Jewish girl so he’ll never have to make another decision and Adam, a Jew, wants to marry a Jewish girl to please his family, but can’t get a date to save his life. Stereotypes collide, cultures clash and chaos ensues!*

*January 8th through the 30^th is My First Time by Ken Davenport which he based on the true accounts of first time encounters as written anonymously on the revolutionary My First Time website. The premise is basically: If you did it, you probably remember it. And now you can hear about everyone else’s! See it with your friends or significant other, because this show will have you laughing and reminiscing about your own first time…and thinking about your next time!*

*/The Trials and Tribulations of a Trailer Trash Housewife/** is our February 5th through March 6th show. This is the latest work from the pen of our favorite author,* *Del Shores, who wrote several of our biggest hits /Southern Baptist Sissies/, /Sordid Lives, Daughters of the Lone Star State/ and /Daddy’s Dyin’ Who’s Got the Will/? The story: Willi’s abusive husband won’t let her get a job. Her best and only friend, a large black woman who lives next door, worries about her constantly, always concerned that Willi’s husband will end up killing her. A new woman comes to live in the trailer park and ends up having an affair* *with Willi’s husband. A blues singer weaves songs into the action, commenting upon Willi’s situation and urging her toward decisive action.*

*In March and April,/ Avow/ by Andrew Gans tells the saga of Brian and Tom who ask their liberal and forward-thinking parish priest, Father Raymond, to witness and bless their vows to each other. Although Father Raymond understands their affection for each other, he holds that they must live a celibate life if they wish to be part of the Church. Brian is outraged! His sister, Irene, is pregnant out of wedlock and he has convinces her to have the baby, which he and Tom will adopt. Irene, desiring nothing more than her brother’s happiness and security, tries to mediate between Brian, Tom, and Father Raymond. Tom’s and Brian’s catalytic request creates five separate and linked spiritual journeys, each seeking to balance passion and faith. *

*Think Bill Gates meets Elle Woods. In Jenny Lyn Bader’s romantic comedy,* */None of the Above, /Jamie, 17, a sophisticated New York City private school student, answers the door one day expecting her drug dealer—and instead finds her SAT tutor. Things degenerate from there. First Jamie tries to get out of being tutored and then she tries to cut a deal with the tutor, Clark. He doesn’t have much sympathy for her plight. They clash right away and seem to have very different values and priorities. But as the play progresses, Jamie and Clark negotiate an unusual pact. The romance begins April 30th and continues through May 22nd .*

*And last, but certainly not least, a revival of the best selling musical in Theatre on the Square history*, */The /**/Great/**/ /**/American/**/ /**/Trailer Park/**/ Musical. /* *Complete with the sensational original cast, twirling trailers and raucous live band! There’s a new tenant at Armadillo Acres—and she’s wreaking havoc all over **Florida**’s most exclusive trailer park. When Pippi, the stripper on the run, comes between the Dr. Phil–loving, agoraphobic Jeannie Garstecki and her tollbooth collector husband—the storms begin to brew. *

*Season Flex Passes, which can be used for a single admission or any combination of admissions up to a total of eight, are on sale now at deeply discounted prices! For information and tickets to any our performances call our box office at 317-685-8687 or go online to www.tots./org <http://www.tots./org> and clicking on Tickets Online or Current Season.*

********** 

Hope Baugh – www.IndyTheatreHabit.com and @IndyTheatre on Twitter.com.

The Twilight of the Golds

by Jonathan Tolins

Auditions: Jan. 17 & 18, 2010

Performances: March 12-27, 2010

If your parents knew everything about you before you were born, would you be here? That is the question posed in this entertaining drama. All is well when Suzanne Gold and her close New York family discover that she is pregnant, until a prenatal test reveals that the baby will most likely be homosexual. The news forces the entire Gold family to confront issues of bigotry, evolution and the limits of love.

Needed are:

 Two men stage age 20′s to mid 30′s

One man stage age 50′s-60′s

One woman stage age 20′s to mid 30′s

One woman stage age 50′s to 60′s

Proof

by David Auburn

Auditions: April 18 & 19, 2010

Performances: June 11-26, 2010

On the eve of her twenty-fifth birthday, Catherine, a troubled young woman, has spent years caring for her brilliant but unstable father, a famous mathematician. Now, following his death, she must deal with her own volatile emotions; the arrival of her estranged sister, Claire; and the attentions of Hal, a former student of her father’s who hopes to find valuable work in the 103 notebooks that her father left behind. Over the long weekend that follows, a burgeoning romance and the discovery of a mysterious notebook draw Catherine into the most difficult problem of all: How much of her father’s madness—or genius—will she inherit?

