Murder Ballad at the Bijou Theatre in Bridgeport

The Bijou Theatre in Bridgeport presents Murder Ballad, a passionate tale of love, sex, and murder for one weekend only, September 26^th – September 28^th. Conceived by Jonathan Larson Award winner Julia Jordan, with book and lyrics by Jordan and music and lyrics by Juliana Nash, this steamy, completely sung-through rock musical is a unique, sexy, adult thriller that explores love, marriage, betrayal, and revenge and points to the long lasting consequences of the choices we make. 

Phillip Bettencourt serves as both director and musical director for this captivating show, featuring a small, but abundantly talented cast. He leads an onstage rock band featuring Christopher Cavaliere, Marcelo Calderon, Aaron Diamond and Zach Simao that complements but never overwhelms the stunning vocals of the performers.

Maggie Pangrazio, the Bijou Theatre’s artistic director, shines as the not quite objective Narrator, drawing us in with her strong rock vocals and leading us through the dark tale of love gone awry, which but for the grace of God, could happen to any of us. She tells us from the beginning that we will witness a murder, but leaves us guessing as to who gets murdered, and by whom, until the very end of the show.

Arielle Boutin, as Sara, presents both light and dark with her more than believable portrayal of the girl whose heart was broken by the bad boy, but who finds new life and love with her dependable, good-guy husband Michael, played with oh-so-perfectly staid sweetness by Everton Ricketts. Ms. Boutin adroitly captures the initial excitement of first being in love and becoming a new wife and young mother of a perfect little girl – that is until that little girl goes off to school, and she’s left at home wondering who she is supposed to be between the hours of 9 and 3. Her uncertain sense of self, the ennui and routine of being the stay at home mom, and a little touch of depression make her vulnerable to the dangers of her bad boy, ex-boyfriend, Tom. Christian Cardozo, who embodies all the good looks, sensuality, and narcissistic swagger of the kind of guy that mothers warn their daughters against but fall for anyway, devilishly plays Tom. 

This fiery mix of personalities smolders throughout the theater during the performance, further drawing the audience into the passion and drama of the play. Theatergoers should be prepared for an up-close and personal, almost voyeuristic view of the volatile state of affairs (pun purely intentional.) The actors are spot-on in their performances, and are able to elicit all of the empathy, sympathy, hope, and loathing that their characters deserve – although interestingly, I suspect that audience members will differ in who they root for and who they think might deserve to die, depending on their own life experiences and points of view. That is the joy of good theater.

If you are in the mood for some steamy, edgy fun, you’ll need to hurry. Murder Ballad at Bridgeport’s Bijou Theatre runs through Sunday, September 28^th only.  Visit The Bijou Theatre for tickets.

Theater Review: I'm Not Rappaport at Westport Community Theatre

Westport Community Theatre opens its 2014/2015 season with the delightfully funny and poignant play, I’m Not Rappaport, by Herb Gardner. Thanks to a wonderful script full of one-liners, jokes and witty banter, a simple set by Dave Eger, excellent direction by Lester Colodny, and phenomenal performances by each member of its small cast, this play is more than just the story of a couple of old guys meeting daily on a park bench. It is a touching look at an unlikely friendship and a glimpse into the psychological struggle to keep our sense of self while railing against the physical changes and emotional hardships of old age.

 

Fred Tisch and David Tale in I'm Not Rappaport
Westport Community Theatre

Nat, captivatingly played by Fred Tisch, is a cantankerous, but charming, old Communist from way back in the early days of labor unions and industrial strikes. A bleeding heart with a touch of con man inside, Nat feels most alive when channeling his inner Don Quixote. With a surprisingly sharp mind and vivid imagination, Nat adopts alternate personas to constantly tilt at real or imagined windmills. He sees himself as a hero. As long as there are causes to champion, the world still needs him.

Mr. Tisch’s fascinating portrayal of Nat makes the character instantly likable. With a wink in his eye, audience members know that Nat takes delight in his battles, whether jokingly sparring with his park bench companion, or trying to right what he sees as the injustices of the world. Nat is not delusional, but fully aware of the con games he plays. He is so committed to his flimflam that I found myself fully believing the wonderful tall tales he spins, and rooting for his schemes to defend his friends.

