Despite my theater background, I’ve never seen A Streetcar Named Desire, not on stage nor on film.  So, until last night, all I knew of it was seeing clips of Marlon Brando yelling Stella.

A Streetcar Named Desire is the story of Blanche DuBois, sister to Stella.  Blanche shows up at Stella’s home, with plans to stay for a spell after burying their parents and losing their home.  Blanche is eloquent and a bit on the proud side, but with a sad uncertainty hidden underneath the slightly haughty exterior.  Through the course of the show, we learn what causes that sadness.

Kim Furness takes on the role of Blanche in Harrison Hilltop’s production.  And, she manages to convey that proud, but sad character quite skillfully.  And, she’s not over the top.  You never really hate Furness’s Blanche, but there’s something you don’t quite trust about her.  And yet, when it comes time to pity her, it’s more a sympathy than a pity, because Furness does include a touch of likeableness about Blanche.  I’m impressed, truly.  There are actors who are unable to convey various characters.  They bring pretty much the same approach to every character.  And, while they may be good, they’re not versatile and watching them grows tiresome if you see them in multiple shows.  The last time I saw Furness, she was appropriately over the top funny, making up her own form of sign language in Circa’s “Smoke on the Mountain”.  Here, she keeps the placement of her voice behind her teeth, adding to an heir about her and preventing her from being over the top.  Her Blanche could in no way be mistaken for her character in “Smoke on the Mountain”.  And that’s true talent.

Eddie Staver III takes on the role made famous by Marlon Brando, but does not channel the iconic actor.  Staver’s Stanley is not overly aggressive, but more realistic.  It’s that “average joe” approach that makes the abusive moments all the more shocking.  And real.

But it’s Stephanie Burrough who offers the most natural performances.  Her Stella is not at all affected, not at all calculated in emotion nor movement.  It’s, in a word, nice.  Harrison Hilltop’s space is so small, so intimate, that taking a “play to the balcony” approach would be laughable, annoying.  Burrough is so subtle, so gentle in her portrayal of Stella, that you almost want to invite her to sit down next to you and enjoy the show together, because this is not a character, this is Stella.

Jeff De Leon, in a word, is sincere.  Utterly sincere as Mitch, with an innocence about him which, eventually, is in contrast with Blanche.

The show, overall, is very well paced.  The actors, for the most part, know when to pause for impact or when to press on for a realness about the production.  At one point, the movement is enjoyable, with poker over here and girl talk over there.  There’s hardly an ounce of tension in the air.  And then suddenly, Stanley is slapping Stella.  The rush to the moment of abuse is so fast that you don’t have time to catch up with the change in emotion, making the slap all the more shocking.

The lighting, too, deserves a nod.  There is no stage lighting, really.  Light bulbs and lamps provide the lighting and, without the help of stage lights, the shadows.  There are places on stage that are masked in shadow, as are sometimes the faces of the actors.  It adds a mystery, a poverty sort of feel to the production.

The set is set up in such a natural way, as if we, the audience, could be in the home of Stella and Stanley.  With the exception of the placement of the porch, which is unnatural but appropriate, the layout of the inside of the house could be real.  The kitchen is masked by a semi-transparent curtain, which I loved.  The audience cannot see every part of the set and the actors sometimes stand behind that curtain.  Why should we be able to see every nook and cranny?  Is it that way in real life?  It’s perfect!  And, with the audience on the same level as the stage, there is not only an intimacy, but an added depth.  When an actor steps forward, there is a beauty, almost cinematographic asthetic to the scene, with a depth to it which is often gorgeous.

A Streetcar Named Desire runs just one weekend at Harrison Hilltop Theatre and seating is limited, so be sure to get in your request for tickets soon.  Showtimes are August 28 through August 30 at 7:30 p.m. and Sunday, August 31 at 2:30 p.m.  Tickets are $15.  The theater is located at 1601 Harrison Street in Davenport.

Posted: August 28th, 2008 under Theater.
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There are moments almost every family experiences, moments that can stir up quite a laugh when remembered.  In Circa 21’s “Are We There Yet?”, it’s a string of those moments, one after another, with many of them set to song.