Needed are:

One woman stage age 20′s

One woman stage age 30′s

One man stage age 20′s

One man stage age 50′s to 60′s

Death and the Maiden

by Ariel Dorfman

 Auditions: Sept. 12 & 13, 2010

Performances: Nov. 5-20, 2010

Tony award winning Glenn Close, Richard Dreyfuss and Gene Hackman starred on Broadway in this political thriller. Set in an unnamed country that is, like the author’s native Chile, emerging from a totalitarian dictatorship, the play explores the after effects of repression on hearts and souls. Paulina Escobar’s husband Gerardo is to head an investigation into past human rights abuses. A Dr. Miranda stops at Escobars’ to congratulate Gerardo. Paulina overhears them speaking and is convinced that Miranda supervised her prison torture sessions. She ties him to a chair and conducts her own interrogation, gun in hand. Escobar doesn’t know whether to believe his distraught wife or his persuasive new friend. This white knuckle thriller is a riveting intellectual and emotional tug of war.

Needed are:

One woman stage age late 30′s to 40′s

One man stage age late 30′s to 40′s

One man stage age 40′s to 50′s

__________________

 Click on the theater link at www.thechurchwithin.org

 Reminder:  I will post any theatre’s season announcement if someone from the theatre will email it to me in a simple (easy to cut-and-paste) email before the season begins.  My email is: amarylliswriter at gmail dot com.  I don’t usually post audition announcements, but since they were mixed in with this season announcement, I just left them in.

Always check with a theatre’s website to confirm dates and times.

Hope Baugh – www.IndyTheatreHabit.com and @IndyTheatre

Last night when I sat down at a table at the 2009 Indy Fringe Festival Preview Party, the man sitting diagonally across from me said, “Hey, are you the one that writes that theatre blog?”  I think he had seen me handing my blog card to someone.

Anyway, I admitted to it and he said he enjoyed reading it.  Yay!

Just as he and I and his girlfriend started to chat, I remembered my new video project.  I asked if I could video them.  They said yes, and so now I have video #3 in my Fringe video journal.  (See above.)  Thanks again, Patrick and Jessica!

In the video, Jessica mentions wanting to do a little more research before she decides which shows she wants to see.  I need to do that, too. 

Have I mentioned that I have a media pass to the whole 2009 Indy Fringe Festival?   There is nothing like the thrill of having a media pass, of knowing that someone takes you seriously as a writer and observer, especially when the pass is to a festival that is overflowing with exciting theatrical possibilities.

However, it also presents a dilemma: how do I decide which shows to see and write about?

If I didn’t have the responsibility and financial freedom that comes with a media pass, I would just put a small handful of ten dollar bills plus three singles in my pocket, drive to Massachusettes Avenue in downtown Indianapolis, and go where the spirit led me in terms of seeing and writing about shows.  Each of the Fringe shows costs $10, cash only.  At whatever show you go to first, you have to pay an additional, one-time-only fee of $3, cash, to get your Fringe Backer Button, which you keep and wear from show to show.

But since I do have a media pass for the Fringe, I need to do a little planning and decision-making up front.

There are 40 regular shows this year and 12 FringeNext (youth theatre) shows.  I am not available to see shows on Monday or Thursday this year and I won’t be able to see anything in the 1:30 slot on the first Saturday or the first two slots on the second Saturday.

This means that even if I see a show in every possible slot, barring no obstacles such as story overload or physical exhaustion or desire to take in a sampling of the multitude of other Fringe events, attractions, parties, exhibits, and impromptu conversations, I will, at most, only be able to see 39 shows.

But that’s not figuring in writing time.

So really, I need to pare down my choices to around 15 shows. 

IMPOSSIBLE!

Well, let’s not worry about that right now. For now, let’s just go down the list in the program booklet and consider each show again based on what I saw and heard at the Fringe Preview Party last night.

55 Minutes of Sex, Drugs and Audience Participation – This is a must-see for me because I have known and admired storyteller Loren Niemi a long time.  His storytelling partner, Howard Lieberman, is equally intense and provocative.  They are storytellers who are about as far removed from little kid “storytime” as it possible to get. 

At the Preview Party last night, they said their show this year would have audience participation.  I believe that pure storytelling, if it is good, is completely participatory even when it appears as if the audience is just sitting still and listening; the participation is going on in their minds.  However, I am also intrigued by what Loren and Howard said last night: They said that this year they would be asking audience members to draw something from a fish bowl which would then give the audience member the opportunity to either physically become part of the story or to ask the tellers a question to influence where the story will go next.  If I am chosen to go up on stage with them, I wonder which option I will choose.  Which would you choose?