Nat’s fellow octogenarian bench buddy, Midge, convincingly played by David Michael Tate, is his temperamental opposite. A black man, who I suspect, has a long history of keeping his head low, staying out of the fray, and just getting along, finds his worth and sense of self in the fact that he is still employed, though tenuously, as the super in the apartment building he lives in. He has diminished eyesight, which he is loath to admit to, and is slowing down, but nonetheless hopes to keep his job at least until the end of the year when he will be ready to move on. But fate is against him as his building is going co-op and the boiler, which he knows inside and out, will soon be replaced by a newer model.

Mr. Tate fits so comfortably into this role that he makes Midge feel like an old friend. He is a solitary old man, tired, with some regrets, but one who is just happy to keep on keepin’ on, until something comes along to upset his equilibrium. He sits in the park by day to avoid speaking with the head of the co-op board who wants to fire him, and he is so invested in keeping the peace, that he even pays a daily protection fee to a park thug to keep from being mugged. 

 

The biggest upset to Midge’s equilibrium is Nat, who invades Midge’s space, tells outlandish stories, and to his chagrin, decides to fight the looming representative of unemployment in the person of Mr. Danforth, played by Rick Stewart, the co-op board member sent to deliver the bad news to Midge. One of the funniest scenes of the play has Nat assuming the guise of an elder law attorney who not only wants to protect his client’s job, but also threatens to stop any construction or renovations to the building and drag Mr. Danforth’s name and reputation through the mud, all while Midge looks on in horror and amazement. With a delivery like Al Pacino at his legal best, I wanted to cheer Nat on as Mr. Stewart’s puffed up, self-important Danforth deflates before our eyes and slinks off to tell the board that Midge would be keeping his job and his apartment.

There are others in the park that Nat fights for or against to less success. He ends up being beaten when he stands up to Gilly (Matt Catalano), Midge’s extortionist protector. And Midge plays Sancho to Nat’s Don Quixote when they go up against a cowboy drug dealer (Jeffrey Wyant) who is after Laurie (Melody Cochran), a recovering addict and our boys’ would-be Dulcinea. This time the plot involves Nat becoming a Mafia king whose simple presence is supposed to intimidate the Cowboy into leaving town, ending with disastrous results. 

Fred Tisch, Deborah Burke, and David Tate in I'm Not Rappaport
Westport Community Theatre

All of this leads to some of the deeper issues surrounding the main characters in the play. Nat’s daughter Clara, excellently portrayed by Deborah Burke, is not amused by her father’s antics and sees him as a clear danger to himself and to others. She wants him safely ensconced in a nursing home, or living with her and attending adult day care which he equates with kindergarten. When he refuses that, Clara threatens him with legal action that will end his independence. It is a last straw attempt at getting her father in line, but necessary because she is, after all, “only thinking of him.”

And that is the crux of matter. For all of the old jokes and one-liners, familiar banter and stirring monologues, Herb Gardner’s script is full of wisdom and warning about how we look at and treat our aging population. Danger and elder abuse exist, whether in the form of bullies and street thugs, forced retirement, or even well-meaning family members. Sooner or later, old age happens to all of us, and how we treat our elders today is a reflection of how we will be treated down the road. What happens to our sense of self when our independence is taken away? Will we diminish and become invisible when shunted away into forgotten corners of society? All of this is heady stuff for a comedy, but worth thinking about.

That’s not to say that this play ends on any sort of down, philosophical note. The upbeat ending has Midge coaxing Nat out of any resigned capitulation to his daughter’s demands and back into his imaginative viewpoint of the world around them. Unlike Don Quixote, Nat does not die clinging to a delusion and the play ends with the hope that together, Nat and Midge will fight the good fight against injustice, old age, and infirmity until the very end.     

I’m Not Rappaport plays through October 5^th at Westport Community Theatre, 110 Myrtle Avenue, Westport, CT. Call 203-226-1983 or visit Westport Community Theatre for tickets.