“Are We There Yet?” is not a linear show, in that there’s not a storyline with a beginning and an end with a conflict in the middle.  It’s actually a series of scenes, some with song, about the funny or sometimes touching parts of life.  It does follow a path, however, from birth to old age as the show moves along.  And, with a cast of only four, the actors in the show take on a new role with each scene.The positives — there’s a live band, which always earns bonus points in my book whenever I see a performance at Circa.  The humor is something we all can relate to as, while we may not have experienced every experience portrayed, we are at least familiar with them.  There’s a commonality that sets us on the inside of the inside jokes.  And, the performances, which are solid.  All four actors have quite good comic timing and delivery and the ability to change their character enough to take on another character, so we’re not confused.If pressed to pick a favorite actor, it would be Sandra D. Rivera, who plays it big, but never over the top.  Tristan Tapscott is close behind, due to his monologue as an elderly man with alzheimer’s.  It’s the most moving scene in the show, with the audience completely silent, with not so much as a cough during his performance.

Posted: August 15th, 2008 under Theater.
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Staging the works of Stephen Sondheim is quite an undertaking for any production company.   Make it Assassins and you’ve got a subject matter than may not appeal to many people.  But, it should.Sondheim’s Assassins is populated with assassins throughout U.S. history, successful and attempted, from John Wilkes Booth to John Hinckley.   But, they’re not heroes in this show.  Instead, the concept centers around their belief that all you have to do is move your little finger and you can change the world.  But, after squeezing that trigger they find angry men don’t write the rules, and guns don’t right the wrongs.   That is, unless they can convince Lee Harvey Oswald to kill the president instead of himself.Not only can staging Sondheim be awkward, but casting it can be, as well.  Sondheim isn’t the easiest to sing.  So, it requires the right singers.  More than that, Sondheim’s shows aren’t for singers who can act.  There’s depth to his characters.  His shows are better populated by actors who can sing.  (Angela Lansbury, anyone?)  The Green Room Theatre’s production, fortunately, is well cast, almost perfectly, though not quite.

There’s a distinct split in the cast list.  There are those who immerse themselves completely in their character, becoming the assassin rather than simply acting the part.  And then there are those who are acting the part, with staged expressions and “wait for the next specific blocking” drops in character.  No one in the cast is bad, nor merely adequate, however.  It’s actually the difference between good and exceptional.

In the exceptional category is Lou Hare, who portrays John Wilkes Booth.  While others may put more stock in the Balladeer/Lee Harvey Oswald, I think Booth is the foundation of the show.  He’s the one who sets the long line of assassinations in motion.  And, in the show, he’s the one to push Oswald toward assassination rather than suicide.  He has to be solid.  While Hare may not be as solid as others in the singing department, missing a few notes here and there, he’s spot on with his acting.  Instead of playing Booth loud and commanding (as I expected), Hare takes a calmer, more realistic approach.  He’s solid in his viewpoint, if milder in his manner.  He is human, in that he has his beliefs, but Hare’s Booth also holds back a bit, perhaps conveying the mediocre actor Booth truly was, whether intended or not.

Opposite of Hare’s softer approach, Michael Callahan’s Gisueppe Zangara is severe, loud.  Not once did Callahan drop his accent.  Nor did he drop the pain in his stomach.  Nor any notes while singing.  Callahan is captivating, frightening.  He is Zangara, with his weird belief that assassinating a president will stop the pain in his stomach.  And that voice!  Powerful, solid and filling the entire room with its deep beauty.  Some of the humor of the character is lost in Callahan’s solid, pained performance, but the performance is so real, so exceptional, it hardly matters.  (I also could help but hope to see him portray Pirelli in Sweeney Todd someday, a role for which I think he is perfectly made.)

But the most real of any peformance in this production is Melissa Anderson Clark’s Squeaky Fromme.  She was so good, I couldn’t believe it.  I actually watched her closely to spot the moment she dropped character, the moment she’d drop Fromme’s conviction and motivation.  To my delight, she didn’t.  Her portrayal of Fromme is breathtaking and perhaps the best performance I’ve yet to see on a Quad Cities stage.  Ever.

Which is hard to say when it comes time to share my thoughts on Eddie Staver III’s performance as Sam Byck.  I’ve said before that he’s my favorite Quad Cities actor, and he remains so.  Unfortunately, I’ve never liked Byck’s role in Assassins.  I don’t like long monologues and Byck has really long monologues.  And, I hate the device used to justify them, Byck making tapes of his personal sermons to send to Leonard Bernstein and President Nixon.  While Byck may have done that in real life, it seems contrived on stage.  But, that’s the role, not the actor.  Staver does an excellent job believing what he’s saying.  I find his long monologues far more listenable than Mario Cantone’s (whose track I skip when listening to the New Broadway Cast Album).  Staver manages to bring Byck into his being, from inflection, to believing his own words, to his body language.  It’s another fine performance from Staver, even if the role is my least favorite.

