Theater Review: "The World Goes ‘Round: The Songs of Kander & Ebb" at Musical Theater of Connecticut

The cast of The World Goes Round: The Songs of Kander & Ebb
at Music Theatre of Connecticut

Music Theatre of Connecticut opened their 28^th season in their new Melissa & Doug Theatre in Norwalk with a re-imagined production of The World Goes ‘Round: The Songs of Kander & Ebb. This highly enjoyable revue of some of the greatest hits of the creators of Chicago, Cabaret, and Kiss of the Spider Woman is more than just a fascinating trip down memory lane. With a talented cast of musicians and an uber-talented cast of performers, this show will captivate and delight anyone who loves musical theater.

Imaginatively directed by Artistic Director Kevin Connors, with musical direction by David John Madore and choreography Jeri Kansas, the MTC production avoids the pitfalls of many musical revues. This production is set in a summer stock theatre in Vermont, with characters returning for the first time. For the most part, rather than just being a bunch of people standing around singing a bunch of songs, and succumbing to schmaltzy shtick, the characters all have unique relationships and emotional journeys, which allows them to plumb the depths of emotions that underscore the Kander and Ebb musical catalog. It is a relief that songs like “And the World Goes Round,” “Colored Lights,” and “Mr. Cellophane” do not lose their dramatic edge. It is also a relief to watch real choreography when it comes to numbers like “All That Jazz” and “Ring Them Bells.” And the comedy is certainly not lost with numbers like “Sara Lee” and “The Grass is Always Greener.”

Admittedly, I loved the first half of the production just a bit more than the second half.  In Act One, the performers act out and dance through the songs while highlighting their internal dialogues and interpersonal relationships. At the beginning of Act Two, when the women come out in their sparkly show dresses, and the men in tuxedo pants and pressed shirts, warning flags immediately went up for me, signifying that we were entering the slick show biz danger zone. 

What kept it together were the beautiful voices, and strong performances by talented cast members Kathy Calahan, Melissa Carlile-Price, Eric Scott Kincaid, Trisha Rapier, and Aaron Young. An especially touching montage included the songs “We Can Make It,” “Maybe This Time,” and “Isn’t This Better?”

When the first strains of “Cabaret” started, again the warning flags went up, especially with Mr. Kincaid singing, “I used to have this girlfriend known as Elsie…” I wondered whatever happened to Sally Bowles and I braced myself for something awful as the music tempo switched to something that was not quite the “Cabaret” that I know and love. I was more than pleasantly surprised by a vocal swing type version of the song that had such tight harmonies and strong vocals that I could not help but like it. 

So by the time the show wound up for the finale performance of “New York, New York” not only was I ready for the big show biz finish, but I wanted to see that kick line, and to see that song treated like the Broadway anthem that it is. I was not disappointed, and I ended up singing along and leaving the theater a very satisfied and happy camper. 

The World Goes Round runs through November 23 at the Melissa and Doug Theatre in Norwalk. Tickets range from $30 - $50, with $5 off for seniors and students.  Reservations are suggested. Call 203-454-3883 or visit www.musictheatreofct.com for tickets. 

Square One Theatre Company Invites You to "A Walk in the Woods"

L-R: Damien Long and Pat Leo in A Walk in the Woods by Leo Blessing

Square One Theatre Company is opening its 25^th anniversary season with a new production of the play A Walk in the Woods, by Leo Blessing. Directed by Square One Artistic Director, Tom Holehan, this play combines comedy and drama to give an intelligent and compelling look at the delicate art of arms negotiations between Russian and American diplomats.

A Walk in the Woods is set on a park bench, in a forest on the outskirts of Geneva, where the two negotiators can talk informally after hours at the negotiation table. As envisioned by set designers Greg Fairbend and Robert Mastroni, and with lighting by Clifford Fava, this pleasant little respite place is peaceful and inviting.

  

This was the first play to be produced by the company in 1990 and its revival is still relevant today. The surprise twist to this production is that actor Pat Leo, who played the American negotiator in the 1990 production, is back, this time cast as the older Russian diplomat, Andrey Botvinnik. Making his Square One debut as the American negotiator, John Honeyman, is Damien Long.

A Walk in the Woods can be challenging for the actors chosen to fill the roles of the play’s only 2 characters. With all the dialogue and action of the play resting on their shoulders, Mr. Leo and Mr. Long prove themselves to be more than up to the task. Their embodiment of the adversaries on both sides of the negotiating table, each with a different history, level of experience, and negotiation style, is superb and they both give finely nuanced performances that clue us in to their distinct personalities and developing relationship. 