7 (x1) Samurai – David Gaines’s preview snippet from his solo piece was hilarious.  He incorporates costume pieces, mimed movements, and vocalizations to re-tell the whole classic story of the “Seven Samurai” in under an hour.  This is on my “try very hard to see” list.

America’s Next Top Bottom – This show did not do a preview at the party last night but they have had, I think, a very successful run leading up to the Fringe at the Theatre on the Square (TOTS).  It is a take-off on the TV show, “America’s Next Top Model.”   I admire the creative risk-taking of the artists at TOTS,  but I am not particularly drawn to this show because I don’t watch TV any more and even when I did, I did not get the appeal of “reality” shows.  However, I will look forward to reading what the citizen reviewers on SmallerIndiana.com write about this show.

Andrea Merlyn’s Greatest Hits (and missus!) – Magician Taylor Martin said he was just off the plane from a trip to Los Angeles where he got to work with Penn and Teller.  For the Fringe preview, therefore, he was not dressed up in a glamorous drag gown the way he usually is.  However, he did have a leprechaun and another interesting-looking man performing card tricks behind him while he talked about his new Fringe show. 

His wife happened to sit down next to me during this part.  I asked her if she was in the show again this year because she is Taylor’s “missus” but she said no, that the “missus” refers to the many different female characters that Taylor embodies during his show.  Then Taylor mentioned that there were four costume changes in his Fringe show this year. 

Taylor has performed at the Indy Fringe for each of the five years that it has been in existence.  His wacky drag magic shows are unique.  If I don’t get to his Fringe show this year, it will only be because I know I can see him at his monthly magic show at Theatre on the Square during the year and I have to make some hard choices.  If you have never seen one of Taylor’s Andrea Merlin shows, though, you should definitely consider it.

Another Classic of Western Literature – Oh, my.  During this show’s preview, director Michael Shelton came on stage dressed like…an FBI guy?  All black and severe.  A few moments later, playwright Matthew Roland came on dressed as a giant (I mean GIANT) hand giving us the finger. Now I want to see this show simply for its costumes!

I’m afraid the content of this show might go over my head because it is about the “current ****ing Econolypse” and I haven’t checked the current events articles in my Google reader in months, but this is on my “must-see” list because it is a production of the Heartland Actors Repertory Theatre and I have always been glad whenever I have attended a HART show.

The Attack of the Big Angry Booty – Storyteller/stand-up comedian Les Kurkendaal is back in Indy from his home in Los Angeles.  I enjoyed his show in last year’s Indy Fringe and I was delighted to see him in person again at the Preview Party.  I like him a lot.  The thing is, his show this year seems to be about weight gain and weight loss and dieting and a bunch of other subjects that have zero interest for me.  If I didn’t already know Les, I wouldn’t even have to think about not going to this show because it just bores me to tears to hear people talking about their weight.  I guess I also hate it when people look at me and assume they know anything about me just because they can see that I’m fat.  However, I know I am in the minority for this in America, so I bet Les will get lots of people in his audiences this year.  I hope so!  I wish him well for this year’s Fringe.  And I will look forward to reading what my reviewer colleagues on SmallerIndiana.com and other places have to say about his show.

Blunder Construction – It is easy to recommend Brent McCoy’s show to anyone.  I mean, anyone.  He is sexy in a non-threatening way, so adults who would normally never be caught dead at a clown show are drawn to him.  He is hilarious on many levels and infectiously joyful, so again, adults are drawn to him but so are little kids and families.  He has a finely-honed, almost psychic ability to read and respond to an audience and just go with the flow of whatever happens, which is a treat for the audience but which also draws other performance artists to him to see what they can learn from him.

AND he is a master juggler. 

I may not treat myself to this show until later in the week, but it is definitely on my “must see” list.

Broken Fragile Mind – Hmm.  I don’t remember seeing a preview of this piece at the party last night, but several of the shows were only announced by their number rather than their title, which was unfortunate.  However, my program says that this piece is produced by the Motus Dance Theatre.  I have admired their work in past Fringes, so this is on my “try to see” list.  If I am not able to catch their 2009 Fringe show, I will still look forward to seeing their work in the new space they are opening in the Fountain Square area of Indianapolis.

The Cast of Amontillado – I don’t remember a preview of this last night, either, but this is on my “try to see” list because it’s opera.  I have never seen a Fringe opera show before.

Cool Table – These guys were not at the Preview Party last night either, but I have caught their comedy improv shows at the last two Indy Fringes. They are based in Chicago, and last year I got the feeling that they thought they were slumming by coming down here to Indianapolis.  Their show was very, very short and rushed.  On the other hand, the year before they offered a show filled with a wide variety of funny comedy sketches, so maybe I just caught them on an off night last year.  I probably won’t see them this year because there are so many other shows I want to see more, but if you like sketch comedy, you will probably enjoy this group’s work.