At the start of The Green Room’s production, my least favorite on stage was Mark Ruebling’s portrayal of Charles Guiteau.  I thought, “Oh, boy.  Here’s the overactor who belongs in community theater with less lofty theatrical goals.”  I found him entirely annoying.  Yet, as the show progressed, he grew more endearing to me.  And, I realized, his portrayal is truly fitting of the Guiteau role.  The chipper air mixed with the self-promotion and nods to God were both believable and enjoyable because of Ruebling’s odd portrayal.  From liking him the least, I wanted to see more of Guiteau.  In fact, he’s one of two actors who consistently brought a smile to my face simply by his presence on stage.

The other would be Jackie Madunic as Sara Jane Moore.  I knew she’d be notable the moment I heard she was cast in the role.  She’s got the perfect ding-bat presence and smile (not in real life, but on stage as Moore).  She’s delightful!  She’s hilarious and over the top without being out of control.  Truly delightful!

David Turley has one of the smaller roles in John Hinckley, which is a shame.  If I were to meet him in person, I’d expect him to be quietly, internally neurotic, with it affecting his social interaction enough to make him seem shy and a bit “off”.  That is Hinckley.  His portrayal is so convincing, I’d have trouble believing this is not what he’s truly like in real life.  All of the paranoia and less vocal madness is there.  It’s a shame is wasn’t there on stage longer.

Also notable is Wendy Czekalski, who is part of the ensemble and handles a majority of the solo portion of “Something Just Broke”.  I was enamored by her.  She has a jovialness that’s enthralling and pulled my attention.  I’m anxious to see her again on a Quad Cities stage.

Ryan Westwood takes on the dual role of the Balladeer and Lee Harvey Oswald.   And here is where we split between the two groups of actors, those who are exceptional, fully believable and those who are acting.  Westwood falls into both categories.  As the Balladeer, he has an innocence about him as he tells the stories of these killers.  While there’s still a touch of that boyish sound he brought to John of John & Jen, it’s fitting as this is the character with which we, as the audience, can relate.  We certainly can’t relate to the assassins.  But, good theater requires a connection to someone.  And, Westwood’s thoroughly likeable Balladeer is that someone.  Here, he is notable.  Unfortunately, his Lee Harvey Oswald is not quite as good.  Westwood’s Oswald seems forced and his motivation is difficult to ascertain, as he seems to go through the motions of being Oswald, trying to portray the feelings, but not thoroughly committed to them.

Curtis Oelschlaeger seems to suffer the same symptoms.  An excellent singer, he is a pleasure to hear.  I could listen to him perform the entire show for me, he’s so good.  But, his Leon Czolgosz is not a fully developed character.  Oelschlaeger even seems a bit uncomfortable on stage, which is too bad.  He’s still good, mind you.  But, he would be another exceptional cast member were his acting abilities to match his vocal ones.

Jon Schrader is actually quite good as the Proprietor, but there’s a problem with the role itself, at least in this production.  Director Derek Bertelsen chose not to highlight the carnival game aspect of the show with anything physical on stage (other than the Proprietor handing out guns).  It’s a baffling choice, in my opinion, as the lyrics themselves play into the game theme.  Shoot a president and win a prize is the theme connecting the assassins, all who think they’ll win by killing the leader of the United State of America.  Without the physical aspects of this game, what’s the point of the Proprietor?  He seems merely a guy there to hand out guns, then be the focus of everyone’s anger when they don’t get a prize.  Why?  How is he necessary in this capacity?  Without the carnival game, it seems the roles of the Proprietor and the Balladeer could be combined, except that the Proprietor encourages the assassins to play by assassinating, while the Balladeer is an observer, a storyteller who is not condoning the assassins’ actions.  Even though I know the Proprietor is the man manning the Shoot and Win game, watching this production, I still found his inclusion confusing.  This, again, is not the fault of Schrader, who does a fine job playing the part.

It’s rare that the musicians stand out to me (unless they’re really bad), but, in the case of The Green Room, they often do, particularly Danny White.  He has tremendous musicality at the piano.  Never does he merely play the notes before him.  Consistently, he interprets them.  He adds his expression to them and they take on a role of their own.  I was captivated during each interlude, during each piece of accompaniment that did not accompany lyrics, if only for a few bars.  White brings the music to life, so that it is just as thrilling, just as moving and just as enjoyable as watching an actor expertly portray a role.

It is to the Quad Cities benefit that attendance has been so good, the show is extended for another weekend.  I wholeheartedly reccomend making your reservations (now, since it is selling out) so as not to miss this, one of the finest productions the Quad Cities has to offer.

Posted: August 8th, 2008 under Theater.
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