Mr. Leo’s Botvinnik is far from the hard-lined Soviet that we might expect. On one hand, he is a little world-wearier and a lot more cynical when it comes to the negotiating game but on the other hand, he is also personable, like an experienced old uncle who is willing to share stories, tell jokes, and serve as a guide, from manipulating the press to navigating the political arena, to the relatively inexperienced Mr. Honeyman. He is able to gain audience sympathy and trust early on, with his simple request that he and Mr. Honeyman become friends. Botvinnik’s negotiation bag-of-tricks includes dissembling, abruptly changing the subject, feigning to forget things, telling jokes, and being charming.

Mr. Long’s Honeyman is a compelling contrast to the easy-going, comfortably familiar Botvinnik. Where Mr. Leo gets all the funny lines, Mr. Long delivers some of the play’s most spirited monologues. Honeyman, while an advocate of facts, numbers, and data, embodies youthful passion and idealistic virtue. He does not want to be friends; he wants to get down to the business of saving the world. Nuclear disarmament is not a game to him, and his frustration at the lack of reaching an agreement is palpable.

This important play is not only a compelling piece of dramatic literature, it touches on issues of nuclear disarmament, arms negotiation, and the political history and relationship between the United States and Russia. It is also a piece about forming relationships, whether it is a working relationship between adversaries or a genuine friendship that can cross idealist divides. At the end of this play, heated words are spoken out of disappointment and frustration but I like to believe that ultimately friendship prevails.

 

A Walk in the Woods runs through November 22 at the Stratford Theatre in Stratford, Connecticut. Performances are Fridays and Saturdays, November 14, 15, 21, 22 at 8:00 pm, Sunday, November 16 at 2:00 pm and a special twilight matinee on Saturday, November 22 at 4:00 pm. Tickets are $20 for adults, $19 for seniors and students. Call 203-375-8778 or visit www.squareonetheatre.com for tickets.

Theater Review: "God of Carnage" at Darien Arts Center

Do you ever fantasize about forgetting the niceties and showing people how you really feel? Keeping it real, uncensored and unforgiving? Does the thought of telling it like it is without censure bring a Cheshire cat smile to your face? Then Darien Arts Center’s production of Yasmina Reza’s God of Carnage is the play for you. This refreshingly feral and ferociously funny show just might be the cathartic release you need. Running through November 22, this delightful exploration of what lies beneath the façade of civility among the upper middle class is a brutally honest look at the instinctual animal natures that manners and etiquette merely mask.

Lawrence Reina, Jessie Gilbert, Eileen Lawless, and Gary Betsworth in
God of Carnage at Darien Arts Center
Photo credit: Jeffrey R. Wyant

God of Carnage tells the story of a meeting between two sets of parents whose children were involved in a playground incident that resulted in a fat lip and the loss of two teeth. This meeting devolves into an unfiltered and uncensored confrontation that strips away pretention, revealing the true nature of the couples and the individuals involved. Parents will find it easy to relate to the situation, and we can also easily recognize the traits and characteristics of each individual member of these couples.

Under the brilliant direction of Mark Graham, this play is also a seamlessly fluid study in small group dynamics as the parties take sides, alliances are sundered and reformed in various permutations, and the adults end up acting like the very children they are meant to defend. Under Mr. Graham’s vision, the simple, yet elegant set designed by David Eger becomes more than just the living room of a well to-do couple; it represents a playground setting where the adults form and reform their own cliques, gang up on or strike out against each other, have tantrums, argue, and eventually strike an uneasy truce. With creative blocking, the temporary alliances and images of these adults in conflict are memorable.

The strong cast brings these couples realistically to life, in all their full three-dimensional glory. Gary Betsworth and Eileen Lawless convincingly play Michael and Veronica Novak, the parents whose child was struck. It is evident from early on that Veronica is the dominant individual in this couple, and Ms. Lawless is perfect in the role. She is the epitome of the pretentious and judgmental parent whose dictates and suggestions to the ‘offending’ parents seem to be an indictment against their parenting style. To Veronica, this is more than just a playground scuffle – her perfect son has been disfigured due to thuggish behavior brought on by poor parenting and neglect. Her contempt is thinly veiled in polite smiles and condescension. Ms. Lawless is so good at playing the role, that at one point, I threw up my hands in frustration, wanting to smack her myself. Well done!