Crossing the Bridge – This is at the Earth House, where all of the dance shows are this year.  I happened to tell the man that handed me a card from this group that I didn’t think I would be able to see many of the dance shows this year because I focus on the theatre shows.  He said that their show is “theatre dance fusion.”  I laughed out loud at that particular “f” word: it always immediately makes me think of Los Angeles for some reason and that’s where this group is from.  I mean, I know New Yorkers use the word “fusion” and so do Hoosiers, for that matter, but it shouts “west coast” to me.  That is neither here nor there, however.  I enjoyed their preview – and it was, indeed, a mixture of dance and comic theatre, about being in a doctor’s office, of all things – so this is on my “try very hard to see” list.

A Cynic Tells Love Stories – I don’t know Katherine Glover’s work.  The program says she is a storyteller out of Minnesota.  Her preview was a part of a story about a time in her life when she enjoyed being called a slut, even though she had only slept with one woman.  (I may have that wrong; it was hard for me to hear.)  You know me: I’m a sucker for storytellers, so this is on my “try to see” list.

An Evening of Stories and Song with Kevin Kling and Simone Perrin – This storytelling duo was not at the Preview Party but they are a “try very hard to see” for me because I love Kevin Kling’s storytelling, both live and on NPR.

Gone, Gone, Gone – This dance duo out of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, was on my “try to see” list anyway but their preview piece pushed them over on to my “must see” list.  Monica Rodero prefaced their preview by saying something like, “Since this is a tiny stage, this is a tiny dance piece.”  She and her partner, Daniel Schuchart, started out at opposite corners holding a long piece of masking tape.  When the music started, they sort of rolled together and tied themselves together through their movements.  But then, for almost the rest of the piece, they stayed put and communicated volumes through movements of just their heads, necks, shoulders and toes.  Towards the end, they danced apart a bit, breaking the tape that held them together, but coming back together anyway, and continuing their partnered dance by choice.

It was delightful and profound wordless statement about relationships.  I want to see more.

Groundwork Suites – Kenyatta’ Dance Company makes me weep almost every time I see them, so this is a “must-see” for me.  I could only catch glimpses of their preview because of where I was sitting, so my eyes stayed dry, but from what I could see, choreographer Nick Owens and the dancers have created another core-shaker.

The Hefner Monologues – This solo performer out of Washington, D.C. with an apparently burdensome name (John Hefner) is on my “try very hard to see” list because his preview snippet last night about what it was like to do his first nude role on stage was hilarious, full of energy and timed well.  Plus, he’s cute.  Maybe he will take his clothes off for real when there are no kids in the audience.

Humanature – Hmm.  Was this the belly dancer in blue jeans at the Preview Party?  She was hypnotic.  I mean, drool-producing trance hypnotic.  My program says that the “(Re)Collective Company had the “#2 show at the Indy Fringe 2008,” but I don’t remember them at all.  Oh!  Unless they were the people who did the piece called “Moved” last year.  I somehow missed them completely, but I learned later that several of their performances sold out.  Okay, I ‘d better put this on my “try very hard to see” list.

(Update 8/23/09: Actually, the belly dancer was not from Humanature.  Please see Indy Fringe administrator Justin Brady’s comment, which I also inserted into the blog post under New Vaudeville.)

Hypothetically Stupid – From the program notes, this did not sound like my kind of show at all but at Preview Night, two guys got up on stage to riff about a mustache and I thought, “Hey!  I know these guys from Three Dollar Bill Comedy Company!  I love these guys!”  So now John Patrick Coan’s and Matt Kramer’s show is on my “try to see” list.

I Do, I Do in Delhi Or How to Survive an Indian Wedding – This storyteller out of New York City is on my “try to see” list because she said in her preview that she has the audience doing yoga wiggles as she tells.  After sitting for a few hours in other shows, yoga wiggles may be just what I need.

Love Me Tender – This Fringe performer, Randy Strand, was not at the Preview Party and even though the program says he is based in Indianapolis, I don’t think I know him.  I really only know a fraction of the vocalists in this town, though, so that doesn’t mean anything.  His program description says that he sings “sappy love songs…plenty of cuddle tunes” and that he is “not responsible for what happens after.”  I’ve had my heart broken at the last two Fringes.  I’m not really up for sitting in a romantic show by myself this year, surrounded by cuddling lovers.  ‘Sorry, Randy.  But if my single status changes suddenly, I’ll put this on my “try to see” list.  I do like Elvis songs.