Theater Review: The Town Players of Newtown's THE ARTIFICIAL JUNGLE

I was not quite sure what to make of The Town Players of Newtown's production of The Artificial Jungle by Charles Ludlam. Billed as a comedic thriller, I expected a few laughs, but what I was faced with was beyond a lighthearted comedy. Set in a family owned pet shop on Manhattan's Lower East Side, this silly, irreverent homage to film noir classics like The Postman Always Rings Twice and Double Indemnity starts slowly with a lengthy introduction of unique characters, including a centrally placed tank full of stick puppet piranhas. Add in an average Joe shop owner, a bored and bitter housewife, a dark and mysterious stranger, a melodramatic affair, an overbearing mother, a best friend cop, and parrots that may or may not talk, stir with a ridiculous murder plot, and violà - you have all the makings of an absurd romp where the titters and giggles start out low, grow to hearty guffaws, and by the end of the play, leaves you laughing in the aisles.

The cast of The Artificial JunglePhoto Credit: Lynn Alexander 

This production starts out too slow with lengthy exposition and character introductions in the first act. But, under the astute direction of Gene Golaszewski, each cast member is able to pinpoint their character's most sympathetic and most grating character traits, making them believable despite the absurdities of their situation. Timothy Huebenthal plays Chester Nurdiger, the owner of the unusual pet store. He is a bit of a con artist, who uses ventriloquist tricks to sell non-talking birds to unsuspecting patrons, and the master of upselling products to dissatisfied customers, even if it's his best friend Frankie Spinelli. Frankie, a down to earth, but not too bright cop, is played by Ron Malyszka. His easy going familiarity with the entire Nurdiger family feels so genuine and effortless, that it is easy to believe he is a part of the extended family.  

Cast standouts are Olivia Carr as Roxanne, the scheming, over-dramatic wife of the pet shop owner and Brian DeToma, as Zachary Slade, the preening Lothario with the murderous, yet philosophical streak. Ms. Carr plays Roxanne with all the tough girl, world weary, hard edges of a Barbara Stanwyk on steroids, and Mr. DeToma's Zach is all confidence and machismo, despite the fact that he is as squeamish as a schoolgirl when it comes to handling wriggling tubifex worms. Together, these actors are a hoot to watch, as they are fully committed to their satirical characterizations, going way over the top with their melodramatic portrayals of lust and love gone awry.  

Also notable in the cast is Laurel Lettieri as Mother Nurdiger, the live-in in-law who proves to be the bane of Roxanne's existence. Ms. Lettieri's comic fall during an ill-timed stroke is a wonder to behold, as are her crazy expressive eyes which serve as a constant reminder to Zach of his guilt. The cast is rounded out by Rosemary Howard, who plays a pet shop customer who also appears in Zach's mind as a specter of his horrible crime.  

The Town Players of Newtown's production is not perfect, but as the absurdity of the action continues, so do the laughs, although I suspect not for all the right reasons. One example came after Roxanne and Zach were interrupted in the clean-up after the murder by Frankie, the cop. Roxanne explains to Frankie that Chester has passed out after drinking a bottle of wine, so Frankie suggests they help him to bed. In trying to lift him, the corpse seems to assist them by taking a couple of steps. If this is part of the intended absurdity of the scene, then they have achieved the desired laughs, but if not, then shame on the director for allowing such a glaring break in continuity to  occur.  

There is also an unnecessary intermission in this production, with a very short final act. But it is in this final act that laughs actually start piling on. Zach is becoming unglued by guilt, Roxanne is restless once again, Mother Nurdiger is throwing accusatory glances everywhere and Frankie is as clueless as ever. By this time, I was looking at this play like an old sketch from the Carol Burnett show, seeing Roxanne as an overly made up, over-dramatic femme fatale, and Zach as her bumbling lover played by Tim Conway. Even Mother Nurdiger gets into the act, looking like the Carol Burnett version of Nora Desmond, ready for her closeup. What made the Carol Burnett show so enjoyable was the silliness and absurdity of the sketches, and that is what brings this fun and funny production to its ultimately satisfying conclusion.  