Like his character, Mr. Betsworth’s portrayal of Michael starts out slow and grows over the course of the play. As the peacemaker and more conciliatory member of the couple, Michael is easily overlooked at the start, but as the play progresses, we learn more and more about the character, and Mr. Betsworth is able truly inhabit Michael’s world. Not to be dismissed, we learn that Michael is rude, has a racist attitude toward the children of Darfur whose plight is his wife’s chosen cause of the moment, hates children and parenting, was a former “gang” member in the loosest sense of the word, and is, to the horror of all, a hamster murderer. It is fun to watch Mr. Betsworth as he finally lets loose, allowing a glimpse of the real Michael that has been kept under wraps, and his wife’s domineering nature, for what we suspect has been a long frustrating marriage.

On the other side of the playground kerfuffle are Annette and Alan Raleigh, the parents of the boy who wielded the stick that took out the Novak son’s teeth, perfectly played by Jessie Gilbert and Lawrence Reina. Alan is a high-powered pharmaceutical attorney in the midst of a business crisis, and Annette is his mousy, quiet wife who is left to deal with most matters regarding their child and home. Annette, we learn, is subject to panic attacks that cause her to throw up and Alan seems to have more of a relationship with his cell phone than to his wife and child.  

Besides a convincing portrayal of a woman who seems to suddenly grow a spine to defend her child, Ms. Gilbert deserves special recognition for acting out a hysterical, yet squeamishly realistic, vomit episode. Mr. Reina deserves special recognition for his non-verbal displays of incredulity and frustration at being put in the uncomfortable situation of defending his son for what amounts to rough child’s play to begin with, and for having to put up with the Novaks’ pretentiousness. At one point, Alan throws Veronica a look that says, “Who the (fill in the blank) do you think you are?” It is priceless.

This dark comedy is not for everyone. If your tastes run more to nice, polite, old-fashioned manners and ideals, do not see this play. Although brilliantly rendered, hysterically funny, and highly entertaining, God of Carnage contains strong language, profanities, and adults acting like unruly and petulant children. Look closely and you may even find that it is a reflection of your own hidden dark side.

God of Carnage runs through November 14, 15, 21, & 22 at 8:00 pm and November 16 at 2:00 pm at Darien Arts Center, 2 Renshaw Road, behind the Town Hall, Darien.  Tickets are $20. Call 203-655-5414 or visit www.darienarts.org for tickets.  

ASSASSINS Opens at the Bijou Theatre in Bridgeport

The Tony Award-winning musical, Assassins, opens on Friday at the Bijou Theatre in Bridgeport.  Based on the book by John Weidman with music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim, Assassins examines the motivations of the men and women who have killed — or attempted to kill — United States Presidents throughout history. More than just a rogue’s gallery of the infamous men and women who were bent on changing history, this musical review features the likes of John Wilkes Booth, Lee Harvey Oswald, John Hinckley and others who meet and interact in this revue-style musical.

This is not the usual content for a musical, and its dark commentary on American politics is part of what drew the Bijou’s Artistic Director Maggie Pangrazio to the piece.  “I think, given the recent political climate and mid-term election season, it's the perfect show to put on our stage at this time. With a little history and a lot of edge, Assassins will have you rooting for the bad guys and thinking about important issues, while providing a fun and entertaining night of quality theatre!”

Director Kevin Pelkey says he was drawn to the piece not only for its dark themes but also for the “ingenious way the characters are thrown together in their different situations.” He hopes that audiences will be able to see the assassins as real people, even if they were crazy and desperate. “I am not saying that I want people to sympathize with them but know where they were coming from.”

Both agree that this ensemble show gives local actors a chance to shine. Ms. Pangrazio explains, “We chose Assassins as part of our inaugural season because it's a show that focuses on strong performances, and features many cast members.  In an attempt to introduce ourselves to the community as a new source of live theatre, we wanted to display our strongest asset — local talent.” According to Mr. Pelkey, the actors and crew at the Bijou are great to work with, and he really believes that “they are going to kill audiences with their performance.”

Assassins runs November 7- 8 at 8:00 pm, November 14 at 8:00 pm, November 15 at 3:00 pm & 8:00 pm, and November 16 at 5:00 pm. Theatre seat pricing is $23, or $18 for students and seniors, and table seating is $28. Call 203-322-3228 or visit The Bijou Theatre for tickets.