Mr. Charles, Currently of Palm Beach – This show about a man “judged too gay for New York” sounds funny but the main reason it is on my “try very hard to see” list is because it stars Theatre on the Square artistic director Ron Spencer.   I admire Ron’s acting ability very much, and I don’t get the chance to see it nearly enough.

murder, hope – This tiny solo performer out of New York City, Becky Poole, had us all singing “Rainbow Connection” with her as she played it on her musical saw while wearing a BatMan mask and cape.   This promises to be a quintessential Fringe show.  I’m there.

New Vaudeville – I don’t remember this show being at the Preview Party, either.  I have heard good things about the Blue Monkey Show, though, and the MC for this show is also the MC for that.  This is on my “maybe” list.

Update 8/22/09 – Fringe administrator Justin Brady left a clarifying comment which I’d like to insert here, too, with a “see also” for Humanature, above (am I librarian in my day job or what!):

Sorry for the lack of clarity on who was performing at the Opening. The belly dancer was New Vaudeville not Humannature. The others you guessed were correct. It was a hectic night and we were trying to keep things moving.

In actuality the numbers matched the nos in the program schedule at a glance, and we planned to hand out copies of this to everyone so you could mark the nos you liked. Sadly between coordinating the parade, the mayor and Paul Poteet this somehow got overlooked!

But man were there some great shows. Hope to see you around!

Phi Alpha Gamma – This solo piece about how a fraternity reacts to an accusation of gay-bashing is on my “must-see” list because the performer, Dan Bernitt, told me when he was at the Indy Fringe two years ago that he was working on it.  It sounded good then, and I am delighted that he completed it.   This is not a world premiere, but that’s okay, too, because it means that other audiences have already helped him hone it for us.

Phil the Void: the Great Brain Robbery – I learned last night that Phil is the only other performer besides Taylor Martin, the magician, who has had a show for all five years that the Indy Fringe has been in existence.  Phil’s stand-up cerebral comedy show is always a “must-see” for me.

The Rise of General Arthur – This solo performer from Minnesota was not at the Preview Party and I don’t know anything about his work except what I have already shared here on my blog, but even if I didn’t find his show intriguing on its own I would have it on my “must-see” list because he is the first ever, I think, Fringe performer to send me a full-fledged press release out of the blue, based solely on the fact that he had read my blog.  Press releases make me feel almost as important as media passes do.

Sex/Death – As far as I know, the Bloomington Playwrights Project was not at the Preview Party, but if I can, I would like to catch their showcase of short new plays.  I loved the variety in it last year.

Sex, Dreams and Self Control – This is the guy that got up on stage last night, looked at the number of children sitting with their parents, and said something like, “My show is too x-rated for this audience, and I’m not just saying that to be provocative, so I’m giving out free t-shirts from my band instead. Oh, and would anyone like a vinyl record?”  I still don’t know much about his show, but he made me laugh, so his show is on my “try to see” list.

Simple Joys - I thought I could skip this one based on the program description, but there was creativity in the sweetness of this couple’s preview, so this is now on my “try to see” list.

Selections from the Spoon River Anthology - I don’t remember this Bloomington company being at Preview Night, but there were a couple of dramatic excerpts that I could not hear very well and, as I mentioned earlier, the MCs unfortunately usually only called out the acts’ numbers instead of their names.  Hmm.  I’ll have to see what else I can find out about this one.  They asked to be my friend on Facebook, but I haven’t had a chance to read their profile, or even respond to the invitation.

The Stetson Manifesto – I couldn’t hear this preview at all, either, since there was only one microphone, but it will be much easier to hear all of the shows when they are in indoor theatre spaces.  I have already shared with you almost everything I know about this show earlier on my blog.  I’ll just add that I have seen at least one of the actors, Bill Becker, in two or three non-Fringe shows before and admired his work every time.

Thurgoode – Hmm.  I don’t think this show was at the Preview Party either.  I’ll have to see what else I can find out about it before I make a decision.

Tortillo! – This comedy is on my “see with Adrienne on the 29^th” list.  She wants to see it because she has friends in the cast.  I like a lot of the cast, too, but the main reason I want to see it is because the playwright, Casey Ross, wrote the first Indy Fringe show I ever saw – a piece called “Gallery” in the 2007 Indy Fringe. 

The Tragical Ballad of Black Bonnet – This show was not at the Preview Party and I have to confess that I am not, as a rule, drawn to puppet shows.  But c’mon: a puppet operetta.  For adults. From New Orleans.  I have to at least put this on my “try to see” list.

True Identity – Was this the woman dancing in a yellow dress at the Preview Party?  Again, I’m wishing that the MCs at the Preview Party were just a teeny bit more concerned with announcing the shows rather than whipping up the crowd to call out the next number.  Ah, well.  I’ll see what else I can find out about this show.