The Artificial Jungle runs through September 27th at the Town Players Little Theater, Orchard Hill Road in Newtown, CT. Visit Newtown Players for more information.

Theater Review: Westport Country Playhouse: THE THINGS WE DO FOR LOVE

Westport Country Playhouse brings on the laughs with a decidedly dark comedy, The Things We Do for Love by Alan Ayckbourn. Directed by John Tillinger, this tale of love and lust wildly demonstrates the effects of "fools rushing in," and mines guilty and often uncomfortable laughs from the human foibles and failures of obsession, infidelity, domestic abuse, and stereotypes. Each of the characters on this rocky road to love starts out with some form of social malady leaving you to wonder if love makes you crazy or if only crazy people fall in love.

Much has been said about the unique setting of this show. The Things We Do For Love takes place on three floors of the same house. Set designer James Noone impresses with his vision of this home: a smartly furnished main floor and partial views of the top floor and basement. How much you can see of the basement floor depends on where you are sitting. I sat towards the back of the theater and did not even know that the bottom floor was furnished until I walked up to the stage at intermission. Not being able to fully see the floor did not detract from the play however, because the script and the actors conveyed all I needed to know about what was going on down there. Laurie Churba Kohn's chic costumes and Paul Miller's lighting were also impressive, adding to this unique production.

The cast is superb at bringing their character's personality quirks to life. Geneva Carr excellently plays Barbara, a single, successful assistant who lives an orderly, but solitary life. She is slightly obsessed with her married boss and is threatened by her younger and prettier little coworkers. But she runs and owns her own home, seemingly thrives on doing everything herself, and relies on no one. That is except for her downstairs boarder, Gilbert. 

Gilbert, sympathetically portrayed by Michael Mastro, is a seemingly intellectually slow widower, but good to have around to help Barbara with simple household chores like fixing the heating and taking her excess clothes out for donation. Gilbert is devoted to Barbara, despite the fact that she barely notices him beyond the little things he can do for her. But Gilbert harbors a secret obsession with his landlady.  Unbeknownst to Barbara, he paints a giant nude picture of her on his ceiling, and instead of donating her clothes, holds on to them for...well...you can guess. Part of the genius of his character, and Mr. Mastro's portrayal is that audiences do sympathize with him for his slowness and his unrequited devotion to someone who barely acknowledges him before we learn that he really is an obsessive creeper/stalker who any sane person would want out of her home.

Turning Barbara and Gilbert's already unbalanced world out of whack are Barbara's former schoolmate, Nikki, played by Sarah Manton, and Nikki's fiance Hamish, played by Matthew Greer. Barbara rents the upstairs apartment to the couple while their new home is being renovated. Sarah Manton's Nikki is a vulnerable young women filled with self-doubt and low self esteem, after just coming out of an abusive relationship. She looks to Barbara for advice and clings to her fiance because she is too afraid to face life on her own. Hamish abandoned his own marriage to take up with Nikki. Outwardly this couple is too cute to bear, publicly displaying their cloying, babyish greetings to each other when they meet at the door or say goodbye. Barbara immediately takes a dislike to Hamish and to the intrusion of this sickeningly sweet couple into her singular life.

L-R Geneva Carr, Sarah Manton, Matthew Greer and Michael Mastro in
Alan Ayckbourn's "Things We Do for Love" at Westport Country Playhouse
Photo by Carol Rosegg

This houseful of dysfunction becomes a powder keg of insecurities, thinly veiled and sometimes open hostilities. and eventually combusts when fueled by life disappointments, real or imagined sleights, alcohol, and lust. But instead of going for the melodramatic, Ayckbourn's brilliant script goes for hilarity in furtive glances, passionate embraces (with one unnecessary nude sex scene; I wish Westport Country Playhouse would acknowledge the value of a well placed sheet), comic fist fights and confused characters. When the dust settles, friendships are severed, a couple still remains, and a desperate though somewhat tamed stalker still lives in the basement. It is difficult to predict a happy ever after for the characters in this show but in the long run, we get an absurd and entertaining look at crazy, stupid love.

Hurry if you want to see this show.  The Things We Do for Love runs only through September 7th at Westport Country Playhouse.