Waiting with M’Godot – This comedy is also on my “see with Adrienne on the 29^th” list.  One of the actors, Kurt Owens, is a very good friend of hers.  I don’t know him that well personally, but he has been riveting every time I’ve seen him on stage in non-Fringe shows.

Wanda & Rhonda’s Bitchin’ Bingo Bash!- Actors Tony McDonald and Adam O. Crowe came on stage as themselves and pretended to be looking for Wanda and Rhonda who were, they said, just running late in getting there.  I’m looking forward to seeing them in drag.

Welcome to Blanksville: An Improvised Tribute to Choose Your Own Adventure – This comedy improv show was not at the Preview Party but it is on my “must-see” list because I like road trip stories and I like the idea of doing a live choose-your-own-adventure.

The Worst Show in the Fringe – This show’s preview included a guest appearance by Indianapolis Business Journal arts editor Lou Harry. I couldn’t resist filming the whole thing on my iPhone but I was too far away for you to be able to really see anything.  Lou played the reviewer who had trashed someone’s Fringe show, causing that performer to snap mentally.  The now deranged performer kidnaps the reviewer and ties him to a chair.  I think he is preparing to torture and kill him, but somehow it’s funny.  Even if you’re a reviewer.  Lou, you are a good sport for letting them tie you up! 

I am almost out of writing time, so I’ll just add that several of the FringeNext shows looked very interesting, too. 

In fact, the one 5-minute preview that actually made me cry, suddenly and unexpectedly, was the slam poetry piece by FringeNext performer Mat Davis.  His show is called “Ready for the Future.”  At first I was just enjoying his word choices and his presentation skills, and then I was half-admiring him and half-judging him for balancing just on the edge between arrogance and confidence.

And then, suddenly, his poem that I had thought was all about him was all about me, too, and I was fighting back tears.

If I don’t make it to his FringeNext show, I am definitely making time to get to one of the open mike events that he said he hosts every Friday night at the Earth House.

But so what am I going to see TONIGHT?!  I still don’t know.  Maybe I’ll just take it time slot by time slot and when I see a show that is on my “must-see” list, I’ll see it, and if there’s nothing on my “must-see” list during that time slot, I’ll just go wherever else the spirit of the Fringe leads me to see.

Some of my “must-see” reasons are as much personal as artistic, so you should, as always, figure out your own list and go to whatever calls to you, no matter what I think.  I will always love to hear your comments on whatever you see (as long as you, you know, share them in a civilized way.)

But if you’re curious, now I have figured out my “Must See” list:

• 55 Minutes of Sex, Drugs and Audience Participation
• Another Classic of Western Literature
• Blunder Construction
• Gone, Gone, Gone
• Groundwork Suites
• murder, hope
• Phi Alpha Gamma
• Phil the Void
• The Rise of General Arthur
• Tortillo!
• Waiting for M’Godot
• Wanda and Rhonda…
• Welcome to Blanksville
• The Worst Show in the Fringe

Hope Baugh

www.IndyTheatreHabit.com and @IndyTheatre on Twitter.com and IndyTheatreHabit on YouTube.com.

The Phoenix Theatre today announced its 2009-2010 season AND a change (decrease!)  in its ticket prices.  I really appreciate that Lori Raffel, the marketing and media relations director for the Phoenix, included Indy Theatre Habit in her e-mailing of the press release to local media.  I am including almost the whole press release at the bottom of this post so that you can read it for yourself.

There is a lot of interesting stuff in the press release.  It’s going to be an exciting year at the Phoenix!

For example, I am delighted to see that Neil LaBute’s newest play, “Reasons to Be Pretty,” is in the line-up.   The Phoenix’s production of LaBute’s “Fat Pig” in the summer of 2007 is what got me started writing publicly about theatre (pre-blog, as Amaryllis Jones on IndianaAuditions.com.)   I saw it seven times, an all-time record for me.  In 2007 I also reviewed LaBute’s “Bash: Latterday Plays” for IA.  This year, LaBute’s “In a Dark, Dark House” as produced by the Heartland Actors’ Repertory Theatre, interested me so much I saw it twice.  LaBute’s often dark, often ambigous outlook on life is not for everyone, I guess, but he is definitely one of my “don’t miss” playwrights.

“Fat Pig” was also my introduction to director Dale McFadden.  Earlier this year, he directed “Mauritius” for the Phoenix, a show I “only” saw once, but enjoyed nonetheless.  In 2010 for the Phoenix he is directing a special performance of something called “Terre Haute,” written by Edmund White.  It sounds thought-provoking.

I am also delighted to see a new and original solo piece by Ricardo Melendez.  I loved his work in “Octopus” this year at the Phoenix and “Some Men” last year.  And you know me: I am always up for a one-person show.  Tell me a story!

I am intrigued to see a new mystery play by Steven Dietz.  I saw two plays by him here in Indy last fall:  He adapted the “Sherlock Holmes” piece that I saw at the Indiana Repertory Theatre and adapted the “Dracula” piece that I saw in Greenwood presented by ArtBox Productions.

I am glad to see another rolling world premiere in cooperation with the National New Play Network, and I agree with the press release writer that it wouldn’t be the holidays without the annual “A Very Phoenix Xmas” show.  I’m not sure I will be able to attend the one-weekend-only new piece by Dos Fallopia, but they were a hoot when I saw them at the Phoenix in 2007.

Some of the other pieces in the new season don’t ring any bells with me right now, but I will do my best to fit them into my schedule, simply because I am attracted to the Phoenix as a theatre in general.

Anyway, read the press release below and see what you think.

By the way, the photo above of the Phoenix Theatre is one I found through Google images on AroundIndy.com.  It was taken by Around Indy’s devoted creator/manager, Bob Burchfield and used with his permission.  Thanks, Bob!

Hope Baugh – www.IndyTheatreHabit.com  – follow IndyTheatre on Twitter, too.

*********** 

FOR RELEASE AUGUST 3, 2009

 The Phoenix Theatre was founded in 1983 by a group of Indianapolis theatre artists who wanted to produce contemporary plays as well as to pay the theatre’s artists, a goal that was achieved a few years down the road. In 1983, the Phoenix fulfilled a unique niche in the city’s theatre environment: producing exclusively current plays. The theatre’s mission has not changed since 1983, and Bryan Fonseca, the theatre’s Producing Director, retains his original position. The Phoenix mission statement reads: “The Phoenix Theatre entertains by presenting the best of professional, contemporary theatre in an intimate setting. Engaging our community, patrons and staff with issue-oriented plays, the Phoenix enlightens audiences about social concerns while challenging them to re-examine their roles in society.” Since 1988, the Phoenix has been housed in the Mass Ave Theatre and Gallery District in a 1907 former church building. The theatre’s two venues are the proscenium 130-seat Mainstage and the cabaret-style 75-seat Frank & Katrina Basile (buh-SEAL) Theatre.

Special Presentations

In addition to the eight plays on the Mainstage, the Phoenix Theatre will also be hosting three Special Presentations in the Frank & Katrina Basile Theatre. These presentations will include Dos Fallopia in October, Call Me BORICUA in February and Terre Haute in August.  For the fourth year in a row, we will be reaching out to the Latino community by presenting at least one performance of Call Me BORICUA in Spanish. (See details below)

Ticket Prices

For more information about any Phoenix programs or to purchase tickets, call the Phoenix Theatre box office at 317.635.PLAY(7529). The theatre’s website is www.phoenixtheatre.org.

Information on each of the 2009-2010 productions:

The Most Damaging Wound, by Blair Singer

September 3-September 26, 2009

Midwest Premiere

Mainstage

Five college buddies reunite with the intention of getting very drunk and burning a box of memorabilia from their glory days. Kenny, the organizer, has just become a father and is terrified that he’s not ready for the job. His best friend Alan, who is married with a kid, brings his girlfriend to the festivities. Rounding out the quintet is GG, the up-tight outcast who owns the still-under-construction restaurant they meet in; Dicky, who never truly grew up; and his rock star friend Bo, who is struggling to get sober. The evening doesn’t go as planned, and the friends are left wondering if the past is ever as glorious as we remember.

Shipwrecked! An Entertainment, The Amazing Adventures of Louis de Rougemont (As told by himself)

by Donald Margulies

October 16-November 15, 2009

Midwest Premiere

Mainstage – sponsored by Barnes & Thornburg LLP

Be ready to be astonished! Louis de Rougemont is looking for his 15 minutes of fame. Gaining notoriety at the turn of the century for his fantastical tale of being shipwrecked on an exotic island, learning to ride sea turtles, and holding court with the Queen of England, Louis is finding his audience increasingly skeptical. Could his entire adventure be discredited as a hoax? De Rougemont’s fervent desire to justify his life’s purpose provides the emotional current that transforms a ripping good yarn into a touching character study. After all, who doesn’t need his “dabbing a little spot of color on the drab canvas of life”?

A Very Phoenix Xmas – Our Stockings Are Stuffed, by playwrights to be announced

November 27-December 20, 2009

World Premiere

Mainstage

This wonderful holiday tradition is back with all-new material and a few returning chestnuts for your seasonal enjoyment. As always, there will be music (both traditional and I-can’t-believe-they-did-that), dance, and original sketches. Nothing and no one is sacred in this grab bag of theatrical vaudeville and television variety show with all the irreverence of Monty Python. Sort of Saturday Night Live meets Donny and Marie on crack. It wouldn’t be December without us!

The Housewives of Mannheim, by Alan Brody

January 14-February 6, 2010

Midwest Premiere

Mainstage

It’s spring 1944 in May Black’s middle-class Jewish neighborhood in Brooklyn, where she dishes the dirt with her two long-time friends. Wisecracking and streetwise Billie Friedhoff buys and sells on the black market, while Alice Cohen is a judgmental, self-appointed, moralist busybody. Into their lives comes Sophie. Worldly and sophisticated, she helps each woman discover something about themselves that their husbands never could. Out of necessity, the women flourish and are able to contemplate the freedoms that would only truly be available to generations of women yet to come.

Sunlight, by Sharr White

February 25-March 20, 2010

Mainstage

Presented as a National New Play Network Rolling World Premiere with InterAct Theatre (Philapelphia, PA)) and Marin Theatre Company (Mill Valley, CA)

Matthew Gibbon, liberal lion and university president, may have finally gone too far in his battle against the conservative dean of the law school-his son-in-law and former protégé. Why would this respected academic leader, so close to retirement, tarnish his otherwise brilliant career by breaking the very laws that he has spent a lifetime defining? What begins as a political debate turns fiercely personal, potentially pitting his family against his legacy. What price is too high to pay for loyalty and power?

Yankee Tavern by Steven Dietz

April 8-May 1, 2010

Midwest Premiere

Mainstage

Alfred Hitchcock meets Oliver Stone in this fascinating and funny new play set in a dusty old New York City bar. Here, a charismatically cantankerous regular argues conspiracy theories with anyone who will listen. The young owner behind the bar just wants to pour beer, marry his fiancée, and live happily ever after. Then a stranger walks in and orders a drink for himself and his invisible buddy, setting off a thriller that grips you until the very last word. When the young man disappears, everyone gets caught up in “what if” and tries to solve the mystery. Is it just cold feet or only the tip of a deadly iceberg?

Speech and Debate, by Steven Karam

May 20-June 12, 2010

Indiana Premiere

Mainstage

Sex. Secrets. Performance-art video blogs with a George Michael beat. Just another typical day when you’re a teenage outcast in Salem, Oregon. Solomon, Diwata, and Howie have never met, but when a shocking scandal involving one of their teachers brings them together through an unexpected chain of events, they realize three voices are stronger than one. Maybe starting their school’s first speech and debate squad will be their chance to be heard at last-by the school and even by the world. In the process, each loner learns the value and power of being a friend.

Reasons To Be Pretty by Neil LaBute

July 8-July 31, 2010

Midwest Premiere

Mainstage

Do we ever really know what our partner thinks of us? Reasons To Be Pretty confronts America’s obsession with physical beauty headlong when Greg, a working-class guy in a long-term relationship, inadvertently remarks to a friend that, compared to a pretty coworker, his girlfriend is “regular.” This inarticulate, off-hand statement changes everything. He loves her, but can she still love him? Their relationship cannot survive the monumental and unexpected fallout from this innocent slip of the tongue, and all four characters begin to experience insecurities in their own lives. Is anyone ever totally comfortable in their own skin?

Information on each of the 2009-2010 Special Performances:

Dos Fallopia: Deja Poo: (dé·jà poo:  The undeniably eerie feeling that you’ve seen this crap before…)

October 1-4, 2009

Four nights of classic Dos Fallopia, jam-packed with Lisa Koch and Peggy Platt’s favorite sketches, satire, and patently warped characters.

Call Me BORICUA by Ricardo Melendez

February 11-21, 2010

World Premiere

Written by and starring Ricardo Melendez and presented by The Workshop Group, Call Me BORICUA is Ricardo’s story of his travels from Puerto Rico to America in 14,600 days.  Equally hilarious and touching, this production allows Ricardo to shine as a storyteller and actor.

Terre Haute by Edmund White

August 5-8, 2010

The Crossroads Repertory Theatre and the Phoenix Theatre co-present Terre Haute, directed by Dale McFadden. Described as a “beautifully written, fluidly paced play” by the Sunday Telegraph, Terre Haute depicts a series of engaging prison interviews conducted by a character based on novelist Gore Vidal of a death-row inmate based on Oklahoma City bomber Timothy McVeigh.

This production is supported in part by a generous grant from the Indiana Arts Commission through one of its regional offices, Arts Illiana, based in Terre Haute

ABOUT THE PHOENIX THEATRE
“The Phoenix Theatre has cornered the market on hip new works.”